Medoc
Medoc paced the rough ground before the throne. He drew T'Jas from the furnace-like heat of the Throne room, enjoying the soothing feeling of pure, hot power running through his veins. On either side of the portcullis, two of his Honor Guard stood at attention, their golden helmets gleaming almost red in the dim light. Medoc pondered them as he passed the mighty Throne of Chraun again, wondering at their easy acceptance of his kingship a few months back. Did they guess that he had deposed Dynat? Would they smooth the way to the next King as easily?
Tejusi should have reported by now. More than five gongs had passed since Medoc had sent him off. Arrest the Kinyara. Medoc wondered if his order was a mistake. Bolv would not go quietly or easily, and she had a wide sway with many of the younger Nobles. Had she gathered a small army of house guards? Was that what delayed Tejusi?
As a General, Medoc had cultivated patience; it took time for orders to be carried out and for scouts to gather information. He was accustomed to spending long hours waiting for reports. But Tejusi should have reported by now.
Still, Medoc passed back and forth before the Throne five more times before he stopped dead center and beckoned one of his Honor Guards over. The Flame's lava mesh glowed bright in the dim red light, patterns like tunnels branching.
"I have a very important mission for you. Find Luten Tejusi and bring him to me, immediately."
"My protocol is to protect you from imminent danger, Majesty."
"I know that, Flame. I may be in imminent danger if I do not learn the results of Tejusi's mission. Do as I say."
The Guard's eyes glowed red in the light of the lava from the chasm at the far end of the room. "As you command, Majesty."
The portcullis scraped open, and another guard took up the post of the first. Medoc pondered a moment, then turned to the second guard. "I have a mission for you as well. Go to the Barracks. Find Major Raynard, Colonel Letocin, and Major Dacian. Tell them to report here at once." Medoc had been a Cadet with those three officers. They had been instrumental in rallying the troops during his ascension to the Throne. Of anyone in the army, he could trust them.
"Majesty? There are messengers for these tasks." This Guard's lava mesh was a chaos of diamond-shaped points. He looked at Medoc with the same concern the other Guard had shown. "Our duty is to keep you safe."
"I trust eight of you can protect me as well as ten against assassination attempts. But there are not enough of you to protect me from a coup, which is what we may have on our hands if we do not act quickly."
The Guard nodded, apparently satisfied with this explanation, and left, soon replaced by one of his brethren. Medoc stared at the portcullis for a long moment, then resumed his pacing.
Another gong passed before the first guard returned with Tejusi. Medoc was astonished to see his most enthusiastic supporter wearing steel manacles marked with the royal seal. A symbol, only, as any Flame could easily break free from all but the coldest icerope, but the seal was sufficient to hold a shame-faced Tejusi.
"Hold," Medoc said, as the guard flung Tejusi to his knees before the throne. Medoc had tired of pacing and taken up his perch on the uncomfortable seat again. "HOLD! What is the meaning of this?"
"I found him killing Lady Ledocia, Majesty."
Medoc's blood ran cold. Ledocia would have been Kinyara if Bolv had gone into the Lava River as she was supposed to.
"Did he succeed?" Medoc's voice was steel. Tejusi was prostrated, his forehead on the lumpy ground at Medoc's feet.
"Her heart had stopped before I subdued him, Majesty. I could not revive her."
Ledocia, dead. Medoc could remember hiding with her under a blissi stand in the market when they were young, playing pranks on the patrons. Ledocia had given Medoc his first kiss when they were twelve. When Ledocia had married, he'd personally contributed a quarter of her dowry. Her eyes on the day of her wedding had been so happy and shining, it had seemed a small price to pay.
"What is the meaning of this, Luten?"
Tejusi raised his head, and Medoc had never seen a more tortured face, not on the bleakest of prisoners in the fire pits, not on a bloody-backed Semija. "She said it was for your sake, Majesty. She said you would thank me. Did I do well, Majesty?"
She? For a fraction of a moment, Medoc thought Tejusi meant Ledocia. Then his mind caught up to what Tejusi was saying. There was only one person in Chraun who stood to profit by Ledocia's death.
Medoc stood and slowly made his way down the dark steps of the Throne. When he reached Tejusi, he stared at the young man's face for a long moment. He could not quite find sympathy for him. Lust and stupidity were written in Tejusi's eyes as clearly as if the words had been etched there with a stylus. Medoc bent down, grasped the Luten's hair and pulled him up to eye level.
"You did not do well, Luten," Medoc hissed. Poor Ledocia. "You made a grave error. I should throw you in the Lava River and spare us both a great deal of trouble."
Medoc was shaking with rage and Tejusi jittered back and forth in his hands. He had just enough sense to recall that the true target of his rage was not the Luten. He released the Luten's hair. Tejusi fell on his face, too limp from fear or dejection to hold himself up.
"Get up, Luten!" Medoc roared. "Are you a man or a mushroom? Hold yourself up and report."
Tejusi stumbled over his words at first, but after a little more shouting and a great deal of patience, Medoc got the story out of him: how he had gone to the Kinyara and been fed a pack of lies. At least, that was Medoc's interpretation; Tejusi was still blinded enough by lust to paint a picture of a noble Kinyara trying to mend the rift between herself and the King. The Luten told Medoc of how he had gone to Renault for confirmation, and been told by the General himself to carry out the Kinyara's command. Medoc was dripping in a cold, nervous sweat by the time Tejusi finished telling him how he had stalked Ledocia through Market and back to her apartments and attacked her with fire-whips, finally stopping her heart with a jolt of lava-hot T'Jas to her chest.
Medoc could do nothing for his former Luten; in the best of times he would be tried for the murder of a Noble Flame by the military tribunal. But Tejusi was the least of Medoc's problems. Bolv giving such a brazen order, and Renault confirming it, could only mean one thing. A coup was in the works. Medoc would have to act fast, or end up with the flesh melted off his bones in the Lava River.
The portcullis slid open, and Medoc tensed, peering into the gloom of the tunnel beyond and his Guard spoke with someone outside. Was it the loyal men he had summoned, or his own death coming down that tunnel?
It was Selimne. Medoc hastily read the plate she handed him, then sat on the steps of the Throne and etched a brief one for her.
"Take a few of our house guards with you, and stay in Iskalon until I send a house guard with a sealed plate addressed to you."
"What is it, Father?" Fear shone in her dark, round eyes.
"Only a precaution, child. Go now. Do as I say."
She passed Letocin and the others coming in as she left. Medoc remained standing. The Throne room would be a death-trap in a coup, and he did not intend to stay any longer than necessary. He took a few moments to relay instructions to Major Raynard. He could only hope that these men would base their actions on Medoc's history with them, and not on the likelihood of Renault emerging victorious. There was no one else he could trust, but Tejusi had just proven to him that he could truly trust no one.
Medoc left the Throne room surrounded by his Honor Guard, praying to the Fire Spirit that it would not be for the last time. He headed for the Baths, prepared to wage a siege on Chraun and keep the hexagon-adorned crown on his head.