by Joe Jackson
The other is coming, his voice rang in her mind.
Kari stepped out of the house and onto the porch, away from her children and the rest of her friends and family. She was afraid to interact too much with this child within her, wary of her companions thinking she was losing her grip on reality. She also didn’t want to explain how she knew what the child was or where it had come from. Kyrie – and a few of the others, now, Kari expected – might know the truth of her relationship with Morduri, but no one suspected Kari carried a mallestrem child in some fashion.
What other? Kari thought in response to her incorporeal child.
The other like you, he said, as if that clarified anything at all.
Kari turned and saw a robed figure at the edge of the property, cowl pulled up to conceal their facial features. By their stance and the shaking, Kari would have almost guessed it was a homeless person or perhaps even a leper, but her child’s appraisal contradicted that. Whoever it was, they were tall and tried to stand proud, but some weight tugged at their shoulders. Kari’s eyes went wide and she gasped when she realized who it must be.
“Seanada!” she whispered, dashing down the steps to the street. Seanada wouldn’t be able to cross the wards Kyrie and the others had laid around the property to protect Danilynn and Eli’s house. The demonhunter approached, ready to invite the woman to cross the boundary, but then she saw the blood. And that, in turn, made her focus on the robe, a robe she should have recognized on sight.
“Lady Vanador, forgive this one for imposing, but she knew of no other place to go.”
“Danilynn!” Kari called over her shoulder, realizing she didn’t have the right to welcome anyone to the priestess’ home.
More than just the fures-rir priestess came at Kari’s alarmed tone, and even many of those on the streets nearby slowed to see what was happening. Kari made a gesture to keep the hunters from approaching; she didn’t want Emma to get spooked or feel threatened, no matter how unlikely that might be.
Danilynn drew up beside Kari hastily and sucked in a sharp breath. “By the gods, Emma, what happened to you?” she asked, but she didn’t even wait for an answer. “You may enter my home freely. Come in, sit down, and tell us what happened.”
Kyrie stood by stoically, but said nothing to deter the invitation this time. Kari touched her mother-in-law’s shoulder and Kyrie managed a half-smile, but she still made no motion to help Emma at all.
Kari let the mallasti girl lean on her, still surprised at how heavy they were, even after being one for a short time. Se’sasha asked Kari’s hunters to disperse the onlookers, and they followed the syrinthian priestess’ orders at Kari’s approving nod. Soon enough, they had Emma out of the sight of the common people, but the mallasti girl would not sit on any of Danilynn’s furniture.
“Fuzzy Lady!” Little Gray shouted when Emma’s cowl was lowered, but he stopped and stared at her wide-eyed when he saw the condition she was in.
“Heaven’s fire!” Kyrie blurted in an uncharacteristic show of near-blasphemy. “What – or who – did this to you?”
Emma stood and made not a sound as Kari and Danilynn worked to pull her robe off. It was stuck to her fur in many places, ripping out the hairs as it separated from her blood-matted body. Still the mallasti girl remained silent, as though her mind was in another place. Some of the wounds were still oozing, and Danilynn indicated the kitchen.
“Get her to the sink so we can clean her up and assess the damage,” the fures-rir priestess said, gesturing for Damansha to keep the children away for the moment.
“You… are too kind to this one, Lady Danilynn,” Emma said, gritting her teeth slightly as they guided her to the tiled kitchen floor.
“You can say what you like as a slave to the Overking, Emma, but I haven’t forgotten a single thing you did for us back before the War. Not one thing. I understand if you can’t be our friend officially, but Eli and I consider you our friend, and that’s all there is to it.”
That clearly piqued Kyrie’s interest, and after a slight hesitation, she joined everyone else in the kitchen to lend her aid. Once Emma was seated comfortably, Kari found the closest spot she could that was out of the way of the priestesses. They would be better suited to the task of cleaning Emma up and starting the healing process, but Kari didn’t want to miss a single word that might be exchanged, particularly when it came to light who had done this to her. In Kari’s mind, it could only be one “person.”
“The Overking did this to you?” she finally asked while her companions worked.
Danilynn poured a liquid on a particularly grisly wound, and it bubbled and hissed in protest. Emma, by contrast, made no reaction other than her ears angling backward. Her eyes remained focused on nothing, and she didn’t utter a sound.
“Emma,” Kari called, but the mallasti didn’t react. The demonhunter edged closer and turned the hyena-girl’s head to face her. “Emmalikas… you’re safe. You’re among friends.”
She pulled Emma’s head toward her shoulder as gently as she could, and felt something she had never, ever expected to feel in her lifetime. The girl was in agony, and her crying was so mournful it seemed to break the heart of every woman there. Kari held onto her while Danilynn, Kyrie, and Se’sasha continued to clean and begin healing the wounds, and once Emma felt comfortable crying in front of them, she held little back.
Fortunately, the priestesses worked quickly, and their healing ministrations numbed much of the pain. Once she regained control, Emma sat up straight and worked to return the impassive demeanor that Kari found so frustrating. Rather than dwell on it, Kari took the opportunity to look over the mallasti girl’s naked form, and only then did she realize the extent of the beating Emma had received. She had raw lash-marks across her entire body, front and back, and down both sides. The only place the Overking – assuming it was him, though Kari was certain it had to have been – had spared was Emma’s face, and likely only because he had to look upon it at the upcoming council session.
“Forgive this one, Lady Stahlorr,” Emma managed at last, her voice not betraying a hint of the agony she was in just minutes before. “She did not wish to impose upon you, but she has precious few contacts on this world who do not wish to see her dead.”
“Stand up,” Kyrie told her.
Emma met Kyrie’s eyes for only a moment before she looked down and did as she was told. She was far from the only one shocked when Kyrie slipped out of her robe and wrapped it around the mallasti girl’s form. The half-guardian still had a slip on, and she had to fold the back to cover up the wing slots, but the gesture was not lost on anyone there aside from the children.
“Is Fuzzy Lady okay, Mama?” Little Gray asked, approaching.
“She will be, but don’t hug her, Little Gray,” the demonhunter answered. “She’s hurt.”
“This one will be well again, thanks to your mother and her friends,” Emma said, patting the boy on the head a bit awkwardly.
“The Overking did this to you?” Kari repeated her earlier question.
“I’m going to get another robe,” Kyrie said. “Danilynn, get a kettle on, and I will make tea for everyone when I return. Should I prepare a room upstairs for Emma to use?”
“As long as you need it, you are welcome to stay here,” Danilynn said, touching Emma’s forearm carefully. She moved off to get the kettle and filled it with water.
“This one was severely disciplined by the Overking for failing to protect you when your city was attacked,” Emma explained. “The burning of your home, the threat to your family, and the threats to you… this one was held responsible. This one was required to pay the price for the foolishness of others. You are an asset to the Overking, Lady Vanador, and this one is tasked with safeguarding you, even at the cost of her own life.”
“I think Ty would say the Overking should consider me a liability,” Kari joked, though there wasn’t a lot of mirth in it. “Did he expect you to just come back here and lay around until you healed? Aren’
t you supposed to be at the council meeting soon?”
“This one was told her services will not be required for this meeting. She was sent here in this condition to… send you a message, Lady Vanador.” Emma closed her eyes and her snout dipped toward the floor as she fought off tears. “This is why this one cannot be your friend. The master knows that you care for her, and that he can use this against you. This was his message to you, that should you continue to meddle in the affairs of his world, you will be the only one who does not die. Not until he has used you for his purposes.”
“This was a message?” Kari echoed. “Really…? Hmph. I guess there’s only one thing left to do, then.”
“What’s that?” Damansha asked, still staring at Emma with uncertainty.
Kari looked around at her friends, but then met Emma’s elusive gaze. “Send him one right back.”
“That would be ill-advised, Lady Vanador. You cannot know what you are up against. Do not let this one’s pain entice you to make a foolish mistake.”
Kari waved off the warning. “I know, Emma. I wouldn’t dream of striking against him personally, or any of the other Ancient Ones. Not for a good, long time, I think. But there are other ways to send him a message, and Arku may have just given me the opportunity.”
“You need not waste your time on him,” the mallasti girl said with a sudden grimace. She accepted Kari’s offered arm and stutter-walked over to the sitting area. “King Arku will undoubtedly be reprimanded, at the least, for endangering your life.”
“Yes, well, your master always has been as likely to kill his own people as mine. I’m happy to leave him to that.” Kari shook her head and met Emma’s stare again. “I’m sorry, that was completely insensitive of me.”
“This one took no offense; she understands perfectly what you mean.”
Kyrie returned and made tea once the water boiled. Danilynn and Damansha took the children next door to play, leaving only Kari, her mother-in-law, Se’sasha, and Emma.
“What have you heard coming out of Sorelizar since I was last on Mehr’Durillia?” Kari asked, glancing at Se’sasha briefly as she did.
“King Emanitar made great gains at the start, but has now run into stiff resistance,” the mallasti girl explained. “King Sekassus has suffered terrible losses, including the death of his crown prince, Amnastru, as you probably already know. There was a direct attack upon the king as well, and though he was apparently unharmed, it has caused chaos in his capital city. There is also the matter of King Morduri backing King Emanitar’s invasion, and King Sekassus must now be wary of King Arku claiming what ground he can while the Cobra Lord is besieged by two enemies already.”
“Have you heard from Morduri at all?”
Emma stared hard at Kari, but made no comment about the demonhunter calling him casually by name. “No. This one was looking forward to seeing him at the council session, but now that she has been turned away, that will have to wait another half-year, assuming she does not disappoint her master again before then.”
Kari kept her mouth shut for the time being. She was fine explaining what had transpired to Se’sasha, but she had things she needed to tell Emma that she didn’t want the mallasti girl to find out about in front of others. She projected that thought toward the mallasti girl, but they exchanged no words on the matter.
“This is most exciting news, to think the land of my ancestors may potentially be free of King Sekassus’ rule in the near future – possibly in my lifetime!” Se’sasha said. “We will still be under the rule of the Overking, but to be answerable to King Emanitar rather than King Sekassus would be a boon beyond measure.”
“Indeed,” was all Emma offered.
“Can you take this off while you’re here?” Kari asked, indicating the humiliating collar the slave girl wore at all times.
“The collar can be removed only by the hands of a king, and were any but the Overking to remove it, they would invoke his wrath.”
Kari sighed. “How much do you know about my part in what happened in Sorelizar?”
“It is well known that you were somehow involved in the uprising, but how, why, or when you left is a mystery even to those kings involved. It seems your presence acted as all the diversion King Emanitar needed to put his plans into effect.”
The demonhunter nodded. “Can you two give us some privacy?” she asked. She didn’t want to be rude, but she was planning to go to Mehr’Durillia soon, and since she had Emma here, she wanted to speak to the mallasti girl while she could. Thankfully, neither Se’sasha nor Kyrie seemed put out by Kari’s request, and they bid both the demonhunter and their mallasti guest farewell. Kari found it interesting that Kyrie laid a hand on Emma’s shoulder before she left, but no words were exchanged. Perhaps her mother-in-law’s views were changing.
Once Kari was alone with Emma, she took a short sip of her tea and sucked in her lower lip. “I’m sure Morduri was going to tell you all this when he saw you at the meeting, but since you’re probably stuck here for a while… I feel it’s only fair to tell you to your face that Morduri and I shared a bed.”
Emma’s eyes remained impassive, but the way her ears suddenly stood up straight said she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “Truly?”
“It’s not really that simple, but yes. There’s a lot more to it, Emma, but the fact is I slept with your mate, and I feel I owe you an apology for that.”
“Lady Vanador, King Morduri is not this one’s mate. This one has explained this to you before. She no more–”
“Has a kast’wa than a kingdom. Yeah, you did tell me. But I’m not an idiot, Emma. The two of you may not be mates as far as anyone else is concerned, but I know what my heart tells me. The look on his face when I mentioned that he was going to see you soon… you two are mates, whether the Overking likes or allows it or not. Is there really no way to buy your freedom from him? Nothing he would take?”
The mallasti’s snout dipped toward the floor again. “Nothing he could not simply obtain by force if he desired it that badly. No, the master will not let this one go free willingly. There is but one way she could obtain her freedom, but it requires a massive sacrifice, one she is not yet willing to make.”
“Yeah, I’m not talking about dying to get free.”
“Neither was this one. How exactly did you and King Morduri wind up intimate?”
Kari didn’t miss the obvious dodging of the subject, but left Emma to her secrets for the time being. “I’m not sure I should tell you that; I don’t want it getting back to the Overking. Not for some time, at least.”
Emma blinked slowly. “This one will not be back in the master’s presence for some time, Lady Vanador. And though such insubordination would no doubt cost her greatly, she is in no hurry to share any secrets with him that he does not specifically request.”
Kari had to make a conscious effort not to smile at that. “Emma, I was trans-something-or-other into a mallasti – a vulkinastra, in fact – while I was on Mehr’Durillia. That’s the main reason I ended up being intimate with Morduri. I don’t think that would have ever happened otherwise, no matter how much I may like and respect him.”
Realization dawned in those orange eyes. “It was you…”
“You didn’t think some young vulkinastra really killed Amnastru, did you?” Kari asked. She was tempted to mention that Morduri had asked Kari to kill Amnastru as revenge for the death of Emma’s sister, but figured she’d leave that for the elestram king to divulge.
“Lady Vanador, this will not stay a secret for long, regardless of whether this one tells the master of your words or not…”
“No, I don’t expect it will,” Kari shrugged. “People in Sorelizar and Tess’Vorg may suspect something already, now that Mastriana is pretending… pretending to be me pretending to be her, or however you want to say it. But I’ll be honest with you, Emma: My goal is to be there, and possibly be a part of Sekassus’ death in the end. I can’t think of a better warning to send to your Overking.�
�
“Are you certain you wish to walk this road? You know that war between our worlds will be the inevitable result.”
“We’re already at war; we just haven’t put that much effort into it yet.”
“This one supposes that such is the truth.”
“I’m actually headed to Mehr’Durillia, and I might see Morduri when I pass through Anthraxis. Is there anything you want me to tell him?”
“With all due respect, Lady Vanador, you could not properly tell him the things this one wishes to tell him.”
Kari bit back the joking response that came to mind. “No, I don’t suppose I could. I’m just glad you’re not upset or jealous. He told me quite clearly that I’m not a threat to replace you, no matter what form I may take. I don’t think he could have put his love for you any more plainly than that.”
Emma let a smile show at that. “He could do much worse for partners.”
The demonhunter chuckled. “I suspect I already know the answer, but is there anything you can tell me about my brother-in-law’s abduction?”
“Only that a great many things will come to light because of it,” the mallasti girl said. “This overreach by King Arku is going to have far-reaching consequences that this one is not certain even the master has taken into account. Tread carefully, though, Lady Vanador, for the kings are expecting retribution from you. Do not play into their hands.”
“It’s not just Arku, though. Taesenus was involved, which tells me Abaddon is involved somehow, too. Either that, or Taesenus has gone completely mercenary, working with whatever king is most interested in hurting me at any given time.”
“Observing him has never been among this one’s duties.”
Kari leaned to the side in her chair and crossed her ankles. “Where do you go from here, Emma? What would happen if you never went back to the service of the Overking?”
The mallasti girl touched her collar. “This would tighten until it strangled this one, then break her neck, and then ultimately, it would decapitate her.”
