The Silent City

by Ginn Hale

  SILENT CITY

  Book Eight of The Rifter

  Ginn Hale

  The Silent City

  Book Eight of the Rifter

  By Ginn Hale

  Published by:

  Blind Eye Books

  1141 Grant Street

  Bellingham, WA 98225

  blindeyebooks.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may used or reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the publisher, except for the purpose of reviews.

  Edited by Nicole Kimberling

  Cover art, maps and all illustrations by Dawn Kimberling

  Proofreading by Jemma Everyhope

  This book is a work of fiction. All characters and situations depicted are fictional. Any resemblances to actual people or events are coincidental.

  First edition October 2011

  Copyright © 2011 Ginn Hale

  ISBN 978-1-935560-08-1

  To Juna and Krish for inspiring Ji at her best and worst.

  —Ginn

  The Story So Far:

  When John uses a key that belongs to his mysterious, scarred roommate, Kyle, to unlock a door in a crumbling ruin, he and two friends are transported to the world of Basawar.

  John and his best friends, Laurie and her lover Bill, befriend a young priest named Ravishan and learn from him that their only hope to return home is to find a way into the monastery of Rathal’pesha, where talented young men like Ravishan are trained to travel instantly across countless miles through the Gray Space.

  But ongoing attacks by peasant revolutionaries called the Fai’daum make church leaders and the ruling class highly suspicious of newcomers like John and his friends, and after witnessing witches and suspected revolutionaries being burned on the Holy Road, John knows he can’t simply appear at the city gates, much less the doors of Rathal’pesha, and expect a warm welcome. His chance to prove his character arises when he overhears Fai’daum members planning an attack against the noble Bousim family’s caravan.

  John warns the men guarding the caravan but then must take part in a counterattack. During a night of brutal battle, John saves the lives of both a Bousim soldier named Alidas and a young Fai’daum revolutionary called Saimura. In the process, he comes face-to-face with the demoness, Ji Shir’korud, who wears the flesh—and teeth—of a large golden dog.

  Because of his bravery, John and his friends are allowed to join the Bousim household.

  Lady Bousim takes Laurie and Bill into her personal entourage. John, on the other hand, chooses to accompany Lady Bousim’s son Fikiri to Rathal’pesha. There, John hopes to find the key that will take him and his friends back home. John’s handsome friend Ravishan is overjoyed to see him again, but Ushman Dayyid, second-in-command under Ushman Nuritam, takes an immediate disliking to John. Despite the fact that John wins the friendship of many priests, including Ushiri Ashan’ahma, Ushvun Samsango, the physician Ushman Hann’yu, as well as Ushiri Ravishan, Dayyid’s animosity only grows.

  And all is not well in Lady Bousim’s household either. Not only has the Lady Bousim begun instructing Laurie in the forbidden art of witchcraft but the commander of the cavalry, Rasho Tashtu, has taken an unseemly interest in Laurie. Despite the commander and other spies in the Bousim household, Laurie and Bill are overjoyed when they discover that Laurie has become pregnant with Bill’s child though now the need to return home is even more urgent.

  John uses his ever-increasing power to help Ravishan train so that he will be chosen as the Kahlil. As they grow much closer, John learns that Ravishan’s parents were members of the Fai’daum. When they were apprehended, Ravishan was forced to burn his own mother alive to save his sister, Rousma, and himself.

  But when Ravishan’s and John’s budding romance is discovered by Fikiri—who has been spying on them at the bequest of Dayyid—Fikiri blackmails them, insisting that Ravishan bring him and his mother along when they leave for Nayeshi.

  However, all their plans are thrown into disarray when during the Harvest Fair John kills Dayyid to protect Ravishan. Bloody and horrified by his own violence, John is only shielded from discovery by sheer luck; the Fai’daum attack, hoping to save one of their own from the Payshmura priests’ pyre. In the ensuing chaos John once again comes face to face with Saimura and helps him escape from the deadly weapons the that ushiri’im unleash in retaliation.

  In the aftermath of Dayyid’s murder and the Harvest Fair Massacre, John realizes that he is the Rifter and more alarmingly, that Ravishan is the youth who will grow up to become his future roommate, Kyle. But in the face of Ravishan’s joy at being chosen as Kahlil, John can not bring himself to confess any of his suspicions. Instead he travels with Ravishan to Vundomu and then Nurjima, where Ravishan is to be consecrated as the Kahlil.

  Before the final ceremony takes place, however, John is summoned back to Rathal’pesha where he learns that Bill has been murdered and Laurie has been taken to become an Issusha—a fleshless oracle like Ravishan’s sister Rousma. Worse than that, Fikiri, attempting to take Ravishan’s position, has accused him of murdering Dayyid.

  To save Ravishan John admits to the murder and in his drugged state also reveals that Fikiri’s mother is a witch. John is then tortured and sent to burn on the Holy Road.

  Ravishan saves him but now the two of them face the cruel northern winter as fugitives.

  Chapter Seventy-Seven

  John worked his knife blade deep into the tree’s black trunk. Gripping the edge of the bark, he tore a long strip away. A thick lining of creamy cambium came away with the rough bark. John tossed the bark onto the stack behind him. It wasn’t much, but it would keep the tahldi nourished.

  A thin layer of snow already covered the heap of bark that John had stripped from other trees. Big delicate flakes drifted down and melted against John’s hands.

  John’s fingers ached. It had only been four days. He wasn’t sure how complete his recovery was. But he couldn’t lie under the shelter feeling miserable any longer.

  When he thought too much about Laurie and Bill, the snow poured down. Lightning burst through the sky and a cutting, icy wind slashed across the land. Unless he wanted to herald in a new ice age for Basawar, John knew he had to distract himself. Physical activity always helped.

  He trudged through the thigh-deep snow to the nearest outcropping of trees. He peeled more strips of bark from the trunks. A faint sweet scent rose from the soft cambium, reminding John of spring leaves.

  A cold breeze brushed over John’s face. He turned quickly, studying the air for that slight distortion. He caught sight of a faint shadow streaking through the trees towards him. An instant later Ravishan dropped out of the Gray Space. A flush colored his cheeks and he smiled brightly at John. He bounded through the snow to John’s side. His brown goat hide coat was scuffed and weathered from passages through the Gray Space. A fringe of his newly cropped hair poked out from under a dark wool cap.

  “I can’t believe that it’s still snowing. I think it might be warmer in the Gray Space,” Ravishan commented.

  “I thought the weather was letting up.” John tried not to sound guilty.

  “It’s warmer than it was yesterday, I think,” Ravishan admitted, but he didn’t seem pleased by the thought.

  “Isn’t that good news?” John asked.

  “Good and bad. It’s definitely more comfortable, but I was just thinking that the storms must have kept anyone from searching for us.”

  Ravishan paused and looked questioningly at John. “What are you doing to that tree?”

  “Stripping a little bark. The lining is edible.”

  “You’re planning on eating bark?”

  “Not me.” John smiled at Ravishan’s skeptical expression. “It’s for the
tahldi. There are also huge mats of mosses. I dug a couple out from under the snow earlier.”

  “Will a tahldi be able to live on moss and bark?”

  “It should be,” John said. “It’s a ruminant, so bulk stomach content is more important than nutritional quality.”

  “A ruminant.” Ravishan repeated the English word. He seemed amused not to have understood what John was talking about.

  “They’re hoofed or horned animals with chambered stomachs and—”

  “I don’t really need to know.” Ravishan cut him off with a charming smile. “I can just take your word for it that the tahldi will be fine.”

  “Oh.” John felt briefly embarrassed by his own nerdy enthusiasm. He’d spent a good portion of the morning contemplating the tahldi’s digestive system.

  “What about you?” Ravishan asked.

  “Me?”

  “Hungry?”

  “Starved,” John admitted.

  “Let’s get back to the shelter and eat, then.”

  John pulled a last strip of bark free and gathered the others. He and Ravishan waded back through the deep snow to the bridge and their shelter beneath it. He lay the bark strips down for the tahldi. The big animal gently nudged its velvety nose against John’s hands. It licked traces of salt and sweat from John’s fingers. Then it lowered its head and began chewing the white cambium free of the black bark.

  He and Ravishan waded back through the deep snow to the bridge and ducked into their shelter beneath it. Ravishan crouched on the dry brush floor in front of him. He handed John a parchment-wrapped bread roll and then continued unpacking the contents of his leather satchel.

  The roll was still warm. John bit into it and hot meat stuffing filled his mouth. He gulped the roll down quickly. Ravishan handed him a second one.

  “Isn’t this yours?” John asked.

  “I ate mine in Nurjima. Both of these are for you.”

  “They’re good.” John didn’t know if he would have thought so a week ago, but he had eaten very little in the past four days. Most of his meals had consisted of dry bread and hard cold cheese. Now the succulent warmth of oily meat delighted him.

  Ravishan waited until John was finished eating. Then he handed John a sheaf of papers. John wiped his hands on his thick wool pants and then took the stiff pages.

  John stared at the three leaflets, taking in the bold black press type and fine inky drawings. They were bounties for the capture of criminals. The picture of John was rough, but it didn’t need to be all that detailed. Men as big and blond as he was were relatively rare.

  However, the picture of Ravishan was so closely observed that it could have been his portrait. Even the proud, challenging expression was perfect. The reward for his capture was a small fortune. The third poster struck John as a jumbled combination of the two of them. As John read the man’s crimes and description he realized that a bounty had been placed on Fikiri as well.

  “You found these in Nurjima?” John asked.

  “They were posted all over the dock slums.” Ravishan picked up the poster of John and studied it.

  John tried to ignore the anxiety that slowly spread through him. If they couldn’t go to Nurjima, John didn’t know where he and Ravishan would be safe. He had hoped that his distinctive build and coloring would not stand out too much in the Eastern dock community of Nurjima. From there he had thought they could make their way south. But these wanted posters ensured that people would be looking for him even there. And Ravishan would be easy to recognize.

  “This picture doesn’t look like you all that much,” Ravishan said. “Your eyes are different and your chin is sharper.”

  “But this really looks like you.” John found himself gazing at tiny lines that perfectly captured the curve of Ravishan’s lips. “It’s almost as if you sat for this.”

  “I think I did.” Ravishan scowled at the picture. “At the Black Tower there was a priest who drew several pictures of me. They were going to be made into etchings for the holy texts.”

  Ravishan moved closer to John. The light smell of some distant bakery still clung to him.

  “Fikiri looks a little cross-eyed,” he commented.

  “Yeah, a little,” John agreed. “I suppose that’s good for him. He’s less likely to be recognized.”

  “If I’d known that the drawings would be used to advertise the price on my head,” Ravishan said, “I would have crossed my eyes and grimaced the entire time.”

  John nodded. He hadn’t even considered that this might happen. He’d grown so used to the isolation of Rathal’pesha that he’d failed to think of how quickly the Payshmura could communicate across great distances.

  “We can’t make straight for Nurjima,” Ravishan said.

  “No.” Word of their crimes would be spreading out from all three of the Payshmura strongholds. It would circulate fastest around Nurjima, where the multitude of printing presses and railroads would make the church’s reach omnipresent.

  “If we travel along the western mountains we won’t encounter many people,” Ravishan suggested.

  “It will take too long to cross the mountain passes, especially at this time of year.” John shook his head. As soon as Laurie gave birth she would be made into an issusha. That gave them two months to reach Umbhra’ibaye before Laurie was flayed alive.

  “If we take the roads east through the Bousim lands, it’ll be faster, but every villager will notice you.” Ravishan glanced meaningfully to the picture of John. “There aren’t any Easterners left in those lands. You’ll stand out like a tahldi in a goat pen.”

  “There has to be another way.” John heard the crash of thunder high up in the darkening clouds. Outside the shelter the snow was falling harder.

  Ravishan remained quiet for several moments. He studied John.

  “Even if we could reach Umbhra’ibaye in two months,” Ravishan spoke in a slow, almost cautious tone, “I don’t think that we could save Loshai.”

  “What are you talking about?” John demanded. “We agreed on this yesterday.”

  “No, I said that I would try to travel south. But now I don’t think that even that would be a good idea.”

  “We have to help Loshai,” John said firmly.

  Ravishan lowered his head. “How?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “How are we going to save her?”

  “We’ll break her out,” John snapped.

  “I know you don’t want to hear this,” Ravishan said. “I was hoping that we could just reach Umbhra’ibaye and you could see for yourself how impossible it was. But it would be madness to travel south now.”

  “We can find a way,” John insisted, though he had no idea how. There had to be a way to jump the trains. Maybe they could travel at night. He could dye his hair…

  “Jahn, you’ve never seen Umbhra’ibaye, but I have. I’ve tried to reach my sister there,” Ravishan spoke softly. “The walls are heavily guarded. The inner chambers are black catacombs full of traps. Even I can’t move through the Gray Space there.”

  “I don’t care. I won’t leave Loshai there to die. I have to get her out. I…” John wanted to declare that he would crush Umbhra’ibaye. He would tear down the walls and rip open the hidden chambers. But even as he thought it he realized the stupidity of his plan.

  Laurie was inside Umbhra’ibaye. If he unleashed the Rifter’s power against the convent, he would bury Laurie under tons of stone and earth. He hadn’t been able to control his power well enough to break himself out of a prison cell. He couldn’t even stop the storm that he had created. How could he expect to protect Laurie inside Umbhra’ibaye if he brought the whole place down?

  “I can’t abandon her,” John said at last.

  “You can’t save her,” Ravishan said flatly. “You’ll just end up getting us both killed.”

  “You don’t have to come.”

  “So you’re going to go south alone?” Ravishan suddenly lifted his face to glare at John. “You think
I’d just wait here while you got yourself killed at Umbhra’ibaye?”

  “I won’t get myself killed.”

  “Yes, you will!” Ravishan snapped. “You won’t even get to Umbhra’ibaye. The ushman’im will capture you in the first city you enter and they’ll burn you.”

  “I’ll be careful—”

  “You are a yellow-haired giant!” Ravishan shouted. “People are going to notice you! And if you walk straight into a stronghold like Umbhra’ibaye, the ushman’im will capture you!” Ravishan’s voice suddenly dropped to a broken whisper. “They’ll kill you and I won’t be able to get into Umbhra’ibaye to stop it.”

  A sick feeling of frustration washed through John. He knew Ravishan was right. Traveling south would be insanely stupid. He had no idea how he would free Laurie. He had no idea how he would keep from being noticed as he traveled. Ravishan wouldn’t remain behind. He’d come with John and risk his life to protect him.

  If he were smart, he would give up on Laurie. He’d accept that there was nothing he could do.

  A blinding white flash split the sky outside the shelter. Thunder crashed like canons. John could barely make out the faint gray line of the surrounding trees through the walls of falling snow.

  “If the weather keeps up like this we won’t be going anywhere before spring,” John muttered.

  “Maybe that’s why it is like this,” Ravishan replied.

  “Not everything is Parfir’s damn plan for us!” John shouted.

  Ravishan turned away and began rolling up the three wanted posters.

  “I’m sorry,” John mumbled. “I’m just frustrated.”

  “I know,” Ravishan said. But he didn’t turn to face John.

  Of course he knew. Ravishan’s sister, Rousma, had been taken to Umbhra’ibaye. At some point Ravishan had to have realized that he could not save his sister.