by Peter David
The Mandraque took a step toward him and there seemed to be genuine curiosity on his face. “What is it like?”
“I’m sorry?”
“What is it like when the Zeffers feed on you?”
I have no idea from personal experience. I know what Akasha has told me. The sense of communion. The fact that yes, they are taking something from you, but they are giving something back to you as well. You are providing sustenance for them, without which they would wither and die. In turn, you become part of something greater than yourself. Something primal. But I have no first-hand awareness or means of describing it because I have never done it. Which you don’t know, you moron, because you thought you were stealing the Keeper and instead you simply took an apprentice. And I’ll be damned if I tell you that, lest you return to the Upper Reaches and try to find and take Akasha.
Pavan made a face of disgust. “They don’t ‘feed’ on you. It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like?”
“Why do you care?”
“I don’t care. I am simply curious. Are Mandraques not allowed to display curiosity?”
“You’re not exactly renowned for it, no. Not as much as you are for your displays of cruelty and wanton destruction.”
“We do not destroy,” said Thulsa without the slightest trace of anger. If anything, he sounded proud. “We take what should be ours. By force of our personalities when possible; by force of arms when necessary.”
“And who decides what should be yours?”
“We do.”
Pavan chuckled softly. “And here I had heard it was the Firedraques who kept you on their leash. Who decided what was yours, and what was not, and endeavored to keep the lot of you from tearing each other to pieces like the monsters that you are.”
Thulsa lurched toward him for a moment and then caught himself. He forced a smile, which looked all the more appalling because of its blatant insincerity. He waggled a finger scoldingly and said, “You are trying to provoke me. Perhaps you think you can get me so angry that I will kill you. That, my friend, is not going to happen. Your cooling corpse will be of no use to us.”
“I am not quite certain how my living, breathing body is of use to you.”
“Yes. You are. Because whatever else you may be, you are not stupid.”
“Thank you,” said Pavan, and thought, Which is more than I can say for you, you idiot.
“You have already figured out that you are being used as a hostage. Sooner or later, the Zeffers will indeed wither and die without their Keeper. That is obviously not a situation that the Serabim wish to experience. And so they will do whatever they need to do to make certain that doesn’t happen. They will use the Zeffers to accomplish what we want to accomplish.”
“And what would that be?”
“Again, you are not stupid. You have already intuited what it is. You need merely put the pieces together.”
It took Pavan only moments to realize. “The Firedraques.”
Thulsa nodded. “We wish to break our leashes.”
“You would not dare. The authority of the Firedraques to keep the peace stems directly from the Overseer. You would not dare his wrath.”
“Would we not? We, with our reputation for cruelty and wanton destruction?”
“Listen to me—”
“We are not children!”
The outburst of fury was unexpected, but Pavan fought the impulse to back away. “I did not say that—”
“Yes, you did. “ He was restraining his anger, but barely. “With your gestures, with your tone, with your expression. You think my kind to be nothing but petulant children, fighting for toys in a box of sand, and the Firedraques are benevolent adults who are trying to keep us in hand. You are going to discover that you are wrong. The Firedraques will discover they are wrong.”
“And the Overseer?”
He bared his teeth. “Bring him on.”
ii.
“Akasha? Are you within?”
Seramali, walking with a pronounced limp and a tentative air, stuck his head into the mouth of Akasha’s cave. “Akasha? I have no interest in your games of making yourself unseen, or springing out and surprising visitors.” He paused and then said more loudly, “Akasha!”
There was a stirring of shadows from within and then Akasha emerged. He seemed older than he had before. His gaze flickered to a leather strap with a short sword dangling from Seramali’s shoulders. “Armed? How very unlike you. Or us.”
“Regrettably, it has come to that. I have grim tidings, Akasha…”
“We were attacked by Mandraques, much of the Lodge has been destroyed, and Pavan has been kidnapped. Did I leave anything out?”
Seramali was unable to keep the astonishment from his face. “How did you know?”
“Your daughter.”
“Demali?”
“Have you another of which you are unaware?”
“No! I just…I mean, I had no idea that she had come to you.”
“Poor thing was distraught. She felt I should know what transpired with Pavan. I was, after all, his mentor, so naturally I have some interest in his fate. Besides, she had many things to say on the subject.”
“She could have said them to me.”
“Indeed. But there was much going on to which you needed to attend, and I imagine she didn’t want to be a further burden to you. Besides, do you feel that this is the best time to worry about being territorial in regards to your daughter? Certainly there are matters of greater moment to worry about.”
“Yes. Yes, there are.”
“Which is why you have come here.” His voice was grave.
Seramali hesitated, concerned over what Akasha might be thinking. “It is.”
Akasha nodded and then spoke thoughtfully, as if he were addressing himself rather than the chief. “She spoke to me woefully of things.”
“Woefully?”
“Yes. She was saddened that I was not present at the gathering. As I recall, you repeatedly asked me to attend. Indeed, you were expecting me to, were you not?”
“You had left me with the impression that you would be attending.”
“Of course I did. You would not leave me in peace until I intimated that I would come. It was more a matter of self defense than anything else.”
“Well!” Seramali blustered. “I…I do not think it appropriate that you lied to me over such a—”
“Had I been there, I would have been the one taken instead of Pavan. They grabbed the wrong individual. Am I correct, Seramali?”
“They took who they thought was the Keeper—”
“For obvious reasons,” Akasha said mildly. “Our crest marks us. Had they seen Pavan and me together, they naturally would have taken me since I am obviously the elder. But they saw Pavan by himself and just assumed. Mandraques are notorious for that…for assuming. It tends to get them into trouble and yet they go ahead and do it repeatedly. And now…what? They are demanding our cooperation?”
“Yes.”
“They want to use the Zeffers for war.”
“That’s correct.”
“Against who? The Firedraques? The Ocular? Minosaurs, maybe? Or just other Mandraques?” Seramali was about to answer, but Akasha waved it off. “It matters not. War is war. The Zeffers should not be used for war. It will destroy them.”
“Zeffers cannot be destroyed. No missiles can harm them, no—”
“Zeffers are living creatures, my chief, and anything living can be made unliving. There is more than one way to destroy something. It can happen at the spiritual core. The stain will spread within the Zeffers and bring them down far more effectively than any missile ever could. It matters not who you would bring them into war against. It will garner you results you neither expect nor desire.”
“You may well be right, Keeper—”
“I may well be right?” Akasha seemed amused. “How generous of you to make that allowance. And how generous of you to allow us this time to converse.
To put matters of importance off long enough.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about…”
Akasha was no longer amused. “Yes. You know exactly what I am talking about. Do not waste my time and do not pretend, because you may be able to fool the others, and even your own daughter. I was supposed to be at the gathering because I was supposed to be taken by the Mandraques. No one ever has a proper estimation of the Mandraques, it seems. Those who count on them to properly execute even the simplest plans overestimate them, and those who expect them to be allies tend to underestimate them. You have already experienced the former, and I suspect an eventual betrayal by them will underscore the latter.”
“They are not my allies, Keeper.”
At that declaration, Akasha gave him a faint look of contempt. “Oh. Of course not. They are merely your tools, to be used to suit your own ends.”
“My own ends. And what might those be, Akasha?” He was dripping with sarcasm. “What nefarious deeds have you attributed to me?”
“Aside from culpability for Pavan’s kidnapping and the destruction done to the lodge?”
“Keeper, with all respect…a respect that you apparently feel no need to accord me…”
“You want war.”
“How dare you—?”
Akasha waved off the protests. “Save your indignation for those who might be impressed by it. I am not among them.”
Seramali made an impatient grunt, but then said, “Speak your mind, then, Keeper. You have earned that right with your many years of service.”
“Gracious of you, my chief. The fact is, Seramali, that your smiling face has always served as a mask behind which a would-be warlord has hidden. I have watched you bridling against the more ethereal nature of our people.” He slowly approached Seramali as he spoke. “Oh, you hide it well. Most could not perceive it. But I know what to look for. Little tones of voice, certain postures, that way you force your patience since it does not come naturally. You do not wish to be above it all. You want to be down at the ground level, with the taste of battle in your mouth. You are a Mandraque born into the body of a Serabim. I have always sensed that about you, but I have kept my own council over that because it has never interfered with your abilities to carry out the duties of your office.
“The Mandraques intended to kidnap the Keeper to force our hand. But they do not have the Keeper. They have my student. Which means their leverage is severely lessened. I still have a good many years left to me; plenty of time for a new heir to surface…as heirs have reliably tended to do in anticipation of their need. They could, of course, return to try and kidnap me as well. But they would have to mount a return, and you would likely have to lead them here because they could not find their way with both hands and a torch. And besides, why go to all that effort when there is a much simpler means of solving the problem?”
Seramali said nothing. He no longer looked angry; just a bit saddened.
Akasha was almost nose-to-nose with Seramali. “I see where all this is going, Seramali. I see what you are doing to our people, and what you are going to do. And here’s the hell of it: You’re going to succeed.”
“Am I?”
Slowly he nodded. “Yes. You are. I have seen it. The Zeffers helped me to see it. You are going to succeed, and there is nothing that can be done about it. And I have no desire to see my people put through it. But if I am around, then I will see it. Which would seem to leave us at an impasse. Except you have a solution to that, do you not? The same solution that you had to the problem of Pavan’s parents when they were reluctant to give him over for training. Or did you think I did not know about th—?”
Akasha suddenly jolted, and then he grinned, blood seeping through his lips. He did not even deign to look down at the blade that Seramali had drawn from his belt and driven deep into his chest. A blade capable of penetrating even the formidable hide of the Serabim.
The Keeper chuckled as he began to lose strength in his legs. “You did the only thing…you could…my chief. Very wise…”
“Does nothing stop you from talking?” said Seramali with impatience. “Yes, I did the only thing I could. Are you happy? You should not have spoken of Pavan’s parents, Keeper. You made my decision that much easier.”
Akasha fell backwards onto the cave floor. Lying flat, he still managed to say, “Feel that strongly…about it…do you…?”
Seramali went to the fallen Akasha and placed the dagger in Akasha’s hand. “Grief stricken over the fate of your student, you will have committed suicide. Everyone knows Keepers are high strung. They will accept it.”
“…your…your daughter.”
“She will accept it, too.” He turned to walk away.
“No…your daughter…I told her about Pavan’s parents…”
That turned Seramali right around. “You did what?”
“Are you…to kill her next…? Bit of a problem…isn’t it…how far…are you willing to go, Seramali? How…far…?”
Akasha’s head slumped. He stopped talking, his eyes staring off into a future that only he could see and that everyone else would have to experience. And Seramali was left with the prospect of a conversation with his daughter that he was not looking forward to…
and an action he prayed he would not have to take.
the vastly waters
I.
It’s a blur to her, a series of images that skitter across her consciousness, which seem to have happened to someone else.
She is watching herself sink into watery depths, blackness closing in upon her. She is afraid of it but also welcomes it, for in that blackness is a surcease of problems and the beginning of peace. Then something grabs her, holds her, and a mouth that smells raw and foul clamps over hers, breathing in air that is so rank that she nearly vomits into it. Then she is on the surface, but the waters are still insane and furious, and then she does vomit, her spew fountaining from her and landing in the water where it will be of no consequence to anyone. She is knocked around and she feels consciousness slipping from her, and a voice that she does not know shouts into her ear, “I have you! Don’t worry!” And she reflects on the absurdity of not worrying considering the situation in which she finds herself, and then blackness reaches out for her again. This time she does not chase it away, allowing it to envelope her and surrendering to its cool and calming touch.
ii.
Jepp became aware of two things almost simultaneously.
The first was the gentle rays of the sun upon her face. When one is being hammered by a storm the way she had been, it’s easy to believe that calm skies and sunlight are two things that you will never see again. That was how she had felt when the vessel that she had been on was being buffeted by the vicious weather that had rolled in.
The second was that she was on a very large rock in the middle of nowhere.
She felt its hardness beneath her head and slowly rolled herself over to get a better look at it. It was large and brownish black and incredibly smooth. She rapped on it and it seemed to echo slightly. Not knowing what to make of that, she slowly got to her feet so she could have a better view of where she was.
Her clothes were damp but drying out in the warmth of the air. The sensation gave her a chill, but hopefully nothing that would wind up taking up residence in her lungs and making her ill. She shielded her eyes against the brightness of the day. It was hard to believe that weather could be so vicious one moment and so welcoming the next. The sky was azure, with not a hint of clouds. The Vastly Seas were no longer threatening and vicious, but instead gently lapping against the huge rock that had provided her haven. As for the rock, or the rocky surface, it appeared to comprise the entirety of the island upon which she had found herself. It was quite large, perhaps a mile or so across. It was flat and featureless, crusted with vegetation so slimy that the very thought of eating it was enough to make her considering vomiting again…presuming that she had had anything in her stomach left to evict.
Obviously she
had washed up on this island and had crawled to safety without even being aware of it. What she was going to do next, however, was anyone’s guess. There was no fresh water for her to drink, and the plant life, such as it was, was inedible. Nor did there appear to be anywhere in sight for her to swim to that might provide her more sustenance. Plus there was the little matter of her being unable to swim in the first place.
“So what am I supposed to do?” she wondered aloud.
“That is up…to you.”
She let out a startled shriek and jumped and spun all at the same time. As a result, when her feet came down, they went right out from under her and she fell on her ass. She sat there for a moment, feeling confused and not a little ridiculous.
There was a strange being lying perched on the nearby shoreline of the island. His body was large and blubbery, and his thick arms ended with hands that had large folds of skin between the fingers. He seemed to have no neck, his head set down practically atop his shoulders. When he spoke, it was slowly and with what seemed pronounced effort.
“Who are you?! What are you?!”
“I am a Markene. My name is Gorkon. And you are…a Mort. I know that much. Who are you?”
“I am…” She was still confused and flustered, but there was no reason that she could not be polite. “I am Jepp. I am…I am pleased to meet you.”
“We met a bit earlier, actually. You nearly…” he paused and then said with what seemed a bit of chagrin, “vomited into my mouth…”
Her eyes widened and she pointed at him with a quavering finger. “It was you! You were there! Underwater!”
“Yes.”
“You saved me!”
“Yes. I did that.”
“But why?”
“You were in need of saving.”
She certainly couldn’t deny that. Still: “But I don’t understand. You’re one of the Twelve Races. You don’t…your kind doesn’t typically care what happens to my kind.”
“That is true. Although I hear your kind makes excellent pets.”
“I suppose we do. But I—”