Aidane nodded. “I understand. I’ve thought that the ghosts have some reason for seeking me out, because so far they haven’t tried to force themselves onto me. That’s why I told Kolin I don’t want to banish them, not yet. Maybe they’re trying to talk to me because they think I’ll listen.”
Jonmarc nodded. “Hant told me that he’s doing all he can to find the killer, but I’m afraid his men aren’t taking it quite as seriously as we’d like—”
“Because the victims are mostly whores,” Aidane finished matter-of-factly. “It was the same in Nargi. Our lives had less value to some than the sewer rats.”
“Hant doesn’t see it like that, and neither do I. But with the war starting, the soldiers’ attention is elsewhere. Although I’m quite sure that if it were nobles turning up dead, they’d find it easier to remember,” Jonmarc added acidly. “I’ll tell the queen what you’ve said, about not thinking Buka is with the Durim. Damndest thing is, if he’s not with them, then we’ve got some other crazy person who’s after blood that this Buka thinks is his ‘master.’ ”
“Like a dark summoner?”
Jonmarc looked at Kolin. “Yeah. And that would be really, really bad. Foor Arontala wasn’t a summoner, just a powerful blood mage, and he almost brought down two
kingdoms. I’ve seen a real summoner in action, and I hope I never have to go up against that kind of power on a battlefield. Dark Lady help us.”
Aidane shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “There is one other thing,” she said, and both Jonmarc and Kolin turned to look at her. “Whoever or whatever this Buka is, even the ghosts are afraid. They think he can still hurt them, even after death. They kept repeating a word… ‘hollowed.’ That’s what they’re afraid of,” she said, looking up to meet their eyes. “Being hollowed.”
Jonmarc frowned. “What does that mean?”
Kolin pursed his lips as he thought. “I think I may know. My kind often takes shelter in crypts and burying places among the dead. Often, the grounds are haunted, but ghosts rarely bother us, and we do nothing to violate their resting places. A few times, over the centuries, I’ve encountered something much more malevolent. They were filled with rage, violent, mindless, and yet, there was also pain, as if something had ripped the ghosts apart and left an angry shadow.”
“Hollowed?” Jonmarc questioned.
Kolin nodded. “That’s what I was told when I asked about them. Even as a
vayash moru
, I feared them. I wouldn’t have wanted to take my chances against them.”
“What kind of power does it take to do something like that?”
Kolin shook his head. “Lady Riqua told me that a blood mage could do it. It requires more ruthlessness than power, or so I was given to understand.”
“Great. So now we not only have a murderer running around and ghosts haunting Aidane, but we could also have
killer
ghosts?”
“Apparently so.”
“If this Buka has actually hollowed anyone, those ghosts haven’t come calling yet,” Aidane said with a shiver.
“Could they?” Jonmarc asked the question, but both he and Kolin turned to look at Aidane.
“Maybe,” she admitted. “If they’re ghosts, then it’s a possibility.”
“So we’ve got yet another thing to worry about,” Jonmarc murmured. He looked to Kolin. “Have you heard from any of the
vayash moru
outside the palace?”
Kolin was silent for a moment, as if trying to decide what to say. “Yes. There have been… problems.”
Jonmarc nodded. “That’s what Hant told me. Between the plague, the war, and Buka, people are jittery, looking for someone to blame. Whores are turning up dead, with crude notes left scratched next to them that say ‘for Buka.’ In the last few days, there’ve been two
vayash moru
burnings and several residences torched whose owners were probably undead.” He sighed. “Valjan and Exeter said that some of the merc troops will accept
vayash moru
if they want to fight. By the Dark Lady, we could use them!”
“I have contacts in the city. I’ll see what can be done. It serves no purpose to leave my people at the mercy of the mobs.”
“I’ll talk to Berry about it tomorrow,” Jonmarc said. He paused. “Oh, and before I forget. Berry asked me to make sure the two of you are at dinner tonight. We’re dining with Prince Gethin and his entourage.”
N
o one told me there would be
Hojun
priests at dinner.” Aidane’s voice would have been too quiet for mortal ears, but as she made her way toward the dining room with Kolin, she knew his
vayash moru
hearing was quite capable of picking up her whisper.
“This isn’t Nargi.”
“They’re priests. I wouldn’t have worn this if I’d known there would be priests.” Aidane indicated her gown of blood-red silk. She was dressed in the fashion of her profession as
serroquette
, with a low-cut silk bodice, flowing slit sleeves, and billowing silk pants with a skirt-like slit panel in the front and back. Gold adorned her neck, wrists, and ankles, and the small jewels in her earrings glimmered in the candlelight.
“You’re a
serroquette
. What were you planning to wear? A cloak, fastened neck to knees?” Kolin chuckled.
Aidane struggled with very real fear. Her last encounters with both Nargi priests and the Black Robe disciples of Shanthadura had very nearly been fatal. “I shouldn’t come. This is going to cause a scene.”
Kolin stopped and took Aidane by the shoulders. “Have you ever been to Eastmark?”
“No.”
“For one thing, Eastmark reveres the Lover Aspect of the Sacred Lady, which is just the mirror image of the Whore Aspect that Principality worships. They believe that the Lady speaks through the senses—
all
the senses—and that sensuality is the touch of the goddess. The
Hojun
priests speak for their Aspect of the Lady and her Consort, the Stawar God. I’ve seen the murals on the walls of some of Eastmark’s temples, and I assure you, the Lady and her Consort seem to enjoy sex as much or more than anyone else.” He chuckled.
“I thought it was only the Principality temple priestesses who… indulged… like that.”
“They might be a little more straightforward about it, but since the Eastmark faithful have the example of their sacred couple, the
Hojun
priests not only carry messages from beyond, but they help the faithful achieve bliss and transcendence through… union.”
Aidane gasped. “You’re serious? Then why are they here with Gethin—oh,” she said, and felt a rare flush creep into her cheeks. “Here all the time I figured they came along to make sure the prince and princess kept their distance until the marriage. You mean, they’re not only here to make his sacrifices to the gods, but to… coach… him on achieving that bliss?” Despite the seriousness of the situation, Aidane could not fully stifle her giggles. “Does Berry know?”
Kolin smiled. “I have no idea. I truly can’t see Jonmarc being the one to break it to her. That doesn’t matter. The point is, you can stop being afraid that the
Hojun
priests will insist on using you to light the after-dinner bonfire.”
Aidane let out a long breath. “All right. So all I have to worry about is paying attention to ghosts tonight, assuming there are any, and let you or Jonmarc know if any of them seem intent on getting a message through?”
Kolin gave her a reassuring nod. “That’s it. Not too bad of an assignment, as spying goes.”
“I thought spies were supposed to be invisible, not attract notice.” Aidane gestured to her brightly colored and gold-glittering outfit. “I just failed that test.”
Kolin took her arm. “You’re just hiding in plain sight. That works even better.”
The formal dining room at Lienholt Palace glittered with reflected light. A massive candelabra, filled with hundreds of glowing candles, hung suspended above the intricately carved and inlaid table. Queen Berwyn sat at the head of the table, with Jonmarc Vahanian, as the Queen’s Champion, at her right hand. To her left sat Prince Gethin. Aidane took a few moments to observe the prince. He was dressed in the Eastmark fashion, with flowing robes in ochre and orange that set off his ebony skin. Long black hair framed his face. The ritual tattoos that marked the left side of his face from cheekbone to jaw seemed like elaborate shadows, and Aidane might have thought them a trick of the light if she had not seen the prince in daylight.
Next to the prince sat Avencen, an older man with close-cut, white hair. He was dressed in a similar manner as Gethin and wore a broad necklace of artfully wrought gold. Beside Avencen sat the two
Hojun
priests. The
priests wore loose robes with elaborate embroidery, and small disks of copper dangled from the hems of their clothing, making a soft bell-like sound as they moved. Unlike Gethin or Avencen, the
Hojun
were shaved bald, and a complex web of runes had been cut into the skin of their scalps to remain as permanent, raised scars. Equally complicated tattoos circled their upper and lower arms, spiraling down to their wrists.
Kolin and Aidane were seated to the right of Jonmarc, with Aidane in between the two men. It was an arrangement that put Aidane directly across from Avencen, facing both of the
Hojun
. By the same token, Aidane was seated between the only two men in the room to wear their swords, other than the guards at the doorway.
When the formal greetings and introductions were finished, the talk turned to weather and war, and Aidane focused her listening skills for the whisper of ghosts. Throughout her brief stay in the palace, she had sensed the distant presence of spirits, although none of them attempted to contact her, and she had not gone looking for them.
Oddly enough, Aidane thought, spirits clustered around the
Hojun
priests, who appeared to be unaware of their invisible companions. Aidane smiled as if captivated by the conversation, and she poured her concentration into sensing the ghosts that accompanied the priests. Gradually, the images became more clear. A wizened old man who wore similar priestly robes. A magnificent stawar, dark furred, catlike, sinewy, and powerful. A wolf—no, she corrected, glimpsing the violet eyes—a
vyrkin
. The image shimmered to reveal a dark-haired, sullen-eyed young man. A young girl, perhaps only a few years older
than the queen, dressed in lemon-colored robes. There were a few more spirits, and Aidane was so intent on getting a good look that the voice inside her mind made her jump in surprise.
Why are you staring at us?
The yellow-clad girl was looking at Aidane as if to take her measure. Aidane was vaguely aware of Kolin giving her a sideways glance, perhaps wondering why she startled.
You can see me, but you’re not Hojun, and you’re not a summoner
, the girl’s ghost continued.
I’m a serroquette, a ghost whore
.
If the admission shocked the saffron-robed ghost, the girl did not show it.
Are you an oracle? An acolyte?
No. Just a ghost whore. I help dead lovers reunite
.
The girl considered that for a moment.
That is a holy calling, and a rare talent. You would be welcome in Eastmark. We would revere such a gift
.
Aidane felt herself relax, just a bit. She had been sure, up until now, that Kolin had been stretching the truth about Eastmark’s beliefs.
I’ll keep that in mind. I’m Aidane
.
The ghost nodded.
I’m Daciana. Are you here to be part of the wedding ceremony?
Aidane’s eyes widened.
Goodness, no! I mean, no, I’m not really here for the wedding ceremony at all. I had an important message to carry from a ghost for the queen, and now, with war coming, it looks like I’m a guest for a while
.
As Aidane talked with the ghost, her gaze wandered over the intricate bracelets and amulets worn by the
Hojun. I bet some of those contain the ashes of the ghosts
, Aidane thought.
That’s how they’re able to carry the ghosts with them
.
You’re correct
. Daciana’s voice cut through Aidane’s musings, but the ghost did not seem concerned over Aidane’s curiosity.
We are advisers, seers, and protectors. We travel with the Hojun to help them access the Lady and her Consort
.
Do you possess the Hojun?
This time, it was the ghost’s turn to seem surprised.
We advise. We do not enter their bodies, if that is what you mean
.
The group had been eating while Aidane was conversing with Daciana’s ghost, and Aidane realized that the group was beginning to rise from their chairs on Berry’s signal, to move into the parlor for further discussion. Kolin gave Aidane an inquiring glance, as if he guessed she was attuned to something he could not hear, and she managed a reassuring smile. But as they crossed the threshold into the sitting room, Aidane stopped in her tracks.
“What is it?” Kolin asked in a whisper only she could hear.
“There’s something evil, something in here,” Aidane said aloud, and both Jonmarc and Berry turned toward her as the
Hojun
hung back, surrounded by their own frantically conferring spirit advisers.
A rush of cold air swept into the room from an open window at the side of the parlor. It struck Aidane hard enough to make her stumble backward as a hollowed spirit descended on her with the fury of a madman. Aidane’s body went rigid with the effort to repel the invader, but the spirit shrieked in rage, forcing itself past her defenses. Jonmarc moved toward Berry, and the
Hojun
with their spirit advisers circled around Gethin. Kolin advanced slowly toward Aidane, watching her movements carefully.