Chapter Fourteen Yeeran
Chapter Fourteen
Yeeran
Yeeran woke to the sound of the cat catching a mouse. She heard its jaw clamp around its neck, and the mouse’s death-squeak as its heart stopped beating.
What a lovely wake-up, she thought as she stretched. But then Furi nuzzled closer into her neck and she whispered with real feeling, ‘This is a lovely wake-up.’
‘Hmm?’ Furi mumbled.
Pila, what colour is the fray?
Like a lemon skin.
‘Furi, we need to get up, it’s midday.’
The queen rolled over. ‘No. Comfy.’
Yeeran saw something move in the corner of her vision. She instinctively reached for her drum before she realised the shadow was just the cat. Its prey hung limp in its mouth.
‘That’s a very big mouse, little cat,’ she said.
The animal dashed forward, depositing the mouse on Furi’s back as an offering.
‘Oh, that’s not a mouse, that’s a rat.’
Furi made a sound Yeeran had never heard her utter before. It was a cross between a scream and a yelp.
‘Did you say rat?’ Furi said, jumping up. The dead creature fell to the floor with a thump.
The cat slunk away, annoyed that its hunt hadn’t been well received. Furi shuddered, clawing at where the rat had touched her skin.
Yeeran couldn’t stop laughing. ‘I told you it was time to get up.’
‘I didn’t realise that the alternative was to be accosted by dead things.’ Furi’s voice was higher pitched than usual and it made Yeeran laugh all the more.
As she wiped at her tears, Furi stilled.
‘What is it?’ All mirth had gone from her face.
‘The rat, it looks strange.’
Yeeran had seen many rats in her life. The Bleeding Field was rife with them. But this one was not like any she had seen before. Its mouth was blackened with decay, its eyes, now unseeing, were shot through with blood.
‘It looks diseased,’ Yeeran said. ‘Is that normal?’
Furi shrugged. ‘It’s rare that a serious disease enters Mosima. We have our share of illnesses but they tend to cycle through the seasons.’
Rayan is looking for you, Pila said. Yeeran relayed this to Furi.
‘Yes, we should probably get dressed and head back to the palace.’
The extent of all that had befallen yesterday flooded Yeeran’s mind. Her mood immediately plummeted.
‘Motogo and Malak will have missed their meeting time with the other chieftains by now,’ she said bleakly. ‘They’ll know they’re not returning.’
‘Yes. I hope all the obeah have made it back to Mosima.’
‘Me too,’ Yeeran said. Her thoughts went to Lettle on the other side of the world. At least she was safe, away from all of this.
Then she remembered Afa. She dropped her head into her hands.
‘What is it?’ Furi asked.
‘I am sick with worry. The coalition, Lettle, Afa, Rayan, Malak…’ Yeeran pointed to the rat and added miserably, ‘Even that rat. There’s so much to worry about.’
‘I know, but we must look at it a part at a time.’ Furi’s smile turned mocking. ‘And forget about the rat, it’s already dead.’
Yeeran gave her a weak smile in return.
‘I do have another solution,’ Furi said, weaving her arms around Yeeran’s waist. She was still naked, and Yeeran appreciated the feel of her skin on hers.
‘Hmm, and what solution is that?’
‘We could never leave,’ Furi said wistfully. ‘Pretend the outside world doesn’t exist. Abandon our mantles of ambassador and queen.’
‘And what would we eat?’
Furi pointed to the milled flour. ‘Bread, of course! And we have the river for water. It’ll be basic, but we’d be free.’
Yeeran’s smile wavered. Though the morning had been a true wonderment, they had a lot of healing to do, and Yeeran knew they could not do it within the confines of the mill. ‘You want to stay in here with that?’ she said, looking at the rat.
Furi turned a shade of green. ‘No, thank you.’
She dressed quickly after that.
The midday air was humid in Mosima and Yeeran found herself yearning for the hot springs that ran beneath the city, but she’d have no time to bathe today. She had to speak to Malak. Somehow, they needed to get through this.
Pila, are you far?
No, in the mango trees with Amnan.
They waited for the obeah by the river, each immersed in their own thoughts.
‘Is that the tomcat from earlier?’ Furi pointed to a ball of ginger fur. He had tucked himself by the wheel of the mill and was mewling softly.
‘Looks like it.’
Furi bent down to coax him out. ‘He doesn’t sound very happy.’
Her capacity for gentleness always shocks me. She so rarely shows that side of herself.
‘Come here, little one, let me see you,’ she cooed. The cat limped out from the shadow of the mill.
‘It looks like he’s hurt his paw,’ Yeeran said.
‘Yes, I’ll call on Jay, they’ll be able to help him.’ Furi bundled up the cat into her shirt.
Yeeran smiled. ‘If only the chieftains could see the fierce fae queen now.’
Furi stuck her tongue out at her just as Amnan and Pila arrived. The obeah nudged her nose against Yeeran’s hand.
‘Pila, your mouth is sticky with mango juice,’ Yeeran laughed.
That’s because I ate mangoes, she said.
Yeeran jumped onto her back.
‘I’m going to go see Malak,’ she told Furi. ‘See you back at the palace?’
‘Wait!’ Furi called before Pila set off.
‘What is it?’ Yeeran asked, her heart stuttering with Furi’s sudden concern.
‘I just wanted to do this, one more time as two nobodies.’ Amnan brushed up against Pila so that Furi was alongside Yeeran. Then she reached for the nape of Yeeran’s neck and pulled her towards her.
The kiss was long and slow. It would have gone on for longer if the cat hadn’t squirmed beneath Furi’s shirt, breaking the moment.
‘I should get this cat to Jay. See you soon.’
Furi released her, leaving Yeeran dazed.
Shall we go, or would you like to keep staring at Furi’s behind?
I’m not staring at her behind!
Then you’re staring at Amnan’s. So pick what truth you’d rather go with.
Yeeran laughed and nudged Pila towards the prison.
—
It had been a long time since Yeeran had been to this side of Mosima. Not since she was a prisoner there herself.
Before we were bound, Pila said.
Yes.
The jail itself was a crumbling old building, rarely used. Justice worked differently in Mosima with crimes being punished by labour, not by isolation. So the cells had only ever been used on elves who were unfortunate enough to have stumbled upon the fae.
Not that Yeeran could still stand by that conclusion. Not with Furi’s kiss still lingering on her lips.
I am very fortunate indeed.
Malak, on the other hand, was not. He looked miserable in his cell.
‘Bad night?’ she said.
‘Oh, thank the light, Yeeran, please, let me out of here.’
She shook her head. ‘It’s not going to be that easy.’
He groaned. ‘At least get me a cooked meal–they’ve only sent me stale bread.’
Yeeran had asked the faeguard to take care of him, but clearly, they had their own definition of what that meant.
The fae will have even more reason to hate the elves after Cely’s death.
Wounds can’t stay open forever, Pila said. All things eventually heal.
The obeah’s hope lessened some of Yeeran’s despair.
‘The water too was brackish. I’m not convinced the guard didn’t spit in it,’ Malak said.
‘I’ll see what I can do, but in the meantime, if I remember correctly…’ She went to the cell opposite and lifted one of the floorboards. ‘Komi used to keep a bag of pistachios here. Aha, there we are. They might be a little stale.’ She shrugged and handed them over with a smile.
Malak didn’t take them. ‘Pistachios aren’t going to fix this. I’m a prisoner, Yeeran.’
‘A guest,’ she corrected him.
He sat back on his heels.
‘Come on, it could be worse,’ she said.
‘Yeah, I could be Motogo,’ he said. He met her gaze, laying bare the accusation.
Yeeran looked away first.
‘I can’t believe Motogo’s really gone,’ he said quietly.
‘I know.’ The two officers who had been Yeeran’s seniors were both now dead.
Malak scrubbed a hand over his face. ‘I thought the whole thing might have been a nightmare.’
Yeeran chewed on a pistachio. ‘You’re chieftain now, you know.’
‘I suppose.’
‘Do you still want peace?’
She watched his expression change from annoyance to frustration. ‘All I have ever wanted was peace. War has stripped me of everyone I loved.’
‘Who did you lose?’ she asked softly.
But he didn’t answer the question.
‘Yeeran, let me go and explain everything to the coalition. If Motogo did what you think they did, then the other chieftains need to be told. Motogo broke the terms of the ceasefire and suffered for it.’
‘Your freedom is not my decision.’
‘You tell me that I have power, but so do you. I see how the queen looks at you. And the king, Rayan, he was your captain once.’
She liked Malak, she really did, and she hoped one day he would serve as the chieftain the Waning tribe had always needed. But it wasn’t going to be today.
‘What would you do in my place?’ she asked him. She filled her mouth with more pistachios.
I don’t know when I last ate, she realised.
Give me some, Pila said, pushing her snout into the bag.
You’ve just got them all sticky with mango juice.
Tastes better that way.
Yeeran pushed the bag towards Pila so she could finish them off.
‘Honestly? I would use me as a political prisoner. Negotiate to get the peace treaty back on the table.’
She appreciated Malak’s candour. ‘You think the coalition will negotiate again with another chieftain dead at the queen’s hands?’
Malak’s lips screwed up in an uncharacteristic sneer. ‘The other chieftains hated Motogo. They gave Motogo the task of negotiating because they all knew it would be a burden. If I offered myself up, I think they’d be amenable to the treaty.’
‘You’ll tell them how well we treated you.’
‘I’ll be sure to mention the pistachios,’ he smiled, all scorn disappeared.
‘The problem remains: why did Motogo order the killing of an obeah?’
Malak’s fingers absently worried a crack in the tiles. ‘Motogo wanted war.’
His admission shocked Yeeran. She had thought Malak’s loyalty ran more than skin-deep.
‘Motogo wanted the glory of doing what Salawa could not,’ Malak continued. ‘Lighting every home with a fraedia crystal.’
Salawa’s purpose had long gone awry before she died, Yeeran thought but didn’t say.
‘Release me, I will tell the story favourably. The queen had no choice.’
Malak was saying all the right things, but she knew that desperation could sweeten any tongue. Besides, this wasn’t her decision alone. Yeeran turned to go.
‘I’ll discuss your release with the court.’
Panicked, Malak stood up and gripped the cell bars, his knuckles going white. ‘Yeeran, heed my warning–the coalition has contingency plans for everything. If you do not release me then this peace treaty will be a thing of the past. It may even be too late already.’
‘What could they do with us in here?’ Yeeran said.
Malak opened his mouth as though to answer but then closed it again. So, she left.
Pila, I think this is going to be a very long day.
Yes, but at least you have already slept through half of it.
Yeeran laughed. True.
Something small dashed across the path ahead of them. It moved too fast for Yeeran to recognise what it was. But then another followed the first, and then another.
It was only when the fourth rodent ran past Pila’s paws that Yeeran realised they were rats.
Pila didn’t react. Her ears had pricked up and she looked to the cavern wall.
What is it? Yeeran asked.
Can’t you hear that?
It took Yeeran a while to pick up the sound. It sounded like the patter of rain. She looked to the stairs that led to the tunnel in the distance. A black mass of dots covered the steps. Hundreds of them. Thousands. Coming closer and closer with every second.
Yeeran stopped, her feet frozen to the spot. ‘Are those…?’
Rats, Pila confirmed.
Yeeran lurched onto Pila’s back as the obeah spun around, away from the incoming tide of vermin. In her haste Yeeran nearly fell, but Pila lunged to the right to steady her.
Yeeran looked back. The sea of rats spread like water through the streets, churning her stomach.
Fly fast, Pila. Take us to the palace.