by Stuart Jaffe
“Soralia,” Shual snapped, and the lady raised her head, smiled at Canto, and tapped the brim of her hat.
Though he had removed his hat, Canto mimed the gesture in return, and then faced the crowd. “My friends, Shual is a wise man and deserves our respect. I have no doubt that he labored long and weighed many tough thoughts on what to do with these thieves. I have not had the same luxury of time, but I do believe that there are better ways to handle this problem, ways that will not put our families at risk the way Shual’s plan will do.”
Shual puffed up his old chest. “My plan protects us all. It disposes of the problem immediately. No problem means no threat.”
“All here know I have no desire to argue with you,” Canto said, placing his hand on Shual’s shoulder in a sincere, nonpolitical gesture. “But you know that I respect you too greatly to lie when I do not agree. Please, listen to what I have to say. Then make your judgment.”
Shual placed his hand on his stomach and backed off. The audience’s held breath released, and Canto received even greater attention than before.
Canto stood firm in the center of the stage. “What Shual has told you all is true — Pali guides us to be simple in our approach to problems. But of the three Great Islands, ours is not named Pali. We live on Carsite. And from Carsite’s part of the story, we can learn even more. When Carsite first saw Pali in the market, when his heart instantly tied to hers, he knew no other would be for him. But, of course, this held true for his brother, Scarite, who had seen Pali at the same time. Scarite was the first to do wrong when he lied to Carsite. A minor act, but one that led to such tragedy. And here, my friends, is where we must focus. For had Carsite realized that to act as he did, to attack Scarite back, would only make the matter worse and turn his brother into his enemy, then perhaps the story would have ended differently.
“We have the chance here, now, to do better than our namesake. We Carsites must not destroy these new faces. For they are not alone. They came from somewhere, and in that place more of their kind will live. Any action we take must keep in mind that these unseen people will react, one way or another, to what we do. Punish the thieves, surely, but make them allies not enemies.” He paused and made eye contact with several of the closest in the audience. With a casual gesture, he added, “Surely, the Scarites are enemy enough.”
The crowd began talking heavily amongst themselves as Canto stepped back. With a flourish of his hand, he gestured to Shual that he had finished speaking, but Shual did not step forward. His face had screwed tight in thought.
He’s seriously considering the counter-argument. Amazing.
Malja watched a few moments longer but nothing changed. The crowd continued their discussions, Canto continued to wait patiently, and Shual continued to think. For Malja, there was no longer a need to think. These people were thoughtful, careful, and serious. Perhaps she could save Fawbry and Tommy without bloodshed.
With a spin of Viper, she returned the blade to its sheath on her back and walked down the stairs to the bottom floor. The shocked faces that stared at her mingled fear with disbelief. Not quite the reaction she had expected, but good enough.
They parted before her, creating a path straight to Shual on the stage. Fawbry’s eyes brightened when he saw her, and Tommy smiled. Shual, however, gaped as if Malja stood twenty feet tall and breathed fire.
Moving far faster than Malja thought possible of the old man, Shual dropped to his knees and lowered his head to the stage. Canto’s shocked eyes darted from Shual to Malja, then his face opened in startled understanding. He, too, dropped to the stage.
With that, every man, woman, and child fell to their knees and bowed their head to the floor. Malja looked to Tommy and Fawbry. They shrugged. But Fawbry smiled.
Chapter 2
Javery
Javery clutched Druzane’s full breasts, tightening his bony fingers until she winced. Then he buried his scruffy mouth between them as he plunged deeper inside her. Having sex was nothing new, but something about Druzane ignited a raging animal within him. Each time they engaged in a kiss, he promised himself that he would not rush things, that he would be passionate and loving, romantic and caring. Yet in mere seconds, he jumped upon her, smelled her earthy skin, tasted her salty sweat, and wanted to devour her. And whenever she grappled back, taking from him as much as he sought to take from her, they both became sweating, panting, lustful animals.
She rolled him over fast, and he whipped out his hand to stop them from going too far. They were atop a thirty-five foot high, eight foot wide structure he called a Waypoint. Huge prongs of rock surrounded them like enormous, stone fingers pointing to the sky at every angle. If they fell, they would be severely injured, at best, and no amount of yelling for help would work — they were three miles from town.
Druzane straddled him, her robes rolled around her hips. She reached down, placed him inside her again, and arched back, her breasts taking in the sun like a golden statue of Pali. “Sometimes I think if we keep doing this, they’ll be nothing left of me.” It was a common enough bedroom expression, but from her mouth, the words sounded sincere.
Javery rested his hands on her thighs and stopped her from moving. Lucky barely described how she made him feel. He had no illusions about himself. His nose poked out too far, and despite the mounds of food his mother had provided over the years, he could not eat enough to bulk up his skeletal body. Yet an astonishing woman rode him. A cool breeze prickled their skin. “You are a phenomenal work of art.”
“You’re only saying that because I control every important inch of you. You’ll forget all about me being so wonderful in a few minutes.”
“Minutes? I planned to do this for at least another hour.”
Druzane laughed — a hearty, healthy sound. “You’re a bold man, my dear, sweet Jave. And that’s the best thing of all. It takes a bold man to accomplish what you’ve set out to do.”
He tried not to look irritated. He understood why she felt so insecure. But it had become a tiresome duty to constantly be reassuring her of their future together.
She must have seen it on his face. “I’m sorry,” she said while she raised and lowered her hips a few incredible times. “I know I can be a foolish, little girl at times. It’s so amazing, though. Please tell me it all again.” She pressed hard against him, and he let out a groan. “Tell me all about the Waypoints and how they will make us never have to worry in life.”
Javery reached for her breasts again. “Let’s finish this first.”
Slapping his hands away, Druzane put on a cute pout. “Tell me what I need to hear, or you’ll have to finish this on your own.”
“Okay. You make the rules.”
“That’s right. So start talking.”
He chuckled. Talking about his ambitions heightened her sexual experience, while talking about work prolonged his. He patted the structure below him. “This simple thing is going to change all the lives of our people. Since magic was discovered, we’ve used it for such simple things, and nobody has really experimented to see what we could accomplish from the Great Well.”
“But you’re going to.”
“I already have. Look over the right side. That half-circle of metal sticking out is the key. I’ve infused it with magic, but instead of using the magic to cause it to float, I’ve done something different.”
“I know you have.” She started to rise and fall again, letting out her own groan of pleasure.
“When a similar piece of metal goes by, the Waypoint arm repels it and shoves it on at a very fast rate. Put another Waypoint down the line, and another and another.” She moved faster now, letting him guide her pace as his own excitement grew. He went on, “Build enough Waypoints and we can move people and supplies from town to town in hours instead of days.”
“And that’ll make you rich.”
“Very rich. And respected. The leader of our town.”
“As it should be.”
Javery smiled at her ambition as
naked as her body. For the next two minutes neither one spoke, though they made plenty of noise. When they had finished, Druzane brushed her lips against his, and with gentle grace, rose from him.
She stepped to the corner of the tall Waypoint, the breeze playing with her hair. “It’s a shame you don’t get the credit you deserve. He doesn’t appreciate you as he should.”
Rolling to his stomach and letting his right leg dangle over the ledge, Javery sighed. “He never has.” Even as a boy, Javery never received interest from Shual. Javery had “discovered” that the ground contained crawling and slithering creatures, or he “discovered” that water transformed dry, solid dirt into slippery mud, but Shual had no time to bother with childish whimsy.
Except the point had never been the discovery. The point was simply that he had attempted to understand the world around him, that he was learning how to think. All Shual cared about was the gods and taking care of the town.
Noble enough, but he failed. The gods had never helped, and the people suffered at the hands of the vile Scarites. The old man might as well have invited the Pali Witch to join them for all the good he had done.
“At least, you have your sister.” Druzane pulled up her robes and combed her fingers through her hair. “I swear, since the day Canto asked to marry her, Soralia’s been more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her.”
The Waypoint would change everything. Javery envisioned long caravans riding his Waypoints to bring the Carsites closer together. They would be able to traverse the difficult rock-strewn landscape with ease. They could help each other as never before. Should a town on the other side of the land suffer a drought, they could send people and aid. Should a town far to the north flood in the summer melting, they could evacuate the townspeople and bring them to safety. All with his fast, safe Waypoints.
“Canto and Soralia. It’s all I’ve heard for months,” Druzane went on. “And now, with the wedding in only a few days, you can’t escape it. Must be driving you crazy having to sit at a family table when it’s always wedding, wedding, wedding. Still, when it’s my wedding, I’ll make sure the entire town speaks of nothing else. And it’ll be such a thrilling day, that they’ll go on talking about it for years to come.”
Best of all about his Waypoints — Javery knew that this grand project, when completed, would end the war with the Scarites. The enemy would lose their numerical advantage once the Carsites could easily and speedily pool their forces. Javery’s idea for better transport would literally bring about peace.
He stared at the metal arm that one day would save them all — beautiful. His eyes roved up the jagged land. On a hill in the distance, amongst the nine foot rocks piercing from the ground, he could see the silhouette of the next Waypoint under construction. If only he could convince Shual to believe in the project, they would have ten times the manpower and the path across the country would be built in a year at most, instead of the four years he expected the project to take.
“Jave, you’re not even listening.” Druzane huffed and crossed her arms.
Javery stretched his arms and stood. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”
“I was saying how there are stages in life and that most people our age are entering that stage when people get married.”
Over Druzane’s shoulder, Javery noticed an object in the sky zipping towards them. “Right,” he said, not even hearing his own words. “Marriage.”
“It’s especially important for those who want to run the town, who want to build bold projects, and change lives. They need the strength of a marriage.”
“Strength is important.” The object grew larger. Javery swore it looked like a child barely able to control an autofly.
“So, you see my point. You have a lot to accomplish in the coming years, and you can’t afford to be distracted by the nonsense of courting. You need a good woman by your side.”
The autofly swept by them, and the child driving the vehicle shouted Javery’s name. “Come on,” Javery said, and climbed down the ladder on the side of the Waypoint.
“Jave, we have to finish our talk. Forget the boy. Jave!”
The autofly circled back and braked hard before setting to the ground. Javery put out a hand to hold the dish-shaped two-seater in place lest it flip over. The boy looked terrified.
“What’s wrong?” Javery asked.
“You’ve got to come to the Assembly Hall quick.”
“Shual sent you? You tell him I heard the Summoning Horn and I’m not interested. My Waypoint project is far more —”
“But we’ve caught a god!”
Chapter 3
Malja
They remained with their heads to the floor. Malja walked towards Shual, trying hard to relax her face, to appear non-threatening. A glance at Fawbry, who kept making an exaggerated smile, suggested she had failed.
“Shual,” she said, and gasps flowed through the hall. Over her shoulder, she said, “I heard his name when you announced him.” The old man lifted his head. Malja opened her hands. “I am nothing more than a traveler. And these two are my companions. Please, forgive them for taking what did not belong to them. They know better, and I assure you, I will see to it that they are punished.”
More gasps and shocked breaths erupted behind her. The old man lowered his head and remained stationary. She moved towards Tommy, but the two guards popped to their feet, blocking her way.
She pointed to Canto. “You. You’re the reason I’ve approached this way.” Canto tried to hide his embarrassment by lowering his face closer to the stage. “I could have burst in here, taken my friends, and forced my way out. Believe me, I’ve dealt with far stronger foes than a crowd of farmers. But your words made me think we could solve this peacefully. And I’m trying hard to take that route when possible.”
Canto exchanged looks with Shual. The old man shook his head slightly, but Canto appeared dissatisfied with this. He licked his lips and stood.
Shouts of disbelief grew from the crowd. When Malja looked back, they all dropped to the floor again. This time she even heard a few whimpers. Canto stood strong, breathing hard, swallowing against his dry fear. While avoiding eye contact with her, he crossed the stage, grabbed one of the empty chairs, and dragged it back. He took a deep breath and raised his head.
“Please,” he said, a slight crackle in his voice, and he gestured to the chair.
Malja paused, then nodded. Still more surprised noises rolled in from the crowd. Malja sat on the left corner of the chair, keeping her legs wide apart. She planted her left leg back so that at any moment, she could push off and straight into a forceful attack.
Canto raised a hand to quiet down the people. When he turned his head toward her, Malja saw his bottom lip quiver. “You and your friends ... you say you’re travelers. Where did you come from?”
How much to tell? Malja opened her mouth, hesitated, and saw in Canto’s eyes that taking too long to think over her answers would be a mistake. “Far away. From a land you’ve never discovered.”
Nodding as if he expected the answer, Canto put his hands on his hips. “How long have you been here?”
“About fourteen days.”
His lips curled up slightly, his eyes narrowed. Like Canto, the crowd had recovered from their earlier shocks. They listened closely to every question, every answer, as if they were judges hearing arguments over a complex situation.
“Fourteen days,” Canto said. “And where have you been all this time?”
“We camped in the woods below — the ones your Assembly Hall are anchored to.”
“And for fourteen days you watched us, learned about us, yet kept your distance. Until you decided to steal from us.”
“That was a mistake of my friends. Especially the one in the colorful coat.” Fawbry’s head perked up, but Malja kept her eyes on Canto. “Please understand that where we come from, apples are a rare treat. Many of the trees that grow fruit are hard to find. I’m sure my friends meant no harm and were only overco
me by the joy of seeing such unlimited bounty.”
“Not unlimited. We work hard to grow our food, to feed our families, to stay strong so that we may endure the winter.”
“Then my apologies are even greater. We never intended to bother you, and we certainly never intended to harm you.”
Canto’s eyes roamed the crowd as each of Malja’s answers lessened the tension in the hall. “Then explain to us all why you would come from so far away only to hide in the woods and not bother us? Why make the trip at all?”
“Because I’m searching for a man, and I believe he came through this way. We’ve been waiting in the woods until we could figure out where he went. Then we planned to leave. Had my friends not lost their minds over your apples, you would never have been bothered by us at all.”
Canto leaned over and stared straight at Malja. She held his gaze, and he scowled. His dark face filled her view, and she recognized the look in his eyes — she had seen it on the battlefield many times. Canto would be a capable opponent.
His mouth broke into a wide grin as he straightened. “I believe her,” he bellowed, and the crowd applauded.
Shual popped to his feet faster than Malja suspected the old man could move. He placed a hand on Canto’s shoulder and beamed at the big man. “Are there any final questions?” he asked, not even looking to the crowd for a response. “Then I think we can rule on this.”
From the back of the room, a voice called out. “I have a question — does she plan to kill us all?”
All focus turned to the man standing at the entrance. He had a hawkish nose and shaggy black hair, but despite his disheveled appearance, the crowd gave him deference.
Shual’s face dropped as if he smelled something unpleasant. “You are late. You have shown the town disrespect. Why should you be allowed a question?”
“Because when this creature was discovered and you fumbled around on this stage, the townspeople sent a brave boy to fetch me. Obviously, some in this room value my opinion.”
