by Tom Lloyd
She shook her head. ‘Sorry, I just didn’t … I’ve not seen you in a year or two. Didn’t want to presume too much, and the man on the door said … well. I just wanted to be careful not to treat you like the boy you once were, the one I knew. I don’t know much about what you’re about these days, but I didn’t come here to cause trouble.’
Hirl nodded. ‘Fair enough. But you’re here now, so tell me what you’re into.’
‘I can’t. It’s not even a story I’d know how to tell, but I don’t want to spread the danger round any further than I have to.’
‘And the bodyguard ?’
‘Isn’t a bodyguard,’ she said. ‘Hirl this is, ah …’
‘Perel,’ said Irato slowly as Kesh faltered.
The name sent a shock through Kesh as effectively as if Irato had placed his hand on her chest and unleashed his lightning weapon. She felt herself cringe as she looked into the goshe’s eyes. He was focused again, frighteningly so – like he had been when they were fighting his former comrades.
The loss of his memory and uncertainty was eclipsed by some in-built sense. Kesh couldn’t tell whether it was natural or something the Moon’s Artifice had done, but she recognised the readiness to kill easily enough.
‘Sure. Perel it is then,’ Hirl drawled. ‘So, you’re in something together, whatever it is, and you want my help.’ He took another long drink and leaned back against the wooden partition of the booth. ‘And how can a humble businessman help an old friend ?’
‘I’m hoping you hear most of what goes on around the docks,’ Kesh said. ‘I’ve not been around much these past few days and we run in different circles anyway.’
‘Got myself a colourful set o’ friends these days, it’s true.’ Hirl grinned. ‘So you want gossip rather than anything that’s gonna get in the way of my drinkin’ ? Sounds easy enough.’
‘Thank you.’ Kesh hesitated. ‘It’s, ah, gossip about the goshe I guess. You heard anything around the harbour itself ? What they’ve been up to round here ?’
‘Goshe ?’ Hirl’s smile faltered slightly. ‘We’ve all been hearing about them. Cut the throat o’ some Lawbringer didn’t they ?’
‘They tried,’ Irato growled. ‘Might be trying again.’
‘That’s what you got caught up in ?’ Hirl gasped, briefly the young man she’d known again. ‘Bugger me, you really are in some shit then.’ He paused and glanced nervously around. ‘Hang on, just what damn company you been hangin’ around ? This ain’t a place you just bloody walk into if you’re workin’ for some o’ the names I heard mentioned recently. Shit – bodyguard-man, Perel, whatever your name is. You better not be one of ’em or we’re all fuckin’ dead, get me ?’
‘He isn’t,’ Kesh said hurriedly. ‘You want the truth ? He’s as bad a criminal as anyone here. We’ve just been dumped into some strange company and we’ve not got much choice about who keeps us alive at the moment.’
Hirl frowned and took a while to settle again, the cocky grin gone from his face now. ‘So you want any gossip about the goshe, or just what they’ve been up to round here ?’
‘Round here, but I’ll take anything you’ve got. They’re going to be transporting all those who’re sick with this fever to their quarantine island. We’re thinking they might be using that as a cover for something else – something major. Have you heard about anything strange round these parts at all ?’
‘Always some crap goin’ down round here,’ Hirl replied. ‘The goshe ain’t usually part of it though. Let me think. There was a body in the harbour this mornin’, some sailor drowned I heard. Not so unusual that, given the shit they drink, but somethin’ I guess. If they’re takin’ the sick out ta Confessor’s Island though, they’ll need boats. I’ve heard nothin’ about them hirin’ any themselves, not the fishin’ fleet or nothin’ – just the Lawbringers.’
‘That’s all ?’
‘So far’s I’ve heard.’ Hirl raised a hand. ‘Hold up here a moment. Let me go ask one or two faces out the back. They don’t keep social hours, if you see what I mean, charitably keepin’ an eye out for sailors at risk o’ drownin’. If anythin’ strange goes on, cover o’ night’s the best time for it, no ?’
Kesh nodded and Hirl slipped away into the murky gloom again. They had finished their drinks by the time he returned – long enough that Kesh was thankful of Irato’s presence. From the looks a few of the patrons had cast in her direction, they knew they had outsiders in their midst.
While Enchei might be happy for men to underestimate him in a fight, Kesh was glad Irato looked every bit as tough as he was. Few people would idly pick a fight with him, outsider or not, and it afforded them the space to sit quietly as they waited.
‘Miss me ?’ Hirl asked as he took his seat beside Kesh again.
His swagger had returned a touch now, which she took as a good thing, but Kesh had the sense not to rush her old friend as he called for another drink. As it came, she took out a silver coin to pay for it, thinking it was the least she could do, but Hirl waved it away.
‘Don’t you worry about that, it didn’t cost me anythin’ more’n a favour I’m glad to owe anyways.’
‘Glad ?’
He nodded. ‘Got some serious men in this place, some o’ the biggest sharks in this part o’ the Inner Sea and those who work for ’em. I owe a man somethin’ small, he’ll come collect one day. You do business with the big fish right, they come around again. I’m workin’ my way up, not fightin’, and they likes a man happy ta put in an honest day’s work. So ta speak, obviously.’
‘Any news, then ?’
Hirl gestured expansively. ‘Wouldn’t let down an old friend now, would I ? Last night – reckon this is what you were lookin’ for.’
‘What happened ?’
‘Well – man I know was takin’ a late stroll, keepin’ the sailors safe, when he thought he saw a likely candidate. Kept an eye on him from a respectful distance then saw the man had friends. All dressed similar, could easily have been goshe now he comes to reflect on it. Anyways, they had a crate they brought through the streets – big enough to fit a man inside probably, but two of ’em carried it easily.
‘They looked jumpy so he gave ’em their space, but reckons he saw them load it on a fishin’ boat. Two stayed with it, keepin’ watch, but the rest left. Didn’t go straight off though, was still there after the dawn tide when all the rest were gone. Which is a bit odd to my mind ; it’s only goods comin’ in that get inspected and taxed. You want to get rid quick, no one’d stop you.’
‘Draws attention though,’ Kesh said. ‘All the fishermen would know it’d headed out early. It’s a few miles to the island and the tide’s against you, I doubt they’d be back before the rest were around and getting ready to go.’
‘If you say so.’ Hirl leaned towards her. ‘So what was in the crate ?’
‘No idea,’ Kesh said. ‘Wish I did, but that’s a whole other mystery. Hirl – fancy doing me another favour, one that pays this time ?’
The burly man brightened. ‘Pays ? Depends what we’re talkin’ here. Reckon I’m out of your price range.’
Kesh smiled and thought of Enchei, sure he had a variety of means beyond his Imperial wages. ‘I won’t be the one paying,’ she assured him, ‘but the job’s small anyway. I could probably do it myself, but I’d prefer paying over the odds to a man of your connections.’
‘Now you’re playin’ my tune. What’s the job ?’
‘I need a boat, as small as can still make the trip out into the bay. One just a couple of people can manage, waiting somewhere it’s not going to get commandeered by people ferrying the sick out to the goshe island.’
Hirl nodded. ‘Of the sort that don’t get seen so easily after dark too ?’
‘If you can manage it, yes. Ir— Perel, how much money do you have on you ?’
An inspection of their coin-pouches bore a handful of silver pieces and she pushed them towards Hirl. ‘To start with,’ Kesh explained. ‘I can get mor
e brought here for you, just let me know how much you need.’
‘How long do you want the boat for ?’
‘Two nights ?’ she guessed. ‘Maybe three. Tied up and ready to take out whenever we need.’
‘It’ll cost four times what’s on the table, I’d guess. Any lawmen goin’ in this boat ?’ Hirl scowled. ‘Might be it’s tied up somewhere they don’t want Lawbringers ta see.’
‘No one looking like the law,’ Irato broke in, ‘and no one who’ll come back to investigate the boathouse after or care about what they see in the meantime. Any comeback will be down on Kesh so we won’t be risking it.’
Hirl fixed Kesh with a sharp look. ‘You better be good for that, it’s my arse too if it doesn’t hold. Old friend or no, you get me on the wrong side o’ these men and I’ll kill you.’
The cold certainty in his voice made Kesh hesitate, but she accepted anyway. Narin would be glad to agree if it helped them all survive the next few days.
‘Done then,’ Hirl declared, sweeping the coins off the table. ‘Give me till midday tomorrow to track someone down. I’ll be here lunch tomorrow, come by with the money and I’ll tell you where ta go.’ He glanced down at their drinks and winked at Kesh. ‘Looks like you’re both empty. Since I got all the rest o’ your money, best you hop it, eh ?’
With that the man knocked back the last of his own drink and headed back into the depths of the Black Bat. Kesh and Irato stared at each other across the table a moment longer, then Kesh realised the man was waiting for her again. She sighed and pointed toward the door.
‘Come on then, let’s go. Don’t want anyone on the streets to mistake you for a demon in the darkness, now do we ?’
Kesh led the way out, taking care to thank the guard before she left. The street beyond was starlit, a silver sheen from the Gods spread out over the dark ground ahead. She looked up to where Lord Shield’s constellation led the Order of Knight across the night sky. Past the zenith was the Order of Empress, half-obscured by narrow phalanxes of cloud. Only three of the circling Ascendants had all their stars clearly visible, the number preferred by diviners.
‘Archer,’ Kesh whispered to the cold night sky, ‘Thief, Assassin. Not a cheering set.’
She took a few steps forward, but faltered as she saw a brief flash of white out the corner of her eye. Kesh turned, but there was nothing to see. She opened her mouth to speak to Irato, emerging from the Black Bat behind her, but he waved her forward down the street.
‘Not a good place to linger,’ Irato said, pushing gently on her shoulder to urge her on. ‘Let’s move.’
Kesh stumbled on, her mind fogged by the wine she’d drunk that evening. In her memory a flash of white darted behind a barrel, a narrow face observed her from under a food cart, a rusty pelt darted toward the goshe attacking her.
Kesh gave a gasp, reaching to grab Irato’s arm. For a moment her mouth failed her and she just croaked a warning to him. The goshe turned to frown at her just as a ghostly form burst from the shadows.
Irato flinched away from the movement but the demon-spirit drove straight on and swept right through his body. The goshe reeled as though struck, but in the next moment he had his knives drawn.
‘Wait !’ Kesh cried, but her shout went unheeded.
A rusty-white blur darted forward and Irato turned and slashed in one movement. His blade opened a shallow furrow on the fox’s shoulder as it dodged away from his reach, but another was already closing behind him. Kesh saw a white mist appear around it, quickly coalescing into a misshapen wolf-ghost looming large over the fox. Another came forward and she recognised the pale fox she’d seen earlier. Tethered to its body by threads of faint light was another ghost-form – a massive, sleek shape with long, curved teeth she didn’t recognise.
‘Stop !’ Kesh called, stepping between Irato and the demon. ‘He’s with me.’
Her actions caused both sides to hesitate and Kesh was careful to turn her back on Irato, hands outstretched towards the demon. Its ghostly true form seemed to fold in on itself and became a stream of mist that surged towards Kesh so fast she barely had time to move.
The smoke slipped around her body as though using her as a screen. Kesh heard Irato cry out in alarm – then pain. As she turned Kesh saw the stream coiled around his body like a snake enveloping its prey. The head locked about Irato’s face while he frantically tried to tear it away.
The big man wrenched around, flailing at his insubstantial attacker. Kesh took a step forwards to help when suddenly her ears were filled with an unnatural shriek. She gasped and clapped her hands to her ears, realising it was the demon-cry of another fox. Kesh staggered as the fox screamed again and others joined it ; a cacophony of noise that seemed to drive sparks down her spine and briefly locked up every muscle in her body.
Irato looked similarly afflicted, shuddering at the demon-cries and still desperately fighting at the spirit wrapped around him. Kesh watched him seem to lose the fight with his attacker as his body went rigid. The twisting cable of mist surged up and forced its way into his mouth. As the last of the mist disappeared down Irato’s throat the big goshe crashed to his knees, his expression twisted into some strange mixture of wonder and terror. He knelt there, eyes wide but seeing nothing, before toppling forward to hit the ground face-first.
Abruptly the demon-cries broke off and Kesh found herself staring at Irato lying prone at her feet. He was perfectly still and felt like a dead thing as she rolled him over. The man’s eyes were open, staring blankly up at the Gods above, while his stained skin was discoloured and scraped from the fall.
‘Irato – can you hear me ?’ Kesh got no response and, checking around at the foxes, shook his limp body. ‘Oh Gods, Irato – wake up ! What have you done to him ?’
Abruptly, Irato took a long shuddering breath, back arching before he fell down again. Eyes still looking at nothing, face empty of emotion, his lips began to move.
‘Empty,’ he rasped in a hollow, emotionless voice. ‘Gone. A hole in its mind.’
‘Irato ?’ Kesh gasped, edging back.
‘No.’
‘What ? What have you done with him ?’
‘The thief is here, inside this host,’ came the dead reply.
‘What are you ?’ she found herself almost wailing with fear. ‘A demon ?’
‘To your world, we are demons,’ the possessed goshe said, still lying flat on its back. ‘Spirits of another age, of the time before your kind.’
‘Ah – but you can speak my language ?’
‘The host can. It is not dead but under my control.’ Without warning Irato sat upright – the movement stiff and mechanical rather than anything alive. ‘This one is not your enemy.’
‘No – he … he was, but he’s trying to keep me alive now.’
‘We believed you in danger. We were wrong.’
Kesh hesitated. ‘That was you, before ? When Perel attacked me ? The other goshe ?’
‘We had your scent. We had tracked this one to your home.’
‘Thank you,’ Kesh said in a quiet voice, fighting back tears. ‘Thank you for saving me.’
‘You are their enemy. We are their enemy,’ Irato said blandly.
‘What have you done to him ?’ Kesh stepped closer and moved around Irato to look the man in the eyes. ‘Can you possess anyone ?’
Irato got to his feet jerkily and finally focused on Kesh. ‘No. This one has been opened to us.’
‘Opened ?’
‘There is a hole in his mind,’ the demon replied. ‘His memories are gone, removed to make space in his mind. This is what was stolen from us.’
‘Space ? Space for what ?’
‘We ride the minds of many creatures, we can move from one to another if they carry certain bloodlines. We have no form of our own, they are our vessels.’
‘He’s a vessel ? For what ?’
‘For anything with power. His mind is open, he has been prepared.’
‘For demons ?’ Kesh shook
her head. ‘For your kind ?’
‘We are a voice on the wind ; this one has been prepared for thunder.’
‘Something bigger than you ?’ Kesh asked. ‘A higher order of demon ?’
‘Something greater,’ Irato confirmed. ‘Many of us could inhabit this vessel. Come.’
He spoke louder then and three foxes trotted forward, unwary now. Kesh took a step back and watched the demon-spirits leak out of the foxes like morning mist ; three separate trails coiling around Irato’s body before slipping silently down his throat.
‘Why ? Why would the goshe do that ?’ Kesh asked.
‘No human can make use of this,’ Irato said by way of answer.
Kesh kept silent, thinking furiously for what it might mean. This is what was stolen ? The ability to empty a mind, to make space for a demon-spirit inside it ?
‘What was stolen ? A secret or an object ?’
‘They are the same.’
‘With this object they made the poison ? Made Moon’s Artifice ?’
‘The poison opened a path in the host’s mind. The object can link one path to another, can send spirits down those paths and bind them together.’
‘Can …’ Kesh started hesitantly, ‘can Irato hear me ? Can he speak with you in his mind ?’
The possessed man closed his eyes and went very still. Kesh felt a flicker of fear run down her spine before Irato seemed to jerk awake again – eyes wide with alarm and panting for breath.
‘Blood-lit stars !’ the big goshe gasped, ‘what happened ?’
‘Irato, is that you ?’
He nodded and roughly rubbed his hands over his face, hissing slightly as he found the scraped skin from when he’d fallen. ‘They’re quiet for the moment. Gods, I can feel them in my head !’ Irato winced and tilted his head one way then the next, as though trying to dislodge water from his ears. He gave up and shuddered.
‘Did you hear what it said ?’
‘Some,’ he said with a scowl. ‘Was screaming for a while there. Not paying attention to a whole lot to begin with.’
‘It told me what the poison had done to you,’ Kesh said. She grabbed his arm as though to emphasise her point. ‘I think I know what the goshe are up to !’