Enchantress: A Novel of Rav Hisda's Daughter (44 page)

“
Were
plotting?” Rava asked. The way he emphasized the past tense, I knew he was anticipating the worst.

“He made Ardeshir and Queen Cashmag watch as Shapur was executed.” She hesitated and shuddered. “Then he ordered Ardeshir blinded and Cashmag stoned.”

“Ha-Elohim!” I gasped as Yalta and Rava made similar exclamations. From what I’d seen, Prince Ardeshir couldn’t have been older than fifteen.

Nachman, trying to contain his outrage, knelt before Ifra. “I understand how disturbing this would be for you, but why come here? The king won’t be interested in you, and surely you’ll be more comfortable in your father’s home.”

She stared at the floor and in a barely audible voice replied, “I am with child from King Hormizd, but nobody at the palace knows.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

SECOND YEAR OF KING ADHUR NARSEH’S REIGN
• 311 CE •

T
he lengthy silence was finally broken by Yalta. “But some of the women there, perhaps a laundress or cleaning slave, must have noticed that you haven’t bled since your wedding.”

“I told them I was
dashtana
while I was here for Shiva.”

“Thank Heaven,” Rava said. “Now we have time to decide whom to inform and when.”

“You may be assured of our hospitality as long as necessary,” Nachman added.

“Until now I have avoided discussing palace politics with Adurbad.” Rava sounded like he was talking to himself rather than to the rest of us. “But now that circumstances have changed, I think I will develop an interest in the subject.”

So far only Rava and Leuton were aware of my pregnancy, but according to my calculations, Ifra and I might be giving birth within days of each other. With Ifra expecting her first child and separated from the rest of her family, she might appreciate the companionship and advice I could provide.

 • • • 

Throughout the month Rava relayed to us the news he’d learned from his magus study partner. The king’s suspicions had not been laid to rest with his brother’s body. Afraid to send Prince Ardeshir away lest a new conspiracy arise around him, yet unable to bear his presence, Adhur Narseh confined the blind youth to his quarters. He surrounded himself with Suren and Karin nobles, leaving the Varaz and Andigans to make do with Prince Hormizd. Most magi, Adurbad included, considered that a mistake, as it would only feed the king’s fears that people were plotting against him.

Unfortunately the magi were correct. Accusing them of treason, King Adhur Narseh had three male cousins killed, and when Suren and Karin courtiers protested, he banished them from court and turned to those from Varaz and Andigan in their place. Prince Hormizd, apparently recognizing the danger, abandoned his noble minions and devoted himself to supporting the king. According to Adurbad, several magi suspected the prince was not as innocent as he appeared.

Thankfully, everyone seemed to have forgotten Ifra, who kept to her rooms as much as possible. I detected no unusual magic at Yalta’s, and none of our many guests mentioned her. Rava put his persuasive powers to work to obtain permission to confide in Adurbad, for only the magi were strong enough to protect Ifra and the child she carried.

As expected, Rava’s news astounded the young magus. Addressing her as Queen Ifra, Adurbad praised her for the clever deception that saved her from the palace’s attention. Then he asked if she would allow a skilled Chaldean to question her.

I knew what he was thinking—if it could be determined that the child was male . . .

Ifra was so eager to learn her child’s fate that Adurbad returned the next day with Hoyshar, an elderly Chaldean of such repute that Rav Nachman was impressed by the magus’s resources. I expected that Hoyshar would question Ifra as Pabak had done with me, but he already had her horoscope, which the palace Chaldeans had cast when she was merely one of several candidates under consideration to marry King Hormizd.

It seemed to take forever for him to shuffle in and sit down before her. Then in a voice so loud we realized he must be half-deaf, he declared that what he wanted to know was when she had conceived.

Yalta made the other men leave the room, but even so the blushing Ifra was unable to provide much help. As was customary, she had broken her hymen the week before so there would be no bleeding, and the king had used the bed with her every night, usually more than once. Hoyshar was so vociferous in his frustration that Yalta admitted she’d been listening in the next room and could thus supply the date and approximate hour of each cohabitation. To everyone’s embarrassment, she had to repeat this several times until Hoyshar understood.

 • • • 

The next time Adurbad and Hoyshar called, they were joined by an older magus named Kardar, who immediately reminded me of Rav Oshaiya. True, the two men looked nothing alike, aside for their white hair, but they both had the serenity that came from a life devoted to serving their Creator, along with the confidence that came from knowing His most powerful secrets. The magi’s insistence on meeting where no one could overhear us had to mean that Hoyshar had made a determination.

“Considering King Hormizd’s horoscope, Queen Ifra’s horoscope, and Yalta’s observations,” Hoyshar intoned, “it is a near certainty that our queen is carrying a boy.”

We surely all had the same thought: that changes everything.

“Queen Ifra must move back to the palace.” Hoyshar’s voice was so loud the slaves didn’t need to eavesdrop. “Where she can be guarded and looked after as befitting her position.”

Before Nachman and Rava could object, Kardar shook his head. “The situation at the palace is too volatile. Until matters are settled between King Adhur Narseh and Prince Hormizd, even I cannot guarantee the queen’s safety.”

“I can,” Yalta declared. When the Chaldean looked at her in amazement, she continued. “I will utilize every protective incantation I know to keep Ifra safe.”

By the way Kardar and Adurbad nodded at each other, I realized that both were aware of Yalta’s status as head sorceress. “We will add our prowess to yours,” Kardar said.

Thus far Ifra had sat there in shocked silence. But now she looked up at the magi. “Why should I be in such danger? Surely you aren’t planning to make this known in the palace.”

“I must consult with other magi,” Kardar said.

“A secret held by three is no secret,” Adurbad added.

“Plus there are always slaves looking to profit from their knowledge of people’s private affairs.” Nachman spoke loudly enough that the room echoed. “And if I suspect any of mine are even considering this, my wife will devise a most unpleasant punishment for them.”

 • • • 

The next day I learned two more spells from Yalta, one to guard against curses and the other against dark magic. Any threats to Ifra and her child would likely come from humans, not demons. Even so, both Adurbad and I prepared incantation bowls, similar but not identical, to safeguard her fetus and fend off the Evil Eye. Kardar called upon a jinni to protect Nachman’s property from trespass and his entire household from harm. I couldn’t see him, but I could sense the tremendous power of the magical creature Kardar had summoned on Ifra’s behalf.

The attack came through the kitchen, not magic.

“Girl, show our mistress what you got in the souk this morning,” the cook told her chief assistant, once she had summoned Yalta and me.

The slave, clearly levels above the lowly grain grinders, held out a stoppered glass flask half-full of a clear yellow liquid. “I was on the street of spice sellers when a woman offered me two purses of gold coins, one now and the other in two weeks, to put a drop of this in our guest’s wine cup each time it was filled.”

Yalta took the flask and smiled. “You both are to be commended for your loyalty.” Then she gestured to the assistant cook.

“Let me see the purse she gave you,” Yalta demanded.

The slave hesitated only a moment. “Yes, mistress,” she said and headed for the women’s quarters.

“What do you make of this?” Yalta handed me the flask.

I held it up to the light and noted its resemblance to one of Em’s potions. Rava would not have approved, but I removed the stopper and took a small sniff.

“It has a slight minty odor, but not strong enough to be detectable in wine.” I rubbed a tiny drop between my thumb and forefinger.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to see if it feels oily, which it does.”

“You recognize it then?” Yalta sounded impressed.

I hadn’t been Em’s apprentice all those years for nothing. “I believe it is pennyroyal oil, a potent, and potentially lethal, abortifacient.” Em preferred potions that prevented pregnancies rather than ended them, but she dispensed both.

“We will save it for Adurbad’s next visit,” Yalta said.

“What are you going to do about the slave who got it?”

“I wonder if I dare have her continue the scheme.”

“Assuming the assassin intended to come back and pay her.” I frowned with distrust. “If she does return, I can coach your slave so she can describe the purported effects accurately.”

A moment later the slave cleared her throat to alert us to her presence. She deposited the plain leather purse in Yalta’s hand, who poured it out and counted it.

“This is a princely sum.” To my surprise, Yalta handed it back to her. “How would you like to earn the rest of it?”

The girl was no fool. “By meeting her again?” she asked. “What if she doesn’t come?”

“She’ll come. She’ll want to know what happened, and you’re the only one who can tell her.”

“You don’t think she’ll have other spies here?” I asked, and then was immediately horrified at what that implied.

Yalta stood up and clapped her hands. When she verified that all her slaves and mine were present, she declared, “Any slave approached by anyone, familiar or stranger, to bring anything suspicious into my home, must notify me at once.” Then she turned to the kitchen assistant. “Name your reward and you shall have it.”

The girl’s eyes opened wide. “Anything?”

“Even your freedom.”

“Why would I want freedom?” she replied scornfully. “So I can marry some poor tenant farmer who makes me work harder than you do and beats me when he’s drunk like my father did my mother? At least here I have a roof over my head, a warm comfortable bed, and plenty to eat.”

Yalta chuckled. “So, what do you want?”

A sly smile stole across the slave’s face. “I don’t want that guard with the scarred face coming to my bed anymore. I want the young one who’s missing a tooth.”

The other slaves gasped at her audacity, but Yalta replied, “That is my husband’s decision, but in this case I will prevail upon him to do as you ask.”

I was so aghast at this clear evidence that Rav Nachman did indeed mix up which male slaves bedded which females, just as my first maidservant told me years ago, that I nearly missed what Yalta said next.

“See the rewards I bestow on those who are loyal and serve me well.” Yalta’s voice was both a promise and a warning. “I reiterate my insistence that anyone who is approached to do something untoward, even merely reporting what she sees here, should inform me at once. As should anyone who sees one of our household being so importuned.”

 • • • 

Once the magi had verified that the yellow liquid was indeed pennyroyal oil, Rava and Adurbad devised a scheme for the magus to follow the veiled culprit back to her employer. But events unfolded even better than they had planned.

Upon returning from the souk, the assistant cook displayed her purse of gold. “I told them that Ifra had taken to bed with a terrible bellyache.”

“Excellent,” I said. “They will think she is affected but not severely enough.”

The slave chortled. “Indeed. When I apologized that I had accidentally spilled some and was almost out, the woman offered me additional gold to meet her next week for more.”

Yalta smiled in approval. “Very clever of you.”

We didn’t have to wait long for Rava to report that Adurbad had followed the potential assassin until she entered the palace women’s quarters.

The woman was one of Warazdukh’s personal slaves.

“Prince Hormizd’s wife?” Ifra exclaimed. “I assumed the king was responsible.”

Kardar shook his head. “We are not certain he wasn’t.” When Ifra looked at him in surprise, he explained, “Hormizd and Warazdukh each insisted that they had nothing to do with the plot, that they were meant to take the blame. And the slave confirmed as much by confessing that one of the king’s courtiers had hired her.”

“I assume the king denied this,” Rav Nachman said.

“Of course he did,” the high priest replied. “To no one’s surprise, the slave could not identify which of the king’s minions had provided the poison and the gold.”

“Did you interrogate the slave further?” Ifra asked.

The magi, along with Nachman and Yalta, looked at her as if she were a naive child. “That would accomplish nothing,” Rava said gently. “The testimony of a slave, especially a female, cannot be trusted. She would certainly lie if told to by her master, and she would also lie to save herself from punishment.”