The Last Mayor's Son

by Leslie E Heath

  As they headed upstairs to bed for the night, Valasa caught Aibek in a brief hug. “Your parents are so incredibly proud of you,” he whispered and walked away down the hall.

  The new mayor, dumbfounded, wondered what his host meant. A heavy ache settled in his chest as he considered the Gadonu’s words. His parents had been dead for twenty years. Surely Valasa meant his parents would have been proud? Aibek pressed his fingers to his temples for a moment and took a deep, calming breath.

  What a crazy day, he thought.

  He drifted slowly to his room and prepared for bed in a fog. What an overwhelming day! He replayed the entirety of it in his head before falling into welcome oblivion.

  ~*~

  Aibek woke the next morning to the sound of birds singing. He sat up, realizing with a shock that he had overslept. The stress of the election must have worn him out. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and nearly jumped out of his skin when he came face to face with all of the members of the new council, as well as Faruz and Serik.

  He glanced frantically from face to face, stopping when he got to the only female in the room. He needed a moment alone to tend to his morning business, but he wasn’t sure how to ask the others politely to step out. Grateful that he had never slept in the nude, he jumped up and hurried to the small dressing room adjacent to his bedroom. As he dressed and prepared to face the assembled council, he silently grumbled to himself about the unconventional meeting in his bedchamber.

  I have a sitting room, he thought, why aren’t they waiting in my sitting room?

  Through the closed door, he heard the unmistakable sound of laughter, Faruz’s chortle was the loudest, but he could distinguish several individual voices.

  They all think this is funny! Is this some kind of joke? Have I been had?

  He wasn’t sure, but he tried to find some humor in the situation.

  He must have looked like a total mess with his rumpled hair and wrinkled pajamas. He looked down and realized his pants were inside out. The more he thought about it, the funnier the whole thing was, and before he left the dressing room, he was laughing along with the others.

  When he reentered his bedroom, Aibek found it empty. The whole group had withdrawn to the sitting room.

  It was definitely a joke, then.

  Still chuckling, he followed them and lowered himself into his favorite chair.

  “So glad you decided to join us,” Faruz greeted him with a laugh. “We were starting to wonder if you were going to get up at all.”

  Aibek laughed along and replied, “You got me. Whose idea was this?”

  Wayra struggled to control a smile. “We didn’t really come here to play tricks on you.”

  Dalan handed the new mayor a muffin and said, “We thought we’d get an early start and have a breakfast meeting. We didn’t think you’d still be in bed.”

  “But since you were,” Faruz interrupted, “It seemed like the perfect way to start your life as a mayor.” He erupted again into fits of laughter and tears streamed down his scarlet cheeks.

  Aibek smiled and poured himself a mug of famanc. Though he wouldn’t have chosen it, he appreciated the unconventional start to the day. He smiled, enjoying the time gathered with the council for the first time without the anxiety that would have flared before a planned meeting. He sipped his drink and realized that he liked these folks, maybe even more than some of his friends in Xona.

  ~*~

  The council agreed to meet every morning until they had a plan in place. They gathered in the Meeting Hall. The first day, a few dozen villagers followed them in and seated themselves in the first rows of chairs. At first, the new council worked on getting to get to know each other and developing a structure for meetings, as well as discussing how to fortify the village against attack. They had to learn how to manage the business of the village, and they spent a great deal of time debating the particulars. Valasa’s experience and advice were invaluable as they learned the requirements and traditions surrounding the council. The spectators sat silently watching throughout the discussion and debate.

  At the beginning of the second meeting, Alija said, “We have all the time in the world to figure out how to run the town, but probably not much time to come up with a plan to defeat Helak. I think we should make that our priority.”

  The others agreed and looked to Aibek. He smiled self-consciously and pondered how to fortify the town. Even though the locals insisted on calling this place a village, he couldn’t reconcile that word in his mind. It was too big to be a village.

  “Could we have the blacksmiths put spikes along the rails? That would make it harder for enemy soldiers to climb over. They’ll likely use grappling hooks to scale the sides.”

  Alija eagerly agreed. “That sounds like it would work. I’ll talk to my uncle tonight and see if he thinks it’s feasible. He’s one of the blacksmiths.”

  Aibek tried to consider how the enemy would attack this unusually placed town. They wouldn’t be able to use a trebuchet in the confines of the forest, so they’d have to find other ways to climb onto the boardwalk.

  “What if they try to climb the trees?” he asked. “Could we somehow put spikes on the bottom of the trees to stop climbers?”

  Wayra shook his head. “How would we do that without damaging the trees? We can’t harm the shadow trees, even to defend ourselves.”

  Aibek agreed at once. “We’ll have to think how to do it safely. What about digging a trench around the perimeter of town?”

  “Have you ever tried to dig a hole in the woods?” Zifa asked flatly. “It’s nearly impossible. You can’t dig even the depth of a hand without hitting tree roots.”

  “Oh. I guess that won’t work then. Does anyone else have any suggestions?”

  They all stared at him silently.

  All right, I’ll have to work on this on my own. Faruz might have some ideas, too.

  They adjourned the meeting for lunch soon after that exchange. The council had formulated a lot of questions, but Aibek didn’t think they had nearly enough answers. He wished the villagers who had come to watch the meeting would join the discussion. Surely some of them had some good ideas.

  ~*~

  About a week after their first meeting, Aibek awoke to a dizzy nausea that sent him running for the washbasin in his dressing room. He retched until he was sure he’d lost everything he’d eaten the day before. His head felt like the carpenters had used it for practice pounding nails. He dragged himself back to his bedroom, longing for some fresh water to rinse the awful taste from his mouth. His skin burned. He pulled off his nightshirt and gasped at the blisters covering his entire body.

  A moment later, Serik backed into the room carrying their breakfast tray. His eyes widened when he noticed Aibek’s shirtless appearance.

  “What happened? What are those from?” He asked, pointing to the angry-looking blisters.

  Aibek slowly shook his head. “I have no idea. I feel awful. Do you think Valasa’s awake yet?”

  “I’ll get him,” Serik answered. He plunked down the tray and swept out of the room.

  Aibek crawled back into bed and tossed from side to side, trying to find a comfortable position. He gave up after a short while and moved to his sitting room. Dropping into a chair, he examined the sores on his arms and hands. They had spread even more since he’d been in bed. What were they? It didn’t look like any disease he’d ever seen, and he didn’t think he had a fever.

  Eventually, Serik returned with Valasa in tow. The Gadonu gaped, knelt in front of Aibek, and examined the blisters and welts. He stood and scanned the room.

  “Were you in the forest yesterday?”

  Aibek shook his head. “No, I haven’t been on the ground in nearly a week. Why?”

  “This looks like a reaction to atpyrum, a poisonous plant. I haven’t seen any in quite some time,” Valasa said.

  “Open your mouth,” the healer demanded suddenly. Aibek frowned and glanced toward Serik, who nodded slightl
y. Aibek opened his mouth and tried not to breathe as his friend moved closer to his face. He knew his breath smelled terrible after his bout of illness earlier. Valasa turned Aibek’s face toward the light and peered into his mouth. Aibek wondered what the man could be looking for.

  “Do you feel anything besides the rash?” Valasa asked quietly. “Any dizziness or headache or cough?”

  Aibek nodded. “I threw up earlier. Now I have a bit of a headache, and I feel a little weak, but I don’t have a cough or any dizziness.” He still had a sick feeling in his stomach, but he wasn’t sure if that was a reaction to the worried look on Valasa’s face or an effect of the plant.

  Before the healer could respond, a young servant girl burst through the door. “Mister Valasa, come quickly! Mister Faruz is very sick!” Her eyes widened as she took in Aibek’s shirtless form on the chair. “Oh, no! Is it contagious?” She turned to Valasa.

  “No, it isn’t contagious. Let’s go see Faruz. Serik, come with me. I think I’ll need your help treating these two.”

  Aibek dozed in the chair while he waited for Valasa to return. While he hovered in that place between sleep and wakefulness, Valasa’s words swirled in his head. How had he come into contact with a poisonous plant? He’d spent most of the past several days meeting with the new council, and he’d spent the evenings training in the park. None of his friends had been on the ground since before the town meeting.

  The door flung open, and Aibek sat up with a start. Valasa strode into the room carrying a selection of bottles and vials, followed by Serik, who brought a tray loaded with a pitcher, bowl, and towels.

  Valasa pressed a small vial into Aibek’s hand. “Here, drink this.”

  Aibek poured the contents of the vial into his mouth and forced himself to swallow the bitter liquid. He gagged on the foul taste, and Serik rushed to hand him a cup of water.

  Valasa wet a rag and patted the blisters on Aibek’s arms. “I’m not sure how this happened, but all the council members are suffering from the same malady this morning. Where have you been going to train after your meetings?”

  Aibek made a face. The tincture Valasa dabbed on his arms stung. He felt as if he’d stepped too close to Noral’s forge and been burned. He brought his mind back to the question at hand. “The same park we’ve always used. The one over by the big cisterns.”

  “Hmm,” Valasa mumbled something unintelligible and dabbed cold ointment on the blisters on Aibek’s chest.

  Serik stepped forward and handed a small bottle to Valasa. “Do you suppose this could have something to do with that note you received the night of the banquet, my lord?”

  “What note?” Aibek asked, his head swimming from the burn of Valasa’s treatment. Then he remembered. He’d tucked it into a drawer in his sitting room and forgotten it—and the warning it contained. So much had happened since that night.

  He leaned over, opened the drawer on the small table near his chair and found what he was looking for. Aibek carefully unfolded the missive and handed it to Valasa.

  “Yes, this does make more sense now. Someone must’ve poisoned you. But who? I don’t know of anyone who was unhappy to learn of Tavan’s death.”

  Aibek slowly shook his head, struggling to concentrate over the burning in his skin and the waves of nausea the vile tincture he’d drunk had caused. “If I were going to poison someone, I’d want to do more than just cause a rash, even if it is an awful one.”

  Serik gave a short, humorless laugh. “This poison will do much worse than give you a rash, my lord. If it gets into your airway or your blood, it can kill you.”

  “Oh,” Aibek grunted as he clenched his teeth against another stinging application. The strong fumes of whatever ointment Valasa was rubbing over his blisters made Aibek’s head swim. “How’s Faruz?” He struggled to overcome the dizziness.

  “He didn’t get it nearly as bad as you,” Valasa said gravely. “Once I have you cleaned up, I’ll go see the others. We still need to figure out how someone could have gotten this all over you. It’s the plant’s oils that are poisonous. Most people only get a spot or two on their legs or arms when they touch the plant by accident.”

  Aibek’s face twisted in confusion. “But it’s all over me.”

  Valasa agreed, “Yes, it is. I think that does it. Where were you when you first felt the itch?”

  Aibek stood and stretched as Valasa and Serik gathered up the used cloths and piled them onto the tray.

  “I felt fine when I went to bed last night. I didn’t notice anything until I woke up this morning.” Aibek gestured to the bed, then looked to Valasa in horror. Now that the room the morning sun streaming through the windows lit the room, he could see oily streaks all over the sheets. Serik picked up Aibek’s nightshirt from the floor and held it to the light. The oil covered the shirt, too.

  ~*~

  It took two days of Valasa’s careful treatments to restore Aibek to his usual perfect health. Once he felt better, he went to check on each of his friends. Thankfully, they were all doing quite well. Only Alija was still recovering. He’d received the largest dose of the poison and would need at least another day before he could leave his home.

  During his visits with the council members, Aibek learned that each had been poisoned the same way—with dangerous oils in their bedsheets and clothes.

  Aibek found Valasa in his workroom and hesitated at the door until the Gadonu waved him in. He’d never been in this room before, but now wasn’t the time for gawking. Aibek walked the short distance to the desk and seated himself across the table from his host. Valasa had papers strewn over the surface but looked up as Aibek spoke.

  “Do you have any ideas? Who could have done this?”

  “I don’t have a name yet, but I’m nearly certain this came from the washhouse. All the homes near the square send their linens to the laundry on the same day.” Valasa peered down at a sheet of paper on the table and sighed. “The real question is how the individual managed to poison only the council members, without any other members of the households getting sick.”

  “Who’s responsible for putting the sheets back on the beds after washing?”

  Valasa didn’t answer immediately. He shuffled some of the papers into a stack and placed the note from the night of the banquet on top. Finally, he said, “That’s the question I’ve been trying to answer. Normally, the maids make the beds and put away the clean clothes.” He frowned and moved another paper to the top of the stack. “This time, the washwoman told the housekeeper she had scented your sheets to make you feel welcome and asked to make the beds of the council members personally. I’m not sure why she included Faruz, except that he’s your friend and spends time with the council.”

  “So we have our culprit, then,” Aibek’s face showed his relief. “We just have to figure out who the woman is, and that shouldn’t be too difficult.”

  “Well, it’s not quite that simple.” Valasa shuffled more papers onto his growing pile. “There are dozens of women involved in washing the linens, and we don’t know for sure that the person who delivered them is the person who poisoned them. Still, we need to figure out who was behind this.”

  11

  Fishing

  Tamyr watched quietly while her pretty friend paced in the courtyard behind the washhouse.

  “This was the best you could come up with? Poison ivy in their sheets?” The woman screeched at her.

  “It was atpyrum, not poison ivy. It’s much more dangerous and should have been deadly in that dose. Besides, what did you want me to do? I’m a washwoman. My best chance to kill them is to poison their clothes. I’m not important enough to be able to get close enough to them to try anything else.”

  “Well, it’s only a matter of time before they come here asking questions. Are you sure none of the others will talk?”

  “They’ve all sworn to keep our secret.” Tamyr wasn’t sure of all the women, of course. She feared some would be quite open to spilling what they knew in exchange fo
r a bribe.

  She was starting to doubt the wisdom of helping her young friend. Even if they did succeed in killing off the leaders, the town would elect new ones. What did her friend hope to gain? Tamyr wished she’d thought of this before she’d agreed to this crazy scheme.

  How can I back out now?

  ~*~

  The next day, the council met again. They agreed they should stick to their pattern of daily meetings until they had some firm answers. They’d kept the poisonings quiet, so only their closest friends and families knew what had happened. It would be better not to announce that they were at risk until they identified the culprit.

  Between meetings, Aibek and Faruz spent a great deal of time mingling with the people of the village. When they weren’t working to learn all they could about their new home and its people, the two friends spent their days practicing their fencing and fighting skills with Dalan and his friends. On a couple of notable occasions, they also helped Ahren, Zifa and some of their friends improve their technique. The days felt surreal to Aibek, who hadn’t expected to enjoy forest life so much, even though he was much more careful after the poisoning.

  One afternoon, while the others squared off in a practice match, Wayra and Dalan told Aibek about an upcoming wedding.

  “We’ll need a group of eight or ten people to go fishing for the wedding feast,” Dalan said. “We’d love for you and Faruz to come along.”

  “We only get to eat fish for special occasions,” Wayra explained. “It’s just too hard to catch enough fish for everyone more often than that.”

  “Of course,” Aibek said, grinning. “I’d love to go along. I know Faruz will, too. When should we go?”

  “Tomorrow?” Wayra said.