The Deathless

by Peter Newman

  Vasin found himself slumping too. ‘I don’t know what to say. Is it something to do with the settlement that had been attacked?’

  ‘Partly. There is a creature in the lake, known as the Toothsack. Generally, it is only a problem for other creatures of the Wild. It’s too big to travel inland and it doesn’t come near the Godroad. However, one of the tributary rivers, the Whitesnake, flooded recently. Water levels rose and the Toothsack was able to travel. It managed to attack Raften, and you saw the result.’

  ‘I know the Whitesnake, it flows through our lands.’

  He became aware she was watching him very carefully. ‘The rains have been heavy but not especially so, not enough to explain why a usually tame river would burst its banks. So my mother followed the river, until she found the source of the problem.’

  ‘What was it?’

  ‘A dam. Crudely made, and on your lands.’

  ‘That would place it either in Lord Rochant’s or Lord Umed’s territory.’

  ‘Lord Rochant’s.’

  Could I use this somehow? If he had been involved in something like this, the High Lord would have no choice but to punish him. Then it occurred to him that Lord Rochant had only just been reborn and that the other likely culprit was his mother. Would she be willing to sacrifice the Rubies as part of her revenge? He no longer knew the answer.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ she said, misreading him. ‘The way the dam was constructed suggested beyond-human strength, and it is far too haphazard for Lord Rochant’s tastes.’

  ‘So your High Lord is not considering Sapphire betrayal?’

  Her expression was incredulous. ‘Of course not! The idea never even occurred to us. But with Lord Rochant between lives, we needed to ask your High Lord for permission to enter his lands to dismantle it.’

  ‘But when I flew here, I didn’t see any signs of flooding.’

  ‘Then … I imagine my mother has already been successful.’

  It was Vasin’s turn to look incredulous. ‘Are you? Are you saying the Ruby High Lord has flown into Sapphire lands without permission?’

  She sipped her drink guiltily. ‘I suppose that depends. If I was to ask for permission on behalf of House Ruby, would you give it?’

  ‘I can’t speak for my High Lord.’

  ‘We made the request for an audience in good time. We were clear about the urgency but High Lord Yadavendra did not respond. My mother, my High Lord, had no choice. The last thing any of us want is an incident. Surely you can represent House Sapphire in an emergency?’

  Vasin closed his eyes. He could see their position and could see no reason not to support them, but something told him that Yadavendra would see it differently. If he refused to support the Rubies, he’d appear weak, a mere messenger boy, and he’d be leaving them open to disgrace. But if he did support them, he’d be opening himself up to his High Lord’s wrath. He looked at Anuja. ‘You said you wanted to be honest?’ She nodded. ‘I trust that what passes between us here will stay private?’

  ‘We’re both doing the best we can for our people, Lord Vasin. I trust you. I hope that you trust me.’

  ‘Well, you did just save me from a little death and many lifecycles of ridicule.’

  ‘I did.’

  He took a deep breath. ‘The truth is, I don’t know how my High Lord will react. I’ve never been that close to my uncle and, well, he’s become more …’ He tried to think of the right word. Crazed? Unstable? Violent? ‘Unpredictable. It isn’t my place to second guess him. However, he sent me here to represent House Sapphire, and I have to believe that if he knew your situation then he would do the right thing.’

  She looked hopeful but had not relaxed. ‘Which is?’

  ‘Which is to grant you permission to enter our lands and offer you any assistance necessary.’

  Her smile was instant and broad, transforming her face. It was like Fortune’s Eye coming out from behind a cloud. ‘You honour us. We won’t forget it.’

  ‘I’m sure you’d do the same.’ They gripped wrists, locked in a moment of mutual respect before flopping back into their seats.

  She’s just like me, he thought. Out of her depth and trying not to show it.

  They shared a few drinks in near silence, little fragments of conversation that didn’t quite go anywhere.

  ‘Well,’ he said at last. ‘This Nightweed is excellent, but I’d better retire. It’s been a long flight.’

  She stood up and walked him to the door. ‘Lord Vasin?’ He was instantly alert again. Adrenaline responding to something in her voice. ‘What did you mean when you said your uncle has become unpredictable?’

  He stopped, cursing himself for saying something so stupid. If his poor choice of words got back to the High Lord he would be in serious trouble. ‘I didn’t mean to suggest there was anything wrong with him.’

  ‘You didn’t?’ She gave him a knowing look.

  ‘No. I simply meant that … That I have found these last years particularly hard. But I believe in my High Lord even if I don’t always … understand his mind.’ He frowned, appalled. That had sounded even worse.

  ‘I probably shouldn’t say this, but we’re very sorry about what happened to your mother. She was well liked.’

  He blinked, surprised. ‘Thank you. I know she always thought highly of House Ruby.’

  ‘For whatever it’s worth, we never believed the accusations. The Lady Nidra Sapphire we know would not, could not, have sold out to the Wild.’ She put a hand on his arm. ‘My mother had another reason for calling your High Lord here. She wanted to hold him to account.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘This must stay between us.’ She lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘To accuse one of his own, to try them, to punish them, that is a Sapphire matter, but there are certain lines that cannot be crossed. We all have a sacred duty to protect our people from the Wild. It is why we are Deathless. When Yadavendra destroyed your mother’s Godpiece he not only weakened your house, he diminished its ability to protect this world. That cannot stand.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘How blunt do I need to be?’

  Vasin met her eye. ‘No hints, no subtleties. Tell me plainly.’

  ‘It would be better for everyone if House Sapphire could set its own affairs in order.’ She looked at him, then sighed. ‘We have heard the stories. Yadavendra turning on his own sister with those ridiculous charges, banishing her, breaking her immortal line, destroying her Godpiece. And then Sorn. Why did he not protect his own people?’ Vasin had no answer for her and she continued. ‘Why did he not answer our urgent calls for help? Why, after repeated urgings, did he send you and not come in person? What was so important that he would forsake us?’

  He knew he should defend his High Lord but could find little to say. ‘It’s not my place to divulge that information.’

  ‘I know you Sapphire enjoy your privacy but we have had contact from Houses Spinel, Opal, and Tanzanite. They are all very concerned with the way the Sapphire have withdrawn from court. It is only a matter of time before the other Houses take note. All eyes are turning towards you, Lord Vasin.’

  ‘To do what, exactly?’

  ‘Your duty.’

  ‘And if we don’t set our own affairs in order?’

  ‘Then my mother will take action. She will convene a council of the High Lords and pass judgement on Yadavendra.’

  ‘There’s no way he’d submit to another’s judgement.’

  ‘He’ll have to. Even a High Lord must submit to his peers.’

  ‘I tell you, he won’t.’

  ‘Then there would be war.’

  Horrified, he took a step away from her.

  ‘As I said, it would be much better if you could deal with this yourself.’

  ‘I … I’ll do what I can.’

  She took a step after him, closing the distance. ‘Know that when you act, you have our support.’

  He nodded. Surprise and fatigue numbing him, he stumbled towards his
bedchamber. Mother would be pleased. This was exactly what she wanted him to do, to gather allies. Anuja and the Rubies were with him, and by the sound of it, the other Houses weren’t far behind. But he did not feel elation, just a dull horror, and the sudden sense of being old. For all of his lifecycles he had been a child up till now. Would that I could be a child again.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  It was dark and Sagan was not yet in sight. The last few hours had been hard, fatigue slowing them down. Her encounter with the Hunger Tree had left Chandni feeling empty, but also lighter. Her thoughts often wandered as they travelled, teasing her with memories of easier times in the castle, of good food and comfortable beds.

  I miss routines, she thought to herself. She had always been good at planning. Her standards high, her goals manageable. She had only had a few years in her role before Lord Rochant slipped between lives, but he’d made a point of taking her aside on one of his last days.

  ‘Honoured Mother Chandni,’ he had said, ‘you are the heart of this place. Keep beating strong while I’m away.’

  And she had. There was something wonderful in the way the castle operated, the staff performing their individual tasks like a choir of Story-singers, harmonious. They were good at their jobs and she was good at hers and it worked. It felt right.

  She missed that feeling.

  A stray root tripped her, at least she hoped it was a root. There was only Varg’s gemslight to see by, and that was fading fast. The stories said that gemslight held creatures of the Wild at bay.

  Is that why we’ve been unmolested so far?

  It was easy to imagine predators lurking just beyond the glow’s edge, waiting for the last of the stored sunslight to glimmer and vanish.

  Glider’s nose nudged the small of her back, urging her forward, and she realized she had fallen behind.

  I’ve lost focus again. I can’t think here, nothing makes sense. She held Satyendra close. If Pari doesn’t act soon, I’m going home. I don’t care what Varg says. It can’t be more dangerous than staying here.

  ‘All right?’ asked Varg, turning back to her. His face looked ghoulish, but then, even Satyendra looked threatening in this light.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How’s your arm?’

  ‘The same.’

  ‘How’s the boots?’

  ‘Fine.’

  ‘Not rubbing?’

  ‘No, Varg. They’re fine. If they were rubbing I would have said so.’

  He grunted, as if to say: You wouldn’t.

  ‘I swear to you, they’re fine.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Do you think we’re being followed?’

  ‘We’re in the Wild at night, course we bloody are! But look,’ he held up the light, ‘the trees are thinning. I reckon we’re nearly back.’

  He was right. A few minutes later, she saw starlight, and, another minute after that she was stepping out into the open like a diver coming up from the bottom of a lake. It felt like the pressure lifted from the air and it came into her lungs easier. It even tasted different.

  She hugged Satyendra and kissed his forehead. ‘We’re safe, my darling.’

  Varg put the chunk of tanzanite back in its bag, smothering the last of its light, and guided them back towards the house. The bulk of Sagan hunched in the gloom at the other side of the field, fires glinting through windows, and behind it, she could make out the faint glow of the Godroad.

  They had just reached the front door when Glider began to growl.

  Chandni looked over her shoulder, wondering what had followed them from the Wild.

  So foolish to think we were safe! Even if they got to Varg’s house, they were not truly safe. Not unless we slept on the Godroad itself, or, a miserable part of her mind added, at home in Lord Rochant’s castle.

  But the Dogkin was not watching the forest, she was staring over Chandni’s shoulder, nose pointing directly at Varg’s house. In the poor light, Glider’s human eye was unsettling, as if it might not be clouded at all.

  ‘Ssh,’ she said, putting a hand on the Dogkin’s neck.

  Glider quietened but remained on edge. Chandni turned to warn Varg, but he was already pushing his way through the front door.

  Leaving Glider in the shadows, she rushed up the step and into the house. A wave of warm air and the smell of food struck her as she came in, stirring her stomach from its slumber. Fen was stirring the pot while Sal rocked her baby.

  Chandni shut the door behind her, surprised by how normal things appeared. She couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, and yet something seemed off.

  ‘Did you?’ asked Fen. He didn’t need to say what. They all knew what he was referring to.

  ‘It’s done,’ said Varg.

  ‘Thanks to you, Fen,’ Chandni added with a smile. ‘Your directions were perfect. We never would have made it without them.’ She looked at her right arm, flexing the fingers to check they still worked. ‘It’s too early to know if the poison has gone but I have hope at least.’

  She smiled again but Fen didn’t return it. ‘Thank you for keeping some food back for us. We’re both starving.’ Varg made a grunt of agreement, though he hadn’t relaxed either.

  Why do I feel so tense?

  Their baby, Min, was clutching his mother fiercely, his eyes puffy from crying. Unusual but in itself nothing terrible. Despite sitting away from the fire, sweat darkened the fabric under Sal’s arms. Chandni assumed that their toddler, Dev, was probably still up in the lookout room. But why didn’t he ring the bell when we came back? He loves ringing it.

  ‘How are you all? Did anything happen while we were away?’

  ‘No, no,’ said Fen, while his eyes said: yes, yes.

  Satyendra gurgled happily, prompting her to look down, praise on her lips. Since they had lived here, it had become a reflex. She always made a point of giving him a fuss when he was happy, hoping to encourage his jollier self back to the surface.

  But, before she could speak, the door to the other room, her bedroom, burst open, and a woman came charging out. She was wearing an old travelling cloak but the needle in her hand was clean, shiny.

  Chandni felt, or imagined she felt, a twinge in her right hand, a ghost of an old pain. They had found her again and they had come for her baby.

  She saw Varg kick over the cooking pot, spilling boiling water in the assassin’s direction. She saw Fen moving with Varg, though whether to help or hinder him, she couldn’t tell, and then she was turning, reaching for the front door.

  To her surprise it was already opening, letting in the cold night air. A stranger’s face appeared in the doorway, and a second needle, glinting in the firelight.

  She saw the needle rise up, and for a moment she was back in her lord’s kitchens. But this time there is no Roh to save me. She flinched back, neither far nor fast enough, but the blow never came, the attacker distracted by a low snarl from behind. Before either of them had a chance to react, Glider’s jaws clamped around the stranger’s head. There was a scream, muffled, and then a crunch.

  The needle dropped to the floor.

  Chandni stared as Glider shook the body from side to side. Blood spurted from between her teeth, staining the white fur. When all resistance was gone, the Dogkin flung the body down the front steps and spat out the head, in bits, from her mouth.

  There were screams behind her, and the sounds of fighting, but Chandni didn’t wait to see what was happening. Using the doorframe for leverage, she hauled herself outside, jumping over the body and the blood. Outside the house, in the middle of the night, she froze.

  Where do I go now? What do I do?

  Although she knew it was ridiculous, she stood there, clutching Satyendra. She had no plans for this moment, and even if she wasn’t tired, improvising had never been her strong point. A part of her mind, the part that spoke with her mother’s voice, lambasted her for such a terrible lack of self-control, and while she agreed with every word, she could not think of what to do.

  The door banging on it
s hinges made her look up as Varg emerged at speed with a knife in his hand. ‘Run!’ he shouted.

  ‘Run where?’

  He charged down the step towards her. ‘For fuck’s sake, just—’

  ‘Watch out for the blood!’ she warned.

  He dived forward to clear the body Glider had left by the step, falling hard into the dirt at her feet. ‘Shit!’

  Glider started barking as a cloaked figure appeared in the doorway: she leaned out, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the sudden lack of light. A moment later, Varg’s knife appeared in her thigh and she withdrew.

  Chandni blinked, then helped Varg get back to his feet. ‘Are you hurt?’ she asked.

  He started moving immediately, pushing her ahead of him. ‘Run.’

  ‘What about Fen and the others?’

  ‘Just fucking run!’

  Her legs finally got the message and they ran, Glider bounding alongside. ‘But where?’

  Varg didn’t answer and she realized he didn’t need to. There was only one place to go. The assassins would find them if they tried to hide in Sagan. She was too recognizable. They would find them if they tried to flee along the Godroad. There was only one place they could go and not be followed.

  The Wild.

  They were running back into the Wild.

  She could hear the sound of things stirring in the dark. She had thought the forest was alive before but clearly it had been asleep. There was a movement in the trees, she was sure of it; shadows, hunched and bestial.

  ‘We can’t!’ she began but Varg cut her off.

  ‘They’re not here for us, they’re here for the blood.’

  He was right, she realized, and as they plunged into the forest, becoming shadows themselves, the things of the Wild stepped out into the starlight, facing Varg’s house, their mouths open.

  Pari stared at the ceiling, trying to get the winged figures depicted there to come into focus. She could still identify which was which but the edges blurred, making it hard to see any details. Her eyesight was still working but far from its best.

  It was, she reflected miserably, a fair description of her wits as well. And Taraka knows it, the bastard.