Oath Keeper

by Jefferson Smith

  He was gone.

  The elixir had swept him beyond the place where he could touch her mind, but it had been enough. More than enough. Oh my son! My beautiful and capable son! To think that she had dared hope only that he survived. And then to learn this. Such wondrous news beyond hoping! More than alive, he was free! And from his captivity, he had dragged a powerful gift. A mighty gift! M’Ateliana, captured by Gnomes, but then delivered from them before they learned of their fortune. By her wonderful, wonderful son! This was news that must reach the Wasketchin King.

  Shaleen turned and scrambled her way back down the Leap. Abeni and Tayna must leave at once!

  * * *

  When Tayna went to bed that night, it was with the jangling accompaniment of an electric current burning through her skin. At least, that’s how it felt. So much seemed to be going on, and as usual, most of it seemed to be orbiting around her. Since the family had gone into action mode, things were happening quickly now, and it was hard to keep it all straight in her head. She need to talk it out, put it in some kind of order.

  Or write it.

  And who better to write to, than a powerless god who listens to frightened children but does nothing useful about what she hears?

  But lying there in the dark, her head whirling too fast to let sleep slip through, Tayna realized that maybe all those old letters to Shammi really had served a purpose. She had always been so focused on the suspicion that nobody was out there listening, that she forgot there was one other important person who needed to hear it all laid out too.

  Herself.

  Only, she didn’t exactly need to write it down for that to happen, did she? All she really needed was to think it through, in logical order, as though it were a letter, but without all the accessories.

  With that, Tayna rolled over onto her back and began to “write.”

  Dear Shammi:

  So here I am at Abeni’s house, at the top of the Anvil, and things are going so fab! It’s such a cool place, and there’s so much to tell, but I’m too excited to go over all the old news. Let me just say: Miseratu, ice fields, Judgment, Gnomes, refugees, more Gnomes, kings, Keshwa-Ji, and more kings. There. You’re now up to speed. (grin)

  Okay, seriously. I’ll tell you about all of that later. Right now I’ve got to tell you about the really important stuff.

  Most of it’s all chuckles, but the Hall of Histories turned out to be totally lame. I was really looking forward to meeting this Bosuke guy everyone keeps talking about, but it turns out he flaked, and now they’ve put some office-bozobot in charge. Imagine, running a library like a bank! Anyway, tomorrow morning, we’ll ask around and see if we can find out where Bosuke went. I totally foxed the map from Wijen, but Abeni thinks Bosuke probably knows more useful intel that hasn’t even been marked down yet, and Zimu really needs to talk to him too, so finding him will probably be good. Plus, having something to do in the morning will be extra helpful, because if I don’t have something to do, I’ll probably flip a squirrel, worrying about this whole Mabundi thing tomorrow. (See above. Specifically “kings” and “more kings.” Don’t worry about it. I’ll fill you in later.)

  Speaking of Abeni, you should see this enormous list he wrote. It’s like he wants to take half the Anvil down to help Malkior and the Wasketchin. Kijamon told him he could have it all, if he really wanted it, but that it would take six months, so he should probably write a shorter list and just concentrate on what he needs first. So now the big goof is all grumpy, and he’s still up, making a smaller list. But he’d better hurry. We’re supposed to be leaving first thing, the day after tomorrow, and somebody is still going to have to build and pack whatever we’re taking. It’s kinda funny seeing him here with his family. He’s so much more like a kid than his usual wise and powerful adventure Djin. Turns out the “wise and powerful” bit is sort of a family thing.

  So is crankiness, now that I think about it. House Kijamon doesn’t like stupidity much. It makes them all growly. Like, today Kijamon went to sing his Song of Whispers, or whatever it was he called it. Well it worked, so “Yay!” But it turns out the other Houses are kind of dragging their heels now, and Kijamon’s having a fit, but can you blame them? They’ve been moaning for weeks about how Mabundi seems to spend all his time here, and then the guy in charge of here contacts them on the bat-phone to tell them the King’s insane and we might need to put a bullet in him. Okay, those are my words, not his, but you get the idea. What were they supposed to say? “Oh, okay, Kijamon, go ahead and whack the King and take over yourself. We’ve got your back?” Yeah, right.

  But I can’t really blame Kijamon either. The other Houses want to talk and talk and talk about what to do, but they don’t get how bad things are, and how fast they’re getting worse. Still, he’s a pretty impressive guy, so he’ll probably get it sorted out. Everybody pretty much worships him around here, and you should see him work a crowd. Everyone talks, and everyone answers, and somehow, it all gets processed.

  Oh, that reminds me. You will not believe what Shaleen found out. Sarqi is alive! And not just alive, but it sounds like he’s throwing down with Angiron and the Gnomes all over the place, and kicking hairy butt! Not only did he manage to break out of Gnome prison, but he got somebody else out too. Somebody important. You ready for this?

  Who could Angiron have in his prison camp that would absolutely destroy Malkior and kick the sails out of all the Wasketchin? Queen M’Ateliana, right? Well that’s exactly who they had! Only they didn’t know it. So Sarqi tosses around some wocky-socky-hiya! action, and soon he’s strolling around, free as you please, with Queen freaking M’Ateliana along for the ride! You should see how proud everybody is. Even me! I mean, Sarqi is a bit of a sourball, but I gotta admit, he came through big time on this.

  Now all he has to do is figure out where Malkior is, and then he can get her home, safe and sound. But don’t ask me how Shaleen got all this, because it sounds like fairy dust and wishing to me. She goes up to some middle-finger-in-the-sky rock and asks it questions, and it answers her. I don’t get it, but everybody else does, so I’ve gotta trust them on that.

  Anyhow, that just leaves tomorrow, and I’d tell you all about it, but I don’t want to scare you. Or me. Let’s just say I’ll fill you in after it’s all over. Okay?

  And that’s it. Did you know that mountains have thin air and long days? Well they do, and now I’ve gotta get me some zee-time. I’d ask you to write back, but we’re past that now, right? So if you do have any questions, just wake me up and ask. I’ll be the doofus drooling on the bed with her eyes closed.

  See ya when I see ya,

  Tayna of the Mountain.

  With her skin still crackling and buzzing like she was on fire, Tayna rolled over and pulled the pillow up over her head. She’d sleep now for a while. If she could.

  And tomorrow she’d find out if she had sparked a civil war.

  * * *

  Flee now!

  Tayna came awake blind and confused. The darkness around her was absolute and the tendrils of sleep were slow to withdraw. She could almost feel them pulling away from her, like a silk scarf being dragged across her face, leaving confused questions in its wake. Where was she? Could be anywhere. The Old Shoe? Veest’s dehn? The Cold Shoulder? She had been dreaming of voices in the night… Slowly, the scarf withdrew further and the answers began to swim up out of the dark. Kijamon’s house. Abeni’s old bedroom.

  There was a scratching noise, but she couldn’t see. It came from the far side of the room, over near the corner. Wasn’t that where the window was? It would have been visible if there had been any light in the sky to see by.

  Tayna rolled off the low bed as silently as she could, and felt around the table until her fingers settled on the coverlight. She snatched it up but she couldn’t find the seams of the leather cover. “Dammit, I need light.” The seam must have popped at that point, because now a faint blue light flickered in her hand, revealing the dim shapes of the room. She waved the la
mp around three times, peering long and hard into the corners before she was satisfied that nothing was crouching at the edge of vision, waiting to jump her. Just a dream, then.

  She was about to turn over and go back to sleep when she heard the scratching again, along with a hoarse whisper. “Come! We must flee. Now!”

  The voice had come from the open window.

  Tayna held the light in front of her as she slipped from the bed and advanced cautiously toward the window.

  “Who’s there? What do you want?”

  “It is Abeni. Come! Quickly!”

  “What? Abeni? What are you talking about?” Suddenly, his big face pushed in through the window, where coverlight lit him from below, making the expression of near-panic on his face seem all the more sinister.

  “Abeni has spoken to an old friend,” he said, his voice wavering between fear and anger. “Mabundi denies the Keshwa-Ji. He has given the Gnome permission to take any Wasketchin girls found within House Kijamon.”

  “What?” Tayna hissed. “How can he—?” But Abeni shook his head.

  “There is no time!” he urged. “Quishek comes at any moment. Perhaps even now. We must flee!”

  “Just a minute,” Tayna whispered. “I’ll go tell Shaleen.”

  “No!”

  “No?” Tayna said, cocking her head as though she hadn’t heard him right. “Why not? Shouldn’t we at least tell your parents?”

  “It is very important,” he said, shaking his head sadly. “All must be able to deny knowledge. To defy Mabundi’s decision would be… bad. For any of my House who had knowledge. Abeni has left signs. They will know. But they will not know. Now come!”

  So just when she thought she’d get a chance to explain things to Mabundi and settle everybody down, now it was all sliding down a mountain again. And even faster than anybody had guessed too. Why did trouble always have to come in Gnome clothing?

  Tayna dressed quickly and then hopped up onto the low sill of the window, taking a last look back into the room to be sure she wasn’t forgetting anything. Abeni pointed at the light in her hand and shook his head. Great. Now she’d have to run away in total blackness too. Tayna sighed and tossed the coverlight back onto the bed. “Sorry Shaleen. It’s been nice.” Then she eased herself through the slot window and followed Abeni out into the darkness. It was official.

  Now they were running from two kings.

  Chapter 24

  Eliza was never going to be able to scrub the images of that night from her memory, no matter how long she lived. It had started out innocently enough…

  We are here, Mardu sent, once she and Scraw had reached their chosen spot. Scraw had settled himself down onto the bank of the stream to watch, directly across from the island, half way between two of the Gnome guards. Neither had seen him approach. The island was higher than the surrounding bank, so Scraw was little more than a black ruffle in its shadow. Even so, Mardu still felt badly exposed, and despite the crow’s assurances that he was much faster than a Gnome, Mardu remained unconvinced. In the end, she had no choice. They needed this to work if they were going to gain access to the power idling beneath that island, and every step closer Scraw brought her to the fire would make it that much easier for her to control the flames. She grumbled something about risk-taking males, but resigned herself to the situation. Scraw laughed at her in his head.

  Hearing them bicker over their shared connection, Eliza was struck by how familiar her crow friend’s sense of humor seemed. He’d have made a good Unlovable. Eliza smiled at the thought as she pulled her attention back from the remote team and opened her eyes to check the physical world around her. Mehklok loomed above her, on top of a large knob of rock, swinging his arms into different positions, searching for his scariest pose. Any of them would be fine. We’re set, she replied. Ready when you are.

  It was an odd sensation for Eliza, as she sat there, watching Mehklok through her outside eyes, as he puffed and pinwheeled in anticipation, while her inside eye showed her a large fire, flanked by two enormous Gnomes, which she also watched, carefully, looking for signs of change in the flames. It was like trying to watch two movies on the same TV at the same time.

  Dimly, she was also aware that she could hear Mardu’s inner voice as the Flame of the Dragon cast her charm, muttering to herself in a quiet kind of sing-song voice. At first, nothing seemed to be happening, but after a while, the fire did appear to be somewhat less than it had been.

  Are you having trouble? Eliza sent.

  Not yet, Mardu replied. Her low singing dropped into a background murmur when she spoke, but somehow she was able to maintain it in the back of her thoughts. I want them to think the fire is dying naturally. If they suspect a charm, they will be on guard for trickery. We need them to look at it, not peer more grimly out into the night with suspicion.

  Good point, Eliza sent. We’re standing by. She raised her hand in a halting gesture to Mehklok, indicating that he would be needed shortly. He nodded to her and settled himself into readiness.

  Through the crow-cam, Eliza watched the Gnome’s fire continue to lose energy as the flames licked and danced. Little by little, as one moment followed the next, the brilliant tongues dipped, bowed and then guttered. Not too quickly, not all at once, but with steady regularity. Within five minutes or so, the light had dropped low enough to catch the attention of one of the Gnomileshi guards—the one on Scraw’s right. The guard turned to glance over his shoulder at the fire. Eliza couldn’t make out specific words, but she did hear a guttural grunt of some kind as he turned to investigate.

  It’s working, she sent to Mardu. Hold it there a moment. Now that somebody’s watching, we don’t want him to notice anything weird. The background murmuring stopped, and Mardu watched along with her, scarcely daring to let Scraw even breathe.

  Excitement edged into Eliza’s thoughts. Look! That far guy is glancing at it too. Sure enough, the Gnome on the far side of the fire had twisted around to see what was going on, but the third one, to Scraw’s left, remained solid, as though rooted deep down into the soil.

  And then, as if out of nowhere, Eliza had an idea. Here they were, standing on top of what Mardu had said might be the most powerful magic battery remaining in this world, and they hadn’t even considered trying to make use of it.

  Oh my god, she sent, sharing her sudden revelation with Mardu. I know how to make this loads better. But for the moment, she didn’t want to distract Mardu, who had gone back to her charm song and seemed to be having to concentrate more intently now. Just don’t run out of juice for a little bit longer, Eliza sent. Stay ready. That last guy looks a bit peeved. Things should happen any second now.

  With her hand, she motioned at Mehklok to go into his pose, and the little guy didn’t miss a beat, stretching up onto his toes and glaring down at her, arms curled in front of him as though he were lifting a heavy rock in front of himself. He looked every inch the angry fire demon. He even seemed to be wreathed in flames already, on account of the weird double vision thing she had going. This was going to be stellar!

  Steady… she sent to Mardu.

  The guard on the right had now turned fully around to watch as the far one poked a stick at the coals, trying to get the fire to come back up, but the guard on the left was still facing away, looking out into the night. More guttural comments were exchanged between the two fire-tenders and then a louder demand. They both looked toward their companion as though waiting for his opinion. The entire Flame gang had agreed that they needed all three guards to see the fire ancestor, because anyone who did not might not believe what the others had seen and might choose to remain on guard duty instead of obeying the flames.

  Eliza gripped Mardu’s hand over the link—or it felt like a hand grip, anyway. Whatever it was, she sent some kind of squeeze of reassurance and shared excitement. Steady…

  Time seemed to stand still for one eternal heartbeat and then the last guard—the one Eliza had come to think of as the boss—spat out a reply an
d turned around to face his cohorts.

  Now, Mardu! Now! Grab power from the dragon thing! Use it to make a huge flame ancestor puppet guy. Here comes Mehklok! And then she threw her vision of the towering Gnome chaplain down the link—but not just the one posturing in front of her now. She could not help but mix in her recollection of the leering, salivating Hell-beast that had greeted her back in his cave when she’d first opened her eyes, so many days ago. It was a truly terrifying sight.

  She felt Mardu recoil at the image, but then steady herself. Then she felt the Flame of the Dragon reach down into the soil, deep beneath the fire, questing, reaching, until she touched it. Pure power. She could feel Scraw preparing to speak.

  And then the night exploded.

  Chapter 25

  Sister Diaphana set her bags down on the gritty front steps of the Old Shoe and let her arms just hang there, exhausted. A long, weary sigh chased ghosts of frost into the air around her. She was home. It had been a long walk. Much longer than she had expected it to be. With no money in her pockets and the credit card declined, a taxi had been out of the question. Busses too. So she had been forced to walk all the way back from the toy shop, through the cold late-winter afternoon, and her load had been much heavier than she had expected it to be too. At first, she had wondered if maybe some kind stranger would offer her a ride, or if perhaps a youngster or two might offer to help carry the dozen or more bags that hung from her arms and around her neck. But no such offers had come.