by Abigail Keam
“Oh, Mary, would you? That would take so much pressure off me.”
“You worry about getting your financial affairs in order. I’ll worry about Jenny, but I won’t talk to Mike without your blessing. Between the two of us, we’ll get this family on the right path again.”
Eva leaned over the counter and kissed Mary’s cheek. She couldn’t have wished for a more understanding mother-in-law. So unlike her first one.
3
River Egan was dangling his feet over the pier when Jenny paddled out of the mangroves and beached her kayak.
As she was getting out, River called, “Say there, little lady, can I borrow your kayak?”
“Sure. I’m finished with it,” waved Jenny, smiling.
River jumped into the water and waded over to Jenny. “Thanks. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. My name is River Egan,” he announced, holding out his hand. “We met earlier over a disagreement between you and my grandson.”
“You stood up for me. I remember. My name is Jenny.” She handed him her paddle and life jacket. “River is a funny name.”
“Really? I’ve always thought it to be a stupendous name.”
“What’s ‘stoopendus’ mean?”
“Grandiose.” River smiled. “When I was a young lad, I dreamed of sailing the Ohio River, and then down the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico, until I caught the flow of the Caribbean currents, and then just seeing where the winds and the currents took me . . . so you see my name fits.”
“I guess so,” shrugged Jenny.
“I hope you didn’t get into any trouble the other day.”
Jenny shook her head. “Nope. Nothing else was said, but it still makes me mad that dumb boy, err, I mean your grandson, lied and his mama believed him.”
“You’re right about that, Miss Jenny. You are a truly righteous person, young lady. So few left on Earth.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you thirst for justice. I’m afraid you are going to have your pure heart broken for the world is a web of mischief.”
“You talk funny.”
“I do, indeed, child. I do indeed.” River pushed the kayak into the water and jumped in. “Goodbye, my good lady Themis. Tell my daughter by the pool that I’ll be back before nightfall if the gods allow.”
Jenny swiveled around and looked at the guests lounging around the pool. She didn’t see Mr. Egan’s daughter, but waved goodbye as he paddled off in her kayak.
By the time Jenny reached the pool, she had forgotten about the message she was supposed to relay. It seemed her mind just wandered from one thought to the next without her even realizing it. She went for a swim instead.
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THE SIREN’S CALL
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1
Maura rushed to meet KiKu by the east wall.
As a child, she had covered every inch of the city with the Dinii, memorizing every sewer hole, every forgotten gate and musty stairway in the garden city.
They had planned to leave the city through an old caravan gate originally built for the Sivans that had not been used for centuries.
KiKu winced when he saw her. “Great Mother, your face is falling to your feet,” he complained, watching her flesh drop to the ground.
“Just a piece here, a piece there,” teased Maura.
The alarm on KiKu’s face did not vanish.
“It looks worse than it is,” she said, trying to comfort him.
“You are injured! We can not travel with you like that,” cried KiKu. He was not one to panic, but the Empress’ injuries were most unfortunate and ill timed. He looked about, searching for a place to hide.
The city was being torn apart in the search for her. At any moment, the Bhuttanians could stumble upon them.
Maura pushed the tall man aside and mounted a Bhuttanian war horse. “Listen, KiKu,” she said. “Listen to the sound of a city being destroyed. It is all a ploy. I was meant to escape.”
She donned the helmet that was hanging on the saddle horn. “How many people are going to die tonight because Dorak wants the Mother Bogazkoy? Hundreds? Thousands?” She paused, looking at the city. “Do you know what I did, KiKu? I had my women cut off the manhood from Dorak’s men. I did some myself.”
She pointed to her face. “This is not my blood. My blood is blue, not red. This is the blood of Bhuttanian men who stood between freedom and me. I needed a disguise to escape the palace and those faceless men provided me one. I now know the true meaning of ruling. It is rule or be ruled. Kill or be killed.”
Maura lowered the visor on her helmet and slapped the horse with the end of her reins.
The stallion whinnied and galloped off, aware that an unyielding hand controlled it.
KiKu jumped on his horse, wondering if the woman he followed had become worse than the Aga he had betrayed.
2
They rode all night.
When chancing upon any Bhuttanian search parties, KiKu spoke for them, saying they had been on leave in O Konya and were now returning to their garrison in Qatou.
If any soldier questioned the blood on KiKu’s partner’s clothes, he would answer that O Konya was under martial law and they had helped detain many citizens before leaving to travel to their own garrison.
Each time the bands of soldiers would let them pass, not realizing that the tall Bhuttanians were really the Empress and Zoar’s former Hetmaan.
Before dawn, KiKu led them to a small cave on a ridge just big enough to conceal them and their mounts. Inside waited two fresh horses and much needed provisions.
Maura jumped off her horse and collapsed on a bedroll that KiKu provided her. She was exhausted both physically and mentally.
KiKu handed the reclining Empress hardtack and a cup of water. “There will be no fire tonight,” apologized KiKu. “Sorry about the rations but I had only a few hours to arrange this little escape of yours.”
Maura grunted in agreement. “It is good that your cohorts can move so quickly and easily.” She pondered for a moment. “Getting these war horses was no small task. How many Bhuttanians still work for you, KiKu?”
KiKu blinked while leaning against a rock munching on some hardtack. “The beauty of my system, Great Mother, is that if caught, you will never have any information to divulge to Dorak that could threaten my loyal followers.”
She chuckled, “In other words the less I know, the better.”
“Correct, Great Mother.”
“What do you get out of this if I win?”
“Your mother promised me my kingdom. I wish to be ruling Prince to my people, if there are any left.”
“My mother’s wish is now my command, KiKu. I swear to you that if we prevail, you will have your kingdom.”
“Upon your oath as Great Mother?”
“Upon my oath as Empress Maura de Magela.”
“Then indeed we shall prevail.” KiKu swallowed some water and rested his head upon his chest.
Thinking KiKu had fallen asleep, Maura got up to care for the horses.
KiKu stuck his foot out and shook his head while still resting his closed eyes. “I will see to the horses in a moment, Great Mother. You must sleep.”
Grateful, Maura returned to her bedroll and was dreaming before her head came to rest on her saddle.
3
Maura awoke the next afternoon.
She found KiKu squatting before the entrance of the cave surveying the valley below. “Any sign of trouble?” she asked, rubbing her sore muscles.
KiKu shook his head slightly. “Search parties down in the valley. They have left to go on to Qatou, I suppose. I haven’t seen anyone for awhile.” He looked at Maura intently. “Your face doesn’t look any better,” he commented.
She felt her features with her hands, as there was no mirror. “Some of the cuts are starting to get infected,” she said. “I feel feverish.”
“Can you do anything about it?” KiKu asked.
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p; Maura shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I could heal myself before we leave tonight.”
“Great Mother, may I suggest that if you can do so, you do it now. We may have to flee at any moment and it would not do to have a sick woman on my hands.”
Maura rubbed her face and did not answer KiKu.
“Great Mother, I know you are feeling sad about the death of your friend Lady Sari, but being a ruler sometimes involves knowing when not to put your servants in needless danger.”
Maura flinched at the mention of Sari and began to silently weep. “You know about Sari?”
“Before you came to the wall, one of my contacts made a brief visit. She told me that an imposter posing as the Empress had committed suicide rather than be taken. I guessed that it was Lady Sari.”
“And my Honor Guard?”
“It is correct that you cry for them. It shows that you still have a heart, and you honor them with your tears.”
“If I had a heart, I would not have let them die.”
“What else was to be done? You had to flee the city and they willingly gave their lives to ensure that you could. They knew what they were doing. It is our way.”
Maura gave KiKu a long, hard look. “Who?”
“Those who serve, Great Mother. We know our lives are expendable and we accept our lot in life.” His expression was one of acceptance and regret.
Maura left KiKu with his memories and moved to the back of the cave where she relieved herself. When she had finished, she perched upon a rock in the cave and began the healing of her face.
KiKu did not watch her, but gazed upon the valley, watching a hawk soar in the sky. If he could have escaped being spotted, KiKu would have contacted the hawk to take a message to the Dinii. But it was too much of a risk to call out.
An hour later, Maura jumped down from the rock and washed her face from a small tin of water. “How do I look?” she asked KiKu.
He studied her face very closely, looking for marks or cuts. “You look like a young girl again, but you have the blue face of a de Magela.”
KiKu walked to the opposite side of her, again studying her face. “I have heard of your regenerative powers but this is the first time I have witnessed them for myself. It is truly amazing,” he complimented. “Have you still the fever?”
“See for yourself,” Maura replied good-naturedly.
KiKu cautiously extended his hand and touched her brow. He laughed. “Dry and cool. No fever,” he pronounced happily. “We will be able to travel tonight.”
Maura nodded in agreement. “Where do we go from here?”
“We will travel south into Siva. There we will pose as a merchant with his obedient and humble wife.”
“Are you going to pose as the wife?” teased Maura.
KiKu smiled a toothy grin.
For the first time, Maura noticed that KiKu was a good-looking man and not as old as she had originally believed. She wondered if he had a wife stashed away somewhere. “Why don’t we head north to the City of the Peaks?”
KiKu’s smile vanished.
Alarmed, Maura grabbed his arm. “Why do you look like that? What has happened?”
KiKu bowed his head. He did not want to see her face as he told her. “The City of the Peaks is no more. Burned out.”
“How?” cried Maura. “The city is impregnable!”
“Magic,” was KiKu’s simple reply.
“The Black Cacodemon!” Maura spat on the ground. Her face contorted as though she were struggling to find the right words. “What of the royal family – Empress Gitar and her children?” she asked quietly.
“I don’t know. I suppose some got out.”
“Why?” Maura felt as though someone had gutted her with a knife.
KiKu rubbed his unshaven face. “Dorak did not want the Dinii to help you if you fled. He put them on the run.”
“You think this was a trick too?”
“Soldiers should have been swarming over that east wall. We did not see any until the road patrols. Easy enough to fool them. I think the hitch in their plans was that your disguise was too good. You threw them off and now they’ve got to find you.”
“In order to follow us!”
“Correct,” said KiKu. His respect for the girl had increased. She was not stupid and, judging from her masquerade, was resourceful as well as ruthless. He had not recognized her at all when she first approached and he was a master at disguises. “Dorak wants the Mother Bogazkoy.”
“She will not accept him. He is not suitable for her purposes.”
“Perhaps he doesn’t know that or he doesn’t believe it. Perhaps the Black Cacodemon has promised him the mating will work.”
“Perhaps, perhaps. I need facts. I need to know who is left of the Dinii. I need to know where my western army is. You are supposed to be my Hetmaan. Tell me something of value,” she prodded in frustration.
“No one has seen the Dinii since the attack. We do not know where they have gone. They could have left the country . . .”
“No,” interrupted Maura. “Chaun Maaun would never have left me. Never!”
“Chaun Maaun could be no longer . . . and you did marry someone else.”
Maura’s face drained of color. She looked almost pale. “I was forced into marriage!”
KiKu gave her a look that clearly challenged the veracity of this last statement.
Maura buried her face in her war horse’s long mane, weeping. “That’s a lie. I wanted to marry Dorak.” Tears ran down her cheeks as shame illuminated her face.
The spy was moved to pity her. “We can not help with whom we fall in love.”
“But I loved Chaun Maaun and hated Dorak, at least in the beginning . . .”
“Who knows the will of the heart? It can love many people in many ways. It can also hate and love at the same time. Zoar loved my sister, but he let her die in a hunting accident. Dorak both loved and hated his father, and yet he murdered him. And now the conflicts of his emotions drive him to the brink of insanity.”
Maura wiped her tears away. “Dorak killed Zoar?”
KiKu nodded solemnly.
The horse that Maura was leaning on shifted and nuzzled her arm with his nose. “I don’t know why, but that news makes me feel better.”
“Misery abides company?”
“It explains Dorak’s suffering.” Maura scratched behind the ears of the contented horse. “I am glad that he suffers as I do.”
“I think Dorak suffers a great deal. If he had been born with better parents, such as mine, he would have been a great man.”
“Like you?”
KiKu ignored her sarcasm. “Dorak has the seeds of greatness within him but, with Zoar as his father, he didn’t have a chance. Dorak was right to kill him.”
“Who am I to judge Dorak when I allowed my beloved Sari to be killed?”
“You still do not realize.”
“What?”
“Dorak is not the man to fear, nor the Black Cacodemon. It is Alexanee who must be watched.”
“Why him?”
“Dorak will make a mistake that will cost him his life because he is impetuous.” KiKu picked up some pebbles and flipped them back and forth between his fingers. “Like Dorak, the Black Cacodemon must be dealt with but he is not invincible. His fatal defect is his ambition.
“Sooner or later, a spell will backfire or Dorak will tire of him and do the bastard in with a simple thrust of a sword. They are capable but flawed men who will perish from their own miscalculations.”
KiKu put a pebble in his mouth and began to suck on it. “Alexanee is different,” he continued after he spat out the small stone. “He has no weaknesses. He does not gamble. He stays away from women. He is not a religious fanatic. Alexanee is highly intelligent, a brilliant strategist . . . better even than Zoar in his heyday. He is a man of moderation, both spiritually and emotionally.”
Maura was intrigued by KiKu’s analysis of Alexanee. She had never given him much thought. “It doe
s not matter what attributes Alexanee has. He can never be Aga.”
“You are wrong about that, Great Mother. Only three people stand between Alexanee and his gaining control of the Bhuttanian Empire. Dorak, Mamora’s son and you.”
KiKu lowered his voice. “Alexanee is Zoar’s first child, born on the wrong side of the blanket you might say. His mother was a Bhuttanian noblewoman who was much older than Zoar. The details of Alexanee’s birth remained quiet but when his mother died, Zoar brought Alexanee to court to serve as an officer in the Aga’s army. As Alexanee’s parentage was not known, Zoar spared his life when killing the rest of his sons in favor of Dorak.”
“Does he know?”
“Neither Dorak nor Alexanee know. I became privy to this information when Zoar and I were watching Alexanee train once. Zoar said, ‘There goes the best one of the lot and I can’t acknowledge him.’”
“And then you did some digging on your own?”
“Yes.”
Maura remained silent while stroking the horse.
KiKu realized that she did not wish to talk further. The Hetmaan spent the remainder of the day resting near the mouth of the cave, though deep sleep eluded him. Noticing that he could no longer see the sun, KiKu looked outside the cave. It was growing dark and soon it would be safe for them to leave. He began saddling the horses.
Maura, who had been resting quietly on her own bedroll, fell into step with KiKu to help with the horses and gathering their gear. When finished, KiKu told the young Empress to wait outside with their new mounts.
The girl looked sadly at the two still-exhausted horses that they had ridden from O Konya. She knew their fate.
KiKu could not let them roam loose as their discovery would give away the direction of their escape.
Maura took the reins of the fresh mounts and went outside. She held her breath waiting for a panicked whinny or scream but heard nothing.
KiKu soon joined her, sheathing his knife. He looked guiltily at her. Taking his reins and a hank of mane, the lithe man pulled himself up on the great war horse.