Richard Tuttle - Island of Darkness

HawkShadow continued counting as he moved to the door and peered through the spy hole. He saw no movement in the corridor outside, and when the numbers reached the time for him to leave, he opened the door for SkyDancer. He followed her through the door, closing it behind him.

The distance from the First Minister’s office to the meeting room of the Katana’s Council was not great, but the path passed by the main entrance to the palace. HawkShadow turned away from the front of the building and followed a much longer path. The corridors of the Imperial Palace were deserted. Several times during the walk, HawkShadow saw servants moving about in the distance, but no one ever came close until SkyDancer turned the final corner in their circuitous route.

The path HawkShadow had chosen ended with a long corridor heading directly towards the door of the Council Chamber. The two Monitors standing sentry outside the door saw the two figures approaching. They immediately became alert as they watched an Imperial Guard escort an unfamiliar woman towards them. As it became clear that the visitors’ destination was the Council Chamber, the Monitors subconsciously closed ranks to block the door.

“What are you doing here?” challenged one of the Monitors. “The palace is supposed to be closed.”

“It is closed,” HawkShadow replied as SkyDancer stopped directly in front of the Monitors. “I was ordered to bring this woman to the Council Chamber. I am just doing what I was told to.”

HawkShadow stopped just behind SkyDancer so that only the left half of his body was visible. While he looked one of the Monitors in the eye, a knife slid into his right hand.

“This is not right,” argued the Monitor. “You should not even be in the building. A Monitor should be escorting this woman.”

HawkShadow shrugged and sighed, “I am just doing my job. If you want me to go back and tell Colonel Zanta that you refused me entry, it is no problem to me. Come on, woman. Back the way we came.”

SkyDancer turned slightly as if she was turning around. A knife slid into her hand as she did so, but her own body blocked the movement. When it appeared that the couple was leaving, the Monitors glanced at one another as if silently asking each other if the decision to refuse entry had been wise. In that split second, the Sakovans struck.

SkyDancer stepped to the right and plunged her knife into the chest of one Monitor while HawkShadow skewered the other. Both men died instantly. Each Sakovan grabbed a body and supported it. HawkShadow used his free hand to open the door and then kicked it hard. The door flew open, and SkyDancer swept into the room, tossing the body to the floor. HawkShadow immediately followed, dropping the body he was carrying and closed the door.

The assembled Councilors gasped as the Sakovans entered the room. An overweight man at the far end of the table leaped to his feet and started shouting for help. SkyDancer whirled and threw her knife. The knife hit the man in the face and the shouting stopped as the Councilor’s body fell to the floor, knocking his chair over.

“Any more noise, and I will eliminate the one who makes it,” SkyDancer said sternly. “You are to sit quietly until I decide otherwise.”

“While I do not speak to draw attention to this crime,” another Councilor said softly, “I would like to know what is happening. I will remain quiet.”

SkyDancer glared at the man for a moment before nodding.

“Fair enough,” SkyDancer said. “We are here to seek an end to this madness that you call war. This Council has backed the Katana’s call for war. As such, you are all guilty of murder. Sometime in the past, you backed another Katana’s call for war only to later find out that he was a false Katana. You do not learn very well. Once again you have followed another false Katana, but you have allowed this one to go too far.”

“So you are Sakovan?” sighed the Councilor. “I should have suspected as much, but why do you say that our Katana is false?”

“Because he is,” answered SkyDancer. “Larst died the night before you selected him to be Katana. The mage that now inhabits his body was known to you as a historian. It will be revealed to you shortly.”

“So you are not here to kill us all?” the Councilor asked with a twitch in his eye. “Will this be like the last time when your Star killed the Katana and left the city?”

“Hardly,” SkyDancer shook her head. “This time you have gone too far. You have sent your armies into the Sakova to annihilate us. While I will not kill any of you without reason, your tenure on this council is over. We are here to demand the surrender of Omunga.”

“You can’t be serious?” questioned another Councilor. “You expect to seize this Council and declare the war over? It takes more than that to conquer Omunga.”

“There is little left of Omunga,” SkyDancer said. “The only cities that you control now are Okata and Tanzaba. By the end of the day, only Tanzaba will remain.”

“What are you saying?” asked the Councilor. “We have heard about the eastern provinces, but surely the west is still secure?”

“I see that the Katana does not confide in you,” retorted SkyDancer. “Gatong and Fortung fell over a week ago. Campanil was not far behind.”

“Preposterous,” scowled another Councilor. “General Kapla has taken his army to protect those cities.”

“General Kapla has surrendered,” announced SkyDancer. “So has General Romero, and General Valdey is dead. You only have General Didyk left, and he is in no position to save his country. Now, I have answered your questions. I demand that you remain silent until I give you leave to speak again. If you speak, you die.”

SkyDancer let her eyes rest on each of the Councilors as she scanned the room. HawkShadow stood silently, his face an unemotional mask.

“Now that you know that my aim is good,” declared SkyDancer as she nodded towards the body of slain Councilor. “I am going to walk around the table and prepare you for the moment of discovery. When I tap your shoulder, you will rise and follow my instructions. If you do not rise and follow instructions, I will slit your throat and move on to the next. I would advise you to be cooperative. If you do, you will survive this day.”

* * *

The Monitor strode purposely along the corridor looking for Colonel Zanta. As he passed the Council Chamber, he halted and stared at the door. He was sure that he had heard orders given that the Council was to remain in session, yet there were no sentries. He put his ear to the door to listen. At first he heard nothing, but then he heard sounds of movement. A frown fell over his face as he spotted a drop of blood on the floor. He bent down and touched it. Slowly, he rose and backed away from the door.

The Monitor moved swiftly through the corridors of the palace. When he saw Colonel Zanta in the distance, he shouted. The colonel halted as the Monitor ran towards him.

“Something is amiss,” reported the Monitor. “The sentries are missing from the Council Chamber. There is movement inside the room and blood on the floor outside the room.”

“Did you look inside the room?” asked Colonel Zanta.

“I did not,” the Monitor replied promptly. “Regulations say that we should not disturb anything if a crime has been committed. We are supposed to report it immediately.”

“You did right,” replied the colonel. “A lone Monitor opening the door could easily have informed the criminals of our knowledge. I must believe that we have intruders. Head to the Katana’s Chamber, and notify his guards. They must put him in isolation immediately. Tell them that I have ordered it. I will take care of the Council Chamber.”

The Monitor saluted and ran off. Colonel Zanta strode to the nearest exit from the palace and ordered twenty men to follow him. He ordered another man to visit each exit and explain that there are intruders in the building. No exit was to be left unguarded.