Unveiling the Sorceress

by Saskia Walker

  Amshazar, her heart cried out.

  An apparition appeared in her vision. It was the spirit guide Santor, and he ran to her. “Empress, the jinneyah."

  "But Amshazar,” she cried, tears spilling from her eyes as she saw his body twitch one last time, and then fall still.

  "There may still be a chance for Amshazar, you must not allow the jinneyah to defy you, it senses the conflict in Mehmet, it thrives."

  She wiped away her tears, nodded and focused again on her goal, not breaking with it until both the jinneyah and Mehmet had turned to vapor and disappeared into the amulet. Santor bent to stopper the amulet, fixing it in place on the pendant, before fading away into the atmosphere.

  Shaking, Elishiba ran to her lover's side.

  The snakes had vanished. The place where he had fallen was on her abandoned marriage veil, his dark hair splayed out against the star-dusted fabric. She bent to kiss his mouth, where no breath stirred. She kissed his brow tenderly, her hands holding his, whimpering softly, her tears falling onto him. Her heart was breaking.

  "Do not leave me, Amshazar, my love,” she whispered over and again, kissing his face, but it was hopeless. Within her, emotions battled. Her sense of loss was greatest of all.

  It was not for some time she realized there was an unearthly silence around her, and she lifted her head. Through the veil of her tears she saw the onlookers were silently watching her and Hanrah, who stood close by staring down at her and Amshazar.

  With the back of her hand, she wiped away her tears, uncertainty creeping up on her. Her glance went to the palace guards, who restlessly kept watch on the prisoners, murmuring amongst themselves. If someone did not instruct them soon, they would take action borne of the insecurity they felt. Their ruler in Mehmet was gone. Her acolyte, Sibias, too. The courtiers were watching Hanrah. It was to him they had to answer now, and if he did not instruct them, his brothers would step in.

  Elishiba looked at him. There was a hollow, lost look in his eyes as he stared down at Amshazar's body. His world had been rent asunder. And yet now he was its true leader.

  "Hanrah,” she said.

  She had to repeat his name three times before he focused vaguely on her.

  "Emperor Hanrah of Karseedia, your guards await your instructions. Please be merciful to my people."

  The small man looked around him vaguely, glanced back at Amshazar's body, and then surveyed the entire crowd in a slow circuit, as if realizing it was his duty to lead them now.

  Elishiba's heart beat hard, concern flowing in her veins. Now that Amshazar was gone, she did not care for her own safety, for it felt as if part of her dying inside, a slow and painful death, the death borne of loss and grief. She cared only for her people.

  "Guards,” Hanrah called out in a hoarse voice. “Let the prisoners go."

  There was resistance in the guards, but he repeated his command and the guards sheathed their weapons.

  Elishiba felt a great weight lift from her.

  After he gave the order, Hanrah walked away from the scene. The courtiers cleared a passage for him as he left the temple behind.

  Voices lifted; there was movement in the gallery. Elishiba saw that Elra and Yoshi were making their way toward her, others beyond them.

  Yoshi practically ran at her. “My girl, my precious girl.” She put her hands on Elishiba's shoulders and looked into her eyes.

  Elishiba could see that Yoshi's eyes were filled with tears, tears of relief. She looked beyond her, to where Xerxes stood. His eyes were still watchful, blood on his face and shoulder. The Karseedians milling around also looked uneasy, cautious, too, for their familiar world had been rattled to the foundations, and they did not know where they stood now. They could so easily turn, Elishiba thought, spying the forgotten amulet lying on the floor.

  "I will anoint and bind his body,” Yoshi promised, as she encouraged Elishiba to leave Amshazar's side. “We will take him home with us."

  Elishiba nodded. Moving from Amshazar's body unwillingly, she reached out to where the amulet lay on the floor.

  "This has been hard,” Yoshi said, as she looked sadly at Amshazar's body. “But you can go home now."

  Elishiba shook her head, her hand closing on the pendant, taking it into her safe custody. “No. I cannot leave here, not yet. Not until a peace treaty is negotiated and signed."

  Chapter Twelve

  Elishiba felt raw, as if Amshazar's death had stripped and bared her for the world to see. A night and a day had passed and still she felt as if her heart was being wrenched from her chest. She tossed and turned on her mattress, refusing Yoshi's healing draughts, choosing instead to stay awake and run over what had happened in her mind, trying to see the way she might have saved him by using the jinneyah in a different way, but she had to face the truth. She knew deep down he had prepared her for this.

  He'd told her what had to be done with the final wish, no matter what. But it hurt so much she couldn't find solace in that simple truth. She thought of her dream, how she couldn't reach him. Was this why? Grief brought denial. She had been awoken from that dream. If she hadn't, she would have reached him. He would always be a part of her.

  All that had happened in the temple the day before had cast aside the need for decorum and subterfuge, and despite her pain Elishiba felt an almost brittle clarity of mind with regard to their situation. She had her duty to her people to fulfill. That was all that mattered to her now. As far as she was concerned, the barriers had been removed. Now she could speak with Hanrah in plain terms, as she had always wanted. She had to address the subject of a mutual peace treaty, something that had never been broached before. If she didn't, there was no way to know which way Hanrah would proceed with his time of rule.

  At first she and her closest companions were concerned that Hanrah was going to refuse her request for a private audience, and that she would have to force him to receive her. They waited a whole night and day, and then Yoshi brought her the message he would meet with her. What did he feel now, she wondered. Was he angry? Would this tragedy turn him into his mother's son?

  When she was finally ushered into his chamber, she saw a broken man before her, and recognized the mirrored reflection of her own state of being. She had lost her handmaiden, and her lover. He had lost his mother, and his lover.

  A chair had been set up some eight-arm's length away from the emperor. Elishiba ignored it and instead picked up a small footstool, which she carried over to where he was seated and set it down at his feet. He looked with curiosity at her, but didn't seem surprised. Perhaps he would have no cause for pretence now either. Perhaps he too was far too raw to muster it.

  She sat down by his feet, her hands resting on her knees as she looked up at him. He was dressed in the same clothing as the morning before, she noticed. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes and obvious grief in his expression. The slight man she had first thought the court jester had no such look about him now.

  They sat that way for some time while she contemplated him. Beneath the pain she saw a gentle man, a man who waited to be told—and to be led. It was no wonder his mother was so afraid that someone other than she would influence him. And yet in being so harsh with him, she had ultimately forced him to break free of her will.

  "We have both suffered immense loss, Emperor Hanrah."

  He stared at her, and then nodded.

  "When I came here, I had hoped to negotiate peace between our countries, without casualty for any of our people. This is something I think we can still achieve."

  He eyed her warily, as if surprised by her remark. “I thought you would be angry,” he said, “I thought your warriors would take revenge upon us."

  She shook her head. “The losses we have suffered have only proved to me that I don't want the same to happen to more of our people."

  He seemed to contemplate what she said, and then he wrung his hands together quickly, suddenly fidgety, as if the idea disturbed him out of his state of grief. “It would only
get worse, this awful pain inside.” He put one hand to his chest, his eyelids lowering.

  She reached for his free hand, taking it tentatively, offering him solace. His fingers clasped hers loosely and after a moment he returned the gentle squeeze she offered. He met her glance and gave her a sad smile, as if he too recognized how similarly they mirrored each other in their situation. It wasn't something she had imagined, when she set out on this journey, to be sitting at the emperor's feet comforting him as they negotiated their way forward. Because of their mutual loss they were both bared to the soul, layers of false platitude and confused vision torn away. She briefly contemplated using healing sorcery upon him, but she doubted her own resources at that time, after all that had happened the day before. She felt too that it was important for them to meet as simple equals, and resisted the urge.

  "All we have ever needed is for our countries and our people to have security, to negotiate for trade and for trust. As leaders we can harbor those qualities without war."

  "But how?” he asked, reaching for a tray that had been set out nearby, offering her a small cup as he spoke. “The history between our lands, all that has gone before ... this bad feeling surely permeates all of our people?"

  Elishiba took a deep breath. It was time to make her move, to be decisive and guide him. “We must lead them. We must enter into a peace treaty. If we operate on fair terms, it opens immense possibilities for us to be strong neighbors, protecting our people together, rather than dividing and halving their strength."

  He stared into his tea thoughtfully, turning the small brass cup before sipping from it and sighing.

  "I try to feel in my heart for the best way forward, and to feel what my closest friends would have thought, too.” He reached for her and lifted her hand. “You loved Amshazar?"

  The sound of his name opened the gaping maw in her chest. “Yes, I did.” It was all the response she could muster, but he looked deep into her eyes and nodded, as if he had seen the answer there.

  "He was a good friend to me,” Hanrah continued. “A trusty adviser. He has been taken from us both."

  Yes, she saw that now, he had lost even more than she had. “He will live on in our hearts."

  Hesighed,andshefeltresistanceinhim."Howhaveourancestors dealt with this, with this pain, after the loss of life in battle?"

  Hope bloomed inside her. He wanted to move on; he wanted to change, to be different to them. She grasped hold of that hope, for both of them, for all of them.

  "Some people thrive on war, but neither of us feel that way, so perhaps we can change things.” He wanted to believe her; she could see that, so she continued. “We can have your scribes prepare a peace treaty. Then I can return home to my people with the channel between us open and friendly. Our people can trade and live without fear of each other. If our countries are attacked from enemies beyond, we will unite as one to face them."

  "Unite as one,” he repeated, his eyes brightening.

  Elishiba felt a great weight lift from her shoulders. “It will be a new chapter in our history."

  "Yes, it will,” he replied, with a gentle smile.

  * * * *

  The sun was lowering on the horizon, shimmering over their path like gold coins spilling from the sky. Elishiba rode into it but barely noticed, following Xerxes as he led their small caravan, her thoughts faraway in a moonlit sky where she had walked amongst the stars with her lover.

  "Come on my girl, lift your head, we are on Aleemite land now.” Yoshi gave a gentle smile, her eyes filled with concern.

  Inside another day they would be in Suzin. Even though she wanted to be there, to see her father's face and hold Tariq in her arms, it was hard to even think of it. Her heart was breaking. She mustered a smile for Yoshi and nodded. All of them had been eager to see home, and had risen early and traveled much longer hours and through the heat of the days to get there.

  Yoshi urged her mount on and whispered something to Xerxes. He nodded, looking at Elishiba sadly. “We will rest up ahead a while,” he called out to the small group who trailed after them, “until the sun falls."

  He led them toward the rocky outcrops that now lined their path, which afforded some shelter. Dismounting quickly, he strode to Elishiba's side to help her down.

  "Thank you,” she said.

  "Empress...” He lowered his head. “Yoshi told me about the bond you shared with Amshazar. I am sorry for your loss."

  She put her hands on his shoulder, touched by his remark. She knew those words would not come easy to him. “He was a good man, Xerxes."

  "I know that now.” Guilt shadowed his eyes.

  "Don't be hard on yourself. I mistrusted him as well, in the beginning. We had to."

  She rested her hand on his chest, and he took her into his arms, holding her. Holding her as a man holds a woman with whom he might stay with forever, and still she thought of Amshazar. Would it ever get any easier? Did she even want it to?

  After they had taken water she broke from them, wandering away to address the quiet grief in her heart in a moment of solitude. She walked past the place where the rock thrust up from the earth and the crag turned to dune. Looking out at the horizon as she sat down on the sands, she pulled her headdress low on her face to keep out the sun.

  She sank her fingers into the sand, spilling the warm grains of Aleem through her hands, staring down at it, marveling that this was home. They had achieved their goal. She had secured the future for their people. But it had been done at great cost to her heart. The past days had brought her so much, and taken so much. Amshazar.

  Her eyes closed, and she pictured his face. Pictured him when he had held her on the balcony in the dawn. She had known then he loved her, she had recognized it in his eyes, and in her heart.

  She lost track of how long she had been sitting there, memories of Amshazar flitting through her mind, when she heard a voice at her side. With a start, she turned and saw that it was Santor, Amshazar's spirit guide.

  "Forgive me, Elishiba, I didn't mean to startle you."

  She breathed and nodded, putting her hand out to him in greeting, glad to see him and yet wondering if she would even be able to feel him if she touched him. “It is good to see you again, Santor. Thank you for your guidance in the temple in Lhastari, you came to me when I needed it most. It was an impossible choice for me to make, and yet I know Amshazar would have wanted it to end the way it did."

  He rested his hand in hers, and although she did not feel solidity, she felt the pressure of his reassurance. “You cared deeply for Amshazar, your grief is visible."

  "My affection for Amshazar grew quickly and lodged deep. The pain...” She shook her head, unable to put it into words.

  "Your love for him and your people made you fearless. It led you to use your sorcery in its most powerful form, and at the time it was most needed."

  His words made her suspicious.

  She lifted her head, dismayed. “Are you saying it was necessary for me to love him that much and to hurt that painfully, to fulfill the challenge?"

  Santor was not at all daunted by her remark. He shrugged. “I am merely commenting. It helped, did it not?"

  She felt appalled at the idea of it. “I hope his death was not to serve that purpose."

  "Some men never die."

  Elishiba stared at the spirit guide, trying to grasp the underlying meaning in his words. That's when she noticed that his eyes were twinkling with mischief, and a smile played around his lips.

  "Are you telling me that Amshazar was an immortal?"

  "Oh no. But it is only the finest magi, those who have carried the message of the gods successfully who go on to become immortal. I think perhaps Amshazar was one such magus, don't you?"

  She sighed heavily, her shoulders sinking. For a moment she had thought ... she had been given hope by his remark.

  Once again she felt his comforting hand on hers.

  "In your grief, Elishiba, you are forgetting one important thing, how vita
l and powerful your sorcery has become, nurtured as it is by the love you feel."

  He seemed to be hinting at something.

  "What are you saying?"

  "I am suggesting that the gods favored Amshazar, and if he were here, the gods would be pleased. And if someone had the power to bring him here...” He glanced at her in that mischievous way of his.

  "Bring him here,” she repeated.

  Santor rested his fingers on his chin, thoughtfully. “How much do you desire it?"

  She gave a breathless, frustrated sigh. “Santor, that is immeasurable. I would give my life for his."

  "You do not need to do that. The fact you feel that way is, however, hopeful."

  She flashed him a desperate glance, her heart beating hard. He bowed his head, but his merry smile did not escape her. She would get to the bottom of this riddle yet. “Why do I need to feel it?"

  "The goddess who rules the higher emotions takes note of such things, and it is she who watches over you both."

  "The Goddess Sevita?"

  He smiled. “You might get accustomed to unraveling riddles yet, Empress."

  She scrambled to her feet, sliding against the side of the dune as she moved to stand in front of him. “Santor!” Pleading beseechingly, she rolled her eyes. “If you have been observing me at all closely over the past few days—which I am sure you have, since you make such knowledgeable remarks—you will know by now that I am quite useless at solving riddles."

  Santor stood, laughing heartily. “Believe in yourself, Empress,” he urged. “There is no harm in trying, after all, hmmm?"

  "You really think I might be able to ... Is that why you said what you said in the temple, about there still being a chance for Amshazar? You mean now, don't you?"

  He smiled. “I suggest that if you're going to create some sort of ... oh, fireball?” His eyebrows lifted suggestively. “You might perhaps do it in that direction, away from the spot where your friends are encamped."