by Tom Lloyd
‘Her whole team keeps their eyes on the house – if it’s not on fire by nightfall or the enemy are spotted, she does it herself, understand ?’
‘I will tell her so.’
Kesh tried not to gasp. Mother ! Mother would be home by now ! Without a warning she stood no chance, as little as Emari.
I have to warn her – I have to get there before they do ! But how can I leave Emari ? Kesh almost sobbed with helplessness. How can I leave her here to die ?
The Father’s chilling words had left her in no doubt about Emari’s condition, but just thinking about fleeing left Kesh sickened. Her little sister was in the hands of men who talked about murder as though it was a mere detail – how could she abandon her ? But how could she stay ? How could she take the risk of trying to save Emari – when the old man had said she was beyond help and her mother remained in danger ?
Kesh found herself reaching again for her knife, but caught herself just as her fingers touched it. She took a long controlled breath and stared down at the dirt underfoot. There was a weathered shard of pottery impressed into the ground right there, unremarkable in every respect, but she found her attention fixed upon it as the jangle of panic ran through her body.
Empress forgive me, I’ve got to go.
As soon as she thought the words, Kesh hated herself. At the back of her mind she screamed and raged, but the young woman crouched below the window remained perfectly still, fighting the fury and fear as she tried to make herself move.
I can’t take him – most likely even if that Jehq hadn’t done something to me. I don’t know if I can run, but if I stay I’m dead – Mother’s dead, Emari’s dead.
She closed her eyes and for a moment heard screams on the wind, men crying distantly from the roiling ocean. She’d watched sailors be washed overboard during her time on the merchantman Piper’s Lament and done nothing to save them – unable to move lest she also lost her grip and was caught by the heaving waves. The captain hadn’t turned the ship, had done nothing but watch them go under. There had been nothing more to do ; no lines they could throw, no way to make up the distance or correct their path, but they had all felt like murderers once the storm subsided.
Shakily, she made her way back to the window she’d climbed from, then past it before straightening up. Kesh glanced back at the empty window, fearing she might see the brutal face of the bodyguard, Perel, staring back at her, but there was nothing.
She lurched back toward the plaza where she’d entered the hospital, heading for the gates that separated hospital grounds from the district beyond. After a dozen steps she started to find her balance again and almost broke into a run before she realised she’d only be attracting attention to herself. It was an effort to keep walking at a normal speed and not look back until she was at the edge of the plaza, but she did just that and only paused once she was in the shadow of a tall building. That one look was enough to spur her on. Half-hidden by the corner of the building, Kesh watched a man in black dart out of the hospital entrance.
At the foot of the steps below the polished double doors, he turned left and right like a man panicked. Kesh couldn’t wait any longer – she ran, uncaring of who might see. There was only one thought in her mind now ; saving her mother’s life.
Kesh looked up and saw a break in the buildings ahead, the midday sun casting its light over the further buildings and bleaching their stone facades white. Her heart gave a jump – she was almost home, her mother was almost safe.
In the next instant something smashed into her shoulder and the world was thrown sideways. She flew across the rubbish-strewn street and into a shadowed alley, crashing into a jumble of abandoned, broken boxes. Stars burst before her eyes as she fell, landing heavily on her shoulder and crying out in shock and pain. Everything became a blur, sun and shadow slashed and whirled before her eyes as a second blow rolled her onto her back, then a rough hand grabbed her collar.
Kesh kicked out in panic, feet flailing wildly as she grabbed her attacker’s wrist and tried to wrench free. His grip was iron-like. Kesh was strong and threw herself around in an attempt to break his hold, but she could do nothing and in the next moment she was lifted and hurled against a wall. She slammed into it with a stuttered howl, the impact driving the air from her lungs even as she cried out. Kesh fell to her knees, body ablaze with pain, and only the wall behind her stopped her from collapsing backwards.
‘Led me a pretty dance, bitch,’ Perel snarled. The big goshe stood over her and glared down, hate filling his eyes as he drew a long-knife. ‘But it’s all ended now.’
Kesh whimpered and curled up in a ball, but the goshe laughed and bent down to grab her by her hair.
‘Crying ain’t going to help,’ he promised, dragging her back up to her knees.
Kesh didn’t wait to hear any more. She slashed up with her father’s knife and felt it bite into his inner arm. He released her and on the second pass she lunged for his throat, knowing she couldn’t wait, but he was ready for her and caught the blow on his own weapon. Deftly slipping his free hand underneath her arm, the goshe grabbed her wrist and smirked, not even looking at his injury.
Blood dribbled from the tear in his sleeve, but if anything the wound seemed to have improved his mood and as he bent her hand back, Perel pursed his lips and made a kissing sound.
‘Like it rough, eh ?’ he said with a broken-toothed grin.
Kesh wrenched her body back and stamped forward with all her strength, kicking the goshe square in the groin and at last eliciting a grunt of pain from the man. He released her wrist and backed off a step, his apparent amusement wavering only for a moment.
‘Oh that’s good – you’re doing well, girl,’ he laughed. ‘Fancy another shot ?’
To Kesh’s astonishment the goshe pushed back a fold of his black robe and sheathed his long-knife, standing before her with empty hands outstretched.
‘Come on then, you’ve earned a free swing. Help yourself.’
Knife held out before her, Kesh found her feet and stayed where she was, crouched low as she’d been taught – ready to move, despite the little space available in the alley.
‘Come on, ain’t got all day,’ Perel said, beckoning to her. ‘Think about me snapping that little girl’s neck like a—’
He didn’t get any more out as Kesh darted forward, cutting left and right in small, controlled movements. The first missed, the second caught the laughing goshe’s palm and tore into the flesh, the third nicked him on the wrist. Kesh drove forwards, pushing inside his guard to jam the knife in his ribs, but Perel didn’t try to back off. With his injured hand he swatted down into the side of her head and a blinding flash of light burst before her eyes. Kesh was driven down to one knee, knife almost falling from her hands before a second slap and flash of light sent her hand numb and the weapon fell.
Perel laughed and stepped back, in no rush to finish her off as Kesh groggily tried to keep upright. She blinked back the stars bursting darkly before her eyes and looked at her hand. A smear of scorched red skin ran across the back of her hand while her head rang with the impact of Perel’s blow.
His throaty chuckle seemed to clear the fog from her mind, but it was replaced by an insistent sting from her hand and head. Realising she was unarmed, Kesh fumbled on the ground for her knife. Her hand seemed slow and uncoordinated, flapping against the knife’s grip but refusing to grasp it. She managed to pick it up with her left but the contempt on Perel’s face showed she looked far from threatening with it.
Kesh tried to stand but the effort made her sway and lurch backwards. The dim lines of the alley and the bright sky above seemed to distend and blur as she moved, the pain in her head waxing briefly until she found her balance once more. Beyond Perel, mere yards away, a thin strip of sun shone on the cobbles of the street – but it could have been a mile in her condition, with him blocking the path.
The brisk patter of footsteps suddenly came from further down the street, but Kesh only made out a flash o
f movement past the alley-mouth as she tried to cry out for help. The sound came out as little more than a moan, one that broke off as Perel drew back his hand threateningly. As he did so a flicker of light danced between his callused fingers – an ephemeral, threatening glitter that made Kesh realise it wasn’t her scrambled senses. Her hand really was scorched, head too no doubt.
The realisation prompted a deeper fear inside her. This man was no mere thug or bodyguard but something worse – some sort of Astaren, with magic at his fingertips.
The goshe have warrior-mages ? Kesh wondered dully. How ? How have the Houses allowed it ?
A streak of rusty-brown flashed down from the rooftop before she could make any sense of the sight, then a second from the other side. Wisps of white light seemed to follow them, faint in the daylight but distinct as they entered the building’s shadow. Perel twisted with unnatural speed to slap away the first attacking shape with a whip-crack sound. There was a small explosion of light around the object and it was thrown to the ground. The second, Perel seemed to catch in a crackling ball of light, his expression contorted with rage in the bright flare of white.
As he held it there Kesh at last saw what it was and gasped – writhing in the cruel, searing fire was a fox, fur already scorched and teeth bared in a rictus of pain. She blinked and saw for a brief moment another shape surrounding it, some far larger creature with storm-blown fur and crushing jaws that similarly struggled against Perel’s grip. An instant later it vanished and Kesh blinked away the stars bursting before her eyes, taking a moment to see the long furrows that had appeared along Perel’s sleeve.
A third fox struck him from behind, racing into the alley along the ground and driving its teeth into the back of his knee while the wolf-spirit surrounding it raked its claws down his thigh. Perel let the second creature fall and turned towards the new attack, finally drawing his long-knife to stab it in the back. From up above came a piercing shriek that made Kesh flinch and reel from the burst of savage sound. Perel rocked back as though physically struck and staggered sideways before he caught himself. Through watering eyes, Kesh saw him recover a moment later and, long-knife at the ready, he hurled himself forward like a pouncing cat.
From a standing start the goshe jumped across the alley and up – grabbing the gutter with his left hand and dragging himself up until he was above roof height, assailant still hanging from his leg. The fox standing there darted forwards at him, a russet blur of teeth that caught his face even as Perel drove a knife right through its side.
He dropped back down, sparks of lightning dancing over his knuckles and down the bloodied blade. His cheek was torn open and Perel touched his fingers to the wound, shock flourishing on his brutal features even as he staggered drunkenly back and almost tripped on the fox-corpses there. Behind him, at the entrance to the alley, came another sharp bark and he whirled around – knives drawn and ready to ward off a further attack.
None came. The remaining fox simply stared at him and for once he didn’t move. The goshe wavered slightly and glanced up at the rooftop, wary of another attack from above, but no more of the lithe creatures jumped to their death. He was still watching for them when Kesh scooped up her own knife and rammed it with all her strength under his half-raised arm.
Perel coughed and shuddered under the impact. The blow drove him a step to the right and there he stood for a moment, impaled and shocked by the blow. Then Kesh whipped the broad knife out again and a gout of blood spattered onto the dark packed earth underfoot. The goshe wheezed, weapons tumbling from his hands. He tried to turn and Kesh hopped back, out of reach of his lightning-wreathed hands, but as he turned towards her she saw the agony on his face.
He didn’t make it all the way round before the pain became too much and he crashed down to one knee. The man gasped for breath, chest heaving, but, as he exhaled, a fresh stream of blood poured out from the wound. Ashen-faced, the goshe pitched forward and fell, twitching once before he was still and the light around his hands winked out.
Kesh stared down at the body, then the weapon she’d killed him with. The blade was slick with blood and her hands started to tremble, but there was a tiny raging voice at her core that fought through the pain, confusion and horror to be heard.
Mother ! I have to warn Mother !
She looked again at the corpse and suddenly was on her knees, vomiting up what little food she’d managed that day. Gasping for breath between heaves, Kesh cried out as convulsing bands wrapped around her stomach, but the voice in the back of her mind continued to scream. Panting hard, she fought through it and, using the alley wall to support her, forced herself back onto her feet. With shaking hands she wiped her father’s knife on the dead goshe’s back and returned it to the sheath inside her jacket.
The fox hadn’t moved and she hesitated as she focused on the creature again. Before she could pick her way past the man she’d murdered, the fox bobbed its head as though bowing to her – unblinking gaze fixed firmly upon her all the while. With that, it turned and fled in a flash, vanishing from sight and somehow Kesh knew that by the time she reached the entrance of the alley, it would be gone completely.
Warn Mother ! The voice in her head continued to shriek and now she obeyed, staggering forward for a few steps until she was past the body and she found her balance again.
She looked left and right down the street. Seeing no figures in black advancing on her, Kesh set off without daring to look back, arms tight across her chest and wincing at the pain in her head. The canal remained ahead, a sudden and familiar sight that she almost ran to. Once across the canal it was busy main streets all the way home and Kesh walked as quickly as she dared – head down, not meeting or even noticing any curious gazes she attracted. Of the foxes that had saved her, she saw not a trace.
Chapter 7
Peace remains a major advocate of the caste system in the Lesser Empire. Without acknowledging the Emperor as descended from Gods, and those who share his blood being above other nobles, it would be power alone that commanded authority and that would lead inevitably to war. Only an acceptance of the Emperor’s moral authority keeps a check on the actions of the Great House nobilities. Only by accepting his primacy can they claim their own.
From A History by Ayel Sorote
Narin circled slowly, stave half-extended in an axe grip as he watched the other man give ground. The sound of his feet was muffled by the clatter of water on all sides, a steady thrum of noise that enclosed him in a world of his own.
He struck, surging forward as he snapped the stave towards the man’s head. With impossible speed his opponent brought his own weapon up to bear and deflected Narin’s with a sharp crack. The Investigator pressed on, swinging at the other man’s knuckles as he edged right – then striking up at his arm.
His opponent whirled his stave down to catch the first then took the second blow on the other end. Holding it in the centre, he slipped his stave over Narin’s and stepped inside his guard. Before Narin could retreat the man rammed the butt back into Narin’s shoulder and hacked down towards Narin’s face. The Investigator was forced to drop backwards to avoid the strike and ended up on his backside in the dirt.
‘The edge of Dragon and the Harbour Warrant,’ Rhe said casually as Narin picked himself up.
‘Where I found the goshe ? That’s right,’ Narin confirmed, readying himself for a second attempt. ‘Why ?’
He retreated to the edge of the marked ground where a channel of water flowed. They were in a training courtyard, one of several to the rear of the Palace of Law between buildings. At each corner stood a stone plinth supporting an ancient bronze statue – to the north, a phoenix taking flight, to the south a lion roaring.
East and west were the first of the Gods to ascend to the heavens – the God-Emperor and God-Empress, whose line stretched dozens of generations to the current Emperor himself. From each statue – the mouths of the beasts, a jug in the God-Empress’s hands and the God-Emperor’s drinking horn – poured wat
er. Below each was a steel drum, each of which sang with a different pitch to the others as the water struck it.
‘Bodies were found there,’ Rhe continued, darting forward and aiming a flurry of one-handed blows at Narin.
He beat them off, started forward then hesitated. Something of Rhe’s balance told him not to move in and to demonstrate why, the Lawbringer dipped and extended his arm into a straight lunge. It was well short of Narin’s chin, but he could see what would have happened had he been drawn in.
‘Bodies ?’
Rhe nodded just as Narin launched forward, smacking Rhe’s stave aside and kicking at the Lawbringer’s midriff. The bigger man angled his body as Narin struck and the impact was glancing. Riding it with ease, Rhe whirled around and smacked his stave into the back of Narin’s calf – knocking him onto his back once more and calmly stepping back to allow Narin to struggle up.
‘Burned bodies,’ Rhe said at last. ‘Burned in the open street after some sort of confrontation on the roof above.’
Narin paused in the process of levering himself up with the white wooden staff. ‘On the roof ? More goshe ?’
‘Perhaps. What is interesting is the burning itself. There is almost nothing left ; though it was a cool night and no buildings were damaged, they burned so hot nothing useful remains.’
Rhe attacked lazily as he spoke, with slow and unhurried movements that forced Narin to react but still gave him time to process the news.
‘Some sort of demon ?’
‘Or God,’ Rhe pointed out. ‘This was no natural fire.’
‘The fire was what killed them ?’
‘There is no way to tell. It would certainly kill, but there was no flame-damage to the rooftops – only blood. More likely, the fire was set once they were dead.’
‘Hiding evidence then – but evidence of what ?’