The Magic War (The Eastern Slave Series Book 5)

by Victor Poole

  "I've asked her a couple of times," Chad told Ajalia. He did not move his fingers, but Ajalia saw streams of mixed white and gold flow around Esther's body, and then run in at her ankles, and twist all around her bones. Ajalia saw that the blank space, where Esther had lacked light in her feet and ankles, was almost filled up now. Esther did not seem able to see what Chad did. Ajalia saw, as with Fashel, the young woman breathe easier. Esther's shoulders relaxed, and her mouth unclenched. Ajalia was sure that Chad noticed this as well. The young man's whole attention was fixed on Esther, and Ajalia saw that he was invested in Esther, and anxious to see that she did not incur Ajalia's wrath. Ajalia had a sudden picture of how Chad would look, anxiously coaching Esther on how to be polite, so that Ajalia would not decide she was evil after all, and give her over to Ocher to be killed. Ajalia smiled. She did not think that Esther would turn evil now. There was a hardness in the young woman's eyes that looked very like the hardness that had been in Sun's eyes. Ajalia was sure that the witch was thinking of what kind of husband Chad would be, and of what she could do with him, once she was freed. Ajalia was not nearly so worried about Esther now that the witch had something right in front of her to focus her ideas on. She thought that the greatest danger for the witch had passed; if Esther had become fixated on being on the right side, or if she had gripped on to the idea of vengeance, Ajalia thought that the young witch would have become obstinate, and provoked the wrath of all those in the house on principle. However, with the distraction of Chad, and the prospect of life with him just before her, Esther seemed too preoccupied to formulate schemes of revenge.

  "I don't want to marry Chad," Esther told Ajalia, looking up at her. "I would rather work for you."

  "I won't let you marry Chad," Ajalia told her. "I told Chad he might marry you. I didn't tell you that you would marry anyone. Chad belongs to me. I will decide who he marries, and when." Esther gave out a derisive laugh, and looked at Chad to see what that young man would say, but Chad looked somberly at Esther. Esther's laugh cut off.

  "You aren't going to let her talk to you like that, are you?" Esther demanded, her cheeks flushing hot. "You own yourself, don't you?" she asked Chad. Ajalia saw that Esther had built up for herself an idea of being in control of the situation; she saw that Chad was interested in her, and his interest had made her feel secure. Ajalia swallowed a smile, and regarded Esther closely. Perhaps, she thought, the witch would prove somewhat recalcitrant after all.

  "You're a servant, anyway," Chad told Esther, without a trace of a smile on his face. "Ajalia manages those things. Even if you were free," he added, tilting his head to one side, "I wouldn't touch you until Ajalia told me you were safe."

  Esther glared at Chad, and then at Ajalia.

  "I thought you were a lot more interesting," the witch told Chad coldly. Chad's lips tugged at the edges; Ajalia saw that he was pleased with Esther.

  "I do like her," Chad told Ajalia. "I hope she works out."

  "You can't talk about me as if I were a horse or something!" Esther burst out angrily. "You were talking about liking me, and marrying me," she accused Chad, tears of pique starting up into her eyes. Ajalia saw that Esther was quite handsome when she was moved. She saw Chad staring at the witch hungrily, and she saw that Esther was unconscious of the deep interest in Chad's face.

  "I only said what Ajalia said," Chad said calmly. Ajalia saw, with surprise and pleasure, that Chad was capable of restraining and concealing the affection that was clearly, to her, burgeoning up in his heart. She told herself that Chad was growing into quite an admirable man, and she thought of what he had been like when she had first met him.

  The open space in the wall that opened out onto the back enclosure of the temple was full of drifting twilight; the sun had begun to set a little while ago, and shadows were stretching now across the white stone. Ajalia stood up from where she had been leaning against the wall, and went down the stairs. Esther watched her go, and as soon as she thought Ajalia was out of earshot, she began, hurriedly, to speak to Chad.

  "I don't want her to kill me," Esther told Chad in a low voice.

  "She won't kill you unless you do something evil," Chad told Esther. Ajalia could imagine the look of indignant consternation that would have crossed over Esther's features now. She went around the corner of the wall, and overheard just a little more.

  "How am I supposed to know what she thinks is evil?" Esther hissed at Chad.

  "Just don't hurt anyone," Chad said back. "Or do any of your magic. I'll be able to see if you do."

  "That's baby stuff," Esther said, but she sounded pleased. "And I'll only do magic if I need to."

  Ajalia went down the stairs, and looked around at the darkened hall, and remembered the chaos that had filled this area last night. She went away from the stairs, and towards the place where the great black worm had risen up above the floor. She thought she could hear the quiet murmur of voices from within the room Philas and Sun had gone into. She hoped the girl would heed her words, and fight Philas off if he became clingy.

  Ajalia crouched down at the place where the snake-like body of black had twisted up into the great hall, and put her fingers against the floor. She looked at the lights within the earth, and she saw a great tunnel, where the worm had eaten through all the lights in the earth. The cords of magic had been severed in a long line, all the way from the surface of the floor, to deep under the earth, where Ajalia had seen the long black eels twisting around each other, and around the rocks in the earth.

  She put her palms flat against the white stone, and began to repair the damage that the worm had made. She drew out pieces of each torn cord of light, and pulled them towards each other, healing the tears that the black monster had made. As she did so, she thought of what she had seen, when the black pair of worms had first come to her attention. She had thought she could see the two of them twisting, like choking vines, all around the insides of the whole world, but when the worm had risen up above the floor, the body, though huge to her, had not been nearly large enough to wrap even around a large mountain. She tied together the split cords of color, and remembered the way the inside of the worm had shattered outwards, and had seemed to be made of endless facets of swallowed light. It was as though, Ajalia thought, the worm had been eating white magic for eons, and burying the good light deep within itself, under a cover of the kind of ugly shadow that formed the cord that had run out of Beryl's chest, and Lily's. Ajalia remembered the long black cords of sticky darkness that had extended out of the chests of the five witches last night, and how the black cords had formed into one long trunk of thick black. She tried to imagine Lilleth standing with the women, and doing magic with them, and she could not picture it.

  Delmar will come back tomorrow, Ajalia told herself, or the day after. She sent her mind all along the place where the worm had tunneled, and felt for the cut off lengths of magic.

  "What are you doing?" Cross asked her. Ajalia did not look up; she closed her eyes, and concentrated on the inside of the earth.

  "How are things going with Delmar?" Ajalia asked the boy. She thought she could hear Cross smiling widely.

  "Very well," Cross said. "I've come to get you. They want you for a meeting they're having."

  "Did Delmar send you?" Ajalia asked. Cross nodded, and then seemed to realize that she couldn't see him. Her chin was bowed down against her chest, and her palms were pressed flat against the white stone.

  "Yes," Cross said. "I'm to bring you back at once."

  "How urgent is it?" Ajalia asked, and she was thinking of Philas, who was still talking to Sun.

  "Pretty urgent," Cross said. "They're waiting to start until you get there." Philas can wait, Ajalia told herself, and she sighed, and stood up. "What were you doing?" Cross asked her. Ajalia looked at Cross.

  "There's a man in that room. He's talking to Sun," Ajalia told Cross. "I want you to watch him, and if he tries to get Sun alone, or if he kisses her, I want you to scream loudly, and kick him hard in th
e shins."

  Cross looked mildly confused, but delighted at these orders.

  "I'll have to tell you where Delmar is," Cross told her in business-like fashion. "I was told to lead you there myself." He explained how to find the place, and Ajalia settled her bag against her body and set out. She slipped into a bathhouse on the way, and scrubbed at her hair and face. She had carried her own oil and soap in her bag for some time; the bathhouses in Slavithe were usually stocked with a strong-smelling powder that was ground from great blocks of soap the farmers made, out near the desert. Ajalia had tried this soap once, and then washed herself immediately after with her own Eastern concoctions. She guarded her supplies jealously, and a very little of the contents of her small stone jars went a long way. She thought of getting some of the caravan's things from Philas; she had expected him to correspond with her, when he had gone with the other slaves to Talbos, but his professional ability seemed to have gone up in smoke as soon as he had settled the other slaves in Talbos. She reminded herself to ask Philas how the rest of the trading had gone in Talbos, when she returned from this meeting.

  Ajalia went quickly through the streets towards the place Cross had described. She was sure that Fashel would get back to the dragon temple just about now. The market would have closed by now, and the streets, though they still bustled with people, were beginning to hold that frantic, temporary flurry of movement that preceded the quiet of the deep evening.

  Ajalia found the place after some time, and she stopped outside to arrange her drying hair. When she had pinned her clean hair in a neat coil over her head, and adjusted her bag, she knocked.

  A man she did not recognize answered the door. He looked at her carefully, and then let her in. He led her though a narrow hallway, and into a room that lay beyond a series of metal doors. The room was in the shape of a square, and there were benches of stone built in descending levels. These benches ran in three circles around the room, and each lower bench was set down a little. A skylight had been cut into the ceiling above, and lamps had been hung right around the edges of the opening, so that soft golden light shed down in long rays through the room.

  THE

  MEETING OF THE SPIES

  The benches were lined with about fifteen men. Ajalia looked quickly around, and saw that Delmar was against one corner, on the highest bench. He saw her, but made no outward sign. Ajalia was sure that the other men were spies from Talbos; she thought suddenly that she ought to have brought Leed with her.

  Denai came forward to her, and held out his hand.

  "We thought Rane would be here by now," Denai said with a smile. Ajalia stared at the horse trader blankly. She wanted to ask why he did not know that Rane was dead, but she looked around the room again, and saw the grim faces of the men there. Ajalia crossed through the center ring of light, and climbed over the benches towards Delmar. Some of the spies moved quickly aside for her. When she got to Delmar, she whispered in his ear. Delmar's eyes darkened.

  "Didn't Hal tell you?" she asked.

  "I went out to Talbos overnight," Delmar murmured to her, meeting her eyes. "I just got back myself."

  "Well," Ajalia said. She looked around the room. The man who had led her into the house was standing near the door, his arms folded forbiddingly, and a deep scowl on his face. The other men in the room were all turned in their seats, and staring up at Delmar and Ajalia. "Have you got anything in particular that you wanted to say?" she asked Delmar softly. Delmar shrugged.

  "My grandfather will support us," Delmar said. "I don't know if these men will agree with my grandfather or not."

  "Do you have any backup plans, if things go sour?" Ajalia murmured. Delmar flashed a grin at her.

  "You are my backup plan," he told her. Ajalia repressed a smile, and then went and stood in the lighted circle.

  "Well," she said to the men in the room. "Hello."

  "We have to wait for Rane to come," one of the spies called out, and the rest of the spies murmured agreement.

  "Rane isn't coming," Ajalia said.

  "Ether hasn't come, either," another man called. "We have to wait."

  "Your friend Ether," Ajalia said to the man who had spoken, "does he disguise himself as a guard?" The spies all looked at Ajalia. A few of them glanced uneasily at each other.

  "Yes," the man said.

  "Ether came to see me last night," Ajalia said. She turned around the room. "I can't see all of you," she said. "Would you all mind sitting over there? So I can see your faces?"

  The men, who seemed to have been banking on the solemnity and dignity of the occasion, looked around at each other and frowned. Delmar jumped up, and went to sit in the middle of the section Ajalia had indicated. Delmar squeezed himself between two large men, and smiled at them both.

  "Hello," Delmar said to the two men. "I'm Delmar. What are your names?"

  One of the two men smiled, looking unsure of himself, and held out his hand.

  "I'm Ben," the man said. His companion, who was glaring with distrust at Delmar, frowned more deeply. "That's Timothy," Ben said. "He isn't a friendly person."

  "Good to meet you, Timothy," Delmar said, extending a hand to the scowling man. Timothy looked down at Delmar's hand, and then cautiously took it. The other men in the room had filtered doubtfully towards the benches around Delmar, and settled down again.

  "We've got to wait for Rane," another of the spies told Ajalia, when the men had sat down. "He's the most senior among us. He'll have things to say."

  "Rane has already had his say," Ajalia said. The men of Talbos shifted, and glanced around at each other.

  "What do you mean by that?" one of them shouted.

  "My name is Ajalia," Ajalia said. "Hello, nice to meet you all." The men looked balefully at her; she was sure that she was disappointing their expectations for a secret meeting that felt thoroughly dangerous and undercover.

  "Where's Rane, then?" Timothy asked. Ajalia nodded to show that she had heard his question, and then she turned to Delmar.

  "This is Delmar, your new Thief Lord," Ajalia said, holding out an arm to Delmar. Delmar lifted one hand, and wiggled his fingers at everyone.

  "You're doing this all wrong," one of the spies shouted out, his face an ugly red. "And he isn't our Thief Lord."

  "Will you be travelling back to Talbos then?" Ajalia asked, her voice friendly. The man who had spoken scowled at her.

  "No," he said.

  "Why not?" Ajalia asked. The man glanced at his companions, a smile tugging at his lips.

  "I live here, in Slavithe. Does she know that we're spies?" he asked the other men around him. "Are you the one we sent for?" he demanded of Ajalia.

  "Ajalia is my little bird," Delmar said. "I have sponsored her, and she is managing much of the transition of power. She will be present for any negotiations that concern Talbos, and trade relations."

  A murmur went up at these words. Some of the men looked scornfully around at Delmar, as though thinking he was a poor specimen of a man, and others of them looked speculatively at Ajalia.

  "Ether came to see me last night," Ajalia said. "He was dressed as a Slavithe guard, and he told me that I was wanted at once by the spies of Talbos." The spies from Talbos glanced unhappily at each other; Ajalia thought that they must recognize this scenario, and have some idea of where her story was going. "Would any of you like to finish my explanation?" she asked them.

  "I want to hear what happened," Delmar said instantly. He seemed to be the only one in the room who was not clearly thinking of death.

  "Well, if she's here, and Rane and Ether aren't," Ben said reluctantly, "then they're probably dead."

  "Ether isn't," Ajalia said. "Ether ran away before it was too late."

  "You killed Rane?" Delmar asked, looking discomfited and surprised.

  "Is that a problem?" Ajalia asked Delmar, whose lips had turned in a thoughtful frown.

  "No, no," Delmar said. "Not much of a problem. My grandfather relied on Rane."

  "It
wasn't something I wanted to happen," Ajalia said to the group, and to Delmar. "I suspect that Rane wanted to hold me ransom, to get things out of you." Delmar's face wrinkled up at once.

  "Well, that was stupid of Rane, then," Delmar said.

  The spies moved about, like trees disturbed with wind.

  "Is it likely that Ether will come back?" Ajalia asked. The spies all looked at each other, and finally, Denai spoke.

  "It is not likely," Denai said. "In the past, our kind have been rewarded for bold actions. If our plots failed, well," he said, his mouth crumpling into a look of distaste, "it is generally better not to be found."

  "Why would Rane have thought it advantageous to hold me hostage?" Ajalia asked Denai. Denai, who looked as though he would like to stop being on the spot, looked at the other spies, who avoided his gaze. Denai let out a laugh.

  "Everyone is pretty sure that Delmar's in love with you," Denai said, blushing. "Kidnapping spouses has been a fair occurrence in the past, when our cities were in transition."

  "That's awful," Ajalia said. "I didn't think Rane was stupid enough to try," she told Delmar, and Delmar shrugged.

  "Let's get to business then," Delmar said, and got up from the bench. He joined Ajalia in the circle, and began to account for his trip to see his grandfather, the king of Talbos.

  "I don't think many of you will like this news, and I don't expect any of you to believe me," Delmar began, "but the king of Talbos and I have agreed to establish open ambassadors." Delmar looked around at the other men, and at Ajalia. "We talked about expanding the road between us," Delmar said, "and making the mountain roads safe to travel for anyone."

  The men of Talbos, Ajalia saw, were not happy with what Delmar had said.

  "What about the witches?" Timothy shouted, and many of the others joined in.

  "Your city is overrun with evil, and with corruption," another man said in a loud voice. "You cannot bring your kind into our city."