Amazonia

  A cool, pale hand on Amazonia’s shoulder woke her from sleep as Fox’s voice whispered, “Domina, it’s time.”

  Az nodded and slid off the pallet without waking Titan, the small oil lamp on the shelf beside the stone stairs giving just enough light to see he was asleep, with his craggy face turned towards the stone wall of the wine cellar. Earlier that day, Dancer had waited until Titan had gone to the privy to deliver a fresh pitcher of wine and a message from Timur: this was the night her Shadow self would march the dead out of Bukhara. She dressed quickly in her black, padded tunic and black trousers, then followed Fox up the stairs to the doorway leading into the kitchen.

  Dancer, Troll, and Fenris were waiting with her armor and the Rune sword. “We still want to come with you, Domina,” Dancer said as he handed Az the wide leather belt with her leg armor attached.

  “We’ve been over this,” she replied, wrapping the belt around her waist and cinching the buckle as Troll and Fenris knelt to fasten the straps holding her thigh plates and her shin guards with their attached knee armor. After Titan had told her about Dancer’s calling Titan’s going into rut all those years ago as rape, she’d rebuked Dancer, who had accepted her anger as if expected. But Az didn’t need her link to him through the Rune sword to know that Dancer would never change his mind. “Timur needs all of you to be his eyes and ears while I’m gone,” she said, Dancer holding up her torso armor which she put her head and arms through as she added, “And besides, there’s no reason for all of us to endure what’s going to be a long, cold, wet march.” Dancer opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again as she said, “The mission comes first. All of you know that.”

  “Yes, Domina.” Dancer began buckling the short leather straps of her torso armor as he said, “But if you say something like, ‘What could possibly go wrong?’ We’re going to tell you.”

  “In graphic detail,” Troll chimed in as he and Fenris finished and rose to their feet.

  Dancer finished buckling her torso armor as Amazonia gave them a sour smile. “No doubt. But seriously, there’s nothing to worry—”

  Everyone turned their heads as they heard the sound of the inn’s front door opening, the bells on the bead curtain jangling wildly as a man’s voice called out, “Syr Amazonia, are you here?”

  “In the kitchen,” Az called back, leading the others into the common room where one of Timur’s mercenary soldiers in chainmail now stood. He saluted by bumping his fist against his chest and swinging it out level with the ground. “Syr, the Lady Ishi is here and desires to have words with you in private.”

  “Bide a moment.” Amazonia thought quickly before motioning with the sheathed Rune sword. “Ask her to meet me in the private room, then return to your post and close the door behind you.” The guard saluted again and headed back towards the front as Amazonia turned towards her Wardogs. “Stay here but stay alert. You’ll know through our bond if anything’s wrong.”

  “Yes, Domina,” the four of them replied in unison. How did I ever reach this point where it doesn’t even bother me being called that? Az turned back and strode through the common room as the bells jangled again, jangling a third time as she pushed through them and went into the private room of the inn. Another oil lamp illuminated the front part of the room, the tables and cushions towards the back lost in shadowy darkness as her words were repeated. Amazonia took a position facing the doorway with her sheathed Rune sword point down and both hands resting on the leather bound hilt.

  The front door boomed shut as a cloaked figure glided through the doorway. “Before you speak,” Az said, “understand that if you try to beguile me, the spirit of my sword will change me into the Shadow Knight at once, without being ordered to do so.”

  Az felt Antoninus’ spirit give her a silent confirmation as Ishi stopped and let the hood of her cloak fall back. “No beguilement, I promise. All I desire is an explanation as to why you want to pretend to be my dead sister’s avatar.”

  Amazonia reared back a little. “What’re you talking about? Akbal suggested it to Timur as a way of getting more recruits for the army and Timur thought it was a good idea. Look,” Az said, leaning forward, “if pretending to be possessed by your sister gets more people to fight the Sasnayams, then I’ll play her game until my mission’s complete and the Rune sword shatters. That’s the only thing I want.”

  Ishtar met Amazonia’s gaze with a stare hard as chiseled rock. “I believe you. However, I also know what happens when one temple grows in power, especially one dedicated to death. I have spent years hiding in Bukhara pretending to be a minor mage, dreaming of the day when I could regain everything I had lost, and I will not see it happen again.”

  “Hel’s hairy eyeballs,” Az said, “Timur’s Bloodguard Argat told her you’d never tolerate a rival, and Akbal told him that you could have the cities. She said, ‘My temple marches with the army’.”

  “Did she actually call it, ‘my temple’?” Amazonia nodded and Ishi’s expression became thoughtful, even though her eyes remained hard. “Interesting. Do you not also find it interesting that this priestess, obviously once associated with Ghash-Kimil, not only survived Bukhara’s overthrow but has arcane knowledge that supposedly died with Tanit?”

  “All I know is that she saved Little Paulus when no one else could. I’ll play her game as long as it benefits Timur, but I’ve got no intention of continuing to play the role if it means coming back here and kicking you off your pyramid or wherever your temple is.” Az shrugged. “For that matter, Akbal didn’t sound like she wanted that either.”

  “I believe you believe that.” Amazonia gave her a sharp look and Ishi smiled. “I have lived a very, very long time, all the while pretending to be a goddess, and if I know anything, it is how priestesses think. Akbal may be content to march with the army for now, yet as her followers grow in number, at some point she will want to build herself a permanent home and expand outward.”

  Amazonia was shaking her head. “Not without Timur’s consent and he won’t give it. Timur believes in Tengri, The Lord of the Sky, and nothing anyone says is going to shake his belief. No, if Akbal wants to build herself a pyramid, she’ll have to do it without our help.”

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  “There is a way to change someone’s mind using the Necromantic arts.” Az gave her a sharp look and Ishi nodded, taking a deep breath. “I will not lay any charge against Akbal, not without solid proof and not now, when we need the dead and the Crimson Horde warriors to fight for us. However, were she Tanit in disguise, if she could get the prince to agree to it, she could use her blood in a spell that would change him into a Shadowman, not under her direct control but with the same desires that a Lich has.”

  Az sucked in her breath. “Could she make him one without his consent?”

  Ishi shook her head. “Prince Timur would fight the change and it would kill him. No, the person has to agree to the transformation, and the stronger the conviction, the greater the chance of their surviving it. What worries me is if she could convince him that by doing so he could change the rest of his warriors into Shadowmen as well, and lead an army impervious to pain into battle, he might agree to it.”

  Az raised her eyebrows before giving a derisive snort. “Timur would probably cut off her head himself if she suggested it. When Akbal took Khan Khingla’s Warghorse, stitched it together and turned it into a Shambler mount, Timur was angry enough to behead her on the spot. Lys talked him out of it, but I think it disturbs him greatly, seeing his father’s mount raised up like that.”

  “Guilt expresses itself in many ways.” Amazonia gave her a puzzled look which Ishi waved away. “Never mind. I have spoken in confidence to Lys, who shares my concerns about Akbal but also agrees we need her too badly right now to make any accusations, so my greatest concern is you. I know how seductive it is, being the Shadow knight with an army under your command.”

  “I become her only because I must,” Az said quickly. “If I had any choice, I wouldn’t become her at all.”

  “Reaver lies to self,” Ishi said in the harsh Roma tongue. “Look inward, seek self-knowledge. Amazonia,” Ishi said, switching back to Greco, “I was there when the Reaver knights were first transformed into what were originally called Death Lords. The Daemo would find a human slave who was an excellent fighter and free him, teaching him strategy and tactics, then transform him as their human necromancers raised an army from the corpses of dead soldiers. When their transmuted swords shattered, as all Rune swords eventually do, the Death Lords wept when they felt the power leave them.”

  “But—”

  Ishi raised her hand, palm out. “Let me finish. When Tanit discovered how to create Shadowmen, Ba’al took strong, bitter men with nothing to lose, and encouraged them with half-truths, making them eager to join his foul company. Which meant far more survived the transformation than were destroyed by it. Shadowmen have a natural resistance to non-living materials like metal, but not to weapons made from something that once lived, like the wood from a tree.”

  Amazonia frowned. “I thought Ironwood was the only material used to transmute swords.”

  “Ironwood is more resistant to shattering, but any wood can be transmuted. Back in the days when Etrusca was still a republic and Jupiter still in league with the other Celestials, once irrefutable proof was obtained that Ba’al was creating such monsters, he had all the temples join him in demanding all out war against Carthago, which the Etruscan humans were more than happy to begin. In those days mana was waning, yet enough still existed to create Artifact weapons to be used solely against the Shadowmen.”

  “Which they did,” Amazonia said. “The Etruscans swept through the Empire of Carthago and eventually leveled the city, salting the earth so nothing would grow there, ever again.” She shrugged. “That’s ancient history and the Shadowmen a story told to frighten little children.”

  “Little children possess more wisdom than many considered wise,” Ishi said in a voice tart as lemons. “In those days, the temples were able to create hundreds of transmuted weapons to turn the tide, yet what about today? If Akbal is actually Tanit, who creates a legion of Shadowmen, how will we stop her? There is not enough mana in the world to keep the remaining Celestials going, let alone transmute the hundreds of weapons that would be needed to stand against a Shadowman army.”

  “So, what do you expect me to do about it if she’s needed so badly?”

  “The Shadow Knight sees signs hidden from mortal eyes, or even the eyes of a Lich. Keep watch over her, as much as you can, and if you see any indication that she is ready to begin creating Shadowmen, destroy her, even if it seems her death will hurt the cause. Because if she succeeds, the cause will be lost.”

  Amazonia looked away, unable to meet Ishi’s eyes. “I’m not sure how reliable I am as my… other self. What if the Shadow Knight decides Tanit would be useful as an ally?”

  Ishi reached out and laid her hand on Amazonia’s arm, causing her to look back again as Ishi said, “When you were the Shadow Knight, how did you feel about the humans you manipulated into rebelling against their Sasnayam masters? Did you enjoy it, or would you rather they become cattle for the undead?”

  Az stared at her as the memories of that night returned. “She… I, enjoyed it. You’re right about seeing things in people that tell me something about them, and I remember the feeling of smugness when the symbols of the Sasnayams disappeared from the soldiers while the symbols for Inanna grew.” Az took a deep breath. “Lady Ishtar, I’ve been telling myself that the Shadow Knight isn’t me, that I’d never do the things she’s done, like killing wounded prisoners.”

  “I know,” Ishi said, gently squeezing Amazonia’s arm before letting go. “But she is you, or rather, what you would be without morals or without any fear of consequences. Why do you think you were chosen?”

  “I… have no idea.”

  “This plot was long in the making,” Ishi said, giving Az a knowing look, “and the Daemo Jhadra knew exactly what kind of person would make the perfect Shadow Knight. A slave, obviously, one with superior fighting skills and intelligence. Yet, she had to have more. She had to have the drive to become a champion, not just in any arena but in the Imperial coliseum, and she had to have the ability to quickly adapt, as you showed both in the inn the night you became Timur’s Bloodguard and on the temple gate. As the Shadow Knight, you will see your mission succeed unless something kills you or the sword endures so much stress that it shatters. That is why Tanit will always be your enemy.”

  Amazonia’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”

  “Your mission is to see Prince Timur succeed, not to transform the world into a land where the undead rule the living.”

  “And if Akbal really is Tanit, she’d see me as a threat?”

  “Without any doubt whatsoever.”

  “I see.” Amazonia thought for a moment, then moved past Ishi to the doorway. “Dancer,” she called out, “bring the bite-stick.”

  “Yes, Domina,” Dancer’s voice called back.

  Ishi gave her a puzzled look and Amazonia said, “I don’t remember the symbols the Shadow Knight sees clearly enough to describe them, and I need to describe one to you. Besides,” she added with a shrug, “I need to transform anyway, and this way, no one will be alarmed.” The bells on the bead curtain jangled as Dancer rushed through them holding a small wooden rod, padded with layers of cloth, and handed it over. Az took it with a grimace. “Bells of Hades, I hate this part.” She put the padded stick between her teeth.

  Then screamed in silence as her flesh turned grey and contracted. Ishi stepped back, wide-eyed while Az dropped to one knee as the transformation ripped through her, her head down and eyes closed. Then Amazonia opened her eyes and removed the bite-stick from her mouth. “Much better,” she said, rising to her feet and handing Dancer the padded stick. He took it and stepped back as the Shadow Knight turned towards Ishi. “”If I describe a symbol to you, can you tell me what it might represent?”

  “I will try,” Ishi replied in a wary voice.

  “A triangle with a circle at its apex, and two lines going straight out and then up, like upraised arms.”

  Ishi gasped. “That is the symbol for Tanit.”

  Amazonia raised her eyebrows. “Then it seems we have a problem.”