The Princess Who Tamed Demons (22 page)

"You could communicate all of that with a
look?"

The wizened librarian winked at me. "You would
be surprised at just how much a look reveals." He took a deep
breath and went on. "By now the judges had conferred and the
tallest, the one with the papery, sun-bleached skin, threw back
their answer. He told me, 'We are listening. Give us your offer.'
And I told him this:

'You will free this girl from the stake, and
no hand will touch her. You will put me in her place and try to
burn me. When you fail because of the powers that I command,
proving that I am who I say that I am, then you will release her
into my care.' Now two of the judges seemed cowed by my proposal
and willing to go ahead with it. My guess, they had the decency to
feel queasy about this idea of burning a woman who'd never harmed a
soul, and I was offering them an excellent excuse not to. But the
sun-bleached judge was a harsher man, and not so easy to bargain
with. And he threw these words back at me: 'Why should we not try
to burn
both
of you? If you are so powerful, can you not
save her
and
yourself?'

Of course I was no shaman. That part was sheer
bluff and bluster. He was calling my bluff, so I decided that the
only thing to do was to raise the stakes. I feigned great offense
and roared at him. I said to him, 'Oh, so you want greater proof of
my power? You are not satisfied and think that
you
can
dictate to one of your betters. Then that changes my offer. Perhaps
the best way to show all these good people my true power would be
to slay their three esteemed judges. You are, after all, their
leaders. What better way to
prove
that I am a great shaman
than by killing you and impaling your heads for everyone to
see!'

I saw the sun-bleached judge pale, though his
expression never changed. I finished by saying 'So, which will it
be? Do you want me to prove my powers by accepting my original
offer? Or shall we throw your lives into the bargain?' Presented
with this conundrum, the judge had only two options. He could
either gamble his own life and, if I really was a shaman, look
forward to a horrible death. Or he could play the safer odds, and
graciously accept my first offer. Guess which he did?"

I laughed, enjoying this boisterous side of
Linn I rarely saw. "I still don't see how this tale has a happy
ending. You're still about to get burned to death, and we both know
you don't have any intrinsic magical powers, talented thinker
though you may be."

Linn wagged a finger at me and frowned like a
disapproving tutor. "Where is your sense of detection, your
problem-solving mind, Najika? If you had been listening well you
would have already guessed the end of this tale." His eyes misted
over, and I could tell that the memories were swallowing him up,
fueling a fondness which went beyond words.

"I let them lead me to the stake and bind me.
They soaked the wood and leaves in fire-oil. Then a farmer
approached me with a blazing torch and lit the pine branches at my
feet. All eyes were on me and on the flames which seemed to leap up
to claim me. I cried out like a lion, roaring my displeasure at the
villagers for their inequity, their lack of empathy, their moral
emptiness." Linn's eyes were twinkling at me again.

"And then, gradually, I became aware of the
tongues of flame lapping harmlessly at my armor and clothing.
Though it should have charred my flesh, though the black smoke
should have poured into my lungs, I still breathed fresh air. My
skin shrugged off the fire's heat like calloused skin under a
feather's tickles. Gradually the fire dwindled, and then a fierce
gale tore through the village, centered on the licking flames as
they began to starve. With a crash the wind toppled over the stake
to which I was bound and extinguished the flames. The violent gust
had loosened my bindings, and I managed to stand up before the
crowd."

My eyes narrowed at Linn, and that was when I
was cautiously optimistic that I knew what had really
happened.

"While all eyes were on you and the roaring
blaze, Xuya—"

"Used her witch's nature magic to save me.
Yes." His eyes glistened with emotion. "So, Najika, now you know.
That is the story of how I met my wife."

I gulped, my heart expanding a little as I
thought about it. I gave Linn an 'I'm right, you're wrong' impish
breed of smile. "So, in other words, on your very first meeting,
you saved Xuya's life and she saved yours. Correct?"

"I suppose you could phrase it that
way."

"Oooh! That's even more romantic than I
thought!" I gushed, purposefully going over the top. I saw him
blush, taking the full brunt of my teasing as I began to recommend
romantic tales for his reading pleasure. After all the joking had
subsided to an amiable silence, I moved the conversation to
something more serious.

"You know, that story explains something I've
been wondering about for quite some time."

Linn's eyebrows quirked like a falcon with
wings flapping. "Oh?"

"Now I know why you wanted to help me find my
would-be killer. It wasn't just about the challenge of tackling an
unsolved crime, was it?" I left the next part unspoken, thinking it
loudly instead.
You wanted to be the hero, just as you'd been
with Xuya. My near-death reminded you of hers.
Trying to
lighten my words, I rushed on. "Let's face it, Linn, butting into
other people's business is part of your nature, especially when it
involves a damsel in distress."

He looked away, answering my question just as
effectively despite the growing silence. Perhaps I'd touched on
emotions too raw and intimate, so I clamped my mouth shut, reaching
across to gently clasp his hand as it fisted the reins of his
camel.

"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. I'm
grateful that you are the way you are, if that makes sense. Whether
you like it or not, Linn, I'll always consider you my
friend."

That wizened face turned to me, and Linn's
bottom lip was trembling. "I wish you could have met her. She was
really something. She put up with me, if you can believe it." Linn
chuckled as a tear slid down his face, a contrast that seemed
bizarre yet somehow fitting in the moment. I wiped the tear from
his cheek.

"I look forward to hearing more about her," I
said, my voice cracking. The Kingdoms help me, I didn't want to
cry, and the stern and proper Najika kicked into motion. I spurred
my mount ahead, waking two drowsy children for the sake of my
pride.

~***~

We all rode on until the waning sun and our
stiffening limbs begged for the mercy of setting up camp. That
night as the others slept I marveled at how much life could change
in such a short span of time. Linn had started out as this grouchy,
nebulous librarian, and at first I hadn't known what to make of
him. Somehow, almost by accident, he had become a real friend. It
was hard to argue that the most precious gifts in life weren't
every bit as unexpected as life's disasters. That was my fading
thought as sleep claimed me.

~*****~

Chapter 13

Day Thirty-three

Moonbeams made my staff seem to glow as I
slammed it with a cruel
crack
into the back of my opponent's
skull. I saw the man's eyes bug out, and he leapt back, shaking off
the blow as if it was a gentle slap. He defended my next attacks as
I leveled a series of blows at his weaker side, forcing him to
retreat. The man's feet scuffed the flagstones as I drove him
deeper and deeper into the corner, yet at the last moment he
rallied, his glowing-white staff colliding with my shoulder and
knocking me off balance. I rolled with the momentum, springing
upright into battle stance, ready for the carnage to
begin.

"Enough. That is enough! Stupid woman, I might
hurt you," Linn scolded, wiping sweat from his brow.

I felt the cool air on my flushed face even as
it chilled the sweat on my neck and arms.

"Ha. As
if
."

Linn gave me an affectionate grin. The wizened
face looked much more alert than usual at this late hour, nearly
midnight, when the librarian preferred to be tucked in bed with a
good book and a bedside candle.

"You may be a phenomenal fighter compared to
me, but letting me use your Ironskin does make me
indestructible."

I laughed, remembering his surprised
expression when my mundane wooden staff ricocheted off his skull a
few moments earlier. As long as he gripped two hands along
Ironskin's length, the aura of the staff protected him. It felt
good to be here, training with Linn, the rest of the palace fast
asleep. We were alone in the centermost courtyard with only a
circle of pear trees as our audience. The clear night sky let the
moon shine through to bathe the landscape in its odd, introspective
tint. Perhaps it was affecting me, creating the pensive mood that
suddenly sapped the energy from my limbs.

"You are right, my friend. Let's call it a
night."

I turned to head toward the bath and began
stripping off my armor.

"No, no. That is not what I meant. Next we
have tea. Tea before bath and bed," Linn insisted. I threw up my
hands, knowing that I would be blue in the face and still lose the
argument. So instead I saved us both a lot of time and
frustration.

"Over there?" I pointed to a table nestled
between two pear trees, its chairs twinkling in the silvery sheen
under moon and stars.

"Good enough. Helga has the water already
prepared. I will get the tea set." He rubbed his hands together
gleefully.

I limped over, lodging my butt in one of the
chairs with a sigh of exhaustion, waiting, my mind wandering. I
took the letter out of my pocket, my fingers sliding over Drake's
awful handwriting as if they were too precious to share.

"Ah. It is hard, being apart from your
husband."

"What was your first clue?" I said, sounding
more annoyed than I'd intended as I slipped the letter back into my
pocket.

Linn set down the tray with its tea set, then
poured us each a steaming cup. The orchid design flourished along
the sides of my cup, reassuring me with its intricate patterns. I
stared at it for who knows how long, and we just shared the
companionable silence. I think we could almost have sat together
like that all night and into the early morning, if it weren't for
the thoughts clouding my head. As always, Linn sensed them, knew
what I was thinking even before I was conscious of it. That was the
problem with forming a close friendship with a man of books and
learning who prided himself on understanding human psychology. You
couldn't fake it, not with Linn.

"You look weary."

"It's late. Isn't that normal?" I
snapped.

"It is beyond physical fatigue, Najika. You
and I both know that."

He cradled his teacup as if it held all of
life's secrets, quietly waiting for me to open up. Kingdom's
mercies, I
hated
it when he did that.

"Are you having second thoughts about your
decision to exonerate the Red Queen?"

"No. It isn't that." I had sent written
testimony to the court in the White Kingdom to clear Lady Agwen of
the charge of attempted assassination—the crime which the Great
Amir had charged her with thanks to the Vizier's false testimony.
She would probably never face trial. It had killed me to do it,
knowing that she did deserve to face justice…but this inner voice
in me had been adamant that when she
did
stand to answer for
her crimes, it would be
her
crimes. I wasn't going to let
her leave me with the lingering guilt that I knew would have
haunted me had I let her take the guilty verdict for what had
happened in Tajma. What she deserved or didn't deserve was
ultimately a separate issue, much as my emotions disliked
acknowledging it.

"No, Linn. I'm actually at peace with it. It's
the truth anyway. I have that for comfort even though I hate
Agwen's guts and would gladly drive a sword through her belly with
my own two hands." It felt good to make the savage declaration and
not hold back. I could do that in front of Linn, and that was what
made me realize how much I'd grown to trust him.

"If that is not what is bothering you, then
please do not tell me that you are still obsessing over the
collusion between Fasima and Salib."

I shrugged, looking up to admire the lightly
scarred face of the moon. "Not really. We don't know exactly how
Fasima and Salib met and found common cause together. At least now
we have a pretty good idea why Fasima stayed in the city,
coordinating with Salib after the initial murder plot
failed."

"Do you think he had an inkling of what a
dangerous bedfellow he had made in Fasima?" Linn couldn't leave it
alone.

"I doubt it. I think he was blinded by his
belief. He saw what he wanted to see, the hand of his Two Creators
at work. I don't think he had a clue that by succeeding in killing
me, he would only be ensuring his own destruction with the Great
Amir's backlash. The intricacies of Salib and Fasima's relationship
aren't fully understood. Then again, no real life puzzle ever
is."

Linn smoothed out his whiskers between his
fingers. They stubbornly curled back at the ends, but it never
seemed to vex him, as if the act itself was comforting. "Hmm. You
might be able to leave well enough alone better than I can. I will
always wonder why Salib tried to kidnap us near the Mosque of the
Twin Moons when he could have just had us killed."