by C. R. Daems
"After that we attack again?"
"No. After that you return on their horses and taunt them from afar."
"Make them nervous?"
"Yes, and to make them watch you."
"And we hit them again from behind." He laughed. "And again."
"No, they'd be ready next time. After your second raid, keep your distance. Keep fires lit. Ride where they can see you. Keep them awake."
"You bad person, Shadow. Come join Zunji." This time Sizwe laughed.
* * *
I sat in the Earth Wizards' guild house in the middle of a circle.
The Wizard Egica spoke first. "Shadow, you've Tarlon in turmoil. Three armies sit outside the city and no one knows why. Everyone assumes they will attack soon. The Fire Wizards huddle in their guild house afraid. They now realize it was you who killed the Fire Wizard in Adak, and soon everyone will know their weakness. I don't believe they will support the attackers or anyone else now. They will be trying to overcome their vulnerability." Her chair slowly grew vines with delicate pink and purple flowers, giving off a fragrant aroma. "The Wind Wizards also hide for the same reason. You've neutralized both and made the Water Wizards question their vulnerability. Only we are committed. We walk in your shadow, Shadow."
I felt stunned.
They walk in my shadow?
It felt wrong. If they walked in anyone's shadow, it was not mine. I had never longed for glory. I had never wanted to be anything but a Shadow Sister. Today more than ever, I longed just to be a Spy, whereas I was an out-of-control Assassin.
"Please, walk in your brothers' shadows, not mine. Mine's filled with blood."
"What would you want from us in the upcoming contest?" a tall thin man asked. He leaned back against a tree that seemed part of him. The ground rumbled as he spoke. I felt some mutual agreement with the question.
"Support the Araby army and the Zunji like you've supported me the past few days. I leave it to your judgment." That seemed to satisfy everyone. I couldn't be more specific because I couldn't predict everyone's actions. There were too many players and too many agendas.
"We hear the leader of the Tuska and Calion armies will seek an audience with the king tomorrow. The war is but a few days away."
I decided I needed an audience with the king.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Tarlon—Dazel Province
If I wanted to determine if any Sisters were in Tarion and, if so, who, my only option was to visit our Intermediate's house. She made candles for extra money, so I decided to enter dressed in a drab skirt and blouse like any other customer. Although it was still too early to be open for business, the front door of her house was ajar. I pushed it the rest of the way open. A woman lay sprawled on the floor, clothes torn and face bloody. Another woman stood next to her with a throwing knife in her hand. Although she was dressed in street clothes, I knew she was a Sister: the balanced stance, position of the knife, her deadly focus. Ignoring her and her knife, I closed the door.
"What happened?"
"Who are you, girl?" she asked, still poised to throw the knife. I said nothing. Instead, I held out my hand.
"I believe we met in Scio."
She paused for several seconds before she stepped forward and took my hand. Emotions flashed through her eyes: surprise, disbelief, and confusion.
"This poor woman and her customer were attacked. I found them both on the floor. She will live, but I'm afraid her customer was killed. I've put her in the back room."
I helped her carry the Intermediate into her small bedroom and put her to bed. Only her nose appeared to be broken. Fayza reset it and together we bandaged the cuts. It would take her a couple of weeks to heal, but she would recover. I closed the door on the way out.
"Who?" I asked.
"Assassins, looking for you…Shadows."
I detected no accusation, although she had a right.
"They must answer for the one they killed, who meant them no harm." I began changing into my blacks. Fayza looked at me like I was crazy, shrugged, and changed into her blacks.
"What now, Sister?"
"We'll need two bows, quivers, and a couple of bottles of alcohol."
Fayza frowned as we exited the house and began walking in the center of the street.
"Is this wise?" She looked around at the people staring. Many backed up against the buildings as we passed. They weren't used to Shadows out in public and especially not in daylight.
"I want everyone to know Shadows were responsible." Before Fayza could ask more, I stopped at a tavern. When I threw the door open, the room became deadly silent. I walked into the back room, collected three bottles of whisky, and threw a tora at the owner on the way out. We continued down the street. Several hundred paces later, Fayza pointed to a small shop displaying a variety of weapons. The owner stepped back against the wall when we walked in. He watched in shock while I collected two good bows and quivers full of arrows. I threw two toras on his table, at least a tora more than they were worth.
Our goal was on the other side of a densely wooded area. We ghosted through the trees to a small knoll overlooking a slum. Fayza pointed to a house on the end, which stood well separated from the others. The building looked old and worn like the others, but on closer inspection, the doors and shutters were strong and barred.
"What now?"
"When you see me coming around the building, shoot a fire arrow where I'm splashing this." I held up a bottle of brandy. "From here, you can see two sides of the building. Kill everyone leaving." I strode away before she could answer and made my way to an alley across the street from the house.
I stopped for a minute to lace the tips of my arrowheads with rocktail. Although I was good with a bow, I couldn't rely on hitting a moving target with a killing shot each time. Fayza could.
When I finished, I uncorked the bottles of brandy and began running around the building splashing it against the walls, doors, and windows. When I passed Fayza's corner, a flaming arrow arched into the air. By the time I reached the alley, the crackling fingers of fire had crawled around both sides of the building looking like snakes, met, and crept up the walls. I had just nocked my arrow when two men threw open the front door. I hit both. Another peered out and ducked back inside.
The door was engulfed in flames; choking smoke boiled out. After that, I had no thoughts but the moment, as arrow after arrow left my bow. The fire roared and crackled. My eyes watered, and I hacked between shots.
"Fire!" someone screamed. People came running out of their houses with buckets of water. They didn't try to put out the fire in the assassins' building but dashed the water over their own hovels. Children beat out sparks where they landed.
I left my bow and few remaining arrows and walked back to Fayza. She sat there frozen. At least ten bodies lay close to the building, several smoldering.
"I know why they are afraid of you," she said, choking on bile. "I could never have imagined…" She lapsed into silence, tears running down her face. I held her head and kissed each eye.
"I'm sorry I needed your help, Sister." The killing didn't matter to me anymore. I was dead inside. But everyone must know the consequence of killing Shadows. They needed a lesson no one would forget and to know the Shadows did it. I just hoped my dead Sisters would understand and allow me to join them in the shadows.
I left Fayza and made my way back to the Earth Wizards' lodge. A young Wizard held the door open for me. The Earth Wizards sat in their hall as if they had been waiting.
"Welcome. We understand you had an argument with the assassins' guild, and they lost," an old Wizard said. His hair was gray and his face showed the wrinkles of age, but he looked to be trim and fit.
"Yes, my brothers. I'm already dead, so it seemed appropriate that I be the one to tell Hesland that it's not acceptable to hunt and kill Shadows like wild boar."
"I think your little demonstration will be noticed across Hesland. Since you've come to see us, I assume you've something you
would like help with. Hopefully, we won't have to destroy the armies as another example of the Shadows' unhappiness with wars." The earth beneath me vibrated with what might be laughter.
"No, my brothers. Killing seems to be my destiny. I don't want to put that burden onto anyone else."
Although I've scarred Fayza for life with my obsession with death.
"I wish your help scaling the castle wall." Again, the ground-laughter rumbled.
"Done, Shadow. One of us will help you. We hope you'll leave a few alive."
It was a joke, but I could no longer laugh at the thought of killing.
* * *
That night, the old Wizard, Wallia, and I lay on the bank of a moat, staring at the castle and its wall. Even in the daylight, it presented an impressive sight; at night it was overwhelming. I could just ask for entrance, but identifying myself might have unintended consequences. I didn't want to spook my enemies into a knee-jerk reaction that could subvert my ability to stop them. I wanted them to use logic, not intuition. Logic would give me an advantage. The question was how to gain entrance without knocking at the front gate. There would be at least fifty castle guards between the king and me. Only the presence of the Earth Wizard made it possible.
I must have been tired, because I was thinking logically. I wanted my enemies to think logically, not me. I sent Anil and Kasi out to explore the walls, barracks, grounds, and the main castle. I couldn't gain entrance from the ground level in less than a season, so it had to be from the top. Logically, no one would do that. An hour later, I found the weakness in the guards' security and the most advantageous place to make my climb.
A thin moonbeam peeked occasionally through the thick clouds as Wallia grew a thick vine up the rampart wall for me to climb. He could have grown vines up any of the castle buildings, but it would have been too noticeable to the sentries when they made their rounds.
When Kasi showed the guard furthest from my position, I climbed the vine and dropped onto the walkway. Quietly, I worked my way to the ground level and knelt in the deep shadows of the castle wall. The sentry wouldn't be looking at the castle but rather the grounds and outer wall. I began my climb. Fortunately, this wall was part of the original castle and the stones jagged rather than smooth like the newer buildings, which had been added over the cycles. I used rope and hooks, which allowed me to climb faster and reduced the risk of slipping. Even so, it took two hours to climb the eight stories to the roof. By the time I crawled over the edge, my fingers were raw and my shoulders screaming. Four two-story-high turrets jutted from the edge of the roof. I heard the mutter of guards' voices, but they couldn't see the castle walls without hanging over the side. Their job was to watch beyond the walls.
I lay on the roof in the shadows resting and waiting for the change of the guard. An hour later, twelve guards marched onto the roof. I waited in the shadows while they relieved the guards on duty and followed in their wake as they exited through a side door. It led down to the ground floor and out to the barracks. Ironically, the stairs were unguarded except, I imagined, at the entrance to the stairs at the bottom. I stopped at the third floor, where I sent Kasi out and watched her circle the hallway. It was late, and the hallways were empty except for two guards, who checked each door as they walked. Those probably led to offices that were off limits at night.
I ghosted along the hallway until I found a door leading to a small balcony overlooking the reception hall. As no stairs led to the balcony, it appeared to be a gallery for archers in case of trouble. I climbed over the rail and dropped to the floor.
The hall was a gigantic room with a vaulted ceiling that rose over four stories and floor space for a couple of hundred people. A golden chair sat on a raised platform covered in a rug with the king's crest—a blue background with five crossed swords on a gold shield. The platform was large enough to hold ten, enough space for the king's personal guards, his minister, and one or two advisors. A red carpet ran down the four stairs twenty paces into the room. The walls had the five flags, one for each of the provinces, and rugs with scenes of the history of Hesland. Five columns carved with ancient gods on each side supported two balconies for royalty's use during special events. There were no chairs.
The only light came from the twin moons of Sycorax and Setebos. A side door gave the king a private entry to the platform. I sat down off to the side of the throne in the shadows and waited frozen in the moment. Normal life didn't exist there: no emotions, plans, or wishes, yet everything was crystal clear. I smelled, heard, and saw everything. I sat relaxed but ready to strike.
The dim light turned bright as the sun rose. As the morning wore on, people passed, talking in the hallway. An hour later, the side door opened and the king walked in accompanied by his minister, a captain and two guards by his side and four trailing.
The king had just sat down when the captain shouted, "Assassin." All six guards drew their swords. Two rushed to stand in front of the king. The other four advanced toward me, swords raised.
"If he moves, kill him," the captain shouted from the platform.
"Stop!" The king said, pushing the two guards in front of him aside, and stepped forward.
"Your majesty, please stand back until we disarm him." The captain tried to step in front of him.
"Captain, have your men step back and stand down. I've become fond of you. I'd hate to see you killed." The king stepped back and sat, leaning on one arm of the throne.
"But, your majesty."
"Captain, how many men do you have on guard?"
"Forty."
"Yet she sits in my reception hall. Don't you think she could've killed me if she wished?"
"She? Yes, your majesty," the captain conceded reluctantly. The king turned back to me.
"I would imagine that you're the infamous Shadow of Death. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company? You could've entered by the front door. My guards would never refuse a Shadow entrance."
"I didn't care to be seen until we'd talked."
"Someday, you should tell my captain how you entered the castle unseen. Although I've the utmost faith in him to protect me, it has to be embarrassing to have you sitting here unnoticed."
The captain didn't look happy.
"Shortly, two province rulers are going to play you for a fool –"
His minister stepped forward and pointed a finger at me.
"His Majesty is no fool –" The king waved him to silence.
"I'm sure the Shadow meant no disrespect. How, Shadow?" He leaned forward.
"You've three armies at your gates. They will tell you that Araby came here to overthrow you. They have hastily put two armies together and have come ready to support you, but they don't have the strength to defeat the army of Araby. They will beg that you attack while they attack from the flanks.
"In truth, Araby has been coerced into coming here for fear of an attack and will support you if given a chance. If you attack her, Lady wu'Lichak will have to defend her soldiers. Calion and Tuska will wait until you and the Araby armies heave weakened each other and attack you both."
The minister leaned over the king's shoulder. "Your majesty, you can't risk your throne on the word of a Shadow. The Calion and Tuska rulers are out side. I'll let them in."
I shook my head.
"Wait, Tomas, I would hate for the Shadow to kill you. I don't think she's in a particularly good mood." He nodded to me to continue.
"Your majesty, can sixty hands of soldiers breach your castle?"
"You've a point, Shadow. It would be foolish for Araby or anyone to attack the castle, but if they could get me out in the open… What would you suggest?"
"You could stay risk free in your castle. In that event, I suspect Calion and Tuska would eventually overthrow Araby and Saxis. That would effectively give them Hesland. Or you could take out only forty hands of soldiers and attack the army on Araby's north or south. Araby will take the opposite side. In either case, you should arrest the two rulers; unfortunately, that'
s not possible. They owe my Sisters and me their lives."
"You can't believe her, your majesty," Tomas said.
"I'll hear what they have to say. Captain, bring in a few more of your men, although the Shadow is undoubtedly enough. Tomas, give the captain a minute then admit the province rulers plus the four lords accompanying them."
A few minutes later, twenty soldiers filed into the room and spread along the walls on each side, giving me plenty of space. Tomas opened the doors and in walked se'Dubben and zo'Stanko. When they reached the beginning of the red rug, se'Dubben bowed and spoke.
"Your majesty… What's a Shadow doing here?"
"Sitting. What can I do for you, First Lord se'Dubben?
"Araby's here to attack you…" se'Dubben went on to outline the same story I said he would, leaving out his and zo'Stanko's part.
One of the lords with se'Dubben was staring at me, his face pale, mouth twisted.
"That's interesting. The Shadow told me exactly the same thing just a few minutes ago. Of course, she added a few details you seem to have left out."
The lord, who had been staring at me, drew his sword and charged me. "Liar! Murderer!"
The security guards were slow to react. They had just drawn their swords when I had a knife in the air. The lord hit the white-granite floor with blood pooling where my blade stuck in his throat.
"The Shadow seems to disagree with the young foolish lord. She has suggested I remain in the castle and let you return home. Araby can't breach the castle, so she will have to leave. That way no one gets killed."
"Sooner or later she will return with more soldiers." Se'Dubben's voice rose in anger. "The Shadow is obviously in league with Araby. We'll attack Araby, your majesty, even though it'll destroy our armies. We came here to support you."
"Se'Dubben is right. I'm in league with Araby because she supports the king."
Se'Dubben ignored me.
"We've one hundred hands of soldiers; wu'Lichak has only sixty. If you'll give us some support, we can destroy her," zo'Stanko said.
