Darkness Risen (The Ava'Lonan Herstories Book 4) by Ako Emanuel Page A

called. Relieved that she had kept up a good face while they were
there, she relaxed the discipline about the Jur’Av’chi and nursed the still
bleeding wound of the absence of him.
     
    the darkness
turned…
     
    Soku sat down at her low work table and felt a rush
of excitement at the slim stack of papi’ras that had been placed in the middle
of her well-organized work stacks. There were official stamps and seals on
each. She counted them. Eighteen. Then she drew a breath and looked at the top
document. It said that one Soku sul Doan had agreed to open her records,
residences and palace to official inspection, and that, pending the final
report, she could begin surveying a location within the Palace grounds for her
Cres-Terrou port exit. Upon receipt of the final report, she could begin
construction of said port.
    Soku laughed softly and sorted through the sheets,
noting which names had been put forth for inspection, and then she called for a
map of the Realm to see where each port exit would fall. The pattern was
irregular, most heavily concentrated in the Western Border’lons, but six Estern
Border’lons and three Central’lons showed up.
    Thirty would be perfect, she thought to
herself. Thirty Border Queens protected from Tokia’s machinations would perhaps
not tip the scale geopolitically under normal circumstances, but thirty
powerful, wealthy allies, all sworn to loyalty to the High Queen, was something
else, something with which to be reckoned. They could not be ostracized by
their neighbors – they would always have an outlet for Trade, even with every
neighboring lon turned against them. They could not be pressured into unwanted
alliances. Soku looked at the map and realized that she had created something
unique, something that would aid not just her Border’lon sisters, but the Heir
as well…
    Barajini came in just then, followed by two
assistants, breaking her train of thought. The three were loaded down with
scrolls in baskets, which they set down before the Doan Queen.
    “What is all this?” Soku asked, eying the baskets
with curiosity and just a little misgiving.
    “The fallout from our turn in court,” Barajini said,
her voice dry with irony. “These are petitions for admittance into our Yakan’tsu.”
She held out a scroll from the top of her pile.
    Soku did not reach for it. “Petitions for
admittance? You can’t be serious.” She shook her head. “How many?”
    “Over three hundred Tribes.”
    Almost a third of the wuman realm? Soku wanted to
laugh again. Three hundred port exits would dilute her network down to worthlessness.
A ploy of Tokia’s? She took the petition and read the name of the Queen who had
submitted it. Jasine sul Talwi. Not usually one she did business with - this
Mid-Noraen lon Queen took too many risks and usually lost large sums in
non-lucrative deals. Definitely not one she would choose with whom to open a venture.
    “If you would, Barajini, make a list of all the
petitioners. I will write polite dissuaders to those most obviously unsuited.
The others we will send the terms and conditions to, with a response sheet. If
that doesn’t frighten them off, then we will give them all due consideration.
But we will post a notice - as of now, our impending Yakan’tsu is closed to
petitions.”
    Barajini produced three documents with the flare of
a conjurer. One was the asked-for list of names. The second was the
politely-worded refusal. The third was a notice of closure of the Cres-Terrou
Yakan’tsu. Her face was dead-pan as she presented them.
    “Am I so predictable?” Soku laughed, taking them
with a bow of thanks.
    “Only to me, my Queen. A good Voice should be able
to anticipate as least some of her Queen’s needs.” The Voice finally cracked a
smile. “Only three or four are worth serious consideration. Most of the others
are just opportunistic or desperate.” A tone, as of an undercurrent of
amusement, made her voice bright as satin.
    “What is it?”