The Soldier's Lotus

by Adonis Devereux

  “So it’s just the two of us.” Ulen continued to keep his blade before him. “I’ve poisoned it, Lotus. A nick will be enough for me.”

  “But more than you will have.” Saerileth could see from his stance that, so soon as he moved, he would lunge forward using his left foot. She feinted forward, giving him the opening. As he lunged, she swept her foot out, and he came crashing to the floor. She was on his back in a moment, and the five jabs of the Katipo Form stiffened his body beneath her. She gingerly removed the dagger from his hand, careful not to touch the blade.

  “I have come to kill you, Lord Ahnok.” She knelt down and looked him in the face. His wide dark eyes were no longer fearful; they were full of hate.

  “No, my Master did not send me.” She nudged the rigid body with her knee. “I am here on my own initiative.” She smiled, a slow and joyful smile.

  “What? You did not think that I would come for you?”

  His eyes showed his impotent rage, but perplexity touched him.

  “Oh, of course. You do not know who I am. My name is Saerileth Kesandrahn.”

  The recognition that flashed in his eyes brought fear in its wake.

  “Yes, Kesandrahn. I see you know the name.”

  Hope now filled Ulen’s eyes, the only part of him with any freedom to move.

  “No, do not think that I will spare you for Talex Chamri’s sake. Yes, I know that he is ultimately responsible, but if I take his death as the one owed me, then you will escape. And that I cannot allow.”

  Perplexity was predominant in him now, even over fear.

  “Why would I do this? I who am a Zenji to my core? A Red Lotus? Why would I give up my ultimate vengeance to destroy you? For my Master’s sake.” She bent low and whispered the words in Ulen’s ear. “For Darien’s sake. Had you not turned against him, had you not injured him in your crimes, I would have let you go back to the Dimadan. You slaughtered my clan, but for that I do not hold you guilty. You were the hired sword for that crime, and the greater guilt rests on the head of Talex Chamri. As for your treason, if the Sunjaa nation could not be bothered to kill you, then certainly I would not. But you did turn your evil upon Darien, upon the greatest man to walk the world. You burned down his house. You sent assassins after him. You killed his concubines. And you flogged him. You scarred his beautiful flesh. But those scars make him only lovelier to me.” She paused, and her gaze wandered to the window where the bright blue summer sky of Arinport was visible. “You have spat at the sun, and for the impudence, the sun has burned you alive.”

  A calculating gleam appeared in Ulen’s eyes.

  “Oh, you think to urge me to stay my hand because I risk damnation for this. I leave my family unavenged, and they will plead against me to the Sunlord and to Alaxton Battlebringer. But I will risk it.” She smiled. “I will trust to Melara and Abrexa for mercy, for I do this for love’s sake.”

  Ulen stared at her, and all light died in his eyes. In her face was his death, and in her heart was no pity.

  “You have earned your death.” She took the poisoned dagger and held it before him. “A painful death I have no doubt. More painful than the one I had intended for you, for I would have slit your throat. But it is fitting and right that you should die by the method with which you have meted out death.”

  Footsteps echoed in the hallway, and Saerileth laughed. “For Darien’s sake, die.” She stabbed Ulen’s dagger into his lung, slipping it between his ribs.

  He could not even gasp, and she waited until the light of life faded from his eyes. Then, slowly and deliberately, ignoring the still-approaching footsteps, she wiped the dagger on Ulen’s fine linen skirt. It was clean of poison, and she opened the palm of her left hand. There she carved the three lines of the arrow of revenge. She had taken the death owed her.

  By the time the door opened, Saerileth was out the window and half-way down the wall.

  ****

  Darien was no longer in the palace proper but was pacing in the royal gardens. His face was black with worry, and she saw the frustration and fury in his eyes.

  But she had run all the way back from Ulen’s house, and she was panting and breathless. She could not yet manage words. She threw herself into his open arms.

  “What is wrong?” Darien tilted her face up to his. “Where have you been?”

  Saerileth leaned up and kissed his lips. “I have been fetching you a gift.” She kept her bleeding left hand clutched tightly closed. “But I want to give it to you before King Jahen’s temporary council.”

  “Saeri?” Darien’s confusion was adorable.

  “Come, my love.” She tugged on him with her undamaged hand. “I must speak before the rest of the city ruins my surprise.”

  Darien accompanied her, and they made their quick way through the palace to the throne room. She still thought, as she had when it was first announced, that the throne room was a ridiculously pompous place to hold a meeting. She kept her mind focused on Darien’s hand in hers, not on the pain of her bleeding left hand.

  “Noble lords of the Sunjaa.” Saerileth pushed open the door with her closed fist and stepped into the room still holding Darien’s hand. “I am come to you bringing word of a Zenji matter that will, doubtless, have bearing on the outcome of your debates here today.”

  “We have already reached a decision, Lotus.” Kamen’s weak voice was gentler than even his injured state demanded. “You need not concern yourself.”

  “No, Lord Itenu.” Saerileth at last released Darien’s hand and strode forward to stand in the center of the half-circle of nobles and soldiers. She raised her closed fist, and the blood dripped down her arm.

  “Abrexa’s chain.” The low-breathed curse was Talex Chamri’s.

  Saerileth caught his gaze, and she felt tears begin to prick her eyes. There he was, her untouchable foe. But then she thought of Darien standing behind her, and she did not even need to blink away the tears. They vanished of their own accord.

  “You all know who I am,” said Saerileth, still holding up her bleeding hand. “I am Saerileth, Red Lotus and concubine to Darien, late of His Grace’s navy.”

  Darien murmured something incomprehensible to anyone apart from Saerileth, but her keen ears caught the indistinct whisper of love.

  “But I am not only this. I am also Saerileth Kesandrahn, last of my noble line.” She opened her hand then, revealing to all the still bleeding arrow shape on her palm. “And I have today claimed the one death that has been owed to me since the slaughter of my clan. I took the life of Ulen Ahnok.”

  For an instant there was total silence, but then Darien stepped forward and swept her up into his arms. “Saerileth,” he whispered.

  But there was an outcry among the nobles, though the soldiers, Saerileth noted, said nothing.

  “You have brought civil war on us, Lotus!” One old man half-rose from his chair.

  “Saerileth, you have endangered the peace.” Even Kamen’s ragged voice was reproachful.

  “No,” said Saerileth clearly. “For I have nothing to do with your Sunjaa affairs. I have done this on my own and in accordance with the laws of my people. Thirteen years ago, Ulen Ahnok, then a captain in His Grace’s navy, took his ship on an unrecorded mission. Unrecorded by your people, but not by mine, and there are still living many Sunjaa sailors who can attest to it. It is well known among the Zenji that a Sunjaa raiding party slaughtered my clan. By the grace of Melara and Abrexa, I alone was preserved from the outpouring of death. I was but five years old. I have spent my life since that day seeking for the one death that, by Zenji law, was owed me.” She glanced around at the gathered men, who were silent, she judged, from horror. “We are a people of tradition ourselves, noble lords, and it is in perfect accordance with Zenji law that I have done this. As the last Kesandrahn, I have taken the life of the one ultimately responsible for the crime.” She gestured with her bleeding hand. “Here is the proof that I have claimed my death. Here, on my hand, I have placed the scars of one who has
been avenged.” She turned her blue gaze on Talex Chamri. “You are a noble lord of my own people. You can tell them I speak truly.”

  Talex Chamri nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes. It is Zenji law.”

  “And if,” said Saerileth, not giving him further time to speak, “Ulen Ahnok was slain by a Zenji for a crime against the Zenji, what affair is it of the Sunjaa?” She glanced at Kamen. “And if he is dead, then there need be no sentence of any kind pronounced against him, other than the one I have myself pronounced. He can die guilty of crimes against the Kesandrahn, but not a traitor to his king – nor would those who followed him now be in questionable state. Those who fled the city could return without shame, for there would be no issue to resolve. The whole affair could be swept down-river.”

  The Sunjaa nobles exchanged looks, and Saerileth saw by their lightened eyes that they were more relieved than they had been upset. No one was sorry that Ulen was dead, least of all Talex Chamri, who would now live in possession of the pearl monopoly he had obtained without even the burden of owing Ulen.

  That knowledge stung, and when Talex Chamri then began to prattle on of undying friendship between the Zenji and King Jahen, she could not look at him. It took all her strength to keep her countenance steady and her breath even.

  But then, even as the council began to speak with glad voices of the coronation of King Jahen, Darien bodily picked her up and carried her from the room. He swept her out, down the hall, and into a curtained alcove. It was the work of moments, for he could move like the wind itself when he chose.

  He set her down once they were alone, and there in the dimness of the alcove, so cool and quiet after the heat of the day and the stress of the throne room, Saerileth burst into tears.

  “What have you done, Saerileth?” Darien’s words were not reproachful; they were full of wonder, and he pulled her tight against him.

  “I have given you a death,” said Saerileth. “I gave you Lord Itenu’s life, and now I give you Lord Ahnok’s death.” Her tears still coursed down her cheeks, and she hated the weakness. She was not sorry to have given up her vengeance for Darien’s sake.

  “Saerileth, you didn’t have to—”

  “Yes, my love.” She looked up into those dark and depthless eyes, into that dark face that was the sun of her world. “I did.”

  Darien’s voice shook with emotion, and his clasp of her was so tight that she could hardly breathe. “You knew that they wouldn’t kill him, and you knew that I desired his death. But you have lost your own revenge. You have given up Talex Chamri for me.”

  “Yes.” Saerileth forced her tears back. “I did, and I would do it again. It was more than a desire for Ulen’s death, Darien. You deserved his death. He had wronged you so many times, in so many ways. I did not care about his treachery. Why should I when the rest of the Sunjaa did not? But he wronged you, and that I could not let pass.”

  “Saerileth.” Darien lifted her up off her feet and pressed his mouth to hers. “I will make it up to you, beloved. I promise.”

  “Your kiss is more than enough to make it up to me.” Saerileth succumbed to Darien’s passion, and his mouth devoured hers.

  Chapter Twenty

  The timbers of Mirsa’s Crown groaned as the ship rocked in the harbor. Darien looked down at the worn planks that comprised the quarterdeck. She was an old ship, had seen many battles, had crossed the sea countless times, and would not see many more summers. But the thought did not sadden Darien, for all things must change. He had realized this when his world was turned upside down the moment Saerileth had come into his life. Saerileth. Red Lotus without equal, she who loved her Darien and put his good above even her own. She had foregone her lifelong vengeance for his sake, and the thought made Darien miss his Lotus all the more. He ran his finger along the black bracelet of her hair. The voyage to the Dimadan would be a short one. It had been decided that the Sunjaa fleet would see the Zenji fleet back to its homeland, thus finally securing Arinport completely. Though Ruben commanded the fleet and captained the Crown herself, Darien had asked to go along, a request the admiral had immediately granted. Darien said he was not certain the Zenji would not try any shenanigans, so he wanted to come along as added insurance. Ruben welcomed the company, but when he questioned Kamen’s conspicuous absence, Darien simply cited his wounds as an excuse. The real reason was that Darien did not want to be around Kamen, not because he no longer liked him – quite the contrary. He loved Kamen, and he did not want to torture him with his constant presence. Darien assumed that the sooner he was out of Kamen’s life, the sooner his old friend could move on.

  “Clear all moorings,” Ruben cried out over the decks, sending his men scrambling up ropes toward the ship’s edge. They cast off and took the lead. The moons rose over the eastern expanse of dark sea, and the harbor waters ebbed. The ships sailed out into open water and pointed their prows at the rising double-moons.

  ****

  The fleet sailed on in silence and without incident until the moons were hanging in the bright, night sky directly overhead. That was when Darien issued forth from his bunk below decks and woke Ruben.

  “What is it, Darien?” The captain wiped at his eyes, rising in instant readiness, a vigilance born of long practice as a sailor.

  “Sorry for the disturbance, Captain.” Darien stepped into the cabin. “I need to speak with Talex Chamri. Something Saerileth wanted me to tell him.”

  “Right now?”

  “Now.” Darien could wait no longer, could not let Saerileth’s vengeance go unfulfilled. He thought of her bleeding palm and how she had cried in his arms. She had given up everything for him.

  Ruben moved over to his wardrobe, exchanged his nightshirt for a tunic, threw on a vest and sash, pulled on his boots, and walked out onto the main deck. “Whatever you need.”

  The Zenji flagship was hailed, and they answered. Though the hour was late and there was some initial confusion, the pale-faced sailors finally admitted Darien aboard their ship. They were, after all, no longer enemies, so what harm could come? Darien was great among the Sunjaa. To deny him would be a slight to Arinport, a risk Darien knew they did not want to take. With Ulen freshly killed, they needed all the allies they could get.

  “Get Talex Chamri out here.” Darien towered over the first Zenji sailor to meet him.

  The sailor fetched his master, and soon the fat, irritated face of Talex peeked out of the main deck’s cabin. “What is it?”

  “I have a message for you from the Red Lotus, Saerileth.”

  Darien read the sudden fear in Talex’s eyes, but that fright soon passed, and a self-satisfied twinkle lit his blue orbs.

  “I will hear the gracious words of our loveliest Lotus.” Talex stepped out the door and, all smiles, walked over to Darien. “So, what news?”

  Darien drew back his arm with lightning speed and punched Talex in the nose. Blood burst from his face, and Talex collapsed to the deck clutching his nose, his scream muffled through his cupped hands.

  The Zenji sailors drew their swords and surrounded Darien, but he was faster. He sprang at Talex and snatched him up by his hair, standing behind him and placing his enemy’s kneeling body between his legs, bringing his head back to rest against his chest. Darien wrapped his arm around Talex’s soft neck and squeezed. Talex smelled like women’s perfume.

  “Kill this black dog.” Talex’s voice was a croak.

  Darien stared down the Zenji sailors. “You might want to think carefully about your next move.”

  The veiled threat was enough to delay their attack, and Darien knew his reputation as a warrior would buy him only a few moments. He squeezed a little harder. “Speak, murderer. Tell them how you slaughtered the Kesandrahn clan. Tell them how you got fat off their spilled blood.”

  But Talex would not speak. He held his tongue and thrashed against Darien’s arm, a futile effort that the large warrior had no trouble countering.

  “Kill me, and it’s war,” Talex said, his voice croaking out o
f his throat.

  “Refuse to speak,” Darien said, “and it will most certainly be war, for I will order my fleet to sink every Zenji ship in the sea.”

  “But you won’t survive.”

  Darien shrugged. “Saerileth gave her life’s vengeance for me. I’m happy to offer my life to her in exchange.”

  “You’re bluffing.” Talex struggled ineffectually a little longer. He was old, weak, and fat – no match for Darien’s strength.

  Darien pulled out his hand-held mirror and angled it toward the moonslight. “Sure about that? One signal to the Crown, and you and I will be dicing with Nistaran by night’s end.”

  The sailors shifted from one foot to the other, inching in and closing their distance. They would attack any moment.

  “If your men injure me, the Dimadan will burn for it.”

  Talex tilted his head up far enough to stare back at Darien. The little fat man’s eyes burned with hatred.

  “It’s your choice,” Darien said. “Admit what you did, or we Sunjaa will annihilate your people.”

  “Either way, I die.” Talex knew what would happen if he spoke or not. If he did not speak, Darien would snap his neck, and there would be war. But if he did speak, the Zenji would execute him for his crimes. War, however, would be avoided.

  Darien was not sure which way Talex would go, but he hoped that the man, however despicable he might be, would have some desire to save his race from utter destruction. Either way, Talex’s life was at its end.

  Talex grunted and struggled once more and then lay still. His shoulders slumped, and he let his hands fall to his sides. “I did it.”

  “Did what?” Darien jerked up, choking him a little tighter.

  If looks could have killed... “I ordered the execution of the Kesandrahn clan.”