by Jim Melvin
“What are you talking about, demon? Why should I believe what you say? You’ve destroyed all that I hold dear: my father, my people, even Bhacca. If I weren’t so weak, I’d break your scrawny neck.”
The raven sounded offended. “Grudges are a sign of immaturity. You know why I’m trustworthy. If not for me, you never would have escaped Avici. If I wished you dead, you would be dead. Even now I have the strength to capsize this craft and laugh as you drown. But I do not wish you dead. For once in your pathetic little life, show some wisdom, and listen to me. You must find the healer.”
“Who is this healer, and how do I find her? You speak in riddles.”
“Find him, not her! When the dracool returns, I will reappear. In the meantime, convince the others to listen to my words. For your sake.”
Then the raven fluttered away.
21
As the sun rose bright and cheerful over Lake Ti-ratana, Laylah succumbed to the sickness again. She remembered little of the day, other than a constant series of hot flashes, chills, nausea and muscle cramps. She had little memory of a dismal moment during the late afternoon when Lucius thought she had died, causing him to sob. But when darkness arrived on the fourth night since the eclipse, her illness released its grip, leaving her weak and shaky, but alive.
When she opened her eyes, Laylah saw Lucius lying next to her, dozing fitfully. The firstborn looked ragged and filthy. Though the boat dwellers had submerged her in the lake several times each day during the worst of her fevers, Lucius never entered the water. He didn’t know how to swim and feared the depths almost as much as Izumo. But Laylah didn’t care how bad he looked or smelled. How could she complain, when he had done so much for her? By all rights, she should love him. No matter how hard she tried, though, the feeling wouldn’t surface. Her thoughts always returned to the stranger in the wagon, which made her angry and frustrated. She was obsessed with someone she had seen only once in her life. And if that weren’t foolish enough, the man was dead—at least if she were to believe Mala.
When Moken entered the kabang with another helping of fish stew, his movements caused Lucius to stir. The general tried to feed her, but Laylah pushed his hands away and told him she could fend for herself. Moken returned with more stew for Lucius before diving back into the water and disappearing for the rest of the night.
When she felt strong enough to speak, Laylah looked at the general with desperation. “Just before dawn, you fell asleep. And soon afterward, the raven paid us another visit.”
Lucius sat up so fast, he shook the small craft. “Why didn’t you wake me? Did she threaten you?”
“She didn’t do much of anything, much less try to hurt me. But she left a message: She said that I will die unless I’m taken to a healer. But not just any healer. She said she’ll explain more when she returns tonight.”
Lucius covered his face with his hands. “Just what we need. If the demon knows where we are, how soon will it be before Invictus finds us? When Izumo returns, we should leave this place. Maybe we can hide for a while in the cave he found near the mountains.”
“Vedana would find us there too. She seems able to travel long distances in an instant and appear in whatever form she desires.”
“Then what are we to do?” Lucius said. “I’m no match for the demon, and neither is Izumo. Can you defeat Vedana?”
“Right now I doubt I could slay an ordinary raven, much less a demon in disguise. But even at full strength, I’m not her match. At least, not yet. Other than Invictus and Bhayatupa, she seems to fear no one.”
“Then what are we to do? We can’t flee. We can’t fight. Should we just lie here and pray for death?”
“Our only choice is to trust her, at least for a while longer.”
“I’d sooner trust a pirate from Duccarita.”
Laylah placed her hand on the general’s thick forearm. “We’ve no other options. In one regard, the demon speaks the truth: If I don’t find some sort of healing, I will die.”
“My queen . . .”
“Shhhhh. Let’s not argue. I hate the demon more than anyone. But I believe some of what she says. She could have betrayed us already. And it’s within her power to harm us now. For whatever reasons, she wants to help. Not because she cares for us, of course. She cares only for herself. But regardless of her motivation, we should take advantage of her aid.”
“What if this is just another of her tricks?” Izumo said after arriving at the kabang later in the evening and hearing the news of Vedana’s visit. “It’s even possible she is the one making you feel so ill.”
“For what gain?” Laylah said.
“To give you no choice but to visit the healer,” the dracool said. “Maybe she’s in league with him.”
“I certainly am not,” the raven said, startling the three conspirators. “Laylah, I thought I told you to convince them to listen to me. I go to all this trouble to help you—and when I return, I find the three of you bickering like spoiled children.”
“We’re at your mercy,” Laylah said. “If this is some sort of trick, then get it over with, and kill us now.”
“Oh, relax,” the raven said. “I want nothing but the best for all three of you. I don’t deny I have my own agenda. But for now, it coincides with yours.” The raven then cocked its head at Izumo. “Dracool . . . are you strong enough for one more long flight? I need you to carry Laylah and Lucius to Kamupadana. Once there, I’ll lead Laylah to the only person in the world who can save her. Not even Invictus or I can do what this man can do.”
“You’re insane if you think we’d willingly follow you to Kamupadana,” said Lucius, his cheeks so swollen with anger that his head seemed to enlarge. “The Whore City is swarming with witches. Other than Avici, I could think of no worse place to go.”
“Normally I would punish you for being so rude,” the raven said. “But we don’t have time to squabble. The dracool hides his discomfort from you, but soon he won’t be able to disguise it.”
“What does she mean?” Laylah said to Izumo.
The dracool took a long breath. “I’m under assault. My flock has discovered me.”
“Discovered you?” Lucius said. “They know where you are?”
“Don’t be so stupid!” the raven said. “Do you not listen? The dracools are intertwined.”
“It’s a difficult concept for mortals, but for lack of better words, they are seizing control of the primitive portion of my mind,” Izumo said. “Soon they’ll have the power to quiet my heart. I can resist a while longer. But my life will end before this day is through.”
“No!” Laylah said. She turned to the raven. “Can’t you stop them from killing him?”
The dracool interrupted. “I do not desire it.”
“You wish to die?” Lucius said.
The dracool sighed. “As I said, you cannot comprehend me—any more than a toddler can comprehend an aged man. The longer you live, the more important is your legacy. What good is long life if you don’t leave behind something worth remembering?”
“What does that have to do with being murdered?” Laylah said.
The raven cackled. “At the moment of his death, they will comprehend the full extent of his motives.”
Izumo nodded.
“So we’re supposed to sit here and watch you die?” Lucius said.
The raven interrupted. “If you must know, I couldn’t save the dracool without exerting enough power to alert Invictus, anyway. Thanks to that damnable Mala, my grandson is nearly recovered. When his full strength returns, he’ll be more dangerous than ever. The specter of his own demise has never occurred to him. I doubt he liked the taste of it.” Then the raven cocked its head this way and that, as if seized with paranoia. Finally she whispered, “The wheels have been set in motion. I’m your only chance.” And then louder: “Follow me, now—or sit in this silly boat and await your doom. What’s your decision? Be quick!”
“If Izumo will carry us, we will follow,” Laylah said. “A
t least, I will.”
“Where you go, I will go,” Lucius said.
“I will carry you,” the dracool said. “But as the demon warns, we must hurry. If we plunge into Lake Ti-ratana because of my weakness, all will be for naught.”
Laylah waved goodbye to the boat dwellers, doubting she would ever see them again. Then she and Lucius climbed onto Izumo’s back. At first, the dracool struggled to remain aloft, skimming the surface of the lake. But steadily they rose into the sky, following the raven northward. When they finally reached the northern shore of the giant lake, Izumo was forced to rest.
“Come on, come on!” the raven said. “Less than forty leagues remain. If we fly like the wind, we can be there before dawn. Why do you tarry?”
“Leave him alone,” Laylah said. “Can’t you see he’s suffering?”
“Suffering, smuffering!” the raven said. “Mogols and other niceties are everywhere. You’re not playing a child’s game, granddaughter. Only the strongest will survive.”
“The demon speaks the truth,” Izumo said shakily. “Let us continue. I have the strength for one last effort. After that, I will leave you. I wish to perish in a place of my own choosing. Where and how you die is more important than when you die.”
They continued on, skimming the tops of hills and the canopies of trees. The raven was tireless, but Izumo was not. He stopped again and lay down on the gray grass, wrapping his wings around his muscled torso like a blanket.
“We can’t ask him to carry us any longer,” Laylah said. “How far is the city? Could we walk the rest of the way?”
“You could not make it before daylight,” the raven said. “Walking is not an option.”
Izumo stood and stretched. “I can do it.”
“And where will we go once we arrive?” Lucius said. “We can’t just fly over the walls. We’ll be seen, even in the dark. The Sāykans are everywhere—and the witches also watch.”
“The witches do as I tell them,” the raven said. “But I have a plan, General. Trust me.”
Lucius sighed. “As you say, we have no choice.”
During the final leg of the journey, the dracool struggled just to remain in the air. One time Laylah pressed her palms against his back and bathed him with white energy, but the raven flew over and pecked at her.
“Stop . . . you little fool! It’s too soon for you to be using your powers. You might as well hand Invictus a map.”
Finally they could see the Whore City in the distance, its ramparts aglow. Outside the city was a dark area dotted with fires. The raven headed that way. Izumo followed. They landed near a copse of trees and quickly hid within the shadows. The dracool collapsed. Laylah knelt next to him.
“What can I do for you, Izumo? I feel so helpless.”
“Stay alive,” the dracool said. “Resist . . . your brother. That’s all I ask.”
“It’s time to go,” said a voice off to the side. Near where the raven had been perched, a grandmotherly woman wearing tattered robes now stood. With a gnarled finger, she pointed toward the fires. “Dawn will soon arrive. Laylah must be hidden before then. I have prepared a place. Hurry!”
“We can’t leave him,” Laylah said, gesturing toward Izumo.
The old woman rolled her eyes. “Idiot. The dracool is beyond your meager aid. He craves privacy, not your cloying.”
“The demon speaks the truth,” Izumo whispered hoarsely. “My end is near, and I choose to die alone. Take care, Laylah. And Lucius. In the deep sleep of death, I will dream of you.”
Then Izumo stood and sprang into the air, sputtering northward toward the mountains. Laylah never saw him again.
Healer
22
Soon after Izumo’s departure, dawn announced its arrival, as if in a hurry to betray them. Immediately Laylah felt the return of the dreaded sickness and was forced to lean against Lucius for support. The two of them stumbled behind the old woman, who set a surprisingly brisk pace. Eventually, they entered the refugee camp. The filth and suffering seemed to stun Lucius, but Laylah was too ill to pay much attention. And Vedana appeared pleased to be there, as if she admired the sordid maze of shacks, tents and lean-tos.
The demon led them past stinking piles of garbage, moaning cripples and squalling babies. They entered an alley and squeezed through a curtained doorway into a shack pieced together with scraps of metal and broken boards. A man slept in the small room on a bed of dirty blankets. Vedana kicked him in the buttocks, and he bolted upright, drawing a rusty sword. But when he saw the look in the old woman’s eyes, he yelped, dropped his weapon and scrambled out the door.
“Trespassers!” Vedana said. “You just can’t leave your house unlocked these days like you could a hundred thousand years ago.” She threw her head back and guffawed, causing Laylah to grimace.
“What do we do now?” Lucius said to the demon, carefully placing Laylah on the bed of blankets. “We left the boat so quickly I didn’t have time to pack food or water. And our clothes are even filthier than the rags worn by that man you just rousted.”
“The dracool couldn’t have carried more weight, anyway,” Vedana said. “But please forgive my thoughtlessness. I tend to forget that those made of flesh and blood need sustenance. When you’re around your own kind long enough . . . but enough prattle. Don’t worry; I won’t let the two of you starve to death.”
The demon handed Lucius the sword the trespasser had dropped. “Don’t leave the blessed comforts of this abode. If anyone other than me tries to enter, skewer him. I’ll return with food, water and clean clothes. Not that Laylah will care. She’s going to be sicker than ever. But it’s too late to find the healer today. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning and hope her demon blood provides enough strength for her to survive.”
23
After Vedana twirled and vanished through the entryway, Laylah became almost comatose. Lucius sighed, again and again. He wasn’t sure he could survive another day of this, much less she.
Guilt and shame washed over him as he kissed her lips, but that didn’t stop him. He couldn’t believe some of the things he’d considered the past three days. During her periods of unconsciousness, he had been tempted to lay upon her and enter her, but he was too afraid she would wake up later with soreness and despise him. No . . . he couldn’t do that, no matter how much he lusted for her. But now he allowed himself a peek at her breasts, admiring their fullness and gazing overly long at her nipples. When she coughed, he was so startled he had to fight back a yelp, and he covered her up and turned away, burying his face in his hands. What would he do if it turned out she didn’t love him? In so many ways he was a fraud, created by an evil god out of bubbling goo. What right did he have to such a wonderful woman? And yet, who else deserved her as much as he? Could she put aside what he was and still love him? If not, could he bear to live another day?
Just then Vedana burst through the opening, carrying a woven basket. Lucius smelled roasted fowl and baked bread.
“I went to the market and bought you a new tunic and breeches and Laylah a plain brown dress so that she won’t attract attention,” the demon said. “You can pay me back later.” Cackling. “Okay, I didn’t buy it. I just took it. Anyway, there’s chicken and bread and apple wine. I don’t go for this stuff, myself. Raw flesh is my favorite food—and blood my beverage of choice.” More cackling. “Oh . . . don’t look at me like that. You’re not so perfect. Have a wonderful time changing her clothes.” Then she winked and slipped out the door again.
“Foul beast!” he shouted after her, his face red with anger—and shame. But in his heart he knew she spoke the truth. He wasn’t perfect. How could he be? In most ways he wasn’t even real.
The day passed so slowly he felt as if eternity had crept up and cradled him in its arms. He ate most of the bread and chicken, stunned by how good it tasted, but he saved enough for Laylah to have a snack, just in case she woke with any kind of appetite.
Despite the demon’s taunting, he did enjoy
removing Laylah’s clothes. He left her naked on the blankets far longer than was necessary, studying the entire length of her perfect body while she slept. The delicate place between her legs almost stopped his heart. Finally, he could no longer resist, and he touched it with his fingers and then licked it with his tongue. In response, her abdomen clenched and bulged, which startled him again. After that he didn’t dare touch her anymore.
When eternity became bored and left him alone, dusk arrived and then darkness. It rained briefly, then a rush of wintry air followed. Laylah slowly woke from her stupor, shivering as she rubbed her eyes.
“Where are we?”
“We’re in some kind of hellhole outside the city’s walls. But the demon brought us clean clothes. I dressed you while you slept.”
Laylah blushed. “Do we have water?”
“No, but we have wine . . . and I saved you some chicken and bread.”
“I’m not hungry. But I’ll have a sip of wine. Did Vedana say anything more about the healer?”
“She said we wouldn’t be able to find him until morning. I have no idea what makes him so special. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Laylah sat up. “I hope Vedana is right about the healer. I don’t have much strength left.”
Lucius peered out the door into the alleyway. “I can’t believe how cold it’s become. It feels like winter.”
“It will be cold tonight, but warm tomorrow,” she said. “Don’t ask me how I know. I just do. What do you see?”
“Darkness and shadows, though I hear all kinds of strange sounds. This is a dreadful place.”
“All we can do is wait for Vedana to return. I feel weak, but at least I don’t feel so sick.”
Lucius stared at her, his face stern. “Laylah, there’s something I need to say. I’ve kept it to myself until now because it was never safe for us to talk in Avici. But I can’t hold back my feelings any longer. I must tell you how I feel.”