“Can’t indulge myself much these days, Signum,” he admitted. “Too much wine leads to too many, ah, afflictions. And social events cause no end of headaches.” A weary smile. “Enjoy it now, while you have it.”
“Do you mind me asking, sir…When did you start having afflictions?” I asked.
“Oh, when I was about fifteen or twenty years older than you. So you have some time still. Though it’s moments like these that make it worthwhile. Engrave this victory deeply, boy. It will be a treasure to you.”
I said nothing.
“But…I suspect you are likely pained by the way it ended.” His tired eyes lingered on me. “Not all who perpetrated injustice have met justice, after all.”
“No, sir,” I said. “They have not.”
“No.” Uhad sighed. “But righteousness rarely finds ones so powerful. They are critical to the Empire, and use their importance to gain more power, and grow all the more unassailable. It irks me. It always has. But I shall let it irk me no more.” He smiled wearily. “My time as a Sublime is finally at an end.”
“You’re being relinquished from duty, sir?” I asked.
“Oh, yes. This was my last investigation. I shall retreat to a small plot of land in the first ring of the Empire and spend my last few days partaking in what peace I can find there.”
I was surprised he could afford such a place. The first ring of the Empire was the most protected enclave of all of Khanum. To hear that Uhad could buy his way into such a paradise was quite startling.
“Though I do wish I could keep serving, frankly,” he confessed. “Anyway…Ana tells me you are remarkably skilled at making tea. Is that so?”
“Oh. Somewhat, sir.”
“Have you even had the chance for a cup during all this madness?”
“Not in a while. Though we did bring the kettle, of course.”
“What a pity. You and Ana are both owed some reprieve. Though you must make me a cup before I go.” He bowed. “I will pester you no more and shall leave you to form some more pleasant memories than these tonight, Signum. I suspect many will wish to congratulate you.” He glanced over my shoulder. “And some come right soon.”
Commander-Prificto Vashta then swept through the crowd, flanked by a half-dozen officers so elite I felt my whole body go stiff with shock. “Here he is,” she said, smiling a smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes. “Here is our victorious Iudex signum, who helped end our rash of horrid poisonings…Signum Kol, we’ve many here who’d like to learn how you managed this miracle!”
The many officers looked at me expectantly. I glanced back at Uhad, only to find he was already gone.
* * *
—
THE NIGHT WENT on, dripping by in the humid, spice-soaked air. Vashta wielded me about like a lucky talisman, introducing me to Engineering and Legion officers, proclaiming my accomplishments, eager to assuage everyone’s anxieties after the breach. The officers all bowed low and offered me thanks, and blessings, and wine, shaking my hand and claiming my victory was full of good portent. Their praise did not hang easily on me, and eventually I began bowing low so they couldn’t see the strained smile on my face.
Finally a Legionnaire approached Vashta, whispering news from the walls. She thanked me for my attendance and released me. It was late by now. The crowd was thinning out around me, and the lanterns growing dark. I was exhausted, and felt a liar after such merriment and congratulations. I moved to leave, then stopped.
One Legionnaire stood alone below the visage of the emperor: the one whose brow had been touched and kissed by the three holy men. He stood with a somber expression on his face, staring out at the dwindling crowd, his face streaked with holy blood and oils and paints, his shoulders streaming with colored ribbons and cloths.
Then he looked at me, and I realized it was Captain Strovi.
He went still at the sight of me. I looked back. It was not until that moment, stripped of all the signals of rank and status, that I realized how Strovi looked at me, and perhaps had looked at me all this time.
I smiled at him. He returned the smile, faintly relieved. He gestured to himself and shrugged, as if to say—Can you believe what they’ve put me in?
I laughed. I gazed back at the lingering crowd. Then I set down my sotwine and walked over to him.
Strovi grinned ashamedly as I approached. “You know, they tell us all about the sacred ways of getting into this gear,” he said. “But never how to get out of it.”