The Princess Who Tamed Demons (13 page)

Ghayth rubbed at his chin, clearly intrigued.
"Such as?"

"For one, you should let the women weave
prayer carpets which use the same bright colors and vibrant motifs
as the men."

The bear-sized Verse-preacher frowned at me.
"It is said in the Verses, 'Women shall not be ostentatious. They
shall be humble.' It is said—"

"Exactly! Listen to what I'm saying. What
could be more humble than the act of glorifying the Two Creators?
Giving the women the freedom to create objects which better
venerate Esthera and Eskugai. Isn't
that
an act of great
humility?"

Ghayth's eyes widened, as if I had just shown
him a secret passage. "I also noticed that your Mosque keeps the
women segregated in clumps, where they don't have enough room to
worship without being right on top of each other. Maybe you could
change that too?"

The Verse-preacher grumbled. "That has always
been tradition. We have always done it that way. But I suppose
there is nothing in the Verses that speaks against such a
change…."

Now I went for the killing blow, hoping I
could get one more idea to take root in the Verse-preacher's head.
"I know one more thing that would
ensure
Aisha being more
open to wearing the veil and the sadrasa for you."

Ghayth shoved his finished cup to the side,
folding his arms on the edge of the table. "And what would that be,
Lady Najika?"

"Teach her to read and write. Find books for
her, and give her journals for her to write down her thoughts, so
that she can tell her own stories." I wanted to say more, to urge
Ghayth that
all
the girls and women among his followers
deserved that same precious freedom. One denied or discouraged for
most women in Tajmari society. But I knew better than to try to
make a molehill into a mountain overnight, as my father used to
say. Calibrated change could be more productive than revolution, if
it was done right. Hopefully I was about to set the first pieces in
motion, and once Aisha got a taste of that freedom, I doubted it
would be the last.

Ghayth's sharpened eyes looked at me warily
for several long moments, and finally he nodded. "So be it. I will
try these changes, propose it to Aisha and see how she reacts." He
thrust his now-finished plate to the side to join his emptied cup.
"Now, let us talk serious business. Why were you visiting my
Mosque?"

"Not so fast. Your turn first. Did you have
anything at all to do with the attempt on my life?" As an
investigator, this type of directness might not have been the
smartest tactic. Too late now though.

Ghayth leaned close to me.

"I warned you, didn't I? You overstayed your
welcome here in Tajma, and someone tried to make you pay the
price."

"You still haven't answered my
question."

"You should answer your own question. Do not
require others to do the work for you when you can just as easily
do it yourself. Look at me, Najika. Look into my eyes."

I looked, long and hard. He didn't flinch, and
the only thing I could detect behind his eyes was sorrow—that and
maybe a whiff of
I told you so
.

"You were warning me as a kindness, not
because you wanted to see me harmed."

Ghayth sat back, resting one hand on the
table. "I knew it would do you good to be scared. Fear can be a
healthy thing. It prevents children from doing stupid things. Women
too."

"Add men to the list," I shot back, fuming but
recognizing his good intentions for what they were. "In answer to
your original question, I was trying to find out what kind of herbs
you use in your Mosque's ceremonies. I am trying to learn more
about your beliefs and traditions, and plants have always
fascinated me."
Liar
. I'd just told a half-truth followed by
two lies.

Ghayth seemed skeptical, so I rushed
on.

"Linn the librarian has been helping me and
teaching me. He told me the story of how the Two Creators gave life
to the world."

That seemed to mollify Ghayth somewhat, but
his answering grunt still held reservations.

"I do not know how I feel about you learning
of our beliefs from an outsider, one who is an unbeliever himself."
I looked away, waiting for the awkward moment to subside. "I
suppose this librarian is better than most unbelievers, though. I
know he has helped some of the servants who work in the palace,
people who attend my Mosque regularly and speak well of
him."

That had my ears perking up, heart pounding. A
chill coursed through me, never mind the desert heat clothing the
villa.

"Wait. I thought the servants were all
secular. It is forbidden for them to attend the
Mosques."

"No, Najika. That is not quite correct.
Certain Mosques are approved by the Vizier and his councilors,
subject to the sufferance of the Great Amir. When interviewed a
potential servant must acknowledge the Mosque to which he belongs.
If it is one of the Mosques which the government finds
not…objectionable…then it does not disqualify a man or woman from
serving in the palace. Why is this so important to you?"

Once he'd had a chance to consider the look on
my face, it must have dawned on him where I was going with
this.

"Ah.
Ah
. So…you believe that one of the
Mosques had a hand in the murder attempt, is that it? Maybe one of
the Verse-preachers working with the Vizier and the Red Queen? Is
that
why you were unwisely treading about the city in men's
clothing and so eager to question me?"

Damn it, Ghayth was putting too many pieces
together, even if some of his guesses were off. The less he knew
the better because, even if he wasn't a threat to me, he might very
well be consorting with the people who were. It didn't mean that I
didn't value the kindness he had shown me today, assuming his
version of events was true—which was a stretch. But whether I liked
it or not, although he was proving to be a better man that I had
realized, I did not want to get Ghayth any more involved in this
than I already had.

I stood up, clasping my hands together and
giving him what I hoped was a sincere look of gratitude.

"I am most thankful that you found me when you
did, Ghayth. I will not forget your kindness. But I am tired and
would like to return to the palace. I trust that once Linn is awake
we may be on our way? May I go see him now?"

The bulky Verse-preacher grunted, a
dissatisfied sound. "If that is what you wish, but I will have two
of my acolytes follow you discreetly and make sure that no nasty
surprises lie between you and your destination."

"Thank you," I said honestly. "That would be
most welcome."

I had hoped that the trip to the Mosque of the
Twin Moons would provide clarity, maybe a concrete list of
suspects. Yet the web had only become more tangled. I needed to
talk to Linn, given what I had learned. Linn had made some false
assumptions, like taking at face value that all Mosques were
treated basically equally and at arms' length by the monarch.
Perhaps the Great Amir wanted it to
appear
that way, but I
had grown up a princess and knew court politics better than that.
As long as 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' rang true at all in
the world of politics, simple black-and-white rules didn't apply.
If the Mosques could have varying influence inside the palace, then
that meant that one of them
could
have gotten to the Vizier.
And if that was true….

I shuddered. Too many possibilities encircled
me, like fireflies whose winking lights revealed nothing but
ominous silhouettes.

~*****~

Chapter 9

Day Eleven

I whirled left, blocking the attacker's blade
with my long staff.
Thwack
. I lunged sideways, my staff
sweeping one attacker off of his feet as the second attacker struck
from behind. I was too quick though—my staff reversing to knock the
thrust wide. Planting my feet I drove the staff forward like a
spear. My attacker tried to spin away but I flipped the staff
upward at the last moment, and the tip smashed into his chin as if
I'd punched him with a sound uppercut.

The knight flopped on his butt, only
semi-conscious, and I turned back to the first knight, who had
finally recovered enough to come at me, slashing with his blade. I
leapt back, easily avoiding the swipe, then whirled the staff to
drive him backward toward a shallow dip in the field. He lost his
footing, tumbling backward as his blade tried to block the
whistling trajectory of my solid wooden staff. Another satisfying
thwack
as I landed a blow across his face. It sent him
spinning, falling limp to the earth.

Clapping erupted from the side, and I looked
to see Sir Brel acknowledging my prowess.

"You are a natural, my Queen. You learn
quickly."

"Does that mean you are ready to face me?" I
said, my tone suggestive.

Sir Brel grinned.

"Let us not get ahead of ourselves, my Queen.
Just as you requested, I intend to make you a deadly fighter with a
staff. However, such things take time. In four days you've managed
to achieve more than I thought possible."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Brel?
Unless we are at a royal function you will call me 'Najika.' Blast
the eternal stars, it's my
name
." I sighed and looked to the
sky for help.

"As you will, Lady Najika."

"What part of 'Najika' don't you understand?
Did you hear me say 'Lady' anywhere in my last few sentences?" I
sighed and gave up. If the knight felt more comfortable keeping
that formal distance between us, who was I to yank away his crutch?
"You know what, never mind. Sir Brel, I do thank you for the
instruction. Sir Yulrith, Sir Ferres, thank you for sparring with
me."

In the background healer Jawaher had been
attending to the two fallen knights. I felt guilty for using them
so roughly, but there was no substitute for the exhilaration of
danger. Practiced combat needed to be as close to the real thing as
possible if I was to gain the proper skill in using a staff as a
weapon. I still didn't know why I was doing this though, and it was
positively maddening.

Four days had passed since Linn and I had gone
on our excursion to the Mosque of the Twin Moons. I'd asked Linn
about telling the Great Amir how we had been ambushed and very
nearly kidnapped. Yet it was hard not to agree with Linn that
having the authorities sweep through the city looking for the
culprits might only succeed in driving our unknown enemy
underground and out of our reach. I reluctantly deferred to Linn's
judgment—even against my better instincts. Now I was here, spending
my days honing my staff-fighting skills in the sparring yard based
only on Linn's enigmatic suggestion that staff-fighting would soon
'come in handy' for me. All part of his grand, secret plan? It was
hard to say, and if it was, frankly that didn't give me much
comfort.

I was becoming restless, cooped up in the
palace. I decided that once I had bathed and changed I would seek
out Linn and force some answers from the annoying librarian. I
could be
persuasive
.

"Sir Brel, I must take my leave of you now. My
attention is required elsewhere." Sir Brel's anxious look told me
that he wanted to protest, but by now he knew better. Linn and I
had already slipped his tail several times. Sir Brel kept a careful
distance, following me at all times while I was in the palace. Yet
he and I both knew that when I wanted to lose him, I would, Drake's
instructions to Sir Brel be damned.

Today at the sparring yard I was wearing my
leather battle vest and leggings, feeling my undershirt cling to me
in the heat of the day. Sticky and sweaty, I made a beeline for
Queen Caerra's bath—one of my favorite places in the entire
palace—and soon the servants were scurrying to get me the supplies
that excessive hygiene demanded.

"Thank you Helga," I murmured when she'd
brought my basket of soaps. I jumped into the water, fastidiously
washing up and scrubbing away the grime. I wondered where Drake was
just now. It would probably be another week at least before I
received word from him. If he was sticking to our original
itinerary, he would be visiting the Green Kingdom by now, and that
formed nervous bubbles in my stomach. The Green Knight had been one
of Queen Agwen's allies. He had the morals of a gutter rat, an
opportunist to the core. If the price was right, the man would
probably have sold his own mother into slavery and asked if he
could get a bonus for adding his sister to the deal. I despised the
man, but I had to admit, at least he could be reasoned with on his
own terms. Unlike the Red Queen who wanted me dead at all costs,
who would never negotiate, single-minded to the core.

An awkward cough pulled me from my musings. I
had just finished toweling off, and I turned, seeing librarian Linn
in his frumpy-looking robes. His eyes dipped to the tiles when he
realized I was naked.

"Najika, I was told I could find you here. I
have news that could not wait."

His discomfort amused me, I had to admit.
"It's about time. Is there some reason you can't speak to me eye to
eye." My hands made a gesture. "Does this really warrant all the
consternation? I doubt it is anything you haven't seen
before."