Markan Sword

Giddens laughed. "It always seems the world has shrunk to nothing when you're in there," he said. "And it takes my eyes longer to get used to the light again than it used to. Head for the bank where the grass slopes to the water."

  "I hope there are no villages downriver," said Sallis.

  "I expect so."

  "And they get all our sewage?"

  Giddens grimaced. "As far as I know, they draw their water from tributaries and dump their own sewage into the river. Besides, it's pretty much broken down long before it reaches here, never mind any further."

  Sallis felt certain that would have no effect on spreading disease, but he said nothing further, and paddled for the grassy area. The boat grounded with a soft crunching sound and Sallis hopped out to pull it higher still.

  A moment later Giddens joined him, tugging their boat until it was almost out of the river.

  "You said someone would be here to meet us," said Sallis.

  Giddens glanced at the sun. "The gates won't have been open long," he replied. "Someone'll be here soon enough."

  Sallis nodded and pulled the net closer to the shore.

  "Not yet!" cautioned Giddens.

  The smell was already bad enough and Sallis almost paused before touching the body. Without being able to turn and inspect it, he had no way of telling this was definitely Kaira.

  Yet he knew and knowing had nothing to do with the Gift. As the body moved in the gentle current, one arm lifted a little more out of the water, hand clenched into a fist. With some effort, Sallis opened the fingers, one by one.

  "What are you doing?" exclaimed Giddens. "Careful or –"

  Sallis pulled a wooden button free and he held it up between a thumb and forefinger, dark eyes glinting in triumph.

  "The dead girl talks," he said, wading back out of the river.

  "What d'you mean?"

  Sallis ignored Giddens and stood on the riverbank, holding the button, his eyes closed. He released the Gift and turned his head, questing. He closed his fist around the button.

  "The killer is in Marka," he announced.

  Giddens nodded. "Thought he might be," he replied. "Have we come all this way for you to discover the obvious?"

  Sallis almost laughed. "When I reach the gates, I'll be able to find him," he promised. "Anywhere. Now where's this cart?"

  "It'll be here soon," promised Giddens.

  "You'll bring her into the city?" Sallis nodded towards Kaira's corpse.

  "We will."

  "If you catch up with me, I'll thank you for a lift," said Sallis, "but I'd better get started. I have to catch the killer as soon as I can."

  "You're leaving now?"

  Sallis nodded. "I can't waste a minute," he replied, fist tightening around the button. "Not a second."

  ***

  "We've won Jenn, we've won."

  Jenn's eyes widened as Marcus gripped both her earpoints with his hands and pulled her head towards his, giving her an interesting series of sensations. Much to her surprise and delight, her owner then kissed her full on the mouth.

  When Marcus released her earpoints, they shot bolt upright before slanting forwards and twitching. She smiled and wiped her mouth with the back of a hand. She restrained giggles as Marcus clasped his hands in front of him and smiled around at his family.

  "The throne," he announced, "is mine."

  Eylvras gurgled happily at his father, emotion strangling coherency as it so often did in the very young, while his sisters were all smiles. Zandra looked around the table at them all.

  "It means that both your father and me will be very busy over the next few days," she told them. "So you'll spend longer with your governess than usual."

  Jenn's earpoints wilted a little as she glanced at Galenna. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked her owner.

  Marcus opened his mouth, but Zandra beat him to it.

  "You can run errands for Galenna," said Zandra. "She will have her hands full for longer than usual. Caralin will help you when she returns from her tutor."

  Caralin looked almost as disgruntled as Jenn. "What about Eleka?" she asked. "Why do we have sylphs if we don't use them?"

  "You know full well that Eleka is needed to help your father handle the gwerins," replied Zandra. "And she is looking after her own children too."

  "The only sylph here will be me?" asked Jenn.

  "Afraid so."

  Jenn's earpoints wilted further and all her earlier euphoria faded to nothing.

  Galenna smiled at the infertile, but it looked forced. "I won't bite you, Jenn."

  The sylph flinched, as if she had threatened to do just that. She turned to Marcus.

  "Enya, are you sure you have no need for me at all?"

  Marcus patted her head, but that nowhere near made up for abandonment. "Not today Jenn, perhaps tomorrow."

  "And don't start sulking," added Zandra, seeing the sylph's lower lip suddenly tremble. "It doesn't work on me."

  "All right, enough taunting," said Marcus suddenly. He stood and offered his hand to his infertile. "Come on through, Jenn."

  In the sylph room, Marcus sat Jenn on one of the stools and crouched in front of her.

  "This has to be done," he told her. "Eleka helps me keep the gwerins in line; you can't do that."

  Eleka, readying herself for her own day, glanced across. She gave Marcus a small smile, but completely ignored his infertile.

  "I will be all alone." Jenn's voice sounded very small.

  "Nonsense. The girls will be here."

  "She will be here."

  Marcus almost sighed. "Galenna is the children's governess, Jenn. It's not going to change. No, I've heard enough concerning Galenna from you. That's enough. You're staying here, and that's that."

  Jenn blinked and fought tears. "Why does nobody believe me? Enya, she is –"

  "Enough, Jenn."

  The sylph subsided. Her owner rarely lost his temper with her, was almost never angry with her, but she saw exasperation in his eyes now. She nodded and Marcus smiled, reaching forward. She turned her head so he missed her earpoints this time and his mouth thinned.

  "As you wish," he told her. "If I hear you've left these rooms for any reason other than an errand, there will be trouble when I return. Don't spoil our victory, Jenn."

  She watched as Eleka and her brood followed Marcus out of the room before she left the stool and crossed to one corner of the room. Lowering herself until she was sat on the floor, she pulled her knees up under her chin and hugged them.

  Leaning her head on her knees, her earpoints wilted and tears flowed. Why did they not listen to her?

  She stayed in place, obedient to the command she had received, and listened as the door opened and closed several times. Enya on his way to make arrangements for the transfer of the crown, anya off to invite the guilds and her other friends and to arrange their part in the coronation, celanya hurrying to her tutor's school. Through it all, Jenn hugged her knees and sulked.

  The door to the sylph room opened and Jenn looked into Galenna's dark blue eyes, regarding her neutrally.

  "Are you coming through, or staying in here?" asked the human girl.

  Jenn turned her head aside, blanking the interloper.

  "Suit yourself," said the governess, "but come through anyway when you're done sulking."

  Jenn did not hear the door close, but when she glanced up again, the door was shut and Galenna nowhere in sight.

  Jenn never heard the outer door to Marcus's rooms open, but she did hear it close with a click, suggesting that someone had turned the key, locking everybody in and everybody else out. Curious to learn why, the sylph rose silently to her feet.

  ***

  "So it is finally over," said Grayar, relaxing in Sandev's study. "Djerana will be disappointed she no longer has an Emperor's ear."

  Caya poured alovak, while Gajaran proffered a tray bearing sweetmeats.

  Sandev took a sweetmeat, once Grayar had waved the tray away. "Not before time," she said,
after taking a bite. "Zenepha as Emperor has lasted a lot longer than we expected."

  "Or planned for," replied Grayar, after a sip of alovak. Salu sat on the floor at his feet, earpoints tucked away to suggest she had fallen asleep.

  Sandev waited until her two sylphs had left the study. "The strain of high office has begun to show on poor Zenepha," she said. "He should not have been left in power for so long, no matter how intelligent or gifted."

  "The strain came more from last year's mistakes rather than the office," Grayar pointed out. "The Sandesterans didn't help when they abandoned him."

  "He still fears for the future."

  "Well, he can never return to a collar," said Grayar. "Once manumitted, that's it, permanently free."

  "I think that's what he's afraid of."

  Grayar laughed.

  "Home for you after the coronation?" asked Sandev.

  "Immediately after," replied Grayar. "There's no more need for me here."

  "There's still the small matter of Dervra and Nicolfer to be sorted."

  "There will always be the small matter of Dervra and Nicolfer," retorted Grayar. "If they return, you know where to find me."

  "Djerana's not going home with you," said Sandev, without even a hint of a question.

  "Briefly," replied Grayar. "Very briefly. There is something she wants to help Zenepha with."

  Sandev sighed. "This attempt to regain his memories."

  "Our resident ilven is very unimpressed they were ever taken from him." Grayar's sharp blue eyes flashed. "She'll never understand why, though Zenepha might if he succeeds."

  "Might he succeed?"

  "I expect so. He can be very determined when he wants."

  Sandev's lips thinned. "He'll be lucky to reach Magiere," she said.

  Grayar laughed. "Alone, I'd agree with you. But with an ilven for company?" He shrugged and spread his hands. "It must be long since they've seen a sister and I suspect he's going to make it all the way."

  Sandev grimaced. "That could be dangerous."

  Grayar nodded. "I know. But I suspect something like this has been inevitable ever since they started selling their surplus sylph population to the world at large. I fear the consequences."

  Sandev laughed. "We will never agree on this subject Grayar. You will never want to see humans gain too much advancement and I say it can't be prevented."

  "We shall see."

  "Dervra and Nicolfer." Sandev changed the subject.

  "I think they'll leave us alone for a while. They've been bested at every turn, so they'll take a bit of time to plan out their next move. I rather suspect one or both of them are behind Sandester's new intransigence. If this document was truly stolen from the library and destroyed, that too has Dervra's method splashed all over."

  Sandev nodded agreement. "There is no longer any sign of them in Marka. All the suspected sorcerers are gone too, or so the Gifted claim. I must admit, there isn't a single practitioner I'm aware of in the city."

  "Have they been gathered?" Grayar steepled his fingers under his chin.

  "Or considered loose ends to be tied off."

  "Hmm," grunted Grayar. Neither of them wanted to dwell on how Dervra usually tied off his loose ends. "Either way, Marka is safe for the moment."

  "Well, we'd better not let centuries pass before meeting again," said Sandev.

  Grayar gave her one of his rare smiles. "That sounds a very good idea to me."

  ***

  The cart never caught up with Sallis ti Ath. Sallis walked part and ran part of the way back to Marka. He wished Giddens had warned him that they had floated milas downriver. And the city was not even in sight yet!

  He gripped the button in his fist. For as long as he held it, he could vaguely point in the general direction of the killer. He still did not know why Kaira had died, but he would soon learn the reason.

  Of course, his talent could not reveal the killer's identity, only lead him there. He knew only that the killer remained in Marka. He would enter the city, visit his rooms to collect his sword, then track the killer down. Handing these people over to the guard was always a satisfying experience.

  He just hoped Basren wasn't the killer after all. But, given who Kaira had been, Sallis somehow doubted that. There would be a calculating reason for the governess' death. She had been murdered in cold blood, not in the heat of the moment.

  For once, Sallis ignored the great pyramid dwarfing the city and ran towards the gates. He slowed, letting his thumping heart return to its normal rate and hoped his sweat was not too obvious to the casual observer.

  After all, he had a reputation to maintain.

  "Nobody said you'd left the city," grinned one of the guards at the gate. "Have you heard that Zenepha's stepped down? Marcus got the throne after all."

  "He did?" asked Sallis, walking straight past. "Interesting."

  Once inside the walls, Sallis increased his pace again. The moment he entered the gateway, he'd picked up the killer's trail. Though he saw nothing on the ground, it looked to Sallis that the killer had left footprints everywhere, and some burned in his mind more brightly than others.

  Or so it seemed.

  As Sallis moved – quickly but without running – through the city, he suddenly realized he could waste no time. Not even to retrieve his sword.

  The brightest trail led directly towards the palace and the nature of his investigation suddenly changed again. Kaira had been the Vintner's governess, and now a Vintner had taken the throne.

  Sallis broke into a run after all, and blast his reputation. He had an assassination to stop.

  ***

  Jenn found the door locked, as suspected, but the key had gone. The sylph suspected whoever had locked the door wanted nobody to pass through either way. The sylph checked the other rooms and found them empty, until she entered the children's room.

  Weyna, the shy serving girl, stooped over the table, setting down a tray of alovak and sugared candies.

  "Thank you," Galenna was saying. "That'll be all until the meal, Weyna."

  "Yes Miss," replied Weyna.

  Galenna's eyes flickered towards Jenn, a movement the servant noticed. Weyna stepped back from the table, caught Jenn by an earpoint and hurled her further into the room.

  Jenn squealed in pain, unused to feeling any weight in what was, after all, a fairly sensitive place.

  "Weyna?" Galenna also took a step back.

  Metal glinted in Weyna's hand and she lashed out at the governess. Galenna twisted her body before, fingers stiff, she used her hand to chop the servant somewhere above her ear.

  The girl barely flinched, and her knife flashed again, slicing Galenna diagonally from shoulder to abdomen.

  The children began to cry and scream as Jenn recovered. The sylph herded all three into a corner and turned to face Weyna.

  "You can't save them," snarled the servant, advancing with her knife turned for downward slashing.

  "No!" Galenna, red seeping through her slashed dress, leapt on Weyna, arm around her throat. The girl jabbed the governess with her elbow, somewhere around the ribs area. She turned and slashed at Galenna again, opening the girl's face across one cheek.

  Galenna leapt back as blood spurted. She felt her cheek and blinked in shock at the blood smeared on her hand.

  Weyna's attention returned to Jenn and the children she shielded.

  The sylph snatched up toys and threw them at her assailant, every one easily batted aside.

  "No!" Jenn screamed at her. "Leave them be!"

  Weyna smiled, but her eyes showed no emotion whatsoever.

  "He wants you dead too," she whispered.

  Jenn tensed to leap forward, to sacrifice herself for her owner's children, but Galenna was there again, pulling Weyna back, screaming in her ear. Jenn felt sick as she saw the governess' teeth through the gaping wound in her cheek. Weyna jabbed back twice, catching the governess in the face. This time, as Galenna staggered back clutching at her bleeding nose, Weyna pi
voted, leapt and kicked her in the head.

  The governess collapsed bonelessly. The servant grasped one of the display cabinets and brought it crashing down on Galenna. The governess coughed and tried to wiggle free.

  Jenn went for Weyna.

  The knife flashed and slashed incas from the sylph's terrified eyes, but she clung on. She used both hands to keep the knife away, blue blood smearing and weakening her grip as the blade cut deeply into her skin.

  No pain, not yet.

  Then Jenn was on her back and Weyna stabbed down...

  The sylph twisted her head aside just in time as the knife buried itself into the wooden floor. She spat into Weyna's face.

  "Filthy sylph!" snarled the servant. She scorned the knife and lifted Jenn's head by her earpoints. And smashed it into the floor with a bang. Then, Weyna's hands went around the sylph's throat.

  Jenn fought for air, struggled and gurgled. Her hands rose, but Weyna easily avoided her frantic scratching. The world began to darken and pain grew in her chest. She tried to scream to the children, telling them to run and hide, but only a rasp came out.

  She heard Galenna's coughing weaken as the heavy cabinet pressed against her chest, making every breath harder to pull in.

  Another bang, but this time no pain. Had she been hit again? She had certainly felt the room vibrate. Or was that her head?

  She opened her mouth to pull air in, but nothing reached her lungs. She tried to raise her legs to kick Weyna off her, but the girl was too heavy and the sylph too weak.

  Something dropped to the floor with a double click and Jenn turned her head slightly to see a water-stained wooden button.

  "That belongs to you, I believe," said a man's deep voice.

  Weyna's dark blue eyes widened. Her mouth opened and closed, then spewed pink froth and red blood over the sylph. Then she and her hands were falling away.

  Jenn gasped air in great breaths. Tears leaked free as her bloodied hands felt at her throat hoping everything was still there. Full vision returned and she stared up at a man wearing brown clothes and cropped dark hair, with dark brown eyes looking down at her.

  The sword in his hand dripped red.

  Jenn rolled over and lost her breakfast on the floor, retching twice before she pulled herself together.

  Weyna's eyes stared sightlessly at the ceiling.

  Galenna first.

  "Help her," croaked the infertile, wondering why it hurt so much to speak.

  The man set his sword down and pulled the cabinet off the governess. Galenna pulled herself upright.

  "The children," she said, immediately crossing to them, hugging them close. Jenn tried to ignore the broken bleeding nose, and the hole in the governess' cheek.