A Path to Coldness of Heart

Chapter Seventeen:

Year 1017 AFE:

Ghosts

" W hat a stupid thing to do,” Haroun muttered again as he inventoried his travel gear. He had to move fast. They would surround the tent before they began the search.

His only hope was to be gone before the cordon closed.

Why did he take that chance? Hearing her should have been enough. He eased out into the evening via a prepared emergency exit. No one saw him. His destination was Barking Snake’s establishment, which was abandoned if the Disciple’s criminal servants were to be believed. He would hide there.

Why in God’s Name did she have to look up just then? And, for the hundredth time, what madness had brought him to Sebil el Selib?

It was dark now. He had encountered only one man, so far, who had offered only an indifferent, surly greeting in passing.

Where was all the excitement?

Yasmid must not have reported him.

Why not? Because he was her husband? Because she thought he was imaginary?

The Disciple had reported seeing a similar ghost.

A challenge. “Who is there?”

Damn!

They had left a watchman.

…

Yasmid glared at Ibn Adim ed-Din al-Dimishqi, who was frightened but refused to let her see that a woman could scare him.

She did see and savored it. The deaths among the elderly were God’s gift, without assistance. But let Ibn Adim fear the worst.

“I have a task for you, son of Adim,” Yasmid said. “It is well-suited to your detail-oriented nature.”

“As ever, I am here to serve.”

“Good. You have heard about the thievery in my father’s tent?”

“You were most compassionate, punishing only the one criminal.”

“Too much so. The corruption runs deeper than I thought. Some whom we believed to be righteous actually skimmed the take of lesser thieves.” Let him think she meant the men of action he so despised. “Go into my father’s tent. Examine the records. Find out where the money came from. Find out where it went. Create an exact and detailed inventory of everything stored there.”

“Lady? Could you be more specific?”

Yasmid thought she had been clear. “Over the years my father received thousands of gifts and untold treasure as his portion of booty. It all ended up in that moldering atrocity of a tent. There is no reliable inventory. Therefore, there is no way to know what was stolen.”

“I understand, Lady. That is something I can sink my teeth into. How much help will I have? How much leeway in questioning recalcitrant witnesses?”

“Consult me on a case by case basis. For assistance feel free to conscript any cleric not already handling an assigned task.” That would get the old men out of her hair.

“When shall I begin?”

“Up to you. Habibullah has warrants prepared. Inform me of any exceptional discoveries or outstanding efforts to obstruct you.”

The imam took his leave, accompanied by Habibullah.

Yasmid permitted herself a smug smile.

Ibn Adim would do her work. He would suffer the odium of the investigated while finding out if someone had been hiding in her father’s tent.

Even Habibullah thought she had suffered a seizure that night.

She was convinced that she had suffered a hallucination brought on by the swami’s talk about her father having seen the ghost of Haroun’s father.

It was all power of suggestion, rooted in what she thought she had heard from the pilgrim camp.

…

Being King of Hammad al Nakir meant suffering frustrations and indignities and things always going wrong. Megelin suspected that a diabolical force was thwarting him. It made his life uglier even when he did nothing.

The disaster on the salt lake should not have happened. He had failed through no fault of his own. The antiques who commanded his battalions did not carry out their orders. Those saboteurs. They undermined him all the time. He would be rid of them if he could.

Sadly, he dared do nothing obvious. Some had been around since his father was a pup. They were fixtures. The soldiers-the few who remained-considered them tutelary spirits.

Patience was his only tool. They must surrender to the inevitable soon enough.

But patience was not in Megelin’s nature.

And these rumors, prevalent since Magden Norath had been so stupid as to get himself killed, about his father’s return…? What to do? How to respond? True or false, they impacted everything, every day. The possibility that Haroun bin Yousif was out there touched every decision anyone made.

Megelin was not sure what he would do if his father did reappear. He understood that the Royalist faithful would let the man to do as he pleased and would support him. Haroun bin Yousif, despite his faults and failures, was now a demigod.

The question nagging Megelin, and anyone else who cared, was, where was the revenant king? Why did he not show himself?

As ever, Megelin obsessed about Norath’s death. He had witnessed nothing. He had been too thoroughly protected. But that creature he and Norath had been there to meet…

The Star Rider. The oldest villain of all. Possibly the Evil One incarnate. What had become of that wicked old troublemaker? Was he the one making everything go wrong? Was he still feeding the insanity of the Disciple? Why, then, meet Norath and himself? And why stay away now?

Megelin had expected to see the man again after the excitement of the murder subsided. Nothing ever happened.

Impotent in his own capital, amongst his own subjects, Megelin did nothing but brood. Alone. Always alone.

People were rigidly proper in his presence and accepted his every directive. But once they left his presence something happened. Even simple orders would not be executed properly. Because he would not go see for himself it was impossible to tell if insubordination was responsible.

The nearer people were to him the more pathetic Megelin seemed.

Thousands hoped the murder of Magden Norath was a good omen.

…

Haroun answered the challenge, “Mowfaq al-Tiriki. Tell Snake I’m back from Al Rhemish.”

The guard unshuttered a small lantern. He thought on his feet, too. “I’m new. Does Barking Snake know you?”

Haroun put suspicion into his voice. “Everyone knows al-Tiriki. Who are you? What’s going on?” He drew a knife, making sure the sound could be heard.

The guard responded by drawing a sword. “You are under arrest. In the name of the Disciple, drop the knife.”

“I don’t think so, pup.” Haroun backed away. A suitable clot of darkness presented itself. He stepped inside, released two small, prepared spells. One interfered with the guard’s eyesight. The other made it hard for any eye to fix on Haroun bin Yousif.

The guard became frustrated. He muttered. What should he do? Stick to his post? Run to his superiors?

Either choice could be wrong. He would be the goat whatever might go badly.

Haroun flitted from shadow to shadow, circling. He would not go to ground here, now, but might find something he could use. Not so, however. Just minutes proved that the Invincibles had cleaned the place out.

The sentry decided to report. Haroun retraced his approach. As midnight loomed he slipped back inside the Disciple’s tent. He went to his best hide and buried himself.

He fell asleep telling himself it was time to hatch a real plan. A passive life was not his style.

What a fool. He had endured so much to get here but had no fixed purpose now.

…

Elwas brought the man in, though he was a man mostly by reason of having done a man’s job. He was about fifteen. “Tell the Lady Yasmid.” Sometimes mumbling, often stumbling, the boy told his story.

“Mowfaq al-Tiriki?” Yasmid asked Elwas.

“A senior lieutenant of Farukh al-Fadl. One of the criminals we haven’t yet caught.”

“You wanted me to know about it because?”

“Because al-Tiriki vanished as thoroughly as the pilgrim did.”

“The same man?”

“Probably not. Boy. You did say he was clean-shaven?”

“Almost. He had been shaved recently. I couldn’t tell much else in the dark.”

Yasmid thought the lad confident beyond his years. He had faced up to danger in the night. He was standing steadfast here. She would commend him to Elwas later.

“Anything else? About the man?”

“He smelled bad, Lady. He had not bathed in a long time.”

That was not unusual. She raised an eyebrow.

The boy said, “I prefer to keep myself clean. In accordance with the early teachings.”

Yasmid looked to Elwas. He shrugged. “Some young men are extremely fastidious. Al-Tiriki would have sweat a lot during a journey from Al Rhemish.”

“I won’t turn the world upside down again but I do want the Invincibles to keep a sharp watch. Al-Tiriki could give us some insight on what’s happening in Al Rhemish.” She made a small gesture indicating that the interview was over. Then, “Elwas, when next you run into Ibn Adim tell him I want to see him when he has a moment free.”

Yasmid bint Micah was no despot in the time-honored mode but Elwas executed her wishes as though she was. Ibn Adim was on his knees in front of her within the hour.

“Up. I hear you’re starting the audit today.”

“I was assigning tasks when al-Souki came.”

“As you inventory I want you watchful for signs of squatters.”

“You think…?”

“Nothing. See if those thieves didn’t move their families in where my father never goes.”

“I see. Of course. I’ll keep my eyes open.”

“My father says his tent is haunted. Ask about ghosts.”

“As you will, so shall it be.”

…

Haroun found it more difficult to steal food. Outsiders roamed the empty reaches of the tent. They did not find him. They did discover the vixens and kits. The latter were nearly grown. They caused a great deal of excitement. Haroun hid elsewhere and waited out the scramble.

They found no evidence of his presence.

He learned that he could slip out nights with little risk…

Yasmid was exhausted. Trivia that would never have come near her during wartime inundated her now. Nobody wanted to be remembered for having made a decision should blame ever be assessed.

“Elwas, in six months these people will expect me to change their babies. Let’s start a war.”

Elwas started to say something serious.

Yasmid burst out laughing.

“Lady?”

“I’m sorry. Your expression. When I was eight I saw that look on my father’s face when Nassef asked if he couldn’t start a war so he wouldn’t have to waste time listening to people with the brains of chickpeas whine about trivia.”

“Makes you wonder.”

“Elwas?”

“How many wars happen because somebody with the power to start them was bored or sick of listening to nitwits?”

“So pass on the bit of tedium you’ve brought me now.”

“There has been an increase in petty theft and vandalism.” “Oh?”

“I think bored kids are stealing things and destroying property. There is no pattern. There are no witnesses. Nothing taken has much value.”

“Then let parents and sons know that the parties responsible will be exposed to public humiliation when we catch them.”

“Excellent. That’s all I had.”

“Then I’m calling it a day. You do the same.”

“Thank you, Lady. Perhaps we should consider mandating shorter days and longer nights.”

Elwas was a good man, she reflected as she withdrew into her private quarters. He left her wearing a smile when he could.

It never occurred to her that Elwas bin Farout al-Souki, Jirbash al’Azariyah, or any of several others young enough to be her sons, might be infatuated.

It did not occur to those young men that they were besotted by the daughter of the Disciple because it was not the mad fascination brought on by the proximity of a beautiful young woman.

Habibullah saw it. Habibullah understood. He remembered the young Yasmid and never missed a chance to see today’s Yasmid. He had been besotted for generations.

Despite the stresses and irritations of her day Yasmid went to her rest happy and almost content.

…

A chill took Yasmid in her sleep. Fright clamped talons round her heart. She was a maiden again, wakening to terror in the night. The feeble mutton tallow lamp did not help. It set wicked shadows fluttering all round.

Something terrible was near by, watching, slavering in its hunger to defile her.

Seconds passed before she recalled that she was a grown woman, old enough to be a grandmother but cursed with a son who would not give her grandchildren.

Reflection tamed her fright. Amused, she began to slide back down into the sink of sleep, wondering why Megelin did not wed. It was not that he preferred men. His worst enemies had found no evidence to suggest that.

The boy just did not relate.

Something pricked her senses again. She jerked involuntarily. She squeaked. She was wide awake, shaking, chilled to the core. She rolled and sat up, seized an unconsecrated Harish kill dagger that had been a gift from the last master of that cult. It needed only to enforce the slightest cut to cause an excruciating death.

The lamplight did not reassure her. There was a man-shaped shadow fading in and out. Someone was there. How had he gotten in? Only Habibullah had access at night. He would never dare.

Yasmid rose slowly, ready to fight. She fixed the intruder with a hard stare. He remained a pattern of shadow inside a dancing shadow. It was hard to stay focused.

How long would it take for help to arrive once she yelled?

“Show yourself.”

The shadows coalesced.

“It was you!”

Haroun stepped out of the shaghun cloak of darkness. “It was me. And after waiting so long I decided to take a chance.” He advanced another step. He was almost close enough to cut. Almost.

He would come no nearer. Not even when his own wife held the knife. No telling where her heart lay after so long.

Yasmid put the kill dagger aside, carefully. It could bite her as easily as him. “Come talk to me. It’s been a long time. You must have a grand tale.” Tomorrow was soon enough to decide what to do.

“Not so much. I spent most of it in prison.”

“Sit.”

That boy Invincible was right. Haroun smelled perfectly awful. The smell might lead to difficult questions tomorrow.