Eric Flint - Mother of Demons

There's a fascinating story here. I must learn it from him.

"What is your name?" she asked. To her surprise, the answer came from behind her. In the voice of Ushulubang.

"He is called Dhowifa."

She had not heard the sage coming. Ushulubang, she had already learned, was not given to ceremonious parades. At the moment, she was only accompanied by one of her pashoc-a young gukuy named Shurren, who, like Ushulubang, came from the Anshac capital of Shakutulubac.

Indira looked back at the truemale. Dhowifa had withdrawn further into the mantle cavity. Stripes of ochre and orange rippled along his mantle.

"Hello, great-nephew," said Ushulubang softly.

A moment later, the truemale replied: "Hello, great-aunt Ushulubang."

How many more surprises are there going to be today? wondered Indira. The two gukuy were not actually "nephew" and "aunt," of course-not, at least, in the precise sense of the English words. But those were the nearest equivalents for the Anshac terms. Closely related members of the same clan, separated by sex and two generations.

Indira saw that the mantle of Ushulubang's companion was dappled blue and yellow.

"What is the pervert Dhowifa doing here?" demanded Shurren. The tone of her voice was extremely hostile.

Ushulubang eyed her companion, then said mildly: "I should imagine he and his lover have come to live among the demons. Where their-arrangement-would seem natural."

Shurren's mantle turned ochre.

"Or have you forgotten, Shurren, that among the demons the males couple with the females?"

Shurren's mantle turned bright pink.

Indira felt a sudden surge of affection for the old sage. And the tiny hope which she had found the day before grew brighter.

Perhaps. Perhaps…

"That is not the same," protested Shurren. "The demons are-different from gukuy."

Ushulubang made the gesture of respectful submission-the traditional salutation of a student to the master.

"Ah. I am enlightened. Before this moment, I had always thought gukuy were different from each other as well. But I see now that it is not so. Truly, the pervert Dhowifa possesses a monstrous soul. Why else would he have chosen the organs of Ansha's greatest warrior to those of the Paramount Mother Ilishito?"

"Ilishito?" exclaimed Indira. "The same-"

"Just so. The same Ilishito who tortured the Pilgrims and slew all my apashoc."

Indira was confused. "But-this truemale does not seem old enough-"

Ushulubang made the gesture of negation. "Dhowifa was born long after the persecution. Ilishito lived to a great age, Indira. A cruel but vigorous mother. And much given to replacing old husbands with young malebonds."

Dhowifa spoke.

"Have you-what has happened with my bondbrothers?"

"After you fled with Nukurren, they were disgraced. Almost executed, in fact, but their lives were spared in the end. I do not know what happened to them after. I am not myself in the good graces of the clan, as you know."

The truemale's mantle turned deep brown.

Ushulubang made the gesture of acceptance. "What did you expect, nephew?"

"I don't know. I-could only leave."

Indira understood, then. Dhowifa had not simply violated accepted standards of sexual morality and abandoned his lawful mate. He had also abandoned his malebond.

The anguish must have been incredible. She stared at the huge, scarred body of Nukurren. There must be something else inside that fearsome figure, to have won such love and devotion.

"Take good care of her," she said to Maria suddenly. The doctor gave her an unfriendly sidelong glance. As if I wouldn't?

At Maria's order, four of the warriors picked up the litter and began carrying it toward her "hospital," a large hut which the colonists had recently built next to the long houses. As the litter began to move away, Ushulubang called out:

"Have you continued to practice your dukuna?"

The truemale's voice came back:

"Yes, great-aunt. It has been a comfort these past eightyweeks. I thank you for instructing me."

Shurren's mantle flashed orange.

"You instructed him? "

"Just so, Shurren. He was perhaps my best student. Of the clan, at least. He might well have become my best student of all, except that I was unable to visit him often. I was not welcome in the Divine Shell, you know. My visits were infrequent and surreptitious."

"But- why? Even though he is of your clan, I do not understand why-"

"Why I would waste my time instructing a foolish male?"

Ushulubang made the gesture of abject apology.

"I have forgotten. Only females-and not even most of them; no, only those who follow the Way-feel sorrow at the evil of the world. The rest are dumb beasts."

Shurren's mantle rippled pinkish-brown. (A color frequently found upon Ushulubang's disciples, Indira noted-with great satisfaction.)

"I have offended you."

"Nonsense! To the contrary, Shurren, you have brought me sudden joy. Your words recall to my memory a long forgotten episode from the days I wandered the streets of Shakutulubac in the company of Goloku. Come, I will tell you about it."

Ushulubang and Shurren began moving away. Indira heard the sage's voice drifting back.

"It was a miserable night. The more so because Goloku had gotten drunk. Again." Indira smiled at the sound of Shurren's shocked hoot. "Oh, yes-it's quite true. Goloku was excessively fond of ashuweed. Often made a fool of herself. This night was no different. We encountered a small pack of eumales in one of the back alleys. Six or seven of the disgusting creatures. Beggars and thieves. Would you believe that drunken fool invited them to spend the night in her mantle?"

Shocked hoot.

"Oh, yes-it's quite true. I was appalled, of course-especially when it was discovered they couldn't all fit inside Goloku and she insisted that I accept half of them."

Shocked hoot.

"Oh, yes-it's quite true. Then, no sooner…"

The voices became indistinct. Indira was left alone with Joseph. Joseph was watching her, with the look he usually held in her presence. Reserve-no, deep anger, held in check.

Suddenly, as she had not done in a long time, Indira smiled at Joseph. Slowly, a hesitant smile came in return.

Maybe, thought Indira. Maybe.

It was still a faint hope, murky and uncertain. But for a woman who had felt no hope in years, it was as if a ray of sunshine had broken through the everlasting clouds of Ishtar.

Nukurren regained consciousness the next day, and never lapsed back thereafter. Under the ministrations of the healer demon Mariyaduloshruyush and her assistants, the wounds began to heal quickly. Most of the assistants were demons, but two were gukuy Pilgrims from Anshac. One of them, a former helot named Ertatu, told Nukurren than she was healing much more quickly than the demon herself had expected.

"Mariya says you are the toughest gukuy she's ever seen," commented Ertatu, as she changed Nukurren's poultices.

"You can say that again."

Nukurren swiveled her good eye and saw the figure of Dzhenushkunutushen standing in the entrance to the hospital. The white demon advanced to Nukurren's side.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her. To Nukurren's surprise, he spoke in Anshaku. Very good Anshaku. During the long trek up the Chiton, Dzhenushkunutushen and the female demon Ludumila had spoken only Kiktu, and seemed not to comprehend Nukurren and Dhowifa when they spoke to each other in Anshaku.

Shrewd. The demons are cunning as well as ferocious.

Nukurren made the gesture of acceptance.

"I am alive and it seems I will remain so. That is unexpected."

"I am sorry about your eye," said the demon.

"It does not matter. It is a just punishment for my sins. It is only right that I should lose an eye, in payment for the Old Ones I helped enslave."