The Empire of the Dead by Phil Tucker

Author:Phil Tucker [Tucker, Phil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-01-22T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Jarek forced himself to relax. To not obsess over how much time had passed since Acharsis and Annara had left on their reconnaissance mission. To wonder how he’d find out if they had been caught, and how long it would take to force Acharsis into revealing the location of Sisu’s netherworld. Were deathless on their way here already?

Restless, Jarek rose to his feet and began to pace. Sisu’s court had seemed large enough when they’d first arrived, but now, as the clay brick fragments crunched underfoot and he ducked his head over and over again to avoid low-hanging beams, he felt constrained, trapped like a lion he’d once seen that had been held in a cage far too small for its bulk.

“Do you want me to send Babati for more food?” Sisu asked.

He had been trying to lounge casually on his throne the whole time, but his concern for Jarek’s wellbeing was starting to grate.

“There’s a vendor not far from here who sells delicious barley crepes filled with all manner of spices and vegetables, along with fried duck’s eggs and -”

“No, thank you.” Jarek fought to keep his tone civil. Several clay plates laden with half-eaten snacks were already sitting on a side table. He managed an expression that was barely more smile than grimace. “I’m fine.”

Ishi was sleeping in the corner, hands laced over her stomach, chin resting on her chest.

Sisu misunderstood Jarek’s glance. “I know. But Ishi can’t trail Kish everywhere. Even if she did, she wouldn’t be able to keep her out of trouble. We just have to trust the goddess that she won’t draw attention to herself.”

Jarek stopped pacing and crossed his arms. The air was damp and gritty, as if fine silt from the Leonis had pervaded the air. “She’s like your big sister, isn’t she?”

Sisu stared down at the arm of his throne and worked at something with his thumbnail. “She still thinks so.” He frowned, then looked back up. “Don’t get me wrong. After I first arrived, she saved my sorry hide several times. Suffice it to say I owe her a debt of gratitude. But she doesn’t realize that I’m no longer that skinny kid who smuggled himself out of Uros inside a wagon of carpets. I can now literally make the dead dance at my command, and still she treats me like I’m twelve.”

Sisu chewed his lower lip and sighed. “By Nekuul, no wonder she does it if I sit around whining like a child. My apologies. It’s just - it’s very aggravating.”

“I can imagine,” said Jarek. He wanted to continue pacing but forced himself to stand still. “Why did you have to smuggle yourself out of Uros? Why did you wish to leave?”

“Why?” Sisu snorted. “You wouldn’t understand.” Then he paused. “Or perhaps you would, being Alok’s son and all that. Irella - my mother - had very specific plans for me.”

“You’re Irella’s kid?”

“Yeah,” said Sisu. “You’d think that that would be great, but it really wasn’t. There was no room for my own ideas, my own lines of investigation.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.