The Orphans' Promise (5 page)

At that precise moment, Rey decided to unveil his disguise. Or at least the person who must have been Rey, since he had after all disappeared behind the curtain a full centiday before. His companions experienced a moment of hesitation. Grigán’s reflexes took hold faster than his reason, and he assumed a combat position before recognizing him as their friend.

The actor had disguised himself as a Zü with a red tunic, a thick rope as a belt, and laced shoes. A partially open novice’s robe covered the whole outfit. And most notably, the sinister dagger, the
hati
, easily recognizable in its crimson sheath.

All of the red killers they had ever encountered were bald, but Rey had no desire to take the costume that far. He had simply pulled back his thick blond locks in a ponytail and pulled up the hood of the novice’s robe. Even his face disappeared in the shadow.

The effect was striking. Just the sight of the costume gave Léti a ferocious, even animal desire for savagery.

“Where did you get that?” asked Corenn.

“Off a Zü’s back. The one who was waiting for me at Mess’s house, to be exact. Obviously, I sort of had to kill him before he let me take it.”

Someone let out a scream of terror, and the heirs turned toward Raji. The smuggler was attempting to flee but found the stairway blocked by the donkey. The poor animal had no choice but to leap down the stairs four steps at a time to avoid falling.

Soon Raji was out of view, and they could only hear his frightful screams becoming more distant. Grigán sighed before dashing off in pursuit, like a cat chasing a mouse, showing his exasperation with a few choice obscenities. Yan would not have liked to be in the little man’s place.

They waited a few moments for the warrior’s return. Rey tried, unsuccessfully, to get a laugh out of his companions with a series of cruel, bloodthirsty scowls. He changed register and squeezed a grin out of Léti as he mimicked a stupid-looking Zü drooling like a toad.

Grigán returned soon after, prodding Raji forward with one hand while holding his broadsword in the other. The little smuggler was so pale that they could almost see his tongue through his cheeks. “I suggest we either lock him up or get out of here,” the warrior shouted. “I’ve had enough of this.”

“Go ahead and leave, please…” murmured Raji.

“Confining our host is not an option,” Corenn asserted. “My lord, Raji was just surprised by Reyan’s disguise, isn’t that right?”

“Well… the Züu are quite ruthless, you know? I wouldn’t want them to come sticking their noses around here…”

“That won’t happen,” Grigán declared, handing him back his broadsword. “So long as you hold your tongue.”

“It’s true,” Corenn added. “At this point you would be considered our accomplice if they came to find out where we are…”

“Oh, my… oh my…”

The little man took his head in his hands and paced around aimlessly. The calm universe he had built for himself had just come tumbling down.

“Fortunately, we will be gone from here before the eighth day of the dékade. You’ve saved our life, my lord Raji.”

Raji stared at the Mother, shrugged his shoulders, and with a dispirited air began loading the donkey with his pile of goods.

Yan admired the way Corenn had just assured Raji’s loyalty. The art of diplomacy could really be more effective than force. He had been convinced of it for some time, but it was always nice to see it in action.

All attention fell back on Rey. He had prepared an army of arguments to convince Grigán that his disguise had merits, but he didn’t have to use them. The warrior made no comment. This visit to Lorelia, to their enemies, was surely dangerous. So if the outfit could help keep bystanders at a distance, it would be perfect. Of course it would be a completely different matter if they were to end up face-to-face with the genuine red killers. Such an encounter was destined to end in a fight.

When Raji finally grasped that the strangers planned to accompany him in the underground tunnel, he only emitted a weak protest, more like a whine. Then he set off into the tunnel, pulling his donkey by the reins and sadly shaking his head. Rey grabbed a torch and followed after him, while Grigán brought up the rear.

With each step the actor felt the wicked dagger pounding against his thigh. The red tunic rustled constantly, and the heavy novice’s robe quickly induced a sweat. He was dressed like a Zü killer, and he could be heading right for them. A face painted with a skull came to haunt his thoughts and reminded him of the nearly fatal assault to his throat. He owed his survival to mere chance. Despite his swagger, the actor was full of apprehension.
As Yan closed the gate behind them, he wondered if the infallible Grigán was in the same state of mind or if the warrior truly was crazy enough to not fear anything.

He couldn’t decide which bothered him more.

Bowbaq wanted to get up and wish his friends good luck before they left, but as he stood, the pain promptly assaulted him, taking all his strength to hold back a cry. The worst wasn’t the pain, it was wondering if he was going to live. He had taken a dagger in his stomach. He’d suffered much more dangerous wounds before, some of them stemming from his occasionally brutal games with Mir. The lion had broken his wrist, two fingers, and almost gashed his throat open during a particularly savage battle, when the beast had nearly forgotten whom he was fighting.

But this new wound had been made with a poisoned blade. Though Corenn was perfectly confident he would heal, Bowbaq could see the end coming. He asked himself what had brought him here. So far from his children, so far from Ispen, his beloved wife, threatened as much by the Züu as he was, just like Prad and Iulane, and all his friends too. And the heirs still had no idea why, or how to fix it.

The night before, he found himself standing in a cave on a small isle in the Median Sea, and he was shown a portal to another world. A magical portal. The secret of Ji.

That night, while sleeping, it all became clear to him. He realized he must be the only one of his companions to have any idea what this other world could be.

He tried to forget it, but couldn’t. If he survived his wound, his life would never be the same. There would be a
before
Ji. All that he would learn and know now would be
after.

His wound shot such pain through his stomach that he thought he would never sleep. While his body needed rest, his mind was too stimulated; it needed relief too.

He suddenly had an urge to talk to someone. He wanted to talk about his possibly pending death, his family, his existence. To discuss the Züu—their enemy—and the mysteries of the island. He wanted to share, one more time, this experience with someone. A friend. One of the heirs.

He opened his eyes to see the torches’ dancing lights on the cellar ceiling. Léti was crouching next to him and gave him a kind smile. The giant breathed a thankful sigh, cleared his voice, and began to tell his story.

From the moment Grigán and Rey left, Corenn had been directing her gaze toward Yan, her intelligent eyes gleaming into his for a long time. The young man immediately felt uncomfortable. Or rather in awe.

Throughout his childhood, the Mother had been nothing more to him than one of Léti’s few relatives who occasionally came for a visit to Eza. He later learned that Corenn wasn’t really the young girl’s aunt, but a cousin of Norine, Léti’s mother. Later still, once he was grown up enough to understand in broad terms the organization of power in the Matriarchy, he realized that Corenn was one of the most important people in the country.

He couldn’t remember his impression of her from before, but from that day on, he saw her as more stern, more serious, and more responsible than anyone he’d ever known. Intimidated, he had more or less fled during her visits. Corenn only stayed in Eza for short stints, anyhow. Every three years, she would take
Norine and Léti to Lorelia for a few days. Yan had never asked why because he knew Léti would keep her secret.

Well, now he knew. Over the past two dékades, he had gotten to know Corenn and learned to appreciate her. The Mother’s numerous qualities, her intelligence just one of them, made her likable to anyone. If he were asked who was the most fit to lead the group, Yan would not have suggested Grigán. Despite the warrior’s experience in traveling and fighting, he was too stubborn and withdrawn. Yan would have answered Corenn, without hesitation.

The young man thought he knew more or less everything there was to know about Corenn, but now the Mother of Kaul’s Permanent Council was staring at him with an odd, scheming look that gave him the chills. She had promised him a long conversation. The moment had come. Yan understood without her having to say a word. He looked around to make sure he wouldn’t forget anything, unsure why he was acting this way. Then he shrugged his shoulders and followed the Mother to the stable.

He felt just as nervous as the night before, when they saw the
other world.

The memory of the lush sun-laden valley made him sad, just as he felt when the portal closed, sealing off its secret. He now understood that he would never be the same.

“What about Bowbaq?” he mumbled timidly, as if he were talking to a stranger.

“He’ll be fine. Léti is keeping an eye on him. I changed his bandages earlier; his wound is very clean, and I don’t think we have to worry about the poison anymore.”

The harmless tone in her voice relaxed him some, but the Mother’s pensive expression made him feel anxious again. They left the stable and walked in silence. The sun was already high above the horizon, and the Lorelien countryside rejoiced. The
songs of vorvans and vulturous blackbirds fused together in the air. The hoarse cry of a marine pheasant echoed nearby, and wild boar answered promptly with a groan. The fauna sensed the approaching season of the earth and intended to make the most of the respite the sun now offered.

Yan enjoyed imagining how scared to death Raji would be, knowing that his guests were outside in the open, easily seen and acknowledged by any passerby. He wasn’t completely comfortable with the danger they imposed on the little man, but he knew that Grigán would rather die than cause an innocent man trouble. Besides, the smuggler would surely be handsomely compensated.

Corenn remained silent. Yan gathered his courage and dove in.

“This
long conversation
, does it have to do with the island, or me?”

The Mother smiled, shooting him a sidelong glance, as their walk brought them under the first trees of a thick forest.

“Yan the Fisherman, you’re not so naïve anymore,” she said magisterially. “It has to do with you,” she added, after a moment.

Yan felt his neck stiffen. He had suspected the answer, but was already sorry to have been right.

Corenn drew in a long breath and began.

“After what you saw yesterday, I don’t think you’ll find my question too odd. Yan, do you believe in the
impossible
?”

“Yes, of course,” he answered without hesitation. Then he felt the need to explain his impulsive response. “I mean, I’ve seen it, haven’t I? We all have. Anyone can go around saying things, but that doesn’t prove anything. But yesterday… I was there yesterday. I saw the portal. I saw the other world. And if those things are real, then others can be too.”

Corenn stopped and stretched as she observed the surroundings. His answer amply satisfied her.

“Well! Like I thought, this is going to be very easy. Let’s stop here for a moment. I have something to show you.”

Consumed with curiosity, the young Kaulien squatted in the grass still moist with dew. Corenn unfolded a cloth she had brought for this purpose, sat down on it, and rested her back against the trunk of a young lubilee tree. She lazily took a coin from her purse and held it out to the young man.

“Place it on the ground upright, on its edge. Wherever you want, but close enough so that I can see it.”

Yan obeyed, wondering where the Mother was going with this. If Rey had asked him to do something like this, he would have refused to play along, afraid the actor was playing another one of his jokes on him.

“Now back up. And watch the coin closely.”