Greywolf - Return to Bukhara

The last three days have been the best ones of my life.

Wysper and I have been sharing a small tent set up in the noble ring of tents, near the river and away from the others. It's old, with patches held together with newer patches, and filled with ripped cushions and faded blankets, along with a dented brazier burning dried sheep dung for warmth.

With Wysper beside me it feels like home. Papa and Asena have been staying with the Black Dragon clan camp across the river, but sharing meals with us... which is pretty much the only time we've left the tent. She's no stranger to carnal passion, admitting to being intimate with other priestesses, including when she'd been back in Britannia, but I was the first boy she'd ever kissed. So I've become her teacher, more or less. I've learned a lot from the older women I've made love to over the years, and she's been an eager pupil, though we've also spent a lot of time just talking. She hasn't asked me about what I've learned from the Daemo females, though, and I hope she doesn't. That's a chapter of my life I want ended for good.

Right now it's semi-dark inside, Wysper's nude body enfolded alongside mine, and as the tent flap rustles, I Iook out through slitted eyes. A boy's head and shoulders are sticking through it. "Greywolf, are you awake?"

"Go away, Paulus; I'm asleep."

"How can you be asleep if you are talking?"

"I'm talking in my sleep." Wysper stifles a giggle as I fully open my eyes. "It's not even dawn. Wotan's blood, what's so important?"

"Az sent Fenris with a message. She wants the three of us and Castor to stay with her at the Dancing Direwolf while the funeral games are going on."

I sit up with the blanket at my waist. "Has something changed? Timur made it clear he doesn't want me setting foot in Bukhara."

A long, hairy arm and hand grasps Paulus' shoulder. "Out, sprout. Go find Asena and tell her where we're going."

"Are you serious? She will bite my head off."

Castor enters the tent as he gives Paulus a wolfish grin. "Nah, she'll just rip your heart out and eat it in front of you. Go on." He shoves a wide-eyed Paulus out the door and kneels down. "Apologies for the early hour," he says as Wysper coaxes the brazier's slumbering coals into life, giving us some light, "but Fenris insists it's important. A merchant from the Empire of the East arrived last night, something to do with checking on Paulus, and closeted himself with Amazonia. Now she wants you to meet with him."

"Did she say why?" Castor shakes his head no, and I add, "What about Timur banning us from Bukhara?"

"Evidently, he's suspended the ban until after the games are finished... though you're specifically prohibited from having either armor or a sword."

I shrug. "Prince Varsena told me he'd have the new sword papa brought, and the armor, transmuted and fitted right after the games are over."

"Speaking of your father, has he left yet?"

I nod. "Last night."

Wysper sits up with the blanket pressed against her chest. "He did say he would return as soon as he could. Castor, am I invited as well?"

He hesitates. "You are, but not by Az. The priestesses of Bukhara want to make you some kind of offer, though Fenris had no idea what it's about."

She trades a look with me before saying, "That sounds suspicious."

"Titan agrees, which is one reason he's coming along as well." Castor gets to his feet. "Get dressed and meet us at the stabling pens. Today should be interesting if nothing else."

I give him a sour look. "Papa says there's a Xian curse that goes: 'May you live in interesting times'." Castor chuckles and walks back outside.

The sun's close to its midday peak as we leave Rocky and the two Warghorses in Bukhara's pens and walk towards the white stone bridge where Fox and Troll are waiting. Titan's already striding towards them with Asena beside him, both of them in armor and carrying the blunted weapons they'll use against each other in tomorrow's combat. Troll glares up at Asena. "By fukin Hel and her handmaidens, what're you doing here? No one invited you."

I lengthen my stride, the others hurrying after me as Asena stops in front of him and laughs. "You gonna stop me, little man? Try it, and we'll see how well you walk with an iron sword shoved up your arse."

"Troll," Fox says in an exasperated voice, "Domina told you to behave. If there's a problem, she'll sort it out."

As I reach them, I ask, "Do you have any idea why Az wants me to meet this merchant, or why the priestesses want Wysper?"

Fox shrugs. "We know about as much as Fenris told you. However, as soon as you reach the 'Direwolf, we're all supposed to sit down in the private room and have a meeting with this merchant, including you, Titan." She looks up at him. "Domina won't say it, but she wants you to spend the night with her."

"I understand," Titan rumbles as he motions towards Bukhara. "Are any of the priestesses coming to escort Wysper?"

"As I understand it, what used to be the Sasnayam's women's quarters in the Temple District has been converted to the Temple of Ishtar, and she's supposed to go straight there." She looks at Wysper. "The streets are safe, now, so you'll be fine."

Wysper, who's wearing warm clothing that Prince Varsena's wife Sorocan gave her, says, "Was the Daemo Sybil the one who invited me?"

Fox shrugs. "Ishtar herself is supposed to be there, but more than that I don't know."

"Then I'll escort my new daughter there," Asena says. "I haven't seen Ishtar in ages."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you again."

Asena snorts. "If Ishtar was a viper, she'd likely spit in my eye. This is going to be fun." Wysper gives me a look that means, 'What am I getting myself into', and I roll my eyes as Asena adds, "Titan, keep Greywolf from doing anything stupid."

I whirl on her. "I do just fine on my own, thank you very much."

Asena only snorts again as Titan smiles. "That will not be a problem. If possible, try not to kill anyone."

"What fun is that?"

Asena gives him a broad wink as Wysper comes into my arms for a brief kiss. "Whatever you decide," I say as I let her go, "I'll back you up."

She blinks. "You will?"

"Of course. I trust your judgment. Love you, Wysp."

She smiles. "Love you back... Woof."

Asena rolls her eyes. "Pet names for each other. Next, it'll be matching tunics. Well, let's go." Asena puts an affectionate arm around Wysper and the two of them walk on, Wysper keeping pace with Asena as we keep pace with Fox.

As we get close to the gatehouse, I glance up at the workers repairing the crumbling brick walls... hold on, they're moving in an odd, jerky way. "Fox, there's something wrong with your laborers. Are they sick?"

"You could say that," Troll replies before she can. I look at him and he grins. "Every one of them has a fatal disease that can't be treated."

Titan grabs Troll by the shoulder and spins him around. "Timur dares to use the dead to rebuild his city?"

"And why not?" Troll hunches his shoulders the same way a real troll does. "It's free labor, they don't eat anything, and they sure don't complain."

"They would if they could," I snap back.

Troll glares at me as Fox says in a soothing voice, "Using the Shamblers is helping the Bukharans rebuild their city better than it's ever been. The people were nervous at first, but they're used to manikins like the ones the mages use, and the Shamblers aren't much different." She shrugs. "Besides, there's nothing any of us can do about it, anyway."

"At the moment," Titan replies. "However, the day will come when Timur loses control of his necromancers, as Ba'al did, and I will be given an army to destroy him." He gives her a hard stare. "You had best pray the Rune sword shatters before then." Titan stalks ahead through the gate; the rest of us share a troubled look, then hurry after him.

The sign for the Dancing Direwolf is gone, replaced by a pair of guards in leather armor with iron rings standing on either side of the door. They nod at Troll as he leads us through the door. "Domina," he calls out, "we're home."

"We're in the private room," she says, and Troll goes through the beaded curtain, the bells jangling as the rest of us follow. Dressed like a man in a tunic and trousers, Az is sitting on a cushion with her back to the wall beside a swarthy man with a long, grey beard and a turban around his head, wearing well made but dusty robes of several colors. A long, low table in front of them holds a tray with ceramic cups and a wine jug. "Greywolf," Az says with a broad smile, "you made it." Her gaze rests firmly on Titan, though, as she adds, "This is Balthazar the merchant, who's actually an agent for the imperial emperor of the east."

"You honor me," the man replies, bowing from a sitting position with his hand pressed to his chest. "In truth I am one of many eyes and ears for the Imperial Spymaster who reports to his Augustus majesty himself, a man who remains in the shadows under the guise of a simple wine merchant."

"A man who gifted me with several casks of northern Italia red wine. Everyone grab a cushion and gather round us while the new girl, who's not a slave anymore so behave with her, pours."

A dark haired young woman with old bruises on her face, wearing a simple linen dress, begins handing out ceramic cups to everyone, including the other Wardogs who come in from the common room as well. I sit across from Az as Titan engulfs two cushions sitting down beside me, Castor taking a seat on my other side. Paulus takes his place beside Az as the Reaver Knight says, "Before we begin, Prince Timur wants no one in this room to talk about his plans for the upcoming campaign to the merchant or anyone else."

"You are moving against the Sasnayam empire in the spring," Balthazar says, "which is all we need to know. Details are unnecessary." The young woman finishes handing out cups and begins pouring red wine as he continues. "As I was telling Amazonia earlier, while the Sasnayams now know their schemes have been foiled, Eurax is unaware of how, shall we say, radically his plans have been altered. As far as he knows, everything is going according to plan."

Titan rumbles, "How can you know that for certain?"

Balthazar gives the Ogri a sly smile. "Because Eurax's spy has been eliminated."

Several voices speak at once. "Spy?" "What Spy?" "Has the mission been compromised?"

Az leans back against the stone wall with a satisfied smile as Balthazar holds up his hands for quiet. "Peace, my friends; all is well. As an agent myself, I am suspicious by nature, so when a strange merchant named Moloch hurried to join our caravan, I warned my guards to be wary. I also pay them well, so when Moloch tried bribing several of them, they pretended to accept his gold before informing me of what he had done."

Titan says, "What did you do?"

The young woman fills my cup and smiles as I thank her, while Balthazar makes an open gesture with his hands. "Invited Moloch and his guards to drink with the rest of us in the fortified caravansary we were staying at. As the wine flowed, an unaltered Daemo in my employ used a cloth soaked with an infusion of Black Lotus petals to overwhelm the lone guard watching over Moloch's room. The Daemo then riffled through the man's belongings and found this."

From under his robes, Balthazar pulls out a sheet of parchment with strange writing on it, and hands it to Titan. The Ogri glances over the parchment and his eyebrows raise. "Ancient Babylonian? This script has been dead for over a thousand years."

"What language better to write out, shall we say, incriminating instructions? My Daemo copied the sheet before putting everything back exactly as it had been found, then placed a mostly empty skin of wine beside the guard to explain his stupor. The Daemo was alive when Babylonia was in its flower, and translated the document for me. After I had read the translation, I immediately burned the copy and arranged for Moloch to have, shall we say, a most unfortunate accident while we were on the road."

Titan's been reading the sheet as Balthazar was talking, and now a dark look comes over his face. "Am I reading this correctly? Eurax wants Little Paulus taken captive and crucified?"

Paulus gasps, and Az puts a protective arm around the boy as Balthazar sighs. "Eurax is, shall we say, a monster incarnate. I questioned Moloch's personal slave after his master's death, and he filled in the gaps the parchment leaves out. Eurax knew he was taking an incredible gamble betraying the Empire of the East, and when the emperor gave custody of Little Paulus to you, he became suspicious."

"But why does he want to kill me?" Paulus asks. "I'm not a threat to him."

Balthazar's face grows sympathetic. "Eurax had, shall we say, quite detailed plans for you, but now those plans have been thwarted. What he cannot have, he would destroy in as painful a method as possible."

"That's never going to happen," Az says in a voice like cold iron. "Nomads," both brothers straightening as she looks at them, "from now on you are both to guard Little Paulus at all times. Are we clear?"

They say in unison, "Yes, Domina."

Paulus wraps his arms around her waist and hugs her. "I love you, Az."

For a long moment, she rests her scarred head on his. "I'm glad someone does." Then she straightens, and he lets go as she gives him a stern look. "From now on, you'll listen sharp to what they say and no more practical jokes I mean it."

Paulus gets a sheepish look and nods, while the other Wardogs laugh except for Troll, who scowls. "It wasn't that funny."

"You really should've seen your face," Dancer replies.

I open my mouth to ask Dancer for the story, but shut it again as Titan looks up from the parchment. "Eurax wants Greywolf taken captive as well and brought to his estate?"

I jerk back, almost splashing my wine. "What? How could he know anything about me? I mean, Muzen didn't even know I existed until I jumped into the fire with both feet."

"That puzzled me as well until I questioned Moloch's slave," Balthazar replies. "Eurax knows nothing about Shadow-walkers except for old legends, but he does know of a silvery-grey haired Celt who entertained merchants by cavorting with Daemo females in a, shall we say, enthusiastic manner." Oh, shite. I groan, and his face becomes sympathetic again. "These shows have become legendary along the caravan routes, and news of them reached Eurax's ears. He told Moloch to search for you as he gathered information about the scheme and looked for Little Paulus, and if you were found, to entice you back to Konstanopolis."

"Or take you prisoner if that failed, according to this sheet," Titan rumbles.

"Wotan's blood, I'm a Shadow-walker. The only substance I can't walk through or escape from is stone."

Balthazar chuckles. "Had he known, Eurax would have given different instructions." He holds up a warning finger. "But make no mistake: Eurax will not give up, not when he can bring, shall we say, such an exotic character such as yourself into his 'menagerie of carnal delights', as the slave described it."

Castor growls, "You're making Greywolf sound like an animal."

Balthazar drains his wine cup and holds it up for a refill. "That is exactly how Eurax sees the people he has control over."

"Maybe so," I reply, "but he's not getting control of me. I mean, that chapter of my life's over for good."

"Only if I win the fight tomorrow," Titan rumbles. "I have confidence in my abilities, yet if she prevails, I fear she will fall back into her old habits."

Shite, he's not the only one worried about that. I feel eyes upon me and glance up at a leering Troll, as he says, "Now you've really got my interest. What kind of carnal cavorting are we talking about?"

I give him a dark look. "I'd bet silver you'd enjoy hearing about them, and gold that you're not going to."

"At least, not from you," Fox says. "Domina, do you remember the Daemo merchant staying at the same inn we were, when we passed through the city of Akhau?"

Az is nodding. "She bought you wine and the two of you spent the evening talking. Was she...?"

"She knows Greywolf and Asena well. For his sake, I will not go into details, except to explain the real reason she paid Asena gold and charged the other merchants the same to watch. You see, every Daemo changed into a female form has the deep desire to wake up bruised and exhausted from being brought to climax so many times that she loses count. To come close to the edge of death, flirting with it like a lover, before drawing away again."

I blurt out, "I never went that far."

Fox turns her wide-eyed, innocent looking gaze on me. "I know you didn't. The Daemo is a merchant, who seeks wealth because it brings her protection, and who has no qualms about her actions with clothing or without. She told you what words she would use among her pleading that would mean to go slower, or to become more savage. To the other merchants, the episode would've seemed wild and out of control, with most of them expecting the Daemo to die and melt away before their eyes. Yet in truth, the episode was as coordinated as a dance." She cocks her head. "Am I right?"

I drain the cup and continue staring at it as I shrug. "Pretty much."

Balthazar says, "Apologies if I sound blunt, but it seems you speak from experience."

"Before I became Domina's Chaldean, I was Lady Jhadra's slave. Among the Daemo, such episodes are considered normal behavior, with elements of it incorporated into the many festivals of the Temple of the Dragon Queen."

"Corrupting the morals of its worshipers."

Fox looks at Titan. "Human morals, not ours. After the festival was over, I was the one who made sure my mistress and the other Daemo females of her circle were bathed and put to bed." Balthazar's frowning, but Fox must understand why, because she's now giving him a sly smile. "You are thinking: why wasn't the slave the one left naked and quivering on the floor, instead of her mistress? You humans will never understand us."

"The Ogri understand you just fine," Titan rumbles. "A Daemo can never love or be trusted."

"You see through eyes forged during the Prince's War," Fox replies as she rises to her feet. "Even without the tattoo, Domina will always be able to trust me for as long as I'm under her protection, as it was with Lady Jhadra. The slave collar was only a formality." She turns towards Az. "Domina, would you like for me to begin preparing the midday meal?"

"If you would," Az replies.

Fox starts towards the kitchen as Troll says, "What about love? Surely in that cold little heart of yours you feel something for me."

"Of course she does," Dancer replies. "Fox has the same love for you as you do for a haunch of roast beast."

All the other Wardogs laugh, including Troll, while Fox stops and turns around with a solemn expression on her face. "The closest thing to love that a Daemo feels, is an intense passion we get when we find a person we can really, and truly, trust. A person who will dance us to the edge of death's abyss, again and again, before bringing us back safe and washed out." Fox turns towards me. "Passion for that person will fill our hearts forever, leaving no room for anyone else to take their place... even if that person will never love us back." The room goes silent as she holds my gaze.

Then Fox turns and walks away.