He knew he should be meeting with Tihamtu and Merodakh, to talk about where these people had come from and what they could want, but he didn't have the courage. He didn't know what any of this meant, and he'd lost faith that Tihamtu or Merodakh would have any idea. Too many thoughts clashed in his head, and he needed to get away. Running lightly through the forest, he increased the distance between him and the source of his anxiety.
He reached the grassy clearing he'd discovered years ago, the one that seemed to eat sound and leave only thoughts. The forest canopy turned the sunlight into a soothing emerald hue, granting a green tint to the bed of white flowers on the far end. He stopped in the center of the clearing, feeling the silence like a blanket swaddling his body. Sitting down on a patch of soft grass, he closed his eyes and breathed out. Tension yielded reluctantly, his shoulders settling as his body relaxed. He just needed a little time.
He opened his eyes. With a sharp breath, he sprang to his feet, blade in hand. In the space of a heartbeat, he examined his options and knew he had none. The only choice that remained to him was how to meet his end.
More Vile than he could count occupied the trees lining the clearing. No path of escape remained. They sat motionless, staring. They knew they had him.
Azial smiled, the remaining stress slipping away. His limbs felt loose and warm. He'd come to the end of his life. Instead of fear or panic, he felt relief. He would leave it all behind. Tihamtu and Merodakh would decide what to do with the newcomers, and find a way to deal with Balbasu. Leaving behind Pirisati pained him, but he could do nothing for her, anyway. Soon, he would see Musuri again. "Don't think this will be easy," he told the monsters. "Come. Let's see how many of you will die to kill me."
"Good words, brother!"
Seruya! She couldn't die now! "Stay away," he snapped, looking around to find her. "You can't help me!"
She strode out from the trees, laughing. The Vile ignored her as she passed between them and stopped before him, wicked amusement in her eyes. "See the truth, Azial. The Vile are mine to command."
He looked around, then back at her. Fueling the rage building in his chest was the undeniable realization that Seruya wasn't the woman he remembered. Balbasu had turned on him, his son was dead at the hands of the Vile... She hadn't been there for any of it, and now she stood with the same monsters that had murdered his son. "What have you done?"
Her smile vanished as she drew back and scowled. "I seized the Vile! They will never kill the Kith ever again. Is that a problem to you, somehow?"
"Kill them!" he said, clinging to the hope that she'd come to her senses. "If you control them all, you can make them die!"
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "At once, brother! Wait here while I destroy the ultimate defense against the loud men. Don't you understand how much power I hold? No one will ever threaten the Kith again."
"They are Vile!" Azial fought to keep from screaming. "Monsters! They take and give nothing back! They were never meant to be! You would keep them as pets?" He pointed at them. "These things killed Musuri! My son died by them!" Hot tears traced a path down his cheeks.
Seruya looked as if she'd been slapped. "He's dead?" she whispered as her eyes turned red. "What... What happened?"
Azial turned away and looked down. "He tried to steal Balbasu's daughter during the summit. She caught the seed. He left her. Balbasu demanded his life, and I had to kill Gusur in champion combat. When we came back... He'd gone to get her body. Lakhmu found him, but... too late."
"You let him die?" she said, her voice raw with disbelief.
He spun to face her, nails digging into his palms. "Be quiet! I was working to bring the tribes together. Where were you, while Musuri died? Off making friends with these things! I can't be everywhere at once. You were supposed to help me!"
"You banished me!" she shrieked. "You stood there staring at your toes while Tihamtu told me I could never return! I begged you to speak for me, and you didn't even look at me!"
The pain on her wet face burned his soul, but his own refused to be silent. "I didn't make you commit murder. You almost cost us everything!"
She shook her head slowly. "What I did what necessary. You said you remembered the oath we swore, but I don't believe you anymore. Your word means nothing to you."
His entire body quivered with liquid rage. "It's you who doesn't remember. None of the Kith could ever meet a Vile in anything but combat. Your banishment cost you your mind."
She stepped close. Her dark brown eyes drew him in, to the frozen place at her core, and for the first time in his life, he feared his sister.
She whispered, "If you were anyone else... I would kill you now."
Azial stared back at her, knowing only that he would not yield. Something that had existed between them since birth breathed its last. She spun and stalked away, the Vile moving as one to follow.
When she disappeared into the forest, he sank to the ground, alone as never before.
"Selfish... Pathetic... Impotent... Disrespectful..." Seruya's fury wouldn't be silent, even though only the Vile could hear her words as she stomped through the jungle.
How dare he? After everything she'd been through, everything she'd suffered to protect their destiny, how could he question her commitment? When she'd left him at the summit, he'd obtained agreements from all the chiefs, and the Yahua and the Udaki tribes had never been closer. Somehow, in her absence, her brother had managed to let it all fall apart.
She now knew for certain what she'd suspected since childhood: Azial lacked the conviction to make difficult decisions. It would fall to her to destroy the threat to their people, while he wallowed in his failures, like an infant in its own shit.
It didn't matter, now that she'd gained the power to do everything she'd ever wanted. She stopped and turned to look at the Vile behind her. She needed practice, to learn to control the monsters under any condition. Then she would seek out the loud men, and she would destroy them all, down to the last greedy, underhanded wretch. Perhaps then Azial would come to understand everything she'd done for him, and for the Kith.
Perhaps then she'd be able to come home again.
End of part one
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The story continues in Inferno's Cast, available for preorder here and due for release on January 21, 2018. Join my mailing list here for updates, previews, and short stories about the Commonwealth, the Kith, and the loud men.
Preview of Inferno's Cast
Below is the first chapter of Inferno's Cast, the sequel to In Nadir's Shadow. Please be aware that this preview may differ slightly from the published version. Enjoy!
The sharks tore into the crippled whale, white foam turning pink as the dying leviathan's struggles abated. Gannets circled overhead, aiming for scraps left in the wake of the frenzy, their shrieks deafening even from a distance. One more time, the whale's fluke rose from the water and swung down on its killers, but the blow held no power. Kobus had seen it countless times before. The animal was already dead, but it would fight until the last of its strength failed.
He spat with vigor, the yellow gob disappearing into the swirling wake of the Providence, and heaved himself up from the railing. A trail of sweat tickled his back beneath his leathers as he made his way forward, dodging shouting sailors and flying tackle until he reached the starboard gunwale and the lanky, leather-clad young man leaning on it. The briny shore wind blew in his face, a welcome relief under the late morning sun. "For a guy who got his beauty sleep, you don't look any prettier," he said.
"As long as I stick by you, I'll seem pretty enough."
Kobus scanned the coastline, a narrow strip of blinding coral dust quickly swallowed by the shadows of the ju
ngle behind it. Grey mountain ridges shimmered in the distance, dominated by a single, white-capped peak. "We'll dock in less than an hour. Gear ready?"
"Yep."
Kobus' jaw bunched. "I want you to keep your mouth shut when we land. Don't start anything. We're a long way from Highland. Any friends we're going to have are inside those walls."
Harm blew one of his brown hairs out of his face. "Who needs friends?"
"You don't need enemies, either," Kobus snapped. "What if they got work for you? You think they're going to contract the guy who acts like an ass right off the boat? If you want to scout for hire, you can't spit in the face of everybody you meet."
"Like you're such a joy to work with," Harm muttered.
"I don't like people any more than you do," he said with a grimace. "Difference is I don't tell them that. But since you want to act like a brat today, I'll just leave it at this: I won't hesitate to set you straight in front of them. Think about that. How you'll look."
Harm rolled his eyes and said nothing.
Providence had crossed the gap in the reefs two hours after sunrise, skirting the coast ever since. Now, with the sun climbing to its highest point, Prosperity came into view. Kobus studied the walled settlement as the ship shed its speed. Two man-heights tall and reinforced with half a dozen sturdy towers, the wall had been built with wood so dark, it seemed black at first glance. At least two of the towers mounted cannons.
Several buildings within rose above the wall's height, including a large structure with a sloped roof. Outside the walls, the jungle had been cleared and crops planted, but wild growth had crept in around the edges of the fields. Except for simple breastworks, nothing had been built.
Providence's momentum carried her past the outer wall, granting a view of the town within as she slowly swung towards the dock. A river flowed through the center of the colony into the harbor. Its steep banks hid in the shadows of the densest construction Kobus had ever seen. In between a handful of tall buildings, small shacks and huts crowded all but the narrowest spaces. Some were built well, but most were little more than lean-to's. As they came closer, he noted someone squatting on the river bank, defecating.
Harm snorted. "It's just like home."
Two tugboats, crewed by a dozen rowers each, came alongside. Sailors tossed down lines, which the rowers secured before straining to guide the ship towards the dock. On the quay, drying nets glittering with fish scales claimed half the available space, and the rest slowly filled with knots of people gathering to watch the ship come in. Nearly all wore the same type of loose clothes, made of rough fabric and lacking any frill or dye. A group of women edging onto the pier formed the exception by not wearing much at all. Even before the tugs released their lines and Providence was secured, they called to the sailors with inviting tones as the pimps watched from the shadows of the dockside warehouses. Kobus grimaced. Some of these girls were far too young.
Harm stirred next to him and muttered under his breath. "Hey," Kobus said with a glare. "Don't be stupid. Remember what happened last time. Don't keep running into the same wall."
The muttering subsided, but Harm's gaze didn't waver, and he knew the young man would ignore his words, as he always did on any subject besides tracking and hunting. "Let's go," he said, and half-turned from the gunwale. "Get the gear." Harm followed after another second, throwing a last glance over his shoulder as Kobus guided him to take the lead.
When the gangplank came down, they were the first to disembark, packs and crossbows on their shoulders. A man waited at the bottom, watching them as they approached. "Kobus of Silkford," he said. "Thank you for coming."
"Just Kobus these days," he said, and shook the man's extended hand. "Harm, my apprentice."
The man gave a nod to Harm, who barely managed to return it. "Ewoud of Concord. I don't mind telling you, it's a relief to see you here. I'm sure my letter struck you as hyperbolic, but I think you'll find every word was truth." A deep tension hid within Ewoud's demeanor, leaving Kobus on edge. He'd always thought the man was wound too tight, but he smelled of desperation now, and desperate men rarely made good decisions. "I cleared a room for you. Comforts of home are hard to come by, but there's a cot, so you won't have to sleep on the floor. You can get your water from the river; just do it upstream. Food is rationed, and meals are twice a day—I'll show you where to go."
"No need," Kobus cut it. "When do you want to talk business?"
Ewoud hesitated. "Tomorrow morning. I have another meeting tonight. My office is inside the large hall off the market square. Some time after breakfast." He tracked Harm approaching the gaggle of whores. The young man invited one of the youngest to follow with a toss of his chin, barely slowing down as he passed. The brown-haired girl, wearing a mended grey tunic that barely covered her, gave a glance to her compatriots. They'd already turned their attention back to the sailors flirting with them from the rigging, and she hurried to catch up to Harm.
Heat rushed up through Kobus's chest, making his head feel too big. "It's okay," he told Ewoud. "It's not what you think. He's not going to hurt her."
Ewoud shrugged. "Not my business. Some time after breakfast tomorrow, then. I'll have someone show you where you'll sleep."
"Directions will do."
The other man seemed ready to argue the point before relenting. "Follow the river past the market square, then the third alley on the right. Fourth house down, with the woven mat over the entrance."
"There's one other thing." Kobus reached inside his jacket and withdrew the letter he'd agreed to deliver to settle an old debt with the army. Ewoud's face hardened as he looked over the envelope and its military seal.
Ewoud looked at him. "Did they say anything to you?"
"No. But the Blackjack regiment was in town. They were packing up when we sailed."
Ewoud took a long, deep breath, as if seeking a strength that wouldn't come. "Until tonight, then." He walked away with determined strides, letter clutched in one hand.
Kobus adjusted his pack and set off down the pier. He wouldn't see Harm again for a while, so he might as well explore the town.
Following the dirt street along the river and past the dockside warehouses led him to the market square. People cluttered the open space. Most hurried on their way, and the desperate cries of a lone hawker with a pushcart of boots, hats, and other work gear drew no attention. Around the edges of the square, small groups squatted in the shade, many with children. Armed men wandered through the press, always in twos or threes. Some carried pistols, and all carried blades of some kind. Kobus didn't care for the way they surveyed the town and its denizens, and took care to avoid them as he skirted the edge of the square.
On the other side, he slipped into an alley and he found a building under construction. His mood darkened further when he saw the workers were all indigenes, working mostly naked under the frequent abuse of the overseers' cudgels.
He came to a small workshop next to one of the older, sturdier buildings. He heard the muted roar of a fire even before he came close, but the quality of the forge he found inside surprised him.
"You looking to have work done?"
"Maybe," Kobus replied, facing the old man coming around from the back. "What kind of work do you do?"
"Not much, these days, but I do tools of all kinds. Solid blades that hold an edge without shattering. I could grind out some bolts for that monstrosity you're carrying," he said, with a nod at Kobus's crossbow.
"What do you take for payment?"
The old man's eyes narrowed. "Only a man just off the boat would ask that question. There's only one thing that goes for payment here. Gemstones."
Kobus scowled. "What gemstones?"
"You're a lucky man, to find Old Man Bartel in a charitable mood," the old man growled. "Aqualites. Ghost eyes, the nobles call them. In the jungle, in the rivers and the creeks, you can find them. One was brought back—big as your fist, it was. They're worth a fortune to the courts in Providus. To folks here,
they're the only way to get home."
Kobus straightened. "There's no other way?"
Bartel shrugged. "Sometimes, a loving relative at home prepays for passage back. Sometimes, they even get what they pay for. A nice collection of tribal goods can get you home, but only if you get the good stuff, and nowadays, you're just as likely to be murdered in the attempt. Otherwise, if you want to leave, you better do what you came here for." He gave an ugly grin. "Make your fortune. Then hand it over."
"Bartel!"
Five men in worn, faded work gear advanced on the blacksmith, who faced them with dirty arms crossed. "What do you want, Teun?"
Teun cast an uncertain glance at Kobus before he spoke: "We're going out today. Us five. Maybe one more. We're heading down the southern fork in the river. Where they found the first load."
Bartel shook his head even before Teun finished. "That was before those things started showing up," he said. "It's too far by half. Nobody's made it since, and you won't, either."
"With proper weapons, we'll make it." Teun stepped closer, nostrils flaring. "I'll pay you double. Triple, I don't care."
"Right. I just have to wait for you to make it back. Except you won't, and I'll waste my hard work, and my iron, and my coke. I won't be able to make a damn thing, or sell any, and I'll be stuck here that much longer." He spat to the side, then thrust his head forward. "You want weapons, Teun, I'll make you weapons. You just have to pay me before you get to use 'em."
Teun's upper lip twitched. "Greedy bastard," he growled. "If you let us all die, who'll get the stones to trade you, eh?"
"Somebody will get lucky. And I'll be ready to supply them, won't I? Because my work won't be rotting in the jungle next to your corpse."
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