by Wilbur Smith
‘You are cold, Sidudu,’ Taita said. ‘No more questions until we have you home.’ Taita turned to Meren and kept his expression serious as he asked, ‘Is the lady causing you inconvenience or discomfort? Do you think you will be able to carry her as far as the village, or shall we put her down and make her walk?’
‘I can abide with any suffering she may cause me,’ Meren replied, equally seriously.
‘Then I believe we have finished our business here. Let us go on.’
It was dark when they entered the village. The houses were mostly in darkness and nobody seemed to notice their passing. By the time they dismounted in the stableyard Sidudu had made a remarkable recovery.
Nevertheless Meren was taking no risks and carried her into the main living room. While Fenn and Imbali lit the lamps and reheated a pot of rich game stew on the hearth, Taita examined Sidudu’s injuries. They were all superficial grazes, scrapes and embedded thorns. He dug the last out of her pretty calf and smeared ointment over the wound, sat back and studied her. He saw a maelstrom of fear and hatred. She was a confused, unhappy child, but beneath the turmoil of suffering her aura was clear and pure. She was essentially a sweet, innocent creature forced prematurely to face the world’s evils and wickedness.
‘Come, child,’ he said. ‘You must eat, drink and sleep before we talk any more.’ She ate the stew and dhurra bread that Fenn brought to her, and when she had wiped the bowl with the last crust of bread and popped it into her mouth, Taita reminded her, ‘You said that you were coming to find me.’
‘Yes, Magus,’ she whispered.
‘Why?’ he asked.
‘May I talk to you alone, where nobody else can hear us?’ she asked shyly, and glanced involuntarily at Meren.
‘Of course. We shall go to my chamber.’ Taita picked up one of the oil lamps. ‘Follow me.’ He led her to the room that he and Fenn shared, sat on his mat and indicated Fenn’s to her. Sidudu folded her legs under her and arranged her torn skirts modestly. ‘Now tell me,’ he invited.
‘Everybody in Jarri says you are a famous surgeon and skilled with all manner of herbs and potions.’
‘I am not sure who “everybody” is, but I am indeed a surgeon.’
‘I want you to give me something to flush the infant from my womb,’ she whispered.
Taita was taken aback. He had not expected anything like that. It took him some moments to decide how to reply. At last he asked gently, ‘How old are you, Sidudu?’
‘I am sixteen, Magus.’
‘I thought you were younger,’ he said, ‘but no matter. Who is the father of the child you are carrying? Do you love him?’
Her reply was bitter and vehement: ‘I don’t love him. I hate him and wish he was dead,’ she blurted out.
He stared at her while he composed his next question. ‘If you hate him so, why did you lie with him?’
‘I did not wish it, Magus. I had no choice. He is a cruel, cold man. He beats me, and mounts me so violently when he is in wine that he tears me and makes me bleed.’
‘Why do you not leave him?’ he asked.
‘I have tried, but he sends the trogs to fetch me back. Then he beats me again. I hoped that he would beat me until I lost the brat he put inside me, but he is careful not to hit me in the belly.’
‘Who is he? What is his name?’
‘You promise to tell nobody?’ She hesitated, then went on in a rush, ‘Not even the good man who saved my life and carried me in from the forest? I don’t want him to despise me.’
‘Meren? Of course I will not tell him. But you have no need to worry. No one would ever despise you. You are a good, brave girl.’
‘The man’s name is Onka - Captain Onka. You know him, I think.
He told me about you.’ She seized Taita’s hand. ‘Please help me!’ She shook it in her desperation. ‘Please, Magus! I beg you! Please help me! If I don’t rid myself of the baby they will kill me. I don’t want to die for Onka’s bastard.’
Taita began to make sense of the situation. If Sidudu was Onka’s woman, she was the one of whom Colonel That had spoken, the one who had doctored Onka’s food to keep him out of the way so that That could escort Taita down from the Cloud Gardens. She was one of them and she must be protected. ‘I must examine you first, but I will do my best. Would you object if I called Fenn, my ward, to be with us?’
‘The pretty blonde girl who shot the trog off Meren’s back? I like her. Please call her.’
Fenn came at once. As soon as Taita had explained what was required of her, she sat down beside Sidudu and took her hand. ‘The magus is the finest surgeon on earth,’ she said. ‘You need have no fear.’
‘Lie back and lift your tunic,’ Taita instructed her, and when she obeyed, he worked quickly but thoroughly. ‘Are these bruises from the beatings Onka gave you?’ he asked.
‘Yes, Magus,’ she replied.
‘I will kill him for you,’ Fenn offered. ‘I never liked Onka, but now I hate him.’
‘When the time comes I will kill him myself,’ Sidudu squeezed her hand, ‘but thank you, Fenn. I hope you will be my friend.’
‘We are friends already,’ Fenn told her.
Taita finished his examination. ‘Already he could discern the faint aura of the unborn child, shot through with the black evil of its father.
Sidudu sat up and smoothed down her clothing. ‘There is a baby, isn’t there, Magus?’ Her smile faded and she looked woebegone again.
‘In the circumstances, I am sad to have to say, yes.’
‘I have missed my last two moons.’
‘The only good thing in this business is that you have not gone too far. So early in your term, it will not be difficult for us to dislodge the foetus.’ He stood up and crossed the room to where his medical bag stood. ‘I shall give you a potion. It is very strong and will make you vomit and purge your bowels, but it will bring down the other thing at the same time.’ He measured a dose of green powder from a stoppered phial into an earthenware bowl, then added boiling water. ‘Drink it as soon as it cools, and you must try to keep it down,’ he told her.
They sat with her as she forced herself to swallow it, a mouthful at a time, gagging at the bitter taste. When she had finished she sat for a while, panting and heaving spasmodically. At last she grew quieter. ‘I shall be all right now,’ she whispered hoarsely.
‘You must sleep here with us tonight,’ Fenn told her firmly. ‘You might need our help.’
Sidudu’s groans woke them at the darkest hour of the night. Fenn sprang from her mat and lit the oil lamp. Then she helped Sidudu to her feet and led her, doubled over with cramps, to the nightsoil pot in the small adjacent room. They reached it just before Sidudu voided, with a spluttering liquid rush. Her cramps and pains grew more intense as the hours passed and she strained over the pot. Fenn stayed at her side, massaging her belly when the cramps were at their height, sponging her sweating face and chest after each bout passed. Just after the moon set Sidudu was convulsed with a spasm more powerful than all those that had gone before. At its height she cried out wildly, ‘Oh, help me, Mother Isis! Forgive me for what I have done.’ She fell back, spent, and the foetus made a pathetic mound of bloody jelly in the bottom of the pot.
With fresh water and a linen cloth, Fenn cleaned and dried Sidudu’s body. Then she helped her to her feet and led her back to the sleeping mat. Taita gathered up the foetus from the pot, washed it carefully, then wrapped it in a fresh linen headcloth. It had not developed far enough to tell whether it had been a boy or a girl. He carried it out into the stableyard, called Meren to help him and they lifted a paving slab in the corner of the yard. They scooped a hollow in the earth beneath it, then Taita laid the bundle in it.
When Meren had replaced the slab Taita said quietly, ‘Mother Isis, take this soul into your care. It was conceived in pain and hatred. It perished in shame and suffering. It was not meant for this life. Holy Mother, we pray you, treat the little one more kindly in its next life.’
When he returned to the chamber, Fenn looked up at him enquiringly.
‘It is gone,’ he said. ‘The bleeding will soon staunch, and Sidudu will be well in a few days. She has nothing more to fear.’
‘Except the awful man who beats her,’ Fenn reminded him.
‘Indeed. But she is not the only one: we must all fear Captain Onka.’
He knelt by the sleeping mat and studied Sidudu’s exhausted face. She was sleeping soundly. ‘Stay with her, Fenn, but let her sleep as long as she can. I have matters to attend to.’
As soon as he had left the chamber, Taita sent for Nakonto and Imbali. ‘Go back to where we killed the apes. Hide the carcasses in the forest, then find the pack horses and dispose of the hogs. Pick up the spent arrows and cover any signs we were there. Come back when you have finished.’ After they had left, he told Meren and Hilto, ‘Colonel That said that his agent in Mutangi is the headman, Bilto. He will take any message to That. Go to Bilto secretly. Tell him to let That know that we have the girl Sidudu with us—’ He was about to go on when they heard many horses galloping down the lane that ran past the front of the house. Loud hectoring shouts rang through the village, then the sound of blows, the wail of women and the whimpering of children.
‘Too late, I fear,’ Taita said. ‘The soldiers are already here. I have no doubt that they are searching for Sidudu.’
‘We must hide her.’ Meren jumped to his feet. At that moment they heard hobnailed sandals on the paving of the stableyard, followed by pounding on the door. Meren half drew his sword from its scabbard.
‘In the name of the Supreme Council, open up!’ It was Onka’s angry voice.
‘Put up your blade.’ Taita told Meren quietly. ‘Open the door and let them in.’
‘But what of Sidudu?’ Meren looked towards the door of the inner chamber, his expression distraught.
‘We must trust to Fenn’s good sense,’ Taita replied. ‘Open the door before Onka becomes truly suspicious.’ Meren crossed the room and lifted the bar. Onka burst in.
‘Ah, Captain Onka!’ Taita greeted him. ‘To what good fortune do we owe the unexpected pleasure of your company?’
With an effort Onka regained his composure. ‘I beg your understanding, Magus, but we are searching for a missing girl. She is disturbed and may be raving.’
‘What is her age and appearance?’
‘She is young and pretty. Have you seen her?’
‘I regret I have not.’ Taita looked enquiringly at Meren. ‘Have you seen anybody matching that description, Colonel?’
‘I have not.’ Meren was not the best of liars and Onka peered into his face suspiciously. ‘You might have waited until morning before disturbing the magus and his household,’ Meren blustered.
‘I apologize once more,’ said Onka, without any attempt to appear sincere, ‘but the matter is urgent and cannot wait until morning. May I search this house?’
‘I see that you will do so, whatever I say.’ Taita smiled. ‘But do it swiftly, then let us be in peace.’
Onka strode to the door of the inner chamber and threw it open, then marched in.
Taita followed him and stood in the doorway. Onka went to the pile of sleeping mats and fur blankets in the middle of the floor. He turned them over with the point of his sword. There was nobody beneath them.
He glared around the room, then crossed quickly to the cubicle and peered into the nightsoil pot. He grimaced, then returned to the sleeping chamber, and looked around it again, more carefully than before.
Meren stepped into the doorway behind Taita. ‘It’s empty!’ he exclaimed.
‘You sound surprised.’ Onka rounded on him.
‘Not at all.’ Meren recovered himself. ‘I was merely confirming what the magus has already told you.’
Onka stared at him for a moment, then switched his attention back to Taita. ‘You are aware that I am only doing my duty, Magus. Once I have searched the rest of the house, I have been ordered to conduct you to the citadel where the oligarchs will receive you. Please be ready to leave immediately.’
‘Very well. At this hour of the night it is not convenient, but I will bow to the dictates of the Supreme Council.’
Onka pushed past Meren, who followed him.
As soon as they were gone Taita opened his Inner Eye. Immediately he picked up the shimmer of two separate auras in the far corner of the chamber. As he concentrated on them the shapes of Fenn and Sidudu appeared. Fenn was holding the girl protectively in the crook of her left arm. With the other hand she held the gold nugget of the Talisman of Taita. She had suppressed her aura to a pale glow. Sidudu’s danced and flamed with terror, but in spite of that Fenn had been able to cloak them with her spell of concealment. Taita gazed into Fenn’s eyes and sent her an astral impulse: ‘You have done well. Remain as you are. When it is safe to do so I will send Meren to you. He will take you to a better place than this.’
Fenn’s eyes opened wider as she received the message, then narrowed again as she replied: ‘I will do as you tell me. I heard Onka say that the Council have summoned you. I shall hold vigil for you while we are apart.’
For a few moments longer, Taita held her eyes. He exerted all his powers to conceal from her his fears for her safety, and instead to convey to her his love and protection. She smiled trustingly and her aura took on its usual fire and beauty. With the talisman in her right hand she made the circular sign of benediction towards him.
‘Stay concealed,’ he repeated, and left the chamber.
Meren was waiting alone in the living room, but Taita could hear Onka and his men rampaging at the back of the house. ‘Listen well, Meren.’ Taita stood close to him and spoke quietly. ‘Fenn and Sidudu are still in my chamber.’ Meren opened his mouth to speak but Taita raised his hand to caution him to silence. ‘Fenn has cast a spell of concealment over them. When Onka and I have left for the citadel to answer the summons of the oligarchs, you may go to them. You must pass a message through Bilto to That. Tell him how precarious the position of the girls has become. He must find a more secure hiding-place for them while I am away, which may be a long time. I believe that the oligarchs intend to send me back at once to the Cloud Gardens.’ Meren looked worried. ‘I will only make astral contact with Fenn in case of dire urgency, or when our purpose has been achieved. In the meantime, you and That must continue to make preparations for our flight from Jarri. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, Magus.’
‘There is one other matter, good Meren. There is every chance that I will not prevail against Eos. She may destroy me as she has done all the others she has sucked into her thrall. If that happens I shall warn Fenn before it is over. You must not attempt to rescue me. You must take Fenn with the others of our band and fly from Jarri. Try to find your way back to Karnak and warn Pharaoh of what has happened.’
‘Yes, Magus.’
‘Guard Fenn with your life. Do not let her fall alive into the clutches of Eos. You understand what I mean by that?’
‘I do, Magus. I will pray to Horus and the trinity that it will not be necessary, but I will defend Fenn and Sidudu to the end.’
Taita smiled. ‘Yes, my old and trusted friend. Sidudu may be the one for whom you have waited so long.’
‘She reminds me so strongly of the Princess Merykara when first I fell in love with her,’ Meren said simply.
‘You deserve all the joy Sidudu can bring you and more,’ Taita whispered. ‘But hush now. Here comes Onka.’
Onka stormed into the room. He was making no attempt to conceal his annoyance.
‘Did you find her?’ Taita asked.
‘You know I did not.’ Onka went back to the doorway of the bedchamber and stood there for a while, glowering suspiciously into the empty room. Then, with an angry shake of his head, he came back to Taita. ‘We must leave at once for the citadel.’
‘I will need warm clothing if the oligarchs send me to the Cloud Gardens.’
‘It will be provided,’
Onka told him. ‘Come.’
Taita clasped Meren’s upper arm in farewell. ‘Be firm in resolve and steadfast in courage,’ he said softly, then followed Onka out into the stableyard. One of Onka’s men was holding a bay mare, saddled for the road. Taita stopped short. ‘Where is my mare, Windsmoke?’ he demanded.
‘The grooms tell me that she is lame and cannot be ridden,’ Onka replied.
‘I must see to her before we leave.’
‘That is not possible. My orders are to escort you to the citadel without delay.’
Taita argued a little longer, but it was to no avail. He looked back despairingly at Meren.
‘I will care for Windsmoke, Magus. You need not fret.’
Taita mounted the strange horse, and they rode out through the gate.
It was the middle of the following morning when they reached the palace of the oligarchs. Once again, Taita was taken to the antechamber.
There was a basin of hot water in which he refreshed himself while one of the palace servants held a clean linen towel for him. The same servant gave him a meal of spiced chicken and a bowl of red wine.
Then the usher came to lead him through into the Supreme Council’s chamber. With the utmost respect, the man settled him on a woolen mat at the front of the room just below the dais. Taita looked carefully about him, then concentrated on the leather screen. He could detect no trace of Eos. He relaxed and composed himself, for he expected a long wait.
However, a short time later, the guards filed in and took up their positions below the dais. The usher announced the entrance of the oligarchs: ‘Pray show respect for the honourable lords of the Supreme Council.’
Taita made his obeisance but watched the oligarchs from under his eyelashes as they filed in from behind the screen. Once again they were led by Lord Aquer. Taita was surprised that there were only two: Lord Caithor was missing. Aquer and his companion seated themselves on their stools and left the third unoccupied. Aquer smiled. ‘You are welcome. Please be at ease, Magus. You are among your peers.’
Taita was surprised by this, but tried not to show it. He straightened and leant back against the cushions. ‘You are gracious, Lord Aquer,’ he said.