by J J Moriarty
“That’s ok with me. That’s perfect”, Hyzou said.
Swan smiled.
“You idiot, you’ll be eaten alive”, Swan said.
“Leave that to me”, Hyzou said. “Just tell me how you’re going to get me in there.”
Swan sighed.
“I’ll be paying you anyway”, Shumur said. “If that’s what has you worried.”
Swan shrugged.
“It’ll be your impaling then”, Swan said.
“Where I come from we prefer crucifixion”, Hyzou said.
“Kheme are barbarians”, Swan said.
“How will you get me in?” Hyzou asked.
“Tomorrow night, the Sfaza family is thanking several prominent individuals who have been particularly helpful to them. They do it regularly, the King of Kings attends and everybody’s given a bowl of meat and yoghurt”, Swan said.
“And you can get me into it?” Hyzou asked.
“This can”, Swan said.
Swan threw a wooden dice onto the table before Hyzou.
“What is it?” Hyzou asked.
“The Sfaza seal. How did you get this?” Shumur said.
“The Sfaza gave it to a Kheme hunter. I killed that hunter and took it from him”, Swan said.
“What does it do?” Hyzou asked.
“It allows you to eat for free at the Sfaza residence for the rest of your life. And it means that tomorrow you’ll be let into the banquet where Kinzonzi will be seated. But he will have nearly a hundred guards there, and you won’t be near him. What’s more, you won’t be able to bring any weapons in with you. You’ll be heavily searched”, Swan said.
Hyzou sighed with relief.
“It’s ok”, Hyzou said to Shumur. “I can do this.”
Shumur nodded.
“So I get paid now?” Swan asked.
“How do I get into where Kinzonzi will be?” Hyzou asked.
“Just go to the residence and show them the cube. Oh, and that Kheme hunter, he couldn’t speak CaSuan, so maybe pretend to be more foreign than you have with me”, Swan said.
“Got it”, Hyzou said.
“I still think you’re crazy”, Swan said. “But that dice will get you one person into the same room as Kinzonzi. That’s what I promised.”
“You can go now”, Shumur said.
Swan leaped to his feet and left. He knew he was a rich man.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Shumur said.
“I’ll be ok, so long as this dice actually gets me into the residence”, Hyzou said.
“Oh, it will. Swan’s been trying to sell that one for a while. He’s helped me with matters like this before and never failed me”, Shumur said.
“So there’s nothing to do until tomorrow, when I end this”, Hyzou said.
Shumur nodded.
“I must go to the House. Business must be supervised”, Shumur said.
Then he left, it was just Hyzou and Safia.
“One entrance, right?” Safia asked.
“One entrance, so you won’t be coming, no”, Hyzou said. “I’m sorry. If it helps I’d have you with me if I could.”
Safia snorted.
“No, you wouldn’t”, Safia said.
She got up and left too. Left him alone in the feast hall with nothing but a bowl of nuts for company.
Hyzou thought and thought. He thought for hours, planning, plotting, obsessing.
He thought of the gods he had met, Eanno and The Whisperer, and the raw power they’d possessed. He thought about Thanatis and Bvontei, how much stronger either one of them must be. Hyzou imagined Bvontei descending upon CaSu to remove all Thanatis’ priests, and how he’d devastate the city, kill a million people. Hyzou tried to see what Thanatis’ response would be, as he led his army of souls into the human realm. He saw the wasteland and devastation left after the contest. Would there even be humans around to sing about it after that?
All about him, in CaSu, people were working, relaxing, fucking and suffering. A city full of people living. Did any of them know that by next week this could just be a gigantic crater in the side of the mountain? That their river could be filled with bodies, a morgue full of ancestors without any descendants?
And the only one preventing that was Hyzou. No one knew that tomorrow Hyzou would have to do the impossible and kill the best protected man in the world, or there wouldn’t be a world left.
Hyzou stood, left the feast room behind and walked out onto the grounds of the Daborah estate. Darkness was near, he’d need plenty of sleep before tomorrow. He’d spend the morning stretching too, getting ready for combat.
The paths carved through a forest of the most beautiful flora, and as he approached the guesthouses, Hyzou realised that he was about to do something he’d wanted to do for days now. The thoughts of being the only thing between humanity and its end hadn’t spooked Hyzou as much as this, as his stomach came alive with worry. As he walked up to the door of Safia’s guesthouse, he saw that his hands were shaking.
He knocked loudly, and it opened quickly.
“Hyzou”, Safia said.
“A part of me was hoping that you were with your sister”, Hyzou said.
“She’s in lessons now. I’ll go visit her before she goes to sleep”, Safia said. “What’s wrong?”
Hyzou swallowed. He tried to tell her, but nothing came.
“Maybe I could come inside? I need to talk to you”, Hyzou said, finally.
Safia opened the door wide and let Hyzou in. Her place looked just like his, two rooms that were more functional than the rest of the opulent Daborah estate.
Hyzou sat down on one of the stools across from Safia’s bed, next to which she stood.
“Let me tell you about my affections”, Hyzou blurted.
“What?” Safia said.
“I love you. I’m sorry, but I love you”, Hyzou said.
“What?” Safia said. “No, you don’t.”
“I didn’t think so either. I only realised this afternoon”, Hyzou said. “But now that I’ve realised I know I’ve felt this way for a while now. I love you.”
Safia’s eyes widened. Hyzou waited for her to say something, but time kept passing and she still hadn’t responded. Hyzou filled the gap.
“I keep thinking about you. And I know you’re not much of a sorcerer, but you’re a great person. I thought I’d end up marrying a Servant, but I don’t care anymore. Even if you never make it, I still love you. I don’t think you’re inferior because of that”, Hyzou said.
“No”, Safia said.
“Oh”, Hyzou said.
“What do I say?” Safia said.
She’s asking for instruction on this? Hyzou thought.
“Well seeing as you don’t feel the same way, just say so and we can agree to forget entirely about this”, Hyzou said. “I’m already regretting it. Just forget I said it, it’s probably a figment of my imagination, formed because of this whole situation.”
“No, no, no”, Safia said.
“What?” Hyzou said.
Safia began to pace the floor.
“You can’t just say that”, Safia said.
Hyzou raised his hands.
“Ok, I’ll go, and I’m sorry”, Hyzou said.
“I mean you’re everything everyone said you’d be”, Safia said.
“What?” Hyzou said.
“You’re so powerful I can’t even comprehend it, and you are a great leader, and you will be Protakyrios someday soon. But I’m your pupil, you’re my master. How am I supposed to learn from you if we’re fucking? That’s what you want, isn’t it?” Safia asked.
“I really hadn’t thought that far”, Hyzou said.
“Well it’d stop me from learning, wouldn’t it? And I want to learn. I want to find my Qi, and it’s your job to help me find it”, Safia said.
Her eyes widened.
“And Persimmon. You know I love somebody else, you know he’s courting me. We’re going to marry soon. Once I become a Servant
we’ll marry. He loves me, and I love him. There’s no place for you, I’m taken”, Safia said.
“I’m sorry. I should go”, Hyzou said.
“No”, Safia said.
She said it with such vehemence that Hyzou sat down to listen to the rest.
“You’re everything everyone said you’d be. And I can see why so many people in Uqing adore you. As an Archaier, you’re remarkable, and you lead like a character from a story. But as a person, Hyzou, you’re not remarkable at all”, Safia said.
“Oh”, Hyzou said.
“I mean… You’re mean, you’re judgmental and you’re rude. You’re impatient and can’t understand others around you. Your blind devotion to Uqing is just the way you get over your empty existence. And the way you spoke to me that night, the way you looked at me. I think that was the real you, and the real you hates me. What did you call me? Weak, wasn’t it?” Safia said.
“Safia, I truly am…” Hyzou said.
“DON’T FUCKING APOLOGISE TO ME AGAIN”, Safia said.
Hyzou fell quiet. Her face had turned red.
“But more than anything, it’s the way you think people are disposable to your ambitions”, Safia said.
“What’s that mean?” Hyzou said.
“You know well”, Safia said.
Hyzou shook his head.
“Do you really want me to tell you explicitly?” Safia asked.
“Please”, Hyzou said.
“Sudgata. He told Persimmon exactly what you did to him when you were both running for election. Why he didn’t get it on the first go. You know, you don’t have to sink those around you in order to rise yourself”, Safia said.
Hyzou breathed deeply. He stood.
“Goodnight Safia. I’m sorry to have bothered you”, Hyzou said.
Hyzou arose. She’d crossed her arms and was glaring at him as he left. He could sense her eyes burning holes in his back as he left.
His guesthouse was just next door. The door was heavy and the inside dark. Hyzou didn’t bother lighting any candles.
I can’t believe I just did that. Why did I do that? Hyzou thought.
He found his bed and lay down. He’d need some sleep. Tomorrow he was saving the world.
But for many hours he was wide awake, the taste of humiliation heavy in his throat. Just yesterday he had seen Safia as a pupil, and in the course of a day he’d realised he wanted her and then been rejected.
CaSu is changing me. Hyzou thought. This task is changing me.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Why are you dressed so strangely?” Marrea asked.
“Alum dressed me this way”, Hyzou said.
“Why?” Marrea asked.
“I’ve a job to go and do”, Hyzou said.
“What’s the job?” Marrea asked.
“Don’t be nosy Marrea”, Safia said.
She wasn’t looking at him.
“I thought you were in lessons today”, Hyzou said to Marrea.
“They ended early because I get to spend tonight with father”, Marrea said.
“It’s a special night?” Hyzou asked.
“The other girls are jealous”, Marrea said.
“Why’s that?” Hyzou asked.
“They don’t get to leave the chambers at all, but I get to go to the feast hall”, Marrea said.
“One of the privileges of being Shumur’s daughter”, Safia murmured.
“Marrea, do you mind if I could talk to Safia alone briefly? I won’t be long”, Hyzou said.
Marrea nodded, picked up a kitten that had been lying between the two sisters, and took it with her down the winding path between the cherry trees.
Safia turned to him, the first time she had looked at him since last night.
“I won’t be long”, Hyzou said.
“I’m still your pupil Hyzou. I’m still going to listen to you”, Safia said.
“I could die today”, Hyzou said.
Safia frowned.
“I’d like to see the person that manages to kill you”, Safia said.
“I’m about to try the impossible, it’s likely that I will fail and either die or be captured. If I’m captured I won’t break and give you away, so you’ve to finish what I couldn’t do”, Hyzou said.
“Assassinate the King of Kings? If you can’t do that, then I won’t be able to either”, Safia said.
“You have money, and tomorrow a group of mercenaries I hired this morning will gather just down the street from the gate into the Daborah estate. Use them and your father’s rice wine stash. You have to start fires and you have to start plenty of them”, Hyzou said.
“How did you pay for mercenaries?” Safia asked.
“Your father paid for them”, Hyzou said.
“Fires. Alright, I’ll do that if you die”, Safia said.
Hyzou took a deep breath.
“I never interfered with Sudgata. I don’t care what he says”, Hyzou said.
“Hyzou we don’t need to…” Safia began.
“We were preparing for the tests to become an Archaier, both him and I. He hates me and wanted to sabotage me. All the time, you should have heard him when we trained, needling me whenever we could. He’d remind me that I was a runaway slave whenever he could, just to try and make me uncomfortable using my Qi. But still, he failed his first test because he’s a weak fuck. He spent twenty years practicing for it, and he blew it. We left that day and he attacked me, quite literally took a knife and tried to hurt me”, Hyzou said.
Safia frowned.
“I know you heard what he said, and I’ve heard it too. He claims I tampered with the animal he was supposed to force his will onto, he began to claim it from the moment he left the test and that’s why he attacked me, but I did no such thing. Speak to Sparrow, he was in charge of the test and absolutely forbade me from going anywhere near the animals. In insulting me, and claiming I lied and cheated, Sudgata also claims that Sparrow is a cheat. Do you believe that Sparrow is a cheat?” Hyzou asked.
Safia didn’t respond.
“So he attacked me, and to stop him I had to break his leg. The Archai investigated it and found that I had acted in self-defence. They punished Sudgata too, didn’t let him practice sorcery for ten months. If I wanted to end him, if I wanted to sabotage him, I could have. I could have hurt him badly. And when the Archai investigated I pled for mercy on his behalf, I could have looked for a greater punishment”, Hyzou said.
“Hyzou”, Safia said.
“And how did he respond? The moment he was made an Archaier, he introduced a motion to ban anyone under the age of thirty from becoming an Archaier. It nearly passed, a lot of people in Uqing don’t like me and didn’t like the idea of me as an Archaier”, Hyzou said.
“Hyzou”, Safia said.
“No, look, it doesn’t matter, and I don’t even know why I said it. But if I die Safia, you’ll take over, you’ll do what I couldn’t”, Hyzou said.
Safia nodded.
“Thank you”, Hyzou said, with a smile, and he left her.
He returned to the feast hall to wait. The room was empty, the tall windows allowing the high sun to light up the room. Hyzou picked up several stone tablets and brought them over into a darker corner of the room.
Carved on them was a simple rendition of the main city of CaSu. The streets were thin lines and small dots alongside the streets showed Hyzou that he was looking at a building. Where he saw a square, Hyzou knew that that showed an estate, usually of one of the main families of CaSu. These tablets had been left out for him to study at his own request. While the fate of the world rested only on Kinzonzi’s death, Hyzou himself wanted to survive the evening, and that meant knowing a way out of the Sfaza estate, as well as his way in.
So Hyzou stared and tried to memorise the complex latticework of streets that made up CaSu. Whoever had drawn this map had also included small pinpoints for an individual, landmarks in internal CaSu. Beside the Daborah estate, for example, was a large building whose roof had been
built to look like a palm tree. It was represented on the map by an etching of a palm tree.
Hyzou sensed Shumur approaching the feast hall. He entered and smiled at Hyzou.
“I thought you were supposed to be at the moneyed house. Isn’t it your job to supervise there every day?” Hyzou asked.
“I couldn’t concentrate on my work, I was too nervous for this evening”, Shumur said.
“Don’t be. Be patient”, Hyzou said.
“When do you leave?” Shumur asked.
“Two hours”, Hyzou said.
“Do you know your way?” Shumur asked.
Hyzou nodded.
“Oh, gods, I’m nervous. I’ve been planning this for so long”, Shumur said
“Well the moment’s come”, Hyzou said.
“Aren’t you nervous?” Shumur said.
“I’m fine. You shouldn’t have left the house. It’ll raise suspicion, someone may suspect you of Kinzonzi’s murder”, Hyzou said.
Shumur looked at him.
“You leave CaSuan politics to me, Archaier”, Shumur said. “But you’re right, and I have an excuse. I said that tonight was one of the nights I was going to spend with Marrea in any case. Once every fortnight I leave the house early and spend an entire evening with my daughter. My sons may be gone but I can at least care for her.”
Hyzou didn’t respond.
“You know, if you succeed, you should celebrate. Because of appearances and the blood that will flow, it wouldn’t be right to have a feast, but there are other ways of celebrating”, Shumur said. “I can give you some company tonight if you want it.”
“That’s ok”, Hyzou said.
“Why? No man enjoys sleeping alone”, Shumur said.
“Some do”, Hyzou said.
Shumur’s eyes widened.
“It’s a woman, isn’t it?” Shumur said.
Hyzou began to dismiss Shumur’s statement, but then thought twice.
“I’ve fallen for a woman, yes”, Hyzou said.
“In Uqing?” Shumur said.
“No. Here”, Hyzou said.
Shumur’s eyes widened.
“Is it one of my slaves? Just ask then, and she can be yours. You can even marry her tonight if you want”, Shumur said.
“No, she’s not your slave”, Hyzou said.
Shumur took a seat just across from Hyzou.