Emblems of Power

by C L Patterson

  “He is a smart one. That’s why I have him. Thank you for your information. I hope our next meeting will be more fruitful for you.”

  The syndicate member bowed, and Mearto returned the favor. The door man showed them out and the three stood in the night air. The cold winds snapped above them. Even with the cold wind, sweat poured from the Captain’s face from all the layers of clothing and physical effort he took in his hobble. Combining the grime and dust of the city with his disguise, he looked more like a pile of sludge than a man.

  “Thank you,” he said before hobbling off towards the Barracks. Mearto grabbed Kosai’s arm gently.

  “I am going back the way we came,” she said softly. “I will meet you inside the school entrance. Do not follow me.” With that, she was off.

  Kosai mapped out the city in his mind, thinking how he would get back to the school as quickly as possible, but without following her. The longer way would have been to walk East Interior until he came to Interior Road, and then up through Southeast Interior. Kosai was not in the mood to walk that far and he thought of a shortcut.

  Between the School of the Faye and the Capital building was a dense concentration of homes. Children and adults trickled out from the cement houses onto Capital Road to get water and then receded back into the maze of cement. Kosai figured that there was a way to get from Capital road to East Interior through the maze, he just had to find it.

  Within the hour, he was at the entrance to the development. He looked up at the stars, found a southwestern heading, and walked on. The streets wound together like a twisted pile of yarn. Paths doubled back, turns led to dead ends, and roads led to ten foot walls that Kosai couldn’t traverse over, though he tried once or twice. After an hour, Kosai found himself back at the entrance to East Interior.

  A beggar sat on the corner with his pan in front of him. He was dressed in worn out rags and stunk like fermented sewage.

  “Kosai!” the beggar gurgled to him. Kosai looked at the beggar, and recognized the Captain, especially the way he barked his name.

  “Sir?” asked Kosai.

  “That voice is hard to break,” the Captain said and then cleared his throat. Kosai went to his side and sat next to him. “I have an order for you. What happened in there was not what the Seer explained to me. Tonight is the night the Seer saw. Mearto will go back to the syndicate tonight, right where we were. Follow her again without being seen. Watch her closely and remember every word she says. Do you understand? I will be here until you return.”

  “Yes sir,” Kosai said. He stood up and was about to run again.

  “Oh, and boy!” the Captain called again, taking the voice of a beggar. “Straight ahead, the third street on the left, lead ya right to the Capitol road.”

  Kosai nodded and ran. In fifteen minutes, he was back in the pavilion, drinking from the fountain. As soon as Kosai cooled off and caught his breath he walked into the School. Mearto was waiting for him just inside the doorway.

  “What took you so long?” she asked angrily.

  “I got lost,” he said. Mearto shook her head and sighed.

  “You weren’t followed were you?” Kosai shook his head. “Good. We will talk more tomorrow. I hope that I have earned your Captain’s trust as well.” Kosai shrugged. “In any event, it’s late. You need to run to bed. If a revolt, war, whatever is coming, perhaps it would be best to dive into the Awakening with both feet. Experience is the best teacher, even if it can kill you.” She kept her eyes locked with Kosai’s for a moment and then stormed off towards her office. Kosai followed closely behind. As they walked, Theo walked briskly past them. Kosai looked at him as he passed and made eye contact. Theo cringed and then continued to his office. Kosai shivered.

  “That was Theo,” Mearto whispered quickly, “the one who wants to kill you.”

  While Mearto walked, Kosai listened to her footsteps, the gate of her stride and the sound of her shoes. As he turned into the dormitory, he stopped and memorized the sound of her walk.

  Confident that he could recognize it, he turned his thoughts back to the school. He thought about Theo and Shàn and the attempt on his life. Perhaps there was a letter, a scrap of paper, some evidence that could prove that he was behind it, but what would it prove? Who would he tell? Kosai still didn’t feel comfortable trusting Mearto, especially after what the Captain told him.

  The leather bindings of the book dug into his hip. He took it out and opened it to the sixth page as he walked to his bunk. Kosai licked his thumb and pressed it into the page.

  “That room you were in held some good information you will want to look into,” the book wrote. Kosai was about to speak, but instead stuck one finger on the page and closed the book, his finger acting like a book mark. He left the dormitory and quickly walked to the mess hall. No one would be within earshot there. Once there, he made sure that no one was tending to any last minute dishes, or fixing themselves a late snack. Satisfied that he was alone, he opened the book again.

  “How long did it take you to acquire the information in Mearto’s office, and in the room we were just in?”

  “It only took a few moments. When you request information, it takes time to filter through things.”

  “Could you tell me which office is Theo’s?” The book drew up a map of the school and a circle around his office.

  Kosai closed the book. Access to Theo’s office and a few moments were all he needed. Kosai thought hard about what he would do. He didn’t know how to pick a lock, and walking into the office alone could prove disastrous. He thought of a simpleyet effective plan. He would be in the corridor next to the Teacher’s offices in the clothing he was in and wait for Theo’s door to open, slide in--keeping the door open-- and ask him about his Awakening. A simple, non-threatening question and it would give just enough time for the book to collect every ounce of information in his office, but not enough time for Theo to do anything. If anyone asked what he was wearing, he could simply say he was doing some training. And if anyone asked him what he was doing, he could say he was waiting for Mearto, which wasn’t quite a lie.

  He tucked the book between his trousers and waist, walked to the Teacher’s corridor, and leaned his back against a wall. He listened to the teachers’ feet and voices as they walked by. Most talked quietly about methods of instruction or about the economy of Noiknaer. Kosai heard his name mumbled with some other conversation and looked around. There were a few teachers’ voices coming up from the West Stair, and others from further down the hall. Then he heard someone in Theo’s office speak in a masculine, airy tone. Kosai walked closer to the conversation.

  “The Dark One has attacked again and he seems to be more aggressive. I have seen the Captain injured, Theo, but never broken.” The speaker’s voice shook evenly as he spoke. Kosai figured he was an older gentleman, possibly the age of the matron.

  “Adding to that, I don’t agree with what the Seer has prophesied about Kosai,” This voice was deeper and more confident, but Kosai wasn’t sure who it belonged to. “And you are forgetting to consider the other prophecy about Kosai. This whole school has!”

  “I have not forgotten.” Kosai recognized the third voice as Daius, the Head Teacher. “But you must see my side. I would rather have Kosai and that Tormentor, as the Seer calls him, against us rather than the Dark One. Not a one of us can kill him except Kosai for whatever reason. When he succeeds, he will turn against us. We will deal with him then.”

  Kosai heard enough and walked away from the door. He solved one mystery about why members of the school would want him dead, but still needed to find the betrayer of caravan routes. The Captain had ordered Kosai to follow Mearto, and he hoped that what she would say to the syndicate contact she visited with earlier, would be enough to prove that she was the culprit.

  He walked towards the entrance and out into the pavilion. As he drank from the fountain, he thought about the other portion of his future.

  Did the Captain kno
w about that? Kosai stared at his reflection in the water. Black whiskers and scruff grew in patches on his face, not thick enough to grow a proper beard or any other style of facial hair. Dirt, sweat, and the dust of the city made for good camouflage. Knowing where Mearto was going to be, he made his way to the syndicate office. He kept his head down and his back slouched as he walked slowly along the sides of the road.

  The night was quiet and Kosai thought more and more about what the Head Teacher and Theo had said. There was only one possible reason that Kosai would turn against the school, and that was if the traitor was within those walls. Kosai smiled. He was close now, and perhaps the Captain’s assignment would prove fruitful.

  When he reached the syndicate office, he walked into a tight alleyway, wide enough for one person to walk through and listened to peoples’ footsteps. Kosai stared at the ground, his body concealed in shadow, and thought about his next move.

  If Mearto was the traitor, and he exposed her, why was she preparing him for the Awakening? Did she even care about defeating the Dark One, or was that all a lie? Kosai thought back to his brief encounter with the Dark One. Mearto told him that she wanted him alive and believed that he was the one to kill the Dark One. As soon as that was done, would she turn and try to kill him just like Theo and Daius?

  That was why Captain wanted a report. He’ll know what to do, Kosai decided.

  Kosai waited for a few more hours and then heard Mearto coming down the road. Her strides were calm and purposeful. He looked up at her as she passed by him. She glanced down the alley way. Kosai felt a pang of fear shock his chest, afraid that he was discovered, but Mearto never slowed.

  She knocked on the syndicate door. The door was opened and she was let in. Slowly, Kosai snuck along the wall, keeping his head well below the window and sat next to the door.

  A beggar was walking down the street and sat across from the syndicate office. The beggar motioned at Kosai with a closed fist, and began to grunt and grumble… loudly.

  “N’ya you, get, get. No reason!” the beggar hollered. Kosai figured he was telling him to get away from the door. Kosai shook his head and pulled out his three pronged amulet and put a finger to his lips. The beggar nodded and hushed instantly. Kosai looked down both sides of the road.

  “Have you brought what we asked you for?” a syndicate member said, though it wasn’t the same one that Kosai and the Captain met earlier in the night.

  “Yes,” Mearto replied. “The next caravan is leaving at dawn, as usual, and is headed South by Southeast, towards Port Rasmú. It will be a larger one, twenty-five wagons ordered to deliver wheat and sugar from the north, and pick up lumber from the west.”

  “We will do all that we can, but no promises.”

  “I understand,” Mearto said. Kosai heard the stools shuffling and ducked back into the alleyway just in time to see his teacher bow at the door. She had no bag of coins, no fine jewelry, save for the syndicate ring on her finger. When the door was closed, she took a few steps past the syndicate office, leaned against the wall and cried softly, a few tears rolling down her face.

  “No, not here,” she said to herself and walked further. Kosai waited, listening to her sob and sniffle. Seeing no reward for her treachery, and the reaction after giving up the route information, Kosai decided to follow and see where she would go. If she went back to the school, Kosai could take Capital road and meet the Captain on Interior. If she went elsewhere, Kosai would have more to report.

  Carefully, Kosai followed her, blending in with the shadows and alleyways. The streets were mostly empty. Kosai stayed far enough away to not be noticed, yet close enough to watch her turn. She walked on West Interior, turned on Market Street, turned north on Interior, and then walked down West Road. She walked up to the gate and waited.

  The gate won’t open for one person. What is she doing? Kosai thought. She turned back and headed straight for Kosai. Kosai, calmly and controlled, walked into an alley way and sat, waiting for Mearto to walk by. She was walking closer. Her steps were not the weak walk she demonstrated when she cried. She was walking with purpose again. Walk on, walk on, walk on, Kosai thought over and over again. Mearto stopped at the alley way and looked right at Kosai.

  “Kosai,” Mearto hissed. She paused and shook her head. “You heard every word?” Her voice was quiet, broken and weak, as if she were fighting back more tears. Kosai didn’t respond and sat huddled in the alley way, hoping that her use of his name was a tactic to see if he was really there.

  Walk on, walk on, walk on! Kosai continued to think.

  “Kosai, I can see you in the alley way, come out this moment!”

  Kosai stayed perfectly still, coughed up some phlem from his throat and looked at her.

  “You got the wrong person, miss, aint no Kosai ‘ere,” he said, trying to imitate the voice of a beggar. Mearto sighed heavily and walked into the alley way, grabbed Kosai by his shirt and lifted him onto his feet. The tears were gone in her eyes and she spoke firmly.

  “You heard every word.” She wasn’t asking a question.

  Kosai paused.

  “Yes.” There was a silence between them and Mearto let go of his shirt. “Why?”

  “I can’t explain that right now. There is more to this than you could comprehend. I will explain everything tomorrow.”

  “No.” Kosai stood straight and tall. “You speak now or I place you under arrest.” Kosai pulled the amulet from his shirt and hung it in front of Mearto. “Those guards on the tower know what his amulet is, and would come at my word. You will tell me what exactly is going on.”

  “I can’t,” she said firmly,”I can’t,” she repeated but her voice broke. Tears began to fall from her eyes. “But I can show it to you.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes. Kosai stared at her.

  “Where would we go?”

  “West into the desert,” said Mearto. “I promise that no harm will come to you. Remember, I want you to live.” She began to speak with more command. “If I wanted to kill you, I could have done so at any time, and made it look like an accident.” Kosai glared at her, realizing the truth of her words, and then nodded.

  Kosai swore under his breath and was about to walk up to the gate tower, but before he could take his first step, the air filled with the scent of lilac and sea salt. The smell was so strong that he almost fell unconscious. Mearto grabbed his arms and held him upright. The two guards in the gate tower fell down on the platform with a thud, and snored.

  “What I am about to show you, you must not speak to anyone else except your Captain. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” Kosai said with a yawn, “but what about the gate and the guards?”

  “Hold on,” Mearto said. She hugged Kosai tightly. Kosai wrapped his arms around her. Her arms wrapped around his back and his hers. He could feel and hear her breathe as they rose into the air.

  Before he could speak, they were up in the air, floating over the wall. They landed softly on the other side of the gate and let go of each other. Kosai’s body tingled and sizzled as if he had been pricked with a thousand hot needles. His cheeks flushed.

  “The guards will wake up, thinking that each dosed off for only a few moments. They won’t remember a thing. I don’t like doing what I did, but it’s the only way. We have to be quick now. Follow me.”

  Kosai watched her walk into the night.

  “I’ve got a job to do,” he whispered to himself. He shook off the thoughts of the embrace and followed her.

  CHAPTER 13

  They walked along the dunes near where Kosai was attacked by the Dark One. Kosai had an uneasy feeling about the night, reached to his hip for his sword, and grasped at air. He felt naked without his weapons and he tried to ignore the thoughts of ambush. In his paranoia, he thought he could sense a tribe of nomads atop every dune.

  “Where are we going?” Kosai asked. Mearto was silent and stared ahead.

  After a few more hours of fast-paced walking,
the terrain flattened out. Kosai saw a camp about a half mile ahead. There were plenty of small fires, but no wagons. Mearto continued ahead until she was at the edge of the camp. Kosai recognized the people instantly. They were nomads. One of the men on the outer fires stood up and whistled a long pattern of short, sharp bursts. Others stood and echoed the call. The man that stood turned towards Mearto, and then looked at Kosai.

  “You have brought another with you?” he asked. He was about Kosai’s height and build, but spoke quietly. He wore black, baggy pants, but no shirt. A long scar was etched from his left shoulder down to his right hip. Kosai had to keep himself from gasping when he recognized the scar: it was a sign of his signature attack. Suddenly his mind was filled with the memory of the battle with this nomad.

  Kosai was escorting a caravan and the group was setting up camp for the night. The nomadic tribes snuck around the dunes, hiding in the long shadows just before nightfall. When camp was set, and dinner served, the nomads snuck closer to the group, staying on the edge of darkness. The suon were spooked. A driver stood up to tend to the beasts. From the shadows, a knife was thrown, just missing the driver. Kosai drew both of his swords and turned just in time.

  The nomad was about to land an overhead blow. Kosai turned, letting the strike fall to his left and then batted the sword down into the ground with one of his own swords. With his other, he landed an upward strike across nomad’s body, but it wasn’t fatal.

  “He’s here to help,” Mearto said, and Kosai was brought back to the present. “The problem is becoming too large to solve on my own.” The nomad nodded and led them to the center of the camp. There, another nomad stood. A syndicate mark was tattooed on his neck.

  “Mearto, I am glad to see you again,” he said.

  “And I, you, Iserum,” Mearto said with a slight bow. “I have brought a friend who can help us, my pupil actually. The problem is growing larger by the day. I can’t do this on my own anymore.”

  “And what is his name?” Iserum asked, glaring at Kosai. Mearto was about to speak, but Kosai placed a hand on her shoulder. They locked eyes for a few moments and Mearto placed her hand on Kosai’s. Mearto shook her head and removed Kosai’s hand from her shoulder.