Gilga’s smiled like the snarl of a swamp fox.
“Your arrival was most fortunate. I will deliver you to the commander as a Scythian spy, permitted to enter the gates by none other than my watch captain himself, and in front of a dozen fellow warriors, no less! I’ve even placed a Scythian knife in your pack next to the captain’s gold to seal your doom.”
Gilga leaned his head back and smiled as if savoring his victory to come. He lifted Sarah’s body higher, hiked her dress and began to work his way between her legs.
“First, I’ll enjoy my new slave. She will fetch a glorious price on the block.”
Aizarg saw his staff and pack lying within arm’s reach. He reached out, grasped the staff, and struggled to stand. Another wave of dizziness incapacitated him and he collapsed.
Sarah cried out with a quick gasp of pain as Gilga found his mark. Aizarg clenched his eyes shut.
I failed.
A small, dirty foot materialized next to Aizarg’s face. A little hand snatched his pack. In quick succession, waves of feet silently tread between the Gilga and Aizarg. Several stooped to snatch Gilga’s armor and weapons before scurrying into the shadows.
Gilga, too engrossed in violating Sarah’s limp body, didn’t notice the newcomers. Sarah stared into nothingness, hiding in her thoughts until Gilga finished his vile deed.
Another pair of feet landed next to Aizarg’s head. A child’s hand reached down for his staff, but suddenly pulled away with a yelp.
Gilga snapped around at the sound. “Be gone or I’ll gut the lot of you!” He dropped Sarah and reached for his sword, but it was gone. Shock and rage flashed across the warrior’s face as he simultaneously tried to close his robe and chase the children.
A shadow darted from Gilga’s left and leapt onto the warrior’s back. Gilga stumbled backward and reached over his shoulder, trying to pull the assailant off. He spun and danced around, unable to shake his attacker. In a flash, a hand blurred under Gilga’s beard and briefly exposed his thickly corded neck. Like a cat, the attacker slid off and lightly landed behind the warrior.
Gilga calmly looked down at Aizarg for a long moment. His naked front, including his still excited member, fully exposed as blood poured from under his beard like a waterfall. It painted his body bright red and loudly splattered into the dust. Gilga’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped like a felled tree.
Now Aizarg saw the attacker in full. It was the boy who followed them through the city. He wore a loin cloth and had long, sandy brown hair. His gray eyes were piercing and cold.
No one that young should be capable of such coldness.
The killer dispassionately turned to Sarah, the bloody bronze knife still in his hands.
Aizarg struggled to stand yet again, but an unseen hand snatched back his head. A knee dug into his back and a cold blade kissed his throat. The boy turned to Aizarg’s unseen attacker and held up his hand. The blade relaxed against Aizarg’s skin.
Some of the feral children came into view and tried to steal Aizarg’s staff, but cried out at the slightest touch. One child, naked, grime covered and with long, tangled hair, could not have been more than six. It shocked Aizarg how efficiently the child stripped the skirt and sandals from Gilga’s bloody corpse.
Sarah recovered her senses and focused on the boy lording over her. Her forehead wrinkled for a moment and then her eyes flew wide open with astonishment.
“Ezra!” she cried and leapt to her feet. She embraced him so tightly Aizarg thought she would snap his back. He stood rigid, as if unsure what to do, then the knife slid from his grip. He slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head against her bosom. She cried and kissed the top of his head over and over like a mother might do to her child. His steely eyes softened, closed and the killer vanished.
The little boy’s jaw was agape in wonder as he looked up at the embracing figures. He held Gilga’s bloody skirt and sandals all bunched up in his arms like meat gleaned from a kill. Blood streaked the child’s body like mud, as if he’d only been playing along the shore all day in the autumn sun.
“Ezra,” the little boy said with shy tenderness. “Your sister is pretty!”
***
Sarah convinced her brother not to slit Aizarg’s throat, but that was as far as their conversation progressed before Ezra cut her off.
“Sarah, there is no time to talk. It’s too late to hide the body, we must flee.”
Aizarg’s pack vanished into the hands of the feral children, payment for saving their lives. Ezra could only retrieve Aizarg’s water skin before his gang scattered into the shadows like rats. If the food in his pack would feed a few of the children for another day, Aizarg was glad of it and thankful he still had his and Atamoda’s li-ge around his neck.
Sarah wiped as much of the dried blood from Aizarg’s face as she could. He gulped some water, which seemed to abate some of the dizziness.
With his staff in one hand and Sarah supporting the other arm, Aizarg followed Ezra deeper into the alley and the depths of Hur-ar.
***
They stumbled through Hur-ar’s dark heart as fast as Aizarg’s wobbly legs permitted. He tried to retain some sense of direction, but as they twisted and turned through the maze of narrow alleys, Aizarg became hopelessly disoriented. Daylight still peaked between the rooftops, but he sensed nightfall approaching.
Sarah supported much of his weight without complaint, but Aizarg wondered if she was all right. The vision of her rape burned in his mind.
She’s already hidden that suffering away in the secret place she hides all her pain.
Ezra halted and held up his hand. He looked about to make sure they were alone. The empty alley reeked of sewage. Ahead, the alley opened to daylight. Aizarg saw what looked like a cliff just beyond and deduced they were near the edge of the city.
“Rest, but only for a few moments,” Ezra whispered.
Sarah slowly helped Aizarg to the ground and gave him the water skin.
“Ezra, where are we?” Sarah asked.
Ezra knelt next to them and pointed to the daylight. “We will come out at the base of the Cliff Road. The way to the Black Fortress is unguarded and perhaps the last place they’ll look for us.” He looked around in the alley. “But it won’t be long before the guards start searching the backstreets and asking questions.
“You and your...” Ezra gave Aizarg a quizzical glance, “...companion were seen with the warrior. When his body is discovered, they will be looking for you. The city guard is relentless enough without vengeance spurring them on. With an outlander involved, they will seal the front of the city first.”
Aizarg always thought Sarah well-spoken, especially for a slave. This man-child was also well spoken, perhaps more so than his older sister. Definitely more than Aizarg would have expected of a street beggar.
Ezra looked to the cliff and his voice became hard. “Hiding in the shadows of the Black Fortress might buy us a day, after that I might be able to make other arrangements; but ultimately, there is no safe place for you. No one will take you in and there will be a bounty for your heads. It’s likely my own gang will betray me for such a bounty. You are already dead, as am I.”
Aizarg knew the cruel fires of Hur-ar had refined Ezra into a cunning leader.
“Then why did you help us?” Aizarg asked.
“Sarah is my only family. I thought I had lost her once, I will not lose her again.” He smiled and touched her hair. “I couldn’t believe it was really you. I recognized you, even with this.”
Sarah stroked his cheek. “You are a prayer answered.”
Ezra looked Aizarg up and down suspiciously. “Who is this ‘master,’ that you would spare his life?”
Sarah smiled mischievously. “He’s not my master. He’s my father.”
Ezra frowned.
Sarah smiled adoringly at Aizarg and held his hand. “It’s a long story, Ezra. I will tell you everything as we climb the Cliff Road.” She studied Aiza
rg’s face and frowned.
“The warrior certainly landed a solid blow, but I don’t think your nose is broken. Most of your wounds came from your fall.” She took his water skin, poured a few drops onto the corner of his kaffiya, and then lightly dabbed the cuts on his face. “I’ll tend your wounds properly when we get to the top.”
The coldness returned to Ezra’s face. He stood and turned away. “Mother is dead.”
Sarah winced, but kept dabbing Aizarg’s face. “How?” Sarah said.
“Not long after Father sold you off, he made Ashtoreth his First Wife. Mother was dead within a week.” Ezra swallowed hard, the steely façade cracked ever so slightly. “Our ‘dear’ half-brother, Bal-eeb, tried to slit my throat, but I escaped. The gutters of Hur-ar are my home now. Now Father is dead and Ashtoreth is a wealthy widow. They call her the Snake of Hur-ar. She’d plotted it all along. With Father’s gold, Ashtoreth bought Bal-eeb a command in the city guard.”
“Sarah, I’m sorry,” Aizarg whispered.
“I saw Bal-eeb at the gate, though thankfully he did not recognize me.” Sarah fought for composure. “Ezra only confirmed what I already knew in my heart. I shall mourn for my mother and father later. We must go.”
Ezra turned to them and bit his lower lip for control, just like Sarah. Aizarg saw the wound still fresh in Ezra’s heart.
They look so much alike.
“The Cliff Road will be deserted,” Ezra said. “But the king’s traders will attempt another exchange with the Narim tomorrow. They’ll bring a host of guards to protect the wagons. We’ll have to depart the cliff before dawn and slip into the sewers. In the sewers we risk discovery by other thieves, who could either kill or betray us.”
“Why isn’t the Cliff Road guarded?” Aizarg asked.
Ezra shrugged, as if the answer were simple. “The road is a dead end. No one fears the Narim, and they need no protection. The poor don’t go up there because there is no water or shelter.”
“The Cliff Road is perfect,” Sarah said as she stood up. “Because that is where we want to go. We are here to see the Narim, brother.”
Ezra shook his head. “The Narim? I don’t understand.”
“We will tell you as we climb.” Sarah helped Aizarg to his feet. “We must devise a plan to sneak into the traders’ wagons and hope the Narim will open the outer gate tomorrow. Father, can you walk without help?”
Aizarg nodded. They turned to Ezra, who hadn’t budged. He eyed them as if trying to make a decision.
“What is it, Ezra?” Sarah asked.
“I know a way into the Black Fortress.”
***
Aizarg hugged the side of the road away from the drop-off and tried not to look down. Each time he glanced over the precipice, he became light-headed. They were only halfway up the cliff and he saw the entire city spread out before him. Aizarg peered into the heart of the grand market where the people milling about appeared as insignificant as ants.
Is this how the gods see all of us?
Aizarg saw clearly across the Hur Valley where the Kupar Bridge and the hills beyond stood as vanguards against the immense grasslands stretching west under the sunset.
Could I climb but a little higher, perhaps I could see the Great Sea.
Switchback after agonizing switchback they climbed. Aizarg’s thighs burned and his lungs screamed. Sarah seemed to breathe heavier than normal, but Ezra wasn’t even sweating.
“The air!” Aizarg took heaving gulps, but couldn’t seem to fill his lungs. “It is difficult to breathe.”
Ezra smiled at Aizarg for the first time. “It takes a while for an outlander to get used to it.”
The late afternoon grew cooler even in the face of a strong setting sun. They approached the level of the tree line, and above that, the white blanket Sarah called snow. He so badly wanted to touch it. Was it soft? Was it cold? His imagination ran wild.
Too bad I don’t have my pack. He wanted to stuff some snow inside his pack to show his family.
It wasn’t just the thin, nippy air or the arduous climb that occupied his mind. Aizarg felt the weight of the Black Fortress pressing down on him.
As they climbed, Sarah told Ezra about how she came to know Aizarg. With each new turn of her tale, Ezra looked back at Aizarg in astonishment.
“Now you know our tale, brother. Tell us how we can get into the Black Fortress.”
“It will be easier to show you,” Ezra said.
***
The sun almost touched the western horizon when they reached the top. Aizarg bent over with his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath, partly from exhaustion, and partly from the immensity of the Black Fortress.
“I have never seen it so close,” Sarah whispered.
The Cliff Road emerged in the center of a ledge running the length of the wall. The wall was made of whole Kupar logs driven into the stone ledge, so tightly spaced there wasn’t room for even a knife between them. The titanic logs were bound together with heavy iron bands, much as they were on the Kupar Bridge. This wall, black as night, stood three times higher than the city wall.
The gate stood in the center of the wall, indistinguishable except for a large bronze bell affixed to its surface with two heavy wooden crosspieces.
What are the Narim trying to keep out?
The ledge ran the length of the wall in both directions for at least two hundred feet. A dozen men could stand shoulder-to-shoulder on the ledge from the wall to the cliff. Crushed gray stone covered the ledge, making the wall appear even blacker. At the ends it tapered and vanished where the wall and cliff joined. There, it plummeted to the city thousands of feet below.
Legs aching, Aizarg hobbled to the gate and touched it. He pulled his hand back and examined the sticky, black substance covering his fingers.
Aizarg turned to Sarah and Ezra. “I’ve seen this before. I can’t remember where, but I’m sure of it.”
Sarah touched the wall with one finger and rubbed the substance between her fingers.
“The strange, black substance sometimes seeps over the wall,” Ezra said. “Though no one knows what it is, but it gives the Black Fortress its name.”
Sarah sniffed it. “It has a strong smell, like pine trees.”
“It reminds me of the tree resin we use to seal our reed boats, but this is much darker and thicker.”
“Why would the Narim put it on their wall?” Sarah asked.
“Maybe to preserve the wood, to keep it from rotting or keep termites out,” Aizarg shrugged.
He turned to Ezra. “Show us how to get in.”
***
They stood where the southern ledge terminated at an abyssal drop off. One more step and they would drop to the city below.
Aizarg peeked over the ledge, but snatched himself back. “You climbed out there?” Aizarg couldn’t fathom anyone being able to hold on to the sheer cliff face.
“It was either that or get shot. I didn’t think the guards would pursue me all the way up here. Usually, they get winded and abandon their pursuit halfway up.” Ezra beamed with pride and continued. “They are starting to know my name. I’m a damn good thief and I suspect there’s a bounty on my head.”
Sarah considered the rock face. “I think I see where you gripped the rock and placed your toes.” She pointed. There...there...and there.”
Aizarg squinted, but only saw smooth, vertical rock.
“That’s right,” Ezra nodded. “Can you still climb?”
Sarah grinned mischievously. It was easy for Aizarg to forget she was raped only a couple of hours ago.
“I haven’t climbed since Father sold me, but that only means I might be slightly better than you now.”
“You are as deluded as ever,” Ezra teased and poked at her.
Aizarg kept safely away from the edge, but felt like he would plummet to his death if he got so much as one inch closer. His knees shook. He flattened his back against the cliff and fought the vertigo.
Mountains are
no place for a fisherman.
He swallowed hard, trying to hide his fear. “You crawled out there and they pursued you?”
“No, they stood where we are now and fired arrows at me. You can still see where the arrows scraped the rock. I was barely able to slip around the corner in time. That’s when I found the small ledge. You can’t see it from here, but it’s actually easy to reach and big enough for the three of us. I was going to wait until they grew tired, but then I had a plan.” Ezra cupped his hands and shouted, “Ahhhhhhhh...!” as if he were falling. “They fell for it and I heard them laugh and leave. I thought it might be a trick, so I sat down to wait. That’s when I saw the crack.
“I thought it was just a shallow indentation, but then I saw daylight shining through. I crawled in and realized it led inside the Black Fortress. That’s when I heard voices and turned around as fast as I could.”
“Did you see anything?” Aizarg asked.
He shook his head. “The Black Fortress is death.”
He’s not afraid to crawl across the cliff like an insect on a wall, but he wouldn’t go inside the Black Fortress?
Sarah looked to the setting sun. “We must go now, or wait until morning. Uros?”
Aizarg stared at the cliff, one hand gripping the rock face, one clenching his staff.
“Father, are you all right?”
“I can’t do this, Sarah,” he blurted, the fear gushing out all at once. “I can’t. Climbing out there is impossible. I will fall.”
“You must do it!”
“I cannot!” Aizarg closed his eyes, unable to look at the chasm. Fear paralyzed him in a way he’d never experienced.
I must be under an evil spell. Oh, if only Setenay were here to ward it off.
Sarah ran her hands through his hair.
“Open your eyes,” Sarah said softly but firmly.
“I cannot smell the sea!”
“Father!”
Aizarg’s eyes snapped open. Only inches from his face, Sarah’s eyes bore into his.
Black Sea Gods: Chronicles of Fu Xi Page 30
