by S Kaeth
“Ebrs may not interact without the permission of their betters! Get them away from each other!” the Justice roared.
Guards tore them apart from each other with more force than necessary and shoved Taunos forward. He glared at the man but kept silent. He had no intention of giving their captors any more reason to punish them. Taunos watched the crowd, wielding eye contact like a weapon.
“The male: a ringleader, strong and spirited. Who will take him?” the Justice asked.
“I will.”
Taunos stared at Answer, his composure shattered. He never would have predicted that. Gathering his wits, he shut his mouth. At least it was him instead of Ra’ael or Takiyah. Hopefully, they would have better fortunes.
The guard shoved Taunos over to Answer, bound his wrists before him, and handed the chain to Answer. Taunos gritted his teeth, staring at the leash that bound him to Answer. She ignored him, watching with an expressionless face as the guard prodded Ra’ael forward next.
“A dark warrior-ess. A berserker. Beware, for her companions say when the rage takes her, she knows not what she does. But should she go on a rampage, her life will be forfeit.” The Justice leaned forward with a stern expression, and Ra’ael lowered her gaze, flushing.
“I claim her,” a large man said. Ra’ael’s wrists were bound as well, and Taunos’s fists clenched uselessly as the guard handed Ra’ael’s leash to the man.
Takiyah stepped forward before the guard needed to prod her, but he did so regardless. She shot him a scowl but thankfully held her tongue.
“This one is quite clearly not Rinaryn, though we know not her race. She throws fire from her hands.”
A woman stepped forward. “I will take her.”
As soon as the rope was placed in her hand, she jerked on it so that Takiyah jolted forward. Such treatment was not only unnecessary, it was intolerable. Taunos surged forward, hitting the end of his leash before he had gone two steps.
“Do not forget your place, ebr, or it will be a longer sentence for you,” Answer hissed in his ear.
“There’s no cause to hurt—” Taunos started, but Answer slapped him hard across the face.
The Judge fixed Taunos with a look that could have turned anyone to stone. “Ebrs do not speak unless their speech is requested. You have temporarily forfeited the rights of a person, so do as you are told. Any attempt to escape will be met with a forfeiture of your right to live.” Then he waved his hand dismissively. “Remove them from my sight. Bring in the disgraced, he who used to be a Scout.”
Answer tugged him forward by the leash, just as the others led Ra’ael and Takiyah away. They moved swiftly past the doorway where the guard who threw Kaemada into the chasm waited, guarded by two more Kamalti. Taunos clenched his hands, violence welling up inside him as they approached, but then they were past, and there was nothing for it but to follow Answer out of the building. Outside, among the milling people, their captors each led them in a different direction, and Taunos craned his neck to keep Ra’ael and Takiyah in sight as long as possible. Answer gave Taunos’s leash a sharp tug, and soon enough, he had lost sight of them. He trudged along.
Please, please, if anything is listening, let Ra’ael keep her temper and avoid more trouble.
Answer led him toward one of the enormous columns overlooking the chasm, its lines elegant and clean, white stone laced with red. White stone pillars on each side rose several stories into the air. The beauty chilled him; his gaze kept sliding toward the chasm rather than taking in further details.
They climbed the stairs attached to the outside of the column to the third level and then stopped before a wooden door engraved with gold in a strange script. The memory of his sister slipping over the side of the chasm stung him. This is where they forced him to live, in sight of that wretched place? His heart filled with hatred and rage.
Answer unchained him, the metal pinching and scraping against his skin as she pulled it away. “Do not bother trying to escape. They will kill you if you do.”
Taunos rubbed his wrists, seething at her, but she seemed unaffected.
“You will open the door for me, as is fitting behavior for ebrs and commoners toward their betters.”
Taunos clenched his jaw on his thoughts about Answer being his “better” and obeyed. She glided past him, raising her browridge at him and beckoning him to follow, which he did with a suppressed sigh. There was nothing else to do, trapped as he was—at least for now.
“Why did you protect me?” Answer asked.
He hadn’t expected that. He took a long time to compose his thoughts, during which, surprisingly, Answer did not interrupt him. “It wasn’t for you. It was for Ra’ael. You killed my sister. I cannot very well stand by while you kill someone else who knows not what they’re doing.” Taunos did not bother to soften the severity of his tone.
Answer frowned. “You do hold a grudge. You might remember your station. You cannot fall much farther.”
“You have taken away the one thing that is most precious to me in all the worlds. The loss of my freedom is nothing compared to the loss of my sister.”
Her eyes widened. “In all the worlds?”
Taunos clenched his jaw, berating himself for the slip.
Chin high, Answer turned away and beckoned. “This way.”
She led him through hallways with floors of beautiful stonework stamped with geometric designs and stone walls covered by intricate tapestries portraying dazzling lights, prisms, and fractals. Alcoves at precise intervals held gleaming lanterns with worked bronze, and shining crystal designs decorated them as well as the ceiling. They descended rounded stairs, and Answer stopped one step above floor level. She clapped her hands sharply. A moment passed, and then a man dressed in a plain linen skirt, bare of any accessories, hurried to stand before them and bowed.
“My lady?” he asked in smooth, low tones.
“This is the new ebr from the Outside. He is called…” Answer trailed off and looked at Taunos, her browridge raised.
Giving Taunos no time to answer, the man frowned. “You will speak when asked a question.”
Again, he barely had a moment in which to speak, with Answer almost immediately opening her mouth to scold. “Taunos.”
The man’s mouth twitched. Answer viewed him impassively. “It will do. Taunos. Ketrik, you will ready Taunos to meet my parents. I will present him in one cycle. Please have him washed and dressed appropriately—not in those filthy clothes.”
Ketrik bowed. “Yes, my lady.” He stepped back and gestured for Taunos to follow him while Answer ascended the stairs.
They walked at a brisk pace through a hall with plain floors and empty walls where the lanterns hung from simple hooks. Ketrik stopped at a door halfway down the hall and opened it to reveal a modest room with a simple bed, a washbasin with a pitcher of water and a towel, and a small chest. “This will be your room. Wash well and change into the clothes in the chest. I will return shortly. You will need a hurried lesson on manners, no doubt.” Ketrik stepped out, and the door clicked shut with finality behind him.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Think. He needed to stay aware, to watch for the chances to find a better road. They would come, but if he let himself be ruled by emotion, he knew he would miss them. Taunos poured water as ordered into the washbasin, then stopped, staring at the ripples as they stilled. It was not proper to care for one’s physical appearance during the first week of mourning. It had only been yesterday. Had it already been a day since she fell?
He looked around him, his heart empty. Rage was the only thing now that made him feel alive. Driven by habit, he catalogued his surroundings. The room was small but not too cramped. The furnishings were in good condition. Taunos didn’t mind sparsity; Rinaryn never had much in the way of material goods. In the chest lay clothes of a sort—a simple white cloth which fastened around his waist and hung to his knees. It left his chest and arms bare, and the fabric, though not coarse, was not the soft alanshorn wool of Rinaryn clot
hes. Without a tunic, he’d be grateful for the warm air of the cavern floor.
Ketrik entered with a sharp knock and gave a harrumph at Taunos’s appearance. Seating himself on the chest, Ketrik began to lecture him on how to behave when presented to Answer’s parents, but Taunos found it difficult to pay attention. Where was Eian at the moment? Was he well? Was anyone helping him? His sister would have stopped at nothing to see him well.
He had given up so much to protect his sister, and for what? Now she was dead and his sacrifices were in vain. In vain, he left his land to wander ceaselessly. In vain, he gave up a chance at happiness with the beautiful— He shut that line of thought down firmly but was left with the impression of long, black tresses falling in waves as if to accentuate the muscular fair-skinned form beneath them. Stupidly, he had sacrificed her to keep his sister and his land safe. Surely the spirits were laughing at his expense.
Ketrik stood abruptly, snapping him back to reality. He picked up a small, smooth stick—where had that come from? Taunos berated himself, watching the stick. It had been a long time since someone had been able to draw a weapon in his presence without his immediate awareness.
“Follow,” Ketrik ordered, leaving the room without a backward glance.
There was nothing else to do, so Taunos did as he was bid. They climbed the stairs and turned down a hallway to stop before a door engraved with flowers. Ketrik knocked twice on the door.
“Come.”
Ketrik opened the door, motioning Taunos to enter before him, and followed him across the threshold. Answer sat on a long, cushioned chair next to two middle-aged Kamalti. The woman was adorned in jewels and the same style of dress of white cloth, her mouth pinched and eyes sharp, while the man, his expression mild and thoughtful, wore a gold vest to match the gold of his belt and his heavily embroidered white skirt. Ketrik bowed low, then rapped Taunos on the leg with the small stick in a blindingly fast flick of the wrist.
“My apologies, my lord, my lady,” Ketrik said, shooting Taunos a withering look. “His education is just beginning. I beg you to forgive his rough and crude ways.”
Taunos scowled. “Far better to be rough and crude than cruel.”
“Silence,” Ketrik hissed at him.
Answer frowned and crossed her arms, and her mother sniffed, holding her head high. The father spoke, his voice calm. “You are an ebr in this household, and as such, will remember your station. It is fitting for an ebr to bow before the Lords and Ladies of its house.”
Anger flashed through him. It was forbidden for any Rinaryn to bow before another. But these were not Rinaryn, and he had in his travels found it necessary to bow in the past. He just had never wanted so little to do something. Stiffly, bringing to bear all his dignity and pride, he bowed, mimicking Ketrik.
Answer’s mother looked at him with disdain and sighed. “That will have to do. Now, ebr, what is your name?”
“Taunos.”
Ketrik prodded him again, and again Answer frowned. Her mother looked indignant. Irritation simmered in him. He hadn’t been listening when Ketrik went on and on about etiquette earlier, but rather than helping, Ketrik merely matched his thunderous expression.
Well, if he was going to fail at something, he might as well do it with style. Looking once more at Answer’s mother, Taunos assumed a broad grin and asked, “What’s your name?”
Answer’s mother gasped and turned away at an angle, fanning herself with a piece of paper presumably constructed for this purpose.
“Take him away!” Answer snapped, clearly offended. “And Ketrik? Teach him far better manners.”
Taunos allowed Ketrik to hurry him away, which he did with much apologizing and bowing to Answer’s family. Once the door was shut, Ketrik rapped Taunos twice more on the arm. Taunos clenched his jaw, entertaining thoughts of snatching the stick away from Ketrik and returning the favor. He kept a firm hold of his temper as Ketrik hurried him down the stairs and back into the lower level of the house, but when he turned and struck him a third time, Taunos ripped the stick from his hands.
“Do you enjoy using this, or is this performance special, just for me?” he demanded.
Outrage contorted Ketrik’s features. “You insolent creature! You asked the Lady her name! It is improper ever to ask a Lady her name, even were you the same social standing as she. By the Ships!” he exclaimed. “For you, an ebr, to ask the name of the Lady of the house! Even the lower classes know better than to behave in such a way.”
Things did not get better from there.
At breakfast on the fifth day, while Taunos cleared away the used dishes from the side table laden with food, Answer’s mother set down her utensils and spoke loudly enough for Taunos to hear across the room. “Something simply must be done about that animal. I am sorry, my dear.” She smiled at Answer. “But really, it is unacceptable. Look at all that hair!”
The words washed over Taunos the way the spring floods washed over the fields. He hadn’t plucked his sparse facial hair since his sister had died, and his hair was long and rather shaggy, but he saw no reason for that to be offensive. He had far greater problems than worrying about his hair, of all things.
In the days since his capture, Answer and her parents had blocked every attempt he’d made to find a way to recover his sister’s body. He had clung to the mourning rituals, hoping somehow they would lift Kaemada’s soul out of the mountain to the rim of the sky. He’d failed to save her from death; he could not fail to observe the rituals, not if there was even a chance to spare his sister’s spirit from endless wandering. He refused to disrespect his sister by cutting his hair as Ketrik daily hinted he should.
He had been moving through his days numb and empty, but alone in his room, during the rituals, he willed himself to care, to feel. It was the least he could offer his sister. Besides, something about a lack of control and strange hostile surroundings made him long for the rituals and traditions of home.
Answer’s mother shook her head. “No, it simply will not do. He is unfit for public sight. He is unfit for private sight! Ketrik simply must bathe that animal and shave off that disgusting hair.”
“There are two more days.” Taunos’s voice was thick.
Disapproving frowns turned on him from everyone in the room, from Answer’s father to Ketrik, standing in the doorway.
Taunos struggled to collect his fleeting, half-formed thoughts, which scattered from him as he tried to catch hold of them. “Please. You have made it impossible for us to lay my sister to rest. You have forbidden much of our mourning rituals. I only ask two days to complete this one.”
“Nonsense!” Answer’s father thundered, browridge knitted. “You, ebr, will control yourself. I will not have such disorder in my home.”
Two days were not much to ask for. Rage boiled in him suddenly, and Taunos clenched his fists. “I will not disrespect the memory of my sister!”
Answer’s eyes narrowed, but it was her mother who spoke. “You are ungrateful. After everything we have given you, you speak so?”
His reasoning, his bargaining, and his outright pleading were ignored as the family finished their breakfast in stony silence. As soon as one of the other ebrs cleared away the last dish, Answer’s father stood, motioning to Ketrik. Ketrik gripped Taunos’s arm fiercely, shoving him down the stairs to the ebr’s level after Answer’s father, while the other two ebrs followed with whispers. Although Answer’s mother oversaw the day-to-day dealings with the ebrs, she never actually entered the ebr’s level, and it was unheard of for Answer’s father to do so.
Taunos balked and slid along, forcing the ebrs to drag him. His body had become slow and weak since coming here, but he held himself ready, in tense anticipation for the fight to come. He wouldn’t be able to fight long, so he had to make it count.
Ketrik shoved Taunos toward a chair in his small room, but Taunos gripped Ketrik’s forearms, putting him off-balance. Part of him wanted to lay the other ebr out. His honor demanded he fight back, but if h
e fought too hard, the Kamalti would likely punish Ra’ael and Takiyah for his actions. The Kamalti didn’t seem to care about such things as innocence and justice, which only made him care all the more.
Scowling, Answer’s father thundered, “I recommend against resisting, ebr.”
“I will not dishonor my sister’s memory,” Taunos grunted, straining against Ketrik.
“Have a little dignity, or you will long for the ability to express any of your savage ways, for they will all be lost to you. And how then will you honor the memory of your sister?”
Taunos braced himself. In this, he could not bend. The other male ebr came in to restrain him, and Taunos threw the chair at Ketrik to keep him at bay while grappling with the other. He should have been able to fight off two at once, but his body was slow to respond and his limbs were clumsy.
Answer’s father removed his belt and joined the fray, lashing about him, and Taunos found himself hard-pressed to keep track of anything in the chaos. Several bruises and bloody noses later, Taunos lay on his stomach with Ketrik wrenching his arms behind his back while the other ebr lay across his legs. Answer’s father pulled his head up from the cold tile floor by his hair while running the razor across his scalp and face. The pain made his eyes water but Taunos refused to surrender, regardless of the slices from the razor.
He fumed, humiliation gathering in him like a storm. Where were his lauded strength and fighting ability? He hadn’t been able to save his sister, and now he was forced to dishonor her memory. He thought of her smile, her big heart, her impossible dreams, and hoped with all his soul that she had found her way to the rim of the sky, because he was failing her. Again.
The ebrs twisted his limbs and pinched him while they could, but Taunos kept his gaze locked on Answer’s father, eyes blazing with anger. The man remained stoic, stepping back as soon as he finished and ordering the ebrs to release him. Taunos gathered himself to his feet carefully, weighing the consequences of getting immediate retribution for the shame and dishonor done to him and his sister. He could probably drive the wind from the man, but he would almost certainly be broken for it. Which wouldn’t matter if it weren’t for Eian waiting on the outside and Ra’ael and Takiyah trapped underground with him. He held himself still, walking a taut rope over the temptation to give in anyway.
