by Mike Carey
‘We’ve all done well here,’ she began. ‘However, our efforts will be wasted if our presence in Agorath is discovered. It’s been a long time now, and we have put by a fair amount of money – more than sufficient, I think, for the journey to Yrtsus. And we are starting to draw attention to ourselves. What Bethi and Nasreen discovered today has changed things. It is clear that Hakkim Mehdad is ruthless in the exercise of his power, and if we ever had doubts that he would seek us out, I think they are gone now. We have dwelt here long enough. We ought to buy what we need and set off before the end of the week.’
Although this had been the plan from the start, Zuleika’s words were met with a groan of dismay. Taliyah’s face crumpled as she set down her mortar and pestle, which Zeinab had bought her only that week to make the work of grinding pigments go more quickly. The powder she had been pounding spilled out into the sand. Warudu tutted. Umayma set her mouth in a hard line and stalked off towards the cave.
It had been the plan all along, the goal they had all been working towards, yet few of them, now that they were brought up against it, could quite stomach the prospect of leaving.
Even the bandits looked downcast. Each of them, it should be noted in passing, had had more – and more varied – sex in the past months than in all the years that preceded them. Several times they had discussed escaping from the termagant women, but it had become clearer and clearer that their hearts weren’t really in it.
Gursoon looked around her at the disappointment on every face, and felt an answering sadness in her own breast. They had been free in this place to do as they chose, free to earn and to spend and to look men in the eye, as they had never been in Bessa. She bowed her head, reminding herself of the necessity of their swift departure.
Zuleika looked around the group in surprise. ‘We can’t live in the desert forever,’ she pointed out bluntly. ‘It’s no place for us.’
‘Your own experience belies that every day.’ The voice was quiet, but charged with passion. The seraglio looked around to see Rem walking towards the outcrop of rock on which Zuleika stood, just as she had done on the night of their arrival, after they had overcome the thieves.
‘We are happy here,’ she said, ‘and we’re thriving. The work goes well.’
Zuleika waved a hand dismissively. ‘The work isn’t important. It was only ever a means of making enough money for the journey to Yrtsus, and returning to a life like the one we knew. We make money, we buy provisions, we leave – that was the plan.’
‘Why?’ Rem countered.
Zuleika stared at her in consternation. ‘I’ve just told you why.’
‘No, I mean why would we want our old lives back? If we go to Yrtsus, we go back to servitude and impotence.’
‘We go to save our lives—’
‘What are our lives worth, if we have to live them in hiding?’ Rem demanded, suddenly impassioned. ‘How can we slink into a city that is not our own, and leave all this behind?’ She gestured at the valley around them. It was sunset, and the sky was a skein of pink and orange silk, shot through with golden light. It fell upon the hand looms clustered together like big-boned women, Warudu’s workshop strewn with wood shavings, a line of clay pots drying in the cooling day. The light touched every face in the watching crowd, and coloured it with splendour.
‘Yes, we thought at first only about surviving. And look – we’ve survived. It’s just that we’ve done so much more! Made so much more. We’ve become a city here, in the desert, which sets its face against cities. And now you want to go back to a world where women are bought and sold as the works of your hands have been bought and sold? To a world where the whim of a mad and pitiless man can decree a hecatomb of women, and other men will not raise their voices against him but will hurry to do his bidding? The plan was wise, but the plan is past. The present is this thing that we have wrought.’
Zuleika saw the truth of what Rem said blazing from her eyes. She felt it too; she had been happier in the desert than she had been in a long time. But she hardened her heart, and spoke coldly when she replied.
‘Howso that might be, unless we want to live in fear of Hakkim’s vengeance every day, Yrtsus is our only option. Unless you have a better idea?’
She had meant it as a closing argument. But Rem was soaring now, and did not need to search for her answer. It had always been there, a dimly shining vision at the back of her mind since the moment when the sight had first come upon her. Suddenly, through all the strands of what was and what would be, it sharpened into dazzling focus.
‘When Hakkim took Bessa, he made a pyre of its laughter and its art. He killed the joy in the city; now it is like a shell. But us he cast out, and in the desert we became a city of our own. That is what we do. We take the city back into the city. We parade the city that should be through the streets of the city that was, and we make it our own once again.’ In her jubilation, she had moved very close to Zuleika, and though her voice was loud enough for everyone to hear, yet in a sense she spoke to her alone. ‘That is what we do. We take back Bessa.’
For a moment, Zuleika remained utterly motionless, her mouth open in mute astonishment. Rem’s words hung over the seraglio, a tidal wave suspended before the moment of impact. Then time began to move again. The wave crashed down in a roar as everyone began to cheer. And Zuleika, borne forward on the surge, feeling her anger loosed into a sort of fierce joy, took Rem in her arms and kissed her, hard, on the mouth.
The Council of War
A record of the meeting of the Council of Women, formerly the seraglio of sultan Bokhari Al-Bokhari, late of the City of Bessa.
This meeting is called to decide our future course of action. In attendance are all four hundred and thirteen Bessan citizens in exile, including our allies Issi and his eight apprentices, and also the twelve men of fortune led by Yusuf Razim, currently inhabiting the caves of the northern hills.
The meeting was called by Imtisar, Gursoon, Zuleika, Farhat and Zeinab. By their joint agreement, the discussion was begun by Gursoon.
Notes of the meeting to be taken by Rem the Archivist.
Gursoon: I hope all of you can hear me. Many of us have been arguing about what to do next. This meeting is to let the whole community hear what each of us has to say, and then decide together which course of action to follow.
[Many women begin to talk at once.]
But if we are all to be heard, it seems sensible to allow one of us to be the gateway, and determine who speaks at any time. Is it your will that I take this role?
Umayma: It should be Zuleika. She’s the one who saved us.
Gursoon: Zuleika, then.
Zuleika: I would not do it well. Gursoon speaks better.
Several voices: Gursoon!
Gursoon: Anyone else?
Very well. I will explain our situation as it appears to me, then anyone who wishes may speak, to suggest how she thinks we should proceed. I know that Zuleika, Imtisar and Farhat each has a proposal to make. Who else wishes to speak now?
[There is a silence.]
Then, with your agreement, we will begin by hearing those three. Then anyone who wants to comment should raise her hand. We will try to hear everyone who has something to say.
Imtisar: All four hundred of us! That’s absurd. We’ll never reach a decision!
Gursoon: We’ve been through this, Imtisar. This concerns the lives of every one of us. We must work together to survive. And we work together by consent.
Imtisar: But every single person? The children? The babes in arms? And don’t forget that most of these men are thieves!
Gursoon: Everyone. The mothers have a voice, if the babes do not. And these men have shared their food and their shelter with us. Now can we get on?
Thank you. Sisters, we have received many blessings here. We’ve avoided our enemy for three years; we’ve kept our children safe, and with the help of our hosts here, and Issi and his men, we’ve even prospered. But we have always known it could not last for ever. Thi
s place was never made to support so many. We must ration water in summer and fuel in winter. We would all like better food.
[A general murmur of agreement.]
And now it seems that our very success, the sale of our goods in the markets, which brings us so many of the things we need, has put us in danger. We are attracting too much attention. We know that our enemy, Hakkim Mehdad, is single-minded and pitiless. If it should come to his ears that a group of women from Bessa are abroad in the world, he’ll renew his search for us. And though he’s mad, I fear he is also intelligent: it would not take him too long to find us.
It’s clear then that we cannot continue as we have done. Our first thought was to travel as far away from here as we could; maybe to Yrtsus. Since then two different plans have been put forward. Others may come out of this debate. But at the end I think we must vote for one course of action, and decide quickly how best to achieve it. Do you all agree?
Many voices: Yes!
Gursoon: Then, with your consent, I’ll give the voice first to Imtisar.
Imtisar: There should not even be any reason for debate. We’ve lived here safely enough for a while. But now this monster, this murderer is about to find us, the best thing to do is leave at once. And what will he be looking for? A mass of women, four hundred of us huddled together. Wherever we go, so large a number will attract attention. So we should separate – go in small groups to different destinations: maybe a dozen to Saruqiy, twenty or so to Perdondaris, and so on. We’ll be less noticed, and we can go immediately.
Some have said that if we can get as far as Yrtsus, we’ll be safe from pursuit. But how can we be sure? The one thing we know is that it would still take weeks of preparation before we could leave – and our danger is now.
There are twenty towns and villages within a journey of a few weeks or even days from here. And some of us have families in these places, who might receive us with joy. We can spend the winter with roofs over our heads, as we should.
That’s my counsel, and the wisest course.
Farhat: May I speak now?
Gursoon: Yes, Farhat.
Farhat: Imtisar is right about one thing: we’re not yet prepared for a journey to Yrtsus. We need firewood, more blankets and a score of other things. Getting them will be harder now that we dare not return to Agorath – but there are other markets. Issi and Zeinab can pick up most of what we need in a week or two. We could be ready to set off very quickly. And we have so much to gain by staying together! We’ve built a community, these three years. That’s too valuable to throw away.
I know there’s a danger we’ll be found. But I don’t want to give up all we’ve created just because we’re threatened now. So I say we hold out for a few more weeks, and then for the time it takes to get to Yrtsus, or even beyond it, to safety. Maybe there we can find a way to live more comfortably – I’d like that too. But the important thing is . . . when we work together, we rule ourselves. We can make beautiful things, we can teach all our children. We’ll lose all that if we split up. We’ll just go back to being somebody’s wife, somebody’s servant, when we’ve been free.
Gursoon: Zuleika. You also wanted to speak.
Zuleika: Both of those plans involve running away. I think we should retake Bessa, and live there.
[There is a silence.]
Bethi: Is that it?
Zuleika: You all heard, yesterday, what Rem said. I’ve nothing to add to that.
Gursoon: If that’s all you wish to say, we’ll move on. But the other two have given their own arguments, and told us how their plans might be achieved.
Zuleika: Very well. What Farhat said just now is right, we ought to stay together. And what Rem said yesterday was right as well. We’ve built a city here, a good one, and we should fight to keep it. But it would be a better city in Bessa. And Bessa is ours, it’s our home. Mine too, since I chose to stay there. When Rem said all this I knew it was true, but I thought then it could not be achieved. Hakkim has a standing army, and weapons; we have none. So at first I wouldn’t consider the idea, believing it was a dream and nothing more.
But then I started to think about how we might actually do it – retake Bessa – and it is possible. It will require most of you to fight. We will have to buy swords and train with them, turn ourselves into an army. We cannot match their numbers or their experience, but we have some advantages. We know the city well, and we will have allies within it if we can reach them. Hakkim has weaknesses we can exploit. If you are willing to learn what I teach, we can succeed.
That’s all I have to say. Rem has the sight, and she believes we should take Bessa back. And I think we can do it.
Gursoon: Well. You’ve heard three choices. Does anyone wish to add to them? Or to ask a question?
Jamal: We should attack Bessa! Kill Hakkim and avenge my father!
Zufir: Yeah!
Soraya: You boys just want to fight. Have some sense!
[Many people speak all at once.]
Gursoon: Be quiet, all of you!
If you want to talk, raise your hand. I’ll point to the one who is to speak next.
[There is a silence.]
You, Halima.
Halima: Auntie, I don’t think I can give my vote for any of these plans. I want with all my heart to go back to Bessa, and see my mother and my little brother again. I can’t bear the thought of going far away, or parting from all my sisters and aunties here. But I can’t fight! I know I’m a coward, but I don’t think I could ever kill anyone. Is there no other way?
Bethi: Don’t cry, girl! Halima speaks for me too. For most of us, I’d guess. If she’s a coward, so are we all. But I don’t want to run off to the edge of the world either. Or to split up our company and leave my friends. None of us does. So what’s to be done?
Maysoon: None of the choices is good, but I think Yrtsus is the least bad of the three. It gives us our best chance of safety. And I think we need to stay together. If we separate, we lose each other’s support, and we lose the chance to carry out the trades we’ve learned. And what do we have then?
Najla: But Farhat says we’d have to prepare for weeks before we could start that journey. We could all be murdered in our beds before we even set off!
Farhat: If the vote is for Yrtsus, Zeinab and Issi can go at once for supplies.
Zeinab: We could leave at dawn tomorrow. I think we can get all we need at Beyt Kirim, and be back in less than a month.
Farhat: And if Hakkim is looking for us, it’s surely safer to stay here for that month than go travelling in groups to all the cities around Bessa.
Umayma: Like chickens running from the hawk! No, we should take the fight to him. Attack Bessa and regain it. We’ve shown we can do it.
Maysoon: I come from Ashurai. When I was young, we had three new rulers in five years, and the city burned each time. If you’d seen that, you wouldn’t be so ready to call for war.
Umayma: But Bessa is ours, not Hakkim’s. Isn’t it worth a fight to get our home back?
Zeinab: I don’t know. Before, when we fought, we had no choice. This is different.
Umayma: Before, I fought for my life and my son’s life. I’ll fight again for our freedom. Zeinab, what else can we do? If we run, if we go anywhere but Bessa, we’ll be in hiding every day we live. And even if Hakkim never comes after us, what can most of us hope for but slavery in some man’s household? We’ve built better than that!
[There is a silence.]
Zeinab: Then I have a question for Zuleika.
We know we can fight: some of us at least. And yes, I’ll fight again to get Bessa back, to give my daughter a life there. But you said you’d make us into an army. We’ve seen what an army does. Hakkim Mehdad’s soldiers killed old men without weapons. They burned houses with people inside. They killed women and children, without thinking, because their leader told them to. I think that’s what soldiers do – they follow orders blindly – and I won’t do that. I don’t think any of us will.
[Many vo
ices speak in agreement.]
So that’s my question, Zuleika. If the others feel like me, if we are your army, do you still believe we can take back Bessa?
[There is a silence.]
Zuleika: Yes.
It will be harder and more dangerous. But you’re right, Zeinab. I can’t ask any of you to be what you’re not. A good general works with the materials he has. There are ways in which we can turn your limitations into strengths.
[Many voices speak in protest.]
Maysoon: Sparing the innocent! That’s not a limitation!
Zuleika: But then I have a question for you in return. If we’re to avoid wholesale killing, we’ll have to use other means. Subterfuge, and spies. It will take time, and it will increase the risk for all of us. Are you prepared for that?
Rihan: To risk our own lives, yes. Not our children’s.
Jamal: Why can’t the children fight? It was my father they murdered. And it’s our city. Anyone who stands in our way deserves to get killed. Why are you having all this argument?
Gursoon: Jamal, if you speak again without raising your hand, I’ll send you out of the meeting.
Imtisar: The boy’s no more foolish than anyone else here. Are you telling us in all seriousness that we must pretend to be soldiers?
Zuleika: Become soldiers.
Dalal: Not you, Auntie. You won’t have to fight.
Imtisar: But you want to make your sisters into murderers!
Dalal: No.
Umayma: Yes. We’ll have to kill people. And some of us may die. But we’re all at risk right now: there’s no safe course here.
Zeinab: That’s true. And if we can make a safe place for ourselves at the end, it would be worth it. Zuleika, I’ll take your training. But I won’t kill old men or children.
[There is a silence.]
Gursoon: Does anyone else wish to speak?
Issi: Pardon me, lady, but my men and I need to know. Do we have a vote in this?
Gursoon: Certainly. Bessa was your home too. You have the same voice as us.