Page 63 of The Witch who Trades with Death

Chapter Sixty-Three

Khana was certain that the only person having fun on the behemoth was Xopil. He whooped and cheered as they flew. She gripped the back of Athicha’s armor with white knuckles, closing her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see the ground shrinking below them. Sava was stoic behind her but would likely leave bruises on Khana’s waist. Given Itehua’s swearing and Yxe’s hurling, they weren’t having a good time, either.

“Where are we going, serji?” Xopil shouted over the wind.

“Pelete, just over the mountains,” Neta called back. “Scouts say that’s the emperor’s military base.”

That was the town where Khana had found her mountain guide to get her to Pahuuda.

It was cold up here, and while her dress and cloak were enough for the late spring weather on the ground, the wind cut through it like a knife. She hunched down, trying to protect herself with Athicha’s bulk.

She still hadn’t opened her eyes when Itehua casually noted: “So, we’re over the fucking clouds.”

She cracked open one eye, and gasped. They were above the mountains. Stone and snow and wisps of clouds spread out below their feet. Above them, the stars stretched, as untouchable as ever. If Khana leaned her head back, it was like she was swimming in the sky.

There was a beat of silence, eventually broken by Itehua: “Serji, Sava, I was thinking, why stop at the emperor?”

“What?” Neta asked.

“When I was a crime lord, I got into a turf war with a neighboring ring. We tried killing that ring’s boss a few times, but it never worked. Instead, we found where he kept his most valuable assets and burned them. He never stepped on my toes again. Maybe we can do the same here?”

Neta tapped her fingers against her thigh. Sava whispered in Khana’s ear, “Did he just say he was a crime lord?”

Khana nodded as Neta decided: “Killing Yamueto is top priority. But if we get the chance, we’ll do it your way.”

Itehua quietly cheered. Yxe pointed off the left of the behemoth. “We’re here!”

They all peered over the side. The wing disallowed complete sight, but Khana could still see most of the lights of the town. After so long in Pahuuda, it was strange to see so many trees. The black forest and the distressingly huge number of tents that spread out from it swallowed the town. Rows and rows of fire pits cut endless lines through the darkness.

“I almost wish we were doing this in the day,” Sava muttered. “I’d love to see it when it’s all green.”

“Where do we land?” Xopil asked.

“ How do we land?” Itehua demanded.

Neta squinted at the ground. Khana bit her lip, trying to figure out where she would put the monster stables if she were running the camp. The lines of fire sparkled next to a handful of shadows moving in the…

“Northwest corner,” Neta decided. “That’s where the other behemoths are.”

Xopil shifted his weight, and the behemoth responded, going just a little bit lower. Khana stayed very still, hoping to avoid confusing the beast. Xopil shifted further, but that only brought them a few feet lower. Sava’s grip on Khana’s waist tightened, and she couldn’t tell which one of them whimpered as her stomach was left somewhere above.

“Everyone lean forward,” Xopil ordered.

They did. And the creature immediately dove down, charging.

“Lean back! Lean back!”

They moved again. The behemoth stopped its charge, pulling up a couple hundred feet off the ground. Xopil used the reigns to figure out how to get it to land the rest of the way. Athicha twisted to catch Khana’s eye, making a sign even she recognized as sleep .

Right. Chanido would have given her the potion. She closed her eyes and went limp, leaning against Sava.

They hit the ground hard. Someone around them swore. Sava undid his own and Khana’s safety lines, leaned her against Athicha, and slid off.

“Damn, Your Highness. You never land one of these before?” came a voice.

He grunted in the same low pitch as Prince Chanido. “We got the traitor.”

“I see that. The emperor’s expecting her,” a guard said.

“Where?”

A puzzling pause. “The lord’s house, of course. Did you think he moved?”

Another grunt. “Thought this would be public.”

“I’m glad it won’t be.”

Itehua’s hands had the faintest shake as he helped Sava slide Khana off the saddle. Khana kept herself limp as Sava carried her bridal-style, but she took a small peek at her surroundings. It was hard to see, with it being night, but there were a lot of soldiers on patrol, or laughing and drinking in the streets. A handful of civilians mingled with them, and she couldn’t tell if their laughter was forced or true. After so long in stone homes, she’d almost forgotten that buildings could be made of wood. Now, it just seemed like a fire hazard.

The imperial soldiers took the reins and led the behemoth away. When it didn’t move fast enough, one of them took a whip and lashed at its face. “Move, you idiot!”

The behemoth growled. The man whipped it again, and it hunched in on itself, giving a pitiful whine.

Xopil stopped. Khana gritted her teeth. “Come on, darling, there’s nothing you can do,” Lueti muttered.

Itehua smacked his shoulder and pushed him forward. “They’ll get what’s theirs.”

They got a couple of stares – either because of the presence of a fully-armored prince or because of Khana, she didn’t know – so she quickly closed her eyes again, feigning unconsciousness. Stay still. Don’t move.

The sound of footsteps changed, going from dirt to wood, the cool night air replaced by the warmth of a hearth. Sava quietly asked someone where the emperor was. They walked some more. Then a bored, awfully familiar voice said, “Excellent work, Antallo. Set her down there.”

Ah, Yamueto. You never could remember anyone’s name.

Sava set her on the wooden floor, against the wall. He hovered.

Liquid was poured. Wine?

“You’re dismissed,” Yamueto said.

Khana’s heart skipped a beat. She cracked open one eye.

Neta moved first, slamming her fist into Yamueto’s throat. He staggered back, and everyone else pounced.

Lueti, Yxe, and Itehua drew their swords and swung wildly, slashing at the emperor and his guards – two were with him, fighting back and doing their best to protect him. More guards from the hall burst in, drawn to the fighting, and ran right into Xopil, Athicha, and Sava’s blades. Khana jumped to her feet, grabbing the knife from her boot and running for Yamueto, hidden in the mass of bodies. She had to make sure he was dead, that he stayed down –

“Lueti!” Neta shouted.

Khana looked back. Lueti had dropped. And one of the Reguallian guards glowed.

Witch bodyguards, Khana realized, changing course. Lueti couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t.

Neta dropped to a knee, the witch nearest to her starting to glow. Khana barreled into him, stabbing him in the gut again and again with her knife and breathing in his life force.

Sava took his sword and lopped off his head, staggering against the wall as soon as he did, weak and faint.

More people poured into the room, clashing with Khana, Neta, Athicha, and Sava, or pushing past them entirely. Khana breathed in as much aji as she could, but the witches fought her for it. She managed to bring another one down, slitting his throat and draining him the whole way, when Neta hit the floor and did not get up.

“Serji!” She surged forward, trying to reach her. One of the witch-guards snatched her, twisting her arm behind her back and bringing her down. Her hand spasmed, dropping the knife.

Sava brought his sword down on the man’s head, splitting it vertically from forehead to neck. Khana shoved the corpse off her, only to be tackled again while another witch slammed Sava into the wall.

Athicha managed to cut off a guard’s leg before a second disarmed them. Hissing, they lunged, scratching and punching before the soldier bashed them into the floor, sucking out their life force.

“Enough!”

Everyone froze at Yamueto’s yell.

Khana’s heart dropped as she finally got a good look at the carnage. Yamueto stood, his clothing bloodied and torn, but he was alive and whole. The half dozen witch guards around him were no longer glowing – all extra aji clearly funneled into him.

A handful of guards and all Poison Darts lay still at their feet.

Sava was pinned to the wall. Yamueto removed his helmet and studied his face. “You are not Chanido.”

“ Now you know his name?” Sava sneered.

Yamueto shrugged, then looked down at Khana. She gritted her teeth, holding back her tears even with the corpses of her friends surrounding her. They’d failed. They’d all failed. But Yamueto wasn’t getting anymore of her tears.

“Death, I wish to–”

Quick as a snake, the guard pinning her to the floor covered her mouth, gagging her. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t get free enough to speak.

Yamueto was still alive. Would remain alive. Was… now laughing.

Khana blinked, shifting her head as much as the other witch would allow to check that she wasn’t hearing things. The soulless emperor gave a big-bellied laugh that almost tipped him over. She had never heard him laugh before. It terrified her.

“Oh, Khana,” he giggled. “Every time I think I have you figured out, you surprise me once again.”

“Are you all right, Your Excellency?” one of the witches asked, clearly as unnerved by this as Khana was.

He waved a hand. “I’m quite fine. Are these invaders still breathing?”

“Most of them are,” someone said.

Khana stilled. There was a chance.

Yamueto smirked. “Bring me my new toy.”

One of the guards left. Khana looked around the room, trying to find a new way out. The space was small, barely containing the near-twenty people within it. There was only one door, and the windows were mere slits, too small to squeeze through. It might have once been an office, or a bedroom, but was left almost completely bare, with one small table in the corner that held the wine pitcher and goblet, miraculously untouched by the scuffle.

The guard eventually returned with something – some one .

She had expected some sort of torture device. Maybe a potion that alchemists claimed to be a truth serum. But the man who squeezed into the room carried nothing. And her heart jumped to her throat.

“Haz?” Sava breathed.

He wore the Ghuran armor he’d died in. Not a scratch on him. They’d cleaned him up; even his normally messy hair was neat and combed out. But he stood perfectly still, perfectly silent, and his eyes were pure white.

Khana’s insides froze.

“You turned him into a night creature?” Sava said frostily.

“These two seemed so close,” Yamueto replied mildly, motioning to Haz and Khana. “I wanted to see why. Let her up but keep her restrained. If she says a word, kill one of her companions. If she speaks again, kill another.”

The two witch guards hauled her to her feet, keeping her pinned in place between them. Khana clenched her jaw but didn’t speak.

Sava was escorted out, needing to lean on his two guards while their companions carried out the unconscious Athicha and Poison Dart Frogs.

Yamueto was last to leave, stopping to put a knife in Haz’s hands. “Hurt her for as long as she’s conscious, but don’t kill her.”

The night creature wearing Haz’s face nodded.

“You two.” He pointed to the two witches holding Khana. “You’ll report how much she struggles. If she makes it difficult, I’ll turn one of her other friends into a night creature and have them take their turn, starting with the youngest.”

“Yessir.”

Khana gulped. The door closed and locked behind the emperor.