by Pedro Urvi
This did not please Adamis at all, not only because justice had not been served, but because he would be punished by his father, and he knew his powerful father would never lose face before the other Kings, which left him in an extremely awkward situation. Nor did the sentence please Asu, who was shaking his head with his face distorted by rage. His eyes seemed about to burst out of his head, but he did not dare say a word.
“I humbly accept the judgment of the High Court,” Adamis said, bowing his head.
A few moments later Asu repeated the same words.
Edan, King of the House of Aru, of the Fifth Ring, rose and came forward to face the two Princes while Lur returned to his throne. The High King and Lord of Water wore blue and in his hand, gaunt and full of copper spots, he held the ancestral pendant over his chest. It was so large and beautiful that Adamis could not tear his eyes away from it. These pendants had always fascinated him, but his father would never let him near his own for some reason he never deigned to explain.
“Of the third accusation, that of having caused a diplomatic incident with the House of Hila on their own island of Hiltok,” Edan said smoothly, “it is true and proven that such an incident occurred. Despite that, and luckily, the exiled House of Hila has made it known to us that they will not press charges as long as they continue to receive the loads of corpses punctually. Still, as with the previous accusation, both Princes must be reprimanded for their ill-omened act. A war between the Houses would be devastating, but a war with the House of the Dead would be extremely counter-productive for our interests. Something the High Kings do not wish for, something we have always tried to avoid. Whatever the case, this High Court sentences you both to make a public apology to Lord Woz for what happened, and to guarantee that he will receive the cargo he desires.”
“I shall never apol…” Asu began to protest, but a gesture from his father silenced him immediately.
Adamis knew that for a Prince, to apologize was something practically unthinkable. Far more so before an exiled House, those who were not worthy of living in the Eternal City because of their corrupt practices of Power. Asu, like many of their people, hated the House of Hila, and apologizing to them publicly represented an insufferable insult. Fortunately in my case the insult is not so gross, since apologizing or admitting to an error makes us better. That is what Notaplo has taught me with his example, and that is what I believe. I do not like the House of Hila, nor their dark beliefs and the ill-omened powers they make use of, but we caused an incident on their island, and for that I shall apologize.
“I accept the sentence,” he said, bowing his head in respect.
Asu breathed in sharply, and after a snort of disgust he too accepted the sentence.
“The High Court has passed judgment,” the Alderman said. “The trial is over. Accuser and Accused, you may leave. Everything has been duly noted and registered.” He indicated the Eyes-of-the-Gods.
Adamis breathed out. He was coming out of the High Court alive, something which only hours before had seemed highly unlikely to him. His father had exerted a lot of influence and pressure, as well as using his alliances; no doubt of that. Now would come the punishment and his father’s disapproval and reproach. For a moment he wished he had been found guilty.
The Alderman left the room, and with him the three Eyes. Adamis was about to leave too when Kaitze, Lord of Air, spoke to him again.
“Adamis, stay. There is something we wish to discuss with you.”
The prince stopped and turned to the Five. Asu left the hall with a suspicious glare.
“I am at the service of the High kings,” Adamis said with a deep bow. Something is not right. Why do they want to talk to me? He looked at his father, but the silver-gray eyes showed only harshness.
“From what transpired during the trial and the subsequent investigation,” Kaitze began amiably, something which worried Adamis even more, “the slaves, several of them, managed to escape…”
“That is so.” Adamis was beginning to see where this interrogation was heading, and he did not like it at all.
“That is really unfortunate,” said Lur, Lord of Earth.
“More than unfortunate, it is intolerable”, Gar, Lord of Fire, burst out. “Slaves escaping our city, our domain: it is unacceptable!” His rage became a contained burst of power which spread throughout the chamber at great speed. Adamis felt himself pierced by a scorching heat, and for a moment the temperature in the room increased until it was almost unbearable. He strained his neck, trying to breathe, but he was burning. He thought he was going to faint. At that moment Gar touched his pendant and a red flash issued from it. The temperature in the hall became breathable once more. Adamis bent over, coughing, trying to recover.
“Indeed, Gar, it is disquieting and unacceptable, you are right. It is something we cannot tolerate,” said Edan, Lord of Water.
“If you will allow me…” Kaitze went on, and the High Kings nodded as they sat back on their thrones. “You see, Adamis, no slave has ever returned alive from the Eternal City, as they call it, and this is for a simple reason: the less the slaves know about their Gods, the more fear they will feel in their hearts. For over a thousand years it has been so, and it has served our purposes extremely well. As far as the slaves are concerned we are almost unreal: nightmare entities they cannot even put a face or form to. They fear us, and a large part of that irrational fear arises from the fact that they know nothing more about us than the fact that we make decisions about their miserable existences. Particularly where and when those existences come to an end. And this creates puzzlement and fear, even terror, in their souls, and as long as it remains so, our civilization will continue to flourish at their expense. Therefore you will understand that the fact that several slaves have escaped is somewhat worrying. Certainly unfavorable.”
“I understand…” Adamis murmured. He was even more worried now.
“During the trial you testified that the four slaves who fled from the Island of Hiltok did so through the portal, and that you do not know how they managed to manipulate it… Considering that three other slaves fled using a portal here in the city itself, it is possible that someone knew how to manipulate them?”
“That is impossible,” roared Gar. “They are nothing more than dirty slaves! How could they possibly manipulate a portal?”
“We must not underestimate the slaves. They could not cross the Boundary either, and now we now that some of them can.”
The look Gar gave Laino, Adamis’ father, was heavy with suspicion. “So the rumor has reached your ears as well…”
“It has indeed, and it is no rumor but a fact,” said Laino. “This means that not only have the slaves managed to escape from our City, they are also capable of evading the Boundary and either using or altering our own artifacts. They are achieving unthinkable things. That is what should really worry us.” His eyes turned to the other High Kings, one by one.
“We must find these slaves, to prevent them talking about us, about our city, about what they have witnessed,” Gar said, clenching his fist tightly. “We must find them in order to interrogate them and wring what they know from them, everything they know…” He was frowning, his eyes burning.
Lar nodded. “Yes, we must kill them, together with all those they name under interrogation. Things must go back to what they were. We cannot allow them to talk.”
“Things do not often go back to what they were,” Laino said, and Adamis agreed with his father silently.
“If they are torn up by the root, they will,” Gar said with a crooked smile.
“I too believe we must eliminate the problem at once, without leaving any trace, before it grows,” Kaitze said. “Do you know where the fugitives could be?”
“No, I do not,” Adamis said. Although it was true, he risked his neck if he did not answer truthfully. I am getting into a very boggy stretch here, and if I am not careful the bog might swallow me.
“What race were they?” Gar asked.
/> “They were Senoca.”
“Both fugitive groups? They were all Senoca?” Gar asked in puzzlement.
Adamis pretended to think over the question, his right hand on his chin and his gaze distant. “Yes, I believe they were all Senoca.”
“That is a significant piece of information,” Laino pointed out. “Perhaps the problem is only among them, and not more widespread.”
“The Senoca… that is the Fifth County, is it not?” Kaitze asked. The Lord of Air looked pointedly at Edan, the Lord of Water.
“Yes, it is our County,” the latter replied.
“Well there seems to be something very wrong in your County,” Gar said accusingly, with the same fiery stare as his son.
“Until now there has been nothing significant or noteworthy,” Edan said defiantly. “We look after our County as well as you all do yours. Five Houses, Five Counties, each the responsibility of a House: so says our law, and so we observe it.”
Gar grinned crookedly. “That is not what it looks like …”
Edan stood up. “I will not let anyone insult my House, or the management of our County.”
“Sit down, Edan,” Laino said, trying to brush things aside with a wave of his hand. “Nobody is accusing you of anything.”
Edan glanced at Gar, then sat down again.
“So our social and political structures are still working properly?” Lur asked.
“The Enforcers report punctually, and everything is within the established parameters. There are no delays in the shipments, the production is stable, the slaves are multiplying: everything is under control.”
“Under apparent control…” grunted Gar.
“Who is the Regent of that County? Is he able?” Kaitze asked.
“His name is Sesmok; he is an able, heartless rat. He would sell his entire family for three gold coins. He serves us well. He has the slaves properly terrified and subdued. He delivers everything he is asked for, and has a taste for blood and torture.”
“In that case, charge him with finding the seven fugitives,” Gar said. “Let him bring them to us, and do it speedily. But make sure he understands that if he fails we will skin him alive, after taking out his eyes.”
“Do not worry, Gar, I know how to take care of my domains.”
“Are we going to leave this matter in the hands of the Regent and the Enforcers?” Laino asked. “Let me remind you that it is important … it might spread to the other Counties, like a disease. We must act now, with all the strength of our Power: cut off the evil at the root.”
Gar made a scornful gesture. “They are no more than a bunch of filthy slaves, such insignificant worms. You do not mean us to dirty our hands with such a triviality, do you? That would be an unforgivable waste of time and energy. Those cockroaches are not worthy of it, and neither my House nor I will squander a shred of Power on them.”
Kaitze, the Lord of Air, nodded emphatically. “I feel the same way. They are trivial, a slight nuisance to be eliminated, true, but without our being obliged to intervene directly, much less make use of our Power.”
“It is decided then. Sesmok will bring us the seven fugitive slaves, dead or alive. Let our Enforcers on the continent take active part in the search and capture.”
“And put pressure on the Regent,” Gar said sarcastically. “He must be adequately motivated.”
“With the Enforcers and the Regent searching for them,” Edan said, “we will soon find them and put an end to this trouble, this stain on my honor.”
When he heard these last words a shiver ran down Adamis’ spine. Flee, Kyra, hide! By whatever you love most, hide!
Chapter 4
Ikai’s sword deflected the thrust. The sound of metal against metal rang with its alarming song. With a swift twist of his wrist he deflected the sword searching for his stomach.
“I got you!” cried Kyra.
The comment was followed by a powerful cut towards his left thigh. But the movement had been clumsy, he saw it coming and moved his leg away slightly. The sword found only air and his opponent lost her balance, leaving herself completely exposed.
“Damn!” she cried in frustration.
Ikai seized his chance to launch a kick at his sister’s unprotected side, and brought her down.
She gave him an angry look. “You enjoyed that blow, didn’t you, brother?” she accused him from the floor,
Ikai shrugged, but kept his face expressionless. “You’re the one who insists that I teach you how to fight. I just do it as best I can,” he said. But even he realized the answer had not sounded very convincing.
“Yeah… sure…” Kyra got to her feet and looked around. “If anyone laughs I’ll give him a black eye,” she said to the thirty-odd young people sitting on the floor in the first training circle that cool morning. And to make it crystal clear, she clenched her fist and showed it to them. Silence fell on the training arena, south of the village. Those poor refugee peasants would never dare say anything to one of the Seven Heroes; more than that, they lowered their heads and looked away when their paths crossed, very much as they would before an Enforcer. And still less would they dare make any comment to Kyra, whose temper was something everybody in the Shelter was already familiar with.
“Stop scaring them. It’s their turn next, and they have a lot to learn.”
“If you teach them like that, they’re not going to learn very much,” Kyra protested.
In fact they were willing, even though they were terrified of wielding a weapon. For a slave it was something unthinkable, still more so to confront one of the Heroes whom they venerated. Ikai watched them surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye. He had asked for volunteers in order to train defenders and watchmen to protect the Shelter, and these were the ones who had come forward. They were almost all young and strong. They would do. Now he just had to train their bodies, and above all to break their slave mentality and turn them into fighters. It was not going to be easy.
He faced his sister and half-closed his eyes. “You’d better apply yourself, little sis,” he said, stressing the last words. “You fight with all the skill of a sick duck.”
Kyra’s eyes opened wide, and a curse stuck in her throat.
“You…you…You’ll see!” She lunged at him with a wild, downward-arching thrust, but once again the blow was totally predictable and horrendously executed. He moved sideways and turned half-round. Kyra passed in front of him, completely off- balance. Holding back his glee at what he was about to do, he spanked his sister with the flat of his sword.
There was a murmur of stupefaction among the apprentices. Some covered their mouths with their hands, others watched in open disbelief.
Kyra’s face reddened like a ripe tomato. She turned to Ikai with her eyes spitting fire, her face sullen and frowning and her jaw clenched.
“Now you’ve done it!”
Oh oh, he muttered to himself. He knew what tended to happen when he aroused his sister’s temper.
Kyra went for her brother, thrusting to left and right, carried away by her anger. He had to work hard to avoid those uncontrolled attacks. She struck with such force that anyone less skilled and trained would have probably ended up with his head cracked open. The swords were for training, blunt-edged, but they were made of steel and quite heavy, they could cause plenty of damage if wielded furiously. Budin the smith had made them especially to train the future warriors. Ikai gave thanks to Girlai, Father Moon, for sending him that good man, who had become indispensable in the small community as the only one with any knowledge of the forging of metals, which was something essential in the creation of a village.
He concentrated on dancing around Kyra for a while, dodging and moving aside nimbly to avoid her thrusts, until finally she stopped, panting with exhaustion.
“I don’t know whether you’ve noticed, but you haven’t touched me once, and you can’t hold your sword any longer. Not much of an example to be setting…”
She was trying to recover her
breath. “Will you… please… tell me why you’re so angry at me?” she asked.
“Who says I’m angry at you?”
“It’s because of that last rescue, isn’t it?”
“Don’t call them rescues. They’re not rescues at all. We agreed to help a few of our people to escape and find shelter when they needed it. Or at least that was the initial plan. Lately it’s got out of hand.”
“For me it’s a rescue. We rescue them from slavery, from death at the hands of the Regent or the Enforcers.”
“Every one of your rescues puts them all in danger,” Ikai said, indicating the circle of apprentices with his sword. He pointed at the houses to the east and the main square to the north. “If we go on bringing people we’ll end up being discovered; this whole place will go up in flames, we’ll all die.”
Kyra looked resentful. “Shall we go on practicing?” she said, raising her sword and deliberately ignoring her brother’s comments.
Ikai threw his head back and looked up at the sky. Summoning all his calm, he tried to relax. As stubborn as ever, but I must make her see the danger involved in bringing more people. And I have to do it before something bad happens and there’s no way back. I know she does it out of the goodness of her heart, but she must understand the danger involved for all those people.