Read Online Jonathan Moeller - The Ghosts 09 - Ghost in the Surge by Jonathan Moeller - Free Book Online Page A

seek peace with New Kyre. Lord Titus agreed to serve as his emissary, and Kylon and the Lord Speaker Tiraedes negotiated on behalf of the Assembly of New Kyre. They exchanged letters back and forth using smugglers.”
    “Did they reach an agreement?” said Corvalis.
    “They did,” said Halfdan. “The Assembly will admit the attack upon Marsis was unprovoked, and pay a small indemnity to the Emperor for the next five years. In exchange, the Emperor will persuade the Padishah to open the Starfall Straits to Kyracian trade once more, and travel to New Kyre to formally sign the pact.” 
    Caina frowned. “Does not the defeated party traditionally visit the victor’s capital?”
    “He does,” said Halfdan, “but the journey is a concession on the Emperor’s part. The Kyracians are paying an indemnity and admitting fault. The Emperor’s visit to New Kyre is a concession that allows the Assembly to save face. Perhaps that is for the best. This war benefits no one. New Kyre might have destroyed the Emperor’s western fleet, but the Assembly cannot possibly conquer the Empire. They could not even conquer Marsis. It is within the Empire’s strength to destroy New Kyre, but the cost would beggar the Empire and bring famine to two-thirds of the provinces.”
    “The war has been a waste,” said Caina. “Andromache started it under false pretenses, for her own power and aggrandizement. And even that was a lie. The Moroaica and Sicarion deceived her and led her to destruction. Many men have died for nothing.”
    “If all goes well,” said Halfdan, “we can put an end to it before the month is out.” He sat up straighter. “I feared the reports of slavers in Varia Province meant the Istarish were reentering the war, or that a faction in the Assembly was conspiring against the peace. But it was Ranarius’s vendetta against you, not a plot from the Assembly or the Padishah.”
    “Then that means,” said Caina, “our task is to ensure the Emperor reaches New Kyre safely, concludes the peace, and returns to Malarae.”  
    “You understand,” said Halfdan. “Tomorrow we will board one of Lord Titus’s smuggler ships and sail to New Kyre. We should arrive before the Emperor and his escort. We must make certain the Emperor completes the treaty with the Assembly and returns to Malarae, and we must ensure the Assembly and the Archons are safe as well. If the Emperor is assassinated, or one of the Archons, war is inevitable.” 
    “Who wants to kill the Emperor?” said Corvalis.
    Halfdan shrugged. “It would be easier to recite the people who do not wish him dead. Factions among the Imperial nobility wish to continue the war. The Magisterium wants to continue the war for reasons of its own, and your father has tried to have the Emperor assassinated for years, though he’s always been clever enough to keep his hands clean.”
    Corvalis scowled. “He always did like to recruit others to do his dirty work.” 
    “And among the Kyracians, I am sure there are fools who want to unleash a famine across the Empire, who think that New Kyre could survive the resultant war,” said Halfdan. “They would have everything to gain from killing the Emperor. Or one of their own Archons, for that matter. The Ghost circle in New Kyre will aid us, but you see the magnitude of the task.”
    Corvalis nodded. “Well, you never summon us for easy work.”
    “I can’t come,” said Caina.
    Both men looked at her.
    “Why not?” said Halfdan. 
    “You heard what I said,” said Caina. “Sicarion and Ranarius are hunting for me. They are coming to kill me…and they will kill anyone who gets in their way. Ranarius butchered all those people in Mornu just to draw me there. He won’t hesitate to kill the Emperor to get at me, and neither will Sicarion. If I go with you, I will endanger the Emperor and anyone near him.” 
    “The Emperor is in danger simply from the fact that he is the Emperor,” said Halfdan. “And I need your