Page 146 of A Drop of Corruption

Once more she plucked out the bizarre, syncopated song. Prince Camak looked up and tried his hardest to keep a firm face. A twitch emerged in his cheek; then he began to quake and tremble, until finally he lost all control of himself, and he screamed at the top of his lungs, a long, unearthly, disturbing cry. He fell back upon the throne, hands pressed to his ears, thrashing his legs.

“Stop it!” he shrieked. “Make it stop, make it stop! Please, stop, stop, stop!”

Pavitar stared at him, astonished. “Prince…Prince Camak,” he said. “Your Majesty, why do you—”

Ana ceased her playing. “Is it not obvious, Pavitar? I told you that Sunus Pyktis is the son of the king—but in truth, the relation goesfar further than that! For Pyktis is actually the prince’s brother, hisperfect twin! The two shared a womb, and indeed look almost exactly alike!”

Again, the soldiers about the hall began muttering, though now there was an anxious tone to it.

“No!” said Pavitar. “No, I will not listen to this!”

“Are not twins and tripletsunusuallydominant in the royal bloodline, Pavitar?” demanded Ana. “And have you ever seen the prince respond in such a fashion to music? I suspect you haven’t, true?”

Pavitar’s face was troubled, but he shook his head. “It is a mad suggestion! I have known the prince since childhood, and I would know if another had taken his place!”

“Doyou know him so well?” asked Ana. “For I once theorized that the true Sunus Pyktis would be marked by blotley welts. This corpse before me bears their stings, true—but perhaps check the prince’s arms and chest, and see if you can find any there!”

“Then that shall be an easy thing!” said Pavitar. He turned to the prince. “Raise your sleeve, Your Majesty, and put these people in their place!”

Yet the prince did not move. He hesitated, swallowed, and said, “I…I will not.”

Pavitar blinked. “Your Majesty?” he asked.

“I will not do so,” said the prince stolidly. “I will not give any credit to…to these wild accusations.”

“You see?” said Ana. “He refuses.”

Pavitar took a step toward the throne. “Prince Camak, I…You need only raise your sleeve, Your Majesty. With that, all can be finished here.”

The prince blinked. He opened his mouth, thought for a moment, and said, “I want them thrown from the hall. I want them thrown from the hall for these claims, because they…they…”

All the pride and indignation began to leak from Pavitar’s bearing. “Why do you hesitate, my prince?” he asked. “Why would you not show me?”

“He can’t, Pavitar,” said Ana slyly. “Because if he did, you wouldsee…and then you would know whose bodyreallylies in that box.”

Pavitar stared at the man in the throne. Then he turned to gaze at the chest containing the corpse, and a dreadful horror filled his face.

The prince saw this and froze.

Then he changed.

First the prince’s entire body seemed to go limp, and he collapsed in his throne, his head falling to the side. It was as if his flesh and bones were the stuff of a puppet, mere matter to be tugged about by invisible strings, yet all the strings had been suddenly severed; but not his eyes. His eyes filled with a flat, cold, brutal intelligence, and they swiveled in his slack face to stare at Ana. So stark was the change that some in the chamber gasped at the sight of it.

I understood then: he had ended his performance, ceased sending out all the signals and gestures and motions that suggested Prince Camak inhabited that body. Now he was something very different: Sunus Pyktis, augur of the Shroud.

His mouth shut with a click. He slowly sat up, again like he was being pulled by an invisible string. Then he whistled, a low, curious note.

Then blades were drawn and the entire hall fell into chaos.

—

I saw the swordsglinting in the firelight. In an instant, the green blade was in my hand, and I leapt forward.

Half of the royal guard of Yarrow—some dozen men in total—now sprang forward and attacked, all at once. Their targets were many: they leapt for their fellow guards, who were quickly struck down, astonished; they attacked Jari Pavitar, who barely managed to unsheathe his own sword; and they moved for Ana, who sat calmly before the throne and Pyktis.

Yet the wardens and I were moving as well; for Ana, of course, had predicted this.He will have seeded traitors and brigands among the court,she’d told us.Only when he is sure all is lost shall he call upon their aid.

The first soldier to leap for Ana was met with an arrow to themouth, and he stumbled to the ground, choking; somewhere behind me I heard Malo let loose a wicked, triumphant cry. The second soldier I met with my green blade and struck down quickly and easily. Yet as I readied to face the third and raised my sword, he was struck down by not another arrow but by the short sword of Jari Pavitar, who was screaming in rage.