Women of Power

by C. R. Daems

  As the sun began to dip behind the mountains, someone crept up from behind me. I smiled. Javaid still had questions and had no intention of leaving them unresolved. His glance warmed something in my belly, but I knew what he was looking for he wouldn't find in me.

  "Good morn, lieutenant. Are we ready to begin?"

  "I'd love to know how you do that. Stay alert all night and still able to travel the next day. Of course, no one's complaining. I doubt anyone felt in condition to watch after yesterday."

  "You fight sleep, so you feel you must win or lose. I embrace it, and there's no contest."

  "Well, I understand the first part, but I doubt I understand the second. Does it also apply to fear?" He settled down close to me.

  "I can't answer that question, since I've never been afraid. You can't run or hide from fear, so I suspect the same principle applies. If you accept what you fear, you may not like what happens, but you have no reason to fear it. That is the yin way. In war, soldiers probably learn to blank out what could happen and reject their fear. That's the yang way."

  Javaid choked back a laugh. "Why would you think a man would find you difficult to live with? I find you fascinating, refreshing. You're smart, clever, and always in a good mood."

  "Right now you're fascinated and attracted to me. But if you loved me, you would expect me to think in the way you and others consider normal. But society is yang. Even shy and timid women are yang. They appear yin only when compared to others. They're gentle souls but not yin in the way Qi are." I paused to consider an example to clarify my point. "Would you understand if you found I didn't care what you did? Or I didn't care if you didn't like something I did? Would you follow me on a new contract? I wouldn't follow you."

  He sat there, his face frozen in shock. "You make yourself sound...heartless," he stuttered.

  "Yes, to someone who's yang. I have feelings, likes and dislikes, but I would not react in a manner you and others expect. If you were sent to war, you would expect me to be upset, resist you going, and to worry about you being killed. I wouldn't. I'd accept you're a soldier and could be killed in war. I'd be content to await your return or death. I'd be sorry if you died but accept it as one of the possible outcomes. You're yang and fight life, and I'm yin and embrace it. You and I see life differently." I wondered if qi'Senka had changed over the years or if she had always been like she was today. Would I change over time? Interesting questions which would be answered as I walked the Path.

  I rose. "We should get back to camp. It will soon be time to leave."

  * * *

  We reached the foothills of the Karp Mountain just before sunrise and made camp on the south side of a ridge. I again took the watch, sitting in a rocky area on a small ridge, which provided a good vantage point to the west and north. The day proved uneventful but pleasant, as there was much more animal activity. Sergeant Mirce joined me at midafternoon.

  "Qi'Nisha, I know you don't seem to mind standing watch after a long day's march and all of us appreciate it, but I'd feel better if I took a turn. It'll give you an hour or two to stretch or …Anyway, the lieutenants will want a meeting soon to decide on tonight's sortie."

  "Thank you, I'd like to stretch my legs." And interact with everyone. It would help me understand the people around me and to provide better-informed observations. Back in camp, I sat and talked with several of the soldiers while snacking on cheese and bread. I tended to eat small portions all day rather than the large meals at more or less specific times the others seemed to prefer.

  "Qi'Nisha, how do you do it, go so long without sleeping?" Teldor, one of the Hala troops, asked. Everyone seemed interested. I gave a small laugh.

  "I rest more than any of you. You consider me active because I'm sitting up and aware of my surroundings. When I'm in a meditating posture, I'm very close to your condition when you're asleep. And how? Many years of practice."

  "How do you feel about this mission? The tribes could find us, and there are lots more of them than us."

  "Teldor, that's not nice worrying qi'Nisha," Sergeant Volos said. I knew people worried about all sorts of things, but I never had. And not just because of the Qi'temple's isolation. I knew students worried about their classes, their Qi'teacher's opinion, and many other things. So it was interesting to hear the concerns of the troops. Although the question had been directed at me, it must be something he and others worried about; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked.

  "I don't mind. It's a reasonable question." When I looked around the group, everyone was watching me. Lieutenant Javaid looked particularly attentive. "Some live in the past although they can't change it, and some worry about the future although they can't control it. The Qi learn from the past but don't judge what happened. It just did. The Qi conjecture on the future based on what they have observed, but they don't try to control it. We neither lead nor follow. I don't fear the tribes because I don't know what will happen tomorrow—or care. It's only today that concerns me."

  "Enough," Irmak said. "We need to decide on our mission tonight. Qi'Nisha?"

  "If there's a tribe massed at the end of the Karp Mountains, you'll know for certain the trap and numbers we conjectured were in the Iovis Corridor are correct. Then it'll be reasonable to assume there's another tribe exposed on the open plain of the Castor Corridor and another tribe hidden at the tip of the Marar Mountains."

  "Then what?" Volos asked.

  "Too many possibilities. It would depend on what you find at the end of the Karp Mountains. And one reason you may want to find out." I smiled. It was not my decision to make.

  Javaid stood. "Let's send a team of three to scout ahead. This time, two stay well ahead of the third. That way if the lead scouts run into trouble, the third can warn us. Then...well, we'll determine that when the scouts return." He smiled in my direction. Irmak nodded. Since everyone had slept during the day, Irmak decided they should take the watch duty.

  "Mistress, I hope you don't mind me saying, but you seem to have Lieutenant Javaid tied in knots. He's attracted to you...physically, but you have him confused. He doesn't know whether to propose to you or run," Irmak said, grinning. "I can't say I blame him. We all like you and are glad you're along, but none of us understands you."

  "I don't blame him or you. At the Qi'temple, I considered myself normal, but I'm learning I'm different from non-Qi. I begin to understand that difference makes me seem...heartless or emotionless. Maybe I am, at least by comparison. Maybe it's the nature of Qi. Regardless, it's necessary."

  We lapsed into silence. During the evening, I walked around enjoying the terrain, listening to the night, visited Windrunner, and finally said goodnight to another interesting day.

  * * *

  I woke well before dawn and sat meditating, finding it more restful than sleep. As I meditated, the Qi seemed to be pulled into me from everywhere, moving through me like it was alive. It expanded outward, making me at one with everything around me. My Qi'teachers had warned us we had to be careful if we found that place, since we would be tempted to stay and never return. After talking with qi'Senka, I believed they were talking from legends not personal experience. I had found that place, and the legends were at least partly right—it was a beautiful place. But how could one want to stay when walking the Path proved so interesting?

  When the scouts rode into camp, everyone rushed to join them.

  "Anything?" Javaid asked as they dismounted.

  "Nothing. We got close to the end of the mountain but didn't see guards or fires. We did hear a lot of noise in the distance."

  "What kind?" Irmak asked.

  "It sounded like a herd of animals. Whatever it was, it was definitely moving away from us. We could see clouds of dust, like a sand storm."

  "Could it be they were retreating for some reason?" Volos asked.

  "Or closing in for an attack," Irmak said, mirroring my thoughts. If Wenrich sent a force into the Sands and they discovered a tribe in the open and on foot and attacked them, it could explain
what the scouts heard and the reason tribes weren't positioned at the head of the Karp Mountains. If so, did Wenrich send an army, intending to destroy the tribes, or a large scouting party? It was more likely the latter. Wenrich had bitten off more than he could chew comfortably and still hadn't decided which should be eaten now and which saved for later.

  "I think we can return to Hala. Qi'Nisha was right. Duke Wenrich sent an army up the corridor and sprang the trap. May the gods have mercy on the troops. Duke Tebos and Duke Sandar need to know what waits in the Sands," Javaid said. Volos and Mirce nodded agreement. Irmak looked to me.

  "Qi'Nisha?"

  "Hala already know the Sands contain a dangerous trap and have a good estimate of the tribes' strength. However, we can only guess the tribes were there and left to attack Duke Wenrich's troops, the size of that force, and if the tribes have a larger force further in the Sands. That information could help Duke Tebos and Duke Sandar to decide how best to proceed, for themselves and Rhybac."

  "How many?" Mirce asked.

  "The smaller the party, the harder it'll be to detect."

  "Irmak," Javaid said, waving her off to the side. She followed him to a spot some twenty steps away. They stood waving their hands as they argued, while the troopers whispered to each other in groups of three or four. Some time later, the lieutenants strode back to us.

  "Lieutenant Irmak insists on going with qi'Nisha. We'll need two volunteers. We can't spare both senior sergeants. And Mirce can't go because Lieutenant Irmak is," Javaid said.

  It was obvious that he and Irmak had fought over who would accompany me, and Irmak had won. She probably used the "she's Duke Sandar's Qi'advisor and he is holding me responsible" logic.

  Corporal Boain was the first to step up, insisting he was senior corporal so had the right to go. Everyone wanted to go. After much debate, Sergeant Volos and Corporal Boain got the dubious honor. We spent the rest of the day resting as we waited for dark to leave. Lieutenant Javaid approached me just before he and his group were preparing to leave for Inwood.

  "Qi'Nisha, I wish you were returning with us. I've given a lot of thought to what you said. At first, I thought it sounded like you felt you were some kind of nobility. Then I decided your training had been cruel to create that kind of thinking. But I've come to the conclusion you're special, even if I don't understand you, and I'd like to know more about you if...when you return to Hala."

  "I'd like that." I leaned over and touched my cheek to his, right then left, the ritual parting and greeting among nobility. It felt right. "Watch out for Duke Wenrich. If he thinks Duke Sandar and Tebos are scouting the Sands, he may try an ambush."

  Javaid nodded, then mounted and led his group south toward Emin.

  "Are you ready, qi'Nisha?" Irmak asked. I nodded and swung up onto Windrunner. We stayed close to the mountains as we worked our way north, although it made traveling slower. I didn't think we would encounter anyone. No one was guarding the tip of the Karp Mountains, and the tribe in the center of the Iovis Corridor had to maintain their position in case Rhybac sent an invading army up it.

  It was still dark when we reached the end of the Karp Mountains, and we could see the distant fires of the tribes acting as bait to our west. A search of the area showed that a large group had camped there not too long ago. As I'd concluded, the events of yesterday had left easy access for a small party to slip through their lines.

  "Should we stop or continue on? We're pretty far into their territory," Irmak said, gazing off toward the fires. As she had said, sneaking around wasn't her expertise.

  "We should go on or go back, since we don't know when or if the Karp Mountains tribe will return. If we go on, I'd think we'd be safe behind their lines, and we still have unanswered questions."

  "Why would we be safe behind their lines?"

  "Do you usually scout behind your own lines?"

  Irmak was silent for a moment, before shaking her head. She decided to continue on, and we rode for another three hours, until she found a shallow ravine and signaled a halt.

  I took the watch, which had become normal. Ironically, it was better than sleeping. Not only did I rest and renew my Qi, but my mind organized the events of the previous day. This sortie confirmed what I had told Javaid concerning the Qi and specifically me. Although I liked Irmak and the others with me, it hadn't stopped me from suggesting a further foray into the Sands interior even though the risk was high they could be killed—me too, of course. I smiled. I couldn't predict what lay on the Path in the future—nor did I care to conjecture. Today was to be enjoyed.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The Sands: Warriors of the Sands spring trap

  Three war chieftains knelt several paces in front of Negozi's tent. As the Witch Ayria approached, Negozi sat on a rug hand woven with an image of the tree of life. The tree no longer existed. It had died of thirst generations ago. Udidi, a gray-haired, stooped witch, stood off to the side.

  Negozi waited quietly for Ayria to arrive. He would not rush her. To him, she was mother, mentor, and fierce protector.

  She nodded to him and walked up behind the war chief Kunto and placed her hand on his head. He tensed for a second. Few liked being questioned under Ayria's hand, for they knew she could sense many things about them while they talked. A liar would feel her wrath. A traitor would die screaming in agony.

  "Speak, Kunto, war chief of the Dinko."

  "We saw the dog-soldiers' forces just before sunrise. They must have seen our campfires, which we kept burning for them, and rode all night to surprise us. We retreated as planned, although I had the numbers to match them. We kept just far enough in front of them to keep them chasing us. It was easy. Their horses were tired. We attacked when we saw the Topoke and Tendal closing in on their flanks. We killed many dog-soldiers. It was a glorious day."

  "You did well. Negozi is pleased. I know your blood raged to engage them when they appeared, but that would have caused the loss of many Dinko."

  "Yes, Witch Ayria. Our losses were few. The Great One's plan was beautiful." His teeth bared in satisfaction.

  Ayria walked over to Idowu. When she laid her hand on his head, she could feel his fear and hate of her. She didn't care. Although he was a great warrior, he'd be lucky to kill her in her sleep.

  "Speak, Idowu."

  "We had seen the dog-soldiers working their way up the path into the Sands and were prepared when the Dinko sounded their horn. The dog-soldiers' horses were weak, and we closed the distance quickly. By midday, they realized we approached from the east and stopped. We slowed, waiting for the Tendal's horn, then we attacked. The dog-soldiers panicked and were easily cut down."

  "Well done. You have found wisdom since we last talked." Ayria let a small amount of power leak into him. Normally it would have been a pleasant feeling, except Idowu hated magic.

  Bolaha was next. She tensed in preparation to fight, a reaction she could not control.

  "Speak, Bolaha."

  "Like the Topoke, we saw the arrogant dog-soldiers coming up the path like they owned it. When we heard the Dinko's horn, we closed on the dog-soldiers. We arrived with the Topoke. It was like killing children."

  "We must find something more challenging for you, Bolaha. Perhaps a castle."

  "I'm at the will of Negozi, Witch Ayria. A dog's burrow would be nice."

  "The people are proud of you, war chiefs." Ayria looked to Negozi, who smiled. "Negozi asks you to join him in celebration of our victory and to talk of the many to come."

  They formed a semicircle in front of Negozi while food and drink were placed in front of them. When everyone was settled, Negozi motioned to Ayria.

  "I understand there were some captives. Have we learned anything of value?"

  Ayria motioned the old witch forward. "Udidi, what have you learned from the captives?"

  "There were many hands of captives. The war chiefs showed considerable restraint in following your orders not to kill everyone." She bowed in their direction. "A hand and f
our died before they reached our camp. Two hands more were badly injured and died within a half day of arriving. Four hands are young and appear to know little of value; we have them staked near anthills. If they know anything more, they will tell us eventually.

  "A hand plus two have talked without being forced. We have learned some about the castles at Narissa and Irvetta, but they had little to say of importance.

  "Four of the captives are senior dog-soldiers. They have just begun to talk. From what I've heard so far, the Great One's prediction came true. Their Duke, called Wenrich, declared himself king and wanted to take a large army into the Sands to teach us a lesson we would never forget—"

  "So what changed his mind?"

  "They talked about some kind of wise women advisors."

  "I think we should talk with them, Ayria," Negozi said, rising. "Join us, my war chiefs."

  "Is this why you wanted us to learn to talk like a dog? Why do the Witches know it?" Bolaha asked.

  "The witches have known the language for many generations. It has been passed from one witch to another and slowly became their secret language. I believe some of our people lived with the dogs or the dogs lived with us many generations ago. When I learned they knew the dogs' language, I wanted all the war chiefs and war leaders to learn it, so I ordered you to learn it—"

  "Why?" Bolaha was a fierce warrior but took every opportunity to learn from Negozi.

  "Knowledge is power. Being able to understand the enemy gives us an advantage. How would we be able to question the dogs if we didn't know their language?" Negozi walked toward the captives with his war chiefs following. He stopped in front of the four men, who were each spread-eagled between two poles. They had been stripped and dripped blood from shallow cuts to the face, chest, arms, and legs. Skin had been pealed back from several cuts and fingers broken.

  The oldest, with hair stippled with white, sobbed. "No more, please... I'll tell you anything you want to know."