| |
“So that thing on your head is a magic trinket?” I asked.
Ezair just shrugged. “Well, I don’t know. Chai?”
“It is. I’ve felt it for a while now, just didn’t want to sound rude asking about it,” she said, swiping off a few crumbs from her dress. “It probably won’t do the same for you, thought.”
“It doesn’t have to, it’s just a memento.”
“I guess your uncle wasn’t happy you killed a nobleman as your first job,” I said.
“Just to clear up, it was Hain who killed him. I just publicly humiliated him, which is not much better, but still. But you’re right, he wasn’t happy at all. I remember the first time we were talking on a street and he heard a shout from somewhere. Is that Ezair from the Two-Headed Viper? He buried his face in his palms for a whole minute straight. But eventually, he made peace with it, when he learned the difference between mercenary and cutthroat.”
“I always thought mercenaries were respected. I mean, you’re doing it really well, and that’s admirable, no matter the craft.”
“Sadly, the world doesn’t work like that. Most people don't consider fighting as a craft.”
“What about when it’s all over? Will you join the city guard?”
Ezair snorted. “Sure, when my uncle is sitting on the prince’s throne instead of Charta. But I’ve had enough attention. It’s Chai’s turn.”
Chai winced like we awoke him from a daydream, then turned her eyes towards the entrance.
“I can’t understand what could interest you about me. I’m not that exciting.”
“Chai, you’re a mejai, living in a brothel as the madam’s daughter. That alone makes an interesting story, but I know there’s more to it,” I said, shaking my head. “How did you find magic?”
“I fooled a street quack,” she said. “I was barely a child and one day I saw a man who threw eight brass balls with one hand, made them do a perfect circle in the air and fall back in his palm. He dared anyone to try it for twenty moonsilver. Should someone succeed, they could take the whole sum he collected that day. He was a cheat, of course, the balls were relics from the Old Garden, always following each other in a perfect circle if commanded by a mejai. I was alone then, I ran away from my mother to try it, and I succeeded. At least for a few rounds. Then I got scared and the magic quickly slipped out of my hands, but that’s when I touched it for the first time. After that, a few questions asked at the right time cleared things up.”
“And what did Aylea say?”
“She didn’t say a word for a few days, just stayed in her office staring out the window. At first, I thought I did something wrong and upset her, but after some time she returned to her usual self. She obviously didn’t want me to join the courtesans, so I think she was relieved. This way I could have had a respectable and honest profession.”
“But...?” I asked. We all felt that her sudden silence meant that this was the point where the tragedy struck. Maybe it wasn’t a tactful thing to ask, but I was dying to know what happened.
“Joining a Secret Circle, the guild of mejais, is a difficult task. It doesn’t only take talent, but good relations and a respected patron. My mother was sure she had found me someone for the latter role... until my accident happened,” she explained, looking at her leg stump. “It’s one of the few taboos of magic that the body cannot withstand it directly. That’s what the trinkets are for. Anyone who tries something this stupid and irresponsible does not deserve to pursue this profession at a Circle level. Unfortunately, we live in a world where you’re either at the top or you’re pushed to the bottom.”
“You knew that, and you tried?” I asked her in disbelief.
“I knew it. I just didn’t believe it. You know, I was very talented, almost dangerously so. I thought it was just the cowards, weaklings, and careless people, who made these rules.”
“Everyone makes mistakes,” I said. “I still think you could mop the floor with most human magicians.”
“Unfortunately, they’re not the ones we are fighting, are they?” Chai sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I’m perfectly content with how things are now, I love my life as it is.”
“For now,” Ezair replied. “But you won’t always be happy like that.”
“Maybe,” Chai said, shunning her eyes. “But what could I even do?”
“The world is vast and full of grooves. One of them was dug for you, and all you need is to slide along it. My uncle’s words, a bit flowery, but true nonetheless. You just need to find your groove.”
I rolled my eyes. “You should’ve been a poet, not a mercenary. I’d rather say everyone has dreams. Things you imagine on lonely nights, places you’d rather be than where you are. I think you should chase them, instead of waiting for fate or whatever to put you where you belong.”
“They both sound very nice, but the reality isn’t that simple,” Chai said, running her fingers through her hair. “Sometimes you get a better life if you blindly follow your dreams, but sometimes it gets worse. When is it worth risking?”
“Well, I risked and lost, but I’d rather have this than go mad thinking about what could have happened if I was bolder. Wouldn’t you feel the same years from now, sitting in the yard of the Velvet Lotus with white hair in a rocking chair?”
She looked away. I think we hit the edge of what she was willing to talk about. “I don’t know. I can’t see into the future.”
I was about to continue when Ezair suddenly jumped up beside me and stared at the crevice leading downstairs with his dagger drawn.
“Who’s there?”
I took a deep breath. There was an uneasy scent in the air. It reminded me of wilting flowers, rancid spices, and rotten ingredients that we couldn’t use. It was dim enough not to upset my stomach, but I could definitely feel it.
Ezair rushed forward and disappeared in the darkness below with two fast hops.
“Wait!” I cried and climbed down after him. If he got lost in this ruin, we were done for, no matter how many wishes we had from whom.
I didn’t know how he was orienting himself in the dark, so I just followed his audible footsteps and the familiar scent he left behind. We turned around corners and descended slippery stairs down into the darkness, chasing our invisible enemy.
Ezair suddenly stopped, so I bumped right into him.
“What was it?” I whispered. “Where are we?”
I could still smell the rot mingled with dust and musty damp, but it was so dark I couldn’t see even him. “Did you bring a torch?”
“I’ve got a fire tool,” he whispered back, rummaging through his pockets. After some fumbling, I found a makeshift torch nearby. It was surprisingly fresh, which meant we weren’t the only ones wandering down.
As the cloth caught fire, Ezair held it up and walked around the room. It looked circular, judging by the arch of the wall, and I could see a dozen doorways leading to... somewhere.
“Something’s not right here. Look!”
Ezair headed towards the wall, stroking some long cuts and scratches on the stones. It looked as if someone had been trying to gouge his way out of here with his nails.
He walked towards the first doorway, inspecting the strange, wrought-iron debris lying on the ground. It was crushed and bowed, but the shape of a former lattice door was still recognizable.
“It’s not very heartening,” I said. “Is it possible someone got stuck down here when the Old Garden fell?”
“Maybe. But I definitely heard someone. I thought it was one of the Marid’s spies, so I ran after them, but I lost track. Where do you suppose we are? Is this some kind of prison?”
I ran my fingers across the walls. There was clear desperation and hopelessness behind the claw marks.
“Whatever it is, they really wanted to get out of here.”
There was a whirring sound behind my back. It was quiet, as if silken fabric slipped on itself, but I was sure I wasn’t imagining it. Ezair raised his head and pointed his dagger straight ahead.
“Did we walk into a trap?”
The drumming of my heart dampened every other sound. I had no desire to die here, and even less to get trapped forever. “Do you think Chai would hear us if we shouted loud enough?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Do you have anything else besides your dagger? Not that I can fight, but I’m better than nothing.”
“Take the torch. Just swing it towards whatever moves and isn’t me,” he said, handing me the burning stick. “Show yourself!”
Ezair probably regretted that wish instantly, when a horrid figure emerged from a doorway opposite us. It may have been a man once, but that was a long time ago. Now the skin was dried up and crumpled on the old bones like parchment, with empty eyes staring forward, and chipped teeth flashing at us between the shrunken lips. Its claw-like fingers twitched convulsively, scraping the torn shroud covering the mummified flesh. It wheezed loudly, but its movements were surprisingly fast as it approached us.
Ezair’s hands trembled, and his lips panted a soft prayer to the Great Divine, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the apparition. Neither could I.
I took a couple of steps backward, trying to keep an eye on the thing. It obviously wasn’t friendly, but it didn’t seem to be intelligent either.
“Ezair... What is this?”
“I’m only guessing, but I think it’s a ghoul,” he said, circling away from the creature, and pushing me in front of him towards the entrance. “Something that’s no longer alive, but not quite dead either. I thought they were a legend, but it seems this one is very real.”
“That’s nonsense. Something’s either alive or dead. It’s clearly moving, so I’d say the former.”
“What moves isn’t necessarily alive. It’s a corpse someone forced a soul into, but I can’t even guess how it can be killed again.”
“So, we’d better run?”
“Yes. Run!”
Ezair dashed towards the stairs. Without a better option, I ran after him, but before I reached the exit of the circular room, something grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.
I screamed and smashed the torch towards it to shake off the shredding, bony fingers. It was another ghoul, with a head split-open, and it seemed to mutter something when I hit its face.
Ezair jumped back next to me and struck the creature’s wrist with his dagger. It separated from its arm almost immediately, sand pouring from its veins where blood should have been.
From a side passage, a third ghoul emergef. Ezair rushed forward and barged into it to push it back, but my eyes still met its empty, pearl-like gaze. It reached for me, even though Ezair was standing right in front of it. They felt I was different.
More husks emerged from every other doorway, like maggots from a wound. I swung the torch towards them, burning the cloth on its arm.
Suddenly an idea flashed through my mind.
“Run ahead,” I shouted. “They are after me, but I might be able to set them aflame.”
“You know, you really should stop trying to sacrifice yourself,” he said, grabbing my wrist. “We need to reach Chai; she may be able to fend them off better than you alone with a single torch. Come, if they really want you, it’s best to lure them all to the same place.”
“It’s not a sacrifice. Have you ever heard of tactics, or do the Vipers think it beneath them?”
“Vipers usually choose their fights wisely, and the smartest thing to do right now is to have a mejai on our side,” he said, panting, as we reached the top of the stairs.
“Chai! We’ve ghouls on us, nearly a dozen. Do you have anything against them?”
I looked back over my shoulder, but they were still coming.
Chai apparently had already packed up, as if she knew we wouldn’t be here long, and for some reason she looked at us quite harshly.
“We didn’t wake them up,” I said defensively.
“I’m sure,” she said with a disapproving sigh, and rummaged through her bag until she pulled out a rectangular flask. “Get out and get ready to pull me up.”
She didn’t have to say it twice. I picked up my bag from the ground and climbed out the way we’d come in. The heat outside was almost staggering, but it seemed easier to fight the scorching rays of the sun than the undead below. Ezair crawled out behind me and waited.
We could hear the rumbling sounds downstairs, and the wheezing, then the sound of glass shattering and roaring flames bursting forth. The air splashing out from the hole was even hotter than what awaited us outside—if it was even possible—, then a cacophony of growls and screams followed.
“Chai?” Ezair leaned against the hole, ignoring the flames. “Chai!”
A final death by fire was a salvation for the ghouls, whatever they really were. We both waited for Chai’s slender figure to turn up in the hole, but as moments passed, something started squeezing my throat. It couldn’t be that easy to kill her. She had counted on us to pull her up, and she wouldn’t have said that if she didn’t plan on surviving. I tried to tell myself this over and over again, until finally Ezair almost fell back into the ruins to grab onto something.
“I hope...” Chai coughed when Ezair helped her up, “I hope the little adventure trip was worth it, because that bottle of wildfire was priceless.”
“I’m sorry. We’ll make it up for you when we meet Nazrik.”
“I hope so. That’s the least you owe me,” she replied.
Ezair smiled.
“As you wish, milady.”