Last of the Wilds

12



“You’re getting a bit old for this,” Teiti said. “But I suppose it’s good for you to have friends outside the palace, too.”

Imi pulled a face. “Of course I’m not too old! There are children older than me here.”

Her aunt looked out toward the other side of the Children’s Pool and scowled disapprovingly. “I know.”

Following her gaze, Imi saw that the usual crowd of older children had garnered by the edge of the deeper section. Unlike the young boys and girls splashing about in the rest of the pool, these lounged around as if they were above childish games. There were plenty of boys and girls in pairs, too, some with arms linked.

Not too far away, some slightly younger children mimicked the older ones. But most had not quite grown beyond their dislike of the opposite gender and their attempts at serious talk often dissolved into childish romping.

It was this group that Imi headed for once she entered the water. There was a boy called Rissi among them who often boasted of his travels outside the city with his trader father, and of knowing secret ways to smuggle things out of the city, and she wanted to talk to him.

The children regarded her with wary interest as she swam up to them. They always let her join in their romping and listen to their conversations. She hoped this was because they liked her, not because they didn’t dare tell a princess to go away.

Rissi was among them. He grinned as she drew herself up onto the bank beside them.

“Hi, Princess,” he said.

“Hi,” she replied. “Been on any adventures lately?”

His nose wrinkled. “Father found out I skipped lessons. Won’t let me go with him on the next trip.”

She scowled in sympathy. “That’s no fun.”

“The king’s birthday is in three days,” one of the girls said to her. “Are you excited?”

Imi grinned. “Yes!”

“Decided who you’re taking with you yet?”

This was the third time the girl had asked this question in the last few weeks. Imi hadn’t understood why she might “take someone with her” at first, since she already lived at the palace. Then, last night, she had realized this girl wanted to come to the party, and hoped Imi would invite her.

“I haven’t had a chance to ask father,” Imi replied. She sighed. “He’s very busy. I haven’t seen him in a week.”

They made sympathetic noises. The conversation turned to other matters. Imi listened and occasionally asked questions. Some of the questions she’d asked .them in the past had been met with frowns or even smothered laughter, but the more she learned about their lives the easier it was to ask questions that made sense to them.

Teasing started, then the boys began wrestling. For once Rissi didn’t join in, though he watched their antics with a grin. Imi moved closer and called his name. He looked at her in surprise.

“If your father won’t take you out of the city, why don’t you go on your own?” she suggested.

He stared at her, then shook his head. “I’d get into trouble.”

“You’re already in trouble,” she pointed out.

He laughed. “You’re right. I may as well do what I want. But where would I go?”

“I can think of a place. I overheard someone talking about it weeks ago. A place where there’s treasure.”

From the way he looked at her, she knew she’d caught his interest.

“Where?”

She swam a little away from him. “It’s a secret.”

“I won’t tell.”

“No? What if you were seen swimming out the main tunnel? They’d want to find out why.”

“I wouldn’t tell them.”

“What if your father said he wouldn’t take you out ever again? I bet you’d tell then.”

He frowned and looked away. “Maybe. But I wouldn’t go that way.”

She feigned surprise. “What other way is there?”

“A secret way.”

“There’s another way into the city?”

He looked at her. “No. You can only go out that way ‘cause of the currents.”

She waded closer and lowered her voice. “If you show me the way out, I’ll show you where the secret treasure is.”

He paused and regarded her thoughtfully.

“It would be lots more fun than hanging around here all day,” she said.

“Do you promise to show me the treasure?” he asked.

“I promise.”

“On your father’s life?”

The vow was a common one among the children, but it still made her pause.

“I promise, on my father’s life, to show you the secret treasure if you show me the secret way out of the city.”

He nodded, then grinned. “Follow me.”

She blinked in surprise. “You want to go now?”

“Why not?”

She glanced back at Teiti, who was watching her closely.

“Wait. We’ll have to trick my aunt or she’ll stop me.”

“No need,” Rissi said. “You can get there from this pool. She’ll see you dive, and not know where you came up. By the time she realizes you’re not here any more, we’ll be gone.”

This was the opportunity she’d been waiting for, but still she hesitated. Teiti was going to be so angry.

Rissi’s eyebrows rose mockingly. “What? Afraid of getting into trouble?”

She swallowed, then shook her head. “No. Show me.”

He waded into deeper water, then dove under the surface. She took a deep breath, hoping that Teiti thought they were competing at how long they could hold their breath for, then followed.

Rissi headed for the deeper water near where the older children lounged. He swam quickly, forcing Imi to work hard to keep up. A tunnel entrance appeared, and she felt the current that kept the Children’s Pool fresh pull her in after Rissi.

She had never swum into this tunnel before, and could only trust that Rissi would not have come this way if the tunnel didn’t come out somewhere before they ran out of breath.

It was not long before she saw the rippled surface of the water above. Rissi swam up, took a breath, then dove down again. She followed suit, catching a glimpse of a poorer part of the city.

They swam through several more tunnels, the water and houses growing dirtier each time. She realized with distaste that they were in the outflow currents that bore waste out of the city, and made sure she didn’t swallow any of the water.

The current grew ever stronger. Surfacing near a crumbling wall of a house, they clung to rocks at the edge to prevent themselves being swept on. Rissi looked at her, his expression serious.

“This is the last part. When we come out we’ll be in the sea. The only way back in is through the main tunnel. Or we can climb out now and walk back.”

She looked in the direction the current was surging. It would pull them through whatever tunnel lay ahead. If there was a blockage or she got caught somehow, she might easily drown.

“How many times have you done this?”

He grinned. “Once.”

Her heart was racing. She realized she was terrified. “This is a bad idea.”

“We don’t have to go through,” he told her. “I won’t tell the others you didn’t go. I’ve shown you the way out, so you have to tell me where the treasure is.”

She looked at him and felt a surge of frustration and anger. He hadn’t said it would be so dangerous. But he had done it before and survived. How hard could it be? She just had to let the current take her through. She gathered her courage and forced herself to stare at him defiantly.

“Not until we get to the other side,” she said.

He laughed then gave a whoop. “Let’s do it! Try to keep in the middle of the flow. And take a really big breath. I’ll hold on to you as long as I can. Ready? On three. One, two…”

Her heart was in her mouth, but somehow she managed to suck in a breath.

“…three!”

They dove down into the current. He grabbed her wrist and held tightly as they rushed into darkness. She wondered how she was supposed to keep to the middle when she couldn’t see, then she realized the walls rushing past them were faintly visible. Tiny curls of light decorated the surface.

Glow worms, she thought. Their presence indicated just how dirty the water was. She was too terrified to worry about getting sick, however. She had never travelled so fast before; she was sure she was going to be dashed against the wall before they made it out.

The tunnel began to curve this way and that. They had to swim frantically to avoid colliding with the occasional outcrop of rock. She glimpsed all manner of things stuck in cracks and dips of the surface—even, to her horror, a skull.

Just as her lungs were beginning to protest, she rounded a corner and found the current was sweeping her toward a slash of dark blue. Rissi let go of her and swam forward so he shot through the narrow gap. She kicked out and managed to slip through without touching the rock.

The current eased and died. She looked back to see a rock wall fading into a haze. Below she could see a vague hint of sea floor. In all other directions was a depthless blue that was somehow frightening in its potential.

The urgency of her need for air was more pressing, however. She swam toward the rippling surface above. As she broke through she gasped out the breath she had been holding then began sucking in another.

Before she could get a proper lungful of air, her head plunged under the surface again and she gulped in water. She kicked upward, broke through into the air again and coughed out the water. All the time she had to fight to keep her head above the surface.

“Rissi!” she called frantically.

“Imi,” came the reply. There was a pause, then his head appeared.

“Why is it moving so much?” she gasped. “Is there a storm?”

He laughed. “No. This is normal. These are waves.” He grinned. “You haven’t been outside before, have you?”

“Yes! But it wasn’t this… this wavy.”

By keeping her legs moving, she found she was able to rise and fall with the waves.

“So where now?” he asked.

“What?”

“Where’s the treasure?”

“Oh.” She gathered her thoughts. “Xiti Island.”

He stared at her in dismay. “Xiti!”

“Yes. Do you know the way?”

As he shook his head she felt a wave of disappointment. “Oh. I should have asked.”

“I know where Xiti is,” he told her. “But it’s far from here. It would take hours for us to swim there.”

She felt hope return. “How many hours?”

He shook his head again. “Three. Maybe four.”

“That’s not too bad. We could get there and back by tonight.”

“How long will it take to get this treasure?” He frowned. “What is the treasure? I’m not swimming all day if it isn’t worth it.”

She smiled. “It’s worth it. I overheard traders talking about sea bells. They said there were some there the size of a fist.”

His eyes brightened. “Did they? Then why haven’t they taken them?”

“Because…” Imi considered her answer. Would he change his mind if she mentioned the landwalkers? “Because they’re waiting for them to get bigger.”

“Bigger,” he repeated. “I guess they wouldn’t notice if a few went missing… But… we’d be stealing them, Imi. What if we got caught?”

“ ‘Nothing the ocean grows is owned by any man until it is taken,’ ” she quoted.

His lips twitched, then he began to grin. “I’ll be rich!” He looked at her. “But you’re already rich. What do you want sea bells for?”

She smiled. “A birthday present for my father.”

“So that’s what this is all about.” He laughed. “We’re outside the city and both already in trouble. We may as well keep going. Follow me.”

He dove under the surface. Taking a deep breath, Imi plunged under the waves and swam after him.


Mirar regarded the growing contents of the makeshift table in surprise. A bowl of soup steamed in front of him. On a thick slab of wood lay something wrapped in leaves that smelled of roasted meat and herbs. A bowl of green leaves and fresh roots sat to one side of this and another of steaming cooked tubers on the other, and there was the usual bowl laden with ripe fruit.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“A feast,” she replied.

“Is this what’s been keeping you busy all morning?”

“Mostly.”

“What’s the occasion?”

“We’re celebrating.”

“Celebrating what?”

She placed the two wooden cups he’d carved on the table then straightened. “I haven’t detected your emotions in over a week. I think that’s long enough to prove you’ve got the hang of hiding your mind.”

He narrowed his eyes. “That’s not all.”

“What? Being free to leave the cave is not reason enough?”

She produced a leather pouch and lowered it to the cups. Out of the hollow stick that acted as a spout came a stream of dark purple liquid. The aroma was familiar, though he had not smelled it in centuries. Teepi, the Siyee’s liquor.

“Where’d you get that from?”

“I traded for it. With the Siyee.”

“They came back?”

“Yes, early this morning. I think they’re concerned I’ll perish. Or that I’ve decided to stay.”

“Hmmm.” He picked up the cup and sipped. The fiery liquor warmed his throat. “It’s just as well I have learned to hide my thoughts. We can’t stay here much longer.”

“No,” she agreed. She sat down and picked up her bowl of soup. “They also gave me a girri. I had to cook it today, so I thought I might as well make us a feast. Nothing much else for me to do now.”

He watched her drink the soup. “You’re getting bored with me, aren’t you?”

She smiled slyly. “No. I have never found you boring, Mirar. In fact, I’ve always found you a little too interesting for my own good.”

He chuckled. So. There it was. The invitation. He had noted the way she sometimes looked at him. Thoughtful. Curious. Admiring. The spark of attraction was still there for her. Was it for him?

He thought back to other times circumstances had brought them to each other’s beds and felt an old but familiar interest flare. Yes, he thought. It’s still there.

“I got to wondering today,” she said, setting her empty bowl aside, “if any of the other Wilds have survived.”

She looked up at him, seeking his opinion. He took another sip of Teepi, giving him time to slowly extract himself from pleasant memories.

“I doubt it,” he replied.

She pursed her lips. Which reminded him of another time when she had paused and made that face, considering what they might do next. She had been naked at the time, he recalled. He shook his head to clear his mind.

“If you and I are still alive, why not them?” Emerahl insisted. “We know The Oracle was killed, and The Farmer, but what about The Gull? What of The Twins and The Maker.”

“The Maker is dead. He killed himself when his creations were destroyed.”

She looked at him in horror. “Poor Heri.”

Mirar shrugged. “He was old. The oldest, apart from The Oracle—and she was half mad.”

“The Gull and The Twins were younger,” she said thoughtfully. “What about The Librarian?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I doubt he still watches over the Library of Soor. That place was a ruin even before the gods’ war.”

She sighed. He considered her carefully. His interest in her was still there, though dampened by the conversation. She was too distracted. If he got her attention, what would she do?

“This is too morbid a conversation for a celebration,” he told her. He reached out and took a piece of fruit, then carved a slice from it. She turned to watch him, but her gaze was still far away. Reaching across the table, he held the slice up to her mouth. “Life is too long to ignore opportunities for pleasure,” he murmured.

Her eyes widened, then narrowed. “You said that…”

“A long time ago. I wondered if you would remember.”

She took the piece of fruit. “I could hardly forget.”

He looked meaningfully at the slice. “Are you going to share that?”

Her pupils widened and a smile slowly spread across her face. “It would be greedy of me not to.” She rose and moved around the table, her eyes bright. Placing the slice of fruit between her lips, she leaned forward and offered it to him.

Oh, yes, he thought. He caught her waist, pulled her closer and bit into the slice. Their lips touched, their mouths met around the crisp sweetness of the fruit. He felt his teeth break through juicy flesh, felt her hands slide around his back, and the firmness of her back beneath his own palms.

His interest flared into desire. He felt her respond to it with equal passion. Suddenly he wanted too much at once. He was pulling her down onto his bed and trying to undress her at the same time, but achieving neither. She laughed and pushed him onto his back, then straddled him. Pulling off her clothing, she tossed it aside. He caught his breath as her breasts were uncovered. She was perfect, but how else could she be when she could so easily change her age?

She brushed his hands away long enough to pull off his vest and tunic. Her hand moved to the waist of his trousers. The ties came undone. She tugged the waistband down, then looked up at him and grinned. Then, without a word, she sidled close and he felt the warmth of her begin to envelop him.

No!

The thought was not his. An emotion tore though him, jangling his nerves. He could not put a name to it. Horror? Anger? He gasped in confusion and shock. He felt as if his entire being was sinking into misery. The fire in his blood was doused by a chill that he could not shake, and a lingering sense of another will fighting his own.

Leiard.

“No!” he protested. He sat up, the sudden movement causing Emerahl to lose her balance momentarily. “You bastard!”

Emerahl braced herself and stared at him. “I trust that’s not me you’re talking to,” she said dryly.

He found he could not reply. It took all his will to keep control of his body.

I can’t let you do this, Leiard said. I can’t let you betray Auraya again.

Auraya doesn’t matter! Mirar fumed. You can’t go back to her. You don’t even exist!

Emerahl was watching him through slowly narrowing eyes. Mirar felt Leiard’s will weaken. He took a deep breath, trying to rein in the anger. “I didn’t mean you,” he explained to her. “I meant him. He did it. He… stopped me. I can’t believe… I thought…”

“That if you didn’t let him take control he couldn’t bother you any more?” She shook her head and climbed off his bed. “I told you it wouldn’t be that easy.”

“What am I supposed to do?” he exclaimed, standing up and yanking his trousers up to his waist. If it was possible to die of humiliation he felt he might have then. “Is he going to stop me from bedding any woman from now on, just because he feels loyal to… to that…”

“Auraya,” she finished. She reached for her clothing and began to dress.

Her acceptance of his sudden impotence was somehow more mortifying than if she’d been amused by it. She could, at least, behave as if she was surprised.

“You have to accept that Leiard is a part of you,” she said. “He cannot feel anything that doesn’t exist in yourself.”

“Obviously he can. I don’t love Auraya.”

She turned and smiled at him. “No, but a part of you does. A part you don’t like, unfortunately. You have to accept that part and everything that Leiard proves that you can be. Otherwise…” She frowned and looked away. “I fear you’ll never be whole again.”

“You don’t know that for certain.”

“No, but I’d be willing to bet on it.” She moved back to her table and sat down. Unwrapping the roasted girri, she began to tear off pieces of meat. “Eat. I’m not offended. A little frustrated. Perhaps a little embarrassed. But not offended.”

“You’re embarrassed,” he muttered. “I’m utterly humiliated. I’ve never been unable to—”

“Let’s just eat,” she interrupted. “I don’t need another tall story of your sexual prowess. Not now. And definitely not while I’m eating.”

He shook his head. Anger had subsided into a sinking, dark emotion and he found he could not be bothered with it any more. He sat on the edge of his bed and glowered at the food. Seeing the skin of Teepi lying on the edge of the table, he topped up his glass, tossed the drink down, then poured himself another.

“They’re not tall stories,” he growled.

“I know,” Emerahl said, in an overly placating way.

“I really—”

“Just eat.”

Sighing, he did as he was told.


Teiti’s legs shook as she stood on the bank of the Children’s Pool. An hour had passed since Imi had disappeared. She could still remember the last glimpse she had caught of the princess as she dove into the water.

She and the guards had questioned the other children, but none had seen Imi leave. Teiti had sent out all of Imi’s guards but one to ask people around the many entrances to the cave if they had seen the princess.

“She’ll be back,” the remaining guard soothed. “Most likely she gave us the slip so she could get a bit of private time with that boy.”

That doesn’t reassure me at all, Teiti thought. She’s too young to be interested in boys. If she was, I’d be just as alarmed that she was with some lowly trader’s son.

“Lady?”

She looked down to see a pair of girls standing in front of her.

“Yes? What is it?” she asked.

“Just thought you should know,” one of the girls said. “There’s a tunnel at the deepest part of the pool. It flows out into the city. I know Rissi’s used it before, when he wanted to avoid getting beaten up by Kizz.”

Beaten up? Teiti smothered a curse. Why did I let Imi play with these ruffians?

“Where is it?”

The girls pointed. “At the deepest place.”

“I’ll go and look,” the guard offered. “If they’re right, we’re going to have to start searching the whole city.”

The whole city. Teiti sighed. The chances that the king would not find out about this were dwindling rapidly. The longer Imi was missing, the less Teiti cared what the girl’s father would say or do. What mattered most was whether Imi was safe.

“Go,” she said. “Find it. Find out where it goes. I’ll send for more assistance.”

As he waded into the water she turned away and started toward the main entrance of the pool. One of the guards was there, questioning people. She would send him to the palace. It was time to inform the king of his daughter’s disappearance.