Upon a Burning Throne

by Ashok K. Banker

  All night the battle continued; hundreds, perhaps thousands of animals died or were injured. But thousands upon thousands of assassins also died, and by the time the first faint light of dawn was creeping across the eastern sky, the corpses lay across the forest, human and animal alike, all intermingled.

  Those animals who had survived the battle and were still able to stand, rewarded themselves by feeding on the corpses of their enemy. Those who were not meat eaters made do with a well-deserved meal of leaves, herbs, fruits. Or, in the case of the bears, honey from honeycombs hanging from trees: rich, dripping, full of nourishing sweetness, they consumed it with great relish, the golden treat washing away the blood around those great jaws and massive teeth.

  Mayla

  Shvate, Mayla, and Karni found the children soon after the battle began. They joined the Krushan and watched in wonderment the charge of the beasts and the clash of the two armies.

  A few assassins who succeeded in making it past the animals alive had the Krushan family to contend with. Barely a few dozen succeeded in making it that far, and those poor souls were dispatched easily by the two mothers and the father.

  The children were not permitted to fight, on the strict orders of their parents.

  “What you have done, summoning the beasts of the forest and enlisting their aid, has already ensured the safety of our hermitage and the survival of our family,” Shvate told them, “but you are still too young to fight your own battles. As your parents, it would shame us if we permitted our own little children to risk their lives while we yet stand able to protect you.”

  Four of the Five accepted their parents’ decision. Only Brum took it sourly.

  “Brum fight,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “Fight!” she said, stamping her foot.

  Karni raised her finger in warning. Brum subsided, hanging her big round head. “Brum,” she said in resignation.

  Karni patted and then kissed her on the head. The girl sulked but accepted the decision.

  The Krushan were forced to retreat to the clearing, to wait there till their parents returned. Finally at dawn, the three adults returned, their clothes and bodies marked and stained from the battle, their arrows depleted, their spears all gone, their swords nicked and scored. They themselves were unharmed, barring a few scratches. Shvate had a cut across his chest that had become encrusted with blood, Karni a slash across her back and one shoulder, but Mayla was unmarked and proud of it.

  “Battle? Finish?” Brum asked, turning her hand this way and that to indicate “finish.” She sounded hopeful even now.

  Her parents took turns kissing her and the other Krushan. “All finished,” they said. Then they embraced as a group, savoring the joy of still being alive together, still able to breathe and feel one another’s warmth, see each other’s faces and smiles, to press hands.

  They were alive. They had survived. They were together. What else mattered?

  They walked together through the battlefield, the jungle strewn with corpses for scores of miles all around the clearing in a large concentric circle. They marked the passing of the brave beasts who died fighting for their cause and noted the great number of assassins who had been sent. Mayla felt that even if the animals had not intervened, they might still have managed to fend them off. She was still riding high on the aftermath of the victory.

  “Yes, we might have,” Karni said sharply. “But at what price? A single casualty? Two? Three?”

  Mayla looked at the little heads of their children, and her bravado faded at once. “None,” she said softly, “none at all.” She said no more about fighting a thousand assassins. Even heroism had its limits. They all knew that without the beasts of the jungle rising up on their behalf, they would surely have failed. Especially when even a single casualty meant failure.

  They were about to start back to the hermitage when two figures appeared out of the still smoky jungle.

  Brum raised her fists at once. “Men!”

  The two men came into sight, raising their arms to show they were not a threat.

  “Vida!” Shvate said with pleasure.

  Karni recognize the familiar mustached face of Adran, her former charioteer, and felt a twinge of guilt. She glanced behind the man, her gaze low, as if searching for someone else following. Mayla noticed and frowned, wondering whom she might be seeking.

  “Brother!” Vida cried. The two siblings embraced with warmth.

  Adran bowed his head in greeting to the two princesses and prince. “You are well, Princess Karni?” he asked.

  “I am. And your family?” she asked. “Are they well?” Her voice had a trace of some emotion that Mayla had never heard before.

  “They are well,” Adran said, “by your grace and Mother Jeel’s blessings.”

  Vida cleared his throat, attracting their attention. Everyone looked at him. “I regret that I come bearing dire tidings.”

  The Five

  Later that same morning, Vida sat with the others in their hut. They had all taken time to bathe and change their garments and feed themselves. All were tired but also jubilant from the night’s success, though the deaths of so many brave creatures had been devastating. They honored the beasts that had volunteered to lay down their lives in service of the Krushan; they were the true heroes of the battle.

  “It will be sunrise in a few moments,” Karni said. “Guru Vessa will be coming to take us to Hastinaga. You and your charioteer can come with us as well, surely.”

  Vida shook his head. “I cannot say, sister-in-law. I was sent here on a special mission. Jeel Goddess herself, and her son Vrath, tasked me with delivering an important message. I come to deliver the message. Whatever happens after that is up to you to decide.”

  In their room, the five Krushan sat in an array of postures, all listening eagerly to the conversation of the adults.

  “What is the message?” Shvate said. “Speak it now and deliver yourself of the burden.”

  Vida took a deep breath. “A great threat approaches. An army unlike anything you have encountered before comes to ensure your destruction. It will be upon your household within the day, perhaps even within the hour.”

  Shvate stared at Vida, then turned and looked at Mayla and Karni. They looked back at him, equally nonplussed.

  “An army?” he said. “Attacking us? Vida, my brother, did you not see the battle in the jungle last night?”

  “I did,” Vida said.

  “What was that if not an army?”

  “It was an army,” Vida agreed.

  “And it was hell-bent on destroying us all,” Shvate said.

  “It was,” Vida said.

  Shvate sat back, smiling, and spread his hands. “So the threat that you come to warn us of has already been thwarted. Our house is saved, our family survives this crisis, and we are all whole of body and mind. We thank you for the warning, but it is no longer relevant. The crisis is past, the danger averted, the threat demolished.”

  Mayla nodded. “Soon the great Vessa will be here, and we shall all go home together to Hastinaga. To reclaim Shvate’s birthright.”

  Vida frowned. “You mean . . .”

  “Yes,” Karni said, “Guru Vessa persuaded Shvate that Hastinaga deserves a king of his talents. Now that he has produced heirs, the stigma of his earlier mistake is erased. The responsibility of leading the empire once again lies on his shoulders. He is to return to Hastinaga, rescind his abdication, and ascend the throne. Guru Vessa himself has said he will ensure this happens, and to that end, he has told us to be prepared to go with him when he comes to fetch us at sunrise this day.”

  “This is wonderful news, my brother, my sisters-in-law. Truly I could not think to hear of anything better. It will be a grand day again in Hastinaga when you return and reclaim the Burning Throne. If ever there was a Krushan destined to greatness it was you, brother Shvate! This is the happiest day of my life. I am privileged to be here on such a great day.”

  Vida paused, then continued, “But
I fear that all may not be as well as we believe it to be. For one thing, there is still the threat of the army that approaches. Now even the beasts of the jungle are all slaughtered. How will the Krushan defend themselves against yet another great enemy?”

  Shvate and his wives all frowned and looked at each other.

  “Vida, what are you saying?” Shvate asked. “We have already told you, the army came, it attacked, and it was destroyed. You saw the corpses yourself. They are finished. We won the battle. There is no more threat.”

  Vida looked at him soberly, then shook his head slowly. “I wish it were so, brother. But Jeel Goddess and Vrath cannot have been wrong. A god knows things that we mortals can never even hope to learn or understand. They tasked me with this mission, saying quite clearly that the threat that comes will not be of a human nature. And those assassins that came last night, though they were of a demonic aspect, were in fact all quite human. I examined their corpses afterward, to be sure of it. They are all too mortal.”

  “What do you mean, ‘not of a human nature’?” Karni asked, alarmed. “What are you saying?”

  In the room next door, the five small faces were all screwed up with concentration, listening intently. Brum was chewing on her lower lip as she listened.

  “I am saying, sister-in-law Karni, that the attack last night was a different attack altogether. It is not that of the army that I came to warn you of, but another one altogether. Goddess Jeel and Vrath’s instructions were quite clear and precise. The attack will be of a supernatural nature. And it will be very powerful and nearly beyond human ability to defend against. I fear that threat is yet to come!”

  Shvate and his wives studied each other’s faces, aghast at the implications behind Vida’s words. The five Krushan stared at each other as well, all silent for once.

  Mayla rose to her feet and went to the doorway. “Sunrise came and went while we were talking. It is now several minutes past. Yet there is no sign of Guru Vessa.”

  Vida sighed and released his breath. “So that is what they meant.”

  Shvate, Mayla, and Karni all looked at him.

  Vida saw their faces and nodded. “Goddess Jeel and Vrath said one more thing. They said that though they both would dearly want to come and assist you in repelling this demonic threat that approaches, they are unable to do so.”

  “Unable?” Karni asked. “But Jeel is a goddess and Vrath a demigod!”

  “Even so,” Vida said heavily, “they are forbidden from taking part in this conflict. It is the same with Vessa and any other elders of the family. Whatever this terrible crisis, you must face it as a family and endure it as best as you can. That is the complete message I was sent to deliver. I have told you all that I know. Forgive me for bringing such terrible tidings, but tragic as it is, I felt that the sooner I brought it to you, the sooner you would know what to expect.”

  “Then even Guru Vessa will not come to our aid?” Mayla asked.

  Vida spread his hands. “I do not know if he will not or cannot, but Vrath said that there are powerful evil forces aligned against you, and Vessa may well be occupied battling them in some other realm. Perhaps that is why he has not arrived here at the appointed time. As Shvate knows well, Guru Vessa never arrives late or fails to keep his word.”

  “Never,” Shvate agreed, his voice hollow.

  Karni rubbed her forehead with the heel of her palm. “Then we are isolated and alone. Not only are we not to go to Hastinaga today, we are still to face an even greater threat. A new army. A supernatural, demonic one. And this time we will not even have the beasts of the jungle to fight with us. We stand alone.”

  “No,” Shvate said, rising and embracing both his wives. “We stand together, as one. We are family. We are Krushan. We are Krushan. We shall fight.”

  And with those words, he took up his sword.

  “The time for fighting is past. It is time to celebrate and claim your true heritage.”

  The voice came from the doorway of the hut. A tall figure loomed, his wild hair and unruly beard unmistakable even in silhouette.

  “Guru Vessa!” Shvate put down his sword and went to his biological father, paying his respects. “I knew you would not let us down. Even when Vida said you had been detained elsewhere, I knew you would keep your promise.”

  Mayla and Karni paid their respects to the guru as well. “Great One, we are so pleased to see you. It has been a night of terrors.”

  “Indeed,” said the seer-mage. “You have survived a veritable invasion. Though I know the Krushan are legendary warriors, I would not have believed it had I not seen the mangled corpses of your enemy with my own eyes. Just the four of you against that horde? Incredible.”

  “We were aided by the beasts of the animal kingdom,” Karni said, “summoned by our intrepid young rascals.”

  “I see,” said Vessa. He was silent a moment. “So the next generation of Krushan are already proving themselves. If they can accomplish such feats as mere toddlers, barely three years of age, one can only imagine what heights they will attain when they come of age.”

  “Each of them alone is an army,” said Mayla proudly. “They are gifted with great powers.”

  “Great Father, we have already prepared ourselves for the journey,” Shvate said. “We should leave for Hastinaga at once. Vida has informed us that there is another army coming to attack us.”

  Vessa glanced in Vida’s direction. He sat silently in the corner, glancing up at the tall mage, with a crease lining his forehead. “Good Vida. Friend and advisor to the Krushan heirs. Whatever would they do without you?”

  Shvate paused, looking from Vessa to Vida and back uncertainly, then regarded Karni and Mayla, both of whom watched curiously as well. They sensed as much as he did that the guru was in an uncharacteristic mood.

  “Vida,” Shvate asked slowly, “will you not greet our great father? He is as much your sire as mine and Adri’s.”

  Still, Vida remained seated, staring up silently at Vessa with the same frown on his face. He didn’t seem to have heard Shvate’s question at all.

  “Vida?” Karni said, now starting to look anxious. “Is all well?”

  Vida rose to his feet suddenly, pointing at the seer-mage. “That,” he said in an odd tone, “is not Guru Vessa.”

  Mayla gasped, then covered her mouth with her hand. “Vida! Show some respect.”

  Shvate’s eyes widened. He looked at Vessa, then at Vida again. “What do you mean, brother?”

  Vida swallowed nervously. “It cannot be Vessa. He is a thousand dimensions from here. Besides, the scar that ought to be on his right shoulder is on his left forearm.” He paused, looking agitated. “This is an imposter.”

  There was complete silence for a moment.

  In the adjoining room, the Five stared at each other, eyes as wide and alert as their father’s. Brum’s fists clenched as she mouthed her favorite two words silently. Yudi got to his feet, the others following his example.

  Vessa glowered at Vida for another moment.

  Then he began to chuckle softly.

  He ended the chuckle with a small sound, like that of a man clearing his throat.

  He took a step forward, coming from shadow into light.

  In that fraction of a second, he transformed, as easily as a liquid ripple, from Guru Vessa into the even taller, hunched form of Jarsun.

  Still moving, he continued taking the next step, directly toward Shvate.

  Shvate lunged for the sword he had put down only a few moments ago.

  Karni moved in another direction, going for her own blade.

  Mayla stood still, gaping with shock.

  Vida took a step back.

  Even as Shvate’s fingers touched the hilt of the sword, the five Krushan infants burst into the room, ready for battle. Karni reached her blade and turned in the same motion, moving toward the imposter. Mayla broke out of her stupor and snarled, throwing herself bare-handed at Jarsun. Only Vida hung back, knowing better than to join in.r />
  They were all too slow to respond.

  Jarsun’s fingertips reached Shvate’s throat even as the Krushan prince’s fingertips touched the hilt of the sword.

  Except Jarsun’s fingertips were not fingertips.

  They struck at Shvate’s throat with five undulating snake heads, each barely the width of a fingernail. The most venomous snakes are often the smallest. Five snakes sank their fangs deep into Shvate’s throat, injecting their venom into his blood.

  By the time Shvate’s hand closed around the hilt of the sword, the venom had already reached his heart. He fell to the floor, mouth foaming, eyes bulging, skin turning blue, feet hammering a death tattoo.

  Jarsun took another step—Karni’s shortsword swung toward his chest—and stepped into a portal that opened instantly, engulfed him in its dark embrace, and closed immediately after. The faint odor of stale rice wine lingered briefly, then dissipated.

  Karni’s shortsword passed through empty air, catching only a few threads of the robe that Jarsun had been wearing, producing a single drop of his blood, and meeting no resistance.

  Mayla struck at nothing.

  The five children of Shvate, Karni, and Mayla cried out in rage and despair.

  Jarsun was gone, leaving only a sudden gust of wind through the hut and an odor of strange fruit and alien flowers.

  Then everyone’s attention turned to Shvate.

  But it was too late.

  Shvate was dead.

  Adri

  “Adri?” a voice called softly.

  Adri sighed. “Are my chambers now a part of the city thoroughfare? Can a prince of Krushan no longer enjoy any privacy in his own palace?”