In Legend Born (16 page)

Josarian had regarded this night's work as a job, a necessity, nothing more. But now a dark fury filled him. As he stared at this
sriliah
in the firelight, he knew that tonight, for the first time, he would
enjoy
killing. When he was done, he would fling the body off the cliffs above Islanar, right into the heart of the village, and he would make sure that everyone knew why he had done it:
So die all who betray their own kind. So die all who betray Josarian.

Ever since coming home, Tansen had found that old thoughts were reluctant to be put away where they belonged. So he was still awake when Josarian finally made his move. Not that it mattered. The trap he had set was noisy enough to have awakened him the moment Josarian sprang it. It wasn't even really a trap; he'd just left his swords so precariously balanced that the slightest movement would bring them clattering down on the hard tiles of the ruined shrine. Judging by the gasp and curse that accompanied the noise, Josarian had just been cut by the falling swords, too.

The dark-moon had proved convenient tonight. After dousing the fire, Tansen had set up the swords—a crude trick, but an effective one—where he'd been pretending to bed down. Then he'd curled up in a corner with his back braced against the shrine's only remaining wall. While he would normally never give an opponent such an opportunity to seize his swords, he knew that Josarian didn't know how to use them and wouldn't try. The outlaw hadn't taken swords from the bodies of any of the Outlookers he'd killed, and none of his victims had been killed with a blade. Josarian didn't yet think of a sword as a weapon that a
shallah
could use.

Considering how many days and nights Tansen made every move with the expectation of Josarian's imminent attack, he was relieved that it had finally come. Although obviously taken by surprise, Josarian realized it was a trap and regrouped quickly. Tansen heard the
yahr
making deadly sweeps through the air as Josarian moved in a continual circle, seeking his opponent on every side in the obsidian darkness. The sound, however, also let Tansen know exactly where his quarry stood.

Having kept one of the shrine's broken tiles at hand for this very purpose, he tossed it to the other side of the shrine. Josarian whirled in that direction, and Tansen jumped him from behind, pressing the
shir
against his throat; hard enough to hurt, as even the briefest touch of a
shir
would do, but not enough to kill him. For the past ten days, Tansen had kept the
shir
tucked inside his clothing, close against his skin, day and night. Although he would have preferred sleeping with a venomous snake, the
shir
had proved convenient; the deadly-sharp, double-edged, enchanted blade of a
shir
could not harm the flesh of the killer who possessed it—which, after all, could not be said of a venomous snake.

Despite the pain and the sudden fall to the broken tiles on the floor, Josarian fought back. So, with a sharp and well-placed blow, Tansen set the nerves of Josarian's arm on fire. When he was certain the arm was momentarily useless, Tansen groped for Josarian's
yahr
, now lying near a limp hand, and flung it away. Then he shifted and dug his elbow into those same nerves to keep the arm disabled. Josarian's harsh grunt of pain was followed by heavy breaths. Tansen waited, keeping the blade against his victim's throat.

"It was a trap," Josarian rasped. "It was always a trap."

"Always," Tansen confirmed.

To his astonishment, Josarian laughed. "You fooled everyone. You were very good. Only..."

"Only what?"

"It's not that I mind dying..."

Tansen had never known anyone, not even a
shatai
, who didn't really mind dying—but, strangely enough, this man sounded like he meant it.

"It's just that..."

"What?" Tansen prodded.

"It's just that I wish you weren't doing this for the Valdani." Then he sighed. "But I don't suppose you understand that. Zim doesn't. I don't know if anyone does."

"Oh?"

"But if only you hadn't done this for
them
, for the Valdani, well, then..."

"What?"

"I would honor you with my death."

"Why did you kill those two Outlookers the night you were caught smuggling?"

"They tried to kill me. I fought back."

"You must have resisted arrest."

"I did."

"Why?"

"It's hard to remember now."

"
Try.
" Tansen let the
shir
draw a little blood.

"The
shir
," Josarian croaked in sudden surprise. "They said you didn't take the
shir
that day."

"This is a different one."

"Fires of Dar! How many assassins have you killed?"

"More than I wanted to. How many Outlookers have you killed?"

"Not nearly enough." Josarian paused. "Go on, kill me now."

"You seem very eager to die."

"I'm not afraid right now. But if you keep waiting... Then I might
become
afraid." When Tansen didn't reply, he said, "Or is that what you're waiting for? Do you want me to beg for my life?"

"Not especially."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"This is a little awkward," Tansen admitted.

"You've killed men before. Plenty, according to your own boasting."

"Yes, but I haven't
spared
many." He felt Josarian stiffen with surprise and added, "I didn't realize it would take practice, like everything else."

Josarian was silent for a long time, lying as still as a corpse. Then he said, "If you're not going to kill me..."

"Yes?"

"Could you stop digging your elbow into my arm? That hurts like all the Fires."

"A
shir
?" Tashinar exclaimed. "Are you sure?"

"It goes with the symbol I showed you," Mirabar said. "They go together."

"They didn't before."

"They do
now
." Mirabar tried to control her irritation. She, of all people, knew how hard it was to accept and understand the visions. "I'm not imagining it."

"I know."

"And I'm not mad. I'm
not
."

"I believe you. Only... Don't tell this to the others, Mira. A
shir
." Tashinar shook her head. "It will frighten them."

"It frightens
me
."

"Yes, of course."

"I won't tell the others." They'd probably shun her. "It must be Armian."

"Perhaps."

"An assassin associated with a Kintish symbol? A
shir
linked to the Kints?" Mirabar looked at Tashinar. "
Armian
."

They built a small fire—outside of the shrine this time, since it stank of sheep dung. Tansen wasn't quite ready to give Josarian's
yahr
back to him, but he did let him disappear to hunt up some firewood. While the outlaw was gone, Tansen sheathed his swords, strapped on his harness, and slipped the
shir
down the side of one of his expensive Moorlander boots. The two men had agreed to a truce, but trust was a different matter.

Josarian returned with the wood and made quick work of starting a fire. Once they had a tiny blaze to light the night, Josarian sat back on his heels and stared hard at Tansen. There was a strange look in his eyes, one that Tansen couldn't interpret.

So he finally asked: "What are you staring at?"

Josarian seemed to consider the question before answering slowly, "I've seen Dar spewing fire which filled the entire sky. I've seen precious gems stolen from the mines of Alizar, each one valued at more than a man's life by most reckoning. I've even seen the shade of my own wife greet me from the Otherworld." He paused. "But until tonight, I had never seen a
shallah
holding a sword."

Tansen watched him silently.

After a moment, Josarian smiled. "It's a sight that gives me strength. I have seen it now, and I will never be the same. Maybe someday...." He cleared his throat. "Someday you'll teach me how to use one?"

"Maybe someday," Tansen agreed, still watching him closely.

Seeing his expression, Josarian laughed out loud. "No, I won't ask for that
now
, with you expecting me to try to kill you again the moment your back is turned."

"Good." Tansen sat down across the fire from him.

"Why didn't you kill me?" Josarian asked at last.

"Because the Valdani wanted me to."

"But you said—"

"I was trying to find you. Since I didn't think that anyone would tell me where you were, no matter how nicely I asked or how much I assured them that I didn't intend to betray you—"

"No, they wouldn't have,
roshah
," Josarian agreed; but his tone was inoffensive as he used the word.

"I thought it expedient to make
you
find
me
."

"Ah." Josarian poked the fire with a stick. "So the Outlookers didn't hire you to come after me?"

"Actually, they did." Tansen grinned at the uneasy look Josarian cast him. He explained how he had found himself in custody back in Cavasar, robbed of his gold, and offered a choice between death or this contract.

"And you never intended to do this service for the Valdani?" Josarian asked, not looking quite convinced.

"Never." Tansen leaned forward, holding Josarian's gaze. "The Valdani slaughtered my entire village when I was fifteen years old. Every man, woman, and child." He kept his voice hard. Hatred was easier than sorrow. "They raped my sister before they killed her. They gutted my mother like one of their sacred goats. They gouged out my grandfather's eyes and cut off his fingers. They..." He stopped suddenly. After all these years, the details still made his heart bleed. "They did things that I see in my nightmares even now."

Josarian never looked away. "Where were you?"

"I was in hiding. I didn't know what had happened until I got there a day later and... found them like that." Tansen was the one who looked away. "But I was the one the Valdani were looking for."

"You? A boy? What had you done?"

"It wasn't really what I had done. It was what I had with me."

"I don't understand. They slaughtered an entire village because of—what? One boy's smuggling activities?"

"It doesn't matter now."

"Oh, I think it does, Tansen. You do not have the face of a man who has forgotten."

"What matters," Tansen said, "what you need to know, is that I would rather be eaten slowly by a dragonfish than do the bidding of the Valdani."

"Yes." Josarian nodded slowly. "That I believe."

"I won't kill you."

"No."

"Though if you try to kill me again," Tansen added, "I shall be very annoyed with you."

Josarian smiled, calm, at peace. "No. You gave me my life, and you don't need to prove to me twice that you can take it whenever you want to." He touched his throat gingerly, then asked, "So this Valdani commander, he simply let you go?"

"Well, he kept my gold as ransom for my skills, but, yes, he let me go." Tansen absently touched a
shir
wound which had re-opened during his struggle with Josarian. "Koroll saw what I wanted him to see: a mercenary who could be bought for the right price."