Of Kings and Killers (Elder Empire Sea #3) - WIll Wight Page 0,18

she did.

Calder stared into the Optasia, and it felt like the Emperor’s throne stared back into him.

The device was built into a hidden nook in the wall of the Emperor’s personal chambers. Calder had his own rooms—in fact, he had to register with the Imperial Guard even to visit this wing of the Palace—but they had allowed him a supervised visit with the throne.

The Optasia didn’t look like a throne in the traditional sense; it was more like a nest of steel bars and wires twisted into a shape vaguely resembling a chair inside a cage. The last time he’d seen the device, it had just been freed from a mass of Elder-grown flesh.

The room around him showed evidence of its transformation and the battle afterwards. Seemingly random chunks of the wall had been torn out, as though something had taken bites out of the wood and plaster. He knew those were the parts that had turned to meat and skin and been gouged away afterwards.

The massive bed that had once dominated the room had been moved out, though it had remained completely intact. Apparently the Emperor’s desire for a safe, peaceful sleep had invested it with enough Intent that the bed could weather an all-out Elder attack.

Maybe Calder should attend the meeting with the Independents with the Emperor’s pillows strapped to his chest.

The paintings that had once hung on the walls had been thoroughly destroyed, and the armor and weapons that had been mounted in the room had been removed. The floor creaked under him, half of the planks having been replaced, and the entire room carried the fading stink of rotting meat.

The Optasia itself had been covered by a newly added mesh of barbed wire that was both invested to wound intruders and treated with alchemy that would incapacitate anyone who touched it. A yellow rope was stretched across the room to keep visitors at a safe distance…not that there were many visitors.

Calder extended one bare hand over the rope, toward the throne.

Past the Intent of the protective fence, Calder could feel the Intent of the Optasia waiting there, coiled like a predator nesting in its den. It didn’t seem too dangerous. Maybe he and the Magisters could work out some kind of protection…

As he was thinking, he felt a sensation as though a closed eye had suddenly opened.

Calder fell to his knees behind the yellow rope, retching and trying not to vomit. It was like he’d called up all his worst memories at once. His father’s execution, Jerri’s betrayal, Urzaia’s death…the Optasia had balled them all up and slugged him with them like a fist.

But just the feelings, not the memories themselves. That was somewhat strange. Reading usually evoked some kind of image, but this time it was a knot of horror and revulsion with nothing attached to it.

Elder Intent. It was seeping through the Optasia like an overflowing sewer.

Calder waved off the Imperial Guards who tried to help him to his feet, standing on his own, mastering his breath. So the throne was still unusable. That was good to confirm.

Still, it left him without a card he’d hoped to play. The meeting with the Independent leaders was only a week away, and if he could use the Optasia, he would have been able to contribute even if the Regents did attack.

Brooding, he left the Emperor’s quarters.

He missed it when the first two of his guards vanished.

The third got out a soft yelp that caused him to turn around. He found himself staring into the wide, panicked eyes of his one remaining Imperial Guard.

As Calder whirled to meet a threat, the Guard began to shout an alarm.

Half a second after opening his mouth, the man vanished.

Calder opened his Reader’s senses, stretching out for Intent. He certainly felt something distorted in the halls, something that didn’t belong, but he couldn’t pin it down. As though the Intent changed from second to second.

The problem was, this was a straight hallway. There were doors on either side, but he would have heard them open and close. He looked to his left and saw no one.

To his right, nothing.

When he turned back to his left again, Bliss was tucking a long stretch of bone back into her coat.

“I would like to speak with you privately,” she said, buttoning her coat closed and patting it carefully.

“What happened to my guards?”

“They are unharmed. Physically. But they are also…” She cocked her head. “…somewhere else.”

He knew that was the best explanation he would get