119SUMMIT
“This is a travesty! An outrage!” Raja Matiman Chitra roared, throwing his drink on the ground. The glass shattered, staining the priceless silken rug with shards and liquor. “Not only has the Akh Nara returned, but he can create Ash Gates, too? And who was that woman with him? A concubine? Did my eyes deceive me, or can she make Ash Gates as well? Are there not one, but two monsters in our midst? Why did we know nothing of this?”
With the exception of the Aindri, all the Rajas of the realm had gathered in Thaman’s grand palace, in a room reserved for the courting of Thaman’s most esteemed guests, though ‘room’ was perhaps not the right word. While the space had been liberally adorned with gold, silver, and all manner of silk and velvet, its sheer size made it an imposing space for most non-Bairan guests—a shortcoming that, to Thaman’s chagrin, no amount of money could solve.
Today, however, that strained ambiance served as a perfect complement to the tension that pressed upon all who gathered. While customary after a tournament for the clanlords to congregate with drinks, the nature of today’s assemblage more closely resembled an emergency military meeting of the heads of state than any celebration.
“I admit, the ability to create Ash Gates out of thin air is new to me,” Rajni Kira Panav, currently in her half-Naga form, said, throwing a pointed look at Thaman.
“Believe me, this is as much of a shock to me as it is for you,” Thaman said smoothly. “I had planned to personally escort the Akh Nara with the Ravager’s aid.”
Only half of that was a lie, not that Matiman would know.
“Escort?” Matiman cried. “Do the Baira side with the Akh Nara, then? As that traitorous Ravager has?”
“You lose yourself to panic, Matiman,” Thaman replied, forcing his voice to remain calm and steady, even as he glanced at the damage the foreign Raja had just wrought upon his personal palace. “As I have said several times, we are doing nothing of the sort.”
“What of the Ravager’s declaration of war, then?”
“What of it?”
“Don’t be coy with me, Thaman,” the Kothi said, pointing his finger accusingly. “It’s no secret you are working with the Akh Nara behind our backs. You resisted me at every turn during the war, and now, you work to bring down my clan!”
“Please. You flatter me if you think I hold an ounce of sway over that old fossil. You know as well as I that the Ravager does as the Ravager pleases. Nobody in this realm, dead or alive, can bend him. This is how it has always been, and it is the reality we face now.”
“A damned criminal is what he is. He ought to be thrown behind bars.”
“And what bars are fit to restrain a being such as Cirayus?” Thaman asked. “Tell me, Matiman. I would rather love to know.”
The Chitran Raja did not reply. He couldn’t, for there were none.
“The Ravager is one thing, but the other…” the Chiran Raja spat. “Why have you not slit that abomination’s throat? Why did your forces bar my people from descending to the stage to finish the job?”
Thaman raised a brow. “Why did I not allow you to slaughter the newly crowned Champion at my sacred Tournament in full view of fifty thousand demons? Come now, Matiman, you do not need me to answer that. It would have been pandemonium, and you know it. The Champion defeated the Ravager in honest combat. He has broken no Bairan laws, and as such, shall be protected under them. Especially when it was largely thanks to him that order was maintained.”
“It is he who destabilizes the entire realm!” Matiman cried. “Or have you forgotten what he is?”
“Your squabbles with the Akh Nara are your own,” Thaman replied in a soft yet firm voice that radiated every ounce of his significant authority.
Matiman barely kept from growling. “You mean to say that once the Akh Nara leaves your country, you will not move to protect him?”
Thaman laughed. “Does that one look like he is in any need of protection? If you wish to commit violence upon the Akh Nara, you are free to do so. Outside my clan. I am simply attempting to keep the order, Matiman. As would you, should your clan ever have the honor of hosting such an event.”
The two stared long and hard at each other, and none of the other Rajas in the room dared interrupt.
“Tch.” Matiman pointed at Thaman. “Watch yourself, Thaman. Do not think you can break this alliance without grave cost to your clan. Think over your actions. It is not too late to avert a tragedy.”
“Ah yes. A tragedy,” Thaman replied icily. “Like slaughtering an orphan. A tragedy indeed.”
“Tread carefully, Thaman. You are about to throw our realm into chaos.”
“That remains to be seen,” Thaman said softly.
Uttering a curse, Matiman spun on his heel and stormed out of the lounge, slamming the doors behind him.
“Well, that could have gone worse,” said Kira, exhaling loudly as she stretched her arms. “Could he be any more uncouth?”
The tension evaporated the instant Matiman left the room, leaving Thaman alone with the Panav Rajni and the Iksana Raja.
Thaman rubbed his temples. “Be thankful Girindra is not here, at least,” he said, referring to the Aindri Raja.
“Yes, indeed. Bad enough having one despot. When those two get together, it is as if they feed off each other’s toxic energy. Building, festering.”
“The Chitran cause. Justified,” Raja Sagun’Ra, who until now, had remained silent, finally spoke from atop his perch on a tall bookshelf, his low, raspy voice carrying across the room. Why he’d chosen such a position, no one in the room could fathom, and everyone knew better than to ask.
Kira pressed her lips together. “Perhaps. But no cause can justify the murder of an entire people.”
Sagun’Ra did not respond.
Kira cleared her throat. “About what Matiman said, Thaman. Will you truly do nothing should harm befall the Akh Nara? Will you not rally to his side when he asks aid of you?”
“Would you?” Thaman fired back.
Kira grinned. “I asked first.”
Thaman let out an exasperated sigh. “I meant every word,” he said, staring not at Kira, but Sagun’Ra. “I’ll not be the first to break this alliance of ours. No matter my personal feelings on the matter.”
“Not the first, but perhaps the second, is it?” Kira said.
“Dangerous games you play,” Sagun’Ra said. “Greatness or ruin lie in our future. What of Balancer of Scales?”
“What of it?” Thaman said. “It is his by right. To deny him now would be as severe a crime as granting the art to him unearned.”“Dangerous games,” Sagun’Ra repeated. “Savior? Or Destroyer? The Master of Gates.”
The Iksana Raja jumped off his bookshelf, landing lightly on the floor. “I shall be the test of him.”
“Don’t do anything rash,” Thaman warned as the Iksana faded into his own shadow. “Do not make enemies you’ll come to regret. Not now, when the balance of order hangs by a thread.”
Sagun’Ra barked out a laugh. “By a thread!” he echoed, just before his face disappeared into his shadow, leaving Thaman and Kira alone in the massive room.
“I could live for a thousand years and I will never know the mind of that man,” Kira muttered. “I say this as one who has befriended many an Iksana over the years. But Ra? He’s just… too different.”
“I imagine you are not alone in that belief, Kira,” Thaman said, finally letting his guard down.
“Another drink?” Kira asked, bottle in hand. “The last one left a bitter taste in my mouth, I’m afraid. I suspect I’ll need at least two more to wash it out.”
“I’m afraid not,” Thaman said, looking out a window into the distance. “We tread on thin ice, Kira. Should this Akh Nara business be allowed to get out of hand…”