The Go-Between (The Nilaruna Cycles Book 1) (15 page)

I acted a mess, and this worked to my benefit.

When Haady’s rowing slowed, and I
could tell his arms ached, I offered to take a turn.

“Why not?” he said. “This is your
party, after all. Seems fitting you do some of the work.”

So he handed me the oars, and as
soon as he began to doze, I hit him as hard as I could in the head and dumped
him overboard. Goodbye, sweet Haady.

The moonlight is thin, but I know
where I’m going. I’ve always had an excellent sense of direction. And I’ve
studied maps of the area every night for weeks.

I row until I cannot possibly row
anymore. I’m well within the area my father needs to reach. Now the idiot just
has to find me.

I must prepare myself.

I think of the saddest thing that
has ever happened to me. Haady’s news? No, I don’t believe him, and even so, it
just makes me angry to think on it. Mother’s passing? I barely knew her. I was
but a child.

There was a fire once. One of my
closest friends nearly burned to death, and her brother died. That was sad.
Nilaruna was actually quite nice to me. I was an untouchable, and her family
was one of the most respected in the village, and still, she befriended me. I
was not allowed to see her after the fire.

Yes, that was sad. I lost a
friend.

I will the tears to come. I will
them to turn into sobs.

If I were a typical girl, what
would I be feeling in this moment? Terror, most likely. The sea can be
dangerous. And it’s quite dark out. I would feel lost, scared, hungry, anxious…

I cry out. Sobs wrack my body.

Surely Father is close.

I wrap my arms around my middle
and pray to be rescued.

Faaris cannot let the idea of his magic go. He insists that Maja take
him outside so he can try to light things on fire.

Graciously, Maja goes with him. I
think he just doesn’t want his mountain burned to the ground.

“Nili, can I ask you a question?”
Kai says.

“Of course.”

“How were you burned?”

I shiver with the memory of it.
“I was fourteen, and my brother had just turned sixteen. He loved a girl, and
he asked for her hand, but she turned him down. I don’t know why, my brother
was not that forthcoming with me, but it hurt his pride. He vowed to find a way
to make her accept him.

“One day, I caught him practicing
magic. Thought he could impress her with it, I suppose. He was staring at the
fireplace and igniting the wood with his mind. I was captivated. I watched him
for almost an hour, lighting the fire and putting it out again, until I made a
sound and he turned. He…”

“Dear gods, Nili,” Kai says. “He
didn’t.”

“He didn’t mean to,” I say
quietly. “He was simply in the middle of starting the fire when he noticed me.
He set my clothes aflame.

“He immediately panicked. While I
hopped around like a lunatic, he set several other fires around our home. Rags
burst into flame. Our woodpile began to smolder. And Peter, he finally got his
wits about him and tackled me, rolling us on the ground to try to smother the
fire. I swear, one fire was put out, and another started. He rolled us right
into the woodpile, and the burning logs fell upon us. It was an entire wall of
wood. We’d just stocked up for the winter.

“Neither of us could move. He was
pinned on top of me. My exposed half burned right along with him.”

“Oh, Nili,” Kai says, grabbing my
hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m surprised you don’t see
magic as evil, after that,” Manoj says.

I sigh. “I did. I think I really
did. But Maja has explained it to me. Peter was merely untaught. We all have this
power, and if only we’d learn to use it, such tragedies wouldn’t occur. How can
I blame my brother for exercising his natural talents?”

“That’s…such a magnanimous view,
I cannot believe it was spoken by a human being,” Manoj says.

“Peter died trying to save me,” I
say. “I wouldn’t be human if I couldn’t be magnanimous about that.”

***

“Does everyone know how the fire started?” Kai asks.

I shake my head. “I’ve told no
one but you. I did not wish to disparage my brother’s memory.”

“I wonder about the girl,” Manoj
says. “Did she regret your brother’s death?”

“I have no idea,” I say. “I never
knew who she was. My brother only said that she was from a different caste. I
assumed she was a noble or some such.”

“But he wouldn’t dare try to
impress a noble with magic,” Manoj says. “He would have been burned at the
stake for wizardry.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “You
think he was trying to impress an untouchable. That the untouchables of Dabani
are tending their magic.”

Manoj nods. “That’s exactly what
I’m thinking. But if your family is not of the untouchable caste, you would
have had no interaction with them.”

“My family was different,” I say.
“My father is the greatest healer in the village. He would heal anyone, no
matter their station.”

“And you knew these people?”
Manoj says. “Were you friends with any of them?”

“Several,” I say. “My friend
Lalan, and dear Saphala…oh my heavens, Saphala! What time is it?” I jump to my
feet.

“We cannot tell the time without
looking at the moon,” Manoj says. “But Nili, I believe circumstances have
changed. It would be unwise to risk ourselves to help your friend. We have
greater duties.”

“But she’s my friend!” I plead.
“I promised I would try to save her. If you won’t help, I don’t need you. I
will get Maja.”

Maja, please come quickly. I need your help.

Kai rises to his feet. “Your
friend is one of ours,” he says, glaring at Manoj. “We will help.”

Manoj sighs.

Maja and Faaris come running into
the cave, swords drawn. “What is it?” Maja says.

I explain to him about Saphala,
and he doesn’t hesitate. “It is nearing midnight. I will travel to the boat
where Saphala is supposed to be, and I will assess the situation. If I think
she can be exchanged safely, I will allow someone to go.”

I bite my lip. “What if it’s not
safe? Will you be able to rescue her?”

“No,” he says. “I cannot. But
anything in my power, I will do.”

Maja hugs me, and I kiss him
softly. “Return safe.”

“Always.”

And Maja pops out.

I look away when Maja and Nili kiss.

It’s not that I want to be the one
kissing her, I mean, not really, I barely know her, and she’s not, well…

It’s just a bit unsettling, is
all. My future wife kissing another man. No man would suffer that gladly.

Because it has been decided.
Nilaruna Nandal will be my wife. I am betrothed.

To a woman who loves another.

We’ve agreed to discuss the
particulars later. But what do they matter? Either I remain celibate, or I make
love to a woman who is dreaming of another man. Neither option is appealing.

I must not think of these things!
My personal suffering means nothing. I must focus on raising the stature of our
lowest caste while at the same time avoiding a backlash from the rest of my
people.

Our time is short, and yet here I
am, drinking wine with friends and trying to save the life of one untouchable.

Father always said my priorities
were screwed up.

***

Maja
comes back quickly.

“She is alone in a rowboat, about
two leagues from the shores of Dabani,” he says. “Apparently, she somehow
subdued her captor and pushed him overboard. She’s scared and desperate for her
father.”

Nili takes his hand. “There is no
danger, then?”

“None,” he says with a smile.
“Any one of us could row out to get her.”

“I got this,” Faaris says,
cracking his knuckles. “I can see in the dark like a bat. That’s probably
magic, too.”

“Probably,” Maja says with a
chuckle.

“Watch this, guys,” Faaris says,
and he conjures a ball of fire in his hands. “Amazing, no?”

Manoj gasps. “You learned to do
that just now?”

“Yep.” He extinguishes the fire
and holds out his hands. There’s not a mark on them. “I guess I’ll go, then.”

“Maja,” I say, “will Faaris run
into any problems on this journey? Can you see?”

Maja smiles. “All will be well.
He is safe, Prince Kai.”

“All the same, I would feel
better if Manoj went along. Two pairs of eyes are better than one.”

Manoj hangs his head. “I have no
say in this, do I?”

“None,” I say.

I shake their hands. Nili hugs
Faaris fiercely and wishes him godspeed. But Manoj, she bestows him with a
kiss.

“Dear Manoj, you are a hero,” she
says. “Hurry back to us.”

He blushes. “Indeed, we will.”

***

It is now just the three of us. We stand there awkwardly.

“I would suggest sleep, but I
doubt any of us will be sleeping while the others are away,” Nili says.

“Nili, I need you to give us some
time alone,” Maja says.

She looks like she wants to
protest, but she bows her head. “As you wish. I will go for a walk.”

I sense they are communicating
again, but there’s nothing to be done about it.

“Let us have a seat,” Maja says.
“I think I’ve had enough wine. Would you like tea?”

I lower myself to a cushion and
nod. A cup of steaming tea appears on the floor before me. “Thank you.”

Maja sips his tea and sighs. “I
want to hate you,” he says. “It would make this so much easier.”

“And I, you,” I agree.

He shakes his head. “I found
something disturbing earlier today. Did you know we have a small thunder of
dragons in these mountains?”

I raise an eyebrow. “I didn’t
know that.”

“They haven’t conceived in
centuries, but this spring, two of the females gave birth. You can imagine how
protective they’ve been of their young. And yet I found the nestlings alone
today, abandoned. The rest of the thunder is gone.”

“What do you think happened?” I
ask.

“I also found a spell laid on the
mouth of the cave, a powerful spell to keep the nestlings safe within. It had
the smell of the dragons, so I’m sure they laid it, but it was tainted.”

“Tainted how?”

“It felt coerced,” he says. “I do
not believe the dragons laid it of their own free will. Someone has gotten to
them.”

“With what purpose?” I ask.
“Someone kidnapped the dragons?”

“I believe they are enthralled,
so yes, kidnapped in a sense,” Maja says. “It occurred to me that anyone
wanting to cross the Fangs needs do so either by boat, the long way, or through
the pass, which I can detect and which would be painfully slow for many. It
would be much faster—”

“To fly,” I say.

Maja nods.

“How many dragons are missing?” I
ask.

“Twelve.”

“And how many men can they
carry?”

“At least twenty each,” he says.

“Well, that’s not exactly an
army,” I say.

“It would be if they were all
magic users,” he says. Indeed. “I removed the nestlings from their home and
placed them in another cave. No one will find them. But I will be keeping an
eye on the air.”

“Can you not see the future?” I
ask.

Maja shakes his head. “Only with
people I’ve met, and even that’s not clear. Tomorrow I will start visiting the
other provinces and trying to figure out where an attack might come from. I’m
hoping my powers grow, but right now, my knowledge is limited.”

“Thank you,” I say, “for keeping
the kingdom safe.”

“I do not do this for the
kingdom,” he says. “My only mission in life is to keep Nilaruna safe. Do not
thank me.”

“I will certainly thank you for
that,” I say. “She’s remarkable.”

Maja fingers the rim of his teacup
and sighs. “I hope you truly believe that, Kai. Because what I’m about to
do…I’m counting on you believing that.”

“I do.”

He wills his teacup away and
stands, pacing before me. “I am going to break it off with Nili completely. I
will have no further contact with her after this night. Except, I will be
keeping watch.”

“You do not need to do that,” I
say. “Nilaruna is sacrificing much for me, and whether I like it or not, you
two deserve to be together. I can…I can deal with it.”

“But Nili cannot,” he says. He
flops back down on his cushion. “I know her, every part of her. She loves me,
yes, but to be married to another…she will want to love you. A wife should love
her husband. I would be keeping her from her heart’s desire.”

My own heart speeds to hear this,
but I temper it. “Her heart’s desire is you, Maja.”

“But she cannot have me. Not in
the way she wants. I will not divide her loyalties. She deserves to have a real
chance. Don’t you think?”

I don’t say anything.

“So my question to you is this:
can you love her? Can you find it in you to see past her scars? Can you put her
before all others and love her like…like…”

“Like you do?” I say.

A tear slips down Maja’s cheek.
He nods.

“I can but try,” I say, my eyes
on his.

He conjures a pillow and blanket
and throws them at me.

“Then you can sleep outside. This
is my last night with her. You will give me this one last night.”

I grip the bedding and stand. “As
you will.”