Longing's Levant

by Charlotte Boyett-Compo

  “Though you swore it,” Jabali reminded. “For as long as the queen lived.”

  Furious, Kaibyn disappeared in a rush of hot wind.

  “Such an impetuous being,” Jabali said.

  Rabin grinned but the happy look on his face slowly dissolved. “Will he have to spend eternity alone once Queen Lilabet leaves this world?”

  Master Jabali reached out to drape a comforting arm over the dark man’s shoulder. “Nay, but I would venture to say he would not have such worries about your future, my friend. Why should you be concerned with his?”

  Rabin shrugged. “We’re all in this together, aren’t we, milord?”

  “Indeed,” Jabali said, exchanging a look with his assistant, Tashobi. “Indeed we are.”

  “My lady?” Rabin asked.

  Jabali nodded. “Let us talk of her.”

  * * * * *

  Tamara had just stretched out to rest her eyes when a gust of wind swept through the room. Without opening her eyes, she knew the demon was back. “All is well?” she asked.

  “Do you really love that man?” Kaibyn snarled.

  “With all my heart,” Tamara answered, and slowly opened her eyes to find the demon standing over her, his hands on his hips.

  “Yet you barely know him!” he accused.

  “I have lain in his arms and been transported to a place I’d never been,” she said. “That is all I need to know.”

  Kaibyn struck his chest with his fist. “I could transport you to places he could never take you!”

  “Perhaps,” she said, sitting up and swinging her feet off the bed. “But they would be places to which I do not wish to go.”

  Tamara could hear the demon’s teeth grinding and though the terrible look of fury blazed from his eyes, she had no fear of the being. “Will you bring him to me?” she asked then added, “Please?”

  “What am I?” he snapped. “A fucking beast of burden?”

  Though the words hung on the air, the demon vanished for a moment before returning with Evann-Sin in tow, whipping the warrior to the mattress before disappearing again.

  “By the Prophet!” Evann-Sin grunted, reaching up to grab the headboard of the bed to keep him anchored.

  “He says we will get used to traveling in that manner,” Tamara said, stretching out beside her lover. “But I don’t think I’m of a mind to do it enough to find out.”

  “Argh,” the warrior complained, and leaned over the bed to retch. Though he gagged, nothing came up.

  Tamara soothed his shoulder. “Take slow, deep breaths and it will pass quicker.”

  “I am going to kill that bastard yet,” Evann-Sin swore.

  Giggling at the absurdity of the threat, Tamara pushed herself up and leaned over her man, stroking his damp hair back from his high forehead.

  “The Mage says we must leave for Akkadia,” Kaibyn complained as he suddenly reappeared. “The Hell Hags are on their way there next.”

  Easing over to his back, Evann-Sin felt the world slowly settling around him but the nausea was still thick in his throat. “Where is Rabin?” he asked.

  “With the Magi,” Kaibyn told him. “He’ll meet us there.”

  “Where is my horse?” the warrior asked, using the headboard to pull himself up.

  “Outside,” Tamara replied. “I saw them when I went to relieve myself earlier.”

  “The beasts make the journeys better than you and the darkling,” Kaibyn chuckled. “Although they have a tendency to shit like you can’t imagine!”

  “No doubt because you scare it out of them,” Evann-Sin complained.

  “Well, gird yourself, warrior, because you are about to travel again,” Kaibyn warned.

  Before Tamara and her lover could react, they were standing on wobbly knees in the room from which Evann-Sin had been extracted ten minutes before. They slumped into one another’s arms to battle the vertigo. The push of hot wind against them as the demon left did not help their feelings of unease.

  “I hope he’s going after Rabin,” the warrior muttered.

  “No need for him to,” the dark man spoke up from the corner of the room where he was lounging. “I am here.” He struck a thumb to his chest. “On my own power this time.”

  “Huh,” was the only comment Evann-Sin could make at the remark. He helped Tamara to his bed and the two sat down gingerly.

  “When I willed myself here, I did not feel the spinning,” Rabin said. “I was a bit disoriented and materialized in your father’s room instead of here.”

  “Oh, no,” Evann-Sin whined.

  “He didn’t see me,” Rabin told him. He tapped his cheek with his index finger. “You two smell similar and that was what I was told to aim for—your smell. Master Jabali said since it worked for the demon, it would work for me.”

  “You’re sure my father didn’t see you?”

  “Nay, he did not.”

  “You know my sisters are on the way here?” Tamara asked, returning to normal faster than her lover.

  “Aye,” Rabin agreed. “What do we need to do?”

  “When I can walk, we will go to my father and warn him,” Evann-Sin answered.

  “He’ll believe us?”

  “When he sees you, he will,” the warrior said.

  “Aye, but will he see me?”

  “If the Magi have made it so, he will,” Tamara put in.

  Chapter Nine

  He kissed her awake then took her into his arms as she was overcome with a huge, unladylike yawn.

  “What time is it, Kai?” the queen asked.

  “Almost seven of the clock, milady,” he said. “I asked the innkeeper to prepare a meal for you and the bitchlet next door. Hopefully by the time you have broken your fast and taken a long, leisurely bath, I will be back to collect you.”

  Lilabet pushed away from his chest. “Back from where?”

  “The Akkadian palace,” Kaibyn answered. “The Hell Hags will attack there next and it is up to my coalition to stop them. If luck is with us, I can prevent the plague at the Panther’s lair and it will go no further. I have my people in place.”

  “What of my people?” Lilabet asked, fear in her pretty eyes.

  “Your people have all been bitten by now, Lovely One. They will need to be laid to rest and your palaces cleaned before I can take you back.”

  A tear fell slowly down her cheek. “Then I am a queen without a kingdom to rule.”

  “Your people are spread out all over the world, milady. Surely there will be those who will want to return to Kebul and take up residency. There will be many fine places to live, crops to tend, businesses to run. Things will get back to normal eventually. You will make a far better ruler than your crazed husband, Oded, ever would have.”

  “How could he ally himself with that vermin, Lilit?” she demanded.

  “She dangled the carrot of immortality before his insane eyes and he leapt for it, but she will be made to atone for such transgressions against the human race.”

  “And the Hell Hags will be wiped off the face of the earth!” Lilabet swore.

  “The Prophet and gods willing, aye,” he agreed. “Well, all but one.”

  The queen’s narrowed eyes shot sparks of anger. “Why should we allow one of those bitches to live?”

  “She is one of my coalition,” he replied. “And not one of the blood-drinkers.”

  “What is she to you, Kaibyn?” came the regal demand.

  The demon slipped his hand to his lady’s breast and kneaded it roughly. “No more than any other soldier, Sweeting. She means as much to me as one more pair of eyes and ears to ferret out those who would ruin our world as we know it.”

  The queen relaxed as the demon’s hand worked its magic. Despite her advanced pregnancy, she found she was hornier than ever. She reached for Kaibyn’s staff but her lover eased her hand away.

  “There is no time now, beloved, but when I return, I will make up for it.”

  A pout puckered Lilabet’s face but she sighed.
“I will hold you to it.”

  “As I will hold you to it,” Kaibyn promised, wagging his brows.

  With one last kiss, he vanished from the room, leaving in his wake the faint scent of lilies.

  * * * * *

  The Panther shot up in the bed, his heart pounding. Though his door had been locked, it was now wide open and there were strange people standing around his bed. He opened his mouth to shout for his guards, but Evann-Sin stepped up to the bed.

  “It is I, Your Majesty!” the warrior said.

  Though he knew the dark man standing off to one side, the king could not believe his eyes. He knew Rabin Jaspyre was dead and buried, yet here he was. Beside him stood a beautiful woman and a handsome man the Panther did not know.

  “Who are they?” the king demanded.

  “My lady,” Evann-Sin acknowledged, reaching out to draw Tamara forward. “Tamara, this is my king.”

  Tamara curtseyed gracefully but remained silent.

  “And this is Kaibyn Zafeyr.” Evann-Sin nudged a chin toward Rabin. “I believe you know my friend.”

  “You,” the king said, pointing at the dark man, “are dead!”

  “As am I,” Kaibyn chuckled.

  Jerking the coverlet up to his chin, the Panther stared wide-eyed at the two men. “How can this be? How is it I see you?”

  “I suspect it is the Magi’s doing,” Evann-Sin replied.

  “I have heard that you are a wise and fair ruler,” Tamara remarked, drawing the king’s stare. “That you are a brave warrior whose sword has never been defeated. That you fear no man, and have the stamina of men much younger than you. That when faced with the impossible, you make it possible.”

  Evann-Sin hid a smile behind his fist, his lips pressed to the circle of his fingers. He knew well what his lady was doing and silently applauded her effort.

  King Numair relaxed and lowered the coverlet. “You are a Daughter of the Night?” he inquired, lifting his chin.

  Tamara lowered her head in agreement. “Though not of the Blood.”

  “Not one of those who took my son against his will?”

  There was a twitch of Tamara’s shapely lips. “He seemed most willing when last we trysted, Your Grace.”

  “Tamara!” Evann-Sin exclaimed.

  “’Tis true,” she said with an innocent look.

  “There is no need to speak of it, though,” her lover sputtered.

  “As much as I enjoy watching the Akkadian squirm,” Kaibyn said, bringing the king’s eyes back to him. “We are here because trouble is on the way. You need to prepare for it.”

  The king threw back his covers. “Trouble in what form?”

  Tamara looked away for the royal was as naked as the day he’d been born.

  “The Daughters of the Night will be attacking at sunset,” Evann-Sin answered. He stepped forward, took his king’s robe from a nearby chair and held it out for him to put on. “With them will be their thralls from Kebul.”

  King Numair winced. “Oded is done for, then?”

  “Drained as dry as a husk, though I would venture to say he’ll be at the head of his column of troops,” Evann-Sin remarked. “Lilit will need him.”

  Shivering with the thought, the Panther thrust his arms into his robe then belted it. “What suggestions have you?”

  “First, you must call your council of elders together,” Kaibyn spoke up. “Apprise them of the situation.”

  “I will go to my men and make them ready,” Evann-Sin informed his king. “We will secure the gates against the invaders.”

  “What about those who live beyond the perimeter of the palace? How will we be protecting them?” the king asked.

  “I will send men to bring them in,” the warrior said. “We should be able to have everyone safely inside before the sun begins to lower.”

  “Rabin and I will procure what we need to fight our enemies,” Tamara put in. “Evann-Sin’s men need to make ready cauldrons of burning oil into which we can dip our arrows.”

  A pained look spread over the king’s lined face. “You must burn the bodies, eh?”

  “Or have them get close enough for us to take their heads,” Rabin said softly.

  “Give me a serviceable blade and I can scythe many a swath through their ranks,” Kaibyn boasted. “Few, if any, can travel the same way I can.”

  “I can,” Rabin allowed.

  “Though not as steadily as I,” Kaibyn snorted.

  “How steady do you have to be to chop off heads?” Rabin snapped.

  “Do we know if any other villages have been turned?” the Panther asked, looking from one face to another.

  “Between here and Kebul?” Evann-Sin inquired. “Most likely each of them. The Hell Hags would want to turn as many villagers as they can to swell their invasion force.”

  “Perhaps we should have someone check on their route of progress,” Tamara suggested.

  “Consider it done,” Rabin said and with that disappeared.

  Kaibyn grunted. “He seems to have gotten over his dislike of astral traveling. He…”

  Rabin reappeared, a wide grin on his dark face though he swayed just as little. “They took the route through Exira. Doesn’t appear to be any villagers left there. I didn’t see anyone at all on the road but there are a lot of bumps between Exira and Decion.”

  “They’ve burrowed underground for the remainder of the day,” Kaibyn said. “Every bump is a grave.”

  “Could we not put some of them out of their misery while the sun is up?” the Panther inquired.

  “Aye,” Evann-Sin agreed, “but not nearly enough. What are talking about here, Rabin? A thousand? More?”

  “At least a thousand,” Rabin replied.

  “I can take the two of you with me,” Kaibyn told Evann-Sin and his lady, “but I don’t think the darkling is up to conveying a rider.”

  “Well, let’s see,” Rabin drawled and grabbed Evann-Sin’s arm.

  “No!” both Tamara and the king yelled as the warrior vanished.

  “He’ll be useless for at least half an hour,” Kaibyn complained. He held out a hand to Tamara. “Lady?”

  “I want to go!” the king announced. He hurried to his armoire to extract a set of clothing.

  “Then I’ll come back for you,” Kaibyn said.

  “Can you…?” the Panther started to say but when he turned around, he found himself alone.

  Tamara stumbled and would have fallen had not Kaibyn snagged her waist with a strong arm. She slumped against him, her head spinning a bit less than the other times but with enough force to elicit nausea.

  “He’ll be up and about in a few moments,” Rabin said. “Should I go back with you and get a few others?”

  Kaibyn shook his head. “And then have to transport them all back?”

  “King Numair wanted to come,” Tamara reminded them.

  “He’s fine where he is,” Evann-Sin choked out. He struggled to stand and when he couldn’t, dropped back to a sitting position on the ground. “I need to go back and talk to my men.”

  “That’s something the king will do,” Kaibyn stated.

  “I’ll do it,” Rabin volunteered. Once more the dark man was gone in the blinking of an eye. It was only a moment before he was back. “He’s already seeing to it.”

  Evann-Sin stared at his friend. “You are enjoying that shit far too much,” he accused.

  “What can I say? I’m good at it!” Rabin chuckled.

  “Start over there,” Kaibyn ordered Rabin. “You’ll need to whirl the dirt out of the grave and expose the corpse to the sunlight. Some will catch fire immediately. Those are the newest dead. Others, we will need to behead.” From out of nowhere, he produced four scythes, the blades of which appeared razor-thin.

  “I never saw him leave,” Tamara whispered. Her eyes were wide. “I never felt him leave. Did you take me with you?”

  “I will one day be that quick,” Rabin said with a sniff.

  Kaibyn grinned. “You’
re getting acclimated to the traveling, wench. The next time we make a trip, you most likely won’t feel anything.”

  Evann-Sin struggled to his feet and grabbed one of the scythes from Kaibyn. “She won’t be doing any more traveling with you, demon!”

  Kaibyn shrugged, though his dark eyes took on a wicked gleam. He handed scythes to Rabin and Tamara. “Do you know how to whirl the wind, darkling?”

  “Stop calling him that,” Evann-Sin warned. “He has a name.”

  Kaibyn rolled his eyes. “All right, Rabin,” he said, stressing the name, “you should…”

  “Like this?” Rabin inquired and rushed across several graves. The rush of the wind at his passing partially exposed the bodies beneath.

  Tamara had grown up with the Undead and had seen many of them taking to their coffins as the sun rose, but she had never seen fresh bodies squirming to get beneath the protection of the soil and it made her ill.

  “We’ll be doing them a favor by sending them to the Gatherer,” Kaibyn told her. “Try not to think of what you are doing.”

  There were over a thousand raised places on the plains of Celadohr and the members of the coalition knew they would be able to lay only a few hundred—at best—to eternal rest. With Rabin and the demon whirling away the earth covering the Undead, Evann-Sin and Tamara set about beheading as many corpses as time would allow.

  It was a gruesome task that brought tears to Tamara’s eyes and caused Evann-Sin to grit his teeth and tamp down his human sympathy. By the time Kaibyn and Rabin were able to begin their own grisly duty, the sun was already beginning to lower toward the horizon. As the last rays of the sun began dying, those burrowed beneath the mounds began to rise. Only three hundred Undead had been delivered to the Soul Gatherer’s arms.

  “There are nine hundred or thereabouts rising,” Rabin told them. He was staring at a hand clawing its way from the ground.

  “We need to get back to the palace and make sure everything is in place. Unless I miss my guess, the battle will last most of the night,” Kaibyn said.

  “Longer if Queen Lilit sends replacements for those we beheaded,” Tamara said. She edged away from a grave from which a rising corpse was growling its fury.