Unveiling the Sorceress

by Saskia Walker

  Amshazar stopped finally at a worn wooden door and tapped several times in quick succession. They had reached the edge of the city dwellings, and the stone of the perimeter wall was visible beyond the last cluster of houses. After a moment, a wooden panel in the door was opened and a woman looked out at them. Amshazar nodded at her and she slotted the panel back into place and opened the door. Amshazar ushered Kerr in quickly, looking over his shoulder as he did.

  Kerr found himself in a tiled entrance. Contrary to the outside of the building, which had looked impoverished, the inside was comfortably furnished with carved wooden chairs and inlaid tiles creating a decorative border around the walls. The woman bolted the door heavily behind them and then led them over to a second doorway. She glanced from Kerr to Amshazar. “You are sure this is safe?"

  Amshazar nodded, and the woman left them at the doorway. When she had gone Amshazar put a hand on Kerr's shoulder. “You may be surprised at what you learn."

  Kerr did not know how to respond. He nodded, wondering what this was about.

  Amshazar opened the door and led him in. They were behind a carved wooden screen through which he could see light glowing. Amshazar paced to the end of the screen and bowed low. As he made an introduction for himself and Kerr, Kerr couldn't help glancing through the carvings in the screen. As he did, he saw Kazeen seated on cushions by the side of the Emperor Hanrah. Kerr was amazed. The two men appeared to be having supper together.

  "Come in, come in.” It was the emperor's voice.

  The emperor himself was here, in this tiny house hidden away in the back streets of Lhastari? And he was with Kazeen?

  Amshazar beckoned him out and Kerr, confused and bewildered, followed and stepped into the room. As he did, his old friend Kazeen leapt his feet, his face breaking into a big smile.

  "Kerr. How good it is of you to come to see me.” He darted over and embraced Kerr, who returned the gesture, strange though the situation was.

  "You are well and safe?” Kerr asked, although he could see that Kazeen looked well, and had in fact fattened, which made him look far healthier. He wore exquisite robes too, and fine leather sandals. Around his wrists he wore copper armbands studded with gems.

  "I am, my old friend."

  Kerr's sense of relief was great. He had been worried for so long, all the while he had been away. Even so, he felt strange. He didn't know what he expected to find—he hadn't thought too deeply about it because he was worried enough—but he hadn't expected to find Kazeen looking quite so much as if he had prospered.

  As they embraced each other, serving girls carried large platters of food into the room, which they set down on a low table. Amshazar was already seated on the cushions arranged there with Hanrah. One of the serving girls returned, carrying an ornate jug that she set down by Hanrah, before bowing and leaving the room.

  "Come, sup with us.” Hanrah beckoned.

  Kerr and Kazeen joined him and Amshazar, seated around the feast that had obviously been prepared for their arrival. The food smelt good, and in the background Kerr could see that expensive incense burned in a salver near a generously built fire. The atmosphere was almost celebratory. This was not what Kerr had expected of the evening when he had slunk out to meet Amshazar in the dead of the night.

  Hanrah poured wine and placed cups of it into their hands, encouraging them to drink.

  Kazeen's eyes sparkled, and Kerr wondered if perhaps he hadn't seen anybody outside the house since the execution order had been announced. Was he a prisoner here? This safe house, a prison too? It was then he realized this was part of the reason he had been brought to see Kazeen, because Kazeen needed to see his friends. He could not leave this place. There was no other way.

  "Eat, please eat something,” Hanrah encouraged, seemingly eager for them all to be happy.

  Kerr and Amshazar helped themselves to the tasty morsels that had been prepared. The meat had been roasted with fenugreek and other spices, and was delicious. It seemed strange to sit here with his old friend, the emperor, and Amshazar, in a small hidden home so close and yet so far from the palace, eating well. He tried not to eat too hungrily, but it was fine fare compared to the food they had in the palace.

  "The meat is good,” Amshazar said, as he picked up his cup and lifted it to Hanrah and Kazeen.

  Kerr joined in the toast, wondering why. But as Hanrah chatted about everyday things that had happened in the court, he kept putting his arm around Kazeen's shoulder and on one occasion reached over to kiss him upon the cheek. Kerr was surprised, just as Amshazar had predicted he would be. But he had seen such intimate friendship between men before. In the seminary where Kazeen and he had trained, two of the other novices had shared such a relationship. The tutors had discouraged it, but the deep and passionate affection between the two men was powerful. It wasn't something that could be ceased on the word of others.

  That's what was happening here, he could see it now. And this was why there was a call for Kazeen's execution. He was the emperor's secret lover, a male concubine.

  As Kerr thought back over what had happened, the events began to fall into place. He noticed Amshazar smiling over at him. It took this—to see them so happy together—to understand. Hanrah and Kazeen seemed to move toward one another so naturally, their bodies touching each other softly here and there at all times. Now he knew why Mehmet was so angered by it, why she had called for the execution of her son's lover.

  Their visit passed quickly and before they took their leave, Amshazar began to speak seriously with Hanrah, seemingly keen to alert the emperor to his mother's plans to hasten the marriage. Hanrah put his head in his hands, fretting. “I cannot go through with it."

  "Elishiba does not seek marriage either, she had hoped to speak with you to negotiate a peace treaty."

  "Mehmet will never agree."

  "It is your agreement she seeks,” Amshazar pointed out.

  Kerr was fascinated by their conversation but he also wanted to take the chance to speak with Kazeen. Moving closer to his side, he whispered to him. “You are content to stay, to take risks?"

  "I cannot leave him,” Kazeen replied. He didn't need to say more. Kerr saw the answers to the questions in his friend's expression.

  "Thank you for coming to visit us,” the emperor said to Kerr when they prepared to leave. Hanrah reached out to clasp his hand with both of his own.

  "I am honored,” Kerr replied.

  Amshazar bowed his head to the emperor. “Don't forget what I said about Mehmet's plan. You need to be ready. The Empress Elishiba wishes to negotiate before it is too late."

  Hanrah looked suddenly diminished, nervous and unsure. He looked to Kazeen to reassure himself. “She is a beautiful woman, but in my heart Kazeen is the person to whom I am already betrothed."

  He rested his head upon Kazeen's shoulder, and Kazeen's arm went quickly around Hanrah's back, drawing him in against himself.

  Kerr felt his heart ache for the two of them and the sadness of their predicament.

  "You understand now,” Amshazar said as they traced the path back toward the palace.

  "I do. It is hard to believe we have just supped with the emperor himself, here, hidden in the city."

  "Emperor or not, you see that Hanrah is a gentle person. Just a man, who feels and cares for the one he loves. Whether we are born to high or low life, we cannot predict where our hearts will lead us.” His tone was reflective.

  They walked in silence for a while, and Kerr thought about what he had said. Desire was so strange, so unpredictable. Here was an emperor who needed to be with a slave, a man who lived under an execution order, a man he must meet in secret. And he himself—a slave—was now in the intimate companionship of the Empress of Aleem, where desire had led him to the twins, and where he now tried to fill the gap by Elra's side. Love not only determined where they went, but who they allied themselves to, and what risks they took with their lives.

  "What will happen to them? Will Kazeen ever be able
to leave that place?"

  Amshazar shook his head. “I have spoken to them both about it. They know they are living a dangerous life, but Hanrah feels he cannot leave Lhastari, and that means that Kazeen cannot either.” He looked at Kerr, who nodded.

  Despite the situation, he had never seen either of them so happy. To take them apart would be a tragedy.

  "What if the Empress Mehmet finds out?” he asked, even though he didn't really want to know the answer.

  "We must hope that she does not, although I feel time and tide has been against them from the very beginning,” Amshazar replied.

  * * * *

  While her son apparently slept, the Empress Mehmet hosted a banquet for her most trusted courtiers that night. The revelry was decadent, with dancing and feasting, and she took great delight in periodically entering the hidden passageway to go and look at her caged bird in the chambers below.

  It was late in the night now. The candles burned low and some of the guests slumbered amongst the cushions, while others indulged in debauched carousing of their own in the growing shadows. Mehmet was considering retiring when she noticed Sibias gesturing to her from the entranceway, where he stood with a young slave boy.

  Her interest piqued, she joined them. “What is it?"

  Sibias ushered her and the slave boy out into the corridor, away from curious glances of those who watched on. “Patrino here has news of Kazeen's whereabouts."

  The news chased away any weariness she might have had. Concerned the guards would overhear, she led both of them to the nearby hidden panel that accessed the network of viewing corridors in the palace. Sibias knew of the network, of course, but the young slave boy looked fascinated, his eyes bright with interest.

  She watched him cautiously, mistrust her first instinct. He exclaimed in awe when he saw the narrow stone-cobbled passageway, lit by the torch held in a metal sconce on the wall. There in the hidden compartment, Mehmet encouraged Sibias to proceed.

  "Patrino followed one of the other slaves when he left the palace. He met with a tall, cloaked stranger two streets away, and they went as far as the western edge of the city. The slave was a friend of Kazeen's and we believe he went to see him."

  Her interest sharpened. “And? Where is he?"

  The slave boy's smile faded. “I lost track of them, they moved quickly in hidden shadows, at one point the tall man lifted his cloak and it was as if they disappeared behind it."

  Mehmet flashed Sibias a look. “Sorcery?"

  He shrugged, his expression noncommittal. “It doesn't matter. It has narrowed the search down to a specific number of streets. I have ordered a team of guards to prepare for a house-to-house search upon your word."

  "Good,” she responded. “We will dispatch them immediately."

  The prospect of capturing another exotic bird in her cage pleased her immensely. Her gaze returned to the slave boy. Pride made him smug. He looked like a loose-mouthed creature. She needed silence on this matter if her plans were to succeed unhindered.

  She walked slowly down the cobbled passageway, pausing after a while. “You have done well, young man."

  The slave boy grinned.

  Sibias's eyebrows lifted.

  She smiled at him, exchanging silent understanding, sharing the secret thrill of what she was about to do. She took another three steps until she came level with the lever built into the wall. Seeing her hand reach for it, Sibias immediately stepped aside, leaving the slave boy alone on the spot.

  "But you see, no matter how good you are, we cannot afford to have you speak to anyone on this matter."

  Sensing something was amiss Patrino shuffled and put his hand on his chest. “I will tell no one."

  "No, you won't, because I will be sure of that.” She pulled the lever in the wall and the stone beneath his feet shifted, opening the trap door that was set near each entrance in case an unwelcome visitor found the secret passageways, or for convenient, secret disposal of a traitor. She watched his expression of horror as the stone moved beneath his feet and he fell.

  His scream echoed up around them.

  Then, an eerie silence.

  Sibias grabbed the torch from the sconce and they both moved quickly toward the open trap. He held the light over the pit, where it cast strange shadows around the walls and deep into its heart, where a massive set of upright spears set in stone were decked with the bones of those who had gone before him, and now bore the body of the slave boy Patrino atop the stack. Soon the rats would pick clean his bones and it would be as if he had never existed.

  "He was a helpful slave,” Sibias commented as he looked down on the body, without regret.

  "He'd served his purpose. Now we know where my son's forbidden concubine hides, we had what we needed from him."

  "And you dealt with him very efficiently, Empress.” Sibias licked his lips, as thrilled as she was by their power over those who served them. The light and shadow from the torch showed his expression, his demonic thirst for more death and carnage, and the chance to unleash his black sorcery in her name.

  "Thank you,” Mehmet said, anticipation rising fast inside her, for she wanted all of that too. “And now let's deal with the rest of them just as fast and efficiently, and then we can claim Aleem for our own."

  Chapter Ten

  Kerr had hoped not to awake Elra when he returned to the small, bare room she had been assigned in the servants’ quarters at the palace. He'd promised he would stay by her at night, lest she was beset with nightmares about what had happened to Amra. But she was awake, sitting by the dim light of a low burning candle.

  "I'm sorry it took me so long to join you. Have you slept at all?"

  "No, but I have managed to make us more comfortable here.” She was sitting against the wall, where he saw that she had stacked cushions and blankets. “I begged Xerxes to retrieve them from the traveling goods,” she explained, her forehead puckered by a frown. “So little is provided for the lower order of servants in this palace."

  "You have made it perfect,” he said, as he sat down. He eased her in front of him so that he could gently massage her shoulders as they talked. How different it was to where Kazeen was currently living, Kerr couldn't help remarking to himself. Kazeen was hidden in the city, living a luxurious life in a place like a prison. How strange life was. It was good, however, to have seen his old friend well and happy. For the longest time he had thought him dead or banished.

  He tucked a soft blanket around Elra's legs, nestling closer, her body warm and tender in his arms as he held her. “You should have rested."

  "I couldn't."

  He soothed her, kneading the tightness in her shoulders, kissing the top of her head. He wished she had returned to the safety of Suzin, but at the same time was so glad to have her near. He had grown very attached to the twins, but it was not until the death of Amra that he realized there was love in his heart, as well as desire. If something were to happen to this woman here he would never forgive himself.

  "What is it?” She glanced back at him in the dim light of the candle. The flame shone on the rich brown of her sleek hair, highlighting the curve of her cheek, her skin so dusky and inviting. “What are you thinking about?"

  Kerr's desire for her rose inside him and he sighed softly. “How much I care for you, but also that I wish you were safe, far away from here."

  She smiled, and he was glad of it, for he had not seen her look that way for several days.

  She turned in his arms, her hand against his shoulder as she looked into his eyes. “I care deeply for you as well, my love.” She drew him down over her, her hands running over his back, possessively. “I want you to make love to me, Kerr."

  To hear those words upon her lips, it was like a dream. His blood was pumping; he was fast growing hard. And yet he resisted because of what they had lost. His body was already molded against the curve of her hip, and his hand roamed up from her waist to where he could feel the weight of her breast against his thumb. “I want that too,
but are you sure this is the right time?"

  "Yes,” her eyes glistened in the candlelight, but her smile reassured him. “We both wanted to couple with you. Amra has gone from this world and now it is you who makes me feel whole again. I need you, Kerr."

  Her words made him proud. “You both wanted me?"

  Her eyes were filled with secrets and memories.

  A suspicion crept up on him. “Wait ... did you two know that I was in the Empresses’ bathing room, that first day I met you?"

  "Maybe."

  "You did.” He laughed softy. “What were you trying to do, drive me to madness?"

  "Capture your attention, perhaps."

  "You surely did that."

  As he thought back over what had happened, knowing what he now knew, he wanted to see her as she had been, in the comfortable surroundings of her home, where she had lived a happy, carefree life. He wished that he could provide that for her. But after this night, he had also seen that love could thrive in the most unlikely circumstances and under immense pressure. Kazeen and Hanrah had proven that to him. Despite the circumstances they lived under, they found happiness in their moments together, no matter how short-lived. Rather than regret where they were not, they should celebrate being together.

  He stared into her eyes and ran his finger from her beautiful lips down her chin and the length of her neck, slipping his hand inside her robe to touch the warm supple flesh of her breasts. When her nipple hardened beneath his hand, he whispered his pleasure aloud, and then climbed over her, moving between her opening legs, his body driven with the need to unite with her and make her happy. “I love you,” he whispered.

  He moved to kiss her, and that's when he felt her stiffen in his arms. She was looking over his shoulder at the door. The sound of footsteps marching along the passageways reached him. He glanced up at the small window. Light was pouring into the room. It was dawn.