Asharru compressed her lips but couldn’t find fault with the scenario he’d constructed.
“We’ll search for the girl. There is no blood here. It’s possible she was just hit over the head and then removed through the balcony and is hidden somewhere out in the gardens.” Hunzuu explained. “I have guards searching the grounds as we speak.”
“Wise.”
Hunzuu nodded. “I looked over Diimeritia in some detail but didn’t see any wounds. Though there was a tiny smear of white powder at the corner of her lips. Perhaps residue from something she ingested, or more likely, the assassin administered poison in the form of a fine powder deposited in the mouth. Or perhaps something she breathed in.”
Asharru nodded, swallowing hard, unable to form words. Holding tight to her blank, expressionless mask, Asharru didn’t let a hint of the pain his words caused show on her face. He was telling her what she needed to be told.
Hunzuu’s expression softened, and he placed a brotherly hand on her shoulder. “Diimeritia was a heavy sleeper. It’s doubtful she felt anything.”
She nodded sharply again. “Keep me apprised of what you discover.”
“Of course, my Lady.” He bowed. When he straightened, all softness was gone from his face. “I have scoured these chambers. If you wish to say your goodbyes to Diimeritia alone, it is safe to do so. Kuri and I will remain out here and guard the doors.”
“Thank you.” She turned and started slowly toward Diimeritia’s bedchamber then paused and looked over her shoulder at the siblings. “Thank you for being my friends in this terrible time.”
Hunzuu brought his fist to his heart. “I once promised Kadashman that I’d help protect his sister from the court vultures. His death has only made me hold to the promise even tighter. While I draw breath, no harm will come to you.”
Kuri stepped forward and inclined her head. “I lack my brother’s silver tongue but know I’ll happily gut anyone who means harm to one of the royal line. But since you’re also my friend, I’ll even gut a few who ‘might’ mean you harm just to be sure.”
A sad little smile touched Asharru’s lips at their words of loyalty and love. “Thank you both. I am in your debt.”
With that, she turned her focus back upon her original destination.
Diimeritia’s bedchamber was as tidy as Gekura’s workroom had been. Both women had shared that trait. Slowly, Asharru made her way to the large, curtain-shrouded bed. When she arrived, she sat carefully as if not wanting to disturb the elder’s sleep. Though that was a foolish thought.
Diimeritia was even now safely in the Underworld or making her way there.
Reaching out, Asharru took Diimeritia’s hand. It was still slightly warmer than the air, but chilled enough that no one would mistake it for living flesh. Tears that had been pooling in her eyes finally overflowed.
“Oh, my beloved mentor. I would have had you live out the fullness of your days. I would have had you crown me Queen of the Gryphons in three month’s time. I would have had you there for the first time I had cubs so you could call down Ishtar’s great blessing upon the future of New Sumer.”
Though the idea of a mate was just a vague, unrealized dream, one she hadn’t put much thought into when she was in training to become one of Ishtar’s priestesses. And now she didn’t have time for a mate or even to search out worthy candidates. Though, now she was in sore need of a mate to secure the future of the gryphon kingdom. The knowledge that she was the last of her line, and all gryphon magic throughout New Sumer would die with her if she didn’t carry on the line, was just one more burden to carry.
She looked down at Diimeritia and gave the hand another pat. “You would know what to do. You’d say something wise like ‘let Ishtar guide my hand’ and that I should not worry. But I must confess to doubting our great goddess. Perhaps I’ve displeased her in some way, or she has other kingdoms to oversee.”
After all, New Sumer wasn’t the only kingdom in all the world. Outside the vast protective dome that sheltered the ten island city-states, another, unknown and far more dangerous world existed.
But Diimeritia could no longer reassure her or grant her wise counsel. After patting the age-spotted hand one final time, Asharru folded it across the old woman’s chest.
“I will miss you so very much, my beloved mentor.” Blinking back tears, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the old woman’s forehead. “Goodbye. And if you are still near enough to hear me, please tell Kadashman I love him and will do all in my power to protect his kingdom.”
She paused and then whispered. “I will protect his beloved Kuri as well. Goodbye.”
Straightening, she wiped away the tears and smoothed her hair, making herself presentable for the councilors who might even now be waiting out in the hall. She wouldn’t let them see her emotions or anything they might see as a weakness.
Because she didn’t know who she could trust on the council.
Then the answer came to her.
‘I can’t trust anyone on the council. I can’t trust anyone’s council at all.’
Only Kuri and Hunzuu could be trusted not to serve other masters.
Chapter 2
The sun had long since set by the time Hunzuu returned to Asharru with news about Gekura. He didn’t even have to say anything. She knew him well enough to read the truth on his face.
Gekura was dead.
“My Lady. I regret to inform you that while we couldn’t find any sign of an assassin, we found the girl’s body. Gekura had been dumped in the river, her throat slashed. The assassin must have figured we’d eventually discover the girl’s body and learn Diimeritia’s death wasn’t natural, so he just dumped the body in the easiest location.”
“That is not unexpected, then.”
“No. But it tells us Gekura’s death wasn’t part of the plan, or else there would be no point in going to the trouble of making Diimeritia’s death look like nothing more than extreme old age. And if Gekura wasn’t an intended target, then she was a mistake. And if they made one mistake, they might have made more. I intend to find those mistakes and track them back to the perpetrators.” Hunzuu paused and cleared his throat. “That is if my Lady wishes me to go on the hunt.”
“I most fervently wish for you to continue the hunt.” Asharru worried her lower lip with her teeth as she thought. “But I won’t risk you out there alone.”
Kuri cleared her throat. “I’m not happy with the situation, either, but respectfully, one of us must be with you at all times. Which leaves the other on a lone hunt.”
“I know.” Asharru drummed her fingers against her thighs. “We need more people we can trust, but anyone we recruit could very well be serving the very ones we hunt. Or, if not our enemies, then another ambitious noble family who might think to use what we discover for their own benefit.”
Hunzuu began to pace. “I’m not worried for myself, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get nervous each time I leave you both to go out spying. Alas, there isn’t another way. We have no way to read the hearts or minds of those we’d bring into our circle. Their allegiances would always be suspect.”
Kuri clasped her hands behind her back and was soon pacing alongside her brother. It was a trait neither seemed to realize the other copied. It would be comical under different circumstances.
But then, when the siblings paced, the circumstances were always dire. They didn’t fret about small, unimportant bits of statecraft.
Hunzuu stopped, his expression thoughtful, but not focused on anyone. “What if we…no, no that still won’t guarantee their loyalty. Damn. It would have been handy if Ishtar had seen fit to bless the royal line with a Blade.”
Asharru’s breath caught. She’d thought the same thing many times only to conclude that the goddess was either displeased or thought the humans and gryphons of New Sumer could work out their own issues.
But it certainly would have been handy to have a Blade. The ancient tablets said that those sacred warriors of the goddess could read th
e hearts and minds of both gryphons and men.
While she’d been woolgathering, Kuri had stopped pacing.
“We can’t recruit from any of the noble families or their servants without bringing their loyalties into question. That goes for the city guard as well. I’ve seen many take bribes with my own eyes. But what if we procured persons with no loyalty to a noble family, no love for anyone at all?”
What was the other woman getting at? “Do you mean going outside of New Sumer?”
That would be extremely dangerous for anyone involved.
“No. Not outside. Just outside of normal society. We all know how much Kadashman wanted to end slavery.” Kuri swallowed hard and then firmed her jaw. “I propose we go buy ourselves some slaves.”
Asharru’s mask cracked. She couldn’t have been more surprised if the other woman had punched her. “What do you mean? I would never…but even if I did, how could we be certain they wouldn’t take bribes?”
“Give them something far more valuable than money or even their lives. Give them their freedom and then show them respect. Take them into our inner circle.” Passion rose in Kuri’s normal mellow tones. “Do what both you and Kadashman always wanted. Start now. Start small, and it won’t be such a battle to change the minds of others.”
Hunzuu had stopped pacing at his sister’s works. “Ah. Pick a fight you can win.”
“One better than that,” Kuri explained. “Don’t even let your enemies know you’ve gone to war against them. After all, if you wish for new servants, confidants, ladies to serve you once you are Queen, what of it? None in the court can fault you for that. You could show all New Sumer a different way. One that doesn’t require the council and the governors’ agreement.”
Kuri’s suggestion broke with a thousand years of tradition and pageantry.
Asharru would have liked the idea for that alone.
But as the guardswoman had said, this could be a start to Kadashman’s dream of freedom and equality. From there, she could work to steal some of the power from the greedy upper houses and spread it around among all the people of New Sumer.
“And if I work with these freed slaves directly and show them that I am a fair and just person,” she looked first at one sibling and then the other, “you think I’ll gain their respect and loyalty.”
“Yes,” the siblings said in unison.
Glancing out the nearest window, she noted the darkness of the moonless night sky. It was late, but then again, it was said the slave markets of Nineveh never slept.
With a lighter heart, she spoke words she never thought she’d say in this lifetime.
“I think I shall go to the markets and acquire some slaves.”
Chapter 3
Of course, enacting Kuri’s plan wasn’t as easy as Asharru had thought. First, there was the problem of keeping their plans a secret. Then there was the secondary issue of how to secret the Crown Princess of New Sumer out of the castle without the council catching wind of it.
But Hunzuu and Kuri had been acting as Kadashman’s master spies for five years now, and they knew secret ways and passages that led out of the castle. And since it was late at night, it wasn’t difficult to fool the other city guards into believing Crown Princess Asharru had retired for the night and wished to be alone, but for her close friend and bodyguard, Kuri.
Thus, when Hunzuu left, no one suspected that he was really doubling back to wait in the gardens for two more ‘guardswomen’ to join him.
They’d all agreed it was best if Asharru didn’t dress as a noblewoman. Instead, she was dressed the same as they were in long belted robes, weapons harness and a bow looped over her shoulder. Anyone looking on would only see three city guards seeking a little fun in the slave districts after their shift was over.
As much as their destination appalled Asharru, she took comfort in the fact that while she’d be buying several slaves very shortly, she would also be offering them freedom and then the opportunity to accept an important position if they wished.
She only hoped she could genuinely win them over to her cause. Kadashman had always been the persuasive one.
Asharru and her two guards traveled down the processional way, following its winding path until they reached the broad swath of flat land next to the docks. There were no permanent buildings here. The storm season often drove the ocean up over the area in powerful surges.
But that did not mean the land was without uses or empty at present.
Hundreds of tents dotted the area. Some as large or larger than the palace’s great hall. Though there were also smaller, shabbier tents as well.
Burning torches surrounded the larger, more lavish tents. While the embers of dying cookfires provided only meager.
Now that she was here, she had no idea where to begin.
But she would be anointed Queen of the Gryphons in the coming moons, so she’d damn well better grow some leadership skills.
“I assume the larger tents are where the more prestigious sellers are located and the smaller, the lesser known traders?”
Kuri snorted, the sound blunt and bitter.
“The larger tents are for the choicest specimens.” She spat the words. “The most beautiful as well as the most highly educated and trained. Slaves fit for the noble houses. The smaller tents are where one goes if they want slaves for basic labor.”
With a heavy heart and a tight coil of tension in her belly, Asharru surveyed the tent city anew. “My mother would have come from a large tent then, wouldn’t she have?”
Hunzuu turned his head enough to meet her eyes. “Yes.”
His blunt reply didn’t startle her. Their directness was one of the things she loved most about the siblings. They could look her in the eye and acknowledge her heritage without showing any emotion.
For them, it was just acknowledging a piece of what made her and Kadashman who they were.
“We have limited funds at this point,” Hunzuu pointed out.
She hadn’t been able to secure a great number of coins, gold, or jewels on such short notice without drawing the attention of the members of the Nineveh garrison guarding the royal treasury, who would then report what they’d seen to whichever councilor or governor bribed them regularly.
Kuri and Hunzuu estimated she had enough for six or seven modestly priced slaves, or one or two ‘prime’ specimens.
She looked first to Kuri and then back to Hunzuu as she replied to his statement.
“While I would like to free them all, or at least the greatest number I can afford, we need people who are already familiar with the great houses and the ways of the nobility. For now, I think we must settle for only one or two. Then slowly, over time, increase our numbers.”
“Wise,” Hunzuu agreed.
Kuri merely nodded, understanding the reasoning, but her expression said she wasn’t happy. A moment later Asharru understood the reason. “Yes, we need ones who can act as spies, but I’d also like to get my hands on some big, strong brutes we can turn into more bodyguards.”
“I would not be averse to that. Perhaps we can find one who can fill both roles.” Asharru scanned the tent city again, letting her gryphon nature rouse to study the area.
At the age of twenty-five, she and her gryphon were not as in touch as many her age. And while she’d only been able to shapeshift from her nineteenth year on, her lack of mastery wasn’t do to a weakness caused by her half-human heritage.
Her gryphon nature was very strong. So much so, its wilder nature scared Asharru a bit.
I could really use your instincts tonight, you great obstinate beast, Asharru thought to herself.
Suddenly, as if sensing her need, or maybe her gryphon was just responding to the elevated danger tonight, Asharru’s senses heightened. Her eyesight sharpened, sounds suddenly reached her ears more clearly, and even her sense of smell grew stronger. Though she could have done without that as they walked deeper into the tent city and the smell of unwashed bodies reached her nose.
&nb
sp; Unexpectedly, as they made there way deeper into the tent city, she could scent on the air soap, exotic woods, and perfumes.
She didn’t have a direction in mind, but she kept her pace purposeful as if she did and merely let her gryphon nature take control for once. Her gryphon seemed pleased with the development and began scenting the air until she found a scent of interest. It was rich and darkly exotic and drew her inexplicably forward.
It was a hunt, Asharru realized after a while. Her gryphon was using scent to track her prey.
At least someone found this night adventure more interesting than fearful. She didn’t let on to her two companions that she was allowing her gryphon to hunt and track the slaves they’d later purchase and free.
There was no logical reason for her gryphon’s behavior, but Asharru couldn’t deny this felt right. This felt good.
She was finally doing something that might one day lead to her finding her brother’s murderers.
And it allowed her to focus on something other than her grief for a time.
Following in the direction her gryphon led, a small smile touched her lips.
She was hunting her future.
Chapter 4
The walls of the tent fabric rippled with the shift in the ocean breeze. Tirigan couldn’t stop the small spike of jealousy he felt at the thought that if their escape plan had worked, he might even now be on a boat, fleeing as far from the ten city-states of the gryphon kingdom as he could get.
But Nasir, Shamash, and Seluku had been recognized as deserters from the Eridu garrison when they’d tried to purchase a small boat.
It had been a significant risk, but they hadn’t had a choice after their first escape plan had gone adrift with the death of King Kadashman two moon cycles ago.
Tirigan and his friends, in the company of the three deserters, had only just reached the shores of Nineveh with the plan to go before the king and lay out the perverse horrors he, Laliya, and Bashaa endured as slaves to the governor of Eridu, when news had reached the ship that the king had been assassinated.
Blade's Destiny (Ishtar's Legacy Book 3) Page 2
