Desertion, part two
Maya fights to the death for the title of Tsar
This week we continue The Great Fire with Desertion, part two. Read part one and see Maya agree to fight the champion of Molinos for the title of Tsar.
The Great Fire is designed to be read in any order but you can catch up on the previous stories here:
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Desertion
Part Two
If you believe in the Horashi, then you believe that your life isn’t your own. The Horashi are Gods of Death, ferrymen between this world and the next. Through the centuries they’ve grown bored with their role and played with the fates of the living. They walked among their people and learned about them, making friends with those they liked and marking the names of those they didn’t.
If you believe in them, you may pray for mercy or make a sacrifice in their name for good luck. If you believe in them, you keep apples in your house and set aside wine for their pleasure.
Maya had never believed in the Horashi but she prayed to them that night before she fought for her life. She prayed to the Horashi of Teron from her childhood and the Horashi of Molinos, just in case. She had nothing to sacrifice and nothing to offer other than her words. But even though the Horashi are Gods, stronger than she could ever imagine, they were curious beings and prone to flattery.
So she stood behind a cluster of houses in the dark of Molinos, with the moon as her only witness, and whispered the names of her kin that would have been ferried to the next life in the hopes that they would notice her. She marked an X in the ground where she stood to guide them to her before she knelt down on the sand of the desert to speak her favour:
‘I, Mayanthrel, beg for your service. Spare me in this fight against the champion and I will give my life with King Favian’s. Grant me time and I will bring you two souls and pay for both myself. Grant me time to correct my wrongs.’
She continued to kneel on the ground once she was finished, unsure what to do next. Was she waiting for something? Or was nothing a stronger sign of their help? She was about to give up entirely but a final word was nearly pulled from her lips, finishing her prayer.
‘Please,’ she whispered. In barely a breath she felt the presence of someone behind her and heard the ruffle of clothes settling in the breeze.
‘Interesting,’ said the voice behind her. ‘I never would have thought I’d be hearing from you.’
Maya didn’t dare turn around. It could have been a passer-by that heard her prayer and decided to play a trick on her. But she knew that couldn’t be true - she recognised the voice from somewhere. It was the voice from a distant memory or just a familiar sound from a dream. It should have been comforting but she felt her body tense, sensing the trap that she couldn’t see.
She waited for them to speak again, afraid that she might scare them aware with any sudden movements.
‘Hmm...’ he said. ‘Well, you know that we can’t take you before your time.’ And she did know that. Suddenly she was aware that she had always known that.
She nodded, still too cautious to speak.
‘Then asking this favour is pointless if it is not your time to go,’ he continued. ‘But, of course… if it is your time, then you need me to accept your request so that you can survive. But that would be quite pricey wouldn’t it. Maybe even a whole finger. And I do like my fingers. They’re great for pointing things out like stupid choices or bad decisions. Oh this is hard. What. Will. I. Do.’ He was toying with her, she realised. Waiting for her to bargain. But she had nothing else to offer.
‘Please,’ she whispered.
‘You already said that,’ he said, as he stomped his foot on the ground.
‘Favian has to be stopped.’
‘Yes he is a bit of a prick, isn’t he.’
‘In more ways than one,’ she said, which sent the Horashi cackling. The laughter circled her until she realised that they were now standing directly in front of her.
‘I forgot about that tongue of yours,’ he said.
Maya couldn’t help it, she peaked her eyes open and spied the Horashi crouched down in front of her.
‘HA!’ He cried when he saw her. ‘I knew you would peak. Everyone always does – well? How do I look?’ He stretched to his full height and Maya couldn’t help but gasp - he must have been eight feet tall.
At first she saw her loved ones. She blinked and he was her father, she blinked again and he was Rodyn. But then he settled into his own body and she saw him completely. He broad shoulders atop his light, svelte frame. His hair was black but trimmed close or maybe just pulled from its roots.
He was both beautiful and terrifying at the same time, as if he hadn’t quite chosen how he wanted her to feel about him. He was in control of what she saw and he was waiting for her to reply.
‘Magnificent,’ she said.
‘Obviously,’ he said and fixed his form so that she could breathe again. He watched her, deep in thought, weighing the options of her offer. Then he began to dance around Maya, flailing his arms around as if to shake out the solution. When he was ready he jumped down in front of her, his face a hand’s length from hers. Maya could smell the sour apples on his breath but she refused to meet his eye. She couldn’t bear it if he said no. ‘I’m just not sureee. Even if I spared your life today, do you have what it takes to bring me Favian? He’s cheated us both once before, what makes you think that you can defeat him now?’
His doubt was too close to Maya’s own but the words shook any hold it had over her. Of course she would defeat Favian. She had nothing left to lose and everything to prove. Maya lifted her gaze and stared into his yellow lash-less eyes as she made her vow.
‘Make the deal or don’t but I will not beg for you to believe me. I will kill King Favian. If you will not help me, stop wasting my time.’
‘HA – there you go again.’ His smile stretched his lips across sharp, pointed teeth; breaking his skin where small rivulets of black blood began to run.
‘Do we have a deal?’ She said.
‘Deal,’ he said. She took his hand and shook it once. He pulled her close so that he could whisper in her ear. ‘Some advice before I go. What should anyone do before a Queen?’ Maya waited: ‘Kneel.’
‘Maybe this is a bad idea,’ said Maya as he released her. The Horashi’s laugh gurgled up his throat.
‘Naww come on! This will be fun,’ he said. ‘Trust me.’
‘I have no other choice,’ she said.
‘Keep an eye out for me. We’ll meet again.’ He disappeared in a blink and Maya was left staring at the desert. She was worried that she had just made the worst deal of her life but it was too late.
Maya groaned as she got to her feet, feeling her sixty-six years of age burn through her knees. When she turned back to the city of Molinos there was a young woman waiting for her.
‘When was the last time you ate?’ She crooned and took Maya’s hand, guiding her back to her tent before she could reply. This could only be the work of the Horashi, she thought and she didn’t question it further. She needed all the help she could get.
The streets were full of noise with people celebrating the challenge to come. A fight to the death was common excitement from the sounds of the it. There were performers spitting fire and pub patrons that had spilled out onto the streets to join them.
It was the kind of celebrating that leads to riots after too much drink. Saf ruled this kingdom of chaos and Maya realised that even if she did defeat her Champion, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to be Tsar.
No. She had no more time for doubts.
She had to win the fight because she needed the book that Saf had stolen. The one that could change the fate of King Favian and name her the Killer of Kings. Once she had changed the fate, she could defeat Favian and take back her kingdom.
She had to.
She had just made a deal with death after all.
The woman pulled aside the door to her tent and led Maya inside to a warm hearth. She poured her a bowl of stew and ripped a wedge of bread to go along with it.
‘Eat,’ she said. ‘Then sleep. I’ll wake you when I must.’ She had no reason to trust this woman and knew nothing of her motives. But she took her offer regardless. She devoured the food where it warmed her belly and she barely made it to the pillow before she was overcome with sleep.
The arena was built for death but Maya had to admit, it was built well. The stands could fit thousands and every seat had a view of the arena floor. She had seen arena’s before, of course, but they were smaller than this and made for theatre.
This was designed to trap the opponents inside.
Iron gates were dropped into place behind her as Maya entered and she walked to the centre of the sand-floor that was stained with blood from previous challenges. The stands were full and their voices raged for the Champion.
Saf took her seat half way up the stands in a private box set for her and two guards on each side. She waved to the crowd and they roared with delight - ready to begin. She held her hands up and they fell quiet.
‘Maya, Queen of Nothing,’ she shouted. ‘You are here to challenge my Champion for my title.’
‘I am,’ said Maya.
‘You are aware it is a fight to the death and blood will soak the sands of our blessed arena.’
‘I am.’
‘Then I present my Champion!’ The shouts of the crowd drowned all other sounds as the Champion’s gate opened.
He wasn’t the biggest man Maya had ever seen but he did manage to make her feel small. No, not small. Weak. He carried his axe as if it were a fork and each step in the sand she imagined could break bone. She could see what this fight would look like to the audience around them. People would be predicting that it would end quickly and wondering if it was even worth the attention at all.
They were each allowed to hold one weapon at the start of the match but were allowed to grab as many as they wished as soon as the match began. There were stations of weapons at the sides but Maya could see lines in the sand next to them that told her trap doors were holding something back. The dagger she had chosen was dwarfed in comparison to the axe of her opponent but it was sharpened to a gleaming point.
The Champion stopped ten feet from Maya and waited for the signal to begin. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. The crowd had become a chorus but Maya still heard Saf’s cry:
‘Begin!’
The Champion covered the distance between them in two steps and whirled his axe through the air towards her. It happened so quickly that Maya was frozen in place. There was only just enough time for her to lean away from the blade. He was undeterred and landed with a thump in front of her. He elbowed her in the face where the axe should have struck and her nose broke with a crunch.
She fell back two steps and he continued on. He punched her again and this time she fell to the floor, winded and unable to get to her feet. She gripped her weapon with the little ounce of hope that she had left.
He came next to her and glared down with distain - it was too easy for him.
‘Pathetic,’ he said.
He held the axe above his head and started jeering to the crowd, rallying them to shout his name. Maya was seeing stars around her. Her head was throbbing and she could feel the blood trickling from her nose. Deal or not. It was all over.
Then she remembered the Horashi’s advice:
What should anyone do before a Queen?
Maya eyed the man next to her, his legs browned from countless hours in the sun. With the last of her strength she hauled herself onto her elbows and sliced the back of his knees, causing him to collapse in front of her in shouts of pain.
She didn’t have long but she managed to push herself to her feet and with the Champion kneeling in front of her, he no longer seemed like much of a threat.
‘Pathetic,’ she mocked and pushed her dagger’s point through his neck until it came out the other side.
The arena fell quiet as blood bubbled through the wound and Maya pushed him to the ground.
She had won.
Heads turned from Maya to Saf on her throne, unsure how to react. Maya half expected her to launch the city into attack. To hells with the bargain they had made.
But she underestimated the Tsar. Saf began a slow clap and the arena erupted into applause.
‘Bring me the Champion!’ Cried Saf as she disappeared inside. Guards ran onto the arena floor to escort her. Maya wiped the blade of blood and sheathed it at her hip, ready to claim her new Kingdom.
Two guards escorted Maya to meet Saf and claim her title. They wound their way through the bowels of the arena to a hidden, private room. Maya spied stairs that descended into a tunnel, no doubt an escape route for the Tsar should the people turn. Or perhaps a secret route to the Citadel that was higher up the hill.
They had barely entered the room when Maya was grabbed from behind by one of the guards and held in place.
‘Stop!’ She cried. ‘I demand you to stop!’ But they didn’t listen. Another guard came forward and pulled up the sleeve on her arm, which was when she saw Saf step into view with a blazing iron in her hand.
‘Enough,’ said Maya. ‘I won. We agreed!’
‘Shhhhh,’ said Saf. ‘This is going to hurt like all hells.’ With no way to stop her, Saf pressed the iron against Maya’s lower arm. The pain was so intense - she had never screamed that way before. Her head wound still pounding and she could feel herself grow limp under the pain. She was going to pass out or die all together.
She had survived the battle but there was no way that she was going to endure this.
Saf removed the iron with a smile and Maya let the guards hold her on her feet while she caught her breath. Her vision had begun to blur and when she looked up to Saf she saw the Horashi who had accepted her bargain standing over her.
‘We made a deal,’ said Maya to the Horashi. But no one else seemed to see him and Saf slumped into a chair.
‘I know,’ she said. ‘But rules are rules and Tsar’s must wear the mark.’ Maya barely heard her; she was watching the Horashi, silently pleading with him to help her.
‘Please,’ she whimpered. The Horashi grinned and bared his teeth before he blinked out of sight, and thankfully took the pain along with him. She steadied herself on her feet and shook off the guards. A deal with death was a good decision after all.
She walked to the table to meet Saf and looked down at her arm. The iron had branded her with a Labrys, a dual-headed axe that was the sigil for Molinos.
‘Thought we nearly lost you,’ said Saf with disappointment. ‘But now that you have defeated my champion, you can wear the brand and title Tsar.’
‘You could have warned me,’ said Maya, regarding her brand. Saf shrugged. Maya took a cup of wine from the table and drained it before she poured another.
‘So, let me guess,’ said Saf. ‘You’re going to kill me? Or exile me again to a more deserted place?’
‘So you can become leader of somewhere else?’
‘Don’t mock me.’
‘I’m not - I’ve always liked you Saf. I was fooled into believing you a liar and that you betrayed me but I have to own my part in it. I didn’t listen to you. I exiled you from your home and sent you here and I’m sorry for that.’
‘Whatever.’ Maya took a seat and studied her. Saf had always been arrogant but she had the intelligence to warrant it. She could use that. Maybe they could even make something more of the wastes.
‘How long were you Tsar before me?’
‘I am…. I was the first,’ she said. ‘Nearly twenty-five years.’
‘What you’ve achieved here is more than anyone would have thought. This was a waste land when I sent you here. You made it what it is.’
‘And now you’ve stolen it. Congratulations,’ said Saf.
‘I earned it,’ Maya corrected. ‘But I still want that book. Then I have business in Teron I need to complete.’
‘All this for a book?’
‘No, I’m keeping the title. I can’t be a Queen of Nothing, after all. And Tsar does have a nice ring to it.’
‘Hmmph.’
'But I’ll need a steward while I’m gone. Someone I can trust to keep things moving here as they should.’ Saf couldn’t help but smile.
‘I guess I could help with that. If I must.’
‘Yes, your Tsar demands it of you,’ said Maya. Saf poured a cup of wine for herself and they drank to Molinos.
‘Well then,’ said Saf. ‘Let’s get that book and whatever else you need to get you the hell out of here.’
‘Agreed,’ said Maya, marking the second deal she had made that day.
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