Saif & Kilig Read online

Talwar leaned back in his chair and turned to Saif.

  "Do you think he could learn? With longer training, more people helping him?" He glanced at Nimdja who didn't move, since he hadn't dealt with Talwar's son. The Head of the Guild had stopped training new members years ago.

  Saif sighed and pondered. It hurt him to admit his failure, especially since the apprentice was his former acharya's son. Saif greatly admired Talwar who had made an honorable assassin out of him, but unfortunately Abhaya was nothing like his father. Or his mother, for that matter – except for the blue eyes.

  Khanda had been an assassin too, but – much like her husband – she was always compassionate. She'd been killed when Abhaya was a child and the entire guild had adopted him, spoiling him and turning him into an arrogant young man who could become very dangerous if he completed the training. Abhaya felt everything was due him. Put him in a position of power and he could become a tyrant.

  "Talwar, I don't think your son should follow in your footsteps," Saif said at last, looking the Head of the Guild in the eyes. "He is too rash for this job."

  Talwar sighed but nodded.

  "Very well, then. You're relieved from the training. Abhaya, you will pack your things and travel to Agharek. Go to the Temple of Zindagi and knock on the door of the monastery attached to it. They're used to training rebellious young men from all walks of life."

  "Father!" Abhaya protested. His father's glare silenced him.

  "You will become a fighting monk of Zindagi instead of an assassin," Talwar said, determined. "You might be a little old to join, but I'm sure they'll test you and let you skip some classes. I'll write to the abbot today, and you'll take the letter with you."

  Saif's heart sank. He felt sorry for Abhaya, turned out of his home, but in all conscience he really couldn't see Talwar's son as an assassin. Maybe a goddess and her fighting monks could help Abhaya to become a better man.

  Talwar dismissed them and Nimdja walked Saif to his room with a worried look on his face.

  "I can't believe he almost killed you! How did you survive the poisoned dart?"

  "He took me to the closest village, and in the inn there was this young woman headed for Godwalkar," Saif answered, thinking back to Mirabella. "She healed me in a night. And she doesn't have Genn blood."

  "Wonders never cease," Nimdja said, shaking his head.

  Saif grinned. "I hope she finds a wisewoman to complete her education..."

  ***

  Mirabella explored the town on her own, looking for the Pharmacists and Physicians' Guild. She eventually found it on the other side of town from the former royal palace, as if the Human healers had tried to put as much distance as they could between them and the all-powerful, magical Genn.

  "Welcome to Godwalkar." The Guild's secretary was a skinny, bald man who looked her up and down with a look of distaste. "What can I do for you?"

  "I'm a wisewoman from the north, I've come to complete my education," she answered. "Are there any healers willing to take on an apprentice?"

  "Do you have any Genn blood?" he asked, skeptical.

  "No. There are no Genn in the Blackmore Kingdom."

  "Where did you get the blond hair from, then?"

  "For your information, in the north most of the population is blond and blue-eyed," she explained patiently. "I don't have any Genn powers, or I wouldn't be here, asking for a teacher."

  The man cleared his throat, mumbling an apology. "Who taught you?"

  "Alicia. We lived in a village on the border of the Blackmore Kingdom with these lands. She mentioned an Eliza who moved here years ago, and had heard of a..." she checked her notes before saying the foreign name, "Suneeri. Are either of them looking for apprentices?"

  "Eliza is dead," the man replied. "Suneeri is a grumpy old woman, I doubt she'll take on an apprentice, but maybe her daughter will." He scribbled on a parchment. "They have an herbalist shop. This is the address."

  Mirabella thanked him and went looking for an inn. She was exhausted, she'd continue her quest in the morning.

  ***

  Karuna spent the rest of the day on the low wall, leaving only to get another flat loaf and some olives. He drank at the fountain at the end of the street and sat back on the wall in front of the Assassins' Guild.

  At sunset he lay down and decided to sleep there. It wasn't much different than sleeping on the floor and there were no clouds in sight, so he could spend the night under the stars for once. His gang leader might punish him when he went back – but maybe he wouldn't have to go back to his street life.

  The silence was amazing. There was no traffic at all in that side street with no lights, and all he could hear were crickets and night owls. It felt as if he'd gone out of town for once.

  In spite of his excitement for Saif's return, sleep won him. He felt safer under the stars than he'd been in his own house when his father was alive.

  Someone shook him awake when the sun was already up. It was the girl with pointed ears, the young assassin with mixed blood.

  "Now you spend the night out here?" she asked with an impish smile. "When will you find the courage to knock on that door?"

  Karuna rose and stretched his limbs, yawning.

  "I can do it, now that Saif is back," he said.

  Her sky-blue eyes widened in surprise. "Saif is back?" She frowned and went with him to knock on the guild's door.

  The doorkeeper let them in, but told Karuna to wait in a small room on the right of the entrance.

  "Go ahead, Guisarme, but I think they're almost done," he added to the half-blood who nodded and vanished into the inner courtyard.

  The doorkeeper was a bulky man with dark skin and a shaved head. He kept an eye on Karuna who fidgeted with his sash, uneasy. He didn't like small rooms, having been locked in a closet a few times as a child. He really hoped the assassin's training would help him to handle or overcome his nightmares.

  And then Saif arrived with a worried look on his face.

  "Nimdja and Guisarme told me there's someone waiting for me, where is he?"

  Karuna jumped to his feet and the doorkeeper let him out of the room. He stood straight in front of Saif, hoping to look bigger than he was.

  "Hello, Acharya Saif. Do you remember me?"

  Saif's green eyes stared at him, puzzled, then the man seemed to remember.

  "Ah, yes. Karuna the Sorrowful. We met a couple of years ago."

  "Yes, and you told me you already had an apprentice at the time." Karuna nodded twice. "Since you've come back earlier than expected, I assume you don't have an apprentice anymore?"

  Saif half-smiled, still studying him.

  "Come," he said, guiding Karuna to the cloistered courtyard. They sat on the low wall of the cloister, in the shadow of a low square tower that couldn't be seen from the street.

  "I remember you," Saif said. "Your father was the bastard who liked to beat those who couldn't defend themselves, and sold his own children's bodies."

  "Yes, Acharya Saif. And you saved me from him. Your silken noose freed me. I want to be like you, Acharya Saif. I want to learn weapons and stealth, and to kill bad people who deserve to die."

  "I haven't agreed to train you yet," Saif replied, amused. "So stop calling me acharya. And even if we are men of honor, sometimes we must kill the undeserving."

  "But never hurt women or children," Karuna said. "That's what you told me two years ago."

  "And we stick to that rule." Saif nodded, serious now. "But we don't kill for pleasure. And we don't use poisons."

  "Poisons are for women and cowards," Karuna said with contempt. "And I'm aware sometimes I might be requested to kill a man who wouldn't stand a chance against me, but I'm ready for the training."

  "You put some meat on your bones." Saif smiled. "You were very skinny two years ago."

  "I'm in a street gang now, and our leader doesn't starve us like my father did. Yes, he wants a share of the profits, but it's fair, since he gives me food and shelter."

 
"And how do you earn your living?" Saif asked.

  "Cutting purses, mostly. Some of the customers my father found me still look for me. They tell me I'm cute, buy me food and I get to keep all the coins they give me, but I don't always enjoy getting naked with them. I look forward to cutting all ties with my past, though."

  "And how old are you?"

  "Fifteen."

  "Oh. You look younger. I was thinking you should wait another year or two, but if you're already fifteen... Abhaya was almost seventeen – although he proved unworthy."

  "How old were you when you started training, Acharya Saif?" Karuna asked, curious. His savior looked like he could be his father, but surely he'd been an apprentice too in his youth.

  "I was eighteen. But Guisarme was seventeen, and since she's half-blood, it's as if she were thirteen. Still, she learned quickly, as well as other apprentices we had. It's the last one who revealed himself different from what we thought and hoped."

  "How old is Guisarme now?" Karuna asked. He'd put a name on the half-blood, now he was curious about her age.

  "She's twenty-five. She's been a professional for five years. We're not allowed to take on apprentices until we have at least ten years of experience."

  "And what did the failed apprentice do to disappoint you so much?"

  "He played with poisons. He could never master the noose, so he decided to become another kind of assassin – one we don't like here in Godwalkar. Talwar himself told him he can forget joining the Guild."

  Karuna nodded, thoughtful. Mastering the noose had been his dream for the past two years.

  "So what are the basic rules of the guild?"

  "A little like your gang." Saif smiled. "The Guild provides the jobs, and food and shelter in this building, for a share in the earnings. If you earn enough to buy your own house and want to quit, you give back your weapons and your assassin's name, and go back to a commoner's life. None of us is expected to live long, unless one retires from active service."

  "How old is the Head of the Guild?"

  "Talwar must be in his late fifties now, but he's been dealing only with administration and training since his wife's death. Although lately he doesn't even train newcomers anymore."

  "Oh! So, am I your apprentice? Is this my first lesson? Because I really want to know everything about the Assassins' Guild's history!"

  Saif grinned at his enthusiasm and presumption. "Do you have anything you need to get from your gang?"

  "No." Karuna shrugged, glancing at his tattered tunic. "Everything I own is here."

  "Good. Then here's your history lesson..."

  The Assassins' Guild was founded in Agharek at the time of Akkora, the most southern of the now fallen southern kingdoms, a couple of centuries earlier. The founder was a man of vast culture who loved poetry and was very curious and interested in science. He started a school for assassins divided by level of instruction, trust and courage, from novices to the head of the guild. The courses included indoctrination and physical exercise. The members, alone or in groups of two or three, were sent disguised as merchants or pilgrims to study the surroundings and hit the target.

  Talwar and Khanda were born in Agharek and had been members of the Assassins' Guild for a few years when they'd eloped to be together. Upon reaching Godwalkar, they'd been involved in the succession feud after the death of the last king, hired by different noble families until the Genn had stepped in and taken control of the city and former kingdom, putting an end to the bloodshed.

  Talwar and Khanda decided to stay, and founded the Guild and the school. It was open to anyone who wished to join and in twenty years it had become a respected guild, with slightly different rules than the original.

  Their code was inspired by the Genn requests to be merciful and spare women and children. The training lasted three years, one in town, two in the wild, and taught the throwing of daggers and brass wheels, the noose, the bow and other bladed weapons.

  In spite of the job description, they were men and women of honor and no particular religious affiliation was required to join the Guild. The Guild was like an extended family who took care of its members.

  That sounded like heaven to Karuna's ears.

  ***

  Abhaya felt as if he were at his own trial. He had appealed to all the assassins present, pleading his case, begging to have a second chance, but had met a compact wall of hostility or silence even from people like Nimdja and Francisca who had known him since birth. Saif refused to look at him, so Abhaya was relieved when Guisarme arrived and told Saif that someone was waiting for him.

  When the acharya left the canteen where Abhaya was trying to convince everybody he wasn't a bad young man and didn't deserve to be locked in a monastery. Talwar's son hoped that without Saif's presence he could win them over, or at least have the younger members root for him.

  Guisarme listened politely to him, then looked at Francisca and Talwar for guidance. And his father repeated Abhaya wasn't meant to be an assassin, and his word was all Guisarme would listen to. Loyalty to the Guild and blind obedience to the Head. Abhaya hated that rule.

  "Fine." Abhaya glared at the assembly. "I'll leave. I'll become a fighting monk!"

  "A chastity vow will probably help, if you can stick to it," Talwar said with a frown. "The other option is layman with wife and children. Honor life, or give life with the blessing of Zindagi."

  "Maybe I will find an heiress to marry, away from this shitty town where I'm not welcome!" Abhaya retorted.

  Talwar scoffed. "I doubt you'll find a willing father – unless you elope."

  "Can't you arrange my marriage in Agharek?" Abhaya asked. "You'd be rid of me anyway!"

  "I don't have anyone left in Agharek," Talwar retorted. "Except the fighting monks of Zindagi."

  Abhaya stormed out of the canteen and went to his room to pack his few belongings. He was furious with his father and the whole guild.

  He went back downstairs, and as he emerged into the cloistered courtyard, he saw Saif seated with a teen who was listening intently to every word he said.

  "I'm not out of here and you already have a new apprentice?" Abhaya told Saif, sarcastic.

  "Be on your way, Abhaya, and may the gods be with you," Saif replied, unmoved.

  Abhaya felt the teen's brown eyes on him.

  "What are you looking at, pretty boy?" he spat. "Do you really think you can succeed where I failed?"

  The teen scoffed but didn't reply.

  Abhaya glared one last time at Saif and rushed out of the Assassins' Guild building before he used his hands to strangle his treacherous acharya.

  ***

  Suneeri's daughter, Ramya, could have been Mirabella's mother – same height and build. The main difference was that she had raven hair and brown eyes where Mirabella was blonde and blue-eyed.

  "Are you a half-Genn?" Ramya asked.

  "No, I come from the Blackmore Kingdom," she answered patiently. She wasn't expecting such hostility towards the Genn. In her home country yes, but in Godwalkar they were free citizens and had been so for centuries, as far as she knew. Maybe Human healers were jealous of the Genn's innate capacities?

  "Ah, I see!" Ramya brightened. "Very well, let's see what you know and what you need to know..."

  Mirabella passed the examination. Even old Suneeri grumpily admitted she was good. Thus she joined the household and learned to use what was available. Some herbs were hard to come by in Godwalkar, so sometimes she found a substitute, other times she had to work around it and find another way.

  The summer heat increased, making Mirabella feel dizzy and weak. The much warmer climate and different food was hard on her, so she didn't recognize the symptoms at first. But when the air started cooling and she realized three months had gone by, her heart sank.

  "What is it, Bella?" Ramya asked her, since she'd stopped the preparation of a potion to stare into space, wondering what to do.

  "I've just realized... I've been here for three months... and did
n't have my periods," she answered, dejected.

  "I didn't see you succumb to any of your suitors either," Suneeri commented with a cackle.

  "Of course not, that's not why I'm here!" she protested. Southern men weren't afraid of her, but she hadn't come to Godwalkar to find a husband, hence she kept them at arm's length.

  "Do you have someone waiting for you at home?" Ramya asked, amused.

  "Uh... no." She blushed. "Most people consider me a witch, especially the men. They think I made a pact with a demon to be able to heal."

  "Men!" Suneeri snorted with scorn. "Although at least one has touched you, if you're pregnant," she added with an impish smile on her wrinkled face.

  Mirabella sighed. "It was a healing, on my way here," she said. She hadn't thought about Saif in months. But now she remembered the improvised sweat room and their naked bodies joined. She'd forgotten to purify herself afterward, too taken by her new life. She'd forgotten the herbs and to take care of herself in the new environment. Talk about a costly, dumb mistake.

  "A healing?" Suneeri's cackle again. "My oh my, no wonder they call you a witch! I never used sex to heal anyone!"

  "You obviously had sex if you have a daughter," Mirabella snapped. Saif's healing had involved sex, but none of the people she had cured since were so badly hurt to need the extra strength of sex and trance. And she was learning new healing techniques anyway. She'd have to be more careful when she went home.

  "I had a husband, dear," Suneeri retorted.

  "Enough, Mother," Ramya chided. "When did it happen, Bella?"

  "On my way here," she grumbled. "I was told it was a snake bite, discovered it was a poisoned dart instead."

  "I hope he was handsome at least," Suneeri said with a snigger.

  Mirabella still remembered Saif's face. Yes, he was handsome, and not only for his Genn-green eyes. Maybe she could look him up. He might agree to marry her. She wasn't really expecting to start a family in Godwalkar, but well...

  "Will you keep the baby?" Ramya asked, worried.

  Mirabella sighed. "Yes. I still have a lot to learn, and I can probably be a better midwife if I give birth myself..."

  2. Karuna the Sorrowful