The Fire Seer and Her Quradum (7 page)

A gray horse poked his nose over the stall door.

“There you are,” said Taya, reaching out to pet him. “And here’s your blood bay, next door.”

Mandir wasn’t affectionate with his horse, but he felt awkward just standing in the aisle while Taya cooed to Soldier. He went to the door of the blood bay’s stall to see if the horse would come over for petting the way Soldier had.

The blood bay just eyed him. Oh well.

“This one is yours?” asked Nindar from behind them.

Mandir turned. So the boy
did
speak—when he felt like it.

“Yes,” said Taya. “His name is Soldier.”

“I was wondering how you wanted me to feed him,” said Nindar. “He’s thin.”

Taya nodded. “He was in that condition when I bought him last week—worse, actually. I don’t know him well enough yet to know the best way to feed him. But I want him to put on weight.”

“Does he do well on barley?” asked Nindar.

“I think so,” said Taya. “And grass.”

“What’s the name of this one?” Nindar peered into the blood bay’s stall.

“He doesn’t have a name,” said Mandir.

Nindar gave him a disapproving look. “Every horse should have a name.”

Taya had told him the same thing a couple of times. “I’m still thinking about it.”

“He’s a nice horse,” said Nindar. “And that gray one, Soldier—he’s got a wonderful disposition.”

“Doesn’t he?” Taya gushed. She immediately launched into the story of where she’d bought him and how.

Mandir tuned out their conversation and looked around. There were over a dozen horses in residence, including Soldier and the blood bay. More horses than Tufan needed, but the man had always been inclined toward excess. They seemed reasonably happy and in good flesh except for one, an elegant and nervous-looking chestnut mare.

Mandir was getting a sense of Nindar’s character. The boy might be fearful, but as long as he was talking about horses, he wasn’t shy. He took great interest in Taya’s story.

“You want to meet the other horses?” Nindar was asking Taya. “I could show you around.”

“Actually, we’re looking for Setsi,” said Mandir. “We need to talk to him.”

“I thought you might,” said Nindar. “He’ll be here in half an hour, for the tutor.”

“Tutor?” inquired Taya.

“Tufan employs a tutor to educate his children,” Mandir explained.

“Oh.” Her brows rose. “Well, if we have half an hour before Setsi arrives, why don’t you show me around, Nindar?”

As they set off, Mandir settled onto a bale of straw to wait.

Chapter 8

Taya spent an enjoyable half hour being led around by Nindar as he expounded on each of the animals in his charge.

“I’m worried about this mare,” he said, leading her to the final stall, which held the elegant chestnut. “She’s nervous. See how she paces back and forth in her stall, even with food in her bucket? I can barely keep weight on her. I’m afraid my father may dispose of her.”

“You mean sell her?”

“Tufan never sells his horses,” said the boy.

Taya blinked. “So he’ll kill her if she doesn’t work out?”

“My father says a horse needs to be obedient no matter what. This mare, though—she’s not willful. She doesn’t
want
to be bad. She just gets scared.”

“Have you ridden her?”

“A few times,” said Nindar. “We just got her, and she has some problems I need to work through. But I don’t think I can make her into what Tufan wants her to be.”

Taya hadn’t expected to like anyone at Tufan’s, after what Mandir had told her about his brothers, but she did like Nindar. He couldn’t be more than nine or ten years old, but he spoke like an adult. Nothing about Nindar put her in mind of Yanzu or Runawir or even Mandir; it astonished her that all four of them could have been sired by the same man.

She hated that he would have to grow up here. Could they take him away as well as Setsi?

She heard Mandir rising from his hay bale and turned to see a new boy entering the stable. He was an adolescent, awkward in his proportions and just beginning to put on some height. This must be Setsi. Taya hurried to Mandir’s side.

“I know who you are,” Setsi was saying. “I see your green and silver, so you’ve come because of my Gift. But I can’t leave this place.”

“Let’s have a talk about that,” said Mandir.

“Not now,” said Setsi. “I’ve got lessons this morning.”

“Your tutor isn’t here yet. My name is Mandir, and this is my partner, Taya. I used to live in this household, until I was about your age. Are you Tufan’s child?”

“As far as I know,” said Setsi.

“Then we are brothers,” said Mandir.

Nindar hobbled by, carrying another bucket full of barley. “Gadatas is always late,” he said to Taya. When she shot him a puzzled look, he added, “The tutor.”

She smiled at Nindar, and then reached out to touch fingers with Setsi. It bemused her to look at this slightly older boy, because his resemblance to the Mandir she had met on her first day at Mohenjo Temple was so striking.

Still, there were differences. Setsi was broader through the shoulders and more heavily built. Mandir was a big man, but Setsi might grow bigger still. His eyes were a shade lighter than Mandir’s, but the biggest difference was the way he carried himself. Mandir had a restless quality to him, like a caged mountain cat. This boy struck her as settled and calm. How someone could quiet his heart while living in this place she could not imagine.

Setsi touched fingers with Mandir. “I’ve heard your name many times. I knew they would send somebody from the Coalition, but I didn’t think it would be you.”

“Can we go outside and talk?” asked Mandir.

Setsi frowned. “I suppose we can do that until Gadatas gets here.”

Taya accompanied the two of them outside. It didn’t seem promising that Setsi saw his daily lessons with his tutor as more important than a visit from Coalition envoys.

The three of them exited the stable, blinking in the early-morning sunlight.

“I don’t need to test you, because it’s already been done,” said Mandir. “We know you have the Gift. We’ve come to take you to Rakigari Temple, where you can develop your Gift and learn to use it properly.”

Since Setsi appeared unconvinced, Taya added, “The Coalition is a wonderful place. It will open doors for you, as it did for me and for Mandir. You’ll learn to speak to the Mothers directly and be acknowledged, even answered. You’ll learn the history of our people from ancient tablets that date back almost to the days of Zhaerath. You’ll travel the Valley, healing and helping people, seeing all the wondrous sights the river country has to offer.” This was an exaggeration—the Coalition had its downsides, not the least of which was that they could only heal people if they charged a fortune for it—but there was no doubt in her mind that Setsi would be better off there than here.

“I’m afraid your journey was a wasted one,” said Setsi. “I cannot join.”

As he started to walk back to the stable, Mandir moved to block his path. “Why not?”

“I just can’t,” said Setsi.

“If Tufan has forbidden you to go,” said Mandir, “then he is in violation of the Accords of Let. I can speak to Tufan’s guards on the subject. Tufan
has
to let you go.”

“He has not forbidden me,” said Setsi.

“Then why do you refuse?” asked Mandir.

“I have obligations here.” Again Setsi tried to walk off, and again Mandir blocked him.

“Listen,” said Mandir. “Our trip is not wasted, because if you refuse to come with us, I am under orders to administer a drug to you called
kimat
, which will permanently destroy your Gift. By law, if you possess magic, you
must
join the Coalition. If you don’t, you must give up your magic or be named a jackal.”

Setsi looked troubled. It seemed he had not known this. “I can’t stay here and also keep my magic?”

“That’s correct,” said Mandir.

Setsi sighed. “It makes no difference. If the choices are to leave or to take
kimat
, then I will take
kimat
.”

Mandir darted an alarmed glance at Taya. “We need to discuss this further before you make such a permanent decision.”

“My decision is made,” said Setsi.

“Look,” said Taya. “We don’t understand you. If Tufan does not forbid you to go, why would you choose to stay in a place like this? From all accounts, Tufan is a cruel and depraved man. Why live here by choice?”

Setsi pursed his lips. He glanced at the stable, where he clearly wanted to go, but Mandir still blocked his path. “Because I can’t leave the others behind.”

“What others?” demanded Mandir. “Nindar?”

“He’s crippled, and he’s the youngest of my brothers. He’ll never manage here without me.”

Taya let out her breath. That was a problem they might be able to solve. Nindar was too young to develop the Gift, and odds were he didn’t have it, but surely there was some kind of work he could do at the Temple or in the nearby city of Rakigari. “What if we brought Nindar with us?”

“Taya—” began Mandir in a warning tone.

Setsi spoke over him. “If Nindar could come along, I would go. But you’ll never get him away from my father.”

“That’s what I was about to say,” said Mandir.

“I can see why Tufan wants to keep him,” said Taya. “Nindar is great with the horses and keeps that stable spotless—”

“That has nothing to do with it,” said Mandir.

Setsi said, “Tufan never lets anyone go. Mandir only got out because the Accords of Let demanded it. Tufan is still bitter about that. I could leave for the same reason, but he’ll never let Nindar go, and he’ll also punish him for my leaving.”

“Perhaps a bargain can be struck,” Taya suggested. Not that she had much of value on her. Soldier was nearly worthless, and she didn’t want to give him up. She had money, but presumably Tufan had plenty of that already. Perhaps they could render him a Coalition service with their magic.

Mandir said, “You do not want to bargain with Tufan.”

Setsi nodded vigorous agreement.

“We have to try,” said Taya. “Setsi, I’ll do everything in my power to get Nindar released from Tufan’s service, but if we fail in that, you should still come with us. You can’t protect Nindar from Tufan. But the Coalition can protect
you
.”

“I won’t go without my brother,” said Setsi.

She turned to her partner. “Let’s go speak to Tufan.”

“This is a really bad idea,” said Mandir.

Chapter 9

Mandir’s mood was dark as they headed back to the main house. Taya seemed determined to speak with Tufan about releasing Nindar. He could see why she wanted to make the attempt; it was a natural impulse for someone who didn’t have personal experience with Tufan. He doubted the effort could succeed.

Still, he had to acknowledge that Taya, as an outsider, saw this place through different eyes than his own. She had optimism, a sense of hope that he lacked because of his personal history. Had he come here alone, he might have left immediately after talking to Setsi, giving up after barely making an attempt. But because Taya was here and insisting that they try harder, he was forced to do more on Setsi’s behalf, and while that wasn’t his natural inclination, he knew that Neshi would approve.

That didn’t stop him from being deathly afraid of facing his father.

You’re not a simpering boy anymore
, he told himself.
You’re a grown man and a Coalition mage. Tufan has no power over you.

And if he believed that, the mountain cat and the onager would make friends.

“Where will Tufan be at this time of day?” asked Taya.

“Probably in his rooms at this hour,” said Mandir. “But he could be anywhere. He goes hunting a lot. Spends time with his dogs.”

“A man who loves dogs can’t be all bad.”

“He can, if he loves them only for their ability to hunt and kill.”

Tufan’s house was built on worthless scrubland, upon which it sprawled like a squat, many-legged insect. His personal quarters were located in the center of the complex.

A burly man stood in front of Tufan’s door, holding the leash of a brown dog. He was easily identifiable as a palace guard since he bore the requisite facial tattoo, normally a star below the left eye, but in this case two stars, indicating he was a veteran. On top of that, Mandir recognized him. Palace guards weren’t stationed here permanently; the king rotated them out on a regular basis. But this one had served a previous term when Mandir had been here as a boy.

“Bel-Sumai,” he said, greeting him.

“Never thought I’d see you here again,” growled the guard.

Mandir didn’t have a good history with Bel-Sumai, and he could see the man had not forgotten his old grievances. “You got your second star,” he said, trying to be friendly. “Who else is here—anybody I know?”

“Bel-Zaidu, Bel-Ditana, and Bel-Apsu.”

Mandir didn’t know any of them. Two of the men—the night shift guards—would be off duty right now. The third would be patrolling outside the main house, making sure no one entered Tufan’s chambers through the windows or the outside door. “Been here long?”

“Four months.”

“Ah.” Guards assigned to Tufan’s served a two-year term, with a new one being swapped in every six months. If Bel-Sumai had been here only four months, he was the most recent addition, and he would be stuck here for another year and a half at least. “Nice dog.”

“You try anything with this one, I’ll cut your balls off,” said Bel-Sumai.

“I never hurt your dog. I swear it on the Fire Mother’s name.” He knew he’d probably never convince Bel-Sumai of that. When Mandir had been a child here, someone had fatally poisoned Bel-Sumai’s dog. Since Mandir was the one working in the kitchen in those days and was responsible for preparing the dog’s food, he was blamed for it and punished. He had not done it, however. One of his brothers had set him up, and he’d never found out who. “We’d like to speak with Tufan on a matter of Coalition business.”

“He already said he doesn’t want to talk to you,” said Bel-Sumai. “You’re to take Setsi, if the boy consents to go, and leave.”

Tufan no doubt knew that Setsi had not consented. Otherwise he would never have let him go so easily. “We’d like to bargain with him on another matter.”