by Anna Kashina
Kyth bit his lip. The barge was one of the very few boats in this port capable of carrying horses. They needed it badly, but the idea of watching this man undress Kara with his eyes for the entire trip was too much to think of. He opened his mouth to refuse, but Kara’s look stopped him.
“We’d like to leave right now,” she said. “We’re in a hurry.”
The captain held his stick to the side and gave her an elaborate bow. “Anything you say, my beauty. Captain Beater and his boat are at your service.”
She paused, giving him an appraising glance of her own. “The pay’s six silvers. This covers myself, my companions, and our horses.”
Captain Beater smacked his lips, holding her gaze. “You drive a hard bargain, girl. How about somethin’ extra? Such as you, warming up my bed on a cold night, eh?”
She moved her face closer to him. “Only in your dreams. And this had better be the last time I hear about them, Captain Beater, or else the nights you mention might become a lot colder than they already are.”
The captain swallowed and took a careful step back. “There’s no need to get touchy. I was just suggestin’ we get to know each other better, that’s all.”
She smiled. “That, we certainly will. Now, here’s another silver for the horse feed. Have your men get some hay. We’re in a real hurry.”
Captain Beater’s misty expression made Kyth wonder if he really took Kara’s warning seriously.
“Don’t you worry, my beauty,” he said. “It goes fast when you travel downstream. You and your lads’ll be in Jaimir in no more’n ten days.”
“At this speed,” Mai said, “we’ll be in Jaimir in about ten days.”
Ellah leaned closer to the fire. She felt sore after a long day’s ride, but she wasn’t about to show it. She bit her lip as she reached over to take a mug of tea from Sharrim’s hands, her muscles screaming in protest at her every move.
The forest darkness was alive with sounds. A distant howling, answered by barking in the depth of the trees around the camp, made Ellah’s skin creep. At times the sounds seemed to get closer, as if some large dog-like beasts circled the camp, having an invisible conversation.
Sharrim shifted nervously in his seat.
“They say these woods run south all the way to the Forestlands,” he said, “and the wolves that live here are descended from the ancient breed of dogs that went astray after the first Holy Wars. They’re huge and vicious, and they’re not afraid of people.”
Mai sat for a while looking at the fire.
“They say a lot of things, Gahang,” he said. “But we don’t have to listen to all ‘they’ say, do we?”
Sharrim glanced at him sidelong. “But it’s true, Aghat. I’ve seen one myself. It was as big as a bear, and its fur was pale like–”
“Like a ghost,” Mai said slowly, looking past him into the darkness.
Ellah turned, a chill running down her spine.
A large animal stood at the edge of the trees, barely visible against the light. It resembled a very big wolf, with fur so pale it made the creature seem transparent in the wavering shadows. Firelight reflected in its eyes with a deep greenish glow. Behind it, more eyes glowed in the forest darkness like eerie swamp lights. Ellah suddenly realized how still it was, and how the howling had stopped right at the moment the beast appeared in the glade.
Sharrim slowly reached for his sheathed bow, but Mai’s hand stopped him.
“You can’t hope to shoot all of them, Gahang,” he said quietly. “There are too many out there.”
Sharrim gave him a helpless glance. “But we can’t just let them attack us, Aghat, can we?”
“No.”
Mai rose to his feet and walked toward the beast, so fluidly that his movements were hard to trace in the gathering darkness. Ellah’s breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding.
“What is he going to do?” Sharrim whispered by her ear.
Mai stopped five paces away from the beast, keeping his hands loosely by his sides, so that they were in plain sight. His still shape blended with the shadows, and Ellah had to blink to see him. The man and the wolf stood, staring at each other. After a while the large beast started to look restless, as if it was having trouble keeping its eyes focused. It growled, turning its head from side to side. Then it lowered its eyes and crept forward, sniffing the air.
When the wolf came within touching distance, Mai slowly reached forward and put a hand onto its forehead.
The beast became very still as Mai ran his hand along its fur. Then it crept another step and leaned its head against Mai’s knees. The movement was so forceful that Mai’s body shook with the impact. He kept one hand on the beast’s forehead, his stillness blending with the wolf’s so that both of them had become barely visible in the darkness.
After a while, the wolf raised its head. It gave Mai a long look, then turned and padded away into the forest.
The greenish lights of the eyes went out one by one. The howling stopped. The forest turned dark and still again.
Mai came back to the fire. He looked calm, as if nothing had happened.
Sharrim slowly opened his mouth, struggling to produce a sound. Ellah could only stare.
“What– what did you just do, Aghat?” Sharrim managed.
Mai shrugged. “You said they were descended from dogs, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but–”
“I took your word for it.” Mai leaned back against a tree and subsided into silence. Ellah couldn’t help noticing that after his encounter he continued to emanate calmness, so that just by sitting next to him she felt relaxed and sleepy.
“Are you really an animal whisperer, Aghat?” Sharrim asked quietly.
Mai laughed. “Is that what they say about me?”
“I never believed it. But how else could you–”
Mai shook his head. “I assure you, Gahang, I possess no such power. What I did was just common sense.”
“What’s an animal whisperer?” Ellah asked.
“It’s a power,” Sharrim told her. “An ability to talk to animals and understand what they say. An animal whisperer can tame any animal, even a raging tiger leaping to attack.”
Mai laughed. “You don’t really believe this nonsense, Gahang, do you?”
“I didn’t, Aghat Mai, until I saw what you did just now. If it wasn’t a special power, how did you do it?”
Mai looked at him, laughter dancing in his eyes. “Simple. I was calm as I approached, and the beast sensed it. Dogs always do. They only attack someone who’s out of balance inside.”
Sharrim shivered.
“I suggest,” Mai went on, “that we go to sleep now. We need to move on at dawn. I’ll stay up for a while and keep the fire going.”
He wrapped himself in his cloak and leaned against a tree. As Ellah settled down on the other side of the fire, she watched his still shape illuminated by the firelight. He was so perfect as he sat there, his pose graceful and easy, his golden hair resting against the smooth skin of his muscular neck. His eyes were open, looking absently into the darkness. He still emanated that special feeling of calmness which made his closeness, even from across the fire, so soothing.
Ellah felt so happy she was traveling with him, even if Sharrim was constantly nearby and clearly didn’t like her. She had thought before that she wanted to find Kyth and help him on his quest, but now she was beginning to realize all she wished was for this trip never to end so that she could always be by Mai’s side.
She was sure he cared for her – the way he cut off Sharrim when the Jade asked about her on their previous stop, the way he was so attentive to her needs and comforts. She was sure the only reason he could have asked her to come along was so that they could be together for longer, even if his duties prevented him from taking any further steps. She felt lightheaded from his closeness, from the way he sat there looking so handsome, so that she could just lie quietly and enjoy the incredible force and calmness that he emanated.
He said they would be in Jaimir in ten days. She wished the next ten days could last forever.
27
THE HOLY MONASTERY
“Do you think Kyth and Kara are still in Aknabar?” Egey Bashi asked.
Raishan shook his head. “Kara would move as fast as possible. The only way we could have caught them would have been by a lizardbeast relay.”
“Lizardbeast relay? What’s that?”
“When the need is urgent,” Raishan said, “the Guildmaster sends ravens out to ensure that the Majat messengers get fresh lizardbeasts every fifty miles. If you don’t stop to sleep you can travel two hundred miles a day, a lot faster than with horses.”
“Yes,” Egey Bashi told him, “the Keepers do that too. We call it ‘breakneck run’. Except, we can rarely afford to change mounts every fifty miles. Not lizardbeasts, for sure.”
“It’s a considerable expense,” Raishan agreed, “but seeing how Master Oden Lan was all worked up about this one, I’m certain he sent the Black Diamond by relay. If Kara’s shadow was at the Fortress when that happened, she would be dead already. But since Master Abib was kind enough to tell us that the only available Diamond other than me was Han, I’m fairly sure it didn’t happen. Let’s hope she still has some time.”
Egey Bashi looked grim as he rode for a while in silence.
“We need to leave our mounts,” he finally said, “and get the necessary gear, so that we can pay a visit to the Monastery. There’s an inn in the city, run by a man who is loyal to the Order of Keepers and could probably help us, but it’s all the way on the other side of the Holy Hills. Ideally, we should find something a bit closer to the Monastery. Any thoughts, Aghat?”
Raishan glanced at him, sidelong.
“There’s an inn fairly close by that’s paid for by the Majat Guild. You remember it, don’t you?”
Egey Bashi nodded. “You mean the one run by that good woman who looks more like a troll?”
Raishan smiled. “Mistress Yba. Her inn may not be that cozy, but it’s served the Guild well for over twenty years. I’m sure she’ll have what we need.”
They navigated through the narrow streets drowned in the afternoon smoke of burning trash. By the time Raishan pulled his horse to a stop in front of a beaten sign with a picture of a white mountain flower, Egey Bashi felt that his face had become as soot-stained as the words, barely visible underneath.
“‘Wild Aemrock’,” he read. “So, your Mistress Yba has a feminine side after all. At least, she likes flowers.”
“It was named by me father,” came a low, thick voice from the inn’s doorway. “They call it ‘Emrock’ down south. Never liked the name meself. Most of me customers can’t even say it right.”
Mistress Yba emerged through the doorway, coming into full view. She was large and chubby, with knobby elbows, a pudding-like torso, and bold features that didn’t provide any clues about the gender of their owner. The only feminine thing about her was the fact that she wore a dress, a misshapen woolen garment that fit over her like an oversized sack.
Egey Bashi dismounted and looked her up and down.
“Of course not, Mistress Yba,” he said. “Forgive the suggestion.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Do I know you?”
“He’s with me,” Raishan said, stepping up to the Keeper’s side.
Mistress Yba’s face dawned with recognition, her irritated expression dissolving into a grimace she probably considered to be a smile.
“Aghat Raishan,” she said, her thick voice sweet and sticky like treacle. “What an honor. Please come this way.”
She threw open a small side gate and led them into a narrow back yard. The stench of manure hit the nostrils with eye-opening force. Egey Bashi twitched his nose as he followed Raishan to a stall at the back, covered by a piece of sail cloth stretched overhead to protect from the rain. They left their mounts in the care of a thin, nervous stable boy and entered a small back door into the inn’s main room.
“Now,” Mistress Yba said, folding her large hands over her chest. “I assume you’ll need room and board for you and your companion, Aghat. How else may I be of service?”
Raishan pointed to the Keeper rummaging in his pack.
“I have a priest’s robe,” Egey Bashi said, bringing a folded bundle out into the open. “But you’ll need one too, Aghat. I also suggest you take a less conspicuous weapon. Your sword would be difficult to conceal.”
“Let me worry about my sword, Magister.” Raishan turned to the innkeeper, who was watching him with reverence. “Do you think you can get me a black hooded robe, Mistress Yba?”
Her lips stretched into another smile-like grimace. “Of course, Aghat. When do you need it by?”
“After sunset,” Egey Bashi said. “That’s always a good time to venture into the Holy Monastery.”
The sharp crescent of the new moon shimmered just above the horizon as they entered the stone maze around the main temple. Keeping to the shadows of the columns surrounding each of the endless monastery courtyards, they crept deeper and deeper into the compound. Every time Egey Bashi glanced at Raishan, he couldn’t help envying the Majat’s stealth. The Magister felt like a trampling bull next to a sleek Grassland antelope.
They passed through a low archway that, by Egey Bashi’s calculations, should have led to the Reverend’s inner sanctum. The stone courtyard in front of them, awash with moonlight, led straight to the next archway. The shadows beyond gaped at them like a dark eye, daring the intruders to move even deeper into the heart of the monastery.
Egey Bashi started toward it, but Raishan’s hand shot up, freezing him in his tracks. They stood still, listening. It took the Keeper several moments to catch what Raishan, with his sharp Majat senses, must have heard right away. The sounds of a quiet conversation from ahead. Now that he knew where to look, Egey Bashi also spotted a faint flicker of light, a reddish glow through the opening of a narrow passage ahead.
Raishan lowered his hand and slid along the wall, his cloaked shape blending with the shadows. Egey Bashi followed. They passed through the arched gate into a vaulted passage that ended in a doorway. The voices were coming from inside.
They crept closer. From here they could clearly make out two voices. One was low and rich, its rumbling undertones reverberating with a dark, unsettling timbre. The other was soft. It seemed vaguely familiar.
“…to the Grasslands,” the deep voice was saying. “Thanks to your careful planning, Kaddim Nimos, they’ll all arrive there at about the same time to take care of our little problem once and for all.”
Kaddim Nimos? Egey Bashi suppressed a shiver, stretching his neck to see through the cracks of the half-opened door. The man the speaker was addressing had his back turned, but his slight shape looked familiar indeed.
A chill ran down Egey Bashi’s spine. He should have made the connection when Nimos was gloating back in the Majat Guild about the way he had managed to take care of Kara because she was immune to their powers. While this, and the fact that Nimos’s companions carried orbens, suggested a parallel with the man who had attacked Prince Kythar back in the Crown City, hearing this title, cursed and forgotten centuries ago, was bad news all over again. Was the ancient Kaddim brotherhood truly on the rise? And if so, what were its members doing here in the heart of the Holy Monastery?
“We have very little time,” Nimos said. “We must follow the Black Diamond very closely and capture Prince Kythar as soon as Aghat Kara is out of the way. We must not lose a moment. There’s no way of telling how much the boy can figure out about his gift, and we can’t afford to allow him to learn enough to resist us. Even the Reincarnate himself doesn’t know what the boy is truly capable of.”
Reincarnate. Egey Bashi held his breath. Supreme Grandmaster of the Kaddim order had gone by this title in the old days to reflect his origins. Reincarnation of Ghaz Kadan, the Cursed Destroyer in the flesh. Blast it.
How could the Keepers have possibly missed this coming?
“If we capture his power and find a key to his gift, there’ll be no stopping the Brotherhood.”
“Your plan is brilliant indeed, Kaddim Nimos,” the other man said. “And it’s working well. But it seems a waste to kill that woman, Kara. We could have used her to get insights into the special talents of a Diamond Majat. Perhaps their gift could be captured as well? It would help us immensely in the training of the Warriors of Kadan.”
Nimos shifted in place, his robe rustling against the cold stone floor. “Not Kara. As much as I regret having someone like her put to waste, we have no choice. With her ability to resist us, we have no means to deal with her. But if things stay on schedule, we can take the one the Guild sent after her.”
The other man nodded. “He will do. The Reincarnate will be pleased.”
Nimos looked up. His hood folded away, letting the torchlight lick his hollow cheek. It painted his pale skin with a reddish glow, stopping just short of the dark eye sockets.
“Since we began our attempts to capture Prince Kythar,” he said, “the Reincarnate has also expressed a particular interest in his foster brother, Alder. Apparently, he is the latest consort of the Forest Mother.”
The other man hesitated. “But he has no gift. What use could he possibly be to us?”
“He has something that made the Forest Mother choose him for a mate. The Reincarnate wishes to study him further. Given the opportunity, we should capture both boys.” He turned, giving Egey Bashi a full view of his hooded face, the dark pits of his eyes gleaming with a deep fire. It seemed that these eyes could penetrate the shadows behind the doorway, to see him and Raishan pressed against the wall. But before the Keeper could wonder, a chuckle behind him rang clearly through the stone gallery.
Egey Bashi froze and slowly turned around.
A robed figure took shape against the darkness of the column vault and came out into the patch of moonlight.