The Ruthless

Sixteen years ago he had been shocked to realize his own staff had been subverted and swapped for those loyal to his brother. The problem was sorted out, now, but it had left him suspicious of anyone he didn’t know. Unconsciously, the index and middle fingers of his right hand curled into a hook, ready to strike the servant at the first sign of anything threatening.

‘Does Lord Vasin wish me to do his cheeks?’

‘Why wouldn’t I?’

‘We have many visitors to the castle at present, all with different needs. Our Tanzanite guests have been dusting the cheeks, while the Opal favour bold dots. One of the Peridot Lords likes several small dots that give an angular rather than circular impression. It’s a new thing, so I’m told. I have not had the honour of serving any of the Sapphire. Would Lord Vasin be kind enough to direct me as to his fashions?’

‘The Peridot may have fashions, but Sapphire ways do not change.’ It was all he could do not to roll his eyes. The minor houses could be so strange, sometimes.

‘I see. Our own lords and ladies are the same. They only ever ask for the lightest brush upon their cheeks. What might the Sapphire way be, Lord Vasin?’

Having never been asked the question before it took him a moment to formulate an answer. ‘You know, accentuate the cheekbones, in a way that’s striking but elegant.’

‘The cheekbones. Yes, my lord. Anything else?’

‘Yes, of course there is.’ Though in that moment he couldn’t remember what it was. He was a Deathless, he shouldn’t have to think about things like this. ‘But that will do for now.’

‘Very good, Lord Vasin. Are we to be expecting any more of your noble house? Or any of your esteemed servants?’

He wants to know if it’s just me or if we’re sending more aid. Either the Ruby have become even more informal than I remember or this one is asking for a beating. ‘If any more of my kin are coming, you will be informed.’

Vasin put just enough disapproval into his tone that the servant carried out the rest of his preparations in silence. In another lifecycle I’d have struck him for his insolence. He took a moment to appreciate how his self-control had developed and ordered the servant to escort him to Lady Anuja. Not only did I not raise my hand, I didn’t even raise my voice. Mother would be proud.

CHAPTER FIVE

Honoured Mother Chandni brushed her long hair, slowly, almost fearfully. The shutters on her window were closed, as they always were when she prepared herself, holding the room in a permanent state of grey.

Here, alone, she dared to consider how bad things were.

On the surface, all was well. Lord Rochant’s castle ran smoothly under her leadership, arguably better than it ever had. Many saw her as a hero, including High Lord Yadavendra. Thanks to her, Satyendra had been saved from assassination, and Lord Rochant’s line preserved.

Since then, under her guidance, Satyendra had grown into a fine young man, intelligent, quick, sharp eyed, a perfect vessel for the best of the Sapphire Deathless.

Except, Satyendra wasn’t perfect.

And she was no hero.

As if to prove the point, the brush caught in her hair, making her wince and curse her clumsiness. Will I never get used to using my left hand? She shot a glare at her right, sitting dead and useless in her lap. She could work the fingers, of course, even get them to hold the brush, but without feeling it was impossible to sense resistance or the shifting of the brush in her grip.

A tiny scar still remained from the assassin’s needle, a single white dot, innocent, in the centre of her palm. The poison from it had stolen all sensation, from the tips of her fingers to just below her bicep, and would have taken more had it not been for the quick thinking of Rochant’s cook, Roh, and Chandni’s own sacrifice to the Hunger Tree. On her right hand, the nails of her middle finger and thumb had never grown back.

Proof of my betrayal.

It was forbidden to deal with the Wild, but Chandni had done so twice.

The first time to stop the spread of the poison, an act of desperation. The second was even worse, an offer of another’s life in exchange for Satyendra’s.

And I bear the proof of that too.

She put the brush down on the table and ran her hand behind her head until she found it, a different kind of softness nestling within her hair. Sprouting from the base of her skull was a feather, long and black. Over the years she’d tried trimming it back, cutting it off, once in a desperate rage, she’d pulled it out by the shaft. But whatever she did, however extreme she’d been in her self-surgery, she’d find it sprouting there again, good as new, the next day.

Two dealings with the Wild.

Two marks of shame.

She should have told Lord Vasin when he found her. She should have told High Lord Yadavendra. But she didn’t because Satyendra needed someone to hide his imperfections until such time as he’d grown out of them.

At least, that was how she justified her crime to herself.

The truth was she couldn’t bear the thought of being judged any more than she could bear Satyendra being cast out. And beneath that was another truth: she wanted to be there when Varg came back.

Tucked away out of sight in her chambers was an old piece of cloth, and wrapped within it were pieces of a mosaic. Each fragment had arrived quietly, discreetly, pushed into her hand by a travelling merchant who visited the castle the same time each year. Together, the pieces made a picture of two people kissing: a bearded man and a long-haired woman, their lips pressed together in a smile, with a large white Dogkin sleeping nearby.

Fifteen pieces sat within the cloth. Fifteen units of time. Only one gap in the mosaic remained, and it had not escaped her notice that both the merchant and Pari’s rebirth were due any day.

The last piece was coming, already on its way, and Varg with it.

She still wasn’t sure what she’d do when he arrived, but the thought of him, the fantasy of him, had given her a much-needed escape.

And though the wait had been agonizing the years had passed with a strange swiftness. Normal life had muted the reality of her time in the Wild. She’d taken to wearing gloves in public and plaiting her hair so as to tuck the feather from sight. The precautions had soon become habit, almost natural. From a lesser servant, such behaviour might have raised suspicion, but she was above reproach, a model Sapphire. Rather than garner criticism, she’d generated new fashions among the sky-born.

A footstep, close, too close, broke her from her reverie, and she span round in her seat, putting her back and the feather to the wall.

‘No need to be afraid,’ said Satyendra, clearly delighted to have caught her out. ‘It’s only me.’

‘It’s not becoming for an Honoured Vessel to creep about like that. Suns! How many times have I told you to sing for entry like everyone else?’

Satyendra smiled at her, but she did not feel reassured. In the half light his expression was ghoulish, and memories of his face – his other face – rose up from the depths. She had only seen it once, when he was a baby and they were on the Godroad returning home from the Wild. It had been enough: the image was seared into her mind forever. ‘And how many times have I told you I’m not like everyone else. I don’t like singing.’

‘That’s not the point and you know it. You should announce yourself, not sneak into other people’s chambers like a thief.’

The comment seemed to bounce off him without impact. ‘It’s very dark in here, Mother. What are you trying to hide?’

She took a moment to compose herself. Satyendra had a way of being able to get under her skin like nobody else. ‘I’m assuming you came here for something other than to torment me.’

He fell silent then, his dark eyes glittering with hurt, and into that silence poured guilt. She was letting her temper get the better of her and it was most unbecoming. None of this was Satyendra’s fault. It wasn’t right to take out her frustrations on him. He’d come to her for help and she was pushing him away. She forced down her other worries to give him her full attention. ‘I’m sorry. Let’s try this again. You wanted to talk. Is it about the rebirthing ceremony?’

‘Yes.’

‘Tell me.’

‘I think we need to postpone.’ She took a breath to dispute this but he was already pressing on with his argument. ‘I don’t know the legends well enough yet, and I need to get better at hunting and strategy and understanding the flow of trade. There’s so much still to learn and I have to be perfect, Mother, you know that. Nothing else will do. I’m Lord Rochant’s only chance to return so I have to get it right. So you have to send a message to High Lord Yadavendra and tell him to call off the Bringers. It’s too soon for the ceremony.’

‘This is really worrying you, isn’t it?’

He nodded quickly and she could see his eyes welling up. The sight of it choked her heart. ‘Come here,’ she said, opening her arms, and he flew into them. ‘Oh my poor, sweet Satyendra.’

‘I’m not good enough. I’m not ready. Don’t let them take me away.’

She stroked his hair as he sobbed, so long, so like her own, and it struck her that this might be one of the last times she would be able to comfort him. There was a pain in that thought that she wasn’t sure she could endure. Would postponing the ceremony be such a terrible thing? It would give her more time with her son, and it might make the rebirth smoother. How can I advocate sending him to his death? I know it is a great honour. I know it serves Lord Rochant and the house. But now the moment is here I … How have the other Honoured Mothers and Fathers done this in the past?

She soothed him with gentle sounds and cuddling, as she had when he was a baby.

Eventually, he lifted his head to look at her. ‘Will you tell him?’

‘You mean Yadavendra?’

He sniffed and nodded.

‘He’s the Sapphire High Lord, it’s not my place to tell him anything.’ As Satyendra’s face began to crumple again, she added, ‘But we can ask him, together.’

‘When?’

‘As soon as he arrives. He’s already on his way.’

Pari felt the change in territory before they reached the official border. The Tanzanite lands had a lot in common with their Sapphire neighbours, both contained their share of woodland, threaded through with rivers and lakes. In their own way, both were beautiful. However, her home landscape was more varied, with open plains and hillsides breaking up the relentless forest, whereas here she saw densely packed trees in every direction, like some vast green flood that was only thwarted by the upper reaches of the mountains. Though her own forests were certainly dangerous – the Wild was the Wild no matter where you were born – it was less aggressive somehow.

Once, this view had been tinted by her love for Lord Rochant Sapphire. Now that had been ripped away she saw it in all its menacing glory.

They travelled with only two carriages, one for herself and Arkav, the other for their staff, all competent, but none dear to her heart. It was too risky to take someone who might get hurt or used against them. I wonder if our High Lord was thinking the same when she chose us for this venture.

‘I think High Lord Priyamvada is worried about me,’ said Arkav. ‘She tries to hide her feelings but I see them. I frustrate her.’

‘No you don’t.’

‘I do, and that’s okay. She’s only frustrated because she cares.’

‘About you, maybe,’ muttered Pari.

Arkav didn’t argue, just quirked his lips in such a way that, for a moment, it was like truly being with him again. Pari sighed and turned back to the window. The Godroad had been slowly shifting in colour as they travelled, going from bluey-violet, to dark, then lighting up again, pure-blue, dazzling.

‘You’re worried about me too,’ said Arkav.

‘I was worried. But now we’re together again, I know things are going to get better.’ She took his hand and squeezed it.

‘Why?’ he asked.

‘Because I’m not going to rest until they are.’ When he didn’t respond, she squeezed his hand more firmly. ‘Do you understand? We will get through this.’

There was no reaction. It was as if a vital part of her brother had withdrawn to places she could not follow.

They were truly entering Sapphire lands now. Pari could see a simple wooden tower had been constructed next to the Godroad, allowing those stationed there plenty of warning when visitors approached. However, no structures survived long in close proximity to the Godroad’s energies and the nearest legs showed signs of repeated repair.

How typically Sapphire to stubbornly endure rather than build somewhere more sensible.

Despite her sneer it dismayed her how easy it was for the Sapphire to police their lands. Everyone but the brave and foolish used the Godroads. Traders and Story-singers would have to come this way. Those that needed to deal with the Sapphire for survival, and those that needed to travel through on the way to other houses would first need to gain permission from the tower.

That’s a lot of power to have, I hope it hasn’t gone to their heads.

It had been some time since a Deathless from another house had paid the Sapphire a visit and she wasn’t entirely sure what kind of reception they were going to get. A guard stepped up onto the Godroad in front of their carriage and ordered them to stop. She was sure that at least two more were in the tower.

As the carriage slowed she looked at Arkav. He remained locked in his thoughts. It would be up to her to lead things.

She opened the door of the carriage as the guard marched over. They looked young and inexperienced, but to Pari everyone looked that way. ‘You may approach,’ she said.

‘I don’t need your permission,’ came the blustered reply. ‘Who are you and what is your business here?’

Pari turned her head so that the young woman could admire her profile. ‘See for yourself.’

The guard took in her fine clothes, her dark sky-born skin, the golden marks on her lips, and paled. ‘I … we weren’t told to expect you.’

‘Ah well, let us be on our way and I won’t hold you responsible.’

Pari could see her thinking about it, minute shifts in posture and expression telling the story of surprise becoming fear becoming pride, so she was disappointed rather than surprised by the reply.

‘No, Tanzanite, I asked you your business.’

‘And I ask if the lofty Sapphire have forgotten their manners?’

Small dots of pink appeared in the white of the guard’s cheeks. ‘I’m here with the authority of High Lord Sapphire and in his name I say who comes and goes. Me! And if you don’t answer my questions you’ll have to sit here till you rot or go back home. I don’t care which.’ Several guards had appeared at the top of the tower, bows held casually, yet prominently in their hands.

‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ said Pari.

‘What?’

‘Clearly, you have forgotten your manners and clearly nobody’s taught you any history or you would know better than to claim authority here.’

‘What are you talking about? This is Sapphire land!’

‘No it isn’t.’

‘Yes it is!’

‘No,’ Pari replied, smiling a sweet smile and pointing at the nearby trees. ‘That is Sapphire land.’ She pointed at the tower. ‘That is on Sapphire land. We are on the Godroad, and the Godroad runs through your lands and mine, and the lands of all the Crystal Dynasties. It was built before even the first Deathless took breath and though it is our duty to protect it, it is also our right to use it. No one house claims ownership. No High Lord. No one.

‘So, by all means, patrol your dirt tracks and pathways, but do not think anyone has the authority to block me using any part of the Godroad, for I am Deathless, and you, road-born, you most certainly are not.’

There was a pause as the guard tried to process this. After a moment she looked back to her fellows who all stared back, their blank faces doing the equivalent of a shrug. One or two of the bows disappeared from sight.

Pari waited for the guard to realize that she was alone and in trouble.

‘I …’ she began. ‘I …’

Pari lowered her voice. ‘I would advise apologizing, using my proper title, and then getting out of our way as quickly as possible.’

‘I’m sorry, Lady …’

‘Pari. Of House Tanzanite.’

‘Lady Pari of House Tanzanite.’

‘There. Much better.’ She gave a little wave of her hand. ‘Now, off you go.’

The guard backed away, head bowed low, and the carriage set off, swiftly leaving the tower behind. Pari gave one last regal wave to the stupefied guards and sat back in her seat to find Arkav was staring at her.

‘What is it? Something on my nose?’

‘You lied. There is no law that separates the Godroad from the rest of the land.’

‘I think lie is a bit harsh. The law is unclear. I thought my interpretation made a lot of sense.’

‘It’s wrong.’

‘Careful, Arkav, rigid thinking has always been an issue for the Sapphire, but never for us.’

He turned to look at her, suddenly, intensely present. ‘No, I mean this is all wrong. The way they talked to you, the way they made you act, it’s all wrong. It never used to be this way.’

‘I agree. Yadavendra’s a fool to arm children and tell them to hassle every poor soul on the Godroad. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he wanted to provoke a war.’

Arkav continued to stare at her. ‘The Sapphire are broken, like me. Are you going to fix them too, Pari?’

And what else could she say, looking into those sad, bleak eyes, but: ‘Yes.’

The last time they’d met had been less formal, but while her mother was between lives, Anuja was acting as High Lord of her house, and so they observed the proper protocols.

At the doorway to the throne room, Vasin stopped while the servant sang of his arrival. Anuja’s attendants sang back that Anuja was here and ready to receive him. Only then did he step forward, planting himself on the threshold.

‘Lady Anuja Ruby, hand of your High Lord, I stand at your door and ask that it might be opened. I stand within your walls and ask that they might shelter me. I stand with a hand outstretched in friendship, and ask that you might take it.’

Anuja was seated on a wide padded couch. She too was bound in silk, white, a high-necked gown fitted over it, with broad sleeves cuffed in Wrath Tear red, and lined in Vexation’s darker shade. Had he not known it was there, he would have missed the hint of gold on her cheeks. Her left eye was unadorned to make the golden legend around her right blaze in contrast. It struck him as odd that she had not risen to greet him. Perhaps the servant had been instructed to be disrespectful, a prelude to the true insult.

And yet when she spoke, her voice was warm. ‘Lord Vasin Sapphire, sky master, Ruby-friend. Fly to me as you did on your last visit and you will find my hand is ready to clasp yours, tight and true.’

She raised her hand and he strode across the room until he stood before her. Still, she did not rise, so he bowed as he took it. They locked eyes as well as fingers.

Vasin was never the best at reading faces but even he could see how tired she looked, the fierceness of gaze that he usually admired seeming to quiver like a nervous candle.

Anuja gestured for him to sit, and the servants arranged his gown around him before turning back his sleeves. Then they placed a selection of dumplings on a low table between them, and poured two glasses of sweet wine before retreating to the edges of the room.

‘I was sorry to hear about your mother,’ he began.

‘Thank you. We sorely miss her strength.’

‘Were you there when it happened?’

‘No, we always leave one behind in case the worst happens.’ There was a bitterness in her words, and Vasin remembered that the last time the Ruby High Lord had gone travelling, Anuja had been left behind, the High Lord taking her older sister.

‘I’ve never seen the Toothsack with my own eyes,’ she continued, ‘but I hear it was a great battle. Our Story-singers are already preparing a work to honour it.’

‘I hear the Toothsack was wounded but not killed.’

A little of her normal spark returned. ‘Much like your own encounter with the Corpseman, yes?’

‘Yes.’

‘Like us, the things of the Wild have a way of coming back.’

‘Speaking of that, may I ask how quickly your mother and sister will begin their next lifecycles?’

She made a short gesture and the servants left the room. ‘Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about this very thing.’

‘Me?’

‘Yes. I wanted to ask your advice.’

‘Lady Anuja, I am not known for my wisdom. But,’ he added hastily, ‘it’s yours if you want it.’

‘My mother has prepared a vessel for her next lifecycle but the next auspicious alignment is over a year away. Normally, I’d wait, but with things as they are …’

‘What’s the alternative? Even we need the favour of the suns.’

‘There’s a partial alignment coming in two weeks.’

Vasin frowned. A partial alignment would place the rebirth at risk. To even consider it Anuja must be desperate. He asked, ‘Can we talk as we did before, as friends?’

‘Please. I’d like that. Acting as the High Lord’s hand is … tiring.’

‘I believe it and I want to help. How bad are things here, really?’

She sipped at her wine, prompting Vasin to do the same. ‘The Toothsack didn’t just take my mother, any more than the Wild took my sister; it decimated our hunters. The ones we’re fielding now are barely more than apprentices. Normally, a successful hunt silences the Wild, but the Toothsack’s attack seems unrelated to the other troubles.’

‘Have you had any trouble from Quiverhive?’

‘No. We’ve had Murkers, and at least one Weeper. And all kinds of rumours. My people are afraid, Vasin. They’re jumping at shadows, seeing all kinds of things that aren’t there. That hopefully aren’t there, I mean. We don’t expect the Toothsack to return any time soon, but just in case I’m making sure that no Deathless hunts with mortals alone. That’s possible at the moment with support from the other houses, but they won’t stay here forever.’

‘House Tanzanite sent three Deathless, didn’t they?’ Anuja nodded and he continued, ‘Was Lady Pari among them?’

‘Last I heard, she was between lives.’

‘Still?’

‘I believe she’ll be undergoing a rebirth any day now. Do you need her?’

‘Not exactly.’

The gold around her eye flashed in the gemslight ‘You’re hiding something from me.’

It was true. He was. But much as he wished to confide in Anuja, some secrets were too dark for their budding friendship. ‘I’m sorry.’

There was a pause and they both sipped from their drinks.

‘Well,’ she said. ‘I am still glad you came. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I was hoping House Sapphire would send at least two Deathless so that I could relieve some of the others. And where are your hunters?’

‘I’m afraid I’m all you’ve got.’

She digested this for a while. ‘The last time you came to us without escort, you were here as messenger. It made sense for you to fly alone for the sake of speed. This time you are here to hunt. It makes no sense to hunt alone.’

Vasin kept his face neutral.

‘Could the great House Sapphire not spare any of its hunters to support you?’

‘My High Lord believes they are all needed at home.’

‘How are things in your lands?’

He wanted to just come out and say it: he hadn’t been sent. He’d come alone so that no others would suffer for his actions. ‘Things are quiet. High Lord Yadavendra would tell you this is only the case because we are being so vigilant.’

‘Yes, I have heard many tales of how vigilant the Sapphire have become. We had thought your wingless hunters a passing fashion but they seem to have lingered. No tales of battles against demons have reached us, but there are many stories of harassment suffered by any house traders not flying a blue flag. Perhaps you could make sense of them to me, Lord Vasin?’