Kadj'el (The As'mirin Book 1)

by Ada Haynes

  Kalem, call all the bodyguards and go to the McLeans’ house. Protect them.

  The briefest pause and then Kalem confirmed the order. Ekbeth hoped this would be enough. The As’mir bodyguards were the best you could find, even on the Other Side, but they were no more than a hundred, as only the Akeneires’elin and their most direct family were entitled to protection.

  A mere hundred against thousands. Ekbeth cringed, but it was his only hope. They were professionals. If Kalem managed to get hold of all of them on such short notice, a hundred of them should at least make the mad crowd pause.

  He kneeled again next to the Aramalinyia. He took hold of her shoulders and shook her until she opened her eyes and focused on him. “Aramalinyia, we need you. The community needs you.”

  She barely whispered, beginning to close her eyes again, “What she’s done…”

  He shook her again. “We’ll have time to discuss Kimiel tomorrow, Aramalinyia. Right now you need to save the McLeans.”

  She did not seem to understand. He had no time for this. “The community has turned against the McLeans, Aramalinyia. I’ve sent the bodyguards to protect them, but it won’t be enough. You need to address the crowd. Tell them this is not what Ara wants.”

  She was looking at him with such a vacant expression; he wondered whether she had heard him. This was too much for her, he realized. The Aramalinyia was too old for this. But then, finally, she nodded. “Help me to my feet, Akeneires’el. You’re right. I have to stop this madness.”

  She felt fragile under his arms, but, as they left the temple, she seemed to regain her strength.

  Ekbeth had another short mental discussion with Kalem, announcing their arrival, as he and the Aramalinyia climbed the steps to the McLeans’ house. They did not come very far before encountering the first angry As’mirin. The ceremonial area near the Lake was the only place large enough to contain the city’s entire population, and the narrow streets of Kse’Annilis, which confined the mob’s movement, were now a small blessing. Each step to the McLean household could fit only four people—even in a swarming crowd.

  He shouted, “Make way for the Aramalinyia!”

  Angry faces turned towards them, but the expressions quickly changed when they saw who was with him. The As’mirin pushed themselves against the walls to let Ekbeth and the Goddess’s voice pass.

  She looked into each face. They started bowing. She sighed. “Go home, children. This is not what the Goddess wants.”

  Ekbeth and the Aramalinyia continued moving toward the McLeans’ house. The Aramalinyia kept repeating her message. “This is not what the Goddess wants.”

  The As’mirin responded with agitated muttering, but after a moment of indecision started walking away.

  Ekbeth and the old woman finally reached the McLeans’ house. Broad giants of men clad in dark metal, who watched the people in front of them with stone faces, blocked the entrance. A bodyguard in armor was an impressive sight. A group of them made your blood freeze with fright.

  But Ekbeth noticed only the shattered wooden doors behind the giants. Too late. Kalem had gotten there too late.

  Walking alone now, the Aramalinyia approached the entrance and gave her message once more. “Go home.”

  The people closest to the house were not so easily subdued, though. Ekbeth noticed that some of them were wounded. The bodyguards had apparently not only been keeping a silent guard. He also noticed that most of the wounded were Na Duibhnes. Something else he would have to deal with. Later.

  The Aramalinyia’s voice rose strongly. “Go home. Justice will be brought; the High Council will meet tomorrow morning. But the McLeans have to be left unharmed. Ara does not wish their death.”

  Kalem came out of the McLean house at that moment. He, too, was wearing his armor, but his scowling face was very likely what made his nearest opponents take a step back. He growled, “You’ve heard the Aramalinyia. Enough blood has been spilled here tonight. Go home.”

  At last, the crowd scattered, if slowly. Kalem bowed deeply and let the Aramalinyia enter the house. Ekbeth walked to him and whispered, “How bad is it?”

  Kalem’s expression became grim. “Duncan McLean is dead, Akeneires’el. They mostly focused their attack on him. The rest have fared a bit better.”

  Later, Ekbeth discovered “a bit better” still meant that the rest of the McLeans needed to be brought to the house of the Na Saoilcheachs, the doctors of the community, and receive treatment for their wounds. But entering the house told him enough. It had been in a really bad state when he had come here, only three hours ago, to get Kimiel. But now… it was utterly destroyed.

  The Aramalinyia reappeared after a long time. She really looked her age this time, realized Ekbeth.

  “Ekbeth. Get these men to protect this place and its inhabitants. I need to think. I’ll see you at the Council tomorrow morning.”

  There was no celebration that night. Ekbeth barely slept. How could a single woman create such havoc? One moment, he had been moved by her voice as she was repeating that song with her family…in the next, total chaos. Matheson had warned him. Still he had not expected this—“bloody” consequences, indeed.

  The woman was mad. No doubt about it.

  27

  Shona woke up with a start. There was a small monkey sitting on her stomach, very busy with his lice. Where was she?

  She tried to get up and, before she knew it, she found herself with her head on the wooden floor and one of her feet still in the hammock in which she had apparently been sleeping. The hammock and the monkey helped her to realize where she was. Keremli’s place!

  She had fallen so many times off that hammock, that she had no doubt about her location. But what was she doing here? She concentrated. She was supposed to be in the Valley… Then everything came back to her. The oracle. The transfer. My! What had she done?

  “Hungry, Shona? I’ve made some soup.”

  Keremli was behind her. Shona finally managed to extricate her foot from the hammock and got to her feet. “I hate those things!”

  Her friend smiled calmly. “It was more difficult to put you in it than for you to get out of it. Have a seat.”

  Sitting was on the floor. This was what Shona really liked about this place—the simplicity of the accommodation. With the exception of the hammock.

  Keremli gave her a bowl filled with a thick broth. Shona had learned early on not to ask about the ingredients. Thankfully, a few years of living in Hong Kong had widened her taste for strange foods.

  The two women observed each other in silence for a moment.

  Keremli was an old woman—probably as old as the Aramalinyia, though her hair was still more gray than white. And they were both as dynamic as most women decades younger. But, while the Aramalinyia lived in relative luxury in that house by the Lake with all the servants and the community standing ready to answer her wishes, Keremli lived very simply, on her own, on the outskirts of a little village in the Malaysian jungle.

  The soup was actually quite good. For once. Certainly, Shona could not have done better. Her cooking talents were almost nonexistent.

  “You’ve cut your hair.”

  Shona smiled behind her bowl. “Someone cut my hair, Keremli. I first massacred it.”

  Damn. Shona had chewed on something jellylike. She was not going to investigate what it was. She swallowed it as fast as she could.

  “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Since you arrived. Two days.”

  Two days? This was the longest time ever that she’d fainted after a transfer.

  “I saw those faded bruises on your body and the bandages around your ribs, Shona. What have you done this time?”

  That woman was too clever for her own good. Shona prepared herself for whatever was coming. “The Aramalinyia got your letter, Keremli.”

  That certainly got the old woman’s full attention. Shona did not much care for the shrewd smile Keremli produced. She pointed at her accusingly. “That
was a very nasty trick you played on me, Keremli. You knew I did not want to go to the Valley! I found someone to bring your letter. But then the Aramalinyia insisted on seeing me. All because you had to tell her my sad personal story. I was given no choice.”

  Keremli just ignored her angry tone and clapped her hands in joy. “So you’ve been in Kse’Annilis! And the Aramalinyia has accepted you in the community! I knew she would listen to me! I’m glad! Your grandfather’s mistakes are finally repaired.”

  Shona scratched her forearm absently, dislodging a spider. “My grandfather, especially, was very furious when he learned he had to accept me back into his family. Still his. And Keremli, a bit of warning from your part would have been much appreciated. Being drugged to meet my supposed ancestors out of the blue was a surprise I could have lived without, as well as having them dissect my every single memory. It hurt, Keremli. Awfully.”

  Keremli’s eyes went huge. “Wait a second. The Aramalinyia put you through the Oyyads’erel?”

  Shona nodded. Keremli remained silent for at least five minutes, concentrating on her bowl, before whispering, “She bestowed you a great honor!”

  Shona grunted. “An honor I could have done without, Keremli. I did not want to go to Kse’Annilis, or become an Oyyad!”

  It was obvious Keremli was not going to offer any excuses for her trickery. She was too pleased that her plan had worked so well.

  “So, our ancestors have judged you good enough to be part of the community! That is a good surprise. They’ve seen beyond the façade. I would not have expected them to. What is your As’mir name?”

  “Ah! I’m not going to tell you that. I find it quite awful. Now, answer this, was it also part of your plan that I be married to your descendant, Ekbeth? Because the Aramalinyia has decided I had to accept that honor as well!”

  Keremli gawked. “No! Is she crazy?”

  That reaction seemed sincere. Shona ate a few more spoonsful of the soup, before putting the empty bowl on the floor. “My reaction exactly, though probably not for the same reasons. I could not stay, Keremli. I’m sorry. This was the first place that came to my mind.”

  Her friend’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What have you done exactly? Wait a second… The Oyyads’erel can only happen during the ceremonies of the Aras’arisidz. Oh my! You have not called yourself out of the Valley in the midst of the festivities, have you?”

  “It was that or marrying Ekbeth, Keremli! And we both just agreed this was a bad idea!”

  Keremli jumped to her feet and started pacing the living room. Shona had always thought nothing could trouble the serenity of this woman. Well, she had been wrong. Obviously.

  “You’ve broken one of Ara’s seven laws! This is a very grave offense you’ve committed, Shona. They are going to track you down and bring you back. For punishment!”

  Shona sighed. “Great! More punishment! The Oyyads’erel was already bad enough.”

  Keremli shook her head. “Take this seriously, please. I know you’ve been through a lot in your life, but… the Oyyads’erel is nothing compared to Ara’s trial, believe me! The drug they pour into you induces terrible internal and external physical pains and powerful hallucinations. You suffer so much, it is said, that you welcome death as a blessing.”

  “Wait a second. How do you know what that drug does? If it kills, how would you know what the victims felt?”

  Keremli sighed. “It is in our chronicles. Some survived the trial. Very, very few, though. And none had committed a crime as big as yours. Don’t start to hope. You won’t survive it.”

  Shona closed her eyes. That bad! She had known the Valley was closed, of course. But then… “I could not bear it anymore, Keremli. You have no idea how much pressure they were putting on me to accept Ekbeth’s proposal.”

  Keremli chuckled, unexpectedly. “Oh, that I can imagine. I’m actually surprised they asked for your agreement. They certainly never asked mine when my husband was chosen for me.”

  Shona nodded. “With the consequence that you left the Valley after two years of marriage, preferring banishment to continue living with the man! See! The timing might have been wrong, but I’m better off not accepting this.”

  “Your timing is not wrong, Shona. It’s terrible.”

  “Yes, I got that part already. It’s a bit late to go back there now, anyway, even if I could do that. So what do you think is going to happen next?”

  Keremli sat back on the floor and thought. “They’ll have to wait the end of the Aras’arisidz to start looking for you. How long does that leave us?”

  Shona made a rapid calculation. She had lost track of the time while in the Valley. Which was not surprising, with all that drugging and sleeping. “Six, maybe seven days.”

  “Mmh. That should be enough. There is a drug, it prevents you from using your As’mirin abilities, but also prevents the Caller from bringing you back to the Valley. It’s not difficult to prepare, just a bit lengthy.”

  Shona nodded. “I know about that drug. Ekbeth made me drink it to prevent me escaping from…” She stopped in mid-sentence, realizing she’d said too much. Damn!

  Keremli was observing her with squinted eyes again. “Escaping from where, Shona? Tell me everything! I can’t help you if you hide important details from me.”

  She was right, of course. Still Shona knew the old woman was not going to be pleased by what she was going to tell her.

  And she was correct in that.

  Keremli took her time to react. And she was very good at hiding her emotions. “I see. I never thought you would make such a mess of my assignment, Shona. Your friends warned me it was too soon. But you sounded so eager to help me! And look what you’ve done! I’ll never be able to return to the Valley now! Even if the Aramalinyia pardons me for having sent you to the Valley and created all this disturbance, Ekbeth will never be willing to lift the banishment when he discovers I’m behind this!”

  “Well, you know me. You could have expected this to happen.”

  “Don’t play the innocent on me, please.”

  At that, Shona only shrugged. “I don’t think you’ll be blamed for my breaking of Ara’s rules, Keremli. The Aramalinyia won’t mention you, I’m sure. And Ekbeth is fair, if anything. And I have some good news. We discussed you with the Aramalinyia. She told me she’ll make sure Ekbeth accepts you back if you bring back the Kadj’dur.”

  “And how am I going to recover the ring now, do tell? Because you certainly complicated things for me. Lyrian is going to be even more on his guard than he already was.”

  Shona thought quickly and had to admit the older woman was right. “Maybe it’s time to stop hiding. Forget about getting the ring. Go to Ekbeth and explain to him how his precious cousin cheated you.”

  Keremli snorted.

  Shona had always trouble with Keremli’s derision. She exploded. “Damn it, Keremli! Yes, I messed up badly at that party. Seduced the wrong guy, stole from him. I paid for that. Kalem gave me a good trashing, as you’ve found out. But the rest was not a consequence of my acts! You got me to the Valley! And it was not a fairy tale being there! I was still hurting from Kalem’s special treatment, but I was sent to have a chat with the ancestors. And then had no time to get over the experience that people wanted to marry me to a perfect stranger! I may be certified crazy, but that’s still asking a lot of me!”

  Unexpectedly, Keremli grabbed Shona’s shoulders, hard. The old woman still had an amazing force in her hands. “Enough. We’ve been through this before, Shona. Everything you do has consequences. Everything. Think before acting! And yes, sometimes things happen to you because of others’ decisions. Accept it.”

  Shona looked into the deep green eyes of the old woman for a moment. This was not the first time she was hearing this, and Keremli had not been the only one.

  “I can’t undo what has happened, Keremli. And I’m not giving up on your mission. I’ll find a way to get the ring. Give me some time.”

  Keremli released h
er. “You don’t have time, girl. You should only concentrate on fleeing the As’mirin’s wrath. Forget about the ring.”

  Then she looked at her with a strange expression. “You didn’t do it on purpose, did you, Shona? Annoy the whole As’mirin community enough that they want you dead?”

  Shona shook her head. “Of course not. It was more of a spontaneous thing. The Aramalinyia tried to trick me with this oracle, you see.”

  Keremli’s smile turned mischievous. “Ah. This explains that little jade pebble I found in your hand when you appeared here, unconscious. I suppose Ekbeth drew the twin of the stone?”

  “How do you know?”

  “Ah, just a guess. This was a good omen, you know. It seems unbelievable to me, but the stones have never lied.”

  “Don’t you start! I got the message, okay! Eternal love and everything. That’s why I escaped to here!”

  Keremli looked at her with intensity. “Condemning yourself to a death worse than a bad wedding by doing so. I haven’t spent so much time helping you to see you dead, Shona.”

  Shona shook her head. “I won’t let them catch me. As you said, they will only start chasing me after the end of the Aras’arisidz. That gives us a few days. It may be enough. Enough time for you to prepare the drug, and enough time for me to find a way to get the ring.”

  Keremli thought for a moment about this, but finally admitted Shona might be right. “And there’s one good thing! If you were drugged when you entered the Valley, the Caller has no mental memory of you in his head. He can’t call you back forcefully. And that’s very good. Because they’ll have to look for you in a human way, shall we say. But then Ekbeth is a very powerful man, and this time he’ll have the help of the whole community. You said they’ve found Jeffrey and Maire already. They’ll get to your family as well. Then Ekbeth will probably be able to trace you through your financial transactions.”