Juliet E. McKenna - Southern Fire

Southern Fire

The Aldabreshin Compass Book 1

Juliet E. McKenna

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An Orbit Book

First published in Great Britain by Orbit, 2003

The moral right of the author has been asserted. All characters and

events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real

persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the

prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise

circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it

is published and without a similar condition, including this condition,

being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British

Library.

ISBN 1 84149 166 7

Typeset in Ehrhardt by Palimpsest Book Production Limited,

Polmont, Stirlingshire

Printed and bound in Great Britain by

Mackays of Chatham pic, Chatham, Kent

Orbit

An imprint of

Time Warner Books UK

Brettenham House

Lancaster Place

London WC2E 7EN

For my parents, without whom etc…

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The first book of a new series is a daunting undertaking so I'm profoundly

grateful to everyone who's offered encouragement and reassurance along the way.

As ever, Steve and Sue have given the drafts invaluable attention, as has Mike, to

whom also thanks for the nautical notes. My thanks to Ashok for the weather reports

and the book recommendations. Thank you, Sheila, for pointing me towards some

truly fascinating tomes. Thanks too to Rachel for the reportage from her travels.

I don't know where I would find the time to write and to undertake all the other

multifarious tasks of the author's life, never mind being a wife and mother, without

the generosity of so many people. For the continuing assistance of Ernie and Betty,

mere thanks are simply inadequate. For their part in helping me keep a balanced

perspective on all the domestic juggling and so much else, I am indebted to Penny,

Gill and Mike, Helen, Corinne, Liz E and Liz B. On the business side, sincerest

thanks go to Maggie and Camilla for all their support, and to Tim and Simon and

everyone else at Orbit.

To everyone who has spurred me on with their eager interest in this book, in

Dublin, Aberdeen and elsewhere, as well as over the Internet, my sincere

appreciation.

Chapter One

^ »

No omens of earth or sky, just tranquillity. I couldn't ask for a better welcome

home.

The sun was all but set among serene bands of golden cloud untroubled above an

unruffled sea. Down in the lagoon far below, Kheda could see the little boats of his

fishermen heading out for their night's work, the weather set fair. The great galley that

had brought him back to this island at the heart of his domain rode calmly at anchor.

Closer to shore, the first lamps were being lit above the floating frames hung with

nets that gathered fingerfish for smoking above fragrant herbs. Standing high above,

on the roofless platform at the top of the circular stone tower, Kheda was too far

away to hear the banter of his people idling about their work on the shore.

It'll be the usual jokes and debates about whether to settle to mending nets or

making gourds into new buoys. Chances are they'll opt to spend the evening with

their families and friends instead. We're not so different, highest to lowest, Daish

Reik always told me that.

At that recollection of his father's wisdom, Kheda yielded to the desire to greet his

wives and children. He'd turned first to his duty as augur; now he was entitled to

claim some time for himself. Smiling, he was about to go down the narrow winding

steps of the observatory when a new thought struck him.

Those little lights to tempt curious fish look like early stars on the dusky water.

What of the heaven's compass? I wouldn't be doing my duty if I didn't look for any

new portents, even if all the constellations are settled at their midpoints.

Kheda turned to look inland at the sky darkening to blue just deep enough to

show the first true stars. Long practice found the Winged Snake, rising above the

dark bulk of the island's hilly interior. The sky around the constellation was clear of

cloud, nothing else intruding that might warn or advise. Kheda had no need to glance

down at the arcs of the compass of the earth that were carved on the balustrade of

the observatory. The Winged Snake was in the arc where omens for marriage and all

such intense relationships would be found.

Symbol of male and female intertwined, of courage and the rewards of toil, of

new things being revealed. Of course. And unseen, below the horizon, the Net will

underlay the arc of the compass for birth, token of support and help, cooperation

and unity. Though the Canthira Tree, symbol of the cycle of life and death, is in

the arc of fear and retreat. Of course, Sam will be fretting, what with it being her

first baby. She'll have all the support she needs from Janne and Rekha, that much

is quite clear, with the Vizail Blossom, symbol of womanhood, so firmly planted in

the arc of sisterhood.

Kheda's eyes scanned the sky. What of the heavenly jewels that drew their own

courses among the stars? No, none of them were approaching the invisible lines that

divided one arc of the heavens from the next. However he read the compass of the

skies, in triune, sextile or quartile, the distant lights drew no pattern. Only the moons

were moving between the heavenly regions in their rapid dance around the world.

The Lesser Moon, heavenly counterpart to the pearls that were the wealth of the

Daish domain, was the merest paring of nacre, sharing the sky with the Winged

Snake. The Greater Moon by contrast was at its full, disc patterned like the Opal that

was its earthly talisman for faithfulness and self-knowledge. It shone, rising slowly in

the sky where omens for life and self should show themselves. Kheda could see

nothing beyond the pattern of stars that made up the Mirror Bird, a sign for

protection and a link between past and future. The Amethyst, for calm and

inspiration, was happily centered in the arc of hearth and home, and the Diamond,

talisman for clarity of purpose and most particularly of warlords, was set squarely in

the arc of wealth. Beyond, the Ruby, talisman of strength and longevity, rode in the

arc of friendship and community.

His spirits rising, Kheda turned to quit the lofty observatory. 'Remind me to tell

Sain Daish that the heavens look entirely propitious for all coming births.'

'She can only be scant days from childbed.' His sole companion sitting on the top

of the stair sounded pleased. Then his stomach gurgled loudly in the evening hush.

'Well, Telouet, that's a sign that takes no skill to read,' Kheda laughed. 'It's been a

long day, I know. But I had to be sure there were no portents.'

'My lady Janne has to be happy that you've discharged all your responsibilities, if

we're all to sleep content on our first night back home.' Telouet grinned as he rose to

his feet, adjusting the twin swords held in his wide sash as he made way for his

master.

Kheda walked rapidly down the dim, familiar stairs, winding down around the

tower's central core of successive rooms packed with records and interpretations

and all the materials necessary to work the different divinations that he used to serve

his people. Lamplight showed beneath the closed door of the lowest chamber.

'Sirket?' Kheda entered and smiled affectionate reproof at his elder son. 'Telouet's

gut's growling louder than a jungle cat, so it must be time for us to eat. Join us.'

Seated at a reading slope, the youth looked up from the weighty book he'd been

studying, eyes still distant in thought. There was no doubting he was the warlord's

son; both had eyes as green as the newest leaves of the rainy season, unusual in

these southernmost isles of the sprawling Aldabreshin Archipelago. They had other

features in common: high foreheads, faces more oval than round with more sharply

defined cheekbones and noses than Telouet. Telouet's nose would have been broad

and flat even before the fight that had left it squashed crooked on his cheerful face.

But Sirket's mother had brought him fuller lips and darker skin than his father, as well

as tightly curled black hair that he kept cropped short. Kheda's hair and beard were a

coarse and wiry brown, tamed only by close clipping.

'My mother Janne said we might be visiting the Ulla domain before the rains

arrive.' Sirket scratched at whiskers shadowing his jaw. Not yet full grown, he was

already easily the height of his father. 'I don't want to be shown up like Ritsem Zorat

was last time.'

'That won't happen. I won't permit it.' Kheda crossed the room and closed the

heavy tome. 'Now, go and tell your mother I will dine with the two of you, once I've

seen Sain and Rekha.'

'As you command, my father.' Sirket ducked an obedient head but his smile was

relieved and his step light as he ran off ahead, bare feet noiseless on the well-trodden

earth. He had some years to grow before he carried his father's muscle.

'What does Ulla Safar think he will achieve by humiliating the sons of his closest

neighbours?' Locking the tower door, Kheda followed more slowly. 'Ritsem Caid

will surely turn down any suggestion that his son take the auguries next time they

meet. Then all Ulla Safar will have is a pointless quarrel on his hands.'

'When did he ever shrink from a quarrel, however trivial?' One pace behind and to

Kheda's side Telouet brushed at an intrusive frond. Night was falling with its

customary rapidity and the green leathery leaves were barely distinguishable from

their shadows. The bushes were musical with the songs of lyre crickets and

something rustled in the darkness, a foraging animal or a startled night bird. 'Besides,

Ulla Safar always wants someone to read the omens for him. He rarely bothers

himself with such things and Ulla Orhan shows little aptitude for divination.'

Kheda snorted. 'That's Ulla Safar's problem and one of his own making. It's his

responsibility to teach the boy. He's not doing his duty by his son or his domain.' He

took a deep breath and the familiar scents of home soothed his irritation. The air was

moist and heavy now they were down among close-planted plots of shrubs set in

their lattice of little paths.

'Do you think we will be travelling to the Ulla domain before the rains?' Telouet

asked as they walked through the scatter of houses below the fertile forested slopes,

built from a miscellany of mud brick, clay-covered woven branches and close-fitted

wooden planks. Thatched with palm fronds and with wide overhanging eaves to give

shelter from the sun or to carry away rain depending on the season, the one-roomed

dwellings thronged with activity.

'Only if Janne has some really pressing reason,' said Kheda frankly. 'We'd almost

certainly get caught in the rains on the voyage back and I'd really rather not risk that.

Besides, I should be here when Sain is brought to childbed.' Slatted shutters of oiled

wood were not yet closed and Kheda found himself smiling at the scenes within the

comfortable homes. Children were being coaxed or ordered towards their beds, or

more rarely, were settling obediently among their quilts.

Will Rekha have sent the little ones to their beds or given them permission to

stay up to see me tonight?

Outside, on the broad steps beneath the eaves of the houses, men relaxed after a

hard day's labour, sharing news and observations with their neighbours. All wore

loose cotton trousers; some dyed bright colours, and others left unbleached white.

Some men wore tunics, some relaxed bare-chested. A few wore simple bracelets of

plaited palm fronds with carved wooden beads or necklaces of leather thong

carrying some natural talisman such as a seedpod, shell or sea-shaped stone.

Kheda and Telouet walked through their midst, their appearance a dramatic

contrast. The warlord wore trousers and tunic of indigo blue, the fine silk gathered at

wrist and ankle with golden clasps. As well as chased gold chains close around his

neck, Kheda wore a longer necklace of carnelian and diamonds interspersed with

carved golden beads and a central trio of uncut, highly polished stones heavy on his

breast, the massive diamond framed by carnelians. Bracelets of twisted gold jingled

softly on his wrists and an arm ring inlaid with mother of pearl and turquoise rested

just above the elbow of his sword arm. Plaques of gold filigree decorated his blue

leather belt and more gold wire coiled around the dark sheath of the dagger that was

his only weapon. It had the same smoothly curved blade and twisted grip as the

daggers all the men of the village wore at their hip but Kheda's had a golden hilt and

a single flawless pearl at the pommel. Telouet was the only man wearing swords as

well as his dagger, twin blades in dark leather sheaths, their hilts plain and

unadorned. He wore clothes of more sober cut in soft grey silk as befitted a faithful

slave but the cloth was of as fine a quality as his master's. Like Kheda, his hair and

beard were tamed with close cutting and scented oils.

The islanders taking their ease smiled warm greetings to Kheda, bowing low.

Wives, deftly cooking fish or meat on cook fires placed a prudent distance from

vulnerable thatch, paused to add their own heartfelt welcome. A substantial pot of

pale yellow grain steamed in the embers of each hearth and greens from the

burgeoning gardens behind each house seethed with fragrant spices. Kheda was

pleased to see that even this late in the dry season none of his people were going

hungry.

'The word is there are islands in the Ulla domain where the people are eating dry

stalks and old husks, their granaries are so empty,' Telouet remarked.

'So I hear,' Kheda nodded.

A bright-eyed maiden with an inviting smile was shoved into their path by her

doting mother. She held out a wooden platter lined with broad leaves each carrying a

morsel of meat glistening with rich sauce. 'My lord,' she managed to say before

giggles got the better of her.

Kheda nodded with approval as he ate a piece. 'Excellent. Telouet, try some.' He

winked suddenly at the maiden before turning to smile at the mother. 'You must

share that blend of spices with Janne Daish's cook.'

'Indeed.' Telouet's agreement was muffled by his mouthful of succulent meat.

Waving a farewell that encompassed all the islanders, Kheda walked on. Telouet

was still chewing as the two of them approached the mighty walls of the compound

beyond the little houses.

'Do you want to share something with the daughter? She was all but throwing

herself at you.' Swallowing, he adopted a tone of spurious innocence. 'It's an

even-numbered year and the wrong season besides, so my lady Rekha won't be

inviting you to her bed tonight.'

'I find three wives quite sufficient without adding concubines.' Kheda laughed.

'How often do you need telling? Still, I don't want Sirket going to his wedding night

all theory and no practice and the lass is certainly a fragrant blossom. You could ask

her parents if she's promised herself anywhere yet. If not, she might like to join

Janne's household for a season or so.'

'My lady Janne is keen to see Sirket married.' Telouet scratched his beard. 'Birut

was telling me she let the wives of every domain know she was casting her net, on

their way back from the Redigal islands.'

Kheda nodded. 'Which will doubtless be the topic of conversation over dinner.'

He looked sideways at Telouet, the light from the lamps above the gate catching his

smile. 'I still think it's rather more important to find him the right body slave just at

present.'

'I've been keeping my eyes and ears open but I've yet to come across a likely

prospect.' Telouet looked serious. 'Boys of that age are difficult to read and if you

can't find out exactly who's owned them, that makes it harder to judge their

character.' He paused to hammer on the solid black wood of the compound's doors.

'Open to your lord Daish Kheda! A slightly older slave might be a safer choice,' he

continued.

'No.' Kheda shook his head firmly as the wide gates swung open. Four guards

armoured in finely wrought hauberks stood on either side of the path, naked blades

gleaming in the lamplight, faces hidden by the nasal bars and chainmail veils of their

ornamented helms. All bowed low to their lord. Kheda inclined his head in passing

and the guards fell back to bar the gate securely once more.

'He need not be too much older,' Telouet began.

'No.' Kheda's rebuke was firm though not harsh. He turned his head to look at

Telouet. 'We must find him a slave whom he can trust as I have trusted you, who

hears his unspoken thoughts as you hear mine, but that slave cannot be older. If

Sirket defers to him once, he'll do it again and that becomes a dangerous habit. Look

at Redigal Coron.' Kheda laughed mirthlessly. 'Sirket must be the master.'

'My lord.' Telouet bent his head in apparent acquiescence.

'After all, we know it's possible.' Kheda studied the thinning hair on the crown of

his faithful slave's head. 'My father found you for me.'

Telouet grinned at him. 'Daish Reik's wisdom in so many things still blesses the

domain.'

I wouldn't mind hearing it from his own mouth again, just occasionally.

Kheda paused to look around the compound - checking that all was well was

second nature to him. Quarters for all lesser members of the vast household clung to

the inside of the massive stone wall, the broad parapet above their roofs patrolled by

watchful sentries. Within this protective embrace, separate pavilions stood, marble

steps pale as they were brushed by the light of the Greater Moon, solid walls of grey

stone dark beneath the shadows of the wide eaves. Shutters and doors of black

hardwood were fitted with bronze, the roofs above of gleaming tile, patterns dazzling

by day muted just at present by the half-light. Fountains playing in broad pools set in

the extensive gardens around each pavilion pattered softly in the dusk.

'Shed your swords and go share a drink with Rembit.' Kheda clapped Telouet on

the shoulder. 'Wait for me at Rekha's door. No, go on,' he insisted when the slave

would have protested. 'You only make Sain nervous. She can do without that.'

Besides, my faithful steward will doubtless tell you a few things that he left out

of his report to me on the beach.

Kheda turned his back and headed for his youngest wife's residence without

waiting to see that Telouet obeyed. He soon reached the assiduously tended garden

around her pavilion, the carefully selected pebbles of the path smooth and cool

beneath his unshod feet, the scent of night-blooming vizail intoxicating.

Not that there is any reason for Sain to be wary of Telouet. Not that there's any

reason for her to act like a nervous kitten around everyone in the compound. She's

almost more at ease out among the islanders, collecting her stones and seedlings.

We must make sure she gets leisure to make such trips and tend her garden after

the baby is born. Perhaps she'll be less timorous after the child is born. She's very

young, after all. Barely older than Sirket. Younger than you were when you found

yourself ruler of the Daish islands. You found that prospect daunting enough and

you had been raised to the expectation. Remember, Sam never expected to be

anything more than a minor prize in marriage until her brother's ambition

secured the Toe domain by right of conquest.

'My lord Daish Kheda.' A massive man rose from his seat on the broad steps in

front of the door and house lizards skittered away into the darkness.

'Hanyad.' Kheda acknowledged the man with a smile, careful to hide his private

amusement.

Whoever chose you as slave for timid little Sam knew what they were about,

finding such a mountain of a man to stand between her and danger, real or

imagined.

'How is she?'

'Weary, my lord.' Hanyad's dour warning was still coloured with whatever

northern tongue he had learned at his mother's knee. As he opened the door, yellow

lamplight shone on his grizzled hair and once-pale skin turned leathery from endless

seasons' sun. 'My lady, your husband seeks admittance.'

Kheda waited patiently for Sain's reply. Every wife was within her rights to refuse

her husband entry and one of a body slave's multifarious duties was enforcing such

decisions.

'He is most welcome.' Unseen within, Sain certainly sounded tired. The big man

hesitated but stepped aside to yield the threshold to Kheda.

'I shan't stay long.'

I was right to shake off Telouet. That wouldn't have gone down well, not this

late in the day and with Telouet hungry, and the last thing I need is my body slave

falling out with Sain's.

Kheda entered and Hanyad closed the door behind him and sat cross-legged to

bar it. 'Sain, my dear, how are you?'

'Well enough.' Wearing a loose unbelted tunic of plain golden silk, his youngest

wife reclined on a bank of russet silk cushions embroidered with a riot of colourful

birds. She wore no jewellery; her long straight hair was simply pulled back into a

thick black plait. Slightly built and no taller than Kheda's shoulder, these last days of

her pregnancy plainly weighed heavy upon her. A small girl was rubbing scented

lotion into her feet and Kheda noted Sain's visibly swollen ankles.

'You look exhausted,' Kheda said frankly. Even in the muted light of the single

lamp, the darkness around Sain's eyes was more than just shadow. He heard a grunt

of agreement from Hanyad.

'It's just the heat.' Sain fanned herself with a delicate, copper-skinned hand.

'Which won't abate until the end of the season.' Kheda noted the increase in her

gravid belly while he'd been away in contrast to face and wrists grown thinner than

ever. He strove for a balance between authority and affection in his words. 'You

must do nothing but take your ease until the rains or the baby, whichever comes

first.' He smiled, partly at Hanyad's rumble of approval and partly to reassure Sain

whose big brown eyes were wide with concern.

'My duties—'

'Tembit has already made his report on the state of the compound and the island.

He tells me the fields are tilled and ready for the rains, sailer grain seedlings flourish

in the nurseries.' Kheda spoke with warm congratulation.

'Even all the house fowl and goats are healthy, which is rare enough this late in the

dry season.'

'Naturally I strive to serve the domain.' Sain's evident pleasure brought a little

animation to her face. She tried to push herself more upright but her pillows slipped

beneath her, vivid colours catching the lamplight. The little slave girl barely managed

to save her bowl of lotion, greasy hands fluttering in indecision.

'You've discharged your every duty to the domain. Now all we ask is you cherish

yourself and this baby until you are both safely through childbed.' Kheda waved the

child away.

Perhaps Sain would show a bit more spirit if her attendants weren't all such

dolts.

He considered putting an arm around her shoulders once she was settled

comfortably again but decided against it. Neither Rekha nor Janne had particularly

welcomed close embraces so near to giving birth. He held his hand above the swell

of her stomach instead. 'May I?'

'She's kicking.' Sain laid her hand on his so he could feel the baby move within

her.

'Girl or boy, we'll know soon enough.' At his words, Sain tensed beneath his

touch and the spark in her eyes faded.

Kheda leant over to plant an emphatic kiss on her forehead. 'Girl or boy, this child

is yours to keep. And here's a gift for the babe, to prove my words.' He fished in a

pocket for a small silken packet, tied securely with braided cotton.

Sain took it, long varnished nails picking apart the knot, child-like excitement

brightening her tired face. 'Oh, Kheda, husband, it's beautiful.' She held up a

shimmering bird made of silver chains linking opal feathers.

'Hang it for a talisman over the baby's crib,' Kheda smiled. 'For the virtue in the

stones to protect our firstborn.'

'I was thinking—' Sain set the shimmering bird in her lap, her voice tremulous.

'About the baby's future. Perhaps I should visit a tower of silence. I haven't done so

since I came here and the rains won't arrive for some days yet. I might dream

something important there, something about the child, it is my duty as your wife—'

'You are in no condition to spend a night outside sleeping on bare earth, whatever

the weather.' Kheda heard Hanyad grunt his emphatic agreement. 'Once the baby is

born, once you're recovered, when we've moved north to the rainy season residence,

you can think about undertaking such a ritual, with Rekha and Janne to help you with

all due preparations. That will be quite soon enough to learn whatever threads from

past or future this baby might hold in its hand.'

'As you command, my lord.' Sain managed a wan smile but Kheda could tell she

was upset.

The last thing I want to do is play the heavy-handed warlord with you, when

that's all you've ever known, but you do make it so cursed difficult.

'Go to bed, dear heart. Stay there as long as you want tomorrow morning and

every day after.' Kheda rose from the floor. Hanyad was already on his feet, opening

the double doors to Sain's bedchamber beyond. The little slave girl scurried past

him, scrubbing oil from her hands with a scrap of cotton cloth.

Kheda helped Sain stand. She was too grateful for his support to tense as he

slipped an arm around her waist. He gave her a gentle hug. 'Sleep well, my flower.

Attend your mistress, Hanyad, I'll see myself out.'

Releasing her into the slave's watchful care, he went out into the humid, heady

night, stifling a sigh of exasperation. Outside, in the compound, those servants and

slaves whose duties were done rested and ate beside braziers set outside their

quarters, faces bright in the pools of orange light.

The air was fragrant with herbs burning to deter the insidious whine of the night's

biting insects and laughter rippled through the low murmur of conversation.

Telouet was waiting at the bottom of the steps. 'How is she?'

'Much as always.' Kheda shrugged.

'Not long now till the baby's here,' Telouet offered.

'And do you think it's my babe or Hanyad's?' Kheda led the way towards a much

larger pavilion with a second storey in the centre and many windowed wings to either

side.

'She came to your bed a virgin, my lord,' said Telouet thoughtfully. 'And I don't

think she had time enough to get used to you bedding her to get curious about any

alternatives.'

'True enough.'

And that had been yet another new experience for a nervous girl arriving in an

unknown domain. Then you'd barely coaxed her out of her tenseness when she fell

pregnant and her nausea put an end to any embraces. I really don't imagine Sain

thinks she's getting anywhere near a fair share of the benefits of this marriage.

Then Kheda's mood lifted at the sound of lively voices suddenly hushed behind

the pillars of his wife Rekha's pavilion. Little shadows scampered along the outer

Juliet E. McKenna - Southern Fire

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