The Fifth Empire of Man (Best Laid Plans Book 2) Read online

  The Sword of the North smiled as he stepped into the room, briefly glancing around before slowly walking past T’ruck to the far corner. T’ruck was watching him so warily he didn’t notice a second man enter until he spoke.

  “You appear to know Sir Derran,” said Admiral Verit, the man who had beaten T’ruck, scuttled his ship, and captured or killed his entire crew.

  T’ruck glanced at the admiral before turning his attention back to the Sword of the North. “He killed my brother.”

  The swordsman squatted down and stared at T’ruck with eyes like cold steel. “I’ve killed a lot of brothers and a lot of clansmen.”

  “My brother was at Snake Pass,” T’ruck spat.

  “Oh. Then he died well. They all died well at the pass.”

  “What does it matter how some long-dead barbarian died?” the admiral said with a sigh.

  “It matters,” the Sword of the North hissed.

  T’ruck nodded to him, acknowledging his respect. It was the first time he’d ever met the Blademaster, but every man, woman, and child of the northern clans had heard of the knight and knew how many of their kin he’d killed. They called him a warrior without equal and, standing in front of him now, T’ruck could believe it. Here was a man who could give T’ruck a glorious end, and if he was to have one, he wanted it to be glorious.

  “I would challenge you,” T’ruck rumbled, standing to his full height and rolling back his shoulders to show off his size.

  The Sword of the North smiled; it was the smile of the Reaper, not one of friendship. “And I would accept, but the admiral has your death claimed already, so it cannot belong to me. Besides, I didn’t come to this shit hole to fight you. I came for someone else.”

  “Enough,” said the admiral. “I didn’t bring you here to exchange pleasantries, Sir Derran.”

  “Careful, Admiral. Unless you’ve inherited a golden crown recently, I don’t answer to you. I’ll keep you safe from the giant, but if you insult me again I’ll kill you myself.”

  The admiral held Sir Derran's stare for a few seconds longer before turning to T’ruck. “You are T’ruck Khan from the Herasow clan of the World’s Edge mountains?”

  “No,” T’ruck rumbled. “That clan is long dead. I am Captain T’ruck Khan of the North Gale.”

  “Your ship is wreckage, and your crew – those who didn’t drown – are my prisoners. You are captain of nothing, Khan.” The admiral pulled a chair over and sat down. “I was going to order some refreshments brought, but I see you took offence to the table.”

  “Five Kingdoms trash,” T’ruck spat, pacing behind the second chair. “It broke as easily as your men aboard the ship we took.”

  Admiral Verit sighed. “I am offering you the chance at a civilised conversation, barbarian. I suggest you take it. It is the only chance you have of saving your neck.”

  T’ruck stopped pacing and fixed the admiral with a stare, leaning over the back of the chair. “And my crew?”

  “Will be hanged for their crimes.”

  T’ruck said nothing.

  “We already have the location of New Sev’relain,” the admiral continued. “Sir Derran will be leading a force to take the island soon enough. What we would like to know from you is its current defences, how many troops are stationed there, and the best method of attacking the settlement.”

  T’ruck said nothing.

  “In return we can offer you special consideration. Cooperate and your case will be brought to the attention of His Majesty King Jackt himself. He will personally officiate over your hearing – and the king has been known to be merciful, even to barbarians like you.”

  T’ruck said nothing.

  “I would advise you not to squander this opportunity. It will not be offered again. Once I leave this room, if you have provided no useful information you will be transported to Land’s End with the rest of your crew, where you will be hanged and your body displayed to warn others from the course of piracy.”

  T’ruck looked over towards the Sword of the North. The Blademaster was still squatting in the corner of the cabin, watching T’ruck’s every move. No doubt the man could spring to life and gut T’ruck before he could even strike the admiral.

  “You follow orders,” T’ruck said. “Go where you’re told to go. Kill who you’re told to kill. Men like him” – T’ruck pointed at the admiral – “give orders. Tell others to kill for them.”

  T’ruck glared at Verit. “Men like you killed my wives, killed my children. I would see you all opened.” He pointed at his crotch and drew the finger up to his neck. “I would dance on your guts and feed your heart to my dogs.”

  The admiral sighed. “Men like me will see you hanged.”

  T’ruck reached into his trousers, pulled out his cock, and pissed on the deck, aiming for the admiral’s shiny boots. The man launched himself backwards, knocking over his chair and stumbling towards the doorway, all to the laughter of the Sword of the North.

  “Savage!” Verit shouted as he pulled open the door. “I will watch you stretch for this.”

  The Blademaster, still laughing, stood up and walked after the admiral, making sure to avoid the expanding puddle of piss. He nodded once to T’ruck and left, pulling the door shut behind him.

  T’ruck put his cock away and waited. They would come for him before long and put him back in his cell, and the admiral would no doubt make good on his threat. The Five Kingdoms was a long way away, though, and there was plenty of time for him to either escape or force the crew of the behemoth to kill him in battle.

  Chapter 3 - Starry Dawn

  Three days Elaina whiled away in Chade. She toured the city and witnessed the things Rose and the Black Thorn had done with it. Chade had once been a dark, grimy city full of thieves, murderers, and those corrupt and rich enough to call themselves politicians. Elaina remembered the city as dangerous even for a pirate to travel alone, and more than one had ended up in a slave’s iron collar for no crime other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  Then Chade had become a war zone, and that had been Drake Morrass’ doing. For months upon months folk had fled the city, many of them taking to ships and crossing the Pirate Isles. Elaina remembered seizing more than one boat only to find it brimming with passengers instead of loot. Some folk called it a shadow war, but there was nothing shadowy about it. Gangs, guards, and pirates had walked the streets, slaughtering each other and causing chaos. As always, the good folk of Chade had been the ones to suffer most. The city had burned day and night until the Black Thorn murdered the man opposing Drake.

  Out of the conflict and the war and the mindless death, Rose had appeared, taking the city in hand and restoring order. Elaina wasn’t clear how Rose had taken control, but once she did, peace quickly followed. Now the free city of Chade was larger, safer, and more prosperous than it had ever been. Everyone agreed the change was Rose’s doing, not her more famous husband’s. But the Black Thorn commanded Chade’s army, and considering they now had almost half the Wilds under their rule, he was apparently doing a fairly good job of it.

  “What would you do?” Elaina asked the little woman in the cavalier hat. She’d met with Henry twice now, and both encounters had ended in a tavern with plenty of booze and plenty of stories. It was a friendship, of sorts, but now she was once again being escorted to Rose's mansion, to make her decision.

  “Me?” Henry said, tilting her head so Elaina could just see the sneer on her lips. “I’d fuckin’ run. Jump back on that little boat of yours an’ see what the other side of the world looks like. Take it from someone who accidentally started a rebellion once. Power ain’t what ya reckon it’ll be. Don’t mean ya get ta do what ya want all the time; means ya gotta do what every other fucker wants. Much better bein’ the knife in the darkness than waitin’ fer it ta come for you.” Henry finished with a cackling laugh.

  “Did Rose mean it?” Elaina said. It was the question she’d been wanting to ask Henry for the past three days. “Is he
r offer legitimate?”

  Henry sniffed and spat into the street. “Aye, she’ll make you a queen if she can. She’ll hold it over you fer as long as she can too. Bitch is smart.”

  Elaina glanced down at her. “Doesn’t sound like you like her much.”

  Henry laughed. “I don’t. I reckon she’s a treacherous little whore.”

  “Then…”

  “’Cos he does,” Henry interrupted. “Thorn’s earned more than his share of trust. Reckon ya know the way from here.”

  They were standing outside Rose’s mansion. The guards at the stop of the steps watched them, but at a nod from Henry they stepped aside to allow entry.

  “You’re not coming?” Elaina said.

  Henry’s cavalier hat shook. “Got my own place ta be. Part of her plan too, I reckon. Don’t let her haggle ya down. Anything she’s offerin’ is because she needs somethin’ from it. You’re the one with the shit ta offer, not her.” Henry spat once more into the dusty street and turned away, leaving Elaina alone.

  Trepidation seemed as good a word as any. Elaina was nervous, and that was because she was inclined to accept Rose’s proposal. The terms seemed good, but before she committed herself she needed to know just what the woman wanted from her in return.

  Raising her chin and putting purpose in her stride, Elaina climbed the steps and proceeded into the refreshing shade of Rose’s home. She hammered on the same door as before and waited for a response.

  The door opened, revealing a tall man in long white robes. He had short brown hair and bright yellow eyes that set Elaina’s skin crawling. He stared at her, a slow smile spreading across his face.

  “Reckon ya wanna be staring elsewhere, before I make you,” Elaina snarled.

  “I apologise, Captain Black,” the man said in a Sarth accent. He slipped out of the room. “Good day.”

  Elaina watched him walk away and felt a shiver travel up her spine.

  “Are you coming in, Elaina?” Rose called from inside the room, and Elaina turned and walked through the doorway, still feeling uneasy from the encounter with the robed man.

  “Have you come to a decision yet, my dear?”

  Rose was sitting behind her desk, fanning herself with a large paper triangle and looking very uncomfortable. Despite the obvious discomfort, she was still beautiful in a composed, powdered sort of way.

  “Not yet. Reckon we need to talk over a few points first.”

  Rose smiled and beckoned Elaina to the chair opposite the desk. “Do sit down, dear. We have water or wine if you would like. I always find negotiations go so much better with refreshments. I take it these are negotiations.”

  Elaina approached the chair and nodded. “Aye.”

  “Excellent. Then we’re already all but agreed.”

  “Where’s the Black Thorn?” Elaina said as she sat.

  “He has some business a bit further north. Besides, he hates negotiations like this. Not nearly enough stabbing for his tastes.”

  “Mine either,” Elaina said with a crooked grin.

  “I’m sure.” Rose shifted in her seat. She looked distinctly uncomfortable in her own skin. “I’m very sorry if I seem unsettled. It appears my daughter has her father’s restless spirit.”

  “This alliance,” Elaina prompted.

  “Yes,” Rose said. “With you. Not your father, and not with Drake Morrass. Just you.”

  “In the hope that I’ll be queen of the isles one day. What do you get out of it?”

  “A powerful ally,” Rose said with a genuine smile.

  Elaina laughed. None of the Blacks would claim to be the smartest folk on the ocean, but Elaina was as wily as her father and she recognised a bum deal when she saw one. She doubted the future queen of the Wilds would make an alliance without some immediate gain.

  “It could be years before my da shuffles off…”

  “Plenty of time to see your brother fall foul of a bad storm or an angry serpent.”

  “Or me.”

  “We wouldn’t want that. I’m sure you’ll survive us all, Elaina.”

  Elaina shook her head. “Life on the water is dangerous for even the most timid, and I ain’t that. No guarantee I’ll outlast Tanner, and your alliance with me means you get nothing ’til I’m the one on the throne. So what else is there? What else do you want?”

  Rose shifted in her seat, taking her glass and sipping rosy-coloured liquid from it. “An advance upon our alliance.”

  “Eh?”

  “My empire is in a dangerous period, Captain Black. I am fighting wars on more fronts than most people realise exist. Do you believe you pirates are the only ones experiencing pressure from Sarth or the Five Kingdoms?”

  Rose’s smile slipped, and for just a moment Elaina saw past the perfumed composure. In that moment Rose looked tired, worn thin by the rigours of building a kingdom, fighting for that kingdom, and pregnancy. But with just one deep breath Rose’s smile was back, and its viciousness was matched by the flashing danger in her eyes.

  “We have them feeling threatened, Captain,” Rose continued. “Their two empires have stood on top for too long. They believe themselves to be the peacekeepers of our world, controlling those weaker than themselves. For years they have hunted you pirates, keeping you small and scared of them with their purges. Hanging those they catch.”

  “Aye, well, we are outlaws,” Elaina conceded. “We do steal from them.”

  “Steal from them?” Rose said. “Is that what they would call confiscating a neighbouring empire’s wares for travelling through their lands without paying for the privilege?”

  “Huh?”

  “They sail your waters and give you nothing for the use. You don’t rob from them – you just take what you’re owed.”

  Elaina wasn’t sure that was the right of it, but it certainly painted the pirates in a much less damning light.

  “They have done us a similar injustice, Captain Black,” Rose continued. “For generations they have fuelled the hatred between the blooded families, supplying each of them with weapons, horses, even soldiers.”

  “Why?”

  “To keep them fighting. To keep the Wilds in turmoil and to stop us uniting under one banner. They are scared, Captain. Scared of us becoming another power in the world and realising we don’t need them. Just like Acanthia doesn’t need them. Just like the Dragon Empire doesn’t need them. There are four great empires of man in the world, and the last thing either Sarth or the Five Kingdoms wants is another.”

  “You want us to keep fighting,” Elaina said, sure of herself now. “We’re taking the heat away from you.”

  “Yes. You pirates are, on the surface, a much greater threat than I am. Every ship they throw at you makes it all the less likely they’ll sail up here and put another army on my field. Or even worse, give their support to that blooded arse, Niles Brekovich.

  “At the same time, every ship I do not lose to you pirates makes me that bit stronger.” Rose leaned forwards and fixed Elaina with a dark stare. “I need you to stop pirating my ships, and I need you to fight the bastards who are trying to kill you. If possible, I would like you to win.”

  “So why me? Why not my da, or Morrass?”

  “Because you are a woman, and because you are young, and because I can see ambition in you. I make no apologies for opinions. Drake may well be better suited to rule, but I do not trust what he might do with such power. All he has ever wanted was the crown and for others to call him king. All your father wants is to stop Drake from having whatever he wants. In you, I see someone unburdened by such pettiness.”

  Elaina licked her lips. She was certain she now knew the truth of it. “We needs ships, fighters, and food.”

  “Done,” Rose said without hesitation. “Ten ships, fully crewed and carrying stores of food. All sailing for you and no one else. I will need sixty days to prepare them. I presume you can hold out that long?”

  “Aye, though best make it ninety. I got another stop before home. My da
wants a similar alliance from the guilds of Larkos.”

  Rose laughed. “Good luck. The guilds give nothing without payment up front.”

  “Aye, well I’m better off trying than not, with my da.”

  A long silence blanketed the room. Rose narrowed her eyes and gave Elaina a queer stare. Eventually the Lady of Chade poured herself another glass of rosy liquid, and then a second for Elaina.

  “To our new alliance, Captain Black, and to both our empires.”

  Elaina took the glass and drank deeply. It was hard to believe, but she’d just secured herself a fleet of ships along with the crews to sail them and she’d offered so very little in return. There was no way her father could be disappointed in her now.

  “He won’t hang,” Elaina said. “My da. Come what may, he won’t hang.”

  Rose smiled, fanning herself again. “We’ll see.”

  Chapter 4 - North Gale

  Days passed without any sort of indication as to what was happening above decks. The brig was secured tighter than a virgin’s arse, and the only light came from the lanterns the guards carried when they fed and mocked the prisoners. For much of each day T’ruck was in near complete darkness, with only the scurrying of mice and the distant sounds of his own crew, to keep him company.

  He talked to his crew and learned that only twenty-two of them had survived the sinking of their ship. Three-quarters of them either died on the end of Five Kingdoms steel or drowned in the waters of the isles when Storm Herald ploughed through North Gale, splitting it right down the midsection.

  The door to the brig opened and light spilled in. A moment later a storm lantern poked through the opening, followed by the squat-faced guard whose uniform was slightly too short for him. T’ruck didn’t know the man’s name. He didn’t need to know the names of all the men he would kill. The guard sniffed the air and sighed.

  “Buckets need emptying again.”

  “It’s your turn,” someone else growled.

  “I say we just let them stew in it for a few days.” The squat-faced one laughed.