Heir of Iron

Chapter 26: Mandhi

(The image above is from http://blogs.reuters.com/photographers-blog/2012/08/01/solar-power-nightlight/)

Mandhi sat on a cushion in the antechamber of Veshta's estate, watching the men argue and wishing they would finish so that she could get into the ablution chamber.

"It was a near thing, and it'll continue to be close." Sadja said with a glance upward and a gesture of supplication to Chaludra. "We'll be lucky if we can hold the city for more than a few weeks."

"That little?" Navran said. He paced at the far end of the antechamber at Veshta's estate, studying the green marble of the inner wall as if hoping to find a secret in its veins.

Veshta sat on a cushion near Sadja, his hands folded tightly, watching all of them with wariness. "The city's stores are low," he said. "The monsoon has only just passed, harvest is far off, and no one was expecting a siege."

"Can we possibly break out of the siege?"

Sadja scowled. "What army do we have? The Uluriya were able to overrun the gate militia with the advantage of surprise, but I wouldn't send you into actual battle, especially not against the imperial guard. And I only brought a few hundreds with me. We can hold the walls, but we can't actually take the field in open battle."

Navran sighed and slumped forward. "And Ruyam may send down his fire."

Sadja cocked his head. "Fire?"

"You haven't heard?" Navran raised an eyebrow. "He burned Jaitha from across the Amsadhu, sending down meteors of flame."

Sadja crossed his arms. "I had heard ome version of that, but not details. Is it the kind of thing we can defend against?"

Navran shook his head. "No. I don't think so."

"Then we don't worry about it." Sadja grimaced a little as he said it. "You defend against the things you can defend against. The things against which you have no defense... you hope they don't happen."

This was why Navran should not have been Heir, Mandhi thought. She admitted a certain respect for the ingenuity with which he had contrived to take the city, but that was hardly the end of it. The Uluriya had held Virnas before, and still the Kingdom of Manjur had fallen. By all signs this history would repeat itself now.

The important thing was for her and her child to get out alive. Navran, left to his own devices, would destroy himself quickly enough. She just had to make sure that the line of the Heirs did not perish with him. So she posed an innocent question. "What about the rest of the city, the two thirds who are not Uluriya? Will they acquiesce to us holding the city?"

Veshta raised an eyebrow. "I don't know," he said.

"Perhaps we can convince them," Sadja said. "Thudra will have his partisans, but we can simply expel them or silence them. So long as the larger mass doesn't turn against us. A riot in Thudra's favor would end the siege in a matter of hours."

A matter of hours, Mandhi thought. Enough time for her to escape. "We need a show of legitimacy, Sadja-dar," she said. "Give the Uluriya a reason to support their new Heir, and give the rest a reason to go along."

"What does the Heir do?" Navran asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" Veshta asked.

"Once chosen. Is there a coronation?"

"Ah," Veshta said. "There is an acclamation. The saghada of the city gather in secret to bless the new Heir with ram's blood. But it's a private ceremony, known only to the saghada who attend---"