Visitors have to eat. Shivetya sustains his guests and allies by exuding large, mushroomlike growths of manna. I recall the taste as slightly sweet and mildly spicy in that way that leaves you trying to figure out exactly what the spice might be. Just a few bites provide immense energy and boost your confidence dramatically. But nobody gets fat eating the stuff. In fact, it is a little repulsive and you do not touch it until you are hungry or hurting.
Obviously, Shivetya himself was not going to remain chubby forever, either.
I realized that big red eyes had opened. Shivetya was regarding me with more interest than I was regarding him.
The golem did not speak aloud. We believed that it could not. When it chose to communicate it did so by speaking directly inside your brain. Some found the experience no problem. I had not endured it myself, to my recollection, so cannot describe it. If Shivetya invaded my dreams during the half generation I lay enchanted in the caverns below I had no recollection of that, either. I have no memories whatsoever of that time.
Murgen and Lady do remember. Some. They will not discuss it. They prefer to let what made it into the Annals speak for itself.
It must not have been pleasant.
The shadows left Shivetya looking like he had a dog or jackal's head, which sparked a momentary recollection of childhood idols. I guess he was a sort of lord of the underworld. He just did not do much recruiting.
One huge eye closed, then reopened. The demon of glittering stone showing off his sense of humor. Knowing that wink would obsess me for days.
Hands took hold of my arm. I glanced down. My sweetheart had arrived. And in this dim light she looked much younger and happier. I whispered, "You guys finally made it."
"Howler is turning into a timid little old man. He's got the idea that he might have a future."
"Let's stroll off that direction about half a mile and get lost for half an hour."
"Well. I'm certainly tempted. But I'm wondering what's gotten into you."
I pinched her behind. She squeaked and swatted my arm. I said, "Whoops!"
Both of Shivetya's eyes were turned our way now.
Lady said, "That sort of takes the edge off the moment, doesn't it?"
It did. So did several pairs of eyes watching from where the rest of the crowd were gathered. The youngsters in particular were appalled.
"Oh, well. Life's a bitch."
88
Fortress with No Name: Recruiting Excitement
The squabbling amongst the Voroshk went on and on, seldom subsiding for long. I suspect there were several occasions when those two old men wanted to punish the rest of us but were held in check by Shivetya. Tobo paid them no mind. He remained busy communing with Baladitya or the golem. The latter seemed to be contributing to the boy's already excessive arsenal of power.
Whenever it became too much for them, Arkana or Shukrat would retreat to wherever I happened to be, usually ending up seated on the floor, facing away from the family. "They're afraid of you," Arkana explained. "They think you're the real terror and Tobo is all for show. They think you destroyed our world."
"I didn't destroy anything." Curious. Her accent was not nearly as pronounced out here, when she wanted some protection.
"I know that. You know it. Even they probably know. But they don't want it to be their fault. Inside, they're almost as bad as Gromovol and Sedvod. For a couple of hundred years now to be Voroshk has meant to be perfect in every way. Without fault."
"So how come all the arguing?"
"Because Shukrat wants to stay with you. Because Sedvod died without proper rites. Because they don't want to believe that Gromovol did so many really stupid things, including getting Magadan killed. That'll really cause terrible Family political trouble when the news gets back home. Magadan's father is the First Father's brother and they really hate each other."
Evidently the surviving Voroshk preferred to pretend that their Family still ruled in a land not wasted by murderous shadows.
"And why are they yelling at you?"
Arkana sighed. She tucked her head down in between her knees, where I could not get a good look at her expression. "I guess because I really kind of said I don't think I want to go home, either."
Arkana really used the word "really" a real lot. "Despite what happened?"
"They don't know that part yet. They don't need to know about it."
"They won't hear about it from me. But Gromovol might... "
"Even Gromovol isn't stupid enough to talk about it. There's no way he can talk his way out of that being his fault. By the rules of our own people. If that came out even his own father would desert him."
Wearing a somewhat dazed expression Shukrat retreated our way. Arkana moved over a few feet but otherwise did not acknowledge her existence. Neither did Shukrat deign to see Arkana. Shukrat settled on the stone floor, arms around her legs and chin upon her knees. There were tearstreaks on her cheeks.
"Well?" I said. "Do I need to go over there and spank somebody for being rude to my little girls?"
Shukrat laughed weakly. "You'd have to hit the other end. About ten thousand times. With a blacksmith's hammer."
"Just to get their attention," Arkana said. Posed as they were now the family resemblance was clear. Only when they were up and moving under the direction of their divergent characters did they seem so different.
The girls had a point. Even the destruction of their world had not been enough to shake those two old boulders loose from their dry riverbed of fixed thought.
I asked, "Arkana, are you pulled together now? Want to come translate for me?" I could use the tongue of Juniper, of course, but this would give her a chance to feel like she was useful.
She thought about that for a moment. She exchanged glances with Shukrat. Both girls looked at me.
I promised, "I'll only bully them a little."
The older Voroshk were keeping their fangs sharp by gnawing on Gromovol. If the kid had not fucked up so badly I might have felt sorry for him. He did not have the option of returning to our world. He would have to take whatever those two chose to hand out.
"You've been a little hard on my girls," I told the First Father. "Time to knock it off. Either one of you bothered to go back and see how things turned out at home?"
No response. Other than ugly looks.
"So you don't really know how things stand... " An epiphany. "Arkana, sweetie. They ran away. Coming after you kids was their excuse. And when they used it up they couldn't go back. I'll bet you Shivetya hasn't been forcing them to stay here at all." I recalled that once there had been three of them. Somebody must have gone. And maybe did not live to bring back news.
Those old men were cowards? It fit.
For the first time in generations the Voroshk faced something the Family could not overwhelm as easily as stamping a mouse. And the only way some of them could deal with that was to run away.
These two would not want to go back now in case there were survivors.
I said, "I'll be right back." I trotted over to Tobo, interrupted, gave him the short version. "How long are you going to be? Do I have time to take a run through the Khatovar gate with those old men so we can find out what the shadows really did do over there?"
The boy's eyes went blank.
When I was about ready to slap him to get his attention back he refocused, told me, "Shivetya says that would be a huge health risk. Shivetya says you're right about the Voroshk. They did run away. Shivetya says more courageous members of the clan are still active back there. A lot of shadows are active there, too. Shivetya says the gate is growing closed. With almost every surviving shadow on that side of it. Shivetya says leave it alone. Shivetya says go ahead with your scheme. Shivetya says not to worry about Khatovar. You can't reach it. Trying will only get you killed. And it will still be there when everything else is done."