by C. R. Daems
"Let's take a break," Kata said after only a few minutes of practice. "Ryana, what's wrong with you? You barely have control of the ball, and you're making terrible passes."
"I'm sorry, Kata. I'm afraid my session with Lady wu'Lichak has my mind in turmoil. Can you give me an hour to sort some things out?"
"Go do what you have to do. You're no good to us the way you are." She stepped next to me and gave me a hug. "Take whatever time you need. If necessary, you can sit tonight's performance out. Just so I don't have to take the fortuneteller tent duty." She stepped back laughing, and wave me away. I went back to the wagon and sat down next to wu'Lichak. Her breathing and color looked alright, so I closed my eyes and sough the moment—that time just after the second that was the past and before the second that would be the future. I don't know how long I sat suspended there but the sky was darkening when I woke. I managed to get wu'Lichak awake enough to eat, relieve herself, and cleaned up. She didn't seem much different than yesterday.
"Where are Gilda and my drink? This food is tasteless. And your home is smaller than my dungeon. I want to go back to the castle. Lord Masso is probably looking for me, and I want him to find me."
"I have your drink, Lady wu'Lichak," I said producing a cup with Jutta's drug and a drop of the Passion liquid on the rim. She licked the rim, took a sip, and gulped down the contents.
"That's not my special drink. Did you steal it?" Her face twisted in anger. "Where's Boyan. He'll get me my drrrrink," she slurred as her eyes fought to stay open. I got her comfortable, dressed, left the wagon, and found Kata talking to the Magic Balls team.
"How do you feel, Ryana?"
"It's up to you, but I'm fine," I said. The meditation hadn't resolved my concerns, but it had allowed me to separate the issues into those I could address and those I couldn't. My immediate issue was visual-Ryana's performance and the fortuneteller tent duty. Things must appear normal to the clan and anyone watching. Kata was nervous when we started the act but soon relaxed as she watched my individual routine. The ball seemed to flow effortlessly over and around me, feeling like a new form of meditation. Afterword, I took my place in the tent. My first customer was Fayza. I reached out my hands and when she grasped them, I pulled her to me. I felt tears of relief.
"I need..." I felt like I had been drowning and Fayza a rope to safety.
"You are not alone, Ryana. Your Sisters are ready to help."
"Thank you. Can you meet me tonight two hours after my tent closes? A few minutes into the forest. Dress in blacks."
"Tonight," she repeated, and gave me a kiss on the cheek that felt like it had brushed heavy weights from my shoulders. She left smiling. The evening went quickly as I involved myself in my customers’ lives. I had managed to forget, for a while, the chaos that threatened Araby and Hesland. I stayed upbeat at the evening gathering but excused myself early. It didn't appear to raise any concerns, since I hadn't appeared troubled. I checked on wu'Lichak, changed, and slipped into the night. With Anil and Kasi's help I found Fayza easily. It took me a half hour to bring her up to date. Now the hard part.
"I'm sorry to ask, Fayza. I know last time..."
"Ryana, I'm an Assassin. I had several kills while you were still learning to read and write. You did not scar me. The incident with the assassin’s guild in Dazel caused me to cry because even Assassins are human. I understood your logic and agreed with the necessity, but killing so indiscriminately was difficult. You have carried the burden for the Sisterhood and Hesland alone too long. Neither you nor I nor any of our Sisters kill for enjoyment or money. We kill only with the intent of preserving our civilization. It's not perfect, but it's better than the evils that try to replace it. Tell me what you want, and I will do it." She held my chin and looked into my eyes as she talked. I realized I had felt alone with no one to support me. The Earth Wizards helped, but they had to be careful not to act in a manner that caused a wizards' war. Fayza's support was unconditional.
"First, Lord Masso must die and his jug of Passion be destroyed," I said, thinking about what I wanted to do tonight.
"That's tasty stuff," Fayza said smacking her lips and smiling. I had given her a taste earlier. "Jelena could have corrupted the Sisterhood if you hadn't discovered the drug. How would any of us known the effect except for you? We wouldn't have. Never mind. Lead the way."
I found Jutta and introduced her to Fayza, and we made our way to Masso's estate, which was only a short way out of Scio. It was a mini-castle. A five story square building surrounded by a two-story wall and a massive iron gate guarding the entrance. Inside were several more buildings for servants, a personal guard of sixty-five soldiers, and stables. As we approached, I sent Anil and Kasi to circle the grounds.
"That's an impressive wall, Ryana. What do you suggest?" Fayza asked, looking at the wall and the main building, its marble walls shimmering in the moon light from Setebos, which was high in the night sky. We could see two guards on the wall near the entrance and another walking along the side we were on. We lay some fifty paces away as the ground had been cleared near the walls. "It would be nice if it were raining or, at least, cloudy."
"Lord Masso sent forty of his guard after Lord Boyan so that only leaves about twenty-five soldiers. Right now there is no activity on the grounds. Except for one or two on guard duty in the castle, everyone is either asleep or in town. There are two guards walking the perimeter and they look relaxed. Let's move to the back," I said, as we used the trees and shadows to work our way to the rear.
"Now what?" Fayza snorted as a thick vine emerged near the wall and began growing up the wall. "Our own private door, how convenient."
I stood watching through Anil and Kasi as the two guards wandered the parapet. At one point they met near the back and stood chatting. They separated, and sometime later, I saw them both approaching the front gate. The grounds were empty, so I nodded and we ran. It only took a minute and we were on top of the wall. The guards were all at the front gate talking and the grounds still clear, so I jumped down with Fayza following. The windows were narrow and had iron bars covering them. Ironically, it provided an easy climb to the top using a hook and rope, which I brought having seen the building through my darlings’ eyes earlier. Fayza smiled as we leaped frogged up the side of the building to the top. Once there, we found a door leading down to the ground floor, but with access to each level. We began opening doors as we worked our way down the hallway. I had heard Masso's wife had died several years ago under strange circumstances, and that he had a son in his early twenties who lived with him. So far, we had opened five doors and found no one, although three were bedrooms which appeared used. I could hear noise from the next door before Fayza opened it. She was through the door first like a ghost, not that it would have mattered. Two men, Masso and a younger man with similar facial features, and three women lay entangled and squirming like a nest of snakes on a huge bed under a purple canopy. As Fayza walked over to the bed, the young man got up and staggered towards her.
"Father, a new woman... no two." He lurched at Fayza with his arm wide. Her palm met his chin gently and gave as his momentum carried him forward. She straightened her arm. I heard his neck crack as Fayza's hand drove his head twisting around. He collapsed at her feet. She stepped over him, reached out and grabbed Masso's hair, yanked his head back, and drove the edge of her open hand into his throat. She stepped back over the man on the floor and stood beside me.
"Are we done here?" she asked, looking towards the women. Masso was desperately trying to breathe but couldn't. The tube to his lungs was crushed. He would be dead in a few seconds. I hope this had been the women's first time or two, because otherwise their death was not going to be pleasant. Unfortunately, they were victims.
"No, we need to find any containers he has of the Passion drug. He has at least one full one," I said and began searching the two large dressers in the room, while Fayza when through a side door into another room. The women, well under the influence of the drug, ignored us and sought pleasu
re among themselves. I found a small, quarter-full vial on a table near the bed and a half-full medium sized vial in a secret compartment in one of the dressers. Fayza joined me a few minutes later with the large container I had seen Masso get from the man he called Master. I nodded and we retraced our steps back to Jutta. We had infiltrated the castle, killed the man we were after, and found what we were looking for in less than an hour. I had helped, but Fayza had led the way, like the mentor a young Shadow Sister had wanted to help her learn her craft. I shook myself out of my musing.
"We need to retrieve Pedro's stash of the Passion drug. That will effectively stop their recruiting efforts. And... "
"You have no choice, Shadow," Jutta said. "I will come along in case I can be of help."
We hurried as we only had a few hours of darkness left. When we reached the camp an hour later it was deathly quiet—no guards, fires, or sounds of any kind. We located Pedro's tent easily, it was the only orange one and stood off by itself. When we reached it, I cut the ties holding the flap closed and Fayza slid inside. When I entered, Pedro lay soaked in blood, his throat with a gaping hole. Fayza pointed to a locked strongbox under the bed. With her help, I pulled it out. She stood watching as I worked on the lock and nodded approval when it clicked open. Inside were three large containers sealed with wax. We were back in the forest in minutes.
"Thank you, Sister Fayza."
"It's but a small part of what you are owed. You have been alone too long. Unless you want me to do something else, I will be following you until this situation is resolved."
"Thank you." A feeling of relief washed over me. It didn't absolve me of my duty to the Shadow Sisters or clan, but I wasn't alone. I smashed two of the three containers. I'm not sure why I kept one. Its mere presence was evil, but logic wasn't my strong point. Intuition dictated I should.
"I or another of the Earth Wizard will also be following you," Jutta's earthy voice said. "As before, wizards are sure to be involved, if for different reasons. Although we have developed special powers, we are still human with all the normal failings."
* * *
It seemed like I had just crawled into bed with Luka, when he was kissing me awake. I thought it a nice way to start the day and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close. Our lovemaking was particularly passionate. For my part, I faced the day feeling the support and love of Luka, clan, Sisters, and the Earth Wizards. The same problems existed, but I wasn't alone. After checking on wu'Lichak, we joined the morning meal.
"Ryana, you surprised me yesterday," Kata said, throwing Luka a large chunk of bread to go with the soup he and I had. "After how bad you were at practice, I almost didn't let you go on stage. I don't know what you did, but your performance was one of your best, if not the best. "
"You can't train at Ahasha for several cycles without learning a few things." I heard Santo choke. "Awkward things like not being able to sleep more than six hours a night, and good things like meditation, which can help to resolve conflicts and fears."
"Perhaps if you show us how, we can start a four fireball routine. Wouldn't that be something?" Kata's eyes lit up and a smile split her face. Everyone, except the Magic Balls team clapped. I noticed they just sighed in resignation, knowing someday it would come to pass.
The rest of the morning was spent loading the wagons for the trip to Udo. We were on the move, shortly after noon. The trip to Udo would be three to four days. Leaving late like we did, Santo would have to choose to ride late into the night if he planned to make it in three days.
It was mid-afternoon when Santo rode up beside us. When Luka nodded, he stepped off his horse onto the wagon. Like all the gypsy horses, his trotted alongside like Santo was still in the saddle.
"Ryana, should we rush to Udo or not? If Lord Boyan is there, won't we be safer the faster we can get there?"
"That would be true if Lord Masso hadn't sent troops after Lord Boyan to get control of Lady wu'Lichak. The game is in play, as my favorite Sister would say. They have made their move, and we have made ours. Now we must wait to see the result. My advice would be to make it a four day trip."
Santo called for a halt well before sunset. We circled the wagons and began preparing the evening meal. While they did, I nudged wu'Lichak into semi-consciousness and fed her food I had kept from breakfast. She ate in silence, glaring at me.
"This food is worse than yesterday. Where is Boyan? Have you killed him and kidnapped me? I'll see you hanged." She snarled the words, while pointing a finger in my face. When I slid the bed pot over to her, she crossed her arms across her chest and shook her head. I shrugged and pulled out my knife and laid it along her throat.
"Lady wu'Lichak, if you wish to see the day I'm hanged, I'd suggest you relieve yourself now and drink the liquid I'm going to give you. As you point out, I have nothing to lose." I smiled for effect. Her eyes flew open and her jaw dropped. I'd wager no one had ever threatened her face to face before, and she certainly never had a knife held to her throat. Conscious of the knife at her throat, she slowly raised the skirt I had her dressed in and sat on the pot. I had removed her underwear as it as too much trouble dressing and undressing her—and where was she going. Afterward, she accepted the cup and drank it down, but the look had changed to hate. When I was sure the drug had her unconscious, I joined the gathering.
Instruments appeared and the dancing began. I remember the early days with the gypsies when the dancing, music, and singing seemed like people gone mad. Today, it looked like what it was, family enjoying being together. I relaxed into the feeling as Luka swung me around in circles and those on the sidelines clapped and sung songs as old as the first gypsies.
"Gypsies! I want the God's nectar you stole from Lady wu'Lichak. I want it now or I'll destroy you and your wagons," a big man in a black robe with silver swirls on the hem and the end of the wide sleeves—a Wind Wizard—shouted. "And the Shadow Sisters' trick with knives won't work anymore."
"Marek!" The ground shook. Jutta stood twenty-five paces behind him. "I don't need tricks."
Marek turned and a gust of wind swept towards Jutta, who had sunk roots deep into the ground, anchoring her in place.
"Luka, get me that bottle in the wagon," I whispered.
"You're not going to—"
"Quickly. You don't want to see people hurt. Quickly," I repeated, and gave him a shove in the direction of our wagon. "Hurry."
As Marek turned, Arkady threw three knives, one after another at him. He laughed as the knives spun away and a blast of wind swept across the wagons and us. Fortunately, Jutta caused the ground to ripple and most of the force was directed skyward. He turned back to Jutta and the wind intensified, causing several trees behind her to be uprooted. Watching, I thought the Wind Wizard's control was erratic and wondered if the yellow-robes had him under the control of the Passion drug. That would explain this encounter. Pedro had been working on him to attack the gypsies, but his death and failure to get him another dose had made Marek desperate. Remembering Pedro's claims, he had sought out the gypsies. Luka appeared just as Marek turned back to us and the wind began to pick up.
"Marek, I have it," I said, waving it in the air. "But the wind is going to knock it out of my hand. Be a shame to break it." I almost laughed as the wind stopped, and Marek stood weaving slightly. The only wind that remained was that circulating around him for his protection.
"Give it to me, and I'll leave." He smiled. I knew the minute he had it, he would destroy the wagon and kill every gypsy he could.
"I've been saving it for you—"
"Ryana, you can't," Luka shouted.
"Here," I shouted as I heaved it into the air. Marek's eyes shot skyward as the bottle rose. But it was clear that the bottle would only make it halfway to Marek and would be smashed on the ground unless he moved to catch it. The winds stopped as his gaze locked on the precious vial. He lunged.
My knife flew. Even if he saw the knife, he would have had to let the bottle be smashed to protect himself. A te
rrible decision for an addict. But that bottle was all that existed, and I doubt he ever saw the knife. My knife hit a second after an arrow buried itself into Marek's chest. He stumbled back a step, probably already dead, as another hit a finger's width from the first. He hit the ground. The bottle exploded into a shower of red.
As everyone stood stunned, Fayza strode out of the forest, bow in hand.
"Thank you, Ryana. That was well done." I could almost feel her smile as she began weaving a plausible story.
"Why, Shadow?" Santo asked the question on everyone’s mind.
"An interesting story. Perhaps if we could have something to drink." That sparked a lot of activity, and it wasn’t long before a fire was going and a variety of drinks appeared. The gypsies loved stories especially at a gathering. When everyone had a drink and quiet descended upon the group, Fayza began.
"Someone used the Passion drug to get Wizard Marek, a Wind Wizard, addicted and under their control. We believe it might have been the yellow-robes in Tuska. So when they attempt to catch you in Tuska and the Zunji stopped them on their land, they convinced Marek that you gypsies had stolen their supply of the Passion drug. The Earth Wizards learned that Marek was after you, and they contacted me. I arranged with Ryana to pretend to have had a bottle of the Passion nectar. We hoped the wizard would do what he did—drop his protective wind." Fayza, now well into her story, answered questions and went back and elaborated on some parts of the story which couldn't be verified. Sister Rong would have been impressed. As a good story—lie—should, Fayza stayed close to the facts so that it was easy to remember and somewhat verifiable if someone checked later on. I sat enjoying the moment, leaning against Luka. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, watching one of my sisters applying her Shadow skills, as he pulled me close. His warmth soaked through.
Jutta was good too, picking up on Fayza’s story and filling in the Earth Wizards’ part. With Fayza and clan around me and in the shelter of Luka’s arms, I felt warm and safe in the shadow of my Sisters.
