The Blood-stained Belt (37 page)

Zaliek said,
'We lived there for four years. After all that time, we thought
that we were safe. But my brothers finally tracked us down there as
well.'

'Why did they
go to all that trouble?'

Zaliek replied,
'They believed that our father's spirit wouldn't rest in peace
until my mother was sacrificed in the traditional manner. What's
more, they said that the people were being haunted by my father's
spirit – crops were withering, cattle and sheep were dying of
diseases, and so on.'

'Did you
believe that?'

Zaliek
shrugged. 'I used to believe it. That was before I had to make a
choice.' He grunted sceptically and tugged at his ear. 'Nowadays, I
think it's just ignorance and superstition, plain and simple. A man
should learn to think for himself, not so?' He grinned ironically.
'I look at the matter like this -- how come we're the only ones
whose spirits don't rest in peace if our wives don't die with us?
How come the spirits of Dornite men, your men, the men of Kitilat,
and the men of half the clans of my own nation, not to mention
every other nation that I've met, don't get restless if their wives
don't die with them? You see what I mean?' He spread his hands and
continued, 'You can say that I'm just finding excuses for helping
my mother. Maybe I am. But I'll tell you one thing – I don't know
about other people's restless spirits but, as for me, I sure as
hell would have a restless spirit if I hadn't done what I did.'

We sat there
quietly for a time. I was thinking that I was seeing other facets
of Zaliek. I'd seen one facet when, while I was wracked by fever,
he sat by my bedside just to watch over me and warn me that I was
in danger. Now I was seeing more of him. I said, 'You're a dark
horse, aren't you?' Zaliek raised his eyebrows. I continued, 'I was
thinking about the time you warned me about Vaxili's
intentions.'

'It didn't do
any good, did it? Vaxili was too damn quick.'

'That makes no
difference. You took a risk warning me.'

Zaliek said
bluntly, 'I'd do the same for a friend any time.'

Friend? I'd
never thought of Zaliek as my friend. In the old days, I respected
him as a soldier and as an instructor – as a man, too, come to that
– but there was always a professional distance between us. Friend?
For sure, Zaliek was a dark horse. Zaliek was looking at me with a
frown and with questioning eyes. I covered my thoughts by saying,
'I was just thinking about the old days. Sorry I interrupted you.
You were telling me about you and your mother in Griwasta.'

Zaliek settled
back in his chair. 'My brothers sent messengers to ask that we
should be handed over to them. At first I thought that they were
wasting their time but it wasn't too long before I got wind that
the city fathers were giving serious thought to the matter.'

I asked, 'What
reason could a Dornite city have to give in to a demand made by a
place that they probably couldn't even find on a map?'

Zaliek said
gloomily, 'Don't underestimate the power of money.' His face
clouded, his mouth tightened and he continued, 'The magistrates in
Griwasta put my mother under guard.' He gave a short laugh. 'They
called it protective custody. I knew that I would be next so I
decided to get my mother out of there and move on.' He hesitated
and his eyes narrowed.

'Easier said
than done?'

'For sure.'
Zaliek smiled grimly. 'The guards didn't take kindly to me
appearing on the scene, demanding to have my mother released. I
killed two of them, and the third grabbed hold of my mother.' His
lips tightened. 'That was when my mother died.'

'The guard
killed your mother?'

Zaliek's eyes
narrowed even further. He said in a low voice, 'I killed her.'

'What? You
killed her?'

'It was an
accident. I attacked the guard, thinking that I could avoid hurting
my mother. But he pushed her in front of him and my sword went
through her.' Zaliek's voice rose. 'I just about went crazy. I
killed that guard – damn near hacked him to pieces. Then I carried
my mother out of there. I thought that she might still be alive or,
if not, that I should give her a proper burial. Anyway, to cut a
long story short, they chased me and wounded me. Ever wondered
where I lost half my ear? Well, I left it behind that day in
Griwasta.' His eyes clouded. 'I got away, but I left my mother
behind. She was dead anyway, but – oh, damn it, at least I could
have buried her properly.' Zaliek slammed a fist on the table and
said, 'You know what they did with her body? They threw it down an
old well. It was called the Pauper's Well. Just like that – threw
her body down a well!'

There was a
long silence. When I said, 'I'm sorry about your mother', Zaliek
just gave me a sombre look and shook his head vigorously as if he
was trying to shake the heaviness out of it. Then he said quietly,
'You remember what I told you a long time ago, during basic
training – a soldier should forget about resentment and
revenge?'

'I remember.
You said that they get in the way of clear thinking.'

Zaliek nodded.
'That's the real reason why I won't fight against the Dornites. All
those reasons that you heard from me a long time ago, about what
the Dornites would do to me if they captured me – they’re true
enough but they’re not the real reasons. The fact is, if I did
fight against them, I might go crazy – battle-crazy, battle-lust,
whatever it's called. Maybe that's all right for an ordinary
soldier, but for an officer …' He shook his head. 'I couldn't take
the risk. It would be dangerous for my men. It would be
unprofessional.'

After Zaliek
rented a house in Koraina and settled down with his family, I got
into the habit of dropping in to see them from time to time and
Shani often invited me to stay for a meal. She was a vegetarian
whose dishes were so enticing that I forgot that meat, one of
Keirine's staple foods, was missing from what I ate at her table.
While we ate, she would tell me about Wejigara. I learned about the
pine forests, the houses made of pitch and wood, and the terraced
fields of wheat and mustard seed next to broad rivers in deep
valleys. After the meal, we would relax with mugs of
honey-flavoured liquor, a specialty of Wejigara, while Dipok fell
asleep on her lap. Then, when Shani left the room to put the boy to
bed, Zaliek would say softly, 'Dipok's a fine lad, isn't he? What’s
more, he’s smart. Anybody can see that.' Once, he told me, 'You
know, one day I'm going to send him to the Academy of Philosophy in
Orifinre. He'll be a gentleman and a scholar not a rolling stone
like his father. His grandfather was a chief and he deserves the
best that I can give him.' Zaliek never spoke to me about his wife
but he didn't have to tell me how he felt. I could see how his eyes
followed her wherever she went and how he lingered behind her
chair, touching her shoulder or caressing her hair at the nape.

Sometimes I
felt guilty about visiting them. I liked to be with Zaliek but the
fact was that Shani sharpened the attraction of my visits. She
reminded me so much of Dana that I sometimes felt as if she was
surrounded by an aura that projected Dana's presence to me. It was
so strong that occasionally I had to check myself from calling her
'Dana'. Shani would catch me looking at her and she would drop her
eyes. Then she would glance at me quickly, slightly sideways with
her head tilted, just the way that Dana used to do. As she did so,
she would smile secretively. When she did that, I would curse
myself inwardly. Damn it, did she think that I was flirting with
her? But, then, what else was she to think when she caught me
staring at her so intently? What else was she to think when, having
caught my eye, she saw me turn away in confusion?

There was
something else about Shani that interested me: I couldn't properly
work out how she felt about Zaliek. Her only response to Zaliek's
touches and affectionate words was a small smile of acknowledgement
that was almost condescending as if she thought that these things
were no more than her due and, moreover, were of little
consequence. When I complimented her on her cooking, she would say
tightly, 'We do our best with what we have.' She said it in a way
that suggested that she regretted not having finer and better
things at her disposal. In fact, I couldn't see that she had any
reason to complain. As they settled in, more and more expensive
items began to appear in the house, such as thick-piled carpets,
luxurious wall hangings, and delicate glassware. Shani wore robes
made of the finest material that was imported from the best looms
of Kitilat. In addition, their house was in the most expensive
district of Koraina, close to the palace. I knew what we were
paying Zaliek and I wondered how he could afford to spend at such a
rate.

On the other
hand, as a housewife and as a mother, Shani seemed to be
irreproachable. She ran the house quietly and efficiently without
any fuss. Perhaps she could be criticised on the grounds that she
arranged her son's life rather too much like the way that she ran
the house, quietly and efficiently, but the boy was always well
dressed, well behaved, and treated with affection.

Shani often
spoke about her homeland but she never spoke about her own
background. Mostly, I learned about that from things that Zaliek
said. Over time, I pieced together the facts that Shani was the
youngest daughter of a small farmer. When Zaliek met her, she was
serving food and drink in a tavern. From Zaliek's jocular
references to their courtship, it appeared that she actively
encouraged Zaliek's advances. Four months after they met, they were
married against the wishes of her parents who didn't like the idea
of their daughter marrying a stranger, and a wandering mercenary,
at that. I often wondered why she married Zaliek who, after all,
was about twenty years older than her and came from a different
culture and background. Did she fall in love with this big, gruff,
roughly-kind fellow, or did she view him as a means of escape from
the verdant but confining valley in which she was born and raised?
Was there some other reason? I never knew the answer.

Once I called
at the house when Zaliek was out. I made my excuses and turned to
go but Shani said winningly, 'Oh, Jina, don't be so prim. Zaliek
will be back soon. Come inside and wait for him.'

I hesitated and
then yielded. As usual when I was in her presence, it was more than
just Shani that was speaking to me. Shani served me refreshments
and then excused herself. When she came back a few minutes later,
she was wearing earrings and a richly brocaded robe. It had a
scalloped, low-cut neck and was gathered under her breasts so that
my gaze was drawn to the smooth expanse of her chest and the curve
of her bosom. She caught my eye, laughed lightly, and put her hand
to her chest. Then she laughed again and fluttered her hand while
she asked if I would like a mug of lemon juice.

I took the mug,
sipped at it, and asked, 'Where is Dipok?'

'Dipok? Oh,
he's asleep. He usually takes a nap at this time.'

I felt even
more uncomfortable and said, 'I really can't stay for long. I'll
call again this evening when Zaliek is home.'

Shani wrinkled
her nose and frowned, looking both annoyed and amused. She said,
'Oh, Jina, you've only just arrived. You bachelors are always
hungry. Here, do have some currant bread.' I put up my hands in
refusal but she clucked her tongue impatiently. 'I've just finished
baking it and I'll be really annoyed if you don't have some.' She
leaned forward, covering her chest with one hand while she handed
the plate to me. I took a piece of bread half reluctantly, but also
half pleased to have a reason to stay a little longer.

I started to
make conversation about some of the latest gossip at the palace but
Shani leaned over, laid a finger across my lips, and said, 'Now
that I've got the chance, I want to speak to you about Zaliek.' I
looked at her quizzically but she went straight on and said, 'He
deserves better, don't you think?'

'Better?'

'Yes. He's a
good commander, isn't he?' I nodded cautiously, wondering what she
was getting at. Shani said, 'Also, you must admit that he's brave
and highly experienced.' I nodded again. She waggled a finger at me
as if I was a naughty boy and continued, 'There you are, Jina. Now
you see that he deserves better.'

'Well, I didn't
say –'

'Oh, Jina,
don't be so modest. A man of your standing and influence can do it
easily.'

'Do what?'

'Why, get a
promotion for Zaliek, of course. I thought you agreed that he
deserves it.'

'Hold it,
Shani, hold it! I can't just dish out promotions like sweet cakes
at a New Moon festival.'

'Oh, Jina,
you're so professional and absolutely, completely incorruptible!
Everybody admires you for that. But don't you think you're being
just a little bit too careful in Zaliek's case?'

'Too careful? I
don't –'

'Of course, you
wouldn't want to be suspected of favouritism. Of course not! But,
on the other hand, you should guard against being unfair to Zaliek
just because of that.'

'I'm not being
unfair to him.'

'No, no, of
course not. That's not what I'm saying. But don't you think you're
being too strict in his case just because you're friends?'

'To tell the
truth, I --'

'You must
understand, Jina, that I would never ask this for myself.' While
she was speaking, Shani came around to my side of the table and
refilled my mug. She stood close to me, brushing my shoulder with
her thigh. As she leaned forward with the jug, I had to fight down
an urge to put a hand on her body just to feel the firm roundness
that I knew lay underneath her robe. Still leaning forward, Shani
chuckled throatily and glanced at me sideways. She murmured a
question about whether she had served me enough juice and I grunted
a reply, unable to trust myself to say anything. Then she
straightened and stood close behind me, smoothing her robe. I could
hear her and sense her but couldn't see her. She chuckled again in
the same way and walked to the other side of the table.