Chapter 14: Ahead or Behind?

Getting past the posted guard in the evening proved simple enough. They apparently recognized Dusana and Calendra from school, but I was shocked they seemed to know Juniusey, whom they addressed by the title of “Sister”. We silently walked to Tulonan’s office and I used my key to let us in. 

 Calendra held up his torch and asked, “Where will we find it, Syndeeka?”

 In the torchlight, the room was a flickering orange and long shadows danced on the walls. 

 I stepped over to my skiff in the corner of the office and looked to Juniusey. “I need a knife.”

 Juniusey’s mouth pulled into a wise smirk. “A knife? Do you mean a dagger?”

 “It doesn’t matter. A short blade will do.”

 I knelt by the skiff and turned it around and placed a hand on its wooden crossbeam. I’d wrapped the modest seat with cloth strips like the students did to make it more comfortable.

 Juniusey pulled a long dagger from a bag at her belt. “Don’t try anything foolish, my dear. If anything should happen to me, remember we still have Mala.”

 I took the blade from her. “What about them?”

 Juniusey smiled warmly, regarding Dusana and Calendra, who stood at her side grinning like idiots. “They are such sweet boys. And so loyal. Regardless, they are but foot soldiers in Medon’s army.”

 Dusana took his flute from under his arm and placed the mouthpiece to his lips. “Sister Juniusey, may I serenade us as we embark on the next phase of this momentous undertaking?”

 Juniusey sighed. “No, I’ve heard enough of that flute for one day. Put it away.”

 Good, I thought, some consolation to be found in this night’s misery.

 I reached my free hand behind the middle section of the crossbeam and felt a curving bulge in the cloth wrappings. I ran the blade across the bandages and heard the slightest tearing sound as Suhodaten’s key came loose. It fell into my hand and I looked to Juniusey. 

 “You have it then?” she asked, approaching and then stooping over me.

 I let my lungs fill with air.

 “Yes.”

 She extended an open hand. “Give it to me, Syndeeka. Then we’ll all go home.”

 “Home?”

 With the torchlight above and behind her, I could barely make out her shadowed smile. “We may still have need of your services, my dear.”

 The metal cylinder grew sweaty in my hand.

 “Do you want the dagger first? Or do you still trust me with it?”

 Juniusey chuckled. “You make a fine point, my child. Yes, let me have the dagger first.”

 I knew Tulonan wouldn’t want my sword anywhere he could see it. What better place to conceal it than behind my skiff?

 I handed her the dagger.

 She tucked the weapon in the bag on her belt. “And now the key, dear.”

 Slowly and with a vast reluctance, I placed the cylinder into her waiting hand.

 Juniusey put the key into a large cloth bag hanging from a strap at her shoulder. “Now, I’m sure you must be greatly concerned about your lover. Let us go then and you can see her.”  Lover? Had Bardrakeu repeated Mala’s lie to Nebiat?

 I turned the skiff around. “May I put my watercraft back in its place?”

 I reached around the small boat to retrieve my sword.

 “Do you take me for an idiot?” asked Juniusey. “Stand up now. If you try and do anything reckless tonight, your precious Mala will die.”

 I let the skiff fall forward against the two intersecting walls of the corner and stood. I turned to Juniusey.

 “She’s not my lover.”

 “Regardless, you still care for her. What did you think you were going to do?”

 I laughed dryly. “You all were so sure of yourselves that you didn’t even think to blindfold me when you marched me from the country house to the campus.”

 “You hear that?” asked Calendra. “She was going to try and kill us and then tell the Emperor where the house is so he could send a legion to finish off Medon.”

 “Presumptuous, aren’t you, sir?” I asked, stepping up to Calendra. “I’ve no intention of going back to the Emperor at this point. However, I wouldn’t mind stabbing you.”

 “We’ll have none of that,” said Juniusey. “But come. You’ve kept your side of our agreement, Syndeeka. Let us return so you can check in on your dear friend.” 

 When we finally got back to the house, Juniusey took me to Mala’s room. It was dark but for the faint light coming in through the open doorway. Mala was sleeping in a bed by a shuttered window. I knelt down beside her and looked at her unconscious form. The covers were pulled up to her chin and a heavy wrapping of bandages (almost like a turban) was covering her forehead. 

 Juniusey touched a hand to my shoulder. “Will we have any more problems with you, astronomer?”

 She wasn’t complimenting me with that title, but emphasizing why I was their prisoner.

 “No.” I pulled Mala’s hand from under the blanket and took it in my own, and let air slowly hiss out of my mouth like it was my very soul.

 “No,” I continued, “there’s nothing left now.”

 “She should be out for a few days.”

 I looked to Juniusey. “A few days?”

 “I was very careful with how I formulated the drug. If it had been much more, Mala would have dropped dead. But I’ve done this before.”

 “May I stay with her tonight?”

 Juniusey removed her hand from my shoulder.

 “No. Go to your room and go to bed. I promise I’ll clean her and feed her. She’s too important to you for us to neglect.”

 “She shouldn’t be lying on her back. Not with the arrow wound she received.”

 “I’ll be sure to get someone to turn her on her side tonight.”

 “Can’t you do it now?”

 In the dark I could see Juniusey’s eyes glare at me. “You needn’t worry about that. Go to bed.”

 Sleep did not come easily to me that night, even though my body felt exhausted. I lay in my bed, my eyes darting round the darkened room (lit only by the faintest silver moonlight) as my mind raced. Juniusey had placed a liquid sedative in a wooden cup on the small table by my pillow, but my fears of her concoctions and their effects on both Mala and me made me reluctant to drink it.

 What do I do now? I wondered. Was there no escape? I worried so much about Mala. I’d doubted her. Maybe I still did. She had to be a fool to trust these people.

 Part of me wished I could squeeze though that narrow window I’d peered through earlier. And what? Fall to my death? Escape? I was in a walled-in complex and lacked Mala’s climbing skills.

 I had to stay here for her. She may have gotten me stuck in this pastoral prison, but her heart was always kind and decent.

 I closed my eyes and dreamt of sleep.

 Groggily, I realized that I must have passed into slumber at some point in the pre-dawn hours because now a flute trilling into my skull from far away had just woken me. Reluctantly, I pulled my eyelids open and saw the golden light of a noonday sun on the walls. 

 Dusana, why must you always play that stupid instrument? I thought. You’re not that good.

 I pressed my hand into the soft down of my mattress to prop myself up.

 The flute music was coming from the courtyard beyond my window. Mingled with it were men’s voices and the sound of heavy objects dragged across flagstones, the clop of hooves, and the rolling of wooden wheels. 

 The crates were still by my window so I figured I might as well have a peak outside.

 My whole body was stiff and tired, but I managed to stack the crates and step up to the window. 

 Below me were two oxen hitched to a wagon with plank board wheels. They lazily chewed weeds growing between the flagstones as several large, burly men in baggy shirts hefted wooden barrels out of the flatbed of the wagon and rolled them across the courtyard and into the open maw of a cellar with its doors flung wide. 

 Supervising their labor was a tall woman in a long-sleeved gray dress and a wide straw hat. She had a purple sash around her waist which I recognized from my time in the capital as the emblem of a holy order.

 I knew the wagon had come from outside, so I looked about the complex for the gate we’d gone through last night, but it must  have been on the other side of the house. 

 Were those wine barrels? Maybe that was why Medon had employed the services of Nebiat, the butler. I realized there had to be a link between Suhodetan’s key and these barrels, but what was it? Why had Medon mentioned the water tanks being full the night Mala and I had flooded the catacombs? 

 Oh, why was I still mulling over this mystery? I could just go and ask them.

 My whole body suddenly tightened with anger. No matter; I wanted to find out what was going on, rage be damned.

 When I finally got down to the courtyard, Dusana and his flute were gone, but the woman in gray accosted me, grabbing me by both my arms and eyeing me sternly from under her hat brim. Juniusey.  “What are you doing here, Syndeeka?”

 I kept recalling the old woman cutting Mala’s forehead with a dagger, and I wanted nothing better than to return the favor.

 “I’m not trying to escape, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m just curious as to what you all are doing.”

 Juniusey let go my arms and smiled. “Why, we’re getting ready for the festivities for the coming new year. We’re going to be giving out free wine at the campus on the Vernal Equinox.”

 “And you’re in charge of this operation?”

 “Well, aren’t you a nosy girl? Nebiat would have been in charge of this operation, but…” she stared at me with slitted eyes…“someone of course made that option impossible.”

 I wasn’t about to let her guilt me into silence.

 “You make potions, though, and you still need that key for the Equinox.”

 Juniusey chuckled. “You’ll know what it’s all about in due time, girl.”

 She turned her back on me and headed for the cellar.

 I swear, if they hadn’t been holding Mala hostage, I would have tried to kill that hateful old woman that very moment.

 In my frustration, I returned to my room and found someone had placed a tray on the table beside my bed. On it was a bowl with several sausage links, a wooden saucer holding a wedge of yellow cheese and two pieces of flatbread, and a cup of water.

 I may have felt dejected at that moment, but I still had enough sense to want to keep up my strength should an opportunity arise to free Mala and escape this place. I ate in silence, mulling over my options.

 I was unarmed and in a compound full of sword-wielding guards. I knew they were keeping Mala in their sites, so I couldn’t just traipse into her room and take her out. Plus, if Juniusey could be trusted (a debatable notion) then my friend would be unconscious for the next few days.

 Eating my breakfast, I noticed the two crates had been removed from my bedroom. I cursed myself for not trying to check their contents before they’d disappeared.

 I wanted to search the compound for any possible exits besides the front gate. Still hearing the bustle of men moving wine barrels outside (although Dusana’s annoying flute was mercifully silent) I decided to bide my time before venturing forth.

 The next hour, I kept myself occupied by first going through my daily exercise routine and then by re-braiding the cornrows of my hair.

 There no longer seemed to be any guards posted at my door so coming and going seemed simple enough. I managed to circumvent the main court area where they’d been unloading the wine and was able to walk the inner length of the steep stone wall that rimmed in this seemingly pleasant country estate. Guards were few and far between, but then no additional exits were visible either. 

 I did, however, find a tree-filled garden in one corner of the compound. I weaved my way amongst tall, lean cypress trees till I found a secluded copse with a marble bench, plopped down on the stone seat, and let out an exhausted sigh. My hands cradled my downturned face as I closed my eyes and gently moaned.

 “Don’t despair.”

  I looked up and turned my head at the familiar voice.

 Medon, huge and imposing and draped in black robes, shambled towards me. His large gloved hands pulled on the thick wooden staff he used to support his massive frame. Tucked under the leather of his belt was Tulonan’s spyglass.

 “May I join you?”

 My heart raced and my skin burned, and I had to take in a deep breath before I could bring myself to answer.

 “Uh…Yes. Um, that is if there’s enough room on this bench for the two of us.”

 I stood.

 “No.” He waved me down. “Sit, my dear. I understand how you must feel.”

 I walked a few paces away from the bench. “I think you’d be more comfortable if you sat, Medon.”

 From under his mask came a contorted smile. “You are indeed a kind would-be assassin.”

 He lurched past me and slowly settled himself on the bench. His dark bulk took up the whole seat.

 I stepped away from him and regarded his reddened eyes before looking about me. “You’re not alone, are you?”

 The black-clad giant gave a faint, dry chuckle. “I’m afraid I’m not so trusting, Syndeeka, as to think your smaller size and lack of weapons stops you from being a threat to me. No, we’re not alone. Men have loaded crossbows trained on you. The trees conceal them, but you’re within their range.”

 I pulled my eyes up to the clouds and smiled, then returned my gaze to Medon. “Of course. But I’m supposed to be a happy prisoner, am I?”

 He pulled Tulonan’s spyglass from his belt and held it out to me. “Would this give you any joy? I must admit, I am flattered the Deity Imperator sent an astronomer to kill me.”

 I let out a mirthless laugh. “He probably consulted his court astronomers after he’d read the poem you sent him. I’m sure I was the first person that came into his mind for this mission.”

 I reached a hand out and took the spyglass from him.

 I turned it over in my hands, reexamining the device but resisting the urge to place it to my eye.

 “Maybe tonight, you can use Tulonan’s spyglass to study the Divine Diamond Highway.”

 I looked to Medon. “Why? What’s the significance of that celestial configuration?”

 Medon shrugged his broad shoulders. “Does there have to be any significance? You can simply look up at the starry bridge to the heavens and be moved by its beauty.”

 “The Cosmic Mother, slain by the Celestial Lord and Lady.” I smiled wryly. “They used to kiss while sitting atop her on the campus grounds. But now they’re fallen on their backs, lifeless.”

 Medon lifted himself up on his staff. “Funny how things can come full circle.”

 “The water tanks are full. I remember you saying that.”

 “Yes.”

 I gasped in realization. “That’s it! Where else would the tanks be but in the serpent?”

 “Do you understand, then?”

 I splayed my fingers over my mouth. “Water…and wine. Bardrakeu almost went up in flames the night he caught me in his father’s wine cellar.”

 “Like you said, Syndeeka, water and wine.”

 “Kindling to make the water boil inside the bowels of the snake…automaton. Of course. Suhodetan must have designed it to be an engine…”

 “Of war.”

 The warm elation of my discovery instantly became a freezing frost on my skin. I recalled the clockwork god at the palace and how I was barely able to destroy it after it had killed half the courtiers present.

 Medon’s mangled mouth twisted into a smile. “There should be enough water in the tanks to get us off of the academy grounds and to a recharge point– a more constant source of liquid life.”

 “Medon…you, you mustn’t do this. You wouldn’t just be allowing innocent people to perish by destroying the seat of the Empire; you’d be murdering them outright.”

 Medon hobbled towards me and stared down into my wide eyes. “No, their blood will be on Fodineo Quabeno’s hands, not mine.”

 He left me then.

 Left me alone with all my fears. With all my doubts. With all my regrets.

 Only the dark celestial splendor of the night sky offered any comfort to my burning heart. And that merely as a gossamer dream to distract me from the bleak realities unfolding here on earth.

 That night, I returned to the garden to explore the moon and the planets and the stars. I saw only a few guards on my way across the complex, and they seemed to not care about my presence.

 The garden was alive with the chirping of crickets. It was a familiar sound and one that I welcomed. The full moon made it easy for my eyes to adjust to the darkness as I wound my way across the garden path. I knew a full moon marked the coming of a new month, the time of the Vernal Equinox. If there were any people on the moon staring back at me through their own spyglasses, they would soon gaze on something harsh and violent and irreparable.

 As I attempted to find a better position where my view of the starry heavens wouldn’t be obstructed by trees, I found myself wandering off the flagstoned path and into a meadow-like area with a wide, expansive view of the Divine Diamond Highway. Large twigs snapped under my boots. The sound brought back an old memory of a fellow mercenary teaching me how to kindle a flame by rubbing two sticks together. 

 I knelt down and retrieved several large sticks and considered what I could do with fire. 

 Set this whole cypress garden ablaze so the guards would be distracted, then run with a flaming brand and toss it onto the now-locked cellar doors. All those barrels of wine below would explode in a hot furry and this country estate would quickly transform into an inferno. Maybe I could use a small tree branch to brain a warrior and steal his sword. Then, in all the chaos, I could creep up on Juniusey from behind and put the blade to her neck and force these fanatics to release Mala. My friend could then use her superior climbing skills to help me ascend a high wall and we’d drop down into the surrounding woods and escape.

 No, I thought, coming back to earth. That was nothing more than an elated fever dream born out of my own desperation.

 They had Mala in their clutches and had already proven they’d harm her if I was defiant. If a genuine opportunity should arise, then I would surely take it. But there were guards everywhere, watching me, even if I couldn’t see them. These fanatics had too much to lose by being careless.

 I studied the heavens till the first light of dawn tinged the cypress leaves. Then I crept back to my bed where I stayed for most of the following day.

 For the next few days my routine mostly consisted of sleeping late into the afternoon, eating my meals through the early evening hours, then heading out to the garden with Tulonan’s spyglass to continue my astronomical studies. I was so furious with Medon and Juniusey that I avoided them as much as possible. Mercifully, servants began bringing my meals or taking out my chamber pot. They also gave me a large picture of water and a wash basin so I could give myself sponge baths, as well as a series of white dresses like Mala had worn. I assumed Juniusey was preoccupied with supervising the festivities for the Equinox, so she’d have little time to torment me with her acidic words.

 I’d occasionally run into Medon on my sojourns to the garden, but he mostly kept conversation to the merest of pleasantries. Rudeness might anger him, yet I could only bring myself to respond to his greetings and small talk with the most banal and unemotional comments. I’d then hurry on my way, my mood for the rest of the evening soured and my heart settling into the depths of my bowels.

 It was at the end of the week that Mala came to visit me, just as I awoke from my daily slumber.

 I lay in my bed with the covers half pulled over me, groggily taking inventory of my surroundings and turning over random thoughts as they rose up into my mind. A gentle knock at the door brought me out of my musings.

 “Yes?” I asked in a flat tone.

 The door’s hinges squealed as it slowly opened and a turbaned head popped out from behind its wooden planks. Mala beamed at me as she stepped into the room. She was wearing a dark blue dress which looked new and was holding a small clay jar.

 “I thought you’d like some company. Juniusey told me you’ve been pretty unsociable as of late.”

 She closed the door behind her and crossed the room and sat on the foot of my bed.

 “Mala… I’ve been so worried about you lately.”

 I sat up in the bed and Mala leaned in and gave me a tight hug. 

 “Of course. I didn’t think you’d feel any differently. Here,” She released me and handed me the clay jar, “this is more of my salve. I’m sure you could use it.”

 I placed the jar on the small table next to my bed. “Thank you, Mala, although my leg feels better these days. But you talk to Juniusey? After what she did to you?”

 Mala let out a faint sigh. “She just wanted to get your assurance that you’d cooperate. I have faith she will not harm me. Mostly because I have faith in you. You’re my best friend.”

 She took my hand and held it in her own.

 “I don’t understand. She’s permanently scarred you. You’re not bitter?”

 Mala’s smile softened. “Years ago, an act like she did would have made me want her head on a pike. But time gives a person perspective, and these people have dedicated their lives to destroying the Deity Imperator.”

 My friend’s line of reasoning deeply troubled me. She had always been someone I could seek advice from, but there were times when her decisions seemed to follow a logic of their own.

 “Yes, but if these people are willing to harm you, why would you ever entertain the notion they had your best interests in mind?”

 Mala cupped her face in her hand and stared off to the side. “How do I make this clear to you? Um, you know the water shuttles?”

 I sighed. “Of course. I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.”

 “Well, the water sluices in the aqueduct are too narrow for a longboat to turn around. It’s one thing if there are connecting tributaries like they have in the city, but that’s not an option in the country.”

 I let my hands cradle my face before dropping them into my lap. “Really, Mala, I have no idea what you’re getting at.”

 Mala lay her hand on my shoulder. “It’s simple. If I’m at the bow of the ship when it’s going into the countryside then I’m at its head. But if the ship should stop and pick up passengers and return to the city, my position is suddenly at the stern, even though my feet haven’t moved from the spot they’ve been standing the whole trip.”

 I groaned.

 Mala chuckled playfully. “It’s not that hard a concept to grasp. The water shuttle can’t turn around, but your perspective can.”

 I fell back into my pillow, gasping. “Is this an analogy one of the philosophy students told you?”

 “No! Give me some credit, Syndeeka. You’re not the only one of us who can come up with a clever idea.”

 I propped myself up with an elbow. “You’re talking about fatalism, aren’t you? The Emperor’s behavior ensures his destruction, so you just want to be on the winning side. What about your convictions? Are they part of your malleable perspective, too?”

 Mala stood and slowly paced the length of the room. “My convictions are as steadfast as ever.” She stopped and turned to me. “You’re the one who suddenly thinks Fodineo should live.”

 I hopped out of bed and strode up to her. “I don’t want him to live! I just don’t want innocent people to die with him.”

 “No more people would die than if his reign continued.”

 “That’s not true! Medon is using us to get access to a device he’ll surely use for mass murder.”

 Mala grinned and chuckled and shook her head. “Do you believe that?”

 “Why do you think they wanted the key? You saw what happened when you turned it in that slot in the king’s chamber. Obviously, there has to be more to that metal bar than just flooding the catacombs.”

 She patted my shoulder. “You’ll be happy to know that’s no longer the case. Juniusey told me the merchants and senators with country homes petitioned Fodineo to do something about the flooding and so he sent his engineers to cut off the water. Of course, now nobody in this area can access water from the aqueduct.”

 I stepped away from Mala and walked under the light of the window. “If Medon was just holding water from the aqueduct for ransom, this wouldn’t be so bad.” I turned to her. “He’s going to murder a lot of people. That snake at the philosophy academy is a weapon. That’s why Medon needs the key.”

 Mala’s eyes rolled in her smiling face. “I can’t believe that.” She walked to the door, opened it halfway, and turned back to me. “Dear Syndeeka, in only a matter of a few weeks, everything will become clear and then you and I will find ourselves living in a new and better world.”

 She stepped into the hall and closed the door behind her.

 Most times, she was actually a wise woman.