The Sun Emperor by L M R Clarke

Author:L M R Clarke [Clarke, L M R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Castrum Press
Published: 2019-04-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Emmy shaded her eyes against the afternoon sun, though the cold breeze belied any warmth the sun’s light offered. They’d stopped in a shaded coastal enclave, in sight of the invisible line that marked their exit from conquered Selama and into the Masvam Empire proper. Until now, the little group had crept along the coastline without incident. None of the rebels Bomsoi had mentioned came near them. Conquered Selama was barren, decimated in the wake of the Masvams. Now they needed to turn inland to continue north, and that left them with a problem. Emmy herself.

The rest of them could pass easily in a Masvam-conquered town. Charo and Zecha, as Linvarran and Metakalan, would attract no attention. For every handful of folk you might see in a Masvam town, only half of them would be Masvam in color. Such was the consequence of conquering. Bomsoi and Rel could morph themselves into Masvam normality, but Emmy couldn’t, and no matter what explanation they concocted, there was no easy way to explain her appearance. As well as this, there was the threat they faced from every sliver of flame they encountered. Bandim’s fiery sight would recognise Emmy from the slightest glimpse.

Emmy closed her eyes against the sun’s haze and sighed. The wash of the waves across the enclave’s shale shore sent a soft ‘shh’ across the landscape. They didn’t have time for waiting, but they had to, all because of her. She’d never been taught how to change her colors. Now here they remained, wasting time as she tried to learn, each second that passed letting Mantos disappear further into the unknown. The deeper he delved into the unknown, the more Bandim Tiboli’s shadow encroached upon the world.

Rel, Charo, and Zecha stood at the cart, doing what they could to provide shelter and warmth for their stop.

“Emmy, concentrate.”

As Bomsoi said her name, Emmy’s left eyeridge twitched, but her eyes remained shut. As much as she tried to focus on the task at hand, her mind kept disappearing into misty ether.

Her arms hung at her sides like iron bars. There was the distant rustle of leaves on the wind. The scent of wood smoke wafted from a nearby, though unseen house. Emmy’s mind skipped backward in time. She remembered cutting logs as an ungendered youngling, before Krodge had allowed her to buy wood from Leeve. She would heft her axe again and again. It sliced the air. The wood would splinter, its two halves clattering to the stone ground of the yard.

“Emmy, concentrate.”

Emmy sucked in a sharp breath and opened her eyes. She’d fallen so far into her memory again that the present had disappeared. Now she was back and awareness flooded in. Once more, she’d failed. Once more, she’d been completely unable to do as was expected of her.

Anger flooded, hot and white and all-consuming. Her face darkened like parchment put to flame.

Bomsoi stood before her with her arms folded and her brows drawn. “You’ll never succeed if you can’t quiet your mind.

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