Snare (60 page)

‘Or are you still a lieutenant?’ the khan said. ‘It’s been ten years, come to think of it. Surely they’ve promoted you by now.’

‘Yes sir,’ Zayn said. ‘They made me a company commander when Idres took over the regiment, after they told us you were dead.’

‘Then about four years ago now they transferred Hassan to Bariza.’ Warkannan glanced at Zayn. ‘I’m beginning to think the Chosen were behind that transfer. Another man who served with us belongs, or so I heard recently – Lev Rashad, if you remember him. Or wait – sorry.’

‘Let’s not mention them,’ Jezro said firmly. ‘We don’t want Hassan smashing any more crockery.’

Zayn managed to laugh. For a few moments they concentrated on eating.

‘If you were commanding the regiment, Idres,’ Jezro said at length, ‘why didn’t you retire as a colonel?’

‘I accepted a demotion to get transferred to the capital,’ Warkannan said. ‘Arkazo was going to university there, and I figured I’d better be nearby. I was right, too. He got into enough trouble as it was.’

Zayn and Jezro both stared.

‘Rank isn’t the only thing in life,’ Warkannan said. ‘Pass me that basket of bread, will you, Zayn?’

Zayn passed it, then handed the butter after it. The tay had gone cold; he drank his in big gulps, out of sheer thirst, not a liking, and poured himself more.

‘But anyway,’ Jezro said, still smiling. ‘Divulge, Captain Benumar, uh, Hassan that is. This story about the spirit rider will give me something to think about besides Yarl and what we’re going to do about him. I’m too tired to think about Yarl right now. I’ve been sitting out in that damned garden every night in the hopes you’d come creeping up and try to kill me.’

That remark tipped the balance. Here Zayn was a man among men, not someone’s servant, and an important man at that, Jezro Khan’s trusted friend, someone that Jezro had risked his own life to save. But Ammadin – he loved her, she had saved his soul. Without the Mistlands he never could have left the Chosen behind, Jezro or no Jezro. Still, he couldn’t see how it could hurt her to talk about her quest.

‘Well, it all comes down to the ChaMeech,’ Zayn said. ‘Ammadin knows a ChaMeech woman, or female, whatever they are, named Water Woman. Water Woman came to her with a strange tale of a cave full of magical devices owned by someone named Sibyl. The ChaMeech said that this Sibyl was teaching them how to use magic, which sounds pretty ominous to me.’

Jezro made a choking sound deep in his throat and leaned onto the table. ‘Sibyl who? Do you know?’

‘No, sir. All I know is what Ammi told me, that this Sibyl is a stone woman – that’s what the ChaMeech called her, a stone woman – who’s in charge of a cave full of magicks. Ammadin was
riding to join her, Water Woman I mean, and they were going to go meet Sibyl. Is this important?’

‘Could be, yes.’ Jezro turned to Warkannan. ‘One of the leaders of the Settlers was a woman named Sibyl Davees. She was something called a xenobiologist, that is, she wanted to study the ChaMeech. Yarl thought she might be the person whom the author of
The Sibylline Prophecies
had in mind when she gave the book that title. And caves – caves loom large in her legend, judging from the clues I’ve put together.’

Zayn decided that he must be more tired than he’d realized. None of this talk made sense, even though Warkannan nodded in understanding.

‘This Davees,’ Warkannan said, ‘surely she couldn’t still be alive.’

‘No, of course not. I’m assuming that her name took on an independent meaning, or that whoever wrote the
Prophecies
used it for some reason, probably to make it look ancient.’ Jezro turned to Zayn. ‘Hassan, I’m being cryptic, I know. We’ll explain later. Go on.’

‘There’s not much more to tell, sir. Ammi was going to meet Water Woman at the Burgunee border near some kind of monument, the white cliff with pictures, I think she called it, and they were going to trek off to meet Sibyl. The Loremasters Guild in Sarla was interested in sending someone, too, probably Loy Millou. I left before that all got worked out.’

‘Very interesting,’ Jezro said, then glanced at Warkannan. ‘What –’

Warkannan held up one hand for silence, then murmured, ‘Keep talking.’ Carefully he moved his chair back.

‘But this Sibyl,’ Jezro said hurriedly. ‘Did the ChaMeech say anything else?’

Warkannan stood up and took a few quiet steps towards the door between the dining room and the hall.

‘Well, sir, Ammadin didn’t tell me everything. Sibyl’s supposed to be rich, though. Water Woman gave Ammi a lightwand that came from Sibyl’s cave. According to Loy Millou, it was an ancient one, but it looked brand new.’

‘That’s suggestive, all right. Unfortunately, Yarl knows a lot more than I do about suggestions like this. You see what I mean about our needing him, whether I hate his guts or not.’

Warkannan made two long strides and flung the door open. No
one stood there, no one fell into the room. ‘Damn!’ Warkannan muttered, then suddenly stooped and plucked something from the wall near the baseboard. ‘Although I wonder.’

Warkannan brought his prize back to the table, a smooth metal ball about an inch in diameter, with a prong that allowed it to attach to surfaces such as walls. Jezro picked it up and looked at it, then tossed it back to him.

‘I find those now and again,’ Jezro said, ‘all over the house, in fact. Zhil thinks they’re part of a game Marya used to play or some such thing.’

‘Um.’ Warkannan set it down on the table, then picked up a heavy table knife, placed the handle on the ball, and stacked his hands on top. With a grunt he bore down with all his strength. The ball crumpled with an animal squeal.

‘What?’ Jezro said.

‘I’m probably being overly suspicious,’ Warkannan said. ‘But I kept having the feeling we were being spied on. Soutan bragged to me once about how he could send spirits after people, and the spirits would report back to him. Now that I know what spirits really are, this is a good candidate for one.’

Warkannan took his hands away. Out of the crushed ball protruded a thin gold wire. ‘Of course, it might be nothing.’

‘Crap,’ Jezro muttered. ‘Once you lose faith in someone, you don’t know what to believe.’

‘Idres?’ Zayn said. ‘What do you mean, what spirits really are?’

‘That’s right,’ Warkannan said. ‘You haven’t heard the truth about this magic business.’

‘Let us enlighten you,’ Jezro said. ‘Here comes Zhil with brandy.’

That evening, in the small blue parlour, Zayn saw his entire view of the world collapse and crumble. He realized that he might not have believed Jezro alone, but Warkannan’s calm agreement with the khan’s talk of machines and devices, distant stars and other worlds, suns and planets, made it possible for him to accept what Jezro was saying. At first he felt staggered, as if he could no longer stand up on a world that was moving so quickly under his feet, but eventually he realized that here were the answers to the questions that he and Ammadin had asked together. He wondered what she would say when he told her the truth about her crystals, but he had the feeling that she would take it all calmly. Even as he became calm – in the end he saw that all
these truths, unlike the truth about his memory, mattered very little to him. The sun would still rise in the east, no matter which sphere really moved.

‘And if we can’t get back there,’ Zayn said at last. ‘Who cares about other worlds?’

‘A practical man, that’s you, Captain Hassan,’ Jezro said, grinning. ‘I suspect that a lot of other Kazraks are going to agree with you, or would if they ever found out the truth. The mullahs are not going to want the truth out.’

‘It seems to me,’ Warkannan put in, ‘that Soutan can talk about ships all he wants, but we’re never going to be able to get back, wherever back is.’

‘Oh, I agree. I let Yarl ramble on about his damned ships, but I’m actually interested in finding technical information. The Settlers must have brought books with them showing how to produce these fancy gadgets. They make life a lot easier, and I wanted to see if we could manufacture some. Everything we’ve found is incredibly complicated, but it can’t have sprung out of the ground fully grown. There had to be a time when people invented simple versions of things like the oil-free lamps. Maybe we can figure out how to put the primitive versions together.’

‘It sounds like a perfect job for the scholars back home,’ Warkannan said. ‘Now, if you were Great Khan, you’d have a lot of resources to draw on – men, money, the best minds at the universities.’

‘A one-track mind.’ Jezro shook his head in mock sadness. ‘You’re as bad as Yarl –’ His smile disappeared. ‘Damn. Speaking of Yarl, I should go talk with him, I suppose.’

Warkannan took out his pocket watch. ‘It’s twenty-two hundred,’ he said, then yawned hugely. ‘I’m too old for this. Staying up all night, I mean.’

‘That’s right, we pretty much did,’ Jezro said. ‘Last night seems so far away, but none of us slept much. Well, I think I’ll let Yarl stew over his sins all night. It might make him more reasonable in the morning. Let us all go partake of the sleep of the righteous.’

‘Right after evening prayers.’

‘I can’t –’ Zayn paused in mid-sentence. That’s not true any more, he thought. I’m not demon spawn. ‘Yes,’ he said, and he smiled. ‘Right after prayers.’

The three of them slept late the next morning, a sensible enough
thing to do, and the worst mistake they could have made. Before breakfast, Warkannan trotted off to the door of Arkazo’s room. Zayn could hear him calling the boy’s name, but in a few minutes he returned alone.

‘He won’t even answer me,’ Warkannan began. ‘If you could –’

‘I will,’ Jezro said. ‘It’s time he learned about direct orders, but I think I’ll finish breakfast first. Let him stew for a while.’

They had, however, barely started their breakfast when Zhil hurried in, his perfect manners forgotten. ‘Sir?’ he blurted. ‘Robear’s got to speak with you.’

‘Send him in,’ Jezro said.

Robear rushed in before Zhil could leave the room; apparently he’d been waiting just beyond the door. ‘Some of the horses are missing, sir,’ Robear said. ‘Soutan’s riding horse, the captain’s nephew’s horse, and a couple of pack animals.’

Zayn glanced at Warkannan, who’d got up from his chair. He stood cavalry-straight, his lips a little parted, his eyes wide. ‘Shaitan! He wouldn’t.’ Warkannan turned on his heel and strode out of the room.

Zayn and Jezro followed, Zayn a little ahead, the khan limping behind him, as Warkannan hurried down the hall to the guest rooms. He flung open the door to Arkazo’s room, looked in, then took one step back.

‘God help me!’ Warkannan growled. ‘I’ll kill him for this. Soutan, I mean.’

Zayn had the morbid thought that Arkazo lay dead inside, but when he ran to the door and looked in, he saw no such thing – no Arkazo, in fact, none of his gear, either, not a blanket nor saddlebag.

‘Check Soutan’s room,’ Jezro said.

Zayn followed Warkannan as he ran down the hall to another open door. The moment that they stepped into the suite, Zayn could see that the sorcerer was gone and his gear with him. Warkannan’s face flushed a dangerous red.

‘If I get my hands on Soutan,’ he said, and his voice was dangerously level, ‘I’m going to strangle him. Beheading’s too quick.’

‘Good idea,’ Zayn said, ‘but what is all this?’

‘He’s talked Arkazo into riding off with him, would be my guess.’ It was Jezro, limping down the hall with Robear behind him. ‘Arkazo must have opened the door and let him out. They
probably smuggled their gear out a bit at a time while we were sleeping.’

‘Yes sir,’ Robear joined in. ‘One of the guards saw Soutan crossing the lawn in the middle of the night, but Soutan told him that he was just having trouble sleeping. The guard didn’t see any reason to doubt him.’

‘Damn!’ Jezro said. ‘That’s what I get for keeping the house arrest quiet.’

‘But where have they gone?’ Warkannan said. ‘That’s what we need to know. Soutan’s risking more than house arrest if he goes back to Dordan. He’d hardly head for Kazrajistan without us, and there’s nothing much north of here.’

‘That leaves east. That metal ball you smashed?’ Jezro paused to wipe his nose on his sleeve. ‘If he heard what we were saying, they might have gone east to look for Sibyl. That cave could be full of old technology. Robear?’

‘I’ll order the men to saddle up, sir,’ Robear said. ‘We can make a sweep of the countryside.’

‘But Soutan will be able to see you coming.’ Warkannan leaned back against the wall. ‘There’s not a lot of hope you’re going to catch them.’

‘That’s true.’ Jezro thought for a moment. ‘Robear, I’ve got a better idea.’ He turned to Zayn. ‘Keep an eye on Idres, will you? Robear and I are going to ride into town and call upon the head of the Council. We’re going to have half of Burgunee out looking for the little bastard before noon.’

‘I’ll go saddle our horses,’ Robear said.

‘Fine, do that. Idres, I know what you’re thinking and no, you can’t go too. Stay here. Soutan might be staging this in order to get at Hassan, and I don’t want him left here alone.’

Warkannan nodded, staring at the floor. Zayn tried to think of something to say, found nothing that would be any real comfort, especially since he was blaming himself. Jezro and Robear hurried out, talking together about the mayor in Kors.

‘I shouldn’t have exposed Soutan for what he was,’ Zayn said. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Never think that.’ Warkannan raised his head, finally, to look at him. ‘It had to come out, and sooner is better than later. I mistrusted him from the moment I met him.’

‘But your nephew –’

‘Has done something really stupid, and he’ll have to take the consequences. When we get him back, that is. I’ll pray to God we don’t have to just leave him here in the Cantons when we ride back home, but if we have to, we have to.’

Zayn and Warkannan waited in the blue parlour for Jezro’s return. Zhil appeared with fresh pots of tay and baskets of bread, then left. At first Idres sat silently, reading in the
Mirror,
but at length he laid the book aside, and they talked of old times and the men they’d known on the border.

‘There’s something you need to know,’ Warkannan said at last. ‘That friend of Arkazo’s? He was Kareem Alvado’s son.’