The Apocalypse Script (24 page)

“
Why should you?” scowled Nizrok.
“We are Peth-Allati! We are neither scribes nor royalty. The
Families have no duty to share their plans with us and you should
not be putting your nose into their affairs. If my king directs the
Fourth Peth to march into the underworld, we will, and we will not
ask why.”

Looking frustrated, Belusmar downed the glass of
water in front of him and said, “The underworld is likely where we
will end up without a map.”

Disparthian scratched his chin.
“Perhaps you subscribe to the theories of the mad king? Do you
think, Belusmar, that the Sillum is scheming to usurp the Nisirtu?
Shall you rally the Houses and march on Bolivia?”

“
I never said that,” the other man
grumbled. “You’d be well-advised not to mock me.”

“
Disparthian, you forget
yourself,” said Moros. “Belusmar is concerned for the future of his
House, as well he should be. We are each bound to protect our
Families and our citizens.”

Turning toward Belusmar, he said,
“But Lord, you ask questions that should not be asked. Even if
there were no plan, the Nisirtu will continue to rule the surviving
Ardoon. We did in the day of the Madihee, when we had only horses
and spears. Unlike the Ardoon, we have a network, and purpose, and
understanding. We have stockpiles of equipment, food, materials,
and weapons. While the Ardoon are groveling for scraps and killing
one another in the ruins, we will be building empires.”

“
Unless,” mused Disparthian,
concealing a grin beneath one hand, “the Sillum beats us to
it.”

After dinner, Ben brought one of
the tablets from the cave to a large room Ridley had provided for
his studies. It resembled Ridley’s study except that it was larger
and contained more books, many of which were published hundreds of
years before. The linguist was sitting at his desk and studying one
of the tablets beneath a magnifying glass when Fiela appeared at
the door.

“
Can I speak to you,
Mutu?”

Lowering the glass, he said, “Sure, what’s up?”

The girl sauntered over to him, her arms behind her
back. “It is our wedding night.”

“
Oh,” said Ben, checking his
watch. He thought this might be coming and he still hadn’t decided
how to handle it. What did Lilian and Fiela expect of him, now that
he was a Nisirtu husband? What should he expect of them? In his
heart, he still didn’t believe in the world they had painted as
real, and he wasn’t sure how deep into the rabbit hole he should
go.

He said, “It’s just past eight, so
I thought I’d spend a few minutes…I mean, I thought you and Lilian
were occupied with something.”

“
Mutu, I’m not here to collect
you. I only wish to talk to you.”

Ben placed the glass and tablet on
the table. He was relived, but said, “This better not be about
fetches.”

“
It is not.”

“
Then let’s talk.”

As if invited, Fiela moved forward
and sat down in his lap, putting one arm around his neck. “There
are some things you need to know about your new wife, my sister,”
she said matter-of-factly. “Things I would rather you hear from me
than from other Nisirtu.”

“
A lot of things, I’m sure,”
replied Ben. “I only met her a few days ago.”

“
What do you know of her
past?”

“
Well, I know she’s the daughter
of a Nisirtu king, a great musician, articulate, good-looking and
highly educated. In short, she’s a princess.”

The Peth nodded but leaned her
head to one side as if mitigating her response. “Had you ever met a
princess before, husband?”

“
Not that I’m aware
of.”

“
You understand they are human.
They aren’t issued from a doll factory.”

“
Obviously.”

“
Then you would not be surprised
to learn that Lilian has done some things she regrets?”

“
Drugs?”

“
Yes,
definitely,
lots
of drugs, but not anymore. Except, you know, for
some herbs. That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“
Then what?” Ben asked.

Fiela’s expression was pained. “I
speak honestly and without accusation or judgment because I love
Lilian. Dearly. I cannot imagine my life without her, so do not
think less of me for wishing to share with you what she will not,
or cannot.”

“
Disclaimer acknowledged. Go
on.”

“
She has had many
lovers.”

“
Okay.”

“
Many.”

“
You said that.”

“
Hundreds.”

“
Oh…”

“
Most were
Ardoon. Many were women. All of this is
known
, Mutu.”

“
Known to whom?”
he asked, but then he understood. “Oh, you mean,
known to the Nisirtu
.”

“
Yes. She is called by some…”
Fiela stopped.

“
Go on.”

The girl seemed to struggle with
the words. “Some call her
Kulmittu
. Others call her
Shamkhat
.”

“
Meaning?”

She put her mouth to his ear and
whispered,
“
The
whore.
”

Ben froze. He hadn’t
expected
that
.
His countenance must have given him away, because Fiela’s
expression suggested he was preparing to throw the girl off his
lap, declare the marriage a fraud, and storm from
Steepleguard.

He tried to downplay his reaction.
“Look, Fiela, I only met Lilian, and you, a few days ago. My
so-called marriage to her is a ploy to achieve our ends and is
fictional. I mean, the fact is that while I’m fond of both Lilian
and you, I’m not to the point where I can be bothered by the fact
that Lilian has a sordid sexual history, and her sexual preferences
are none of my business. I’m no boy scout, myself. I really don’t
care what others think of her. Is she…well, has she contracted any
diseases?”

“
Oh, no, Mutu,” responded the
Peth. “She has no diseases. Nisirtu are immune to most.”

“
Ah, good.” Trying to reroute the
discussion, he said, “You said she has been with women. Are…well,
are you two involved?”

Fiela said, “We are not alike in
that way. Lilian likes women, you know, physically, almost as much
as men, but she doesn’t get emotionally attached to them. I don’t
think she’s ever had a boyfriend
or
girlfriend. I know that she loves me, but as a
sister, and so she rarely requests my affections.”

“
Affections?”

“
Sex.”

Ben shifted his eyes to one side
and slowly shook his head. “But you just said you weren’t
interested in women, and that you and Lilian weren’t involved, and
that she loved you like a sister.”

The girl seemed confused by his
statement. “We are
adopted
sisters, and she
does
love me, and I am
not
interested in women,
and we are
not
involved. But Lilian does like women and desires me more than
any other.” Seeing the man’s astonishment, the girl said, “She
makes no secret of it, Mutu, but neither does she impose upon me. I
love her, so why should I not grant her relief from her burden on
occasion?”

“
On occasion?”

Fiela shrugged. “Maybe once a
year? Not often. I must be careful, because I can return her love
for me in full measure, but not her lust, and so our relationship
must be based on sisterly love, you see. She knows
this.”

Ben was surprised at Fiela’s
insight, and the complicated bond between the two women.

“
Anyway,” the girl continued,
“when I attend to her needs, it is physical for her, but platonic
for me. Do you understand, now?”

Rubbing his face briskly, the
linguist replied, “Fiela, I think you need to look up the word
‘platonic.’ But never mind, I take your meaning.” After taking a
few moments to regain his wits, he said, “Okay. Thank you for being
candid. Was there something else?”

Fiela, looking relieved, collected
her thoughts and said, “Yes. It is something I thought I’d mention
since this is the first official day of our marriage and
everything.”

She is taking this ‘marriage’ act
very seriously
, thought Ben, feeling
guilty that he did not and that he had just told her so. He was
certain that Lilian viewed the marriage the same way he did. Only
Fiela seemed to view it as legitimate and in a weird way that broke
his heart a little.

“
Go on,” he said.

Fiela toyed with a button on his
shirt. “Lilian can be demanding. With me, I mean. Sometimes. You
must accept that it is my will to comply with her instructions,
whatever they are. She is the daughter of a king. I am Peth-Allati.
Lilian and I are bound by our histories but we are not equals and
never will be. If you try to shift that balance, it will cause a
lot of grief.”

“
Why do you think I’ll do that?”
asked Ben.

“
Because you are
a compassionate person -
no, do not
object
- and I think you like me.
Right?”

“
Yeah,” admitted Ben. “You are
growing on me. Despite your homicidal tendencies.”

She beamed. “I
love
you, I think. I mean, I love
Lilian, and what I feel for you is much like what I feel for
her.”

The researcher wasn’t sure how to
respond to that. “Fiela, we met two days ago. You fall in love too
quickly.”

“
Knowing I could die tomorrow, is
it not best to love today?”

“
I usually don’t bank on dying,
honestly.”

“
But I am a Peth. I do everything
with the assumption I will die tomorrow, Mutu. Anyway, what I am
telling you is that Lilian and I were born Nisirtu and our culture
is different than yours. When you are with me, or Lilian, we will
accept your ways. They are Ardoon ways and while you are no longer
Ardoon we know that you will not change them.”

“
Thanks, I guess.”

The girl shrugged. “It will not be
hard for us, because we have been surrounded by your culture almost
from birth. We mostly understand your belief system. But you do not
understand ours and perhaps never will, completely, so you may find
it difficult to accept our behavior.”

“
Are you concerned about anything
in particular?”

“
No. I am
speaking of a million little things. We are just -
different.
Can you
accept that?”

“
Of course.”

“
Will you then allow us to be
ourselves and not force Ardoon ways on us always?”

Ben grimaced. “It sounds terrible
when you put it like that. I won’t force
my
ways on you or anyone
else.”

She beamed. “Good!” and kissed him on the nose.

He squinted at her, wondering if
he’d been manipulated into agreeing something he would regret. He
was beginning to think the girl was wiser than he’d assumed.
“That’s it?”

She thought a moment. “Do you read
poetry?”

“
No, not since I was forced to in
school.”

“
Oh,” the girl said, looking
disappointed.

At that moment Ben remembered the
book he had found in her jeans back at his apartment.
The girl’s trying to bond with you, moron, and
you just shot her down.

He added quickly, “I mean, you
know how much I love books, but my schedule doesn’t permit much
leisure time.”

“
Perhaps you will have more while
you are here,” she suggested, keeping her chin down but raising her
violet eyes to meet his.

“
I’m sure I will. Is there
anything else?”

Fiela nodded. “Lilian said you
were interested in the American president’s position on education
reform.” The girl rolled now rolled her eyes as if that was the
most ludicrous thing she had ever heard. “She said he gave a speech
today somewhere to someone and that you should check it out on the
internet.”

Ben made a face. “I don’t know why
she said that. I really don’t have much interest in that subject.
It just came up in conversation.”

“
Good, because
that subject kind of, you know, sucks. But she said to tell you
that you should go to
great
lengths
to find out what he
said.”

With that, she hopped off his lap
and darted out of the room. As he watched her go, Ben reviewed the
conversation in his head several times looking for clues as to what
it was really about. He came up empty and so pulled out his phone
and surfed to his favorite news site. The story was buried deep –
it was a story about education, after all - but in time, he found
it.