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Your Imperial Majesty's gar-
rison. I cannot see her sending men against a brother monarch in defense of
clansmen or Oligarchs."
"There is that," the Emperor conceded. His gloved hand went out and stroked
the bird's poll. "We suppose that the important thing is that our plan of
colonization can begin. We have already instructed our Rotifer Corps to survey
our lands and to pick the best sites for settle-
ments." His voice had warmed. "There will be no entry fee for those of our
soldiers long since promised land, but there will be obligations and a new
oath of fealty.
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Estates will be awarded." Varodias produced a small, satisfied smile. "They
will not be cheap."
"Your Imperial Majesty has borne the entire cost of the development of the
rotifer and the research on the captured battle wagons," the Elector said
diplomati-
cally.
"Indeed we have," the Emperor agreed complacently, and then the mood turned as
he added, "Fifteen years and precious little to show for it. They were a
strange breed, those Outlanders."
He might make better progress, Malum thought, if he allowed some of the other
scientists near them.
Varodias settled back into the throne and the fingers of the left hand began
to dance on the arm. The Elector knew the sign. Varodias was wearying of the
audience.
"We commend you, my Lord Elector," the Emperor said, "and you too, my Lord of
Quem. It seems that
you have performed your long and arduous tasks well after all."
Both men bowed.
"We suppose, my old friend," he said to Estragoth, "that we shall have to find
some new employment to keep you from mischief." The accompanying smile, for
once, was genuinely warm.
"Your Imperial Majesty is most kind," Phalastra re-
plied, "but it I may be permitted to crave your indul-
gence?"
The Emperor's eyebrows rose, but he nodded.
"I have served your illustrious father and yourself for better than five
decades and this old flesh grows weary.
I have spent long years away from home of late and I
would as lief spend what years are left to me in Estra-
goth."
Varodias sat up sharply, his eyes wide. "You intend to abandon us?" His tone
was incredulous.
"Ah, my liege lord, I would not have you see it so. I
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am an old man and my late embassy has taken me from your side. There are
younger men who have counseled you in my absence and it is time for me to make
way for them.*' He smiled gently, sweetly. "Have no fear, Sire," he said as if
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to a boy, "I shall be your devoted servant and loyal vassal as long as there
is breath in my body."
Malum listened, his heart suddenly beating faster. It was not unexpected, but
the Elector had given him no hint.
"We shall have to think on this, old friend," Varo-
dias said quietly. " 'Tis true that you have served our house long and well,
but we were not expecting this and we are loath to part with you."
"I shall serve you unto death, if that is your will,"
Phalastra said simply, "but if you would reward me, let me go."
"We shall think on it. You must give us time," Var-
odias replied.
"Should you accede to my request. Sire," Phalastra said, "I would commend
Malum of Quern to your at-
tention. He has served me well. He is loyal, discreet, he has a good mind and
I have trained him."
"We shall think on these things. We shall think on them," Varodias said with a
touch of irritation. The
falcon studiously groomed its wing feathers. "Leave us now. We need to be
alone." The fingers nicked out in dismissal.
Both men bowed and retreated, backward, from the presence.
Once they were outside and the doors were closed, Phalastra nodded to the
guards and started off down the corridor with Malum trailing him. When they
were out of hearing, he stopped and let Malum catch up.
"I'm sorry, lad," he said in the Common Mode, "That must have come as
something of a shock- Truth to tell, 214 t JOHN LEE
I had not intended to bring it up today, but, over the years, I have developed
an instinct when it comes to the
Emperor's moods. When he allowed himself to be con-
vinced of the success of our mission, I seized the op-
portunity. Let us go back to my apartments and discuss things."
They ensconced themselves in the Elector's withdraw-
ing room. The servants came and went and Malum sipped his wine silently,
trying to put his thoughts in order. He had been counting on a spell here at
Angom in the Elector's service to give him a better sense of where the next
generation of power truly lay. An ap-
pointment directly to the royal household would, of course be ideal, but what
was he to do if Varodias did not act on the Elector's suggestion? Fond as he
was of the old man, he wasn't prepared to go into retirement with him.
"I have spent so many years in these chambers that they feel as much home to
me as my own castle," Phal-
astra said, breaking the silence. "My older boy will probably want to
redecorate them. It shouldn't worry me because I doubt that I shall ever see
them again, but it does somehow."
"Are you sure that the Emperor will let you go, my lord? He has depended on
you for most of his life and it didn't seem to me that he relished the
prospect of losing you."
Phalastra smiled. "Varodias hates change, somewhat strange in a man who prides
himself on being a scien-
tist, but true nevertheless. No, he doesn't like the idea, but he is an
intensely pragmatic man. There will be no emotion involved in the decision
despite the years we have spent together. If he refuses me, it will be because
I am one of the very few, man or woman, that he trusts.
His Majesty does not confide in men, but he trusts me.
"What I did today was to remind him that it is past
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time that he found someone to replace me. Neither of my sons has a head for
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politics and most of the capable men at Court would as soon replace him as
serve him.
Fear is the only thing that keeps them in their place.
That is why 1 recommended you. If he takes you on, re-
member this: it is not rank that counts, but influence.
A man of modest title with the position of His Imperial
Majesty's secretary excites little envy, but that man has the Emperor's ear
and determines who gets to see him and when."
"But there is no such position," Malum interjected.
"I took great care that there should not be," Phal-
astra said, "but that is where I should like to see you.
Varodias is an exceedingly volatile man. He needs a steady hand behind him,
someone with the knowledge of the broader canvas and the skill to manage
things from the shadows."
"You natter me, sir, but I fear that I am as ambitious as the next man," Malum
said with a flash of honesty.
"What makes you think that I would serve the Emperor so selflessly?" The last
was delivered jokingly, but he was serious.
Phalastra gave him a long, level look and drank some wine before answering.
"Because you are his son," he said.
Malum had been about to take a drink himself, but his hand stopped in midair.
He stared at the Elector.
His mother had said something of the sort in the days before she died, but the
wasting fever that took her had first stolen her wits and Malum had dismissed
the no-
tion as delirium. He couldn't remember now exactly what she had said.
He lowered the goblet carefully to the small table at his elbow. He felt
surprisingly calm now that the first shock was over. The Elector was not the
kind of man to make that sort of bitter jest. There would be turmoil
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