The Ruthless

‘Ah well, let us be on our way and I won’t hold you responsible.’

Pari could see her thinking about it, minute shifts in posture and expression telling the story of surprise becoming fear becoming pride, so she was disappointed rather than surprised by the reply.

‘No, Tanzanite, I asked you your business.’

‘And I ask if the lofty Sapphire have forgotten their manners?’

Small dots of pink appeared in the white of the guard’s cheeks. ‘I’m here with the authority of High Lord Sapphire and in his name I say who comes and goes. Me! And if you don’t answer my questions you’ll have to sit here till you rot or go back home. I don’t care which.’ Several guards had appeared at the top of the tower, bows held casually, yet prominently in their hands.

‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ said Pari.

‘What?’

‘Clearly, you have forgotten your manners and clearly nobody’s taught you any history or you would know better than to claim authority here.’

‘What are you talking about? This is Sapphire land!’

‘No it isn’t.’

‘Yes it is!’

‘No,’ Pari replied, smiling a sweet smile and pointing at the nearby trees. ‘That is Sapphire land.’ She pointed at the tower. ‘That is on Sapphire land. We are on the Godroad, and the Godroad runs through your lands and mine, and the lands of all the Crystal Dynasties. It was built before even the first Deathless took breath and though it is our duty to protect it, it is also our right to use it. No one house claims ownership. No High Lord. No one.

‘So, by all means, patrol your dirt tracks and pathways, but do not think anyone has the authority to block me using any part of the Godroad, for I am Deathless, and you, road-born, you most certainly are not.’

There was a pause as the guard tried to process this. After a moment she looked back to her fellows who all stared back, their blank faces doing the equivalent of a shrug. One or two of the bows disappeared from sight.

Pari waited for the guard to realize that she was alone and in trouble.

‘I …’ she began. ‘I …’

Pari lowered her voice. ‘I would advise apologizing, using my proper title, and then getting out of our way as quickly as possible.’

‘I’m sorry, Lady …’

‘Pari. Of House Tanzanite.’

‘Lady Pari of House Tanzanite.’

‘There. Much better.’ She gave a little wave of her hand. ‘Now, off you go.’

The guard backed away, head bowed low, and the carriage set off, swiftly leaving the tower behind. Pari gave one last regal wave to the stupefied guards and sat back in her seat to find Arkav was staring at her.

‘What is it? Something on my nose?’

‘You lied. There is no law that separates the Godroad from the rest of the land.’

‘I think lie is a bit harsh. The law is unclear. I thought my interpretation made a lot of sense.’

‘It’s wrong.’

‘Careful, Arkav, rigid thinking has always been an issue for the Sapphire, but never for us.’

He turned to look at her, suddenly, intensely present. ‘No, I mean this is all wrong. The way they talked to you, the way they made you act, it’s all wrong. It never used to be this way.’

‘I agree. Yadavendra’s a fool to arm children and tell them to hassle every poor soul on the Godroad. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he wanted to provoke a war.’

Arkav continued to stare at her. ‘The Sapphire are broken, like me. Are you going to fix them too, Pari?’

And what else could she say, looking into those sad, bleak eyes, but: ‘Yes.’

The last time they’d met had been less formal, but while her mother was between lives, Anuja was acting as High Lord of her house, and so they observed the proper protocols.

At the doorway to the throne room, Vasin stopped while the servant sang of his arrival. Anuja’s attendants sang back that Anuja was here and ready to receive him. Only then did he step forward, planting himself on the threshold.

‘Lady Anuja Ruby, hand of your High Lord, I stand at your door and ask that it might be opened. I stand within your walls and ask that they might shelter me. I stand with a hand outstretched in friendship, and ask that you might take it.’

Anuja was seated on a wide padded couch. She too was bound in silk, white, a high-necked gown fitted over it, with broad sleeves cuffed in Wrath Tear red, and lined in Vexation’s darker shade. Had he not known it was there, he would have missed the hint of gold on her cheeks. Her left eye was unadorned to make the golden legend around her right blaze in contrast. It struck him as odd that she had not risen to greet him. Perhaps the servant had been instructed to be disrespectful, a prelude to the true insult.

And yet when she spoke, her voice was warm. ‘Lord Vasin Sapphire, sky master, Ruby-friend. Fly to me as you did on your last visit and you will find my hand is ready to clasp yours, tight and true.’

She raised her hand and he strode across the room until he stood before her. Still, she did not rise, so he bowed as he took it. They locked eyes as well as fingers.

Vasin was never the best at reading faces but even he could see how tired she looked, the fierceness of gaze that he usually admired seeming to quiver like a nervous candle.

Anuja gestured for him to sit, and the servants arranged his gown around him before turning back his sleeves. Then they placed a selection of dumplings on a low table between them, and poured two glasses of sweet wine before retreating to the edges of the room.

‘I was sorry to hear about your mother,’ he began.

‘Thank you. We sorely miss her strength.’

‘Were you there when it happened?’

‘No, we always leave one behind in case the worst happens.’ There was a bitterness in her words, and Vasin remembered that the last time the Ruby High Lord had gone travelling, Anuja had been left behind, the High Lord taking her older sister.

‘I’ve never seen the Toothsack with my own eyes,’ she continued, ‘but I hear it was a great battle. Our Story-singers are already preparing a work to honour it.’

‘I hear the Toothsack was wounded but not killed.’

A little of her normal spark returned. ‘Much like your own encounter with the Corpseman, yes?’

‘Yes.’

‘Like us, the things of the Wild have a way of coming back.’

‘Speaking of that, may I ask how quickly your mother and sister will begin their next lifecycles?’

She made a short gesture and the servants left the room. ‘Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about this very thing.’