Страница 104 из 141
Je
"Your hand is all sweaty," he said, smiling. "You aren't nervous, are you?"
She was water at a boil, a horse at a gallop. "Maybe a little," she said.
But her purpose stiffened her will.
"Well, don't be. Emperor Jagang will be the one to be nervous, meeting such a beautiful woman."
Je
As she and Sebastian trotted their horses into camp, men everywhere peered Je
Sebastian watched her as she took note of the way the soldiers opened a clear path for them.
"The emperor knows we're coming," he told her.
"But how?"
"When we encountered scouts a few days ago, and then sentries this morning as we got closer, they would have sent ru
It appeared to Je
"The soldiers look so… I don't know… brutish, I guess."
"And as you are about to plunge your knife into Richard Rahl's heart," Sebastian said without pause, "do you intend to curtsy and say please and thank you so that he will see how well ma
"Of course not, but-"
He turned his halting blue eyes on her. "When those brutes came into your house and butchered your mother, what sort of men would you have wished were there to protect her?"
Je
"Would you trust dressy soldiers with polished leather and polite ma
"I guess I see what you mean," Je
"These men are serving in that role for all their loved ones back in the Old World."
The unexpected encounter with that terrible memory was so chilling, so painful, that she had to work at putting it out of her mind. She felt humbled, too, by Sebastian's heated words. She was here for a reason. That reason was all that mattered. If the men arrayed against Lord Rahl's forces were tough and mean, so much the better.
It wasn't until they reached the heavily defended compound around the emperor's tents that Je
"Why do the women all have rings through their lower lip?" she whispered to Sebastian, His gaze swept the women near the tents. "As a sign of loyalty to the Imperial Order, to Emperor Jagang."
Je
Soldiers took the horses when they dismounted. Je
The women moved farther into the background as they watched, as if fearing to get too close. Je
"It's not necessary." With a tilt of his head, he indicated the women.
"Many of them are Sisters of the Light. They don't fear magic, only strangers entering the emperor's compound."
Je
Sebastian wouldn't be aware of that. She had never told him exactly what Althea had explained about the gifted and the offspring of a Lord Rahl. Sebastian had, on more than one occasion, shown a condescending disgust in the details of magic. Je
Je
"Why is the emperor insulated from his men, and guarded?" she asked Sebastian.
"With this many men, you can never be absolutely certain that one isn't an infiltrator, or even a deranged madman, who might try to make a name for himself by harming Emperor Jagang. Such a foolish act would deprive us all of our great leader. With so much at risk, we have to take precautions."
Je
Fortunately, Je
Sebastian's arm circled her waist and drew her onward toward two huge, silent men standing guard outside the emperor's tent. Stepping between the two after they bowed their heads to him, Sebastian lifted aside a heavy doorway curtain covered with gold and silver medallions.
Je
There were women inside, each wearing the ring through her lower lip, busily going about duties. While most appeared absorbed in their work, one of the women, polishing a collection of tall, delicate vases in a measured, methodical ma
As their eyes met, the voice stiffed, calling Je
Another woman busied herself brushing at the carpets with a small hand broom. Yet another was replacing candles that had guttered. Other women-some sure to be Sisters of the Light-hurried in and out of rooms beyond, tending to the collection of pillows, lamps, and even flowers in vases. One thin young man wearing only baggy cotton trousers worked with a comb ordering the fringe of the carpets set before openings into back rooms. Except for the brown-eyed woman polishing the tall vases, they were focused on their work and none paid any particular notice that visitors had entered the emperor's tent.
Sebastian's arm held her securely as he guided her deeper into the dimly lit room. The walls and ceiling moved and billowed slightly in the wind. Je
Near the back of the room sat an ornately carved and gilded chair draped with streamers of red silks. Je
He was a thick-necked bull of a man. Flickering candlelight reflecting off his shaved head lent the illusion that he wore a crown of tiny flames. Two long, thin braids of mustache grew down from the comers of his mouth, and another braid grew from the center of his chin. Fine gold chain co