The Deathless

by Peter Newman

  She nodded. ‘It’s getting worse.’

  ‘You should have bloody told me!’

  ‘I wanted to. I tried.’

  ‘Right,’ he said, sounding anything but certain. ‘We’ll have to go somewhere quiet, as near to the Godroad as we can. And then …’

  ‘And then?’

  ‘Then we do what your cook said.’

  Dev went over and whispered in his father’s ear; after a moment Fen raised his hand as if asking permission to speak. ‘Maybe there is another way.’ He paused as she and Varg looked at him, like a nervous animal that could bolt at any moment, but Dev held fast to his hand. Fen went on, ‘Not far from where we used to live is a tree that fell but did not die. It is an old tree. If you go and feed it, and then put your hand in its roots, it will take the poison away.’

  ‘And there wouldn’t need to be any cutting?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I could keep my hand?’

  ‘Yes.’

  She dared to feel a little hope. ‘You can take me there?’

  ‘No.’ The fear in his voice was palpable. ‘But I will tell you how to find it.’

  Varg’s beard twitched with distaste. ‘You’re talking about a Hunger Tree?’ Fen nodded. ‘Then you better tell her what it eats before she gets too excited.’

  ‘What does it eat?’

  Fen turned his gaze to the fire. ‘Blood. And fingernails.’

  The ramifications of what he was saying began to come to her. The tree was a thing of the Wild, and trading with it would stain her honour and soul. If word got back to Lord Rochant, she would be exiled. ‘You’ve used the tree yourself?’

  ‘Not me. My grandmother.’

  Chandni didn’t answer immediately. It was forbidden to deal with the things of the Wild, and Fen knew it. Perhaps this is why the High Lord did not send aid to Sorn. Perhaps he was punishing them for breaking our laws.

  But if I am to protect Satyendra, I cannot risk a clumsy amputation, nor can I allow the poison to take me. For his sake, and to ensure the future of my lord, I must do this, and if afterwards I am punished, I will accept that punishment.

  Fen was opening himself up to that same risk by confessing knowledge of the Hunger Tree to Chandni. If nothing else, she thought bitterly, I have earned their trust.

  She was going to do it, she realized, and the ease with which the decision was made shocked her. Is this how it was for Nidra Un-Sapphire? Did she begin with good intentions?

  She had always assumed that there was something wrong with Nidra, an inherent weakness that allowed the Wild to seduce her, but perhaps she once sat, as Chandni did now, believing she acted for the greater good. At her trial, Nidra admitted no guilt. How she’d hated her for that. Yet here she was, afraid, yes, even ashamed, but not guilty.

  Satyendra must live, Lord Rochant must return. That is my duty, no matter the cost.

  She swallowed down all her misgivings and looked Fen in the eye. ‘Tell me where I have to go and what I have to do. Varg and I will leave in the morning.’

  CHAPTER NINE

  Having seen two Sapphire castles recently, Pari was able to appreciate her own even more than usual. Perhaps the similar nature of the buildings helped to emphasize their differences. Every castle of the Deathless was built long ago upon crystal-laced rock, by the great powers of the Unbroken Age, who then gouged them out of the earth whole, and yet every one of them had a unique character in some way shaped by the nature of the immortal that claimed them.

  The Sapphire castles cut hard shapes in the sky, having a bold, almost unfinished edge to them, as if each had been snapped off another, bigger structure. By contrast the aesthetics of Pari’s castle drew the eye gently. It was, in her opinion, the work of a more mature architect.

  As she drew nearer to the threshold, Pari could feel the tension easing, being absorbed into the walls of the castle, as if it were a great mother, and she its child.

  Her majordomo came to meet them at the gates, his face lined with stress. An unfortunate side effect of working for me, she mused. His name was Sho, and he had served her all his life. It was Sho she had trusted to cover her absence. His uniform was as crisp as ever, the tanzanite studs still sparkling at his throat. But in the sunslight, she could not help but see how haggard he’d become.

  Our time is coming to an end, Sho. But I will come back, again and again, while you will live on only in my memory, and the stories I tell to your grandchildren.

  Despite her disguise and the fact she arrived in a Sapphire cart in the company of strangers, Sho still bowed to her as if all were as it should be.

  She hauled herself out of the cart, immediately wishing she’d asked for help first.

  ‘My dear Sho, see that the two fine young men pushing our cart are fed and rested before sending them back home.’ She paused as Sho waved the men into a nearby receiving room. ‘This is Ami. She will be joining the household. I want her given a room, bathed and given new clothes. She is also keen to sample some proper Tanzanite cuisine. For now I want her kept out of sight, the less that others know of her, the better.’

  ‘My lady,’ began Sho. From the tone it was clear he was about to embark on a well-meaning but long speech, followed by many pertinent questions. She had time for neither.

  ‘Sho, this cart needs to be disposed of, discreetly and immediately. It was never here.’

  ‘My lady, I must speak with you. It’s urgent.’

  ‘And you will. Later. Right now you must do as I’ve asked. As soon as that’s done, prepare for noble guests. I expect company within the hour.’

  ‘Who should I prepare for?’

  ‘Lady Yadva Sapphire and entourage.’

  The old man took this in, nodded. ‘I will tell the cooks to prepare something mild.’

  ‘No. Have them prepare something spicy. I want her to be uncomfortable. It will help set the mood.’

  ‘I’m not sure if that is wise.’

  ‘I am.’ She was uncomfortable herself, all the time, why should Lady Yadva be allowed the advantage of a sense of well being? ‘And, Sho, I want you to be here to greet them personally. Hold them for as long as you can. Talk slowly. Walk slowly.’ She winked. ‘Play up your age.’

  A wry look came into his eye. ‘I’ll do my best.’

  She left Sho and Ami to get started, hobbling across the courtyard as fast as she could manage. Servants met her and whisked her to her chambers. Travelling clothes were stripped away and consigned to the fire, while gentle hands helped her to bathe. The water was warm, easing muscles, and taking the weight of weary limbs. Had it not been for the hurried scrubbing she was receiving, Pari would surely have fallen asleep. Dirt fell from her like a chrysalis, crumbling, to reveal a new form beneath. She was barely out of the bath when word came that a group of Sapphire hunters had been spotted making the climb towards her gates.

  Clothes were brought, the most ostentatious she owned. A blue-green gown that flowed around her feet, lake-like, so vast that a quartet of servants were required to lift the corners when she moved. Heavy hooped earrings encrusted with stones. Her face was brushed with gold, her nails polished till they shone.

  Around her they set out a square of low tables, and decorated them with steaming bowls of rice and meat, aromatic scents bringing the air to life.

  A message from Sho informed her that Lady Yadva had arrived.

  Pari sat back. All was ready. She was ready. A part of her was actually looking forward to seeing Yadva. After days of scrabbling and hiding and fearing discovery, it was good to be on home ground. Better still to be taking control again.

  A sound caught her attention. Not the bellow of Yadva’s voice or the sound of a group marching towards her chamber, something softer. She frowned, listened, frowned again. Her body had already placed the sound, identified it as a threat of some kind, even as her mind told her that she knew it.

  Just before the figure appeared, the name came to her: Lord Taraka of the Deathless, right hand of High Lo
rd Tanzanite and the holder of whispers.

  He approached casually, but she wasn’t fooled. It was unlikely that her affectation of warm surprise fooled him either. They’d both known each other far too long.

  The body he’d taken in this lifecycle was smaller than his usual preference, and a penchant for loose clothing had given a somewhat square aspect to his usual elegant shape. His steps remained graceful however, soundless save the soft swishing of embroidered trouser cuffs across the tops of bare feet. From his neck several dozen crystals dangled on thin cord, chiming softly.

  ‘Lord Taraka,’ she said. ‘Be welcome. My roof extends to shelter you, my fire is ready to warm you, my food and drink are yours to share.’

  ‘I hear you and am glad,’ he replied, moving around the tables to settle next to her. ‘I am also glad to see you up and about. High Lord Tanzanite will be relieved to learn that you are still with us. She had feared you’d slipped between cycles prematurely.’

  ‘As you can see, I am very much alive, though I am touched by the High Lord’s concern.’

  He put a hand to one of his low hanging crystals, turning it as he spoke. Pari knew that whatever was said here would be captured in the stone, to be picked over at leisure by Taraka and her High Lord. ‘There is much love for you within House Tanzanite, so much in fact that no less than three of us have been stirred to action by news of your …’ his friendly mask slipped just for a moment, deliberate, to reveal a cold expression ‘… condition.’

  ‘Three?’

  ‘Yes. Myself, High Lord Tanzanite, and your brother. He was most distressed, and we all know how he struggles with bad news.’

  What have you done now, dear Arkav?

  Pari could feel the conversation slipping away from her. Taraka was leading up to something, and the only thing she could be sure of was that she was in trouble. Her main concern though, was for Arkav. Taraka was right, her brother did struggle, often, and those struggles rarely ended well. ‘Where is Lord Arkav?’

  ‘With the High Lord. She feels it best to keep him close.’ Something of her dismay must have shown for Taraka leaned across and put a hand on her arm. ‘Don’t worry. He’s safe. No new cuts.’

  She gave him a relieved smile, genuine this time, and he gave her a moment before releasing her arm and sitting back. ‘He came to us in something of a state, begging an audience with the High Lord. She gave one, of course. Would you like to hear what he said?’

  No, she thought, but nodded.

  Taraka removed one of his necklaces and placed it on the table between them. Then, with a practised flourish, he tapped it with a golden fingernail, making it chime. The note was soon drowned out by the sound of her brother’s voice, tight with worry.

  ‘It’s wrong. Wrong! I-I can’t … You have to do something. Please!’

  ‘Stop.’ The High Lord’s voice, deep, commanding. ‘Breathe.’

  ‘Yes but—’

  ‘Breathe.’

  Pari could actually hear him sucking down air, trying to calm himself. He sounded on edge, vulnerable. The thought of the High Lord seeing him that way, and of what she might do, filled her with dread.

  ‘Now,’ said the High Lord’s voice from the crystal. ‘Begin again. Slower this time.’

  ‘I went to Pari’s. I wanted to see her, but when I got there, they said she was sick and wouldn’t let me in. Me! Her brother.’

  ‘What did they say, exactly?’

  ‘They said she was too ill to receive visitors, that she was contagious.’ She heard footsteps from within the crystal, rapid, and imagined Arkav striding forward, sudden movement matching his shift in mood. ‘But. They. Were. Lying.’

  ‘You know this?’

  ‘Yes, it was in their words.’

  ‘You swear it?’

  ‘Yes.’

  A second flick of Taraka’s finger, and the crystal was silent. ‘There’s more of course. But I think you get the gist. As you can imagine, we all agreed that something needed to be done and so I set off at all speed, arriving here a few days ago, to find,’ he spread his hands, ‘well, you can imagine my dismay.’

  ‘I can explain,’ Pari began but Taraka cut her off with a laugh.

  ‘And I look forward to it. Truly. But let us attend to your guests first. They do not sound inclined to wait.’

  She had been focused so completely on the crystal that she had not registered the voices in the corridor. There was no mistaking Yadva now though. The Sapphire was angry, and she felt sympathy for Sho, who did not deserve to be talked to so roughly.

  ‘Enough of this. If I am not brought before your mistress immediately, I will make my displeasure felt.’

  ‘We are nearly there, Lady Yadva, I promise you. It is just around here …’

  ‘You said that before. For your sake, it had better be true this time.’

  The door was pushed open and Sho, who did not look like he was pretending to be short of breath, said: ‘Lady Yadva Sapphire, and Captain Dil of Lord Rochant’s castle guard, my lady.’

  To her surprise she saw that Yadva’s current body was even more bulky than the last one. The muscles bigger, the neck thicker. She must be breeding them for size.

  They had spared no time coming here, and dark patches of damp showed on her clothes and on Dil’s uniform, attesting to their recent dip in the river. Dirt from the road stained their features and coated their boots. Against the gleam of Pari’s chamber, the two looked ridiculous.

  Pari drank in the moment, savouring every fall of Yadva’s expression as she took in the details. This is almost too good.

  ‘Lady Yadva of the noble Sapphire,’ she said, ‘be welcome. My walls are yours, my food, yours to enjoy. Come, sit and join us. You look like you’ve travelled a long way.’ While Yadva recovered from her shock, Pari couldn’t help but add: ‘And is that Dil I see with you? My, I haven’t seen you in, oh it must be years.’

  She allowed a pause for Dil to say something but he seemed even more stunned than Yadva. When he realized that the attention of three Deathless was upon him, his cheeks flushed and he executed a bow, as deep as it was awkward.

  Pari gestured to a space opposite, forcing Yadva to take it or risk insult. With teeth gritted, the Sapphire crossed the room to join them, her boots squelching with each step.

  Taraka looked out of the window, as if the movement of some nearby bird had caught his eye. Pari knew better, however. He’s trying not to laugh. The thought made her lips twitch. Don’t laugh, Pari. Don’t laugh.

  ‘Please, eat something,’ she said, and Yadva started immediately, using the food as an excuse to delay the inevitably awkward conversation. The Sapphire Deathless had expected to find an empty castle and to expose Pari’s servants as liars. Now she had been caught, shamed in front of her peers. And she knows we’ll never forget.

  They ate in silence, except for Dil who remained by the door, unable to sit or leave unless invited. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Taraka’s shoulders shake with mirth, and she nearly spat out a mouthful of rice. Luckily both of her guests were too intent on the floor and their own problems to notice.

  After a while, the spice began to tell, sweat beading on Yadva’s forehead.

  Pari put her own bowl down. ‘It is not like you to leave Sapphire lands, Lady Yadva. I must confess to being curious, what brings you here, and in such a hurry?’

  The usually loud voice was replaced with something meeker, almost mumbling. ‘I had heard you were … sick. I was concerned.’

  ‘So concerned that you came here without sending word ahead? With hunters? So concerned that you came direct to my chambers, without changing? I suppose I should be flattered.’

  ‘I had heard …’

  ‘What had you heard, exactly?’ asked Taraka, one hand brushing against the jewels at his throat. ‘We would love to know more.’

  She could almost hear the sounds of Yadva’s brain working frantically to dig herself out of the hole. At last she said, ‘It appears I was misinforme
d.’ Pari marked the murderous look that was sent in Dil’s direction. ‘I’d been led to believe that you were in danger.’

  ‘How strange. I’d caught a fever, nothing more dangerous than that. As you can see, this body is getting old, and I spend most of my time in bed these days. The end of a lifecycle is so tiresome, wouldn’t you agree?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Taraka put a hand on Pari’s arm. ‘But fear not, Lady Yadva, for we Tanzanite look after our own. When I heard of Lady Pari’s illness, I could not help but come to offer my support. Though I confess, my arrival was not nearly as memorable as yours.’

  ‘Please accept my apologies for the intrusion, I will leave you both to continue your business.’

  Pari exchanged a look with Taraka. She could see muscles clenching in his jaw. ‘I wouldn’t dream of it. You must stay, eat with us. It has been too long.’

  And Yadva acquiesced. There was nothing else she could do. Pari drew out the meal, enduring her own fatigue to make Yadva squirm for as long as possible. At the end of it, Taraka cleared his throat.

  ‘I trust that you will reassure any other worried members of House Sapphire that Lady Pari is recovering admirably under my care. And should you encounter any further misinformation about her or another member of my house, you will be sure to quell it, yes?’

  Yadva’s agreement was subdued, but audible.

  ‘Wonderful,’ said Taraka, and Pari knew he had captured the exchange for later use.

  ‘Would you like to stay the night?’ asked Pari.

  ‘No. That is, I would like that but—’ Another glare in Dil’s direction, furious enough almost to make her feel sorry for him. Almost. ‘There is house business that cannot wait.’

  ‘Then we will wish you a safe journey home, and look forward to seeing you again, in a more traditional manner.’

  Yadva stood and bowed, before retreating stiffly from the room. They barely managed to wait until the sound of her sodden boots had reached the corridor before bursting into laughter.

  When it had subsided, Taraka wiped his eyes. ‘Ah, that was glorious. The look on her face! Have you ever seen the like?’ He chuckled at the memory, smiling to himself, but when he turned to her all friendliness had been put away, his face pleasant but cold. ‘Now, where were we? Ah yes, you were about to explain why it is your servants saw fit to lie to a lord of our house, and to tell me exactly, and in detail, where you have really been these past few weeks.’