by Paul Heisel
She wondered if Pearl didn’t take her to Salt Island, would the Accord of the Hand’s fate been different? Or a worse fate? It was the least of her worries, as there was nothing she could do about it. She would keep the information about the Grand Master being from Ashimo to herself, here having a secret was power and she intended to keep that knowledge locked away for future use. The facts surrounding the vault in Sabrin would never pass beyond her lips.
The balance of the conversation was about her and what she went through being marked and bound to the Emperor. The forceful binding of her to the belt by the Emperor’s Chamberlain, Yan, made Feln angry. If she wasn’t bound, they wouldn’t have these complications and there would be nothing preventing them from being together. It was then she told Feln that they couldn’t be a couple, there were two things that she needed to work through. One was him faltering with Iristi – it would take time for her broken heart to heal from that. The second was finding a way to break the magic of the belt, so she could be free of the Emperor’s family. Once those two things reached a definitive conclusion, they would figure out where they were and go from there. She made it clear that she loved him dearly, that would never change, ever. Time was needed to set things right and to figure things out. She offered him freedom from her; there was no obligation for him to wait for her. He didn’t take the offer, dismissed it as nonsense, and told her that he would wait. She was happy to hear that. They would remain faithful to each other, but apart for now.
#
For Feln the sunsets in Pyndira amazed him, the Malurrion sky displayed nothing like Pyndira’s range of colors. It gave him hope that tomorrow would be another day for him to be near Owori, as she promised to come back so they could spend more time together. They both figured the more they saw of each other, the better things would become. Though he dreaded it, he told her everything he felt, did, and experienced with Iristi. No detail was left out, no matter how painful it was for either of them to talk about. He felt better with it out in the open, and he figured Owori wouldn’t speak of it again unless it was necessary. It would take time for her to heal, and if that’s what it would take, he would wait. She was worth it. The sun was dipping down, and the grounds were getting dark. The lanterns along the property were being lit. The proximity of the light spoiled the overall effect of the sunset, but he didn’t mind, he was happy to be here with Owori and holding her hand.
Washed away were the burdens of his Most Favored station, with Owori at his side he felt as if everything was right. It was only temporary, though, as in time he would have to go back to Safun and she couldn’t travel far from the Emperor’s belt. Owori mentioned breaking the magical bonds of the Emperor’s belt; and he wondered if Pearl would have any additional insight. That reminded him that he didn’t tell Owori that Pearl was coming here, the detail had slipped his mind with everything going on. Nothing could be done about it now; she would be here any day now.
It was getting cooler and Owori came closer to him. He broke her iron grip on his hand and he put his arm around her, gathering her for warmth. There was a sudden breeze, a swirling current that didn’t feel like wind. A torrent buffeted them and the gust nearly knocked them over. At first Feln thought it was a Fury attack, then as soon as he was reacting, a massive red dragon plummeted from the sky at him and pulled up at the last possible moment. Sli landed hard on the ground, claws destroying dead grass and plants. The dragon roared as if in pain. Feln grabbed Owori before she did something rash. “It’s Sli, the Emperor’s dragon assigned to my family. He has brought Pearl.”
“I know,” Owori said. “Hello? I live at the palace. What, Pearl?”
The dragon dipped his head and shook, flinging Pearl out of the saddle and to the ground. She rolled unharmed and gracefully popped up, her face screwed into a scowl.
“Get the rest off me!” the dragon boomed. “Now!”
Pearl went to the dragon and pulled off a rather large stash of supplies connected to the dragon’s leather saddle. Sli shook his body like a wet dog trying to dry off. Taking a massive step forward, claws rending the ground, Sli pushed his face toward Feln.
“Never again! Tell her to stay away from me!”
With that, Sli vaulted into the air, dirt and plants spraying. Only by sheer agility did Pearl avoid a swiping wing tip. Had the blow landed, she would have been hurt. The dragon flew with powerful strokes toward the palace, disappearing from their sight.
Pearl dusted herself off. She looked at Feln.
“Problems?” he asked.
“We don’t get along,” she answered. “I insisted he carry additional supplies and that we go a particular route, and it got worse from there. Two days of arguing with a dragon; it wasn’t worth it. I’ll never do that again unless you force me. Next time I’ll find a horse.”
“Based on Sli’s reaction, I doubt you’ll have the opportunity to ride a dragon again.”
“Pearl, what are you doing here?” Owori asked.
“Owori!”
Pearl came forward and embraced her. “Didn’t Feln tell you?”
“I was getting to that,” he said, “but you interrupted with your dramatic arrival.”
“I came here to explain why you were in the palace,” Pearl said. “I see Feln found you, or you found him.”
“Maybe both,” Owori said. “We found each other. How are you? How have you been?”
“Fine, no complaints other than the dragon,” she answered. “I do have information you and Feln should hear. Is there a place we can talk?”
With a jerk of his thumb, Feln pointed over his shoulder. “The Xialao family manor is behind me. We’ll have time to talk when we go inside. Out here is fine as well. There isn’t a person near us for hundreds of yards.”
“Owori, I’m glad to see you’re well,” Pearl said. “There are rumors the Emperor was assassinated. I thought he became ill and died from the resulting sickness.”
Owori and Feln shared a look. Feln had seen it before – Owori was telling him (without telling him) that she trusted Pearl. He trusted Pearl because she was bound to the family. There was a rebellious woman in Pearl, a wild one in his estimation if not for the magical binding. Good to have on your side, bad to have against you. He was glad she was on their side and glad she was willingly bound to his family.
“Only Feln knows this,” Owori said. “I expect this to be kept secret. You must swear on Feln’s belt.”
“Of course. I won’t speak of this to anyone.”
“The Emperor was attacked by horse demons and assassins, including four Furies. It was a well-planned, coordinated attack. We were able to keep the Emperor and the Warlord of Pyndira safe. But they spent the night in the cold, pouring rain without proper shelter or enough clothing. The Emperor took sick, a coughing sickness that filled his lungs with fluid. They tried to heal him, but he became worse over time. He fell asleep one night and didn’t wake up.”
“So indirectly he was killed,” Pearl said.
“If you want to term it that. I’ll tell you later how the Furies got into the area. Ingenious use of transporting to set up an assassination for a later date.”
Pearl perked up. “How so? Tell me.”
“The attack took place at the Emperor’s retreat, a cottage in the country. It’s well guarded, both by soldiers and natural surroundings. The retreat has a good defense against a large force attacking the area. What the Furies did is they traveled by foot through the thick forest and arrived at the cottage while the Emperor was not in residence. They established a connection back to Malurrion from within the cottage, and they must have had a routine of transporting back for a split second, seeing if anyone was there, then returning to Malurrion. Once they determined the Emperor was in the cottage, four Furies came and they each brought an assassin with them.”
“I’ve wondered about that,” Pearl said. “If you had dozens of Furies you could teach them to establish connections from two hubs, one in Malurrion and one in Pyndira. From the Malurrio
n hub more connections could be made to specific places in Pyndira.”
“How many people can go with?”
“One. I’ve tried two, but my magic isn’t strong enough. Just one.”
An idea was forming in Feln’s head. “How many Furies are in route to Safun?”
“In total there are one hundred and sixty-four,” she answered. “All are accounted for.”
“Do you think we would have volunteers to help us experiment?”
“Once you set up a connection, that’s what it is for life. There’s no way to change it. I wouldn’t experiment, I’d have a definite plan of what you want to do before you do it.”
“I know that. I was thinking a connection between Safun and Malurrion could be made, another Fury taken, then a connection from Malurrion to the manor house here in Daiwer-dar. That way I could move between Safun and here. It would allow me to keep in touch with the Empire and so I could see Owori when I wanted.”
“That might work.”
“Do you think there will be volunteers?” Feln asked. “Would they give up their connection?”
“With what you’ve offered them, freedom, I think you’ll have enough volunteers. I wouldn’t worry about that.”
“We’ll have to try it. Pearl, how many Furies do the families have?”
“Do you think we can go inside? It’s getting colder.”
“Of course.”
Pearl picked up her wrapped bundles and a pack of supplies, leaving behind the massive holes in the ground where Sli landed. The three of them walked to the manor house.
“How long can you stay?” Feln asked Owori.
“A few more hours. I need to get back to the palace. I’ll come back tomorrow, probably not until the afternoon though. I have duties.”
“Understood. We’re going to have a relaxing dinner. I’m sure Emato will want to have a formal affair.”
“I’d rather not stay then. I’ve seen enough formal dinners at the palace,” Owori said. “I’ll just go now and save myself the torment.”
“How about a simple supper?”
“Nothing is ‘simple’ any more, particularly when you have servants more than willing to serve.”
“It can be made simple. I’ll arrange it.”
“I’d like to clean up,” Pearl said. “I’m sure I smell like dragon. And a cranky dragon at that.”
“How much time do you need?”
“An hour. Just show me hot water and soap. I’ll be happy with that.”
“Owori, when we get to the manor house, go with Pearl and help her get ready. I’ll take care of dinner. Before you go, though, I want Pearl to tell me all about transporting. You’ve got five minutes.”
#
Not knowing if he should stand or sit, Feln decided to stand and wait for the rest of his guests to arrive. He was encouraged by what Pearl told him. They could create a network of Furies to transport people to various places around Pyndira. Pearl warned him not to expect so much, that the first start was to have a connection between Safun and Daiwer-dar. The transportation conversation gave way to how they were going to dissolve the magical binding of Owori to the Emperor, and Pearl said that she would need to spend time doing research. There were temples around Pyndira that had libraries, and the first thing would be to start there. She suggested he hire teams of scholars to collect information as well. Of course she would help, but spending time in the library reading would be a waste of her talents. He agreed.
Emato was disappointed they didn’t want to dine in the manor’s halls. The cooks were working away just the same, assembling the meal for the evening. It was traditional fare that Feln hoped everyone would appreciate. Emato showed him and Caleth different uniforms to wear for the evening. These were a dark tan color, with a thinner fabric than the dark blue uniforms. Feln declined, instead he put on a comfortable robe. Caleth did the same. Around the side of the manor, Feln spied the three women walking toward them and Emato was striding quickly to keep up. Owori looked the same, Pearl had changed robes and her wet hair was down, and Suun had on one of the tan family uniforms with a blue cloak on her shoulders. It was cool outside and would get colder as the night went on. The fire was small and with more fuel it would give them warmth if they needed it. There were benches for them to sit and stout tables that laborers had brought from one of the workshops. It was rather rustic. Emato came forward and guided the ladies to the benches. Everyone took their seats.
A steady stream of servers came from the edge of the makeshift camp, bringing with them food and drink elevated on trays. Two servants brought an object covered in a cloth, put it to the side, nodded to Pearl, and hastily left. The object wasn’t large, nor was it small, and it had a trapezoidal shape. He looked to Pearl and it was apparent she wasn’t going to explain what that was just yet. The chitchat began. Yes, it was a change to eat outside, and Feln explained doing things differently gave a person a better perspective. What he didn’t say was it kept Owori here for a few more minutes.
While he sipped wine, he looked at Owori. She still took his breath away, and he couldn’t help but stare. She looked different than he imagined, better in fact, and he was so thankful he found her. Even if she was in the service of the Emperor, at least she was alive, safe, and had a place where she mattered. The rest would be worked out one way or another. After this business was done here with the Emperor and the Warlord of Pyndira, he would return to Safun and resume his duties. There was quite a bit of work for him to do.
Owori caught his eye and she smiled ever so slightly. He noticed she hadn’t touched the wine and was content to drink water. He wondered if she wanted a different style of wine or ale perhaps? On the edge of his vision a servant stoked the fire and put on additional logs. The extra fuel brightened the whole area. He was about to ask Owori if she wanted something different to drink when Pearl stood up with a graceful flip of her long blond hair.
“I’d like to present you with a gift before we get too far into this outdoor feast,” she said as she stepped over the bench and motioned toward the object with the cloth cover.
The table became quiet. The servers paused and stayed wherever they were. Pearl sauntered to the cloth, grasped it, and pulled it free. A servant collected the cloth and departed. It was a rack with three swords. The large katana on the top Feln recognized as the Dragonfly blade, the other two were new additions. They had the same design, handle, and sheath.
“These are the sister blades to the Dragonfly,” Pearl said. “I saw them in the Kolun’s treasure trove, on Salt Island. They come to you compliments of my friend Paq.”
Feln remembered Owori speaking of the island where Furies were marked, and Paq, the artist who painted her tattoos and kept her alive when she didn’t leave with the Emperor’s belt. Feln stood and went over to the rack, grasping the midsize blade. Pearl stood by him, smiling. It was much like a ninjato, a shorter version of the katana, used when a large sword couldn’t be hidden. It was as light and sharp as the Dragonfly katana, and it had the same delicate markings. If he tilted it just right in the fire light, he could see the Dragonfly lettering. The smallest one was similar, the metal blade short and stouter, and just as sharp.
“Thank you, I don’t know what to say. This is unexpected.”
Pearl bowed and went back to her bench. Feln put the small blade on the rack and returned to his seat. Feln smiled at Owori and what he got in return was one of her smirks. Not sure what she was thinking, he thought it best to not to push his luck. Things were going better than he expected. There was hope for their future as long as he didn’t mess it up. A bell rang, Emato was still trying to be formal, and the servers distributed the first course to the rough tables. The first course was soup with thick dumplings. Feln took sip of the soup, determining it was too hot, so he speared one of the dumplings. It was too hot as well.
“Are we going to sleep out here as well?” Pearl asked. “Tell frightening stories?”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Feln ans
wered. Emato, standing close by, looked as if he was going to make a comment, but he refrained. Dinner continued and the subject of sleeping outdoors never came up again.
“Talk to me about these horse demons,” Feln said, not directing the question at anyone directly. “Where do they come from?”
“A place called the Nether,” Suun said.
“Do they transport here?”
“In a manner, yes,” she replied. “What I know is they are summoned by magic. The cost is great to open a portal between here and the Nether, it takes blood, and to bring a horse demon would take magic of the strongest sort.”
After hearing Owori’s tale of the failed assassination attempt on the Emperor, Feln thought Hiru was behind all of this. He couldn’t rationalize what Hiru had to gain by eliminating the Emperor though. Unless he had another plan or a way to become Emperor, it didn’t make sense. Hiru, though, was at the top of the suspect list. He used the horse demons against Hou, didn’t he?
“Can they be controlled? Instructed?”
“Perhaps given basic instructions or maybe they can be given notions of what should be done. What I’ve heard is they are only interested in causing destruction. They will go after anything human they see, then they’ll start toward human structures to destroy those. They won’t stop until they're killed.”
“It’s been a long time since creatures came here from the Nether,” Pearl said.
Across the table, Feln could feel Owori looking at him and he guessed she wasn’t smiling. No one knew about the horse demons and the Emperor, save him, now Pearl, Owori, and the survivors of the incident. He risked a momentary glance – she was expressionless, serious. Maybe there was a way to relay the information without sacrificing Owori’s trust.
“I’ve heard rumors of sightings,” he said. “I’m trying to determine if this is coincidence or influenced by other factors. If horse demons are summoned and sent, then someone must be in control. Who is in control? Who has the knowledge and resources to do this? Hiru?”
