by CA Morgan
“What passes between me and my wife is of no consequence to you,” Raga said. “Now, if you three will kindly remove yourselves from my balcony, I see no reason to summon the city guards.”
Raga smiled purposefully at them and led Eris back inside the room. With only a slight gesture, he fused solid the lock’s soft metal.
He helped Eris to a chair and he promptly started to slide off. Raga caught him just in time. Stretching out his leg, Raga caught hold of a small table with his ankle and pulled it in front of Eris, allowing him to stretch out on its polished surface.
“Raga,” Eris yawned, “did you put another sleep spell on me?”
“No. You’re simply exhausted from yester eve, and from sleeping on that hard tile,” Raga answered as he put on his clothes, and, he thought, from sleeping with a demon. What was it about Eris that made the unexpected happen? He wondered.
“Those bastards could have carried me off and I would never have heard them. By the Sword of Tyreim, what’s the matter with me?” Eris muttered. His head felt unusually heavy as it rested on top of the arm stretched out on the table.
“Sleep if you want. We have plenty of time. I’m going to find something to eat. You look much better by the way. Do you want anything to eat? Should I bring you back anything in particular?” Raga jabbered, walking to the door.
“You’re asking me too many questions. Bring whatever you want,” Eris whispered. All he wanted to do was sleep.
He was having such nice dreams. He was hunting in the wide-open countryside and nothing of any great consequence had ever happened to him. He even had an orange dog that was one of the best hunters he’d ever used. The animal was a little peculiar though: it had purple ears and nose. No matter, Eris thought with a contented smile as sleep came once more. Dreams were more often strange than not.
Eris woke in the early afternoon to the smell of roasting meat. This time he was fully awake and vaguely recalled the incident of the morning, though whether it was a dream or not, he really couldn't have said.
He sat up and found himself on his bed. Raga was kneeling by the hearth tending to their lunch. In the center of the room, Raga had set a table laden with all sorts of things to eat. Eris’ stomach growled. There was no doubt that he was hungry now.
Hearing the bed creak, Raga turned to see Eris climbing out.
“Are you awake this time?” he asked.
Eris looked at him somewhat puzzled as he poured a glass of wine.
“Then I didn’t dream that little incident this morning?” Eris asked and sipped the tart vintage.
“No, it happened. Help yourself to the table. The meat is almost ready. You behaved yourself nicely,” Raga said with a wry smile.
“Just like an obedient wife?” Eris asked, recalling the term.
Raga laughed and brought the steaming meat to the table.
“Just remember how you acted and you’ll have no problems with the Sultan until we can get you out of there,” Raga advised. He sliced a chunk of meat and placed it in front of Eris, then served himself.
“I wasn’t acting so voluntarily. I couldn’t wake up. But if I had, I’d have made those dogs wish they’d never stepped foot on that balcony.” Eris cut into his meat with a measure of determination.
“Are you awake now?”
“Awake and hungry. How long till we leave to begin this mad adventure of yours?”
“We’ll leave in an hour or so. That way we may have some time for you to study the layout of the palace grounds. You probably won’t be able to see much, but maybe something will help you find a way out.”
In no time, the feast was reduced to scraps for the dogs, and a beggar or two. Raga leaned back contentedly in his chair.
Eris drank down the last of his wine. “I don’t think I can eat another bite.”
“Then don’t. You have to watch your figure, you know,” Raga teased.
Eris rolled his eyes then left the table to rummage through his saddlebags.
“What are you looking for?”
“Nothing. I’m just making sure everything is packed. I don’t want to come flying out of that place with no familiar weapons waiting for me.”
“What’s the matter? Starting to feel a little cautious? I thought ‘caution for cowards’ was your adage.”
“If you’re trying to annoy me, you’re doing a good job. I want to be prepared. After that little incident this morning, who knows what will happen next.” Eris reached deep into one bag and felt the familiar shape of the green stone still secreted in the little pouch of his bracer. He felt the slight tingle of the protective barrier surrounding it and was sure no one had bothered it.
“Make sure you have our horses saddled and ready all the time. If luck is with us, I want to be out of there by tomorrow morning,” Eris said and cinched the straps tight.
“It may not be as soon as that.”
“Why? Do you know something you aren’t telling me?”
“No, but the Sultan might not give you the gem until you have gone through some ceremony. If that’s the case, it could be a week or more until you can get out,” Raga reminded.
“Even so, I want you to keep everything ready. That’s the least you can do for me.” Without thinking about what he was doing, he sat on the floor, pulled his long tresses over one shoulder and combed them smooth.
“If you’re ready, we should put the mind-bond in place. We’ll need to test it a little before we get separated,” Raga suggested.
“All right, but don’t overdo it. I don’t want you to be able to read my mind.”
“Concealing devious plots in there, are you?” Raga asked, rising from the table. With a grunt, he eased his girth to the floor and sat cross-legged in front of Eris.
“I only wish I was. I’m having a hard enough time keeping myself from falling completely into your clutches. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a way to get rid of you yet.” What there was of his good humor was failing fast.
Raga frowned. “There’s no reason to be so mean. In fact, the first time we try this link it might not work. I’m not going to weave the spell as tightly as I might with someone else.”
“Why? Do you think leaving me in that harem will put me in a better mood?”
“Stop being so suspicious. I won’t let you get stuck in there. My reason is that every time I try something on you the spell either works too well, or something unexpected happens,” Raga explained.
“That really comforts me. I’m stuck with a sorcerer who isn’t even an expert at what he does,” Eris said sarcastically.
“Then tell me what’s the matter with you? When is Eris Pann ever worried about getting into a situation he can’t get out of? Ever since we arrived in Reshan you’ve been overly concerned about how to get out of the palace. Where is that arrogant confidence of yours hiding?” Raga asked with a raised eyebrow.
Eris suddenly realized he couldn’t answer that question. Where was it indeed? Thinking about it, many of what he considered instinctive traits were completely missing when he was in his current form. He realized they were taught and learned masculine traits and his female side rejected the hard, sometimes cruel, characteristics. Obviously, this was another insidious aspect of his abhorrent situation. In this way, he would know full well what it was like to live afraid in a world completely dominated by men.
“Stop brooding and pay attention.”
Eris blinked to clear the fogginess from his eyes and pushed his raven tresses back over his shoulders. He sighed, “What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to put your hand on my head and I’ll put mine on yours. Good. Now close your eyes and ignore everything around you. Concentrate on allowing part of yourself to follow your arm to me, and I’ll do the same toward you. Imagine stepping inside my head, my mind. Relax. You’re trying too hard,” Raga directed, trying to let Eris work a part of the spell himself though he didn’t realize it. In this way, Raga reasoned, the link could possibly be a little more stable, and,
with any luck, they wouldn’t be confronted with some unexpected occurrence should a crisis arise.
“Good, now try to find a place within my thoughts that seems comfortable to you. Look for an image, or thought, that appeals to you. One that you won’t have any trouble remembering in an emergency situation,” Raga guided.
Hesitantly, Eris probed further. He was afraid of what he might find should he go too far into the labyrinth of thought patterns that whirled and glided in front of his mind’s eye.
“Careful. Not that way,” Raga cautioned as Eris found an interesting looking path and curiosity propelled him forward. It was a path that led to the basic foundations of the sorcerer’s existence. It would be a terrifying experience for a mere mortal to witness the creation of one spawned from elemental fury.
Eris’ curiosity dissolved into a twinge of distrust. He turned his direction and found another pathway that seemed to have colors other than the orange-reds inundating him.
Oddly, stretching out before him was the image of a wide, green valley with a stream meandering down the center. He imagined himself walking across the thick grass to the water’s muddy edge. The valley reminded him of the place of his childhood; a peaceful place that he felt comfortable with. A place that seemed odd in Raga when compared to the other reddish things he had seen. Images of fire, flames, and the tortures of men long since dead all seemed to sizzle within the untamed power of the element.
“This will be a good place,” Eris thought as it was likely the safest place in the maelstrom of Raga’s mind.
“I’m rather fond of it myself.” Raga’s thought answered him rather than voice.
Startled, Eris felt the tenuous link between them quiver with the delicate tension of a spider crawling on its web.
“Easy, easy. Hold your concentration. Take this thought image as your own. Mark it well, and then follow the silver markers you’ve placed behind you and come out,” Raga explained with the patient guidance of a father.
“What markers?” Eris half thought, half mumbled.
“Turn around. You’ll see them.”
Eris imagined turning to go out from the valley. Moving forward, he saw a silver thread gleaming brightly before him. He followed it trying not to pay attention to the multitude of other thoughts and images that rushed by. In the distance, he saw a silver square flashing like a beacon and made his way to it. Wiggling like a fish on a line, Eris found Raga’s recollection of drinking in some tavern attached to the marker.
Eris imagined himself smiling. “What does this mean?”
“It’s one of my thoughts you considered, but passed up. In a sense you caught it and it will serve you as a guide post back to the valley should you have the need.”
“It looks silly flapping here like this.”
“You should see some of yours.”
“I’m quite sure I don’t want to.”
Eris continued the journey back to himself passing several more trapped images.
“Go slow here. I don’t want you to faint. Imagine yourself climbing onto your hand and walking back along your arm. That’s right. Keep going. You’re doing just fine. Now, take a deep breath and at the same time imagine pulling all your thoughts and energy back into yourself.”
Eris did as Raga instructed. Immediately he was overcome by dizziness and fell forward into Raga’s lap. Raga caught him and pushed him back into a sitting position.
“Take another deep breath and open your eyes,” Raga told him. This time it was a verbal command.
Eris did as Raga instructed and slowly opened his eyes.
“Why do I see three of you? One is already more than I can handle,” Eris said trying to focus his vision. The dizziness slowly eased and he screwed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he was relieved to see only one Raga.
“I think it worked.”
“What do you mean you think?”
“Be patient. I’m going downstairs, while you get ready to go. I’ll communicate with you from down there. If you can hear me, answer back,” Raga said.
After the sorcerer had gone, Eris found the gold and pearl circlet and made a fairly successful attempt to put it on his head.
He stood up and crossed the room to where a spotty mirror hung on the wall and peered into it. Satisfied that he had adjusted the circlet as best he could, he adjusted the bodice and untangled the rows of hanging pearls. As he sat on the edge of the bed tying on his sandals, he thought he felt a tickle in his ear, and then heard Raga speaking as though he was standing directly behind him.
“Can you hear me, Eris?”
“I hear you just fine.” He felt Raga’s laughter ripple between his ears.
“You have to communicate with your thoughts. If you speak, everything is garbled and I can’t understand you.”
“I feel stupid doing this.” He wondered if Raga heard.
“Of course I heard. Every word loud and clear. The link is working just fine. We should have no problems.”
“Does this mean you can hear everything I think?” Eris shot back.
“For the most part, yes. Until you can learn to be selective in what thoughts travel along my path, I’ll hear every little peep and complaint you make.” Eris heard him coming back up the stairs. “Of course, if I’m not paying attention to you, I won’t hear anything, but for the next few days that isn’t likely to be the case.”
Eris frowned. That wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear, but it was too late for objections.
“How do I select my thoughts?” Eris asked as the sorcerer opened the door. “They just come as they come. You can’t control them.”
“Yes, you can. We don’t have time for you to do it now, but when you get a chance, do what you did with me and follow the path inside yourself. It is my path within you that you will find outlined in silver. As you’ve seen, the mind is a vast place. All you have to do is steer your thoughts in a direction away from my path,” Raga explained as he helped Eris on with his cloak.
“Once we’re separated,” Raga continued, “you can call to me any time. I’ll hear you, unless like I’ve said, you’ve managed to send your thoughts away from my path. If something happens and you can’t make contact immediately, look for the silver markers along your path that is within me. Follow them to the place you chose as your base and call me from there,” Raga explained as they went down the stairs and entered into the warm, dusty streets.
The streets were crowded with shouting, boisterous people. The caravan animals looked miserable and behaved irritably as they wanted to be free of the suffocating mass of surging bodies and find respite in their stalls and barns. The shops were closing up for the evening leaving the foreign visitors with nothing to do but drink, throw dice, and disturb the calm quiet of the desert sunset.
Raga kept a firm hold on Eris’ arm just above the elbow as they passed through the pressing masses. Eris, meanwhile, was struggling to keep himself from being the object of prying eyes and obnoxious hands that groped at him from out of the crowd.
“Animals!” Eris snapped as an unknown passer-by pinched him hard on the ass in spite of the traveling cloak’s thickness. “What in the Seven Hells is the matter with these people?”
“They just want to know who the Sultan is going to choose. After three weeks of seeing women paraded around under heavy veils and shrouds, they’re curious. They’re excited. The week of the ceremony will be a time of celebration for everyone, not to mention a fair amount of profit for many,” Raga explained.
Angrily, Eris slapped at another hand that found its way beneath his cloak, and wished he had the strength to break the offender’s wrist.
“We’re almost there,” Raga informed him hoping that would settle the tigress he suddenly had in his grip.
Eris could only take his word for it, because as a modest maiden, he was forbidden to push back his hood and see for himself. He was, however, getting a very good look at the bellies and feet of everyone in Reshan.
Unused to such con
fining clothing, Eris felt the heat building up under his garments. Even though the sun was fast sinking to sunset, the desert heat radiated from every brick and grain of sand. His feet were uncomfortably warm as the thin soles of his sandals were ill suited for traversing the sunbaked ground.
“If we don’t get into some shade soon, you’re going to have to carry me in on a spit,” Eris grumbled edging closer to Raga.
“Be patient. It looks as though we’ll have to wait a little before they’ll let us in,” Raga said as he shoved a drunken man out of their way.
“Is there trouble?”
“I can’t tell from here, but maybe we’d better hurry. Watch my feet and try not to stumble,” Raga said and bullied his way through the crowd.
The palace loomed imposing and gleaming white before them. Scores of people milled about on the several flights of broad, low steps that lead up to the great, polished-bronze doors, which stood wide open beneath a colorfully painted facade.
The shadow cast by the palace did little to make Eris feel cooler as they hurried into its shade. Perspiration rolled down his face. Before he remembered not to, he wiped his face with the edge of his hood. He groaned when he saw color rub off onto the dark fabric. The Sultan was not about to choose a jester for a wife. To make matters worse, he didn’t think that even Raga could fix the damage he had done, and especially not with the crowd wandering about.
“Watch the stairs. We’re going up.”
Eris looked down to see where he was going and felt worse yet. His feet were as dusty as Raga’s boots and had little dirty spots where someone’s wine, water or spit had splattered on them making little muddy patches.
He suddenly felt overwhelmed by the silly preoccupations his female form and consciousness made him aware of and worry over. A man could care less about a little sweat, and even less about what got spilled on his boots.
Absorbed with such inane trivialities, Eris almost missed hearing what the guard, standing on the top flight of steps, was saying to the people in line ahead of them.
“I’m sorry,” he was saying in an annoyed voice, “the Sultan will only see five more women. He grows weary of this endless parade of whores. Unless one of you can show me a maiden proper, you can all go home. He already has several favorites to choose from.”
