Instead, I thought … and thought.
I was in a jam, and no matter how I turned it over in my mind, it was going to take more than just me to get out of it.
I thought of Massha.
Then I thought about suicide.
Then I thought about Massha again.
With firm resolve and weak knees, I made my decision. The question was, how to locate Massha? The answer came on the heels of the question. Standing in for the king had been nothing but a pain so far. It was about time I started making it work for me for a change.
“Guard!”
A uniformed soldier materialized by the throne with impressive speed.
“Yes, your Majesty?”
“Pass the word for General Badaxe. I’d like to see him.”
“Umm . . . begging your Majesty’s pardon. He’s with a lady just now.”
“Good. I mean, bring them both.”
“But…”
“Now.”
“Yes, your Majesty!”
The guard was gone with the same speed with which he had appeared.
I tried not to grin. I had never gotten along particularly well with the military of Possiltum. Of course, the fact that my first exposure to them was when Aahz and I were hired to fight their war for them might have something to do with it. Anyway, the thought of some poor honor guard having to interrupt his general’s tetea-tete was enough to make me smile, the first in several days.
Still, sending a guard to fetch the person I wanted to see was certainly better than chasing them down myself. Perhaps being a king did have its advantages.
Two hours later, I was still waiting. In that time, I had more than ample opportunity to reconsider the benefit of issuing kingly summons. Having sent for Badaxe, I was obligated to wait for him in the throne room until he appeared.