Knives in the Night

by Nathan A. Thompson

  “Yes,” I said, still acting like a Malus douchebag, and resenting the necessity of it, “lead the way.”

  The veiled woman who had better damned well be Anahita gave me a coy wink, then turned with an extra flair in her hip and led the way, her skirt swirling with the extra sway she had put in her hips.

  When we were certain our enemies were all gone, the woman removed her veil and turned to face me, smiling widely.

  “I thank the Lord Challenger for being a good sport,” Anahita said with twinkling eyes, “such actions were necessary to maintain your cover, but in private, feel free to let me know if I ever make you uncomfortable. I will also make myself more available through the mindlink, should I detect your desire for it.”

  “Noted,” I replied, “in situations like this, it’s fine to playfully conceal yourself from me, but I’m going to trust that if I really need to know something, you will make sure that I do.”

  The dark-haired woman nodded, and then opened up her end of the mindlink completely.

  I felt a rush of excitement flow out from her, as well as a deep sense of appreciation—much like the one I had felt from Stell before she left.

  She had just heard incredible news.

  “Did you hear him?” she whispered to me excitedly, bouncing on her heels and gripping my hands and shaking them. “Did you hear what he said?”

  “Yep,” I said, replaying the conversation in my mind. “A bunch of disparaging remarks about everyone, including my actual self and the persona I was hosting him with.” I blinked. “And something about leaving a museum unguarded.”

  “Exactly!” Anahita let go of my hands to clap her own. “This is perfect! In believing me doomed, they have left unguarded one of their most critical locations, the vault of treasures that they have taken from my people! Items which will help us turn the course of the war even further!”

  “In that case,” I replied carefully, “then said news sounds extremely and suspiciously convenient.”

  “Indeed!” the beautiful woman said with a nod. “I would have expected it to be a trap, if the speaker had not been drinking your poisoned blood between his words. So now, we have a chance to recover the magical treasures of our world. Things that can end the famine for good, restore several of our Icons, and give the people hope. We must take this chance, Challenger.”

  “It still feels like a trap,” I said, unable to shake the cautious feeling.

  “How?” she asked simply. “They would have had to have known you were an imposter when they revealed this news, and that you were in charge of their city, misdirecting their Horde, and handling their supplies. It would have been much easier for them to bring their entire might to bear and attack you, the very reason they had summoned their army to begin with. Or to have summoned those vaunted Pit Knights of theirs, which still have yet to make an appearance. But instead, they allowed you to serve them food and drink, told you their news, and went to bed. So how could this be a trick?”

  “It couldn’t,” I admitted, “but this still feels like yet another piece of suspiciously convenient news. After already having a number of big breaks going our way.”

  “You are mistaken,” the almond-skinned woman said in a level tone. “Things are going the way they are because of how well, and how aggressively, you have been taking advantage of opportunities. You caught the enemies off guard because you invested your considerable power into pushing your march as hard as you could, and as quickly as you could, through their most weakened locations before they could marshal a response. Then, you were willing to follow me through a hidden path—part of the same network that has let me threaten and battle my enemies for so long. Then, you were willing to ingest my poison, and use the might of your body to survive the creation of several bathtubs’ worth of the most potent concoction in the known history of the Golden Sands.”

  She stopped counting her fingers and pointed at me.

  “Now, you have another opportunity. A risky opportunity, I am certain. But an opportunity nonetheless. You can help me recover the treasures of my world. Treasures which have helped ensure that the Golden Sands has prospered for all these years, despite being a desert world. Treasures tied closely to our greatest Icons, ones that would help resurrect them and help us further turn the tide. Those benefits will help create more opportunities for us, which we will hopefully take advantage of as well, and so on, until we finally have the opportunity to drive these false Earthborn off my world for good.

  “But this suspiciously convenient streak will end the moment we lose momentum by not taking the next opportunity. Which could very well have its own cascading effect. Which will impact the future of this very world.”

  “Okay, okay,” I said, raising my hands, “those are all very good points. I’m just having a hard time shaking my suspicion that something bad is about to go wrong, even though you’re making perfect sense right now.”

  “I can respect that,” Anahita replied, “so I will suggest the following compromise: we wait until this army leaves, like we were planning to anyway. If we see any signs that this is in fact a trap, we reconsider. Otherwise, we wait until your retinue arrives, then we overwhelm and destroy the now-weakened Horde Pit, and I show you the next trail that will lead to the vaults our enemies have so foolishly left unguarded.”

  “That works,” I agreed. “And I think I will feel better about our chances once the rest of my team gets here.”

  “Good,” Anahita said with a smile. “I would like to meet those who have been traveling with you all this time. And now, I will respect my primary body’s wishes, and leave you to sleep in peace. This night.”

  With another twirl of her colorful skirt, the beautiful woman left the room.

  CHAPTER 36: NEW OPPORTUNITIES

  As time passed, Anahita seemed more and more right.

  The Malus Men felt secure in their knowledge that this city was still under their control, thanks to the fact that they still had no idea Stell could make clones for me and that I could steal their faces and memories.

  The locals had participated wonderfully, partly because they had the perfect cover of following orders from a guy that looked exactly like the one in charge, and partly because they knew they had nothing left to lose—especially when word somehow got out about how the Malus Men had been planning to abuse and enslave their celebrated dancers, and how Anahita and I had immediately put a stop to it.

  So the massive army left Sejmera, reinforced by the local Horde, who were more of a hindrance than anything else these days anyway.

  We waited another day, ensuring that the few remaining Horde had received my poisoned food, and then my retinue arrived and attacked.

  Once again, I didn’t participate to avoid triggering their anti-Malcolm contingencies, but everyone reported that this battle had gone even easier than the last. Teeth had been able to help me tailor the poison especially well for them, so even the Spawn had managed to get sick. My team had taken them all apart with barely an inconvenience.

  Then, introductions were made.

  Those went less smoothly, on account of the Testifiers demanding to know how I had acted the first time I was poisoned, and Anahita and Breena refusing to answer publicly, but promising to tell more in private.

  Even though they could literally talk to each other through the mindlink without my knowing.

  Or even wait until I was out of earshot to make that comment.

  I began to suspect that Stell’s two Satellites would give my little group of assholes a different story every night, and that most of them probably wouldn’t be true, and that I’d never know anyway, since they never told me to begin with.

  That was okay.

  I’d find a way to get them all back for that.

  But in the meantime, I had to help with a certain set of introductions.

  “This is stupid,” Val whispered to me as I walked her down the hall and over to where Anahita was. “I can just talk to her over the mindlink if I have to.
”

  “But you haven’t done that yet,” I replied, not breaking my stride.

  “Yes I have!” my adopted sister hissed, then relented. “Okay, so, I haven’t but still! I can’t meet her yet! I’m too nervous!”

  “Sis,” I said gently, “it will be fine. Look, you two need to talk anyway, because you have a lot of the same roles, so chances are, you’ll be working together.”

  Val stopped walking.

  “Working together,” the fourteen-year-old teen gasped, mouth hanging open, “we can’t work together! There’s no way I could keep up with her yet! She’s way too good at all of this! I’d get in the way and mess her up!”

  “No you wouldn’t,” I sighed. “Calm down, Val. You’re already one of my top scouts. You keep up with Salima and Weylin easily, despite the decades of experience the both of them have on you. They’ve both told me several times how impressive you are.”

  “Wait,” the teen girl said, blinking. “Really?”

  But then she shook her head.

  “But that doesn’t matter,” Val insisted. “Look, it’s because of what I know that I realize just what a big deal she is. I mean, come on, Wes! She took out almost an entire city’s worth of operatives all by herself! And they never even knew she was there! And she’s revered by everyone in this world, and she’s been avoiding capture for like fifty years, and she has a magic cape-scarf, and a badass voice…and…and…”

  “And I need her to teach you everything she knows,” I interrupted gently, “or at least as much as she can, in what time we have left. Because Stell’s Satellites are tied to their respective worlds, Val. I won’t be able to take her with me, so I’m still going to need to heavily rely on you. You’re my Court Knife. The better you can do your job, the more lives we’ll manage to save, so even though it’s going to be awkward for you, I have to ask you to work with her, as best as you can, while learning everything you can. Can you do that for me?”

  “I…fine,” my adopted sister mumbled, looking down. “I just hope I don’t embarrass you in front of your girlfriend’s coolest body so far.”

  Then she closed her mouth tightly, as we walked over to where Anahita was standing.

  Stell’s local Satellite was sitting on a bench in one of the palace’s hallways, tucking a thin blade into her boot. She was dressed in the same black outfit she wore when I first met her, save that her scarf was still pulled down, revealing her entire face. She looked up at me as I approached, and smiled.

  “Hello, Challenger,” Anahita said as she stood up. “I see you brought another member of your team. Val, correct?”

  “Um, yeah,” my adopted Asian sister said shyly. “And you’re Anahita. Meaning we kind of both already know each other’s names.” Her eyes widened at what she was saying. “Sorry,” she said quickly, I didn’t mean to sound—”

  “Val is my retinue’s chief stealth specialist,” I said confidently. “She has innate comprehension of the Ideal of Shadows, as well as a bit of comprehension in the Ideal of Air. I trust her with operations that require more finesse than I have personally.”

  “She must be very proficient, considering you were able to keep up with me here in Sejmera,” Anahita noted, smiling at my little sister.

  “Oh,” Val stammered, “I’m not really that good—”

  “She’s responsible for the death of the Air Tyrant,” I interrupted, “the one that was near Nedjena hurling thunderstorms through the Pathways.”

  “Oh, really?” Anahita said, sounding legitimately impressed.

  “My brother did all the hard work,” Val said quickly, “I just—”

  “Took advantage of the distraction my retinue and I provided to sneak into the Air Tyrant’s personal chambers, overcome his wards and other protections, and then eliminate him before he or his guards could react in time to save his life.” I explained. “And also, in case it wasn’t clear, she’s my adopted little sister. Since you two share specialties, I was hoping that you could work together. Share insights, or something.”

  “Share insights?” Val said in outrage, voice rising. “Share insights? Do you realize what you’re saying? Do you realize how good this woman had to be to pull off fifty years’ worth of assassinations on the run, never getting caught even once?” She turned back to face Anahita.

  “Look, Lalla Anahita, I apologize if my brother or I have offended you, but please know I really, really respect what you’re capable of. I mean…I recognize the talent and dedication you must have to get where you are…I mean… I give up,” she announced, throwing up her hands. “I think you’re so cool, and I’m a huge fan, and I never would have dared talk to you if my brother hadn’t dragged me over here and made sure we get along like the level-headed professionals we’re supposed to be. So yeah,” the short teen said, sticking out her hand. “Valerie Nguyen Malcolm, at your service.”

  And as she said that, I felt something in my adopted sister’s soul shift, heave, and push.

  She blinked at herself.

  “Seriously?” the dark-haired girl demanded. “That was not that big of a deal!”

  “Or it was, and it’s perfectly okay that it was,” Anahita said, taking Val’s still-offered hand. “It’s an honor to meet you, Val Malcolm, and it’s an honor to know you respect my abilities so much. And back when I was your age, I wasn’t even a Practitioner in Stealth yet, much less able to assassinate a Master-ranked mage. It’s an honor to meet someone so young, that has already done so much. I would love to work with you on that alone.”

  “Um, thank you,” Val stammered, “I can make myself available any time you’d like to teach me…if you’re willing, that is.”

  “Certainly,” Anahita replied, smiling. “Are you free right now? We won’t be leaving until another hour or so. If the Lord Challenger can spare you,” she said as she gave me a wink.

  “Um, yeah,” Val said, looking at me and seeing me nod. “I mean, I guess I’m free…”

  I left them to work out their relationship as I prepared for our next task.

  There wasn’t that much left to do, however. I went over my gear, made sure I was up to speed with what had happened with my retinue while I was gone, and make sure the contingencies Anahita and I had put in to protect Sejmera in our absence was still in place.

  With that taken care of, and Anahita briefly exchanging some pointers with Val, we were ready to leave.

  Val gushed over what she had learned just long enough for me to be sure that she didn’t resent me for forcing their meeting.

  Meanwhile, Anahita led us to another set of rocks that were just outside the city.

  There is a second reason I retreated immediately to Sejmera, she explained, using the mindlink to talk to the entire group—and apparently granting my request to use the link when it was more practical. Sejmera is a valuable part of my world’s culture and history, but the reason I have made it my primary home base is because of the location of several Wind Trails.

  She pointed to the line of rocks.

  Wind Trails are a sort of mini-Pathways, that provide rapid travel for small groups of people across the vast deserts of my world. They were created long, long ago by an Icon who recognized the value our world had as a nexus for travel between many other worlds, as well as the danger we could face by having so many natural Pathways. So she used her power to permanently create a network of trails that her people could use, so that small groups could travel to the different cities and spread word of visitors that came either as traders or invaders.

  We have heard of her, Karim spoke up, she was an ancient being, one full of compassion and wisdom. Though the trails fell into disuse when the Steward of Avalon used her own magic to help with the communication between worlds. Our records on them are scant.

  That was also by design, Anahita explained as she stepped around a rock. She did not wish for the Wind Trails to fall into the wrong hands. So my primary body negotiated a treaty with her, where in order to help mediate relations between the differ
ent worlds, I would use the Trails myself, and take on the role of the golden-cloaked walkers who once patrolled the sands themselves, ensuring that trade, peace, and scholarship traveled smoothly into and out of our world.

  She sought to duplicate our own charter, Salima realized. She sought to bring back the Wealthwalkers.

  Indeed, Anahita said as she nodded. Your order had long passed into the barest mention of history on our world. We only have scant legends of your people now. Only the Icon herself truly remembered you.

  What was her name? Salima asked, curious.

  Anput, Anahita answered sadly, still picking her way through the rocks, she saw herself as a guardian for our world, and a patron for every noble virtue we possessed. So she was the first to rise up against the Malus Men and their armies of Horde and Dark Icons. And the first to fall to them, though she took several Dark Icons with her in the end. I am hoping to recover her essence with our next mission. Here it is, she said as she stood between two particularly large stones.