~~~
I made my way down the stepped roof. At the end of the ledge, I took a moment to look back and instantly regretted it. Lo Bahn was right behind me. How he had managed to squeeze through that window, I couldn’t tell, and I wasn’t about to stop and ask. I leaped onto the next rooftop and slid down to the alley.
There was a man standing guard there—one of Lo Bahn’s. He looked up, startled, and I struck him on the jaw before he could react. The blow was strong enough to drive him back, giving me enough time to steal his sword. I sank it into his belly and pulled out. He watched me with eyes wide open and blood gurgling from his mouth, like he still wasn’t sure exactly what was happening. He took a step before falling face-down on the street.
“Woman!”
I turned. Lo Bahn was standing at the edge of the first rooftop. I could see confusion dancing in his eyes, but also a hint of merriment, like somebody watching a play and not knowing where the story was headed.
“That’s not my name,” I told him.
He smirked.
I heard the rest of his men hurtling after me on the street below. I tugged the dead man’s sword belt off and fled before they could reach me.
“You can’t escape forever!” Lo Bahn called. His voice was like the first crack of thunder before a storm.
Having the map in my pocket gave me confidence. I turned into the first alley and then immediately into the next, and then again in an effort to lose the men. At the end of one street, I stumbled onto a tunnel. Despite the torrent of rain, the rush of water was only knee-deep, which was not enough to obscure the small footpath on the side. I took my chances with it.
The footpath led to a series of damp, narrow steps. If not for the small holes near the tunnel ceiling, the entire sewer would’ve been obliterated in darkness. But I could still see far enough to know I wasn’t walking over the edge.
It was a very long sewer. Of all the cities in Jin-Sayeng, only Sutan and Shirrokaru employed such structures, and both were of Zarojo make. Unlike the ones in Jin-Sayeng, this tunnel—from the smell of it—seemed purely for storm water. I had heard that flooding could be a problem along the western coast, which explained the separation from the sewers carrying human waste. I wondered if such a system could be applied to the bigger cities back home. Oren-yaro, in particular, needed better facilities.
Although part of me thought it was ridiculous, thinking about city infrastructure was a calming exercise. For a time, I even forgot that I was being chased at all. I had to smile when I realized that; Rai would be so proud. I reached the end of the tunnel, which opened up to a part of the canal. The rush of clear water told me I wasn’t in Shang Azi anymore.
I took the first flight of stairs up to the street. It was broad daylight, and I hoped Lo Bahn’s men knew better than to try to nab me out here. I slowed to a walk and did my best to blend in with the crowd. As I lifted my eyes, I recognized the street and caught sight of Qun’s walled mansion amongst the array of smaller buildings. It stuck out like a blooded stallion in a farmer’s barn.
Something in me caved. I started walking towards it.
My intention was not to speak with Qun—far from it. But I needed to see the building, to ignite some spark of memory of the day before it all turned to shit. I think I needed to remember that I wasn’t always just this lost soul, fleeing from one thing after another. I was not Lo Bahn’s woman or that escaped whore…I was Talyien aren dar Orenar, Queen of Jin-Sayeng, daughter of Warlord Yeshin, wife of Rayyel Ikessar and mother of Thanh. I did not just dream these things—I had a life before all of these. I wanted nothing more than to return to it.
I stopped. A girl was sweeping the street right outside the gate. It was Kora. I felt my knees begin to shake. I croaked her name, and she turned to me.
“My queen,” she gasped. One hand on the broom, she dropped to the ground, her forehead scraping the dust. I pulled her up.
“I’m glad to see you safe,” I said. It felt good to speak in Jinan.
There were tears in her eyes. “They told me what happened. The poor magister! I can’t imagine how his wife will take it. I saw his body myself. I was so terrified for you, to think the same thing could’ve happened…”
Even though I saw Arro’s dead body myself, the confirmation still stung. I think a part of me still clung to the hope that I had been mistaken. I placed my hands on her shoulders. “Do you know what happened to everyone else? Do you know where Captain Nor is?”
She shook her head. “Captain Nor—I don’t know. I haven’t seen her, or the rest of the guards, since that afternoon, when you all left to meet King Rayyel.”
I bit back the inclination to correct her. “What else did they tell you?”
“That somebody tried to kill you, that Magister Arro was killed. That they think your entire guard betrayed you. Governor Zheshan paid them off. He took the king as hostage.”
I watched her as she spoke. “Deputy Qun told you all of this?”
“His wife,” Kora blurted out. “Right the next morning.”
“She seemed awfully sure,” I said.
Kora shook her head at the sound of my voice. “They’ve been looking for you that whole night. They’ve been nothing but kind to me, my queen. They told me—if I saw you, that is…please, come inside. They will help.” She tugged at my arm.
I looked down at her fingers and how they easily grasped my sleeve with such familiarity. You could’ve taken us for sisters, seeing us out there. Yet that same morning before the assassination attempt, she couldn’t even look at me when I spoke. I pulled away. “I have a place to stay,” I said. “I’ll be back.”
“My queen,” Kora said. “It’s not safe out there.”
“I’ve been out there for days. I think I’ll be fine.”
“My queen…”
“Do not tell them you saw me.” I watched her eyes flicker. Was that a bruise on her chin?
After a moment, she nodded. “I did not see you, my queen.” The Akkian accent was strong in her speech.
I stepped away from her and kept walking down the street.
Governor Zheshan…took the king as hostage.
I was not surprised to hear it. Rayyel was many things: intelligent, well-read, well-spoken—if somewhat absent-minded and straight to the point—but he was also gullible, and so awkward I had seen him bump into a wall trying to go through a doorway that could fit an elephant. He was the sort of man who couldn’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag, and to hear that he was alive was more than I had expected after days of uncertainty—the thought filled me with such relief that I could hardly breathe.
But the surge of hope was not quite enough to extinguish the fact that I was still in the middle of Anzhao City with no money and not a friend in sight. And also, Rayyel was a hostage, no longer this Governor Zheshan’s guest, which meant he was being held captive against his will. I could not allow such a blatant insult to Jin-Sayeng to go unpunished.
I found myself outside a scribe shop, wondering if someone would know of a way to send word to Jin-Sayeng. If I had a safe place to stay, I could maybe wait for the next ship heading for Jin-Sayeng and then scrape up enough to pay someone to bring a letter to Oka Shto. But the idea made me ill. The Singing Sainsa’s crew had betrayed me and they were all Jinsein. How could I expect more from a Zarojo crew?
I stopped at the next corner, remembering the map. I pulled it out and found what I had been looking at before Lo Bahn’s men interrupted me: Zorheng City. It was northeast of Anzhao City, along a path marked as “The Golden Road.” Arro had mentioned that Oren-yaro had a pact with Zorheng, the same way Anzhao City had made a pact with Shirrokaru.
My mind raced along what little I knew. I had studied the empire intensively, but you could not expect me to remember everything. I could not recall ever hearing of a Prince Yuebek until Arro’s words.
That by itself was not surprising. A fifth son would likely not gather the attention that a Crown Prince would. But there had bee
n a tilt in Arro’s voice when he had said the name, a distinct unwillingness to pursue the subject around Qun’s men. I should’ve asked him about it. There were a great many things I should have asked Arro over the decades, so many things left unsaid, and now he was gone. I never even knew the name of his wife.
I wasn’t going to let the same thing happen to Rai. Five years of regret has a funny way of fermenting inside someone—like wine, it had only gained potency over the years. There were many things that Rai and I did not see eye to eye with, but none of it warranted this. I would have never, in all my life, wished him pain. And I had not gone to the empire against my council’s wishes just so I could let some piss-faced Zarojo get the better of my husband.
I looked at the map and measured the length of The Golden Road from Anzhao to Zorheng with my thumb. I didn’t even have to convince myself I could make the journey. The anger did that for me.
Chapter Twelve
The Long Road to Zorheng
Later, relaying this story to people, most have one pressing question.
“He left you,” they would say. “You and your two-year-old son. What drove you to want to rescue such a man?”
Even now, it is not an easy question for me to answer. I hover between humour and honest truth, because it is difficult to get people to understand something they have not experienced themselves. Most agree that I should’ve stayed in Anzhao City and attempted to find passage back to Jin-Sayeng. There, I could’ve sent men to rescue Rayyel, saving me the trouble, saving the land from what would later transpire.
But you see, I didn’t know. I wasn’t born a seer. All I knew was that my son’s father was in danger, and that if I tried just hard enough, I could get him out of it.
I found myself wandering the marketplace for the next hour, trying to find transportation to Zorheng. The response was unexpected. No one would tell me why, but most of the wagon-drivers blatantly refused, even when I promised they would be well-compensated at the gates. One eventually agreed, but at four times the usual price. The glint in his eyes and the uneasy way he kept scratching his bare belly told me I would be found dead and naked at the roadside by the end of the day. I couldn’t walk away fast enough.
I paused between an outcrop of stalls to catch my breath and glanced out at the distance. The eastern gate wasn’t far from the marketplace. The road beckoned to me.
“Hey.”
I drew my sword and whirled around. Khine jumped to the side just as the blade flashed past him. I drew back. “I almost killed you!” I snapped.
“I didn’t know you were going to try!” Khine retorted. His face was red with exertion, as if he had been running.
“Why are you here?”
“Is that the thanks I get for fearing for your safety? I heard what Cho did and got to the house just as they arrived. They said you fled into the streets, so I went looking for you. I saw you go into the storm tunnel and followed.” He frowned and waved at the sword. “Can you put that thing away?”
After a moment, I sheathed the blade, but not without keeping my hand on the hilt. “Your brother betrayed me. Why should I trust you, too?”
“I should ask you the same thing,” he said. “I heard you killed one of Lo Bahn’s men. Anyone desperate enough would’ve, I guess, but when you just pulled that sword on me—you’re not a stranger to swordfighting, are you? You’ve been trained. You’re not just some housewife.”
I didn’t respond.
Khine took a deep breath. “I heard what the girl said. When she bowed to you out on the street.”
“You’ve been following me that long?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I wanted to see where you would go.”
“So you did,” I said. “And?”
“I’m not sure I believe it.” He swallowed. “Who are you, really?”
“You know my name.”
“Yes, but that’s not…” He scratched his cheek.
“Go home, Khine. I can take care of myself.”
He hesitated. “Come back with me. We can speak better indoors.”
“Why would I do that? Lo Bahn is waiting for me there.”
“We talked before I went after you. We have some time. He’ll want to talk again, but he promised he’ll listen. He promised he’ll give you a fair chance to earn back your debt. One that doesn’t involve…” He faltered, unsure of his own words.
I braced myself. “I can’t do that, Khine. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you try to stop me.”
Khine swallowed. I wondered if he was taking the threat seriously. “Where are you planning to go?” he asked.
I supposed it didn’t matter if I told him. “Zorheng City.”
His eyes widened. “Why?”
“I don’t have to explain to you.” I started walking towards the gate. I heard him curse under his breath.
“For my family’s sake, please, Tali…”
I ignored him. He continued to follow me, although he kept his mouth shut. Eventually, the rigid silence began to grate at me, and I turned to him with a snarl. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t show my face there without you,” he said.
“Why not?”
Khine didn’t reply. For the entirety of the walk to the eastern gate, he remained at my heels like a damned dog who couldn’t tell he wasn’t wanted. I didn’t know how to make him go away. Creating an uproar might only bring the city watch running to us and the last thing I wanted was more attention.
“Do you know how long it will take us to walk to Zorheng?” he asked, not long after we reached the dusty road. The crowded city was fading fast behind us. Ahead, I could see nothing beyond dead grass and stunted trees.
“The map…” I began.
“Forget the map.” He folded his arms and stepped towards me. It made me realize that up until then, he had been expecting me to turn back. “You’ve got no money, no supplies. There’s bandits all over those parts.”
“I think I can handle a few bandits.”
“You think this is a game? A story?” He started to reach for my shoulder and froze about a moment before he touched it. The expression on his face was conflicted, although I couldn’t see what for. Did he find me disturbed? Was he really concerned, or was I making a muck out of one of his well-plotted plans? “Let me help you,” he said. He curled the fingers that hovered over my skin.
I realized, at that moment, that he believed I was—if not truly a queen, then at least somebody important. Only the familiarity of the last few days made it possible for him to talk to me in such a tone. Or maybe he was just that sort of person, one who remained unimpressed by titles. “This isn’t about me,” I said.
He looked at me, breathing. Waiting.
“My husband’s in trouble,” I continued. “I’ve been told that someone in Zorheng City may help.”
“Whoever told you that was lying,” he said. “You might as well just fall on that sword now and save us the trouble. I’ve told you the road is dangerous. Zorheng City itself—it’s like a thousand Shang Azis put together. No one is worth going all the way to Zorheng City for.”
“Rai is,” I said in a low voice.
“You said he left you. Is this about getting him back?”
I snorted. “I’ve lived without the man for five years. No. This is about saving his life.”
A pony and a rider galloped past us in a flurry of dust and hooves. I wondered if they were headed for Zorheng. “Rai,” Khine said. “Rayyel.”
I nodded.
“Dragonlord of Jin-Sayeng. And you’re Queen Talyien, the first of that title in all of Jinsein history.”
“Do you think I’m lying?”
“No. I just…” He swallowed. “Tell me what happened to you. From the beginning.”
“And I suppose I owe you that information for saving my life.”
“I didn’t save your life,” he pointed out. “You did tell me you were doing just fine before I arrived.”
“I…”
“I am grateful for what you’ve done for me, Khine, but get one thing straight,” I replied. “We’re not friends.”
His face fell. I had never before seen anyone look so hurt in response to something I said that I kept my mouth shut after that, and let him continue to walk beside me without another word. If he was trying to fool me into feeling bad for him, then he was doing a damn fine job. I almost wished he was the sort of person who was clearer about his intentions, like Lo Bahn and Ziori. Then I could’ve killed him and be done with it.
~~~
We saw burning buildings about an hour into the road.
Khine hurtled over the fence like a man possessed, rushing through squawking ducks and barking dogs to stop in front of a farmhouse. Flames licked around its roof, filling the air with thick, black smoke. I turned up the path to walk towards him before I saw two men emerge from behind a shed.
They did not look like farmers. One had an eye patch and thin, bristly hair covering a sweaty head. The other was clothed in tattered robes, the sort that looked like it hadn’t seen a laundry basin in years. Both had bare blades in their belts.
I drew my sword, which caused a burst of laughter from Eye Patch. I lunged before he could do anything else. The movement caught him by surprise. He was on the ground, bleeding from a cut on his knee, a moment later.
“Fucking bitch!” Dirty Robe cried, reaching for me. From the corner of my eyes, I saw his friends emerge from the blazing farmhouse. I pulled myself behind the gate pillar, hoping they were all incompetent swordsmen.
“Jiro Kaz!” Khine called out.
I saw the men stiffen at the sound of his voice. One, taller than the others, broke into a grin. “Tashi Lamang,” he said, opening his arms. He grabbed Khine and enveloped him in the fiercest embrace I had ever seen.
Khine pulled away. He had that same expression on his face, the one I had seen at Lo Bahn’s gambling hall. “It’s been too long, Jiro,” Khine said. Despite his light tone, his jaw was tightened. “What’s this all about? Have you gone and killed Farmer Bhat Lee?”
The Wolf of Oren-yaro (Annals of the Bitch Queen Book 1) Page 18
