The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

Yes. Yes, it is. But I hope she gets what she wants.

  * * *

  This, then, was the Arameri succession: a successor was chosen by the family head. If she was the sole successor, she would be required to convince her most cherished person to willingly die on her behalf, wielding the Stone and transferring the master sigil to her brow. If there was more than one successor, they competed to force the designated sacrifice to choose one or the other. My mother had been sole heir; whom would she have been forced to kill, had she not abdicated? Perhaps she had cultivated Viraine as a lover for more than one reason. Perhaps she could have convinced Dekarta himself to die for her. Perhaps this was why she had never come back after her marriage, after my conception.

  So many pieces had fallen into place. More yet floated, indistinct. I could feel how close I was to understanding it all, but would I have time? There was the rest of the night, the next day, and another whole night and day beyond that. Then the ball, and the ceremony, and the end.

  More than enough time, I decided.

  You cant, Sieh said again urgently, trotting along beside me. Yeine, Naha needs to heal, just as I did. He cant do that with mortal eyes shaping him

  I wont look at him, then.

  Its not that simple! When hes weak, hes more dangerous than ever; he has trouble controlling himself. You shouldnt His voice dropped an octave suddenly, breaking like that of a youth in puberty, and he cursed under his breath and stopped. I walked on, and was not surprised when I heard him stamp the floor behind me and shout, You are the stubbornest, most infuriating mortal Ive ever had to put up with!

  Thank you, I called back. There was a curve up ahead; I stopped before rounding it. Go and rest in my room, I said. Ill read you a story when I get back.

  What he snarled in reply, in his own tongue, needed no translation. But the walls did not fall in, and I did not turn into a frog, so he couldnt have been that angry.

  Zhakkarn had told me where to find Nahadoth. She had looked at me for a long time before saying it, reading my face with eyes that had assessed a warriors determination since the dawn of time. That shed told me was a complimentor a warning. Determination could easily become obsession. I did not care.

  In the middle of the lowermost residential level, Zhakkarn had said, Nahadoth had an apartment. The palace was perpetually shadowed here by its own bulk, and in the center there would be no windows. All the Enefadeh had dwellings on that level, for those unpleasant occasions when they needed to sleep and eat and otherwise care for their semimortal bodies. Zhakkarn had not mentioned why theyd chosen such an unpleasant location, but I thought I knew. Down there, just above the oubliette, they could be closer to Enefas Stone than to Itempass usurped sky. Perhaps the lingering feel of her presence was a comfort, given that they suffered so much in her name.

  The level was silent when I stepped out of the lift alcove. None of the palaces mortal complement lived herenot that I blamed them. Who would want the Nightlord for a neighbor? Unsurprisingly, the level seemed unusually gloomy; the palace walls did not glow so brightly here. Nahadoths brooding presence permeated the whole level.

  But when I rounded the last curve, I was briefly blinded by a flash of unexpected brightness. In the afterimage of that flash I had seen a woman, bronze-skinned and silver-haired, almost as tall as Zhakkarn and sternly beautiful, kneeling in the corridor as if to pray. The light had come from the wings on her back, covered in mirror-bright feathers of overlapping precious metals. I had seen her once before, this woman, in a dream

  Then I blinked my watering eyes and looked again, and the light was gone. In its place, heavyset, plain Kurue was laboriously climbing to her feet, glaring at me.

  Im sorry, I said, for the interruption of whatever meditations a goddess required. But I need to speak with Nahadoth.

  There was only one door in this corridor, and Kurue stood in front of it. She folded her arms. No.

  Lady Kurue, I dont know when Ill have another chance to ask these things

  What, precisely, does no mean in your tongue? Clearly you dont understand Senmite

  But before our argument could escalate, the apartment door slid aside a fraction. I could see nothing through that sliver, only darkness. Let her speak, said Nahadoths deep voice from within.

  Kurues scowl deepened. Naha, no. I started a little; I had never heard anyone contradict him. Its her fault youre in this condition.

  I flushed, but she was right. Yet there was no answer from within the chamber. Kurues fists clenched, and she glared into the darkness with a very ugly look.

  Would it help if I wore a blindfold? I asked. There was something in the air that hinted at a long-standing anger beyond just this brief exchange. Ah, but of courseKurue hated mortals, quite rightly blaming us for her enslaved condition. She thought Nahadoth was being foolish over me. Most likely she was right about that, too, being a goddess of wisdom. I did not feel offended when she looked at me with new contempt.

  It isnt just your eyes, Kurue said. Its your expectations, your fears, your desires. You mortals want him to be a monster and so he becomes one

  Then I will want nothing, I said. I smiled as I said it, but I was annoyed now. Perhaps there was wisdom in her blind hatred of humankind. If she expected the worst from us, then we could never disappoint her. But that was beside the point. She was in my way, and I had business to complete before I died. I would command her aside if I had to.

  She stared at me, perhaps reading my intentions. After a moment she shook her head and made a dismissive gesture. Fine, then. Youre a fool. And so are you, Naha; you both deserve each other. With that, she walked away, muttering as she rounded a corner. I waited until the sound of her footfalls stoppednot fading, but simply vanishingthen turned to face the open door.

  Come, said Nahadoth from within.

  I cleared my throat, abruptly nervous. Why did he frighten me at all the wrong times? Begging your pardon, Lord Nahadoth, I said, but perhaps Id better stay out here. If its true that just my thoughts can harm you

  Your thoughts have always harmed me. All your terrors, all your needs. They push and pull at me, silent commands.

  I stiffened, horrified. I never meant to add to your suffering.

  There was a pause, during which I held my breath.

  My sister is dead, Nahadoth said very softly. My brother has gone mad. My childrenthe handful who remainhate and fear me as much as they revere me.

  And I understood: what Scimina had done to him was nothing. What was a few moments suffering beside the centuries of grief and loneliness that Itempas had inflicted on him? And here I was, fretting over my own small addition.

  I opened the door and stepped inside.

  Within the chamber, the darkness was absolute. I lingered near the door for a moment, hoping my eyes would adjust, but they did not. In the silence after the door closed I made out the sound of breathing, slow and even, some ways away.

  I put out my hands and began groping my way blindly toward the sound, hoping gods had no great need of furniture. Or steps.

  Stay where you are, Nahadoth said. I am not safe to be near. Then, softer, But I am glad you came.

  This was the other Nahadoth, thennot the mortal, but not the mad beast of a cold winters tale, either. This was the Nahadoth who had kissed me that first night, the one who actually seemed to like me. The one I had the fewest defenses against.

  I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the soft empty dark.

  Kurue is right. Im sorry. Its my fault Scimina punished you.

  She did it to punish you.

  I winced. Even worse.

  He laughed softly, and I felt a breeze stir past me, soft as a warm summer night. Not for me.

  Point. Is there anything I can do to help you?

  I felt the breeze again, and this time it tickled the tiny hairs on my skin. I had a sudden image of him standing just behind me, holding me close and exhaling into the curve of my neck.

  There was a soft, hungry sound from the
other side of the room, and abruptly lust filled the space around me, powerful and violent and not remotely tender. Oh, gods. I quickly fixed my thoughts again on darkness, nothing, darkness, my mother. Yes.

  It seemed to take a long time, but eventually that terrible hunger faded.

  It would be best, he said with disturbing gentleness, if you make no effort to help.

  Im sorry

  You are mortal. That seemed to say it all. I lowered my eyes, ashamed. You have a question about your mother.

  Yes. I took a deep breath. Dekarta killed her mother, I said. Was that the reason she gave, when she agreed to help you?

  I am a slave. No Arameri would confide in me. As I told you, all she did was ask questions at first.

  And in return, you asked for her help?

  No. She still wore the blood sigil. She could not be trusted.

  Involuntarily I raised a hand to my own forehead. I continually forgot the mark was there. I had forgotten that it was a factor in Sky politics as well. Then how

  She bedded Viraine. Prospective heirs are usually told about the succession ceremony, but Dekarta had commanded that the details be kept from her. Viraine knew no better, so he told Kinneth how the ceremony usually goes. I assume that was enough for her to figure out the truth.

  Yes, it would have been. She had suspected Dekarta alreadyand Dekarta had feared her suspicions, it seemed. What did she do, once she knew?

  She came to us and asked how she might be made free of her mark. If she could act against Dekarta, she said, she would be willing to use the Stone to set us free.

  I caught my breath, amazed at her daringand her fury. I had come to Sky willing to die to avenge my mother, and only fortune and the Enefadeh had made that possible. My mother had created her own vengeance. She had betrayed her people, her heritage, even her god, all to strike a blow against one man.

  Scimina was right. I was nothing compared to my mother.

  You told me only I could use the Stone to free you, I said. Because I possess Enefas soul.

  Yes. This was explained to Kinneth. But since the opportunity had presented itself We suggested to her that being disowned would get her free of the sigil. And we aimed her toward your father.

  Something in my chest turned to water. I closed my eyes. So much for my parents fairy-tale romance.

  Did she agree from the start to have a child for you? I asked. My voice sounded very soft in my own ears, but the room was quiet. Did she and my father breed me for you?

  No.

  I could not bring myself to believe him.

  She hated Dekarta, Nahadoth continued, but she was still his favorite child. We told her nothing of Enefas soul and our plans, because we did not trust her.

  More than understandable.

  All right, I said, trying to marshal my thoughts. So she met my father, who was one of Enefas followers. She married him knowing he would help her achieve her goal, and also knowing the marriage would get her thrown out of the family. That got her free of the sigil.

  Yes. And as a test of her intentions, it proved to us that she was sincere. It also partially achieved her goal: when she left, Dekarta was devastated. He mourned her as if shed died. His suffering seemed to please her.

  I understood. Oh, how I understood.

  But then then Dekarta used the Walking Death to try to kill my father. I said it slowly. Such a convoluted patchwork to piece together. He must have blamed my father for her leaving. Maybe he convinced himself that shed come back if Father was dead.

  Dekarta did not unleash the Death on Darr.

  I stiffened. What?

  When Dekarta wants magic done, he uses us. None of us sent the plague to your land.

  But if you didnt

  No. Oh, no.

  There was another source of magic in Sky besides the Enefadeh. Another who could wield the gods power, albeit weakly. The Death had killed only a dozen people in Darr that year; a minor outbreak by all the usual standards. The best a mortal murderer could do.

  Viraine, I whispered. My hands clenched into fists. Viraine.

  He had played the martyr so wellthe innocent used and abused by my scheming mother. Meanwhile he had tried to murder my father, knowing she would blame Dekarta and not him. He had waited in the corridors like a vulture while she came to plead with Dekarta for her husbands life. Perhaps he had revealed himself to her afterward and commiserated with her over Dekartas refusal. To lay the groundwork for wooing her back? Yes, that felt like him.

  And yet my father had not died. My mother had not returned to Sky. Had Viraine pined for her all these years, hating my fatherhating me for thwarting his plans? Had Viraine been the one to raid my mothers chest of letters? Perhaps he had burned any that referred to him, hoping to forget his youthful folly. Perhaps hed kept them, fantasizing that the letters contained some vestige of the love hed never earned.

  I would hunt him down. I would see his white hair fall around his face in a red curtain.

  There was a faint, skittering sound nearby, like pebbles on the hard Skystuff floor. Or claw tips

  Such rage, the Nightlord breathed, his voice all deep crevasses and ice. And he was close, all of a sudden, so close. Right behind me. Oh, yes. Command me, sweet Yeine. I am your weapon. Give the word, and I will make the pain he inflicted on me tonight seem kind.

  My anger was gone, frozen away. Slowly I took a deep breath, then another, calming myself. No hatred. No fear of whatever the Nightlord had become thanks to my carelessness. I fixed my mind on the dark and the silence, and did not answer. I did not dare.

  After a very long while I heard a faint, disappointed sigh. Farther away this time; he had returned to the other side of the room. Slowly I allowed my muscles to unclench.

  Dangerous to continue this line of questioning right now. So many secrets to discover, so many pit-traps of emotion. I pushed aside thoughts of Viraine, with an effort.

  My mother wanted to save my father, I said. Yes. That was a good thing to understand. She must have grown to love him, however strangely the relationship had begun. I knew hed loved her. I remembered seeing it in his eyes.

  Yes, said Nahadoth. His voice was as calm as before my lapse. Her desperation made her vulnerable. Of course we took advantage.

  I almost grew angry, but caught myself in time.

  Of course. So you persuaded her then to allow Enefas soul into her child. And I took a deep breath. Paused, marshaling my strength. My father knew?

  I dont know.

  If the Enefadeh did not know what my father thought of the matter, then no one here would know. I dared not go back to Darr to ask Beba.

  So I chose to believe that Father knew and loved me anyway. That Mother, beyond her initial misgivings, had chosen to love me. That she had kept the ugly secrets of her family from me out of some misguided hope that I would have a simple, peaceful destiny in Darr at least until the gods came back to claim what was theirs.

  I needed to stay calm, but I could not hold it all in. I closed my eyes and began to laugh. So many hopes had been rested on me.

  Am I allowed none of my own? I whispered.

  What would you want? Nahadoth asked.

  What?

  If you could be free. There was something in his voice that I did not understand. Wistfulness? Yes, and something more. Kindness? Fondness? No, that was impossible. What would you want for yourself?

  The question made my heart ache. I hated him for asking it. It was his fault that my wishes would never come truehis fault, and my parents, and Dekartas, and even Enefas.

  Im tired of being what everyone else has made me, I said. I want to be myself.

  Dont be a child.

  I looked up, startled and angry, though of course there was nothing to see. What?

  You are what your creators and experiences have made you, like every other being in this universe. Accept that and be done; I tire of your whining.

  If he had said it in his usual cold voice, I would have walked out in affront. B
ut he truly did sound tired, and I remembered the price he had paid for my selfishness.

  The air stirred nearby again, soft, almost a touch. When he spoke, he was closer. The future, however, is yours to makeeven now. Tell me what you want.

  It was something I had never truly thought about, beyond vengeance. I wanted all the usual things that any young woman wanted. Friends. Family. Happiness for those I loved.

  And also

  I shivered, though the chamber was not cold. The very strangeness of this new thought made me suspicious. Was this some sign of Enefas influence?

  Accept that and be done.

  I I closed my mouth. Swallowed. Tried again. I want something different for the world. Ah, but the world would indeed be different after Nahadoth and Itempas were done with it. A pile of rubble, with humanity a red ruin underneath. Something better.

  What?

  I dont know. I clenched my fists, struggling to articulate what I felt, surprised by my own frustration. Right now, everyone is afraid. Closer, yes. I kept at it. We live at the gods mercy and shape our lives around your whims. Even when your quarrels dont involve us, we die. What would we be like if if you just went away?

  More would die, said the Nightlord. Those who worship us would be frightened by our absence. Some would decide it was the fault of others, while those who embrace the new order would resent any who keep the old ways. The wars would last centuries.

  I felt the truth of his words in the pit of my belly, and it left me queasy with horror. But then something touched mehands, cool and light. He rubbed my shoulders, as if to soothe me.

  But eventually, the battles would end, he said. When a fire burns out, new things grow in its wake.

  I felt no lust or rage from himprobably because, for the moment, he felt none from me. He was not like Itempas, unable to accept change, bending or breaking everything around him to his will. Nahadoth bent himself to the will of others. For a moment the thought made me sad.

  Are you ever yourself? I asked. Truly yourself, not just the way others see you?

  The hands went still, then withdrew. Enefa asked me that once.

  Im sorry