Michael Foster - She Who Has No Name

‘Should we go somewhere else?’ Samuel asked, looking nervously to the arched entrances around them.

‘Not necessary. In these clothes, with my face partially covered, I look just like one of them. I can get past the odd servant or two. It is only if we meet any wizards that I will need to scurry. I have found a hole in their defences, so I was able to enter the palace this time. I am not sure how long it will remain, for the wizards keep watch on the walls and sentry-towers around the palace day and night.’

‘We need to find the others and free them, but I must find Balten first. He has my ring.’

‘I know where he will be, but that will not help much. You are a curiosity to the Queen, but I doubt they will risk anything with him. They will have Balten in the deepest,darkest part of the mountain they can find. I’ve heard he is well-known to the Paatin and they will not risk letting him escape. The problem is, once inside the mountain no spells can be cast. If we want to go in, we will need to cast our spells first and carry them in with us. Then, we will need to makeitpast the guards and search for him. Rumour has it the mountain is riddled with holes;it isa maze of endless tunnels, all designed to lose any strangers to its depths. It could take a long time to find him.’

‘So what can we do?’

‘Delveinto the mountain and search for him. I will leave now, before I give myself away. If they find me once, they will hunt for me relentlessly and you will lose any privileges you seem to have acquired. You may be able to sneak into the catacombs for a short time each day and search for him. I have heard there are many smaller hidden entrances. You will need to find the others, as well. We cannot act until they are free, or we risk having them executed.’

‘But I have no spells.’

‘You don’t need them, Samuel. Remember, none of the wizards can sense you. You are as good as invisible to them. There are also spells of detection that cover the entrances. Only you can slip through them unnoticed. Now, I must go. I don’t know when I can return again. Find the others. Find Balten.’

‘I will do my best.’

‘Samuel, there is one more thing. I don’t know if it is worth raising, but perhaps it is worth you knowing.’

‘What is it?’

‘They say there is something that lives under the mountain.’

‘What kind of something?’ Samuel asked.

‘I don’t know, but all the Paatin are terrified of it. No one has seen it, but they all fear it. Some think it is a ghost,others a beast. They only find the remains of its victims. They say it patrols the deepest and darkest of tunnels and that it takes anyone it stumbles across who is alone. The guards are afraid, but they have found a way to make use of the thing. Any prisoner they wish to remove, they just extinguish the lights, and when they come back, there is not much left.’

‘Are you trying to scare me?’

‘No, but I just advise you to take care. Whatever haunts those tunnels, keeps the Paatin who know about it terrified. You may even be able to use that fear against them.’

‘Very well.’

With that, he dashed away and darted over the wall in a single,lithe motion. It was only a few moments later that Samuel felt a Paatin spell slipping over him, scanning the courtyard. Perhaps the wizards had felt something unusual and had come to investigate, for the spell continued intensely. When it was done, and without finding anything, the spell moved away, leaving Samuel with nothing to do but return to his room.

As the sun melted into the west, casting shadows across the distant pasture lands, Utik’cah once again came to Samuel’s door.

‘Alahativa has reconsidered your request to release your friends.’ At this, Samuel’s heart leapt. ‘As a measure of her goodwill to you, and in hope that you will do your best to entertain her in the arena, she has released one of them. You will find your friend next door. If you like, your dinners can be served together. I will arrange for both meals to be brought there.’

Samuel agreed and,as soon as Utik’cah was gone,he stepped out into the corridor and turned to his right. There was only one other door in this stretch of hall and so he hurried over to it expectantly. He could hear the excited voices of Paatin women inside and wondered what could be happening. Opening the door, he hoped to find Eric or Balten or perhaps even the Emperor waiting inside, but when he saw it was the Koian woman who had been released, he could not help but feel bitterly disappointed.

She was wrapped in a thick blanket and she held it about her tightly. Three dark-skinned Paatin women stood around her and she was swatting at them as they laughed and tried to pluck the blanket from her shoulders. They wore thin, revealing clothes of pink, blue and violet and seemed to be enjoying whatever game they were playing with their guest.

‘You scared me!’ the Koian woman called out on noticing Samuel hovering in the doorway. ‘What are you doing in here, Magician? No one has called for you.’

He tried to hide his dashed hopes and walked nearer, causing the attendant girls to scatter aside. ‘I see you are well. It’s good the Queen has released you.’

‘Released! How is this released? Even my cell was preferable to this. At least there, I was dark and invisible. Now I am in the open for all to stare at and ridicule.’ She briefly opened her blanket, revealing her clothes underneath, a red version of the same scanty apparel as her attendants, baring more skin than Samuel had ever seen from the irate woman. ‘How can I go out like this? I am not some whore for these filthy brutes to ogle! I demanded appropriate clothes, but these fiends only laugh at me! I will kill them!’

‘You will get used to it,’ Samuel said, trying to placate her.

‘I don’t want to get used to it! I am a god!’

Samuel was fed up with her pretentious attitude already. ‘Then perhaps it’s time you realised that you are not a god. Gods do not exist. This is a world of logic and reason. Even magicians are governed by such laws. You are nothing but a spoilt and unreasonable child.’

The three girls, each gloriously beautiful, lowered their faces at the tone of his voice and the Koian woman stood stunned. He thought she would shout or retort, but she did not. She hopped down from the bed and started for the door, gripping her blanket around her tightly. When Samuel realised she was heading for the exit,he dashed in front of her to bar her way.

‘Where are you going?’ he demanded. Again, she would not answer. She reached out one arm and attempted to pull him away, but he shrugged off her efforts easily. She tried several times, becoming more and more infuriated.

‘Get out of my way!’ she commanded, but Samuel stood resolute.

‘Whether you like it or not, you are here to stay until we find the others. It was your decision to come with us, so until we all leave together, none of us leave.’

‘I will not stay here,’ she stated.

‘If you leave, they will kill the others.’

‘That’s not my concern. Turians and Paatin all deserve to die. I hate everyone in this stupid land.’

‘You really are a heartless witch,’ Samuel told her.

‘And your mother was a whore!’ she said, spitting the words into his face.

Samuel’s hand had struck out before the words had finished leaving her lips and she crumpled to the floor. Samuel could feel his hot blood in his cheeks. It had felt wonderful to hit her and he momentarily visualised blasting her to dust with one of his spells-if only he had magic to use. The three attendants stood like statues, refusing to look at the scene.

The Koian woman sat still, with her hair fallen around her face. It would have been some satisfaction for Samuel if she had started whimpering, but her emotionless voice returned, breaking into crackles of the old hag she had been once before.