A Lady in Crystal

by Toby Bennett

“Is there more to say?”

  “How would I best approach him?”

  “If I give you my advice in this, may I take it that you will stop stalking members of my Order?”

  “Unless you feel that Yilt’s fellows should share his fate?”

  The Patriarch smiled, “For someone who denies human passion, you steer dangerously close to insolence and humour. However, I know that your kind does not work for free, so I will give you what information I can and deal with those who have failed me in my own time. I assume you want some means to get into the Cardinal’s palace?”

  “I don’t imagine the route I used before is still safe?”

  “To be honest I have not dared to replicate the boldness of that attack, though if you got as close to the fat old tick as the reports suggested, I am sure he has sealed up the holes in his defences or at least restocked his pipes with all manner of nightmare creatures.” Gilash tapped his chin thoughtfully with a finger. “The only information that I can add is that the Cardinal is holding a festival for his orphans.”

  “A festival?”

  “A celebration of some sort, for the children in his charge, even children from church funded institutions in the main city are being invited.”

  “You reason that it might be easier to slip into his palace under the cover of the festivities?”

  “Just so. I can’t imagine that the Cardinal is familiar with every child minder who has come to answer his summons. If you could blend in long enough to gain admittance to the parts of the palace where the children and their masters are being housed and slip away unnoticed…”

  “A challenge in itself.”

  “Indeed but then neither of us rated you chances of success very highly anyway. The choice seems simple, try your hand at the sewers again or use the distraction fate has afforded, to try and slip through the front door. As I say, do whatever you would have done had we not had this chance to talk, if you decide to chance the front door, I would remind you that the order of Hetkul has by far the deepest robes to hide in.”

  Akna drew in a breath, the Hetkul would certainly be amongst the brothers bringing the children in. In times past, the Hetkul had been the most devoted of healers, bringing even the most afflicted wretches into Nishkaar’s shade but over time the sickness, itself had become a virtue.

  “If I don’t mind wrapping myself in the unwashed bandages of the blighted order.”

  Gilash shrugged, both men knew that Hetkul would offer the easiest disguise, many of the order swathed themselves head to toe in bandages, because along with any other infections they could cultivate all, members of the order willingly infected themselves with a fungus known as meerbus, that grew from the ruptured boils and wounds covering their bodies. The order of Hetkul was only tolerated within the church for two reasons, the first was that it was a show of piety to sacrifice oneself to the afflictions that plagued the brothers of the Hetkul, secondly, some said, Niskaan himself had blessed or cursed the founding members of the order with their ailments, so that they would lose their attachment to the flesh. In turn their disconnection from their own bodies or some side effect of the meerbus gave them an affinity for the worlds beyond the veil that few could match.

  “You might be loath to touch their apparel but there is no other choice, their scent is unmistakable.”

  “And how will I ensure that I do not become infected?” Akna asked uncertainly.

  “There is no danger, few realise that the bond with the meerbus can only be made before the change from child to adult. The order keeps up the talk of possible infection because their untouchable status suits them.”

  “That is why they will be around the children as well.”

  “Obviously, Lothar has been more than generous in giving the monks of Hetkul access to recruits from his orphanages, I doubt the guards would question you too stringently particularly if you smell the part.”

  “I suppose not. Is it too much to hope that you have a Hetkul’s rags already stolen for me?”

  “Where could I store them that wouldn’t stink the place up and how long would it be before the order came sniffing for their lost member? Besides I have had nothing to do with you and I don’t need any evidence to the contrary. You’ll have to work things out for yourself. I’d be much obliged if you would wait a while until after I am gone to leave… no need to tell you to be discrete is there?”

  Chapter 14

  ‘Wake no child as she sleeps, for dreams are sweetest for the young;

  Ask no matron why she weeps for her dreams, long lost, are all unsung”

  Lights blazed from the pale walls of the Cardinal’s palace, so that the stone itself seemed to glow. The children blinked in the light, shuffling forward with a mixture of wonder and trepidation. Tera watched the lines march towards the great gates that had been thrown open and wreathed in white and yellow flowers. The pallid moon blossoms were familiar enough to any of Niskaar’s children but the bright coloured flowers, which had been wreathed between the familiar blooms were a wonder for many of the orphans, who walked towards the great archway.

  Tera was not from one of the orphanages outside the Asylum, she knew that the flowers were not natural, she knew many things that the other children did not. Tera scratched idly at the lump on the inside of her wrist. Father Danith had said that she would grow used to the pain but despite what he said, it never got easier. There was another growth on the sole of her foot, which would make it hard to walk normally, if it grew any bigger. The father took great pride in his own marks of faith and he had even let her look beneath the bandages he wore to see them. She hadn’t wanted to at first and it still scared her that she felt the itches stirring beneath her skin, even in the few places he hadn’t touched her, but now she began to see what her guardian had been trying to teach her, the physical world meant little, it was in the realms beyond the veil where you could be truly free and the body was only an impediment to that.

  Tera was not impressed by the lights or the flowers because she had already seen things that were far more impressive and Father Danith had made sure that she did not lose her dreams like so many others had. Danith said that she shouldn’t tell about her dreams but she didn’t see why, they were not bad dreams, such as they took from the others and when the Meerbus had done its work she could join the father in his task. That would have to be soon because she didn’t know how much longer she could hide the marks of the father’s blessings from the others. It will all be all right, she told herself and took another step forward. She resisted the urge to look back at Father Danith, who was following along behind their column, he’d cuffed her once for turning back and trying to talk to him and she didn’t want to make him angry. Tera understood that the father was nervous today, he hadn’t said anything but she knew him well enough to tell.

  Music started up from inside the palace and the children’s pace quickened in excitement. The smell of cooking wafted through the gate and the children began jostle to be first into the courtyard, the first to receive the blessing of their great father. The pace was slow because each child was being issued with a lavish tabard of fine cloth, these fine garments would both make the children fit to be in the holy father’s presence and be a souvenir of the event. Some children jostled or argued over the colours of their gifts but the priests were quite insistent that each child wear what they were given and not make trouble on such a great occasion. Tera did not rush to be at the front like the others, she had enough bad dreams stored up to know that sweet scents could often hide sour and she could not escape the feeling that there was something wrong. Besides for all she told herself that there was nothing to fear there was the dream. Last night she’d dreamed that the Cardinal was a great bird, laying out a feast for mice; she had seen his curved beak wet with blood and watched in horror as those he had spared prostrated themselves at his clawed feet. She hadn’t dared to tell anyone, since even the thought that the Cardinal was such a monster, might be considered sacrilegious. Perhaps Father
Danith sensed something too, it was said that the Meerbus might inspire true dreams.

  ‘NO’, she insisted, pushing her fears aside, a dream should not frighten her like this and besides the father loved her, he would never lead her into danger.

  It was not doubt that made Tera turn back to look for Danith, she refused to have any doubts, she simply wanted to make sure that her mentor was still close. It came as something as a shock to realise that Father Danith was nowhere to be seen. Father Yimil was still at the the head of their small column, he was admonishing Gerad for his disrespectful laugher and he didn’t seem to have noticed that his fellow priest was missing. Should she say something? Yimil didn’t like her very much but he might want to know that one of their number was missing. Then again, if she spoke Father Danith might be angry, he’d always said that the other priests didn’t have to hear everything he did. Tera couldn’t tell if this was one of those times. She trudged on in silence for a few minutes, fighting the growing certainty that her dream had been a vision that Father Danith must have shared and that for some reason, no doubt something she had unwittingly done, he had left her to her fate. Perhaps it was a test, he expected her to leave the others, save herself and show that she had a true gift.

  Tera turned to leave the line, Father Yimil was too busy keeping the others in order to even notice. She had only gone a few feet in the wrong direction when Father Danith emerged from an alcove. Tera’s heart soared, the father had been testing her, she decided. Then she wondered if she had passed, perhaps he had just been waiting for her to leave the column to discipline her. She often needed instruction and the father always knew when, what if she had failed him somehow? Tera froze. He certainly was coming fast as if he was angry. Tera scurried back into line hoping that he would not have noticed her foolishness. She didn’t dare to look back until he was almost upon her, she could smell the stale bandages and the taint of the meerbus and she looked back hoping for forgiveness. Tera gulped and almost screamed when she saw the father walk by, she had only got a single glance but she was sure that the father’s blue eyes had turned dark, almost black and dead. The father could be cruel or angry and in the good times loving and funny but there was nothing of that in those eyes, only singular unfeeling purpose. Tera didn’t know who she should tell but she did know that she had just seen a stranger striding through the gates and into the Cardinal’s palace. If something had happened to Father Danith, Tera could not imagine anyone with such dead eyes saving her from the hungry bird from her dreams.

  The single guard stationed at the gate barely looked up as the priest of Hetkul pushed his way to the front of the crowd. Even if the flow of children and their minders had not numbed him to so many strangers passing his post unmolested, he would never have dreamed of stopping one of the swathed brothers. He could smell the man from where he leaned against the wall and he had no inclination to make further acquaintance. Some way behind, another one of the order looked up and made as if to follow his compatriot but the need to get the children back into line made him reconsider. The priest was too focused on getting through the gate to notice the minor commotion behind him, besides he didn’t dare look back or show any doubt. Unlike the children and the many dignitaries, he was not looking at the spray of flowers but the creatures that waited motionless beneath them. The true guardians of the gate were well camouflaged but their sinuous bodies were still just discernible against the white stone. They were far more alert than the lazing guard and any hesitation might have aroused their suspicion.

  Akna watched them stir slightly, as he stepped through the gate but it seemed that the lingering stench and the bandages were enough that they did not move to stop him, a shudder went through the nearest serpent-like watcher and then it was still, leaving no more sign of its presence than a shifting in the leaves, as if a breeze had lightly touched the great blooms.

  The brilliance of the torches dimmed for an instant, then the great braziers and enchanted gems, arrayed about the courtyard, forced Akna to narrow his eyes. Wonders blazed through the courtyard, over the gathered children’s heads ghosts of mythical creatures swirled insubstantially. On one side of the yard, Hevra once more slew the Wyrm of Alm, as he had nearly three centuries before and on the other, whole animals turned on spits, mingling their spiced scents with the other smoky ghosts of legend, waiting in the air above to swoop in when Hevra had done his work. Akna took in the scene but even if he had had the capacity to share the wonder of the other guests at the spectacle, he had no time for indulgence. He did not see the Cardinal in the crowd but with so much of his will bent on his summonings, he could not be far away.

  It had been years since Akna had studied the layout of the Cardinal’s palace and then his focus had been more on the intricate system of plumbing that twisted through the massive structure. He chose an unguarded door out of the courtyard almost at random and wound his way through the corridors of the ground floor, until he came to a staircase leading up. Lothar’s apartments had been situated near the top of the palace, when last he had been here so Akna worked on the assumption that he needed to go up. It made sense that the Cardinal would keep his treasures close to his own chambers, rather than in the dungeons where they were torn from the unfortunates he captured.

  Akna felt a shudder go through his body as he thought back to the dungeons, he had believed himself beyond the common terror, which guided other men. It came as a surprise to realise that the reason he wanted to start his search at the top of the building, was that he couldn’t face the prospect of going back down to the place where he had been so terribly wounded. It seemed to Akna, as the image of the dungeons came to his mind, that he was looking back over the years through a dark lens. Though all other emotions had been muted, the wounds he had sustained in Lothar’s dungeon now seemed as fresh as if they had just been made. He did not fear to carry on, nor did he regret having returned to the place where he had been broken, the chance of being whole was worth any risk but by the same token, he now knew that he would sooner die than return to the dungeons. He had little to lose but it was only now that he knew that it might be too much to let go. A minute might have passed in the empty corridor when the opening of a door behind him and a wave of children’s laughter from the courtyard reminded Akna that he had no time to waste on introspection. The thief was gone by the time the servant passed the bottom of the stairs, only the stench of the foul cloth that hid him giving any indication that anyone had been there.

  The palace was all but empty on the upper floors, Akna was tempted to remove his disguise since he would be as much an intruder as a brother of Hetkul going where he wasn’t invited as anyone else. He kept the disguise on, in spite of his growing discomfort because he might just be able to slip out the same way that he’d got in. By the time he’d climbed another two flights of stairs, the rank bandages felt like they were eating into his skin but he endured it stoically. His first hint that he might be coming closer to the Cardinal’s apartments, was when he noticed one of the statues, flanking the next set of stairs up, blinked. Apparently, the Cardinal received enough visitors from the order of Hetkul that the stone guardians saw him as no threat and apart from the slight shift of their eyes, the draconian men did not stir themselves to stop him. Akna privately congratulated himself for having endured the robes but he was under no illusion that all the defences for the Cardinal’s apartments would be so easy to walk past.

  Sure enough, when he reached the top of the stairs, he saw a pair of guards positioned on either side of a doorway at the end of the corridor. If the guards had noticed him, hesitation or an attempt at stealth could be disastrous, so, rather than trying to hide his presence, Akna boldly stepped up over the last step and into the corridor. He tried the door to his immediate right and to his relief it opened with a quiet click; neither guard looked up. The room that Akna found himself in was lit by a single light gem, that gave only a dim and baleful illumination to the shelves of scrolls and leather bound books. The faint smell of waxy
smoke told Akna that the depleted candles had only given up their light moments ago. Akna’s gaze swept the room, making sure that he was alone, then he put his head to the door behind him and listened to see if the guards were coming any closer.

  When he was happy that he would not be disturbed, Akna turned his attention back to the chamber he was in. He had little interest in the tomes and scrolls but the room did offer one thing that he could not have hoped for, a window that he might just squeeze through. Climbing around the outside of the building was only slightly less daunting than trying to sneak past the guard without raising the alarm but he had to get to the Cardinal’s apartments somehow. Akna crossed the room quickly and looked out of the window, lights blazed below and the thick clouds swirled above. Glancing down at the courtyard made the back of his head itch; there was something strange in the arrangements of lights and the shadows that were cast on the cobblestones, but he had no time to ponder what it might mean, instead he returned his attention to the wall. He studied the wall for a while, plotting his route and looking for hidden danger and after what seemed an age, he reached out and tugged on a moon flower creeper. The thick vine gave slightly but it seemed strong enough to take his weight. Akna had not forgotten the sinuous creatures that had been waiting beneath the creepers at the palace gates but he had to take the chance that their master had set them to watching the lower parts of the walls, it certainly seemed unlikely that anyone would have to worry about intruders as high up as he was now or so he told himself. He knew one way was guarded and was not sure of the other, thus his choice became obvious. Akna swung a leg out of the window, feeling for a foothold in the vegetation or the stone beneath, he slowly lowered himself and he had almost left the window when someone spoke behind him.

  “You choose the hard way to find what you seek, thief.”

  Akna threw himself back through the window, rolling smoothly as he hit the floor and putting a bookcase between himself and the bolt he knew must already be levelled at him. Sure enough, when he peeked around the corner of the bookcase, he saw Ilsar standing there framed in the dull gleam of the glow gem. He loosened his sword in its sheath but he knew that she was quick enough with her crossbow that he would have little chance of reaching her, then again if she had wanted to kill him, he would already be dead. He found the effect of Ilsar’s face no less profound in the half light of the library than he had in the sunlight of the Hierophant’s tomb. Clearly Zenker’s elixir had not countered some aspect of her poison, perhaps the sorcerous venom on her bolt’s tip somehow overthrew the reason of its victims. In her presence, it seemed impossible to Akna that he was somehow linked to this stranger, that even now he could feel her breathing and her heart pounding with a rhythm that mirrored his own. A more terrible realisation followed this sensation, he knew that even if he got the opportunity, he would not, could not, use his sword against her.