Chapter 19
Half an hour later, Ga’briyel forced his hands not to clench with frustration around the mug of mint tea Nikale had brought up from the kitchen. She was currently in the process of seating herself in the only other chair in the room, smoothing her skirts, picking up her own mug of tea from the washstand, and taking a sip. Only once that was accomplished did she look at Ga’briyel.
“Comfortable, Nikale?” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Finished getting settled?”
“Do not get short with me, boy,” she said mildly, taking another sip of tea. “Do not forget who just saved your friends from a fate worse than death.”
He sighed heavily and looked over at Sophyra, who looked to be asleep, but he knew she was simply unconscious. Her brain was working just fine, and her pain and horror were suffocating, and they mingled with the same from his friends in the other bed. He had tried to put the two men in their own room, but as soon as he put Dinton to bed, his best friend’s eyes had snapped open, and he had begged not to be left alone, so Ga’briyel had put him in the second bed in his and Sophyra’s room. Tero had just whimpered, but the sound had bored into his brain, and the older man joined the younger in the same bed.
“I am sorry, Nikale,” he said, not taking his eyes off his heart. “You are right.” He looked back at the old woman. “I would really like to know what just happened. To them and to me. And how you were able to help them.”
She cocked her head and studied him for a moment. “Before I tell you, I need to know what you know about Sayatan and his minions.”
“I know that Sayatan is the enemy of Yisu, he wants to rule this world, and he unleashed his Daitya to prey on humans to that end. I know that Daitya can kill normal Anmah but not Sainika, and they can steal souls for Sayatan. I know that only I can kill them once they become flesh, but Debaduta can banish them temporarily while they are in spirit form.”
Nikale nodded. “All of that is correct, but there is more. Daitya are not the only servants of Sayatan, although they are the most numerous.” She studied him again. “Tell me what you felt today.”
“When? With Sophyra or the boy?”
“Both.”
Ga’briyel turned the mug in his hands around in circles. He watched the liquid swirl like a whirlpool for a moment, and then he spoke softly. “I did not really have a feeling with Sophyra. It was more of a need, a desire.” He grimaced. “I almost raped her in that alley, Nikale. How could I have done that to someone I love? How could I hurt her like that?”
“Finish your description, and I will tell you.”
He frowned at her, but he continued. “With the boy, it started as a prickling in the back of my brain. As I got closer to the house he was in, it got stronger until I knew exactly where he was. I felt it once before in the village where I killed my first Daitya. I got the same feeling from one of the Anusari, from the first man to follow the Daitya.”
“Is that what you feel around a Daitya?”
“No. A Daitya near me is like rancid fish oil being dumped over my head. With Dahaka it was bad enough to make me vomit.” Then he paused. “Wait. How did you know I feel things like that?”
“I know a lot about you, Sainika. More than anyone alive, even Ma’ikel. He knows a lot about other things, but the information I have about you has been handed down through the women of my family for over five thousand years.”
Ga’briyel took a sip of his cold tea. He did not mind it cold; sometimes he preferred it that way, but he barely noticed the temperature now. “What do you mean by that?”
The old woman smiled. “My family has served Yisu for as long as anyone can remember. The women in my family, anyway. The men not so much, but that is neither here nor there. We have kept the knowledge of the Sainika alive so that when one is born, we can help him.”
“Him? There has never been a female Sainika?”
“Never. It is always a man.”
“Why is that?”
Nikale shrugged. “Who can explain the way Yisu works? Not I and not you.”
“Will you tell me now what happened to me? What happened to them?”
“I said the Daitya are not the only servants of Sayatan loose in the world. Another type of his servants are the Azazil. They cannot affect this world except through the people they control. Like that boy today, like the man in Difeld. Neither of them were responsible for their actions, for they had no say in what they were doing. The Azazil controlled their every action, their every thought, their every desire. You might say that the people whose bodies the Azazil possess are asleep for everything.” Nikale looked at Ga’briyel intently. “I know that boy you wanted to kill, Captain, and he was a good, kind boy who would never have tried to hurt you on his own. His father was one of the Asabya you killed on your first night here, and it must have been shortly after that when the Azazil took him over. You cannot blame him for his actions. Azazil can make people do things they would never do on their own. Just with their words.”
Ga’briyel frowned deeply. He did not like the idea that Sayatan’s demons could take over anyone they wanted, and the thought that one could affect his mind like it had made him cringe. He looked over at the bed and wondered if he would be able to protect Sophyra from them.
“They can only control the weak or the willing, Captain,” Nikale said, causing Ga’briyel to snap his head back toward her. She smiled slightly. “No, I cannot read your thoughts, but I can read your face. The boy was weak, and I would guess that the man in Difeld was willing. And they cannot control those who stay true to Yisu. The Creator protects his own.”
“He did not protect Sophyra,” Ga’briyel said, a bite to his words. “She was violated and murdered. And now this.”
“In a way, he did,” the old woman answered. “If she had not been made Anmah, or if she had died today, she would have been with him in the afterlife. That is not a bad thing, Captain.”
“Not for her, perhaps, but it would have been very bad for me.” The bite remained. “I was about to damn the world to Hell it was so bad.”
“And Yisu did not let you. He always knows best, Captain Mistri. Never forget that. You caused him to change his plans, but that is not necessarily bad, either. Apparently, your life was more important in his plans than her death.”
“So Azazil can kill Anmah?”
“No, but they can cause them to want to kill themselves. You do know that you can do that, correct?”
“Of course I do. That is what I was planning before I knew she was Anmah.”
“Thank Yisu He kept you from doing something so stupid,” Nikale said with no animosity in her voice. “Although I do not remember any tales of such a thing happening before.”
The corner of Ga’briyel’s mouth curved upward as he finished his tea. “Telantes said things are happening now that have never happened before. I suppose that is one of them.”
“As is a Debaduta having a name,” Nikale stated, cocking her head to study him again. “How did that happen?”
“You are asking me? I have no idea. He simply said that Yisu had given him a name since he would be helping me.”
“Helping you? Debaduta have always been messengers, not helpers. They bring Yisu’s words to humans and then disappear. That is the way it has always been.”
“And things are changing. He helped me find Mathi, and he told me to find you.” Ga’briyel set his empty mug on the washstand next to Nikale’s. “Speaking of you, how did you help my friends? What exactly are you?”
“I am a high priestess of Yisu as was my mother and her mother before her and back for fifty generations.”
“Fifty? I thought you said you have been His servants for five thousand years.” His eyebrows furrowed. “How old are you?”
“My next naming-day will be my hundred and eleventh,” she answered, watching him carefully.
“But you are not Anmah.”
“No, I am not.”
“Then how can you live so long?”
“I do not know. Perhaps it is because I am Yisu’s priestess. Perhaps He grants my family our longevity. I never thought to ask anyone, and now I am the oldest of my line, so there is no one left to ask.”
“The oldest? Then you have a daughter who will follow in your service?”
“I do. She is not here, however, for I did not want her to be subjected to the Asabya’s ways. I myself was taken in a raid and was lucky enough to marry my captor instead of ending up a slave. I do not think she would have been as lucky.”
“Where is she?”
“In the south near the sea in the city of Khaddara. Safe from the evils of the Asabya. She stays with my sister, another of Yisu’s priestesses. It is from my sister that she learns what she needs to know to take my place when I die.”
“Do you ever get to see her?”
“Not in the last twenty years. I was not allowed to leave Grama without my husband, and he was dead, so I was trapped here. Perhaps now I will be able to go to her, however. Although I would hate to leave the people here without any guidance.”
“Well, perhaps she could come to you here now that the danger is gone.”
“Gone? No, not gone, just different. The boy today proved that. The Asabya males may be almost all dead, but there are obviously other dangers taking their place.”
Ga’briyel looked at the beds. “Can you teach me to do what you did with them? Could I learn that?”
Nikale gasped, and Ga’briyel turned his head back to her. He was shocked to see her eyes rolled back in her head much like the boy’s had been, and he surged to his feet, drawing his sword as he stood.
“Nikale! What is happening?”
“Do not be afraid, Ga’briyel.” Telantes spoke from behind him, and he whirled, his sword held at the ready. The spirit was standing between the two beds.
“Why did I not hear you this time?” Ga’briyel asked with a frown.
“The wind?” Telantes said with a smile. “That is just a courtesy. To let you know I am coming. It seemed a little dramatic this time.”
“Why are you here?”
The Debaduta gestured toward Nikale. “It is not the Azazil that has control of her. It is Yisu.”
“Why?”
“I do not know. He has not told me. I am sure she will tell you what she can when He is finished with her.”
“I do not understand. Why control her at all? Why not just speak to her like He did to me?”
“I told you that was a first, Ga’briyel. This is the way He usually speaks to His priestesses. You will just have to wait until she is with you again to find out what she knows.”
“With me? Where is she now?”
“With Yisu. At least her consciousness is. She will be fine in a little while. Just be patient.”
Ga’briyel sheathed his sword with a frown and a glance at the old woman who had not moved. “I suppose. Why are you here?”
“To help your friends. Nikale could only do so much, but I have the power to help them more than she.” He paused and looked apologetic. “I did not know an Azazil was in the area, Ga’briyel. Had I known, I could have prevented this. I could have told you, and you and Nikale could have stopped it before this ever happened. I am sorry.”
“Do not be sorry,” the Anmah said, surprised at the Debaduta’s remorse. “Just help them, please. They are still terrified, they are still hurting, and I cannot do anything for them.”
“I know. Again, be patient. This will only take a moment.”
As Ga’briyel watched, a glow spread out from the spirit and grew until it covered both beds, surrounding the three occupants. Ga’briyel had to shield his eyes from the brightness, so he did not see what the Debaduta did, but when it disappeared, and his eyes adjusted themselves, the pain and fear that had threatened to smother him was gone. He opened his mind to his friends and found that they still remembered what had happened, but the agony and horror were just memories. The Debaduta stared down at them.
“I cannot take away the memories, Ga’briyel, but I have taken away the pain. They will need you the next few days until the memories fade, especially Sophyra. She has not known battle and horror and pain like the other two have. She will need you to help her forget.”
Ga’briyel nodded. “Thank you, Telantes. For everything you have done for us. I truly appreciate it.”
Telantes smiled. “I will be here when you need me, Captain Ga’briyel Mistri el’Adama. You need not call for me. I will know, and I will come. It seems I am to watch over you and the others.” He gestured with his head behind the Anmah. “She is back, and I must go.” He faded into the familiar glow and disappeared.
“So he does have a name.”
Ga’briyel moved to Sophyra’s bed and sat down on the end. “I told you I was not a liar, Nikale. Did you doubt me?”
“Only a little. I thought perhaps you had given him the name just so you had something to call him, but now I know better. I apologize to you.”
“Do not worry about it.” He stared at her. “Are you going to tell me what Yisu said?”
“How did…ah, the Debaduta told you.”
“A good thing he did. I was about to kill you. I thought it was another Azazil.”
“Did I not just tell you that only the weak and willing can be controlled by them? I am most definitely not willing, and I surely hope you do not think me weak.”
“Of course not. So, do I get to know what He said?”
“Yes, but not all of it now. Now you need to rest before last meal.”
“Why?”
“Because one of the things Yisu told me was that two more raiding parties will return shortly after last meal is over.”
“Wonderful,” Ga’briyel said dryly. “Did He happen to tell you how many men that will be?”
“Yes. Do you really want to know?”
“It will help me prepare, so yes.”
“Ten in the first and seventeen in the second. They will arrive within an hour of each other.”
“Twenty-seven more corpses to add to the pile. Any denizens of Sayatan among them?”
“Not this time,” Nikale said with a smile. “Just men. I saw the sword cut to your back the first night you came here, so I will assume you have already been killed by a blade, but do not forget that with enough blood loss, even you will be vulnerable.”
“I know that, but they cannot kill me even then. Not even with an arrow,” he said, returning her smile.
“I know I said you need to rest, Captain, but will you tell me how you have died? Captain Rabina said the arrow was number fourteen.”
“Sword, thirst, hunger, overeating, lightning, animal attack, crushed, choking, drowning, freezing, falling, and suffocation, in that order. That was all before and during the voyage to Torkeln. Since then, poison and an arrow. Someday I will tell you details if you want to know.”
“That is not necessary. I was just curious.” She picked up the mugs and walked to the door. “You amaze me, Captain.”
Ga’briyel bent down and pulled off his boots. “You and everyone else in my life, Nikale,” he said with a sigh, and she gave him a small smile and left the room. He pulled the covers back and climbed into the bed next to Sophyra before pulling her into his arms. She shifted her position and draped one arm over him as she laid her head on his chest. He kissed her hair and tried to rest, but there were too many things racing through his mind—the Daitya, the Azazil, Nikale, the twenty-seven men he would kill before last light. He was still wide awake when Mathi stuck his head into the room to tell him that last meal was ready. It was only then that he wondered where the boy had been all this time. When he asked, Mathi smiled.
“Hiding. When something can control the captains like that, I hide. Perhaps someday I will not have that instinct, but until then, I have no shame in it.”
“Nor should you,” Ga’briyel said, sliding out of bed and tugging on his boots. “You will have reason to hide again after last meal is concluded. Make sure everyone else hides, too.”
“Why, Captain? What is going to happen?”
“A lot of men will die tonight. Two raiding parties are coming home.”
“Did Nikale tell you that?”
Ga’briyel’s eyebrows went up. “Yes. How did you know?”
The boy shrugged. “She knows a lot of things. She knew you were coming. She just did not know when.” Then he gave Ga’briyel a shy smile. “You had better hurry downstairs, Captain, or your food will get cold.” Then he vanished out the door.
“That would be a tragedy,” Ga’briyel mumbled as he bent over Sophyra and kissed her cheek. “Sleep well, my heart.”