The Destroyer Goddess (34 page)

"You may find what I'm about to ask you to do... distasteful," Kiloran warned him.

"If you can assure me,
siran
," Searlon said slowly, "that our deeds will ultimately ensure our dominance of all Sileria, I think I can manage a distasteful task or two."

Yes, Kiloran realized, feeling pleased. Searlon would be with him all the way. Searlon understood that terrible times called for terrible measures. 

In the end, only a heart of stone triumphed.

Geriden's daughter and his assassins were lusting with violent rage against a waterlord... only they weren't quite sure which one. The girl knew she had seen an assassin murder her father and one of his men right there in her own home. There was no doubt he had also murdered the other two men later found dead beside the river. And he had told her that his own master intended to take over Geriden's territory now. 

She also distinctly remembered what she had heard the assassin say to her father before murdering him:
"My master got tired of waiting for Tansen to kill you."

However, what with all the violence and terror of the few brief murderous moments that the assassin had been in her presence, she hadn't studied his red
jashar
, so she couldn't identify him, apart from attributing to him a general aura of deadly, vicious, goat-molesting evil—and a slightly (but only slightly) more helpful description of him as a man of average size who was probably a
shallah
by birth. It was a description which fit most of the assassins in Sileria, including those who served Kariman and Gulstan—the two great waterlords whose important territories bordered Geriden's negligible one.

The girl didn't know who had sent the assassin. She only knew, as did her father's men, that either Kariman or Gulstan, both of whom coveted Geriden's territory, got tired of waiting for him to die—and whichever one of them it was, he must pay dearly for what he had done.

Upon hearing this, Kariman insisted he was not only innocent, but had, in fact, been under attack by Tansen on the night of Geriden's murder. This immediately aroused Gulstan's worst suspicions about Kariman—the greedy waterlord who had, after all, already taken over the dead Ferolen's territory—since Gulstan happened to know that he himself had been the one under attack by Tansen at the time of the murder. Kariman's response to this information was to ridicule Gulstan's claim; that further convinced Gulstan that Kariman was indeed the back-stabbing
sriliah
who had ordered Geriden's death. Kariman, in his turn, knew that Gulstan was bitterly jealous of Kariman's ascendancy since Ferolen's death; it was obvious that Gulstan, who—oh, yes!—had indeed always coveted Geriden's territory, had finally decided it was time to increase his own influence by killing Geriden.

Tansen, pleased that his plan was going so well, provided plenty of fuel to turn the dispute into a raging inferno. He made sure that Kariman's assassins picked up some gossip about Gulstan's designs on Geriden's territory as merely the first step in a larger plan to increase his holdings. It was common knowledge that Kariman (who was no Kiloran, after all) was stretched to his limit trying to control Ferolen's lands as well as his own; so Tansen made sure that Kariman soon believed that Gulstan planned to take away some of that territory. 

Meanwhile, Tansen also made sure that Gulstan heard that Kariman was urging Kiloran to help him eliminate Gulstan (for all Tansen knew, it might even be true). Although Gulstan had made peace with Kiloran for the sake of unity and strength in the Society, he was still highly suspicious about that
shir
of Kiloran's once found among his slain men, so he became reckless with rage and fear over the possibility of Kariman and Kiloran uniting against him. After all, the deaths of Geriden, Wyldon, and Dulien proved that those two were not only capable of killing other waterlords, but positively eager to do it!

Tansen also ensured that Geriden's vengeful assassins remained confused enough to feel convinced that no one could be trusted and everyone must be punished for their master's death. Wild with a hunger for revenge, they began launching attacks against both Gulstan and Kariman.

 When Kariman decided to seize Geriden's territory so that Gulstan wouldn't reap the profits of his treacherous murder of Geriden, Gulstan was waiting for him, already trying to lay claim to the territory himself. Most of Geriden's assassins died in the first few days of the raging struggle as the two waterlords used the power of their sorcery and the strength of their assassins against each other. By the time Kiloran tried to intervene, it was too late for a truce meeting, too late to reason with any of them. And much too late to convince them of his own suspicions—that Tansen himself may have plotted this entire mess.

Gulstan and Kariman were already committed to something that Kiloran couldn't stop, something which even Tansen hadn't foreseen; and nothing in their lives had ever been so satisfying.

Fighting Tansen had been work, duty, a rational agreement among men with something in common, something to lose. But this? Two great waterlords—two true equals—engaged in the fiercest, most vengeful, most ruthless fight of their lives, with no restraint from a truce agreement and no interference from the Valdani... Ah,
this
was a passion that consumed them. This was better than love, better than hate, better than whatever Josarian had felt when Dar embraced him in the volcano! Gulstan and Kariman were two true kings of the seductive sorcery which so few men could even understand, let alone master. No war, no woman, no
shatai
could give these two waterlords the rich, raw satisfaction they now found, after all the years of restraint and subterfuge, in summoning all their strength, all their cunning and skill, all the crystal cold beauty of their magic in all-out war against each other.

Even Tansen, who watched with satisfaction as his enemies destroyed each other, had to admit that there was something a little glorious about it.

Baran quarreled with Najdan, who fled Belitar hotly pursued by Vinn and a contingent of assassins. News of the quarrel quickly spread, especially among those who had a keen interest in Baran's activities and Mirabar's vulnerability.

"What do you suppose happened at Belitar?" Dyshon asked Kiloran in the cool security of Kandahar.

"With Baran?" Kiloran made a dismissive gesture. "Anything is possible."

"True," Dyshon agreed. "With that madman, anything at all is possible." Dyshon then excused himself to go greet a messenger.

Unfortunately, Kiloran reflected once he was alone, it seemed that throughout all of Sileria these days, anything was indeed possible. In fact, there were moments when Baran almost seemed sane in comparison to some of his former associates.

Gulstan and Kariman were so busy warring against each other that their territories—as well as Geriden's—were in total chaos. If they even saw how their wild bloodfeud was helping Tansen, then they didn't care. Kiloran wondered with bitter fury how they could be so reckless, so short-sighted... but he had only to remember Alcinar to realize that an overwhelming passion, of one kind or another, was probably every real man's destiny and curse at least once in his life.  And if Gulstan's and Kariman's ungovernable passion was now for power, or even for the rich satisfaction of fully engaging a true equal in a world where such a thing was so rare for a great waterlord, Kiloran could at least understand that.

He was annoyed, though, that they were too foolish to wait for Tansen to fail and die before they indulged in tearing each other apart this way.

Kiloran wondered once again, aware that he'd probably never know, if Tansen was behind their quarrel.

Meanwhile, there was some new, inexplicable influence on the Idalar River. It wasn't Baran regaining strength, Kiloran was sure of that. This was a wholly unfamiliar power, something altogether different from the edgy, glittering brilliance of Baran's sorcery. This power was so different that Kiloran couldn't even imagine who was its source; but it was working in harmony with Baran. 

Even worse, something was now reaching out for the mines of Alizar, too. Something very similar to the new power that was now flowing through the Idalar River. 

Baran has found an ally
.

A very strange one, that much Kiloran could ascertain with senses attuned day and night to the waters which he ruled; but an ally with enough power to be annoying.

Still, Kiloran didn't fear defeat. Baran was dying—and quickly, if Cheylan was right. Searlon would kill the prophesied Yahrdan, destroy the power of Mirabar's visions, and remind all Silerians that not even the Firebringer had been able to withstand Kiloran. If no one was left alive at the end of Kariman's and Gulstan's bloodfeud (as seemed increasingly likely) then Kiloran would acquire their territories. Yes, these were terrible times, and each day brought new challenges—some of them very discouraging, if truth be known. Nonetheless, Kiloran remained ascendant, and he still foresaw no problems which he couldn't master and overcome. 

As for Cheylan... Yes, he was an immensely useful young man. Kiloran would eventually be obliged to kill him, of course, because it was too dangerous to rely on someone so treacherous for long. But he'd prefer to keep Cheylan alive until after the war. Until after Tansen and Mirabar were both dead and forgotten.

Kiloran also knew is was possible that Cheylan, whom Tansen mistook for an ally, had met Zarien—and perhaps even knew a little about him. But to ask Cheylan about Zarien would be to betray his interest in the boy, and he doubted that Cheylan knew anything which was worth taking such a chance—because if he did, he probably would have offered it already. Cheylan was greedy for Kiloran's support, and also eager to prove he was valuable enough to keep alive. 

Besides, there was no real need to ask Cheylan about Zarien. Kiloran already knew what mattered most, and sooner or later, Searlon would bring the boy to Kandahar.

It was a shame that Kiloran couldn't trust Cheylan, though, because there was certainly one thing he would ask him about if he weren't so determined to reveal no weaknesses at all to the traitorous Guardian:
Fire
.

The vague and disturbing comments of the old Guardian woman who had turned into a human volcano before Kiloran's very eyes here at Kandahar did, he admitted only to himself, still bother him from time to time. Was it the mindless babbling of a sick old woman dying in agony after prolonged torture? Or was there something here which only a Guardian could sense and understand? Something that eluded Kiloran in all his talent and power?

Was there some slight possibility that Josarian, being the Firebringer, was not as thoroughly vanquished as any other man would be after being devoured by the White Dragon?

Had Kiloran, in killing him that way, brought something dangerous into Kandahar?

"
Siran?
"

He nearly flinched at the sound of Dyshon's voice.

Realizing that his thoughts were becoming unproductively morbid, Kiloran was relieved to see the assassin had returned from greeting the messenger. And judging by the light of bloodlust in Dyshon's eyes, the news was interesting. "Yes?"

"I have received a message from Najdan."

Fire
. Ah, yes. It suddenly flooded Kiloran's heart.

"
Najdan
," he said.

Two of Kiloran's assassins had died attacking Najdan in his  native village, their attempt to exact vengeance a complete failure. Searlon had accepted the blame, and Kiloran had been free about assigning it to him. Searlon claimed that he had underestimated Najdan. Two men had not been enough to take him. At least not two young men. It would require someone experienced to kill Najdan. Someone much better than average.

In other words, Searlon dearly wanted to do it, and he wouldn't try very hard to have Najdan killed until he had the opportunity to do it himself.

 Dyshon said, "Najdan knows he can never come home, but now that he's enemies with Baran, he asks me to meet with him. He wants a truce with us."