In Legend Born (95 page)

"The Emperor, my husband, and my husband's family are all Valdani," Elelar said, "Their suffering, their sense of insult, and their freedom are of no concern to me."

"Well." Kaynall's brows rose. "How refreshingly direct."

"Would you care to be direct in return?" she said. "Rather than spending two days leading up to it, why don't you tell us right now, with no prevarication: What do we have to do to secure unconditional Valdani withdrawal from Sileria?"

"Ah..." Kaynall steepled his fingers together. "I think you'll be surprised at how little we want,
torena
."

"What?" she prodded.

"Only one thing. Just one. But it's not negotiable."

"
What?
"

"We want Josarian's head."

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Total and unconditional withdrawal.

Elelar's mind reeled as she remembered that meeting amidst the ruins left by an earlier conquering race.

The Valdani wanted only one thing in exchange for leaving Sileria:
Josarian.

She'd lost weight since returning home, unable to eat ever since Kaynall had made his startling announcement. Varian's bland reaction had told her that the price of freedom came as no surprise to him. She suspected that he and Kaynall had already talked.

Kaynall's position was clear, and he'd been more candid than she had expected. The Valdani knew they must give up Sileria. They were going to lose it anyhow. Unless they experienced a sudden and miraculous change of fortune in their wars against the Kints and the Moorlanders, they couldn't send enough men and supplies to Sileria to win the war here. Oh, they could send more if they had to—but ultimately, not enough. In the end, the rebels would win. So the sooner the Valdani withdrew, the sooner they could divert the men, money, ships, weapons, and supplies being wasted here to the mainland, where they were badly needed.

In case she hadn't understood the threats inherent in Kaynall's speech, he made them brutally clear. If the Alliance did not cooperate, then the Valdani
would
drag out the war. Yes, the rebels might well win in the end, but the Valdani would make sure it was a long, bloody victory which cost the nascent nation more than it could afford—especially after years of being looted and impoverished by its conquerors. Though such a course of action would hurt the Empire, it would hurt Sileria far more.

Kaynall pointed out that although immediate withdrawal from Sileria was a practical plan, it would not be a politically popular one back in Valda.

"We are a proud people, you understand," Kaynall had said. "A people of conquest, not peace. A people who take provinces, rather than give them back."

The Imperial Councilors therefore needed something they could show to their enemies and offer to their people in exchange for losing possession of Sileria—a backwater province that no one had ever expected to see rebel and claim its freedom. The Valdani needed something to salvage their pride upon losing Sileria. The Council had decided that this
something
must be the life of Sileria's most notorious rebel: the illiterate peasant whose name was now bandied about in the streets of Valda itself, the charlatan who had convinced his credulous race that he was a godlike being whose coming had been foretold by some obscure Silerian cult.

Josarian had started this war. He was personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of Valdani, including many civilians. He was hated and feared as much in Valda as in Santorell Square. His very name stood for all that threatened the Empire in these violent, troubled times.

The times wouldn't be so violent if the Empire would just stop attacking its neighbors,
Elelar thought.

"Peace will never be accepted by the citizens of Valdania until Josarian is dead," Kaynall had said.

"You mean peace will never be offered by the Imperial Council until they can find a way to save face." Elelar hadn't bothered to hide her sneer.

They had fought and bargained for days.
Of course
the Valdani wanted Josarian dead, Elelar had argued. They believed the rebellion would crumble without him. Why should she believe the Outlookers would withdraw from Sileria once the Alliance had helped them do what they'd never been able to do themselves—kill Josarian? Besides, what made the Valdani believe the Alliance would ever betray one of their own kind?

"I understand there is some trouble among the rebels," Kaynall had said, carefully studying the faces of his Silerian enemies. "Not everyone is as loyal to Josarian as they once were. I merely thought..." His shrug was too suggestive to be casual.

Kiloran betrayed Josarian to the Outlookers, and Kaynall is no fool—but how much does he know?

If Kaynall's comment had been designed to inspire panic in his Silerian companions, then it had succeeded. Nonetheless, Elelar and her associates pretended that they had managed to repair the internal strife which had led to the ambush on Josarian, and they continued to bluff during the remaining days of negotiation.

Since Valdani promises were worth far less than the expensive parchment they were printed on, the Alliance had proceeded to develop a detailed plan for the withdrawal, each side fulfilling certain conditions to establish mutual credibility. The war would end with the final two events cited in the treaty: The Alliance would turn Josarian over to the Valdani, and the Valdani would turn Shaljir over to the rebels. Until then, if either side failed to fulfill even
one
of the conditions of the agreement, then the entire treaty would be declared void.

Should this occur, each side would undoubtedly try to gain the upper hand by exposing the other. The Alliance would use their contacts to reveal the Imperial Council's failed plans to their military enemies, their political opponents, and the discontented people of Valdania. The Valdani would show the rebels proof that the Alliance had intended to betray Josarian.

But he is the Firebringer.

Varian had considered Elelar's private protests and finally said, "The Firebringer's destiny is to make the foreign invaders leave Sileria. Isn't that what Josarian's death would accomplish under the terms of this plan?"

"But—"

"Elelar, you know how vague the prophecy is. It never tells us precisely
how
the Firebringer will drive out the conquerors."

In the end, she had finally agreed. Josarian would die anyhow; Kiloran would see to that. This way, Josarian would die to free Sileria. This way, he would fulfill his destiny.

Summoned late in the day to Kiloran's underwater palace at Kandahar, Najdan crossed his fists in front of his chest and bowed his head as he confronted his master. He was surprised to see Searlon here. Although Searlon was Kiloran's most trusted and valuable assassin, he was seldom at Kandahar; he was too useful in too many other capacities.

Searlon was younger than Najdan and had entered the Society at a later age, but he was a man of such talents that he had soon exceeded Najdan in importance. Najdan didn't mind; he himself had come very far in life for a hungry, illiterate, fatherless
shallah
boy. Searlon had been born to a wealthy merchant family in Shaljir, though he had eventually followed in the footsteps of his mother's assassin brother. Yes, Searlon had started life from a better position than Najdan and had already achieved greater heights at a younger age. But Searlon had worked hard for his rewards, earning them, and Najdan begrudged nothing to a man who could honestly claim that.

They had known each other for more than ten years and had worked together on many occasions. The two assassins greeted each other now with respect.

"The Valdani," Kiloran announced to Najdan, "are about to give up Commander Koroll to a rebel ambush."

Najdan didn't bother to conceal his astonishment. He could tell that Searlon already knew about this—had perhaps even brought the news to Kandahar himself.

"Why,
siran
?" Najdan asked.

"In a recent meeting, the Imperial Advisor made a secret treaty with the Alliance," Kiloran said. "Not the rebels.
Just
the Alliance."

Najdan glanced at Searlon. "You were there?"

"Not exactly. But I know what was discussed. Who said what. What threats and promises were made."

"Presumably Koroll was not there," Najdan said dryly, wondering whether it was a Valdan or a Silerian who was sharing such volatile secrets with Searlon.
Both probably.
Searlon was not a man to be underestimated.

"The Valdani choose their men poorly," Kiloran said with contempt, "and then fail to rule them well."

The same could never be said of Najdan's master. A hunted and outlawed sorcerer did not control an army of ambitious assassins, an entire territory of Sileria, and the Honored Society itself without good judgment and shrewd tactics. Nor, Najdan acknowledged, did he do so without rewarding his men for their loyalty. Though devastated by Srijan's death, Kiloran had nonetheless greeted Najdan cordially upon his return to Kandahar and rewarded him generously for deserting Mirabar to return to his master's side.

"The High Commander of Sileria has fallen into disfavor with his masters," Searlon said. He explained that the secret treaty included a series of exchanges of hostages, one of whom was to be Koroll—a man whom all Silerians, whatever their loyalties, had grown to hate more than any other Valdan. "Commander Cyrill will request a meeting with him halfway between Cavasar and Shaljir."

"That's far from rebel territory," Najdan pointed out.

"A hand-picked man of the Advisor's will assist a small rebel party in entering and leaving Valdani territory unmolested."

"Ah." Najdan met Searlon's gaze. Thinking of the stories surrounding the ambush on Josarian, he said, more coldly than he had intended, "And that
can
be done, can't it?"

Searlon merely smiled, the scar on his cheek flowing into a long and incongruous dimple.

Resisting the insolent urge to question his master about his quarrel with the Firebringer, Najdan asked, "And what do the Valdani get out of such an exchange?"

"The former Commander of Liron, who is apparently the cousin of an Imperial Councilor, is still being held hostage somewhere near Liron," Searlon said. "The Valdani want him back, and the Alliance can arrange it."

"Koroll's capture... a secret treaty..." Najdan nodded slowly. "The war is ending, isn't it?"

"The war against the Valdani, yes." Kiloran's cold, hard gaze held his. "The... disagreements among our own kind are now our primary concern."

After all these years, Najdan was still riveted by that gaze, awed by the shrewd and dispassionate genius behind it. "Yes,
siran
."

"Fortunately," said Searlon, "it looks as if the Valdani and the Alliance are going to give us all the assistance we need."

Tansen had suspected a trap from the beginning, so he had insisted that Josarian have no part of the scheme proposed by Elelar. Somehow the Alliance had found an ally who was in a position to betray Koroll and arrange an ambush on the road between Shaljir and Cavasar. No matter how many times Tansen questioned Elelar or how many details she provided, something about the plan bothered him.