The Desert Spear (29 page)

Jardir shook his head. 'If it is to be done, I will do it in the Maze.'

But as he walked away from her, he was not sure it was to be done at all. How could he stand tall as Shar'Dama Ka if it was atop the body of a friend'

'Par'chin! Par'chin!'

The cries echoed throughout the Maze. Jardir watched from the walltop as the greenlander led the
dal'Sharum
to victory after victory. No
alagai
could resist the Spear of Kaji.

He is the brave outsider tonight,
Jardir thought.
Shar'Dama Ka tomorrow.

But perhaps this was Everam's will' When He formed the world from Nie's void, had He not created the greenlanders, as well' Must He not have a plan for them'

'But the Par'chin does not believe in Everam,' he said aloud.

'How can a man who does not bow to the Creator be the Deliverer'' Hasik asked.

Jardir drew a deep breath. 'He cannot. Gather Shanjat and our most loyal men. For the sake of all the world, it must be someone else.'

Jardir found the Par'chin at the head of a host of
Sharum
chanting his name as they thundered through the Maze. He was covered in black demon ichor, but his eyes were alive with fierce joy. He thrust his spear high in salute, and Jardir's heart wrenched for what he must do to his
ajin'pal'
worse by far than Hasik had done to him.

'Sharum Ka!'
the Par'chin cried. 'No demon will escape your Maze alive tonight!'

War is deception,
Jardir reminded himself, and forced himself to laugh and raise his spear to return the Par'chin's salute. He came and embraced the man for the last time.

'I underestimated you, Par'chin,' he said. 'I won't do so again.'

The Par'chin smiled. 'You say that every time.' He was surrounded by warriors, glorying in their victory. Already they could not be trusted to do what must be done.

'Dal'Sharum!'
he called to the warriors, gesturing to the slaughtered
alagai
on the streets of the Maze. 'Gather up these filthy things and haul them atop the outer wall! Our sling teams need target practice! Let the
alagai
beyond the walls see the folly of attacking the Desert Spear!'

A cheer rose from the men, and they hastened to his bidding. As they did, Jardir turned to Arlen. 'The Watchers report there is still battle in one of the eastern ambush points. Have you any fight left in you, Par'chin''

The Par'chin showed Jardir his teeth. 'Lead the way.'

Leaving the
Sharum
behind, they sprinted through the Maze, down a route already cleared of witnesses. Like a Baiter, Jardir led the Par'chin to his doom. At last, they came to the ambush point.
'Oot!'
Jardir called, and with that, Hasik stuck out a leg, tripping the Par'chin.

The greenlander rolled with the impact as he hit the ground, coming right back to his feet, but by then Jardir's most trusted men had cut off his escape.

'What is this'' the Par'chin demanded.

Jardir's heart ached at the look of betrayal on his friend's face. He deserved no better, but now that the trap was sprung, he was committed to its course. 'The Spear of Kaji belongs in the hands of the Shar'Dama Ka,' he said. 'You are not he.'

'I don't want to fight you,' the Par'chin said.

'Then don't, my friend,' Jardir begged. 'Give me the weapon, take your horse, and go with the dawn, never to return.' Inevera would call him a fool for the offer. Even his lieutenants murmured in surprise, but he did not care. He prayed his friend would accept, though he knew in his heart that he would not. The son of Jeph was no coward. Behind him in the demon pit, there was a growl. A warrior's death awaited him.

He fought hard as the
dal'Sharum
fell upon him, breaking bones but refusing, even now, to kill men. Jardir stayed out of the fray, consumed by his shame.

Finally, it was done, the Par'chin held tight by Hasik and Shanjat as Jardir bent to pick up the spear. Immediately he felt its power and a sense of belonging as his fingers tightened about the haft. Indeed, it was the weapon of Kaji, whose seventh son had been the first Jardir.

'I am truly sorry, my friend,' he said. 'I wish there could be another way.'

The Par'chin spat in his face. 'Everam is watching your betrayal!'

Jardir felt a flash of anger. The Par'chin did not believe in Heaven, but he was willing to use the Creator's name when it suited his purpose. He had no wives or children, no ties to family or tribe, but he thought he knew what was best for all. His arrogance knew no bounds.

'Do not speak of Everam,
chin,
' Jardir said. 'I am his Sharum Ka, not you. Without me, Krasia falls.'

They rode out of the city secretly in the predawn light. Most of the
alagai
had already returned to the abyss, but a sand demon must have heard their approach and waited, because it leapt out at them from the shadow of a dune mere minutes before dawn.

Jardir was ready, and the defensive wards on the shaft of the spear flared as he parried the attack. The
alagai
was thrown to the ground and glanced at the brightening sky, but before it could dematerialize, Jardir leapt from the back of his horse and skewered it.

There was a pulse of light as the warded spearhead punched through the gritty armor of the demon, and Jardir felt the spear come to life in his hand. A shock ran through him like Inevera's lightning stone, but where that was agony, this was ecstasy. Immediately he felt stronger, faster. Old aches from injuries long forgotten, pains he had become so accustomed to he no longer noticed them, suddenly vanished, revealing themselves by their absence. He felt immortal. Invincible. He swung his arms effortlessly, hurling the demon's corpse thirty feet to await the rising sun.

The sense of power faded quickly after the kill, but the healing remained. Jardir was over thirty, but he suddenly remembered what it had felt like when his body was twenty, and wondered how he had ever forgotten.

All this from a single sand demon,
he mused.
What must the Par'chin have felt when he used it on dozens of
alagai
in the Maze'

But he would never know the answer, for they left the unconscious Par'chin facedown on the dunes moments before sunrise, miles from the city and more than a day's walk from the nearest village.

Jardir looked down at him, and the greenlander's words flashed in his mind.
Everam is watching your betrayal!
he had shouted.

'Why could you not have left when I begged it of you, my friend'' Jardir asked'one more question the Par'chin could never answer for him.

Jardir regarded his friend sadly as Hasik and Shanjat climbed back into their saddles. He took the skin of cool water from his saddle horn, throwing it to land with a thump in the sand beside the greenlander's prone form.

'What are you doing'' Ashan asked. 'We should kill him now, not help him.'

'I will not stab an unconscious warrior,' Jardir said. 'The skin will not fly him across the sands to succor, but he will wake, and drink, and when the
alagai
come, he will die on his feet like a man, and find his way to paradise.'

'What if he returns to the city'' Shanjat asked.

'Post Mehnding on the walls through the day to shoot him if he tries,' Jardir said.

He looked back.
But you won't, will you, Par'chin'
he thought.
You have a
Sharum's
spirit, and will die fighting
alagai
with your bare hands.

'He is a
chin,
' Ashan said. 'An unbeliever. What makes you think Everam will welcome him in Heaven''

Jardir raised the spear, catching the light from the rising sun. 'Because I am Shar'Dama Ka, and I say it is so.'

The others goggled, but no one disputed the claim.

Inevera's words from just hours ago came to him again.

At dawn, you will declare yourself Shar'Dama Ka.

He looked back to the body of the Par'chin.

Die well,
he prayed,
and when we meet in Heaven, if I have not fulfilled both our dreams, we shall have a reckoning.

He turned his horse, riding back to the city.

His city.

SHAR'DAMA KA

329 AR

'GO NO FARTHER, TRAITOR, ' Dama Everal said, moving to block the entrance to the Andrah's throne room. He was the oldest of the Andrah's sons, almost certain to become
Damaji
on the death of Amadeveram, and likely Andrah after that. At fifty, he was still robust and black-haired, a
sharusahk
master said to have no equal.

He was also the last of the Andrah's sons Jardir would have to kill before he could gut the fat old man.

It was not yet a month since, covered in demon gore, Jardir had announced himself the Deliverer in the Maze. Three-quarters of the
Sharum
had declared for him on the spot. Half the
dama
as well, with more converting daily. The remainder rallied to their
Damaji,
who attempted to defend their own palaces at first, but finally, as Jardir's power grew, fled through the Undercity and barricaded themselves behind the walls of the Andrah's palace.

His conquest might have lasted days rather than the weeks it had taken, but each nightfall, Jardir blew the Horn of Sharak, calling his warriors to the Maze. The meanest soldier had a battle-warded spear now, and the
alagai
greeted the sun in droves.

Free to regroup at night, the Andrah and
Damaji
had thought this a great advantage, but they had not reckoned with the shame this caused their remaining
Sharum,
denied
alagai'sharak
by their leaders while Jardir's men saw endless glory. Warriors deserted nightly, and were welcomed in the Maze without question. At last, there were not enough to hold even the Andrah's walls. Jardir's men had taken the gates shortly after dawn, and breached the palace doors soon after. Now there was only one man between Jardir and his vengeance.

'Your forgiveness, Dama,' Jardir said, bowing to Everal, 'but I cannot offer you surrender as I have other men, for who could trust a man not willing to die for his own father' Better that you die with honor.'

'Pretender!' Everal spat. 'You are no Deliverer, just a murderer with a stolen spear. You would be nothing without it!'

Jardir stopped short, holding up a hand to halt the warriors behind him.

'Think you truly so'' Jardir asked.

Everal spat at his feet. 'Put the weapon down and face me without its tainted magic, if it is not so.'

'Acha!'
Jardir said, and tossed the spear to Everal. The
dama
caught the weapon reflexively, his eyes widening as he realized what he now held.

Something changed in Everal then, a subtle shift in his stance and disposition. The others might not have noticed, but it was as clear to Jardir as if the
dama
had spoken. Before, he had thought himself a doomed man, determined only to inflict some damage before he died. Now Dama Everal had a glimmer of hope in his eyes, a belief that he might kill Jardir and end the rebellion that had pierced the heart of Krasia.

Jardir nodded. 'Now your soul is prepared to meet Everam with honor,' he said, and launched himself at the
dama.

Everal was a
sharusahk
master, but the Evejah forbade clerics the spear, and in all Jardir's years in Sharik Hora he had never seen that law broken. He expected the
dama's
spearwork to be poor and easily defeated.

Seek every advantage,
Khevat taught.

But Everal surprised him, spinning the spear about like a whip staff. It moved invisibly fast as the
dama
came at him, and for a few moments it was all Jardir could do to keep from its path. Everal's moves were fast and precise, one attack flowing smoothly into the next as one would expect from a man who had spent four decades in Sharik Hora. Everal brought the point into play at last, scoring a line on Jardir's cheek, and another cut in his arm.

At last, Jardir saw the rhythm behind the
dama's
attacks and came in quick to hook his arm around the spear's shaft and pivot, throwing the
dama
across the hall where he struck a column and landed heavily.

Jardir waited for Everal to roll to his feet, then laid the spear on the floor. The
dama's
eyes widened.

'You are a fool to give up your advantage,' Everal said, but Jardir only smiled, having taken the cleric's measure. He came in with his arms spread, and Everal met him, more than willing to grapple.

To the untrained eyes of the
Sharum,
what followed must have appeared a simple struggle that strength would tell, but in truth the hundreds of subtle shifts and twists were
sharukin,
designed to turn an opponent's own energy against him.

Little by little, Jardir worked his way toward a death hold. It was in evitable, and he could see in the
dama's
eyes that Everal knew it, too.

'Impossible,' Everal gasped as Jardir's hand came around his throat.

'There is a difference,
dama,
' Jardir said, 'between strength gained fighting air, and strength gained fighting
alagai.
' He pulled hard, and Everal's neck snapped with a sound that echoed in the hall.