The Consuming Fire (The Interdependency #2)(86)
The muttering got suddenly louder—
“With that in mind, let me be absolutely clear where the Interdependent Church stands on this matter.”
—and just as quickly, silence, which lasted several seconds.
For fuck’s sake, don’t drag it out, Kiva thought. Get on with it already.
“The Interdependent Church confirms and celebrates the nature and manner of your visions as consistent with our doctrines and faith, and stands fully behind the power and majesty of their power of revelation,” the archbishop said, and the uproar returned. “I likewise affirm that you are and remain the head of our church. We follow where you lead.”
And with that the archbishop stepped back from the lectern, kneeled in front of Grayland II, and kissed her right hand.
The room erupted.
Grayland II bade the archbishop to rise and had her stand next to Kiva. Kiva glanced over to the archbishop, who didn’t return the glance. Kiva noted she was sweating profusely.
I really wish I had gotten that drink sooner, thought Kiva. Kiva then noticed that all the serving staff had disappeared from the room, along with whatever woman had given her the fucking crystal thing she still had cradled in her left arm. Kiva decided to put the thing down.
By this time Grayland had returned to the lectern and was raising her hands to silence the room. Eventually she got her way.
“I know that last part came as a surprise to many of you,” Grayland said. “As will this next part. Each of you who were invited today were told that your service to the Interdependency would be recognized. And now it will be. My dear friends, I will make this simple. In this room, right now, if you are standing in front of me, you are now under arrest for treason.”
There was a bang as all the ballroom doors were kicked open and armed imperial guards flooded the perimeter of the room, and also formed a line directly in front of the lectern, just in case anyone was stupid enough to try to charge the emperox.
No one was. After a few initial shrieks and yells, the crowd of very impressive traitors fell into stony and stunned silence.
“Now, I know what you’re thinking. How dare I accuse you? But it’s not me who is accusing you, my friends.” Grayland nodded toward a side door, which opened and disgorged Deran Wu. There were shouts and a surge toward Deran, which was quickly stanched when the imperial guards leveled their weapons. Deran stood impassively.
“Deran was good enough to detail the entire conspiracy for us,” Grayland said. “And I have to say I was impressed with the theatricality of it. To have Archbishop Korbijn denounce me in front of the parliament as she was saying the benediction and to announce a schism in the church. To have the Countess Nohamapetan rise and accuse me of arranging the assassination of her daughter Nadashe.”
“You did!” the countess shrieked. “She’s dead because of you!”
“She was alive this morning when I messaged her,” Deran Wu said, and there were gasps. “She’s on your ship right now.”
“Admiral Emblad,” Grayland said. “You would stand and tell me that the Imperial Navy was no longer mine to command, and then, as the final blow”—Grayland shifted her gaze to the man standing next to the admiral—“you, Jasin Wu, would stand and announce that the House of Wu, my own house, could no longer support me as emperox, and that you were only one house among dozens. Those houses, as you can see, all represented here, now.”
Holy shit, this is amazing, Kiva thought. The room fairly echoed with stunned silence.
“Which reminds me,” Grayland said, and nodded to the side door again.
“Oh God, what now,” Archbishop Korbijn said.
A trim man came through, dressed in black, and stood in sight of the crowd.
“Cousin, you might remember Captain Cav Ponsood. You contracted his ship, on behalf of the Countess Nohamapetan here, to chase down and destroy the ship carrying Lord Marce Claremont of End. You did so because the countess believed Lord Marce was important to me, and by killing him, she would hurt me.”
Kiva looked at the Countess Nohamapetan, who despite her every effort against it was smiling at the idea of Marce Claremont blasted to bits in space.
Fuck it, Kiva thought. I’m kicking her ass in.
Another man walked out of the side door. Marce Claremont. He looked over at the countess.
“You missed,” he said. “But you killed nearly every other member of my crew. That’s on you, Countess.” He stepped back, behind Grayland. Kiva caught how he looked at her. Oh, yeah. They were definitely boning.
“Now,” Grayland II said, from the lectern. “I know why I’m here today. Let’s talk about why you are here today. You are all here because of what you think of me. You think I am weak. You think I am a naive child. You think my concerns about the collapse of the Flow streams stand in the way of your businesses and your own plans for power. You think because I claim visions I am unstable, or delusional, or cynical. You think because I am an accidental emperox that I should not be emperox at all. You think these things, some or all of them. And because you think them, you conspired to cast me aside. To raise my cousin Jasin in my place. To carry on the status quo as long as the Flow streams allow, and leave to others to worry about what happens next.
“Well, my friends, last night, I had a vision. A new vision. And in that vision, I saw all your plans. I saw all your schemes. I saw all your frauds, and your cheats, your secret affairs and your secret bank accounts. I saw every one of you as you are, not how you present yourself. And in that the vision, I saw you here, in front of me. Humbled. As you are, right now.