The Oathbreaker's Shadow (27 page)

‘I did not betray you,’ said Raim.

‘Don’t lie to me, Raimanan!’ Khareh’s voice shook the tent posts; but Raim did not let himself be moved by his former friend’s rage. Khareh stomped his foot and two of his guards leaped to action. Raim braced himself, but the guards simply pushed past him, although one with an
outstretched elbow clipped him hard round the head, toppling him, his feet still bound, to the ground. The guards disappeared into the folds of cloth that hung behind him. Then, a few moments later, they came in dragging Draikh, and threw him onto the tent floor beside Raim. It was then that Raim, and Vlad, judging by his audible gasp, realized that Khareh’s guards were themselves spirits.

‘Look!’ Khareh was seething. Even the jaguar on his head seemed to hiss and boil, grow angrier by the moment. ‘You did break your vow to me. How dare you?’

‘No!’ cried Raim.

‘Yes! There is the proof!’

‘No, look!’ Raim ripped the fabric down from around his neck and showed Khareh his chest. There was the tattoo on his skin, the mark of permanence. Raim looked up into Khareh’s face and saw the angry spark in his eyes begin to flicker, begin to go out. Raim pushed onward. ‘I was given the choice to make my promise absolutely permanent to you, unbreakable in every way. Have you ever seen a mark like this?’

‘Never,’ breathed Khareh.

‘A garfalcon caused this.’

‘But those are legend!’

‘I assure you, they are not.’

‘But then explain this!’ Khareh gestured violently in Draikh’s direction, trying to make his voice sound angry now, but Raim knew that wonderment had taken over. He wasn’t safe yet, though; he had to be careful. Khareh
was more unstable than Raim had ever known him.

‘Explain it? It is a mistake! If I had known who you were . . . what you were capable of . . . I would never have made the vow to you. I would have rather broken it, crushed it, destroyed my promise to you, been truly exiled, but now I can’t even do that. Tell me Khareh, where am I? Where is your haunt?’

Sl right handn from the y exowly, calm returned to Khareh’s face. ‘I will have to consult Garus about this.’ He rubbed his chin slowly. He continued, completely ignoring Raim’s question, ‘Still, I don’t understand why you didn’t come to Pennar. I could have helped you, and then none of this would’ve happened. You would be here beside me, instead of . . .’ He waved a dismissive hand at the others in the room.

‘It was Mhara—’

There was a swift, simultaneous drawing of swords from all the guards around, this time directed at Raim. He put his hands up in shock and felt the tips of the swords graze his palms.

‘No, no, put your weapons away.’ Khareh turned back to Raim and rested his chin on one of his enormous ruby-inlaid rings. ‘To say her name or the name of my uncle is treason, but you don’t know that, do you? What did . . .’ Khareh’s mouth twisted in disgust as he tried, and failed, to say her name. ‘. . . she tell you?’

‘That you had informed the Yun I was heading to Pennar.’

‘She lied!’ hissed Khareh.

‘I know – she was smart, she guessed the truth – but I thought she was being treasonous against you, and that’s why I fought against her . . .’

‘That’s why you had to protect me. I always believed in you!’ Khareh stomped his foot again, this time with a smile on his face, and he missed the end of Raim’s sentence: ‘. . . to my everlasting shame.’

‘Undo his ankle bindings,’ said Khareh. ‘And the bindings of his companions too.’

When the bonds were finally loosened from around his ankles, Raim stood up abruptly.

‘Come with me,’ said Khareh.

‘Wait.’ It was the first time Vlad had spoken since Raim had woken up. It was then that Raim realized Vlad had been forced to wear a mouth gag the entire time. Wadi too, was unhinging the thick wad of fabric from behind her teeth and massaging the corners of her mouth.

Vlad kept his eyes on the ground, not even daring to look up at Khareh. ‘You will answer for your crime.’

Raim had never seen Vlad move so fast. He had heard rumours – of a specialized Baril fighting skill – but he had never seen it in action. What it amounted to was a whirl of kicks, punches and dizzying acrobatics.

The screech of swords being loosed from their sheaths filled the room, but too slow. Vlad had already leaped half the distance between him and the Khan – another two steps and he would be there.

‘Raim!’ It was Draikh’s voice.

‘Raimanan, I have so many things to tell you about!’

Raim had been blindfolded again and bombarded by sound when he had first been moved from the tent. Metal clashing together, the sound of shields being tossed on top of carts, the hawing and spitting of camels, the trumpet of a great elephant close by. Then his knees bashed up against the rungs of a ladder, and as he stabilized himself his hands collided against the hardened leather hide of another elephant. Coarse hairs tickled his knuckles. He clambered up the rungs, blindly reaching up to feel the next step, until he dived headfirst into the caravan, aided by a shove from behind by whoever was his guide. When he reached the top they released his blindfold. He fell down immediately onto a sea of soft, silk cushions.

They started moving immediately, and the swaying motion of the carriage made Raim’s stomach turn. The walls of the howdah were made of a delicate, sheer fabric,
but there were so many layers that Raim couldn’t see outside, and much of the sound was blocked out, too.

Khareh stood up and lifted the turban off his head, skull and all. His legs bent and swayed with the movement of the great elephant below them, so steady it was as if the beast were an extension of his person. There was no way Raim would be as steady as Khareh if he stood up. His fingers gripped the edge of a pillow tightly, trying to keep his stomach out of his throat.

Now that he was stripped of his costume, Khareh seemed and sounded more like the friend Raim had left behind and less like the Khan of Darhan. He stretched out on a pile of pillows woven in the same velvety fabric as his cloak, and helped himself to a handful of what looked like Rago berries. ‘Want some?’ he mumbled, his mouth full. ‘You know, they finally figured out a way to preserve these things for more than a day? Of course, I have them delivered fresh anyway, that way they’re most succulent.’ But Raim could only think of his first day in the desert and the disgusting taste of the rotten Rago berries. He shook his head. ‘Suit yourself.’ Khareh shrugged and popped a few more in his mouth.

Khareh stretched back and cradled his head in his hands. ‘Relax, Raimanan, we’ll be here for a while.’

Raim realized then how stiffly he had been sitting, but he couldn’t get his muscles to relax. Just being around Khareh felt wrong. Looking at Draikh next to him, the two side by side, made his head hurt. He longed for his
friend to be Draikh – not the power-mad Khan who was willing to hurt his best friend’s sister to get what he wanted.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily, Khareh didn’t seem to need him to provide much conversation. ‘I’m supposed to be over by the Erudine River today to ensure the final takeover of their lands goes smoothly, but there’s a small errand we have to complete along the way. It shouldn’t take long.’

‘The Erudine?’ The homeland of Ryopi and Silas. ‘You’re taking over by force?’

‘Oh, don’t be so naive. I’m the youngest Khan there’s been in years; there were bound to be issues in certain places. Some people are just too stupid to realize how futile their resistance is.

‘Do you know how strange it is to see yourself in spirit form?’ Khareh was staring at Draikh now. Raim turned to the sullen face of Draikh and compared it to the unbridled grin that seemed permanently plastered on Khareh’s face. One was real, the other a dream.

‘I am more real than that monster,’ spoke Draikh into Raim’s mind, so that Khareh could not hear. ‘My words are more real. My truth is. The things that matter.’

Raim kept his eyes trained nervously on Draikh, but the spirit made no indication of the fact that he was communicating with Raim. Raim tried to keep his own features neutral. Khareh was looking at him expectantly.

‘I’m sure I will learn what it’s like soon enough.’

Khareh’s proud exterior cracked. He put his hands on his temples and rubbed, scrunching his eyes tightly shut. ‘I don’t know what you expected me to do, Raimanan. That day, I thought you had betrayed me. I thought you had abandoned me! And Garus, that old sage, had just told me the first step: I had to break an oath. Something I thought I would never do! I was
so angry
with you. And there, right-source
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margin-top: 0;or in his hand ex in front of me, was a chance to make all my dreams come true. I took it, all right? I took it, and I know you won’t understand, not for a while, but it had to be done. To get to where I am today . . . it had to be done.’

Raim raised his eyes, cold and hard. ‘Keep telling yourself that, Khareh.’

Then the proud, power-hungry Khan came back. ‘Don’t ever forget who you are speaking to, Raimanan. I will send you somewhere worse than Lazar if you’re not careful. I thought we could get over this, but if you’re going to insist on being difficult, then so be it. I have come this far without you, I can keep going.’ Khareh stood up, his back to Raim. He moved to walk away, but then he spun on his heels and faced him. ‘You know, I shouldn’t be so surprised. When I broke my oath to you, and your spirit came, I have never seen your face show so much anger. Oh, how you fought me, Raim. Oh, you railed against me. Raged. Cursed. You were full of fury, and I was scared.

‘But Garus reminded me to be strong. He knew our bond, and he knew our potential – he told me to remember that deep down, all parts of your spirit belonged to me.
That you were loyal to a fault, and that would shine through in the end.

‘I told your spirit my plans. I told him everything. And now, look – a part of you is on my side. You might not understand it now, but you are my greatest asset. Through you, through your strength, I have been able to control a spirit army, with you at its head!’

‘I would never allow such a thing!’

‘One part of you has allowed it. It would be better for you if the rest of you followed.’

‘Never!’

Khareh stormed through to the back of the elephant-drawn carriage, and Raim realized it was much larger than he had assumed. Khareh disappeared behind a set of curtains Raim had believed to be the back of the howdah. It wasn’t the case. In fact, as Khareh brushed the curtains aside, Raim caught a glimpse of the next room behind. There were people – servants, beyond doubt – lined up against the far wall of the room. Their heads were bent down so low Raim couldn’t see their faces. Khareh snapped his fingers and the first servant leaped to his feet, and then the curtain closed on Raim’s view of the action.

Deep lines crossed Draikh’s forehead as he frowned in con centration. He lifted one arm in the air straight out in front of him and then the other. He clenched and relaxed his wrists. They were simple movements but his face belied the exertion. He cringed even as he attempted to lift his arms over his head.

Dread welled into Raim’s stomach and sat there like lead.

Draikh finally turned to Raim. Under the steely black stare of the spirit, Raim felt his insides disintegrate into mush.

‘I won’t be able to fight.’

‘But we’re going to need to.’

‘Yes.’

‘But . . . Draikh, you made me stop Vlad when he attacked Khareh. You’re not going to allow me to fight him one-on-one. If that’s not breaking the vow of protection, I don’t know what is.’

The howdah lurched forward; the elephant was sitting down. Raim’s limbs couldn’t muster a reaction in time. He tumbled across the floor, with just enough sense to grab hold of the pole in the centre of the hanging-indent-space-after
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padding-left: et did you feroom before he slid right through the curtained walls. His feet shot out under the sheer material. He scrambled to get back inside but the howdah lurched again and did the work for him, pivoting him round the post.

Draikh laughed. He floated through the entire debacle.

‘Oh,’ said Raim, throwing him a dark look as he rubbed his sore hipbones, ‘so at least your sense of humour is back in full force.’

Light flooded the room. Raim shielded his eyes with his arm. Squinting into the sunlight, he could just make out the outline of Khareh’s body. Raim craned his neck to catch a glimpse of the outside world, but Khareh blocked
his view. He caught sight of greenery. Inside, he kicked himself. He had been back in Darhan for how many days now? He hadn’t even seen enough sunlight to tell. They had arrived in Darhan in darkness and he hadn’t been able to enjoy their first night outside, their first night in the grass, not the sand, their first night under the constellations over Darhan. He had been too worried about Wadi to appreciate it. And after that, every moment had been spent in Khareh’s clutches.

‘We’ve arrived!’ said Khareh, brimming with enthusiasm. ‘I just took a walk outside to stretch my legs. Everything is going according to plan, Raimanan, you should see it!’

‘Where are we?’

But Khareh didn’t budge from the doorway. In fact, Raim didn’t think he had heard him at all. ‘I wish you had been a part of this. From the beginning.’

‘Where are we?’ Raim pressed.

‘We had to take a little detour. But first, there is something I must know. Who told you about . . . my power?’

‘You mean, who told me you hurt a little girl so you could feed your sick ambition? Silas, the last person you exiled.’

‘Silas was a coward.’

Raim felt the blood rush to his face. Silas had been his mentor and confidante, his saviour through his time in Lazar. He was not going to let even Khareh the Khan take that away from him. ‘You have no idea what he went
through. His haunt was the most terrible man you’ve ever seen . . . he was more like a demon. That haunting would have driven any man mad, even you.’

‘He should have controlled it,’ said Khareh.