Jala's Mask (12 page)

“What is it?” a woman asked.

“The Rafa are attacking. Who else could it be?”

“Those aren't Rafa ships. They're hardly ships at all. Wouldn't last an hour on open water.”

People still shouted in the manor, but near the windows the talk grew quiet as they waited to see what would happen next. Jala stopped to ask, “Where's the king? Do the captains know of this?”

They stared at her. An older noble with a trim beard raised himself up. “Word has spread. Surely the king has heard.”

“But you're not certain. We have to be certain.” Jala pointed to three younger nobles. She hoped they couldn't see her hand shake in the dim light. “You three. Go to all of the captains, send boats out to the barges. Make sure they know what's happened, or before long they'll be too drunk to fight.” They stared at her, each of them taller than her by at least half a head. She wondered if they were as scared as she was.

They glanced at the older man. He nodded. “She's right. Do as your queen commands.”

They ran.

Jala found a maid and pulled her aside. “Where is the king?”

The maid hesitated. “He's in his chambers, my queen. His stomach troubled him.”

“Take me to him. Quickly,” Jala said. The Kayet manor was massive, three times the size of the manor she'd grown up in. She still wasn't sure of the way to Azi's rooms, and this was no time to get herself lost.

“My queen, he asked not to be disturbed. I couldn't intrude on him.”

“Look outside if you haven't already. Whoever those ships belong to, they're not going to wait for his stomach to settle.”

The maid looked frightened, but she led Jala down the hall. They turned a few corners, walking past rich tapestries and cloths, swords and tall mirrors. They stopped at a door of dark-red wood from the mainland. Azi's bedroom. This wasn't exactly how she'd imagined first seeing it.

Jala banged on the door. “Azi, are you awake?” When no one answered she pulled open the doors. Azi's rooms weren't quite as lavish as the hallway implied they would be, meant more for actual living instead of showing off. The furniture was made of palm wood, familiar and simple. The empty bed hadn't been slept in.

“Where is he?” Jala asked, turning to the maid.

“Maybe his stomachache passed, my queen. He might have gone down to the ships to drink with the sailors or decided to sleep out on the beach. He says he prefers sand to fine linen. If that's where he went, he must know about these ships already.”

Jala banged on the door in frustration. Even as she did she heard her mother's voice in her head.
You're acting like a child, not a queen.

“My queen?” the maid said. “It's the storm season. Do you really think this could be an invasion?”

“I don't know what this is,” Jala said, trying to keep the panic from her voice. “I wish I did. What about Lord Inas? Is he down on the beach somewhere as well?”

“No need to go looking,” a voice said from behind her. Azi's uncle held himself up against the wall. His eyes were bloodshot, but an old, notched raider's sword hung from his belt. “Go back to your rooms. You'll be safe there. For a little while, anyway.”

Jala stared at him in dismay. “You're drunk.”

Inas pushed himself off the wall. “I am not drunk, little queen. I'm in mourning.”

Next to her the maid whispered, “Lord Inas does not sleep well at night. He often takes mournroot with his dinner.”

“If you're too sick to lead, let someone else do it,” Jala said. “Too drunk or too sick, it's all the same right now.”

“What do you know of sickness? Of leading? Go and hide. Take the girl with you. There will be fighting in the manor soon.” The maid glanced nervously from Inas to Jala.

“You think it's hopeless,” Jala said.

“You can't think a human foe would be capable of this. Sorcery enough to move a fleet of ships . . . it would kill a man. A hundred men, a thousand. Who would pay such a price? We won't find men inside those ships, I promise you.”

“You can't scare me with stories of sea monsters and demons,” Jala said. “I'm not a little girl.” But her heart pounded hard in her chest just the same.

Inas leaned down to stare at her face to face. “I think you are a little girl. I think you haven't seen the things I've seen, sailing out of sight of land. You know nothing of the world, though you aspire to rule it.”

Jala stepped back but forced herself to meet his eyes. “Azi is out there somewhere. I need you to take command. I'll come with you. My father says sailors should see their lord before braving the Great Ocean, so let them see me now, since the king's misplaced himself.”

There was a moment of tense silence. Through the walls, Jala heard the war drums starting. She made herself breathe.

Finally Inas whispered, “Fine. Come along if you insist.” He turned away and strode down the hall, only a little unsteadily.

Jala glanced back at the maid. “You're free to go. Find somewhere you feel safe.” Then she ran down the hall after Lord Inas. The drums continued, playing over each other with different rhythms, alerting the villages. She wasn't sure how much good it would do. There hadn't been a real war among the islands since the first king and queen, and the mainlanders had no way to reach the islands. Or so they'd thought. Nobody expected anything like this. They weren't ready.

Men gathered in the great hall of the manor. Nobles carried swords that hadn't been drawn in years. No one spoke. Everyone looked tired and grim. Some of the servants and noblewomen helped barricade the windows and doors, others brought lamps and torches. Iliana was arming all of the women with spare swords and kitchen knives.

A man ran up to them and bowed hurriedly. “Lord Inas.” He looked at Jala, realized who she was, and bowed again. “My queen. No one's come off the ships. They're just sitting there. Our lookouts on the roof haven't seen anyone on deck.”

“You've sent men to our ships?” Lord Inas asked.

“Yes, my lord. A few were already awake. The Nongo planned to attack without waiting for us to combine our forces. Their captain is stupid with bravery. Some of the Gana captains plan to run. They've already raised sail.”

“We should burn these ships,” Jala said. “Stop them before they can disembark and put an end to it now.”

The man shook his head. “We tried, but the fire won't catch. My lord, we can defend ourselves better inside the manor. We can wait, and if no one comes out we'll push them back into the water with the tide. Let the ocean decide what to do with them.”

Lord Inas shook his head. “What makes you think they'd attack us here first? There are too many villages along the beach. No, if we're going to face them, we have to move now, combine our strength with the Nongo and board the ships before they're ready.”

The closest sailors looked at one another, then nodded. They were Kayet, and the villages around the manor were filled with their family and friends. Jala felt a pang of fear, for a moment regretting her decision to follow Lord Inas. But she couldn't take back what she had said now, not if Lord Inas was ever going to treat her as queen.

“At least then we'll know what these invaders are,” Lord Inas said. He pointed to a thin girl who looked barely old enough to be on the crew of a ship. “Namu. Send birds to the other families. If things go badly for us, maybe we can hold out long enough for help to arrive. Help or scavengers.”

The girl nodded and ran off.

“The rest of you, we're moving out,” Lord Inas called out.

“You're not our captain or our king,” one man said stubbornly. “Why should we risk our lives for you?”

Lord Inas drew his sword. “I'm the head of this family in the absence of the king. You'll do as I say.”

“I'm not Kayet, and I have my own head, thanks,” the man said. Jala looked closer and realized he was a Gana captain.

“We should get to our ship,” a Gana woman added. “With good wind we can be home by noon to help our own family.”

Lord Inas opened his mouth to speak, but Jala cut him off. “You won't have your head for long, if any of us live through this. I'm here, and I speak with the king's voice. Do as Lord Inas commands. Once the First Isle is safe, you can all go home. The Kayet will send ships to aid whichever family needs them.”

Jala held her breath as she waited for him to respond. She didn't know if she had it in her to order a man's death. But luckily the captain kept his mouth shut, though he glared at Jala.

“We'll face them now,” Lord Inas said. “We'll give them no time to rest and catch their bearings. We'll keep them trapped on the beach where their feet are uncertain.” He pointed to two of the servants. “Open the doors.”

They cleared away the makeshift barricade and did as he commanded.

It was pitch-dark outside. “Put out those lamps, damn it,” Lord Inas hissed. “We need to see.”

The lamps were blown out, the torches taken away. They all followed Lord Inas out into the dark.
If we lose, it won't be any less dangerous inside anyway
, Jala told herself. It didn't help.

The stars above them dimmed as they entered the fog that surrounded the ships. The air became thick and hard to breathe, and the smell made Jala's head swim. As they neared the ships, she realized that the nobleman at the window had been right. These “ships” were little more than wooden boxes, flat-bottomed like the barges the mainlanders used to travel on lakes and rivers.

She wondered if there were more ships coming. How many soldiers could each ship hold? Even more reason to find out what was inside.

Someone called out to Lord Inas. Jala tensed, wondering if this was it, if the fight was starting. But no, Lord Inas called back in greeting. Moments later, more men and women joined them, arriving from the nearest village. They were armed with knives and fishing spears. Jala spotted Azi among them.

She walked toward him as quickly as she could without running. The villagers parted to let her pass. It was embarrassing how relieved she felt to see him.

“Jala,” Azi said. “You should be inside where you'll be safe.”

“No,” Jala said. “I shouldn't. We've gathered nobles from the manor and some of the sailors that were on the beach. But they're tired and drunk, and some are badly armed. A few of the Gana ships have already sailed, and I was afraid others would follow. I couldn't find you, but I thought at least one of us should be here. To help keep the families together.”

“I came as soon as I heard,” Azi said. “How many in each ship?”

Jala shook her head. “We don't know. Nobody's seen them.”

He looked past her. “Damn it, what're they waiting for? They didn't come here just to listen to our drummers.”

“Your uncle thinks we need to see who or what's inside, even if they won't come out on their own. He thinks there'll be monsters inside, but he's sick with wine and mournroot.”

Azi winced. “Well. My uncle may be a drunk sometimes, but he was my father's right hand. I trust his judgment.”

Jala started to respond but was interrupted as Lord Inas reached them and greeted Azi. Azi let go of her hand to take his uncle's.

“My king,” Lord Inas said. “The men are ready to board the ships.”

Azi nodded. “We can't wait out here all night. Fetch some ladders.”

One of the nobles bowed, motioned to two other men, and ran with them back to the manor. When the ladders came, Azi chose one of the outlying ships to try first, saying, “I don't want us to be surrounded.” They leaned two ladders against the ship's side. Four sailors held them steady while others climbed up onto the deck.

So close to the ship it was impossible to see what was going on. Jala waited for the clash of metal, for the screams. She hated waiting. Hated not being able to do anything, hated not being wanted. Next to her Azi passed his sword from one hand to the other. “What's taking so long?” he muttered.

A woman's face appeared over the edge. “They're all dead, my king.”

“This is no time for jokes, sailor,” Lord Inas said.

The woman shook her head. “I wouldn't joke about this, my lord. It's just bodies up here and they're ages dead, it looks like. We checked the hold and it's all skeletons and dust.”

Lord Inas scowled. “Dead men don't sail ships. You missed something. They're hiding.”

“I'm going up to look,” Azi said. “Uncle, send some men to check another ship.”

Jala couldn't take it anymore. If she didn't do something, anything, she'd explode. She bunched up her skirts in one fist and started to climb after Azi.

Someone grabbed her ankle. “My queen, wait!” Jala kicked the hand away and climbed on. By the time she reached the top, she was out of breath and her face was hot.

A breeze blew from the ocean, and the scent of sorcery grew stronger. It smelled like something burning, like spices that seemed vaguely familiar but that Jala couldn't name. The smell clung to the back of her mouth and made her nose tingle and her throat burn.

Some of the sailors were gathered around an open hatch, and a few had lit their lamps once more to venture below. The smell was nearly overpowering there, and Jala had to hold her sleeve against her nose to keep from retching. She leaned forward to look inside.

The ship was filled with decaying bodies.

Then Jala blinked and looked again.
They aren't decaying at all. They're . . . dried out.
No maggots, no flies. Just dry, brittle faces and long strands of thin white hair falling over armor that still looked clean and new, faces partly covered by tall helmets with painted eyes, hands holding swords and spears as if they intended to attack at any moment. She watched as a dead man's jaw cracked and fell, shattering on the ground. Dust rose into the air.