The High King's Embalmer

Chapter 1

My master posed a riddle for Podargos, the citrus farmer from Kamusta. It was a death sentence whether he realized it or not. The king enjoyed exterminating his subjects over minuscule issues. Extermination being the key word...

To blend into the shadows cast by the weeping palms, I darkened the pigment of my skin, then leaned against the whitewashed stone wall to be nearer to Podargos. The act of translating his unusual Kamustan dialect into the complex nuances of my native pictographic language proved to be energy-consuming. Searching for hidden meanings and listening to the rest of the guests without their knowledge spent more of my attention. The citrus farmer's aura held an unusual pattern. He was hiding something from the king.

My fingers brushed against the black linen kilt that wrapped around my hips as my hand rested lightly on the carved, bone handle of my knife. Each pulse of Podargos' heart stirred a deeper hunger in my stomach. It had been a while since I tasted a living human heart. I'd gladly take the one belonging to Podargos.

The king, instead, toyed with the man.

I recalled from the guards' chatter that Podargos was a self-proclaimed overlord and tax collector of the peasant farmers. He had developed a habit of creating the pretense that he was a cultured man worthy enough to obtain a coveted dinner invitation from the king. It was also said he had grown disgusted with Triton, and found the current royal leadership of Cardia offensive. Everyone suspected he had sent a death threat to the king, anonymously.

"A sip of His Most Royal Majesty's finest Cardia Proper water please, before I answer?" Podargos asked nervously.

"Fine, take your time," Triton, King of Cardia, wiped his brow with a linen cloth. "Have some wine. We have all evening."

Several of the after-dinner guests laughed apprehensively.

The hired servant bowed before the king, then approached Podargos, who extended a shaky hand to take a wine glass. The servant turned away to enter the palace.

My canine ears pivoted in the direction of the servant's exit. He spoke to someone inside about the personal suffering he endured of having to serve the king with such unattainable perfection. I lost interest and returned my attention to the citrus farmer.

Despite my hunger, it was not the time. I could use Podargos to humiliate the king without his knowing I was the source. Triton was not my true master, and I held no great love for him.

I closed my eyes a moment to welcome the faint warmth from the fading sun. It eroded the chilly anxiety that had fallen over the dinner party invitees. My sensitive nose struggled to ignore the lingering aromas from the meal recently served that mixed with the sulfuric odors from the war taking place beyond the courtyard walls. I opened my eyes to scan each human in attendance, searching the auras for the slightest sign of offense against the king. Despite my feelings regarding the king, I was obligated to serve him. His ancestors' blood also ran through my veins. They had saved me from death.

Podargos sipped from his glass, but his stare roved over the gardens. He searched for his famed bodyguards from Kamusta amongst the king's dinner guests. They had disappeared, vanished as people tended to do in Cardia Proper, even I didn't know what became of them.

"Perhaps you need the question repeated?" the king asked with a tired voice. His fever was taking its toll despite his excellent achievement of hiding his sickness. "Maybe inspiration will come to you, Podargos."

"Sire?"

"Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet."

"Perhaps the children of the former high king would-" Podargos said, stalling for time.