The Heir (Fall of the Swords Book 3) by Scott Michael Decker

him. What if the bandits were to stop being bandits? he wondered. The Eastern Empire would then survive. By building the infrastructure of the northern lands, instead of destroying the Empire across the border, the bandits might gain a legitimacy that had thus far eluded them.
    Knowing the mentality of bandits, and especially that of Scowling Tiger, Snarling Jaguar guessed that the bandits would never abandon their assault on the Eastern Empire. Most of the bandits followed Scowling Tiger's lead, even adopting the bandit general's nomenclature. The names of other bands followed the same pattern as the Tiger Raiders. The Cougar Raiders, the Elk Raiders, the Stag Raiders, etc. Bandits in general worshiped the bandit general.
    Sighing, knowing no solution, Snarling Jaguar looked around his sanctuary and prepared to leave. Putting his thoughts into compartments, he straightened papers haphazardly, glancing around to record what he saw in case an intruder found the place.
    As he stood, a muted bell rang.
    Immediately, he looked toward the dungeon exit. A sensor near the bottom of the stairwell had detected a spy or courier coming up. He slipped sword and sheath from sash, held the weapon loose in his hands and prepared to kill. He never knew if an assassin had compromised or killed the guard below. The Emperor, at sixty-seven, was still in as good a shape as he had been at fifty, if a little slower.
    Patiently, he waited. The climb was long. Snarling Jaguar traversed it once a day to help him keep fit.
    Still, he waited. The climb was exhausting, all three thousand sixty-four steps.
    Like rock, he waited. The climb was difficult, each step a foot high.
    Immobile, he waited. Too much time had passed, he decided.
    Cautiously, he used the Sword to pull aside the tapestry that covered the entrance. Just then, a messenger whom Snarling Jaguar recognized fell into view, panting. The Emperor stepped into the stairwell to help the man, and half-carried, half-dragged him into the room. Propping him into the only chair, Snarling Jaguar gestured him to wait.
    Shaking his head, the messenger said, “Can't wait, Lord.”
    Frowning, Snarling Jaguar nodded. “Charade of hostility.”
    The messenger's face and body lost all animation, then assumed the composure of Leaping Elk. He had sent a message that in words would have gone thus: “Greetings of the Infinite, brother and Lord Emperor. After thirty-one years, the lost Heir Sword has emerged! Seeking Sword, a member of my band, son of Icy Wind who I think was Lofty Lion, has the weapon and knows not what he wields!” The messenger then sent an image of the young man and the Sword itself while Leaping Elk was examining it. “I haven't told Seeking Sword, for I know the time isn't right. Since he looks so much like the Heir Flaming Arrow, I've ordered him disguised. Even so, many bandits, Scowling Tiger included, know what he looks like. No one, other than I and, I think, Icy Wind, knows the nature of his weapon. I've known this boy personally since Icy Wind wandered in shortly after his birth, for a reason I cannot say, I've had an interest in his education, despite the expense to myself and my band. He's had this Sword for ten years, since he was five years old. Like the Heir, he has no detectable psychic power. Like the Heir, no one's talent affects him. Like the Heir, he's fifteen. Like the Heir, he's a superb swordfighter. Like the Heir, he has bronze hair and gray-blue eyes. Like the Heir, he looks like Guarding Bear's brother Brazen Bear. Like the Heir, like the Heir, like the Heir. Lord Brother, I can't tell you why all these likes or what's happening. The Infinite has blinded my prescient sight to these two and my head's awhirl with implications and I feel I've had too much wine.” The image sent was of Leaping Elk sprawled on the floor. “When I dreamed sixteen years ago of death and destruction in the Windy Mountains, and of Scowling Tiger's death by blade, someone who looked like