The Shadow Gypsy (The Shadow Sisters)

by C. R. Daems

  "Yes, war requires killing. And those who do the killing are not always rewarded for their sacrifice. But among us, the Earth Wizards of Hesland, you are a beloved sister and have our love and support."

  "Thank you," I said, tears that I blinked back stinging my eyes. Perhaps with Luka, my clan, and friends like the Dorian clan and the Earth Wizards, I may be able to heal.

  * * *

  After our second performance, my first customer at the fortuneteller tent was Lord Boyan.

  "Good evening, Mistress Ryana," he said as he sat. For some reason, he had always called me Mistress, although I was a commoner and didn’t deserve the title. I liked him, not only because he saved my life in Windon from Lord Phellen but because he was loyal to Lady wu’Lichak, and he was kind. For a noble that tended to be unusual.

  "Good evening, Lord Boyan. It’s a pleasure to see you again. How may I help you?" As if I didn’t know.

  "Lady wu’Lichak would like the Tobar clan to perform for her, two nights from today. We didn’t know you had changed clans until someone mentioned the fortuneteller Ryana was in Scio."

  "I’m married, Lord Boyan. By gypsy custom, the woman always joins her husband’s clan."

  "Married? I thought Shadows… never…" Thankfully, he was at least trying to be careful.

  "They don’t." I felt sorry for Boyan. He’d been trying to prove I was a Shadow Sister and thought he had based on things wu’Lichak had said to me in Tarion. Now I'd shaken his proof.

  "Mistress, you and Lady wu’Lichak are a good match. Obviously, if the Tobar clan can’t come, my liege would still like to see you." He stood and dropped a gold on the table and started toward the door, but returned. "Would you tell my fortune, mistress?"

  "Of course, Lord Boyan. Put your hands on the table." When he did I placed mine over his and closed my eyes. I could feel his tension. "You are held in high esteem and have earned the confidence placed in you. When the provinces are at peace and the king in control, it is a time to enjoy that hard earned peace. But your place of honor carries a responsibility to be ever vigilant. Not all love peace." I opened my eyes and removed my hands.

  "Thank you, mistress," he said after several minutes of thought. He dropped another gold and left. The rest of the evening was normal, although I think the line increased after they saw a noble come for a telling.

  When I entered the circle of clan members sitting around the evening firepit eating, Alida clapped to get everyone’s attention. Not that it appeared necessary as everyone was already staring at me.

  "I told you. She had a noble come for a telling… and it looked like Lord Boyan, which I’ll wager means we will be giving Lady wu’Lichak a performance." As she finished all eyes went from her to me. I shrugged and handed Santo the two gold and several silvers worth of coppers.

  "Two nights from now," I said and added, "Pali, be warned. Alida’s a witch and can read your thoughts."

  Pali turned towards Alida. His smile faded and everyone began laughing. When it stopped Santo handed the money to Lujza, his wife, and keeper of the clan’s money. She was a striking woman and in good physical condition, although her long dark brown hair had streaks of gray. Her gray, green eyes sparkled with intelligence.

  "What does Lady wu’Lichak expect of you, Ryana," Santo asked, not sure if this were a good or bad thing, judging by his wrinkled brow.

  "Last time, Lady wu’Lichak sent us home. We had bets on whether she would be whipped or sent to the dungeon. And when she came back escorted by Lord Boyan and four soldiers, we thought we were going to join her. Instead Lord Boyan gave Marku twenty gold toras," Alida said before I could reply. Now you could hear the wood crackling in the fire it was so quiet.

  "Last time I told her she was a trouble maker and ugly. She agreed." After I said that, I think even the fire stopped crackling.

  "That’s exactly what she told us she told Lady wu’Lichak," Alida said. "I love Ryana like a sister, but she does some crazy things."

  Later, after a session of very passionate lovemaking, Luka propped himself up on his elbow, watching me as I prepared to go out.

  "What did you really tell her, Ryana?"

  "I’m sorry, my love. But you have to consider me two people—a day and a night person. Both love you and would give their lives to save you and our clan, but the night person has scars and secrets best not shared. It is the price of marrying me." My chest ached to have to be two persons, one I could share and one even I didn’t want to examine too closely.

  "You’re worth it, Ryana. I knew the conditions from the beginning, and I’m not sorry. Go, I need my sleep." He laughed and pulled the cover up around his shoulders.

  I kissed him and left with my ever-present ball. My obsession was fast becoming an act if I could reach a professional level of proficiency. I had developed an acrobatic component with the moving ball, throwing or kicking it into the air and catching it on the back of my neck, or between my legs, or with my feet, then doing a roll and propelling it into the air again. I kept the ball rolling around me or in the air without ever stopping or catching it with my hands. I decided to try it out on the clan for their approval or disapproval and for ideas if they liked the concept. I told Alida what I wanted to do as we gathered for the evening meal. She waited until everyone had a plate and sat.

  "Ladies and gentlemen and husbands," Alida began good-naturedly, which provoked several pokes to the husbands. "My wild sister, in her usual unconventional way, would like your opinion on a possible new act before she spends any more time on it. Luka, you will be happy to know Ryana’s late night adventures do not include carousing the town." She waved in my direction. I was as nervous as I had been on every test at Ahasha.

  I began slowly from a kneeling position, working the ball around my arms, across my chest, and back of my neck. Then shot the ball into the air, rolled, and caught it between my knees. My routine when on for several minutes. I missed the ball twice but still thought it a respectable showing. When I finished, there was silence even from Alida. I felt like crawling behind something. Then the clapping started. Santo came up, took the ball, and examined it.

  "Ryana, I know this is your idea, but I’d like to make it into a three or four person act."

  "I’d love that. I didn’t develop this routine for a solo act; it just happened as I sat enjoying the night with no one to talk to," I said to snickers. "I’m clan and would prefer to participate with the clan rather than alone." The discussions went on for hours, well past the normal hour when people retired to their wagons. In the end, Kata, Alida, Maria, another married woman, and I were designated the group to develop the routine with a target of showing it off in Lampo, a small town just before reaching Adak.

  The next day was a free day, so after fine tuning the acts for Lady wu’Lichak, we began working with the wooden balls.

  "This looked so easy watching you last night. Are you sure my ball isn’t lopsided? The damn thing will go anywhere but where it’s supposed to," Alida said, grinning as the ball raced down her arm, shot past the back of her hand, and rolled several steps away. Kata’s face muscles were tight and eyes narrowed as she watched the ball as if daring it to disobey her. She was doing well for her first day. Maria laughed as the ball rolled onto her chest, hit her chin, rolled between her ample breasts, and stuck.

  "The ball must be a male," she snickered. Kata lost control of her ball. It hit her head and bounced away. We all started laughing. I needed clan—family—and lots of it, I mused.

  "We’ve been at it for hours. Why don’t we take a break? It took me five nights to get it to roll from one hand, up the arm, and down to the other hand. And then I was very inconsistent," I said, thinking to give encouragement but realizing they had been through this many times before, learning acts and developing new ones, and understood.

  "It will take time to just master the basics, and I have some suggestions that will go well beyond the basics. But I think it’s going to be a great innovation and something nobody has seen be
fore." Kata laughed. "This should keep me from getting bored for at least a cycle or two."

  Over the next days, the group started carrying their ball along with them everywhere they went and began playing with them every free moment. Soon those balls would be as much a part of them as their arms and legs.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ARABY: Scio - Lady wu'Lichak

  Early the next evening, we arrived at Scio castle, set up our props, and retired to a waiting room. The room had a long table filled with snacks, which was a nice gesture but wasted as no one ate much before a performance. I sat down next to Alida.

  "I feel out of place, not having anything to do." For performances for nobles, the clans usually put on an abbreviated version and left out less impressive acts or routines. Since I hadn't been with the clan long and my real contribution with the Dorian clan had been knife throwing and I had only a small part on the swings, I wouldn't be performing tonight—at least along with the clan. My performance would be with wu’Lichak with yet to be determined results.

  "I understand. Their acts are different by necessity, so we have to be integrated into them and that will take time," Alida said, munching on a slice of cheese. "I kind of like the idea of us having a new routine rather than being fitted into an existing one. Leave it to you to go off and do something different. At least you managed not to get hurt this time."

  We stayed in the waiting room while the clan performed. Not long after the clan left to perform, servants filed in, removed the snacks, and began bringing in food for our dinner. They had only just finished when the troupe came back all smiles. Lady wu’Lichak had been generous and given Santo twenty toras.

  Boyan didn't arrive until after most had finished eating. He looked around and headed for me.

  "Lady wu’Lichak was concerned when she didn’t see you perform," he said, as Santo came walking over. Boyan smiled at him. "Lady wu’Lichak will have a special dessert served for you in a few minutes and would appreciate you waiting until she has had an opportunity to talk with Ryana. She would prefer Ryana didn’t leave the castle alone."

  "As the First Lady wishes. We would also prefer she didn’t have to leave alone," Santo said. Boyan motioned to me, and I followed him to the same study as last time. This time, however, there was no food, only a crystal glass with water, and no guards.

  Lady wu’Lichak entered a short time later. I stood and gave a small bow.

  "I've dispensed with the games, since we’ve already taken the measure of each other," she said. "Would you have told the previous Lord Phellen what you told me?"

  "No. It was none of his business."

  "He would have beaten you to death," she said, continuing when I shrugged. "I guess you were right, when you said I would determine the fate of Hesland. If I hadn’t sent Boyan, Phellen would have killed you and the future would have been different—far different." She looked to where Boyan stood off to the side, quiet and unnoticed.

  "Boyan said you were with a different clan."

  "Yes, women join the clan of their husbands."

  "Gypsy women," she said more like a question than a statement.

  "Yes," I said, touching my ear. "I decided I liked gypsy life even before I met my husband." Wu’Lichak was struggling with the same conflicting thoughts—she thought me a Shadow Sister, but Shadows didn’t marry. But unlike Boyan, she could deal with the conflict.

  "So, you’ll be passing through Scio on a regular basis. When you do, it would be nice if the… Tobar clan would perform for me, and you could give me a telling. I get tired of hearing good news," she said, smiled and sat in a red-velvet, high-back chair, and waved to another one facing her. I looked around the room, about the size of five wagons, and spotted the same table we had used last time. What I had told her last time was neither good news nor entertaining. I pulled up the proffered chair next to the table and sat. She stared at me for a long time, then rose and waited while Boyan moved her chair next to the table. I held my hands out, palms down. She frowned and placed her hands on the table.

  "Is this really necessary?"

  "If you wish a telling, Lady wu’Lichak." I placed my hands over hers and closed my eyes. Alida had the right of it. I was crazy. I no longer knew whether I was playing one of Sister Rong’s games or could see the future. My visual-self had left and in her place my Shadow-self sat in the moment between past and future where nothing else existed except wu'Lichak and a Shadow.

  "You have gotten what you wished for, peace for your people. A world where few decisions are required to keep your kingdom safe. But, that is an illusion. Not all see your vision of peace. Many are discontent with the outcome, although not connected. They look for a leader among their individual groups of discontent. They are harmless. Watch for the one who will unite them in a common cause." What had triggered the thought, I had no idea. Intuition, I guessed. Certainly not logic.

  "Damn you, Ryana." Wu’Lichak jerked her hand from under mine, causing Boyan to come alive, watching his liege closely for any command. "Why can’t you tell me something good, or how beautiful I am or clever, or… I told you before, rulers don’t like bad news." She held up her hand. "I know. You could make up a good future if I wished." She rose and walked over to her desk and picked up a sack and threw it to Boyan.

  "Do I watch alone?"

  "The earth and shadows watch, but from afar. You rule here."

  "You are many mysteries rolled into one. I doubt you or anyone can see the future, yet I believe you. I believe you are a keen observer of what is around you, know more than a gypsy should, and see one future clearer than others." Her eyes never left mine, staring as if she were trying to read my mind. "Boyan, should give that sack to…?"

  "Santo."

  "Santo, and thank him for his clan’s performance and Ryana’s time." She looked back to me. "Which one of us will decide the future of Hesland this time?"

  "The earth, Lady wu’Lichak." I rose and followed Boyan to the waiting room. In the room Boyan handed the sack to Santo.

  "The First Lady said to thank you for your performance and Ryana’s time," he said, then turned to face me. "I too will keep watch, Mistress Ryana."

  Everyone was silent as Boyan left and Santo looked into the bag. He gave a soft whistle. "Twenty-five toras, she must have liked what you told her."

  "Did you tell her she was ugly and incompetent, again," Alida asked, grinning.

  "No, I told her she was too old and decrepit to rule," I replied, invoking a mixture of open mouth stares and a few laughs.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CALION: Zeles – Gods and more Gods

  We gave one more performance in Scio and left for Ossic the next day. It was a leisurely, three-day ride. I enjoyed the time with Luka, listening to tales about him growing up in the Esterban clan. When he was a boy, the gypsies were accused of everything that went wrong. Often times the fights resulted in serious injuries and even deaths. In Kadal, his father had been killed in one such fight. A few cycles later his mother, Lujza, married Santo and joined the Tobar clan. Those early cycles had been difficult for the gypsies. The relationships with the towns varied from season to season, ranging between fair and hostile. Things had improved somewhat in the last ten cycles, and now under the king’s protection, they were the best they had ever been, even though neither Luka nor I had any illusions the gypsies were considered real Heslanders.

  We put on two acts in Ossic. The audiences were small but enthusiastic. Early one morning, a rest day between performances, I saw two men in orange, hooded robes. They stopped when they saw me. Their robes were long, reaching to the ground, the hoods pointed in the back, three sizes larger than their heads, and the sleeves extra wide, hiding their hands. I’d imagine they would look scary in the dark of night.

  "Mistress, can you share a few coppers or some food? We are the followers of the prophet Pedro and honor the Goddess Jhea, who is the ruler of the universe. We have dedicated our lives to helping those in need."

  I reached into
my purse and fished out three coppers and dropped them in the tall one’s hand, barely visible peeking out from the wide sleeve. The hoods made their faces too shadowed to make out clearly.

  "Thank you, mistress. May Jhea make your days filled with happiness," the shorter one said as they continued walking away from our camp grounds in the direction of town. I spent the rest of the days practicing with Kata on passing the ball back and forth. At least half of the time was spent laughing at the results—the ball hitting one's head rather than the back of the neck, tripping while trying to get in position for a bad pass, the ball landing on the top of a wagon. It was good entertainment, and we frequently had clan stopping to watch. We were making progress, but slowly.

  * * *

  The trip to Ashtol took five days and provided an excellent opportunity to work on new variations to existing acts and for the ball team to practice. In a way, it brought back memories of Ahasha with Jelena and me as we struggled to perfect the Sisters' secrets. The difference here was that we had no one to show us how to do it. We had to discover the secrets ourselves, which gave me great respect for the skills the Sisters had developed over the years. I wondered if many of their techniques were found by accident like we had done on several occasions--a fall while trying to get under the ball, only to find you had caught it between your knees, which then led to many other variations.

  Four days later we moved on to Zeles which gave us a sixday of free time, and our basic routine was taking shape. In Zeles, I visited the Earth Wizards late on the second night. The same older female wizard in her ash-colored seat greeted me.

  "Welcome, Sister of Peace. We are pleased to see you alive and well. How can we help you?" Her voice was soft and warm. Six other wizards sat in a variety of vine-chairs. Last time I sat on a rock in the center of the dirt and rock hall. Today they had provided me a chair with soft, lime-colored vines covered with lovely white and pink flowers that had a smell of spring.