He’s shaking and crying, and he might’ve soiled himself. It’s hard to tell with the rain. Really, for a man in his late fifties, this is a rather pathetic display. He’s a nobleman, a diplomat, a patriarch. He should havesomedignity. But the nobility live soft lives. They are at a severe disadvantage when status doesn’t matter.
I look around as I wait for him to calm down. Everything in his office is expensive and designed to impress. Sculpture, awards… Is that a medal of valor on his wall?
I yank the dagger out of the desk and walk over to the glass case. Stars, it is a Yusanian medal of valor. This couldn’t be more out of place. I smash the glass with the hilt of my blade, grab the medal, and toss it out the window.
He gasps at my lack of decorum.
“Zeolin,” I say, “I’m getting bored. If you don’t start talking, I will find a way to entertain myself.”
I spin the dagger in my hand.
His eyes widen, and he sounds like a large dog, the way he’s breathing and whining. There are advantages to being thought of as a demon. He believes every word I’m saying despite the fact that I really don’t intend to kill him right now. Too many people saw me come in here. He would be replaced by the week’s end by another self-important noble anyway, so it wouldn’t be worth the mess.
At the moment.
No one is untouchable. You just have to be willing to deal with the fallout. And I have other things to do.
“General Salosa said to eliminate you,” he cries. “That you had betrayed the king—tried to kill him. I didn’t believe the part about you trying to kill King Joon. You know as well as anyone that he’s immortal with his crown. But I believed you’d changed allegiances.”
“And Salosa also told you to eliminate Quilimar,” I say.
It’s a guess, but I suspect between Zeolin tipping off the spies and the incredible timing of the assassin that Yusan was behind the attempt on Quilimar’s life a week ago.
A look, just a fraction of a second long, passes over the ambassador’s face. A bead of sweat begins to roll down his temple.
It was him. General Salosa is the head of the palace guards at Qali, which means Joon was behind the attempted regicide. Stars, we are never going to get close to the throne with Yusan to blame. The question is why the double effort? Why go through all of the trouble to assemble and send us and at the same time try to kill her?
The sweat drops off his jaw. Maybe Zeolin’s motivation will shed some light on this.
“What was in it for you?” I ask.
He swallows hard, the lump in his throat bobbing. “H-he told me that if the queen dies and I help bring him the Golden Ring, I will be made regent for the Count of Tamneki.”
I smile. “The king seems to be recruiting quite a few people for the same job opportunity these days.”
Once a snake, always a snake. He was never going to give me Tamneki, very simply because he can’t make both of us counts and he would inevitably choose this sniveling diplomat. A dog is an easier pet than a jaguar. Joon’s plan had to be for me to die first. So why not just kill me then? I was at his mercy in the throne room. A flick of a blade and it would’ve been done. He needed me alive for some other, more important purpose.
“What else do you need to tell me?” I ask.
The ambassador shakes his head.
I turn and stab the armchair, splitting the leather. I purposely miss his right hand by the width of a hair.
Zeolin shrieks and then whimpers.
I lean closer to him. “I asked nicely because I am a patient man, but you are testing the limits of my benevolence. Let me point out that you are still alive after plotting against me this morning. I’ve been more than fair. I can be less polite if you draw this out.”
The whimpering continues.
“Zeolin. Zeolin…” I tsk. I straighten up and draw back my blade to strike.
He lifts his hands to shield himself. “There’s a rumor…”
“Fantastic. I love rumors. Do go on.” I perch on his desk, facing him.
He looks bewildered, blinking hard. The baggy skin around his eyes crinkles.
Switching interrogation modes quickly is a favorite tactic of mine. Your subjects can never get a sense of your true mood and intention, which prevents them from feeling at ease.
