Arc VII

Chapter 58

The Woman in the Mountain

"I can bear any pain as long as it has meaning."

Haruki Murakami - 1Q84

The brand-new day had barely arrived when the Palace Barrister interrupted their slumber. The very first symptoms of a sunny morning were already dancing through the thin curtains. Yvo had become a regular patron of The Wise House, but his interest was placed far beyond the music and the drinks – his monthly visits were a nice way for the old man to keep in touch with his friends. But the occasion seemed different now, as the cowboy rose from the bed and read Yvo's expressions as if they were an open book.

This was no social visit. His old Edenian friend was not there to enjoy the benefits of a second breakfast.

The doctor and the cowboy eyed each other speculatively: it had been quite some time since they had had reasons to worry. They questioned the barrister, but the man didn't have much to offer: The Emperor requested their presence at the Palace. The statement, as simple as it was, still conveyed the complexity behind every decision made by the ruler of Outworld.

As Yvo waited outside their bedroom door, the couple got dressed and speculated, albeit briefly, about Kotal's motives. If the emperor had decided not to inform Yvo about his reasons, if secrecy was, once more, the chosen method, then something big was about to knock on their doors. Their suspicions proved to be true the second they stepped out the House – dispersed in the street, Yvo counted almost a dozen Palace guards passing as regular citizens. But even if the trio understood that they had nowhere to run, they couldn't still comprehend why they were supposed to run. Still, the gentle smiles from the common citizens, the Oppressed, as their king and queen marched by were enough to make the cowboy realize that they had done it: they had risen above their own miseries and shortcomings.

The Throne Room held no secrets for him. There was nothing left for Kotal to offer in the seemingly endless powerplay the Emperor was trying to force him to play. He had everything he could ever want: stability, love, friends; a simple life in the most complicated place.

"I need to warn you, son," the barrister whispered in his ear as they approached the last door, "I have no idea what's going on. He didn't tell me – as far as I believe, he didn't tell anyone."

They had let a loose end slip through their fingers three years ago. Black was too busy worrying about the future and the Emperor was too busy, celebrating a victory that was both deafening and blinding. The debts of their past seemed far away now, like an echo in a nightmare you can't quite recall in the morning. The barrister knocked on the door and stepped away almost immediately.

"You're not coming with us?" the doctor asked, but the old man shook his head.

"I don't think I'm allowed to," he said. "Last night a prisoner entered the cell you used to live in, Erron. And ever since that moment, the Emperor hasn't spoken to anyone."

"Etienne?" the cowboy asked but the barrister had no time to speak. The great gate opened before their eyes and the Kahn appeared on the other side. His figure consumed their shadows one by one as the magnificence of blue towered over them.

"You can come too, Yvo," Kotal said calmly, "we could all use a friend right now."

"Alright, what's going on?" the cowboy asked, impatient, but the Kahn walked back to the throne and signaled the trio to join him. "Who is this prisoner you captured, Kotal? Why do you need us now?"

"I didn't capture anyone," the emperor explained. "She knocked on our door last night; she said she was ready to turn herself in. And she spoke, Erron. She spoke about you and your wife – that's why I need to see you. Both of you."

"And who…"

"Someone from your past, Erron." The Kahn interrupted him. "Someone you once knew, someone who trusted you and you betrayed her."

The name formed on the cowboy's lips, but he was unable to pronounce it. It had been so long; he had nearly forgotten about her.

"Tanya."

"But… why?" an incredulous Black asked. "Why now? What can she possibly know about my wife?"

The emperor exhaled and rested his hands on his stomach. Then he looked down, pensively, as if afraid of the words he was about to say.

"Why now? Because somebody ordered her to turn herself in and speak," Kotal said. "She still feels betrayed by you, Erron, and you are the main responsible for the Syndicate's disappearance. Even if I led the army that took them down, even if I ordered their executions, everybody knows that you did all the work – and not just because you gave me Rosario's journal. Everybody knows that you were the one who started this fight… that's why they chose you as their leader."

The Oppressed.

The voiceless ones. The victims.

"And if she's here, that means that the Syndicate is ready to strike," the emperor added. "The time for peace and love is already over: she's here because they told her to come; she spoke because her wounded pride advised her to do so."

"I didn't know she was part of the Syndicate," Black whispered as he took a step back.

"Who are you talking about?" the doctor asked. "Who is Tanya?"

"Tanya was loyal to Mileena," the Emperor said, "and Mileena's rule was a great match for the Syndicate… in a chaotic regime, they were able to complete and conduct their operations in broad daylight without the fear of getting caught."

"You think this is some sort of uprising attempt?" Yvo asked. "Do you think they'll try to overthrow you, my Emperor?"

Kotal shook his head.

"No, they were never interested in ruling the realm," the Emperor said. "It's true, things were easier for the Syndicate during Mileena's brief rule, but they never cared for political power or the quest of conquering it – they are aware of their own limitations, they know they can't embrace that kind of power. But even if during my time as Emperor things got a little more complex for the Syndicate, truth is that at the end of the day, they were still operational. And they will continue to be operational, no matter who sits on this throne," Kotal reflected as his eyes got shrouded in the nostalgia of better days and easier battles. "The same thing happens inside the Syndicate: we erased the old order, but a single seed remained. Now that seed has given way to a new generation. No matter who leads the operation, they will still remain operational."

"You think Etienne is the new leader?" Black questioned Kotal as he crossed his arms over his chest. "We can't let them rise again, Kotal, we have to stop them now."

The emperor took a deep breath and stared at the silent doctor. Then his eyes went back to Erron, and the anger that was written all over the cowboy's face.

"She smiled at me," Kotal confessed. "When she spoke to me last night and spilled all her secrets… she was smiling the whole time. And when I myself locked her up in that filthy cell she said she knew she had no reason to worry. I won't be here for long, she said to me."

"She knows they'll try to rescue her." Yvo offered. "We need to plan a new strategy; we can't let them get inside the Palace. That's why you need Erron – you need him to fight by your side once again."

But the Kahn shook his head. He stood up and walked up to the doctor.

"You didn't die in the fire," he said and Black's heart stopped for a brief moment. "Tanya told me that the Rebel Seekers found your husband near the mountains, not in the Kuatan Jungle. She said Erron was injured, he was trying to reach a cabin in the mountains but they captured him and brought him back to the city. She doesn't know what happened after that, but she stayed there, in the mountains, watching that cabin. And she watched everything. She saw the boy, she saw you, and she saw the fire."

The doctor stepped back instinctively but the Emperor extended one of his arms and caressed her face with trembling fingers.

"You didn't die in the fire."

"Sighting," the woman finally whispered. "You told Aalem that there was some sort of spirit in the mountains… but even if your story wasn't true, he saw something. He saw someone." She turned around and faced her husband. "He saw her, Erron. And she saw him."

As the memories overtook the couple, the barrister understood the magnitude of the revelation.

"That guard was executed because he had murdered the woman in the cabin," he said, "but the woman didn't die. We murdered him for nothing. We executed him… if people find out about this…"

Kotal nodded his head.

"Last night I read your report again," the Emperor said. "According to the official record, Pareedis killed the doctor and then Erron killed Pareedis. We murdered an innocent man seeking justice for his fallen brother. We gave them a martyr, maybe two martyrs." The Khan covered his mouth with his hands and sat on the throne again, his eyes lost in thought. "What should I do now? If Tanya spoke to me, the Syndicate must know about this – they can tell everyone. People will know that we've been lying to them this entire time, even when I didn't know. People will think that the Rebel Seekers were right, that Black should have been executed…"

"My Emperor…" Yvo pleaded.

"I am not going to execute him now, Yvo." Kotal roared. "I can't... I couldn't."

The doctor's voice broke the silence with unparalleled affection.

"I had lost all hope until the Rebel Seekers brought you in," she whispered as her eyes met Black's. "I had heard about you: an Earthrealmer working for the Emperor… He lost everything trying to help me, Kahn. He even killed me in his story to make sure no-one would look for me or hurt me – and he was in jail. He knew he could not protect me, so he made everything in his power for me not to need his protection at all. How can that be a bad thing?"

The Emperor stared at her with eyes full of love and understanding. He had felt that candor before, lifetimes ago, when days were warmer, and the battles were simpler. But the stampede shook their silent communion with an urgency that demanded action. The Syndicate was never going to knock on their doors, the Syndicate was going to break down all doors and walls, consuming everything in their path. Screams of terror and visions in red followed suit in the agora of despair. They were already there, running underneath their feet. Tanya was about to be freed and, with her freedom ensured, the first battle was already lost.

Erron reached for his peacemaker but the Emperor rose from the throne and stopped him.

"I did not request your presence today because I need you to fight," he said. "I needed you to know that there are no more secrets between us; that the past is the past and that it is all forgiven."

Erron tilted his head to the side, unsure.

"I'm sending you away now," Kotal whispered. "Both of you. Yvo will now escort you to a portal and you will disappear, Erron."

"No," the cowboy fought. "This is our battle, Kotal."

"No, it is not. Not anymore," the Emperor sentenced. "I have prepared myself for this moment; we knew this time of peace and understanding could not last forever. I had three years to plan, three years to come up with a strategy, three years of training… but you? You had three years of drinks, and music, and love… you had three years of a simple life, the kind of life you wanted to live. Don't sacrifice it, Erron. You don't have to."

"But you're asking us to leave everything, everyone behind," the doctor said. "That's one hell of a sacrifice."

"But you'll be together," Kotal offered. "This life you've created, you've created it around each other. If you could make it here, in this dreadful place, you can make it anywhere." He stood up and faced Erron: "The truth that Tanya speaks will soon contaminate the minds of those who now admire you. And they will haunt you. They will hurt you. And you won't dance anymore, you won't sing anymore."

As the screams got louder and the panic penetrated the Palace walls, Yvo grabbed Black by the shoulder and ushered him to move.

"I'll escort you both to the portal, Erron. But we have to leave now; come on, you heard the Kahn, there's no time to lose."

The doctor stared at her husband and nodded her head in silence: The Emperor was right. They could sacrifice everything – but they could not sacrifice each other.

"We could use the old portal in the Library," Yvo offered.

"No," Kotal sentenced. "That portal registered suspicious activity some years ago; I'm afraid it's no longer operational."

Black looked at the barrister and nodded in silent appreciation: they had been the so-called suspicious activity but Yvo, once again, had helped them.

"I can't allow you to use any of the official portals," Kotal explained. "Those are monitored – if people find out the truth about what happened over a decade ago, they'll search those portals for records. They'll try to haunt you, Erron. We can't give them the chance to find you."

"How are we going to cross, then?" the doctor inquired.

"You'll have to use their portal," Kotal said. "Luckily for you, the Syndicate seems to be quite busy over here, so there's a high chance no-one is protecting that portal."

"Where is it?" Black asked.

"In the jungle," Kotal said. "In the Kuatan Jungle."