Master of furies, p.9
Master of Furies, page 9
‘I did,’ said Bodai. ‘Once I recognized you for who you were, I kept track of you, even if you weren’t part of my crew.’
‘Then you remember the tantrums?’
Bodai said, ‘They were heroic, even legendary. Every preceptor knew you got as angry as a storm if you didn’t get every question answered.’
‘I got beatings almost as often as Donte did for his pranks.’
‘No one got beatings nearly as often as Donte,’ corrected Bodai with a rueful chuckle.
‘True.’ Hatu also stood up and walked away from the table to the closest bookcase. He just looked for a moment, then said, ‘Sometimes I understand every word I look at, as if it was written in my native tongue. Other times I don’t see anything but mysterious markings, even if it’s a book I’d studied the day before. And the memory of what I read fades until I have no idea what I read just a few days earlier.’
Bodai nodded. ‘I think having someone transcribe what you read might be the next step,’ he said, holding up a quill and then setting it down next to an inkwell and a stack of heavy paper.
‘If I knew when I could …’ Hatu shrugged and left the statement unfinished.
Bodai knew as well as Hatu that this coming and going of certain magical abilities was seemingly random. They had both accepted that the mastery of flames Hatu had achieved at sea had been driven by the fear and anger at the attack by Azhante raiders. Since then, he’d shown no ability to ignite a single twig, let alone burn a ship down to the waterline.
‘Here’s what we know …’ Bodai began.
Hatu interrupted. ‘I’m the first male able to use magic, even if I don’t know what I’m doing. Women use men as … vessels for magic? Maybe? Sabella and the other women have no idea either and they use their powers …’ He waved his hand around to illustrate pointlessness. ‘We know nothing.’
Bodai shrugged. ‘How are things between you and Hava?’
That abrupt change of subject surprised Hatushaly, and it clearly showed on his face. ‘Fine. Why?’
‘I thought perhaps something was amiss and you might be distracted.’
‘Why would anything be amiss?’
Bodai spread his hands a bit and said, ‘Should something be amiss with your wife, that would be a serious distraction.’
Hatu considered the question for a moment, then he said, ‘I think everything is fine.’
Bodai waved him back to the table and pulled out his own chair and sat. After Hatu sat, he said, ‘You discovered this … ability to read languages you’d never seen before the night after she returned. And while she was here, it … faded, right?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’m simply looking for any reasons why you’ve lost that ability. So if things with Hava are as they were that first night, then my question is without merit.’
Hatu leaned back in his chair. ‘I’m …’ He shrugged. ‘Certain things are fine.’
Bodai nodded. He looked around and said, ‘We need some light. That means the sun is low, and you are probably getting hungry.’
Hatushaly nodded. ‘I could eat.’
‘Go, the mess should be serving, and there’ll be other young people there. Drink an ale, talk, relax. You’ve been working hard every day. You need to let up, get your mind rested.’
Hatu stood and, with a wave of his hand indicating the hundreds of books nearby and even more beyond, said, ‘How can I relax with all this waiting?’
‘We’ll find a way,’ said Bodai. ‘Now go.’
‘You?’
‘I’m going to stay a bit. If you want to come back after you eat, I’ll be here. If you act your age and get drunk with some friends, I’ll see you here in the morning.’
Hatu nodded, turned, and left.
After he was gone, Bodai sat motionless until he was certain Hatu was out of earshot, then said, ‘You going to keep lurking?’
Across the room, from behind a long bookcase, a figure emerged from the shadow. ‘I thought I did a fair job of lurking.’
Stepping forward, a tall boy of perhaps Hatushaly’s age revealed himself. He had broad shoulders but a narrow waist. His hair was a dirty blond and cut close at the top of his ears in the way of some fighters who chose to wear full helmets.
He had a friendly, open smile and Bodai thought his blue eyes almost sparked – a trick of the light, perhaps. He was square-jawed, and Bodai felt a strange sense of the familiar, though he’d never seen the youngster before. Yet there was something about the young man’s face and manner that was very amiable, as if he were a friend, and that caused Bodai some discomfort. Too many years of being the most important spy in the history of the Flame Guard made him distrust such impulses. His little reading on magic had included being beguiled.
The lad wore a white open-collared shirt with long sleeves and baggy green trousers. From the sound of leather on stone, Bodai assumed he wore boots hidden by the long trousers. He carried a dagger at his belt, and had a rucksack slung over one shoulder.
‘If you want to stay hidden,’ said Bodai, ‘I suggest you refrain from snacking. That particular type of orange is very aromatic, close to pungent. I could smell it from here.’
‘I got hungry,’ said the youngster. ‘Want one?’
‘Yes, please.’ Bodai felt a chill. This exchange returned memories long forgotten, of when he was very young and had met a traveller who had changed his life.
The young man swung his rucksack off his shoulder and reached in, fetching out an orange which he gently tossed to Bodai.
Rather than eat it, Bodai gave it a close inspection. ‘I haven’t seen the like of this fruit in … thirty years?’
‘Really?’ asked the stranger as he moved Hatu’s seat out from the table and sat down in it.
‘This variety is not from around here.’
Settling back in the chair, the young man said, ‘Oranges are all pretty much the same to me. I seem to remember some big ones once, with a dark, almost purple-red, pulp. Very tasty.’
‘Those I’ve not seen,’ said Bodai. ‘Where did you get this one?’
‘Same place I got the last one,’ came the unhelpful answer.
‘The man who gave that one to me, years ago, was a stranger from very far away.’
‘We have that in common, or perhaps I’m the same traveller.’
‘You don’t look old enough to have been around thirty years ago, let alone sharing wondrous tales of distant worlds. You’re also quite a bit taller, and he was not blond with fair skin.’
Taking out another orange from his bag, the youngster jammed his thumb in and began peeling. ‘Looks can be deceiving. I’m certainly older than I look.’ His brow furrowed. ‘I’m older than I remember, so maybe that was me,’ he added as he gazed far away for a moment. Then he shrugged. ‘Or maybe it was someone else. It’s hard to know sometimes.’
‘What brings you here – and by the way, how did you get here if you didn’t arrive on one of our ships?’
‘To the last, I came aboard when that woman Hava stopped to stock up on water and food at Elsobas. She’d rescued more people and was almost out of both. There were enough strangers to her crew milling about that it was easy to get aboard. And just as easy to slip away with the newcomers to the Sanctuary.
‘As to why I’m here, I’m here to help.’
‘Help with what?’
‘The boy, Hatushaly, of course. He’s cursed.’
Bodai slowly nodded. ‘The Curse of the Firemanes. Yes, terrible things will befall any who harm him.’
‘Seeing as a lot of people are trying very hard to find and kill him, that curse hasn’t circulated much, I’m afraid. No, I was being hyperbolic. I meant he’s cursed with a gift he doesn’t want. I heard him say that he has powers that are untrained and dangerous.’ He pointed a finger at Bodai. ‘You’re trying to help him but working at a great disadvantage.’
‘I don’t know what I’m doing,’ agreed Bodai.
‘That’s why I’m here.’
‘You’re going to teach him about magic?’
‘Gods, no,’ came the reply. ‘He and I will eventually meet, but not for some time. That’s for everyone’s good. No, I will help you do what you do best, teach.’
Bodai sat back. ‘What I do best … That traveller I mentioned told me when I was very young that teaching would be what I do best. I was halfway to becoming a healer when he changed my life.’ He thought about this for a long moment, then asked, ‘And how do you propose to do that?’
‘Long days ahead, my friend,’ answered the blond-haired youngster. ‘After supper you and I will meet, and I will give you the next day’s instructions. A few things will come easily but most will take time, so we’ll be seeing a lot of one another for the foreseeable future.’
‘To what end? And why should I trust someone who … just turned up?’ Bodai pointed to the half-eaten orange he had put on the table before him. ‘You appear with knowledge that should be beyond your understanding, and expect my trust?’
‘What if I give you the cause of his inability to read texts that he could read just days ago?’
‘That would be enlightening,’ Bodai replied.
‘I heard the story of him burning a ship at sea from Hava’s crew and then observed for a while how he struggled with reading, when before the words had come to him without effort. Those actions have one thing in common.’
‘What is that?’ Bodai leaned forward in his chair, his curiosity piqued.
‘When the magic worked it was when he didn’t think. He just acted.’
‘Really?’ said Bodai.
‘He saved a crew at sea from Azhante raiders, by all accounts, and just looked over at a book on the floor and could understand it.’
‘So, he’s trying too hard?’
‘He doesn’t need to try at all. He just needs to learn how to do it without trying.’
‘And how does one achieve that odd result without effort?’
‘With time and practice.’
‘You have me very intrigued,’ said Bodai. ‘What is your name?’
The man paused, cocking his head slightly as if listening, or trying to recall something, then laughed and said, ‘I am not sure. I’ve had … a few.’
‘I can’t call you Stranger.’
Settling back, the younger man said, ‘Names are odd.’ He fell silent as if lost in thought, then brightly said, ‘Call me Nathan.’
Bodai noticed a wooden tube protruding from the top of the traveller’s rucksack. ‘You’re a musician?’
‘Apparently,’ came the answer, and the youngster reached down and pulled out a wooden flute. He played a few notes, a jaunty tune, then stopped and returned the flute to the bag.
‘A bourrée,’ said Bodai. ‘I haven’t heard one since I last visited Ithra. A trio in the central market …’ For a brief moment he reflected on all that was lost when Ithrace was destroyed.
‘Maybe that’s where I heard it.’
Bodai was about to object, given the man’s apparent youth, but decided he’d heard enough to accept that this young fellow was perhaps a great deal older than he seemed. They were talking about magic, after all, and at this point Bodai realized being open to any possibility was his best choice. ‘So, where do we begin, Nathan?’
‘So many things, so many places to start.’ He crossed his arms then fell silent, again seemingly lost in thought. As Bodai was about to repeat the question, Nathan asked, ‘What do you know about stars?’
Bodai was startled. ‘Stars? What about them?’
‘That’s what I asked, what do you know?’
‘They’re little points of light in the night sky, and if you know their patterns you can steer a ship or cross open plains using them to find your way.’
‘Good,’ said Nathan. ‘You don’t know anything. Let’s start there.’
DECLAN CAME TO ACCEPT THE reality of his now leading this combined company of mercenaries. He still thought of it as Bogartis’s company, but realized this was his duty at least until they found a safe route home … He felt a sudden bitter twinge at thinking of anywhere now as ‘home’. Since the destruction of Oncon and Beran’s Hill there was no place to go ‘home’ to, and he had no desire to become attached to another. Still, keeping these men alive was his task, and he would do everything possible to see that achieved, so his sense of homelessness would be put aside. He would lead them back to Marquenet if possible, and then he would put aside soldiering, and return to the smithy, and forge weapons with Edvalt, even if he came back without the precious sand. The weapons he would make might not be of King’s Steel, but they would be the best weapons he could forge.
Mercenaries were expert foragers, and when raiding a town could find most hidden valuables, even those in cleverly concealed places. Livestock, stored food, hidden cold cellars: all were familiar to swords for hire. What Declan needed now were hunters, trappers, and fishermen. Fishing he could handle, but the rest?
‘Anyone here a skilled hunter? A fowler? Trapper?’
He scanned the faces of the remaining men from Bogartis’s company: the Sawyer brothers, Jack and Mick, Toombs, Billy Jay and Sixto. Giacomo had drunk his fill from the pool, fallen asleep, and died during the night.
Of Benruf’s group, six remained, some of whose names were still unknown to him, but he would make a point of knowing who they were by the end of this journey. One of Benruf’s men, an archer, held up his bow and said, ‘I am a good hunter. But so far I’ve seen no sign of large animals. Small signs, yes, perhaps monkeys in the trees, but nothing that can feed …’ He glanced around and counted. ‘Eleven men.’
‘Your name?’
‘Sebastian,’ said the archer.
‘Anyone else track and read signs?’ Declan asked.
Some muttered no, and others shook their heads.
‘Sebastian, you take point.’
The archer slung his bow and moved to stand next to Declan.
‘We may not be the first men to find this place, so we’ll need to stay alert. Sebastian will break trail or find us a game trail, and we’ll keep looking until we find food or starve to death. But at least no one is dying of thirst.’
The men accepted his orders and began to organize themselves into a patrol line. ‘Keep sharp and walk softly.’
They were barely at the west end of the massive canyon and it was widening as they descended.
‘Keep alert for fruit or berries,’ Declan told them. He knew the men needed no more urging than the grumbling of their stomachs.
As they slowly moved down the slope of the narrow canyon, Declan said to Benruf, ‘I lived my life on the edge of the ocean, only spent a bit in a hill town. I know nothing of places like this.’
Benruf said, ‘I’ve never seen a place like this in my life.’
Over his shoulder, Sebastian said, ‘This is nothing like the forests at home.’
After an hour’s slow descent over rocks that offered difficult passage, they came to a small clearing, and Sebastian knelt. ‘Game sign,’ he said in hushed tones.
‘What?’
‘Hard to judge. Maybe a fox, or a weasel.’ He stood up and looked at Declan and Benruf. ‘But if there are predators here that means prey, and what they eat, we can eat.’
A man behind Declan said, ‘Hell, right now I’d eat the fox or the weasel.’
That little quip seemed to lift the mood, for now every man knew there was a possibility of survival. They had full water skins and signs that the forest ahead had game.
Declan said, ‘From now on I want silence. Even if we’re the only men here, noise will scare off game.’ A few men with no hunting experience showed surprise, but the rest nodded and as Sebastian moved down the slope, Declan gave him five steps then followed, and Benruf also let Declan set an interval, then followed him. They would now follow trail discipline and obey. They were now Declan’s company.
HATU WAS SLIGHTLY INTOXICATED WHEN he came back to the vast library, causing the abrupt end to Bodai’s first instruction from Nathan. Bodai had decades of being a spy and watching the craft of the Quelli Nascosti, and he would vow he’d never seen anyone disappear as adroitly as Nathan.
In the hour or so during which they’d spoken, Bodai had realized be it charm, trinket, or spell, he now trusted the stranger as much as if they’d been friends since birth, and how much more he had to learn, despite his age. In less than an hour, Nathan had opened Bodai’s eyes to a universe he could not even have imagined. But the lesson was unfinished and he had no idea how it would apply to Hatushaly.
Bodai rose. ‘I think age is getting the best of me. I know I said come back, but truth be told, I am exhausted and need some sleep.’ He looked Hatu up and down, and said, ‘And apparently so do you.’
‘I am tired,’ Hatu admitted. ‘And I didn’t come back so I could fail reading again, but something you said set my mind to worrying.’
‘What?’ asked Bodai. He gently took Hatu’s arm and turned him so that they were both facing the door.
‘About whether things were good with Hava.’ He betrayed confusion as he went on. ‘But what if I’m wrong? What if things aren’t good and I’m too stupid to see? I mean, I’m too stupid to know how I did the things I can’t do any more.’
‘That’s the frustration and drink talking, boy,’ said Bodai. He gently moved Hatu towards the door. ‘You are many things, but stupid is not among them.’ After they had gone a couple of steps, Bodai said, ‘I was married once.’
‘Really?’ Hatushaly’s eyes widened.
Bodai took a deep breath. ‘Part of my role as a master in Coaltachin was to have heirs.’
Hatushaly stayed silent, waiting for Bodai to continue.
‘My reason for sharing that, I suppose, is that you were raised by preceptors and trainers, ordered about by them, and crew bosses, people who felt no love for you. Maybe one or two had a touch of affection for you, but never love in any profound way. You never knew a mother or father who would put their life ahead of yours.’ He looked away from Hatu, and then added, ‘It’s a love without conditions; it’s putting another’s needs ahead of your own.’
