It was cold in there, and the prisoners had made a sleeping area along the back of the hall, opposite the high square windows, where they could huddle together for warmth. Maryam sat up on her rags in one corner, and others stirred at the disturbance.
The moonlight filtered through the windows and Tamza squinted in the direction of the voice.
“Over here, Tamza.” Maryam waved. Tamza went to her and the woman next to Maryam shuffled so Tamza could sit next to the healer.
Maryam hugged her tight and whispered, “We thought you were dead.”
Tamza rested her head on the healer’s shoulder. “I’m still alive, but they killed Ursah-bear.”
“Why?”
“She killed Dabecki, and then eight more soldiers. They had her cub trapped.”
Maryam sighed. “Nothing but death.”
“I enchanted the King. I had the chance to kill him, but couldn’t do it. I thought I could influence him with my enchantment, but it’s not working and I don’t have the tools or the ideas of how to cause his death. He is cautious and suspicious of me, even though he is under my spell. I disobeyed him tonight and he sent me here. My enchantment is failing, I’ve run out of time.”
“We are all out of time, my dear.”
“What do you mean, Maryam?”
“You cannot see in this darkness, but there are only fifty of us left. The Fert king brought his workers along to learn skills off our people. Once those skills have been passed on, we are no longer useful. Leeching our knowledge and destroying us one by one. I am fortunate, my healing ability to knit flesh, bone and muscles back together cannot be replicated. I spend my days healing Fert soldiers and workers with cuts or worse, and my evenings healing Vaasarians who have been beaten by those same Fert soldiers. I’m exhausted. We are all exhausted.”
“So few of us left…” Tamza mumbled, shocked. “I should’ve killed Edgar many weeks ago… And then Burrington, and then Orpey. All of them, enchanted and dead.”
“And then what, Tamza?” Maryam asked sharply.
Tamza was startled by the hard tone and didn’t reply.
“And then what?” Maryam insisted.
Tamza hadn’t thought about what happened after their deaths. She wanted everything to return to how it was, for her bears to be safe, for her father to be alive again. It was a foolish dream. Meekly she replied, “I… I don’t know.”
“Vaasar will never be the same, Tamza. Vaasar is no more. The Parchaders are not coming, and even if they do – will any of us still be alive? Doubtful. Tomorrow night, we will be no more.”
“What?”
Maryam’s mouth came close to Tamza’s ear and barely audible she said, “I have permission to gather herbs from the palace gardens and from the edges of the woods to use in my healing. I have been gathering one plant in particular, and tending to it in the small workshop they have granted me. It is ready, and I have more than enough. I have been slowly smuggling it in.” She patted a roll of rags that was acting as her pillow. “I could’ve been at peace weeks ago, but I’ve been making enough for everyone. How could I go knowing these people, my people, remained behind in so much pain? So, tomorrow night, we poison ourselves. We’ve all agreed. You can join us, if you wish. If not, you will be the only Vaasarian left alive, now Dabecki is gone.”
“Poison…”
“Yes. We are miserable, we want to be with our kin again, with our Gods. Vaasar has fallen. It is no longer ours, we do not belong here.” Maryam’s voice was low, tired, dejected. It sounded old.
Tamza had no response. Maryam kissed her forehead, pulled some of her blanket over Tamza and fell back. The healer’s breath immediately settled into the steady pattern of sleep. Tamza sat up for a while, thinking, before laying down.
But sleep did not come so quickly to Tamza. Fifty Vaasarians left in Vaasar. Edgar will hunt my bears. The thought screamed at her noisily. Poison.
The next morning, Tamza had made a decision, her veins flooded with courage. Maryam woke as the dawn sun streamed through the windows and started to get dressed. Tamza beckoned her close.
“Maryam, I have an idea. If we could escape from here, we could make a new life, start a new community. Our ancestors were wanderers, we can be too.”
Maryam sighed. “We have had this conversation many times, Tamza. There is no way to escape. A few tried, and were slaughtered. They captured them, brought them here and slit their throats right there under the high windows for all of us to see. As a warning to us not to try that again.”
“I have a third ability, I can make a portal. Two doorways. I can’t explain it, but you step through one doorway, and come out the other.” Tamza clapped her hand and a tiny blue circle flashed to life on her palm.
Maryam frowned and hid it with her hand, glancing at the door.
Tamza placed the circle on the rags, clapped her hand again and a second doorway appeared. She put it a little distance from the first. Concentrating, she connected her energy to those two swirling masses and made them larger, about the size of an onion. She put her little finger through the dark centre of the first doorway, careful to avoid the sharp edges. The tip of her finger disappeared and came through the second doorway and poked Maryam’s knee. The healer gasped, and stared wide eyed up at Tamza.
Tamza removed her finger, clapped and both doorways dissolved. “I can make the circles larger. Large enough for me to climb through.”
“Large enough for all these prisoners to climb through?”
“Yes. But there is a risk, Maryam. I have never transported another person, only myself. And I do not know how far apart the doorways can be. I could place one here and one outside these walls, but the guards would find it. It glows bright like a star. For us to escape, we need one doorway to be outside of the town, otherwise we will just run straight into soldiers.”
“How will you do it?”
“I… I have an idea. I will leave one doorway here, keep it well hidden. When it is time, the circle will grow large enough to climb through. As soon as that happens you will all need to be ready to jump through, as fast as you can. I don’t know how long I can hold it open for.”
Maryam nodded. “If it fails, we will take the poison.”
“I… I pray to the Bear-God that it doesn’t fail.” Tamza swallowed hard, if it didn’t work she would be the one killing her kind. If they stepped into the portal and never reappeared… “I will need some poison.”
The door creaked open and the soldier shouted for Maryam. She indicated she was just finishing dressing. The soldier waited, staring at her. She leaned forward and whispered to Tamza.
“Take one packet from under there, mix the powder with water first. One packet is plenty for five people. It takes a few hours to take effect. There is also a stack of green leaves, eat one first before you touch the powder, it is an antidote to the poison. I gathered it in case anyone had second thoughts. Good luck, Tamza.” Maryam ran towards the soldier and out the door.
Tamza sat on the rags with her back against the wall, looking up at the small windows. She was alone in the hall, the other prisoners had been called to work. She had taken a packet of poison and one leaf and left a tiny doorway in its place. The blue circle was about the size of a radish and Tamza barely noticed it drawing from her energy reserves. I’ll be able to keep this open for hours. The effort will come when I need to enlarge it.
The sun’s shadows moved through the room as it passed across the windows. This was the longest time Edgar had allowed her out of his sight. She sat patiently. My enchantment won’t fail, he’ll call me.
Soon, prisoners started returning to the hall. Exhausted from the day’s work, they fell straight into sleep, or hungrily ate the food the soldiers had given them during the day, pulling it from pockets.
The door creaked open and a soldier shouted for Tamza. She jumped up and rushed to him.
“Bit eager, aren’t we?” the soldier chuckled as he led her ba
ck towards the King’s chambers. He patted her down, focusing too long on her breasts and between her legs, but not going anywhere near the top of her head, where she had secured the contraband with her headscarf. He opened the door and pushed her in with a smirk. “I’ve been waiting for my turn to guard the King just so I could frisk you, my pretty.”
Tamza looked at him for a long time, remembering his face. It was long and thin, one eyebrow higher than the other and he was missing his front teeth. He was one of the men who often sat at the King’s table for dinner. He wasn’t on the council, but he was a trusted soldier.
“Get ready, you’ll be dancing for the king tonight. It’s quite a feast. The reinforcements have arrived from Fertilian, and the King wants to celebrate.” With that he slammed the door in her face.
It’s time, Papa. It’s time for me to go on stage.
15
Tamza backflipped and landed in front of the soldier with the missing front teeth. He looked up at her in awe, his mouth hanging open. The men around the table were all mesmerised, those who had watched her dance many times before and those who had arrived today. Edgar grinned broadly.
Tamza had a new trick for them tonight. She wore her usual cropped top, but had ripped her trousers to a pair of tiny shorts. Her buttocks were on show, which made her feel exposed, but was perfect for the purpose she had in mind. She had her usual jewellery on, apart from her ankle cuffs.
The gap-toothed soldier held his cup in his hand by his chest, although he hadn’t taken a sip in a while, too rapt by Tamza’s performance. She leant forward, giving the soldier a good look at her cleavage and plucked his drink from his hand.
She cupped her palm above his face and he looked up, mouth still open. She poured his wine from her elbow down to her hand so it dripped off her fingers, splashing his face and dribbling into his mouth. He lapped it up like a hungry kitten as she knew he would. The cup emptied and she threw it at the wall, running her wet hand down his face and shoving her fingers in his mouth before pushing his head away. He licked his lips hungrily.
Tamza turned and aimed her sights on the King. She leapt and tumbled along the low tables to the gasps of the men and landed in front of Edgar. She graced him with a smile and a wink. He, too, held his cup against his chest. She knew he was drinking the wine the new soldiers had brought with them, and she also knew that his food tasters would’ve sipped it before it was given to the King, as they did with all his food and drink. He was relentlessly cautious.
She stood slowly on one leg, her other going to his cup. Her toes clasped it and brought it back to her hand. The King relinquished his cup without a second thought. Her foot went back to his chest, pressing there a moment before kicking up his chin. She put her big toe in his mouth and poured his wine down her leg. He sucked it off her toe, drinking greedily, his eyes locked on hers.
When the cup was almost empty, Tamza brought her leg down and knelt on the low table, her knees spread wide. She beckoned Edgar towards her and poured a few drops of the wine in her belly button. He leant forward, grabbed her hips and pulled her nearer, then brought his head down, a hungry smile on his face, to suck at the wine around her stomach. She dipped her fingers in the wine and smeared it up her thighs, Edgar’s tongue followed. She dribbled the last between her breasts, and he obliged by licking it all off.
She laughed and whispered in his ear. “Let us go to bed, my King.”
Edgar grunted and stood up from the cushions. He picked her up from the table and she wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to his chest and kissing his forehead. He stared up at her in wonder as he walked to door.
“Carry on, men, I’ve got some fucking to do.”
Laughter and claps from around the table. Orpey shouted, “Bring the fresh whores!”
The gap-toothed soldier stood and followed Edgar and Tamza out of the dining hall and to the King’s chamber. As usual, Edgar removed his sword and daggers and left them outside the room. Gappy took up his position in the hallway as Edgar shut the door.
For hours, Tamza entertained the King. He was insatiable. Eventually he fell asleep and Tamza watched his chest rise and fall, rise and fall. Tamza could picture Maryam watching the blue doorway carefully, patiently waiting for it to grow, the hope still in her heart. This has to work.
Rise and fall, rise and fall. Tamza peeled herself off the bed and scrubbed herself silently, washing away all the poison. Before the dance, she had eaten the leaf, mixed the powder contents of Maryam’s packet with water to form a thin paste and then covered her body in the stuff, standing still until it dried. It felt tight on her skin and had left a greyish sheen, but the men hadn’t noticed. They were too busy staring at her exposed buttocks.
Edgar twitched in his sleep. Tamza stared intently at his chest.
Rise and fall.
Whilst she dressed, she heard a clang from outside. She crept to the door, putting her ear to it, but could hear nothing. Edgar coughed. She turned to stare at him. His face in shadows from the candle that flickered at the end of the bed. She took a step towards him.
He coughed violently, his eyes sprung open and he clutched at his throat, choking. His pale skin went the colour of the raw meat she used to feed to her bears. His eyes rolled in their sockets, but he fought it, he fought it hard and it took all his will to stare at Tamza. With extreme effort, he shifted his feet off the bed and to the floor, his eyes on Tamza, one hand around his throat.
A foamy blood dribbled from Edgar’s nose as he pushed himself off the bed and took a step towards her. His entire body trembled. He jerked a hand out, reaching to her. She wanted to move out of his grasp but her body was rooted to the spot.
With a great lurch, he took a step towards her, his breath ragged, foam bubbling from his lips, dropping in clumps in his beard. He forced out words, but they were incomprehensible gurgles.
His eyeballs bulged as he fell on his face. A heavy thud on the wooden floorboards. His body twitched and went still.
Tamza’s heartbeat banged in her eardrums. She nudged him with a foot, his face was purple and bloated, his throat swollen. His tongue lolled from his mouth, a pulpy, wet mass. Satisfied, she spat on him.
“That is for Papa, for Ursah, for Yaseena, for Lil Araf and Baby, and for all the Vaasarians you murdered, you monster.”
She pulled on her cloak and headscarf, listened at the door. Slowly she opened the handle, and peered out. Gappy was dead on the floor. Stepping over the soldier, she looked down the corridor. She grabbed Edgar’s daggers.
With one in each hand she crept down the hallway. It was quiet. This entire floor was empty apart from the King. He had one soldier posted at the door, and the rest at the bottom of the stairs.
The light of candles glowed from the circular stairwell, and the noise of laughter – male and female – rose in great waves. Grunting, women’s yelps, as well as singing. There was a party going on. Tamza tiptoed down each step, until she had the last step in front of her.
The stairs ended in a room which led off to the downstairs hallway. The bulk of this room was to her right, as well as the entry to the hall. She knew there was a large cupboard against the wall, immediately to her right. To her left was a door to the palace gardens. The way out. In front of her was a pile of floor cushions and low tables. The voices and laughter was emanating from her right. If she could stay close to the wall, the cupboard would shield her from view. She cautiously came to the bottom step, held her breath and peeked.
The soldiers and the whores were on floor cushions to her right. The way was clear, for the moment. Tamza gritted her teeth and placed a foot on the floor of the room, shuffled along the wall to the left.
In front of her a man grunted. A soldier, his leggings around his ankles, was taking his pleasure of a Fertilian whore in the corner, against the wall. His back was to Tamza, but the woman was facing her and opened her eyes just as Tamza took a step.
They stared at each other. Tamza stood a
s still as a statue. The man, oblivious, continued to thrust. Tamza put all her thoughts into her eyes. “Please,” she tried to communicate with the woman, “Please don’t scream. Please forget you saw me. Please.”
The whore stared at her for a long time and Tamza held her breath. The woman blinked and looked down, closing her eyes, grunting along with the soldier she entertained. Tamza took this as a signal, and ran. The door was open ajar and she squeezed through, scared to pull it and make the hinges creak.
The cool air embraced her and she crouched low, catching her breath. Drawing her black headscarf tighter, she faded into the shadows. A group of five soldiers stood at the entrance to the palace gardens. One was pissing against the low wall. They looked bored, clearly frustrated not to be enjoying the women. There was no threat in Vaasar, apart from the prisoners locked away, there were only Ferts in the town.
Tamza trod carefully on the pebbly path, the pebbles brought up from the beach, and away from the entrance and the soldiers, and disappeared deeper into the palace gardens, across the Killing Fields and towards the bear enclosure.
16
Tamza pushed the King’s daggers into the soldier’s back, just below his shoulder blades. Blood spurted onto her face. It was surprisingly easy, the blades sharp. Tamza had never stabbed anyone before, but knew she had one chance. The soldier posted to watch the bear enclosure had been asleep in the long grass a few steps from the gate. He lay on his front, his arms crossed above his head and his forehead resting on the elbow of one, face turned away from Tamza.
The soldier yelped as the blades bit and tried to turn, his arms flailing, hands snatching at his attacker. Tamza was kneeling on the back of his thighs so he couldn’t stand. She pulled the daggers out and stabbed again, lower. And again, either side of his waist. The man yelled. I need to quieten him or he’ll have the entire Fert army on me!
The Fall of Vaasar Page 9
