Griffin's Shadow (40 page)

“When we first met, you told me of your wife, a hikui daughter of the house of Onjara. It set off alarm bells in my mind. I didn’t want to believe it at first, but it fit the prediction too well to be dismissed.”

“What prediction?”

“You know the story of the ancient king whose daughter defeated him and erased his name from all official records?”

“Every elven child learns about Queen Syukoe in school,” Ashinji answered.

“Well, what is not taught is the real reason why she did what she did…and what was done to the king whose name is no longer known. This is the truth of it….”

~~~

Ashinji sat hunched on his stool, head in his hands, trying to make sense of what Gran had just told him.

That men and women could command the kind of power necessary to...to punch through the barrier of Time itself…
His mind reeled in disbelief.

After a long silence, he straightened and turned narrowed eyes upon Gran. “This Key you speak of—this magic those ancient mages put into my wife—it’s intertwined with her life force, you say.”

“Yes, it is,” Gran replied.

“And the Kirian Society, or what’s left of it, must remove and safeguard it from this…this thing you call the Nameless One, who is, in fact, the undead sorcerer king Onjara.” Gran nodded. Ashinji continued. “If this Key is so closely bound to Jelena’s life force, won’t removing it…” His voice faltered as realization crept up and pounced. “Removing it means killing her, doesn’t it?” he whispered.

“Ashi, there are greater things at stake here than your wife’s life.” Gran’s voice was harsh. Ashinji opened his mouth to reply, but the old mage cut off his furious retort before he could launch it.

“Just listen to me, young man! If the Nameless One regains possession of the Key, it will mean the end of everything! His essence is a thousand-year distillation of pure malice, and he wants nothing less than the complete destruction of the material world as we know it. He must tear down reality first, in order to refashion it into his own twisted version. To do that, he needs the Key. He
must
be denied, whatever the cost.”

“Please tell me there’s a way to do this without killing my wife in the process!” Ashinji begged.

“I will not lie to you,” Gran replied. “There is a risk that Jelena will be lost, but the loss to the material world and every creature in it is incalculable if the Nameless One should gain possession of the Key, or if it should fall into the hands of a living mage powerful and ruthless enough to use it.”

“Gran…
please!
Tell me there’s a way!”

“Ai, Ashi… Son,” Gran murmured. Her expression melted into tenderness and tears glittered in her eyes. “Your wife’s death is not a certainty, only a possibility…I wish I could give you more reassurance, but I can’t.”

Ashinji stood up, overturning his stool, and began to pace. Gran watched silently.

“How is any of this going to happen?” he asked. “We’re both slaves, Gran. We’re hundreds of leagues from home, trapped in the middle of the capital of the Soldaran Empire, surrounded by countless numbers of humans… none of whom would lift a finger to help us escape!”

“That’s not entirely true,” Gran said. “There is someone who might be willing to help us. Two someones, in fact.”

“Who, then?”

“One is a healing brother of the Eskleipan order. He used to come twice a week, but I haven’t seen him for quite a while. He went out of his way to make my acquaintance the first time he came. He claimed to have a hikui relative. Calls himself Tilo. I shall inquire after him when next the Eskleipans come.”

“Who’s the other human who might aid us?”

“Not human, Ashinji.”

“Aruk-cho!”

Gran nodded. “His first loyalty is to Mistress de Guera, but he just might be willing to help in an indirect way. Stop pacing and look at me, young man.”

Ashinji halted.

“Ashi, there is something else I need to tell you, something about me. Please sit down.” Ashinji did as Gran bid.

“You once asked me why I’ve chosen to remain here as a slave. I’m going to tell you the reason now. I remain to serve penance.”

“Penance? For what crime?” Ashinji’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Crimes, Ashi. Arrogance, greed, selfishness…a lust for power so great, it cost those dearest to me their very lives.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I was a very powerful mage once, Ashi. I enjoyed respect, prestige, all that came with my station, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted more.” In the dim light of the single lantern hanging on a hook by the barracks door, Gran’s face looked grim and haunted. “I, in my overweening pride, thought that I could re-create the energy pattern needed to construct a Portal, a means by which the Kirians of old could travel great distances without having to trek overland. Only one Kirian has ever been able to create the proper energy pattern, and he has been dead a thousand years. The strength of Talent needed is enormous. Such a feat qualifies as a Great Working.

“I was warned not to attempt it, but this only spurred me on. I needed to prove my greatness! What a fool I was...” Gran stopped speaking. Her hand fluttered up to her face and touched her cheek as if the sensation of a long-ago kiss still lingered there.

“My attempt failed, with spectacular and horrifying consequences. The home I shared with my husband and children was reduced to rubble. Everyone in the house died…my family, our servants…everyone. Except me. I survived, barely. When I emerged from the ruins, I was quite insane. Much later, I learned that a local farmer found me, injured and wandering the fields near where my home once stood. The Red Order, as was its duty to one of its own, even one such as me, took me in and healed my body. They also, after many months, succeeded in healing my mind.

“When I came to my senses, my shame and guilt so overwhelmed me, I tried to kill myself, but my colleagues stopped me. The agony of living with what I’d done…Ai, Goddess! Nothing to me seemed punishment enough. My husband and my children were all dead by my hand, my professional reputation lay in ruins… I had nothing left. That was when I decided to spend the rest of my life doing penance for my crimes.”

Gran fell silent, and Ashinji could see what a tremendous struggle she fought with her memories. He waited patiently until she found the strength to continue.

“I set out with only the clothes on my back and a little food, and I walked—yes walked—across Alasiri and down into the human lands. At the first settlement I came to, I stole a horse, openly, so that I would be pursued. I hoped when I was caught, I would be killed outright.

“The men who finally captured me did not kill me, though. They were soldiers from the local garrison. They took me back to their fort. Since I was too old to be a concubine, they set me to work cooking and cleaning for them. I wasn’t very good at it, as you can imagine, so they beat me a lot those first weeks… but I welcomed all of the abuse they heaped upon me.

“After several months at the fort, a stranger arrived—a dealer of slaves. The captain of the garrison, only too happy to get rid of me since I was no good as a cook, sold me to the dealer, who brought me here, to Darguinia. Mistress de Guera bought me from the slave market on the first day I arrived. I’m still not entirely sure why. Pity, perhaps. I’ve been here ever since.”

Gran ceased her narrative and fell silent.

Ashinji extended a hand and laid it atop her folded ones. Such an air of sadness hung about her that Ashinji momentarily forgot his own grief.

“You told me I reminded you of someone you’d lost. Who?” he asked.

“I had five sons. My youngest was about your age when he died. You remind me of him. His name was Taka…” Her voice broke, and a single tear slid from her left eye and trickled down her cheek.

Ashinji could think of nothing to say. Mere words could not serve in the face of such overwhelming tragedy. He continued to hold her hands, waiting until she could speak again.

“Ashinji, the Kirians must regain control of the Key. Any other possibility is unthinkable,” Gran continued at last. Her face settled into an expression of fierce determination. “I now have a reason to return to Alasiri… and you must come with me.”

“We’ll need all the help we can muster,” Ashinji said. “This human, Tilo. You have no idea when he’s coming back?”

“No. In the meantime, I’ll speak to Aruk-cho. Better that I approach him first. He will need a bit of persuading, but I’ll bring him around.”

“I did sort of promise to take Seijon with me if I ever tried to break out of the yard.” Ashinji rubbed his jaw in annoyance. “I’m beginning to regret it. He’s barely old enough to hold a weapon, much less fight with one. I’m afraid I’ll just get him killed. He doesn’t deserve such a fate, Gran.”

“That boy is a lot tougher and more resourceful than you think. He had to be, to survive on the streets. Don’t waste time worrying about him. He can handle himself well when he needs to. Besides, I couldn’t bear to leave him behind, either.”

Now that they had made the decision to escape, Ashinji felt an odd kind of peace descend upon him, even though he recognized the long odds for success.

So much of this depends on sheer luck,
he thought.
If Aruk-cho will help us, if this human called Tilo returns and is also willing to help…maybe, just maybe, I’ll hold Jelena and our child in my arms again.

He refused to think of what might be required of them once they were finally reunited.

Birth Day

Winter had begun giving way to spring, and in Alasiri, that meant rain. The daily precipitation saturated the ground and turned the roads to mud, making even the shortest trip a tedious slog. The gravel-paved streets of Sendai did not fare much better. The unusually heavy rainfall soon overwhelmed the network of channels and gutters that normally kept the city from flooding.

Another soggy, gloomy day
, Jelena thought as she made her way through mid-afternoon traffic enroute to Sateyuka’s house. She took special care to detour around the many pools of standing water, acutely aware that one misstep could send her crashing to the slick ground. Wrapped from head to toe in a gray wool cloak, scarf, slouchy hat, and gloves, she traveled in complete anonymity. If anyone happened to glance at her, she would look like just another pregnant hikui woman.

In Sateyuka’s peaceful home, Jelena could shed the persona of royal princess and just be herself. She treasured the quiet, private time she spent with her friend.

Sateyuka greeted Jelena at the door with an affectionate kiss on the cheek, then helped her guest to remove her heavy outerwear.

“Go on into the sitting room and thaw out! Your skin is like ice,” she exclaimed. “I’ll just take these wet things into the kitchen to dry.” Jelena did as instructed and with a heartfelt sigh, she lowered herself awkwardly onto the couch before the fireplace and stretched her feet toward the flames.

“Oh, here, let me help you get your boots off,” Sateyuka offered as she entered the room, a heavily laden tray in her hands.

“No, please, Sateyuka. You don’t have to do that!” Jelena protested as her friend went to her knees and grabbed a foot.

“Don’t be silly, girl. How else are you going to get these off, eh? Big as you are? When’s the last time you saw your own feet?”

Jelena giggled. “It has been awhile. I’ll be seeing them soon, though. My doctor says the baby can come any time now.”

“By the look of you, she’ll be a big baby. There, now… Doesn’t that feel better?” Sateyuka placed Jelena’s boots on the hearth. The smell of steaming leather filled the small room.

“Ahhhh,” Jelena sighed. “That does feel nice.”

“I have your favorite,” Sateyuka sang. She brought the tray over to where Jelena reclined and set it down on a small table. “How the confectioner was able to find lemons at this time of year… well, I just don’t know, but here they are.”

“Sateyuka, you are too good to me.” Jelena smiled and bit into the crisp little ball of pastry. The sweet-tart taste of lemon burst delightfully on her tongue.

“Nonsense! You’re like a daughter to me. You should know that by now.”

“I do,” Jelena replied. “That day I first saw you in the marketplace, I knew I had to follow you and find out who you were. It was as if the gods, or the Goddess, wanted us to meet.”

“She knew you’d need a special place—a haven—where you could escape the unique pressures of your life.”

“I know you’re my friend, Sateyuka, but sometimes, I feel guilty coming here. To Jokimichi, I mean. I’ve been living in my father’s house for almost a year now, and still, nothing has changed for the hikui people. They’re still denied equality under the law—a law my father can change, yet does not! I get so angry at times…with him, with my uncle…with all okui. Every day, I see how the hikui servants are treated at the castle, and I can’t help but wonder if, secretly, they resent me because I have all the rights and privileges of a full-blooded elf.”

Sateyuka set down her teacup and patted Jelena’s hand. “My dear, I can’t speak for all the hikui of Sendai, but I can tell you what many of my friends and neighbors are saying about Princess Jelena. They say the princess is kind, loving, and gracious… a young woman of exceptional character. Jelena, our people love you, and want only the best for you. They view you as a symbol of hope for all hikui.”