Servants and Followers (The Legends of Arria, Volume 2) (33 page)

“
Couldn’t you give a
bird a word of warning next time!” Fato cried.

“
Whoops
,
sorry,” Oaka said sarcastically, as flames burned
on the tips of his right hand fingers before he turned to Monika.
“So this is what I have. Menthar’s power, right?”

“
Right, the power of
fire.” Monika sighed, staring at him.

“
Not exactly your
favorite god, am I right? How did I get it in the first place?”
Oaka asked. “And how do I get rid of it forever?”

“
You can control it,
right?” Basha asked, staring at his brother. He remembered the fire
Oaka had started at the militia tryouts, igniting his and Hastin’s
wooden swords, frightening the townspeople, but Basha had not been
afraid of Oaka
.
I
n fact, he had wanted to protect his
brother from the townspeople’s wrath. He had known then, or
suspected, that Oaka had a bit of magic in him, but he had not
questioned it. In fact, he had always known Oaka had some magic in
him, from the way he acted, laughed,
and
sang
.
Oaka had that attitude
about him that conveyed the sort of magic charming people had.
Basha had never really thought he had any of that power inside of
him.

“
I think so. It
started
…
” Oaka sighed. The flames flickered, growing stronger and
weaker with Oaka’s speech and thoughts. “It started around the time
I got really serious with Sisilia, like a year or so ago. It
happens every time I lose control of my temper, like when I’m
really angry, or when I get...really passionate,” He cleared his
throat, and remarked, “It usually lays dormant at other times. I
can control it, restrain the power completely if I try to control
and calm myself down. Lose the temper, cool my passion, that sort
of thing. At other times, I can...concentrate, perhaps, and expel
some of the power on my own if I want, to a specific
target
. C
all upon my temper or my passion to help me out a little bit,
like I did with Hastin at the militia tryouts.” Oaka remarked. “I
think I can do it.” He said, staring at the flames. “I didn’t use
it against Goga because I was afraid and
I
didn’t want him to know what I could do.
And I didn’t know how to use it with the Black
Wolves.
”

“
Whoa, Oaka,
I
…
”
Fato laughed nervously. “Nice to have you on our side.” He
said.

“
Thanks, bird.” Oaka
muttered.

“
So how you got it in
the first place
,
” Monika said. “Generally it is
passed down through generations, from mothers and fathers to their
offspring.” She said.

“
Blame your mother!”
Fato exclaimed and laughed.

“
But as to getting
rid of it
,
you can’t, not really.” Monika said. “You have to
learn how to control it. You might be able to shrink it down,
repress it for a very long time, years even, but eventually it will
pop up again.” She said.

Oaka closed his eyes,
and Basha could well imagine what he was
thinking
:
who was to blame? His mother Habala or his father Geda? If it
was a family trait
,
who had the fire in them? The flames faded
completely away from Oaka’s hands then, and the cave felt colder
and darker without them.

“
We never knew,
Monika.” Basha said, turning to her. “We never knew our
parents
…
wait a minute.” He said. “Do you think I had
power in my family?”

Monika shrugged. “As
to that, I don’t know, Basha. I don’t know about your parents, if
they had power, and if the Black Sword is really your power, death,
then
do you have any of that power within
you?” She asked.

“
I don’t know.
Maybe.” Basha whispered, remembering what Iibala had said to him
that fateful night, just before he proposed to
Jawen
…‘
you have
death
hidden within you,
nothingness
.’
But he did not think
…
could it be true that he had
death hidden within him? He did not fear the darkness of night
sometimes, but he feared something more sinister lurking within
him. He did not want that nothingness. And how did Iibala know that
he had such power when he didn’t at the time?

“
Where is Gnat?
What’s taking her so long?” Fato cried.

Gnat snuck back in through the hole in
the curtain wall, excited at the prospect of helping her new
friends, especially Basha, whom she admired more than she could
say. But it was also the prospect of doing something worthwhile and
important that excited her, as she had been longing for this
opportunity for a long time. Ever since Janus had latched onto her
when he first arrived in Coe Aela, she had been waiting for the
chance to prove his trust in her.

He had seen her lurking in the corners,
quiet and diminutive to avoid being noticed by Captain Goga and
some of the other servants who would beat her whenever she was
unsatisfactory in her chores, or whenever they just felt like it.
Immediately he had asked her if she was willing to join in his
rebellion against Lord Fobata. Gnat had been shocked at first at
the idea of rebelling, afraid of what would happen to her if she
was caught in such a conspiracy, but Janus had convinced her as
well as dozens of other servants that it was the right thing to
do.

Lord Fobata was a traitor, he said, a
Follower of Doomba who had turned against King Sonnagh and Arria.
And he promised them that if they escaped Coe Aela and went to Coe
Kiki, they would find better treatment elsewhere, especially if
they told the king the terrible things Lord Fobata had done to them
and others. All they would have to do in this rebellion was to
spread the word to the other servants they trusted, and be prepared
to march out of Coe Aela when the time was right and everything was
ready. Gnat didn’t know for certain at the time if what Janus had
said was true, but she had wanted to believe it, and trusted Janus,
and now she was certain it was true.

Gnat had done her part to assist Janus
in delivering messages to the other servants, and even volunteered
to hold a sword if they needed to fight on the way out of Coe Aela.
But instead he had given her drumsticks and a drum to play,
teaching her the simple rhythm of a march. He told her she was too
young to fight, but he needed someone who would ‘lead them from
lowly servants to true citizens’, or something like that, a drummer
who would help them stand tall. She didn’t quite understand or
accept what he had to say, but she knew he wanted her to stay safe,
so she had accepted the drum. She would fight another day.

She went through the west bailey, the
cracked, dry fountains in mourning for the water that would never
flow through them again, and entered the front bailey. As she
neared the stables, she stopped at the sight of a familiar figure
standing at its opening—Goga. She slipped into the kennels, quieted
the dogs that threatened to bark, and slid down to hide herself
amidst the warm, furry bodies, tongues lolling as they lied on the
ground or peered out through the fence, occasionally going to drink
some water at the trough or munch on some dinners scraps.

She watched Goga
emerge from the stables, examining--she gasped as she saw
the
black
scabbard of the Black Sword, unique as it was shaped like a
giant fang and she had spotted it before in the stall of Basha’s
horse. Why would--had Goga noticed and recognized the Black Sword?
Had he stolen it to examine it, or did he know its owner was gone?
Basha was going to lose the Black Sword, and it would be her fault
for not retrieving it sooner, unless she did something about it.
But what could she do to--

She heard the kennel gate open, and the
dogs started barking as Gnat looked up, afraid Goga had seen her
spying on him, and would enter to punish her. But instead, it was a
woman Gnat had never seen before, or at least--perhaps she had seen
the woman once or twice in the last few days, but always from afar,
and never knowing her name.

“
Hello, Gnat,” said
the woman, crouching down to Gnat’s eye-level. “My name is Nisa,
and I want to help you.”

“
Help me?” Gnat said,
frowning. “Why?”

“
Because we want the
same thing for the same people,” Nisa said, nodding at Goga heading
for the castle keep. “And keep the Black Sword out of Goga’s
hand.”

“
The Black Sword?
How--” Gnat said, gasping. “How do you know?”

“
I recognized it. It
was described to me once by--my father,” Nisa said, looking away.
“He knows a lot. Anyway, we want the same thing for Basha, and I
think we should work together to get it. You can get the Sword, and
I--will distract Goga.” Nisa said, biting her lip.

“
How?” Gnat said,
eying Nisa.

“
Just leave that to
me.” Nisa said, glaring at Gnat. “Get the Sword when the time is
right. You wait a few moments when I leave here, and then follow
after me. Do not be rash. Keep to the shadows, and watch out for me
and Goga. We may be in a room together. Just be careful, and slip
in if you can. I will try to knock him out if it comes to that.
Most likely he will be disarmed, and the Black Sword will be left a
short distance away from him, that will help.” Nisa said the last
to herself. “We need to be quick, and quiet. Hide your face if you
can.” She continued, speaking to Gnat this time.

“
What about you?”
Gnat asked, staring at Nisa.

“
I hope to get away
from here, but Gnat, you are most important, the Black Sword is
important. I believe that may be more important than my life.” Nisa
said. “Now be certain it gets to Basha!”

Nisa did as she said, leaving the
kennel and crossing over to enter the castle. Gnat waited for as
long as she could, and then followed after, creeping as best she
could inside, and down the main hallway. In a shadowy alcove, Nisa
waved her over, and when Gnat arrived, Nisa thrust the Black Sword
in its scabbard into her hands. Nisa winced, recoiling slightly as
she clasped her hands together, and grimaced.

“
I don’t think he saw
me clearly,” Nisa said, indicating the unconscious body of Goga
lying on the floor of the alcove, “But at least he saw only me. Now
get out of here.” Nisa hissed. Her hands appeared to have
blistered.

Gnat hesitated a moment, holding the
Black Sword. “If we could be certain that he would never say
anything about--” Gnat started to say, staring down at Goga’s
helpless body.

“
No, Gnat,” Nisa
hissed, staring at her. “Don’t think that, don’t you ever think
that. You’re too young to be thinking like that. You do not want to
go down that way.”

“
Why not?” Gnat
asked, staring up at her. Her eyes had turned black all the way
around, no color or white in them.

“
You do not want to
go down that way because there is no way back, Gnat.” Nisa said,
grasping her and trying to make her focus. “I know, because I have
been down that road. You lose a part of yourself, and when it is
gone, it is gone forever. Look at me!” Nisa cried. “You do not want
to lose whatever innocence you have left. It is valuable. Time is
running out. We have to save Basha and his friends, they are
waiting for you and the Sword. Go to him, Gnat. Go to Basha. You
may lose the Sword if you stay. Goga will wake up soon, or someone
else will take the Sword away from you if you slay him. Then will
it be worth it? For Basha to lose his life and his
weapon?”

Gnat gripped the
Black Sword in its
black
scabbard tightly, trembling
with her eyes and teeth clenched as if she might burst forth in a
screaming rage at any moment with the Black Sword unsheathed to
stab Goga. But then she inhaled deeply and quieted down, sighing
softly and shaking her head as her body relaxed. She opened her
eyes, and a hazel circle had appeared inside her pupil once more,
the white of the cornea as well. “I’m sorry.” Gnat said.

“
It’s all right. Now
go!” Nisa cried.

Gnat nodded, and ran off with the Black
Sword towards the castle door, leaving Nisa alone. Nisa hesitated
as she turned to Goga’s body, lying there unprotected... “No.” She
said, shaking her head. “Whatever the consequences may be, no.” She
moved away from his body before Goga could wake. She would fight
him another day, when he could defend himself.

Gnat ran back through the forest as the
sunset diminished to the edge of darkness. The Black Sword in its
scabbard was clutched in front of her as it had been for most of
the way, except for when she had slipped through the hole in the
curtain wall. Time was running out, Goga would surely wake soon
and, without the Black Sword by his side, he would alert Coe Aela
that something was wrong, leading to the discovery of the missing
‘guests’.

She had not let go of the Black Sword
at all, afraid she was going to lose it after all of the trouble
she and Nisa had gone through to fetch it, and afraid she might
turn around and use it on Goga like she had been tempted to do. But
she had kept going, because it was important, because she wanted to
show Basha he could trust her, and she wanted to be responsible
enough to make Janus and Nisa proud of her. She had a lot to live
up to.