The Wretched Race (Epic of Ahiram Book 3)

by Michael Joseph Murano

  Farveen threw down the hose of her water pipe. It hit the ground and the porcelain mouthpiece shattered as she stood up. “By the hellish fire of the Pit and all that lives in it, do not lecture me on rights!” She pointed an accusing finger at her daughter. “Your friend is a murderer, that’s what she is. She deserved to be sentenced to the Arayat.” The Harbor Mistress eyed Ahiram. “This selfish brood of mine is willing to betray her own kin to save a murderer.”

  “She did not do it!” Jin yelled. “She did not! I did! I am the one who killed the High Riders. I ran. I hid. She was innocent. They needed someone to blame. She had nothing to do with it. I stand here, while she suffers in the Arayat.”

  Farveen snorted. “So what? Innocent folks are condemned daily for crimes they did not commit. Their blood oils the bowels of every kingdom. That is not enough reason to betray your kin.”

  “Who are my kin?” The two she-dwarfs were standing now. Farveen was taller than her daughter, but not by much. “Why should I choose a mother who enslaved me over a gentle soul who cared for me? Why should I consider you as my kin when you had nothing but contempt and hate toward me? You called me your shame, as if I were the one who forced you to bear me out of wedlock.”

  “Silence, slave!” Farveen screamed. “You have no right to speak.”

  “Then she will not,” Ahiram cut in. “I am not going to solve all your problems, Farveen, but you have a choice to make, and you have to make it right now: either you help us reach Ebaan, or you get out of my way. I am done talking.”

  The ultimatum sobered the harbor mistress. She tightened her jaw, and faced Ahiram. “I may still prevail in a fight with you,” she said, eyeing him from head to toe.

  “I defeated an urkuun,” Ahiram said quietly. “Can you defeat me?”

  “I have heard of this exploit,” replied Farveen. “I am not sure it is true. You may be lying.”

  “What do you choose, then?”

  She rubbed her chin. “You have your own magic and if you get to use it, Dariöm might find us. My duty is the safety of this city. I will let you go, but on one condition.”

  Here comes the bartering, Ahiram thought. “Say it.”

  “If you survive,” she said with a sarcastic smile, “you will bring this wench back here to stand a proper dwarfish judgment.”

  Ahiram glanced at Jin, then looked back at Farveen. “I agree, on one condition, and this offer is final.”

  “Speak it,” Farveen replied.

  “In the corps, I learned that a dwarfish court requires three judges, is that not so?”

  “It is.”

  “Then here is my condition: I shall choose the judges from among the dwarfs in Karak-Zuun.”

  She smiled condescendingly. How childish. Everyone in Karak-Zuun is beholden to me. I am their lord and they obey my command. “Let it be so,” she said, glancing at Jin with such a murderous intent that the intensity surprised Ahiram.

  “Then it is done.” He said. I hope my plan will work. It wasn’t much of plan, but it had to work if he wanted to save Jin from her mother.

  “These are sturdy steeds and steeds most sturdy,” Jinomus the Elder said. Farveen had appointed him their guide. “They shall carry you speedily, and speedily carry you to your destined destination. Also, before you leave, please check that your bag still carries all six magical artifacts.”

  “Wait, what? I don’t have six artifacts, I have five.”

  “Look inside your bag,” Jinomus suggested.

  Ahiram opened his bag. He noticed a bit of black material folded at the bottom. Carefully, he pulled it out.

  “A cape? I didn’t put this in here.”

  Jinomus took it from him and examined it closely. “Oh-ho, you are in lucky luck. This is a spell veil,” he said. “A rare rarity and a rarity most rare amongst magically magical artifacts.”

  “It’s a cape that will hide you from someone using visors or other means to detect magic,” Jin explained.

  “You mean if I wear this cape over my bag, then I won’t be seen by someone tracking me by the magical stuff I’m carrying?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Did Jinodus give it to me? How did it get here?”

  “It must be Dariöm,” Jin replied. “We don’t have that kind of magic. He was going to take you to Ebaan and must have packed the veil to hide you from the Temple during the journey. That’s the only explanation I can think of. What else could it be?”

  Ahiram looked at her and she upheld his gaze.

  “Let’s go with that explanation for now.” He shouldered his bag and fastened the veil around his neck.

  “Dwarfish ingenuity never ceases to amaze me,” Ahiram said. He gripped the edge of the small wagon as Jinodus pulled a lever to change tracks. The steel wheels wined loudly but obeyed his summon, and they lunged into another dark, oviform, subterranean passage. Ahiram could see the shoulders of two dwarfs in the first wagon tense and relax as they worked the strange pump that allowed them to roll briskly down the polished rails. The wagons moved at great speed most of the day until they reached a central cave bustling with dwarfs loading and unloading bags of goods from scores of similar horseless wagons. Hundreds of lanterns dangling from above shed a subdued light over the entire area, for the cavern was immense and no amount of manufactured light could cast away the ambient darkness. Additional torches burned brightly near stairwells and workstations. The two conductors navigated their transport out of the main railway and into one of the many diagonal parking zones.

  “Terminating terminal point,” Jinodus shouted over the loud noise. “Follow me.”

  Ahiram hoisted his bag, and he and Jin followed Jinodus up a short flight of stairs. They zigzagged through the busy crowds and strolled into a large plaza.

  Ahiram chuckled in disbelief. “There’s another entire underground city here,” he said. “Is this still part of Karak-Zuun?”

  Jin shook her head. “We’re in Xeindor-Thal. It’s a forward waring post and an important commercial zone.”

  Ahiram nodded. “There are only dwarfs here.”

  “And trusted friends,” she added. “Security is tight.”

  Jinodus led them through orthogonal streets that were brightly lit by strings of colorful lanterns. Three-story buildings with cross-gabled roofs lined both sides of the paved roads. Small verandas decked with flowers and herbs sat below the red-brick rooftops. The whole underground neighborhood was bustling with dwarfs, and out of the corner of his eye, Ahiram thought he saw Shadow, but when he looked again, the dog was nowhere to be seen.

  They spent a restful night in a small house tucked in a cul-de-sac. From his window, Ahiram could hear a gentle waterfall trickle down the face of the cavern. He lay on a makeshift mattress on the floor—the bed was too small for him—and his sword never left his side all night long. He knew he was engaged in a dangerous, mostly unseen fight. His arm throbbed continuously where the medallion was implanted.

  Early in the morning, they left through a corridor and after a short walk, reached a stable where four saddled horses were ready for them.

  “I didn’t know dwarfs could ride horses,” Ahiram said.

  “We ride them differently,” Jin answered. “Our saddles are shorter and are meant to support the side of our legs, for we sit with bent knees and feet behind our backs.”

  “But how do you prod the horse, then? We use our legs for that.”

  “We use a special harness under our saddles to do the same,” she said.

  They galloped along a sandy passage that progressively widened as it followed a gentle, upward slope until they reached a military post, where an armed dwarf chatted quietly with Jinodus. Further up, they crossed three additional security check points before reaching the end of the subterranean dwarfish realm.

  Jinodus breathed in the cool, brisk air. “Behold Lindos, the north-eastern forest of Mycene.”

  Dawn had begun to brighten the skies with an orange hue, and the quick breeze greeted them, carrying
a scent of pine and morning dew.

  Ahiram smiled. “How beautiful. I shall want to visit it with you, Jinodus, when the time is right.”

  Jinodus chuckled and they shook hands on it. “But now is the timely time to move with hasty haste.”

  For the next two days, they continued to travel through densely wooded regions, venturing outside the protection of the trees only by night, and only when absolutely necessary. Several times during their travel, Ahiram thought that he had espied Shadow running a short distance away, but he could never confirm it.

  On the eve of the third day since leaving Karak-Zuun, Jinodus took them underground again and into a third dwarfish complex where they traveled once more inside the horseless wagons along straight rails.

  “This is Shikar-Xaros,” Jin said, “the northernmost dwarfish outpost in Mycene.”

  “Do you have outposts like these everywhere?”

  “Not everywhere, but … in a lot of places.”

  Unlike Xeindor-Thal, the previous bustling dwarfish city, Shikar-Xaros was sparsely populated. A few rough and large buildings stood around a low-lit dirty plaza. Wearied dwarfs loaded wagons with coal, iron-ore, and wood. Besides that, there was not much else to see.

  Still, Jinodus managed to find three relatively rested horses. “We shall usefully use these horsing horses for a relatively short period of timely time,” he said.

  After a long and dreary ride through narrow and dark passages that smelled of dampness, they emerged into a sandy grove strewn with small, smooth rocks.

  “This is the riverbed of the Anutto,” Jin said. “A mighty river in times long past. It dried up a few hundred years back.”

  “Be quietly quiet,” Jinodus intimated. “We shall leave the horses and continue on appropriately appropriate footing that will take us to our destined destination soon enough and no later than usual.”

  They walked all day inside a deep canyon where the river used to run. Now and then, snakes would slither lazily away, and tenacious crickets reluctantly stopped their singing to observe the intruders who had the temerity of interrupting the insects’ musing. Toward the end of the day, they climbed a hidden staircase that led them to a standing dead tree atop a windswept plateau. A low gray cover threatened imminent rain.

  Jinodus looked intently at Jin. “Do you understandably understand the wayward way and confusing confusion that will lead you to Ebaan’s territorial territory?”

  She nodded. On their way, Jinomus gave them further instructions based on the bits of information he had about the northwestern part of Mycene where Ebaan’s lair was located. Ahiram then summarized the directions.

  “We move northeast until we reach a canyon maze where Ebaan’s territory begins. As soon as we step inside these canyons, Ebaan will be aware of our presence and he’ll come after us.”

  “You will have two weekly weeks to get in and out of Metranos,” Jinomus warned.

  “Metranos?” Ahiram asked, “What’s Metranos?”

  “The name of Ebaan’s territory,” Jin replied. “It means Sweet Terror.”

  “Fitting,” the Silent said. “Why two weeks?”

  “Two weekly weeks to get out sanely sane,” Jinomus corrected, “You will not be ably able to leave with your sane sanity in your mindful mind if you stay any longer. You will be lolos, as they sayingly say in Parithen. Trelosaleste lolos ma lolos garafon: Insanely insane and crazy crazed beyond repairing repair.”

  “Two weeks it is then,” Ahiram said. “Thank you, Jinomus the Elder, for your assistance. We will see you back here in two weeks’ time.”

  “Do not thankfully thank me, young one,” Jinomus chuckled. “I have a betting bet that your return shall be a successful success, which will then deeply deepen my already deep pocketing pockets.” The elder dwarf flashed a smile, and Ahiram could almost see a glint of gold on his immaculate white teeth.

  Jin and Ahiram began walking. The Silent was tempted to use his wings and fly out, but Jin reminded him that the Temple’s eyes and the tajéruun were looking for him.

  “As soon as you use your artifacts, they will know your location.”

  “I could keep them beneath the cape.”

  Jin shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. It may or may not work.”

  Thunder rumbled in the distance, inviting the rain. A drizzle at first, the rain then turned into tight cords that whipped their faces and hands. Lightning sheered the landscape. After a long and tiresome walk, they stood at the edge of a shadow-filled canyon encased between two high ridges. Careful to avoid deepening rivulets, they began their decent into Metranos. After a tricky descent, they reached the canyon floor safely and stepped into sunshine. Astounded, the Silent stopped walking and looked up into a bluest sky. His clothes were dry and the air carried the scent of lilac mixed with that of rosemary. He looked behind him and remained speechless before the sheet of rain blocked by an invisible straight barrier.

  “We’re in Metranos,” Jin said softly.

  Ahiram clenched his teeth and regained his composure. “So this is Metranos, then.”

  “What do we do now?”

  “Well, I’m hungry. Let’s prepare a hearty breakfast, and I’ll fly us northwest over these hills. Since we’re in Metranos, I don’t think it will matter at all if someone detects my artifacts or not.”

  “How can you possibly think of food? We may be dead in two weeks,” Jin chided.

  “How can you not think of food?” he replied. “I suggest you start a small fire while I fetch some water.”

  Not waiting for an answer, Ahiram took the waterskin made from sheep bladders that the dwarfs had given them and started walking toward the stream, leaving Jin alone.

  In the darkness, a shadow crept, unseen, and followed him.

  “Metranos—sweet terror— is aptly named. Every novice priest of Baal wants to tear this nightmare down. But, sooner or later, they all learn to tolerate it since, in its own twisted ways, it profits the Temple and helps to keep the rest of the world safe.”

  –Teachings of Oreg, High Priest of Baal.

  A short distance away, Ahiram found a stream. It was hidden in a trellis of vines and shrubs. The water tumbled down a pile of moss-covered gray rocks, each the size of a human head. Ahiram drew in a sharp breath. They do look like skulls, he thought, hundreds of human skulls fused together. He untied the leather cords of the waterskin, and leaned over to fill them, careful not to touch the water or the rocks.

  Are you insane? A voice popped in his head. Are you seriously going to drink water from Metranos?

  Hello Shadow, or rather, hello … Sheheluth.

  Carefully, he pulled the container away and closed it securely. He turned around to see Shadow flopped on the ground. The dog yawned.

  How did you know it was me?

  Ahiram stepped away from the stream. I can’t say for certain, but the abruptness and familiarity of these thoughts reminded me of … well, you. I still don’t know how you managed to turn into a dog—

  Oh please! I most certainly did not turn into a dog, Sheheluth protested. I’m merely bouncing my thoughts off this dog and—

  Hum, would love to know how you do that.

  No, you wouldn’t, and don’t even try.

  Why are you following me? The dog flipped on its side and scratched. That’s Funny.

  Stop it, Sheheluth protested. I don’t scratch my back this way.

  Do you see me through the eyes of this dog?

  Yes, I can see, hear, and smell what the dog can.

  So how can you read my thoughts?

  Obviously I can’t. When you think a thought directed to me, or the dog, it resonates in the Arayat, and I then hear it loud and clear. Let’s just say this dog is a conduit that can turn your thoughts into spoken words in the Arayat.

  You can enter the Arayat? It was Ahiram’s turn to be surprised. How can you do all these things?

  I’m not like you, came the reply after a slight hesitation. Let’s just leave it at that
for now.

  And Shadow?

  He’s a dog … obviously.

  So why have you been following me?

  For the common good.

  Why didn’t you alert me about the poison? Why did you protect Domnina?

  I didn’t know about the poison until it was too late. Would you be happy if you’d killed her?

  Ahiram sighed. Why are you here, Sheheluth? What do you want?

  Kill Ebaan. Kill him!

  My, my, aren’t we edgy today. Why should I kill him?

  Because …he is far too dangerous.

  Ahiram smiled. I will need more convincing to break the Silent Oath.

  He is a monster. He isn’t human. He is a Raayiil, a spawn of the Arayat, like the urkuun.

  Ahiram was disturbed by Sheheluth’s vehemence, but he knew she was not ready to reveal her intention. He decided to change his approach. What about the medallion stuck in my arm? Don’t you want him to remove it?

  He can’t help you. No one here can.

  Can you?

  I might. Kill him, and then I’ll have a second favor to ask of you.

  One favor at a time. I’ll need to find Ebaan first. Care to help me?

  Don’t worry, he’ll find you soon enough.

  You mean you can’t find him with these powers of yours?

  It’s not that simple.

  It never is. What about Jin? If I kill him, there’s no telling what will happen to me and her.

  Don’t worry about Jin. Worry about yourself, Ahiram. I’ll take care of her.

  I see. How would I kill Ebaan?

  I don’t know. Find a way. Do it fast.

  You still haven’t told me why you want me to kill him.

  Don’t ask, don’t think. Just do it.

  You sound vindictive, Sheheluth. I’ll think about it later... when you’re out of my head.

  Don’t toy with me, Ahiram. You don’t know what I’m capable of. The thought resonated in his head, hard as steel, devoid of any emotion.

  Hit a nerve, didn’t I?