‘More.’ Warming to his subject at last, Arakasi qualified. ‘Two Great Ones, brothers, lent their aid to this Warlord, as they had to his uncle.’ Mara nodded. She remembered the pair well, as they had been instrumental in proving her innocence in the tangle of conflicting accusations that had culminated in the ruin of Jingu of the Minwanabi.
Arakasi continued. ‘Brother turned against brother, with one Great One now dead, and the other publicly denouncing all who conspired against Ichindar. At the moment no one moves in the Great Game, for fear of retribution. But for our own part, I judge this a time for caution. If Tasaio believes himself to be the most powerful among the Lords of the Empire, he may choose to strike.’
Mara held up her hand for silence while she thought. After a moment filled with the sound of rain dripping from the eaves, she said, ‘No. Not now. Tasaio is too clever to attempt to steal a march when so many swords are unsheathed. Who commands the garrison at the Imperial Palace?’
‘Kamatsu of the Shinzawai,’ Arakasi replied. ‘He acts as the Emperor’s Force Commander, though he wears the armour of a Kanazawai Warchief, not the Imperial White.’
Mara’s brow furrowed as she weighed political ramifications. ‘So, for the moment we may surmise that the Alliance for War is done, with the War Party shattered as well, since only the Minwanabi dominate that faction.’ She tapped her chin with a finger, then said, ‘We can assume Jiro of the Anasati will distance himself from both the Omechan and Tasaio, and that the Anasati and other families of Clan Ionani will turn firmly back into the fold of the Imperial Party. No, the Blue Wheel may not be the most powerful faction, but they sit at the Emperor’s right hand, and at this juncture that counts for a great deal.’
Arakasi added, ‘As for the council, two attempts by Minwanabi to call a formal session have be”en openly rebuked by Ichindar. The Light of Heaven reiterates his command that the High Council is dissolved until he decides to recall it.’
Mara was silent a long time. ‘I know there is more to this than treason,’ she concluded at length. ‘Something else is at play. We have had attempts upon Warlord and Emperor before, but neither ever resulted in suspension of the High Council.’
‘Maybe this Emperor has more brains or more ambition than his predecessors,’ Kevin offered from his corner. ‘I’d stake my guess that he desires absolute rule.’
Mara shook her head. ‘To take over by these methods would court revolution. If Ichindar truly desired power, to turn the council to his bidding, he would make them his dogs. The imperial court can do many things, but it cannot govern the Empire. Our system is not like yours, Kevin, with both ruling lords and their servants all subject to a king.’ She made a frustrated gesture that showed such concepts were alien to her still.
‘The Great Freedom,’ Kevin recited. ‘The law that clearly shows the relationship of each man to his master and his servant, so that no one can suffer unjust treatment.’
‘A polite fiction, I am certain,’ Mara interjected. ‘In any event, that’s not what I was speaking of; we do not have the system that allows for replacing a corrupt Lord with a noble one. If a Lord falls, his estate falls with him, and if enough of our number fall, the Empire itself must fail.’
Kevin shoved back sleep-tousled hair. ‘You’re saying the Empire doesn’t have the infrastructure to withstand so widespread a change. Tsurani nobles are too spoiled and self-indulgent to administer their own lands unless they’re also allowed to be absolute dictators. They won’t do it just because the Emperor tells them.’
Mara found Kevin’s comments rankling. ‘No. What I’m saying is that if the Light of Heaven thinks to turn a body of rulers into no more than clerks by whim, he’ll learn that ordering a thing is not the same as doing it, or seeing that others get it done.’
Kevin set his back against the wall and nonchalantly inspected his fingernails, which had dirt beneath the rims. ‘I can’t argue that with you.’
Uncertain why he should choose this moment to be difficult, Mara directed her attention to Arakasi. ‘I think we need to go to Kentosani.’
Suddenly still, a shape cut from shadow in his dark cloak, the Spy Master said, ‘Mistress, that may be dangerous.’
‘When hasn’t it been?’ Kevin questioned with a bite of sarcasm.
Mara waved a hand to silence him without even looking in his direction, ‘I must chance that the Emperor would have no argument with a meeting of Clan Hadama in the council chambers. And if some members of the Jade Eye Party are also in the city at the same time, and we choose to dine. . . .’
But the social byplays of politics held no interest for Arakasi this day. ‘These are matters to discuss with your hadonra and First Adviser, mistress,’ he interjected with the slightest trace of sharpness. ‘I must return to my agents and ensure that you are safe.’