Enemy Known

by Butler, J. M.

  "Ah, is that what you intend to rely on then?" Naatos paced to the end of the room. "Elonumato will not let you die, but he will let you suffer. If you truly believe in Elonumato's goodness, then you should be willing to let Shon die. He will be welcomed to Elonumato as a faithful follower and as an innocent victim. Let him live out the years in peace in Elonumato's land. He will not suffer there. It's not as if he would have made much of a difference here anyway."

  "The time he has here matters though. It matters for all of us! And just because Shon wound up in a bad situation doesn't mean he deserves to die." Anger flared through Amelia. "He is a good man. Perhaps his ambition and his ego are not so powerful that he must conquer all of the worlds, but he will do great things in his own way. So no! Kill him, and everything we have agreed to is over." She returned to the bath chamber and slammed the door.

  Blaming Shon was wrong and unfair. Amelia tore off the robe, cast it aside, and began to dress. It did not take long, but she did not want to leave the bathroom yet. She began to pace back and forth, tugging at her hair and necklace.

  Her own feelings aside, if Shon died it would bring both her and Naatos to a stalemate. She had to get him away from this idea. What troubled her though was his sincerity about this situation.

  Something crashed in the other room. Amelia glanced at the door. He actually didn't want to see her suffer. And if that was the case, she needed to keep the attacks away from him. But she also needed to give him something to lose or gain immediately. An idea formed in her mind.

  She returned to the door and flung it back. Naatos turned to face her but before he could speak, she held up her hand. "Listen to me." She crossed over to him, grabbed his face, and kissed him hard on the lips. Though she pulled back, she held onto him. "I will not let you kill Shon, but if you follow through on your part of this, I won't deny you what you want from me. I need the time we agreed on before we feshtashoon, but I will kiss you, sit with you, make out with you, whatever you want. You can give me melshkas if you want. All right? I may still have feelings for Shon, but I picked you. That has to be enough for you."

  Naatos stood there, stunned.

  "Do we have an agreement?" Amelia asked.

  Naatos straightened, his expression becoming stern again. "For now, that is acceptable."

  That was as good as she was going to get. "Fine then." She braced herself. "Do you want anything from me now?"

  Naatos frowned. A look somewhere between concern, disgust, and shock pushed through his eyes. He shook his head. "No."

  That was surprising. She wasn't entirely sure why he wasn't taking advantage of their agreement, but she was grateful. Amelia nodded her head slowly. "Well, then I would like to see my father. I guess there are things you need to tend to." She started toward the door.

  Naatos caught her by the arm, pulling her back. "I won't let you die, Amelia. I would have your rage and bitterness over your death any day. If the split heart does not form within a reasonable period of time, or if it threatens your life, I will find the Awdawm and end him."

  "I'll be fine." Amelia jerked her arm away. "I survived those spiders of yours, didn't I?"

  "Only because I killed them and then treated your wounds." Naatos paused, looking out the window. The muscles of his neck and jaw stood out, his right fist clenched. "There is more that must be discussed, but that Awdawm's life is not worth yours. No Awdawm's life is."

  "I understand your position. You understand mine. Now if there's nothing else, I want to see King Theol."

  "One of the attendants will take you to him. You will not have much time to speak to him so use your time wisely. When you have finished or if you are summoned, you will meet me in the Hall of Creation." He opened the door.

  WroOth appeared in the doorway. He opened his mouth to speak, but Naatos cut him off. "Not now!"

  WroOth shrugged, his forehead creasing. But he left.

  "Come with me now." Naatos gripped her arm and pulled her along. When they left the living quarters he summoned a guard, gave him instructions, and threatened to kill him and his entire faction if he did not see to it Amelia was returned to him or his brothers safely.

  The guard was a young man with bushy brown hair and a fierce blue scar on his chin that had been worked into an abstract tattoo. But whatever confidence he had dissolved when Naatos left him with Amelia. He motioned toward the hall with a jerky lift of his left hand and then hurried forward. Apparently Naatos's warnings had been much more targeted and effective this time.

  The guard walked ahead of Amelia, glancing back at her nervously every so often and quickening his pace. She could feel the tension and nerves coursing through him like an enlarged energy field. Perhaps she could have done something to ease the tension, but she could think of nothing to say. Her own nervous energy fluttered in her stomach and spun at the edges of her vision. It wasn't only the effects of the split heart. She was going to see King Theol again.

  The guard took her down two staircases and through hall after hall. Amelia nearly lost track though she found markers to recall. They passed many attendants and guards, men and women on the outer halls of the first floor. The entirety of the Talbokian tribes appeared to be in this place. All of them bustled about, carrying baskets and hauling wood or hurrying on errands. Despite the tension Amelia felt from herself and the guard, all the rest seemed excited. Fresh wind blew inside, tinged with the damp crispness of morning dew and possibilities.

  After a while, they reached one of the passages to the smaller mountain, and the tattooed guard led her through a labyrinth of halls until they reached a room five floors up. Given that there was only one set of guards in front of one of the doors, it appeared that King Theol was the sole prisoner in this area. The cell was a single room with a barred door and barred windows.

  Amelia hesitated when she caught her first glimpse. King Theol was smaller than she remembered. And older. She did not recall so many wrinkles and creases about his brow. Her heart rose and fell at once.

  At least his prison cell was furnished nicely enough, almost like a small one-room home in the palace. Amelia wondered if this was where he had been kept initially. Naatos had changed so many things after he had learned she was his wife.

  The king turned, pausing when he caught sight of her. The guard unlocked the barred door and motioned for Amelia to enter. "Lord Naatos, Para of Eiram's wife, Amelia, wishes to see you."

  Amelia restrained her surprise. That was not how she had intended to introduce herself. A wooziness swept over her, and her head pounded.

  King Theol looked at her hard as she stepped inside. His brow creased, and the many thin lines about his eyes deepened. "Do I know you?" He clasped his hands behind his back.

  So many memories thudded in Amelia's mind, dozens of emotions fighting for dominance. All those times she'd wanted to see him again as a child, and now he looked at her as an enemy. "It's been a long time. Well over twenty years since we met. I don't think you'd recognize me."

  King Theol's brows lifted with surprise. "You do not appear much older than that yourself. But Neyeb age differently, I suppose. You might be twenty or four hundred. But regardless of your age, I would have remembered meeting you."

  "Maybe." It was hard for Amelia to speak around the knot in her throat. She rubbed the base of her palm as if she could shush her elmis.

  "I have a little girl who is a Neyeb." King Theol spoke the words tightly, a sad smile tugging at his lips. "Perhaps you've seen her. She's vanished and is likely running in terror because of your husband. Do you know what he's doing? Do you support this?"

  "I…" Amelia shook her head. "I'm sorry for what you and your family have suffered."

  "Do you think I want your comfort? Or your apologies?" King Theol demanded. "I am a pacifist by oath, but I have never desired such…" He closed his eyes and released a sharp breath through his teeth. "Tell me this. Has she been found?"

  "Why would you think she has been found?" Amelia asked.

 
; "My wife and son were to be executed. I was in a pit beneath the surface. Suddenly they are not to die, and no executions took their place. Alita was even allowed to send me a message in proof of her life and Josiah's. Fortunately, they are both well and being kept in the palace. I was taken from the pit and moved into this place. Why would any conquering warlord have such a change in conduct unless he stood to gain from it?"

  "Naatos can sometimes be surprising," Amelia said. "I'm glad to hear that the queen and prince are safe and that you are in better quarters."

  "This man you allied yourself with will not win. He thinks he can walk over us because we are Libyshans. Because we are Awdawms. But he forgets that there is more at work here than he knows. He and his brothers—and apparently you—well, you will all be in for quite the surprise." King Theol folded his arms.

  It bristled Amelia to be lumped in with Naatos, but she understood it. She struggled to find the words. All she could get out was, "I know."

  "Oh, you do?" King Theol paused, his frown deepening. "And what exactly do you know?"

  "That Elonumato will find a way even if it is hard to see right now. That the restoration of the Tue-Rah must be completed and Inale is safe. I cannot see how this will end well or how it will occur without bloodshed or grief, but He must be trusted."

  "You trust in Elonumato?" King Theol shook his head as if surprised. "And you don't think your husband will succeed?"

  "Yes. And no." Amelia smiled. She liked listening to his voice, particularly now that it had softened. Occasionally he had come at night to read her a fable or two. She switched to rubbing her thumb over her necklace, struggling to keep her voice steady. "I have trusted in Elonumato since I was little. I was taught that was important. That faith keeps one going even when there is nothing else. That sometimes faith can even create hope."

  "You are not what I expected." King Theol's eyes narrowed. "I was not even aware that Naatos was married. He was not at the time of my capture. How did he even find you? Were you also hidden in the temple? Why would you accept a man such as this? Why did you even want to see me?"

  "It was an arranged marriage. And my reason for being here…" Amelia choked. "I wanted to see you." She fiddled with her necklace, her voice thick.

  "Why? Because I am the First Nalenth? Because I am the first king to be dethroned by these barbarians? If they have their way, all the others will follow." King Theol cast an indignant look back at the guard before returning his focus to her. "And where are you from? If I had met you before, I would have known. Inale was the first Neyeb I ever met, and if I had known there was another Neyeb here on this world, I would have sought her out. Were you in the temple?"

  "I wanted you to know that…" Amelia struggled to speak, tears brimming in her eyes. He did care about her. Both her adopted parents did. She bit her lip as she dug her thumbnail into her stone pendant.

  King Theol suddenly took hold of the necklace. He stared at in silence, then looked at her. "Where did you get this?"

  "They found me with it when I was little," Amelia whispered. "I've always had it."

  "It is exactly like the one Inale has." King Theol stared at her hard. She could feel his thoughts flitting by, questioning whether all Neyeb women had the same necklace or whether she had taken it or…

  "I know." Amelia dropped her head. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I…I don't know how to tell you the rest. The Tue-Rah took me. I grew up, and it brought me back here, but no time passed at all. It's been over twenty years since I have seen you, but you just saw me a few days ago."

  King Theol's eyes widened. "Inale?"

  Amelia nodded, trying to choke back the tears. "I am so sorry I couldn't stop this, but I will." She wanted to hug him, but she couldn't bring herself to move closer. He stood so close though she could smell that faint scent of old wood, spice, and parchment she remembered.

  "Why are they calling you Amelia? And why did they say you were Naatos's wife?" King Theol laughed. He took her hands in his, staring at them in disbelief.

  Amelia couldn't look. She remembered when her hands were so small they both fit in his palm.

  "Are you pretending to be Naatos's wife? Is that who this Amelia is? Are you trying to launch a rescue all by yourself? You would do that, wouldn't you? You were such a determined and thoughtful child, but we knew that the blood curse hung heavy over you. Perhaps this is what it was for."

  "No…" Amelia shook her head. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "No…the Neyeb arranged my marriage to Naatos before you ever adopted me. It went into effect on my twenty-fourth birthday. There was nothing I could do to stop it."

  King Theol stepped back. "So you truly are…"

  Amelia nodded. "But you're right. They won't win. I'll see to that. I'm the Third Nalenth, remember?"

  The bushy-haired guard rapped on the door. He motioned for her to come. Amelia embraced King Theol, deciding to take a chance. "The Ayamin and Machat are planning a rescue. It'll be after the restoration. Be ready for it," she whispered. "If you can escape, do. Look for Kepsalon toward the western foothills. I love you. I'll come and see you as soon as I can."

  31

  The Hall of Creation

  The guard whisked Amelia along, barely giving her a chance to say goodbye and certainly not enough time to sort through the complicated mass of emotion. "Hurry," he said. "They shouldn't be kept waiting." He took her back through the stone corridors, down the winding staircases, past tapestries and statues, and finally to the opening of a massive hall with peaked ceilings that went up almost as high as the mountain.

  AaQar stood beside one of the elephant-thick pillars. He looked like one of the many alabaster statues that filled this hall. Tapestries the size of a room hung on the walls, depicting scenes from history or mythology. It was hard to tell which.

  Amelia slowed her pace as she entered. Her bare feet made soft sounds on the stone floor. It reminded her of the Hall of Memories in Telhetum. Perhaps this was what had inspired the palace architects long ago. It reminded her of a sacred museum.

  "You may leave," AaQar said to the guard. His gaze shifted to Amelia. He smiled, though the sadness clung to him. "I presume you have never been in this place."

  "No." Amelia turned slowly, trying to take everything in. The artwork appeared untouched. It was magnificent in every detail. While some of the wool in the tapestries had faded, the detail work in the expressions, the fur, the scales, and more seemed practically lifelike in more than a few. The statues depicted numerous individuals, but each one looked as if it could come alive and step off the pedestal. Soft sunlight filtered through the narrow windows. The room smelled ancient, like stone and sealed wool.

  "It is not merely art for art's sake. Each of the temples for the Tue-Rah have a similar hall known as the Hall of Creation. The artistic styles represent the cultures of the people who live on the world. Ecekom's Hall of Creation was always my favorite. But, in truth, this one is almost as soothing." AaQar placed his hand on the bottom corner of the nearest tapestry.

  The weavings in the tapestry reminded Amelia of the medieval tapestries she had seen in museums and history books. The colors tended toward rust-toned primaries with delicate threadwork. The tapestry nearest her depicted eight pairs of people, one man and one woman in each group, beneath what she assumed was Elonumato, standing before eight blue gates. "Do they all tell parts of the same story?"

  "Each tapestry gives a different account. This one is the account of creation. At the beginning of all, Elonumato fashioned the worlds and all of their bounty with no more than His words. The cosmos erupted before Him with life and beauty, tearing through the darkness of infinity. Yet three of the worlds He formed near one another with countless others surrounding them. These were the Central Worlds, the beginning of all sentients. On each world, He wove plants and trees with His speech and crafted beasts great and small to live on every terrain. He molded the mountains and carved the seas, filling them with the wonders of His imagination. The besred, the
dragon, the pegasus, the okapi, all these and more found their home within these worlds."

  AaQar's voice had become far stronger, almost reverent. Like King Theol, he spoke with a gentle tone. No matter what story he told it would probably have been soothing. Slowly he withdrew his hand from the weaving and motioned to another. "And then Elonumato walked through His creation, accompanied by His messengers and attendants. All was beautiful beyond measure, but He knew then that more was needed. So He sent His messengers to bring soil from each of the three Central Worlds. And when He received it, He fashioned the sentients with His bare hands and breathed life into them. He fashioned there eight sentients, the forefathers of all the races: Vawtrin, Awdawm, Neyeb, Machat, Unato, ShiVen, Tiablo, and Bealorn. Then He took these eight forefathers and from them fashioned the foremothers: Ayen, Eve, Beai, Chial, Lausuete, Kio, Shrivalte, and Melvaln. He nurtured them in His own land and loved them as a father loves his children. He explained this to them and that they would be parents to nations, yet they were never to war with one another. Though they were distinct, they were brothers and sisters.

  "Elonumato placed each pair in a separate garden, telling them that for a time they had to rest there. In time, they would be sent out to tame the worlds and carve their own place within them, creating identities for themselves. At first, the forefathers and foremothers were grieved. They missed their brothers and sisters, but for that Elonumato had a plan." AaQar walked over to the next tapestry and placed his hand upon it. He bowed his head, his long white hair hanging over his shoulders. "That was when He created the Tue-Rah. Elonumato took His own consciousness and wove the Tue-Rah just as He used His own breath to give life to the sentients. And the Tue-Rah transcended all time and space, reaching every world in every point of time. There was harmony among the races, and they loved one another as fully as they loved themselves."

  "It sounds beautiful." Amelia came alongside him. His words filled her mind. That same heaviness that she kept feeling near him remained. Yet some of it had eased as if he too took comfort in the account. "You sound as if you…respect Elonumato."