Karis struggled up out of sleep, feeling a heavy weight on his chest. He gasped and sat up. The weight was gone and he was alone in the darkness, Sayana having gotten up in the night to use the bathroom. She came back to bed and must have noticed him sitting up. “Karis? Is everything all right?” She laid down and tried to find a comfortable position to go back to sleep.
“Nightmare.” He took a few deep breaths. “I am fine, my heart. I am going to go get a drink and then I will be back.”
“All right.” She was already starting to doze off again. “Don’t stay up too long or you’ll make Imre angry.”
Karis slipped out of bed, pulled on his robe, and walked into the main room. He palmed on one of the small lights and poured himself a glass of wine. He sipped it, trying to forget the stifling weight that had been pressing against his ribs only moments before. He glanced at the chronometer. Three in the morning. He’d only been asleep for three and a half hours.
He sat on the couch with his glass of wine and began to mull over the dream. It didn’t feel like a dream. Something was wrong. He got up and went to the door. He opened it and looked at the very startled guards. “Get me Demetrios. I do not care if you have to wake him. I want to talk to him now.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” One of the several guards on duty stepped away from the door and walked purposefully down the hall.
Karis sat down and waited. Demetrios arrived and was let in by the guards. He was dressed, but it appeared he’d pulled his clothing on hastily. “How can I help you, Your Imperial Majesty?”
“I am sorry to rouse you, Demetrios.” Karis regarded his investigation minister solemnly. “I want to know if it is possible my psychic shielding has been breached.”
Demetrios looked at him. “I would like to say it’s impossible, but given who we’re up against, I won’t say anything is out of the realm of possibility. Do you suspect it has been?”
Karis told Demetrios about the nightmare. “I have had plenty of nightmares in my life, Demetrios. I was plagued by them as a teenager. That did not feel like an ordinary nightmare to me.”
Demetrios stepped out into the hall and spoke to one of the guards. He nodded and headed off. He returned to the room. “I’ve sent him to wake Ivanka. She can tell us for sure if your shields were broken or not. She’ll be a bit cranky. She prefers a full night’s sleep. All my psychics do. A tired psychic is a sloppy one, Ivanka says. But this is important.”
Ivanka arrived a short while later. Like Demetrios, her clothing had been hastily thrown on. “What is it, Demetrios?” She was more than a little cross. She saw who was sitting on the couch. “My apologies, Your Imperial Majesty. I’m not used to being woken up at such an early hour.”
“Ivanka, scan His Imperial Majesty.” Demetrios gestured at Karis. “Check his shields. We think they might have been breached tonight.”
“What?” Ivanka looked at Karis. “This may cause you some discomfort, Your Imperial Majesty. Especially if your shields have been compromised.”
Karis nodded. A moment later he felt a sharp stabbing behind his eyes. He fell forward, clutching his head. The pain stopped immediately. Demetrios walked over and supported Karis. “That confirms it. His shields are down. You shouldn’t have been able to do anything like that.”
“No, I shouldn’t.” Ivanka frowned. “Is Her Imperial Majesty still asleep?”
“She is.” Karis sat up, blinking back tears.
“Wake her. I want to check her shields as well.” Ivanka was obviously concerned.
Karis got up and went into the room. He roused Sayana. “My heart, Ivanka is here. She wants to test to see if your shields are still up.”
“My shields?” Sayana was confused. She was still half asleep.
“Mine are down.” Karis saw the look of shock on her face. He helped her up and she pulled her robe on and followed him out into the main room.
“Sit down, Your Imperial Majesty.” Ivanka gestured to the recliner. “You have your personal shields, which should hold against my touch. I want to see if the reinforcement we put in place is still there.” Sayana nodded. She sat in her favorite chair and waited. Karis saw her wince slightly. “Starflare, both of them are down. Her Imperial Majesty’s personal shields are still up, but they won’t hold against a concerted psychic attack.” She frowned. “That shouldn’t be possible. I know who set both of those shields.”
“Can we get them back up?” Demetrios looked at her with real worry.
“I need to go wake a few people.” Ivanka glanced towards the door. “Someone other than the two I had set the shields on Their Imperial Majesties originally. Hold on a moment.” She reached out and touched Karis. He felt an odd sensation behind his eyes. “That should be a good temporary measure until I get them awake and in here.” She did the same to Sayana. “They won’t hold against a strong attack, but they’re better than leaving the two of you completely open. I’ll be right back.” She spun on her heel and strode out of the room.
“What happened?” Sayana looked from Karis to Demetrios.
“My nightmare was a psychic attack.” Karis looked at her. “It occurred to me it was nothing like any nightmare I have ever had, and I had the guards wake Demetrios to ask him if my shields were down. He had them wake Ivanka. She discovered my shields were gone and had me wake you to check yours.”
Sayana’s hands went protectively over her stomach. “I’ll have them check the baby as well, Your Imperial Majesty.” Demetrios saw her concern. “When Ivanka gets back.”
Ivanka returned several minutes later with two psychics. “These are two of my most powerful psychics, Your Imperial Majesties. They’ll get you reset properly.”
The two psychics stepped up to Karis and Sayana. They placed their hands lightly on their heads. Karis felt that odd pressure behind his eyes again. This time it wasn’t painful. It took several minutes before the psychic working with him stepped back. “He’s set, and I’ve tied it into his subconscious, like we did with the princes. Now, even if he’s asleep or unconscious, the shield should stay up.”
“Thank you, Arun.” Ivanka nodded.
The woman working with Sayana stepped back. “She’s set as well. Her shields are already very good. It just took a little extra work to weave mine into them and connect them, so they’ll work in tandem.”
“Thank you, Miren.” Ivanka smiled.
“What about my baby?” Sayana looked at Miren anxiously.
Miren touched Sayana’s stomach. “She’s not in any distress, Your Imperial Majesty. Her mind is quite strong and healthy.” She frowned in concentration for a few minutes. “I’ve put a shield up around her as well. She may be more active for a little while as it’s a new sensation to her and she isn’t going to like it. But she should settle down quickly.”
Sayana winced. “I’m noticing the activity. But thank you. I didn’t want anything happening to her either.”
“I need to do some legwork to find out why they came down in the first place.” Ivanka looked at the other two psychics. “Arun, Miren, you two can go back to bed. Thank you for your help.” The two psychics nodded before leaving the room.
“Let me know what you find out. If he’s subverted the psychic corps, there’s no telling what trouble he’s causing. We may have to check the princes in the morning as well.” Demetrios was not happy about the situation.
“I think I’ll do that just to be on the safe side.” Ivanka was equally unhappy. “His primary targets may be Their Imperial Majesties. It doesn’t mean he won’t try to take out collateral damage if he can.”
Demetrios nodded. “If you need anything, make sure you tell me. I’ll do what I can.”
Ivanka nodded. She bowed to Karis and Sayana and left. “I do not like that there is a chance he has subverted the psychic corps.” Karis was now very uneasy.
“I don’t like it either, Your Imperial Majesty.” Demetrios looked at him reassuringly. “If he has, Ivanka will find out. There’s a reason she’s the one in charge. She’s probably the single most powerful psychic on the Throne World. That’s why I have her in that position.”
“Let me know what she finds out.” Karis knew he needed to know who else was at risk.
“I will, Your Imperial Majesty.” Demetrios bowed and left.
“Well, I do not know about you, but I doubt I am getting back to sleep after that.” Karis winced. “I have a horrible headache right now.”
“Have one of the guards get a doctor to give you something,” Sayana suggested.
“I think I will.” Karis went to the door and had one of the guards call for a doctor.
The doctor arrived and gave Karis a shot to help with the pain and admonished him to try to get some more sleep. Karis nodded but planned to ignore the man. Sayana was sipping her juice and reading something on her pad when he glanced over at her. She looked up at him. “I’m finishing that book on the fifth emperor. I’m not getting back to sleep any time soon after all that. Kaelea is turning somersaults right now anyway, so I need to do something while I wait for her to settle down.”
“I finally finished my other book. I think I will start reading that one.” Karis sat down with his glass of wine and began reading as well.
Imre and Ardatha came in with Vai and Faviola at the usual time when Sayana would be getting up to find them both sitting in their favorite spots, reading. “You’re both up early.” Ardatha looked concerned.
“Eventful night.” Karis looked up from his book.
“What happened?” Imre asked.
“It seems the psychic corps may have been subverted.” Karis grimaced. “One or two members of it at least have gone over to Menander. Our shields were taken down last night, and I was hit with a psychic attack.”
“Are you all right?” Ardatha looked at him worriedly.
“We are fine. The headache I got as a result of the whole mess is gone. We are shielded again.” Karis gave her a reassuring smile. “The boys are going to be tested today to make sure their shields are still up. We just were not able to get back to sleep after what happened.”
“When did you wake up?” Imre looked at him suspiciously.
Karis sighed. “I was woken up by the psychic attack at three, Imre. I woke Sayana up perhaps twenty to thirty minutes later.”
“You are canceling your audiences so the both of you can take a nap this afternoon.” It was clear Imre was not going to be argued with.
“I agree with Imre.” Ardatha gave them both a hard look.
“Does he always bully you like this?” Sayana looked up from her book with her amusement plain on her face.
“Usually he is not this overt, but yes, Imre takes his position as my personal caretaker very seriously.” Karis sighed. “Fine, Imre. Send word to the seneschal that the audiences are canceled for today.”
Imre pulled out his pad. “I’ve called Lucan and Adem. They’ll be here momentarily to get you ready for the day. You may have to fight your wife for the shower.”
“I can wait until she is out of it.” Karis glanced over at Ardatha and her sisters. “Go ahead, my heart. Get your shower and the scolding your ladies are itching to give you out of the way.”
Sayana looked over at her servants and sighed. “I think you’re right about the scolding. Come on. The least you can do is let me bathe first. You can complain at me about my lack of concern over my health while you help me dress for the council meeting this morning.” She got up and made her way into the bedroom, her three ladies following after her.
Adem and Lucan arrived. “Are we waiting for something, Your Imperial Majesty?” Adem noticed Karis didn’t immediately get up to go into the bedroom.
“We can go in, but I think my wife is probably still in the shower.” Karis knew it often took Sayana a while to bathe because of her hair.
“He’s due a talking to, so don’t let him get comfortable.” Imre looked at the other two servants.
Karis groaned. “I swear, the six of you are worse than nagging parents at times.”
“Six of us?” Adem grinned. “Oh, Ardatha and her sisters are having a word with the empress?”
“They are.” Karis nodded. “Or they will be when she gets out of the shower.”
“What did you do this time?” Lucan asked.
“Got up at three and did not go back to bed.” Karis shrugged.
“Your Imperial Majesty.” Adem gave him an exasperated look. “You know that’s not good for your health.”
“It was a bad night, Adem.” Karis was more than a little defensive. “Something happened and I had to rouse Sayana so it could be dealt with. We were too stressed to get back to sleep.”
Adem and Lucan just shook their heads. They waited until Vai stuck her head out. “Shower’s free, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“Thank you, Vai.” She nodded and ducked back into the bedroom.
“Come on, you two. Let’s get him into the shower. I can lecture him while we get him dressed.” Imre started towards the bedroom. Adem and Lucan snickered and followed Karis into the bedroom.
After getting cleaned up and dressed, and being given an impressive dressing down by Imre, Karis was ready for his day. Sayana had likewise been given a similar chastisement by Ardatha.
“I don’t want eggs this morning.” Sayana glared at the offending item and stabbed at it.
“What do you want, Your Imperial Majesty?” Ardatha was her usual calm self despite Sayana’s foul mood and waited patiently for Sayana’s request.
“Those bread muffin things I like so much and jam and a little fruit.” Sayana looked at her. “I’m not that hungry.”
“I’ll be right back then, Your Imperial Majesty.” Ardatha left the room.
“My heart, do not let their lecture make you so irritable this morning. They truly do care a great deal about you.” Karis reached out and touched the back of her hand.
Sayana took a deep breath and let it out again. “You’re right. I think it’s just being pregnant that is making me so moody. Everything annoys me right now. Even this glass of juice. I remember feeling this way with Ethian too. I was huge, ungainly, and felt hideous all the time.”
“I do not think you are ugly, my heart. I think you are as beautiful as you have always been.” Karis meant that sincerely. She was as stunningly gorgeous to him now as she’d always been.
Sayana smiled wanly at him. “I wish the court would stop making rude comments about my size. The doctors aren’t concerned with how big I am.”
“No, they are not. You’re not overweight. They are no longer pushing you to eat more because you are underweight either. You are exactly where you need to be.” Karis took her hand. “Do not let people drag you down, my Sayana. I love you no matter what. That is all that should matter.”
Sayana’s smile was a little brighter. “You’re right, Karis. Thank you.”
Ardatha returned a little while later with a much smaller breakfast tray. It held Sayana’s coveted breakfast pastries, a pot of jam, and some cut up fruit. Sayana happily ate her breakfast as Karis finished his. When she was finished, she made sure she was free of crumbs and stickiness before taking his hand and following him out of the suite.
Karis led her to the council chamber. The council meeting was short and to the point, and they decided to go visit the enclave instead of immediately returning to their rooms. They found Ivanka in there with Arun and Miren, testing the princes. They watched silently as one by one each of the princes was tested.
“They’re still good.” Arun turned to Ivanka. “Their shields are intact.”
“What is going on?” Fallon asked.
“There was an incident last night that led to us discovering Their Imperial Majesties’ psychic shields had been taken down.” Ivanka looked at the princes. “We reset them, but we needed to make sure yours were still up.”
“Are they all right?” Jair asked.
“We are fine, Jair.” Karis answered for them both. “I had a bizarre nightmare, which is what tipped me off to the fact that something was wrong. Ivanka discovered my shields were down and I woke Sayana, which is how we discovered hers were gone as well.”
“Is Kaelea all right?” Meinard asked.
“She’s shielded now too.” Ivanka smiled. “She probably gave Her Imperial Majesty a bad time last night.”
“She did, for about an hour.” Sayana winced.
Miren nodded. “I did warn you she was going to be active for a while.”
“You did. There’s not a lot of room for her to move and she was extremely agitated for a while after we put the shield on her mind.” Sayana put a hand on her stomach.
“As long as everyone is all right.” Ethian was relieved.
“We are for now, but if the psychic corps has been subverted, we will not be safe.” Karis remained concerned about that.
“Demetrios should fill you in on this later today.” Ivanka looked over at him. “We caught the two who were our problems. They are being questioned now. Demetrios knew we couldn’t do it psychically. He ordered alternative means. He knew you’d probably not approve, but a psychic as powerful as those two are, we can’t scan them.”
Karis felt the familiar cold lump in his stomach. “He knows better what to do than I would have in that situation. I trust his judgment in this.”
Ivanka nodded. “Well, we’ll leave you to get back to your regular activities.” She and the other two psychics turned and left.
“Father, what did she mean alternative means?” Hanzo asked.
“Torture, Hanzo.” Fallon answered before Karis could speak. “She meant torture.”
“You condone the use of violence to secure confessions?” Hanzo was shocked by this.
“Only in certain circumstances.” Karis knew he needed to explain some things to his sons. “When you learn about your grandfather, you will learn he never used psychics and only used torture. I refuse to be like him. I use psychics when possible. If the situation makes it impossible to use them, I will resort to physical means to get answers. Only if I have strong evidence of guilt already though. I do not use it to force false confessions out of the innocent, Hanzo. Again, that was something your grandfather did, and I refuse to emulate him.”
“Is this another one of those hard decisions that an emperor must make?” Ethian asked.
“It is, Ethian.” Karis met Ethian’s eyes. “You must judge when to use certain levels of force. If you react too slowly, it could mean lost lives. If you react too quickly, you risk becoming a monster. This is why I take the use of those alternative methods Ivanka mentioned very seriously.”
“Does it bother you at all, Sayana? The use of torture?” Fallon asked.
“I don’t like it at all.” Sayana was apparently going to be honest with the boys like he was. “Like Karis has said, however, I am learning that sometimes there are no other options if you want to put an end to the trouble that brews endlessly in court. He does not use it lightly. I have never seen him order it without having some kind of reason behind what he’s doing. Not just the fact that he feels they are guilty of some crime. They must present a very real danger to either us or to the empire before he will use it. Even then, he checks with Demetrios first to see if it’s possible to use the psychics.”
“It is not just there to be used on a whim.” Fallon looked between the two adults. “It is a tool to be used carefully and only at strategic moments.”
“Exactly, Fallon.” Karis appreciated his oldest son’s ability to see things so clearly. “You cannot take back what you do to someone if you send them to the torturers. If there is even the slightest chance they may be innocent, find some other means to get the information. If they are guilty, and you just need that little bit extra evidence to finalize the proof and the psychics have failed, then consider using them as a last resort.”
“Are they really called the torturers?” Ethian asked.
“Their official title is inquisitors, like the rest of the group.” Karis looked at the princes. “Internally, though, everyone knows what they are and none of us mince words. It is the psychics and the torturers when we want something done. Officially I do not have a psychic corps either, though the court at least knows I do. Most people outside the palace have no idea what goes on in the inquisitors and that is the way we prefer to keep it. If someone is considered a serious enough threat to the empire that they’re sent to Demetrios, the intelligence minister, for processing, it is bad enough that they are probably not leaving alive.”
“Demetrios has an official title?” Meinard asked. “I just thought he was the spymaster.”
“He is, Meinard.” Karis saw the boys were interested and continued explaining Demetrios’ position. “He is also in charge of all the intelligence operations in the galaxy. His bureaucracy, under my father, was the smallest and most underfunded and undermanned in the government. I expanded his reach, and it has helped solve over five thousand unsolved cases in the last four years. Most were done with very few resources on our end, but we had access to the one thing local law enforcement did not have and that made all the difference to them. Some of these cases were decades old and went back to my grandfather’s day.”
The warmasters came in. “Are the psychics through with you?” Reynard asked. He saw who they were talking to. “Good morning, Your Imperial Majesties.”
“They were done with them a few minutes ago. We were just discussing some things with them.” Karis nodded to the warmasters. “We will not keep them from their training any longer, Reynard.”
“Father, I do have one more question.” Jair gestured to the enclave. “Will this continue after we turn eighteen?”
“It will continue until Ethian turns eighteen. Once all five of you have turned eighteen, the lessons with the warmasters and your current scholar teachers will cease. You will be given an Imperial scholar who will then teach you about politics and Imperial history so you will know what you need to get by at court.” Karis wanted to be sure his sons were as well educated as he could get them. Jair nodded, and the princes followed the warmasters into the training room.
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