Back to the Vara

by John Kerry

  “Taj trusted him.”

  “You need to start cooperating, Principal.” Piruzan began marching towards Eggie. “I’m going to have a chat with your friends.”

  “I am cooperating,” Hami said, catching up to Piruzan. He had to stop the man entering Golden Egg Cottage. “What have I got to hide? I contacted the Grand Master voluntarily to tell you I was here. Why else would I do that?”

  “There’s more you aren’t telling me, Principal. You’re only telling me what’s convenient.” Piruzan fell silent, his eyes widened and fixed on something beyond Hami.

  Hami turned.

  Victa was out of the cart and almost at the Cataclysm. He stumbled towards the edge on the stumps of his legs, blood soaking the bandages as he walked on them. No pain registered on his face and he moved as if in a trance.

  He looked like he was about to jump, but at the edge he stopped and raised his arms and head to the skies.

  Hami ran for him. Piruzan close behind.

  Hami got there first and grabbed Victa by the arm. The boy spun round, his face pale grey and drawn, but there was fire in his eyes. He looked at Hami, and for a moment there was recognition, a grin, then his eyes became dark. The whites and irises became black and vacant, the grin widened until it became a grimace, and he dropped to the ground. His body began seizing, thrashing wildly on the floor. Hami tried to hold him down, keep him from falling over the edge of the Cataclysm.

  Piruzan took the boys legs and together they dragged him away from the precipice.

  Victa seemed to calm the further they took him from the fire. He shook once more, hacked up a lungful of black, purple sputum, then fell still.

  –TWENTY-SIX–

  INFECTED

  Hami and his brothers congregated around the back of the cart. Victa was pale and sweating. His black eyes were partially open and he looked dreadful. Whatever had happened to the other dead bodies was happening to him, too. Except his body wasn’t dead enough yet.

  The magi were all pale and nervous in the boy’s company, and a couple had knotted pieces of cloth over their faces as if he were contagious. And that gave Hami the plan he needed. He felt guilty exploiting the opportunity, but he had little choice.

  “There’s more you need to know,” he said to Piruzan as he led him away from the cart, leaving the other magi to watch over Victa.

  “We need to get moving, Principal. So do you.”

  “Behnam’s still alive.”

  Piruzan inclined his head. “Then why hasn’t he re-joined the network?”

  “He’s worried he’ll infect us. He contacted me directly in order to dissuade me from trying to draw Ramaask out by taking Sammy to the temple.”

  Piruzan raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

  “Ramaask predicted this event. He knew this would happen if Sammy was brought here.” He took a deep breath. “Ramaask knew about the enrolment whisper and he explained its meaning to Behnam.”

  “Explained it?”

  Hami spoke the rhyme that came so freely to him. The passage that Piruzan and all his brothers could recite mechanically, being as it was, etched into the collective memory of all magi.

  “Seek out the path, cross the river of light,

  “Descend through the depths and when you alight,

  “Take a trip through the gate, where the mountain will fall,

  “And that’s when the realm becomes darkest of all.”

  The half of Piruzan’s face that still had skin went white and then slack. He opened his mouth but nothing came out.

  “Seek out the path: Temple of paths,” Hami said. “River of light: Cataclysm.”

  “And that’s when the realm becomes darkest of all,” Piruzan uttered.

  “Ramaask was predicting the end of times. The Ahriman rising, his body being made flesh.”

  Piruzan said nothing for quite some time. “I’ll have to communicate this to the Grand Master. The council will have to decide what happens next.”

  “And while they’re planning and deliberating, you’ll lose this creature of flesh and smoke as it heads north. You need to follow it.”

  Piruzan held up his hand to stop Hami. It was clear he was attempting to contact the Grand Master.

  Hami waited. It would all come down to this. If Piruzan got through to Aegis, then the plan would fall through, Sammy would be captured and he’d be incarcerated. But he may yet be lucky. Aegis was often unavailable. Unless he was waiting for Piruzan to check in. It could go either way. Hami took a deep breath.

  “I can’t get through,” Piruzan said at last. “I know you’d prefer to cut out the council and go ahead with your gut instinct, but that’s not the way we operate.”

  “You don’t need to break your orders. As long as you don’t engage the creature, you’re still just investigating and providing useful intel. The magi need to keep track of it, losing it isn’t an option. The only real decision you need to make now is what to do about Victa.”

  “Whether to send him to the garrison or with you to the capital?”

  “How many men to send to the garrison with him. He’ll need protection through the Fungi Forest. Sending Victa to New Ecbatana is out of the question. He’s contaminated. I don’t know if he’s part way to becoming one of those reanimated dead things, but you can’t send him to a highly populated city. He needs to go into quarantine at the garrison.”

  Piruzan gritted his teeth and licked his gums. “Five men to take Victa to the garrison. Five to take you to the capital, and eight of us to follow the shadow.”

  “You’ll need more than eight. And you need to station a few men here.”

  “Why?”

  “Ramaask’s creature, the thin one, stole the Mother World portal pearl from the Temple of Paths after observing Sammy use it.”

  “Great Ahura.” Piruzan shook his head. “This just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?”

  “Four men with Victa. Four stationed here. And ten to track the demon.”

  “I’m still waiting for a reason why I need to take so many men north with me?”

  “Where do you think the shadow demon is heading?”

  “I don’t have time for this, Hami.”

  “What happens in the prophecy of the chosen children?”

  “Don’t talk to me of prophecies …”

  “One to bring life and hope. The other brings death and the end of all things.”

  “Get to the point.”

  “… and thus the darkness was too big to be contained and spilled into the Mother World.”

  “I fail to see how that’s relevant.”

  “The demon is consuming our dead. Possibly our living, too.” Hami nodded to Victa. “Certainly the weaker ones. And soon, who knows? Maybe the healthy, too. We don’t know how contagious this thing is or how the infection is spread. And it’s getting too big to be contained.”

  Piruzan stared at him. “You’re saying it will spill into the Mother World?”

  “What is directly north of here?”

  “The Naziarabad Monument at Ameretat.” Piruzan’s eyes widened. “The staircase to the above. But the smog precludes anyone using it.”

  “What smog?”

  Piruzan glanced at the black sky.

  “The smog precludes any human using the staircase. But this thing? It could well be immune. The white column is where we’ll make our last stand. And you’ll need more than eight men for that. We’ll have to call over everyone we have within range. Everyone we can spare from the garrison. Send Victa to the garrison with four men, and hope they don’t run into any more crabmen. I’ll come to the column with you.”

  “Aegis wants me to send you to New Ecbatana in the company of five magi.”

  “The crabmen have fled into the forest. I don’t need protection. Victa does.”

  “It’s not about protection, Principal, it’s about enforcement.”

  “You’re the boss out here. You
can’t get through to Aegis. Make the call.”

  “We have magi at the white column. I’ll communicate with them and prep them for battle.”

  “You need more. You haven’t grasped the enormity of the situation or what you’re up against. Aegis is hundreds of stadia away in the capital. Behnam is trapped in Aratta. How many top tier magi do you have at your disposal for when this thing hits the column?”

  “Hami …”

  “You need me. I’m the most powerful magus you have here.”

  “You aren’t that powerful.”

  Hami maintained eye contact. Piruzan stared back, unflinching.

  “Fine,” Hami said at last. “My orders are to head to New Ecbatana so I will, but I’m going to be communicating with Aegis as soon as he’s back online to convince him I need to turn around and join the rest of you. You’re going to need me.” He turned away and walked towards Eggie. “You’ll be seeing me again sooner than you think. Aegis will understand.”

  Hami could feel Piruzan’s eyes on him. Was he buying it? As long as Piruzan didn’t get through to Aegis, he’d be okay.

  “Go then, Hami,” Piruzan said at last. “But this is your last chance to redeem yourself. Don’t do anything else stupid.”

  “And don’t you get too close to the demon,” Hami said. “Ten men can’t fight it. And one more thing. Can you keep me informed of your location and what you’re seeing? In case Aegis gives me the go ahead to join you.” He added that last part to give Piruzan the impression that he’d remain connected and accessible to him, but the moment Salazar was out of range he’d disconnect from the network and would leave it for good.

  Piruzan watched him walk all the way to Louis before calling his men to action. Four of them took charge of Victa’s cart. Four moved towards the fire temple. The rest mounted their greenbucks and sprang off to the north.

  –TWENTY-SEVEN–

  STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS

  Sammy closed her eyes and inhaled the steam coming off her mushroom tea. She hadn’t been especially fond of the drink when she’d been here before. It was an acquired taste that she was only now beginning to appreciate. A warm, comfort drink that germinated memories with each sip. Fleeting moments. That first sensation of safety after Mehrak had rescued her from the Fungi Forest. Coming down the tower staircase in the mornings to be greeted with a mug of tea on the kitchen table while Mehrak prepared breakfast.

  Not all glimpses of the past were laced with joy. They’d been drinking tea when Hami had told her she’d never return to the Mother World. The recollection constricted her chest. Best not to dwell on thoughts like that. Concentrate on the mug like she’d been told to. A trickier job than it had any right to be, seeing as the drink it contained brought back so many memories.

  The back door hatch slammed and Hami climbed up out of the hole in the floor.

  Mehrak threw his dishcloth over his shoulder and turned to face him. “Did you get away with it?” he asked.

  Hami ignored the jibe. “Are you still planning to head north to the snow base to search for your wife?” he asked.

  Sammy looked up from her tea.

  Mehrak glanced at Sammy. “Er … Yeah.”

  “Then this is your lucky day. We’re going after her, but first we need to make a detour. Are you ready to leave?”

  “I suppose.”

  “Sammy. Are you okay with that? Spending more time in Eggie? I know you wanted to make the choice regarding what happens to you. Is this an acceptable option for the moment?”

  Sammy tried not to smile too hard. “Really? I can stay?”

  “Yes. So there’ll be plenty of time to catch up with Mehrak. Not that you have any choice, after losing the portal pearl back to the Mother World,” he added with a surprising amount of bitterness.

  “What about me?” Calven asked as he got up from the table.

  “You’re coming with us,” Hami replied.

  Calven paused. “But I need my karkadann. And all my stuff is in the back of the cart.”

  “Master Piruzan’s men are taking the cart and karkadann to transport Victa to the garrison. I’ll make sure everything is returned to the Keep when they’re done.”

  Calven sat again. “And what about my leave?”

  “You can go back to the Keep with Narok and Eva in a day or so. Right now I need you to stay put and enjoy Mehrak’s hospitalities.”

  Mehrak gave Hami the side eye, but made no complaint.

  “It’s because I’ve seen Sammy, isn’t it?” Calven asked. “And you don’t want me to talk?”

  “Correct. Are we good to go, Mehrak?”

  Mehrak shrugged. “I suppose. What’s happening with Leiss? Is he staying?”

  “Leiss?” Calven asked. “Not Leiss Rustam?”

  “Upstairs,” Mehrak said. “Why?”

  Calven seemed to shrink to half his size as he expelled air from an overly protracted sigh. “We have some history,” he said. “I’d better get this over with.” And he took to the stairs.

  He wasn’t gone long. He returned to the kitchen with slumped shoulders and an expression of tired resignation. “Let’s just say he’s not exactly thrilled I’m coming along for the ride,” he said.

  “Why not?” Sammy asked.

  “He still blames me for the breakdown of his marriage.”

  They left the Fifth Azaran Fire Temple and set off south along the Cataclysm. Dirty Santa and his mate on the chariot, Narok and Eva on their individual karkadann, and the two other Marzban, Sasan and Rougetta, sharing a third rhino. And, of course, Golden Egg Cottage leading the way.

  While Mehrak refilled the tea, Hami excused himself and went upstairs. Sammy gulped down the rest of her cup, then went up after him.

  She found him alone on the front balcony.

  Sammy walked out onto the long ship’s prow-like balcony for the first time in two years. She ran her hand along the railing and leant over to watch Louis trundling along below, ears panning left and right, scanning the ground in front of him as he walked. She’d missed her big gentle buddy. “Hi Louis!” she called down. “It’s good to see you again.”

  Louis wagged both his ears back and forth and shook his head enthusiastically. He probably didn’t know she’d been away and even if he did he wouldn’t be able to see any difference in her. Would she smell different? She hoped not, unless it was for the better. Though not many things smelt better with age. Especially bodies that hadn’t showered in days. She wished then that she’d had a chance to wash before coming outside. Louis didn’t seem to mind, though. Or if he did, at least he was polite enough not to show it. The perfect gentleman. He was a known quantity, a reliable friend, tirelessly carrying them onward, putting the miles behind them without complaint. What a legend.

  Hami remained silent as they followed the white snaking light of the Cataclysm on the left. To the right, black nothingness, and above the same.

  Sammy would have to initiate the conversation. “Is this my fault?” she asked, tilting her head towards the sky. “The blackness?”

  Hami kept his gaze firmly forward. “You made it happen by crossing the threshold of the Temple of Paths, but it wasn’t your fault. You weren’t aware of the consequences. I take full responsibility.”

  It was what she’d wanted to hear, yet she still felt some guilt. Perhaps it was wasting Mehrak and Leiss’s efforts in getting her home. Or the fact that it had been pretty obvious that something wasn’t right as she approached the Temple of Paths seal. The earthquakes themselves should’ve been enough of a clue. She’d destroyed the realm whether she’d known she was doing it or not. “I’ll help put things right,” she said. “If you train me up as a magus I’ll fight for you.”

  Hami said nothing in reply.

  After a time, Mehrak and Calven joined them on the balcony. No one spoke until Hami asked Louis to veer away from the Cataclysm into the plain, heading west, back towards the Fungi Forest.

  As the
light and the temperature dropped, Hami and Leiss filed off the balcony to go downstairs. Mehrak followed. At the curtain, he turned back. “Are you coming in?” he asked.

  “In a moment,” Sammy said. She smiled.

  Mehrak dipped his head. “Take your time,” he said, and left her to her thoughts.

  Sammy remained at the railing as they crossed the black void between Cataclysm and Fungi Forest. The darkness seemed to permeate her soul, chilling her with a remorseless emptiness. Yet she remained. She couldn’t have said why, exactly. The warmth of the kitchen stove was calling and she was tempted to follow Mehrak downstairs, to have another mug of mushroom tea, to tell him all the things she’d been up to back home, but an intangible force kept her where she was.

  A stillness had pervaded the plain, a deficit of life. Something terrible had swept through here. A joyless entity that had sucked everything hopeful, leaving a hollow husk. An echo of the presence remained. A shadow that Sammy couldn’t draw away from. It was seeping into her now, making her drowsy. She fought it, but her eyes were getting heavy. Sleep was coming, trying to drag her away.

  A jolt jarred Sammy awake. She came around, bleary-eyed into the light, still stood up and still clinging to the balcony railing, which was now tilting to the side.

  Louis was slumped on the ground below, stretching out flat on his belly. They were back in the Fungi Forest.

  Her last lucid memory before succumbing to unconsciousness was of the forest being little more than a thin line of light on the horizon. And now she was here and somehow still upright.

  Harz pulled his chariot up while the Marzban dismounted their karkadann. Mehrak came around the side of Eggie carrying the paraphernalia Sammy recognised as his food-gathering equipment. Then he bustled off into the undergrowth in his typical enthusiastic manner. Like old times. Sammy smiled. This was what she wanted. Reunited with her unique travelling family again, on the road and back in the Fungi Forest having adventures. The emptiness she’d surrendered to on the plain was being filled, her body sponging up the energy released by the living, breathing ecosystem around her. She was already feeling more awake and alive.