by Nathan Long
A gasp went up from the guys in the crowd and about half of them started to stand. Lhan waved them down.
“Stay in your seats! Please. The priestess will chose those she will commune with.”
“Okay, guild-master. Tell me.”
And so for the next five minutes, the guild-master stood at my side and whispered in my ear. “Front row, left. Red hat. Long hair. Third row, center. Bald. Heavy. Fifth row, right. Skinny. Crest of hair. Missing left hand.” And I turned and pointed to them one after the other like I was in a trance. I felt like some stage magician, pulling people out a crowd for a trick—like I was going to make them all bark like dogs or dance the funky-chicken or something.
The first couple guys looked like they didn’t want to play along—like maybe they had wives or girlfriends—but then, once the third guy I called up was also a heretic, they started to catch on, and the rest of them all came up smiling. Finally, when I had eleven guys up on stage, the guild-master told me that was all she wrote. I sent Lhan out again and he told the crowd to go home and pray that our ceremonies would be a success, and that we would now retire to the back to begin.
The crowd seemed a little bummed at this—ahem—“anti-climax,” but they shuffled out of the hall without saying anything, and me, Lhan, Sei-Sien and Shal-Hau went into the back with the heretics. They us led down a couple hallways and into an office, then closed the door behind us, drew their knives from their belts, and put them to our necks.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
BETRAYED!
“Now then,” said the guild-master, stepping up in front of me. “Who are you, truly?”
I swallowed, and the blade of the guy behind me pressed into my jugular. I decided I wouldn’t swallow again.
Shal-Hau goggled. Sei-Sien looked like he was gonna faint.
Lhan coughed. “I—I know not what you mean. We are heretics like yourselves.”
“Are you?”
Sei-Sien looked indignant. “Did we not make the secret sign?”
The guild-master folded his arms. “Aye, you did, but you also arrived in Rivi aboard a navy warship, in the company of the Aldhanan’s tax collector. Not the sort of company a heretic usually keeps.”
Well, we’d already had this argument, and we had the answer down pat.
Shal-Hau gave it. “True. But what better a ruse than that of a priestess of Laef to visit our brothers all over Ora.”
The guild-master nodded. “Just the sort of ruse a spy would concoct, to root out heretics. We feared something like this was coming.”
“Something like what?” asked Lhan.
The guild-master turned on him. “Word came to us a day ago. The entire Ormolu cell had been rounded up and put to the question by the Aldhanan. Now here you are from Ormolu, saying you wish to speak to us on matters pertaining to the church? Ha! Subtler spies would have waited a crossing or two before coming to us.”
“But we are the Ormolu cell!” Sei-Sien pointed to himself. “I am Sei-Sien, noted pamphleteer and heretic philosopher. That is Shal-Hau, leader of our brotherhood. That is Lhan-Lhar of Herva and that is the outland giantess Mistress Jae-En, both wanted by—”
The guild-master snorted. “You betray yourselves out of your own mouths. Lhan-Lar and the giantess were killed by the Aldhanan in the City of Black Glass when he rescued his daughter. That too we heard. Besides, the giantess is an albino—a pink-skinned freak.”
Lhan laughed. “Do you think we would come to you undisguised when all Ora thinks us dead? Her skin is dyed.”
The guy who had his knife to my throat wet the finger of his off hand and rubbed it across my arm. Nothing happened except that he let his knife stray outta position a little bit. I sighed.
“It’s gonna take more than that, doofus, but I got proof if you want it.”
The guild-master raised his eyebrow. “What proof?”
“If you heard of me, maybe you also heard I can lift a man over my head with one hand and jump as high as two men?”
The guild-master laughed. “And you say you can do that?”
“I don’t say it. I—”
I elbowed the knife guy in the face, then threw him across my shoulder and jumped up to the sill of a grilled window that was built high up in the outside wall. I caught a crossbar and held on, then took doofus off my shoulder and pressed him up over my head with my free hand as he shrieked and struggled.
“Stop squirming, asshole, or I’m gonna drop you.”
He stopped, whimpering, and I looked down at the guild guys. They were all staring up at me with their jaws on the floor.
“It is her.”
The guild-master stepped forward. “Mistress, forgive us. I believe you now, but… please come down. You are scaring poor Ghin to death.”
I lowered Ghin back to my shoulder, then jumped down and set him in a chair. He was hyperventilating. The rest of them took their knives from my pals’ throats, but they didn’t look any more welcoming. The guild-master was looking at us like we had the plague.
“You have proved yourself enemies of the church, but I cannot see how we might count you as friends.”
Shal-Hau turned to him. “Why might that be?”
The guild-master threw out his hand toward me and Lhan. “They kidnapped the Aldhanan’s daughter and her consort! How did that help the cause? You have turned the whole empire against us!”
Lhan held up his hand. “We did not kidnap the Aldhanan’s daughter and her consort. It was the church.”
There was a big gasp at that. Sei-Sien shouted over it.
“Aye brothers. A ruse to blacken our names! And it would have been worse had not the noble Lhan-Lar and his stalwart companion Mistress Jae-En not saved the day, for their target was the Aldhanan himself!”
Lhan and I exchanged a look as the guild members goggled and shouted questions. The noble Lhan-Lar and his stalwart companion Mistress Jae-En? Since when had Sei-Sien become our best bud? Anything for the cause, I guess.
Sei-Sien was going like a TV evangelist now. “Yes, friends. The church meant to assassinate the Aldhanan and pin the blame on us! A two-fold strike that would silence their most outspoken critics and rid the Empire of a leader who thought too much for himself. That is why we are here! The church has at last taken a step too far, and we must strike while they are weak and exposed!”
He had ’em in the palm of his hand now. The crisis was over. I let out a breath and leaned against the wall, glad to not have a knife to my throat anymore. Lhan leaned beside me and whispered in my ear.
“I thank you, Mistress. Once again, you prove that actions speak louder than words.”
And so did his loincloth. He was still sporting wood, and it was speaking to me loud and clear. I looked over at our pals and the guild guys, who were all gabbing at each other now a mile a minute, then back at the door that led to the main hall.
I gave Lhan a dirty smile. “You know, I’d hate to cheat these people.”
Lhan raised an eyebrow. “Cheat them? What do you mean?”
I leaned in so our shoulders touched and let my lips brush his ear. “Well, we did promise them that the priestess of Laef would perform a ceremony of blessing for them, didn’t we? What did you call it? A private and intense ritual? The altar table is just behind that door….”
Lhan’s eyes widened. He went beet red. He groaned. “Mistress, do not take advantage of my weakness. We are companions now, nothing more. I cannot… I cannot….”
“It sure looks like you could.”
“But it would not be right. It would make a mockery of my vow as a Dhan, and—”
You know, if I’d touched him then, I bet he woulda melted, and we woulda been riding that table like a mechanical bull in under a minute, and I was damn tempted, but I knew what would happen after. Lhan would be mad at himself for breaking his vow and mad at me for tempting him, and things would be all awkward and ugly, so…
“Okay, okay, forget it. Never mind.”
Most grown-up
thing I’ve ever done.
***
When we got back to the Dhanan’s castle, the sailors were carrying iron-bound chests full of tax money out to the landing field and the Aldhanan was all smiles. Even Aur-Aun looked happy—well, less grim anyway.
“Gura-Nan has signed on with a will,” said the Aldhanan as we stood off to one side and watched the cash boxes being weighed on a big scale. “He has pledged troops and money to the cause, and awaits only our command.”
“Well done, Ald— er, Captain.” Lhan motioned down the hill toward Rivi. “And we have had success too. The heretics have agreed to spread the word and have given us their blessing.”
“Excellent. And Mistress Jae-En’s impersonation of a priestess of Laef? That went well?”
Lhan looked at his boots. “Er, very well indeed. Yes.”
I gave him a sideways look. “I only wish I could have done more.”
Lhan blushed, but the Aldhanan didn’t seem to notice. He just patted us on the backs, then stepped back as the sailors carried the first chest up the gangplank and the next one was heaved up onto the scale.
As I turned to watch, I suddenly found myself eye-locked with Yal-Faen. He was standing by the scale, ledger and pen at the ready, but he wasn’t watching his assistants weigh the chests like he was supposed to be. He was watching us. At least he was until he we caught each others’ eyes, then he turned away.
I leaned into the Aldhanan. “And what about Yal-Faen, er, Captain. Did you keep an eye on him?”
The Aldhanan nodded, his face hard. “Aye. And when I withdrew to talk to Gura-Nan, Aur-Aun instructed his men to watch him. He never spoke to anyone.”
“Good. That little weasel worries me.”
“Fear not, Mistress Jae-En. Thanks to your observant eye, he will never be left alone. I promise you.”
A few minutes later, all the gold was packed in the hold and we were off again. Which meant I was crammed back into the little closet again with Lhan, Shal-Hau and Sei-Sien.
It was worse than ever. That old thing about always wanting what you can’t have was in full effect, and Lhan and I lay on our bunks, trying to pretend we weren’t noticing each other, but both completely aware of every move the other one was making. Every twist of his torso, every stretch of his arms or legs, had me thinking bad thoughts, and I was squirming around like I had ants in my pants. Which was making him squirm too. I’m surprised our loincloths didn’t catch fire.
***
The next town we dropped anchor in was called Lamgan, and everything there went down pretty much the same way as Rivi had, only with less craziness. Aur-Aun got his taxes, the Aldhanan got the local Dhanan to sign on the dotted line, Yal-Faen never slipped his leash, and me and my escort learned from our past mistakes and managed to recruit the local heretics without causing a riot or having anybody pull a knife on us. It all went as smooth as glass, and had us thinking that the rest of the trip would be a breeze.
Yeah. Not so much.
The town after Lamgan was called Modgalu, and I got a bad feeling about it even before we landed. First off, there was a temple there—another gigantic white rocketship skyscraper sticking up out of the middle of it just like back in Ormolu, only a little bit shorter and fatter—a pudgy little prick instead a John Holmes hammer. Second, the place reeked. It was a cattle town, a river port at the edge of an endless prairie where all the ranchers brought their meat on the hoof to be shipped off to markets downstream. Even from a thousand feet up I could smell the shit and piss-mud of the maku pens, and the blood and death of the slaughterhouses. It wafted up to us in a red-brown smog that almost hid the sand-colored houses and yellow brick buildings. Third, Yal-Faen went all quiet the minute the place appeared on the horizon—like he knew something we didn’t. I didn’t like it. As much as I hated his suspicious glances and nervous praying, having it all stop was worse. It was like that moment when the fuse on the firecracker you’ve lit seems to go out and you don’t know if you should go look to see if it needs to be lit again, or if you should stay back in case it’s gonna blow up in your face.
So, when we tied off on the dusty private shipfield between the Dhanan’s yellow brick castle and the yellow brick arena beside it I wasn’t exactly surprised to see a ring of crossbowmen all around the field and the Dhanan waiting for us at the bottom of the gangplank with a dozen armed guards.
At Aur-Aun’s back, the Aldhanan coughed. “Does he always welcome you in this way?”
Aur-Aun shook his head, then called down to the welcoming party. “Dhanan Paar-Il! Greetings! Is all well?”
Paar-Il, who was a stooped, stringy sad-sack with a bald head and a fu-manchu mustache, shielded his eyes against the sun and peered up at us. “Aur-Aun, is that you?”
“Aye, Dhanan. Is… Is something amiss?”
Paar-Il hesitated, then had a little conference with his guard captain. The captain was shaking his head no, and pointing back toward the castle, but finally Paar-Il blew him off and stomped up the gangplank alone, then stopped in front of us, puffing. He didn’t look any better up close. His skin was as parched as his town, all crusty and dead looking, and his mustache looked like dry string. The only thing wet about him were his eyes, which were red and runny and sad.
Aur-Aun bowed. “Welcome, Dhanan. I—”
But Paar-Il wasn’t looking at him. He was scanning over his shoulders, then looked right at the Aldhanan. He crossed his wrists.
“Aldhanan, I was told of your coming. I was told you had gone against the church and that I was to arrest you as soon as you arrived.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
LOCKDOWN!
Everybody dropped their hands to their weapons. Sei-Sien whimpered like a whipped dog. Captain Anan motioned his men to move the sailors on the deck out of earshot, and I was once again wishing my sword was on my back where it should have been, instead of down in our cabin being useless.
When the sailors were all backed up, the Aldhanan looked Paar-Il square in the eye. “And do you intend to obey this order?”
“Would I have come to you alone were that my intent? No, my Aldhanan. We have had our differences in the past, but I would not obey such an order. And I killed the man who gave it me. You are my leader, not those orange-robed thieves.”
The Aldhanan let out a breath. “Relieved I am to hear it, Paar-Il, and I thank you for your loyalty. But I could have wished that you had not killed this man. I would have given much to speak to him.”
Paar-Il waved that away. “He had little to say, even under the knife. All I could get out of him was that he was a fervent follower of the church, and that another such had approached him in Rivi and given him water tokens to warn me of your supposed treason.”
“Rivi?” The Aldhanan hung his head. “We have been betrayed from the beginning.”
Shal-Hau sighed. Sei-Sien groaned.
“I knew there would be traitors. I knew it.”
Aur-Aun opened his jaw a sixteenth of an inch. “Did he describe the man who paid him?”
“Only that he was cloaked and masked. Nothing more.”
Everybody suddenly looked at each other like they were wondering what they’d look like behind a ninja hood. Yal-Faen wasn’t calm anymore. He was shaking in his sandals.
The Aldhanan glanced around the ship, then turned back to Paar-Il. “We should speak of this in private.”
Paar-Il looked uneasily toward the castle. There was an awful lot of hustle and bustle going on around it and the arena beside it—a lot of armored men going in and out, a lot of wagons and coaches and people herding animals around, a lot of crowds.
“You have picked an awkward time to visit. My dhans have come in from the prairies to pay their tithes and trade livestock—our annual spring gathering. My house is full. There will be blood games at the arena later.”
Aur-Aun coughed. “Still, you have set aside time to go over your accounts with me in private, yes?”
“Oh, aye.”
“Then my guar
ds—and my guard captain—shall accompany me.”
Paar-Il smiled. It didn’t improve his looks. His teeth looked like kandy korn. “Of course. Then come.” He started down the gangplank.
“Wait.” The Aldhanan turned to Anan and his guards. “Stay on the ship and inform Captain Ku-Rho that he and his crew are not to leave it for any reason. You will make sure they obey the order.”
Anan didn’t like it. “Ald… er, Captain, we cannot leave you unprotected.”
“Paar-Il’s men will be at hand. Protecting our secret is more important. We must not let the traitor off the ship.”
Anan gave a reluctant salute. “Aye, Captain.”
The Aldhanan looked at me and the heretics. “Nor will there be any recruitment here. You too will stay here.”
Sei-Sien looked offended. “You think us traitors?”
“It is for your protection. And I wish you to watch the crew.” He turned to Yal-Faen, but gave me a significant look over his head. “And you as well, bookkeeper. Remain in your cabin.”
Aur-Aun turned. “Forgive me, Aldhanan. But we must keep Yal-Faen at his work, if only to keep up appearances. I will make sure he is returned to the ship under armed guard.”
The Aldhanan grunted, then motioned them all ahead. “Very well. After you, Dhans.”
I felt a little funny letting the Aldhanan walk into that castle all by his lonesome. Maybe Paar-Il was lulling us all into a false sense of security and he meant to cut the Aldhanan’s throat as soon as he got him in the door, but there was nothing we could do. The Aldhanan was giving the orders. At least he had Aur-Aun with him, and Aur-Aun looked like he could take care of himself.
***
Sei-Sien was looking around at us all like we were crazy. “How can you sit there? The plan is discovered. The church knows all! We must leave!”