by Shannah Jay
Soo swallowed hard. Somehow the reality was more frightening than she’d expected. 'I - I'll try not to - not to do anything to upset them.'
'That's a good girl.' Nyris patted her hand. 'I'll tell them you lost a baby recently. That usually puts them off, but the Servants of the Shrine in Pinderak are a nasty lot. You can never tell what they'll do next. I told Giff we should detour around this place. Maybe next time he'll listen to me.' She sighed. 'And maybe he won't.' She leaned forward to look out of the wagon. 'The deleff are all in the town field now, but they're not browsing. They're standing in a cluster. That means they're not happy.'
Giff's voice roared out a command.
'Come on, dear!' said Nyris. 'They want us outside. Oh, and let's put a bit of dirt on your face.' She rubbed her fingers on the rear of the wagon floor and smeared Soo's face. 'There, that's better. You look as if you haven't washed for days.'
Soo clung to Nyris out of sheer terror as the women lined up behind the wagons. As she looked round, it seemed as if the trader women had changed subtly. All of them looked uglier, subdued and spiritless. Tia's hand seemed to be covered with an ugly rash, and Dennel had a sore on her mouth. A sour unwashed smell came from Marsa's garments.
A figure loomed suddenly in front of Nyris and Soo. 'Serpent save us, but this is an ugly one,' the man said, taking Soo's face in his hands and turning it from side to side. 'I've never seen skin that yellow. What's wrong with her?'
Giff joined them. 'Well, she never was pretty, I'll admit. I don't know what my son saw in her in the first place, but since she lost the baby, she just seems to have shrivelled up. And she remains weakly. Does what she can to help, but it's not much. And now she's broken her arm. It's just one thing after another lately.'
The Servant pulled a face of disgust and twisted the broken arm, making Soo moan with pain. 'Yes, it does seem to be broken. But I wouldn't bring her into the shrine, even if she were whole. It'd be an insult to the Serpent. I wonder you don't just put her out of her misery and get your son another wife.'
'I did think of it, but if she recovers, she's skilled at embroidery. Her bits and pieces sell well.' Giff pulled an embroidered codpiece out of his pocket and dangled it from his fingers. 'This is one of hers. Lovely piece, isn't it? Perhaps you could donate it to the shrine on her behalf, since it's her piece of work. She's a hard worker and an obedient little thing, for all she's so ugly. Got to give her that. Though very timid.'
Soo's trembling was not feigned as the Servant prowled round her, poking and prodding at her body. She had never come into contact with evil like this. She could feel it radiating from the Servants of the Shrine like a dark miasma. The knowledge that these men had the power of life and death over her made her feel soul-sick.
'Is it all right if she sits down now, honoured Servant?' asked Giff. 'She'll fall over, otherwise.'
'I suppose so. And the Serpent will accept this codpiece willingly as a donation from her.' He snatched the richly embroidered scrap of material from Giff and put it into his pocket. 'Right, now, let's look at the others.'
He started 'inspecting' the rest of the women, who kept their eyes modestly lowered as he pinched at their bodies. 'Ugh!' he said at last. 'My grandmother's more attractive than this lot. Why didn't you find yourself some better-looking women?'
Giff rubbed his nose. 'Well, Honoured Servant, it's because of our trade. Each of these women has skills of great use to a trader, though not to other people, maybe. We have a living to make and the whole of this trade route to service. Can't take just any woman along with us, now can we? Pretty looks won't make our trade goods for us. And a more delicate woman might be finicky, and then she wouldn't last long on the road. It's a hard life, you know. And at least these women have given us sons - you can't fault them on that.'
The Servants exchanged disgusted glances. 'All right. Send them away and bring out your trade goods. Let's have a look at what you've brought. The shrine needs quite a few things.' The two men picked through the goods, took any piece they fancied and slipped the things into their capacious pockets and bags. No mention was made of payment. Finally, they made the usual writhing motions with their hands, known as the Serpent's Salute, then strutted off back to the Shrine.
'Those greedy devils took a hefty share this time,' Giff said to Bree in tight-lipped rage. 'You'd better double the prices on the rest of the goods.'
'Double them!'
'Yes. And hint why to folk.'
'All right. Er - how long are we staying here, Pa?'
'One day's trading will be more than enough in this place. We'll leave before it gets dark. Next trip, we'll find a way around Pinderak.' Delayed shock made him display a rare weakness. 'Thank heavens for those deleff.'
Bree echoed his words fervently.
Nyris was looking at Soo's pale face and shaking hands. 'I think you'd better get back into the wagon and lie down while we set up our stalls. You're still ill, remember?'
'Why do you keep on trading, Nyris, if Those of the Serpent are so - so - ?'
Nyris shrugged. 'Someone has to keep the roads open. The ordinary folk'd be in trouble without the things we bring them and the things they can sell to us. Besides, it's our life, it's what we've always done. Giff talks about settling down somewhere one day, but I can't see him doing it.' She went off to help set things up.
Soo lay in a corner of the wagon, shivering every time she thought of the Servants. She understood now what Herra had meant when she said she could sense a true follower of the Serpent. Soo could sense it, too. It didn’t occur to her to wonder at this ability, unknown in the Confederation, because she was too upset by her recent encounter with evil.
And what about the deleff's wings? How could those mild-mannered creatures possibly have created that illusion? Or was it an illusion? The Servant had screamed when the transparent wings touched him. That hadn’t been feigned. She lay there in the dimness of the wagon, listening to the sounds of people quietly working together outside, but the thoughts whirled round and round her brain. What had really happened? How had the deleff done that?
Chand rejoined them shortly afterwards, grumbling that their delay on the road had put him under suspicion.
'You were a fool to tell them an exact arrival date,' said Giff. 'Cost me a good codpiece, it did, to make that error good.'
Chand stopped short. 'Hey, who's the woman in your wagon? Is she the reason you're late?'
Giff's hand grasped his son's arm. 'Keep your voice down, you lackbrain! I'll tell you all about Soo when we're out of town. Luckily, the Servants were too upset by our deleff to count heads properly. In the meantime, all you need to know is that she's Ivo's wife and that she's just lost a baby. Oh, and she's good at embroidery. I've told them she did those pieces I picked up in Garshlian. Don't forget to mention that as you sell them, now.'
When Ivo brought Soo a nooning meal, he brought his own food along as well, and stayed to chat with her as he ate.
'I can't believe this sort of thing happens,' she whispered, unable to eat much for the sick feeling of horror inside her. 'Why do people put up with it?'
'Pa says Those of the Serpent hypnotise the people who go into the shrines, just like a snake hypnotises a bird. They have special incense in there, real stinking stuff, makes your head spin. You can smell it from miles away when they're having a service. And what with the chants and the special wine they drink, not to mention the way the Servants personally train new members, well, the men seem to lose all their wits the minute they enter the shrines. And they seem drawn back there again and again. It makes you shiver to see their faces sometimes when they're going in, and even more when they're coming out. Mindless, they become, and vicious, some of them.'
'That place is terrible.' She shivered. 'I can feel it from here. It has a - a dark feel to it.'
'You can sense that, too?' he asked in surprise.
'Oh, yes.'
'Pa said it was nonsense when I told him, but that's exactly how those places
feel to me.' He patted her hand awkwardly, for he could see she was still distressed. 'It's not usually as bad as this in the smaller towns and villages, though. It's just that in Pinderak there are a few sadistic old zealots who enjoy hurting people, and they've somehow managed to take control. There are some real nasty shrines in the cities, too. We try to stay clear of them.'
'But Giff said you had a consignment for the shrine in Fenlanik.'
Ivo grinned and tapped his nose. 'Pa's real good at making up a convincing tale. We wouldn't go anywhere near the shrine in Fenlanik. It's one of the worst there is.'
The day's trading was soon completed. Most of the customers were just ordinary townfolk, and though there were a few who were swelled with the arrogance of the Serpent, Initiates of the Inner Shrine usually, most were just looking for a bargain, or seeking replacements for necessities like sewing and cooking equipment, always staple goods for traders.
The prices this time caused a lot of grumbling, but Giff just shrugged. 'We have to make a living. The Servants here took a high percentage and paid nothing. We have to make a profit or we couldn't trade at all.'
Several shopkeepers came to buy things in bulk from Giff, and others came to sell bulk goods to him. He saw to those transactions himself, because he liked to keep control over everything. He remained obdurate about lowering his selling prices and there was a lot of complaining among the shopkeepers.
In the wagon, Soo listened to Giff's bargaining in amazement. To hear him talking, the whole family was living a hand-to-mouth existence and he was a man worn down by hardship, bravely struggling along for the sake of the customers who depended on him. She’d have smiled at his exaggerations if the shadow of the Serpent hadn’t lain over her. She would not, she thought, shuddering, feel comfortable until they left Pinderak.
While the men did the main selling and buying, Nyris and her daughters-in-law set up a small stall at the rear of one wagon, which sold things women needed for their sewing or cooking. They were helped by some of their older children. The women customers came in the wake of their husbands, slipped over to the women's stall and crept away behind their men afterwards. Their demeanour was cowed and none of them attempted any bargaining. Prices were fixed at the women's stall and payment made hastily before the customers hurried away to stand patiently again behind their husbands and fathers.
Once, when a woman's face fell at the price and tears came into her eyes, Nyris pressed the sewing needles she had sought into her thin trembling hand. 'Here, take this as a present.'
'But I can't pay you.'
'I know. Pretend you've paid what you could and keep the money to buy yourself some extra food.'
Nyris's expression was bitter as she watched the woman creep away. 'That one's married to one of the Servants. He's the richest man in town, yet he keeps her half-starved. I met her last time we came through a couple of years ago. She looks twenty years older now.'
When the day's trading was over, the deleff came out of the town field and moved towards their harness of their own accord, trumpeting loudly and signalling an urgent desire to leave. The noise drove away the few people lingering in the square to chat and brought several Servants running to the gates of the nearby shrine to see what was amiss.
Giff kept a distance between himself and them, but became even more obsequious. 'I'll have to leave now, honoured Servants, or the deleff will just walk away and take my wagons with them.'
'Can't you control them better than that?'
'I wish I could, but you know what they're like.'
The trumpeting rose to a shrill crescendo and the Servants winced, covering their ears. The one who’d been caught by the deleff's wings earlier in the day was nowhere in sight. 'It's no life for a real man, at the beck and call of animals,' one of the other Servants said disapprovingly.
'It's all I know, your honours, and I console myself with the thought that what we do is necessary for the good of the people, and for the honour of the Serpent.'
While Giff was speaking, his family were rushing around, dismantling the stalls, packing up the goods and tossing them into the backs of the wagons higgledy-piggledy. Hardly had they got the things loaded than the deleff started moving away.
'Leave to depart, honoured Servants?' asked Giff humbly, though the departure had already begun.
'Leave to depart. And get your women to wash next time they come to our town.'
'Yes, honoured Servants.'
'Serpent save you.' Again they made that writhing motion with their hands, and Soo, peeping from the wagon, felt a wave of nausea at the sight. It was as if the movement spread the evil across those nearby. Mak would never have believed this, she thought, and Robler would have laughed aloud, but she couldn’t dismiss what had happened. And how had the illusion of wings been created? Or were the wings real? Only . . . how could they be?
It was a two-moon night, with both moons near full, so they travelled for several hours before stopping at a clearing Giff knew of just off the road.
'Well,' he said, as they gathered around the fire to drink the fragrant honey-herb brew Nyris had prepared for them, 'that's the last time we visit Pinderak.'
'It wasn't this bad last time,' said Nyris. 'Did you find out what’s happened?'
'Yes. New First Initiate. There's a lot of grumbling about him, but he's terrified everyone into doing what he says.'
Soo stared at him. 'You mean one man has that much power? One man can change a whole town?'
'Sometimes. If people let him. Pinderak's always been one of the worst places, though.' Ivo brought a jug across to refill Soo's mug. 'Not all places are as bad as Pinderak. In some, they only pay lip-service to the Serpent.'
Soo's smile was wobbly.
'I saw how frightened you were,' he said, softly enough that no one else heard. 'Don't worry. We'll look after you.'
The hot sweet drink was not doing much to stop the shudders that were still racking Soo every time she thought of what had so nearly happened.
'Aren't you going to try to contact your husband tonight?' Ivo asked, trying to turn her mind to something else.
'I don't know. I don't even know if he's alive. I don't,' her voice broke, 'I don't seem to know anything any more.'
She brought out her com-unit with fingers that still trembled, but as she had expected, there was no reply from Mak. Then, just as she was about to put it away, there was a faint crackling, and Davred's voice came on-line. 'Soo? Soo, is that you?'
'Davred! Oh, Davred!' She burst into tears.
'Soo, are you all right?'
She pulled herself together. 'Yes. I'm just - I broke my arm and I'm a bit weak, that's all.'
'Is Mak there?'
'No. We - we got separated. I haven't heard from him since. You haven't heard from him, either, then?'
'No. I'm sorry Soo. Not a murmur.'
'Oh, no!' she whispered, then pulled herself together. For one who had thought herself the civilised person among primitives, she was behaving in a cowardly way. 'Are you all safe? Where have you been?'
'Lost beyond the wildwoods. Everywhere and nowhere.' He was conscious there might be listeners above.
'There was something blocking your com-casts for a time. Did you find out what it was?'
'Not really. It just seemed to lessen as we made our way eastwards again. Soo, how are you coping on your own? Tell me the truth. You sound upset.'
'I'm not on my own. I'm with a group of traders. They've been so kind, Davred. They're really looking after me. One day I hope to repay them properly. We've just - we've had an encounter with Those of the Serpent in the last town. That's what upset me.'
His voice was suddenly sharp. 'Are you all right? They didn't - ?'
'Yes. I'm all right. Really I am. But Davred, I understand now why you joined the fight against them.
They're evil, at least, the Servants of the Shrine were. You could see the evil in them.'
'You can sense it, too?'
'Yes. They make m
e feel soul-sick.'
'They make us all feel bad. That's why we fight them. Look, Soo, we'd better not talk much longer or Robler will pick this transmission up. Where exactly are you? Do you know?'
'In western Fen-Halani, I think.' She looked at Ivo for confirmation and he nodded.
'Can you make your way towards our rendezvous?' Davred's voice was wary. Robler might trace them to their destination, but they did not intend to let him know where that was in advance.
'I don't know. I'll try. I can't do anything much until my arm's better.'
'Where are the traders heading?'
'Towards Mer-Halani.'
'That's not good. Would they be willing to change their route? We'd pay them well.'
Soo looked at Giff, who had joined them when he saw her get out com-unit and was listening avidly, but he shook his head. 'Can't be done,' he said, staring at the little box with its winking lights. 'We've got a regular run and Those of the Serpent would know if we went anywhere different. I'm sorry.'
She nodded. 'Yes. I can see that. But I can stay with you for the moment, can't I, Giff?'
'Stay and welcome,' said Nyris from the other side of her. 'Stay as long as you need to, lass.'
'Thank you, Nyris.' She took a deep breath and looked back at the com-unit. Somehow it always felt more natural to look at it when speaking to someone, though that wasn't necessary. 'When I'm better,' she told Davred, 'I'll see what can be done about joining you. Please - keep in touch.'
'If we can. Good luck, Soo. May our Brother look down upon you.'
When his voice faded, she bowed her head to hide the tears that coursed down her cheeks.
'Let's get you to bed, girl,' said Nyris. 'You're too tired to think straight at the moment. And you've had a hard day.' As she helped Soo prepare for bed, she couldn’t resist asking, 'Aren't there any Shrines of the Serpent where you come from?'
'No.'
Nyris sighed. 'That must be wonderful. I've forgotten what it used to be like.'
'It's wonderful in one way. There are other perils, though.'
'Aye, there's always some fly in the porridge, isn't there?'
