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\epigraph{``My dear Betrayer, I resent this accusation of selling you out to
the heroes. No coin changed hands, it was really more of a bartering.''}{Dread Emperor Traitorous}



``I shouldn't need to bring up the grave consequences that would of
dealing with that entity in any way,'' Vivienne noted calmly.

Maybe a little too calmly, I thought. She wasn't angry -- I'd learned to
read that in her -- but she was\ldots{} weary, maybe. Like she was
seeing the same lay of the land I did, and was horrified at what might
come of it.

``Heh,'' Indrani said. ``\emph{Grave} consequences. You know, because
he's the Dead --''

``Masego,'' I interrupted. ``Would you please smack her?''

``Do I get to pick where?'' Archer leered.

There was a pause.

``No,'' Hierophant replied pensively, and tried to slap the back of her
head.

He ended up caught in a wristlock instead, and the two of them toppled
to the floor when he called on sorcery to try to toss her away. The two
of them fell wriggling as Indrani tried to get on top -- no surprise
\emph{there}, I mused -- and the council was forced off the road until
Hakram rose to his feet, grabbed a water pitcher with a sigh and upended
it on them both. Archer yelped, Masego looked peeved and I turned the
droplets freezing cold out of petty spite.

``Back in your seats,'' I ordered.

I looked away even as Masego evaporated the water on his robes,
pretending deafness when Archer asked him to to the same for her.
Juniper growled, which got both their attentions. \emph{Both of you
could kill her with barely any effort}, I thought amusedly. \emph{But
all she needs to do is growl a bit, and you straighten your backs}.

``Militarily speaking, cooperation with the Kingdom of the Dead would be
both boon and threat,'' the Hellhound said. ``Its armies have been
strong enough to weather five crusades: there's no way the Proceran
borders can hold if he comes out in force.''

``Which would leave us with a fresh liability,'' Hakram said calmly,
seated again. ``Namely, that the Dead King would be out in force.''

``Forget armies,'' Thief said flatly. ``If it becomes known we struck a
pact with the Hidden Horror there is not a nation on Calernia that will
be willing to treat with us. The cost of that absurdly dangerous
alliance would be that we are made pariahs forevermore. I cannot stress
this enough: even the summoning of demons would go over better. The only
person to have ever struck alliance with the Dead King was Dread Empress
Triumphant at the peak of her power. That will be the precedent everyone
sees us through, from that point on.''

``We're already fucking pariahs, Thief,'' Juniper grunted. ``I won't
pretend working with the Horror would be pastries and flower crowns, but
let's be honest: what would we actually \emph{lose}?''

``Any semblance of legitimacy, for one,'' Vivienne hissed.

``I do not speak in endorsement,'' Hakram said mildly, cutting through
before it could escalate. ``But Juniper is not incorrect. We are in
varying states of hostility with the Empire, the Principate, the
Dominion and the Thalassocracy. The League has already refused to
negotiate with us, twice. It may be that situation will change in the
future, but it has not yet. As it stands the costs of this decision
would not be a direct loss, only the denial of possible change.''

``Eh, no need to trumpet it around anyway. We could just be secret
allies,'' Archer said. ``Doesn't the old guard love that kind of stuff?
He'd probably go for it.''

I sipped at my aragh, leaning back into my chair. Indrani wasn't wrong.

``There's more than a few steps between alignment -- however temporary
-- and alliance,'' I finally said. ``Ideally, we would use the King as a
distraction with full deniability. I don't think anyone in this room
wants him to actually \emph{win} in any measurable manner. If he can
launch a failed invasion that takes the pressure off Callow, though,
that might be a notion worth entertaining.''

``If the dead cross the lakes into northern Procer, it will be
butchery,'' Vivienne said coldly. ``Hannoven might be able to resist,
heavily fortified as it is, but Cleves and Hainaut? They'll break,
Catherine. You know this. Hundreds of thousands murdered and made into
abominations. Akua's Folly, forged anew half a dozen times.''

``It would be,'' I said slowly. ``If they were taken by surprise.''

There was a long moment of silence in the room.

``Are you proposing,'' Juniper gravelled, ``that we \emph{double-cross}
the Dead King?''

``I mean,'' I hedged, ``I wouldn't put it exactly like that.''

``That means yes,'' Masego helpfully informed Archer in a whisper.
``It's the Callowan uprising. She doesn't like to admit to betrayal.''

The Hellhound opened her mouth then closed it, licking her lips.
Solemnly, she reached for the bottle of aragh and poured until her cup
was nearly overflowing.

``If you would elaborate, please,'' Thief said quietly.

``So we have a nice chat with Trismegistus,'' I said. ``Shake hands,
kiss his dead babies -- let's not kid ourselves, he's bound to have a
few of those -- and plan an offensive. We leak the plan to Procer at
least a month ahead, enough time so they can evacuate everything. We
time it correctly and Malanza's army will be in a position to march
north to fight a delaying action until the rest of the crusaders can
reinforce her.''

Juniper choked on her drink.

``Hasenbach would have to send most her armies to hold the north,''
Hakram said quietly. ``And suddenly we gain a great deal of leverage.
The Army of Callow could easily strike her back and collapse her supply
lines. Or, if she makes peace with us, ferry her armies through Arcadia
before either Cleves or Hainaut is entirely overrun.''

``There would still be a great many deaths,'' Vivienne said, but she was
hesitating.

``No civilians, though,'' I said. ``Soldiers. Loss of property as well,
but I'm less than sympathetic to the monetary plight of princes trying
to invade my homeland. We can limit the terms of engagement for the Dead
King as part of our deal.''

``That will no longer hold the moment we betray him,'' Thief reminded
me.

``We can delay that until Procer's in a position to give a good fight,''
I said.

``It should be remembered,'' Hakram said. ``That if it ever comes out we
were involved in the matter, we'll be discarding every scrap of goodwill
we have so far accumulated through our restraint.''

``We'll deny it. Not like they'll have proof, so it'll be the Hidden
Horror's word against ours if he even bothers to say anything. And, to
be blunt, Juniper's not wrong. Goodwill hasn't cut it so far,'' I
admitted. ``And I think we could get a lot of it back by throwing in
with the crusade against the Kingdom of the Dead, even if it comes to
that. If it takes leverage to get things done, Hakram, I'm willing to go
that far.''

``I don't like it,'' Vivienne said. ``This\ldots{} scheme is not as bad
as I first thought it would be, but playing with fire doesn't do the
danger of it justice.''

``Neither do I,'' I said. ``And I think we can all agree this is a last
ditch plan, not the first arrow out of the quiver. I'd much rather cut a
deal with Hasenbach herself or the Pilgrim if I can, and I intend to try
that as soon as this council is done. But if they're not game, then I
think we have to seriously consider this.''

I met her eyes unflinchingly, and saw the war taking place behind them.
Between the patriot and the decent woman. Better than anyone else in
this room, she knew how dangerous the army standing on the other side of
the Vales would be to Callow. Thief had always been lukewarm about
making treaties with Procer, reminding me there was a reason \emph{Red
The Flowers} was a popular song in the country to this day. On the other
hand, she was not a killer. She had killed, to be sure, and arranged the
death of others. But it was not in her nature, and unlike me she'd never
grown used to it. Making common cause with something like the Dead King,
no matter how false the premises, ran against the grain for her. There
was a reason it was to her I'd handed the means to kill me. Of all the
Woe, she was the only one I could trust to pull the trigger if it came
down to it. Her moral compass wasn't exactly pristine. I knew that. She
was, after all, a thief. And capable of dark things to keep Callow
whole. But she'd yet to lose that spark of decency that none of my other
friends could truly claim to have. Not even Hakram, for all that I loved
him more than any other. The moment passed, and I did not need to wait
to know which part of her had won. The repugnance on her face made it
clear enough.

``Before this plan is seriously entertained, there is a great deal to
address,'' Thief said.

\emph{Your people becoming warped by your presence}, the Grey Pilgrim
had said. \emph{Old traits grown more vicious and acute.} Was I slowly
breaking down my own contingency? I shivered in a way that had nothing
to do with cold.

``Agreed,'' Hakram said. ``Namely, why the invitation at all?''

Juniper set down her cup and it rang empty against the table. She wiped
her mouth.

``That's had me wondering,'' the Hellhound said. ``It doesn't seem like
he'd need us, at first glance. Out of all his possible allies the gates
make us arguably the most immediately useful for an offensive in Procer,
but our strategic value is limited.''

I glanced at the two bickerers in the back, since this part of the
conversation was exactly why they were here. Masego as our expert in all
thins arcane, one who'd had access to Tower archives to boot, and Archer
as the pupil of one of the few people who was known to have entered the
Kingdom of the Dead and returned.

``I can tell you a few things about how Keter is run, and the lay of the
city,'' Indrani said. ``But not much more than that. The Lady speaks
fondly of him, but that's not surprising -- he's probably one of the few
entities kicking around she can't kill.''

Less than useful. I glanced at Hierophant, who was frowning.

``The only precedent I can think of for the Dead King making alliance is
Dread Empress Triumphant,'' he said. ``He was not her equal, but neither
was he her vassal. During none of the crusades directed at his realm did
he seek Praesi assistance.''

``He's launched offensives into Procer before,'' Juniper said. ``We have
records of the battles. But they always seemed more like large-scale
raids to me. Cities were sacked more to grab people than to grab
territory, and I can't recall an instance he went deeper south than
northern Brabant.''

``\emph{Three Hundred Years Against the Dark}, Amalia Holtzen,'' Hakram
murmured. ``I have read the volumes as well, and always found the
mentions of his presence with the armies to be somewhat dubious. Nowhere
as powerful as a necromancer of his purported strength should be.
Chronicles are the crusades are hard to get by, for us, but in those
he's said to have fought heroes. There can be no comparison between the
power displayed there and in Holtzen's volumes.''

``He can raise Named with some of their power still attached,'' Archer
said suddenly. ``The Lady's fought a few.''

I blinked at Indrani. Was she implying that Ranger took walks into a
poisonous undead-infested wasteland just so she could scrap with -- I
forced myself not to think about that too deeply. Ranger was fucking
insane, trying to figure her out would lead me nowhere.

``You're implying he hasn't led his armies in person since Triumphant,''
I said, eyeing the others.

``Father has long suspected he cannot easily leave the Hell he rules,''
Masego noted. ``Though the scarcity of solid information on the entity
prevents this from being proper theory. The Tower has suppressed most
writings ascribed to Trismesgitus since Dread Emperor Revenant was
overthrown.''

His brow creased, after that, but he said nothing.

``Hierophant?'' I pressed.

``It would-`` he began, then stopped and sighed. ``There have been
always been rumours of some High Lords having records of the Secret Wars
that Dread Empress Maleficent the Second never managed to erase.''

``The what?'' Indrani said, leaning forward.

``Bunch of Emperors tried to invade the Dead King's personal hellscape
through hell,'' I told her. ``Malicia mentioned them to me once. It went
about as well as you'd expect. Maleficent the Second loosed a bunch of
demons to erase the whole mess, since it was bad enough Ater itself was
about to be invaded.''

``That would have been\ldots{}'' Thief said slowly. ``Well, I doubt
there's a word harsh enough for it.''

``Yeah, there's a reason Imperial histories aren't bedside reading,'' I
said. ``Unless you enjoy vivid nightmares, anyway. I think I get what
you're trying to avoid saying, Masego. If any Praesi city has those
records, it'll be Wolof.''

The dark-skinned mage inclined his head in agreement.

``It has always been the heart of sorcery in the Wasteland,'' he said.

I thumbed the collar of my cloak. Where the soul of the former heiress
to Wolof was currently kept in captivity.

``Diabolist might know more, then,'' I sighed.

``She doesn't deserve to get out again,'' Vivienne said darkly.

``It' be a simpler world,'' I said, ``if people always got what they
deserved.''

I breathed out slowly.

``I grant you leash,'' I said. ``I grant you eyes and ears, tongue and
feet, at my sufferance.''

Akua Sahelian made her entrance with the languid grace of a cat at play.
My eyes narrowed immediately. There should have been hole in her chest
where I'd ripped out her heart with my bare hands, but she stood intact
before me. More than that. No dress of red and gold clung to her form:
she wore instead a long gown of trailing darkness, jewels of pure frost
glittering around her neck.

``Your Dread Majesty,'' Diabolist bowed, smiling pleasingly.

``Huh,'' Archer said. ``Even dead she's still a looker.''

I blinked, eyes turning to Indrani.

``You can \emph{see} her?'' I hissed.

Masego inhaled sharply.

``Anchor,'' he said, sounding reluctantly impressed. ``You made your own
prison into an \emph{anchor}. That is impressive.''

``A compliment from a practitioner of your skill is worth hearing,''
Akua said, inclining her head in respect.

``Yes, Cat,'' Archer contributed helpfully. ``We can see her.''

I glanced at Vivienne, whose fists had tightened so harshly the knuckles
were turning white. Still and silent, she was glaring at Diabolist.

``Akua,'' I said flatly. ``Explain.''

``She devoured part of the mantle, I would say, and wove herself into
its very fabric,'' Masego said before she could reply.

``An accurate assumption,'' Diabolist agreed.

``And so now you're\ldots{} healed?'' I guessed.

``Bandaged might be more accurate a term,'' she suggested.

``With Winter,'' I murmured. ``Interesting.''

I drummed my fingers against the table and exerted my will. Her hand
rose, her eyes widened in surprise and she began choking herself.

``That seems unnecessary,'' Masego said as the sound of rough
strangulation filled the room.

``I wouldn't have been able to do that before,'' I replied without
looking at him.

My eyes were still on Akua.

``Nothing without a price, eh Diabolist?'' I said calmly. ``You've given
me a much deeper hold, with that little trick.''

``She cannot die through this,'' Hierophant sighed. ``Only feel pain,
which a caster of her calibre would have long learned to ignore.''

I released my hold and her hand fell as she weakly caught her breath.

``I've not grown any fonder of surprises, Akua,'' I noted. ``You're
rapidly heading towards a place where your occasional usefulness is
inferior to the risk you pose. I shouldn't need to tell you the
consequences of that, should it come to pass.''

Diabolist bowed deeply.

``Your chastisement has been heard,'' she said.

``Might want to do that again, just to be sure,'' Thief said, smiling
viciously.

``If you want to tear out butterfly wings, do it on your own time,''
Juniper grunted. ``Sahelian, do you have knowledge of the Dead King?''

``I have made study of him as a worthy example,'' Akua replied. ``The
horrors he has wrought are second to none.''

``What does he want?'' Hakram asked plainly. ``As an entity, what is he
after?''

The dark-skinned beauty -- Archer, much as it pained me to admit it,
wasn't wrong about that part -- cocked her head to the side. Thief's
fingers clenched even tighter.

``I am bereft of context,'' Diabolist said. ``And so cannot make
accurate assessment. A creature whose existence has covered the span of
millennia cannot be summarized in a single sentence.''

Eyes went to me. No one was going to release information to the shade
without my say so.

``He's invited Cat to Keter to discuss an alliance or something like
that,'' Indrani said, picking at her fingernails.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. Of course she would. Archer wasn't one
to keep her mouth shut around a pretty anything, much less about things
she barely cared about.

``How interesting,'' Akua Sahelian drawled, and there was a glimmer of
something wicked in her eyes. ``I suspect that what Trismegistus seeks
is a return of the favour. An invitation.''

I exerted my will and she slapped herself across the face.

``Once more,'' I said, ``only without the smug cryptic boasting.''

``You used to have a better sense of humour,'' Diabolist sighed.

I raised an eyebrow and eyed her hand. She got on with it.

``This is supposition, I must warn,'' Akua said. ``In matters
Trismegistan, certainty is scarce luxury. It is known to my bloodline
that the Dead King took the field to lead his armies during the Secret
Wars. An event without reflection in his many petty wars with the
Principate.''

I studied her.

``You're implying there's conditions to him being able to leave his
personal hell,'' I finally said.

``Indeed,'' Akua agreed. ``When crusades laid siege to his realm he took
the field to humble the Heavens, yet never when he sought to break
Procer. If, indeed, he ever sought such a thing at all. This absence
might have been taken a weakness of contentment with what he has already
achieved, if he had not also fought the Legions across a dozen
hellscapes in person. I believe that asymmetry in action to be
indicative of a\ldots{} restraint. A leash, if you would.''

There was a spark of humour in her dark eyes when she spoke that last
sentence looking at me.

``He was allied with Triumphant, during her conquest of the continent,''
Hakram said quietly. ``Histories have always seen that as Evil standing
with Evil. But considering this\ldots{}''

``It might have been a condition,'' I finished. ``To let him out at
all.''

``That sounds,'' Indrani grinned, ``like \emph{leverage}.''