‘Did you castrate Hasik?’ Jardir asked, wasting no time on pleasantries. His anger was only growing. He might be left with no choice but to kill his bodyguard and most favoured advisor both.
‘No, Deliverer,’ Abban said. It was truth, but not the whole truth.
‘Did you order your kha’Sharum to do it?’ he asked, losing patience.
Abban nodded. ‘Yes, Deliverer.’
The men in the room all began angry muttering, but Jardir thumped his spear, and they fell silent. Abban still stood there, calm.
‘I gave you those warriors to protect your business and facilitate trade, not to assault my warriors,’ Jardir said.
‘And so I have,’ Abban said. He turned to Hasik, lifting his crutch to point at the chained man. ‘That one, frustrated with your decree that I not be harmed, has been taking out his ire in my pavilion. You send him to me frequently as your errand boy, and without fail, he takes the opportunity to steal, or break precious merchandise for the pleasure of it.’
‘And for this, you sever his cock?!’ Jardir demanded.
Abban shook his head. ‘Trinkets and baubles are easily replaced, Deliverer. My daughter’s virginity is not. Nor the honour of my wives.’
‘The khaffit lies, Deliverer!’ Hasik shouted. ‘I never …!’
Jardir gave a curt gesture, and one of the guards tightened his noose, cutting off his words. ‘I am Shar’Dama Ka, Hasik, and can see your heart. The next lie that escapes your lips will cost you your life, your honour, and your place in Heaven.’
Hasik’s eyes widened, and his aura went cold.
‘Did you rape Abban’s daughter, Hasik?’ Jardir asked softly.
Hasik was weeping openly now. He did not have the strength to answer, but he nodded. Hanya began sobbing again. Kajivah pulled her daughter in close, catching the tears on her breast while she glared daggers at Hasik.
‘And his wives?’ Jardir asked. Again, a defeated nod.
‘Nevertheless, this cannot be allowed to stand, Deliverer,’ Ashan said. ‘If khaffit — even kha’Sharum — can kill dal, then all civilization crumbles.’
‘Your pardon, Damaji,’ Abban said, ‘but neither I nor my men have killed anyone.’ He gestured to Hasik. ‘As you can see, the Deliverer’s bodyguard is very much alive and able to continue his part in Sharak Ka.’
Jardir glared at him. ‘Why did you not come to me with this?’
Abban bowed as deeply as his crutch would allow. ‘The Shar’Dama Ka has more pressing matters than giving constant reprimands to overzealous Sharum and dama seeking to find loopholes to bully me without breaking your decree.’
Jardir did not miss the change in Shanjat’s and Ashan’s auras at those words. They, too, were guilty of the crime, if not so unsubtly as Hasik. He would have to deal with them in turn.
But then he looked back at Abban, and wondered. Abban was asking, nay, demanding, the right to defend himself. The khaffit stared at him calmly, daring him to take the Sharum’s side over his. If you are fool enough to turn on me over this, then my loyalty has been misplaced, his aura said.
Jardir sighed loudly. ‘Time and again, I have told men in this very hall that Abban is not to be harmed. He is my property, and any harm that comes to him will be from me alone.
‘Every man has the right to stop his daughter’s rape, or avenge it if he can. Even khaffit. Even chin. If Hasik was too weak to defend himself, then he was not worthy of the prize. His cock has gotten him in trouble for the last time. He has sons and daughters to carry on his name, and as the khaffit says, he is still fit for sharak.’
He looked to Hasik. ‘You have paid your due to Abban. The price for striking my sister is divorce, not only from your Jiwah Ka, but your other wives as well. I will not have my sister married to half a man. Hanya will keep her sister-wives, all your property and children.’ He could see how he was crushing Hasik’s spirit, but he did not pity the man. He still remembered what Hasik had done to him, all those years ago in the Maze.
‘You,’ he pointed his spear at the chained warrior, ‘will keep your spear, your shield, and your blacks. You are expelled from the Spears of the Deliverer, but Jayan will find you a new unit to fight for. None here will speak of your injury, and if discovered, you may say it was an alagai wound. Continue to win glory in the night, and you may yet see Heaven. Break Everam’s law again, with even so much as a cup of couzi, and I will see you cast into Nie’s abyss.’
He looked to Ashan and Shanjat. ‘I trust the lesson is clear to you, as well?’
Both men looked chastened, and nodded. ‘Good,’ Jardir said. ‘Make sure the other Sharum and dama know this as well. I will not repeat it.’
Inevera went immediately to her Chamber of Shadows when the audience was over. After the scene with her parents, she had wanted nothing more than to have some time alone with her husband, but it was not to be. The usual mass of courtiers and petitioners were lining up to make their pleas before the Skull Throne, and she had no patience to sit through it all.
She had hoped to save the blood taken from Abban’s kerchief for the right moment, but with his power — and boldness — growing, she could no longer afford to wait. She had not known Ahmann had given the khaffit warriors of his own, and it explained much. Still, she could not believe any kha’Sharum a match for her eunuch Watchers, trained by Enkido himself. They had killed Damaji’s wives in their beds while the men slept beside them.
Hasik had deserved his fate, and so, perhaps, had her Watchers, if they had been fool enough to be caught. But still the trend disturbed her. Already, the khaffit had tried to supplant her. How long before he attempted to strike at her again?
She had leached the blood from the cloth while it was still fresh, storing it in a sealed vial. She took this now, pouring it over her dice. ‘Almighty Everam, give me knowledge of Abban asu Chabin am’Haman am’Kaji. Can he be trusted to serve the Deliverer? Will he continue to strike at me?’ She felt the dice grow warm as she shook, and then cast them to the floor, staring at the brightly glowing symbols.
As always, she was prepared to follow their guidance, but she was not prepared for the answer.
— The khaffit is loyal to the Deliverer. Your fates are intertwined. Harm to one is the same as harm to the other.-
30
333 AR Autumn
Arlen breathed deeply, unused to feeling so afraid.
‘Sure you need to do this?’ Renna asked.
Arlen nodded. ‘Ent got excuse to put things off any longer. Hollow’s recovering, and they know what to expect now. Rojer’s Jongleurs are spreading word wide through the duchy, and folk will come from all over when they hear we won. Defences’ll be stronger by the next new moon than they were on the last. Equinox is just a fortnight away, new moon ten days after that. I’m gonna do this, need to do it now. Ent got time to ride all the way to Rizon. I’ll be careful. Won’t let myself be pulled into the Core.’
He turned to Renna before she could reply, seeing in her aura that he had misunderstood the question. ‘You weren’t asking about me skating so far. You ent sure I should go at all.’
Renna gave him a look that matched the annoyance in her aura perfectly. ‘That Jongleur’s mind-readin’ act of yours is startin’ to give folk the shivers.’