The Sleeping God (The Disinherited Prince Series Book 4) Read online

  ~

  A few hours later, they arrived at a Shardian village. The buildings were made out of wood, but sat on short columns of a gray material that wasn’t stone.

  “Concrete,” Shira said. “It reminds me of home.”

  “What is concrete?” Pol said.

  “Limestone and clay, mostly,” Shira said.

  Koakai shook his head. “In The Shards, we crush volcanic rock and mix it with ash and limestone. This creates a sludge. We throw pebbles and crushed rock in for strength.”

  “Similar to us,” Shira said. “You pour the mixture into molds, and it hardens into any shape you wish. In Shinkya we make solid foundations rather than the columns here.”

  “I’ll have to learn more,” Pol said.

  “Not today,” Koakai said. “We eat, and then move on.”

  Pol had to agree. They only stopped once getting to the village, and he was disappointed that Koakai had only brought water.

  The magician led them inside one of the buildings. Instead of windows, the Shardians used shutters and wooden screens. Most of the inside was wooden. Metal brackets supported the trusses and floors that were nailed to a base structure. The floors were polished to a reflective sheen. Pol truly felt like he had stepped into a different world.

  “In here,” Koakai said. “Our hostess doesn’t speak Botarran, so I will have to translate.”

  They sat on thick cushions embroidered with bold designs which sat on both sides of a long, low table.

  “My father could sell these cushions for a good price in the Empire,” Kell said, running his fingers across the stitching.

  “I doubt if we’ll be coming back this way,” Fadden said.

  “No,” Kell admitted. “Still, my stint at my uncle’s warehouse in Borstall ignited an interest in trading and goods that I never really had before.” He grinned at them. “It’s funny how life changes your outlook.”

  Shira nodded. “I agree.” She pinched Pol in the side. “I’m back to looking out for you,” she whispered to Pol.

  “Thanks,” he said rubbing his new wound.

  She gave him an odd look, but turned her attention to two women bringing in bowls of food. The older one spoke to Koakai in a pure version of Shardian, more fluid than the mixture of Botarran and Shardian the pirates spoke. The magician replied, still throwing out Botarran words within the conversation.

  “This is authentic Shardian food. You might find it a little bland compared to what you ate in Botarra.” Koakai fished out a little red vegetable with his spoon. Evidently that was the only utensil Pol had available at their meal. It looked like a tiny pea pod. “If you eat one of these, the dish will cease to be bland.” He smiled. “We have some hot dishes, so be prepared for spiciness, should you see flecks of red.”

  “We have those peppers in Botarra,” Fadden said in Eastrilian. “They bring life to a dish and tears to your eyes.”

  Pol shrugged his shoulders. “I had thought that all Shardians ate that fruit gruel we were fed on board the pirate ship.”

  “We even put peppers in that,” Koakai said. “You were captives, and we didn’t know what the Chief would do to you, so we fed you just enough to keep you alive.” He made a face that Pol took as an expression of being sorry.

  Shira picked out the few peppers that she came across, and Pol noticed that most of the others did as well.

  Paki ended up being the brave one. “What is this?” He pulled a pepper out of his mouth and held it up, but then threw it down. “It is even hot in my hand. “Water!” He rose and stamped around waving his hand in front of his mouth and drawing air into his mouth.

  Their hostess entered with a cup of a bluish liquid and offered it to Paki.

  “Roll it around in your mouth,” Koakai said. “It will help a bit.”

  Paki sat back down and took another sip.

  “You can be my royal taster,” Kell said, holding his stomach in after laughing so hard.

  Paki held up his hand, “No need.” He took a deep breath and then shook his head. “Not bland.”

  Actually Pol thought the flavors to be rather subtle. The Shardians used some kind of vegetable paste as the base to their foods and then added other tastes. He pulled out a piece of meat and tasted it. Pork, he thought. Nothing that a little salt couldn’t brighten up.

  “Do you have salt in The Shards?” Pol asked Koakai.

  “We are surrounded by salt. Yes, we do, but it is considered bad matters to ask the hostess. I’ll get you a small sack of it, but you can use mine this time.”

  The magician handed over a tiny, tightly-woven bag. Pol emptied out a pinch of white crystals and put it on another piece of meat. Definitely pork and more to his taste. “That helps,” Pol said.

  He wondered what else they would have to get used to about The Shards. In a sense, their trek to the place where the Magicians Circle held the Chief’s daughter, Loa, would give them a better idea of the pattern that governed behavior in The Shards.

  After their meal, Koakai gave them some kind of bark strips to chew on. “For your teeth,” he said. The strips were sweet, probably soaked in something, and Pol’s mouth felt cleaner after he chewed on them for a bit.

  They rose and were leaving the house when Pol noticed a little altar with a cluster of carved figurines.

  “What is that?”

  Koakai stopped and followed Pol’s eyes. “Family gods. That’s what we do in The Shards. Everyone worships their ancestral gods, except for the Magicians Circle. As the Chief said, they worship their own god.”

  “Every house has one of these altars?”

  Koakai nodded. “Most. Some of the pirates worship both sea gods and their ancestral gods.”

  “But how do you teach children right from wrong. What guides your laws?”

  “Respect for our elders,” the magician said. “We would do nothing to earn their disappointment.”

  “Isn’t preying on innocent ships a disappointment?” Kell said.

  “Sea gods and our ancestors were pirates,” Koakai said.

  Pol thought it a convenient rationalization, but he had to admit that they were treated very well once he agreed to rescue Loa. If all of the Shardian ancestral gods permitted such good behavior, they would make it through their detour and get headed back north soon enough.

  The two women who served them stood at the entrance. Pol bowed to towards the figurines. He thought thanking the household gods would be better than something said to the women in a language they didn’t understand.

  They bowed back to him as he left.

  Koakai clapped Pol on the back. “That was a noble thing to do,” the magician said. “You aren’t like those in the Magicians Circle. They would probably knock the gods over with a breath of air.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “I am from this village. You honored them with your act. It made me look better.”

  Such an ungracious act wouldn’t have crossed Pol’s mind. Koakai seemed touched, and that made Pol happy. The other magicians, if what Koakai said was true, made Pol angry. It seemed there were good and bad magicians on all continents. He hoped there would be more good magicians on their way to Fassin.

  ~~~

  Chapter Fourteen

  ~

  Pol liked the Shardians as a people. Although every family worshiped their own family gods, the practices were the same from village to village as they headed south. They arrived three days later at a small port. Pol noticed more concrete walls for commercial buildings, but all of the residential structures were variants on the first house they visited.

  “Magic isn’t a part of Shardian life, is it?” Pol said to Koakai as they brought their goods onto the ship that would take them to the next island.

  “Other than magicians that join pirate bands, like me, the Magicians Circle sweeps up the rest.”

  “But how do they help their fellow Shardians?”

  Koakai shook his head. “They don’t. Sometimes they act as enforcers of the H
igh King’s will. Most magicians live in their fortress. It’s filled with most of the magicians in the Shards.”

  “Other than the few who escape to Volia and Eastril?” Pol said.

  The magician nodded. “But they never come back,” he said. “Once a magician leaves the Circle, they are not permitted to return.”

  “How would they know?”

  “All magicians are registered and the Circle has bounties. It’s been effective.”

  “What about you?”

  Koakai grinned. “I am a pirate magician. We are exempt. I won’t be helping you with Loa, or I’ll lose that exemption.”

  “Don’t worry,” Pol said. He looked at the sailors unloading the carts. “Can you teach us Shardian?”

  Koakai shrugged. “As languages go, it’s easier to learn than Botarran, I’m told. We will travel for fifteen more days. The Circle’s center is on an island just north of Big Island, that holds the capital. You should be able to pick up a bit of Shardian on your travels, if you are willing.”

  “We are willing,” Shira said, slipping up beside Pol.

  Koakai looked at Shira and then at Pol. “I’ve got to see to our supplies. The next island isn’t as populated. I’ll need the passes.”

  “Why?”

  “I might need them to negotiate our passage.”

  Pol gave him the five tokens Chief Holianai had given him.

  “Why don’t we sail around it?” Shira said.

  “There are a lot of rules that we have to follow. This ship can only sail between this island and our destination. Ships can’t skip islands, or the authorities at Wailua will increase taxes.”

  “And if an island won’t pay their taxes?”

  “That’s where the Magicians Circle earns its keep. Magicians will arrive and upset a great many family gods.”

  “What keeps them from stopping us?” Pol asked

  “We are moving quickly. As long as you don’t use your magic, you have nothing to fear.”

  Shira took Koakai’s arm. “And if we do?”

  “The bounty system that I talked about. It’s very effective and lucrative for those who snitch.”

  Pol didn’t see the need to use his magic. If they had to fight, and magic helped them to survive, Pol wouldn’t hesitate to use his to save his friends.

  Fadden interrupted their conversation. “Time to board.”

  Pol and Shira followed the magician onto the ship. “Our next leg. I wish you didn’t have to masquerade as a male.”

  Shira arched her eyebrow. “You think I like being Shro again?”

  “No. I don’t want you to end up like Loa.”

  “If she’s still alive,” Shira said. “What will we do when we arrive early?”

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to ask Koakai.”

  ~

  After two weeks of walking and then riding a variety of ships, the travel had finally worn Fadden down, Pol noticed, and he had to admit he had also lost some energy. The good part was that the weather hadn’t slowed them, and finally their destination island was literally within sight.

  “What do we do for the next four weeks until the Spring Equinox?” Pol asked Koakai.

  “There are a few villages on the island where the Circle has its fortress. The Chief knows of a woman whose son fled from the Circle. If she is still alive, she holds no love for them and will allow us to prepare for Loa’s escape.”

  “Help us?” Shira said.

  “I misspoke,” Koakai said. “I’ll be leaving you once we have arrived on the island.” He looked over the railing at the approaching island. “Your contact is on the other side of the island. She has been ready ever since the Chief let Loa go to the Circle’s fortress.”

  The ship passed four villages before they put in to shore at a ramshackle dock.

  Shira and Pol had successfully learned the basics of the Shardian tongue, but Paki, Kell, and Fadden still struggled. Pol hoped he could communicate with their contact well enough.

  Koakai’s gaze looked uneasy. He disappeared from sight, not even allowing them to say a goodbye. The magician had proven to be a useful man as he helped them travel across the ocean spaces and through the islands.

  “I guess it’s time to leave,” Fadden said.

  Koakai had drawn the map to their contact’s village and had given Pol a note to present to the woman who would shelter them until they rescued Loa. Fadden retrieved the pirate passes. It was up to them to secure a ship on the southern side of the island for the single ocean trip to the South Island where Wailua lay.

  They headed off the dock and out through the village. Pol took a deep breath as they plunged into the jungle. Shira turned around to the shouting Pol heard behind him.

  Koakai rushed up to them with his bags hastily slung around him. One of them dragged on the ground. “I can’t leave you like this,” he said. “You’ll have to promise to take me with you to the Empire.”

  “But the Chief will be expecting your return,” Fadden said.

  Koakai shook his head, upset with himself. Pol didn’t know if it was because the magician thought he had made a good or a bad decision.

  “We can take you to Deftnis,” Paki said. “They will welcome you there.”

  “As long as you teach him how to speak Eastrilian,” Kell said with a smile.

  The magician didn’t understand what Kell said, but smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

  “He won’t be doing the teaching,” Paki said, but he put an arm around Koakai. “Welcome to our group,” Paki said, more or less in Shardian.

  “We will try to keep your involvement to a minimum,” Pol said, “but we will need your help. Even if you know a little about what the Circle magicians can do, it will help.”

  “Let’s get going.” Koakai led them through the village and into the interior.

  The flora on the island seemed more like the forests that Pol was used to. Underbrush still caught at their clothes and their packs, but the profusion of sounds and bugs had diminished.

  “Do you need some kind of disguise?” Pol asked.

  “What do you mean?” Koakai said.

  “I can color your hair. Maybe if you had blonde, gray or white hair it would help disguise your face.”

  “Gray,” the magician said.

  Pol tweaked Koakai’s hair a streaky gray and coaxed the growth on the scraggly beard that he wore.

  “That’s better,” Shira said.

  “It is?” the magician said, pulling a strand of his long hair and looking at the color. “I didn’t know magicians could do such a thing.”

  Fadden nodded. “Shira, Pol, or I can return your hair to black. A sharp knife can shave your beard.”

  “Now let’s get going. This is a small island, but it will still be late tonight before we reach our destination.”

  They walked through the forest, passing through a single village, where they bought enough food to eat along the way. Hills poked up along the central spine of the island from east to west, making their trek a bit more arduous. As the sun began to leave, they climbed a final hill and looked down at their destination.

  The village that they would rely on for support while they planned Loa’s escape lay in smoking ruins. Only consistent the concrete columns that previously held up houses stood.

  ~

  Bones lay scattered among the ruins. Pol didn’t know if they were human or not.

  “This is the work of the Magicians Circle?” Fadden asked Koakai.

  The magician nodded. “I’ve seen a house destroyed, but not an entire village.”

  Pol had expected more emotion on Koakai’s face. “This is recent. Someone might have known we were coming. We’ll have to find a way to live on our own, and rescue the Chief’s daughter sooner than later.”

  “I never did like the idea of sitting around for a month, anyway,” Kell said.

  Paki nodded his head in agreement, and then brushed the ashes from the top of a foundation column and sat down.

&nb
sp; With the remains of the village at their feet, the place didn’t offer any advantages of staying except for a well in the center of a stone-paved central area. He spotted a rope tied to a hook on the side and hauled up a bucketful of water.

  After taking a sip and holding up the bucket, he said, “The water is still okay and I think you’re looking at the only uncharred wood in the village. If we stay nearby, we can use the well.”

  A cool wind whipped the ashes up. Shira coughed, prompting Pol to walk into the shade of the woods that bordered the north side of the village.

  Koakai consulted his map. “The fortress is about three miles away,” the magician said in Botarran.

  “Close enough to check it out and return in a day, if the pathway is clear.”

  “It isn’t,” a woman’s voice said. A white-haired woman walked from deeper within the forest. “You come from Fauali?”

  “We do,” Koakai said. “Who are you?”

  The woman gave them a grim smile. “I am the person you seek, follow me.”

  She looked old, but the woman moved fluidly through the forest. They had nothing else to do, so they followed. Pol used his location sense to detect other humans, but they were the only ones within his range. He told Fadden, who nodded in agreement.

  After half an hour, they came to a stone-paved clearing. A pen of goats and another pen of pigs were on one side of the clearing and a good-sized house in the Shardian style took up most of the other.

  “I am Pua Akona Haleaku. Welcome to my home. Some of you come from northern Volia? I wondered where Holianai would find his magicians.”

  Koakai spoke up. “You know my chief?”

  “I do. I’ve met him a few times. I brought my son to Fauali to be smuggled north and on to Eastril.”

  “Your son is Akonai Haleaku?” Pol said, searching for his middle name. “Akonai Pulau Haleaku?”

  Pua’s eyes widened. “You’ve met my son?”

  Pol nodded. “He works for the Emperor. Kell and I met him at Deftnis.”

  “Deftnis Monastery is where he trained,” Pua said. “I believe you.”

  “I know Akonai, as well. Your son shows much promise,” Fadden said. “Although I haven’t seen him for a few years.”