But that was not the case these last few days. He’d been as aloof as she’d ever seen him. Briefly, she wondered if Tirigan had been in love with Ugurnaszir’s daughter even though Laliya and Bashaa had once told her that Tirigan had never loved.
Oh, my beloved Blade, I will give you as much time as I can.
But however long she was willing to wait, she doubted her gryphon was feeling so patient.
Please, she whispered into the depths of her own mind, give our Blade as much time as he needs. When he does come to us, it will be glorious.
Her gryphon rumbled her agreement, and Asharru relaxed, finally able to focus on today’s task.
After the third Blooding Ceremony, Tirigan had also unlocked another tier of his power and could now carry out one of the tasks the gods had set him.
Today he would share a portion of his gift with the first twenty volunteers of his new Shadow Guard. With the gift, they would swear their allegiances to the gryphon royal line above all others and receive Ishtar’s Blessing. In turn, they would be granted a milder version of a Blade’s ability to sense a person’s motives and ambitions.
It would forever give the members of the Shadow Guard an advantage over their enemies and allow them to sense anyone with hostile intent toward the king or queen of the gryphons.
As Asharru understood it, a Shadow Guard’s range would not be nearly as great as a Blade’s—the guard lacked the magical strength to boost the range, but it would still be convenient up close.
Tirigan had told her that there were ways agents of Ereshkigal could still hide, but it wouldn’t be easy to build the required talismans.
At last Tirigan, Kuri, and Hunzuu would finally have some help in safeguarding the palace. That so many of the freed slaves and city garrison guards had volunteered to join the ranks of the new Shadow guard also pleased her.
When they arrived in the practice area, several matches were already underway.
“Attention!” Tirigan barked out to be heard over the clash of swords and the heavy thud of quarterstaffs striking each other.
When the room quieted, Tirigan continued. “Every one of you has advanced well in your training. While there is still far to go, it is now time for those of the first unit to swear your oaths to Asharru and the royal bloodline and receive Ishtar’s Blessing.”
Several of the trainees made their way forward, their eagerness and dedication easy to read on their faces. Many idolized her Blade for freeing them and granting them better lives; One where they’d never again have to fear the wrath of an angry master or the cruelty of a greedy noble.
Tirigan must have seen it, too. “This isn’t a decision to make lightly. I have tried to drill that into each of you. But I’ll remind you again. A Shadow serves for life. Not even death will completely break the bond between Shadow and Queen. The goddess’s blessing does not end so easily.”
Asharru arched a brow. That bit was new. He’d never hinted at such before. When he noticed her arched eyebrow, he shrugged and said, “This power will follow every one of you into the afterlife and even there you will still feel a kinship to those of the royal line and your fellow Shadows who have gone before you. Though once there, you are free to seek your own fate or to remain a family even in the afterlife. As I’ve said before, becoming a Shadow is not something to take lightly.”
Slowly, precisely what that meant settled in. Tears gathered in Asharru’s eyes. Kadashman—one day he would have a family of Shadows. It wouldn’t be for years and years yet, but one day he would have a family like he’d always wanted.
Asharru glanced over at Kuri and saw tears shimmering in the guardswoman’s eyes. Kuri, too, had come to the same conclusion.
“Who here is ready to become the first of the Shadows?” Tirigan asked.
“If you think anyone other than me will be the first of your Shadows, you’re woefully misinformed Pretty Man.” Kuri’s gaze challenged Tirigan to deny her at his peril.
He chuckled. “Come forward Guardswoman Kuri.”
Tirigan gestured to the head of the room where Laliya and Bashaa stood at either side of an altar dedicated to Ishtar and Tammuz. Kuri didn’t hesitate and marched straight up the center of the room before coming to a halt square in front of Bashaa.
Holding out his hand, Tirigan glanced at Asharru. She took his hand, and together they followed Kuri’s path to the altar. Laliya was waiting for them, the ceremonial dagger used during the Blooding Ceremony in her hand.
“As Ishtar has blessed this weapon to bestow her greatest gifts to generations of Monarchs and Blades, I now call upon our great Goddess to use this weapon to bless her Shadow Guard, so they too may serve and carry out her plans.”
Laliya sang a prayer in a chanting melody as she sprinkled wine and fragrant oils upon the knife.
Then she handed it to Bashaa to bless with fire and water. As it had during the Blooding Ceremony rituals, the blade ignited with fiery magic as it contacted the blessed water in the bowl.
Several in the crowd gasped or murmured in surprise at seeing magic, and it reminded Asharru many of the citizens of New Sumer, while surrounded by magic, never saw it performed. They only knew of its existence by the presence of the stone Lamassu, but even those great stone guardians rarely moved unless a great danger visited the shores of the ten city-states. She and her Blade would have to correct that issue and replenish the dwindling magic that gave the spirits in the stone the ability to guard against outside dangers.
And it wouldn’t hurt to have the citizens and nobles of New Sumer reminded of the power of the Lamassu.
But at this exact moment, Asharru had another ritual that needed her blood.
Bashaa was presently bowing to the bowl and dagger, chanting more prayers as he did. When he straightened, he held the blade out to her.
Taking the knife hilt first, she pressed the blade against her forearm and made a swift, shallow cut equal to the distance between her thumb and forefinger. Laliya offered a bowl of wine and fragrant oils for Asharru to bleed over.
“I, Crown Princess Asharru, future ruler of New Sumer, sacrifice my blood this day to aid our great goddess Ishtar. May she now take my humble gift and transform it into something much greater.”
Her short prayer to her goddess finished, she stepped back and allowed Bashaa to dress and wrap her cut while Tirigan took her place before Laliya.
Tirigan accepted the knife and sliced his arm, holding it over the bowl. “I, Tirigan of the Blade and loyal protector to my future queen, sacrifice my blood this day to aid our great goddess Ishtar. May she now take my humble gift and transform it into something much greater.”
Once Tirigan stepped back Laliya called down Ishtar’s power and blessing upon the bowl once more. Magic swirled through the air and rose in a small tornado from the surface of the wine and blood mixture. After another beautifully sung prayer, Laliya turned and bowed first to Asharru and then Tirigan. Her part in the ritual over, Laliya stood with the bowl outstretched to Tirigan.
The magic burning upon the surface of the liquid had mellowed to a few softly flickering flames.
Tirigan nodded and took the bowl from Laliya and turned to face Asharru. Dipping his finger into the shimmering substance in the bowl, he stepped forward until they were nearly toe to toe before anointing her forehead and then the skin over her heart.
The wine, blood, and magic mixture was warm, but the flames did not burn.
Next Tirigan’s eyes drifted closed, and he whispered a chant more to himself than the room, but even if the words were said in a soft voice, Ishtar’s power answered as he turned to face the rest of the room.
The new position gave her a view of his bare back and the tattoo running down his spine. Magic rose from the indigo and golden mark to crawl across the skin of his back and up over his shoulders before racing down his arms. Soon shimmering magic covered her Blade and still he chanted.
The magic grew more intense, stirring up an echo deep within her body as if her own magi
c wanted nothing more than to answer his, to come out and dance through the air, blessing and making fertile all that it touched.
That’s when Asharru recognized the magic Tirigan called upon to form a link between her and the new Shadow guard. This was high magic, not some trifling spell. At that moment, she realized how much he’d grown in strength. She wasn’t even sure if he understood the strength of the forces he now controlled.
She doubted it.
Tirigan had never been given a chance to finish his training as a priest, and he had a humble nature. But she and everyone else in the room could see the truth with their own eyes. Tirigan was a fully matured Blade with only three Blooding Ceremonies behind him. Only the strongest of Blades developed that quickly.
The magic continued to flow across his body and down his arms where he held the bowl out before him. When his power touched that which was already in the bowl, there was a great flash of light.
As if in echo, a small flame licked against the skin of Asharru’s forehead and over her heart as the magic-laced blood answered the call of Tirigan’s spell. In its wake, she could feel something unnamed shifting through her body and soul, seeking a link that hadn’t yet been completed.
Slowly the immense power bleeding off her Blade diminished, and he raised his head and opened his eyes. His gaze sought Kuri where she stood off to one side.
“Come,” he ordered softly.
Kuri squared her shoulders and approached. It wasn’t until Tirigan swiped a thumb across her forehead with the softly glowing substance that Asharru felt the answering magic within her reach out to the guardswoman and form the first link between Shadow and Monarch, but it wasn’t until Tirigan made the second mark over Kuri’s heart that the bond was fully formed.
Asharru sighed, feeling relief now that the spell Tirigan had planted inside her had anchored itself to another person.
“Welcome Kuri,” Tirigan said in a loud, clear voice so all the others in the room could hear his words, “first of the Blade’s Shadows.”
The others in the room took up the words.
“The Blade’s Shadow!”
“First of the Shadows.”
Hunzuu approached them then and stopped a stride away from Kuri. He clapped his hands to her shoulders, and grinning hugely, he said, “Shadow Kuri, may you bring destruction to our many enemies, Sister.”
“I shall, Brother. You have my word.”
Asharru stepped forward and embraced the other woman then, placing kisses on both her cheeks and then her forehead. “Now we are family, Sister.”
Kuri snorted with humor to hide the moment tears came to her eyes, but Asharru knew the other woman was thinking the same thing. While Kuri was at last Asharru’s sister, it would have happened months ago if Kadashman had lived to make Kuri his mate and queen. Then they would have been sisters by family bonds.
But now they were sisters in a different family, one which would help Asharru and Kuri seek vengeance for one they’d both loved and lost.
Hunzuu bumped shoulders with Kuri, his affection for her evident as he gave her a saucy grin. “Now get out of my way, Sister. It’s my turn.”
Everyone laughed at Hunzuu’s comment and soon the tension in the room was flowing away.
Tirigan continued the ritual with Hunzuu and then Shamash, Nasir, and Seluku. When there was a slight pause, Burrakurin pushed his way forward to become the next Shadow. Zinura followed close on his heels. And then one by one, the rest of the first unit came forward to receive a goddess’s gift.
By the end of the first twenty, Asharru could see the strain was taking a toll upon her Blade. When more volunteers would have come forward, she held her arms out wide, laughing and thanking them. “Come now, the leader of the Shadows needs rest. We shall continue this another day.”
Tirigan glanced at her. “I’m fine. I can do a few more.”
She leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. Her show of affection startled him. She leaned farther to whisper in his ear. “Don’t lie to your monarch. I’m sure that would break some sacred rule.”
He grunted. “While I am tired, I could do a few more.”
“Tomorrow will be soon enough. I have something else I wish to give to the new Shadows.” Asharru gestured to Kuri and Hunzuu, and they moved to the back of the room where several new storage chests had been placed.
Kuri tossed back the lid of the first chest in line and pulled out paper wrapped parcels. She brought one to Asharru and placed it in her arms.
Asharru set it down on a side table so she could unwrap it and shake out the black robe with the silver beading and fringe running along the hem. Once she’d brushed the wrinkles out to her satisfaction, she turned to her Blade and held it out to him.
“The first of your new Shadow Guard uniforms.”
She watched as Tirigan examined the luxurious fabric and the intricacies of the beading and silver fringe.
“It is superb, my princess.”
“I’m not sure if that’s the word I would use. But we needed them before my coronation, and these are functional. And as you said, the style and color will aid you in being intimidating if that is required. The rest are still being made, but I will outfit every member of the Shadows with new uniforms in the coming days.”
His soft thank you meant more to her than if someone had gushed on at length about the design. She also sensed he was thanking her for much more than the new uniforms. “You’re most welcome, Tirigan.”
He merely nodded and then watched as the other Shadows were given their uniforms.
“I know we haven’t gone over all the details, but I will also give them a wage they can use for purchasing items that aren’t part of the basic supplies. They are free to use it upon anything they might want. When they aren’t on shift, they are free to explore all parts of the city. Though I suggest they go in groups. I don’t trust the slave traders not to attempt to recapture some of them and spirit them off to another city-state before we know they’re even missing.”
“Wise.”
“I’d also like the Shadow Guards’ existence to remain a secret until the coronation. It will give you time to train them up.”
Tirigan nodded solemnly. “I shall make sure everyone knows to explore in groups, and perhaps to dress as garrison guards when they are out in public as a precaution.”
“Excellent. I know we are already stretched thin by all our duties, but I’d like to return to the markets and free another two dozen slaves. I think Burrakurin and Zinura can handle that many new recruits.”
“Yes, they are ready, and I look forward to another trip to the slave markets,” Tirigan’s hand fisted around his sword hilt. “I will not make the same mistakes this time. We will triple the guard detail.”
“As you wish.” Asharru wasn’t about to fight with her Blade about matters that were his domain.
She was just happy he was willing to let her venture back there at all.
Chapter 11
Standing before the statue of Ereshkigal, Ekurzakir bowed his head and whispered a heartfelt prayer. “Great Ereshkigal, forgive my failures. I underestimated Crown Princess Asharru. It will not happen again.”
It couldn’t happen again. He only had one more chance to attempt a plan.
If he failed again, his and his daughter’s souls would know much torment for their failure.
But he’d completed the first step of his plan; he’d snuck back into Nineveh. It helped that thousands of nobles and regular civilians were coming here for the coronation in a few short days. The added numbers allowed him to slip in unnoticed.
Nineveh wouldn’t have been his first choice from which to stage his plan, but he’d had little choice. When he’d left the first time, he hadn’t packed up Ereshkigal’s altar, thinking he’d later return victorious as the noble House to have found and ‘rescued’ Asharru from the despot Ugurnaszir.
But his first great plan had met with a disastrous end, and he’d been forced to fly from place to place
and hide. But every time he’d thought he’d found a safe place to hole up, hunters in service to the Crown Princess had soon come sniffing.
As he had been flushed out of hiding repeatedly, he soon discovered the only relatively safe place for him to hide was back on Nineveh where there were fewer patrols actively hunting him.
No one believed him so foolish as to return here to the heart of Asharru’s power, which was partly why he’d come.
Ekurzakir stroked his fingers down the statue of Ereshkigal. “Great Goddess don’t cast away your servant yet. I am still loyal and will do all in my power to see your great plan to fruition.”
He fell silent, listening and hoping.
After several long, tense moments, he felt a tendril of chilled power reach from the statue to curl around his fingers.
“You still have my blessing, Priest,” whispered an equally chilling voice in his mind. “Do not fail me again or you will feel my wrath instead of my blessing.”
“I shall not fail you again.”
The raw power vanished back into the statue as swiftly as it had come.
Ekurzakir released the breath he’d been holding, and slowly the tension between his shoulders eased. His gamble had paid off.
Now that he knew he still had Ereshkigal’s power to call upon, he could begin the spell work to summon his daughter’s soul back from the underworld. He hadn’t been able to save her body from the sea, and he’d sorely needed aid. He’d even reached out to Ugurnaszir’s daughter, but he had not been successful at gaining Aaunna’s aid. What a near catastrophe that had been!
Reaching out to another to bring them into the fold was always dangerous, but he’d desperately needed allies, and he’d never dreamed Ugurnaszir’s daughter was loyal to the crown. But once he had discovered the truth, he’d been swift to kill her so she couldn’t report his location to Asharru.
The Blade's Shadow (Ishtar's Legacy Book 4) Page 7
