Page 26 of Benet

Amazed he was getting an audience with the empress so easily, Kyden reviewed his arguments as they walked. The hallways became ever more gilded and grandiose, and crowded with people who stared at Kyden and Talinn in open mouthed amazement. Both men put arena swagger in their steps and Kyden found it amusing to hear the gasps and exclamations as he passed. His Death Dealer persona was imposing and of course he and Talinn towered over the courtiers and commoners.

If this is the small throne room, I’d hate to see the large one, he mused as guards swept open a set of golden double doors so massive they dwarfed even the Badari.

The floor here was a marvel of highly polished wood and the tapestries and paintings on the walls were sized to the room’s scale. Crystal and gold chandeliers hung overhead.

The throne at the other end of the room sat on a red carpeted dais and was a marvel of gold. With his Badari eyesight Kyden could make out details from quite a distance and he was impressed by the detailed vignettes he could see on the arms and back of the throne. The woman seated there was imposing in her own right, dressed in a sumptuous gown with ruffled panniers accented by bejeweled ribbons and gold thread. Her hair was a confection of curls into which jeweled combs had been set, with a massive crown on her head. Ropes of pearls swathed her neck and chest and her hands bore gigantic rings, each probably worth a solar system’s ransom.

It was her eyes which riveted Kyden. They were the coldest eyes he’d ever seen, more calculating and deadly than even those of the most diabolical Khagrish scientists. Her face had cold, austere beauty, emphasized by skillfully applied cosmetics, but the eyes were those of an apex predator and his beast responded as if ready to do physical combat. He needed to walk carefully here.

Don’t let anything she says provoke you, he warned Talinn.

I plan to let you do all the talking.

“Death Dealer Kyden, Master of the House of Badari in the Five Systems, your majesty,” the Minister announced when they’d reached the throne. He went down on one knee. Kyden and Talinn contented themselves with deep bows.

Kyden figured she was supposed to speak first so he bided his time.

“We welcome you to Outlier,” she said after a moment of dead silence.

“It’s kind of your majesty to take time to discuss my claim,” Kyden replied.

“I’ve reviewed the documents and it is my decree this Benet is indeed your property and was taken from the Five Systems illegally,” she said, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. “He will be returned to you.”

Kyden heard the unsaid ‘but’ so he waited.

“My Games are about to begin,” she said, giving him a small nod, acknowledging his silence. “It would displease and disappoint my people to have anything mar their enjoyment of the competitions. Your man has been much discussed and many wagers have been made with regard to his success or failure. His withdrawal at this late juncture would be unseemly.”

Kyden remembered Pargen’s advice to come to an agreement with Duke Nichevsky if possible. “I appreciate your even handedness in this matter, restoring my property, yet of course wishing for the Games to go on as expected. I compete in the arena in my home system. I understand the way high level competition works. I would be happy to work out a short-term agreement for Benet to participate wearing the Nichevsky team crest as long as he goes with me after the Games conclude.”

She inclined her head gracefully and Kyden saw a gleam in her eye. He wasn’t ready to relax yet.

“Summon Duke Nichevsky,” she said to the minister.

He lifted a hand and his flunky scuttled out of the room at a rapid pace, returning shortly with a richly dressed, pale-faced and sweating noble. Ekatereen didn’t give him a chance to collect himself, saying, “What do you have to say in self-defense after breaking our most stringent laws regarding interference with the property rights of others? I’ve given custody of the slave Benet back to his rightful owner, now convince me why I shouldn’t enact the harshest penalties under our law against you.”

Nichevsky fell to his knees, glancing from Kyden to the Empress with tears in his eyes. “Your Majesty, I apologize for allowing my competitive instincts to overwhelm my sensibilities about the law. As a sportsman I wished only to present the best possible team to compete in your incomparable games. For your greater glory of course.”

“Of course,” she said drily. “Death Dealer Kyden has graciously agreed to sign a contract with you for the services of the man in question, to compete for your team in the Games, at the conclusion of which he’ll return to the Five Systems with his master.” She flicked a glance at Kyden. “If he survives.”

Kyden hadn’t been able to learn much about the specific event Benet had been kidnapped to enter but he gathered it wasn’t going to be one of the purely athletic events. You didn’t bring in a deadly ringer for table tennis. He had confidence in Benet. He also enjoyed the way the duke flinched when he heard the empress refer to Kyden by his arena handle.

“I—I’m grateful,” Nichevsky said, clearly astonished he was being offered a way out. “I’d be happy to sign.”

I bet you are. Kyden wasn’t impressed with this sniveling noble.

The empress raised a hand and a servant immediately stepped forward with a portable desk. Another followed bearing a rolled up scroll and a third brought a pen. The contract was laid out on the desk and Kyden and Nichevsky stood together to read it over. Kyden appreciated the fact it had been written in Basic for his benefit. The terms were as the empress had discussed and obviously Benet wasn’t going to be able to escape competing, not if he wanted to go home. Kyden picked up the pen and handed it to the noble. “After you.”

Nichevsky scrawled a long signature on the indicated line and then Kyden did his slashing version of his name as Elara had taught it to him, the Badari having no written language of their own. The servants rolled up the contract and tied it with a red ribbon, handing it to the minister. Then the trio took the desk and the pen and exited as silently as they’d come.

“You will of course watch the Games from the Nichevsky box as his honored guest,” the Empress said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

Kyden gave her a small bow. “Thank you, your majesty. There is one more thing.”

He felt her displeasure as clearly as if she’d shot him with a stunner but he pressed onward. “Is there another of my people here in Outlier? Another Badari?”

Her lips thinned as she stared at him from the ornate throne and he had to hold his talons in their sockets with sheer willpower.

“There is,” she said at length. “But he isn’t your concern. You have no claim on him and he is a Hereditary Asset of the Crown. There is no question of his provenance.”

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