The Sword

by Bryan M. Litfin

  “People of Chiveis, you have seen me win victories on this field. I have fought our enemies with this sword. But today I tell you the truth! It isn’t by the sword that Chiveis lives! It is Deu who gives the victory!” Teo emphatically shoved the sword into his scabbard to make his point. Jeers and catcalls erupted from the crowd, but Teo ignored them. He dropped the burning stick next to the sacrificed bull.

  Nothing happened.

  Oh, Deu, let it catch! Make a flame blaze up! Ana’s heart was pounding in her chest as she stared at the altar.

  The crowd had fallen silent. Everyone waited in hushed expectation.

  Next to the flickering piece of kindling, a shower of sparks shot up. It caught Teo’s eye, and he crouched to inspect it. The tiny blaze disappeared under the wood. Suddenly Teo sprang to his feet. He met Ana’s eyes with a look of sheer horror. She sucked in her breath. Something was terribly wrong.

  “Run!” Teo leaped off the altar and hit the ground at full speed. “Get below!” He grabbed Habiloho by the arm, dragging her toward the trapdoor despite her protests. Ana dashed in the same direction, not understanding the situation but trusting Teo’s instincts. At the opening to the rooms below, she turned around. Habiloho had wrenched herself from Teo’s grasp and was angrily refusing to follow him. Teo looked at her, then at Ana. Anguish was written all over his face.

  Teo sprinted toward Ana. He tackled her, and they slid down the inclined trapdoor, their bodies intertwined. They lurched to a halt at the bottom. Teo was on top of her.

  And then the world exploded.

  In the stands, Lina shrieked as a fireball shattered the altar. The ear-splitting concussion echoed around the coliseum—a sound so loud, it clubbed the crowd into submission. Smoke billowed to the sky from the arena floor, while flaming debris rained upon the terrified masses. Everyone was wailing. They had never seen Astrebril’s Curse up close.

  “Where’s Ana? Shaphan, where’s Ana?” Lina was panicked. She clutched Shaphan’s arm.

  “I think she got down in time, but look at the king!” The corpse of King Piair lay sprawled in the dust, his arms and legs splayed out at unnatural angles. The overturned throne was a burning wreck.

  “It’s terrible! Ana, where are you?” Fear clawed at Lina’s heart. Her ears were ringing, and the acrid smoke stung her nose. Everything around her was in tumult. Some people were fleeing the coliseum, while others were staring at the carnage in horrified fascination.

  A man in the aisle pointed to the arena, his mouth agape. “Look! The Flame of Chiveis is dead!”

  “It’s Deu’s fault!” screamed another. “Astrebril is angry!”

  Shaphan leaned toward Lina and whispered in her ear, “We should leave—now.”

  “There he is—the blasphemer!” The man in the aisle bared his teeth. “Let’s kill him!”

  Lina saw Teo, far below in the haze, come up the ramp from the underground rooms. He knelt beside Habiloho’s motionless form. Men in the stands began pointing and shouting. “He’s desecrating her body!” one of them yelled. Across the coliseum, groups of men began moving down the aisles.

  Teo scooped Habiloho into his arms and carried her down the ramp formed by the open trapdoor. An angry mob had gathered at the railings that separated the stands from the arena floor. One man jumped the rail and began to run across the oval. Emboldened by his action, the rest of the mob followed. From below, the trapdoor quickly lifted into place. It had just closed when the pursuers reached it. They stamped on it in frustration.

  “Shaphan, I’m scared! It wasn’t supposed to happen like this!”

  “Don’t give up hope, Lina. Come on, let’s get out of here.” He took her by the hand and moved toward the aisle.

  “Where are we going?”

  Shaphan turned to Lina and pulled her near, speaking so no one else could hear. “We need to find Teofil and Anastasia so we can make a new plan.”

  “How will we find them?”

  “I know my master. I know where he’ll go.” Shaphan interlocked his fingers with Lina’s. “Now hang onto me, and stay close!”

  As Shaphan moved toward the exit, Lina allowed herself to be pulled through the agitated crowd. Nothing was going as it should. The foul god Astrebril was winning. The injustice made Lina sick. Deu! she prayed bitterly. Where are you?

  The world was a red haze. Then she succumbed to darkness.

  Lights flashed. Voices. A man. Dark again.

  She opened her eyes. The room was spinning. Someone called her name. A face came into focus. Teofil?

  “Habiloho, wake up!”

  Everything hurt. She couldn’t breathe. “T-Teof . . .” It was more of a groan than a word.

  “Habiloho! Can you hear me?”

  Teo was there, looking down at her. She loved that face. She always had. “Teofil . . . I need you . . .”

  “I’m right here! We’re going to get you to a doctor!”

  “No! I’m slipping . . . I’m losing . . .” She gasped for breath. There were hot things in her body, things that shouldn’t be there.

  Habiloho looked up from where she lay on the stone floor. Teo knelt over her, and beside him was that beautiful girl from Edgeton. She had a kind expression on her face. A lovely woman. They should have been friends. Now it’s too late . . .

  Blood choked her throat. Gagging, she rolled on her side and spit it out. Pain ripped through her body. Habiloho knew it was the end.

  “Help me! This collar!” She clawed at her neck.

  “You want it off?”

  Habiloho nodded weakly.

  Teo grabbed a rock and rapped on the pin at the back of Habiloho’s neck. The iron collar fell away. Anastasia hurled it into the corner, where it clanged off the wall.

  Habiloho felt she could breathe again. Things seemed more peaceful now. The world had grown small. It felt good to lie there and rest. “Teofil,” she whispered, “tell me about Deu before I go.”

  “He’s good. He’s loving. He cares for you.”

  She knew he was right. “Will he take me? Even me?”

  Ana stroked Habiloho’s hand. “Yes, Your Highness. Deu is merciful to all who repent.”

  “I repent. I’ve seen evil. I choose Deu.”

  Teo had tears in his eyes. “My friend, I’m sorry.”

  Habiloho smiled. I always knew he was the right kind of man. The brave captain with the noble heart. I wasn’t worthy of him. A sense of regret overwhelmed her. She decided the future of Chiveis would be very different from the past. “Can you . . . write?”

  “Write what?’

  “A message . . . to my brother.” She swallowed and closed her eyes, feeling her strength ebbing away. “Hurry, Teofil.”

  Ana held up the Sacred Writing. “You could write on the letter of Jacques Dalsace,” she suggested. Removing it from the book, she flipped it over and handed it to Teo, along with a piece of charred wood.

  “Go ahead, Habiloho. I’m ready.”

  Habiloho opened her eyes and stared into Teo’s face. She knew whatever words she uttered next would be her last, so she wanted to make them count. “My dear Piair, I love you. Astrebril is wicked. I choose Deu. Bring him to Chiveis!” She touched her hand to her forehead, feeling warm stickiness there. With a shaky forefinger, she traced her mark on the message. H.

  “Good-bye, Teofil.”

  His handsome face receded. A warm light engulfed the princess, and then she heard the gentlest of voices welcome her home.

  “There! I see them!” Shaphan pointed to the trees below.

  “Where? Where?” Lina scanned the forest from her vantage point just above the tree line.

  “They’re back in the woods again.”

  “I missed them!”

  “Of course you did. Professor Teofil is a master woodsman. He knows how to move without being seen. Even when we know where they’re going, we still can’t find them.”

  “Did you see Ana? Was she okay?”

  “Seemed to be.”

  S
haphan stretched and enjoyed the feel of the late afternoon sun on his shoulders. He had stopped at a place he knew Teo would have to pass to reach Obirhorn Lake. The Ancients had constructed a couple of buildings at the site, but now only the foundation stones and some debris remained. While they waited, Lina poked around to see what she might find.

  “Look at this, Shaphan.” He turned around. Lina held up a sign, its ancient lettering still legible. “Can you read it?”

  He took it from her and studied the white letters. “It says, ‘Berghotel.’ I’m not sure what that means.”

  From out of nowhere, a voice spoke. “You have a lot of nerve coming here.” Shaphan’s heart skipped a beat, and Lina let out a startled cry.

  Teofil stood watching them with an impassive look on his face. Behind him, Ana emerged from the trees, leading two horses.

  Shaphan swallowed the lump in his throat. He deduced from the unfriendly greeting that his professor must know about the theft of the Sacred Writing.

  “Professor Teofil, I have something to confess to you.” Shaphan approached slowly, his eyes downcast.

  “So it would seem. Sucula told me what you did. You have no idea what course of events your treachery unleashed. You stabbed me in the back, Shaphan. You betrayed me.”

  Shaphan’s face burned. “I see that now. There’s nothing I can do but ask your forgiveness. I wanted your approval, and when I didn’t get it, I tried to get it from Valent. I was wrong.”

  An awkward silence hung in the air. The moment was poised on the edge of a knife.

  Teo closed the distance to Shaphan. Is he going to hit me? Shaphan braced himself.

  “A wise woman once taught me the meaning of forgiveness when I needed it. Now I forgive you, Shaphan. And I ask you to forgive me for not being the mentor you deserved.”

  Shaphan’s eyes brimmed with tears as he looked up at Teo. He thrust out his hand. Teo clasped it and pulled him into a manly hug, slapping him on the back several times. The slaps were hard enough to hurt, but Shaphan didn’t mind.

  Lina rushed to embrace her cousin. “Oh, Ana! When that altar exploded, I thought you were dead!”

  “No, not yet. Deu spread his wing over me.”

  The two women joined Teo while Shaphan went to his horse, then returned with a pair of rucksacks, one of them Teo’s own. “Look what I brought! I figured you’d need some stuff if you’re going to hide at Obirhorn Lake for a while.”

  Teo chuckled. “So you knew where to find me. Am I that predictable?”

  “Not to the average citizen. But I knew where you’d take Anastasia.”

  “Fortunately I know how to hide my trail in the woods. The citizens are out for blood. It was all we could do to get here without being lynched. The High Priestess has them running scared. Deu lost a major battle today.”

  Ana intertwined her arm with Teo’s. “Deu may have lost the battle, but not the war. Don’t lose heart.”

  He glanced at her and nodded thoughtfully.

  Shaphan dug through Teo’s rucksack. “Look here! You have your ax, good arrowheads, new bowstrings. Your bow is over by the horse. Plenty of food here too. Dried meat, cheese, waybread. And look what else!” He removed a fur garment from the pack. Ana gasped.

  “My bearskin cloak!” Teo’s eyes widened. “How did you get that?”

  Shaphan smiled proudly. “Maurice hid the scrolls in the barn where you took refuge during the fire. When I went to fetch them, I opened his rucksack, and the cloak was there.”

  “It was hanging in Valent’s house,” Ana said. “I saw it when I was with Maurice. He must have picked it up after I left.”

  Teo scratched the back of his head and kicked a pebble with his toe. “I won’t let it out of my sight again,” he vowed.

  “Good idea,” Ana agreed.

  Teo put his hand on Shaphan’s shoulder. “You’ve done well. You analyzed the need and planned wisely. I’m grateful.”

  Shaphan felt his cheeks redden. “Thank you, Professor Teofil.”

  “Enough with the fancy titles. We share the faith of Deu. Just call me by my name.”

  Shaphan nodded.

  “What now?” Lina asked.

  Teo met Shaphan’s eyes. “Anastasia and I have made a public profession of Deu. We have to hide. I want you to take care of Lina and Rosetta while we’re away. Stay out of sight—keep a low profile. Can you do that?”

  “I can.”

  “You must tend to more than their physical needs. You’ll have to give them the strength of your spirit.”

  “I’ve seen him doing that already,” Ana said.

  “Good. You’re the man for the job, Shaphan. Hold the fort until I return.”

  “I will, in Deu’s strength.”

  The four friends mounted their horses and circled them in front of the ancient Berghotel, where they spent a few moments in prayer. When the prayers were finished, they moved off in opposite directions.

  Lina sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I’ll pray for you, Ana!”

  “And I’ll pray for you. I love you! See you soon!”

  The shepherd’s elderly wife had been having digestive troubles, and according to her, there was only one solution—an extract made from the white mountain-star flowers of Chiveis. She nagged her husband until finally he pulled on his boots, took up his staff, and headed to the high meadows to see what he could find.

  He knew the flowers sometimes grew near Obirhorn Lake. It had been years since he’d trekked all the way up there, back in those wild lands at the head of the Maiden’s Valley. After an afternoon of searching, his pouch was full of mountain stars. The old lady would be pleased.

  Movement on the trail below caught his eye. He hadn’t seen anyone all day, so it seemed strange for two riders to be approaching in the waning light. There was no reason for them to be in these hinterlands unless they were going to the hunter’s cabin to try their luck with an ibex in the morning. If so, they’d be young guardsmen—probably drinking too much, and perhaps willing to make sport of a gimpy old man. Better to avoid them. He crept off the trail to hide and let the visitors pass by.

  As the horses approached, the shepherd was surprised to discover that one of the riders was a woman, and not just any woman. This one was a real beauty—the kind he used to chase but could only dream of now. The other rider was a guardsman with thick, dark hair who sat tall in the saddle. He seemed familiar. Suddenly the old man recognized him: he was that fellow who competed in tournaments who shot an arrow through a falling apple last year. Wasn’t that a trick!

  The riders passed in silence on their way to the lake. When they disappeared around the bend, the shepherd resumed his journey toward the village in the valley. His throat was parched. Perhaps he’d stop for a drink. He’d have an interesting tale for the other gaffers at the alehouse tonight.

  CHAPTER

  16

  Your Majesty, the High Priestess is here.” The doorkeeper awaited his instructions from the new king, Piair II.

  “Send her in.”

  Piair stood beside an open casket in his private rooms at the palace. Habiloho looked so beautiful as she rested there. Her bloody gown had been exchanged for a white robe, and her hair had been washed and combed. Nevertheless, Piair was bitter, for he knew her peacefulness was an illusion. His sister’s death had been violent. The doctors had said they removed numerous metal shards from her body. The same was true for Piair’s father, but somehow the offense seemed greater in Habiloho’s case. She was so pure and delicate. Now she was gone.

  The High Priestess swept into the room, her aura of sensual power permeating its every corner. Several eunuchs stepped lightly behind her, ready to do her bidding. “I offer you my condolences, King Piair,” she said. “Your father was a noble lord, and your sister is a holy sacrifice to Astrebril.”

  “Thank you for those words, Priestess. There will be time enough for grieving in the days ahead. Right now anger burns in my heart.”

  “As it should. It burns in As
trebril’s heart as well. We have sinned by mentioning the name of a foreign god in Chiveis. For that, we were punished.”

  Piair grimaced as he nodded. “I know. It’s the last religious mistake I’ll make as king.”

  The High Priestess smiled and came closer. Her scent was flowery and feminine, but with a sharp edge. She moved in a way Piair found appealing. From a distance he had always assumed she was much older than he, but now that he saw her up close in her sheer robe, he was struck by how young she was, and frankly, how alluring.

  I’m the king now. Nothing is denied to me. What if . . .

  The doorkeeper returned to the room, snapping Piair out of his thoughts. “Your Highness? Your tutor has come. He wishes to know if he may be of service.”

  “Yes, I would value the counsel of Brother Lewth right now. He may enter.” The doorkeeper bowed. Piair glanced toward the High Priestess. “One of your monks,” he said. She curled her lip and turned away.

  Piair welcomed Lewth into his chambers. “Come in, Brother Lewth! We were just discussing religion. Astrebril is displeased with us. We must find a way to placate him.”

  Lewth shuffled his feet, apparently uncomfortable in the presence of two such powerful rulers. “I will serve if I can,” he said.

  “We don’t need the opinions of lowly monks!” The High Priestess fingered the collar at her neck. “It’s obvious what we must do. Does the surgeon dither about when a limb has gone gangrenous? Of course not! He sharpens his knife and cuts it off like the dead flesh it is!”

  Piair was taken aback by the outburst, though he tried to cover his surprise. “What do you suggest?” He hoped he sounded confident, as befitted a king.

  “Proclaim an edict at once! Send it throughout Chiveis under your royal seal. Anyone who serves Deu must renounce him or be executed on the spot. Citizens will be rewarded for exposing the heretics. A guardsman may draw his sword and carry out the execution immediately. We must rid Chiveis of this spiritual infection!”

  The idea shocked Piair. “That’s insane! Worshipping other gods isn’t illegal, at least not according to the letter of the law. And we don’t execute citizens without a trial. There’s no precedent for this. The magistrates wouldn’t stand for it.”