The largest crowds of people had gathered around the tents where the wounded had been brought. People were screaming the names of missing family members that were said to have been seen here. Nevertheless, there were only few reunions and the cries of joy couldn’t drown out the cries of despair. So, most of these moments of joy went by unnoticed.
Lilith was relieved to leave the encampment and the cries of the people behind her. That feeling, however, didn’t last long. The Governor had brought them to a place where the bodies of dead servi were gathered. The soldiers had defeated them in the woods that morning, and afterwards they had been brought here.
Filled with fear and loathing, Lilith stared into the big, dark eyes and started to shiver. “Are they really dead? They sleep with their eyes open, you know.”
Ferhdessar walked along the row of bodies and kicked them all. None of the servi moaned or moved of its own accord. “Convinced?”
Lilith nodded and walked away. Leaning against a tree, she threw up. Ferhdessar and the Governor stared after her.
“It seems to affect her a lot,” the man said nosily.
Ferhdessar shrugged and didn’t reveal anything. He only nodded.
“The soldiers also captured a servus alive.”
Ferhdessar turned around with a jolt. “Where is he?”
The man pointed at the prison. Two men were guarding the door. The Governor continued, “We haven’t been able to talk to him. He either doesn’t understand our language or he’s refusing to talk to us.”
“A bit of both, I think.”
Ferhdessar looked at Lilith again. He was wondering if there was any harm in taking her to the servus. Seeing that she was the only one who could communicate with the creature, he decided to call her. She raised her head and when he told her he needed her, she got up. She joined him outside the prison. Ferhdessar explained to her what the man had just told him.
“I don’t want to see him,” Lilith said, shaking her head.
“Could you at least try? He might have valuable information about Kasimirh’s current hiding place.”
“You told me he was gone.”
“Because I believe he is, but that doesn’t mean he has gone all the way back to Naftalia.”
The Governor was following the conversation with interest. He wanted to join in, but Ferhdessar raised his hand, causing the man to remain silent. Lilith glanced at him before she addressed the sorcerer again, “Why don’t you talk with the servus yourself?”
“I don’t speak their language.”
“I hardly speak their language either.”
“But I also don’t know much Naftalian, and from what I understand from your stories, the servi do.”
“Not much, just a few words.”
Even so, Lilith took a few steps forwards and nodded at one of the guards. Ferhdessar followed her as fast as he could.
The servus was lying motionless on a couple of straw mattresses. His eyes were open, but nothing indicated that he had noticed them coming in. Lilith looked at his hands. His nails had been clipped, which meant that he was a slave. She wasn’t sure if that set her mind at ease. It had always been the slaves who’d had it in for her.
“He’s sleeping,” Lilith explained. “But I know a way to wake him up.”
Lilith snapped a few words at him, and the creature immediately started to move, giving off a salty stench. That scent, combined with the darkness of the cell, brought back many memories of the caves. If she couldn’t push those memories aside, she would never be able to have a conversation with him.
“Can someone turn on the light?” Lilith asked, gesturing at the lantern. She waited for someone to do as she asked before she yelled in Naftalian, “Get up!”
The servus got up. Full of surprise he looked at Lilith and smiled. “New master, ynfytyn?”
Lilith flinched at the sound of the insult, but the rest of his words confused her. The servus looked over her shoulder and Lilith turned around. It became clear to her that he was talking about Ferhdessar.
“What do you mean?”
“Dragon has fought. He gave order.”
Lilith cast down her eyes and bit her lip, thinking. “You’re lying.”
“Why I lie if truth is better?”
The creature was right. If this was true, it hurt more than the most terrible lie the servus could make up. If it was true. Lilith glanced back at Ferhdessar. He gave her a questioning look, but she decided not to tell him what the servus had just said. She had to think about this first.
“Where’s Kasimirh?”
The creature laughed.
“He doesn’t want to say anything,” Lilith told Ferhdessar. She walked to the door to escape the servus. The sorcerer, however, stopped her. “I’m sure they prearranged a meeting point.”
Lilith translated the words. The servus scrutinized the sorcerer before he got up to walk towards Lilith. She had to look up at him because of his height. Lilith swallowed and hoped that the creature wouldn’t pick up on her fear. Then he leaned forwards and said into her ear, “Master wants you.”
His breath touched her cheek. Lilith translated the words. The servus said something else and Lilith turned around to face Ferhdessar.
“He’s coming back for me.”
The servus brushed her hair back with his sticky hand. His lips touched her ear. “Ynfytyn can’t run.”
Ferhdessar dragged him away and threw him onto the straw mattress. Next, he pushed Lilith outside. The sunlight blinded her. When Ferhdessar came out, she turned towards him. “Will he really come back for me?”
Ferhdessar’s gaze travelled the landscape. She had noticed before that he was nervous. She repeated her question.
“You’re probably very valuable to him,” he admitted reluctantly. “So, yes, I think he’s going to try something. But you’re not the only reason for him to come back.”
“Why else would he come?” Lilith asked anxiously.
“He told me that he has unfinished business with me.”
Ferhdessar stopped talking when the Governor joined them again.
“Why is it that you know these creatures so well?” the man asked Lilith.
She didn’t respond. The servus’s words haunted her. Had Ferhdessar really made her fight. She jumped when the sorcerer put a hand on her shoulder.
“You did well back there. Your fear was barely visible. I’m proud of you.”
With a crooked smile Lilith said, “Thank you, but I’m glad that I could leave again.”
She held his gaze for a few seconds. His face had become expressionless again, but Lilith thought that she could see more and more emotions in his eyes.
“What are you worried about?”
Lilith knew that her question had taken him by surprise, because he briefly lifted his eyebrows. “About Havv’n, Merzia and lord Yvar. I’m worried because I don’t know when Kasimirh will turn up again.” His eyes shone. “And even though I have faith in you, I’m also worried about you. I don’t want to see you get hurt again, by him or by anyone else.” He squeezed her shoulder. “You wouldn’t deserve that after all the good things you’ve done of late.”
The doubts planted by the servus faded into the background. Who was she going to believe: a creature that had always tormented her or the man who had promised to protect her from her master? Ferhdessar had kept his word before. Lilith shook her head. How could she have doubted him, even for a second...
She was startled by screams coming from a bit farther down. Lilith quickly followed Ferhdessar to the group of people that had gathered at the sickbay. They were throwing stones and they were jeering, cursing and raging. While the Governor was trying to calm down the mob, Lilith elbowed her way to the front. Afifa stood in the middle of the circle, parrying the stones by spinning her staff at high speed. There was a woman lying on the ground. She had curled herself up into a ball and was protecting her head with her arms.
“Filthy witch!” the people shouted. “You’re in league w
ith the enemy!”
The woman cautiously peered between her arms. It was Ébha.
Ferhdessar tried to stop Lilith as she ran to the front, but Lilith tore herself free. She knelt down beside the healeress.
“Step aside, woman!” someone yelled. “We’re going to kill her and we won’t be able to guarantee your safety if you get in our way.”
“What has she done to you?” Lilith asked.
“The devil has sent her to help Kasimirh.”
“What a load of rubbish. This woman has nothing to do with him, trust me. I bet that Ébha came here to help you. She can heal the wounded. She wants to fight against Kasimirh by undoing what he did.”
Ébha softly moaned affirmatively. Lilith bent over her. “We’ll get you out of here. You’re not alone any more.”
“We don’t want anything to do with her diabolical tricks,” a woman shouted.
Somebody else called, “We don’t want strangers in our town!”
Lilith understood their fear of strangers, but it was madness that they were taking everything out on a woman like Ébha. Lilith was suddenly hit by a few stones. She rubbed her forehead and stared at the blood on her fingers with growing anger. Afifa got hit as well.
Lilith jumped up.
“We warned you, woman. Step aside or you’ll die too.” A woman stepped forwards and lashed out with a stick. Lilith received the blow for Ébha.
“Ferhdessar, do something!” she screamed. “How can you just stand there?”
At long last he stepped into the circle and raised his hands. The people hesitated. Afifa and Lilith were strangers to them, so it wasn’t a problem if they got hurt in the process. But the king’s counsellor… that changed everything. Lilith didn’t wait to hear what he was going to say. She saw an opportunity to escape, so she picked Ébha up and carried her to the edge of the woods. Nobody followed her, except Afifa.
“Follow me,” the sorceress said as she changed direction.
Lilith followed Afifa deeper into the woods until they reached a clearing. This apparently was the place where Afifa spent the night, because a hammock hung high between the trees. Woodblocks were smouldering on the campfire. Lilith laid Ébha down on the ground next to the fire. She caressed Ébha’s forehead.
“Give me a bit more space,” Afifa ordered as she undid a pouch and sat down next to the healeress as well.
“Let her stay,” Ébha whispered, giving Afifa a nod of encouragement. The sorceress raised her eyebrows and smiled.
“Fine, Lilith, you can stay.”
“Is there something I can do?”
“Keep doing what you were doing,” was Afifa’s resolute answer.
Lilith caressed the healeress while Afifa treated her. Ébha recovered before Lilith’s eyes. Not much later Lilith helped Ébha back to her feet.
“Thank you so much for coming to my aid. I should have known that this was going to happen, it wasn’t the first time. But I was in the neighbourhood and felt that I should offer my help.”
“Why won’t people just let you do your job?”
“Well, I don’t understand that either. The Merzians are so extremely stubborn. I, and others like me, could have done so much good.” Afifa nodded in agreement and Ébha laid her hand on the wound on Lilith’s forehead. “But how are you? Have the wounds on your back and legs healed properly?”
Lilith nodded. “I’ve always wondered if you got in trouble for helping me that day.”
Ébha shook her head. “Unlike Ferhdessar, lord Yvar wasn’t very strict. I was just ordered to leave Nadesh immediately. So I did.”
“I’m glad to hear that and I’m still very grateful for what you did for me that day. It’s such a shame that the Governor won’t let you help here. I’ve seen so many people who would benefit from your treatments.”
The healeress heaved a deep sigh.
“Shouldn’t we tell her?” Afifa cut into the conversation.
“No, it’s best if we didn’t. As long as she’s with Ferhdessar, it will only get her into trouble. She’ll find out herself, when the time is right.”
Lilith looked at both women. “Do you know him well?” she asked Afifa.
“No, I normally don’t associate with his kind of sorcerer.”
“His kind?”
“Yes, there are sorcerers by birth, like Rochard and me, and probably Kasimirh as well. And sorcerers who have acquired magic, like Ferhdessar.”
Now Lilith understood why the sorcerer used objects for all his magic. She had asked him about that once. Ferhdessar had explained that using magic cost much energy, so it was easier to use talismans. She had concluded under her breath that sorcerers apparently were very weak. He hadn’t appreciated that. It still made Lilith smile. Nevertheless, she also felt ashamed for having said that out loud. She had deeply insulted him. Now she understood that there had been truth in her remark, which was probably why it had irked Ferhdessar so much.
“Do you think that Kasimirh is still around somewhere? Ferhdessar seems to be working under the assumption that he is.”
Afifa looked around watchfully and nodded. “I don’t think his work is completely finished here yet. What are you going to do once this is all over.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was told that you came here to defeat Kasimirh. What are your plans after you’ve done that?”
Lilith shrugged and there was a long silence. “To be honest, I don’t think I can defeat him. The journey to Havv’n was horrible and I was hoping that I’d feel more secure once I had arrived here. I was clinging to the thought that I’d meet him face to face and that seeing him would infuriate me enough to kill him. Especially with Ferhdessar by my side.” Lilith bit her lip and bowed her head. The two other women came closer to be able to hear her. “But I saw a servus today and I was nearly paralysed with fear. Ferhdessar was there as well, but that didn’t give me extra strength. I don’t think it will be any different with Kasimirh.” She clawed at her hair.
“Maybe you should teach her some fighting moves, so that she’s able to defend herself,” Ébha suggested. “I’m sure they will come in handy in the future as well.”
“All right, you’re probably going to need to know these things. I’ll teach you how to dance.”
Lilith looked confused. “Dance?”
She watched as Afifa got up and picked up her staff. Her steps became more elegant. She started to slowly spin the spear. Her circles soon became wider and the spear was moving through the air at greater speed. When Afifa had reached Lilith again she added a turn to her steps and started to dance around her in a circle. The pleats of her dress fell open and the red ribbons whirled around Afifa’s body. Everything melted together into one single motion. It was beautiful and frightening at once. The staff swished through the air. Whenever the blade of the spear caught the sunlight, there was a flash of light. Afifa’s circles alternately became wider and narrower. Then, she suddenly stopped. The ribbons fell down and it was deathly quiet.
Lilith’s laughter broke the silence. “Brilliant! I sure want to learn that.”
Then she fell silent. She only now realized that the blade of the spear had stopped a millimetre from her throat. No matter how fast she had been moving, Afifa had stopped her movements and her weapon exactly on time. Lilith moved backwards. With a quick turn, the sorceress withdrew her weapon.
Afifa walked to a tree and chopped off a branch with her spear. The weapon cut through the wood with the greatest of ease. It was as if Afifa wanted to demonstrated how dangerous the weapon really was. Lilith shivered. With a few quick movements, Afifa rid the branch of its side branches and handed it to Lilith.
She hesitantly grabbed hold of the stick, but then she was seized by a feeling of excitement. She was eager to learn this form of fighting. Lilith wanted to make her staff spin. The stick hit her arm and she dropped it. But after a few pointers from Afifa she managed to make the staff spin slowly.
“You just have to keep practising, t
hen you’ll automatically get faster.”
Afifa showed Lilith how to deal forceful blows. They moved forwards side by side as both staffs cut through the air. After they had done that for a while, Afifa sat down on the ground and motioned that Lilith should take place across from her.
“Now that you have a reasonable command of the movements, I’ll tell you how to best use them. I’ll first teach you how to eliminate an opponent without taking his life.
By spinning the staff you can defend yourself or, when you get lucky, disarm someone. When you want to flee, you direct your blows at the legs. When you break someone’s knee or ankle, it’s easy to escape them. Only really tough enemies will be able to tolerate the pain. If someone attacks you with a sword or another weapon, you try to break his arm so he can no longer wield the weapon. The bones of the lower arm are thinner, but with your strength you can easily shatter someone’s upper arm. I saw you at work yesterday.”
Afifa kept on talking and talking. She used her spear to indicate on Lilith’s body what she was talking about. Lilith tried to take everything in. It gave her ominous premonitions to have to think about these things, especially when the sorceress started to explain how she could kill someone.
Ébha started to fidget uncomfortably. “This might be taking a bit too far, Afifa.”
“Why? Lilith is smart enough to know that death is not the answer in most cases. But if this is supposed to also prepare her for a confrontation with Kasimirh, she’s going to need to know more than the best defence against some random rapist.”
Ébha reluctantly agreed. Lilith got up and started spinning the stick again. It demanded her full concentration. Therefore, she was startled when Ferhdessar suddenly stopped her.
“How can you be teaching her this? I’ve told you who she is, haven’t I?” he said in annoyance.
“You’re only scaring her with your stories about Kasimirh. I thought it would be more useful if I taught her something she could actually use when she comes face to face with him.”
The Lilith Trilogy Box Set Page 27