Free Imperial Traitor by Mark Robson Page A

enough gold. As
long as the contract did not contravene their creed, then the Guild usually accepted contracts without question. The coming days would be fraught with danger for the Imperial candidates.
    ‘Who allowed you access to the Emperor’s study?’ It was Lord Marnillus. The bluster and outrage clearly identified him. Lord Borchman could picture the man’s broad frame,
richly ornamented apparel and self-important posturing without needing to look up.
    ‘Good evening, Lord Marnillus,’ Borchman replied, keeping his tone level and his eyes on the parchments he was leafing through. ‘One might ask the same question of you. With
the Emperor gone there is no one to grant or deny access to the senior Lords now. We were looking to see if he left any instructions against this eventuality. It appears he did.’
    ‘Surabar left a will? Where is it? What does it say?’
    ‘Not so fast, Marnillus,’ Borchman warned, keeping his tone civil, but firm. ‘The Emperor did leave a will, but it is sealed. We did not open it, as not all the candidates were
here. Besides, I think it more appropriate that it should be read in open Court, don’t you? That way there can be no dispute as to the contents.’
    ‘You think!’ Marnillus sneered. ‘Pah! You
don’t
think – either of you. There’s a mob growing at the gates of the Palace. They need a leader –
one who will unite them and inspire them, one who will keep them calm in this time of uncertainty.’
    ‘And there’s no question as to who that leader should be, I suppose.’ Lord Borchman did not bother hiding his sarcasm.
    ‘None,’ Marnillus replied without pause. ‘I have the support of the Court. You cannot deny it. I should take the Mantle now and speak to the people.’
    ‘Over my dead body!’ exploded Reavis. ‘You have a slim majority, Marnillus. You know the rules as well as any of us. Surabar may have seized power from under our noses, but the
Court will not sit by and let that happen again. Against Surabar we were powerless because he had total control of the Legions. He could have crushed all or any one of us like flies if he’d
wanted. He took the Mantle in a bloodless coup, but if you were to try such a thing – well, let’s just say you wouldn’t want to try it.’
    ‘Is that a threat, Reavis? It sounds rather hollow to me.’
    ‘Don’t push it, Marnillus,’ Borchman warned. ‘It would not do for more blood to be spilled here today. The will shall be read in open Court. I’ll see that it gets
there without being tampered with. Do you wish to call my integrity into question, or will you trust me to bring the scroll without tampering with the seal?’
    Calling the integrity of another Lord into question was as good as issuing a challenge to a duel. Marnillus was no fool. Although Borchman was no longer young, he had been a master swordsman as
a youth and he was still remarkably fit and trim for his age. He was tall and slim, with a long reach. Marnillus, for all his bluster and posing, was not as fit as he made out. He knew he would be
unlikely to prevail over the wiry, silver-haired Borchman.
    ‘No, Lord Borchman, I do not question your integrity. I shall see to it that the Court is convened as soon as possible. This situation needs to be resolved quickly. We cannot allow
Shandrim to degenerate into chaos.’
    ‘I quite agree,’ Borchman replied, looking up to meet the eyes of his opponent. ‘As long as that damned bell keeps ringing there is little chance of anyone not realising that
an imminent session of Court is likely.’ It will likely be the most interesting Court session we’ve seen in many a year, he added silently. He ran a finger down the side of the stack of
parchments on the desk. You were so darned well organised, Surabar, I would not be surprised to see you reach from beyond the grave and put everyone in line with your blasted Legion logic.
    The Guildmaster looked around at the booths from his podium.