Engaging Evil (Warriors of Vhast Book 2)

by Cary J Lenehan

  During the meal Theodora and Rani had a little girl serving them and bobbing up and down every time she approached. Who is this child? Rani was going to question Theodora about her, but was waved to silence. “I cannot get her to stop doing that,” she said. “I will explain the rest tonight.”

  Rani nodded and then explained to her lover what she wanted from her for a spell to take care of the mage on the carpet when he was likely to arrive.

  “Oh, I can do that easily. I have one that I can adjust—” She paused for a moment. “Yes that will do. If I do not have to use my mana tonight then I can charge my device as well. One of us must be on the roof to keep watch. As a matter of fact I think we should get everyone to do their watch from the roof. You can see everything from there. We don’t have to keep a lookout on the wall for escaping slaves. We just need to watch the hills and the sky, and we can do most of that with the magic sensing device.”

  It is a good idea.

  After the meal was over Rani asked for everyone to assemble. When they had gathered she climbed onto the small stage and shooing the musicians down, called for attention.

  She spoke in Hindi. It seems that most of these people know at least a little bit. “I will be fairly brief, as some here have to keep watch, but I think it is important that we all get to know each other. It is possible that we may be here for some time and we are going to have to learn about each other. You will need to trust us and we will need to trust you, so I urge everyone to be open. I will ask all of our people to introduce themselves—by their real names and you can ask them some questions. I am sure you have them.” She briefly paused. “I will start. I am Shri Rani Rai. I am a Kshatya and a battle mage from Haven and I have left there in answer to some prophecies. Some of them have already been fulfilled and they have brought us to you, so you have a place in them and may yet have more involvement.”

  She paused again and looked at each of the darker skinned women and girls watching her. What I am about to say comes hard, but I have to say it. “None of the women here are of my caste, I am sure of that, but you may talk to me and deal with me and we will all talk with the priests later. I suspect that we will all have a lot to account for in our karmic tally anyway. Lord Krishna will smile on such a little thing as talking to or touching the wrong caste as that is minor as far as the rest are concerned.” There are distinct looks of relief on the face of the few Havenite women and older girls present. Others look blank. I suppose that I could have, if I wanted, taken the other path and made them treat her as was her due, but it does not seem…right…somehow.

  Without waiting for her to say more, the girl who called herself Verily jumped up to her feet. “I was told that you used to teach people how to become mages when you weren’t being a battle mage and that other thing you just said—the ‘Khh’ thing, didn’t you?”

  Will this girl always be this direct? What do I say? “The ‘Khh’ thing is my caste—if you like it, is sort of like the rank of my clan. It is not important to you, even if it is to those from Haven, but yes I did teach.”

  “Then…perhaps…Ayesha said you might be able to teach me. She is going to teach me how to use my knives better, but she said that you might be able to teach me to cast spells.”

  I thought that would come up. “That takes a long time,” she replied. “If we are staying over winter here, and I am starting to think that this is a good idea, then I am already trying to teach Hulagu—any of you who think you might have talent are free to join us as long as it does not interfere with anything else that is going on. Does that keep you happy?”

  From that fierce grin on Verily’s face, it obviously does. She sat down.

  Rani waved at Theodora, who moved to the front.

  “I am Theodora,” she said. “I am from Ardlark and I have run away from home to see the world and seek adventure. I am a mage of the air and also trained to fight as armoured cavalry, what we call kataphractoi. I have overheard some of you today say that these bandits were in the pay of Darkreach. I can assure you that this is not so.”

  “How?” interjected one of the women. I cannot see which one, but the voice sounds like it comes from the Caliphate. “There is no way that you can know that.”

  “I know Hrothnog and he would not do such a thing. If he was going to conquer over the mountains he would just do it. He would not use such scum as these. At home they would be condemned and sent to the arena…with just knives to use against wild beasts or else used as incendaria, covered with pitch and set alight until they died…sometimes more than once. They would not have been allowed to flourish.”

  “How do you know this?” I can see now who it is. It was the head domestic, Sajãh. “I have heard you called Princess today. Are you?”

  Now my Princess is thinking. Surely she realises that her secret is out now. Theodora just looked at me and smiled a little before her eyes flicked towards Ayesha. I wonder if she will bring up what I told her earlier. If she did it would spread the interest a bit so that she was not the sole focus of attention. “I am. Look at my eyes. Have any of you heard what golden eyes mean? Have any of you ever seen them before?” There was silence. “Ayesha, please tell them. You have met golden eyes before, haven’t you?”

  Ayesha looked surprised at how she had been ambushed, but she stood up anyway. “Yes I have,” she said, “but how you knew I don’t know.” Addressing the crowd she said, “Seeing that I have been instructed to be honest I will tell you this. I am Ayesha, from the Caliphate. I am a Ghazi trained at Misr al-Mãr. I am one of the first women to do so. That will only mean something to those from the Caliphate.” The rest of the women looked at those from the mountains who were nodding. It seems that the storyteller in Ayesha could not resist making her tale more like a story. She certainly has their attention. “To the rest of you, I am one of what generally are called assassins. That is not our real name or indeed our main task. Mostly we act as guards and often as scouts. Only rarely do we stalk and kill the enemies of the Faith. Mostly we obey the Caliph, may he always be blessed, as the Voice of Allah, the Merciful, here in The Land. What he tells us to do must be done. I was told to obey Miriam in all ways. Miriam is one of our Princesses. She had married the third son of the most Benevolent Caliph. Before she married him she was a Princess in Darkreach. She is a granddaughter, I am not sure how many times removed, of Hrothnog. She has golden eyes and it is only the family of Hrothnog who have golden eyes. It is one of the ways that you know them. I was called before Miriam and instructed to leave the Caliphate and seek out her cousin, who was fleeing Darkreach to find adventure, and to protect her…and obey her…however long it took.” Her hands, in almost a dancing move, waved sideways at Theodora. She sat down again.

  Sajãh spoke again to Theodora, “So you are Hrothnog’s grandchild?”

  Theodora nodded in assent. I can almost see people edging away from my lover. So does she—she is pouting like a child who is rejected. Surely she realises that, as these people have grown up, the name of Hrothnog has almost been the same as that of the devil. It was for me.

  There was an awkward pause. “Yes,” she said. She sounds defensive. “But he is not quite like the stories. Well, he is in many ways. He may well be immortal, while I am only very long lived. I am already over one hundred and twenty years of age and I will, unless I can do something about it, have to see Rani grow old before my eyes and die, and yet still live many centuries without her. He can be scary…”

  Out of the corner of her eye Rani noticed a quick involuntary nod from Basil, who was resting in Astrid’s arms after his healing. I wonder if Theodora noticed that. Basil appears to have met Hrothnog as well.

  Theodora continued, “But he does not drink blood or eat children or any of those other silly tales…I know that he would hate what was done here and beside, these people tried to kill me and I am sure he would not like that…Besides, I am not the only Princess here…am I, Ayesha.”

  She said it. All heads swivelled back to Ayesha, whose
face had gone blank. She rose again. “That is not really true. I am not a Princess.” She is obviously trying to dissemble. “No-one would call the youngest daughter of the third wife of a minor sheik a Princess. My full name is Ayesha bint Hãritha al Yãqũsa. Those from the mountains might know the name of my blessed father. To the others, what I just said is that I am Ayesha, daughter of a man called Hãritha. He is from the small town of Yãqũsa and, indeed, has the honour of being its sheik. I am not a Princess, and am not going to find a Prince to marry such a minor daughter…besides, all my brothers are dead and my uncle, my father’s next younger brother, will be the next sheik when my father dies. I am just another ghazi.” Ayesha sat down again.

  I know what my Princess has done. She comes from a level they could not understand. Ayesha’s birth is understandable and the women now give their attention to her instead of to the woman of vastly higher birth. I have to admire it. Now Basil is looking at Ayesha quite strangely. Does he have a dark secret as well? Oh this is getting deeper and deeper. Is Bianca the sister of the Queen of Freehold in disguise? That would top everything off. There are rumours that she has disappeared after all.

  Rani was about to ask Father Christopher to speak when Theodora stopped her by placing a hand on her arm. She waved at Basil. Well, the last guess had paid off; now to see if this one did. “Now Basil,” she said, “you can tell us your story now; including how you met my granther.” She surprised him by a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Who would have thought he could be caught out?

  Basil’s faced slipped for a moment. Instead of his habitual lack of expression he might of have been chewing bitter herbs. He is weighing something up in his mind and now, as his face resumed its customary poise, has made a decision. With that delay all eyes are on him.

  Basil stood and looked around. “My name is Basil Akritas. I am a part-kharl, or as we are called in Darkreach, insakharl. In my family I am known as Kutsulbalik, which is from the tribal tongue of my ancestor who married a human woman and it means Holy Fish.” He disarms with humour. I can see little smiles appearing on people’s faces. It seemed that a Holy Fish is not as scary as a Princess. He said to Astrid, “You are about to hear my secret that I could not tell you without permission. I have just been told to talk about it.” He turned back to the wider audience. He certainly has their attention. “I am one of Hrothnog’s secret men called the Antikataskopeía. I am just like a simple soldier in the army, but my job is to find criminals and to protect people. I can tell you directly that Hrothnog knows nothing of all of this. I met him a few months ago and he gave me the job of protecting his grandchild…for the rest of my life if need be and, if need be, for the lives of my children and their children. I was to pose as her servant…I have been a servant before, to investigate things, but this time it was to protect her. If Hrothnog had anything to do with what has been happening here he would not have allowed us to be here.”

  Well, that was a surprise. She could see from the faces around her that the Holy Fish is now a man to be scared of. Hrothnog is a terrifying figure out of their tales, but here in front of them is a man who has met him and who talks casually of the meeting. He also confirms that Theodora is his descendant.

  He returned to his seat.

  “Is that all that the secret is about?” said Astrid. “We will talk about our children later, but your task is fine. I have been set to guard the good Father myself.” She gave Basil a kiss and stood up and started speaking as she moved to the front. Her Hindi is still poor and she has to speak slowly. “Seeing that my husband to be has spoken and is committing our children to something without asking me, I will speak next.” She said to Theodora, “We will have words about this before I agree about my children.”

  Without even deferring to my leadership on this she has just started.

  “I was once Astrid Tostisdottir. That means I am Astrid, daughter of a man called Tosti. I have been across the sea to the land of ice that lies north of The Land. I am from Wolfneck in the far north of The Land and, like Basil, I am partly a kharl.” She smiled and, on seeing the reaction from those who had not seen her teeth before, she grinned broadly. I suspect she will never stop enjoying shocking people. “Now I am called Astrid the Cat. I have run away from home because I was being forced into a marriage to the ugliest man you have ever seen. He had green skin all over and a face like a pig and yet he was mostly human. He was very tall, especially when he was lying down. He was a drunkard, and, from what I saw in a sauna, his prowess in bed must have been more in his imagination than anything else. From what I hear he would have fit in well with the brigands here. One of our people was here already—Thorkil. I remember him being outlawed for the…murder of a little girl. My intended may have been another of the people that Dharmal used.”

  She waved a hand in dismissal and continued, “I fled that marriage and found Father Christopher lost in the forest and so have ended up here, fleeing one marriage to end up in another.” She grinned again and with a little bow went back to her seat.”

  Before Rani could say anything the priest stood and turned to Astrid. “Is that my prompt to go on?”

  She smiled and he went up to the front. “Hello everyone. If you do not know me, I am Father Christopher. I was an orphan who was raised by the Church and I wanted to be a monk. My Abbot and the Metropolitan had other ideas and they made me a priest and sent me off into the world for a time to discover my fate. I would have died in it after a couple of days if Astrid had not saved me by killing some evil creatures. That is really my entire tale, but, if anyone wants to see me after we have finished here, I will be doing confessions and, when everyone that needs them has been seen, I will perform a Mass. It may have been a while since you last had one. For those of you who are from Freehold, Bianca will tell you that I use the same Bible as you do and that you have not moved too far from the original worship yet. We both still hold the Nicene Creed that establishes a common faith. I think that my prayers will still be valid for you.” He returned to his seat.

  “My name was used. Does that mean I am next?” Bianca asked Rani.

  “Yes, you may as well,” she replied with resignation and a small sigh. I may as well give up directing things, but it all seems to be flowing well as one of their stories runs into the next creating a whole tale for the listeners.

  “My story is very short. My name is Bianca, and I am not a Princess.” This brings a smile to many faces. I guess she is not the Princess Anne then. “I am a foundling who was raised by the good nuns of St Ursula. I was learning to be a trader when Dharmal’s men attacked our caravan. I escaped and joined Hulagu and we found our way here.” She returned to her seat.

  “I guess then that I am next,” said Hulagu. He stood up and moved to the front. “I am Hulagu of the Dire Wolves and I am on my wanderjahr. I have a debt of honour to you all for what those of The People among the bandits did to you. I will repay this debt.” I can see looks of astonishment on many faces, that probably mirror what is on my face, but Kãhina and Anahita are nodding. He has a debt? “I was given a prophecy and sent to the east. It is a major prophecy and there are many who would like to see me not fulfil it. You are a part of the prophecy. Bianca did not tell you all of the truth. She did not just join me, she saved my life from the bandits and I then joined her. We went further east and met Kãhina’s cousin where we were all attacked by more servants of these so-called Masters. We prevailed and came to Evilhalt where we met Stefan and the others.…Oh, and if you are in the stables, stay away from Bianca’s horses. They are much more dangerous than she is, and you saw what she did to Dharmal.” He stopped again and looked around. Rani followed his gaze. There may be no questions coming in, but people are looking a bit stunned. Some are looking at Bianca, some at others. I suppose when you lay all of our stories out, it is a bit like the stories that storytellers, the less believable ones, tell at night.

  “It be my turn t’en,” said Stefan. “I be Stefan. I be leatherworker from Evilhalt an’ I wanted
to see t’world. My younger brother be going to inherit t’business, he be much better t’an I be as leatherworker an’ I wanted more, so here I be.” He started to his seat, but turned to Thord. “T’at only leaves our sheep rider.”

  From his face it is obvious that Thord had been happily sitting there taking it all in. Written across it for all to see is that all of the stories that he had ever heard are coming true and he is in them. He shook himself and paused as if wondering what he could say. He stood on his bench. “I am T’ord. I am from Kharlsbane in t’Northern Mountains ’n’ I am a shepherd. T’at means my sheep will, like Bianca’s horses, attack you if you go too close to it. I was sick of seeing t’forests ’n’ t’plains from my grazing pastures in t’mountains ’n’ wanted to see more of t’em close up. I seem to have found my way back to t’mountains, but I am not unhappy. I t’ink t’at I will be one of t’ose who find Dwarvenholme ’n’ will become a part of a legend.”

  He sounds smug and happy.

  Chapter XII

  Rani

  After these revelations, the former slaves started to break up a bit. Did it put a damper on them? Their faces show shock or surprise or, for some, fear. A couple even have a look of wonder on their faces. They talk to some of us, but there is a clear area around me and my lover. Perhaps we are too intimidating, although Princess still has that small child chattering to her. At least I can catch bits of what is happening. Some of the former slaves are clustered around one or another of us to ask questions, while others are being dragged off to do the dishes. The men have the most questioners. Father Christopher is already taking women aside to hear their confessions. There is a queue of women waiting for him and all four of the men. The cattle-killer girl is fending off several women who have come close to Stefan. Really? What is happening here? She still has the same top on, but the heat of the common room seems to have prompted her to unlace it a bit more. I wonder. Apparently Astrid has decided that Basil should marry her. Was there something about this place that prompts the women to be…forward…no that was the wrong word…eager…perhaps that is it. The local women are all eager. It could not just be the shortage of men. Surely they had had enough of that. Maybe they are following the lead of the women that had freed them…us. None of are shy types, well…not in that way at any rate. What do all of these women want? Was being free going to their heads? When he sits down it always seems to be on a bench near the wall where Bryony is quickly sitting close, between him and any others. Now she has two mugs of wine for them. I didn’t even noticed when she left his side to fetch them.