The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence

by Storm Constantine

  The movement of his arm became hypnotic. He could not stop. It felt as if his whole essence was being tugged into the whirlpool of air, and he would disappear from this world. Where would he go then?

  A hand folded over his own. Warm fingers clasped his frozen ones. ‘Be still, Darq.’

  Now Darq could barely move; he was frozen into place. ‘Zu,’ he said. ‘Is that you?’

  A tall figure glided in front of him. It looked har, very beautiful, clad in close-fitting yet draped clothes of pale fabric, long white hair hanging over the chest. His face was quite long and the eyes slightly slanted, though not as much as Ookami’s were. Darq knew those eyes were blue, but in the dark they looked black. ‘Is that what you call me?’ Zu said. ‘Why have you brought me to this place? Your need is very strong.’

  ‘Tell me who I am,’ Darq said.

  ‘You are Darquiel har Aralis,’ Zu told him.

  It meant nothing. ‘Is that all?’

  ‘That’s all. To others, it would have great meaning. You’re the second son of a celebrated family. Most hara believe you’re dead. Your pearl was excised from your hostling’s body before term. You were taken into the otherlanes, and from there eventually to Samway.’

  Darq choked on a sob. ‘Why?’

  Zu moved closer, but did not touch Darq. ‘Because you’re like no other har. Your fathers are Tigrons of Wraeththu. Do you know what that means?’

  Darq hugged himself, wishing that Zu would do it. ‘No.’

  ‘They rule the Gelaming, along with your hostling, who is the Tigrina.’

  Darq swallowed painfully. ‘Who cut me from him?’

  ‘An enemy of your family. The plan was for you to be devoured before you came forth from the pearl. Devoured alive.’

  Darq dropped to his knees, hugging himself tighter. ‘Who?’

  ‘Ponclast har Varr. You have heard of him?’

  ‘Yes.’ Darq put both hands flat against the snow. It made his skin look very dark. ‘His star will rise again.’

  ‘You were rescued, fortunately,’ Zu said. ‘Thiede has kept you safe ever since.’

  Darq uttered a sobbing laugh.

  Zu hunkered down beside Darq and at last put an arm around his shoulders. Zu was warm, even though the clothing he wore appeared flimsy, designed for a hot climate. ‘You asked, and it was time to tell you.’

  Darq leaned against him. ‘Thank you. I knew I was Gelaming. Do my parents know I’m alive?’

  Zu stroked Darq’s hair. ‘Pellaz and Calanthe do. Your fathers. You know you have two fathers?’

  Darq wiped his nose. ‘Thiede told me I was created by three hara. I don’t really know what that means, or how it was done. When Thiede told me, I didn’t care about it. How did they do it?’

  ‘I wasn’t there,’ Zu said. ‘Some things aren’t meant to be observed, but it’s obvious that the aren of two hara mingled with the yaloe of the third. It summoned you into being.’

  Darq shivered. He saw in his mind’s eye an image of shadowy hara taking aruna together. ‘These names,’ he said, ‘Pellaz… Calanthe… they are strangers. I can’t think of them as family. What is my hostling’s name?’

  ‘Caeru.’

  ‘And my brothers?’

  ‘Loki and Abrimel.’

  Darq uttered a short laugh. ‘Instant family. How will they feel about me? Perhaps my brothers might resent me.’ He remembered what the Weavers had told him.

  ‘That’s possible,’ Zu said. ‘When you finally return to your family, you might well encounter jealousy.’

  ‘Just that?’ Darq pulled away from Zu. ‘Who are you? Will you tell me now?’

  Zu got to his feet. ‘My true name would mean nothing to you, Darq. All you need to know is that I’m not your enemy.’

  Darq looked up at him. ‘Will they come for me now, enemies and factions?’

  ‘Here? No. The hara here are very strong, but then they have had help.’

  Darq too stood up again. ‘Who helped them?’

  ‘Those who were once my people.’

  ‘Your people?’

  Zu nodded. ‘Yes. Darq, there’s something you must understand. When the plagues came, the madness, the zealotry, and the aggression that destroyed the human race, it was sent deliberately, but not aimed at them. They were merely a casualty. The human world was destroyed to kill my kind.’

  ‘Who are your kind? Are you human? I don’t understand.’

  ‘You will,’ Zu said. ‘You’ve had enough revelations to deal with for one evening.’

  ‘I feel like I know less than before,’ Darq said. ‘What am I supposed to do, now that I know who I am? I’m confused. I think I should be doing something, formulating a plan, but what? My head’s spinning.’

  Zu smiled. ‘You’re strong. What you feel now is a growing pain, that’s all. It’s the moment of awakening, like feybraiha, when nothing can be the same again.’

  ‘Can I trust the hara here? There are some, called the Weavers…’ Darq was surprised he could even speak their name. ‘I’m not supposed to be able to talk about them. They have bound my tongue.’

  ‘Not against me, they haven’t!’ Zu said. ‘I know of these hara. Tell me what they’ve said to you.’

  Darq told Zu what had occurred. ‘It was why I had to call to you. I felt bewildered. I couldn’t think of anyone else to turn to.’ He laughed bleakly. ‘Even to me, that seems insane.’

  ‘I’m glad you feel you can trust me a little.’

  ‘I’m not sure it’s that, Zu! It seems to me more like desperation than trust.’

  Zu did not appear offended. ‘Well, whatever the case, I’m glad you called to me. I’m confident the Weavers will try to protect you, because they see you as useful. Tava-edzen was wronged, but then many hara were wronged. His part is up to him, not you. But if you want him, Darq, then take him. You could do worse.’

  Darq sat back in the snow. He laughed. He felt drunk. ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this, talking to you here.’ He paused, and Zu let the silence stretch. Darq stared at him. Zu couldn’t be a human. He was har, and a supremely attractive specimen, even if he was full of mysteries and deceits. Darq wondered if the information he’d received would somehow feel more real if he lived it again through Zu’s breath and inner vision. He made a decision. ‘Zu, I feel disorientated, almost out of my body. Can we take aruna together?’

  Zu raised his eyebrows, then grinned. ‘No, much as I’d like to. It would not be… appropriate. Not at this time.’

  Darq gestured wildly. ‘Then possess Tava-edzen. We could do it that way.’

  Zu shook his head. ‘Darq, that is not what you want.’

  Darq scowled. ‘Darzu wasn’t what I wanted either, nor what you did to Ookami. You needn’t start acting all moral on me. You don’t care.’

  ‘They didn’t matter.’

  Darq rubbed his face with both hands. ‘I don’t know what to do next. I don’t want to be waiting like this, unarmed and ignorant. If you know what’s going to happen, you must tell me.’

  ‘Part of it is beyond your control, and mine. We have to wait for events to synchronise. The Weavers think they have you, but let them wait too. Show them your mettle, and when you do face them again, tell them who you are. Command them to take you to those who were my people.’

  Darq considered this for a moment. ‘Will the Weavers obey what I say? They are powerful.’

  Zu nodded. ‘Yes they are, but not as powerful as you will be. They’re simply older and more experienced. They are also Sulh, who often think highly of themselves.’

  Darq sighed. ‘Well… I can only try.’ He paused. ‘Zu…’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘This is completely unrelated, and I don’t know why I thought of it, but do you know I tried to incept a human female?’

  Zu hunkered down once more. He seemed more at ease again. Darq realised the har had been unnerved by Darq’s request for aruna. This was odd, given their previous encounters. ‘Yes,’ Zu said. ‘I kno
w about the girl. I had… agents observing you during that time. I heard about most of what happened.’

  Darq experienced a surge of relief and asked hurriedly, ‘Do you know what happened to Amelza. Did she live?’

  Zu nodded. ‘She did. I was interested in the outcome myself. You didn’t kill her, Darq. You’re different to any other har.’

  ‘Where is she?’

  ‘In Roselane, which is a country of Jaddayoth.’

  ‘Is she angry with me?’

  ‘I have no idea, but seeing as you have given her the greatest gift, I doubt it.’

  ‘Could you bring her to me some time?’

  Zu laughed softly. ‘Does Darq the Invincible, who stands alone, miss his friend?’

  Darq pulled a sour face. ‘Yes. I miss everything, not least ignorance. Well?’

  ‘Not yet, Darq,’ Zu said softly. ‘You’ll find your solace in other ways. When you meet Amelza again, it will be because you’ve summoned her or found her.’

  ‘But she is safe?’

  ‘Yes.’ Zu stood up again. ‘Return to your bed. Sleep. You’ll feel better now. We’ll talk again, but our meetings must be secret for now.’

  ‘So many secrets,’ Darq said. ‘I’m used to them. Thank you for telling me the truth.’

  ‘You had only to ask,’ Zu said. ‘I wouldn’t tell you until you summoned me.’

  ‘Be with me again some time. You know when. I miss you too.’

  Zu laughed. ‘Next time, Darq, the last person you’ll be thinking of is me.’ He leaned down and kissed Darq’s head. ‘Now go. It’s cold out here. Look forward to Natalia, for that is the time of rebirth.’

  Darquiel walked slowly back down the hill. He couldn’t think of anything other than a new mantra: I am Darquiel har Aralis. His parents were great rulers, greater than hara like Tava-edzen. It was too much to take in.

  Just outside the town walls, he saw an amazing thing. At first, he thought it was a trick of the starlight, a sifting of powdery snow falling down from a high tree branch, but then he really saw what it was: the most beautiful white horse. Its eyes were dark and intelligent, its mane falling thick as hara’s hair down its neck, and over its brow. It was watching him. Was it wild?

  Darq approached the horse slowly. It didn’t appear to be afraid. He held out his hand to it and the animal stepped forward daintily, placed its soft nose in his outstretched palm. Darq ran his free hand up the horse’s neck, beneath its mane. Like Zu, it was very warm, as if it had just traveled to this spot from a hot country. ‘Beauty,’ Darq said to it. ‘Whose are you?’

  I could be yours, if you desire me.

  ‘Zu?’ Darq said aloud, glancing round. The voice had been in his head. The horse stood motionless, its nose hovering just above Darq’s hand. Then it raised its head and kissed him on the cheek.

  Darq took a step back. Horses don’t kiss, and yet it had been unmistakable. Had somehar trained it to do that?

  You know me, Darquiel. You met a brother of mine once, who carried Thiede to your side. We did not know you, then, for he shrouded you well.

  Darq laughed and said in mind touch. Am I talking to a horse?

  It would seem so. If that is what you see. The senses of creatures of earth are primitive, after all, yet you are superior to most.

  You’re a sedu.

  The creature tossed its head. Yes. I’m a leader of sedim. You may call me Lurlei. Nohar travels with me, but I will take you traveling, Darquiel, if you desire it.

  Why?

  The sedu studied him for a moment before answering. Because I wish to work with you. I can show you many wonders, bestow you many gifts. I can take you to Immanion, to your kin. I can take you to other realms. Whatever you wish is available to you.

  Darq couldn’t help but feel skeptical about this apparently generous offer. In what way do you want to work with me? What do you want in return?

  The sedu snorted. The sedim have cared for Wraeththu since the beginning. It is our wish to protect you now.

  Darquiel rubbed his face, wondering if he had dreamed the entire night’s events and would soon wake up. He was talking to a horse! This was ridiculous. And yet not. If I’ve learned one thing, Lurlei, it’s that nothing is without a cost. Why have you come to me now? Is it because I’ve come into myself, and claimed my identity?

  The sedu stamped a front foot and turned its head to the side, regarding Darq with what appeared to be some amusement. Perhaps it could be that. A perfume came to me through the ethers, which was your awareness. I came to you at once.

  You’re from one of the factions, then. I’ve been warned of you. You want Wraeththu, through me, to take your side.

  Naturally. It’s the best way for you. If our rivals took control, things would change. There’s nothing wrong with the way things are. If you pledge your allegiance to me, you’ll ensure the future safety of your kind, for we can protect you.

  Darq uttered a scornful laugh. If you’re that powerful, you don’t need me. I might be potential, Lurlei, but that potential is yet unknown, even to me.

  Climb on to me, Darquiel. Let me show you wondrous things.

  Darq considered. The temptation was great. But first, he felt he should discuss this development with Zu, if he could. Zu had said no faction would be able to reach him here, which had now been proved wrong, but Darq was sure that the sedim couldn’t coerce him. They could only attempt to seduce him. Also, Lurlei hadn’t mentioned Zu, which surely it would have done if it had known about him, if only to try and discredit him. I will think about your offer, Darq said at last.

  The sedu bowed its head. Think wisely. If you wish to communicate with me, do so beyond the walls of the Nezreka. And do so only when we can be alone. You should know that the Nezreka are not impartial. Be careful among them.

  I am always very careful.

  Others might come to you, Darquiel. Their offers no doubt will be appealing, but remember who are the friends of Wraeththu. We will speak further.

  Darq felt a strange shudder throughout his flesh and then he was staring at an empty space, where once the sedu had stood. For some moments, he continued to stare. Then he laughed. ‘I am Darquiel har Aralis,’ he said aloud.

  When Darq returned to his bedroom, he found that Ookami was awake. ‘Where have you been?’ Ookami asked.

  Darq sat down on Ookami’s bed. ‘I know who I am,’ he said. ‘And I’ve spoken to a representative of one of the factions interested in me.’

  Ookami sat up. ‘What? Tell me.’

  So Darq told him. He didn’t mention Zu, but implied the sedu had told him his identity. ‘So I’m a kind of prince,’ Darquiel said. ‘That’s insane. What do you think?’

  ‘I think you should not wander about on your own at night,’ Ookami said dryly, ‘although this is an interesting development and wouldn’t have happened if I’d been there. At least the sedu didn’t attempt to harm you.’

  ‘I don’t think he can,’ Darq said. ‘He needs my co-operation. So, now I know who I am, what should we do?’

  Ookami looked thoughtful. ‘I must try to communicate with Thiede. The sedim are his allies.’

  ‘I know, but I don’t think he trusts them entirely.’

  ‘Perhaps the time has come for our travels to end,’ Ookami said. He stared at a point on the wall beyond Darq’s shoulder. There was a strange fire in his eyes.

  ‘It seems a bit of an anti-climax,’ Darq said. ‘I want to stay here until after Natalia. I think that’s important.’

  ‘Why?’ Ookami’s tone was sharp.

  Darq shrugged. ‘I don’t know. But tell Thiede that. Tell him I know it’s important.’

  ‘It could be dangerous for you to stay here. If the sedim have become aware of you, so will others. Thiede might want you to go to Immanion now.’

  ‘Yes, well, I also have my own opinions, and I won’t let Thiede make all my decisions for me. Or you, for that matter. Or anyhar else.’ Darq sighed. ‘There’s something that’s meant to happen to
me. I know it. I’m not quite ready to become who I’m meant to be. And I’m not scared of the sedim or anything else that might manifest in front of me. They can all put their cases forward. It’s amusing.’

  Ookami appeared skeptical. ‘Thiede wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble with you if there wasn’t the potential for danger,’ he said. ‘We know the sedim are benevolent – apparently. Others might not be so cordial with you. You mustn’t go out alone. If you wish to speak to the sedu again, I’ll go with you.’

  ‘Fair enough. You are my bodyguard, after all.’ Darq flopped back on the bed, lying across Ookami’s legs, his arms outflung. ‘I feel different,’ he said. ‘It feels good.’

  ‘Don’t become drunk on it,’ Ookami said, then softened. ‘Enjoy this heady feeling now, but tomorrow forget who you are again. I’ll get information for us as soon as I can. Get off my legs. I need to get up now.’

  Darq sat up. ‘You’re going to talk to Thiede now? Can’t it wait?’

  ‘No. Go to bed. Give me silence.’

  The last thing that Darq wanted was for Thiede to show up in Nezreka, not least because it would complicate his communication with Zu, but first thing the following morning, Thiede arrived without the agency of a sedu, right in the middle of Nezreka. He didn’t bother with a polite request outside the town for an audience with the phylarch. His appearance naturally sent hara into a state of panic. It was the noise of this that drew Darquiel and Ookami outside. Jezinki was there also, shouting demands at Thiede, who was apparently unaware of the commotion going on around him. He spotted Darquiel on the steps to the Drudehall and brushed past Jezinki to approach him. ‘Well, well,’ he said. ‘Events have moved along!’

  Jezinki followed Thiede up the steps. ‘You know this har?’ he snapped at Darquiel. ‘This is an affront. You know we guard our privacy.’

  ‘Be at peace,’ Thiede said to him mildly before Darq could answer. ‘I’m no threat to you. I’ve come to speak with my protégé here. It is none of your business.’

  ‘Who is this?’ Jezinki demanded of Darquiel.