The Kingmakers(94)

“Mamoru! Stop!” Anhalt shouted, tasting his own blood in his mouth. He struggled onto one knee, fumbling with his holster flap.

The samurai raced along the gangplank onto Khyber. Sailors looked in surprise or scattered wildly as the saber blade came at them. Mamoru hurdled a pile of cargo waiting to be stowed in the forecastle. When he landed, he kept going at a full run. He leapt, one foot touching the rail, and then catapulted over the far side. His crimson robes were beautiful against the blue sky for a second, and then he was gone.

Anhalt’s boot steps thudded on the wooden gangplank. He bowled onto the ship, shoving stunned airmen aside as he stumbled across the deck, shouting, “Make way! Make way!” He reached the spot where Mamoru had jumped and leaned over the rail, revolver in hand.

He saw nothing below but the dark waters of the Mediterranean with white edges of foam where it merged with the shore.



“He jumped from Pharos One?” Adele could barely form the question because it was so incredible, so unspeakable. Her hands crunched the paperwork she had been reading in the Privy Council chamber.

“I fear so, Your Majesty.” General Anhalt stood at rigid attention. Beads of sweat rolled down his brow, and a thin line of blood stained his new tunic. “He killed two men and wounded four more.”

The empress put a hand to her face. “I can’t believe it. My God.”

Anhalt said, “There are those who suggest it was ritual suicide.”

Adele waved dismissively. “Could he have survived the fall?”

The general replied in a strained voice, “Normally I’d say it was impossible. However, Mamoru is not normal. We searched the shoreline and the harbor, and found nothing.”

Adele rose from her private desk and took Anhalt by the arm with a loving rebuke. “Sit down, General, please. You’re wounded.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty.” But he allowed himself to be guided to her chair. “I regret my failure to—”

“Stop it,” Adele barked. “I should have had him wrapped in chains and locked in a trunk. Oh, even that probably wouldn’t have been enough. Mamoru is one of the most skilled fighters I’ve ever seen. A regiment couldn’t have stopped him. You’re lucky to be alive.”

“What of you, Your Majesty? What if he is alive? We must bolster your security.”

Nearby, Captain Shirazi shifted slightly on his feet with a creak of leather boots.

The empress went to the window, the train of her gown hissing over the floor. She looked out on the garden where she and Mamoru used to study together. She watched the white blurs that were flowers tossing in the twilight breeze.

“General,” she said, “I’ve been kidnapped, stabbed, and blown up. And that’s just in the last calendar year. There’s only so much security can do. If Mamoru’s alive and he wants to find me, he will. He could be watching me even as we speak. He knows the palace inside and out.” If Mamoru was alive, she feared more for Gareth’s welfare than hers. Fortunately, Gareth was far away in the relative safety of Europe.

Adele ached for Gareth. She valued his steady judgment and brilliant counterpoints in this crisis. But more, she wanted to sense the steel shadow of his presence beside her. She wanted the touch of his hand.

Anhalt pushed to his feet and moved to her side with a hand on his pistol. “Does Mamoru have any confederates here? Where would he go to hide?”

The empress said, “Sir Godfrey Randolph.”

“The surgeon who operated on you?”

“Yes. He and Mamoru are close friends. Direct the Home Secretary to dispatch police to watch Sir Godfrey’s home in Giza. Follow him, should he venture out. Give it several days. Then, if nothing happens, have him brought here so I may talk to him.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. What of that woman who was with Mamoru when Flay attacked the palace last year?”

“I don’t know who she is. Mamoru has a vast network, but I learned no more about it than my father did. Perhaps Sir Godfrey will know something, although I doubt he’d tell. We’ll handle the situation here. You have other concerns. Do you have your ship?”

Anhalt slipped a surreptitious eye toward Captain Shirazi, who stood at attention. Eventually, the general replied, “There are difficulties, Majesty. The Undead attack on Gibraltar last year nearly halved our fleet. Recent action has taken several of the best candidates. I wanted HMS Mysore, but she went down near Graz last week. Others are damaged. And any ship I remove from action will cost air support for men who need it. An operational ironclad would be best, but that is out of the question. But don’t worry, I’ll find a suitable candidate for the mission.”