Death and the Emperor

Book 3 Chapter VI: Summoned to Court

Author's Note: There's an *ahem* suggestive scene at the end of this chapter. It should be pretty obvious what's going to happen before you reach it, in case any of my readers would rather skip it.

There were other plots than mine afoot in the Castle that night. -- Anthony Hope, The Prisoner of Zenda

Almost a month had passed since Arásy and Særnor had adopted Lethil. The day of Counsellor Glerval's retirement drew ever closer. Kilan had yet to formally ask Prince Gialma to take her place.

He decided that the best way to do this was in person. And so he had issued a formal invitation to his cousin, requesting Gialma's presence at the castle in a week's time. Then he spent that week worrying about what might go wrong. Not even a trip to the Land of the Dead could calm him down.

Reapers had all once been mortal souls, and so they still dwelt in the Land of the Dead. Varan's change of occupation had not led to a change of residence. Nor had it led to a change in her hobby of architecture, if the blueprints pinned to the walls were anything to go by.

Kilan was much too preoccupied to pay much attention to them -- or anything else.

Should I confront him? Should I tell him I know about his plots? He paced back and forth across Varan's sitting room, his thoughts a whirl. Should I say nothing and have Nimetath's spies watch him?

"Kilan!" Varan's patience had run out. "For heaven's sake, sit down! You're driving me mad."

"Sorry." Kilan sat down and tried to look as if he wasn't caught in a web with no idea of how to get out of it.

His sister glared at him. "Honestly, as if it isn't enough that Ranoryin's going to be reincarnated and I'll have to continue the building project myself, now you're trying to wear a hole in the floor?"

Kilan did a double take. "Ranoryin's... going to... what?"

"Didn't Death tell you?" Varan looked at him blankly. "I thought she'd have at least mentioned it by now."

He shook his head. "No one's said anything about it. Why's Ranoryin being reincarnated? Have she and Death had a worse argument than usual? Where is she? Has she already left?"

Varan held up her hands. "Stop, stop, or I won't answer!" she exclaimed, though she was laughing as she spoke. "I don't think she and Death have fought more than they usually do. She's still here, visiting some of our distant ancestors, and she won't leave until the end of the year -- as far as I know. As for why she's being reincarnated, no one knows. Not even Death. Reincarnation just showed up one day, said she'd take Ranoryin, and that's the end of it."

Kilan's thoughts flew to what he had learnt about Reincarnation. Why did the former Empress Navanzul want Ranoryin to be reincarnated?

"But anyway," Varan said, changing the subject, "why are you so agitated today? Is the Iqui up to something?"

Oh, if only it was as simple as that. "Do you remember our cousin Gialma?"

"Gialma," Varan repeated, frowning thoughtfully. "Gialma... You mean Aunt Kanlao's son? About as tall as me, wavy hair, very quiet boy?"

"That's him," Kilan said.

"Didn't his sister dare you--"

"...To slide from one end of the hall to the other?" Kilan finished with a wry grin. "Yes. But that's not why I mentioned him. You remember that murder last year?"

Varan raised an eyebrow. "I'm never likely to forget it."

"Gialma had something to do with it."