The Bastard’s Pearl

by Connie Bailey

  “You idiot. You think the king doesn’t know about this?”

  Beshar looked into the chamber again as the claw withdrew into the boiling, black cloud. The dark green blood that splashed every surface evaporated into wisps of steam. The Savaani warriors watched the ceiling warily for several moments, but nothing else appeared. Kashyan and Djenya jumped down from the altar, and Kashyan went to Sheyn. Lifting the unconscious daaksi, Kashyan put him over his shoulder.

  “We’re leaving,” Kashyan said to his men. “Right now. Before anything else comes out of that smoke.”

  “Go,” Kholya said and waited until everyone was out of the chamber before he left.

  Kashyan moved away with Sheyn over his shoulder. Djenya was right behind him with the other five soldiers on his heels.

  “King Kezlath gave me orders to bring you all to the throne room if you found your daaksi here,” Lord Beshar said when Kholya appeared.

  “Why are we standing here?” Kashyan asked. “Let’s leave this cursed place.”

  “The king wants to see us,” Kholya said.

  “He’ll not be in a good mood when he hears what you Savaani scum have done,” Chanesh said.

  “Shut up, worm,” Kashyan said. “Kholya, I’m leaving.” He stalked away.

  “Are you going to let him go?” Djenya asked Kholya.

  “I’m going with him. We left our horses in the same place, after all.” Kholya turned to Chanesh. “Let’s go, priest.” He gave Chanesh a shove to get him going.

  Chanesh gave Beshar a smug smile. “It will be a pleasure to see your faces when you realize that the Temple holds the true power in Muergath.”

  “I cannot believe the king would condone such a practice as I saw today,” Beshar said, gesturing to his three guards to keep an eye on Chanesh.

  “Then you don’t understand how badly he wishes to be high king.”

  “Quiet,” Kholya said.

  Sheyn regained consciousness as the group walked down the Temple steps to the square. “Put me down,” he said.

  Kashyan was so startled that he almost dropped Sheyn. He set Sheyn down and was astonished to see that all the daaksi’s wounds had healed to thin pink lines. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “I can walk,” Sheyn said. “But I’d like to borrow your cloak.”

  Kashyan unfastened his cloak pin and gave Sheyn the garment.

  “Were you planning on carrying me all the way back to camp naked?” Sheyn asked as he put the cloak around him.

  “I hadn’t thought about it. I was busy fighting a demon.”

  “And after that?”

  “Get on the horse.”

  “I really must insist that you come with me to the palace,” Beshar said.

  “Please tell the king that we’ll attend him tomorrow,” Kholya told Beshar. “Surely, your report will be enough for now, and I need to make sure my brother doesn’t start a war with Muergath over this.”

  “I’ll explain to His Majesty,” Beshar said. “Accept the apologies of the Crown and know that the thieves will be justly dealt with.”

  Kholya saluted Beshar and left at the head of the small troop. A few minutes later, several royal guards marched into the square.

  “Our escort is here,” Beshar said.

  Chanesh smiled. “Captain,” he called out to the leader of the guards. “Savaani raiders are headed for the west gate. Send men after them while I call out the Red Monks.”

  To Beshar’s dismay, the captain did as the high priest bade him.

  “Yes, I like that look on your face,” Chanesh said before he walked back into the Temple.

  Chapter 14

  DJENYA RODE up from the rear to report. “We’re being followed, and they don’t look friendly.”

  Kholya looked to the rear, saw the royal guards, and gave orders. “Ride for camp and prepare for battle!”

  The small company of Savaani warriors used their horses to shoulder a way through the more crowded streets. When they sighted the gate, they urged their mounts to a faster pace and rode through at a gallop. Once outside the walls, they were joined by the rest of the troop and increased their speed in a race to the camp. The sentries looked surprised but immediately took a battle stance when their commander shouted at them to be ready for an attack.

  Kholya rode straight to the command tent and dismounted. “Get your daaksi safely stowed and join me with all the Hawks,” he ordered Kashyan.

  “I’ll go find Velvet,” Sheyn said as Kashyan took him by the arm. “That hurts, by the way.”

  Kashyan let go of Sheyn as though he’d touched fire. “Velvet’s likely in my brother’s tent.”

  “Where else would he be?” Sheyn moved away from him.

  “I’ll walk with you.” Kashyan glanced aside at the willowy foreigner. “Are you all right?”

  “What a particularly stupid question. I was abducted, chained to an altar, and tortured for hours… and that was before the demon arrived.”

  “I should have kept a better watch on you.”

  Sheyn was startled into silence by his apologetic tone.

  “Whether I want a daaksi or not, I have one,” Kashyan said. “I’ll make sure you’re better protected from now on.”

  “So I’ll be under constant guard? That sounds terribly pleasant.” Sheyn grimaced.

  “Would it be more pleasant to be back in the Temple?” Kashyan asked as they reached Kholya’s tent.

  Sheyn shot him a dark look as he entered, and then Luks was on top of him.

  “Thank the Goddess!” Luks exclaimed as he simultaneously hugged Sheyn and checked him for injuries. “I was so worried about you.” He looked to Kashyan.

  “He was taken to Taankh’s Temple and—” Kashyan swallowed. “They did horrible things.”

  “I can tell the story,” Sheyn said. “Don’t you have orders?”

  “I still can’t believe it,” Kashyan said. “You were covered in cuts when we found you, but now your skin looks as smooth as….” His voice trailed off as he ran his eyes over Sheyn’s body.

  “Would you like your cloak back?” Sheyn asked pointedly.

  Kashyan looked up. “I’ll collect it later,” he said as he turned on his heel and left.

  “What an odd man,” Sheyn said as he sat.

  “Wait just a moment and I’ll bring you a cup of khai,” Luks said. “Take off the cloak so I can have a look at you.”

  Sheyn held out his arms, turning them over as he examined his skin. “Not a mark,” he said softly.

  “It’s a bit breathtaking when you experience a miracle for the first time,” Luks said as he handed Sheyn a cup. “Now tell me what happened to you.”

  Sheyn shuddered and took a drink of the hot khai before he answered. “I went out looking for the peddlers. I was trying to stay out of sight, and someone grabbed me. I didn’t see him, but I’d recognize that smell again. He put a cloth over my nose and mouth and I went to sleep. When I woke, I was chained to a stone altar.” He shivered again. “I was naked, and the stone was cold and rough, but that was hardly the worst of it.” He paused. “I don’t think I can describe it, but the room made me feel very small, and I felt as though something large and hungry was watching me every second. I could feel eyes on my skin like ants.” Sheyn took another drink of khai. “I knew the thing watching me wanted to tear me to shreds and devour the pieces. And I knew I’d be alive while it happened, and that the thing would devour my suffering as well.”

  “A demon,” Luks said.

  As Sheyn met Luks’s eyes, he suppressed a shudder. “I didn’t know they really existed. I’ve read tales with demons in them, but they’re just made-up stories, not history books.”

  “They’re real.”

  “Why? Why should such a terrible thing exist?”

  “All things have an opposite,” Luks said. “Pure good exists, so pure evil must also exist.”

  “You’re certain about the pure good?”

  “There is one perfect creature cre
ated by all the Gods together, an avatar who embodies the best traits of every race of men.” Luks saw he had Sheyn’s full attention and continued. “This being has no name, unless it’s the sound of laughter, and no one who ever saw the avatar could agree on what it looked like. However, all agreed that it was the most beautiful thing ever created, and it inspired joy in all who came near.”

  “That does sound like the opposite of a demon.” Sheyn jumped at the distraction. If he didn’t stop thinking about what he’d endured, he would start screaming. “What happened to this avatar?”

  “No one knows. My faith teaches me that the avatar still wanders this world.”

  “If that’s so, I don’t think it’s visited Kandaar in some time.”

  Luks was quiet for a moment. “Are you really all right?”

  “I’m… I’ve been shaken up a bit by recent events, but physically, I’m well.” Sheyn smiled. “When you told me that daaksim heal quickly, I had no idea you meant that quickly.”

  “I didn’t. I’ve never seen a daaksi heal so fast.”

  “What about knowing what other people are feeling?”

  “What?”

  “I can feel other people’s emotions, even the intentions behind their words sometimes.”

  “Of course you can. It’s another of the Goddess’s gifts. It’s much easier to deal with people if you know their mood.”

  “My mother says the same thing.”

  “I wish I could meet such a woman. What a marvel that would be.” Luks stood and walked to the other side of the tent. “I almost forgot,” he said as he picked something up and returned to where Sheyn sat. “Here.”

  Sheyn took the length of bright red material and held it up. It was a thigh-length tunic decorated at the neck and hem with gold-embroidered birds. “It’s not horrible,” he said. “Where did you acquire it?”

  “Prince Kashyan bought it for you, but when he came here to give it to you, you were gone.”

  Sheyn slipped the tunic over his head, enjoying the feel of the fine cloth sliding down his body. “This is the silkiest wool I’ve ever felt. I wonder what the sheep look like.”

  “It’s made from the hair of a goat that lives high in the mountains. They’re not easy to find or catch, so the cloth is very expensive.”

  “How interesting.” Sheyn yawned. “I’m suddenly exhausted.”

  “Healing takes a lot of energy. Put your head on this pillow,” Luks said.

  When Sheyn was comfortable, Luks took out a wooden comb and began working on the tangles in Sheyn’s long hair. It was rough going with all the dried blood, but Luks did what he could until there was an opportunity for a bath. After a while, Sheyn spoke in a drowsy voice.

  “Such an awful old man.”

  “Who?” Luks asked.

  “The one who cut me. He was almost as frightening as the demon. That feels very nice,” he said as Luks divided his hair into strands for braiding. Sheyn smiled sleepily. “He wouldn’t speak to me, no matter what I said to him. He used the knife on me as though I was a piece of wood he was whittling. He just kept chanting, and the look in his eyes….” His features tightened at the memory of his torture and then smoothed out again as he fell into exhausted sleep.

  “Pearl?” Luks looked down and saw that Sheyn’s eyes were closed. “Good,” he whispered. “Sleep and don’t have bad dreams.” He kissed the top of Sheyn’s head and busied himself in another part of the big tent.

  A short time later, the soldier on guard duty came into the tent and passed a message to Luks. Luks’s eyes widened as he read it, but he suppressed the urge to panic. He needed a cool head just now, and he needed help.

  “Pearl, wake up,” he said, kneeling beside Sheyn.

  “What is it?” Sheyn blinked groggily.

  “We have to pack. The army is moving.”

  “When?”

  “Now. Get up and help me, please.”

  Sheyn sighed. “I haven’t rested well since I came to Kandaar,” he said as he got to his feet. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

  By the time Kholya sent a detachment to strike the tent, Luks and Sheyn had the commander’s belongings ready to be loaded on a wagon.

  “Are we going to be loaded like the rest of the baggage?” Sheyn said.

  “The things you say!” Luks made a comically scandalized face.

  “You have definite potential,” Sheyn said. “It’s only a matter of time before you’re talking back to your master.”

  Instead of the smile Sheyn was hoping for, Luks looked troubled. “I don’t have a master,” he said. “Prince Kholya has not claimed me.”

  “Why not?” Sheyn was genuinely surprised.

  “I don’t know, but when I find the fault in me, I will correct it. Prince Kholya would be a very good master.”

  “What if the fault lies in him? Maybe he prefers women.”

  “That has nothing to do with it.”

  “How can the commander’s preference have nothing to do with it?”

  “He’s a man of power and will, a prince and a warrior. He’s exactly the sort of man Anaali created the daaksim for. A man like him can no more resist me than I can resist—” Luks stopped speaking when Kholya’s quartermaster approached and addressed him.

  “Very neat job,” the quartermaster said, looking everywhere but at Luks and Sheyn. “I’m to tell you that an escort will arrive shortly to take you to a wagon.”

  “Thank you,” Luks said, bowing slightly as the man moved away. “Yes, the commander would be a good master,” he said to Sheyn. “With all that he has on his mind right now, he still spared a thought for us, even though neither of us belong to him.”

  “He does seem to be a decent sort,” Sheyn said. “His brother, on the other hand….”

  “Prince Kholya is several years older. He has more experience. Give Prince Kashyan time, and he’ll become a man like his brother.”

  “How much older?” Sheyn seized on the most interesting item in Luks’s speech.

  “At least ten years. The gossip in the royal courts said that Savaan’s queen was barren, and then she gave birth to a second son, nine months after her abduction by Sumadi raiders.”

  “Thus proving Savaan’s king impotent,” Sheyn said. “He should’ve claimed the child and saved his pride.”

  “Ah, but the baby’s eyes were the same color as Prince Yevdjen’s.”

  “You speak as though you were there.”

  “I was presented to Prince Yevdjen by his father on the prince’s thirteenth nameday.”

  “That’s not possible. You can’t be any older than me. In fact, you look younger than me.”

  “I was born forty-two years ago.”

  Sheyn looked into Luks’s eyes. “You’re not lying,” he said. “But you look like a lad of sixteen.”

  “I was sixteen when the ritual was performed.” Luks smiled. “Did I forget to mention that we age very slowly?”

  “I would remember a detail like that. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?”

  “I did tell you.”

  “You said the original ten didn’t age.”

  “We age but very, very slowly.”

  “Tell me more.”

  Luks and Sheyn talked and watched the quartermaster direct the loading of the cart until their escort arrived. Four Black Hawk troopers stopped in front of Sheyn and Luks, and their leader spoke.

  “I’m Sergeant Leksi. Captain Kashyan has given me and my comrades the honor of escorting you to your wagon.”

  “I know you,” Sheyn said. “You were there… in the Temple. You fought that thing.”

  The trooper bowed, straightened up, and tossed the light brown bangs out of his eyes. “I had the honor to fight beside the Bastard,” he said. “I’m happy you’re all right.”

  “Accept my gratitude,” Sheyn said. “You fought well.”

  Leksi maintained his bearing, but it was obvious that he was pleased by Sheyn’s praise. “I’m a Savaani horseman.
So I have a reputation to uphold.”

  Luks cleared his throat delicately.

  Leksi took the hint. “We shouldn’t delay any longer.” He and another trooper preceded Sheyn and Luks, while the other pair walked behind the daaksim. They went to the edge of the camp where the draft animals were usually pastured. All the beasts were now harnessed to laden wagons and carts surrounded by men carrying burdens.

  “Why are we leaving?” Sheyn asked.

  “It’s common knowledge around camp, so I don’t think the captain will mind if I tell you.” Leksi glanced back at Sheyn and Luks. “We’re leaving because King Kezlath sent soldiers to take you—” He glanced at Sheyn again “—back to the Temple. The commander refused to give you up, and now there are Muergathi troops lined up on the town side of the camp. Also, General Ognyan has claimed the Sumadi crown, married the queen, and formally adopted the dead king’s son. He sent a message demanding the Bas—Captain Kashyan’s head. The commander refused him too.”

  “What makes you think the Muergathim will let you go?” Sheyn asked.

  “They’re Muergathi. We’re Savaani. If they stand in our way, we’ll march over them.”

  “After watching you and your comrades fight that demon, I’m inclined to believe you.”

  “I’m glad you have a good opinion of our fighting skill,” Leksi said. “We’ll do our best to protect you… both of you.”

  “Thank you,” Luks said.

  “Here’s your cart,” Leksi said. “You’ll be riding with the bedding, so you’ll have a soft journey.”

  “Where are we going?” Sheyn asked.

  “You’ll have to ask the commander,” Leksi said. “There’ll be a detail of soldiers around your wagon at all times. Make yourselves comfortable. It shouldn’t be much longer before we move out.” He bowed and walked away, leaving behind two men as guards.

  “You shouldn’t do that,” Luks said as he and Sheyn climbed into the back of the covered oxcart.

  Sheyn settled himself on a stack of down-filled pallets. “What did I do this time?”

  “You shouldn’t flirt with them. It’s a sure way to bring trouble on yourself.”