She growled right back.
Nephenia stood close behind me. ‘Kellen, what’s happening? What are they doing?’
Reichis started chittering and growling almost incoherently. It took me a moment to make any sense of what he was saying. ‘I don’t care what scent she’s giving off!’ he shouted. ‘She and the other skinbags tried to kill me!’
The other animal’s reply wasn’t nearly as loud. In fact it was quiet … like a whisper. Whatever it was, it took the fight out of Reichis. He looked, well, I guessed it was frightened. He knelt down low, his chin on the ground. ‘Fine, let her talk,’ he mumbled. ‘I’m still going to kill her later.’
‘Kellen?’ Nephenia asked.
I turned, and saw that she was drenched from the rain and not dressed for it. Her hair clung to her face and she looked absolutely terrified. I wanted so badly in that moment to hold her, to reassure her, but I just wasn’t sure I could trust her. ‘What are you doing here, Nephenia?’ I asked.
She looked down at Reichis. ‘Is that …? Is that the one we …?’
‘Tortured?’ he growled. ‘Used filthy Jan’Tep magic on?’
‘He looks different,’ she said. ‘Not like the monsters we were told about at all.’
I wasn’t sure what to say to that, given he looked pretty much the same as when she’d tortured him, so I settled for, ‘His name is Reichis.’
For some reason that set tears streaming down her cheeks. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she cried. ‘I don’t know why we … I wanted so badly to prove myself to the others. I wanted to show I could do the high magics.’ She turned to look at me, all the composure drained out of her face, replaced with misery. ‘Will you tell him I’m sorry?’
‘He can hear you,’ I replied.
She turned and, with what I thought was remarkable bravery, knelt down in front of Reichis. The hackle of his fur rose as he bared his teeth at her and growled something I couldn’t make out. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I know there’s no excuse for what I did.’
When Reichis didn’t respond, Nephenia looked up to me. ‘Does he understand? He’s not—’
‘Tell the bitch I’m going to sneak into her house one night very soon. I’m going to climb up onto her face and rip off her ears and then I’m going to eat her eyeballs right in front of her.’
There was so much rage radiating from him it practically made the rain dripping through the roof steam off his fur. I guess I couldn’t really blame him. ‘She thought you were a monster, Reichis. She didn’t understand.’
‘If I could take it back, I swear I would,’ Nephenia said, practically begging him now. It made for an odd sight.
He bristled. ‘Fine,’ he growled. ‘Tell her to pick her favourite eye. She can keep one.’ He looked up at me and snarled. ‘The other one, I’m eating.’
‘What did he say?’ Nephenia asked.
‘He said …’ I locked eyes with Reichis and did my best not to flinch. ‘He said he understands. He says we all do stupid things sometimes. He says he forgives you.’
Reichis was not impressed. ‘Oh, that’s it. Now I’m going for your eyeballs too, you lousy—’
He was cut off by the other squirrel cat, who nipped his ear. Reichis growled back at her. ‘Being around you is like having thorns in all four paws, you know that?’
Nephenia rose to her feet. ‘We have to get you out of here, Kellen. Tennat and his brothers are looking for you. They’re using tracking spells.’
‘Like you did,’ I said.
She nodded. ‘I found you first. The spell is stronger when there’s an emotional … I just found you first, that’s all.’ She shook her head. ‘Everyone’s gone mad, Kellen. Tennat’s been strutting around like his father’s already the clan prince. The council says they’re going to hold the election tonight, even though it wasn’t supposed to happen for weeks yet.’
‘I don’t understand. I thought they wanted to use the initiates’ trials as a way to see which house has the best bloodlines?’
‘That’s just it – they’re putting the initiates through the trials tonight, one after another. Everybody is scrambling, trying to make sure they have a secret to sell for the fourth test. Panahsi won’t even talk to me. He just keeps practising spells inside his family’s sanctum.’
The other squirrel cat sniffed the air and chittered something. Reichis translated. ‘More headed this way.’ He looked up at me. ‘Four of them, all mages from the stink.’
Nephenia closed her eyes for a moment. ‘It’s Tennat. He’s using the same spell I am … there’s a kind of tension between the two.’ She opened her eyes. ‘Kellen, you’ve got to get out of here. Now.’
‘How? They’ll just keep tracking me.’
‘I sparked the band for silk magic yesterday. There’s something I can try that will confuse them, make them follow me instead of you. I’ll use distortion spells to keep them off my trail, and if they do find me, they’ll just think Tennat messed up his spell.’
‘And what if he doesn’t? What if he figures out—’
‘He won’t. Tennat thinks I’m just a silly girl who plays at being a mage.’
‘Time’s running out,’ Reichis chittered. ‘I can hear them fumbling around inside one of the houses on the other side of the street.’
Nephenia took my hands. ‘Kellen, I’ve heard people talking, saying that the Mahdek are the ones who took your sister. They say that Daroman woman, Ferius Parfax, was looking for her and then she got taken, too.’
Reichis shuffled up to the door. ‘Make up your mind, kid. Either way, I’m out of here.’
I caught Nephenia’s eyes. ‘Are you sure you can do this?’
She nodded. ‘Find your sister, Kellen. If she goes to the mage trials tonight, there’s still a chance that your father will be elected instead of Ra’meth.’ When I hesitated she said, ‘Let me do this, Kellen. Let me do the brave thing for once in my life.’
How the hells am I suppose to make these kinds of choices? ‘What do we have to do?’ I asked.
She closed her eyes and formed somatic shapes with both hands, two simple cantrips, one for attracting, one for shunning, each the reverse of the other bound into a single spell, then interlacing the syllables of the evocations back. It was clever actually. Then she put her arms around me and hugged me. ‘I need to strengthen the connection between us. It’ll make it easier to fool Tennat’s tracking spell.’
We stood like that for a while before she let go, but she didn’t step away. ‘I think … I think it’s working,’ she said. I wasn’t sure how to reply, all I could think about was the fact that my lips had never been this close to hers.
Reichis snorted. ‘You do remember you were puking up green foam a few minutes ago, right?’
Hells. ‘I’d better go,’ I said.
‘No,’ Nephenia said. ‘You stay here. I’ll go first and draw Tennat and the others away. Wait until after I’m gone, and then go find Shalla.’
Before I could stop her, she started out the door. ‘Wait,’ I said. ‘Why are you doing this?’
Nephenia paused at the door. ‘Back at the oasis you told me that one day I’d figure out I was special.’ She turned and looked back at me, a silhouette framed by the doorway, rain pouring down all around her, ready to risk her life for mine. ‘I’m done waiting.’
30
The Prisoner
Those next few minutes nearly drove me insane. Every sound I heard – every drop of rain dripping onto the floor through the leaky roof, the steps outside of Sha’Tep returning to their homes after their day’s labours, running, stumbling to get out of the wet – I jumped at all of them. I kept wondering when the next noise would be Tennat and his brothers shouting for me, or Nephenia screaming.
‘You know,’ Reichis said, ‘I kind of like that human. Maybe I’ll let her keep both eyes.’
‘That’s decent of you.’
‘I’m still going to eat one of her ears.’
After another minute, he went to the do
or and sniffed the air outside. I couldn’t help but wonder, given how arrogant the little bastard was, whether his sense of smell could really be as good as he claimed it. ‘They’re gone,’ he said, then added, ‘Guess this is where we part ways.’ He started out the door.
‘Wait! Stop!’
The squirrel cat peeked a head back in. ‘What?’
‘I thought you were going to help me!’ I replied, immediately wishing the words hadn’t come out sounding so desperate.
Reichis gave a passable imitation of a shrug. ‘I did help you. I freed you from your parents before they finished … whatever it was they were doing to you. I gave you lightning weed and got you out of the house, and now you’re here, in this lovely hideout where you can lay low for a while.’
‘My sister’s in danger! So is Ferius. I need you to help me—’
‘You need?’ the squirrel cat repeated. ‘You need a lot of things, kid. What’s in it for me?’ He shuffled over and started pawing at the pockets of my trousers. ‘Don’t suppose you’ve got anything to trade?’
‘Stop that,’ I said, pushing him away. If I’d been smarter I would have brought something from my father’s study to bargain with. In my defence, I’d never had to put the lives of people I cared about in the hands of overgrown avaricious part-feline rodents before. ‘You said … You said there was a tradition between your people and the Mahdek. You said sometimes you worked together.’
‘So?’
‘So, be my business partner.’
The other squirrel cat chittered.
Reichis gave what sounded like a loud, stuttering cough. It took me a moment to realise he was laughing. ‘Him? What’s he got to offer?’ He started walking around me like a merchant inspecting defective wares. ‘He doesn’t own anything, he can’t fight worth a damn and from what I’ve seen so far, he doesn’t have any magic. Why in the world would I—’
The other animal was on him again. This time Reichis resisted, but within seconds she landed him flat on his back with her teeth around his neck, shaking him. ‘Fine!’ he growled. ‘Gods damn it. I’ll do it.’
The female gave one more shake and then let him go. With as much dignity as anyone could muster in the situation, Reichis righted himself and snarled at her. ‘You’re a terrible mother, you know that?’
‘That’s your mother?’
He looked up. ‘Of course she’s my mother. Can’t you see the resemblance?’ Without waiting for a reply he ambled back to me. ‘All right. We’ll try this thing. One time. I’ll help you find your sister and the Argosi and in return you help get me something I want. But I’m not your familiar, understand? I’m not your pet and I’m not your friend. If you can’t hold up your end of the bargain, I’m gone. Got it?’
‘I guess that’s fair,’ I replied, my eyes still on the other squirrel cat, who now looked as placid as still water.
‘Hold out your hand,’ Reichis said.
Great. He’s going to bite me again. I figured this must be part of the ritual and, not being in a position to refuse, I did as he asked. Sure enough, he sunk his teeth into my palm. It hurt worse than the other two times. ‘Do your people have any traditions that don’t involve biting?’ I asked.
Reichis started for the door. ‘That wasn’t for any tradition. You just piss me off.’
With the effects of the lightning weed having worn off, it was even harder for me to keep up with Reichis and his mother. The pair of them led me down the pre-dawn streets and alleys on such a winding path that I soon lost my bearings entirely. It wasn’t until we stopped in front of a long, vine-covered wall over ten feet high that I realised where we were. ‘What are we doing behind the palace?’
‘Climbing,’ Reichis replied, leaping up to swiftly ascend all the way to the top of the wall. He turned and looked back down at me. ‘Quietly, if you can manage it.’
It took me forever to make the climb. It didn’t help having Reichis sniggering at me all the while. By the time I got to the top I could barely get in enough breath to speak. ‘I don’t understand. Is my sister here?’
I heard a soft rustle as Reichis’s mother climbed up effortlessly behind me. She chittered something I couldn’t understand. ‘We don’t know where your sister is, kid,’ Reichis replied. ‘That’s why we’re here. We need to talk to the prisoner.’
I looked out over the endless gardens within the walls, my eyes settling on the dark shape of its lone cottage. I felt ill. I’d thought the dowager magus had been trying to help me, or at least wasn’t part of whatever conspiracy was trying to tear down the clan. ‘Who is Mer’esan keeping prisoner?’
Reichis looked up and tilted his head. ‘You really don’t know anything, do you? The old lady isn’t keeping anyone prisoner. She’s the prisoner.’
31
The Cell
‘I suppose this was inevitable,’ Mer’esan said as she opened the door to the cottage. She caught sight of the markings around my eye and something like sympathy flickered in her expression. ‘Come inside. We’ll need to cover that up before someone sees you.’
As I entered, Mer’esan noticed the two squirrel cats following behind and her upper lip curled. ‘Hideous little monsters, aren’t they?’
Reichis sauntered past her. ‘You’re no prize yourself, you rancid old prune.’ He clambered onto the lone chair in the room, then hopped up onto a shelf and began examining the various trinkets adorning it.
‘Foul-mouthed too,’ Mer’esan said, motioning for me to stand beneath a lantern.
‘Wait … You can understand them?’
‘I’m three hundred years old, Kellen. You think I haven’t the magic to follow their simple little minds?’ She gave me a look of disdain that was remarkably like the ones Reichis kept giving me. I decided not to mention the similarity.
From within the folds of her garments, Mer’esan pulled out a small jar. She opened it and dipped a finger inside, then spread a small quantity of lotion over the markings around my left eye. She knew, I realised. Not just that I had the shadowblack, but that I’d end up back here.
‘There,’ she said, once she was done. She handed me the jar. ‘Keep this with you. The paste blends well enough with your natural skin colour, but you’ll need to put more on as it wears away over the course of the day.’ She grabbed my jaw and forced me to lock eyes with her. ‘This won’t protect you, you understand? Mages who know the spells will be able to track you if they want to. Believe me, son of the House of Ke, they will want to.’
‘Is there a cure? Can you—’
The dowager magus took a seat in her customary chair. ‘What did I tell you about asking questions to which you already know the answer?’
My heart sank. She was right – I already knew the answer. My parents had already confessed to me that they’d long feared I would contract the condition. They must have searched everywhere for a cure, if only so I didn’t embarrass our house and hurt my father’s bid to become clan prince. Was there ever a time, even just a moment, where they saw me as their son and not as some danger to our house that had to be dealt with?
‘Great,’ Reichis chittered, peering down at me from his perch on the shelf. ‘He’s crying again.’
‘I’m not—’
‘They are simple creatures,’ Mer’esan said. ‘For all their cunning, they do not comprehend the notion of sympathy.’
Reichis’s mother stepped forward and gave a low growl. The dowager magus bowed her head in reply. ‘I suppose you have a point, little mother. I stand corrected.’
‘What did she say?’ I asked.
‘She reminded me that our people sometimes suffer from the same deficiency.’
‘So it’s true? You’re locked in here?’ I started looking around the small one-room cottage, at the walls where they met the floor and the bottom edge of the door. I could find no signs of anything that might be used to hold a mage captive.
‘I can leave anytime I want,’ Mer’esan replied.
‘Then you aren’t a pris
oner?’
‘We’re all prisoners in our own way, Kellen.’
‘Yes, but …’ I stopped, noticing the odd expression on her face and sensing that nothing I said or asked would get her to answer what I wanted to know. That, in and of itself, provided the explanation. ‘A mind chain,’ I whispered, awed that such a thing was even possible against a mage of Mer’esan’s power.
She said nothing in reply, merely leaned back in her chair, looking placidly at the wall in front of her as if it were a peaceful vista. The spells lighting up her skin beneath the silken fabrics she wore shifted and shimmered, her features changing back and forth, sometimes young and beautiful, almost innocent. Other times she looked as old as every one of her three hundred years.
A sudden anger overtook me. Who would chain her like this? Who would have the strength? Mer’esan was vastly more powerful than Ra’meth or even my father. Maybe if the whole council of lords magi were working in concert, but the chances of that were slim. That left only … Oh … ‘Your husband. The clan prince did this to you, didn’t he?’
Again there was no reply, as if she hadn’t heard my question. The mind chain keeps her from saying or doing anything that would impede its control over her. Underneath the calm exterior, I saw a deep sense of sorrow in her eyes. Sorrow, and betrayal.
Reichis’s mother walked over and clambered up onto the old woman’s lap. It was an oddly intimate gesture. ‘Disgusting creature,’ the dowager magus said, but then proceeded to stroke her fur.
‘What if we took you out of here?’ I asked. ‘Would the chain still—’
‘I like this old place,’ Mer’esan said before I could finish. ‘I’m used to it. It’s like my own little …’ she seemed to struggle with the next word before finally saying, ‘oasis.’
This is her power source. This was why she never left the cottage: only here did she have the strength required to maintain the spells holding her body together. ‘All these years … keeping yourself alive …’ Had she been waiting so long for the clan prince to finally die and for his spell to fade?
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