by Joe Jackson
“Go,” Seanada said. “Get back safely to Tess’Vorg, and send word to the Wraith that this entire situation was a ruse. It may be the only thing that saves my family, and my people.”
“Not without you,” Kari said, touching her hand to the wound. She started to channel Zalkar’s power, but as she expected, it did little to even stanch the bleeding.
“There is no time. By the time I am healed enough to walk, if we can manage even that, it will be too late. Save yourself, Kari. This is a trap, and the Wraith and I…have dragged you right into it with us.”
“Shush,” Kari replied. She reached into her breastplate and pulled forth the symbol of the Great Mother. Zalkar, I know you’re always listening, just as you always are, Father. I may not know you directly, Be’shatha, but if a part of you is still alive and can still hear me, I could really use your help right now. If you and your siblings want to take back this world, I’m willing to help, but I’m going to need this woman lying before me. You heal her through me – even if it takes a part of my own health – and you use us as your instruments.
She expected something, anything. Seanada’s blood continued to ooze through her fingers, though, and the half-syrinthian stared up at her in shock and resignation. Was Seanada right, and Kari was wrong about the gods? Was their inability to heal her simply a limitation of Kari’s power, or did they honestly not want to heal Seanada because she was half-succubus? Kari masked her sigh by looking around suspiciously, as if Prince Fesarri might be coming back to challenge her again.
Kari closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on Be’shatha. She imagined a majestic and beautiful mallasti female; was Be’shatha herself a vulkinastra? She bore so many names of respect and power, just that Kari knew of: Great Mother; Lifegiver; Celestial Queen; Holy Sibling. But the one that was open to interpretation was the most important: was she dead, or merely sleeping? And how much faith would it take to awaken her if the latter was true?
If the faith of millions of mallasti and elestram isn’t enough, what will one off-world rir woman do? Kari thought soberly.
She grasped Seanada’s cloak and pressed it to the wound pitifully. Applying pressure to the wound was a futile gesture; Seanada was dying beneath her fingers, and there was little Kari could do. She thought of Makauric’s life slipping away as she watched, and of Damansha lying unconscious in the street as her lifeblood soaked through Aeligos’ cloak. Damansha survived, thankfully, but Kari was about to lose another friend – yes, friend – the same way, and anger began to well up in her at how helpless she felt.
“Move aside,” a voice commanded her in infernal. Kari reached for her swords out of instinct as she was shoved.
It was the mallasti woman she’d saved. She was groggy and the fur about her wrists showed how hard she’d struggled to get free of her bonds. Without hesitation, though, she placed one hand to Seanada’s wound and the other to her forehead. Now the woman began to speak in beshathan, and despite the vast differences between them, Kari couldn’t help but think of her departed husband. The woman was clearly praying over Seanada, but the urgency of the words and their tone, despite Kari not understanding much of the language, said that she was trying to heal, not give last rites.
“The wound is grave, but nothing vital has been damaged beyond repair,” the mallasti woman said, returning to the infernal tongue. “I have stopped the bleeding, but she will need a great deal of rest and care. Help me remove her from the road.”
Kari didn’t need to be told twice. She lifted Seanada, who felt almost child-like in her weight compared to the mallasti woman, and cradled her to her breast. She followed the mallasti woman into the woods, walking as far as Kari’s legs could take her to get away from the road. They would be exposed while they waited for Seanada to heal, but at least in the woods, if anyone found them, it would be mostly by coincidence.
She didn’t even realize how far they’d walked until the mallasti woman turned and made a gesture for her to set Seanada down and sit herself. “We have crossed into Tess’Vorg,” she said. “It will yet be a span or more before we leave the forest, and we may encounter a border patrol here, but we should be safe.”
Kari set Seanada down. The half-syrinthian was asleep for a change, and Kari wrapped the woman in both their cloaks to keep her warm. The demonhunter’s arms were sore from carrying her friend so far, but after stretching, Kari fished in her coin purse and pulled out the signet ring of King Emanitar.
The mallasti woman regarded her with open wonder instead of the usual impassiveness of the hyena-folk, and she nodded. “You must be the Karian Vanador I have heard so much about.”
The demonhunter was surprised by that, but she returned the nod. “I am. And you are?”
“Mastriana Te’Dastra,” she introduced herself with a bow of the head.
“Te’Dastra…so you were abducted from here? From Ewuaswi?”
The mallasti woman bobbed her head. “I was. They took several of us in the night, to distract pursuit from recovering Miessa, our vulkinastra sister.”
“The vulkinastra is your sister? Was she dragged into Sorelizar?”
“I am not certain. The attack seemed well-concerted, and I believe several of us were taken all at once. But Miessa was well-protected, so I am not certain they were able to abduct her. If you wish, rest here and then make your way to Ewuaswi, and I will watch over the Silent Fang until you have returned.”
“You know who she is?” Kari asked with a gesture toward Seanada.
“Oh yes,” the woman said, rising to her feet. Kari expected she would open her garment to show tattoos on her breasts, but instead she showed Kari her inner thigh, where the mark of the Ashen Fangs was visible.
“I can’t leave the two of you alone.”
“We are in Tess’Vorg, as I said. We are as safe here as we are likely to ever be here on Mehr’Durillia. If you are working with us, then go to Ewuaswi and contact the Wraith. If Miessa has been taken, he must be alerted as soon as possible.”
Kari knelt beside Seanada and touched her shoulder. “I’ll see you again, my friend. Very soon.”
And then, with a mutual bow of the head between her and Mastriana, Kari began to make her way out of the woods and toward the village of Ewuaswi.
*****
Sorelizar was a beautiful realm, but the contrast in tension and the behavior of the people to Tess’Vorg was staggering. In Tess’Vorg, Kari felt as though she could let her guard down – not completely, but she didn’t find herself looking over her shoulder constantly and listening for sounds of pursuit. In Tess’Vorg, she felt almost as though she was at home – ever vigilant, but not fearful. In Sorelizar – outside the village of Gaeshokk, anyway – she had felt like prey, even when she and Seanada were the ones hunting.
Ewuaswi may have been a mallasti village, but it looked more like a trading post that a village had grown around. It lacked the architecture and more permanent nature of the elestram cities, but it was far more than the typical mallasti villages Kari had come across, even more so than Gaeshokk. The center of the village was a market square, and there were carts and their beasts of burden parked on the edges of the town. While many of the homes were typical of the mallasti, there were permanent buildings and houses as well.
Kari drew the stares of every person in sight as she approached the town. It was only then that she realized she had no idea where exactly she was going or who she was looking for. If the Wraith wasn’t here, Kari didn’t know who she could ask for help or what her next step should be. She paused in her travels and did three distinct things: she took a deep breath; she made sure King Emanitar’s ring was clearly visible; and she resisted the urge to pull out the symbol of Be’shatha. With the possible presence of Sekassus’ agents, to show the Lifegiver’s emblem would be inviting total disaster.
The general state of things told Kari that Morduri and Emanitar weren’t here yet. There simply wasn’t enough commotion, no signs of any entourage or fancy transportation either on t
he town’s outer edges or near any of its more obvious hostels. That was good, to Kari’s mind, as she didn’t want to have to admit failure so soon to her co-conspirators. As it stood, Prince Fesarri was undoubtedly headed to his father’s palace to alert Sekassus to Kari’s presence. It was entirely possible that not only was this plan a failure, but they had played directly into Sekassus’ hands in the process.
Mastriana had suggested that the Wraith should be here in Ewuaswi, but he was quite the secretive fellow, and Kari didn’t expect he would just be breezing about the streets. She decided heading to a hostel first made the most sense, and from there, she could ask where to find the village elder or whoever was in charge. The central market square seemed her best option, so she set off in that direction. As soon as she reached the village’s outer edge, though, she was approached.
The guards here weren’t like the ones of Moskarre. These men – a mallasti and one of the rarer mallestrem – wore armored vests and sheathed weapons, and sported decals on their shoulder that suggested law enforcement. Their demeanor was more curiosity than hostility when they approached, and the signet ring Kari wore explained that easily enough. On a hunch, she saluted them in the demonhunter manner.
After the briefest pause, they returned her salute by gripping the hilt of one of their blades with their right hand and crossing the left arm over their chests. “You wear the signet of our monarch; what has King Emanitar sent you to us for, off-worlder?” the mallestrem managed in infernal without even spitting first.
“At the moment, I’m looking to find out if the vulkinastra of your village was actually kidnapped,” Kari said. She wasn’t sure if she should mention the Wraith. It certainly seemed as though the Ashen Fangs were larger than she initially suspected, but she didn’t want to speak of them openly in front of those who might be opposed to them, even just on the surface.
The mallasti answered after spitting on the ground. “The vulkinastra, yes, she was taken in a concerted strike that saw a number of young women abducted.”
Kari hesitated. If the Wraith wasn’t here, she wasn’t sure what her next step should be. It struck her as obvious after that moment. “I rescued one of your young women, but my friend was gravely injured. They’re in the woods, just inside Tess’Vorg near the border of Sorelizar. It was a mallasti woman named Mastriana; she’s taking care of my companion’s injuries.”
“Mastriana?” they asked in unison. They turned to each other, and then the mallestrem ran off into the village. Kari wasn’t sure what the significance was.
“Can you lead us back to them?” the mallasti asked.
“Yes, of course,” Kari answered. She and the mallasti stared at each other while waiting for his companion to return. She introduced herself after a time. “I’m Karian Vanador.”
“Ah, I should have guessed. There has been a lot of talk about you in the last year. To find you here, given the kings’ interest in you is…surprising,” the mallasti returned. “Excuse my manners. I am called Tashae; my partner is called Jassec.”
The mallestrem returned after a few minutes with several more armed guards. At their request, Kari led them back to where she had left Mastriana and Seanada. After securing the area, they approached the hidden camp, and only then did Mastriana reveal herself. Kari stood back and watched, shocked, as she was greeted with many hugs by the armed guards. There was some conversation in beshathan, and several of the guards looked at Kari whenever Mastriana spoke to them. They took stock of Seanada, and one of the hyena-folk hefted her up to carry her back to the village.
“What’s going on?” Kari asked the mallasti woman.
“I will explain in detail when we are safely back in Ewuaswi,” Mastriana answered.
Twilight had painted the sky in dark purples by the time they returned to the village. Kari was led to what she could only describe as a surgeon’s clinic based on the look of the building and the many beds and sharp implements within. She tried to stay out of the way while Seanada was put on a table and an elestram with furless hands began to inspect her wounds. The jackal-man was concerned by what he saw, but at the same time, he looked up and nodded toward Mastriana. Her healing had to have satisfied him, at least.
With the elestram at work on Seanada, the many guards gave final hugs to the mallasti woman and then departed. Mastriana looked out the wide front windows of the building, then closed the drapes, which forced the elestram surgeon to begin lighting chandeliers so he could continue to work. Mastriana locked the door, then, and spoke back and forth with the elestram in the beshathan tongue.
Kari thought she should be a little nervous, but something about this situation felt like when she’d first met Seanada and Marracir. Despite all she’d heard about the Ashen Fangs and their expected refusal to work with her, Kari was finding the exact opposite to be true. Whatever her relationship with the Wraith was to him, his people treated Kari almost like one of their own, but for a slight hesitance to speak of sensitive matters in front of her.
Kari twisted Emanitar’s signet ring about her finger. Might that be the reason they were a little reluctant to speak freely with her? They might see her as an agent of the kings, when in fact the kings were the Fangs’ ultimate enemies. Kari had to suppress a laugh at the thought that the Ashen Fangs might see her the exact same way she saw them: potential allies, but ones she wasn’t sure she could trust completely.
“The Silent Fang’s injuries are unfortunate, but the Wraith will be pleased that the plan has proceeded mostly according to his foresight,” the mallasti woman said, standing before Kari. She had a mischievous gleam in her eye, and Kari wasn’t sure what to make of it at first.
“But the vulkinastra was captured,” Kari offered tentatively.
“So far as our enemies are concerned, yes,” Mastriana said with a gesture. “And so far as those not privy to our intelligence are concerned as well, which means none should be the wiser as to what has actually taken place.”
Kari glanced at the surgeon, who was ignoring the conversation while he tended to Seanada’s wounds. “This is the part where you tell me I was bait, right?”
The mallasti woman looked confused. “You, bait? Not at all. No, the Wraith used you and the Silent Fang to attempt to capture Prince Amnastru or another of Sekassus’ elder children. Miessa was the bait. However, the Wraith did not expect that several of us would be taken all together. It was expected that Miessa would be abducted, and that you and the Silent Fang would be in place to capture the captors, as it were.”
Kari reasoned through what she was being told. The initial reactions of the guards when she spoke to them made more sense. “So Miessa was bait because she isn’t really a vulkinastra, right?”
“That is correct. The vulkinastra is standing before you. You and the Silent Fang inadvertently saved me, though it is unlikely I would have been brought before King Sekassus. Still, once my usefulness was exhausted, I would have met a similar fate, regardless.”
“But now Miessa is headed to Sekassus’ palace, and she’ll be murdered anyway once he figures out she’s not what he thought,” Kari argued.
Mastriana nodded, then shrugged. “Miessa is headed right where the Wraith wanted her. She is an escape artist, a master of explosive alchemy, and quite possibly strong enough with the arcane to overcome even King Sekassus’ protections over his palace. What’s more, those who were assigned to abduct me will be taken to task by their king, and quite possibly even killed by their enraged monarch. Do not look so surprised; the Wraith plans his attacks on many levels, with many targets. Prince Amnastru may have been the ultimate prize, but the repercussions of this failure will shake King Sekassus’ family from top to bottom.”
“Prince Amnastru was not the one who captured you, though,” Kari said. “Is it possible he was the one who took Miessa?”
“That it was a prince at all who abducted me is enough of a shock; the Wraith did not expect one of the princes to cross the border. It is quite likely none did, and that whatev
er prince you and the Silent Fang engaged joined the captors when they returned to Sorelizar. Whatever the truth of the matter, there is no evidence either way, so nothing can be done about the crossing of the border. The abduction, of course, will be mitigated by the capabilities of our sister agent, Miessa.”
“What if he just kills her when she arrives?”
“The Wraith understands the way of things better than you might expect, even given his distance from King Sekassus,” the mallasti woman said with a dismissive gesture. She glanced at the sleeping form of Seanada being tended by the surgeon. “Things have not gone entirely according to plan, but our prong aimed at King Sekassus is well on its way. The tendrils of that strike will ripple through his family. And the next prong of our attack – Prince Amnastru – can now more easily be applied.”
“Where am I headed next, then?” Kari asked. She felt a bit like a pawn, but realized that the Wraith was a master of the game, as it were, so she was satisfied she was at least being put to good use.
“I am not certain. Whether or not news of your presence was supposed to spread is not something I was made privy to; for the time being, I recommend you get comfortable here, and await further orders from the Wraith.”
“Are all the prongs of this attack aimed at Sekassus and Sorelizar?”
“As far as I am aware, yes.”
Kari nodded and left the surgeon’s office. She made her way to one of the hostels, a neat and tidy establishment, if a bit small for an inn. With Emanitar’s signet ring on her finger, she was accommodated without delay – and without charge. Her first order of business, as was so often the case after some travel and a battle, was to take a bath and get her body and her clothes clean. An amused smile touched her face as she thought of the gnolls tracking her and Aeligos by scent on Terrassia a few months before. Whatever the mallasti and elestram might smell like – which was fairly pleasant to her nose, in honesty – she reminded herself that it did nothing to cover or mask her scent to them.
