The Gift

by Bryan M. Litfin

  Clean and refreshed, Ana went down to the breakfast salon and took a seat next to Vanita. A uniformed servant brought a dish of eggs over ham slices and muffins, all smothered in creamy sauce. Ana tried it and found it to be delightful. She and Vanita had started making plans for the day when Dohj Cristof approached. Vanita glanced up and smiled at him.

  “Welcome, Your Highness,” she said, saucily pushing out a chair with her foot. “Would you care to join us?”

  The dohj seemed happy to comply. “Did you sleep well, ladies?” he asked as his eggs were served.

  “I certainly slept later than I normally do,” Ana said with a laugh.

  “How did you enjoy our hot-water spouts? An ingenious invention, no?”

  “Oh, it was wonderful,” Ana agreed.

  “I trust there was sufficient water for you? Were you were able to linger there as long as you wished, with that warm water trickling all over your body?” Cristof arched his eyebrows.

  “Mm-hmm,” Ana said, taking a bite of her eggs.

  Vanita changed the subject. “Anastasia and I were just discussing our agenda for the day. What do you recommend we do in your fair city?”

  The dohj pursed his lips for a moment. “Nuo Genov presents an infinity of things to see, so don’t try to do it all at once. Perhaps we could make a visit to the Museum of Ancient Artifacts? I’d be happy to show you around.”

  “Lovely!” Vanita said, clapping her hands.

  Ana was intrigued as well. “What kinds of things will we see?”

  “Oh, the archaeologists have discovered many items in the earth around here. The Ancients destroyed their buildings with great fires, but some of their objects remained in the soil. Let’s see . . .” The dohj looked into the distance as he tried to recall the museum’s holdings. “There are lots of paintings, damaged but still exquisite.” He tapped his chin. “Pieces of their steel carriages, everyday items, quite a few statues. There are two stone lions from the ancient temple of Sanlorentso. And you should see the priceless treasure that was found there! It’s a gold cross studded with jewels.”

  Ana’s heart skipped a beat. A cross?

  A flood of memories broke free from the mental compartment she had put them in, surging into her consciousness. Unbidden thoughts tumbled through her mind: thoughts of Teo . . . the Sacred Writing . . . Chiveis . . . Deu.

  Ana sipped her hot tea. “What kind of cross?” she asked nonchalantly.

  “It’s a religious artifact, I believe. Some relic of an ancient superstition.”

  “Do you—do you follow a religion, Your Highness?”

  Ana wasn’t sure the question was appropriate, yet she had the sudden urge to clarify the spiritual situation she was facing. Teo had warned her that talking about Deu would attract the attention of the Exterminati, but surely those eavesdropping ears were far away now. It occurred to Ana that if religious tolerance was the policy among the aristocrats, she could tell her friends about Deu without fear of reprisals. In fact, Ana thought, Dohj Cristof might even come to believe in him! Wouldn’t that be something? She resolved to build a close relationship with the Likurian prince in order to testify about her God.

  Cristof swatted his hand. “Religion doesn’t interest me,” he said.

  “Waste of time,” Vanita agreed.

  Ana swallowed, then decided to be bold. “It matters to me. I’m . . . I’m a person of faith, I guess you’d say.”

  The dohj glanced up. “Really? Tell me about that.”

  Ana’s heart began to race. She tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach, hoping her voice wouldn’t shake as she spoke. “I believe in the Creator God. I call him Deu. He’s loving and powerful and very holy.”

  “That explains a lot, sweetie,” Vanita said with a smile on her lips.

  Dohj Cristof’s eyes were fixed on Ana’s face. She looked back at him, trying to read his expression.

  “Your viewpoint is uncommon in my realm, Lady Anastasia,” he said. “But I must confess, you’ve intrigued me. I would love to discuss these matters further. Of course, it’s an unpopular idea, so it should be just the two of us. Do you think we could find some time alone to discuss—what was the god’s name again?” He waved his hand around.

  “Deu.”

  “Yes, let’s meet privately to discuss Deu.” The dohj stroked his sandy beard. “Tell you what. I have to go to Manacho to conduct some government business. I’ll be back in a week. I was thinking of taking my guests for a sea trip when I return. My yacht is delightful for that sort of thing. Sometime during our excursion, how about if you and I slip away to a private place for a little while?”

  “Great!” Ana nodded her agreement to the dohj’s proposal.

  Vanita stared out the window. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and made a sucking noise as she cleared her teeth with her tongue, then turned toward Ana and Cristof. “I’m sure that will be just lovely for you two,” she said.

  Teo kicked a pebble with the toe of his boot. This stinks, he thought to himself.

  He stood outside one of Giuntra’s grand hotels, watching the lords and ladies ride off in their carriages with their ridiculously large entourages. It seemed the Ulmbartian aristocrats could do nothing for themselves. They needed servants for every task.

  Teo watched the busy exodus with a feeling of uncertainty. For once he wasn’t sure of his next move. His ostensible plan was to leave Giuntra and return to the Labellas’ palace. Ana would eventually return from Likuria, and Teo could decide then what he ought to do. In the meantime he would join Sol in instructing the children of the estate.

  As Teo considered his options, it occurred to him that it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t show up for his academic duties. He would send a message to Sol, of course. No doubt everyone at the palace would quickly forget about the missing schoolteacher. Then I would be free, Teo realized. Free to go to where I’m being called. Free to go to . . .

  Roma.

  The name of the ancient city slipped into Teo’s mind like a wisp of fog. He refused to blow it away, letting the word linger in his thoughts. Yes, he said to himself. I’ll find my way to Roma, begging if I have to. Then Ana and I can find the Papa, and we’ll help him discover the New Testament, and everything will be . . .

  Teo arrested his train of thought, shaking his head to quash his futile daydream. Bitterness rose in his heart as he watched the aristocratic caravans rolling away from the hotel. Everything was changed now. When the Overseer had told him about the Universal Communion in Roma, Teo imagined a scenario in which he and Ana would somehow make their way to that distant city and discover the truth of Deu together. He had rushed to the Harvest Ball at Giuntra to tell her about it. Now that dream was broken. Dohj Cristof had made sure of that. Teo pounded his fist in his palm and turned his back on the luxurious carriages.

  As he walked across the hotel’s courtyard, a man in groom’s livery emerged from a stable and waved him over. After looking around to see if the man was summoning someone else, Teo decided the groom wanted to speak to him, so he ambled toward the low building.

  “Morning,” said the groom. “You look like a man who could use a job.”

  “I don’t think so, but I’ll hear you out. What did you have in mind?”

  “I’m the stablemaster for one of the lords who’s heading down to Likuria for the winter. We lost a stableboy to cholera, so now I need to make a quick hire.”

  Teo was amused. He started to say he wasn’t interested, but then closed his mouth and paused. Did he just say they’re going to Likuria? Teo considered the idea some more. “Just a minute, let me think about it,” he said.

  Walking a few steps away, Teo stared at the sky. The job would take him in the right direction, and it would certainly be better than begging his way to the coast. At least he would have food and a means of transportation. Once he was in Likuria, he could inquire around the seafront to see if any mariners were headed to distant Roma.

  But what about Ana?

 
Teo exhaled a long breath. He felt more confused about her than about any woman he had ever known. Even so, despite his confusion he sensed their recent parting of ways wasn’t the end of their story. Teo knew the adventures he had shared with Ana bonded them with an affection so intimate only a colossal disaster could sever it. Together they had faced common enemies with united resolve; they had revealed private thoughts over lonely campfires; they had stepped hand in hand into the vast Beyond, relying on each other in the grace of Deu. Teo had laid down his life for Ana, and she for him. On more than one night she had slept nestled against his side—and yet, strangely, he had never even kissed her cheek. Whatever else might be said about his relationship with the beautiful woman from Edgeton, one thing was certain: their intertwined lives would not be easily untangled.

  However, now that Ana had gone to Likuria with Dohj Cristof, Teo didn’t know what to think. He didn’t believe she was romantically attracted to the prince, though that notion had occurred to him. Well, why shouldn’t she be? Teo asked himself. And why should you care? She’s your friend, not your lover. You have no right to tell her what to do.

  Yet as these thoughts crossed Teo’s mind, he admitted he wasn’t being honest. Though he didn’t intend to “tell her what to do,” he knew he cared for Ana very much. She had started down a bad path, and that meant he would have to follow. Teo believed she wouldn’t intentionally forsake Deu, yet in her weakness because of being displaced from her home, she might be lured away from her God. Teo would help her if he could.

  Wrestling with his emotions, Teo tried to discern his true motive for going to Likuria—to find passage to Roma or to protect Ana? The memory of his promise to her on Fisherman’s Isle forced its way into his consciousness. He had sworn to find the New Testament no matter what. It was an oath he could not break. But you swore a different oath to Ana long before that! Teo’s thoughts drifted back to the rainy night they had taken shelter in a faraway castle. Shivering in her bedroll, Ana had thanked him for rescuing her from her abductors. “Thank you for coming for me,” she had said. Without thinking, Teo had answered, “I always will.” He believed that spontaneous promise bound him still.

  “Hey, buddy, do you want the job or not?” The stablemaster’s voice was impatient.

  Teo’s attention snapped back to the present. “What does it involve?”

  The groom led him into the stable and picked up a shovel. “Standard stableboy labor. Mucking out mostly.”

  “I’ll take it.”

  “Then you’ll have to give me those,” the stablemaster said, pointing to Teo’s weapons. “I’ll keep them safe, but you can’t wear them around. In fact, you’ll have to give me those clothes too. We’re a uniformed staff.”

  Teo emptied himself of his ax and knife. His sword was even harder to give up, but Teo released his grasp on it too. The stablemaster went to a trunk and returned with a groom’s livery. It consisted of cream-colored riding pants, a mauve shirt, and high leather boots sporting jaunty brass buckles.

  “We had a kid who was nearly as tall as you, though he wasn’t as wide in the shoulders,” the stablemaster said. “But don’t worry, it’ll stretch.” Teo sighed and took the items.

  After putting on his new clothing, he offered the stablemaster his hand. “I appreciate the job,” he said. “Thanks for asking me.”

  “Don’t thank me. The lord of the manor told me to offer it to you. He said he owed you far more than this, but at least it’s something. And he said to pay you well too.”

  “Really? That’s strange. I don’t know any lords. Who is my new master, anyway?”

  “You don’t know?”

  Teo shook his head and shrugged.

  “He’s one of the richest noblemen in Ulmbartia. You’re now in the employ of Count Federco Borromo.”

  The Iron Shield stared at the three shamans gathered around him in the inner sanctum of the chapter house at Nuo Genov. The robed men wore red bands on their arms, signaling they were high-ranking brothers in the Society of the Exterminati. A shaman reached that rank only by gaining intimate knowledge of the brotherhood’s lore—not only arcane secrets of the occult religion, but a practical knowledge of things like stealth, lock-picking, poisons, and garrotes. The expertise of an assassin.

  “These are the targets,” said the Iron Shield, laying three charcoal portraits on the altar in the musty room. The shamans crowded close, their hoods drooping as they bent to inspect the drawings by the flickering light of the torches on the wall.

  The Iron Shield spoke to the shaman on his right. “The old man you see there is a teacher in Ulmbartia called Sol. The brotherhood has been watching him for a long time. Until recently his actions were merely suspicious, not enough to act upon. Now, however, he has joined with the strangers from over the mountains. He even made a trip into the Forbidden Zone. We believe he is trying to learn more about the Creator and the Criminal.”

  The three shamans hissed and drew back. One of them began to rub an amulet at his neck, while the other two muttered protective charms.

  “You know this for certain?” asked the shaman on the right.

  “We have eyes in every head, do we not?”

  “What then would you have me do, my master?”

  “You will depart this day for Ulmbartia. There you will contact the brothers and form a plan. The old man must be tortured in secret until he has revealed all he knows. The pain must be severe enough to wring everything from him. Remember, the man himself is no threat to us. It is his knowledge that poses a danger. We must find out how much of this ancient heresy has crept back into Ulmbartia—and from what source.”

  “After he has divulged all he knows, what then?”

  “He is decrepit and not worth dragging to the quarries. Kill him in his bed with poison, but make it look natural. Leave no mark of torture on him to disturb the local barons.”

  The shaman chuckled darkly. “Many painful things can be done inside the body where no eye can see.”

  The Iron Shield pointed to the next drawing. “This warrior is Teofil of Chiveis. He too entered the Forbidden Zone. We believe he is actively seeking knowledge of the Enemy. The Lord Borja wishes to know the full scope of his understanding and the extent of his designs.”

  The shaman on the left spoke up. “It will be my pleasure to crack him open,” he said.

  The Iron Shield crossed his arms at his chest, feeling irritation rise within him. “Unfortunately, this one has disappeared. He did not come south with the Labella clan. We lost him in Giuntra.”

  “I will find him, my lord.”

  “Yes, you will. But you will not put him to torture. I reserve that pleasure for myself. You will leave today for Ulmbartia as well. Once you have located Teofil of Chiveis, apprehend him and bring him to me. No one must know of your doings.”

  “He will be yours to interrogate within a fortnight,” vowed the shaman on the left.

  “Excellent. He will spill all he knows, and if he lives through the ordeal, he will provide much good labor in the quarries.”

  “And what of the woman?” asked the shaman who stood in the middle of the trio.

  The Iron Shield frowned as he leaned on the altar to inspect the sketch of Anastasia. “I will handle her, and you will assist me. This target will require finesse, for she has been drawn deep into the protection of the royal house of Likuria. Stealth will be essential in this matter. As you know, the Lord Borja likes his dealings with the aristocrats to be . . . clean.”

  “You have a plan?”

  “My sources within the palace tell me Anastasia of Chiveis will soon make a sea voyage with the local dohj.” The Iron Shield’s voice took on a sly tone. “Have you seen that yacht of his? The staterooms overlook the water. I will enter the woman’s chamber and strangle her into submission, then remove her in a boat under cover of darkness. No one will suspect an abduction. Drunken guests have been known to fall from a window and drown. Dohj Cristof will mourn her for a day, then move on to his nex
t delectable young fancy.”

  The third shaman nodded his agreement. “A well-conceived plan. And she is young. After we force her to reveal what she knows about the Enemy, she will have many years left for the marble quarries.”

  “No. She will fetch a higher price elsewhere. The woman will be coveted by the pimps. They will pay us well.”

  “Even better.”

  The Iron Shield stepped back from the altar and rose to his full height. “The task before us is clear. You each have your orders. Let us now draw holy power from an act of domination.”

  He removed a garrote from his belt. Holding the strangling wire by its wooden handles, he went to a hutch and reached inside, withdrawing a rabbit by the ears. It kicked and struggled in the Iron Shield’s gauntleted fist.

  “Crudelitas vis est,” he intoned as he set the rabbit on the altar with the wire encircling its neck.

  The three shamans repeated the brotherhood’s motto. “Cruelty is strength!” they declared in unison.

  The Iron Shield began to tighten the garrote.

  Teo had always wanted to see the ocean. Now, having seen it at last, he had to agree it was as impressive as the books had said.

  He stood on a pier in the harbor at Nuo Genov, looking out over the vast blue expanse. The midday sunshine beat down on his shoulders. Seabirds called to each other as they circled overhead, and the smell of brine was in the air. Ships of all types came and went, some of them great vessels, others just little fishing boats. The busy port bustled with commerce and energy.

  A row of taverns lined the seafront, so Teo made his way there. He entered the first one he came to, La Lanterna. The establishment was dark yet clean. Seafarers sat at tables or in booths by the windows. Teo found a place at the bar and ordered a beer.

  “Don’t see too many stablemen in here,” the bartender said.

  “Shoveling out the stalls is thirsty work,” Teo answered as he received his foamy glass.

  He drank for a while and casually surveyed the room. The young sailors kept to themselves, laughing uproariously as they exchanged tales of the sea over their brews. A few old salts sat in the corners, drinking harder, laughing less.