Sume decided to wait. The afternoon waned. As it got darker, several well-dressed men—Kags, from their clothing—appeared on the street and entered the house where Ylir was. She saw lights appear from the windows and heard the distinct drone of many mouths chattering at once.
She clambered back down and took the long way back to the ship. She tried not to look back—she was afraid that if she did, she’d see Ylir walking towards her. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was that she saw back in the alley, but she was certain it wasn’t meant to be seen. She tried to remember everything her father ever told her about the Kags, about their rituals and religion. What part of the Kag was Ylir from? She didn’t even know that. At the time, she didn’t need to know anything beyond the helpless look on Dai’s face.
“You’re late,” Burg said when she finally boarded the ship. Sume gave him an exasperated look.
“I was told I could take a look around. I took my time.” She took her sandals off and started to massage her calves. “Why? Did the master make a big deal out of it?”
“The master is having a meeting at the moment,” Burg said. “I don’t think he’ll be home until morning. You’re lucky.”
Sume smirked at that. “Some luck.” She glanced at the clouded night sky and took a deep breath. “You’ve known Sir Ylir a while, haven’t you, Burg?”
“Long enough. When I first met him, he was barely out of boyhood, running errands for his master at Ni’in. I was looking for work and they pointed him out to me. I right about shit my pants laughing. He was this tall.” He smirked, holding his hand chest-high.
“Where does he come from?” she asked. “His hometown in the Kag, I mean.”
Burg glanced at her. “Kag? He’s not from the Kag at all, girl. They’re not usually dark like that.”
“But he speaks it so well. I thought he was a native.”
“He was taken in by Yn Garr when he was young, so the story goes. Yn Garr owns this ship and all our operations. I guess he was getting old, needed someone to help run things. He’s had apprentices before, but Jarche told me no one but Ylir ever lived up to the old man’s expectations.” Burg shrugged. “As to where he’s from—he never really talks about his past. Might make good pillow talk, if you ever get around to it.”
She elbowed him in the rib. “You! That’s not nice.”
Burg snorted. “Don’t tell me he hasn’t invited you into his bed yet, girl? That’s hard to believe.”
“Maybe he’s just being a gentleman.”
“And maybe I’ll shit gold one of these days. Well, if what you say is true, you’ll be safe for a few days yet. I’ll probably be asked to fetch someone from the city by tomorrow.” He shuddered. “I hate walking into the kind of place where grabbing a man’s crotch is the same thing as hello.”
“Really?”
“Really. I like my women clean, you know.”
“I’m sure some of them try. Is Sir Ylir really that kind of man, though?” She flushed, having said that.
“Why? What’s the matter?”
“He scares me,” she admitted. She glanced around for a moment, to make sure they were still alone, and took a deep breath. “The men are callous, yes. But they—well, they are the way they are. He’s something else. I never really know what he’s thinking. He’s polite with you one moment, and then the next—” Sume shook her head. “He hates Jins. Even I can see that. I don’t know. I just want to go home, Burg.”
He placed his elbows over the rails. “If he said you can go home by the end of this trip, then he means it. Bet you he’d make arrangements for that, too. I know that much, at least. Go to your room, Sume. Get some sleep. There will be other nights for worries.”
She touched his arm and smiled. “Good night, Burg.”
His face was the most vivid it had ever been in all her dreams of him. The wind whipped the hair over his brow as he stood at the edge of the docks, holding one hand out. “When you get scared,” he said. “Just reach out.”
“I’m not,” she told him. “Not yet.”
Oji gave that smile of his, the kind that said, I know more than I let on. She hated the insufferable smugness of it. Hana, of course, loathed it.
“When I get scared, I’ll tell you,” she said confidently.
He drew back and sat down, so that his legs were dangling over the sea. “You’ll tell me. Of course.” He smirked. She looked at him over her frantic swimming and thought that he looked so handsome and that he should stay that way, because she missed him so much. But she knew he was dead. He seemed to know, too, because his smile became sad. She reached for him now and his face melted into the shadows.
“Call me when you get tired of all of this,” his fading voice called out from the darkness.
Sume opened her eyes and realized she couldn't move. There was a hand on her mouth and hands gripping both her ankles and her wrists. Tibal’s face leered over hers, his breath stinking of rotten ale. “That’s right, princess,” he crooned. “Easy does it.”
She screamed into the hand. Tibal snorted and pushed her further back into her pillow. “Relax,” he said, the words bubbling from his lips. “You don’t want to die, do you?”
She bit him. He let her go for a moment, but before she could scream again he grabbed a pillow and covered her face with it. In the choking darkness that followed, she felt her dress being ripped from the front. Those sensations quickly disappeared and were replaced with a sharp pain in her head as she started to gasp for air.
The pillow was removed and Tibal’s hand returned to her mouth. She flared her nostrils, breathing in the cold air. She was already half-naked. “We can do this all night if you want to,” Tibal said. “I don’t care if it kills you.”
“Let’s try not to do that, eh?” one of Tibal’s companions said.
Tibal’s face remained passive. “The more you struggle, the more this will hurt. Just so you know.” He stuffed a piece of rag into her mouth and took position by her feet.
Oji, she thought, straining against her captors. These were your companions. Help me. She shut her eyes, but she could smell them even in the darkness, could feel them pushing her down so she couldn’t move.
She waited for the pain, but it didn’t come. Instead, she felt the hands loosen. She immediately swung to her left, catching one of the men in the eye with her fist. As she got up, she saw Aden dragging Tibal out of the room by the neck.
“Get the fuck out of here!” another man cried out, breaking into the room with a drawn sword. “By all the gods, man, are your fucking brains made of straw?” Ranias smashed his elbow against one of the men and threw them all out of the room. “Agartes in heaven,” he mumbled. He crossed over the bed to Sume just as she was wrapping herself with a blanket. He stood next to her and peered at her face. “Fuck this. Fuck. Are you hurt?”
Sume shook her head, but she couldn’t find the words. “Put this on,” Ranias said, grabbing fresh clothes from under her bed. “You shouldn’t stay here. Come with me to the kitchen.” He glanced away as she got dressed and then took her hand. They passed by the doorway and he grazed his fingers against the smashed handle. “Fuck,” he said again, shaking his head.
Aden met them in the hall. “Those idiots broke the lock,” Ranias said, leading her to a chair. “Agartes help them. Is the master awake yet?”
Aden winced. “He took Tibal from me.”
Ranias ran his hands into his hair. “I don’t know. I hope he realizes this is just all his doing. If he starts thinking we’re all in it...fuck. We’re so fucked. I thought you checked the lock in that room. You said it was solid.”
“How was I supposed to know those idiots would just go ahead and break it?” Aden grumbled. He glanced at Sume and his eyes softened. “Oh missy. I’m so sorry. Did they...?”
“I don’t think they managed to,” Ranias said. He slammed his fist into the table. “Not that it makes a fucking difference now. Guess how cheerful he’s going to be the rest of this trip, now. Fuck. We
still have weeks left.”
“Agartes, Ranias, can you stop thinking about your problems for once? This isn’t about you!”
Ranias got up. “Okay, okay. Let me go make you some tea.” He started for the stove.
Aden pulled up a chair and sat next to Sume. “You haven’t said a word. Talk to me.”
She opened her mouth, intending to tell him she was fine, that she was none worse for wear, but a shudder escaped her instead. She closed her eyes.
“Ah, shit,” Aden mumbled. “Look. Ranias,” he called out. “Do you know any good stories? Anything at all?”
“What about the one with her brother and the mountain man? That one always cracked me up,” Ranias called back.
“Oh, that one. Yeah, I was there.” Aden smiled. “Well, that was the time Kefier and Oji had to walk quite a ways to get help. You see, our caravan had gotten stuck in the mud, and we couldn’t budge it no matter how hard we tried. They walked for a couple of hours and the first hut they got to, there was a mountain man. Oji mistook him for a bear and nearly threw an axe at his head. And—ah, shit, I’m telling this wrong, aren’t I?” He giggled nervously.
“It’s all right,” Sume said, her voice raspy. Ranias arrived with the tea and placed it near her. She tried to reach for it, but her arms were too painful to move, so she smiled up at him instead.
“I probably added too much sugar,” Ranias said, scratching his head.
They were interrupted by a guttural scream above them. It went on for several seconds and was followed by a moment of utter silence. Ranias glanced at Aden, his face waxen. They heard the clicking of heavy boots in the hall outside.
The door flung open. Ylir stood outside, hair in disarray and with blood splattered across his tunic. He lifted his arm. Dangling from his fingers was Tibal’s decapitated head.
Sume reeled back, her hands over her mouth. Aden got up, instinctively shielding her with his body. Ylir’s face was contorted with rage. “Who else was in it?” he snarled. “Tell me now before I tear this whole bloody ship into pieces.”
“She’s fine now, boss,” Aden said. “Please. It was just that group.”
Ylir narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t I make it clear that she’s under my service? And what is mine is not to be touched?” He turned to Ranias. “Aren’t you in charge of these imbeciles?”
“Sir, no sir, we’re a collective group, our officers let us make our own—”
“This is all rabble to me.” He pointed at them. “From now on, I’m holding you both accountable for your men.”
“With all due respect, sir,” Aden said. “They won’t listen to us. We’re not faction-appointed.”
“I don’t give a damn! I’ll hire new men in the nearest town if I have to! If you can’t keep yourselves in line, I’m going to personally make sure that you get it worse than this fool!” He lifted the head into the air and uttered one word. It exploded into pieces. He stomped out, leaving bloody footsteps behind.
“Fuck,” Ranias said a few moments later.
“I’ll talk to everyone,” Aden murmured. “Don’t clean up. They’ll...probably listen better if they see this.” He turned to Sume.
She didn’t give him a chance to say what was on his mind. “I’ll be all right,” she said. “Go worry about your own.”
“You sound like him, you know?” Aden said, shaking his head. “He was smiling, the last time I saw him.”
Sume didn’t know what to say to that. She nodded. When both men had gone, she managed to place her palm against the warm cup and watched the dark red stains on the floor. She remained staring until dawn.
Chapter Seven
“Do you see that?” The excitement was unmistakeable in Moon’s voice. Kefier abandoned the fire he had been trying to start and joined her at the edge of the rock face. She pointed. “That’s the sea.”
“So it is,” Kefier said. “Am I missing something?”
Moon gawked at him. “You mean you don’t know about the famous Harp’s Crossing?”
Kefier looked at her and slowly shook his head. She feigned a deep sigh of disappointment, but before she could say anything, Sapphire broke in. “I wouldn’t waste my time trying to educate the unwilling,” she said, her voice flat. “Weren’t you going to get us food?”
“Xyl said she’d find us something,” Kefier replied. He ignored Sapphire’s wilting glare and returned to the firewood. As he started to pile the kindling together, everything turned dark and a cool wind suddenly fell on them. He glanced up in time to catch the majestic, red-tipped wings stretched across the sky.
The massive creature glided past them and disappeared in the mountains. “A dragon,” Kefier breathed.
Sapphire had been quiet the whole time, but now she pretended to snort and pushed her glasses higher up her nose. “We still have some in Gaspar. The Jins are always going on and on about dragons disappearing from their land, but they’re not all gone.”
“That was a fire-breather, Sapphire,” Moon said. “The kind you don’t see often in either kingdom.”
“Nonsense. That was a war-dragon, and well you should know it. You see—” she added, glancing at Kefier. “The mandraagars have tamed some of these beasts for battle. Not that they’ve been needed for many years now. The dip on the back, you know—that’s what tells you it’s a war-dragon.”
“I’m telling you, Sapphie, it was a fire-breather. The shape of the nose—”
They were interrupted by Xyl’s arrival. She darted into camp as quickly as a mouse heading for a hole and hid behind Kefier. She gave the two mages a furtive glance before turning to him, her hair standing on end. “What’s wrong?” Kefier asked, when he realized she wasn’t going to speak first.
She turned to the shadows on the horizon, up the path where they’ve left Hilal several days ago. She started shivering. “Home,” she started.
“I understand, Xyl. You didn’t have to come with me. If you want—”
“No.” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “Come,” she said. She jumped over a rock and scampered down the hill. Kefier left the mages behind to follow her.
The kusyan led him across the boulder field and right to the edge of the sparse wood to the south. Here, she came to a halt and tentatively began to walk on all fours, her thin tunic clinging to her soft fur. She was staring at a dark space between several rocks, mesmerized.
“What’s over there, Xyl?” Kefier asked.
Xyl froze, but it wasn’t at the sound of his voice. A movement came from the shadows. Kefier drew his sword and jumped forward. There was a flash of black hair and a boy suddenly tumbled into the light, screaming in barely discernible Jinan.
Kefier dropped the blade and grabbed the boy by the shoulders before he could hurt both of them. He was crying and swinging wildly. “Calm down,” Kefier said, trying his best to sound as gentle as possible. “No one’s going to hurt you here.”
The boy stopped and looked up, his eyes wide and frightened underneath the tangled mop of his hair. “You’re Jin?” he asked. His voice was raspy.
“No, but you are?”
The boy nodded.
Kefier glanced once at the wilderness. There was no town for miles and the border between Gaspar and Jin-Sayeng was even farther away. He started to ask what the boy could be doing in the middle of nowhere, but the boy stumbled before he could take another step. Kefier reached for him. All of a sudden, an arrow flew past his ear and skidded along the ground behind him.
“The boy is ours!” The hoarse scream grated the air like a drawn blade. Kefier leaped for a boulder mound just as another arrow was set loose. He scrambled for the sword and managed to extract it just as the first man came running for him.
“Kefier?” the man said, stopping in his tracks. Kefier didn’t recognize him, but the emblem on his belt marked him as someone from the higher ranks of the Boarshind. Kefier didn’t even wait to think about that. He aimed low and struck the man’s legs. Blood sprayed his face and infused the air
with the scent of iron.
The man staggered back. Kefier slammed into him with his left fist and used the hilt of the sword in his right hand to beat him to the ground. “Leave me alone,” he said, between breaths. “Fucking just leave me alone you—”
The man spat blood at him. “This has nothing to do with you!” he hissed. Kefier felt him try to reach for his belt and pinned his arm to the ground with the sword. The man screamed; Kefier grabbed his throat and forced him back.
“I’m not even with Algat!” the man finally stammered, his eyes bloodshot. “I’m taking orders from a client. A fucking client, do you hear? I was after the boy, not you!”
“Baeddan wants me dead.”
“Baeddan doesn’t even know who you are. He—”
“Benai!” somebody called from the distance. “Have you found the boy?”
“Hold,” Benai screamed. “Hold!”
Kefier pulled the sword out of Benai’s arm and rushed the newcomer. The other man—a thin-looking half-Jin—already had his sword out and met him face-to-face. “Who the fuck are you?” he cried. “Who the fuck is this, Benai?” He sounded nervous. Kefier used this to push him harder and managed to tear his sword out of his grasp.
He stood there with the two men, blood running down his arm, and said, “Tell me what you’re both doing here before I kill you.”
The other man swore under his breath. It was Benai who spoke. “The boy escaped. Let us walk back to our camp with him and we’ll make sure Baeddan learns of your cooperation. Maybe he’ll talk to Algat, call his men off you.”
“That Kefier?” The man looked even paler, having heard his name. Kefier glanced at him, wondering why he spoke with such dread. Two years ago they didn’t even know who he was. What had Algat been telling everyone?
“You haven’t answered my question,” he said, trying to remain calm.
Benai pushed himself up with his good arm. “I told you already. We’re working for a client.”
“Trading in young boys?”
“Tr-transporting ore,” the other man replied.
An Elegy of Heroes Page 24
