Denied--A Novel of the Sazi

by Cathy Clamp

  She looked at her hands again. A single event. That was the answer.

  She looked around her quickly and saw Bobby just finishing his phone call. She quickly moved close to him and pulled on his sleeve. “We must hurry to town … before people return. I just think of way to find Lagash.”

  That made him turn so quickly he nearly elbowed her in the head. “What? How?”

  “Things happen very quickly, keep us off-balance. Yes?” When he nodded, she continued, “But he could not predict big fire from north and he has just attacked me and Bojan. After fire.” She smeared her finger through the same paste covering his dark skin and held up her finger for him to see. This time, she waited for him to think of it.

  He did. “His will be the only footprints on top of the ash.”

  “And fingerprints. Perhaps he was foolish enough to go to his own home. And even if not, he will be the only person at the safe place—”

  Now Bobby was smiling. He finished her thought, “With fresh ash on his boot. At least the same kind of ash, in the same quantities, that burned here.”

  “But we will need time. There is much to smell and I must clean my nose. It is very plugged.”

  “I can handle that.” He patted her on the shoulder and then gave her arm a squeeze. “You definitely need to join Wolven after college. You have promise.” His confidence made her smile. Perhaps there was one more snake she could trust. He pulled his phone out again and wandered off to make another call.

  She stared at her shoes, then placed a tentative foot in a nearby patch of fresh ash, noting the pattern of the bottom of her shoe. She took off her shoe, balancing on one foot while she smelled the sole. But the ash was hard to sort out. It just smelled burnt.

  “What are you doing?” Tristan’s voice behind her startled her, throwing her off-balance. He immediately reached forward to steady her. The contact of his hand on her bare arm caused a wind to spring up around her, blowing back her hair and causing actual sparks in the air. He instantly let her go and began to rub his hand against his pant leg, staring at her with a look that approached fear but smelled of desire.

  Anica tried to catch her breath after putting her stocking foot on the ground to keep her balance. Once again, her insides were liquid from his touch. “I was trying to sort out smells of ash on ground.” Bobby strode up, speaking before he really stopped to take a breath.

  “Okay, I talked to Zarko. He’s going to do a head count of the residents and call me back with the names of anyone missing. Everyone in town was taken to the high school in Republic. Nobody is going to be allowed to leave until the evacuation order is lifted, and I’ve just made sure that won’t be until tomorrow. So, we have the rest of today, at a minimum.”

  Amber walked up to them, pulling off a pair of plastic gloves. “I’ll take Scott and Bojan to the shelter. Too many people saw them jump off the truck. It’ll be noticed if they don’t turn up. You don’t need any search parties out here.” The doctor then nodded her way. “Anica probably should go with us. Her father will be worried if she’s here alone with two men.”

  Anica’s stomach dropped. Amber was right, of course. Papa would be frantic and would go to any lengths to make sure she wasn’t left alone all night with two strangers. “But my nose is needed here.” She turned to Bobby, asking silently for his help. “Isn’t that right?”

  Bobby was wavering. She could tell. But it was Tristan who came up with an answer: “Lagash must think I’m dead, or he would have stayed around to finish me off.” He turned to her. “What did he say before he left?”

  It was Bojan who answered, from where he knelt beside Scott’s unconscious form. “He threw lightning at us, like in superhero movie. When we ducked, and looked up, surprised we were still alive, he said he hadn’t been aiming for us. It was more fun to kill our mates.”

  Anica remembered it, and it made her furious how cavalier he was about it. “Yes, and he said it was a good day for the bad guys.”

  Tristan nodded and Bobby gave him a knowing look before speaking. “He thinks you’re dead and so are Anica and Bojan because you’re mated and not alphic. We can use that.”

  Amber was nodding, and Anica could almost see the wheels spinning in her head. “I can use my link to the owl parliament to make it seem like everyone is devastated at your loss. I’ll call Zarko and prepare him. I hope he can pull off being grief stricken.”

  Bojan looked at her and shook his head. “Papa is not good actor. It would make more sense for him to race out and want to check to see if it is a lie.”

  She agreed. “If it was real, he would leave, like he did for Samit.”

  “That’s true,” Amber agreed. “Everyone in town will remember that he showed up the minute we caught Samit after he was faking going rogue.”

  Bobby’s eyebrows dropped. “I thought I saw in the report that he did go rogue.”

  “Later,” Anica amended. “At first, he was pretending, to throw blame on the Kasuns.” Bobby shook his head, and she had to shrug. “It is complicated.” She turned to look at Tristan. “You know Lagash. Would he want to go with Papa to watch the pain he causes, or would he gloat in private?”

  Tristan raised his brows and the scent of sugar and cloves managed to break through her stuffy nose enough so she could recognize his pride in her. He crossed his arms over his chest and thought for a moment, tapping his finger on his opposite forearm. “Neither one, actually. He’s a planner. He got his satisfaction at the time. He would be relaxed, calm. But I think Enheduanna would be distressed at his calm. She never had a stomach for killing.”

  Amber nodded. “So we’re looking for a husband and wife spatting or avoiding each other.” When Tristan nodded, so did she. “I’ll start to put out the word. I’ll leave it to you all to keep watch on Scott.” She then addressed Bojan directly: “Just put him in a bed. He’ll wake up naturally in the morning. Notify me right away if there’s any change.” Then she pointed her finger at each of them in turn. “And all of you, watch each other’s backs. If we’re wrong and Lagash is not masquerading as someone in town, then he’s likely still here and could be a danger to the five of you.”

  “Six,” Anica corrected automatically, and the others stared at her. “Skew is still here somewhere.” Then something occurred to her. “Could Skew be Enheduanna? Being married to a madman could make someone go mad themselves. Why did she suddenly appear to help Tristan and Scott? How could she know they needed help unless she was part of it?”

  “Good point,” Bobby said. “We’ll have to keep an eye out for her. If we find her, we can put her in the jail for safekeeping. And, if Lagash is her mate, he’ll be drawn to rescue her.”

  So, Skew was either a potential victim or an enemy and they had no idea which one, or where she was. “I know her scent. I’ve been in the sweet shop many times. I can find her. The hard part will be keeping my nose up instead of down. She could be in any tree or on any rooftop. I have never search for a bird before.”

  Tristan moved closer to her. Electricity lit up the ash in the air between them like tiny fireflies. “I have. And so has Bobby. One of us will always stay with you, keeping you safe.”

  Bojan let out a small growl as he stared at the tiny flickers of magic between them. “Papa will not like this. I do not either.”

  Amber raised her hand. “I’ll explain it to Zarko. There are a number of things I need to discuss with your father … and mother, if we can reach her. This is only a tiny part of the shocks he’s going to have tonight.” She touched Bojan’s arm. “I trust Bobby and Ris. She’ll be safe. And I trust you to keep Scott safe.” Bojan stopped growling. He still smelled nervous, but he glanced at his friend and let out a sigh of resignation.

  Amber began to repack her medical bag. “I talked to Charles earlier. He told me everything he remembers about Lagash, and from what I heard, he’s at his most dangerous after dark. Nobody searches alone or wanders outside, especially when night hits. Direct orders. Remember,” she said, standing
up and putting the straps of the bag on like a backpack, “there’s no rush. This is an opportunity, not a deadline. Don’t risk your lives.”

  Anica had to fight not to laugh as Amber took off at an easy trot toward the road. Her warning was no laughing matter, but it was far too late to worry about risk.

  CHAPTER 20

  With mixed emotions Tristan watched Amber leave. “I’ll help Bojan carry Scott to the Williams house, in case Enheduanna is there. She was able to get into the Petrovic house with ease, so she or Lagash might have keys to everyone’s home.”

  “They might also be the Williamses. Remember, we had just left the Williams house when Lagash appeared.” Anica let out a snort.

  That wasn’t something he had considered, and he should have. He had to figure out how to get his head straight again and back on the hunt.

  “What do you think, Bobby? I don’t know if there’s a safe place in town to keep someone as vulnerable as Scott.”

  Bobby tapped one booted foot on the ground. “I vote for the Petrovic house. I don’t know anything about the Williams house or what fortifications it has. But the fortifications at the Petrovics’ are impressive and I’ve been in the home and know its smells. I’ll be able to smell if anything is out of place since we were there last. So, at least for now, we stay together.”

  Stripping off his shirt, Tristan motioned for Bobby and Bojan to do the same. “We can make a stretcher for Scott with our shirts and some of these unburnt branches. It’ll be easier than trying to carry him without touching his wing. Bojan, can you keep holding his form? His feathers will protect him from falling ash better as we head into where the trees are still smoldering.”

  Anica’s brother nodded. His face was drawn, the skin sagging from overexertion. Tristan had seen that look before, in troops who had been fighting too long. “I am getting tired,” the young man said, “but I will keep holding him. I do not wish to risk either of you losing power if you have to protect us later.”

  Anica also stripped off her shirt, revealing what had once been a lacy white bra, now covered with smudges of gray and black. The sight of her made his heart pound and he had to look away, to focus on the stretcher, which he was struggling to make fit the tall man. “You need a fourth shirt. If you will shift me, I will not need mine, and my nose will be better for searching for Lagash.”

  He looked at Bobby hopefully, but the python shifter let out an amused snort and waved away the idea with his hands. “Oh, no. No way do I want to be tied to another man’s mate. That’s a recipe for a mating challenge. You have no way of knowing how you’d react to feeling my magic slide under your automatic defenses, and I don’t want to find out.”

  A mating challenge. He hadn’t seen one of those for better than a century, but he remembered it well. Two friends, mated to the same alphic female. The men had beaten each other nearly to death before one gave up and slithered out of the nest to pine to death. He’d refused to eat, to sleep, to drink even a drop of water. It had taken weeks for him to die: a slow, ugly suicide over what Tristan had believed to be a ridiculous reason.

  How ridiculous was it now? “I’m sure I’d be fine. We haven’t fully mated.”

  Now Bobby let out a laugh, his teeth more a baring of fangs than a smile. “Really? Let’s test that theory.” Before Tristan could move, he’d moved over to Anica, put his arm around her bare shoulders, and begun to flick his tongue softly against her hair.

  Anica twitched and tried to pull away, but Bobby just pulled her closer, putting his other bare arm around her. Something welled up in Tristan’s stomach. His chest started to heave for air, like he couldn’t breathe. He hissed, long and low, and took a step forward as Anica struggled under Bobby’s grip. She pushed against his chest, protesting in word and scent. “Bobby! What are you doing?”

  A red film slid down over Tristan’s vision, like the fire had started all over again. He flicked his tongue out, his muscles tensing as he watched for an opening to the snake’s weak spot, near the back of his neck.

  Before he could take another step forward, Bobby released Anica, so abruptly that it was as though they’d never touched. “And there’s your answer,” he said calmly. “No way am I getting my magic anywhere close to her.”

  Anica backed away from both of them, her eyes wide. “You are not going to fight, are you?”

  “No,” Tristan was able to finally gasp out. “No. We’re not going to fight.” The statement felt like a lie, because it was taking every ounce of his willpower to hold himself steady. He tightened his fingers into fists, the fingernails digging deep into his palms.

  Bobby pointed toward town. “Go. Finish the mating process, just like I had to. It’s only because you’re not fully mated that you’re reacting like this. I wanted to kill Nikoli for daring to touch a woman who had already been his lover for years. I can’t afford for you to be less than at your best if we do run into Lagash. We’ll guard the house.”

  “You won’t be able to help yourself, even in times when you shouldn’t.” Anica’s voice was nearly a whisper, and Bojan looked stricken. But her scent wasn’t fear or worry. It was the light, clean ozone of realization and calm.

  “What are you talking about?”

  Bojan looked from Anica to Tristan, then took his sister’s hand. The contact between siblings didn’t make Tristan see red, and he was grateful for that. Bojan kissed her hand lightly. “Go, and let it be a choice, not a fate.”

  She kissed his fist in return. “Nor a thing of shame, but of hope and strength.” Bojan’s smile was more shaky than hers, but he nodded and tightened his grip on her hand for a moment before letting go and returning to the stretcher.

  Anica’s footsteps were light and confident as she and Tristan walked back to town. “Shift me,” she said in what sounded like a seductive whisper. A shudder passed over his skin as he complied, easing magic over her until her fur flowed. He couldn’t help but touch the brown fur to see if it had the same texture as her hair. Her whole body shook when he did, like shedding water after a swim. She quickly moved out of reach, leaving her clothing on the ground for him to pick up. “But not now. We have work first, yes? We think no more of what others say we must do. We will do as we choose, when we choose.”

  She bounded into the distance, letting him decide whether to follow. It was an easy decision—he really had no other options. Instead of heading toward town with Bobby and Bojan, Anica went back to the cave where Scott had been stuck. Tristan caught up as she was sniffing the ground carefully. “Why are we here instead of going to town?”

  “I know where Lagash stands when he attacks Bojan and me. Knowing what kind of footprint he left and following his prints seems good place to start. Yes?”

  It was, and he was an idiot for not thinking of it. He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a frustrated breath. “My head is really not in the game right now. I apologize.” But that was going to change, right now.

  “It is difficult for me as well. But I must try. He says to me and Bojan that Enheduanna is seer and she tells him that Bojan and I are a danger. That is why he must attack us. But then he does not. He must be smart, but that was stupid. He could have easily killed us. Why leave us alive?”

  That was a very good question. A plan within a plan, perhaps? “Lagash was always good at shifting on the fly.” When Anica cocked her head, questioning, and smelled curious, he explained further. “He could change plans quickly to adapt to a new situation, even while a current plan was in progress. But I had no idea Enheduanna was a seer. That might explain how they stayed hidden from the entire Council and Wolven for so long. It also explains why he abandoned Sargon and went underground.”

  Anica’s nose came up from the ground, the black tip covered with fine gray ash. “Or perhaps he does not abandon, but divide to conquer. This is tactic of many good generals, yes?” He must have looked surprised, because she raised one shoulder in a shrug. “Papa studies dead generals for fun. He likes smart men, so he reads books
on their lives, learns how they planned.”

  Divide to conquer. Sargon and Lagash didn’t mind a long game. They were both willing to wait generations for a plan to unfurl. And with a seer at their command … he remembered Ahmad talking about his father’s seers. But why wouldn’t Ahmad mention Enheduanna was one of them? “I think I’m starting to see why the seer considered you a threat, Anica.”

  A burst of desert heat said she was embarrassed, since she couldn’t blush with fur. “I am like Papa. I like to read and have always liked mysteries. I learn English by reading Nancy Drew books. When I am little girl, I think, ‘I am going to become famous detective when I grow up.’ Is silly, I know. But later I know that just solving mystery is not enough. I must try to help people not kill to begin with.”

  He wasn’t sure who Nancy Drew was, but he didn’t think Anica’s ambition was silly at all. “You have the head, and Bobby thinks you have the talent.”

  She looked up at him, her eyes like deep pools of endless black. “What do you think?”

  He shrugged, not sure what to say. “I don’t know that it matters what I think.”

  “Well.” She lowered her nose to snuffle at a large boot print with distinctive diamond-shaped markings. “If we are to be mated, and are tied as one like marriage, then you would have say in what I do. Yes?” She didn’t smell like she liked that idea. It came with anger attached, but he didn’t know why.

  Tied as one like marriage. It wasn’t something that had really occurred to him until she said it. “Where I come from, the women make their own choices.” That made her scent move from spicy to fruity. “My mother chose to be a mother. She raised many children and that was what she wanted. My brothers and sisters were mostly fighters. They would fight against whoever was trying to occupy our country at a given time. But someone was always trying to occupy, and because of that, I don’t have any siblings left.”