by Shannah Jay
'It's me, child. Herra. There's no need to be afraid.'
The girl's defiance gave way to tears, but she kept her distance, hurling words at them, words laden with anguish.
'She said you'd come. She promised someone would find me if I stayed here. Why didn't she wait inside with me?' She was sobbing wildly. 'You're too late! They've killed her!'
'Calm down, child, and tell me what happened.'
'How can I calm down when they've killed her?'
'Come here, child.' Herra's voice was soft and low.
The girl stood stiffly where she was, but sobs still shook her thin body.
QUEST Shannah Jay 136
Herra walked across and held out her arms. Only then did the girl stop resisting and rush forward into those arms.
After allowing her to weep for a moment or two, Herra pushed the girl gently away, wiped her tearstained face and said in her tone of Command, ' Enough! We have no time for grief now. You must try to calm down. Tell me who has been killed.'
'Merryan. My mother. They set a trap, an injured man. She couldn't leave him lying out there in pain, so she went outside after dark to heal him. They were waiting. When she wouldn't reveal her hiding place, they killed her. There were too many of them for her to still. And I couldn't help! I couldn't even move! She'd made me promise not to come out. Under Compulsion. I could only stand there and watch. She called on our Brother as she died.' Her voice ended on a child's wail of pain.
Herra sucked in her breath and the sound was spiky with agony. She bent to lift the cloak, then gasped at what she saw. Davred, behind her, reeled backwards in horror. The body was laid out very neatly with its arms crossed over its chest, but Carryn had not been able to hide the fact that her mother's head had been completely severed.
'Merryan!' whispered Herra. 'Oh, my Merryan, may the God our Brother give your soul the peace it has earned!' She touched the cold cheek fleetingly in a gesture that spoke of deep affection, then covered the body tenderly again.
'Did you bring her back here yourself, child? That was bravely done.'
'I had to. They just left her lying there - afterwards. At first they kept watch, so I waited. By the time they left, the Compulsion had worn off.' She shuddered. 'I was s-sick afterwards. I feel sick just to think of what they did to her.
How can the God let such things happen, Elder Sister?'
'I know not, child.’ She put her arm round the girl's thin shoulders and looked at Davred. 'Will you go out and dig a grave for Merryan, Lord Davred, while I comfort this child? We can't leave the body here. It must be given a seemly burial. She deserves that of her Sisters.'
In the carefully-organised university world where Davred had grown up, robots removed the dead swiftly. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to nod and ask, 'Where?'
Herra turned to Carryn. 'Did your mother have a favourite part of the garden, child?'
'She - she liked to sit under the big pandelara tree. She loved its perfume.'
'Then dig the grave there, Lord Davred.'
He went outside again to the desolation of the ruined gardens. First he must find something to dig with. He began to search and was lucky enough to find a battered spade with a splintered handle among the rubble of a garden hut. He had enough skill now to compel the metal of the blade back into a semblance of its old sharp line. The earth was soft after a light overnight rain and he inhaled its rich odours as he turned it over. Such physical labour was another new experience, and one which, with a body strengthened by the Sisters' Disciplines, he would have enjoyed in other circumstances. Now he just felt sickened and dug rapidly, trying to forget the sight of poor Merryan's mutilated body.
'You must know about some good pickings, to dig a hole as big as that,' said a voice behind him.
Davred jumped at the sound and dropped a spadeful of earth over his feet.
'Tut! Tut! That's not the way to do it.' The thin-faced man was back. He spoke lightly, but his expression wasn’t unkind. 'Don't kill yourself with the first half of a job, or you'l not have the strength to finish it. Here, let me show you how to dig. You've never done such work before, have you?'
While Davred was still trying to decide what he should do, the man took the spade from him and began to dig. The pile of earth grew steadily, at twice the rate it had when Davred had been wielding the implement.
'Thank you, friend,' said Davred. After all, Herra had assured him that the man was not of the Serpent.
'It's a grave, isn't it?'
'Yes.'
'Someone kill a friend of yours?'
QUEST Shannah Jay 137
'Yes.' Oh, God, let him not think of her bloody neck, raw as a piece of kitchen meat! 'Yes.'
'Bastards've kil ed a lot of people in the last few days. Run mad, they have. Got a coffin?'
'No.'
'Then this should be deep enough. Unless he was a big fellow.'
'No. She was - not large.' Davred had to swallow hard to hold back the nausea that had been threatening to overwhelm him ever since he had seen what they had done to Merryan.
'There. That should do it, then.' The man stuck the spade into the pile of earth. 'Want a hand with the body?'
'Yes. Thank you. But - I think I'd better warn you. They cut her head off. So . . . ' He had to turn aside then and vomit.
The man came over and patted his shoulders awkwardly. 'A Sister, was she, eh?'
Davred struggled against the after-effects of his nausea. 'Why do you say that?'
'They're doing that now to anyone they say is a Sister - to stop them casting their spells.' He spat into the hole, his expression bleak. 'Not nice, that. Not nice at all. They're frightened of whatever's protecting the temple. How do you suppose the Sisters built that invisible wall?' He stared suddenly at Davred. 'But if you're of them, perhaps you know.'
Davred shook his head and used his sleeve to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. 'How should I know?'
The man needed no prompting to continue. It was as if he were starved of conversation. 'Anyway, I reckon folks've run mad here in Tenebrak. Never seen anything like it. I was in Setherak when the temple there fenced itself off, just the same as here, and there was some rioting. But they never started cutting women's heads off there. Sen-Sether's got the people under better control than Benner has. Sen-Sether was starting to imprison strangers, though, or use them in the shrines.' The man shuddered. 'So I took myself out of Setheron quick as I could and came here, thinking it'd be safe. I mean, it is the oldest temple. But now I have to get out of Tenebrak too. People from other claims are always the first to suffer if there's any trouble.'
'We all suffer from Those of the Serpent.'
'Aye. Not so fond of them myself. Wouldn't trust one as far as I could spit. If Benner goes on at this rate, he'l let them destroy the whole city, and what use wil it be to him then, eh? If I hadn't been knocked senseless and had my things stolen, I'd have been long gone from Tenebrak, I can tell you.'
Davred nodded and made a non-committal sound to encourage the man to continue.
'I deal in jewellery, carving and ornaments, by the way - fine stock I had. I’ve an eye for a true craftsman, if I say so myself. And al my stock was stolen by those bastards! Fair breaks your heart to think of it. You wouldn't credit what I had to pay out in bribes when I first got here, either. You'd think that'd be enough to protect an honest trader from being attacked.' He shook his head gloomily. 'Then my deleff ran off and I was stuck.'
'Bad luck, that.'
'The worst. I could have used draft nerids to get out of the city, though, and then waited for more deleff to come to me out of the wildwoods. They always have before. But those greedy devils impounded my wagon. Now, since the temple wal ed itself off, they won't let anyone out of the city who hasn't got a pass and a token from a shrine. And how am I to get the money for that now - or for more trading goods - let alone a token from one of those pits of hell? Have you ever been inside one?'
'No.'
The
man shivered. 'Fair makes your flesh crawl, it does. All that stinking incense makes me want to throw up, and I don't like to hear women scream. Don't like to hear anyone scream. There's no profit in torturing people, no sense in it, either.'
'I share your feelings, as any decent person would.' Davred tried to study the little man as Herra had taught him, noting the body signs, looking deep into the eyes, trying to catch the essence of the inner self. This one wasn’t easy.
QUEST Shannah Jay 138
Underneath all that friendliness and volubility, there was something more complex. However, Davred shared Herra's feeling that the man was not of the Serpent. There was something too wholesome and likeable about him. A bit of a rogue, perhaps, but not evil.
'Well, can't stand here all day nattering, can we?' His companion set the spade down. 'Where's the body? I'll help you with it, if you like. Best get it all over with.'
'This way. Oh - I'll have to - to blindfold you, or something.'
'No need.' Herra's voice made them both jump. 'He'll not betray us, will you, friend?' Her arm was stil around Carryn's shoulders, but Davred thought the child looked more in control of herself. 'Will you two fetch Merryan now, please?'
Davred took a deep breath to steady his nerves and led the way across the rubble. To his surprise, he found that there was now a visible doorway opening into the hidden chamber. He went inside and hesitated before reaching for the cloak.
The man pushed past him. 'Here, let me take the head end. I didn't know her. And I'm used to the sight of death.
Where have you lived so sheltered from violence in this day and age?'
Davred flushed.
They carried the body outside and laid it gently in the hole. Herra was already by its side, holding the spade. She held it out to the girl. 'The first three spadesful, Carryn, if you please. You are the only member of her family here.'
The girl swallowed hard, but did as she was told. With trembling hands she dropped some earth into the hole.
Without being prompted, she murmured the ritual phrase over each spadeful.
‘May light shine in your darkness!
May your lives draw ever nearer to wisdom!
May the God bless your next coming!’
At Herra's nod, Davred took the spade from Carryn and cast three more showers of earth on to the still body, repeating the phrases softly, then Herra nodded to the stranger. 'You too, my friend.'
He looked surprised, but did as he was asked, stumbling a little over the words. 'Haven't said that for a while,' he muttered afterwards. 'I'd forgotten how comforting it is.'
Finally, Herra took the spade from him and laid it aside. ' Go gently through the interim darkness, Sister of the God. May our Brother send you comfort in your griefs and solace in your troubles throughout all your lives.' A swift gesture and the ground beneath them shook slightly. When they looked at the grave, the earth above it was smooth again, as if it had not been disturbed for years. 'They will not desecrate this ground,' she said grimly.
The man gulped. 'That's a potent spell.'
She sighed. 'I hope so. What are you called, friend? '
'Jonner.' He blinked in surprise. He hadn’t intended to tell these strangers his real name, and couldn’t understand why he’d been so foolhardy.
'Well, then, friend Jonner, I think we must all leave quickly now, because I can sense the approach of evil. Do you know of somewhere safe we could go? Somewhere to talk?'
'I might. If you have the money to buy a few drinks.'
'I have the money for both food and drink. And you seem very hungry.'
Jonner's face brightened. 'I am. This way, then.'
#####
QUEST Shannah Jay 139
Chapter 22: JONNER
They went to the back of Aharri Bel-Ashkaron's house and out through a hole in the fence. 'Pity there was no loot,'
Jonner said, looking back regretfully. 'I'd surely like to buy a seat on one of Savareth's trading wagons. Terrible high prices he's charging these days if you want to get out of the city. But it's not safe travelling the countryside on your own.'
'Perhaps we'll be able to help each other,' suggested Herra. 'We too have plans to travel, and to trade a little, perhaps.'
'Is that so? Well, if you let me come along, I'll certainly earn my way,' Jonner offered at once. 'I always have, ever since I was ten. And this is the first time anyone's caught me off my guard since I turned fifteen.' He squinted at Davred. 'You'd better limp or put your arm in a sling, my squeamish friend, or they'll be hauling you off on one of their work gangs. Here!' He watched Davred for a minute, then pulled a piece of dirty cloth out of his sack. 'You're a rotten limper. Better try a sling.'
He tied up Davred's other arm. 'There! Real pitiful you look now. Good job I didn't wash the blood off that cloth.
Have you three got names, by the way?'
'Call me Shan and him Dylin,' said Herra promptly.
'Well, I suppose those names are as good names as any. What have you picked for her?'
Herra smiled. 'Susra will do.'
'Susra's a nice name too,' he agreed.
Herra led them to a dimly-lit eating house with tables set in little alcoves all round the walls. Only a couple of them were occupied.
Behind the counter sat a fat man with small, pale-blue eyes set deep in folds of heavy flesh. 'So you're back, are you?'
he said sourly to Jonner. 'Got some money this time?'
'My friends have.' Jonner nudged Davred. 'I owe him ten pieces, Dylin.'
Davred thought it best to grumble before handing over the money.
The owner of the eating house examined the coins carefully and put them in his pocket.
'We'd like one of your booths, friend, a nice quiet one,' said Herra.
'Five pieces for drinks and you can sit there all day.' The money vanished with astonishing speed.
'And we're all hungry. What do you recommend?'
'Stew. It's all there is. And lucky to get that. Not many supplies getting through.' He pointed to Carryn. 'She can't sit with you. New law. Women not to eat in public places.'
'She's not a woman; she's only a child.'
'Well . . . maybe for five more pieces I could grow a bit short-sighted. But she'd better keep quiet and behave modestly. Keep her out of sight at the back of the booth.'
A voice called to him from the kitchen and Harrol yel ed back that he'd got some new customers to settle first. 'Go and sit down. I'll bring your stew when it's ready.'
'He's frightened,' whispered Jonner, when they were sitting in the booth. 'I bet no one's ever seen Fat Harrol worry about the law before. Go on at this rate and a man won't be able to get himself a woman at all unless he goes into a shrine.'
'Yes,' said Herra thoughtfully. 'Yes, indeed.'
QUEST Shannah Jay 140
The stew was good and no one left any of it. Another four pieces bought them a large tart, though the fruit in it was preserved, not fresh. Jonner ate more than anyone, then sighed and loosened his belt. 'That was good! Now, what were you wanting to discuss - er - Shan?'
'First we need some information,' said Herra. 'This child has a father, who may still be alive. His name is Aharri Bel-Ashkaron and he . . . '
'Shhh! Not so loud!' Jonner looked round anxiously, but the other customers were all engrossed in their own affairs.
'The man you're interested in is definitely still alive. I didn't tell you before, but he's the reason I was there in the Street of Bellflowers. There's a reward out for information about his wife and daughter. I was trying to earn it . . . but it was you who found her, so it's for you to claim.'
Carryn's face lit up. 'My father's still alive?'
'Quiet, lass! And keep your eyes down, even when you speak to us, or you'll betray us.'
She obediently lowered her eyes, but not before Davred had seen the tears in them. 'But he is alive?' she pleaded in a whisper. 'He is, isn't he?'
'So I'm told,' said Jonner. 'Mind, I haven't se
en him myself. Fat Harrol's the one who suggested I earn the reward.'
'Is that man to be trusted?' asked Davred.
'As long as he's well paid.'
'But he could betray us afterwards for more money.'
'Not him. He gets a good extra income from arranging such things. He'll accept a commission from anyone, including Those of the bleedin' Serpent, but once he's accepted it, he'll not betray anything. But I suppose he's sticking to the new regulations now, because if those devils close this place down, he'll lose everything. Not that he couldn't afford to retire if he wanted to, but he's got a great passion for money, has Harrol.'
'We don't need that reward money,' said Herra. 'You can earn it by dealing with this for us. We just want to see Aharri. Try to arrange a meeting with him, will you?'
Jonner sucked air through his teeth thoughtfully. 'It'll cost you. Fat Harrol does nothing for love, not even for his family.'
'We'll pay whatever it takes.'
Jonner still hesitated. 'My health would be improved by a bit of travel,' he said pointedly.
Herra grinned. 'I thought that was already agreed. Aharri's the one who can get us a wagon, then we'll need a driver who knows how to trade.'
Jonner smiled. 'I'm not a bad driver, but I’m a better trader. I'll get you top prices for your goods.'
'We have no goods till we've seen Aharri. Go and arrange it.'
Within minutes Jonner was back. He just had time to hiss at Carryn not to be afraid, but to go where she was told, before Harrol came over to the table.
'My wife's cleared a space in the kitchen now. The girl can go and sit there. It makes me feel uncomfortable to see a woman flaunting herself in a public place like she is.'
'You should have had the place ready, then,' Herra flung at him. 'You surely don't think I wanted her sitting at table with her betters! But make sure she's looked after. She's a virtuous girl and I'm saving her maidenhead for the Serpent's altar. You, girl, off you go!'
'I'll look after her as if I were her own father,' promised Harrol. He lowered his voice. 'She'll be with him in two hours. He's left word to send her to him straight away. I'l let him know about you at the same time.'