The Equilibrium of Magic by Michael W Layne

Author:Michael W Layne [Layne, Michael W]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-12-17T04:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 40

EVEN THOUGH TAMAMI was of royal lineage, she stood at the back of the room watching the floor as her Abbess and the Emperor spoke. Tamami dared to glance at them before lowering her head again. It was an odd sight. The Emperor was not even four feet tall and so young to be dressed in his royal garb of golds and blues. The Abbess, of unknown birth and favored by Araki, was the spiritual leader of the Wind Family and a de facto force that even the mighty Emperor had to take into consideration. Even in her plain dark blue monastic robe, her posture and demeanor was that of a queen.

“You cannot kill him,” said the Abbess. “He is the anomaly for whom we have been waiting for years. And he has done nothing against our family or against Araki. In fact, the great Araki has shown him favor in the past during his visit to Annoon. You are our Emperor, but who are you to defy our dragon’s will?”

The Emperor huffed.

“It is true that he has not done anything yet to the kingdom. But he is a political enemy who has not yet blossomed. That is the time to cut down a weed—before it has grown to maturity.”

The Abbess straightened her posture even more, now looming above the Emperor. No one else in the Cloud City and perhaps the world would dare to take such a stance with the young ruler.

“What kind of an Emperor brings an enemy into his own house as a guest, only to plot his death? If that was your intention, why didn’t you kill him back on the ground where he lives?”

“That was the plan at first, if you must know,” said the Emperor. “But he is resourceful and not without power and resources of his own. Not only did he kill three of my most loyal and skilled warriors, but he then decided to accept my invitation to visit the Cloud City. There is no other reason for him to do so other than to reclaim his precious cube and to spy on me, and so he must be dealt with before he commits his crime against us.”

“The way you have spied on him?” the Abbess said. “The way you have stolen from him?”

The Emperor slammed his fist into the open palm of his other hand.

“You overstep! Concern yourself with the spiritual health of our people, and I will worry about the physical health of the kingdom. Merrick is a very dangerous person and a threat to this family and to Araki, and to the future of all Drayoom, even if the Wind Dragon does not realize it.”

The Abbess pulled away as if distancing herself from the punishment the Emperor was about to receive by uttering such profanity.

“You are fortunate to still be standing,” she said, her eyes wide. “If he is so dangerous, then why did you invite him into our home?”

The Emperor turned away and cocked his head to the left before dropping his chin and facing the Abbess again.

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