Hyrestl rushed about the inn during breakfast and held out hope that Rylen would return. He’d asked a few of the farmers if they’d seen him, but they had only shaken their heads.
Usually, Rylen would tell him where he was going. And he never stayed away for more than a whole day except on his hunting outings with Daywu. Even those were few and far between and only when the inn had enough people to help out with the work.
Hyrestl apologized to a customer that beans were not available and quickly retreated into the kitchen. At this point, he needed help more than anything else. Then there were all the other problems. He shoved them into the back of his mind. He couldn’t do anything about them, but he could run his inn. He tapped Pahanna on the shoulder.
“I need you to go and see if Leyla can help. Also, ask her if she has any news about Rylen yet.”
Pahanna nodded and hopped down from the stool he’d been standing on and ran off.
As Hyrestl prepared another plate, he saw a group of people who had been waiting a while get up and leave. He felt his face flush in embarrassment but forced the feeling down. He couldn’t do any better than what he was doing now. With Rasha’s assistance alone, they would be lucky if they could serve most of the customers who came in.
To top off matters, he felt drained, almost like he hadn’t slept all night, which he was guessing he hadn’t in one sense. He’d found mud on his boots where there hadn’t been any yesterday.
He was pretty sure he’d been out sleepwalking all night. It unnerved him how his sleeping self shared all of his waking knowledge—well, most of it. He obviously didn’t clean anything when he was asleep; otherwise, it might almost be useful.
He needed to find Rylen or he’d never get a good night’s rest again.
It was nearly an hour before Pahanna returned, huffing and puffing.
“Leyla says she’s too busy to help. She hasn’t seen Rylen, either.”
He patted the boy on the head. “Thank you. Could you cut this cheese into slices for me? Then work on the dishes.”
He nodded and scooted his stool over and hopped up. As Hyrestl quickly washed a few dishes so he could serve food to some customers, he caught Rasha as she was rushing past.
“Rasha, see if any of those old farmers would be willing to help us out. I’ll pay them two rani if they only help out till lunch.”
She nodded and fetched a couple mugs to fill with beer. Then she hurried back.
“Kaden says Oma would likely be willing to help out till suppertime.”
Hyrestl nodded. “I’m fine with that. Tell him I’ll pay her four rani if I can have her all the way past suppertime.”
In a half hour, Oma showed up, and things went a little more smoothly. She kept up with the quick pace and was soon more help than Hyrestl could ever expect Rasha to be. Another half hour passed, and the number of customers started to dwindle as breakfast ended. Leyla came in the side door as Hyrestl was kneading dough.
“Leyla, I hope you’ve come to help. We could certainly use it.”
She wrung her hands. “Um, no. He’s done this before, right? He’ll come back.” She backed out and then brought a young man in with her. “Anyway, I found someone looking for some temporary festival work. I figured he could help you guys out.”
The owner brushed his hands to remove most of the flour and dough. He moved closer and inspected the man. He was a whole head taller than either Leyla or himself, and he looked a tad dirty. His pants were worn through at the knee, and his tunic was smudged and worn out.
“He’s lucky I’m so hard up for hands. If he doesn’t steal anything, I’ll pay him two rani a day until the festival is over.”
“I hear food stalls will pay three rani,” the man said looking down at Hyrestl.
“Three rani and a tak then,” he countered.
The man nodded. “Deal.” He held out his hand.
Hyrestl took it and squeezed firmly while looking the man in the eye. He grimaced and Hyrestl let go.
“If you’re some kauming crook out to pinch my stuff, I’ll have you thrown out on your head for the guardsmen to pick up.” He pointed to the dishes. “Start by washing those.”
The man’s eyes widened. “You have crystal goblets?”
“You’re right, I have crystal goblets. You” Hyrestl handed him a rag “have a rag and water. Now, clean them, and don’t break ’em, either.”
He turned back to Leyla. “Thank you for your help. If you see Rylen, catch him by the hair and don’t let go till you’ve dragged him back here. I don’t know what the boy is thinking.”
“I’ll be over on the east side of town mostly today, but I’ll keep a lookout.”
He ran his hand through his hair and exhaled. He had two workers now. Things wouldn’t be as crazy. It didn’t stop him from being worried, though. Jak was right. The royal guard would be here any day now. Rylen going missing at this critical time meant Hyrestl’s neck could be on the line. His neck and those of the other twelve guardsmen in town, including Jak.
He prayed a silent prayer that Rylen would be found and fast. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to try running for his life. He couldn’t count on what he’d do while he was asleep.
***
Kassim sat down with Adilah in the stained-glass room next to the garden.
“None of our people have seen Rylen,” he said. “I’ve even breached the subject as casually as I can with a few of the farmers who frequent the main road.”
Adilah shook her head. “It isn’t our fault. What were we going to do? Tie him down after he’d been beaten, to make sure he didn’t run away?” She sighed. “What are we going to do?”
He thought for a moment. “We can only do as we have always been doing without raising suspicions or questions. After that, we’ll just have to give an account of our efforts. There are others better suited to tracking him down. He can’t easily leave Gwyan, and he’s injured. He’ll be traveling slowly too.”
“True. The scribes we’ve sent down the valley should be able to catch up to him if he’s gone that way. Though, they won’t be able to do much except send word on his whereabouts.”
“It’s only a matter of time.” He let out a breath and listened for a moment for any eavesdroppers. “Unless I’m mistaken, we’ve successfully kept a tight lid on this. I don’t think anyone knows what he is.”
Adilah thought for a moment. “Have any of the scribes or priests seen or heard of any Kamwa, other than our own?”
“If they have, what would that tell us?”
“That’s what worries me. Harbiya came in and made that big show of challenging our leadership here. But as far as we know, he’s still abiding by the rules we’ve set in place.”
Kassim looked around carefully, then cocked his head slightly as he listened to the sounds around him. He then licked his finger and held it in the air. There was a slight breeze through the two garden doors that were open. He got up and shut one, and the breeze ceased. He sat back down across from Adilah. When he spoke, it was in a nearly inaudible whisper that lingered in the space between him and his wife, then dissipated.
“Do you think he suspects us for harboring the King’s Desire?” Kassim said.
His wife answered at the same volume. “He said it himself. We’re a blind spot for him because we refuse his authority.”
“He’ll know for sure when the soldiers come. They’re supposed to come, right? I haven’t gotten the year wrong, have I?”
“No, you’re right. They’re late is all.”
“They need to come soon. I wasn’t expecting Harbiya to catch on to us like this. Not to mention…” He paused as Harbiya’s parting words came to mind again: A convoy will be fetching the King’s Desire. Aid me. “We’ll have to leave with the convoy. Us and Leyla. Otherwise, there won’t be protection for us.”
“And go to the capital? That’s a worse place for us.”
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“I know, I know, but our back is literally against a cliff here. We can’t go any other direction.”
Adilah held her head in her hands. “I thought we could settle down here.”
“Lah, my dear Lah, just think. Even if we go back to Shabik, we’ll be rewarded with our own villa.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “I don’t want to be rewarded. I don’t want anything to do with Shabik. I just want a peaceful place for our little girl. If we go back to Shabik, we’ll still be a part of the Alaray. After this, we’ve done our part. We’ll have helped keep the king in power.”
Kassim bowed his head. “You’re right, of course. They’ll promote us from infiltrators to section leaders at the very least. We won’t even be able to infiltrate back into the Kamwa, now that Harbiya knows about the convoy plot.”
Stress was etched across her face. “It wasn’t supposed to go like this, Sim.”
Kassim held her hand. “We’ll just leave with the guard, okay? We’ll figure out what to do after that. We’ll get in touch with the Shabik ambassador in the capital. One step at a time. Now breathe, just breathe.”
They heard quick steps on the path in the garden and drew away from each other. Adilah wiped her eyes. Leyla opened one of the side doors and came inside, breathing hard from her running. “Are there any updates?” she asked. “You haven’t seen him, have you?”
Kassim and Adilah shook their heads. Leyla noted her mother’s red eyes.
“Um, is something wrong?”
Adilah turned away and wiped at her eyes again.
“Uh, yes.” Kassim searched for words and looked to Adilah for help. “You see, uh, your mother…one of her relatives is very sick, so we might have to leave soon.” He looked sternly at his daughter. “Be sure to have a bag ready, then.”
“Oh.” Leyla went to hug Adilah. “It’ll be okay.”
Adilah squeezed her arm and sniffled.
“And don’t you worry,” Kassim said. “We’ll find him.”
Leyla hugged her mother again and kissed her on the head. “I’ll see you later, then.”
Alone again, the priest looked at his wife.
“Why did he have to disappear at a time like this?” She clenched her teeth.
He put his arm around her and held her close. “We’ll find him. Remember, he used to do this kind of thing when he was younger. We’d always find him.”
Kassim dearly hoped he was right.
***
Later that day, before the midday meal, Kassim and Adilah stood to the side of a wide lawn on the temple grounds. They were overseeing the dance practice of fifty priestesses, some of whom had come from neighboring towns.
The women wore simple garb of yellow and orange that approximated the shape and design of the dresses they would be wearing for their dress rehearsals and actual performance. Nevertheless, it didn’t make their current practice any less delightful to watch.
Adilah sighed. “I hope the soldiers don’t come before the festival. I would dearly like to see it again before we leave.”
Kassim nodded. “We might be able to see the festival in the capital if they come early.”
She slipped her hand into his, and she glanced up at him with twinkling eyes.
“I don’t like any of the other festivals. Ours is special. I think my favorite part is when everyone in the city lets go of their lanterns. Then it’s almost like we can see the winds.”
“I just like all the food.”
Adilah chuckled softly. “How very unromantic.”
Kassim felt her mood shift, and she squeezed his hand. He squeezed back, a soft and, he hoped, reassuring grip.
They watched a few moments more, then a gray-haired priest came hurrying up to them. He was one of the retired Kamwa who hadn’t cared for taking a leadership position in one of the cities when his body started failing him. He was a grandfather now, and he’d been able to move his family all the way up to Edge.
Usually, he was a happy old fart as Kassim would say, when no one but his family was listening. But today, there was an air of tension about the man as he strode toward them. He gave a slight bow before them, then looked each of them earnestly.
“Please, your presence is required in the temple immediately.”
Adilah let go of Kassim’s grasp and followed her husband as they proceeded to the temple as reverently and quickly as they could without breaking decorum.
The old man showed them into the main worship hall, where many of the other priests who’d been Kamwa before were waiting. They stuck to the sides behind pillars and in the shadows. It looked like they wanted to disappear into the patches of darkness at a moment’s notice. The reason quickly made itself apparent.
While there would usually be a constant stream of worshippers in and out of the temple, there were only a dozen festively clad men bowing on the mats. They wore festive colors, but the hoods to their cloaks were pulled up over their heads. It was extremely irreverent to the king to cover one’s head while worshiping him. Doing such a thing usually ended in a beheading.
The doors to the temple were closed, and two more men stood as sentries. One man bowed in front of all the others. When Kassim and Adilah came in, he rose and those behind him rose in unison. Adilah stopped at one side of the dais as Kassim stepped forward.
“Who dares to mock the king?”
The man in front drew back his hood, revealing the face of Harbiya. He flashed Kassim a winning smile. The priest’s face grew taut.
“Kassim…and your most stunning wife, Adilah.” He gave a short bow, then looked around, and a look of shock came across his face. “I don’t remember calling a meeting. What is the meaning of this, Kassim?”
Kassim took a guarded step forward. “Tell me, what is it that you want?”
Harbiya gave him a look that feigned innocence, then he flashed another smile and began to slowly walk across to the other side of the dais opposite Adilah.
“I simply want your aid. Shouldn’t take much more than a week. Why, you could even return here before the day of the festival, if you do well!” He paused. “It’s all up to you.” His eyes darted back to his men.
Kassim didn’t take his eyes off Harbiya for a few moments, then he too glanced in their direction. None had moved since rising, but each of them now had a slim dagger in their hand.
He was well aware of what that meant. Each of these Kamwa had been trained for combat. The Kamwa that he and Adilah let into their temple were usually the old and retired or those who had given up on that kind of life. Only a few could hold their own in a fight anymore. These Kamwa were members of the elite.
“Kassim.” Almost as if Harbiya knew what the priest was thinking, he drew him out of his reverie. His face was cast in the strange, mottled and dim lights of the temple. He looked pleadingly at him.
“My men are well trained, but they lack a certain talent only found in those whose tutelage falls under Acrabha leadership.” He held out his hands in a sign of helplessness. “Alas, none of my men, nor I, have the Third Eye.” He cocked his head quizzically. “But if I remember correctly, there were two Acrabha Kamwa who were able to sneak past the royal guardsmen of the gates.”
His watched the couple carefully. “I’m looking for something valuable. I thought you two might be able to help me find it, provided your senses haven’t been dulled.”
Kassim’s eyes narrowed. “We are no longer a part of your organization. Really, we never were. It is against our will to help you. Acrabha leadership accepted our resignations and will support our decision here as well.”
Something twinkled in Harbiya’s eyes. “You act like the Kamwa of Acrabha and those of the capital are always in agreement.” He started pacing again. “You seem to have forgotten your position. I’ll be gracious and remind you.”
As he moved around, it was like he started to go out of focus in Kassim’s vision. He became blurry, fading into the background. Immediately, Kassim forced himself not to blink.
At the edges of the room, the priests stirred uncomfortably.
Harbiya continued. “You talk a lot about not being a part of my organization, but you surely do a lot of ordering around of my people.” His head made an indistinct motion as if he were surveying the room.
“Why, you even have some of my old workers here. I don’t remember ever letting them leave. I could have still used some of them.” His form was heavily blurred and all his movements were unclear now.
“Not to mention, this city.” Harbiya stood in place and began coming back into focus. Then he started walking again and he blurred. “This city has been barred to me. You don’t let any of my messengers in, you keep all of my servants out, and yet you act like you’re working for me. This,” there was a motion like he held up a hand, “this is unacceptable. Kassim, you say you’ve left, but your actions say differently. You see, I don’t know if you’re even loyal to me anymore.”
His form blurred to the point that he was little more than a passing shadow by the time he reached the base of the dais again. Yet, his voice could still be heard.
The shadow seemed to pause before the step just as he paused in his speech. The shadow vanished, and it was only by intuition that Kassim could guess where he was.
There was a definite sound of a foot slapping on the dais’s step. Then there was another slap, and another, and the invisible form could be heard stomping up onto the golden dais—the very dais revered as holy and worthy enough to hold the holy king’s throne, should he ever visit the city of Edge.
There was an audible gasp from some of the priests, and more than one face paled.
Harbiya’s form came back into focus with his feet firmly planted on the radiant gold of the platform. His eyes were firmly locked on Kassim’s.
“You will regain my trust if you help me. If not” Harbiya’s eyes grew colder than a mountain peak, and a blade suddenly gleamed in his hand “your daughter will suffer a nonlethal ailment once a week until you bow in servitude to me again.”
There was silence in the temple.
Adilah’s face was stricken white. Kassim doubted his own was much better. Never before had he witnessed such a display of power. His eyes were red and bloodshot from straining to follow Harbiya’s movement.
Harbiya looked from the priest to the priestess. “We have horses waiting for both of you. We leave immediately.”
***
Hyrestl was working when he suddenly felt the presence of his old enemy coming closer.
He stopped in the middle of what he was doing, and his senses went on high alert. He watched out the windows of the inn and was suddenly aware of the many noises around him, inside and out. The threat was coming from the front of the building. He moved so he was near a table that needed cleaning by the front windows.
From down the street came the sound of many shod hooves stamping on cobble. The sound and presence neared until a cold sweat broke out on his skin and his body tensed.
The horses came into view, but he couldn’t see the faces of the riders, as the roof over the wraparound porch was too low. He shoved down his impulse to rush out and watch them go by. All the riders wore the same clothing that a thousand other festivalgoers wore. He couldn’t tell one from another.
With his fist tightly clenched, Hyrestl both felt and watched as the horse that bore his old enemy went by. He could only see the man’s legs and lower torso and his hands loosely holding the bridle. The horses and riders passed by and soon he could no longer sense his enemy’s presence, but that didn’t relax him in the slightest.
Fear crept deep into his bones, and tension was evident on his face. His heart was beating like the drums of the festival, his skin clammy.
How was it that his enemy was traveling about the town of Edge? He’d felt his presence before. Now he had again. The strain reemerged anew from where he had shoved it.
How could he sleep tonight?