by Paul Heisel
“The mention of horse demons that you let slip?”
“Yes. Don’t say anything else about that. No one is to know.”
“Of course. Do you want to elaborate?”
“I swore to keep it secret and I will do that. You’ll have to trust me.”
“I do trust you. This is a tumultuous time, change is on the horizon and the families are positioning themselves to have the favor of the new Emperor. And there will be a new Warlord of Pyndira as well. Who knows what that will do to the political landscape.”
“Thanks Suun. Can you find out if any of the other families were attacked?”
“I’m sure there’s a way to do it discretely.”
“I don’t care about discretion. Send a messenger to each of the family compounds and let them know that we were attacked. They should also know that whoever is responsible will be caught and punished. I doubt it will cause any discomfort but I want them know that I’m not going to hide.”
“I’ll see to it.”
“One more thing. Send Pearl to me.”
“I will.”
The morning sun was warming up the air and it brightened Feln’s spirits. What remained of the leaves on the trees had turned bright autumn colors, and except for the scorched areas of the garden, it was a beautiful sight. He was worried now, guessing they were the only family to have suffered an attack. The palace would know by now what happened from Owori, and he was hopeful Yuki would send help. It was true, the Xialao family wasn’t well liked, either for past actions or their zealous pursuit of justice at all costs. He thought about pulling back the teams to Safun, reconvening with his administrators, and figuring out a better way to do this. He kept coming back to what Suun had told him, this was how Pyndira works. All the creative ideas had been tested, and for Pyndira, this was the best way. When the crimes were dastardly enough, the Xialao family would make things right. It was their duty. He was discovering, though, it was a burden.
He heard the soft approach of Pearl. She was graceful and elegant, looking tired as he and Suun, and she took up a spot next to him on the bench. Unlike Suun who stood in front of him at attention like a soldier, Pearl relaxed next to him as if she belonged there. He could feel her presence; she was a hair’s width from touching him and it would be so easy for her to lean into his side. Thankfully she stayed where she was. He had enough women in his life.
“Suun said you wanted to see me?”
“I spoke with one of our family members about horse demons, Furies, and such. He’s been around a while. Now I need to know what you know. Or what you suspect. You must have ideas, notions?”
“I do,” she said. “I must tell you that I wouldn’t intentionally keep anything from you. I want to be sure I have my information straight before I talk to you. Good information late is better than bad information rushed.”
Feln nodded. Pearl was being careful in her approach. That meant the issues were sensitive either to her or the family or both.
“First of all, when I was alone with that boy, he berated me for serving our family and talked about being free and serving no one. After that he didn’t say much. Suun told you that we released him?”
“She did.”
“We’ll find where he goes and maybe that will help us prevent further acts. He didn’t know anything. He made up a revenge story against our family, a few broken fingers changed that story quickly. We asked him as well about the horse demons and all we got out of him was that was the signal. Even though we caused him pain, he didn’t reveal who he was working for. I suspect the father had that knowledge.”
“I was talking with Nar,” Feln said, continuing with what he wanted to talk about.
“The gardener with a katana?”
“Yes. You can trust him. He’s a loyal member of our family, a Favored One. He told me about demons and Furies, and what he thought about unmarked Furies. Without the marks they can’t be controlled?”
“Except by their will,” she said. “There are a handful of unmarked Furies that we brought with us to Pyndira. I know, you thought all of them were marked, but a few haven’t gone through the process. These Furies are loyal to me and loyal to those of us from Bora. In time, I’ll send them to Salt Island to have their marks put on. You don’t have to worry about having rogue Furies on your doorstep. They will live in peace and I believe most will want to join our family. Ryl did it willingly.”
“I forgot about her. So what are your thoughts? What’s going on?”
“Both my parents were Furies,” she began, “and they entertained my sisters and I with stories about the past. We talked about Furies like they were a different race, a different people than the Pyndirans. Do you know the history of Furies?”
“Not much.”
“Thousands of years ago, before the barbarian invasion that pulled all of Pyndira together, Furies ruled Pyndira with their magic. There was a revolt and the families overthrew the Furies. It was chaos, the lands weren’t organized, faction fought faction once the Furies were subdued. The magic belts were made so the nobility, rulers, could have magic like the Furies, and even though it was rudimentary in form, it worked. The Furies regained strength and tried to rebel, to free themselves from this oppression, but couldn’t do it. The most powerful Furies, though they surrendered, were slain out of fear. The next portion of history is not known to me, but what I’ve been told is the Pyndirans found a way to use tattoos, an infusion of magic, to control Furies. It augmented their power, but made them controllable. The painstaking tattooing with needles gave way to marking, which is like painting. Things were under control for centuries, then the barbarian hordes came again, and the conflict unleashed demons from the Nether. The Immortals arrived, helped organize the nobles into the families we have today, created the Warlord of Pyndira, banded together the Empire, and fought back. The barbarians were destroyed and the Immortals banished the demons back to the Nether. Peace came and the Immortals disappeared. The Empire began rebuilding. They explored new areas, as well as expanding into the wilds. Over this time the Furies served, but there was an uprising.
“The Furies fought back against the families when a way was discovered to break the magic bonds, and the bloody revolt weakened an already decimated Pyndira. The families and Emperor won out though, and for the last thousand years there has not been a Fury uprising. There have been disputes and wars of family against family, but nothing as devastating as the previous conflicts. The Fury population has grown by thousands, but many Furies have died in the service of the families. Many. The Fury blood, once pure, has mixed with others, and their children don’t always become Furies I'm told. Anytime a Fury is identified, they’re sent to Salt Island to be marked. There they can stay if they don’t want to serve a family, but most serve eventually.”
“Owori told me about that place.”
“Before you ask, I won’t tell you where it is. You can go there, but you won’t know where you’re going.”
“I don’t want to know and I don’t want to go,” he said, but was thinking, not yet. He had the magic map anyway so he was certain he could figure out where Salt Island is located. “Is history repeating itself?”
“You’re thinking like me. There must be another Fury revolt on the horizon. These unmarked Furies have banded together and have found a way to undo the binding the marks of other Furies. This makes them free, or loyal to their own cause, freedom if that’s what they’re trying to accomplish. I think these Furies are sending the horse demons, not Hiru.”
“Why do they send horse demons? How do they send the horse demons?”
“I don’t know why, but I can make a guess how they are doing it. Beyond the blood sacrifice I mean.”
“Indulge me.”
“I believe a powerful Fury has one of the magic belts and has used it.”
“Then they could kill any Favored One and take their belt. That would be too simple. You’re wrong.”
“No, they must have found a Most Favored belt, an
eighth belt. The magic of a Most Favored belt would be strong enough, I just don’t know how it would be done. I have a theory, but if I tell you what it is, you’re not going to like it.”
“Nothing could shock me now.”
“Are you sure?”
“What is it?”
“When I refer to Furies as a race, I should refer to them as our people.”
“Our people?”
“You’re a Fury.”
“Impossible. I can’t throw fireballs or push objects away.”
“When you fight, you move lightning quick. And you can disappear. I had assumed it was the magic of the belt, but I learned from Owori that you could disappear before you had the belt. You probably have other magical talents, but you haven’t had the training to bring them out. Owori can do incredible things. So could you.”
“I’m not sure I want to,” he said. He could see Pearl was hurt by his expression of honesty.
“We aren’t evil,” Pearl said. “And it serves you right, this irony, retribution for calling me a kind.”
“That’s not what I meant. I’m not going to apologize for what I said. Pearl, I’ve seen what Furies can do, many times, and I’m not sure that’s what I want to be capable of. If I’m a Fury, then why can I wear this belt?”
“Blood,” Pearl said. “Your mother allows you to wear the belt of the Most Favored. It wouldn’t work if you weren’t of the proper lineage. There must be some Fury blood in you as well.”
“Isn’t a Fury wearing a Most Favored belt against Pyndira’s laws?”
“It is. A Fury with a Favored One belt would be dangerous, if it would work, and even if controlled by a family. What you said before, about a Fury taking a Favored One belt – the Fury would have to get the belt to work first.”
“How do you know?”
“It’s been said.”
He figured she had tried it, so it was firsthand knowledge. “You don’t know or you won’t tell me? I can wear this belt and I haven’t gone crazy. Maybe the magic I possess without the belt is inherent from my Malurrion father. Perhaps it’s different.”
“Stop trying to justify not being a Fury,” she said. “You are a Fury whether you like it or not.”
“I’m trying to figure this out.”
“No you’re not. Listen to me, the point I want to make is this,” Pearl said. “You put on the Most Favored belt, this makes you loyal to the Xialao family because you are the Xialao family by blood. The magic of the Fury in you was bound to the belt, but because you have control over the belt, it doesn’t control you. The magic comes to a dead end, making you loyal to yourself. We are all loyal to ourselves, thus that is why you are…free. You are bound to yourself. Free.”
“Then what are they doing with this other Most Favored belt, if it exists?”
“It must be attached to a person, like you, the head of their family. Their leader. They must know how to break the existing bonds of a Fury to their family. I don’t know what that is. A condition or situation must trigger the magic to change.”
“Where are these rebel Furies?”
“I don’t know for sure, but the boy said he came from Shisaru. My guess is they are there. It’s the largest province with numerous places for a population of people to hide. But they could be anywhere. There could be a hundred rebels, there could be thousands. We don’t know.”
He considered what Nar said earlier. This could have been building up for the last twenty or more years. “Wouldn’t the Sode family notice? Wouldn’t they figure out that the Furies were breaking the bonds and put a stop to it?”
“I would think so. Maybe you can ask the Most Favored of Shisaru if he has seen any signs of Furies being unstable.”
Feln nodded. He would probably have the opportunity to speak with him at the Emperor’s funeral. That was in the near future, as they were all waiting for the nobles of Pyndira to travel to Daiwer-dar to pay their respects. There was the matter of who would be the next Warlord of Pyndira as well, and the process for that would begin soon. Yet, he had a better idea. He had an expert team of skilled warriors in Shisaru. Besides hauling in criminals, they could investigate Furies.
Though he tried to deny it, he couldn’t find a way to argue with Pearl about his heritage. For him to use magic to disappear, like Owori, he had to have Fury blood in him. Had he not found the Most Favored belt, he would have never come to Pyndira. All of this would be unknown to him. It made him wonder if what happened to the Accord of the Hand would have turned out differently, or would he have been a casualty of the civil war? If what Pearl said was true, that there was a Fury uprising, these rebels could cause more destruction. What was lacking was their goal. What was the point of summoning demons and assassinating the Emperor? It bothered him not knowing why they sent horse demons against Hou. Was Hiru conspiring with them? Or was he an unwitting participant in their plan, promised the Most Favored belt in exchange for…what? The latter was most likely. What was missing was what Hiru had given in exchange for his position as Most Favored.
Pearl departed and Feln took out his magic book. He wrote instructions to the Shisaru team, snapped it shut, then took a walk around the grounds. The manor looked worse than a war zone.
#
By mid morning they were clearing the debris, sorting through the damage, collecting salvageable items, and trying to determine the plan for the coming days and weeks. As anticipated, the palace sent soldiers to assist with the clean up. They were hard workers and did everything they were asked. Later in the morning a group of seven soldiers arrived and the leader spoke with Emato at length. As he walked toward them to find out what was going on, Feln had the urge to grab his sword. It wasn’t on his belt, weapons got in the way while working, and all his hand found was his dirty robe. Emato looked pale and backed away, motioning toward him. Feln didn’t know how she managed it, but Suun was instantly at his side. This close he could see that these soldiers were grizzled veterans, the toughest of the tough. Feln could see by their weapons, armor, and manner they were front line fighters. Survivors. They looked on edge, and that wasn’t a good sign. Whatever they wanted, they would fight all of them to get it.
“Well met,” Feln said, purposely choosing the foreign Accord of the Hand greeting.
“By decree of the Emperor,” said the leader as he read from a scroll, “you are hereby remanded into custody for the murder of Phyr Tan, a diplomatic emissary from Emesia. Because you are the Most Favored of Safun and cannot be trusted to properly dispense justice on yourself, you will be subject to the Emperor’s laws and judgment. The Most Favored of Safun will answer to these accusations and be judged by the Warlord of Pyndira. This is the law.”
Suun eased closer to him and was about to rid them of these interlopers. It was noble but stupid. He steadied her with his hand.
“This is preposterous,” Suun said before Feln could speak. “His actions were well within his rights as a Most Favored. The man brought poison with him.”
“This is for the Warlord of Pyndira to decide, not me,” said the leader. “If you don’t come with us, we will take you by force.”
“You should have brought more than six soldiers with you,” Suun said. “We are Xialao, certainly you know we are unmatched in battle?”
Feln sensed the viper was about to strike and he motioned for her to stand down. This was inevitable, an action he regretted and would now face the consequences for. Yuki would understand the reasons for his actions, he was sure of that. Assassins weren’t always dressed in black and armed with hidden daggers; there were ones passing out paper laced with poison. If he ran away now, it would all but seal his fate and admit his guilt. He had to defend himself on their terms, and through the Warlord’s process. Yuki would help him.
“I will submit to questioning,” Feln said. “I disagree with the accusation and will convince the Warlord that my actions were justified based on the circumstances. Grant me a moment to gather my things.” He turned slowly toward the burnt mano
r house, little of it was recognizable now, and he stood there for a short time gazing at the piles of rubble. Turning again, he said, “Forgive me, everything was destroyed in the attack on our family. You don’t mind if I bring my sword with me? And a book? It is all that I have left.”
“You are allowed to bring anything you want except Furies or protectors,” the leader said. Clearly he looked relieved that Feln was going to come without a fight.
“A book and a sword are all I have, and the clothes on my back. Here,” he untied the Most Favored belt, pulled it free, and handed it to Suun. “I’ll need you to watch over this until I return.”
Without hesitation or question, Suun took the belt and looped it over her arm several times. “It’ll be waiting for you.”
“If I fall ill or am hurt or killed, another must take up the responsibility of our family.” He leaned in a whispered to Suun.
“You can’t be serious,” she said, her voice shaky.
“See that it is done. Tell Caleth and Pearl what happened. Our administrators in Safun will have an exact record of that day, so contact them and send for it. That shouldn’t be overlooked.”
“I will send for the information.”
Feln received the Dragonfly blade from Emato. He put it over his head and slung it across his back, then motioned to the soldiers to lead on.
Chapter 3 - Crypt
Owori heard the news about Feln’s incarceration and of course the palace was buzzing about it. Rumors were that the Most Favored of Safun murdered an Emesian messenger in cold blood, in front of dozens of witnesses. There was so much speculation, and assumptions from others, that she didn’t have enough time to support Feln’s side of the story. Feln told her about the incident and according to him, he defended himself from an assassin trying to poison him. It made her determined to clear Feln of these accusations. She wasn’t running but moving fast enough that her red robe was billowing behind her. Servants darted out of her way and guards bowed curtly as she went by. Up and deeper into the palace she went, finding a now familiar route to Yuki’s chambers. He hadn’t moved into his father’s room yet, for reasons she didn’t know. The Dragonguards acknowledged her presence and let her through into the room without her knocking on the door. Yuki was at a desk with writing materials, pouring over stacks of paper. Qia was behind him, hands rubbing his broad shoulders, and abruptly she took a step back when Owori rushed in. Qio, the other Fury, wasn’t in the room.