Ishme provides the words I cannot utter, “They worship ‘The Shi'ahn.’”
I can’t help the sorrow in my voice, “Yes. That describes it well.”
“Was it difficult, then, discovering Lumina… a place where you are not revered above all others?”
I almost laugh, “Difficult? Are you kidding? To no longer be looked to as ‘She who will fix all?’ To no longer feel the weight of the world on my shoulders from the moment I wake each morning? To not have everyone so awed by my presence that they fail to notice… No, that aspect hasn’t been difficult – it’s been like a vacation! Except, of course, recently. And now, my people, those who are left… they are in pain and I must help them.”
Looking at me contemplatively, he finally says, “I hadn’t realized you felt such a sense of duty toward them. It is strange, since I do not remember an influence such as yours during the attack.”
“No, I wasn’t there, I was… detained. Imprisoned.”
“You were? I had heard that you eluded capture.”
“It was Cailli who held me.”
Ishme looks confused, “Cailli?”
“The Cailliach, the creator of our realm.”
He looks first concerned, and then truly surprised, “Why?”
“She referred to my accommodations as ‘a safe place.’ I assure you, if she had not taken me, the battle of Shiral would have been very different. William has influence there, that I will freely admit – but Shiral is MINE. She always will be.”
I belatedly realize that my tone has become cold and hard, and my words somehow seem to reverberate, ringing with truth, although I had not done anything intentional to cause it. Fortunately, Ishme does not seem offended or upset, but rather intrigued. “Well, Shi'ahn, I believe it is time for us to begin our game.” As he gestures for me to take the first turn, I can’t help but think that it seems we have already begun to play. We are silent as I make my first two shots, which are flawless of course – it’s just aiming and judging the ground, after all. He remains at the beginning point at first and I feel… intensely watched as I bend forward to properly grasp the mallet. Then he moves to stand somewhat in front of me and begins speaking while still watching me intently, making me feel as though he undresses me with his eyes.
“Shiral is an interesting place – few worlds are so strong in both Magic and Technology, it really is a rare combination, and therefore valuable.” Ah, here we go.
“So what would you be willing to accept in exchange for your withdrawal?”
He smiles in a way that almost sends a chill down my back, “Why, something of greater value, of course.”
“Greater? That hardly seems fair.”
He laughs lightly, “Fairness has little to do with it. You must realize that my Dynasty incurred losses in the battle that would need to be repaid, and there is also the issue of the other Dynasties. Our pulling out easily would be seen as a betrayal.” He pauses as I take aim, then adds, “Of course I should not leave out the fact that Shiral is an exceptional hunting ground – rare indeed are worlds with such an array of magical creatures for us to match our skills against.” My aim hits the ball correctly, but I put too much force into the blow and it stops in a place that I am incapable of scoring another hoop from. I place the ball as best I can to assure that when it is my turn again, I will have no trouble with the shot.
Ishme smiles, “Ah, a pity. Well, my turn.”
I don’t bother giving him any silent turns, he doesn’t need it. “So what do you propose would be acceptable in trade for My Home?”
“Prince Llywelyn’s ship would suffice.”
“You are asking me for something that I do not, and cannot control.”
“Shiral is a valuable world, Shi'ahn. And I would be risking much to return my lands there to you. Perhaps, if you could provide a world with similar strengths…”
“That I could quite likely do, although not until our hostilities are truly ended.”
As I give him that answer, he makes a mistake similar to mine, thus surrendering the turn. I find myself doubting the sincerity of his mistake. I win the game, but it feels hollow. He takes my hand as though to shake it, but instead steps closer and raises it up to kiss yet again.
William’s voice rings out, “Good Morning, Shi'ahn! I didn’t realize you played croquette.” Ishme releases my hand with a rueful sigh.
“Ishme was just teaching me.”
Ishme's expression turns resigned, “Well, I should be going now. Thank you, Shi'ahn, for the pleasure of your company.” He makes a dismissive gesture with his hand, and every piece of croquette equipment disappears. He bows politely toward me, nods his head slightly toward William, and walks away.
~~~
William watches Ishme leave, then says, “Well, that looked interesting…”
“I'm so glad you were there – I felt much more confidant, knowing you were nearby.”
“I wasn't the only one, Lucian was here before either of us – though he was very well hidden.”
“Is he gone now?”
William pauses, “Yes, his presence is gone.” He must be using his newfound skills, skills I haven't yet learned. I give a quick listen and confirm William's findings.
“So what did you think of the meeting?”
“He likes you.”
“Be serious, William.”
“I am! I know it sounds strange, but he really seems to like you! He almost devoured you with his eyes, and he gave off the feel of… coveting. Of course, dressed as you are, that isn't so surprising.”
“Hmm, Yes, I had not anticipated bending over when I chose this.”
“He seems, though, to like you for more than just visual pleasure. Tell me, what happened when he visited you last night?”
“He noticed Mathair's flute, and asked me to play a little for him. His ability to keep me off balance had annoyed me, so I decided to show him what a true musician could do… He took up my violin and joined in the song! Actually, he's an amazing musician himself. For a moment afterward he rather frightened me, his look was quite frankly predatory, but then he left.”
“So when did the hand kissing occur?”
“Twice, actually. He kissed the back of my hand when he first entered, and my palm when he left. That’s when he really took his time at it.”
“Did he say anything after that?” I bow my head, remembering the moment and hoping my cheeks don’t blush. “I don’t know… the last thing I remember is trying not to tremble as he kissed my wrist, and then I was alone.”
“Oh boy. I heard what he wanted in exchange for Shiral, he isn’t asking for much, is he?” William is good with sarcasm, I laugh with him.
“Not much at all, no.”
“Don’t be surprised if that changes.”
~~~
No one from the other houses that occupy Shiral approach either William or I. Lagash is present, but I suspect that they would be entirely unwilling to even consider negotiating with us. Temenus does not seem to have any representatives present. While asking around for them I run into a friend.
“Darius!”
He takes a step back, “Shi'ahn. You have changed. What happened?”
“I was injured, not long after returning from our imprisonment.” He looks confused. I hold out my arms, “This was Cailli's idea of 'fixing' me.”
“Cailli?”
“The Cailliach.”
“Ah, I see.” His expression changes then, becoming quite charming. “Shi'ahn, once again, I find myself rather hungry. Have you eaten lunch yet?”
“No. I was looking for a representative of Temenus.”
“The Temenus Dynasty? Then let me save you some time, for they are not here. They sent troops for the battle, of course, but rumor has it that they have a bit of a family emergency just now. I suspect the rumors are true, as the Primus Dominar did not seem upset with their absence.”
“Oh, I see. I had hoped to speak with them about my homeworld.”
; He looks almost saddened, “I understand that you would want to negotiate the return of your homeworld, but, I feel I should warn you, it is held by all three of our Dynasties; they are not likely to give it up. And as they are the most powerful of all the houses of Chaos, aside from the royal house, of course, you are unlikely to regain it by any means.”
I do not respond, I just look at the floor, for a moment letting sorrow flood my soul.
“I'm sorry, Shi'ahn, I did not mean to cause you sorrow. Come, let us find some lunch. If I remember correctly, good food tends to cheer you up.”
I'm about to agree with him, when someone takes my arm – Lucian!
“Shi'ahn! What do you think you are doing?”
“My actions are none of your business!”
“Really, you should know better. I happen to have it on good authority that your 'friend' here is trying to get you alone so that he can abduct you.”
“Don't be ridiculous!”
“Shi'ahn, his Household has put what you might call a 'reverse contract' out on your life. They have asked the other households to leave you alone so that they may take you themselves, to tear you to shreds – alive!”
I turn to Darius, incredulous, and listen to his harmony. I hear no threat from him, even as his expression changes into something almost feral.
“You are lucky, Shi'ahn, to have such a devoted watchdog. You are so naive, just like before.”
Why doesn't he sound threatening? I tentatively reach toward him with my mind, and he accepts the contact instantly.
'Play along with this, Shi'ahn, for your own safety. What he says is the truth, as far as my own people know. Someday I will explain.'
His thoughts sound true, no matter how strange it all seems. I decide to question him in a manner that will not break his cover, “How dare you! You know I was innocent of the crime – the murderer has been executed! Why would you wish to harm me?”
“Because you are the reason we let our guard down! You were so innocent, so honest in your defense of my sister that we truly believed you and your companions were of little threat to us. If it hadn't been for you, we would have treated the lot of you with all the distrust that you deserved. Because of you, we did not detect the traitor among you! Even before our journey truly started, I was so distracted by you that I did not properly heed Tindalos and Byakhee's behavior toward your Nero. It does not matter that you had no direct involvement in the Magni Dominar's murder, you are the indirect cause of our disgrace! We can no longer punish the murderer, but we can punish you!”
Lucian appears outraged. He points toward Darius and transports him away, then takes my arm. “Come, Shi'ahn, I will take you to safety.” Wishing not to discredit the scene Darius seemed to want to play out, I accompany Lucian, and immerse myself in the image Darius had painted, causing me to appear both shocked at what nearly happened, and grateful for Lucian's rescue. I even manage to shake a little.
~~~
Later in the day a servant summons me to a family meeting, to discuss the negotiations. When I enter the meeting room, Vespasian seems quite happy.
“Well, everyone, there have been some very interesting offers made that will return to us a great deal of our former holdings! First of all, Dominar Ra Ab Ishme et Akkad has made an astounding offer. His Dynasty has been particularly aggressive and successful, they have taken hundreds of worlds; of which one hundred forty four are under his direct control.”
I lean forward in anticipation – could that possibly include Shiral? It couldn't, could it? He shares Shiral with two other Dynasties.
“All of his worlds he offers to return, he asks in exchange only the Lady Shi'ahn, as his bound concubine.” Vespasian's smile looks coldly triumphant.
Llywelyn's voice cuts through the surprised, and in some cases, outraged gasps.
“Don't be ridiculous, Vespasian, she is our Avatar, not to mention the Guardian of Croi'Solas; losing her would weaken us severely. She isn't going anywhere.”
It's strange to be so inarguably defended in such a dismissive tone. No doubt if I weren't an Avatar and Guardian, he would more than happily trade me away. Of course, if I weren't an Avatar, I doubt Ishme would have made such an offer for me.
Vespasian continues, “But our gains would be tremendous!”
Lucian responds, “Such a move could potentially be suicidal, Vespasian, be realistic.”
Vespasian looks around the room, but no one joins his cause. He even catches Novanus' eyes, silently asking for his support, but Novanus just stares coldly back. Vespasian frowns, but then seems to regain some of his earlier exuberance.
“Very well, there is another very good offer on the board. House Dolor offers to return several of our closest trade partner worlds in exchange for William, he would be wed to a daughter of the head of their Household, Alyssa, and claim issue.”
“What? NO!” He wants to give away my brother!
“William's dragon forces have been very useful, if hostilities were to break out again we would be better off with their continued support.” Lucian, this time.
To my surprise, Cas speaks up, “Dolor… they are closely allied with Belua, are they not?”
Novanus answers, “Very closely – through marriage.”
“I request a modification of that offer – let me take William's place.”
“Cas?”
“Belua is the house that now holds Alma. This would allow me the chance to see her, possibly even regularly.” He looks questioningly at, not Vespasian, but Llywelyn.
“I see no reason to disallow the substitution. It could improve our chances of eventually regaining both of you. Vespasian, I will take over that particular negotiation.”
Vespasian looks as if he's about to sputter, but I don't care. I take Cas' hand and squeeze it in thanks, reaching out to his thoughts. 'Cas – thank you so very much! I don't know if I could have handled losing William like that! But… are you sure you will be OK? This is a tremendous move, Cas, it will change your life! What if it doesn't work – what if they don't let you see Alma?'
He sighs. 'Shi'ahn, Alma isn't the only reason I'm offering to take William's place. I have tried to hide from the fact, daring to hope that all would change, but in truth I love you, and you will never be mine. I want so much to make you happy, and it occurred to me that keeping you from losing your brother may bring you more joy than anything else I will ever be allowed to do.'
I don't know what to say. 'Oh Cas, what will become of you?'
'I will become the 'husband' of a Chaos lady, what was her name, Alyssa? We will not, of course, be able to bear children together, so we will most likely attend as many orgies as necessary for her to conceive. The true father will never be known; I will be the official father of the child. That's what they meant by 'claim issue.' We will raise said child together. Once that child reaches adulthood I may be allowed to return to Lumina, if I wish. And my claiming issue within their Household will likely raise their standing within Chaos – they are a small household and not particularly powerful, so they will likely do their best to keep me fairly happy. It shouldn't be all that bad.'
'I've been so busy I haven't even heard what is happening with Alma – how is she?'
'Oh, she's been better, I'm sure. As you know she was captured while raising troops for the war. At first she was enslaved by some branch of House Belua. It's much faster where she is, apparently she soon caught the eye of a powerful lord within that House, and has become his favorite lover. Knowing her, by now she may have even managed some official status – she's very good, so to speak.' He smiles wickedly, but his frown soon returns. 'Vespasian has been in charge of those negotiations, and he never really liked her, so I suspect, without my request to take William's place, she would be staying in Chaos for quite a while.'
'Do you think she will end up married as you are to be?'
'No, that wouldn't make any sense – she could never conceive a child.'
'You've mentioned that… why not?'
'I keep forgetting how new you are to this place, and not all pertinent information is easily available. We're simply incompatible – our sperm tear their ova apart, and our ova are impervious to their sperm; it's as simple as that. It's much like us and lesser beings, but on a far greater scale. But in the case of the Chaosians and us, nothing has been able to circumvent it – ever. Even if initial fertilization were to occur, I'm sure the cells would destroy each other. Thus the orgies I will be attending with my wife. It is very important to them that the genetic father remains unknown. And Alma will remain unmarried because no Chaosian male could ever impregnate her.'
'It all seems very well thought out – have there been many such marriages in the past?'
'Not many, no. Only at the conclusion of a war between our realms. But those rules are older than that. They were originally intended to deal with an inability to have children among their own people. It happens, you know – though not so much with them as with us. When we have difficulties, as our last Emperor had, we tend to turn to technology, though some have used magic or other means. Most of us don't really worry about it, the Emperor didn't care for the non-inheriting line procreating.'
Everyone around us stands up – the meeting must be over. I let go Cas' hand after a final squeeze, and reach for William.
'William, I'm afraid I wasn't paying attention – what else happened? After Cas offered to take your place?'
'I was wondering where your attention was. Not much, Vespasian had apparently concentrated on giving us away. Llywelyn spent the day making land deals. Pretty dry stuff, but at least no one else is being given away. He said nothing about Shiral. Excuse me, Sis, there is something I must attend to.'
'Ah, William, I was wondering – could I spend the night on your couch? I really don't feel like being visited again tonight.'
'Oh, ah… OK, but I may not be in until pretty late. Don't wait up for me.'
Chapter 28
William and Novanus' Revenge
I'm actually more interested in avoiding my own rooms than in gaining rest, so I poke about William's place a bit. His book collection is now quite different from mine, it abounds with texts on various theories of physics. Many involve String Theory, although from their titles they do not appear to claim to be the exclusive truth. There are many alternative theories represented in his library, all highly mathematical. Fascinating, but not exactly exciting; I've always found math tedious. Why spend so much time describing things with numbers when all one has to do is listen to reach the same understanding? I suppose, though, since William can't hear, his cold numbers are the only method of understanding available to him. And at least now that he has ascended the Path he has some control over that which his mathematics allows him to understand. Finally it dawns on me, I'm in William's rooms – with his computer!
Between Darkness and Light Trilogy Page 39
