The Deathless

by Peter Newman

  ‘If it makes you feel any better, that is the most Sapphire thing I’ve ever heard anyone say. I won’t make any promises but I’ll put in a good word to Lord Rochant. It seems to me that House Sapphire needs you both.’

  He tried to smile but had the horrible feeling he’d just done a rather poor impression of Gada. ‘He’s in the side room to the left as you enter, but I’d advise you go quietly so you don’t wake Mother.’

  Pari took a step back, a look of genuine surprise on her face. ‘Nidra is in there? Alive?’

  ‘Yes. Even the Corpseman couldn’t kill her.’

  ‘Ah, she was the one who took its arm, not you!’

  ‘It showed her mercy, spared her life, and that was her reply.’ He looked into the depths of the bottle. ‘It would be best for both you and Lord Rochant if you were gone when she wakes up.’

  Pari walked towards the house, leaving Vasin on the bench. She wasn’t worried about putting her back to him, there being no hint of threat in his manner. Besides, she thought, I’m in no state to stop him if he changes his mind. Better to at least keep my dignity.

  Though it felt like she’d come off the victor in their exchange, she’d been troubled by it. There was a hidden history to House Sapphire that seemed directly tied to the attack on Lord Rochant. Between Samarku Un-Sapphire’s account, and the things Vasin had told her, she’d put together many pieces of the puzzle, but something was missing.

  The disappointment of not finding Varg here with the baby was mitigated by the news that Lord Rochant himself was inside. She feared for her servant’s life, perhaps Vasin had already killed Varg, before this change of heart. She hoped not, now that Lan was dead she needed Varg more than ever if she were to get home intact.

  Nidra. The name kept floating through her thoughts, niggling. Clearly, she had been involved in this move against Rochant, no doubt using Vasin as her agent. Revenge then. Lord Rochant played his part in her exile, now she is getting him back. I’d probably do the same in her shoes. This must be the first step in some larger scheme against Yadavendra.

  She pushed the door open quietly, mindful of Vasin’s warning. It wouldn’t do to face Nidra in her current state. Luckily, the woman still slept soundly, her furs wrapped tight around her to ward off the cold.

  Sky-legs were not made for stealth but Pari took her time, testing the floorboards with her staff to find the quietest route. Soon she had turned left, passing into the second room.

  Lord Rochant was revealed in the light of her armour, his beautiful new face hooded and his clothes dirty. Two of his fingers jutted at wild angles from their sockets, and his arms were tied in a position designed for discomfort, his head hanging down, awkward.

  Her heart leapt at the sight of him, alive, even as she shuddered at the obvious signs of torture. What twisted things these Sapphire are. She stored her outrage for another time. When they were away from here and recovered, revenge would be taken accordingly.

  She also noted a small bell tied to his ropes.

  My first priority.

  As she grabbed the clapper and tore it out, Rochant spoke, his voice calm but made rough by a dry throat. ‘Back for more?’

  ‘Always,’ she whispered, putting a finger to his lips before pulling off his hood.

  Instantly, he became alert. ‘I was beginning to think you’d never arrive.’

  ‘Oh, it was quite the adventure, but I always get there in the end.’

  ‘A story I’d love to hear once you’ve got me out of this place.’

  She glanced over her shoulder. All seemed quiet in the other room, yet her hands paused at the knots by his wrists, held there by instinct. Samarku’s story and Nidra’s seemed connected somehow through the Corpseman and High Lord Yadavendra. She had the suspicion that Rochant knew the details. ‘Seeing as I have you here at my mercy, how about you answer some questions before I free you?’

  The half-lit expression on his face was priceless. ‘That’s low, Pari, even for you.’

  ‘What can you do? I’m a devil.’

  ‘Yes, a very kissable devil.’

  She rewarded the compliment with a hungrier kiss than she’d intended. It seems this old body isn’t as dead as I thought it was. ‘You know, my dear, being tied up suits you. Perhaps I should keep you this way.’

  ‘I’m not going to dignify that. If you have questions, ask them. If not, untie me.’

  ‘You wouldn’t be taking that tone if you’d known what I’ve had to endure in order to find you.’

  He glanced at his bound wrists and dislocated fingers. ‘Please forgive my lack of sympathy.’

  ‘You’ll never guess who I came across in the woods on the way here.’ He waited patiently for her to continue. ‘The Scuttling Corpseman. It hunted me down just outside of Sorn. Killed a young man I’d become rather fond of and then nearly did the same to me.’

  ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘You know me,’ she said with a light shrug, ‘I’m a survivor. But as you can see, I’m not at my best. It had me, Rochant, and yet it let me go. Why do you think that it did that?’

  ‘I have no idea.’

  ‘Indulge me, have a guess.’

  ‘Maybe it was playing with you.’

  ‘I wondered that myself, but that didn’t match the way it treated me at the end. It was careful, gentle in its own way. It even tried to undo some of the damage it had caused.’

  ‘Perhaps it was charmed by you. I don’t know. Can you untie me now, please?’

  ‘Whatever the reason, it’s astounding, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, yes, astounding. Fabulous!’ he said, that famous reserve starting to slip.

  ‘And yet you don’t seem surprised.’

  His features hardened. ‘Is this a rescue or an interrogation?’

  She wasn’t sure where this was going. It certainly wasn’t how she’d imagined it, but something in her couldn’t stop. An urge was taking her thoughts in this way and she had to see it through. ‘Interestingly, I’m not the only one to have been spared by the Corpseman. It once spared Nidra as well, I know that for a fact.

  ‘Yet I can understand why the Corpseman might show kindness to Nidra, after all, she was accused of making a deal with the Wild. Perhaps they’re kindred spirits. But me? I am Deathless, I am the enemy, the hunter. It doesn’t make any sense.’ She paused for a moment to study him, searching for some sign as to whether she was getting close to the truth. However, Rochant gave nothing away, studying her with equal intensity.

  ‘But,’ she continued, ‘what if Nidra hadn’t made a deal with the Wild at all? What if someone else had? Someone who loved her so much that any protections he gained would extend to her as well.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  She waved him to silence. ‘You know, when I saw the Bringers tattoo you in the Rebirthing Chamber, I thought the silver marks on your cock were a warning to keep away from me. But it wasn’t about us at all, was it? The High Lord had found out about your affair with Nidra.’

  He sighed. ‘I admit we were lovers once, a long time ago, before I was Deathless. Before you.’

  ‘Then why add it to your legend now?’

  ‘Because,’ said a voice from behind them, ‘Yadavendra didn’t know about it until my trial, when he tortured the information out of me.’

  Pari turned to see Nidra standing there, a simple but nevertheless lethal looking spear held in her hand. Despite her weatherworn clothes and unpainted face, she still carried herself like a Deathless. Unlike Vasin, there seemed no room in her manner for doubt, and unlike Rochant, she had full use of her limbs.

  Oh dear, thought Pari, but she kept the dismay inside, raising her bravado like a shield. ‘Ah, Lady Nidra. I must say you’re looking in rude health for a dead woman.’

  ‘No need for titles or pleasantries any more.’

  ‘I suppose not, though I’d still make a case for the pleasantries.’

  The point of Nidra’s spear aligned itself with the deepest
crack in Pari’s chest plate. ‘You aren’t taking him anywhere.’

  ‘Forgive my asking, but what ended your relationship?’

  ‘His ascension of course. When he became a Deathless, I ended our affair. He begged me not to, but he was mortal then, he didn’t understand.’

  ‘I still don’t,’ whispered Rochant.

  It seemed to Pari that someone who adhered to the rules so rigidly, who overruled their heart to do the right thing, was the last person to betray their house, but she had to know. ‘I’m sorry to ask this, but have you ever made a deal with the Wild? Have you ever consorted with them in any way, by accident or design?’

  Even before the angry retort left Nidra’s lips, Pari knew, in her bones, that the woman had done no such thing.

  ‘Ask me that again and the next thing you’ll see will be the Bringers of Endless Order at your next rebirth.’

  ‘As I thought,’ Pari continued, ‘which rather begs the question of who did make the deal.’ She took a moment to shift into a more comfortable position, letting the staff take its share of her weight. ‘I believe you, Nidra, just as I believed Samarku, your disgraced High Lord, when he denied it.’

  Both Nidra and Rochant seemed caught out by that fact, allowing her to talk without interruption. ‘The same trick, the slander that he was dealing with the Wild, was played on him. It saw him and his retinue exiled and scrubbed from the histories.

  ‘Two people benefited from this; Yadavendra, who became the new High Lord of the Sapphire, and Rochant, who became Deathless in reward for his service.’

  Nidra was nodding to herself. ‘Poor Samarku, he has been here all this time?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘But how? His body must be ancient.’

  ‘It is, and I fear no longer retrievable.’ An image of the tree growing from the man growing from the tree rose unbidden and she shivered. ‘He’s part of the Wild now, but let us turn to those we can affect. It seems to me that either Rochant or Yadavendra made a pact with the Wild. We all know how Yadavendra gained from Samarku’s fall. And Samarku told me that he had you in mind to succeed him as High Lord, not your brother. So it seems clear to me that Yadavendra could be behind this. He has motive.’

  She turned to Rochant, who was staying mysteriously quiet. ‘However, there are other factors. If the deal was done with the Corpseman, and I think there is compelling evidence that it was, then I could understand why Yadavendra might wish it to protect his sister, but not why it might protect me. We barely know each other. But you love me enough, don’t you, Rochant?’

  ‘You know I do.’

  ‘Just as you love Nidra.’

  She wanted to stop here, not to say what was in her mind. ‘It was you, wasn’t it? You treated with the Wild to destroy Samarku, elevating yourself and Yadavendra. And then, when he wanted Nidra gone, you did it again.’

  He said nothing, his gaze going to the floor.

  Pari felt the satisfaction of having got it right, but also a great sadness. A part of her had been hoping to be proved wrong. She sighed, suddenly feeling her age in her soul as deeply as in her joints. ‘Ah, I have been such a fool.’ She turned the staff between her hands a couple of times. ‘I should have seen that there was only one Deathless in House Sapphire who would not be bound by its codes, who would be clever enough and daring enough to do something like this.’

  Rochant looked up at her, a fire in his eyes. ‘Pari, you and I both know the rules weren’t meant for us.’

  ‘But the Wild, Rochant. Your actions betrayed the very heart of what we are. We are Deathless! We are supposed to protect against the Wild.’ She shook her head, reeling as the truth of what Rochant had done hit home. ‘Samarku’s people, Nidra’s people, the people of Sorn, all of that suffering and death! Why did you do it? Why? What were you thinking?’

  ‘Release me, and I’ll explain. The world is bigger than either of us dared imagine.’ That smile touched his lips, the kind that came when he talked about his passions, the one that made him boyish and charming.

  She could still see Nidra’s spear, ready to move if she did. She looked at Rochant, feeling the pull of his gaze, holding it for as long as she dared before shaking her head and turning to Nidra. ‘Don’t worry, dear, there’ll be no need to shed any of my blood today. Lord Vasin has reached his limits and it seems that I have reached mine.’ She took a deep breath to steady herself. ‘Now, how about you and I go next door and discuss what we’re going to do about this sorry mess.’

  With effort, she straightened and began to leave the room, Nidra backing away ahead of her, keeping her in sight, keeping that spear head ready.

  ‘Don’t do this,’ Rochant urged. ‘I love you.’

  I love you too, she thought. But she didn’t say it. I will never give voice to those words again.

  They went to the far side of the house. A glance revealed that Vasin remained outside on the bench where she’d left him. Pari leant against the wall, and Nidra took up a pos-ition between her and the doorway. Neither spoke immediately.

  I suppose I will have to be the one to start this. ‘What do you think would happen if we took the news of Rochant’s betrayal to High Lord Yadavendra?’

  ‘He could be in on it, and even if he isn’t,’ Nidra shook her head ‘my brother loves Rochant. He wouldn’t believe us. My word and Vasin’s are suspect, and yours would anger him, seeing as this is Sapphire business.’

  Pari refrained from pointing out that such a catastrophic failing within a house was really everyone’s business. ‘Do you have any proof?’

  ‘No, but give me time and I might be able to get some out of him.’

  Pari found she didn’t want to think about that. ‘I’ve put my immortality at risk coming here, Nidra, and so has your son. We need to think about how we secure our future, and how we might restore yours.’

  ‘My brother won’t stop until he has Rochant back.’

  ‘Then let’s give him back.’

  Nidra’s eyes narrowed. ‘What?’

  ‘Not him,’ replied Pari, pointing towards the other room. ‘The last of his line. If Vasin brought Yadavendra the baby, along with proof of Rochant’s death, then your son becomes the hero and the search will be ended. But don’t get too excited, I don’t think we should actually kill Rochant, I think you should keep him here.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Think about it. What will happen when the baby comes of age?’

  ‘Well, my brother would have it go through the ceremony of rebirth and …’ she nearly dropped the spear head, her eyes widening with realization. ‘… it would fail because Rochant’s soul would still be here. The Bringers would test the vessel, find it wanting and declare it to be an abomination. Then we could kill Rochant at our leisure.’ She reached over and put a hand on Pari’s gauntlet. ‘Oh Lady Pari, I have underestimated you.’

  Pari smiled. ‘Many have.’

  ‘But where is the baby? Neither my son nor my brother could find it.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll find it.’ If it’s still alive. ‘The hard part will be restoring you. For that we need a new High Lord of the Sapphire, and I can think of none better than your son. I’d say he has about twenty years to get into position to strike, depending on how long High Lord Yadavendra feels he can manage without Rochant.’

  ‘You overestimate my brother’s patience, Lady Pari. We’ll be lucky if he waits fifteen.’

  ‘Then you’d best make your preparations quickly.’

  ‘We’ve already been taking steps in that direction.’

  ‘For whatever it’s worth, I’ll do what I can to see he has the Tanzanite’s support.’

  ‘That is worth a great deal to me. But why? Why go out of your way to help us?’

  Pari sighed. ‘Because it feels like the right thing to do. I can’t help Samarku, but I can help you.’

  ‘And how do I know you won’t betray us?’

  She’d been expecting this question to come up sooner or later. ‘The way I see
it, Lord Vasin and I know enough to destroy each other if any of this came to light. We have no choice but to trust in our mutual desire to live. Besides, this is bigger than you, me, or your son. This concerns the fate of House Sapphire and all the Crystal Dynasties. If Yadavendra isn’t brought to heel, we’ll turn our gaze inward, fighting each other instead of the Wild.’

  Nidra set down her weapon. ‘Then, Lady Pari, from this moment, consider us bound. I swear that if you help me now, I will never forget. My spear will find your enemies, my wings will bear your burdens, and my halls will ring with songs of your glory, for now and evermore.’

  Pari held out her hand and Nidra took it, the two clasping wrists. And then, because it felt right, and because she was tired, Pari leant forward, till their foreheads touched.

  When they parted, Pari examined Nidra closely. Her body was still strong, but weathered, at least five decades worth of wear on the skin. ‘Do you think you can hang on for fifteen years?’

  Nidra laughed. ‘Watch me.’

  I like her, thought Pari. ‘I wish we had spoken properly sooner.’

  ‘Time enough for regrets when I am Deathless again,’ replied Nidra, plucking the spear from the wall. ‘Now let’s go and find my son. There are plans to be made, and work to do.’

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The howls of the pack had become more regular, more urgent, seeming to Chandni almost like communication. Or orders being given.

  Without needing to say anything, they all sped up, from slow walk all the way to near jog. It was difficult managing any kind of pace in the dark, especially while carrying Satyendra. She had hold of a patch of Glider’s fur in her free hand, letting the Dogkin guide her.

  And still the pack drew closer, flashing eyes now visible between the trees at their back, and other howls to the left and right. If we don’t do something soon, they’ll overtake us and box us in.