by Anna Kashina
“You’re bleeding inside,” he told Mai. “This liquid can stop it, but it’s going to hurt. Bad. You must drink it in one gulp.”
Mai met his gaze. He looked very weak, but his eyes still gleamed with mischief.
“Another one of the Keepers’ cures, is it?” He moved to raise up on his elbow, but Raishan held him down.
“Don’t,” he warned. “Or you’ll make it worse.”
Mai lay back and allowed Raishan to lift up his head. But when Egey Bashi put the vial to his lips, he reached out and took it with a weak hand.
“I’ll do it myself, thanks.” He lifted the vial and drank it.
He was still for a moment. Then his body twitched and he collapsed into Raishan’s arms, shaking with seizures. His head fell back. Muscles bulged on his neck, blood running down the side of his face as he thrashed against Raishan’s hold. His eyes rolled, so that only the whites showed through. Kyth could tell it was costing Raishan a lot of strength to hold Mai down.
After a while the shaking stopped and Mai went still.
Raishan removed his hands. “Now what?”
“Now,” Egey Bashi said, “we must wait. In a few hours we’ll know if it worked.”
“If it worked, Magister?”
Egey Bashi met his gaze. “Yes. If.”
“I thought you told me it was going to work.”
“I thought I told you it might help, Aghat.”
The two men glared at each other. Then Raishan strode over to his horse, took out a blanket and spread it over Mai. Egey Bashi busied himself with starting the fire.
Kyth sat on the ground, looking at Mai’s face. It was pale and hollow. The bruise on his face blackened against the white skin. The bleeding had stopped, which meant that either the Keeper’s substance was working, or Mai was very close to death.
Raishan brought over a kettle of water and carefully cleaned Mai’s chest wound. He used some liquid from another flask at his belt that made the infected flesh flake off in thin white streaks, and spread some gray powder over it that bubbled as it touched the oozing pulp. Mai didn’t seem to feel it, so deeply unconscious it wasn’t even clear if he was breathing.
With deft movements, Raishan dressed the wound with fresh bandages and used another piece of wet cloth and more of his liquid to clean up the cuts on Mai’s face and the gash at his left temple, where his head must have hit a boulder during his violent capture. He spread a different type of powder over those. It was white and soaked right in, stopping the bleeding. His movements were confident and precise, as if he had done such things many times before. His face was calm, but when he finally covered Mai with the blanket and turned back to his companions, Kyth noticed a vertical line across Raishan’s forehead.
“Now,” he said to Kyth. “Let’s look at your wounds.”
Kyth hesitated. “I think I have mostly bruises. They weren’t as rough on me as they were on him.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” The edge in Raishan’s voice left no room for argument.
Kyth winced as Raishan helped him out of his shirt. For the first time since his fight with Mai two days ago he had a chance to look at his own body to survey the damage. A large bruise blackened in the center of his chest where the point of Mai’s staff hit him. Another one colored his left shoulder and the side of his torso into deep blue and purple shades. Raishan frowned over those, and spent another length of time inspecting the base of his throat where Mai’s staff had almost choked him to death. Then he moved around and pulled up Kyth’s hair to examine the wound at the back of his head, where an orben blow had hit him to unconsciousness. Kyth felt a wet cloth on his neck, and then another liquid, light and cool, that stung as it touched the injured skin.
Raishan finished and sat back, looking at him thoughtfully.
“That blow to the back of your head’s healing well. Your hair must’ve cushioned it when the orben hit. But these other bruises – they don’t look like orben blows. How did you get them?”
Kyth’s mouth twitched as he glanced at Mai’s still shape. Memories came back with renewed clarity, making him feel so empty inside that it hurt.
“I… I fought Mai before we got captured. He knocked me down with his staff.”
Raishan’s eyes narrowed into slits. “You did what?”
Kyth held his gaze in silence.
“You aren’t joking, are you?”
“No.”
“Of course he knocked you down. What were you thinking, fighting a Diamond?”
Kyth clenched his teeth, forcing himself to keep Raishan’s gaze. “I wasn’t thinking anything. I wanted to kill him.”
“To kill him.”
“Yes.”
“Of all the stupid things…” Raishan paused, studying Kyth intently. “I guess it doesn’t matter now, since you’re obviously still alive. Just tell me one thing. If you wanted him dead so much that you risked your life for it, you could’ve just left him back there in the Grasslands to die, couldn’t you?”
“I could have,” Kyth admitted.
“Yet, you carried him on your horse and risked being caught by your pursuers. So?” Raishan waited, his eyes fixed on Kyth’s face.
“It just… it seemed wrong for him to die like that,” Kyth said. “Not when I could do something about it. We can settle the score later, when he’s well.”
“Settle the score?”
“Yes.”
Raishan leaned closer. “Before you set out to do a foolish thing like that, perhaps there’s something you should know about him first. He’s a legend in our Guild. To my knowledge, there’s no living man who could settle any kind of score with him in an equal fight. I’m sure he wouldn’t fight you again, but if he did, he’d squash you like a fly.”
“In that case,” Kyth said slowly, “I’d die knowing that I tried. There’s no other choice.”
Raishan continued to study his face. “You attacked him because of Kara, didn’t you?”
Kyth’s mouth twitched. A lump in his throat warned him against trying to speak. He glared at Raishan from across the fire.
“Then, you don’t know?”
“Know what?” Kyth’s voice came out hoarse. “He and his accomplice murdered her. What else is there to know?”
Raishan let out a sigh. “Mai saved her life. He risked everything to make sure she survived. If our Guildmaster ever finds out what he did–”
“Survived?” Kyth’s breath faltered. He stared at Raishan in entranced silence.
“That blow he struck her with – it’s called ‘viper’s kiss’. It looks deadly, but when treated in time the wound can heal without a trace. It touches no vital organs, but disconnects the reflexes, so that the breathing and the heartbeat become very slow, almost undetectable. Do you know how much skill it takes to deliver such a blow against an equal opponent?”
Kyth continued to stare. “But his companion, the archer, checked that she was dead.”
Raishan nodded. “And afterwards, did Mai come and do something to her?”
Kyth thought about it. He remembered how, after the Jade was gone, Mai leaned over Kara and hit her in several spots at the chest and neck. He slowly raised his gaze and looked into Raishan’s face.
“If you had delayed him any longer,” the Diamond said, “you could have ruined everything. No wonder he hit you so hard. If I was in his place, I might’ve done worse.”
Kyth looked down at the black bruises covering his body. He remembered the empty look in Mai’s eyes, the speed of his movements, the strength of the blows that seemed way too much for a man to be capable of. He shivered. To think that he could have ruined everything.
“But why did he have to do this in the first place? Why not just let her go?”
“Because, if his companion – the Jade – had suspected that Mai hadn’t done his job to the end, it wouldn’t have helped Kara. The Guild would have sent Diamonds after both of them. They wouldn’t have given up until the job was done. The Majat Guild doesn’t to
lerate disobedience. And, they never give up. They only thing Mai could do was to make the Guild believe she was really dead.”
“But…” Kyth was still trying to make sense of it. “Kara said if they defeated her, they were going to take her back to her Guild. She told me they weren’t going to harm her.”
Raishan looked at him with pity. “If she had told you the truth, would you have been able to stand back as long as you did and not interfere?”
“No,” Kyth said quietly.
Raishan nodded. “If you tried to defend her, you would’ve been killed. Mai had his orders, and Kara knew them well. She wanted to make sure you didn’t die needlessly, that’s all.”
Kyth suddenly felt very weak. “Is she really alive?” he whispered.
Raishan held his gaze. “She needs care. But with proper treatment, she’ll survive. It would be good, though, if we manage to get Mai there in one piece before it’s too late. He struck the blow. I did what I could for her, but he’s the only one who can revive her.”
Kyth sat back. Tears he had not been able to shed before filled his eyes. He wasn’t able to say anything. He just sat there, looking at Mai’s face, so pale and still in the flickering firelight.
He had been hating this man with all his heart. He had wished him dead. If he’d only known what Mai had done.
“Will he be all right?” he asked in a trembling voice.
Raishan followed his gaze, the vertical line back on his forehead. “We’ll see. Even if the Keepers’ cure is as good as the Magister makes us believe, we still have his wound to deal with. It doesn’t look good, I can tell you. What did these men do to him?”
“During our capture, they hit him with an orben, and dragged him behind a galloping horse. I think he almost died. And then, last night, he had to fight all of them to break us out. I’m sure it made things worse.”
Raishan looked at Kyth in grim silence. Then he turned to help Egey Bashi with the fire.
As the water in the kettle started boiling, they heard the sound of galloping hooves, approaching them across the plain. Raishan carefully set down the pouch with tea leaves and drew his sword.
“You’re on, Kyth,” he said.
Kyth raised his head and saw Nimos ride toward them across the field, with a dozen men in his wake.
39
BLACK DEATH
Nimos’s gaze narrowed as he saw Raishan and Egey Bashi. “You.”
“How did you two escape?” Haghos demanded, pulling up by Nimos’s side.
Egey Bashi smiled. “I guess you’ll never find out.”
“You just don’t give up, do you?” the ex-reverend’s voice rang with anger.
“No.”
“And you, Aghat,” Haghos turned to Raishan. “I thought you’d had enough. I guess we should have killed you after all.”
Raishan remained still, but his sword arm tensed.
Kyth took care to stay behind and remain as inconspicuous as he could. He was tired and weak, but he pushed the weakness away and focused on the wind. He opened up and let it in, enjoying the sense of lightness it gave to his body, the strength it filled him with. The feeling came easier this time. Kyth balanced it, shaping it into a focus of power that hung in front of him like an invisible spearhead.
Nimos’s eyes flashed toward Mai’s still shape, stretched on the ground on the other side of the fire. His dark gaze lit up with triumph. “He was one of your best, wasn’t he?”
“He still is,” Raishan said calmly.
“Perhaps,” Nimos agreed. “But not for long. I’ve seen his injuries, Aghat. There’s no need to bluff. He is dying because he couldn’t stand up to us. One minor blow would kill him, and I don’t think even the Keepers’ cures could save his life. Do you want to end up the same?”
Raishan measured him with a quick glance, then looked further at the men behind him. Kyth couldn’t help noticing that the row of hooded figures looked sparse compared to the impressive force that had attacked and captured them two days ago. Raishan was clearly of the same opinion.
“Are these all of your men still able to stay in the saddle?” he asked.
“These are all the horses we could catch at short notice,” Nimos replied, “but more are coming. Rest assured, Aghat Raishan, we are well prepared.”
“I doubt it.”
Nimos drew himself up, but his posture looked just a touch less confident than before.
“By the way,” he said. “I distinctly remember that your Guildmaster gave us his word, backed by a considerable sum of gold, that no Majat would interfere with our mission to capture Prince Kythar. Aren’t you violating your orders by standing up to us?”
“This has nothing to do with Prince Kythar,” Raishan said. “I am protecting a Guild member.”
Nimos smiled. “No problem then. You give us Prince Kythar, and we won’t touch your Guild member, how about that? With the condition he’s in, I doubt he’d be of any value to us anyway.”
Raishan shook his head. “As it happens, I wouldn’t be able to stand up to you without Prince Kythar’s help. So, I’m afraid I can’t oblige.”
“Are you sure you can stand up to us with his help?”
Raishan shrugged. “I see only one way to find out.”
Nimos turned back to his men. “Get the boy!” he ordered.
The riders raised their bows, aiming them at Kyth. The three Kaddim Brothers in front stretched their hands, sending a blast of power toward Raishan.
Kyth tried to ignore the approaching arrows, a dark cloud closing in too fast to focus on. Balancing his invisible spear over Raishan’s head, he met the blast of Kaddim power head-on. The spearhead cut through it, peeling the sticky folds away from the Majat.
Raishan’s sword swept across, cutting the arrows in mid air. His free hand darted to the belt and came up with a pack of throwing knives. He released them one by one, a continuous streak of steel flying off his palm. Through the waves of the force Kyth could see men swaying in their saddles, grasping at wounded arms, or doubling over with more serious injuries, as Raishan’s knives reached their targets. In one sweep, the line of the combat-effective attackers was reduced by half. The few that remained looked hesitant.
Nimos uttered a short curse and released the pressure, looking at his disabled bowmen. Before he could say a command, Raishan leapt forward. The tip of his sword skimmed along the line of horses with a long, smooth movement. His hand darted to his belt again and came up with a short whip. He lashed it at Haghos. The Kaddim’s horse reared, and the other two shied sideways, scrambling to get out of the way.
Nimos was the fastest to react, jumping down before his gear slid off, dangling with the cut saddle straps. Farros followed, steadying himself against the horse’s side. But Haghos wasn’t able to recover the fall. He went straight down onto his back with the saddle and gear landing on top. The uninjured men at the back rushed to his aid.
Nimos and Farros drew curved sabers from the sheaths at their backs and fanned out, advancing on Raishan. They were moving at a slight crouch, fast and graceful like the best swordsmen Kyth had ever seen. He prayed that the combined skill of the two of them together wasn’t a match for a Diamond.
The Majat’s face showed nothing but calm concentration. Fending off Nimos on one side, he lashed out his whip in Farros’s direction. The force of it flattened the front of Farros’s robe before the tip came through and hit him on the cheek. The Kaddim gasped, clasping a hand to his face.
Orbens swept at Raishan from all sides as the other attackers recovered. He slid between the weapons, crowding on Farros who was clearly having trouble keeping up. Raishan seemed so intent on finishing the job that for a moment it looked as if he had forgotten all about the attackers at his back. Nimos saw the opportunity at once. He leapt forward, launching a powerful thrust.
Just as the blade was about to hit, Raishan stepped out of the way with dizzying speed. The blade continued on without resistance, and hit Farros in the chest.
There was a collective gasp as the wounded Kaddim stumbled backward, clasping hands to his chest. Nimos’s eyes flared with anger. But Raishan didn’t slow down. His blade snaked around Nimos’s sabers, coming through at an impossible speed. There was a screech and both blades flew out of Nimos’s hands. The man edged back, Raishan’s sword point touching his throat.
In the ensuing silence, weapons lowered everywhere in sight. The men watched the scene in horror.
“We give up,” Nimos said.
“Kill him, Aghat Raishan!” Egey Bashi shouted. “This is no time for chivalry.”
Raishan hesitated. Nimos used that moment to move toward his unsaddled horse. He mounted it in a frantic leap and steadied himself with visible difficulty. His men followed the unspoken signal, helping their injured comrades onto the horses.
“You don’t understand, Magister, do you?” Nimos said. “You can’t kill a servant of Ghaz Kadan. We’ll come back more powerful than you ever imagine.”
He turned his horse and threw it into a gallop. The others followed. Soon their shapes turned into a cloud of dust on the horizon.
Raishan lowered his sword, watching. Then he turned back to the camp. The Majat’s breath was uneven, suggesting that the fight wasn’t as easy as it had looked. Kyth relaxed, laying down the invisible spearhead, letting the power out of his body to be replaced by weakness. Raishan met his eyes with a nod of acknowledgment.
“Why didn’t you kill him, Aghat?” Egey Bashi demanded. “You had a chance and you–”
“He was unarmed,” Raishan said, a touch more forcefully than necessary. “And he surrendered.”
“This man’s scheming has almost killed the two best Diamonds of your Guild, Aghat! One is now an outcast, and either of them might still die.”
Raishan paused.
“He did something to you, didn’t he?” Egey Bashi said. “He used some other power, something Prince Kythar missed, to stay your hand.”
Raishan shrugged. “I’m not sure. You have to understand, Magister. We must avoid killing at all cost, unless it’s a part of an assignment.”
“But–”
