Empire of Sand

The announcer’s voice drifted over the raucous noise of the assembling crowd. Loud drums sounded as the fanfare of every match increased in the final days. William and I ducked past a pair of guards, leisurely sharing a pipe and discussing last night’s poker game. It was times like these I wished to have Roweena as my ally; her poison would have come in handy.

“How are we going to get near the Emperor?” I whispered.

William halted in front of me, and I bumped into his back.

“What are you talking about?”

Now it was my turn to be confused. We waited silently in one of the alcoves of the stone walls, a semi-circle carved from the stone and designed to hold old religious relics of the old gods. When the Fallon dynasty assumed control of the continent two centuries before, they’d destroyed most of them, replacing them with the chapel and the relics of the new gods.

“We have to tell him about the plot against his life!” I hissed. “That’s why they murdered the old woman in the square, and Ian, too. They suspected it.”

“Ash, Banshee and his men have already attempted it,” he whispered.

His breath fell hot against my face, and despite our dire plight, I felt the overwhelming urge to kiss him.

“I don’t understand,” I reiterated.

“It’s a long story, one I’ll tell you when there’s time. We’ve got to get to the pits; it’s the only place we’re safe.”

“Safe!? Have you gone mad?! The pits are the most unsafe place in this entire bloody city!”

“You’re going to have to trust me.”

The announcer’s voice boomed as the drums beat a rapid staccato, marking the end of the first match. I wondered which of my friends was lying dead in the pits, and which would walk away.

“Very well, then.”

So, I took his hand and followed him to the pits, praying he had a solid plan.

Banshee had beat us there. Paul was out of sight, probably scouring the grounds. The final three contenders fidgeted below the spectators’ seating, craning their necks to glimpse the returning victor. Roweena walked through the large doors, her head held in shame. I counted the remaining seven, and my stomach dropped. Ajax was missing, which meant he hadn’t survived the match.

The guard stood by Tessie, and with a final nod to the doormen, the doors creaked open, and light spilled into the darkened area, bathing the desperate souls that awaited their final moments. Tessie gazed around the interior, as if seeing it for the last time. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of William and me hovered beneath a cracked wooden table, behind a pile of hay. During the regular months, this area served as an extended stable for the royal horses and a training area for the Emperor’s most elite guards.

I held my breath, praying my former friend didn’t raise the alarm. It suited her to reveal me, and if she did, William and I were as good as dead. Facing down a single enemy was one thing, but overcoming an elite, skilled army of His Majesty was another. No one would stop to hear us tell our story or believe our word against Banshee and the night watchman. They would likely drag us into the pit and execute us as an added display.

Tessie turned her head and stared forward, marching out into the sunlight. I breathed a sigh of relief, which was immediately replaced by gripping anxiety. Tessie’s hour had come, and as I watched the guard follow behind her with the serpent in tow, my stomach plummeted. Lucille Rindrigham was a wealthy socialite from the southern provinces. Her entire family trained with the Emperor’s regiment, serving as a kind of independent detachment to the royal army. The Rindrighams had contended for centuries, for no other purpose than to demonstrate their power.

Tessie waited, deathly still and just as silent, as the serpent took her place. The crowd was bloodthirsty and restless these final days, and bets were placed on the victor. I watched with disgust as coin was passed through the audience, and the Emperor leaned toward his fire breather, whispering something only he could hear. The fire breather smirked and drifted toward the edge of the dais, gaining Tessie’s attention. The fire breather nodded at her once. Tessie turned to face the serpent with a sorrow I’d never seen her carry.

The serpent hissed and transformed into a massive snake. Her skin was shining and bright yellow, with deadly red diamonds along her back. She lashed out at Tessie, who dodged and rolled, gaining a foothold to the left of the snake. Lucille raised her head, giving her upwards of ten feet in height, and towered over my friend. She dove to the ground, coiling herself into a perfect circle, trapping Tessie within. With amazing speed, she tightened it, pinning Tessie between her scales and squeezing the air from her lungs. Tessie coughed and groaned, and the snake screeched and released her as blue flames danced along her slick skin. The snake rolled and slithered in her desperate attempt to smother the fire. Tessie staggered to her feet and sent out another blow, this time striking the snake through the middle. Lucille screamed and shifted back into her human form, her body still smoking from the spent flames.

I covered my mouth as a horrific realization dawned on me. Lucille’s chest heaved as she fought for breath, and Tessie walked over to her wearing a defeated expression of her own. Raising her hands, she delivered a final blow, putting the serpent out of her misery. And leaving a gaping, circular burn in the other girl’s abdomen, just like the one on Ian’s corpse.

Tessie thundered back into the underside where we hid. William and I could see her searching for us as we climbed the wooden beams above her, obscured by shadow and out of reach of the guards. Only a single guard remained as the other escorted the first contender out to the pits. William reached back to hoist me over another beam, gripping my hips as we moved in tandem toward the dais.

I could see dozens of pairs of feet shuffling over us as light spilled in between the wooden shafts. I wasn’t sure of William’s plan, but I’d told him I trusted him, and I did. Mostly.

Glancing back at me, William seemed to have reached some internal decision.

“Wait here for me.”

Before I could object, he used his astounding speed to climb through the last three beams and swing up the underside of the back of the dais, where the fire breather waited.

I cursed as I climbed faster, trying my best to catch up. Whatever he thought to accomplish, he wasn’t likely to succeed alone, not facing the Emperor’s guard. They’d kill him before he even opened his mouth to speak. My limbs shook as I braced against the beams, trying to concentrate on my footing, despite the sounds of raucousness overhead. By the time I’d reached the edge, I was coated in perspiration and feeling faint. Mimicking William’s earlier movements, I swung up the backside and pulled myself up. As I reached the platform, the fire breather’s legs stood over me, his body turned to face William, who crouched before him.

“What did you think was going to happen, Highness?” the fire breather asked.

I caught my breath.

Highness?

Beyond the curtain, the masked Emperor watched the battle ensue, ignoring the scuffle behind him. No one in the spectator’s seating would witness what was happening behind the curtain.

“Tell me which of you tried to murder me in my bath, Isaiah, and I’ll show mercy.”

William spoke with the authority of a king, though he dressed like another one of his subjects. I remained balancing on a single beam, with my body positioned below the floor where they stood, barely visible as I watched.

“Banshee never cared for you and neither did I. But it was your cousin who gave the order.”

William’s face paled as he looked up at the fire breather. I pitied him in that moment. Though I lacked the understanding, I knew betrayal when I saw it, and right now, William’s heart was being ripped from his chest.

“Did you know Relic had an illegitimate son? An heir to your throne,” Isaiah teased.

“It can’t be. With me dead, my cousin would take my place, not his bastard son.”

“Unless your cousin met with an accident of his own,” the fire breather whispered.

“You’ve double crossed him,” William breathed.

Isaiah craned his neck to peer past the curtain, where the masked man portraying himself as the Emperor sat regally in his chair, watching the slaughter below.

“So, Relic ordered the poisoning, planning to ascend the throne. His son carried out the deed, all the while intending to kill his father when the opportunity presented itself.”

Isaiah waited.

“You’re as weak as your father was, Highness. And his before him. We don’t need fairness. The world isn’t fair. Fair will not protect a dynasty, nor will it rule the wicked. Only force can do that.”

Isaiah raised his hands, which ignited in orbs of fire. I reached out and wrapped my arms around his ankles, pulling hard and knocking him off balance. The fire breather yelped, sending a bolt of fire into the curtain separating us from the fraudulent Emperor and his guards. William tackled Isaiah, moving with dizzying speed. As he had the giant in the pits, he pulled a length of silk cord around the other man’s neck and strangled him with it. The pair of guards flanking the man on the dais leapt into action, charging at William from both sides. He let go of the cords, releasing a half-conscious Isaiah as he did. I climbed the rest of the way up onto the dais and moved to grab the length of cord, but Isaiah was faster. He gripped them with his burning fingers, dissolving it with his touch.

William knocked out one guard and worked to subdue the other. Behind him, the man in the mask ducked behind the singed curtain, pulling it shut to block out the rest of the world. The guard managed to slip free of William, stumbling back to protect the man he thought was his Emperor. The man in the crimson robes removed the mask, revealing a wicked smile. He was about ten years older than William and just as handsome, with bits of gray in his sandy blond hair. His eyes were alluringly gray, like the sky before a storm. He shed his cloak and tossed aside the mask, which clattered as it hit the beams.

“Hello again, cousin. I knew I’d see you again, eventually.”

“Relic. How could you do this?”

Relic signaled the guard to stand aside, and Isaiah climbed to his feet, staggering over to where William’s cousin waited.

“I thought I told you to ensure he was dead,” chided the imposter.

“Forgive me, Majesty. It was a decoy.”

Relic cocked his eyebrow and smiled at William, who stood guard over me now.

“A decoy? How brilliantly clever of you, little cousin. I never would have thought it.”

“Did you kill the boy?” William rasped.

Isaiah smiled.

“Eventually. It turns out the poor dolt didn’t know anything, after all.”

Chills raced up my spine as the fire breather’s meaning sunk in.

They’d accidentally poisoned the decoy’s bath. Then, realizing they’d made a mistake, they’d murdered him.

An icy chill settled, and panic gripped me. It was familiar and terrifying. Banshee drifted in from the side entrance, which led down to another platform via a set of iron steps. This was the Emperor’s private entrance to the dais, heavily guarded.

“I see you found him,” Banshee echoed dryly.

“Yes, it appears I’m to handle my own dirty work.”

We froze as the announcer below declared a victor and the crowd cheered. The drums boomed with the survivor’s exit. The crowd would look to the dais and notice their Emperor was missing from his chair.

Relic sneered and cursed, ordering the guard nearby to retrieve his mask. Sliding it back into place, he shrugged on the crimson robes again, assuming his faulty persona.

“Let us be finished with this,” growled Relic. “Throw them in the pits. Let them kill each other.”

“Majesty . . . do you think that’s wise?”

Relic turned and grabbed the fire breather’s neck, squeezing hard.

“Are you challenging my wisdom, you elemental scum?”

Isaiah coughed and wheezed, and the other man released him.

“Never, my lord.”

“Good. Get it done. Now,” he barked, and swept through the curtains, assuming his place on the throne.