King of Ashes

For the deepest secret of the Kingdom of Night was that, beyond its islands, it represented the largest, most extensive criminal empire on Garn. Coaltachin was not a kingdom, as there was no king, but it was ruled by a council of seven masters, each of whom controlled a ‘family’. Within these families were the regimes who directed many gangs across many cities.

Council titles usually passed from family member to family member – unless a family was displaced by another, more powerful family, often at the cost of bloodshed and the creation of factions; this organization had been formed to settle such disputes and, most important of all, to protect an ancient way of life. Master Zusara was the final arbiter for issues that the Council was unable to settle, and while masters might contest with one another, all united against outsiders.

Criminal activity provided the island nation with the bulk of its wealth, but the agents sent around the world to work on behalf of distant rulers, or affluent merchants, provided the most vital commodities: they uncovered critical economic and political intelligence before anyone else; they produced significant riches, for the services of the island nation did not come cheaply; but their most important commodity of all was information, and their most potent weapon was fear. Those above who were crew bosses and regime bosses were sicari. Not only the best fighters, they had to be smart enough to command criminals and maintain effective control over their gangs.

Above the sicari were the nocusara. The term meant ‘invisible’, ‘hidden’, or ‘unseen’ and was reserved for only the most skilled sicari, those who achieved the highest level of training and trust. They were the legendary ghost warriors: the assassins, spies, and agents of the Kingdom of Night who could enter any building, no matter how well guarded, and take the life of any ruler. They were the agents who diverted information and gained some nobles power over their rivals. Most of their reputation was due to clever planning, theatrical tricks, and selecting agents who were suited and trained for specific tasks. While not supernatural beings, the nocusara were among the finest-trained assassins and warriors on Garn, the very best of the sicari.

The Kingdom of Night relied on its reputation, well earned by the Quelli Nascosti and their sicari, but for the most part it was a nation of thugs, bandits, confidence tricksters, thieves, and smugglers. Practically none of the significant criminal activity across the eastern half of North Tembria or the northeast quadrant of South Tembria, or even in the Ten Thousand Islands, was undertaken without Coaltachin’s notice or participation. And none of it occurred without their tacit approval.

As was his nature, Hatu had countless questions, but painful experience had taught him to keep them to himself unless an opportunity for him to ask without repercussions presented itself. Master Bodai’s playful reference to Donte’s behaviour was not permission to press forward with unwelcome questions, and might even have been a test of some sort; the masters and preceptors often lured students into logic or behaviour traps to judge, correct, or punish as the situation warranted.

Bodai said, ‘We shall wait here, though I think not for too long. A day or two more; perhaps one or two beyond that.’ He looked around and said, ‘But tonight we shall act like dutiful members of a questionable sect under the fastest-rising power in this world. And also we need to eat.’ He looked at Hatu. ‘Bowl?’

Hatu pulled open his go-bag and withdrew a simple wooden bowl, slightly flatter and wider than a soup bowl. He had used it for his meals, but it now became his beggar’s bowl.

‘We shall begin the mummery in earnest tomorrow.’ Bodai threw some small coins into the bowl. ‘There is a larger square three streets west of here, the second largest in this city, and at the northwest corner you’ll find an alehouse. It is not one of ours, but we have agents there. Should anything befall me, that is where you must go and ask for a man called Luke. Do you know what to say to him?’

Hatu nodded once. ‘I’m travelling from an island to the east.’

Bodai smiled. That was the correct code to identify someone from Coaltachin in need of assistance.

‘Do not go there for any other reason, unless you are in dire need.’ Sitting back, ignoring the soot on the wall behind him, Bodai slapped both hands on his knees. ‘To the south of there, across the mouth of the most northwestern street and three doors down, is a bakery. There, you will haggle for a bit with the owner for a loaf of bread – he makes an excellent one with rosemary and a hint of garlic – and as you return, you’ll pass a cheese vendor. Buy something not too far gone, with only a bit of mould, and finally get a skin of wine. Manage that on the coins I gave you.’

Hatu glanced at the sky and saw it was barely past noon. ‘How long should I linger, brother?’

‘As long as it takes to overhear gossip, discover interesting rumours, or ascertain anything of value. Now go!’

Hatu gripped his beggar bowl and said, ‘Yes, brother,’ and was off.

HATUSHALY WANDERED WITH PURPOSE, CHANGING his walking pace and never lingering overly long in one spot. The market was a fair size; he could weave his way completely through it in slightly over an hour. He moved neither too fast nor too slowly, careful not to attract attention, and knew better than to approach any merchant’s stall too closely. A beggar boy near to their wares would instantly draw scrutiny from any experienced merchant, for the grab-and-dash was a constant threat they endured. The more valuable goods were always placed near the back of the booths; some merchants organized their tables into open squares, so you had to enter the stall to fully inspect the merchandise, while smaller stalls with a single table front challenged a thief to reach to the back of the booth to steal the better-quality goods, an action sure to bring a club or blade crashing down on all but the quickest miscreants before they could escape.

Hatu also made a quick surveillance of the area of the city between the plaza with its market and the main road that ran up the hill to the citadel where the cathedral was under construction. From the northeast corner of the square, the road wended its way upwards, doubling back and rising rapidly from the northern edge of the plaza; it was fenced or walled until it reached the edge of the grounds abutting the old castle. The main road was busy, and from what he had learned, the establishments closest to the old castle were likely to be the oldest and most successful, for their proprietors could quickly retreat into the castle if the city were attacked, while those below were more likely to be sacked.

Hatu’s first impression of this city was reinforced by the mood and manner of the people in the market. Too many watchmen patrolled the area, and when he passed one of them Hatu did his best to imitate a local going about his business, but if it was safe, he watched the crowd. He looked for vantage points where he could pause for a few minutes and observe. There was no hint of joy in the noise surrounding him. In most open markets you would hear the occasional laugh, or the sound of music if entertainers were earning coins, but here in Sandura the population seemed suspicious, as if constantly under watch, and by now Hatu was of the opinion that they were.

Finishing up his last task, finding an inexpensive but palatable wine, he began his journey back to Bodai, constantly observing as much as possible. For once he was pleased Donte was not with him. Subtlety was not among his friend’s good qualities; he seemed to have a need to call attention to himself at the worst possible moments. It was as if Donte couldn’t stand quiet. Hatu wondered how he would do once he left the school; he didn’t seem to fit the role of sicari. Perhaps Donte would do well in the more traditional, if modest, army of the Coaltachin nation. Or perhaps he would rise to be a regime captain, responsible for running multiple crews in one or more cities.

Hatu would have welcomed Hava’s company. She had an almost perfect set of abilities and a even-tempered nature that would serve a mission like this well. Her presence both calmed and excited him, and lately his feelings towards her were becoming more complicated. She had been his friend and confidante for almost a lifetime, but she confused him. He didn’t know if she understood him or simply accepted him. In an environment where everyone had tried to either change him or find his flaws, she had taken him just as he was.

He’d been with girls before: the town girls were more than pleased to have sex with the students, for the chance to become the wife of a captain, or even a master, was perhaps their only opportunity to rise in station above their parents. Hatu never heard of it happening, but the daydream lived on. But his feelings for Hava were more complicated than simple desire. He struggled to put a name to them, though familiarity and comfort were there. He felt a growing desire, but students were not permitted to have sex with each other. Such attachments were forbidden, and should a talented girl like Hava become pregnant, the boy involved would be given a death sentence.

Hatu pushed Hava out of his mind as he realised he was becoming distracted. He paused to look around and take stock of what he had missed, then returned to the task at hand. Circling back through the market to where he’d started, having found nothing noteworthy to report, he finally reached the burned-out temple, where he found Brother Chasper dozing. However, as he neared, Hatu saw it was a ruse; Master Bodai had been watching the passing traffic closely. Without looking up, he asked, ‘Anything?’

Hatu shook his head. ‘Nothing unusual: normal market commerce, people arguing, others speaking of family, business, gossip.’ He shrugged.

‘Ah,’ said the older man, making a show of awakening. ‘Good, I am hungry.’

‘Shall I find wood for a fire?’ asked Hatu.

Shaking his head, Bodai said, ‘Cold camp tonight. Besides, nothing we have needs cooking.’

Hatu had the merchant wrap the bread and cheese in stiff paper that rustled loudly as he unfolded it into a makeshift platter. Without a word, Bodai took the small slice of cheese and broke it in half, tore off a large hunk of bread, and began eating.

The meal passed with little conversation, as Bodai was intent on studying those who passed on the road as the late afternoon wore on to evening. Hatu drank sparingly of the wine. He honestly couldn’t tell if it was good or not, as drinking wine and other spirits was still new to him, and he had a slight dread of becoming intoxicated. He hated the feeling of being out of control.

As they finished their scant meal, Bodai said, ‘How do you feel about some after-dark prowling?’

Hatu smiled. The old man wasn’t asking if he was willing but informing him of what he would be doing. ‘That should depend on where you’re sending me.’

Without a word, Bodai looked above the building across the street and Hatu realised he was about to be sent to investigate the new cathedral next to the palace, and its surroundings, perhaps inside the citadel itself should he find a way in. He took a breath to calm himself and began mentally retracing his steps through the city leading to the road up to the old castle. Now he wished he had paid a little more attention to the route.

EARLIER IN THE DAY, HATU had chanced a quick journey up the road leading to the plateau above the city. For this evening’s foray, he hurried past a row of businesses preparing to shut down for the night and quickly entered a shop near the top of the winding road leading up to the palace, one that was about to close. He wanted to avoid attracting the attention of the guards at the end of the road, denying them a glimpse of anyone unusually close to their post.

Hatu nodded to the vendor of fine cloth and glanced around for a moment as the merchant narrowed his gaze at the scruffy-looking lad; then, with a smile, Hatu darted back through the door, hugging the wall and insinuating himself between this building and the next. He crouched and glanced around, hoping his movement hadn’t been seen in the failing light.

The bored-looking guards showed no sign of having spotted him, as they chatted about something across the distance between them – one stationed on each side of the gate – their subject unintelligible to Hatu. He studied closely what he had only glanced at for a few seconds earlier in the day.

A gate and a cleared area of ground lay before the entrance to the citadel. The ancient stone walls sat a good distance from the edge of the plateau. Hatu had been taught some military history and theory, so he assumed there was a reason for that clearing but had no idea what it was. He imagined that it might be transformed into a road leading to the cathedral, but he knew nothing about engineering, so how that could be achieved was a question he would have to ponder another time, should such curiosity return to visit him.

He had difficulty understanding the differences between temples, churches, and cathedrals, all of which seemed interchangeable in his mind; they were all places people went to worship. Their size, if anything, seemed to have significance. Hatu had seen a few temples in out-of-the-way places, a couple of which had still been in use, and for the most part they were modest buildings, perhaps as large as a decent inn. A few had even been small enough to be called shrines, with just a roof and a single bench. Churches were not much bigger but tended to be far gaudier, from what he could remember. The cathedral on the plateau, however, seemed to be a massive undertaking.

One point of its construction struck Hatu as odd: a tower had been built that seemed to look down into the old marshalling yard on the east side of the palace. He felt an itch of annoyance that some key information was evading him and pushed it aside to concentrate on the task at hand: to get past the guards at the gate. Slipping past them would be impossible. The gate was closed for the night, and had a door in it that only one person at a time could pass through.

Hatu looked back along the narrow passage between the two buildings and saw a crate nestled against the side of the next building. He could easily use it to jump to the roof.

He had run rooftops before, though he had no love for it, especially alone and in the dark. The crate seemed providential, as he had no companions to boost or catch him. He wasn’t completely certain, but he thought he could clear the gaps between the buildings to reach the last roof before the gate.

The tricky part of roof jumping was the landing. To aim for the peak of the roof was ideal, as it would be braced and solid. Stories were told in school about students crashing through thin thatch with no support, old flimsy tiles, or even thin sheets of wood. But the problem with aiming for the peak was that it was a narrow target, often mere inches wide, and missing it, losing your balance, and rolling off the eaves was as bad an outcome as crashing through the roof.

A successful landing on any roof could be noisy, so it had been drilled into him only to try that if he was running for his life. Some stone tiles were tricky, as well. Nailed shingles were best. He had studied the rooftops earlier in the day as a matter of habit and those along this street seemed to be heavy tiles or wooden shingles, so he thought he had a good chance to reach the cathedral this way.

He hurried to the crate, saw it was sturdy wood, and easily gained the top of the first roof. There were four more houses and he crouched low, timed his first jump, and landed as silently as he could, very close to the peak. While it sounded a little too loud to him, Hatu realised anyone not standing directly below where he’d landed was unlikely to have noticed the noise.

Hatu reached the edge of the penultimate roof and judged the distance to the last. He realised it was only slightly further than takeoff to landing in a yard game he had played when he was younger; he reconsidered his run and jump, took two steps back, and executed a simple hop, squat, and jump, and landed with both feet squarely on the peak of the final roof with barely a sound.

Feeling uncharacte‌ristically smug for a moment, Hatu tiptoed quickly along the peak and reached the end of the roof. In times past, a wall might have existed along the edge of the plateau, long since torn down as the city erected more distant outer walls. Nothing remained but some irregular mounds, probably foundation stones covered by centuries of earth, rising and falling at irregular intervals.

The remaining wall lay across the road, complete with a massive gate and guards. The building Hatu stood upon constituted a barrier blocking access to the citadel.

He judged the width of the wall that almost abutted the building, to see where he might land safely, but those points were too far away to make any reasonable attempt at jumping down.

He reversed his position and lowered himself to hang from the eaves, then dropped, remaining as silent as possible. He bent his knees when he landed and continued into a low crouch, turning to look at the guards by the gate.

Hatu had landed where the corner of the building almost met the gate wall. A small child might have been able to slip through the gap, but not a grown man. He assumed that the remaining gate was for local security, not military defence, for an invading army would have had to fight its way through the entire city to reach this position, and levelling the house behind him would most certainly take less time than battering down that old gate with a ram.

He looked at the rear of the building, suddenly concerned about how he was going to get back to Bodai, and realised that a pile of refuse and broken masonry had created a makeshift wall between where he stood near the edge of the building and the edge of the plateau. Hatu tried to inspect it as best he could in the dim light of the gate lamps and soon hoped that he did not have to depart in a hurry. Then he spied a sturdy-looking small crate, or more correctly a large wooden box. He gingerly moved towards it, as he had no idea what he might be stepping on among the debris, and his role as a beggar boy demanded he wear poor footwear. He was relieved to find the box met his requirements; it was sturdy enough that he could stand on it and boost himself back onto the roof when he needed to take his leave.

Hatu removed it as quietly as he could, hoisted it over his head, and slowly returned to the edge of the building, keeping the closest guard in sight through the narrow gap as best he could. He was far enough away from the corner of the gate wall that as long as the guard didn’t completely turn around Hatu would remain unseen. All he needed to do was not make any noise, Hatu reminded himself. The guard looked half-asleep and Hatu could hear him muttering with his companion on the other side of the gate, though he still couldn’t make out the words.

Hatu reached the wall and set the crate down. Moving back a step, he judged that if he got a decent start he could hop on the crate and reach the eaves; then he’d be able to pull himself up to the roof. He let out a breath of relief, though he still wondered how quietly he could accomplish the feat. Then again, he considered, if he was in a hurry, stealth was probably not required.

He glanced around, considering how best to get nearer to the cathedral. He’d already risked tripping over debris and building materials, so he thought staying as far away from the building as he could and seeking a clear route to it was best. He made his way slowly to the verge of the plateau, painfully aware that the rooftops below, hidden in the darkness, were far enough down to ensure his rapid demise should he slip. The light from the castle walls, cast by torches set about ten feet apart, provided little illumination, and the half-built cathedral looked like some ill-defined monster crouching in the darkness. It was cool and damp, as the ocean air brought in enough mist to make seeing more difficult than usual. Good for escaping detection, but terrible for finding one’s way.

Hatu wondered what possible reason Bodai had for sending him up here, unless he was trying to get his student caught, for Hatushaly saw no opportunity to observe the citadel at this point and the cathedral appeared empty. He supposed the old master wanted him to crawl around the half-finished building in case secret rooms or strange additions were being built, but how he was supposed to recognise them was a mystery to Hatu. He knew nothing of construction, never having apprenticed in any of the building trades, save occasionally helping to repair a hut in a village, and beyond personal instruments of combat, large weaponry was as much of a mystery to him as masonry and scaffolding. He could have tripped over an unassembled ballista and had no idea what it was. And one empty room looked much like another, rarely revealing any special purpose.

A large pallet of masonry, a table, and a huge box of tools and supplies lay between Hatu and the completed entrance to the cathedral. Below the table, which was empty, sat a long box containing papers that Hatu assumed were plans for the cathedral. For a moment he considered inspecting them as best he could in the faint light from the street below, though he doubted he would learn much. Never having worked around this scale of building, he’d never studied plans before. He considered taking them, then decided it was better to leave them undisturbed. Hatu was wondering about the safest way to creep into the building site when he heard a voice call out faintly.

Hatu ducked behind the tall stack of facing stones – marble or granite slabs, he couldn’t be sure which – and heard the voice grow louder as someone approached. It was calling out a name. He chanced a quick glance and saw one man approaching from the keep and another exiting the cathedral to greet him. When they met, he could make out what was being said, but Hatu didn’t recognise the language. It was naggingly familiar, a few words here and there were almost recognisable, but he was not able to grasp what was said.

Again, Hatu glanced around the corner of the stone blocks and saw the two men pause and continue their conversation before the half-constructed entrance to the cathedral. One carried a partially shuttered lantern, emitting just enough light to let them step safely through the clutter of rock and debris, but not easily spied from any distance.

Hatu shivered as he realised that the style of one of the two men – dark clothing, head covering, and soft footwear – looked familiar. He looked like a sicari!

His companion seemed to be wearing something akin to the fashion of the church official he and Bodai had met at the docks.

Hatu remained motionless and hoped he did nothing to betray his presence. If there were sicari here, he would be dead the moment they discovered him.

The two men entered the cathedral, and when they had disappeared into the darkness Hatu crouched low and forced himself to be calm. He concentrated on slowing his breathing, which in turn slowed his heart, which had for a few moments felt as if it were about to burst through his chest. As he relaxed, he recognised just how close he had come to panic. Without his training, he most likely would have been dead now.

Hatu considered his options. He could return at once and inform Bodai of what he had seen, but he knew that the old master would ask many questions for which he had no answers, and he would, in all likelihood, be ordered to return. He realised he had only one option.

Hatu continued trying to stay composed. He had no idea if the two men were already deep within the structure or just inside the entrance, so he ruled out following them directly through the dark, half-finished doorway and instead moved quickly and silently to crouch behind a segment of unfinished wall on the right side of the door. He heard the voices fading and the faint tread of boots on the stone floor as the two men walked deeper into the cathedral.

Hatu took a step to his left and peered in at the corner of the cathedral doorway. When it was completed, Hatu imagined the frame would be hung with some massive wooden thing, at least twenty feet across, given the size of the opening. The faint light from the men’s lanterns was moving further away, indicating that the two men were moving deeper inside the massive building.