The Taste of Waterfruit and Other Stories (Story Portals)

by Richard Lee Byers

  But—her curiosity was piqued. Which was rare.

  Jona suggested his own home, on the pretense he needed her to do a job for him. A time was arranged and a signal coordinated—a torch lit on the veranda would tell her that Edibe had come. Katya left quietly and quickly moved about the city's shadows. The information she'd gotten from Jona wasn't much, but it was good. And sometimes all she needed was a word, or an indication of the nature of her client.

  She had time before the meeting with Edibe—time enough to finish a job.

  * * *

  The torch flickered almost invisible in the afternoon sun as she looked into the window from her vantage point several roofs away. Katya had donned her blonde appearance once again—her magic strong and fueled by a spare dagger hidden within her boot. The dagger was fully charged with stored magic and her glamoured persona would draw from this source, and not her own life's energy. She did not wish to fatigue herself—in case of attack and the need for a quick retreat.

  Jona left the underground entrance open as promised—though truth be told, Katya could have broken inside with Jona likelier none the wiser.

  The prince had set up the meeting in the library—a room Katya found herself most at home in. Wood shelves housed numerous scrolls and books, some of them older than Jona's family line. Jona sat in his favorite chair by the fire as Katya entered the room. Edibe had her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide as she scanned the books, reading the titles. A servant who could read—and write. Now to see if she could steal.

  "Ah…my Lady Kat…I'd like to present to you, Edibe, servant in the house of Marzug," Jona said this from his seat by the table.

  Edibe turned with wide eyes to face Katya. Only a second passed before she bowed low, her hands out before her. "It is an honor to meet you, Lady Kat," she said in a clear tone. It was obvious to Katya that Edibe didn't know who Lady Kat was. It would make this interview easier.

  "Please, Edibe, sit with me," Katya gestured for the girl to follow her to the couch near Jona.

  Edibe straightened and nodded quickly as she took the seat closest to Jona. Katya sat beside her and gave Jona a stern look. Did he have to be here? But then, it was his home. Katya placed her hands in her lap and took a good long look at Edibe.

  She was small and petite, with hazel eyes and soft brown hair. Her skin was well bronzed and smooth, and her over all look and demeanor spoke of intelligence. "Edibe—I'm not sure how much Jona told you about me, or my interest in Jal Akim—"

  To Katya's surprise, Edibe turned and spit on the ground. "I curse that man a thousand times. He is a fakir and a robber of souls."

  Well, Katya thought to herself. Apparently Edibe was not one to mince words. She glanced at Jona who was smiling and apparently enjoying himself. Katya returned her attention to Edibe. "Would you do me the honor of telling me—exactly what it was that took place in your master's home?"

  "Are you some sort of police?" she narrowed her eye at Katya.

  "No…"Katya said, truthfully. "I am someone who has an interest in getting to the truth of this man."

  Edibe's eyes widened. "Then you would believe me?"

  "Believe what? Please…tell me what happened."

  She glanced over at Jona who nodded. "My master's son, Joachim, fell ill while we were in Wenshi. It was like nothing I have ever seen—and I have worked with the ill before. The fever contorted his muscles and made him suffer. My master brought him home to seek out other medical help—and the call was answered by this Jal Akim, who convinced my master that he could heal Joachim." She narrowed her eyes when she leaned in closer to Katya. "But he did not heal him—Joachim suffered worse. He could not sleep through the night. I paid attention to what he put in the medicines he gave to the poor boy, and it was not things to help."

  "You know for a fact that Akim poisoned Joachim?"

  "He did something worse," she said in a low voice and in her eyes Katya saw something…haunted. "On the third night, I took it upon myself to follow him, and watch him. I told my master that I didn't believe he was helping at all, but was after money or power, but my master was desperate for something—anything—that might cure poor Joachim."

  Katya nodded. "Go on."

  Edibe lowered her voice even more, as if afraid someone would hear her. "He went into Joachim's room and removed a ring from his finger—I'd noticed the ring before. Gold with a large S on its surface. He held it over Joachim's forehead—" she paused and closed her eyes.

  Katya leaned forward, as did Jona. "Edibe?"

  "I watched him…as he took Joachim's soul. It was awful—a terrible thing—to see the boy's soul torn from his body and captured inside that ring. He stole him—" she balled her hands into fists. "He stole Joachim's soul!"

  Katya and Jona both sat back, stunned. Neither of them said anything—no comment came to her. She wasn't really sure what there was to say. No one had ever proven the existence of souls, much less that it was possible to steal one. Yes, it was possible to take the energy built up from a person's suffering, or the energy built upon their death—but to steal a soul itself…

  "Edibe," Jona began, his voice more gentle than Katya had ever heard it. "Are you sure that's what you saw? That…perhaps upon Joachim's death, which sounds as if it were preceded by suffering, Akim merely took the boy's remaining energy—"

  "No!" she turned on Jona then, her arms straight at her sides. "What I saw was Joachim's soul—and it was screaming for help—as he put it in that ring."

  The ring.

  "So you took the ring," Katya said. She wasn't going to debate the validity of what the girl saw—not yet. What she wanted was the motivation.

  "Yes, I took it," she said and looked to Katya. "I did not want that monster using it for anything evil. And he was evil—I could see it in his eyes. I told my master what I did—Akim would come to him, of course, to accuse me of stealing it, and I wanted my master to hear it from me first—my master offered to pay him for the ring."

  "Did Akim say he saw you steal it?"

  She nodded. "He said he watched me take it—but I feel that was a lie. He was not in the room and the ring called to me. It was locked in a trunk…within a silk pouch. It told me where it was…and I took it." Edibe looked away, her vision seeing something Katya could not. "It was warm…and so sad…"

  Katya looked over Edibe's head at Jona. The prince looked more than a bit confused. He sat pulling at his short beard, his eyes narrowed. Katya looked back to Edibe and put a hand on her knee. "Edibe…do you still have the ring? Have you shown it to your master?"

  "Yes," she looked at Katya. "Akim refused to leave and my master threw him out of the house. My master touched the ring and agreed that his son was not at rest. But we have so little proof…" she sniffed and Katya saw the girl's eyes tear. "My master is so sad—and unsure of what to do. To know his son's soul is locked inside the ring..."

  "I'm not sure what you saw…" Katya said slowly, so as not to touch off the girl’s anger. "…was really a soul stealing. It might have been simply a death magic ritual," she put her hands up when Edibe opened her mouth to protest. "But—there is a way to find out. I have a friend who can look into the ring itself and tell what kind of magic is stored there." Katya was thinking of her friend Meles who ran the local magic shop. If anyone could determine the truth behind the ring, it would be her.

  Edibe looked hopeful. "You know such a person? Oh…please…can I speak with her?"

  "You would need to bring the ring with you," Katya said. "And it would need to be arranged. I am more than a little sure this Jal Akim is watching you, and may know you've come to this home." Though very few knew the prince owned it, or lived in it. Jona, too, had more than a few guises he wore when it suited him, and he owned this house as a rich merchant with exotic tastes. "I will contact my friend and find a time to meet her in her shop. There she can determine the truth. Can you be ready? I will contact Jona with the information."

  Edibe nodded quickly. "Yes. I can retrieve
the ring and bring it then." She reached out and touched Katya's hands. "Oh, thank you…please… my master hurts inside with Joachim's death. And though I know he trusts me, he can't see magic as I can. It's his faith in me that keeps him on my side—but to show him—to reassure him that his son was indeed taken—and maybe even to free his son—"

  "We will do what we can," Katya said as she pulled her hands from Edibe's and stood. "If nothing else, we will get to the truth. What I need to know now is where Joachim's body is buried. Who attended it?"

  Edibe gave her the information and she nodded to Jona. "I will be in touch with the time. Can you get her there safely?"

  Jona nodded. "I will do my best, but—"

  "But?"

  "We must tell Marzug. He has a right to know."

  Katya nodded. "Of course. Let him know what we talked about. We'll also need to locate Akim and keep track of his movements." She smiled at Edibe. "Bring the ring and we will learn the truth." With that she left the room and traveled back out of the house through the hidden passages.

  Her mind reeled at the implications of what Edibe had said she'd seen.

  A soul stealer.

  No…such things were no more than legends told to frighten small children.

  Death Magic she knew of…but this…this was something altogether different, an evil she had never even dreamed existed. If it truly did.

  Katya paused in a shadowed corridor outside of Jona's villa. She needed to see Meles and arrange the meeting—but she needed to find Akim first and make sure he didn't get too near the Marzug estate or Edibe.

  * * *

  Later that night, Katya was beginning to think Jal Akim had left Jakarr—until she came across a crowd in the street—and at the center of the crowd was Edibe.

  Dead.

  A three inch line over her left breast revealed the weapon used on her was a dagger, slipped in between her ribs to her heart. Her open eyes stared to her left. The body had been left in the alley near Meles' store. The proximity alerted Katya and she made sure her glamour was in place before she joined the onlookers.

  Corrigan appeared, along with his guard. Lord Marzug came just afterward. Katya watched his face and saw the hurt and loss there—first his son, and now his most trusted servant. He refused any help from Corrigan or his men, and carried Edibe's body with him in the direction of the inner city, toward the merchant's homes.

  She saw Jona in the crowd. He didn't see her. She'd changed again to blend into the crowd. His expression was nearly as broken as Marzug's had been. Had she been with him when the assassin struck? No, that was unlikely. Jona was capable himself, and usually had at least one bodyguard with him, stealthed but close at hand. It was unlikely even a good assassin could have killed Edibe in the prince’s presence; either Jona or his guard would have assumed the attack was against him and would have cut the assassin down quickly.

  Katya was certain this was the work of another assassin, hired by Akim when he heard no word from Lady Kat. Or perhaps he'd already approached this assassin, double booking the murder. It happened, though it was rare—and assassins would not work for clients who made a habit of double booking their kills. There was no way to know, only that his target was dead.

  But had he retrieved the ring?

  She needed to speak with Jona, privately.

  Katya moved back through the crowds to Jona's villa and waited inside, letting herself in through the same doors. She waited in the parlor, in the shadows, for Jona to return. She was prepared to wait all night. Eventually, as the sun began to set, Jona returned to his home. Servants set out a service with tea and water, fruits, meats, and cakes.

  When Jona entered, Katya noticed he looked drawn, as if someone had pulled the life out of him. She stepped from the shadows when the servants shut the door, and Jona looked as if he expected her. "You know?"

  "Yes."

  "She did not have the ring," he said softly. "We still needed to get it. I'd shown her where Meles' shop was, but she said she wanted to get the ring on her own. I was reluctant to leave her unprotected, but she insisted. And now that she's dead—I have no idea where it was hidden. Marzug is beside himself." He fixed Katya with a haunted gaze. "He wants to hire Lady Kat. He says he has what you need to kill Akim."

  Katya nodded—she'd assumed as much. And she would accept that job. "Tell him to meet me at the Drunken Goat, east end of the city. Tomorrow morning at ten. I will be waiting." Tomorrow would be soon enough, and she felt Marzug needed time to mourn. Time to reflect.

  Or time to solidify his resolution. There was no need for her to meet with him now. No need to act on impulse.

  With that she slid back into the shadows and went home.

  * * *

  The city's markets were abuzz with the news of break-ins during the night. Of all the places to be vandalized, Katya was surprised to hear they were Scribe Houses. She arrived at the Drunken Goat half an hour before the meeting and watched. It wasn't as nice an establishment as Galt's Unicorn, but it served as one of her meeting places. Katya had formed agreements with several establishments in Jakarr to hold her client's meetings in them. She never used the same place twice in a month—and it would be a long time before she returned to the Unicorn for a meeting.

  The Drunken Goat serviced Jakarr's rougher crowd—many of the city's least known and least trusted assassins and wanna-bes drank here. She felt it was easier to blend in, and by naming this place, she'd given Lord Marzug the signal that he was to dress down for the occasion. While waiting for the meeting, Katya had put out a few feelers as to Jal Akim's location.

  The fact Scribe Houses had been attacked, and given Edibe's work as a scribe for Marzug, Katya felt sure the events were linked to Akim.

  Even the drunks within the Drunken Goat were talking about the break ins, thou most of them made fun of a thief who thought the written word was valuable enough to ransack. All they would find inside was paper, ink, and shelves.

  No, Katya thought to herself. They would also find the molds and prints of House signet rings.

  Akim evidently didn't believe his ring was still in Marzug's house. He had part of the truth, but not the whole.

  She saw Marzug enter the bar—not because he was obvious or dressed inappropriately, but because she knew what to look for. An angry man. A man with a purpose. He moved to the barkeep who pointed to a room in the back. Katya moved into the room for their meeting before he was directed toward the door.

  She watched him come in and remained seated. She motioned for him to sit and he accepted, words bursting out of him almost before he’d taken his seat. "I need someone killed."

  "That's why we're here," she said. "I have been told it is Jal Akim?"

  "Yes," he shook his head and reached into his coat. With anyone else she might have thought he went for a weapon—but not Lord Marzug. He instead retrieved a set of scrolls and placed them on the table. "But that is not his name."

  Katya was less than surprised when she took the scrolls and scanned their contents. Apparently Akim's real name was Qasim Sami. His education was easily tracked through that name. During his young life he showed a strong aptitude for healing magic. And he had high marks. But what caught her attention were the three deaths of fellow students—all with symptoms similar to those suffered by Joachim Marzug. She looked up at Marzug and he was studying her.

  Another scroll gave eye-witness accounts from fellow students, gathered by the headmaster of the magic school Sami attended. Seven students claimed to have personally witnessed Sami's reported attempt to help these students. In every case, one of the students insisted they saw Sami steal the soul of the infected student.

  She read deeper and learned that two of the final students reported to suffer from this affliction were two of those who reported seeing Sami commit such an offense. In every case, no conviction was made, because there was no evidence. Each of them said they saw him seal the souls into an item in Sami's hand, but no one could identify it.

 
After the last case, Sami disappeared from school and nothing was ever reported about him again. Until a few years ago when Jal Akim surfaced in Wenshi as a ranking member of the Healer's Guild. Akim was said to possess a high degree of healing magic, and was also present during an alarming number of unexplained deaths—Joachim's being the most recent.

  Katya sat back and looked at Marzug. "Do you also believe this man stole your son's soul?"

  "I believe he did something to him. I'm not sure I believe in the soul—as something that can be taken. I do not believe in Soul Eaters—but if there was a creature capable of such a thing," he paused and she could see his hands balled into fists. "Then it would be him. He killed my son, and my Edibe. He deserves no mercy."

  She would agree. Though… "Lord Marzug…" she began, "I will accept your request. But I want you to understand—I don't believe this man has any special, unexplainable powers. I also do not believe he is a Soul Eater…I would be more inclined to believe he used Death Magic, of a kind."

  "I don't care," Marzug hissed in a low voice. "I want my son's soul….death energy…I want Qasim Sami dead!" he kept his voice low but the power behind it was strong enough.

  Katya understood his grief. She believed Akim—Sami—had not found the ring where he had stored the magic, or whatever he had taken from Joachim at the moment of death. But he clearly suspected it to be hidden in one of the Scribe Houses. "Marzug—did Edibe often visit any of the Scribe Houses here in Jakarr? Any of them her favorite?"

  "Yes…why do you ask?"

  "Because I believe that is where she hid Sami's ring. Already several of these houses have been vandalized. But I do not think he's found it yet."

  "There is one…just outside the city walls. It's small. It's the one where she learned to read and write. I was her patron there, and I've often supported it."