The scholar stepped up to the podium again with the piece of parchment in his hand. He had the look of a man who had just dodged an arrow. Barely.
“We have the results,” he said, and the entire room went silent. “In reverse order, that is, the fifth choice first and the new First Minister last, here are the names. Nalia Wroun, Rindu Zose, Fulusin Telanyahu, Dr. Walt, and Sam Sharp. So, Sam Sharp has been voted the first First Minister of the Republic of Gythe.” As he stepped down from the podium, he whispered just loud enough for Nicole to hear him, “But I don’t know who is going to tell him.”
That made her laugh at first, but then she realized that the doctor was probably serious. Sam wouldn’t be happy about this development. She wondered how he would take it.
“They did what?” Sam said, incredulous, less than an hour later. “No. Absolutely not. Nope. Not gonna happen. They’ll just have to vote again.”
“Calm down, Sam,” Nicole said. “It’s a great honor. You’ll be like George Washington. The first leader of a government that will make the world a better place for all its people.”
Sam looked at her as if he didn’t know what species she was. “George Washington? Really? That’s what you’ve got, that I’ll be like George Washington? Come on, mom. That doesn’t help. At all.”
“Sam,” Rindu said softly, “it is a great honor, this thing with which they have presented you. Do not look at it as a punishment. The delegates have expressed their trust in you, their faith that you will lead them effectively.”
The younger man stared at the Zouy. “I understand that,” he said. “It’s just ridiculous. They think I’m some kind of hero, and because I’m popular, they want me to lead. They’re not thinking at all of whether or not I’ll do a good job. It’s pure celebrity status that they care about.”
He thought for a moment, and then asked, “Master Rindu, if they had offered it to you, would you have accepted? Would you agree to be the First Minister? You were fourth on the list, after all.”
“I would not accept,” the monk said. “Zouyim are servants of the people, not leaders.”
“But,” Sam pointed out, “the First Minister is supposed to be a servant. It’s in the name. Not the First Leader, the First Minister. I also feel that I should serve the cause of the people, but not in a government position.”
Rindu scratched his chin. “I can see your point. Fortunately for me, I was not chosen. You were.”
“Yes, but now you understand why I don’t want to accept.” He turned to the scholar, who had been silent after giving Sam the news of his appointment. “Dr. Walt, what is the procedure for declining the appointment? Does it make a difference that I never put my name in to begin with?”
“Procedure? For declining?” The older man idly scratched at his scalp. “There is no procedure. All of this is new. We just developed the procedure for voting on this and other things yesterday. As for your name being put in for you, the agreement was made that anyone could be nominated. The only stipulation was that each candidate had to have someone second the nomination. There is no rule stating that the candidate had to approve or volunteer.”
“Okay, then,” Sam said. “If there’s no procedure in place, then it should be as simple as me saying no. I will just politely and respectfully decline. End of story.”
Dr. Walt’s eyes darted from Sam to Rindu and then to Nalia and Nicole. They even passed over the three hapaki—Skitter had joined them after the delegate session ended—as if looking for help. “I suppose it could be that easy, procedurally. I would strongly urge you to reconsider, though—”
“No,” Sam interrupted.
“Please, please, let me finish. I would urge you to reconsider in light of the facts of the situation. We are at war, Sam, with an army right outside our walls.” Sam started to speak, and Dr. Walt raised his hands to forestall it. “I know, you are more aware of that than I. The point is, the delegates are scared. Not only for their own personal safety, but also for their constituents.
“Morale is hanging on by a thread, and the people have put their hopes in you. You—”
“Don’t you see,” Sam interrupted again. “I know they’re scared and looking for a hero. Look at who they nominated for the vote. Four of the final five were in the party that defeated the Gray Man. If Skitter could communicate with more than just me and my mother, I’m sure he would have edged out Fulusin Telanyahu. They are scared and want reassurance, and so they want their heroes to lead them.
“I plan on doing everything I can to make sure Gythe is safe. So will Rindu and Nalia, and everyone else in this room. There’s no reason to make me the leader of the government. I will do what I need to do. Let them be reassured by that. I’m just the wrong guy for the job.”
Dr. Walt took a breath, waited for Sam to continue, and when he didn’t, spoke again. “That is easy for us to see, Sam, and it is very logical. Unfortunately, with an army right outside the walls, they are desperate. I am afraid that if you decline, they will take it as your abandoning them, and the entire project to establish the government will shatter. The delegates will go back to their homes and fend for themselves. I don’t know that we’d be able to bring them back, even if we somehow succeed in defeating Dal and his army.”
“When,” Rindu said. “When we defeat this one calling himself Chetra Dal and his army.”
“Of course, of course,” Dr. Walt said. “My apologies. That was what I meant.”
“Sam,” Nalia said, “what Dr. Walt says is truth. I have seen disheartened people fall victim to folly before. It is not unusual.”
Nicole added, “I heard some of the delegates talking earlier. One of them expressed concern that you might decline. One of the others defended you, saying that you would not abandon us like that. It almost came to blows. There are some who would leave immediately if you told them no. I have no doubt of it.”
Sam felt trapped. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to think of a way out. He couldn’t see one. “Great. So my choice is either to take part in this farce or to ruin all the work that has been done to create a new government. I don’t like either choice.”
Dr. Walt came up to Sam and put his arm on the younger man’s shoulder. “I understand, Sam. It is difficult. I may have a solution, however, though a temporary one.”
“Go on.”
“Well,” the scholar continued, “you are rather busy with trying to find Dal and defeat him before he can utilize all the artifacts. You are also helping to combat the sorties against the fortress by the army outside. That’s not even to mention the work you have volunteered to do with teleporting the Brothers of the Rohw and delegates who need to check in on their communities. No one can argue that you have many responsibilities right now.
“If you were to accept the appointment but delay taking office until all of these crucial matters are resolved, the delegates would have their First Minister, their fears would be allayed, and you would have more time to think of a way out of your trap. Once the threat of Chetra Dal and his army are taken care of, everyone will be in a much better frame of mind for discussing the issues and thinking through the problem. How does that sound?”
Sam looked at the scholar, his mind going through what was just said. It did sound like a solution. It would put off his having to make a decision until he was ready.
“That sounds reasonable,” he said, “on one condition.”
Dr. Walt’s smile crinkled his face and his eyes lit up. “That’s more like it. Yes, what is your condition?”
“That you act as First Minister in my place.”
The smile disappeared from the older man’s face.
Chapter 34
Early the next morning, Sam, Nalia, and Palusa Filk gathered to begin their journey to Kokitura Mountain.
“It will finally happen,” Palusa said, the excitement showing on her face. She nearly danced with nervous energy. “We will finally begin to rebuild the Zouyim temple. After all these years.”
&n
bsp; Sam smiled at her. “We’ll make a start of it, anyway. Construction will have to take second place to the war we’re in the middle of, and to the creation of the new government, but yes, there will be some workers that can be spared to start on the temple. The Brothers of the Rohw have been very assertive in saying they want to get started.”
“It is exciting to me as well,” Nalia said between bites. “And it makes me anxious to rebuild the Sapsyra compound at Marybador.”
“Shen Nan says he and the others want to go and settle back on the island, to begin to build homes for themselves as soon as possible, also,” Sam said. “We’re at the beginning of spring now, so it could start soon. I think that project won’t really get started in earnest until after we’ve resolved the war with Chetra Dal, though. None of the remnant of Marybador are experienced in that type of construction.”
“Maybe not,” a voice said from the entry to the dining hall, “but I know someone who is, and someone else who can recreate the Sapsyra compound from memory.”
Nalia’s head whipped around at the first word, and she was out of her seat and running before the speaker finished. Sam swiveled his head just in time to see her sweep up another woman and crush her in a hug. Beside him, Palusa Filk was beaming.
“Regi?” Nalia said, her voice cracking. “It’s really you. You’re alive. I gave up hope all those years ago.”
“Heya, Towel-Face,” the other woman said. “They just let you walk around like that, face all uncovered?”
Sam was about to say something, to defend Nalia, to call the other woman down, whoever she was, but Nalia just laughed and his mouth snapped shut.
“Sometimes,” Nalia said. “Sometimes they make me stay in my cage.” She was looking into the other woman’s eyes, stroking her long, corn-silk yellow hair. “How, Regi? And why didn’t you find me sooner?”
The woman gently pushed Nalia’s shoulders and stepped back. She was slightly shorter than Nalia’s five foot, nine inches and fit looking. In fact, she and Nalia both had perfect physiques, making Sam think that she probably was an athlete or warrior as well. The small movements she made, so fluid and precise, confirmed it. Somehow, though, the other woman’s body was more sensual, with slight differences—a curve or line here or there—that made her so alluring, Sam almost lost track of where he was. Palusa Filk nudged him with an elbow and gave him a raised eyebrow.
It wasn’t until his gaze reached her face that the spell was broken. She wasn’t ugly exactly, but she was plain at best. At very best. He studied her face for several seconds to try to figure it out. She was…he thought asymmetrical was probably the best term. It was like her face was crooked, made up of halves of two different people. By Gythe’s definition of beauty, she was probably gorgeous. He shifted his eyes to Nalia’s beautiful face and found her staring at him. For that matter, the other woman was staring at him, too.
“Nal,” the woman said, “let me introduce you to the reason. This is Tika.” She stepped to the side. Behind her stood a little girl, maybe five or six years old. She shared the same blond hair as her mother and some of the same peculiar asymmetry to her face. It was tempered by other features, though, obviously from her father. The man standing behind her with his hands lightly resting on her shoulders looked to be that father.
He wasn’t a bad looking man, Sam thought, which meant that he was probably not very attractive by Gythe standards. It was enough to make him want to rip his hair out sometimes, trying to figure out if someone was attractive or not in this world.
“And this is my husband, Jondan.”
Nalia made one of those cooing sounds women always seemed to make when there were babies and small children around. She knelt down in front of the girl. “Oh, I am so pleased to meet you, Tika. You are just adorable.”
The girl clasped her little hands in front of her and swiveled one of her legs, the perfect picture of embarrassed pleasure. That one was going to be a heartbreaker, Sam thought.
“My mommy says that you’re my Auntie Nalia, and that you are a real Sapsyra warrior,” the little girl said. “But she said you always wear a mask.”
“Yes, it is true, but I do not wear the mask any longer. Do you know of the Sapsyra?” Nalia raised an eyebrow at her friend.
“Oh, yes,” the little girl answered. “I know all about the protectors of Gythe, the Sapsyra and the Zouyim. My mommy says your father is a Zouyim monk, too.”
“Yes, that is also correct. Do you know other Sapsyra?”
Tika shook her head. “No. My mommy says there are no Sapsyra left. Only you.” Her big eyes became liquid, but she tightened her jaw and raised her chin. “But I will be a Sapsyr, like my Auntie Nalia! You’ll see.”
Sam smiled. The girl’s attitude was a perfect mirror of little Bao Ling’s. It seemed they had a good start to the next generation of warriors to protect Gythe. If they could survive the current war.
“I have no doubt of it,” Nalia said, hugging the little girl. “We shall talk more later and I will tell you stories of a brave and beautiful Sapsyra warrior I know. Perhaps you will meet her one day.” She glanced at Regi, and scarlet tinged the woman’s cheeks.
Nalia turned to Jondan and saluted him in the Sapsyra way, right fist inside her cupped left hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Jondan. I am Nalia Wroun.”
He awkwardly returned her salute. “Oh, I know who you are. Regi has told me everything about you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Regi, Jondan,” Nalia said, turning toward Sam, “this is Sam Sharp and Palusa Filk. Sam, this is my oldest friend and sister, Reginia, and Jondan…?”
“Sparks,” he said. “We follow the Sapsyra way for naming. We are both Sparks, but Tika’s last name is from my family, Steen.”
Reginia edged Nalia out of the way and wrapped Sam in a hug. “We have heard so much about you, Sam. They call you the Hero of Gythe.”
Sam groaned as he hugged the woman and patted her back. “Please, not that. Just Sam.”
Regi hugged Palusa Filk as Sam shared salutes with Jondan. It seemed the two women had met before.
“Have you eaten?” Sam asked. “We were preparing to go on a journey to Kokitura this morning, but maybe you can join us for breakfast before we do. Catch up.”
They had not, and soon all six were sitting at a table, happily chatting and eating.
“We had heard rumors of ‘the Faceless Sapsyr,’ of course, as well as ‘the Lone Zouy.’ Most tales of one included the other.” Regi mopped up some of her porridge onto a chunk of bread and popped it into her mouth, but it didn’t stop her from continuing. “They had to be you and Rindu. How is your father, Nal?”
For some reason, Nalia had a twinkle in her eye as if she was about to laugh. “Mother never could break you of the habit of talking with your mouth full,” she said, shaking her head. “My father is doing well. He is here. I will bring you to him before we leave.”
“It’s too bad you’re going on a journey the very day we arrive,” the blonde woman said, tossing her hair absently. “How long will you be gone?”
“Oh,” Palusa Filk said. “We will be back this evening.”
Regi and Jondan looked at each other in confusion. “I thought you said you were going to Kokitura.”
“Yes, that is correct,” Nalia said. “Sam can use the rohw to teleport, to instantly transport us from here to any place in Gythe he has already memorized. He has but to learn the vibratory signature of a place, and he can go there.”
“Really?” Regi said in astonishment. “That must be fantastic. I have never heard of such a thing, except maybe in speculation when the Gray Man attacked Kokitura. If only we had been able to do that back then…” She shook her head. Nalia put her hand on Regi’s and squeezed it.
“It does prove useful,” Sam said.
“Anyway,” Regi continued, “I laid low for a couple of years after I saw you last. I got into some trouble and wasn’t able to make it to our meeting as planned. When I heard abou
t Marybador, well, I knew I had to keep out of sight. I met Jondan and within another couple of years Tika came along. Once she was in the picture, I had to be even more careful. The Gray Man seemed to be increasing in power and influence, and I had more to think about than just myself. You understand, right?”
“I do. You did correctly,” Nalia said, still holding Regi’s hand.
“But when we heard of the Gray Man’s defeat, and that the Faceless Sapsyr and the Lone Zouy may have been involved, I knew it was time to try to find you.”
“It is the same with myself and Torim Jet,” Palusa said. “With the situation as it is, another Sapsyr is sorely needed, and would be much appreciated.”
Tika perked up at that. “Another Sapsyr? Mommy, will I meet the beautiful Sapsyra warrior Auntie Nalia talked about?”
A guilty look came over Regi’s face. She opened her mouth to say something, but Nalia beat her to it.
“Wouldn’t you like Palusa Filk to tell you about the Zouyim temple instead right now? Did you know that she is a real Zouyim monk?”
“Really?” Tika’s blue eyes grew wide. “Did you live at the temple?”
“I did indeed,” Palusa Filk said, moving to sit next to the girl on the bench. “I entered the temple when I was a little younger than you. Would you like to hear about it?”
Tika bounced on the seat and clapped. “Oh yes, please.”
“Let us move over here a little so that we can share stories, just you and I,” the silver-haired monk said, winking at Nalia over her shoulder. Nalia mouthed “thank you” back at her.
Nalia turned back toward Regi, and the smile she had given Palusa Filk disappeared completely. “You have not told your daughter that you are one of the Sapsyra?”
Regi put her hands up as if in surrender. “No. Let me explain.”
“Are you now ashamed of what you are?” Nalia pressed.
“Nal,” Sam said. “Let her speak. It’s obvious she did it to protect her family. Can’t you see how hard it was for her?”
Harmonic Magic Series Boxed Set Page 127
