The Go-Between (The Nilaruna Cycles Book 1) (19 page)
Read The Go-Between (The Nilaruna Cycles Book 1) Online
Authors: Andrea Ring
“High Priest Sanji,” he says. “I
present Prince Kai and his companions.”
He leaves, and the high priest
waves us to a bench while he sits in a plush chair.
“We’ve been missing each other,”
he says, pouring out four goblets of wine. Manoj catches my eye and gives a
small shake of his head.
Do not drink the
wine.
I nod back.
“My business has kept us very
busy,” I say, accepting a goblet. “This is the first opportunity we’ve had to
visit the temple.”
“The temple is the first place
you should have visited upon entering the village,” he says, scolding us. “But
no matter. What business do you have with me?”
“A few things,” I say. “First,
there is a delicate matter between an apprentice you have here, a Larraj, and
the Go-Between, Nilaruna Nandal. You arranged a betrothal?”
He nods. “Larraj will never
become a priest. He’s special, you see. And I’ve known Nilaruna’s father for
years, I respect him, and she was never going to get another proposal. The
arrangement suits both of us.”
“I’m sorry to tell you this, but
the agreement was made after Nilaruna already accepted another proposal.”
Sanji sits up straight, sloshing
wine on his robes. “Ravi never spoke of this! To who?”
I look him in the eye. “To me.”
We stare at each other.
“You…you, the prince, are
betrothed to an untouchable? To one of the most unsightly untouchables in all
the kingdom?”
“Tread carefully, my dear
priest,” I say.
His lips tighten to a thin line.
“I’m simply expressing how everyone feels. I personally feel very protective of
Nilaruna and want to see her happy. But I want recompense. I’ve already started
preparations for the ceremony. And for Larraj’s care, if the priesthood must
continue it, you will make an offering.”
“Agreed,” I say.
He sips his wine carefully,
obviously trying to get himself under control. “What else do you wish to speak
about?”
“The deaths of the Go-Betweens,”
I say. “Maja says someone is doing magic. Is this true?”
I watch for his reaction. Sanji
sighs heavily, bowing his head.
“It’s true.”
“Why wasn’t the crown notified?”
He jerks his head up, his
surprise genuine. “You have been notified. How else would you have known?”
“Nilaruna told me,” I say. “I’ve
received no messages from the priesthood.”
Sanji sets his wine down and
stands. He makes his way to a small desk in the corner of the room, and shuffles
through some papers. “Here. Here are the replies from the crown.” He hands me
the small stack.
The letters are from my father’s
advisor, Chief Barun. I wonder why they didn’t tell me, but that’s a question
for my father, not for Sanji. And none of the letters mentions magic, only that
a pattern of strange deaths had emerged.
“How do you know that magic is at
work here?” I ask.
He resumes his seat. “I’ve done
my best to stamp it out, the magic. It’s too unpredictable, too easily used for
ill purpose. And the priesthood determined long ago that the power of one’s
magic was in no way tied to the caste of the wielder. Imagine that —
untouchables ten times as powerful as the nobility. Magic upset the very fabric
of our society.”
“But you haven’t been able to
stamp it out,” I say.
“No. Not completely. The deaths
of the Go-Betweens…ah, my prince, I cannot tell you the relief I feel that
Nilaruna will be safe with you. I have worried about her since she accepted the
assignment. Now, I will worry about the next one.”
“There won’t be a next one,” I
say. “The gods have given Maja new liberties. Let us say that he will no longer
require a Go-Between. But for now, I wish to keep that knowledge between us.”
He nods.
“Have you no idea who set these
deaths in motion?” I say. “I ask again, how do you know magic is responsible?”
“Ideas, yes, but evidence, no.
All the deaths were untimely and out of the ordinary. Nilaruna can tell you
about them — I made her memorize the circumstances of each one. My best
guess is an untouchable. They are the only ones who could be practicing magic
without others finding out. But which untouchables, and why? Your guess is as
good as mine.”
I meet his eye. “Can you do
magic, High Priest?”
“Never tried,” he says. “Suppose
it’s in my blood, somewhere. But no, I have no wish to do evil.”
“You truly believe magic is
evil?” Faaris asks him.
“Magic has killed twenty-two
girls I loved dearly. Magic,” he says, spitting the word, “unbalances the power
dynamic. Magic transforms what is natural into something unnatural. How can it
not be evil?”
I stand and give Sanji a low bow.
“I thank you for your service, High Priest. We will continue to investigate
these deaths, as well as the use of magic. I expect that if you learn anything
relevant, you will contact me directly, and immediately.”
Faaris and Manoj stand and bow.
“I will,” he says. “May the
blessing of the gods be upon you, Prince Kai. You’re going to need them.”
***
“I told you he believes magic is
evil,” she says. “I’ve never gotten the sense that he’s lying.”
I flop in a chair and struggle to
get my boots off. They’re killing me. Nili kneels at me feet and assists
without me asking.
“Can you tell when someone is
omitting information?” I ask her.
“No,” she says. “Though I suppose
if they’re struggling to keep something a secret, I would be able to detect
that.”
Nili pulls hard on my boot, and
it finally gives, sending her flat on her behind.
She laughs.
But I can’t see the laughter.
“Can you take the veil off for
me?” I ask.
She cocks her head. “Why?”
“I like to see your smile.”
“Kai, you don’t have to—”
“I don’t have to do anything,” I
say. “I want to see you.”
Nili slowly pulls the veil off
and twists it in her fingers. I lean forward and reach my hand out.
“May I?” I ask.
She nods.
I run the pad of my finger over
her forehead, down the melted skin that hangs over her eye.
“Does the skin hurt your eye?” I
ask.
“No. I can’t see very well, but
it doesn’t hurt.”
“You’re lucky you still have your
sight.”
“I am.”
I follow the ridge of her brow to
her temple. I trace along her hairline to her ear.
But she has no ear. Just a small
hole in the side of her head, surrounded by thick, ringed scars.
“Can you hear on this side?” I
ask.
“Yes.”
“Was the ear burned off?”
“Not entirely. My father had to
remove the dead flesh.”
I glide my finger down her cheek
to her lips, the part of her face with the most clear delineation between scars
and healthy skin. The left side is taut and rough. The right, plump, rosy, and
soft.
“You have a perfect line on your
mouth, where the fire touched you and where it did not.”
“The right side of my face was
pressed into the floor,” she says.
I sit back. “May I draw you?”
“You want to draw me?” she asks.
“Very much.”
Nili takes my chair while I fetch
a sheet of parchment and a stick of charcoal from my pack. I lay the parchment
on the floor at her feet.
“May I close my eyes?” she asks.
“I don’t think I can watch you do this.”
“Of course,” I say.
I do a quick sketch, nothing
overly detailed, just the vision of Nili I have in my mind.
Or is it my heart?
“I’m finished,” I say. “Want to
have a look?”
Nili opens her eyes and holds out
her hand. She stares at the sketch forever.
I drew her without any scars. I
drew the person should would have been without the accident. The person she
truly is on the inside.
She hands it back without
comment.
“What do you think?” I ask her,
my heart beating like a trapped insect in my chest.
I’ve never let anyone see my
drawings.
“You’re very talented,” she says
without meeting my eyes.
I should shut my mouth, but it’s
like some unnatural compulsion, the need to hear her thoughts.
“Is that all?”
“I’d like to see your other
drawings,” she says.
“Nili,” I say, but she cuts me
off.
“What do you want me to say, Kai?
That I look pretty? Because I don’t. That girl in your drawing, that’s not me.
It will never be me.”
“But it is you,” I say. “That’s
what I wanted you to see.”
“Or is it who you wish I was?”
I crumple the parchment in a ball
and throw it across the room. “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant at all. I’m
sorry.” I open the door and walk out.
When I come back an hour later
after a walk to clear my head, I find Nili curled up in bed asleep, my drawing
smoothed out and tucked under her pillow.
I fell
asleep with my cheek stuck to the drawing.
When I first looked at it, I
wanted to weep. I thought I was going to fall in a blubbering heap to the
floor, despairing for what could have been and what will never be.
But I held it together.
And Kai, he didn’t deserve the
way I detached and distanced myself from him and what he was trying to express
to me. But a tiny part of me loved his reaction — he threw a tantrum,
over me. I won’t let it get to that point again, because I do want to at least
have a solid friendship with him, but it’s nice to have someone get worked up
over me. In a good way.
The door creaks open, and Faaris
and Manoj and Kai enter the room. I keep my eyes closed and listen.
“The innkeeper’s son is
sufficient, Faaris,” Kai says in a low voice so as not to wake me. “I’ve paid
him. He’ll not let anyone harm Saphala.”
“As long as he is able to shout loudly.
I should have made him give one good scream.”
Kai huffs. “He’s sitting in a
chair right outside the door. We’ll hear anyone who happens by. Relax.”
“Easy for you to say,” Faaris
says. “Nili is tucked safely in your bed. I wish it were so with Saphala.”
“You wish for her to be safely
tucked into Kai’s bed?” Manoj says.
There’s a pause.
“Did Manoj just make a joke?”
Faaris asks.
Kai chuckles softly. “I do
believe he did.”
“I have a highly developed sense
of humor,” Manoj says. “I simply find, most often, that it’s wasted on the two
of you.”
Kai and Faaris crack up.
“Can we please focus?” Manoj
says. “I vote we leave in the morning.”
“You’re already packed,” Faaris
says. “Let’s leave now. I don’t want Saphala’s father to catch wind that she’s
here.”
“We leave in the morning,” Kai
says. “It’s difficult enough traveling in the dark, and I don’t want to attempt
it with two women. I mean, two women who have physical difficulties. I’m sure
Saphala could use another night of rest.”
I smile to myself. Kai knows I’m
awake and listening.
“Let’s all turn in,” he says. He
sits on the edge of the bed and rubs a hand down my arm. “Nili?”
“Hmm?” I say.
“Would you like to spend the
night with Saphala? I’m sure you’d be a comfort to her.”
I have no wish to leave Kai’s warm
bed, but I nod. “Thank you for thinking of her. I think she hasn’t really
processed the whole thing. She wouldn’t speak to me about it.”
“Different people handle trauma
differently,” he says. “You, you used it as an opportunity to become a greater
version of yourself, but I think most people have trouble facing it. When
soldiers return from war, for instance, they often refuse to speak about it.”
“Have you been to war?” I ask.
“No. We’ve been lucky that since
I’ve come of age, full-scale war hasn’t touched Jatani. There’ve been
skirmishes with pirates and such, but my father never let me actively
participate.”
“And yet you are Commander of the
Royal Navy,” I say.
“Ironic, isn’t it?”
“Do you want to go to war?” I
ask.
“Well, I don’t want war. But I
would like to test myself, if that makes sense.”
I don’t comment. We’re both
thinking it — soon enough, Kai may get his wish.
***
“May I sleep with you?” I ask
her. “I think it’s best I don’t spend the night with three men.”
Saphala stands, laughing. “I
don’t know about that. But of course, my princess, you may join me.”
We get settled under the blankets
and face each other.
“What were you looking at, out
the window?” I ask her.
“Just the village,” she says. “It
looks the same, smaller perhaps, but I’m sure that’s just my perspective.
Nothing has changed, and yet everything has changed.”
“Why don’t you want to go back
home?” I ask her. “You must miss your family.”
Saphala sighs and rolls to her
back. “My father’s not a good man, Nili,” she says. “He’s hiding things. He let
me go away. In fact, he was the one who insisted I go away. I won’t go back to
him. Ever.”
I gasp. “But…what? He is the one?
Oh, Saphala, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“It’s okay as long as I don’t
have to live with him,” she says. “Have you heard any word of Lili?”
I swallow. Lili is Saphala’s
sister, two years younger, and her complete opposite. Where Saphala was haughty
and foreword, Lili was humble and shy. Where Saphala wished for riches and
jewels, Lili wished for love.
Lili ended up with both. She’s
been Shiva’s mistress for several cycles, and Shiva rewards her family well.
They are still untouchables, but the Parsa home looks like it belongs to a
merchant.
I don’t know how much of this I
should reveal to Saphala. Her jealousy would only be roused, and I’m not sure
there’s a point.
“Lili is well,” I say.
“Is she married?”
“No, she still lives at home with
your father, though right now she’s at the barracks. Have you heard about the
barracks?”
“Yes. The one good thing I can
say about my exile is that I did not lack for information,” Saphala says
bitterly. “When will the girls return home? Has your engagement been
announced?”
“No,” I say. “We’re waiting to
return to Indrapur. I’m sure the girls will all be disappointed. Especially
when they hear it’s me marrying the prince.”
“Well, half the girls from Dabani
are untouchables just like us,” she says. “I think you’ll give them hope, hope
that they can become more than a fisherman’s daughter or a corpse-washer’s
wife.”
“Do you think so?” I ask her.
She flips back to me. “Of course.
I know you’ve given me that hope.”
Saphala’s hands find mine under
the covers. We fall asleep, our hands clasped tightly between us.
***
I don’t mind. I’d like to get to
know the man Kai calls his best friend better.
“Tell me about your life at the
palace,” I say to him. “What are your duties?”
“I’m Kai’s Chief Advisor, so any
matter he has a question on, we consult. It keeps me quite busy. Kai is full of
questions.”
I smile. “And you’ve known each other
since childhood?”
“Practically from birth,” he
says. “My parents are nobles, contemporaries of the king. My father serves as
head of the treasury.”
“What were you like as children?”
“Kai was curious and
adventuresome. Always climbing a tree, or stealing a bun from the kitchens. I
mostly ran after him and told him to stop acting like a fool.”
I laugh. “You shaped him, Manoj.
It’s like he has a little voice playing in his head, helping him to make the
right decisions. I’m sure that voice is yours.”
He twists in the saddle to look
at me. “That’s a nice thing for you to say.”
“It’s true. There’s no one’s
opinion he values more. I know I’ve only known him a short time, but I can see
that clearly.”
I didn’t say those things just to
win Manoj to my side, but that’s the effect they have. Manoj is in a fine,
chatty mood as we ride through the last of the outer fields of Dabani.
“Why are you not married?” I ask
him. “Aren’t all of you a bit old to be single?”
He shrugs. “Kai couldn’t marry
until this cycle, and I think Faaris and I just took our cues from him. Neither
of us wanted to be married and raising kids while the others were free to play
about.”
“So you’ve done a lot of playing,
have you?”
Manoj clears his throat. “That’s
not what I meant. I mean—”
I laugh. “It’s okay, Manoj. I get
it.”
He blows out a breath. “Kai is
actually quite different from most men in our culture,” he says. “Yes, he’s had
his share of fun, but he’s never considered having a mistress. He believes it’s
disrespectful to the marriage vows.”
“Perhaps that has to do with his
mother,” I suggest.
Manoj nods. “Ask him about it
when you get a chance. There are a few important stories there.”
I wait for him to say more, but
Manoj stays silent. Amazing. A person who actually doesn’t gossip?
“Maja taught you to do magic,
yes?” he asks suddenly.
“He helped me tap into my
talents, if that’s what you mean.”
He nods. “Would you teach me? If
we’re going to be fighting magic, I should be prepared.”
“I’m not really a teacher, and
I’ve only had a few days of lessons,” I say.
“Please, my princess,” he says.
That’s the second
my princess
I’ve received. Saphala said
it sarcastically, but Manoj is serious.
I grip his waist tighter and lean
forward, resting my chin on his shoulder so he can hear me properly.
“Think about what you’re good
at,” I say. “Think about a time you did something, anything, and it was
completely natural, easy.”
“Numbers,” he says. “I’ve always
been good at numbers.”
“Can you add large sums in your
head?”
“To a point.”
“I’m going to give you two
numbers to add,” I say. “Close your eyes. Don’t think. Try to let the answer
come to you naturally. Ready? 3,789 and 6,937.”
“10,726,” he says immediately. We
both take a few seconds to calculate the sum properly.
“I think that’s right,” I say,
looking slyly at my fingers.
“Oh, it’s right,” he says. “That
was amazing. Thank you.”
“But it won’t really help you
when the assassin shows up,” I say. “We need something more physical. You were
pretty good on the rope when we crossed the Swifty.”
“There’s a creek in Indrapur,” he
says. “We played there as children, but as we grew, I’d visit it alone.
Sometimes I needed to get away and think. The palace is very crowded…anyway,
you can cross the creek without getting wet, but you have to hop on about
twenty very slippery rocks. I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“What about weapons?” I ask him.
“Faaris is skilled with a sword. Is there some weapon you’re partial to?”
“I do the butchery when we hunt,”
he says. “I’ve never actually killed anything with a knife, but I’m fast in
breaking down a carcass.”
“We can try a knife when we camp
for the night,” I say. “What about fire? Ever tried to light one?”
He chuckles. “Not with my finger,
no. But I do have an affinity for other elements. I’m thinking of earth in
particular. I’m a tracker, one of the best in the kingdom. I always ride point
in a hunt and pick up the trail. Could that be magic?”
“I bet it is,” I say. “I have a
bit of magic for listening and hearing. Let me try to hear something, and you
can try to see it.”
We go quiet. I can hear the
horses’ hooves clip-clopping in the dirt. I can hear Saphala laughing with
Faaris. I block those out.
A bird chirps to our left and
skims the leaves of a tree. It chitters to its mate, and the mate answers back.
I hear a small rodent scuffling
in a bush about twenty yards ahead.
“A mouse. Up ahead to the right,”
I whisper.
Manoj scans the area. “I see a
mole,” he says. “How do I see it? It’s hidden from the road. It’s—”
“Digging,” I say.
He laughs. “Your hearing is good.
Wait.”
I wait patiently, listening to
the sounds of nature as the trees around us begin to grow more dense and we
enter the woods separating Dabani from Indrapur.
It’s a cacophony of sound,
really. Thousands of birds, the hum and buzz of insects, the gentle breath of
the wind rustling the leaves of trees, the chatter of squirrels, the—
I freeze.
“Human,” I whisper, my body going
rigid. “Five hundred paces. Just left of the road.”
Manoj slows the horse and raises
his hand in the air. I turn in my seat, and I see Kai and Faaris freeze their
mounts at his signal.
“Slip off, take Saphala, and find
a place to hide. Do not move from your hiding place. We will return for you.”
I give him one squeeze for good
luck and slip off the side of his horse. Faaris lowers Saphala to the ground,
and I run to her, grab her hand, and hustle us into the trees.
“What is it?’ Saphala whispers.
“Human. Probably just a traveler,
but we’re not taking any chances. Quiet.”
The trees are rather sparse at this
point in the wood, so I choose a cluster of bushes to hide behind. We scare a
rabbit out of its den, and Saphala and I huddle down amongst the thorny
branches.
