Read The Go-Between (The Nilaruna Cycles Book 1) Online
Authors: Andrea Ring
The Go-Between (The Nilaruna Cycles Book 1) (11 page)
“Stop!” yells Fadi Parsa, and the
litter comes to a jolting halt.
“What is it, Fadi?” my father asks
as he follows them into the room.
“Is this your daughter, the
Go-Between?” he asks, pointing at me.
I raise my eyebrows beneath the
veil.
“Out!” my father shouts at me.
“You know better than to be in the presence of others!”
I turn to go, but Fadi yells
again. “Wait, wait! No, don’t go! I must speak with her!”
“Fadi, your head isn’t right with
the herbs I’ve given you. Go home and sleep it off.” He waves at the young men
to continue on, but Fadi struggles to sit up.
“My head’s just fine, thank you
very much. This is urgent! Nilaruna, it’s about Saphala.”
“Saphala?” I whisper. I’ve heard
nothing of Saphala since the fire.
“She’s in danger. Please. Just a
moment of your daughter’s time, Ravi. I’m sure the Protector can help me.”
Father narrows his eyes at me.
“Is this something the Protector can help with?” he asks.
“I don’t know,” I say, “until I
hear what the danger is.”
We all stare at Fadi Parsa.
“I must speak with the Go-Between
alone. It’s a delicate matter.”
My father weighs Fadi with his
eyes. “I better have a fresh fish on my doorstep every day for the next three
moons,” he says. “And that will only buy you a few moments.”
Fadi looks like he wants to
protest, but he doesn’t. “Of course, Ravi. You have earned it.”
My father nods to the men, and
they set the litter down none too gently. Fadi winces and appears to hold his
breath until everyone has left the room.
“Nilaruna, I tell you this as
part of your duties as Go-Between.” I nod — he wants my silence. “Saphala
was kidnapped a few cycles ago. We received word every so often, but this whole
time, I’ve been saving to pay the ransom to her kidnappers. I’ve finally got
enough, and tonight, we’re supposed to do the exchange — my bag of gold
and gems for my precious daughter. She was your friend once, remember?”
How could I forget? “I remember.
We were very close,” I say. “And now you’ve gone and broken your leg. You need
someone to do the exchange.”
He nods. “Saphala always said you
were her brightest friend. You understand the situation. I need help from the
Protector.”
“This is not something the
Protector can do,” I say, and Fadi’s mouth twists into despair. “But perhaps I
can find someone else to help.”
“Who?” he demands.
“I’m not sure yet,” I say. “Why
the secrecy? Saphala was beautiful and charming, and I’m sure she still is.
There must be many men in our caste who would fight over the chance to rescue
her.”
“No! No one must know. The
kidnappers, they said they’ll kill her if anyone finds out.”
“So this person must pretend to
be you?”
“Yes,” he says. “Who are you
thinking of?”
“I don’t know yet, but I swear,
as Go-Between, that I will not betray your trust. On my own life, I will do
whatever it takes to return Saphala to you safely.”
He relaxes at this.
I ask him for details about the time
and place of the exchange, and he tells me I can pick up his bag of gold
tonight, after dark, in his fishing boat, which can also be used to meet the
kidnappers.
“Thank you, Nilaruna,” he says.
“And I will…perhaps I can arrange a meeting for you in a few weeks, with
Saphala. Would you like that?”
I have to catch my breath. I
don’t even know if I’ll be here in a few weeks, but seeing my friend after so
long…
“Yes. I would like that very
much.”
***
My mother is cleaning my father’s implements, and he’s sitting in a
chair, ordering me about.
“And we’re out of mint for the
tea. Mint always makes it more palatable, you know, so bring a bunch from the
garden, Nili. Mother can hang it to dry.”
Mother gives me an eye roll
behind his back while I head out to the garden.
“So what did Fadi want?” my
father asks as I come through the door. “What kind of trouble has Saphala
gotten herself into now?”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” I say,
handing Mother the bunch of mint. “He was concerned about an insult given to
her, and he wanted to call down the wrath of the Protector. I told him I’d pass
along the suggestion.”
My father laughs. “Fadi is so
overprotective! He barely lets Saphala out of the house. She must be glad she’s
in the barracks right now. Though if she were insulted…I’m worried about the
girls down there without any protection.”
“There are hundreds of soldiers
protecting them,” Mother says.
“You’ve obviously not been around
too many soldiers, Eka. I bet half the girls come back with child. But that’s
just more work for me, I suppose.”
My mother throws a rag at him.
“Ravi! Such language! Bite your tongue!”
Father chuckles.
Then he turns to me. “Are you
going to tell us why a god and a prince both visited you today, or do we have
to torture you?”
My father is good at making jokes.
I want to laugh and throw a rag at him, but I fear he’s not kidding.
I lower myself to Mother’s stool
and take a deep breath.
“Where to start? First of all, I
am getting married.”
“So the Protector told you, did
he? Good. That’s good.”
“But I am not marrying Larraj.”
My father frowns. “Of course you
are. I have given my pledge. And it will be a good marriage for you. It’s not
like men are lining up. You’ve had no other offers.”
“I have, actually,” I say, and my
mother turns from the washbasin and stares at me. “Two. I’m not quite sure yet
which one I will take.”
“Preposterous!” my father yells.
“You are promised to Larraj! I’ll not have my daughter run off with the village
idiot to satisfy some sense of adventure!”
“Village idiot?” I say. “Is that the
best I can do? Because I’m scarred?”
“Yes, and you know it!”
I watch my father’s purple face
and heaving chest. It would serve him right if he had a heart attack right now.
“The two that have asked for my
hand are not village idiots,” I say. “The first proposal was from Maja, the
Protector. I love him, and I accepted his proposal.”
“What?!”
I ignore the interruption.
“Then Shiva came to me to deliver
horrible tidings. Prince Kai is going to be assassinated unless I marry him.
The kingdom is in grave danger. Only I can stop it.”
A vein bulges in my father’s
forehead. “I’ve never heard a tale so ridiculous in all my life! I expected
such treachery in regards to the pledge I’ve given the high priest about Larraj
— you are the most difficult daughter a man’s ever been saddled with! But
I have not known you to be a liar. Until now.”
“Call for Shiva. Ask him yourself
if you don’t believe me. Frankly, Father, I don’t care what you think. I have
to make a decision and—”
“It’s true,” my mother whispers.
“Ravi, it’s true.” He whips his head to her. “I heard Shiva talking with Nili,
and I heard her conversation with the prince. It’s true.”
“But, but…it can’t be.”
“Father, you may soon get your
wish — to be un-saddled from your difficult daughter. If I choose Prince
Kai, Shiva has seen my death. My death, for the prince’s life. And for the
kingdom of Jatani.”
My father stands. I expect him to
hit me, and I brace myself for the blow.
But it doesn’t come.
My father walks out.
***
“I do not wish for you to die,” my mother says, and when I look at
her, a tear glides down her cheek.
I nod.
“Two men, the two most important
men in the kingdom…Nili, the gods have blessed us, and you.”
“With my death,” I whisper.
“Shiva saved you,” she says. “No
one in living memory has lived through such wounds, but you did. He saved you
for this.”
I rise. “Maybe. I know that Shiva
believes that. But my heart, my heart, Mother, is telling me to be with Maja.
He loves me. Truly loves me.”
“If that is so, then he will give
you his blessing to marry the prince.”
I don’t know about that. But I
will find out soon enough.
“I have…duties,” I say lamely. “I
have much to prepare. I may not see you again.”
“Surely we will be invited to the
wedding,” she says.
“I don’t know,” I say. “I don’t know
if either wedding will be met with much fanfare.”
My mother looks stricken, but she
gathers herself. “If this is the last time we see one another, then I do not
want us to leave like this.”
“Like what?” I ask.
“With you hating us.”
Tears well in my eyes. “I don’t
hate you, Mother. I understand. But it would be nice, I think, just once, to
feel like I don’t disgust you.”
“You’ve never disgusted me,” my
father says, and I turn around sharply to face him. “You’ve made us
very…proud.”
High praise, indeed. “You only
say that because I may soon be your princess,” I say. “I do not wish to argue
with you in our final moments together, but I will not be had. Since the fire,
I haven’t been your daughter. I’ve been a burden. And you never once let me
forget that.”
“Now, Nili, that’s not
true—”
“It is, Father. I love you both,
but the farce ends here. Think on that while I am gone.”
And I open the front door and
close it softly behind me.
“Parvati,
there must be a way! We’re trying to save the kingdom!”
She yawns and reclines on my bed.
“That’s my husband’s business,” she says. “Why don’t you summon him?”
“I’ve tried,” I say through
gritted teeth. “He won’t answer.”
“He’s been extraordinarily busy
lately,” she says. “I haven’t seen much of him myself.”
Maybe that’s because he’s been with Lili
, I think, and Parvati comes off
the bed growling.
“What did you say?”
“I didn’t say anything,” I say.
Out loud, anyway.
“Lili? That simpering little
human? I will have her head!”
I murmur a few words under my breath,
something in the air seems to snap into place, and then I grin. “As soon as you
alter Maja’s curse, you can be on your way.”
She tries to take a step towards
me, but it’s as if her feet have grown roots. “Release me,” she says. “Release
me now, or so help me, Kai, I will curse your entire family.”
“Just give Maja the ability to
travel anywhere in the world. I’m sure if you hurry, you can catch them in the
act.”
Parvati growls again and waves a
hand in the air. “Fine. It’s done. Let me go.”
“You may go.”
And she disappears in a whirl of
pink smoke.
“What a woman,” Farris says,
waving the smoke away from his face. “How’d you do that?”
“You mean, keep her here?” I say,
flopping on the bed. My pillow now smells of stale roses. “It’s an old incantation
I read in a book. My father said it was useless, but turns out he was wrong.”
“See, I told you both reading was
good for you,” Manoj says.
I throw the rose-scented pillow
at him.
“Now how do we get the word to
Nilaruna?” Manoj asks. “Surely this will influence her decision.”
There’s a knock on our door.
Faaris unsheathes one of his
swords and waves us away from the door.
“Who is it?” he yells.
“The innkeeper, my lord. I have a
visitor for you. She says she is the Go-Between.”
Faaris grins.
“There’s no way she visited Maja
that fast,” Manoj whispers.
“Let her up,” I yell.
Several minutes later, Nilaruna
is standing before us.
***
“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” she says straight off.
“Then to what do we owe the honor
of your visit?” I ask.
I offer her the edge of my bed,
and she sits.
“I have an old friend who needs
help, and I was hoping one of you could assist.”
“Asking favors already?” I say.
Nilaruna has her veil on, and I
cannot read her expression. But I imagine it’s withering.
“One of your citizens is in
trouble, and I thought you might actually want to help.”
She explains about her friend and
the ransom exchange that must occur tonight.
“Is she cute?” Faaris asks, and
Nilaruna laughs.
“Gorgeous. Or she was last I saw
her. But that was a while ago, I admit.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Faaris says
with a smile. “This is another adventure. I volunteer, if it’s alright with
you, my prince.”
“I don’t know,” I say honestly.
“This could be dangerous. We cannot afford to risk you.”
“He’s right,” Nilaruna says, and
we are all stunned at her interjection in the conversation. Though at this
point, I shouldn’t be surprised by anything this girl does. “I’ve been thinking
about it. They could have multiple people who could overwhelm you. They could
have a bow and arrow and shoot you in the dark and take the gold. They might
not even bring Saphala. We have no idea who we’re dealing with.”
“Then why ask us for help?” I
say.
She shrugs. “Because help is
needed, and you are the only ones I know.”
“That’s right. We’re the only
ones you know with the skill to pull this off,” Faaris says.
Nilaruna shakes her head. “No.
Literally, you are the only ones I know. Anyone who knows who I am will not
speak to me.”
There is a bit of awkward
silence.
“I’ll do it,” Faaris says. “You
know I can do it. And if this Saphala is not there, I will follow whoever is
and find her.”
“Perhaps Maja could fly overhead
and keep an eye out,” Manoj suggests.
Nilaruna turns her head to me.
“You did it? You were able to alter his curse?”
I nod. “Yes.”
A sob catches in her throat. The
she launches herself at me with a crushing hug.
I laugh. “Okay. It’s okay. Maja
is going to be okay.”
She buries her head in my chest.
“Thank you. Oh, thank you. You don’t know what this means to me.”
I pat her back gently.
And my heart pangs just a bit to
realize the depth of Nilaruna’s love for another.