by Kyle West
She watched the bed, clearly not having a mind to climb back in. My father’s breaths slowed until they became even with sleep.
“He saw a lot of bad things,” my mother said. “Things I don’t think we’ll ever understand. There are wounds of the body, but there are also wounds of the soul. The second is far worse.”
“Why would he attack you like that? You can’t even sleep in the same bed.”
“He just had a bad dream,” my mother repeated. “Now, go back to bed, Shanti. I’ll be all right.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
I left the room and went back to my pallet. I lay down, my heart still racing. All was quiet in the house.
I wrapped myself in my blanket and closed my eyes.
CHAPTER NINE
AS WITH EVERY OTHER DAY, my mother and I awoke to prepare breakfast, as if nothing had happened last night. We didn’t say a word, and by the time the oatmeal and coffee were ready, my father was still asleep in the back room.
“He didn’t sleep well,” she said. “After the nightmare.”
“What about you?”
My mother sighed. “Your father is stressed, so we need to be understanding. He went through things more horrible than either of us could imagine.” She looked at me, making sure the message got across. “Do you understand?”
I lowered my head and nodded.
My mother and I ate even as my father slept on in the back room. I remembered when I was a child he was always the one waking us up.
By the time my mother and I started a bit of cleaning, my father woke and walked into the kitchen. My mother put a bowl of oatmeal before him as he sat at the table.
“Good morning,” she said.
My father responded with a grunt before starting to eat.
My mother cast me a glance, warning me to silence. Once my father had cleaned out his bowl, my mother took it to clean.
“I’m going to visit my brother today,” he said.
My father had only one living brother, named Datto. The older one, Jiu, had died in the war.
“And your pension?” my mother asked.
My father gave a terse nod. “Yes, I’ll be getting the money as well. You remember how my brother and I talked of starting the business together? I told you a bit of it, in my letters.”
My mother kept her face neutral. “Yes, I remember. Isn’t he still living in Riverside?”
My father tensed. “Yes. What of it?”
“Does he have the money to help you run a business? And more importantly, does he have the aptitude?”
“My brother is an intelligent man, Yasmin.”
“I know that. But you know of his inclination to drink and gamble. It’s why you refused to let him help you in the first place with the old business.”
I looked from one to the other, just hoping they wouldn’t argue. They rarely did as I was growing up, but things had changed now, and I didn’t know what to expect. My mother’s face was neutral, almost stern, but I thought I could see fear in her eyes.
“He is helping me,” my father said, with forced calm. “Family is everything. I made a mistake not letting him in the first time. Maybe then, he wouldn’t be living in Riverside.”
He stood, scooting his chair back and gathering his coat from the hook by the door.
“Are you leaving now?” my mother asked.
He didn’t look her way. “I’ll be home this evening. I expect this to take all day.”
But before my mother could say anything more, there were three knocks at the door.
My father looked at each of us, as if to ask whether we were expecting anyone. From our blank stares, he knew this was not the case. He frowned before opening the door.
Standing in the doorway was the white-robed man I’d seen at the fair yesterday, and immediately, I wanted to hide. He gazed at my father with enquiring blue eyes, and his stringy, black hair fell to his shoulders. Closer up, I could make out the finer details of his face. He had a long, crooked nose, high cheekbones, and the same scar I had noticed at a distance, far more terrible up close. He reminded me of a vulture. Worse, a thin, curved sword was sheathed at his side.
My eyes went to the emblem on his chest – the fiery arrow I had seen yesterday. Still, I couldn’t remember what that symbol meant.
He offered my father a friendly smile that was practically predatory.
“Good morning,” he said. “I hope this day finds you well.”
My father frowned, suspicious. “How can I help you, Father?”
“This shouldn’t take long,” he said. “I was present at the fair yesterday and noticed the disturbance. I wanted to see if everyone was all right.”
My father’s suspicion deepened. “We’re just fine, Father, thank you.”
He began to shut the door, but the priest stopped it with his boot, even as his smile widened. “I noticed something rather curious about your daughter. Shanti, is it?”
Now, my father’s face became openly hostile, while my mother wrapped her arm around me. “How do you know her name?”
“The Hunters know many things, Master Roshar.”
Even as he said that, my blood ran cold. The Hunters. That was how I recognized that emblem.
“And you, Nick Roshar, are a veteran of the First Cohort, just returned from the war. The Covenant thanks you for your service.”
My father’s face reddened. “I can hardly see how that might be of interest to you.”
“That will be made clear in time,” the Hunter said. “I’d still like to investigate the disturbance, and that requires my questioning your daughter. It shouldn’t take long.”
At that moment, I looked beyond the Hunter to see that he was not alone. At least six Peacemakers in their leathers and staves stood behind him. When my father saw them, he mouthed a curse.
“This is madness!” he said. “Why would you need six Peacemakers to come question my daughter, as if she were some sort of criminal? Question me. I was the one who hit that man, I was the one...who are you, anyway, to intrude in our lives like this?”
“I am Father Valance,” he said.
“You cannot question my daughter without a warrant from a Magistrate.”
Valance produced a slip of paper from his robes. “I have everything I need. I only wished to be civil about it.”
“You can’t do this!”
“I have every right,” Valance said. “Your daughter’s actions yesterday nearly caused a riot, and we need to investigate her motivations.”
“There is nothing to investigate!”
By this point, a small crowd had gathered in the street. Valance eyed my father severely, as if he hadn’t expected such resistance. At the same time, though, it seemed as if he enjoyed the challenge.
“There is nothing you can say to dissuade me. You may come with us, if you wish, but before this morning is over, I will have questioned your daughter. That, I guarantee.”
I wanted to run, but I knew running would be an admission of guilt. Surely, he hadn’t heard the dragon speak to me. The dragon had told me that I was Elekai. Did Hunter Valance think that as well?
My father eyed the Peacemakers approaching the door, knowing this was a fight he couldn’t win. He looked back at my mother, whose eyes were wide with fear. She gave the barest of nods, and at that nod, my father’s shoulders slumped.
He turned to face Father Valance. “There is nothing to be gained from this,” he said, carefully, “but you may question her.”
“Those with nothing to hide have nothing to fear from the Hunters,” Hunter Valance said. “The questioning, however, will not take place here. We must go to the Red Cathedral.”
“No,” my father said. “You will question her here, or not at all.”
Valance arched an eyebrow. “I hardly think you are in a position to demand that, Master Roshar. The Red Cathedral is where the questioning will take place...as we always do in such cases.”
“What d
o you mean, such cases?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t want to go.”
My father looked at me, failure written in his eyes. That look was almost as chilling as the cold one Valance now gave me.
There was nothing to do but go to the Red Cathedral.
“If you walk Annara’s path, there is nothing to fear,” Valance said. “Either way...I promise it won’t take long.”
CHAPTER TEN
I DID MY BEST TO put on a brave face, but it was hard not to betray my fear. My skin was cold and clammy, and my throat thickened as my stomach churned. Even if my parents didn’t know what this was really about, I did. I had spoken to that dragon and somehow Valance knew it. All I could wonder was how he managed to track me down. The thought of him following us home last night made me feel sick. I supposed they were called the Hunters for a reason.
All I knew was that I couldn’t tell him anything. They couldn’t punish me unless they had the evidence for it. Then again, if Valance knew for a fact that I’d communicated with that dragon, I didn’t have a chance.
It was quiet as we walked south through the Subura. It was early enough that there weren’t many people about, something for which I was thankful. Even as my parents walked beside me, the six Peacemakers formed a box around us all, preventing any escape. Each of them carried a whip along with their staff, and their red capes fluttered in the early morning breeze. Valance led the procession, never once looking back.
My mother had a hand on my arm the entire time, but otherwise didn’t utter a word. My parents seemed to know something I didn’t, and I couldn’t just ask them right then and there. Tears came to my eyes as we walked, and my mother spoke soothing words that didn’t do much to calm me.
“Tell me the meaning of this, Hunter!” my father said. “I don’t care who you are, no one makes my daughter cry.”
Valance turned to eye him, but didn’t seem the least bit concerned. “Your being here is a privilege, not a right. If you cannot control your tongue, then I must ask that you leave.”
“Just tell me the meaning of this! That is all I ask.”
“You will only know that which I allow you to know,” Valance said. “Now, keep your peace.”
In time, the dirt road of the Subura transitioned into the cobbled streets of Eastshore, and with the change came a thickening of the crowds. Street vendors hawked their wares from storefronts and stalls as we reached Silver Square, around which crowded more shops, apartments, and inns. On the plaza’s eastern end stood the Red Cathedral, towering into the blue sky above. On the opposite side was Silver Bridge, spanning the Colorado, and Colonia lay on the opposite bank, its walls and turrets gleaming in the morning sunlight.
We followed Valance across the Square, up the steps, and through the wide-open doors of the Red Cathedral. It was dim, and seemed strangely empty. I’d only been inside during services.
We followed Valance down the aisle, past the altar, at last arriving at a set of spiral stone steps that circled down into darkness.
Valance faced my parents. “Please, wait here. It’s necessary that Shanti be alone at this point.”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight,” my father said, with a growl.
My father stepped forward, but was restrained by the Peacemakers.
“Stop!” my mother said. “Please, Father...don’t hurt her. She’s done nothing wrong.”
“Nothing is further from my mind,” Valance said. He fixed my father with a stern gaze before he gestured me toward the stairs.
“I’m not going,” I said.
“You have no choice, Shanti. Answer my questions to the best of your ability, and then you can return home.”
“Please,” my mother said. “Can’t we just be with her?”
“You will wait here, as I’ve already instructed.”
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll go.”
Reluctantly, I followed Valance down the stairs. He nodded to two of the Peacemakers, who remained behind to block the steps to ensure my parents couldn’t follow. I cast my parents a final glance before they were lost from view.
After two or so spirals we had reached the undercroft. The only lighting came from several candelabras ensconced in the walls, which did little to illumine the dimness.
“This way,” Valance said.
Our footsteps echoed in the corridor: Valance’s, mine, along with the four Peacemakers who had followed. We paused when we approached a thick wooden door near the end of the corridor.
“Why do you want to question me?” I asked.
Valance ignored me, instead pushing open the door and ushering me inside. I walked in, finding a bare wooden table with two chairs, one on either side. The room was small, almost claustrophobic. If this was Valance’s everyday office, it was clear he didn’t spend much time here. There was nothing besides the furniture and a tall bookshelf crammed with some rather ancient-looking tomes.
“Please,” he said. “Be seated.”
I sat as Valance took his place across from me. He stared with his cold blue eyes, and it was hard not to focus on his scar or that beak of a nose. I wondered how he had earned that disfigurement, but I wasn’t about to ask. His eyes weighed and calculated. Despite the atmosphere and his appearance, he didn’t seem particularly menacing at that moment – he was curious, if anything. I tried to push the thought of the dragon away. Maybe Valance had called me for something else entirely.
“You caused quite a stir at the fairgrounds.”
So much for that thought. I knew he was trying to get me to say something incriminating, so I kept my silence.
“Why did you defend the Radaska?” Valance finally asked. He steepled his fingers as he waited for my reply.
“It was being hurt.”
“The Radaska are evil, Shanti,” Valance said. “You should know this. They nearly destroyed us during the Liberation, and for decades we’ve lived under the shadow of their threat. Over the course of years, we may have gained the upper hand, but make no mistake. If they ever have the opportunity to destroy us, they will take it. It will almost come to pass during the Second Darkness.”
“I know this,” I said, carefully. “Perhaps I was wrong to think it wasn’t evil. It was just a baby.”
“Oh, most assuredly they are evil,” Valance said. “Never believe they aren’t. The young ones may not be killers, but soon, they’ll learn. If it were up to me, I would outlaw their being kept in cages for the public’s viewing, such is their danger. Hunters track Elekai of all kinds, but in recent years, our focus has mostly been dragons. Such was the reason I was there in the first place: to ensure the public’s security. Naturally, if anyone appears sympathetic to these dangerous monsters, I take a keen interest.” He leaned back in his chair. “And you seemed most affected by this Radaska.”
I paused a bit before answering. “I’d never seen one before, so I guess I was a bit shocked by what I saw.”
“Not shocked,” Valance said. “It was quite obvious that you sympathized with it. Why, out of all those hundreds of people, were you the only one to do so? Everyone in Colonia learns that the dragons are an irredeemable evil. They learn that with their mother’s milk. Only the males – the Askaleen – can be controlled. It is of the Radaska that we must be especially afraid.”
I didn’t know what he expected me to say, so I remained silent.
“What you did was surely brave. It was also brash. The Radaska are not to be trusted. They are the enemies of the Annaran Covenant. They keep well away, usually, confined to the Red Wild. However, sometimes, when a mother dragon is killed, people will hunt for her eggs or her young, both of which can sell for a fortune.” Valance paused. “Normally, I wouldn’t be so interested in a matter like this, but I found your interaction with the dragonling to be something meriting further investigation.”
My stomach gave a nervous turn even as Valance smiled mildly.
“You seemed to be quite focused on the dragon, to the exclusion of everything else.
It was only when the dragon keeper whipped you that you came to your senses.” He paused. “Something I didn’t endorse, but nonetheless, it happened. It makes me wonder; were you, in any manner whatsoever, directly communicating with the Radaska?”
I felt my skin go cold, but I shook my head vehemently. “No. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Valance nodded, as if expecting that answer. “Come now. Do you take me for a fool? I’m merely giving you a chance to admit the truth. Doing so would be in your best interests. We have...other ways...of procuring an admission of guilt.”
I said nothing, but my heart started racing. For all I knew, Valance was bluffing, and the last thing I wanted to do was admit guilt. I had communicated with that dragon, but far be it from me to actually admit it.
“Again,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I thought you might say something like that,” Valance said. “No matter. I have another means by which I can persuade you to talk.”
Father Valance suddenly stood, and I became all the more aware of his height and strength. His face bore a menacing scowl, and he stared at me with angry eyes.
“I will give you one more opportunity to tell the truth, Shanti. Did you communicate with the Radaska?”
I did my best to match his gaze, but my heart was about to beat out of my chest. To my surprise, my voice came out strong. “No. For the final time, no. I have no idea what you’re talking about. How could I have communicated with something that can’t even speak?”
“Very well,” Valance said. “Please remain seated. And don’t even try to leave. The Peacemakers stand guard outside this door, so such an action would be futile, not to mention indicative of your guilt.”
I bit my lip. Arguing with Valance would get me nowhere. I was terrified about what he might know, and my not knowing was the worst part. I never asked for that dragon to talk to me. Somehow, though, Valance knew it had happened, or he at least suspected it.
