Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology

by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler

  ​ ​ ​ ​“I am not! I have no understanding what you are speak of.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Every citizen must have an oxtail to travel outside their city of birth.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Perhaps that is the problem. I am not a citizen. We are from Marth, across the sea.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​The councilor broke into laughter at this. “Even if there were somethingland across the sea, there is no way to navigate outside the light of the eternal moon. The fine for being without your ox-tail is not so egregious that you must make -up fairy stories.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“I am not! We have been trying to explain since we got here that we are explorers from the other side of the world. Where I come from, an ox-tail belongs firmly on an ox.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​He cocked his head. “Are you saying ‘ox-tail’?’”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Yes.” Katin slowed down and tried to adjust her speech so it was more accurate. “That is what the man at the ship asked us for.” Before he shot Lesid.

  ​ ​ ​ ​He uttered a noise that sounded as though he cursed. “You were supposed to have had language lessons.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“I did.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“From a historian. Your province speaks a particularly backward form of Setian.” He rubbed his forehead. “Still, that might explain some of the confusion. You are saying ‘ox-tail’ but what I mean is ‘oxtail.’”

  ​ ​ ​ ​Aside from a slight change in emphasis, Katin could hear no distinction. “What is the difference?”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“One is the tail of an ox. The other is a license to travel.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​She gaped at him. The first mate whoLesid had been shot . . . “One of my shipmates was killed because we couldn’t understand what the man at the dock was saying.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“All provinces have the same requirements. You should have undertaken this before leaving your home. “.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​Katin lost her temper and felt the touch of FahraDorot on her soul. “I told you. We are from across the ocean. We could not possibly have gotten an oxtail before leaving because we didn’t know that there was such a thing. If you tell use where to go to get a license, I’m sure we’ll all happily pay the fee.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​One of the aides scribbled something on a piece of paper and passed it to the councilor. “I understand that you first disturbed the library with a prank.” He studied it for a moment. “Why she do you keep insisting on this fiction? Navigation is not possible out of the sight of the blessed moon.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“We navigate by the stars. Really, have you had no one else visit your shores?”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Castaways from one of the darklower islands.” The councilor stroked his chin. “The stars move,. hHow do you propose that one navigate by them?”

  ​ ​ ​ ​Katin faltered. She knew nothing of the subject beyond seeing Poritthe captain do it. “I . . . I am not certain.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Because it cannot be done.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“No. Because I am not a navigator. If you were to ask herour ship’s husband, I am certain she could explain. I am here solely because I have some ability with your language.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“And to what do you attribute that?”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“It is related to our holy language. I am a priest and required to be versed in it.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​With her words, something in the room changed. The councilor became very still. By the door, one of the guards shifted his hands on his spear.

  ​ ​ ​ ​The councilor leaned back in his chair slowly. “I will grant that you and your crew are not a native speakers of Setish. That much of your story appears to be true. So it is possible that you mean something else by the word ‘priest.’.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​Katin reviewed what she had said and worried the inside of her lip. She had taken the word from Old Fretian, and it was possible thatso perhaps the meaning had shifted. “I mean a holy woman, or man, dedicated to the service of the SevenFive Sisters.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Who?”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“The . . . the SevenFive Sisters.” She raised a hand to her scarf of office and held the beaded ends out to him. “Our holy book says that they came from across the ocean and we—”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Are you saying that this is a religion?”

  ​ ​ ​ ​The sweat on Katin’s hands clung to the scarf, adding to the dirt from the fifnight in the prison. She lowered it and wiped her palms on her leggings. “By my understanding of the word, yes. It is possible that, but the language has shiftedmay have changed.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Do you worship these SevenFive Sisters?”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Yes.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“So brazen.” The councilor barked a laugh. “Ironic that the most damning piece of evidence against you is the one that convinces me your story is true.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“I don’t understand.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Every year, the Council of Purity finds someone misled by one old cult or another and takes steps to correct the poor soul. These misled fools have turned their back on proper worship of the eternal moon and, knowing that it is wrong, they try to hide their depravity. Yet here you stand claiming allegiance to goddesses that no one has ever heard of as though there would be no consequences.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“They are not goddesses.” The words were out of her mouth before she realized that she should have asked what he meant by consequences.

  ​ ​ ​ ​“So you deny it now?”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“No.” Katin’s voice was louder than she intended. “I merely wish to be clear. Goddesses are born that way, if one believes in such things. The SevenFive Sisters came from here and shared their wisdom with the early FretianMarkuth people. It is said that they were elevated to the stars to continue to watch over us and guide us.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​He waved his hand to dismiss her words. “You do not deny, though, that it is a religion.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“I do not.” Katin licked her lips. “You spoke of consequences. What are those?”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“The moon is eternal and so we live by her light. Either accept that, or accept the absence of her light.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​Laughter rose unbidden to Katin’s lips. “Given that until a fifnight ago, I had never seen the moon, I can easily accept the absence of her light.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​Looking down, he made a mark upon the paper in front of him. “Place her in a cave. Then blind her.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“No!”A protest formed on her lips, but Katin bit it back. What could she say? She did not accept

  ​ ​ ​ ​The councilor waved her away. “You are not to be trusted now. Of course you will profess to love the eternal moon, not when she had good reason to know that it was not eternal. She kept her chin high as the guards came to flank herbut you have already shown that you do not.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​As they lead her from the room, the councilor spoke behind her. “Wait. Do not blind her yet. If she is the only one who speaks their language . . . It occurs to me that we should speak to this navigatorship’s husband. If they do come from out of the sight of the moon, then we should find this land and bring them into the light.”

  #

  ​ ​ ​ ​Katin stumbled over the threshold as the guard thrust her into the cell. A torch flamed in his partner’s handan iron wall socket, lighting the crude underground passage. One of the guards held Katin’s arms behind her as the other ran his hands over her body, searching for weapons. He focused his attention at her waist and sides, but when he found nothing tucked into her belt, he stepped back with a grunt. Neither man seemed to care about her scarf or notice the pockets sewn into her sleeves. She had a moment to realize that she’d seen no heavy sleeves here, before the guard thrust her into the cell. Katin stumbled over the threshold and nearly fell on the rough stone floor.

  ​ ​ ​ ​HeThe guard smirked, face crazed in the dancing light. “Enjoy the dark.”<
br />
  ​ ​ ​ ​The door slammed shut, dropping the cell into twilight. Katin waited for the darkness to descend.

  ​ ​ ​ ​Light trickled under the door and from a crack in the wall. It was not bright, but enough to make out the shape of the room. A small table with a chair stood by the wall. A cot stood opposite it. Her final piece of furnishing was a bucket to hold her waste.

  ​ ​ ​ ​The cave was nothing more than a windowless room.

  ​ ​ ​ ​Katin sank onto the bed and pulled the glowdisc out of her sleeve pocket. She turned the disc over in her hands without opening it. There was nothing she needed to see, but having the smooth surface under her hands helped her think.

  ​ ​ ​ ​Their ships ran dark. Windows everywhere. Crude torches . . . Had she seen a single artificial light besides the torch? No. With the light of the moon, they did not need anything except on cloudy nights.

  ​ ​ ​ ​And perhaps . . . perhaps they thought this was a dark room.

  ​ ​ ​ ​Regardless of what they thought, she needed to get out of here before they blinded her. Katin shuddered. The scriptures were full of stories of people being blinded, and she was suddenly certain she knew their origin.

  #

  ​ ​ ​ ​On the small table, Katin had placed her glowdisc facing the door. The bedsheet hung from the rafters, to create a loose partition in the room. She held the bottom corner of the bed sheet in one hand, waiting until she heard the footsteps of her guard with her daily mealclose to the room. Shaking the disc until the light reached its brightest, she tried to keep her breath steady.

  ​ ​ ​ ​Her glowdisc’s silver-blue light slipped under the door into the hall. The guard’s footsteps stopped outside her door. A moment later, the small slot in the base opened so he could pass her tray through.

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Behold the moon! The eternal moon has come to visit.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​Her glowdisc could not overpower the torch, but its silver-blue light beat it back some.

  ​ ​ ​ ​The guard cursed and scrabbled to his feet.“What in heaven’s name?” His keys rattled.

  ​ ​ ​ ​Katin let the sheet fall in front of the glowdisc, to diffuse the light and make the source seem larger than it was, as if it were the Harvest Feast pageant. She leapt across the small room, and grabbed the waste bucket by the door.

  ​ ​ ​ ​The keys scraped in the lock, and the door swung open. The guard gawked at the glowing sheet and took a step into the cell. His torch guttered as he crossed the threshold. Katin upended her bucket of waste on the torch, covering the smoking end with the metal. The guard cursed as the excrement and urine ran down his arm.

  ​ ​ ​ ​Katin swung the bucket hard, catching him across the side of his head. The guard stumbled forward and his feet tangled in the ties for her leggings. He staggered and fell into the cell. Katin dashed the bucket against his head again, and he lay still. Shuddering, she dropped the bucket. and mMoving as quickly as she could, Katin began to strip the guard of his clothes, wrinkling her nose at the stench of the waste bucket. As she rolled him over, her hand brushed the sheath by his side. He wore one of the hollow tubes.

  ​ ​ ​ ​Hesitating for only a moment, Katin unbuckled the belt that held the tube at his waist. It would surely be more useful than his uniform, if she could figure out how to work the weapon.

  #

  ​ ​ ​ ​Katin kept her shoulders back and marched with as much authority as she could muster. She had needed to rolel the cuffs of the guard uniform up, but it hid the worst of the staining, and in the shadows of the reflected moonlight, she hoped it would pass. Though, for all she knew, they had height restrictions on who could be a guard.

  ​ ​ ​ ​With her lower lip clenched in her teeth, she slipped into the building where her fellow shipmates were held. The captain was not in good condition, but they needed to leave and this was likely their only chance. Katin approached the guard slouching by the window. A window in the wallIt cast a beam of light across the corridor. Anyone approaching would be well visible then.

  ​ ​ ​ ​The guard straightened upon seeing her and made a movement with his hand over his heart. A salute? A greeting?

  ​ ​ ​ ​Guessing, she hastily copied his movement, hoping he would buy it as a salute backit was even remotely appropriate.

  ​ ​ ​ ​“What can I do for you?”

  ​ ​ ​ ​Praying to PashaYorira for aid in the deception, Katin lowered her voice. “The foreigners.” She had been thinkrehearsing of this phrase the entire way here, so it would roll off her tongue as if she were a native Setish speaker. “The Apex Councilor says they aren’t worthy to see the light. Supposed to take them to the caves.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Now? The eternal moon will be full in less than half an hour. You won’t get them there before prayer time.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​She shrugged, as if she didn’t care. “Orders.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​His frown deepened. “And by yourself? For twenty men?”

  ​ ​ ​ ​Before the guard could finish enumerating the reasons that this made no senese, Katin had the end of the tube pressed against his forehead. He choked off his words, going cross-eyed looking at the weapon. His swallow was audible in the stillness of the night.

  ​ ​ ​ ​“Is this clearer? Take me to the foreigners.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​He held very still, which was fortunate, as she had no idea what to do with the weapon she held. Only the fact that one end was obviously a handle gave her even a hint of how to hold it. Reaching forward, she pulled his weapon from the sheath on his belt and tucked it into her own belt.

  ​ ​ ​ ​His voice was steadier than hers would have been. “I could yell.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“I could kill you.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“The gunshot would call the other guards.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“So the outcome for me is the same either way, but very different for you.” She pressed the tube against his head more firmly. “Stand. If you want a chance to live.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​The guard wet his lips and let out a slow breath. He slowly rose and led her down the hall to where the crewmembers of ther ship—no, —to where her fellow countrymen were being held. Katin followed behind, with the weapon trained upon his back.

  ​ ​ ​ ​When they reached the cell, she rested the tip on his spine. “Unlock the door.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​The guard reached for his keys. They unclipped from his belt, and fell to the ground with a clatter. Katin scowled at him. That was clever. He had followed her instructions, but in such a way as it would force her to take the gun off his back to pick up the keys.

  ​ ​ ​ ​And this was where the SevenFive Sisters’ meditation exercises came in handy. Katin kept the weapon against his back as she reached forward with one foot. Sliding the keys toward her, she was able to scoop them off the floor with the toe of her boot as if she were practicing Dorot’s stance. With her free hand, Katin gave them back. “Unlock the door.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​The guard grimaced and pulled the weapon outbut did so, without attempting anything else.

  ​ ​ ​ ​He openedWhen the door andswung open, Katin gave him a shove forward. In the cell, the crew of her ship sat up, blinking in their beds. Tempting as it was to look to the captain, Katin kept her gaze on the guard. She spoke in her native tongue. “Someone secure him. Quietly.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​PoritOne sailor stared at her in open disbelief for a moment, before yanking a rope made of torn sheets out of heris cot’s mattress. Where had the rope come from? In a matter of minutes, the guard was stripped of his uniform and trussed in the makeshift rope with a wad of cloth shoved in his mouth for a gag. The other crewmen scrambled into their clothes, pulling on boots and shirts in disciplined silence.

  ​ ​ ​ ​Now, Katin could take the time to look to Captain Stylian.

  ​ ​ ​ ​He stood by his bed, pulling on the guard’s uniform. That morning he could barely sit and now, aside
from a wince as he slipped the shirt on, it was as if his health had never been in question.

  ​ ​ ​ ​They had been planning an escape and had not told her. A knot of nausea twisted in her stomach. They had not trusted her because her people were from here. Clenching her jaw, Katin turned away from him and headed to the door.

  ​ ​ ​ ​A moment later, Stylian was by her side. He leaned down to breathe in her ear. “I give thanks to the sSisters that you are safe.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​Katin shook her head. “You’ve been pretending to be sicker than you are.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“I kept hoping that they would take me out of the cell to a doctor, or bring a doctor here that we could use as a hostage.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“You didn’t tell me.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“It seemed safer to pretend to everyone than to chance our captors guessing.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​She snorted, just letting the air huff out of her nose softly. “You were ready to leave without me.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​“We were ready to come find you.” He layid two fingers on her wrist. “I wouldn’t leave one of my crew behind.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​At his words, Hher nausea eased at his words. They were all fellow countrymen in this place. Katin handed the captain one of the weapons. “Thank you.”

  ​ ​ ​ ​By the door, the navigatora sailor waved heris hand, signaling that the hall was empty. and tThey headed out into the moon’s cold light.

  #

  ​ ​ ​ ​With each turn, Katin expected them to be caught, but the shadows served them well. As the moon roseswelled to its full height, the cold silver light flooded the streets and houses. They were exposed when crossing the streets, but tucked under the eaves, in the shadows, they were nearly invisible.

  ​ ​ ​ ​The wind carried hints of salt air, and the captain straightened his head. Even without a nautical background, Katin’s own stride quickened at the scent. The sea would carry her home. All this time, seeking her people’s homeland and she was fleeing it in the night.

  ​ ​ ​ ​In front of them, PoritThe captain held up heris hand, signaling a stop. She beckoned Stylian and Katin closer. In a low murmer, the navigator said, “We should send one ahead. In case they are waiting for us.”