Chapter 2 #2
Maicu sighed and gestured toward the chair before him. “Come in, then, and have a seat. I have a request to make of my friend and most trusted walla.”
Kasik obeyed, adjusting the sword at his hip so he could sit comfortably. It showed how little Maicu questioned Kasik’s intent
that he didn’t so much as blink at the weapon. They sat across from one another, Maicu’s hands steepled underneath his chin,
his eyes pinned to Kasik’s, and then he spoke. “I need you to go to Taqsay.”
The name of the ayllu in Amaru gave him pause. It wasn’t strange of the emperor to misspeak. Often times, there was so much
on his mind that his words made little sense. “Do you mean Tullumay?” As he sat there, his men were preparing to travel to
the capital of Icosa. They had all but one foot out the door. “My men and I will be departing—”
“No,” Maicu interrupted with a sigh. “I meant Taqsay. Your plans have changed.”
Kasik stilled, muscles coiled tight and ready to spring.
It was all he could do to keep from jumping to his feet and pacing the room.
He balled his fists on his thighs and swallowed once, twice, mustering all the calm he had trained into himself before speaking.
“Lord Anri is expecting us. This will set us back many weeks and—”
“You misunderstand me,” Maicu said calmly. Kasik envied him his restraint. He hadn’t been so restrained when they were children,
and Kasik felt the lack of control in himself like a wound. “Your men will continue to the ayllu of Tullumay, to Lord Anri,
but you will journey to Taqsay and to the acllahuasi, where you will collect a girl and bring her to me.” Maicu held his eyes, challenging
him to refute his commands. “I am telling you this in confidence, as a friend. Master Wara will give you a missive that you
will deliver to the matron of the house, Mamakuna Dusi, and you will not speak a word of this to anyone else.”
Kasik forced himself to take a deep breath, to settle back into his chair and adopt the unaffected air Maicu seemed to have.
“All of this for another servant?”
“A wife, Kasik. And you would do well to remember who it is you are speaking to.”
The words were quiet, but lethal. Gone was the friendliness between them from only moments ago and in its place was the emperor,
a man who had murdered his brother in cold blood and then clapped Kasik on the shoulder as he passed by.
Maicu didn’t suffer those who stood in his way, even if that person was his brother and the next emperor of Tawantinsuyu.
To him, Kasik was a friend when it suited him, but a means to an end and as replaceable as the plush rug underneath their
feet otherwise.
Firelight from the torches in the corners of the room danced over Maicu’s face. Kasik worked to keep his own features still,
to give away nothing. The answer he had received hadn’t been the one he expected.
The girls in the acllahuasi were young, and once upon a time, they had specifically been chosen because of their unique abilities to control the elements and, in some far-fetched tales meant to scare children, control people.
They were raised in an environment that suppressed those abilities for their own safety, and the safety of others.
Their uniqueness had scared the people, but whatever power the gods had bestowed upon them had waned over generations, becoming
nothing more than a whispered myth.
However, the tradition had continued, and children were chosen for the chani as a contribution to their growing empire. Kasik
himself had been handed over to Emperor Yachua, Maicu’s tayta, at the age of seven, but it mattered little when he had been
living within the kancha since the day he was born.
Maicu had never spoken of taking another aclla as a wife. He wondered if this had anything to do with why Atik left the palace
so abruptly a fortnight ago.
There had been a time, before he was emperor, where Kasik and Maicu had discussed everything from hopes and aspirations to
petty fears and frustrations. Now he could barely ascertain what Maicu thought or had planned.
Did Chaska, Maicu’s first wife, know of this mission? The woman was aloof, but there was a glint of keen awareness in her
eyes that made him wary. He doubted anything got past her.
“The girl will need protection, Kasik, and I only trust you to provide it.” He leaned back in his chair, hands folded in his
lap. “Your men will continue to Tullumay led by Samaq. Do this, prove to me your loyalty, and I will let you lead your men
as you see fit. You can be the one to win Uwaco to our side.”
The words were a puzzle with only the implication of a reward, and yet Kasik felt himself reaching for it, for the freedom
Maicu dangled like bait.
If they kept to the emperor’s road, then the path through the Tuta Kulla, the dense forest that occupied most of Amaru, would be smooth.
The road was blessed by the sun god, Inti, and led straight to Taqsay.
The dangerous creatures that dwelled in the trees stayed far from it, and the citizens of Tawantinsuyu knew better than to bother the emperor’s men.
“It will be a simple mission for you,” Maicu encouraged.
Kasik knew empty flattery when he heard it. “And what of the mamakuna? Will she be expecting me?”
“In a way,” Maicu offered vaguely. “There will be no problems, if that is what you are asking. Collect the girl, bring her
here, and begin the life you have always wanted. I’m sure it will anger your tayta to no end.”
At this, Kasik smiled. Kunay Atik took every opportunity to remind Kasik that he was nothing but a lowly walla, despite his
title of kamayuq. He thought him too weak to lead, and his position only given due to Emperor Maicu’s soft spot for a childhood
friend.
This could be his chance to prove himself. The girl would be young and compliant. The terrain was fairly predictable. He trusted
Samaq and his men to travel the northern leg of the emperor’s road to Tullumay. There was no reason he should be wary.
And yet he was.
From the set of Maicu’s brow, it was clear he had no choice.Kasik took a deep breath and bowed his head. “When do I leave?”
“In the morning. Master Wara has a bag of provisions you’ll need for the girl. Be sure to see him first. And Kasik.” Maicu’s
voice softened, once again the friend. “Protect her with your life. No man is to lay a single hand on her without consequence.”
This was a vow Kasik could easily make. “As you command,” he said with a fist to his chest.
Sleep evaded him, so Kasik found himself walking outside to clear his head.
The sun hadn’t risen yet, and the morning air was wet and brisk.
The kallankas just past the training ring were quiet with sleep.
Soon, the walla would be up and preparing for the day, and his men for their journey north without him.
He intended to work out his frustration in the training ring and was just about to step into the empty space when he saw a shadow dart away from the side entrance of the kallankas.
A familiar face. Kasik relaxed and went to call his name when he realized Samaq was not heading in his direction. His friend
glanced back furtively and then disappeared around the corner. Two heartbeats later, Kasik was following at a light jog.
A chill settled over him that had nothing to do with the shadows. This part of the kancha grounds was empty. There was a small
storage building behind the kallankas and then beyond that, the walls that separated the kancha from the rest of the mountain.
Kasik pressed his back against the stone wall and slid sideways. Carefully, he peeked his head around the corner and narrowed
his eyes.
Samaq and Empress Chaska stood together in the shadows of the storage building. They spoke too quietly for Kasik to hear,
but the familiarity between them was plain as day. Chaska placed a hand on Samaq’s arm, and Samaq ducked his head to listen
closely. Then he nodded and they hugged.
Kasik whipped around and went back the way he came, refusing to believe what his mind was trying to convince him of. The empress
was too smart to get involved with a walla. Too powerful. And Samaq was too kind. There had to be something else going on,
but Kasik could not, for the life of him, think of an explanation.
It didn’t matter. Maicu was sending him away, and anything beyond his mission was no longer his responsibility.
Kasik abandoned clearing his head and went straight to Master Wara, who was exactly where he expected the scholar to be—in the small room off the kancha library, dangling off a tall stool in between sheets of quipu, his finger tracing over the knots on strings as his lips silently formed the message.
It was any wonder Master Wara knew where to find what he was looking for. The room was positively covered in stories and records.
Years and years of information filed in only a way his teacher could understand. Fond memories washed over him as Kasik watched
him read. The man was more of a tayta to him than his own, and Kasik was loathe to think about what would have become of him
without such an influence.
“I’m told you have provisions for me,” Kasik finally said.
Though he was in his fifth decade, and a scholar who barely left this room, he was a robust man full of health and life and
an obscene amount of knowledge that could bury a simpler man. Knowledge that he did not hesitate to impart on Kasik every
chance he got.
Master Wara parted a thick sheet of strings and found Kasik by the door. “Ah, just in time, my son.”
He was always just in time. Kasik had begun to wonder if Master Wara had any concept of time at all. Perhaps the man needed more sunlight, but he seemed
perfectly content as he began to collect items from various shelves around the room and place them into a thick cloth bag.
Kasik leaned against the doorframe, dedicated to staying out of the way.
Finally, Master Wara held the bag out to him. “The missive for Mamakuna Dusi and the tea leaves for the girl. It’s imperative
she drink a full cup of it every single morning.”
“Is she very used to having her morning tea? Shall I also bring herbs to calm her nerves?”
Master Wara gave him a baleful look. “The tea will help her transition. Routine is important. You, of all people, would understand
that.”
It was true enough. The upheaval of his carefully laid plans was giving him a throbbing pain in his temple. Kasik peaked into the bag and pulled out a silver cylindrical case. It was cold against his palm.
“That will give the mamakuna all the details she needs,” Master Wara explained. “But speak nothing else on it.”
With a sigh, Kasik collapsed into a nearby chair. “Another wife, and so soon after marrying Chaska? It has hardly been a year.
What is the meaning of it?”
“You seek meaning where there is none. It is simply your duty to obey, Kasik, and understand that there are forces at work
that you cannot fight.”
“I am here, am I not? There is no fighting to be seen.”
Master Wara leaned forward and jammed a finger into Kasik’s chest. “In here, my son, there is fighting. I see it, even when
you try to hide it. I see you.” He moved his hand from above his heart to his cheek and patted gently. “Return to us, yes?”
Kasik met his teacher’s eyes and frowned. “Of course,” he reassured him. What other choice did he have?