Kevlin stepped into the immense open space under the Great Dome and paused again to stare. After leaving the citadel, he'd wandered the inner city, exploring while mulling over the mission to track down the hidden enemy.
The problem was, they didn't know who the enemy was. The palace complex was so vast, the lack of direction left him feeling uneasy and irritable. Worse, Leander had made him drive away all his magic before he left the citadel.
Now he stepped out of the flow of foot traffic and paused beside a thirty-foot mural. The beautiful painting depicted the cliffs of Tamera from the sea, with the Great Dome shining high above everything else. He wasn't sure why the artist felt they could enhance the awe-inspiring view from the inside of the Great Dome with a painting of a view from miles away.
Kevlin scanned the railed walkways and balconies that ringed the lower half of the dome. He'd have to figure out how to get up there. The view would be magnificent. If he dropped a watermelon from such a height, he could probably cover half the room with fruit. Maybe he could convince Drystan to try it.
Above the highest level of balconies, a series of wide, stained-glass windows ringed the dome. Colored light streamed in through the western windows. Higher still, the dome reared in unbroken glory to a circular window set in the very top. It looked tiny, but probably spanned twenty paces. The vertical ribs that formed the skeleton of the dome were cleverly incorporated into gigantic murals painted across the inside of the dome.
Kevlin stared until his neck started to hurt. He was surprised no entrepreneurial official had brought out a dozen couches for rent to make the viewing easier. Then again, bureaucrats and imagination didn't usually go together.
The murals varied so much in style and content that for the first time he wished he knew something about painting. Two murals alone, set across from each other on the north and south ends of the dome, consumed a tenth of all of the painted space. They both depicted pivotal battle scenes from the empire's history.
The one on the north showed in spectacular detail the five day battle that drove the Sigrun and their armies out of the far western borderlands in the early days of the empire. It detailed the shattering of those lands, complete with exploding mountains and gaping fissures.
The southern mural depicted the decisive battle in the last great war when the Grakonian armies were overrun, led by the Six. It included a giant image of Antigonus wielding Tia Khoa, with ribbons of blue fire connecting him to the Six.
Flanking the massive battle murals were paintings done in soft colors and vague images, a style popular in the last century. Kevlin found little value in the murals even though they most likely contained some sort of symbolic meaning. He was too much of a realist.
Why paint a fuzzy woman? If she was as good looking as the artist suggested, who wouldn't want to see more detail? If she was ugly, well he could understand it then. He wondered if the entire style had arisen because one influential artist hadn't wanted to offend his wife.
The rest of the dome was covered with dozens of different scenes in as many styles, including various bearers of the Six. There were paintings of the gods, although they featured far less than Kevlin would have expected.
When his neck cramped from looking up so long, he scanned the other awed dome-gazers like himself. Then he turned his gaze to the sea of humanity flowing past.
How could they ferret out the traitors? It was unlikely that Tanathos was hidden in the inner city. Harafin would find him. If Tanathos had indeed penetrated the shield matrix, he'd try again. The key was identifying the traitors who helped him.
Kevlin had no idea where to start. The palace was a city unto itself. The entire greater palace complex was the heart of the city and the seat of power and commerce. Many thousands of people came there every day, plus the untold numbers who lived in the vast complex.
Just standing in the dome, he could never identify everyone walking past. The many uniformed guards declared a strong military presence, including soldiers dressed in the uniforms of every kingdom. Others wore the green and gold of the palace guard. Scores of others palace servants and staffers hurried by, dressed in similar colors. He even saw a few dressed in the crimson and white of the emperor's personal guard.
A thousand conversations filled the huge open space with a constant low buzz. Kevlin caught words spoken in every dialect of the empire. Somehow the air remained fresh despite the sea of humanity passing through on their innumerable errands.
Nobility frequented the space far more often than Kevlin had expected. The walked with heads high, decked out in all their finery and trailed by aides and guards.
Crowds of merchants moved among them, dressed richly and wearing flat-brimmed hats in their guild colors. Hundreds of other people not so easily identifiable crowded past, dressed in wildly different garb, drawn to the capital for purposes as diverse as they appeared. Any one of them could be a secret enemy, waiting for an opportunity to strike from their positions of anonymity.
As he pondered the problem, Kevlin rejoined the flowing crowds that crossed the wide expanse of the dome's floor like living rivers. He paused beside a large stone map that rose on a pedestal standing in the illusory Tamerlane Sea covering the floor, at the spot that should be the island of Il'Marinen, the Sentinel capital.
The map detailed the entire inner-city complex. Inlaid glass depicted various palaces in different colors, making it easier to see how everything was organized.
He studied it for several minutes, memorizing as much of the city layout as possible. A bronze plaque next to the map explained the dome's history. The massive structure was one of the first aboveground buildings raised after the underground complex was completed. It took only five years to construct, due to focused efforts by dozens of Sentinels who assisted with the work.
Even though it had been raised in large part through magic, it still stood as an engineering marvel. The wonderful floor mural with the three-dimensional effect had been added for the empire's centennial celebration. Surprisingly, the painting of the floor used no magic.
It had been completed in eighteen months by the master painter, Tahleiy. Even more surprising, Tahleiy was a Nedikan captive who spent ten years of indentured servitude working in the dome. He not only oversaw painting of the floor, but also painted many of the ceiling murals.
The painting of the ceiling had been an ongoing effort since the dome was first built, and the last one had been completed only the night before the empire's two hundred year celebration.
Generations of artists had worked on the structure. The vast scope of the work left Kevlin feeling small.
Several green-and-gold clad officials answered visitors' questions from a nearby booth. The vast array of imperial departments and kingdom-specific agencies amazed Kevlin. He expected to see the various military departments, as well as commerce and agriculture. Other departments included waste management, palace administration, and infrastructure. But he'd never considered there might be a department for the Collection and Removal of Excrement from the city, known as CARE.
The sheer volume of information made Kevlin impatient to move on. He rarely thought this hard for this long. If he kept it up, he'd risk suffering a brain cramp.
He plotted a course to the department of Imperial Resourcing, where he could pick up his new uniform. He'd join the crowds following the larger-than-scale imperial highway network on the floor map. The ocean waves might be fake, but why risk stumbling when he could walk on smooth roads?
"Kevlin!"
Surprised, he turned to find Marjani, the young woman who had led him to the council room earlier.
"Hello, Marjani."
She curtsied with a smile. "My Lord Kevlin, you're not an easy man to find."
"You're lucky you found me. I was just getting ready to get lost again."
"Please find yourself by the fourth afternoon bell," she said. "Ambassador Damarist has asked that you report to the Hallvarr Palace."
"That's not for a couple hours."
"I wasn't sure how long it would take to find you." She cocked her head to one side. "I'd be happy to give you a tour, unless your heart is set on getting lost."
"I'd love a tour. I can get lost any time."
Marjani led him back outside. Now that the sun had passed its zenith and begun slipping toward the western horizon behind the Great Dome, some of the inner palace already lay under a blanket of shadow. The water in the cascading fountain of the central garden glowed with brilliant white light, each droplet like a tiny flame.
He was tempted to ask Marjani if she knew how to find Indira. Strolling through that twilight garden together might just be enough to smooth over his many blunders.
"When do the fountains start glowing?" he asked instead.
Marjani pointed out two other fountains set in front of distant palaces that hadn't started glowing yet. "Each fountain is lit when they fall into shadow."
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"Makes sense." He'd have to explore the different lights and ask Adalia what Indira's favorite color was. He wasn't sure what the patron color for card hustlers was.
Marjani led him through the central garden, close to the fountain so he could watch the water tumbling deep into the earth to the pool at the bottom. As he considered how much power it would take to light the water like that, he felt the madness stirring to life.
"Lord Kevlin, it's this way," Marjani said as he started moving toward the stairs to the bottom.
"I told you not to call me that," Kevlin snapped.
"I'm sorry." She curtsied, her expression hurt. He realized what he'd done, and forced control.
"No, I'm the one who's sorry." He ran a hand through his hair and grimaced. "Sometimes . . . I do stupid things."
"You don't have to apologize to me, Kevlin."
"Yes, I do. You've shown kindness to me. I don't care who you are or who you think I am, I can't repay you with cruelty."
"Apology accepted." She gave him a real smile, and the sparkle returned to her eyes.
Why hadn't it been this easy to apologize to Indira?
They crossed the garden and followed the Silver Spoke between the Tamarr and Freyarr palaces. The afternoon sun was warm, but a cool sea breeze added a chill to the air. People packed the main thoroughfare and hurried to complete their business before the sun set.
Marjani led Kevlin onto a side street, along the city side of several of the palaces and past countless support structures. They paused at an open-sided restaurant where Kevlin purchased sweetbreads and chilled juice concoctions from Freyarr for them.
As they continued their tour of the inner city and wound their way toward the inner city wall, Marjani pointed out a grand, three-story building ringed by a wide, covered porch. A crowd of richly dressed nobles packed the porch and thronged the open door. A grinning pair of Sentinels with wide, green stripes marking their sleeves and collars made a token effort to urge restraint on the crowd.
A gilded sign hung above the porch read, "Kereskedo Custom Talismans."
"What's a Kereskedo?" Kevlin asked.
"They're the fastest growing business in the palace. Everyone wants their merchandise." Her voice took on a wistful tone as she stared at the crowd jostling to get into the shop. "They only market to nobility. I've never been allowed inside."
"What's got that crowd so worked up?"
Marjani shrugged. "They probably announced a new product release. Each is more amazing than the last, and they've become status symbols in the upper classes. There are only a limited supply of each product, so demand is huge."
It warmed his heart to see the normally puffed-up nobility acting like lesser people when shopping.
"The Kedos refuse to sell to servants," Marjani explained. "They insist the actual user of the products be present."
"Who are the Kedos anyway?"
Marjani pointed toward the two Sentinels flanking the doorway. "They are."
"Sentinels?"
"That's what makes it so wonderful."
Kevlin had assumed the Kedos sold perfumes or some other rare, useless item only nobility would want. He'd never heard of Sentinels acting as merchants. The very thought made him shudder. Whatever they sold, there would be no way honest, non-actinopathic merchants could compete fairly.
"What do they sell?"
"Magically-imbued items," Marjani gushed.
"Like what?"
"All sorts of things!"
She explained that the group of Sentinels explored ways to imbue common items with a specific magical property. Their first commercial product had been a small lamp that emitted a powerful light. It could illuminate a room with bright, even light for up to ten hours. Unfortunately it worked only once, so nobles only brought them out for important events. One more way to impress each other with how much they spent.
The Kedos had tried a few more household items, but the single-use limitation proved an insurmountable barrier. Then they made the decision that changed everything by turning their focus to personal defense. They produced a vest that could emit a blast of air strong enough to topple anyone within half a dozen paces. It was marketed as a defense against muggers or assassins.
The product had become an instant sensation.
"Every noble house insisted on purchasing one," Marjani said. "The Kedos scrambled to fill the orders, but they kept rolling in despite an obscene climb in prices." She glanced back at the shop as they moved farther down the street. "Since then, they've produced many more products, each more amazing than the last, and each more expensive."
Kevlin considered the information as they toured more of the inner city. They even climbed the high inner-city wall and enjoyed spectacular views of the upper city. Rich mansions were built into the gentle slope between the plateau of the inner city and the wide plain of greater Tamera.
After another hour exploring the inner city, Marjani led him back toward the Hallvarr Palace. They once more passed the Kereskedo shop, which now stood all but deserted.
"They must have sold out of the new product already," Marjani commented.
Kevlin grinned. "For once, having a title might be useful. Let's go take a look."
Marjani eagerly agreed, and Kevlin led the way inside. A huge room took up the entire first floor of the building. It was richly appointed in dark woods and shining brass fixtures. Crystal cases were placed strategically around the room displaying the Kedo wares.
A Sentinel with the green Kereskedo ribbons on sleeves and collar approached. He was a plain-looking man with an average build. His robes were made of fine silk, and several opulent rings flashed on his fingers.
His smile faded as Kevlin's rather charred and dirty clothing registered. "I am sorry," he said brusquely, "but servants are not allowed in this establishment."
"My lord Kevlin," Marjani said with unusual gravity. "Do you wish to file a formal complaint against this insolent merchant?"
The Sentinel, who had already begun to turn from them, spun back around, his eyes wide. He made a tiny bow. "Lord Kevlin, the King's Avenger?"
Kevlin decided to play the part, even though he still hated to think of Sentinels competing as merchants. Having grown up in a struggling merchant family, the thought of Sentinels stealing business angered him.
Besides, this self-important man was breaking a tradition older than the empire. Sentinels were to serve and protect against the Grakonians, and share their knowledge with the Six Kingdoms. In return, their needs were all provided for.
He assumed an indignant expression. "Who did you think I was?" He moved toward the exit.
The Sentinel scooted around Kevlin and wrung his hands together. "Please, my lord. Don't be so hasty. You'll have to forgive me, but we've had an exceptionally busy day. Now that I know you, you're exactly what I should have expected."
Kevlin decided to let the comment slide. "I had been interested in considering your products, but it sounds like you're sold out."
"Only our most recent model," the Sentinel corrected. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sentinel Nerys, head of the Kereskedo and owner of this establishment." He waved his arm to take in the display cases. "Since this is your first time here, please let me introduce our products to you."
Kevlin hesitated before nodding. As the man directed them to the nearest display cabinet, Kevlin shared an amused look with Marjani.
Sentinel Nerys gave them a detailed tour of the shop, explaining each of the items. Kevlin struggled to conceal his growing amazement. From the first air-blast vest, the Kedos had enhanced their products dramatically. Richly appointed vests, petticoats and jackets were the most popular items, and Nerys insisted they accepted custom orders. Nobility could drop off a favorite article and the Kedos would imbue it with the purchased enchantment.
Enchantments varied widely. They viewed brightly glowing hats, then gloves containing focused energy allowing the wearer to punch through locked doors. They fingered silk shirts pitched as better protection than full plate armor.
One entire rack featured ornately carved wooden staves and rods that could shoot everything from blasts of fire to ropes that would tie up targets on their own. Each item was designed so that a specific action would trigger the one-time enchantment, like buttons or cords. Others, like the staves, had a section that could be twisted or pressed.
Marjani pointed at a simple wooden box sitting on a corner shelf. "What does that do?"
"Nothing, yet, my girl," Nerys said. "It's an experimental model for multi-projectile distribution. Only one of its kind. Not yet available for sale."
He directed them to a large glass case in the center of the room. It contained personal magical shields, the most popular items. In addition to manual triggers like the other enchantments, these also included an automatic trigger if the article of clothing imbued with the power was cut or struck very hard.
"We call it the Ever-Vigilant Bodyguard," Nerys declared. "It will protect against even the unseen assassins."
The wonder of it drove away Kevlin's earlier dislike of the merchant. The man was right, no one else in the world could offer such products. Kevlin was still not sure if it was right to market such things, but he began to share the enthusiasm of the store's other clients.
Marjani, her eyes glowing with excitement said, "This must be extremely popular."
"Oh, yes, young lady. Rumors of secret assassins and distant conflict have driven up sales fifty percent."
He then pointed to a full-length leather jacket cut in a popular style. "And this, my Lord Kevlin, is our latest model, the item that sparked the run on the store earlier today." He added with great pride, "We sold out in less than four hours, and already have a waiting list of over one hundred orders."
"What is it?" Marjani asked excitedly.
"We call it the Personal Army."
Nerys explained that the jacket contained an eight-hour shield enchantment that would trigger automatically at need. He then pointed to sets of four buttons lining both cuffs. Each button triggered additional enchantments, customizable by the buyer, from magical ropes to blasts of fire, to rapid-fire arrows.
Kevlin touched the garment, awed by the potential. This could change the world. If their assault force in Hallvarr had been equipped with these jackets, they could have overrun the Grakonian forces while suffering only a fraction of their losses.
He gripped Sentinel Nerys' hand. "Amazing!"
Nerys grinned. "Thank you, my Lord Kevlin. Your endorsement means a great deal."
"You could revolutionize how we approach warfare," Kevlin said.
Nerys grinned. "Imagine, my lord, you could go into battle with power to rival the Shadeleeches, or even the Six. You would stand apart from all other men."
Kevlin frowned. "Why not outfit an entire army with these?"
Nerys laughed. "You jest, my lord."
"No, I'm completely serious."
"You don't understand. Common soldiers could never afford a jacket like this."
"Well, if you could sell so many, I'm sure you could lower the prices and still make a wonderful profit."
"That's not the point," Nerys said, his tone offended. "These wares are intended for the privileged few, the nobility, those worthy of additional protection."
"The worthy few?" Kevlin repeated slowly, each word tasting like rotten meat.
"Of course," Nerys said, not noticing his reaction. "If anyone could access the powers of Sentinels, it would lessen the wonder of it. Our powers would become . . . common."
"It doesn't matter that you could save lives?" Kevlin asked.
Sentinel Nerys shrugged. "If we did all that, there would be no need for the vaunted Kestrels or the other Sentinels to protect everyone, would there?"
"I suppose not," Kevlin said. "Thank you for explaining things so clearly."
He headed for the door, with Sentinel Nerys following in his wake. At first the Sentinel merchant asked which item he wished to order, then pleaded for an order. As Kevlin was about to reach the door, he begged for an endorsement in exchange for a free gift.
Kelvin paused in the doorway. "Why do you want my endorsement so badly?"
"You're the King's Avenger," Nerys exclaimed. "The most famous man in the empire at the moment. Think of the prestige your endorsement would mean."
Kevlin resisted the urge to grab the man and shake him by the collar. "Not today."
As he led Marjani down the steps, Nerys called after him, "I look forward to speaking with you again. Feel free to visit any time, or stop by our two new locations in the upper city and the central marketplace."
The man might be a Sentinel, but he'd embraced all that Kevlin hated about the merchant class. He sullied all Sentinels by association. The wonder of what the Kedos had accomplished only heightened his frustration.
Marjani trotted to keep up with him, her brown curls bouncing with every step. "That was amazing. Thank you so much."
Kevlin reined in his anger and tried to focus on the wonder of the inventions. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Wouldn't it be great to own one of those?"
Kevlin shrugged. "I doubt we'll ever see them again."