by J F Mehentee
To avoid eavesdropping, she replayed her conversation with Manah, the lamassu. After this morning’s events in Arshak, it wasn’t fair she should be the bearer of more bad news.
For the umpteenth time, Roshan sifted over what had happened in Arshak.
Should I accept Manah’s offer? she wondered.
‘Roshan, what are you doing down there? How long have you been waiting?’
Prince Emad stood in the doorway, his eyes fixed on her as if he’d seen a malevolent spirit. Behind him, the king peered over the prince’s shoulder.
‘How long have you been waiting?’ the king repeated.
Roshan pushed herself up and shook her head.
‘I don’t know—an hour, maybe.’
The prince blanched.
‘I was, um, visited by a lamassu, another sabaoth, and it had a message.’
‘Another sabaoth?’ the prince said. ‘Are you all right? Did it hurt you?’
The king shoved past the prince and shook his head at his brother.
‘The corridor isn’t the best place to talk,’ he said. ‘Come inside.’ He waved her in.
Apart from a rolled-up rug, a table and chair, a bed and a clothes chest—a tunic’s sleeve poking out and beyond the lid—the king’s chamber was sparse. Her nose wrinkled at the dampness pervading the room.
The king sat down on a cushion and gestured for both the prince and Roshan to join him.
‘Next time you want to see me, don’t stand on ceremony; just knock on the door,’ the king said. ‘Now, what’s this about a lamassu?’
Roshan described her meeting with the sabaoth named Manah and how he’d appeared to her as a lamassu. While she spoke, the prince stared at her so intensely, it made her uncomfortable. When she reached the part about Armaiti retrieving the seal, the king wiped his bald head with a shaky hand. He kept swallowing as if he were about to choke.
The prince wrung his hands and shook his head.
The king pursed his lips, then opened them with a smack.
‘Solomon named the sabaoth who gave him the seal as Armaiti. She’s had it all along.’ He screwed his eyes shut and curled his hands into fists, making his forearms shake. When he opened them, he gazed at Roshan with stony eyes. ‘Did this other sabaoth, Manah, say what Armaiti planned on doing with the seal?’
Roshan shook her head.
The king stared at her. Unable to hold his gaze, she glanced at the prince, who looked down as if he’d done something wrong.
What’s his problem?
‘You, Roshan, you siding with us, has gotten Armaiti worried,’ the king said. ‘I think that’s why she’ll use the seal against us.’
The prince’s head snapped up.
‘Roshan and Navid have to leave Iram. They’re both in danger, and they’re putting Iram in danger. I could arrange for them to board a ship, sail off somewhere.’
Roshan intervened.
‘Armaiti knows how to find me,’ she said. ‘I know I speak for Navid, too, when I say I want to stay and help. It’s better for everyone if I confront her instead of running.’
The prince snorted.
‘How’s it better for everyone if you stay here and put them in danger?’
Before she could answer, the king reached across and touched his brother’s knee.
‘Because Manah showed Roshan how to restore a daeva’s auric energy. Whatever it is Armaiti has planned for us, we’re powerless unless Roshan stays. Manah’s offered to help her understand the sabaoth magic. She and that magic are all that stand between us and Armaiti annihilating the djinn and daevas.’
Roshan reminded herself the king was talking about her and not a mythical warrior who battled sabaoth. To hear him talking like that dried her mouth.
The chamber was silent, and it looked to Roshan as if an unspoken argument passed between the brothers. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. Roshan wouldn’t let them decide for her or Navid.
‘Navid should be here before we decide,’ she told them, ending the silent stalemate. ‘Let me get him. I won’t take long.’
The prince opened his mouth to reply. King Fiqitush placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.
‘We understand,’ the king said. ‘Find Navid. We’ll wait for you here.’
Roshan thanked the king. She walked to the door, fighting the urge to run. There was no decision to make, she had to remain and help, but the prince’s insistence that she leave Iram made her doubt herself. His arrest and Aeshma’s death were her fault. No wonder he considered her a danger to herself and others.
After turning Navid back into a human, the king had assigned him the room next to hers. She strode to it.
The room was empty.
Roshan touched her bracelet, closed her eyes. Using her mind, she constructed an image of his room and then whispered, ‘Navid.’ She opened her eyes when the bracelet pulsed. He’d heard her call.
Roshan wanted to collapse onto Navid’s bed. No, she’d use the time while waiting to consult Manah and find out how he could help her. She closed her eyes and called out his name.
The scent of myrrh and a giant lamassu filled the room. Roshan sat up. Manah shrank until his eyes were level with hers.
Before she could tell him why she’d summoned him, he spoke.
‘Armaiti has the seal,’ he said. A destination window appeared to his left. ‘Look for yourself.’
She recognised the snow-capped mountain range with its three prominent peaks. Just beyond the lower edge of the window was a hole, a heap of snow next to it. The destination window zoomed in on the hole. Roshan wasn’t sure what Manah wanted her to look at.
‘It’s a hole,’ she said. ‘So?’
The edge of the window flickered. Manah had woven a boarding window and formed a portal.
‘Put your hand in the hole and tell me what you feel.’
Roshan imagined Manah collapsing the portal while she rooted around inside it.
Manah frowned.
‘How disappointing,’ he said. ‘Remember, God wants me to help you, not harm you.’
He’d made her feel foolish. She got off the bed and squatted in front of the circle of violet light. She inserted her hand through the portal and then down inside the hole.
The freezing air made her skin pimple and numbed her fingertips. Even though she’d lost her sense of touch, the power emanating from the hole was palpable. It tugged at her arm so hard, she had to lean back and place most of her weight on her back foot.
‘That’s a scrap of the seal’s power,’ Manah said. ‘Armaiti’s activated its magic.’
With most of her weight on her back foot, Roshan drew her arm from out of the portal.
‘What’s Armaiti going to do with the seal?’ she said. If what she’d felt was only a trace of its power, what kind of harm was it capable of?
‘She’ll use it to destroy the djinn and daevas, of course.’
Manah had said it so matter-of-factly and as if she were a simpleton for asking.
‘What could she possibly have against them? What have they done to deserve such hate?’
Manah’s forehead creased, and one corner of his mouth lifted.
‘Because she’s trapped on this world, and the only way to escape it is to destroy it. But only a few of her sabaoth powers remain. She’s no longer omnipresent and she can’t create or destroy matter. She needs the humans to do that for her. The djinn and daevas are the only race who can stop them. That’s why she wants to be rid of them.’ Manah squinted at her. ‘And then there’s you. When Armaiti saved you, her sabaoth energy lay dormant within your aura. Then, when you were gravely injured in Persepae, it healed you. Now, each time you’re injured, more of the energy is activated. Your aura is one-third human, one-third sabaoth and one-third djinn. If you’re hurt again, sabaoth energy will supplant either your human energy or djinn energy. You’ll grow stronger and become more of a threat to Armaiti. That’s why you must regenerate the djinn’s and daevas’ auric energy and fight alon
gside them.’
Roshan sat back on the bed and held her head in her hands. Images of the alleyway in Arshak filled her mind.
‘Me fighting—you make it sound so simple.’
Manah’s hooves tapped against the room’s stone floor.
She looked up from her hands and met Manah’s self-satisfied gaze.
Manah raised his chin, his face imperious.
‘Come with me.’ The portal opening out onto the snow-covered mountaintop flickered. The destination window had changed to dawn rising over an arid canyon. ‘Come with me now, and begin your training, Roshan.’
If it meant she could fight and be confident she’d hurt only Armaiti, she had to go. As soon as she’d mastered the magic, she’d return to Iram.
Roshan stood.
Navid.
She couldn’t leave without telling him where she’d gone. He didn’t have a tablet for her to leave him a message on, and she didn’t want him and the others to worry.
Roshan touched her bracelet. There was no way of knowing how close or how far he was.
‘Roshan,’ Manah said. ‘It’s time to go.’
With her fingers still pressed against the bracelet, she stared at the wall behind Manah.
‘I have to go. I’m going to learn about sabaoth magic. Please don’t worry. I’ll come back soon.’
The walls hissed and cracked with the words she’d burned onto its surface. If he didn’t receive or understand the message she’d sent via the bracelet, he would after he entered his room.
Roshan turned her attention from the wall to the lamassu.
‘I’m ready, Manah. Let’s go.’
8
Emad studied his brother’s face as Fiqitush gazed at the bare wall in front of him. Fiqitush looked as if his spirit had excused itself from the room.
‘What do you think Armaiti will do with the seal?’ Emad said.
Fiqitush continued to stare, although he squinted now.
Emad listened as his brother explained Roshan’s encounter with Armaiti in Derbicca. He wanted to interrupt him, remind Fiqitush how Roshan had arrived outside his home soon after her encounter with the sabaoth, but stopped himself. His brother often recounted information before he answered a question.
‘Armaiti told Roshan she’s stuck on this world. As punishment for saving Roshan, God limited Armaiti’s powers. For example, unlike the sabaoth as we understand them, Armaiti can only be in one place at a time. Perhaps there are other things she can’t do without the seal’s help.’
Emad rubbed his chin.
‘It’s a strong possibility,’ Emad said. ‘But what if she repeats what she did last time and gives the seal to a human and gets them to do her dirty work?’
Fiqitush screwed his eyes shut and then rubbed them with thumb and forefinger.
‘The golden arrow she gave the high magus killed Aeshma and almost killed Behrouz. If she gives Sassan the seal, we’re finished.’
Emad wanted to cover his face with his hands and shake his head.
‘With or without the seal, our lives would be easier if Sassan weren’t around,’ Emad said.
Fiqitush stopped rubbing his eyes.
‘What do you mean?’
‘In Derbicca, you tried to kill him while rescuing me. We should try again but this time take a more subtle approach.’
Fiqitush frowned.
‘We’re talking about the high magus. There’s nothing subtle about killing the empire’s religious leader.’
He waved a calming hand at Fiqitush.
‘I won’t say any more. It’s best I keep the details to myself—in case we have an unwelcome guest. Someone must keep a close eye on the high magus to see if he receives the seal.’
His brother regarded the ceiling as though Armaiti hovered above them.
‘And what if the high magus doesn’t receive it?’ Fiqitush said.
Emad shrugged.
‘Does it matter? The high magus holds over thirty daevas prisoner. He’ll use them to set an example to the others. Soon, there won’t be any daevas left to become djinn again.’ He sat up as he warmed to the subject. ‘With Sassan out of the way, there’ll be more time to move the remaining daevas to Baka. With the extra time and daevas, you’ll be able to speed up Baka’s restoration.’
Fiqitush pondered Emad’s words with his faraway stare. Eventually, he nodded.
‘I could have done with your help sooner, Emad. But I’m glad, finally, you’re here.’ Fiqitush reached over and rubbed Emad’s shoulder. ‘All my plans have failed, brother. By now, the seal should be in my hands and Baka restored using djinn magic. Having you here, having Roshan and Navid here, gives me hope.’
Emad thought of Aeshma. He bowed his head.
‘I’m sorry I took so long. I’ve been selfish and a fool.’
9
Manah’s portal opened on to the most unusual river basin Roshan had ever seen. Columns of rock looked as if they’d sprouted from the sandy ground and had grown as tall as trees. The rocks formed layers of red, orange and white on top of one another. The strangest thing was how the position of each colour corresponded with those of the adjacent pillars.
In the distance, beyond this forest of stone columns she spied conifers, a river and an orange-red sunset behind them.
‘Where are we?’ Roshan said.
Manah strode past her.
‘So far away, nightfall approaches while it’s mid-afternoon in Iram. Armaiti rarely watches this place.’
The lamassu strode past her and towards a narrow path leading down into the basin. When he didn’t look back, Roshan hurried after him.
‘The energy Armaiti used to save you has an affinity for your dual human-djinn nature, making it easy for it to bind to your aura.’
So, this is happening to me because I have djinn and human parents, Roshan thought.
Armaiti had saved her, and in doing so, she’d changed her in ways that were only becoming clear now.
The valley below had an eerie quality and made Roshan uneasy. Exactly how far away were they, and even if she had the coordinates, how much Core power would she need to return herself to Iram?
Stop thinking, she told herself. Just listen to Manah and see where he’s taking you.
‘Back when Armaiti saved you,’ Manah continued, ‘the energy she’d used bound itself to your aura. It remained dormant until a few days ago, when you were fatally injured in the chancery. The injury reawakened the same energy that had saved you as an infant, and then it saved you again. Armaiti knew this might happen, but God’s punishment prevented her from altering your aura a second time.’
Roshan had thought Yesfir had saved her by sacrificing her auric energy. If, according to Manah, Armaiti’s auric energy had saved her, had the djinni’s sacrifice been for nothing?
‘The sabaoth auric energy is also changing you, Roshan. The more you weave sabaoth magic, the more it alters your body.’
Manah spoke at a speed that made it impossible for Roshan to interrupt him. She made a note to ask him what she was changing into and why—twice, her skin had turned blue-grey.
‘Unlike Core power that humans and djinn summon from the earth, the sabaoth summon energy from their Domain—the boundless space in which this world resides. A sabaoth’s domain is vast and contains one billion trillion stars and thousands of worlds like this one. That is a lot of power to call upon. And because it is free of the physical laws governing this world, incantations, symbols and rituals have no effect over it. Domain power is different from Core power because it isn’t just raw power to be summoned and shaped to serve your needs. Domain power is alive. It anticipates all possible desires, and it knows how to realise them. That’s why it’s woven with thought, which is essentially what a sabaoth is, pure thought.’
Roshan listened. She understood the words Manah used. The concepts they described were a different matter: power that was alive and anticipated your desires, and the sabaoth being pure thought. The words were repeatable, me
morisable even, but she couldn’t explain them.
‘Remember, God has punished Armaiti by removing most of her sabaoth powers. If you’re to beat her, you must work on how you think. Your thoughts must be perfectly clear to yourself and to the Domain power you summon.’
They’d reached the basin, and Manah stopped between two of the towering, striated rock pillars.
‘Come here whenever you need to practise magic,’ Manah said. He raised a hoof and tapped it twice against the ground. A breeze out of nowhere blew away the sand and scree that had slid down the valley slopes.
Roshan took a step back and recognised the symbols left behind.
‘Coordinates,’ she said. Just like Manah’s words, she recognised the positions they described but not where in the world the destination window opened on to. ‘Are they for here?’
Manah nodded.
‘Now you’ve seen this place, you can either think yourself a portal or use those coordinates to raise one. You’ll need more Core power to raise a portal, but the sabaoth energy your aura contains will heal the scarring.’
He said nothing about how much it would hurt if she used djinn magic to raise a portal. Composed of nothing but thought, Roshan guessed pain wasn’t Manah’s concern.
‘Here’s the first of two exercises I want you to practise.’
In place of the coordinates, pieces of charcoal covered the ground.
‘Choose a lump, Roshan, and point at it for me.’
She pointed at a piece the size of her fist and halfway between the centre of the pile and her feet.
‘Thank you. Now watch the lump closely.’
Roshan bent forward, her hands resting on her thighs. The corners of her eyes tightened.
‘One. Two. Three,’ Manah said, a pause between each count. ‘Pick it up, please, and put it in front of my hoof.’
Warm to the touch, the charcoal whiffed of tar. Roshan stepped back. Manah stamped on the lump with his hoof.
The lamassu retreated from the broken pieces of charcoal. ‘Please, take a look.’
