Reclamation

by Sarah Zettel

  There was barely enough room for Cor to get the sledge through even the main streets and they raised a cloud of curses from the foot travelers as she tried. The city passed around them in a series of miniature plays. Ahead on the left, a Bonded woman argued spice prices with a peddler. To the right, two Bondless toasted each other with a crock of wine. A troop of soldiers on oxen splashed gutter filth on a cluster of Notouch and tossed loud obscenities at each other. An old man with a Teacher’s suns tattooed on his palms laid his hands on a child’s burned face while a woman in a saffron-colored cloak looked anxiously on. Jay heard the child’s gasp even over the babble of street noises.

  Cor eased the sledge around a tight corner, and the High House slid into view.

  The High House was an honorary name for the King’s dwelling. It squatted level with the other buildings behind its own set of carved walls. Even in broad daylight there were six guards at the gate. Cor shouted to them and they hauled back the iron gates to let the sledge through. The courtyard on the other side was empty. They saw no one until they pulled up to the stable. A couple of Bonded hustled the wagon indoors and Cor with them.

  “Good luck.” She waved as she left Jay on his own.

  “Thanks. I’ll need it.”

  The blood-warm rain started down before he was halfway across the courtyard. Jay ducked his head and hauled on his hood to try to keep himself dry. He peeked under the edge to get his bearings. The door lamp glimmered invitingly four feet above the courtyard.

  A wind shear drove straight down out of the sky with such force that Jay staggered. He gripped the stair railings and struggled to climb up to the main doors.

  This. This is what we’ve wandered for centuries to get back to. This is what we’re ready to go to war with our own kind over. He stumbled into the doorway. I swear, if I didn’t think they’d just abandon me here, I’d tell them we don’t want this place. Tell them it’s a dying, corroded heap of rocks. I swear the only reason I keep going is so that someone will get me off this forsaken world.

  “My Lord Messenger,” said a man’s voice.

  Jay straightened up. Your day-use name, the first of whatever series you might be lumbered with, was often not so much a name as a description. Jay’s was Messenger for the Skymen and the skinny, wrinkled man in front of him was Holding the Keys, King Silver’s chief secretary and step-and-fetch-it man. Next to him stood a Bonded boy carrying a basin of steaming water in one hand and a plate of biscuits in the other. A clean towel was slung over his arm.

  Jay read the scene. The King wanted to see him, now. The footbath and food were the polite greeting for an arrival, but he wouldn’t be given time to sit down and enjoy them.

  “The King wishes you to attend her at once,” said Holding, while Jay stripped off his boots and quickly rinsed his feet in the basin as the boy set it down. “She sent me to see that you do not delay.”

  Jay frowned. King Silver was young, greedy, unreasonable, and hadn’t learned not to whine in meetings yet, but she wasn’t easily panicked. He donned the pair of slippers that the boy produced from the pouch at his belt and wolfed down a biscuit that tasted like wood chips. Something must be going on. Something unexpected.

  Jay followed Holding through the stone halls. The lamps in the great hall were lit. The audience was expected soon, then. The Seablades must have beaten him through the gates.

  The corridors Holding led Jay through were stone-cold, despite the heat of the day outside. Coal fires in the hearths took off some of the chill but the clay statues and bas-reliefs set against the walls did nothing to soften appearances.

  Holding the Keys marched Jay straight to the King’s private study. It was one of the few rooms on the second floor that sported a real door. Holding knocked.

  “Whoever it is, you had better have Messenger with you!” shrilled the King from the other side.

  “I have, My King.” Holding swung the door back and stood aside.

  Jay marshaled his wits and walked across the threshold.

  The study was a jumble of precious wooden furniture piled with vellum scrolls and clumsily bound books. It had been built around one of the eight “shadow pillars” that helped support the High House. Silver said her great-great-great-grandmother had ordered the House built over them, as a reminder that the Kings of Narroways were supported by the Nameless Powers.

  Jay had actually considered saying a grace for Silver’s grandmother. The pillar and its weird, blobby shadows had sent the Unifiers looking for the underground chambers that had yielded their only real clues to the workings of the Home Ground.

  King Silver stooped over her chart bowl, the Realm’s equivalent of a globe. It was literally a deep bowl with a map of the Realm painted on its inside.

  “There is word,” she said, not giving Jay any chance to observe formalities, “that a contingent of soldiers from First City, maybe as many as one hundred, has vanished. Now, where, Messenger of the Skymen, do you suppose they have gone?”

  Even by the standards of the Realm, Silver on the Clouds was a tiny woman, which might account for her perpetual belligerence. The scarlet ribbon tattoo that adorned a King outlined her jaw and brow. It stretched badly whenever she gathered her face up into a frown.

  Jay mustered a calm tone. “I expect they have gone to take up a new position in case their delegation fails to make peace with Your Majesty.”

  “I expect that is the truth. Further, I expect that I would not have to worry about them if you would loan me a few of your Skyman miracles so my generals could fend them off. Or perhaps your masters are not so anxious to see Narroways the sole and whole power of the Realm as you have said.”

  So we’re back to that. “Majesty, I have asked for weapons. I have been refused…”

  “Then you will ask again!” she shrieked, and Jay took a step back. “I will tell you this, Skyman, this war eats at my city. My commanders grow uneasy. A King with uneasy commanders is not long safe, Skyman, and I treasure my safety. Be assured, if I must hand my name back to the Nameless Powers, I will not be doing so alone.”

  “You are winning.”

  “Yes.” She rested her hands on the edge of the bowl. “But I am winning slowly. If this war we make is not finished soon, Skyman, I will cease to win at all. I will lose and the walls of Narroways will come crashing down over my funeral pyre.”

  She pushed past him. “You will stand beside me and hear what the Seablades have to say for themselves.”

  “As always, Your Majesty.” Jay did not shake his head at her back, but he wanted to. There were days he seriously regretted helping Silver depose her grandfather.

  Holding the Keys, with his typical efficiency, had assembled King Silver’s honor guard outside her door. She had expected them to be there and breezed into the center of the ranks. They snapped to attention and marched forward, leaving Jay and Holding to fall into step behind.

  The procession reached the threshold of the audience hall and a dozen Bonded touched tapers to the lamps hanging from its rough walls just as the King stepped in. Light flickered against gold and steel jewelry only to be absorbed again by the dull colors of the clothing of the assembled courtiers.

  Like everyone else, the Seablade delegation raised their hands before their faces as the King’s procession passed. Jay read the marks from the corners of his eyes. Nobles, all of them. Three family members, one of whom was Heart of the Seablade. Jay suppressed a sigh of relief. He would at least be able to get some accurate information about First City’s plans. That might just be enough to placate King Silver.

  King Silver mounted her dais and stood there. Kings did not have the luxury of sitting through their audiences. Silver could stand for hours without fidgeting, a skill that amazed Jay in spite of himself.

  Silver lifted her chin. “It having reached my ears that my kindred in First City would send me words concerning our war, I have brought myself and my Witness forth to hear them.” Her voice was too high and thin for the chamber, even thoug
h it was bolstered by the ringing formalities of the high command dialect. “Therefore, choose who among you will speak and let the others bear back witness as to my attentiveness and the full nature of my answer.”

  Two of the Seablades detached themselves from the delegation. Heart of the Seablade scrupulously avoided looking at Jay. His wife, Mind of the Seablade, the blood daughter of the house, on the other hand, seemed determined to keep her attention riveted on him.

  The Seablades raised their hands to King Silver in greeting.

  “I am Lady Mind kenu Mind of the Seablade dena Constant Watcher,” said the daughter of the house. “I am chosen to speak for the blood Nobles, the Bondless, and the Bonded who are attached to the House and Lands where the Blade is the symbol and the protection. I have leave and permission to speak also for Wall’s Shadow, my King in First City.” She lowered her hands. “I say that the blood will spill until the floods are red and still we will not yield to this unprovoked and unnatural war that is fought by the master of Narroways only because her wit and will has been stolen by the Messenger of the Skyman dena Aunorante Sangh.”

  Bad enough.

  “I am Teacher Heart kenu Heart of the Seablade kenu Fortunate Speaker dena Shadow of the World’s Wall,” said her husband. “I speak for the Temple and the Teachers. Because this war is provoked by the Aunorante Sangh we say that the power-gifted are free to act against them. We also say that Narroways no longer hears the Word in the Temple and those attached to her, like all Heretics, must die.”

  Jay had to give Heart this much credit, he held his voice steady as he delivered his pronouncement. But then, he’d said it before. The First Teacher believed firmly in repetition.

  “There is forgiveness yet by the law and the Word if Silver on the Clouds as master of Narroways closes the breach in her own heart that let the Aunorante Sangh into her city.”

  Oh-ho. This was the first time an offer of compromise had been extended from the Orthodox delegates. Could it be that King Silver’s not the only one nearing the end of her rope?

  King Silver touched the tattooed ribbon that adorned her brow. “By the marks of kingship and family, I declare that I and my company have heard and understood the message that you do bear. Now, I charge you hear my words.” She lowered her hand. “Those who call themselves the Teachers in First City are but liars. They are the ones who listen to the Aunorante Sangh, not I. Otherwise, they would speak the truth and say that the Messenger, the Listener, and the Scribe, who are all of the Skymen, do no more than bring us greetings from the brothers who have found us in this place where we were moved by the Servant of the Nameless. The Teachers would kill our brothers. I would defend them. I will not change my mind nor stay the hands of those who take up arms in my cause. If there is to be peace, you must cease this threat against our brethren, or you must take my city from under my rain-polished bones.”

  Jay’s stomach turned over. The fate of the Home Ground hung in the balance and it was being argued over by these…things…who were so out of control that they didn’t remember who they were or know what they were really fighting about.

  “King Silver on the Clouds,” said Mind. “The dark seasons are coming to the Realm. It can do none of us any good to pursue this war when we should be pursuing a harvest and the stocking of coal and oils.”

  “Then lay down your arms and welcome your brothers,” said Silver. “Harbor no murderous thoughts among you. Accept that I am the one chosen to speak for the Realm to the Skymen. This will end the matter.”

  “Oh, no, Your Majesty,” said Heart. “It will not even come close.”

  Who is that talking, Heart? Jay wondered. Is that actually your voice I’m hearing?

  “Is there more to be said?” inquired Silver.

  “Not by us and not at present, King Silver,” said Mind, giving Heart a hard look.

  “We thank Your Majesty for your attention,” said Heart.

  The Seablades retreated into their cluster of servants. The honor guard held the doors open for them to walk through.

  When the doors banged shut again, Jay sighed inwardly and tried not to shift his weight. King Silver, oblivious of his discomfort, called her councilors up to the dais and proceeded to review the interview with them in detail, analyzing the contents of the Seablades’ statements, deciding what messages to send, what spies to contact, what orders to issue. Jay eased his weight gingerly from his heels to his toes and back again and tried to pay attention.

  At last, the King dismissed them and Jay hurried out of the hall.

  Despite Silver’s constant public announcements as to their importance, the King had not wanted her Skymen to get above themselves, so she had assigned Jay and Cor quarters outside the main building. To get to his rooms, Jay had to cross a roofed, stone bridge with sides open to the wind and weather. With its usual abruptness, the rain had stopped and the sun had turned the day into a steam bath. By the time he was through the door to the side building, he was drenched with sweat.

  Unlike the King’s study, Jay’s room had nothing but a tapestry hanging in the threshold to keep him screened from the passersby. Jay pushed past it and paused for a moment to savor the night’s cool that had been trapped by the room’s stone walls.

  Chiding himself for forgetting the immediate business, Jay pulled back the burgundy curtains. The window actually had a pane of glass that rattled only a little in the wind. Heart knew which room was Jay’s. If he was watching, he would see the opened curtains, and hopefully be able to make his excuses to his wife and get away. Jay didn’t want to have to wait until dark for the news. He needed to have plans before then.

  “Jay?” called a voice through the door-curtain. “It’s Cor.”

  “Come in, come in.” He held the curtain back for her.

  Cor brushed by him and he caught a glimpse of the dark circles under her eyes. She slumped into one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. “How’d it go?”

  Jay shook his head. “I could’ve asked for better.” He described the audience to her. Cor grunted.

  “Jay,” she said to the ashes on the hearth, “remind me why we’re doing this.”

  Oh, no.

  “Because we need to accomplish the reunification of the Human Family,” he said, sitting across from her. “And because the Vitae really don’t want us to.”

  “Oh, yeah, I’d forgotten about that last bit.”

  “What’s the matter, Cor?”

  “Nothing new,” she rubbed her forehead. “I’ve just gone native. It’s my job, after all. Someone has to completely understand the new membership so we can make them at ease when they join the Family.” She said the words like she was reading them off the flagstone floor.

  Don’t do this to me, Cor. I can’t manage you on top of the King, and Lu, and Heart. “We are doing this because we have to.” Both of us are.

  “Jay?” The door curtain moved and Heart stepped into the room.

  Cor raised her hands to the Teacher so smoothly it might have been a reflex. Heart bowed toward her absentmindedly, with his hands held up so the golden suns tattooed on his palms flashed in the watery daylight.

  “What’s the news, Heart?” asked Jay quickly as Heart moved to stand next to him. And please, please let it be something I can use.

  Heart shrugged and leaned his elbow on the mantelpiece. “Our city is hard-pressed,” he said, running his knuckle along a crack in the stone. “The dissent among our neighbors is strong and we have little help. The Realm waits to see who wins this war, Narroways or First City, and then it shall decide what to do.”

  Jay knotted his fist. “We need you to help make sure King Silver is victorious, Heart. What can you tell us of First City’s state of affairs?”

  Heart hesitated, leaning heavily against his arm. Cor stood and offered the Teacher her chair. He took it with thanks.

  “I do this because we were lied to in the Temple,” he said, raising his eyes as if he were pleading with them, “because we’re dying. T
he Nameless have withdrawn their favor from their people. Our children are born dead or deformed or of the wrong lines. And the Teachers say it is not so. They say we think there’s trouble because we do not see with the Servant’s eyes. They say that as long as we repeat the Words of the Nameless in the Temple, all will always be well.”

  Cor gave Jay a sideways glance and then looked quickly out the window. What’re you really seeing out there? Jay wondered. Who have you been talking to?

  Heart was shaking his head. “King Wall’s troops are going to be pulled from Tiered Side to defend the outer towns of First City. They’ll be there in three days. If King Silver meets them before they reach there, First City will lose valuable and timely help. But you should move quickly. There’s a delegation from First City in Terminus Height, and they may be wavering in their resolution to stand beside you.” His face grew uneasy. “You have worked too few miracles, Skyman. There are those who doubt you can bring us any good, as King Silver needs must fight so long and so hard to gain any ground with you at her side.”

  Jay and Cor exchanged a long look.

  What do we tell them? That the Board decided not to risk arming a telekinetic race whose world contains who-knows-what powers that they might still be able to use, even if all they have are superstitions to guide them? Somehow I think we’ll lose even Heart’s support if I come across with that.

  “I shall tell the King.” Jay straightened up. “I shall also tell my masters, be assured.”

  “Thank you.” Heart stood. “I need to get back to my chambers. My wife, you know.” He turned back to the threshold and Jay walked beside him.

  “Heart,” he whispered as he lifted the door-curtain, “the King told me a garrison of one hundred troops has gone missing from the ranks of First City. Do you know where they may have been sent?”

  Heart looked startled. “I have heard nothing of this. I will see what I can find out for you.”