by Paul Heisel
“And if it had been Djaa?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps. Owori, I would do anything for you. I spent months looking for you, hoping you would stay alive so I could find you. I’m willing to put reason aside for a moment, but I realized that we must hold true to our beliefs, not compromise the good of the many for the good of the one. I realize that now. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed with my answer…that I failed to come after you in the Crypt.”
“Don’t be sorry,” she said. “I wouldn’t be that desperate given the same circumstances. You don’t need to apologize to me, ever…again. We’ve been through so much, and I want us to start over. I’m free of the Emperor, now I can become part of your family.”
“Our family,” Pearl said. “You’ll be more than welcomed. Feln will need a person who is capable of running the palace.”
“Is that what you want?” Feln asked. “To be part of my family?”
“I don’t have a choice. Unbound Furies will be exterminated according to the Emperor. Unbound and unmarked is worse. He doesn’t care how many he kills. This is going to make the rebels angrier, and it’ll probably help their cause in the end.”
“I agree,” Pearl said. “We must not let the Emperor kill Furies, even if it does weaken our enemies. I hope you understand that. I don’t know if there is a peaceful solution, though, for the rebellion. We are facing fanatics.”
“Then how do we do we save these Furies?” Feln asked.
“By making them join our family. We give them what they want – freedom.”
“It’s an interim solution,” Owori said. “It may only solve a fraction of the problem.”
“Is that right? So, tell me, you’re only joining my family to save your own skin?” Feln asked.
Owori smiled. “There is one other reason.”
“And what is that?”
“You’ll find out. I promise.”
“I don’t like secrets between us,” Pearl said. She grinned. “In this case I will let you two keep your secret. Only this one time.”
Feln smiled, glad to see Owori had retained her sense of humor and playfulness. It would be good to get their relationship back to where it should be, so he could do things correctly. It was also good to see Pearl returning to normal. Maybe she would unleash her opinions on Owori instead of him.
“What happened after you escaped the Crypt?” Pearl asked.
“I remained invisible, healed my leg with your belt and my magic. I soaked up as much of the power of the belt as it would allow me, then I took it to Suun. She woke up when I put the belt around her, but she was so out of it – she was babbling like a fool, still talking about those red lanterns.”
“She suspected an attack on the family during the final bout,” Feln explained. “She reasoned the attack would come from external Furies not personally familiar with the layout of the pavilions, so she had the lanterns put in our pavilion so everyone would refer to ours as the ‘tent with the red lanterns.’ Then she planned to have them moved to the Shisaru tent for the last day in the hopes the Furies would attack the wrong tent from a distance. I don’t think it would have worked.” He shook his head. “Thanks for returning the belt. Suun, of all people, will appreciate that.”
“I figured the belt would heal her if it was left around her long enough. It looks like it worked.”
“Perhaps,” Feln said. “We won’t know for months. She has more recovering to do. She can hardly walk unassisted, much less feed herself. But she is stubborn. So what happened next?”
“After that I snooped around, trying to piece things together. I found out about the plan to destroy the families during the funeral too late and was unable to prevent it. Only Yuki and Caleth know how many Furies were found amongst the dead, and I think they realize that all of the targets – the families – should have been dead if Pearl hadn’t acted.”
“We saw the Shisaru contingent slipping out of the viewing area,” Feln said. “That was our first clue something was amiss.”
“Throwing lightning bolts was the only way to get everyone’s attention,” Pearl said. “I would do it again if I had to.”
“When they started evacuating,” Owori said, “I found a group of Furies who were supposed to attack from the palace. In the confusion I disabled many of them, then they were trampled to death once the crowd panicked. The Furies who dispersed into the crowd attacked too early when Pearl tried to warn everyone. I was moving toward you, going to help, when Ryl pushed everyone aside. When magic started flying, I did what I could to destroy the attackers, but the crowd panicked and made it impossible to defend without killing innocent people.”
“That would have happened no matter what the Furies did,” Feln said for Pearl’s benefit. “Innocents were going to die no matter what happened.”
“The ones who were planning to attack from the palace were going to kill the people on the outside of the crowd, trying to create a perimeter of dead bodies to hem everyone in. From there they would just keep killing and killing until no one could move, or until their magic ran out. Without that, though, the crowd could run and escape, which caused a different type of destructive power.”
“How many Furies do you think were attacking?”
“Thirty or more,” she said immediately.
“Thirty?”
“There were a dozen or more in the crowd, maybe twenty or so going to attack from the outside. From what I can figure, many of the people from Shisaru in attendance for the Warlord of Pyndira competition were Furies. I did what I could to save lives, but it wasn’t enough. Too many died. At least I was able to keep you alive.”
Pearl nodded. “It makes sense how I survived. I went down. I…I should have died. Thank you.”
Feln leaned back in his chair, feeling it strain underneath the force he was imparting on it. He imagined Owori fighting against the crowd to get to him and being trampled to death. Had she not made it to safety, it would have changed another course of events. He had lured Ginwata out into the open, knowing he was risking his life and Ryl’s life to capture him. What he hoped was Ginwata’s capture would debilitate the Fury rebellion. Loss of one leader could have a profound effect on an organization, but if the organization was strong, it would survive. It made him wonder what was next – would they try for peace? Attempt to rescue Ginwata? Or keep doing what they had been doing for many months, destroying and killing to weaken the families until everyone was living in fear? It would take time for the teams he sent to investigate the Furies, both in Shisaru and the lands in southern Emesia. He was confident they would find answers, and Suun assured him repeatedly they would do whatever he needed them to do.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Feln said, relaxing and releasing the strain on the chair. “I miscalculated when I was trying to trap Ginwata. I didn’t think he would anticipate having Furies watching me along the way or having the Emperor’s troops along the route. He would have killed me if not for you. Thank you.”
Owori dipped her head. Feln could see that she wasn’t relishing what she had done to protect him, and he was certain she was fatigued. Since the attack on Borgard, so much had happened to them, and he felt like he needed a rest. The challenges wouldn’t stop, though, and he wouldn’t run away from what he had to do. Maybe they could find a few moments of sanity to be together, to be Feln and Owori, two friends talking about subjects other than Furies, laws, assassins, and political battles. It made his head swim.
Pearl stood up and gave Owori a kiss on the forehead. “I’ll leave you two alone with your secrets. Perhaps we can share dinner together and not have a horse demon interrupt us?”
“Certainly,” said Owori. “The horse demon, though, makes it interesting.”
They watched her depart and noticed the spring in her step.
“I’m tired,” she said, echoing his private thoughts and sentiments.
“Me too.”
“The sun will rise tomorrow…”
“And there’s nothing we ca
n do about it,” Feln told her. “So there is no sense in dwelling on all of this. Tomorrow will come, and so will the next day and the next. We can only make the best us of the time we have. At least we’re together now.”
“So what’s next?”
“We go home.”
“Is Safun warmer?” she asked.
“That I don’t know. I’m assuming since it is farther north it will be just as cold as here and covered with snow. We could ask Suun.”
“I can live with cold if I have to.”
“I don’t know what’s waiting for me back home,” Feln said. “I’ve been away so long that there may be any number of things for me to attend to. I’ll be busy.” What he was trying to say was he wasn’t sure how much time he’d be able to spend with her.
“We’ll work through it. As long as I’m by your side, I’ll be happy.”
“That’ll make me happy too, to have you near me.”
A server came by and gave them a pot of hot tea. Feln relished the warmth of it as he was chilled by weather, placing his hands on the bowl and letting the heat flow into his fingers. He moved them away when he couldn’t stand it any longer. Owori was looking at him, those lovely eyes held a mischievous sparkle. That was one of the things he loved about her, how comfortable and special she made him feel.
“Do you miss Waskhal?” she asked.
“I miss the simplicity of our past lives,” he answered. “I miss those hills outside of town with all of the fruit trees.”
“That was where we used to take walks, the sun shining down and the breeze blowing, talking about the monastery or our training.”
“I miss our fellow monks.”
“We should bring them here if they want to come,” Owori said. “We can do that you know.”
He answered with a nod. Twenty or so had come with the initial Furies brought from Bora. There were many left who were loyal to Caleth, and he was sure they would welcome the change. Kara was the Grand Master now, and he wasn’t sure what happened with the Accord of the Hand. Finding out what happened interested him, but there wasn’t a burning desire to know everything this very moment. There was enough in Pyndira for him to contend with. Besides, he didn’t think he would be going back to Malurrion anytime soon.
“When the weather breaks, we’ll make for Safun,” he said.
“Do you have enough supplies and wagons?”
“We have enough.”
“I’d like to get some rest,” she said. “I’ve not had a good sleep in a while.”
“Of course, we have most of the place rented out.” Pausing, he thought about who would be the most appropriate roommate for Owori. Pearl? “You’re staying with me,” he said matter of fact, not giving her a choice.
“That would be wonderful.”
With little effort, she lifted her pack and stood. Feln led her up the stairs, taking his time. His thoughts wandered, not sure if he had made the correct decision or if she would think he was suggesting what he had only dreamed about. Why was he questioning himself or what Owori would think? He didn’t care, what he cared about was her comfort and health. He led her inside the room.
“Nothing special,” he said, pointing the simple surroundings. There wasn’t much space and there was a pallet with worn but clean blankets. In the corner were supplies from the wagons, each of them had taken portions of what they had to their rooms for safekeeping.
Owori dropped the pack and shed her fur-lined robe. Feln watched her undress. She was standing there with her back turned to him. She had on a black suit made of stretchy material. It accented every curve of her lovely body. She looked thinner than he remembered. Boots came off next, then she wiggled out of the black suit, pulling out her arms through the neck first then slipping it down. This was the first time he had seen her tattoos. The red dragon covered her back, coming over from her left arm – an arm not marked on other Furies. The dragon had accents of blues, yellows, gold, silver and greens, and it looked so vibrant as to be real. She turned to face him. The front dragon was similar, winding around her arm and coming up the shoulder and across her breasts and stomach. Part of the dragon was on her neck, normally concealed by the black unitard.
“It may take time to get accustomed to how I look,” she said.
“You look beautiful…”
“And?”
“And what?”
“You were going to say something. You must tell me the truth. I don’t want any surprises later.”
“You’re thin,” he said.
“You’re complaining because I’m skinny?”
“Not complaining. I would never complain about you. You wanted the truth, and that’s the truth, that’s what I was thinking. You look thin.”
“What else are you thinking?”
Though he was trying to be serious, he broke a smile. She looked wonderful to him. “I’m thinking the same thing you are.”
“That it’s cold in here?”
“No, the other thing.”
“Then why are we standing here talking?”
“Because I’m an idiot.”
Owori laughed and leaped into his arms, and gave him a long passionate kiss. Feln held her and felt her body, experienced the wonder of her kisses. The lost part of his soul was found. They were together, finally, never to be apart again.
Chapter 7 - Demon
The journey was long, weeks, and it was tiresome traveling through the snow and bad weather. Improvement came when they reached the coast and the warmth from the sea. After they arrived in Safun and made it to Yanekeni, the capital city, they were greeted with great joy by the seat of government. Here the snow wasn’t as prominent – Suun explained that the ocean air kept their province partially free of snow save the mountains that divided Safun and Shisaru and the interior wild lands. The sea, however, generated powerful storms and drenching rains for long periods during the year, which was just as bad. He argued the rain had to be better than the snow. The first day back they rested, acquainted themselves with their surroundings and made sure Owori knew the layout of the palace, manor house, and the training facility. The first night there was a feast, and though well-intended, everyone was too exhausted from the trip and the guests of honor didn’t last long. The weary travelers retired early, while those elated by the Most Favored’s return celebrated far into the wee hours of the next morning. Pearl, concerned for her Furies, departed immediately to talk with Tasha. There would be no rest for her.
The second day Feln was up at first light, rested, and found Owori’s side of the bed empty. Owori, who seemed to be one step ahead of him, was already asking about palace security and what she could do to help. By mid-morning she had everyone in a buzz about improvements and making this the safest place for their Most Favored. Suun visited later that morning, she was still recovering from the events in Daiwer-dar, and told them she wanted to resume her duties as Feln’s bodyguard. His only request to Suun was that she not begin her duties until she had trained with their instructors and regained her former strength. Being injured that badly could have hidden effects, and he wanted to make sure she was still capable of performing her duties. She understood that, accepted it, and in the interim another bodyguard would be assigned. The warrior they assigned to him was more than adequate; not only did he act the part, he looked the part. Anyone coming close would have their hands full with Zuzhan, a mountain of a man who never smiled. His entire being said, 'stay away.'
The slew of administrative tasks, though well-attended in his long absence by his administrators, had piled up to a point where Feln figured he would not have a moment to do much else. The bulk of the complaints against the families were border disputes, troop incursions, and normal conflicts where one province clashed with the other. The laws supported harsh punishment for the aggressors. Feln agreed there should be consequences, but what he saw lacking was how to prevent these events in the future. Explained to him in simple terms; the families historically disputed borders and their armies often clas
hed with one another. When he asked if this was the same as Safun and Shisaru, the answer was ‘no’, then he asked why Safun and Shisaru didn’t share the same problem. As best they could explain to him – Shisaru stopped incursions into Safun years ago after their Most Favored was assassinated, and besides that, Shisaru had nothing to gain by attacking Safun’s borders. There was no land advantage, no great resources to be had, no historical claims to be made about who owned what on either side of an imaginary line. In fact, Safun had been part of Shisaru a long time ago and the province had been granted to the Xialao family so they could police the families.
Out of an analysis of the information came no startling revelations, only the pattern of attacks by different nobles into neighboring lands became apparent. Either the ruling families didn’t know about the attacks, didn’t care, or didn’t have time to monitor their subjects. That told Feln control was an issue, and it would get worse because of recent events. Soon the dragon Sli would be coming for him, to take him to the funerals for the other Most Favoreds. He didn’t know when that would be and he wasn’t looking forward to it. In his estimation, that would take weeks of travel.
He gathered the members of his staff to talk about the border disputes, asking them for ideas. He prefaced the meeting by stating Safun had no border disputes, and though he couldn’t attribute that to himself, he thought it was because their family understood and followed the rules. Like Safun, Shisaru had the fewest complaints about border incursions – the largest province with the longest borders maintained control by some means. This either was because of the strength of the family or their subjects, or perhaps the Furies in control there wouldn’t allow such things to happen. There were constant jabs back and forth between Furawa and Emesia, some areas seemed to be in conflict all the time. Ashimo and Hikimi had their share of complaints, but not as many as their neighboring provinces. When tallied and sorted, Furawa had shown the most aggression. Recalling his experience with Kojo, he imagined the Favored Ones there acted without intervention from their Most Favored. With the Most Favored dead from the attack at the Emperor’s funeral, the situation could worsen. He decided that instead of sending his team to punish the guilty, he sent them to the capital city of Fumun to wait until he arrived for the funeral. When he was there he would deliver a message, get your house in order or face harsh consequences. He would pour over the complaints one more time and find a good example to use, but kept coming back to Kojo’s bold destruction of Chang’s boyhood home and stationing an army not far from Hou. Feln wondered, had the army been dispatched? Surrounded? Driven back to Furawa? He wrote a note to his team in Emesia for information in that regard while they were searching the southern tip of the province.