“It’s a relief that he’s dead,” he therefore exclaimed, “but there are others who can be just as dangerous.”
Ferhdessar shuddered at the thought of how the pontifices had attracted followers in the name of Margal. Ghalatea was a living example of their practices.
Yvar nodded, “I’m glad the mountains separate us from Naftalia.”
“Let’s hope they’ll keep protecting us in the future,” Ferhdessar said with a hint of doubt in his voice.
They fell silent once again, both lost in their own thoughts.
“A prisoner was brought in today,” the king said, and he related what had happened with Lilith. “She’s probably from Naftalia.”
“What makes you think so?” Ferhdessar asked.
“Ghalatea suspects so. The woman said a prayer during the flogging. The Ancilla Princeps could understand her.”
“Who was she praying to?”
“Jakob.”
Ferhdessar was surprised. Why would the woman pray to this God? One would expect her to beg Ischa or Trudh for saviour or strength. When he said this out loud, the king answered, “That’s not what confuses me the most. Don’t you think it’s strange that a woman from Naftalia believes in our Gods instead of Margal?”
Ferhdessar had to agree. The power of the pontifices was great and they wouldn’t allow anyone to believe in any other Supreme Being than the Goddess. Perhaps the rumour about the new prophet was true after all. Ferhdessar had once heard about a man who, in the name of Jakob, had set his sights on Naftalia as well. But when he had been unable to find out anything more about this prophet, he had discarded the rumour as nonsense. Maybe he had been wrong. He definitely had to look into this.
“I’ll talk to the prisoner tomorrow. How far am I allowed to go?”
Yvar shrugged. “You know the rules, Ferhdessar. You can only use customary magic on prisoners, unless they pose a direct threat to you or give their consent.”
Ferhdessar gave a disappointed shrug. During his journey he had acquired a magical key that he would have loved to try on this woman.
Lilith was awakened by the lights turning on. She was lying on her stomach. The pain in her body grew more intense with the slightest of movements, and instantly reminded her of what had happened the day before.
There was a light-green, plastered wall right in front of her face and she could just make out the bottom of a tapestry depicting plants and birds. She carefully turned her head the other way. The first thing she saw was a simmering fire, but then she spotted the man entering the room. He was dressed in a stately, dark-red robe that hung from his shoulders in many folds and emphasized his height.
He looked at her closely as he calmly walked towards her. “So, you’re awake. That makes things easier.”
Lilith shuddered. What was going to happen to her? The king had ordered her to work for him, but surely he hadn’t meant right away? She could hardly even move. She stared back to hide her fear. Her left nostril quivered.
The man sat down next to her on the bed and said in an emotionless voice, “You’re Lilith, right? I’m Ferhdessar. Sorcerer and…”
Lilith didn’t wait for him to finish his sentence. A sorcerer! Groaning, she moved her arms and legs under her body to get up. She wanted to get as far away from him as possible. She was fed up with these men.
He, however, put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down on the bed. “Hold on, that doesn’t seem wise. You’re supposed to rest. Apart from that, there’s nowhere you can go anyway.”
Ferhdessar put his hand back in his lap, but the pressure on Lilith’s shoulders remained. She twisted to shake off the feeling, but it only got worse.
“You’d better not do that, it’s counterproductive,” Ferhdessar confirmed her suspicion. Now Lilith was absolutely sure that he hadn’t come with good intentions.
That impression was reinforced when he pulled her right hand towards him and shoved a wristband around her arm. The sorcerer mumbled some words which made the metal shrink until it closed tightly around her wrist.
“What is that?” Lilith asked anxiously. She tried to pull the band off.
Ferhdessar explained coldly, “This is something all prisoners get and it won’t bother you unless you try to escape. It won’t even do anything if you leave the palace.” He leaned forwards and lowered his voice, “Put so much as one foot outside Nadesh, however, and you’ll feel that you’ve made a huge mistake.”
Lilith felt a shiver run down her spine. She started to pull even harder. “Get it off! Get it off!”
She took a swing at Ferhdessar, but he caught her hand. Despite her attempts to pull free, Lilith couldn’t prevent him from putting a second wristband on her arm. A stabbing pain surged through her arm and up to her shoulder. It hurt so much that it felt as if her wrist had broken again. She couldn’t hide the pain.
“Calm down, Lilith.”
“No, I won’t calm down. Why should I?” she ranted.
The pain was increasing and expanded via her neck until it pressed behind her eyes. What was this man doing to her? Hadn’t she been punished enough?
“The pain will disappear when you calm down.”
She reluctantly followed his advice. The pressure did, indeed, subside. She looked at him again, still gasping and fighting her anger.
He didn’t look like the other sorcerer she knew. Or… Lilith took another good look at him. Apart from his pointed ears, in which three silver earrings glittered, and the deadpan expression on his youthful face, he did wear the same sort of clothes as her master, with strange symbols along the borders. But her master usually hid them underneath inconspicuous outer clothing.
“What are you doing to me?”
Ferhdessar shook his head. “At first I was hesitant about doing this to you, but you gave me no other option. I think it would be best if you controlled your anger somewhat. You now know what this band does, so next time think before you lose your temper.”
“You’re all the same,” she hissed. Instantly her arm started to hurt again. So she took a deep breath. “What do you want from me?” she growled. The band burned, but she could bear it. She wouldn’t allow him to tame her completely.
“There are some things I’d like to know about you. First tell me where you’re from.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Why the secrecy? It would be best if you just told me everything I want to know, I’ll find out…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the door flew open and the veiled woman stormed into the room.
“What are you doing here?” she snarled at Ferhdessar.
“Lord Yvar ordered me to talk to the prisoner,” he answered agitatedly. “She presumably has important information.”
“And the king ordered me to take good care of Lilith. So that’s what I’m going to do. She’s much too weak to answer your questions right now.”
Ferhdessar snorted. Then the woman noticed the metal wristbands.
“Was that really necessary?” she asked, pointing at Lilith.
“You know we do this to all prisoners. There’s no reason to make an exception for her.”
The woman waved her arms dismissively. “As long as you don’t use her for your creepy experiments. Now, get out!”
To Lilith’s surprise, but also relief, the sorcerer got up. Nevertheless, she felt even more scared now. What important information did Ferhdessar hope to get from her? And the experiments the woman had spoken of alarmed her as well. Lilith hoped she would never have to learn what they entailed.
“We’ll continue our conversation another time, Lilith. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Leave,” the woman hissed again.
When Ferhdessar had left the room, the woman carefully lifted the sheet. She clicked her tongue and removed the bandages from Lilith’s buttocks.
Lilith succumbed to the soft, caring hands that applied new bandages and tucked her in again.
“Are you cold or
are you afraid?” the woman asked in a soothing voice when Lilith shivered.
“Both.”
The bed moved when the woman got up, and the fire flared up high when she threw on new logs. After that, she opened the curtains. A pale light entered the room, but the woman didn’t turn off the lights.
“Who are you?” Lilith asked suspiciously.
Nevertheless, the woman answered calmly as she sat down next to her again and plucked away a few hairs that were stuck to Lilith’s lips: “You’re right. My name is Ghalatea. I’m here to take care of you.”
Lilith nodded and glanced at the door. After Ferhdessar had left, two soldiers had taken up post in her room. She sighed. It had all been for nothing. Her escape hadn’t gotten her far and she hadn’t found the freedom she had sought. Feeling overconfident because of the potions her master had given her and the fever that had set her body ablaze, she had chased a dream which – now that the anaesthesia had worn off – turned out to be nothing but an utopia. Her master had warned her about this so many times.
“Netaligha?”
Lilith was startled. Ghalatea had asked her almost in her own language if she was all right. She hadn’t expected that, and it made her hesitate.
“Do I look all right?” she finally snapped at her.
The woman just nodded understandingly while she laid a cloth underneath Lilith’s face. Then Ghalatea held a spoon in front of her mouth. Lilith started to eat greedily. It had been an entire day since she’d had her last small bite of food. The plate was empty much too soon.
“Don’t you have more for me?”
“You’ll get some more later. It’s unhealthy to eat too much at once.”
Ghalatea pulled the cloth away and used it to wipe Lilith’s mouth clean. Then she folded it and put it on the serving tray. All her movements were so calm that Lilith started to think that maybe this woman did have her best interests at heart.
“Are you from Naftalia?”
She was immediately on her guard again. The Ancilla Princeps asked the same questions as the sorcerer, but Lilith didn’t intend to answer them. It didn’t matter where she came from any more, she wanted to forget about all of that as soon as possible.
“How was your night? Have you slept well?”
“That’s a bit hard when your body is aching all over,” Lilith snorted.
Ghalatea nodded and took a little glass bottle from her pouch. She removed the cap and held it to Lilith’s lips. Even though her nose was stuffed up, Lilith recognized the heavy scent. So she pressed her face into the pillow.
“It will help you sleep, so you won’t feel your pain,” Ghalatea tried to persuade her.
“I don’t ever want to drink that stuff again.” The pillow muffled her words.
“It’s just a mixture of herbs.”
Lilith looked to the side, but kept her lips pressed together.
“I only wanted to relieve your pain a bit,” the Ancilla Princeps tried again while she capped the bottle.
“I don’t know what you people want from me, but I do know what this potion can do. And it won’t ever do that to me again!”
“In that case I’m afraid there is nothing more I can do for you. I’m truly sorry. I’ll come back later to give you something more to eat.”
She gave a few more tugs on the sheet that covered Lilith and threw another log on the fire before she addressed the soldiers, “I want you to make sure that the fire keeps burning brightly.”
The men nodded and followed her out of the room.
“If there’s anything wrong with the prisoner, I want to be notified immediately,” she added before she closed the door.
Lilith kept staring at the door for a while and wondered what to think of Ghalatea. The woman seemed very friendly, but at the same time she asked the wrong questions. She had to be careful, because this woman might be more dangerous than the sorcerer. She wouldn’t reveal anything to him, but when the Ancilla Princeps was around she dropped her guard, increasing the risk that she might let something slip.
3
Ghalatea folded a pair of trousers and smoothed it down. In the background the rustling sound of paper could be heard. It was Yvar, who was working in the other room. The door between the two rooms was open, because her presence never disturbed him.
After she had put the trousers in the wardrobe, she picked up the next piece of clothing from the basket. She could feel that she was getting older. Her duties cost her more energy these days than they used to and now that she had been combining her normal duties with the care of Lilith for several days, she was feeling tired. Of course it didn’t help that she was having difficulty sleeping lately. Lying awake because she was afraid to go to sleep, she brooded about what the prisoner’s story could be. How alike were they? Nevertheless, Ghalatea didn’t ask her. She had noticed straight away that Lilith didn’t want to be reminded of her past and she respected that.
Ghalatea looked over her shoulder. Through the doorway she could see the king. He was absorbed in the text before him and he was tapping his fingers on the table top. After a brief hesitation she walked up to him.
“Lord, can I ask you something?”
When he looked up, his gaze was caught by the tunic she was holding. His finger rested at the sentence where he had stopped reading.
“Is that a new one?”
She nodded.
“Beautiful embroidery.”
Ghalatea smiled and looked at the stylised flower vines she had stitched along the borders. It was nice that the king noticed her work.
“What did you want to ask, Ghalatea?”
“I’ve heard that Ébha has come to Nadesh. Can I send for her so she can treat Lilith?”
“You want to bring a healeress into the palace? You’ll have to come up with a very good reason for me to agree to that.”
Ghalatea heaved a sigh. In her opinion there wasn’t much difference between women who could heal with their hands and sorcerers. She therefore thought it was hypocritical that the Merzians did accept sorcerers but not healeresses.
“Is it really so strange that only women have this power? It was a Goddess who gave life to the first humans.”
“No one should interfere with illness and healing in such a way, especially women.” Ghalatea opened her mouth, but Yvar continued, “I’m not in the mood for a religious discussion, Ghalatea. I believe in the written word.”
Such as befits a monarch, she completed the sentence in her head. She clenched her fist around the tunic. Of course she understood the king had to set the right example, but she interpreted her religion differently. Her parents had taught her to respect the healeresses.
“How is the prisoner doing?”
“She’s recovering slowly. It could take a while before her wounds are healed. She sleeps a lot, but even sleep doesn’t deliver her from her pain.”
“You can give her something for the pain, can’t you?”
“She doesn’t want to take anything, lord.”
She had hoped that the king would take pity on Lilith but the exact opposite was the case.
“So that’s her own fault then. Am I right to presume that her life isn’t in danger?”
“It isn’t, lord, but…”
“Then I don’t understand why you brought up your request. There’s no need for a treatment and I don’t want to give my people the impression that I associate with such women. The prisoner deserved to be punished. This is part of her punishment. She has to suffer the consequences of her actions.”
“But Lilith was already wounded when she arrived here,” Ghalatea objected. “That had nothing to do with her punishment. It would do her good to be treated for those wounds because then the other wounds will heal faster as well.”
The king didn’t respond and returned to his paperwork. Ghalatea hesitated for a few seconds but then asked, “Don’t you think that Lilith has been punished enough?”
Yvar finished reading his paragraph and didn’t even take the t
rouble to look up. “I’m not accountable to you, Ancilla Princeps.”
Ghalatea made a deep curtsy and indignantly turned around. She had been reprimanded as though she were a new maid who had only been in the palace for a day. She didn’t deserve to be treated like that. After all, she had taken care of the king when he was a child. She wanted to walk away but before she could leave the room Yvar asked, “Do you know what the woman was convicted for?”
She reluctantly turned back to face him. “No, lord. I’m never told why people are punished.”
He let out a grumpy sigh. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this, but perhaps I’m hoping you will understand my point of view when you hear this. Not that it makes any difference, but anyway… This prisoner nearly killed a man and she wounded someone else.”
That came as a shock. Ghalatea couldn’t imagine that slightly-built woman doing such a thing. Not without a reason, at least. “I’m sure she had good reason…” she said, speaking in defence of Lilith.
“I’m surprised to hear you say that, Ghalatea. Do you really think that under certain circumstances it’s all right for someone to brandish a knife? That’s not like you.”
Ghalatea shrugged weakly. The king was right, but it was different with Lilith. When she said that out loud, the king replied, “No, it isn’t. This prisoner is no different from other criminals. She’s not one of your friends who need to be saved by you, Ghalatea. She brought this on herself. She doesn’t deserve your pity.”
Fighting her tears, Ghalatea walked back to the other room and threw the tunic into the wardrobe. But before she walked away she changed her mind. She picked up the piece of clothing and hung it on a hanger. She didn’t, however, smooth out the creases on the shoulders.
The Lilith Trilogy Box Set Page 4
