by Ada Haynes
Trust Jeffrey to always think ahead, she reflected.
He gave it directly to Ekbeth, without consulting her. She did not care. After all, it had been the original plan to give it to him.
She just said, “You have to promise you won’t open this envelope, Ekbeth.”
Ekbeth frowned when he read the name written on the envelope.
Shona knew what the elegant and totally exotic alphabet meant, as well as who the addressee was. So she understood his reaction.
He looked at her. “I would not dare open the mail of our Aramalinyia, Shona. Even though I have to admit I am curious about the identity of the writer. This way of writing is a bit old-fashioned nowadays. We are not using so many points on the ‘nyi’ letter anymore, for example.”
Shona did not answer the implicit question. “Are you going to deliver it yourself?”
“No. That won’t be necessary, Shona. But she’ll get it, don’t worry.”
One instant the letter was in his hand. The next it was not.
“Nice trick, Ekbeth.”
“Indeed. But it’s not much more complicated than putting your hand through a wall or walking through a door. So, any insight as to what happened to the jewels so far, Shona?”
She looked around her and recognized the place. The shelves filled with beautiful jade sculptures were enough indication. Ekbeth’s private floor. They had brought her there to trigger her memory, she realized.
But it was no use. She just could not remember.
Oh, she could remember how she had felt after the sex. Exhilarated. And every detail of what they had done to each other. The pleasure of it. And that she had not been able to resist the temptation of putting her hands through his safe. The idea of swapping the stone for the ring had come later. She had just wanted to prove to herself that she was still able to do it.
And she had. But she had felt dizzy after extracting her hands from the steel door. She’d heard Ekbeth opening the bathroom door just at that moment. So she had acted without thinking. She could only remember having put the stone in the only cavity she could think of. Nothing else.
“Those jewels are important to you, Ekbeth?”
“Not only to me, Shona. You should know that.”
“But I don’t. Oh, I know who you are and I certainly was told about the Valley when I was a child. But I’ve never been there myself. And I certainly never heard of those jewels.”
Ekbeth got close to her and whispered, “You should at least know better than to discuss the Valley so openly. It is a secret.”
She wanted to laugh, but her ribs reminded her that this was not such a good idea.
“For someone who was referring to the As’mirin so freely a moment ago, that’s rich! I’m sure no one in this house is unaware of your famous secret, Ekbeth. Those people have been working for you for years. They must be used to seeing you appear and disappear as if by magic. I had to explain a few things to Matheson when we started working together. Otherwise he would have freaked out!”
“Actually, girl, I did freak out!” Matheson chimed in.
She smiled at Matheson, then returned her attention to Ekbeth. “What is so special about this stone, Ekbeth?”
He only hesitated slightly before answering.
“Not only the stone. The whole set. We call the set the Annilis jewels. They are very ancient. The only thing we have kept of the first civilization before the apocalypse.”
She was not sure what he was referring to exactly, and he saw that, because he added, “That means more than ten thousand years old, Shona.”
Wow! She kept her voice neutral. “Interesting.”
He nodded. “Indeed. I brought them here to get the set cleaned before the Aras’arisidz. Do you know what I’m referring to?”
That at least she had heard of. From her own brother. A long time ago.
She nodded. “Your Goddess Ara’s thanks, which are celebrated every ten years. Is this going to happen soon?”
“The ceremony starts at nightfall, in two days. Hence the urgency in getting them back, as they are part of the fourth day celebrations. So, you do know a few things about your heritage, Shona.”
Heritage. She hated that word. “I’m not interested in claiming that so-called heritage, Ekbeth.”
“Still you belong to a family, willing or not.”
“My real family has rejected me. Maire and Jeffrey are my family now.”
She could not help but sound slightly bitter when she said that. But Ekbeth misinterpreted her words. He had no clue of what she was referring to, of course.
“I can imagine not even the McLeans would be proud of having an official thief among them.”
She hissed at that. “I’m not a McLean, Ekbeth. And they’re certainly not my friends either.”
Then she cursed loudly. Damn those ribs!
Ekbeth frowned. “Is it that painful? I could give you something to lessen the pain…”
She gritted her teeth. “How considerate of you! I’ll survive. Now, if you could leave me alone, I’d be able to work at remembering.”
She felt something resting on her chest. It was light, but she was quite sensitive to any change of weight right now. She was sure it had not been there a second earlier.
She looked and saw that a blue piece of paper was now on her chest. Ekbeth picked it up, opened it and frowned while reading. “Damn!”
“What is it, Ekbeth?”
“The Aramalinyia’s answer to your letter. She wants to see you. Now.”
He left the room.
Shona was still getting over the news when Ekbeth returned with a pile of clothes and a woman.
“See me? But…”
“Yes, that means I have to send you to the Valley. Kalem will go with you. Don’t discuss the missing jewels with anyone there! No one is aware of the fact in the Valley yet. And please do behave. You don’t want to antagonize the Aramalinyia.”
Shona felt a light panic. “I don’t want to go, Ekbeth! You can’t force me!”
Jeffrey added, “This is not what we agreed on.”
Ekbeth nodded his head. “True. But that woman’s words are law in the Valley. I can’t ignore her request.”
He stared at her. “Can you walk?”
“No. Stand is already asking too much of me.”
If she had hoped lying would offer her a delay, she was soon disappointed.
“I’ll get Nukri, that’s our Caller, to transfer you to the main hall of the Aramalinyia’s house. A bit unusual, but they should accept this if I explain the situation to them.”
She frowned. “The situation? Are you going to tell them you’ve tortured me? Because that’ll sure attract questions.”
“What torture? You fell down the staircase!”
The man was thinking of everything.
“You speak some As’mir?” he asked.
Again she lied. “No.”
“Mmh…I think the Aramalinyia speaks some English. Otherwise Kalem will translate. Now, we can’t let you go there with those clothes. The Aramalinyia is a stickler to proper attire, and by this I mean As’mir ones. Those are my niece’s, but they should be fine for you. My cleaning lady is going to help you put them on.”
Shona panicked. There was no way she was going to the Valley, to that old woman. And with Kalem of all people!
She concentrated really hard. She knew As’mirin were doing it all the time, but she had never had any proper training. She had done it before, but it had never been easy. If she thought of a place hard enough she could actually get there as if through magic. Most of the time, she would be fainting from exhaustion immediately after, but this was a desperate situation. She had to get out of here!
But it did not work. She tried harder but the familiar tingling sensation was just not there. Then she remembered what Ekbeth had said. The drug they had forced down her throat earlier. It was blocking her abilities.
She could not transfer herself out of this and, physically, she was
never going to reach any further than this room door, if that.
She looked accusingly at Ekbeth. “Bastard!”
She did not like his smile at all. He was too happy with himself, right now! She had to admit it—she could not do much right now, other than obey the Aramalinyia’s order.
Jeffrey helped her stand and then, with the woman’s help, got her undressed and dressed again.
Ekbeth was looking absently at the process.
“While the drug prevents you to use your special talents, any As’mir holding you can get you transferred with him. That’s how Kalem is going to bring you to Kse’Annilis, our city. Now, any idea why the Aramalinyia wants to see you?”
Shona shook her head. She knew Keremli had asked her to bring the letter herself. That was, perhaps, the reason. If Keremli had written about her in the letter, the old woman was probably curious to meet her.
The cleaning lady had just finished draping the loose robe around her. The tissue was amazingly soft against her skin. Pity it was so cumbersome. And black.
Kalem entered the room. Shona and he exchanged mutually wary glances. Ekbeth did not seem to notice. He explained to Kalem the latest development, and what he wanted.
In As’mir, which Shona was not supposed to understand.
Then he turned towards Shona. “I hope the Aramalinyia won’t keep you long. See you later, Shona! Think of the jewels!”
Kalem grabbed her right arm. Hard. This time she allowed herself to panic. She did not want to go to the Valley! “Wait!”
But a sense of dislocation she recognized too well told her she was too late.
Willing or not, she was going to meet the old woman.
12
The sun was setting above the lake and neither Shona nor Kalem had returned yet.
Matheson had accepted Ekbeth’s offer to share his dinner, but Ekbeth could see the man was growing impatient.
Only, there was nothing they could do but wait.
“This place they’ve gone to, where is it?” Matheson asked.
Ekbeth shook his head. “I’m not allowed to tell you, Matheson.”
Then he noticed the mobile phone in the other man’s hand. He could recognize a map on the display screen. “Is this how you knew she was in my house? Did you put a tracking device on her?”
Matheson pinched his lips, and curtly nodded.
Ekbeth was curious. “Is that not a bit extreme?”
“If you had been around her as long as I have, Ekbeth, you’d do exactly the same. The girl is troubled; she can disappear for days at time, leaving us to worry about her whereabouts. Being able to track at least her location has been a big help. I wish we had thought of this earlier, in fact.”
“Ah. That death wish of hers?”
Matheson nodded, with a sorrowful expression. “That. Or when someone like you is determined to harm her.”
Ekbeth ignored that last part. He pointed to the mobile phone. “You won’t be able to track her where she is now.”
Matheson sighed. “I realize that. I really hope your bodyguard is not using that fact for persisting in his torture.”
Ekbeth shook his head and was about to reply when Kalem appeared in the room, out of nowhere. Without Shona.
Kalem’s face was ashen. That fact worried Ekbeth more than the absence of the woman. In all the years Kalem had been working for him, Ekbeth had never seen him look so perturbed.
Kalem bowed so low before him that his head almost touched the floor. “I’ve some bad news, Akeneires’el.”
Matheson was on his feet. “Where is she?”
Kalem did not look at either of them as he said, “The Aramalinyia refused to let me participate in her conversation with the thief. But after two hours I asked one of the servants what was happening behind the doors.” He shook his head. “All I was told is that she’s been sent to our ancestors for judgment.”
Ekbeth inhaled sharply. He certainly had not foreseen this.
Matheson was furious. “I knew I could not trust you! You’ve killed her!”
Ekbeth shook his head vehemently, but the other man did not believe him. “Sending someone to his ancestors has only one meaning to me, Ekbeth! You’ve killed her.”
“We use the expression differently. It is a test, Matheson.”
Ekbeth hesitated a few seconds. This was not something he should discuss with this man but, then, he also needed to quiet him. There were three armed people waiting outside and while Ekbeth was certain Kalem and his own men could handle them, he’d rather avoid bloodshed if he could.
“I can try to explain but I’m not sure you will understand.”
At that, Matheson produced a thin smile. “I’ve been around a woman who can walk through walls for years. It now seems she’s not the only one able to do this. I’m open to believe anything you’ll tell me.”
Ekbeth looked thoughtfully at Kalem for a moment and then made a decision. “Very well. Think of our dead ancestors as ghosts. Ghosts we can communicate with, if needed.”
Matheson sat back slowly. “Go on.”
“Shona shares our blood, but is not officially part of our community. She told us herself she’s never been to our own place before. Under normal circumstances, she’d always have a right to visit it. But ours is a very close community.”
Kalem snorted at that. Ekbeth smiled briefly, in response. “Or rather, acceptance as an outsider is difficult, no matter what your birthright. One way to gain it is to put oneself through what we called the Oyyads’erel. If you manage it, you gain a lot of prestige in the eyes of our people. In fact, you become pretty untouchable.”
Matheson was suspicious. “And what happens during that test?”
“You go and meet our ancestors, at least your soul does, and they decide whether you’re worthy of being integrated in the community.”
“And if that’s not the case?”
“Then you don’t come back. And, yes, that means you die.”
Matheson’s lips became very thin. “So I was right.”
Ekbeth shook his head. “As far as I can remember, most people survive the test.”
“Sure. That’s why your bodyguard is so cool about it. Shona is not ‘most people’ I don’t think you’re so-called ancestors will judge her favorably. Most people don’t.”
“Why did she ask to pass the test, then?”
Kalem intervened. “She didn’t, Akeneires’el. The servant told me they were already making the preparation while waiting for us. Whoever wrote the letter requested that the woman be put through the test and the Aramalinyia obliged him, or her.”
Matheson cursed. Ekbeth inquired, “Who wrote that letter, Matheson?”
The other man shook his head. “Can’t tell. I don’t get it. I would expect her to be the last person to want to harm Shona. It does not make sense.”
So, it was a woman who was behind this. And someone the Aramalinyia respected enough to perform a ceremony that would be quite taxing to her energy. Some use of drugs was involved, as well—not something Matheson needed to know—but the Aramalinyia had to send the soul of the Oyyad to the ancestors herself. And she would be using energy that she needed for the upcoming ceremonies.
The Aramalinyia was not so young anymore. And while she was fair, she was not known to favor anyone. Most intriguing.
And there was the small issue of the Kadj’dur. The jade ring had been thought lost for a long time. Ekbeth tried to remember the details. One of his ancestors had lost it, but he could not remember which one. They had found it again less than ten years ago—in very curious circumstances, but nobody cared about circumstances. The important fact was that the ring was back.
It was not as prestigious as the Annilis jewels, nothing was, but it had almost as much symbolic and emotional value. It marked the end of an era and the start of a new one. It was the last jewel created by a full blood As’mir before their people had been exterminated, and, as such, was cherished by their half-blood descendants.
&nbs
p; But although the Annilis jewels were normally safeguarded behind strong walls and rarely displayed, the Kadj’dur had been used as the Na Duibhnes’ Akeneires’elin’s wedding ring. That is, until it had been lost.
After it had again been found, Ekbeth had allowed his cousin Lyrian to offer it to his own wife, to the rest of his family’s outrage. Perhaps not a good thing, as Lyrian’s wedding had been an unlucky one, while the ring was supposed to bring luck. Ekbeth knew some family members thought this was because the ring had not been worn by the rightful person. Superstition.
One of his uncles or another member of his family regularly asked him to claim the ring back. So far, he had always refused. Apparently, someone had decided to take a more direct approach herself.
But what was the link with Shona and the Oyyads’erel? Why the letter? Ekbeth shook his head. He was certain he would get the solution to this puzzle at some point of time.
Shona and the Oyyads’erel.
This was a damn inconvenience. Kalem was right to be unhappy about it. They could not communicate with Shona as long as she was being tested. Every hour her soul was out there, was one hour less to find the jewels back in time.
If she did not wake up before the beginning of the Aras’arisidz, the Valley would be closed and Ekbeth would have to explain why he did not have the jewels with him. Worse, unless she died, Ekbeth would have to support the full blame for having lost the jewels—because their ancestors would already have judged her for that.
Damn!
They still had two full days before the ceremony. He had to keep believing he was going to solve this in time.
And if not, maybe, maybe she would remember what she’d done with the jewels and that might be enough to save him. It would require a lot of skillful manipulation on his part, but he might have a chance there.
Of course, there was also the small possibility that she would never wake up. He did not want to think about it.
“There’s something else, Akeneires’el.”
Ekbeth frowned at his bodyguard. More bad news? What could be worse than Shona being unavailable for the coming hours?