Shadow of the Serpent

by Shannah Jay

  She couldn’t hide a shudder at that and for a moment the darkness and pain of that ordeal flickered through her, then she shook it off. Fear shall not claim me, she began to chant inside her head, and the age-old incantation soothed her.

  Savnith grunted in his throat and nodded in satisfaction. 'If you continue to resist your lord, he won’t marry you and I shall have you again when he’s finished with you. I shall look forward to that.'

  Bile rose in her throat, but she was back in control of herself and determined not to betray her fear and revulsion to this creature of evil. 'I shall kill myself first this time. If you're reporting back on me to your master, report that, too. I'm a Sister-Elect now, not an ignorant child, and I've been taught to kill myself at will. He will father no more children upon me.'

  'He has your daughter. Through her he can compel your obedience.'

  Carryn shook her head, but though her expression was sad, her voice was quite steady as she said, 'I shall, of course, kill her first if the need arises.' She saw him begin to open his mouth and added with a sudden surge of fierce anger, 'I need not be near her to do that! I promise you I shall bring no children into the world to serve the Serpent and that I shall not leave Lerina in Benner's clutches. Word of a Sister.'

  Savnith's breath hissed in, then he grunted and let go of her. 'He’ll find a way. My master always finds a way to get what he wants.'

  'Our Brother is with me. And I shall not allow him to use me or my daughter.' She borrowed the words of the Hashite oath. 'As my promise was made, so shall it be kept. In death as in life.'

  This time he didn’t protest her use of her Brother's name, but his eyes seemed to darken as she spoke it, then gradually the shadow on his forehead faded and he went back to his position by the door.

  The day passed slowly. An hour or two later, Savnith decided that Lerina might join them. Carryn could see that her daughter was desperately thirsty, but Lerina made no complaint and sat quietly opposite her mother.

  The only order that had come back from the Lord Claimant was to wait and let the two women hunger.

  After some thought, Savnith allowed them both a mouthful of untainted water just before they retired to their separate beds. Then he poured the rest of the jug of water on to the stone floor, where it lay in a gleaming puddle, mocking Carryn's thirst.

  * * *

  In the middle of the night, Carryn, lying wakeful, saw one of the Hashite bodyguards slump down in her chair, unconscious. The other didn’t notice because she was staring out of the window, her eyes fixed and glassy, her body nearly as rigid as the carved stone wall beside her.

  Carryn watched a man's figure creep across the room and sat up in her bed. Fingers pressed gently on her lips to prevent her from crying out, but she wouldn’t have done so, for she sensed no danger. The lights which burned all the time in her chamber showed clearly the anxious face of Lord Evren. He mimed silence, then, when she nodded agreement, gestured to her to accompany him.

  Across the room he paused, concentrating his will as she had seen Herra do, though he wasn’t skilled in this. Carryn closed her eyes and tried to add her will to his. Whatever he was trying to do, it was for her sake.

  She knew that. When the touch again urged her to move, she opened her eyes and followed him into her daughter's bedchamber. Lerina was lying awake and apprehensive. She sat up as they entered, but the two Hashite bodyguards didn’t move.

  Evren went across to the carved stonework near the window and pressed his hands on one of the carvings, moving from that to other parts of the petrified foliage in a complicated pattern of gestures. A section of the stonework moved outwards just far enough to allow them to slip into the darkness beyond.

  At no time did it occur to Carryn to doubt her companion, for all that he was Benner's son. She followed him as trustingly as if he’d been Benjan. And Lerina followed her, dark eyes gleaming in the rays of moonlight that set silver bars and double shadows across the floor of the room.

  When they were inside the opening, Evren again pressed some of the stonework and the door swung shut, leaving them in darkness. 'There are thirty-five steps leading downwards,' he whispered. 'Be careful to count them. I daren't use a light yet. It'd show through the spy-holes.'

  Carryn nodded, then realised that he could not see that gesture and whispered. 'Yes. We'll count them carefully.' Behind her Lerina echoed the 'Yes'.

  At the bottom of the steps, Evren murmured, 'Wait,' and the two young women obediently stood still.

  There was a grating sound. 'Turn right now. Four paces forward, then wait.' His voice was still a whisper.

  Another grating sound followed and a draft of air touched their faces from a new direction. 'It's about a hundred paces straight ahead. I'll stop at the end, so that you'll know we're about to go down again. The wall grows rougher at that point. And there are only twelve steps down this time.'

  They followed him and when they’d gone down the steps, he said quietly, 'It should be safe to light a lantern now.'

  'Where are we?' Lerina stared around her at the dusty strands of crawler webs draped across the angles where roof and walls met. Piles of ancient debris had gathered in any depression or crack, and in one corner moisture dripped slowly from a fissure in the ceiling, gathering in a shining smear that seeped away along the edge of the floor.

  'We're under the gatehouse at the moment, as near as I can make out.' Evren adjusted the lantern to a steady flame.

  'Who built these tunnels?'

  'My forebears.' He grinned briefly. 'They must have been a suspicious lot. My grandfather died unexpectedly, so even my father doesn't know all the secrets of the tunnels. I think I know more than him now. But then, I've had more need of them.'

  'Why are you helping us to escape?'

  'Because I hate my father and what he does to people.'

  'Benner will follow us,' said Carryn. 'He won't let us go without a struggle.'

  'Yes. So we'll have to get as far away as we can before daylight.'

  'We? Are you coming with us, Lord Evren?'

  'Yes. I've been planning this for a while. And my name is Evren. I repudiate any relationship to our vile Lord Claimant.'

  Carryn stared at him. 'But what about the poison? You won't have the antidote.'

  He was silent for a moment, but his expression showed only mild sadness. 'I know. But I prefer to die free than live under my father's whip any longer. My pain shall lend no more strength to the Serpent. And if I can rescue you at the same time, surely our Brother will grant me a better life when I come into the world again?'

  Carryn reached out to put her hand on his arm. 'You follow our Brother's ways?'

  'As well as I can. My mother taught me about the Sisterhood secretly, and helped me to develop a few skills.'

  Carryn stared at him in surprise. 'Do men carry such Gifts? I mean, men who haven't been chosen to join the Kindred.'

  'Yes. And I don't suppose I'm the only one.'

  'That's good, then.' Carryn beamed at him, in spite of the seriousness of their situation. 'It means the long years during which the Sisterhood has tried to spread our Brother's Gifts by careful marriages have paid off.'

  'It would seem so.' Evren stared wistfully into the distance. 'The Sisterhood ways seemed very wonderful to the child that I was, surrounded by evil and death. And my father reinforced that loyalty to our Brother the God in his own way.'

  'What do you mean by that?'

  For a moment, his bitter smile made him look very much like Benner. 'My father taught me simply by being what he is. I've hated him for as long as I can remember. Him and the tutors he used on me. But when he found out that my mother was following Sisterhood ways and had passed them on to me, he gave me to a tutor from the Inner Shrine. It was - painful. That was then I really learned how to hate, in a way that made my previous feelings seem mild. The hatred has sustained me ever since.'

  'How old were you then?'

  'About twelve. It's six years ago now.'
>
  'Poor little boy!' said Carryn.

  He nodded. 'Yes. Not a happy end to childhood. They didn't change my mind, though, however much they lashed my back and beat at me with words. And although I had to conform publicly, for my mother's sake, I've never been able to make sacrifice in the shrine. Now that my mother's dead, my father has no hold over me, so I refuse to conform publicly. That's why I've been locked away at Dalbrak. Unfortunately, those damned Hashite Guards are very good at their job. Even when I've managed to escape, they've found me and brought me back. It's taken me a long time to learn how to still them.'

  'I thought only Sisters could still people,' said Lerina.

  'I found out that I could do it years ago. But I needed proper training and that was denied me, so it took me a long time to work on it, so that I could still the guards tonight. I hope they'll stay stilled until our disappearance is discovered. I don't want my father killing them in revenge.' He had picked up another lantern while he was speaking and lit it. Now, he handed it to Carryn. 'You'll need this. The going gets rougher from here on.' He set off again.

  She walked along behind him, marvelling how their Brother worked. She had no doubt there was some purpose to this night's work, no doubt at all. But what was it? How would the death of Benner's heir help the Kindred to vanquish the Serpent? Her heart ached for Evren. He spoke as if he were an old man, but he was only eighteen. Like her, he'd had to grow up too quickly. She was sure their Brother would reward courage such as his in the next life.

  When they left the tunnel, they came out in the middle of a small wood, climbing up a set of rough rocky steps into a narrow entrance that hurt your eyes when you tried to look back at it.

  'Surely that's Sister-made?' Carryn wondered aloud.

  Evren shrugged. 'Probably. My line hasn’t always been given over to evil. There was even one ancestor known as Natham the Good. My father tries to suppress that fact, as if it's something to be ashamed of.' He sighed and looked around. 'We'd better concentrate on our escape. From here on we'll have to do the best we can. I know the direction we should take to give ourselves the best chance of escaping, but not much more. I haven't used this tunnel before, you see.'

  'Perhaps we'll find help,' Lerina volunteered.

  He shook his head. 'We dare seek no help till we're off my father's estate. The peasants are too frightened of him - and with reason. He'd kill them if they tried to help me. I don't want to cause anyone's death.' He snapped his mouth shut on further confidences.

  They extinguished the lanterns and walked on through the night, relying on the moonlight to find their way, though only one half moon was now left in the sky. Carryn could use her half-developed skills to ease her own hunger and faintness, but could do little for the others. As her daughter began to stumble, she linked arms with Lerina and encouraged her to continue. She felt helpless and wished desperately that she'd had more chance to develop her Gifts.

  By dawn they were skirting some farmland. In the distance a man was already walking into the fields, yawning hugely as he stumbled along a narrow path between two rows of knee-high plants. Evren didn’t need to tell them to keep out of sight. The two young women crouched down with him behind some bushes until the farmer was bent over his crops, his back to them, then they all hurried on, heading for the next piece of woodland.

  'If we can only reach the wildwoods, we'll stand a chance,' Evren said, but these woods were crossed by well used paths, and opened out every now and then into fields and villages. There weren’t many wildwoods left in this part of Tenebron. It had been settled for too long.

  During the morning's walk they found some fruit and nuts, which stayed the pangs of hunger, and there were always streams or springs to drink from, but they could do nothing to ease their tiredness.

  By noon, Evren's skin was a greasy white and the frown lines on his forehead spoke of pain and tension.

  'I'm beginning to feel the lack of the antidote,' he admitted when they next stopped to rest. 'If I become unconscious, just carry on and leave me.' He saw the refusal on Carryn's face. 'There's nothing, absolutely nothing, you can do to help me. Don't waste this effort of mine.'

  Before Carryn could reply, Lerina spoke. 'We can wait with you until the deleff arrive.'

  Evren and Carryn both jerked round to stare at her. 'Deleff?'

  'Yes. Well, I think they're coming. When Erlic used to call them, I used to get a strange feeling,' she pointed to the centre of her forehead, 'here. And I've got the same feeling now. So you don't need to worry about dying, Evren. I'm sure the deleff will be able to help you. They're very old and wise.'

  He said nothing to contradict her, but the glance he threw towards Carryn showed his disbelief. She shrugged and let the matter drop. She wasn’t sure what to believe. After all they had experienced during their travels, she couldn’t dismiss the possibility that her daughter had developed such a sense. But even if the deleff did come to rescue them, what could they do to help Evren? It would need a Sister Healer to save his life, and Sister Healers were hard to find in these troubled times.

  By the time evening approached, Evren was stumbling along like a man who’d indulged in too much smokeweed. His face was totally devoid of colour and his eyes were staring as if he hardly recognised what was happening around them. When they first started walking, he’d moved quietly through the woods, but now he was making a great deal of noise, trampling noisily and swearing under his breath as he stumbled into things. Several times he fell over, and Carryn and Lerina had to haul him to his feet and urge him to continue.

  When he fell again, they all sat down for a short rest. Lerina was looking exhausted now, with dark circles under her eyes and weariness in every line of her body, and Carryn could only suppose that she too must be showing her deep-seated fatigue. The Sisterhood disciplines helped, though, and she’d taken charge of the small group as soon as she realised that Evren was no longer capable of thinking clearly. It was the first time in her life that she’d ever taken charge of anything. She would not give in. She would not.

  Just as she was about to suggest that they continue, she heard a sound in the distance. 'Shh! What's that?'

  Evren sat staring dully into space, as if he had not heard her speak, but Lerina cocked her head to listen.

  'It's not deleff.' She frowned. 'It feels - evil.' Panic crossed her face. 'I think it's Savnith, Mother.'

  Carryn jumped to her feet and hauled Evren up. 'Come on! We must try to find somewhere to hide.'

  His voice sounded blurred and slow. 'Leave me. If they find me, it'll delay them for a bit, give you a better chance to get away.'

  The two women shook their heads. 'No. We're not leaving you.'

  'But I'll just die, even if we do get away now. Please leave me! Think only of yourselves. Otherwise it'll all have been in vain. I doubt my father will give me another chance to escape if we get taken back and he'll probably hand me over to the Initiates of the Inner Shrine to dispose of as soon as you bear him a male child.

  He's threatened it often enough when I refused to make sacrifice or co-operate. He daren't be seen to have an heir who loathes the Serpent.'

  While he was still speaking, Carryn took one of his arms and Lerina the other and tugged him into motion.

  'We're not leaving you, so come on!'

  They stumbled on through the undergrowth, more concerned now with speed than with concealment, but the noises behind them came closer and closer. Evren's breath was rattling harshly in and out. His wheezings sounded like those of a very old man. His face was grey and his movements were becoming more and more unco-ordinated.

  As he stumbled and fell yet again, Carryn smothered a sob under her breath. This time they couldn’t get him to his feet and in the end, she caught Lerina's hand and turned to flee.

  Before they could get very far, a group of men broke through the trees on to the pathway behind them.

  Savnith was leading them, his expression triumphant. 'Don't hurt them!' he yelled, stopping b
y Evren's sprawled body.

  The other men surrounded the two women, not even needing to hold them, for Carryn could see it was useless to resist. She held Lerina's hand as they were taken back to Savnith. He was fingering a small whip slung from his belt.

  'No need to beat them into co-operation,' said a man in verderer's green, in a tone of regret. 'The Lord Evren's in no state to fight back, and two young women can't do much to harm us.'

  Savnith fumbled at his belt pouch and produced some lengths of fine chain. 'We'll nonetheless make sure they can't run away again,' he said, bending down to snap the fetters round Evren's ankles. He picked up another chain and reached out to grab Lerina. She shrank back and held her hands protectively in front of her face, as if to ward him off. 'Brother, save us!' she called loudly.

  There was a rumble of anger from the group of men.

  Savnith threw back his head and roared with laughter. 'He's not looked after you very well so far, girl!

  You'd be better finding yourself another god, one who's not a weakling.' Then he took hold of her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back, twisting it until she cried out in pain.

  The group of men guffawed loudly, with relief as much as amusement. They knew that if they’d lost the fugitives, they’d also have lost their own lives, and those of their families.

  The noise they were making masked the trampling sounds and when two large deleff burst on to the path before Savnith had finished fastening Lerina's fetters, some of the men yelled out in shock.

  'Help us!' called Carryn, knocking Savnith's hand away from her daughter and then pushing herself in front of Lerina.

  The group of verderers instinctively moved closer together, standing between the captives and the deleff, but the two great creatures didn’t charge them as they expected. The deleff simply stood and trumpeted at the tops of their voices, trumpeted until the sounds made the men hold their ears and rock about in pain. And as the noise rose to an unbearable peak, wings flickered into existence on the backs of the deleff and started beating the air with a loud rushing sound, passing right through the foliage as if it didn’t exist.