Chapter 24

“You’re a what?” she exclaimed.

“Keep your voice down,” Zuri said. “Your mother may sleep lightly.”

“We aren’t doing anything untoward,” she said with a determined look.

“Heresy is much more of a crime than an unmarried liaison,” Zuri said. “Liaisons can be rectified, but heresy can only be discharged once the head has rolled off your shoulders.”

Zuri retrieved his staff, holding it in his lap. He let his Ahsa flow into the staff until it hummed with energy. He instructed the young woman to touch the staff, which she did with her finger. “Grab hold of the staff like you mean it,” Zuri said, and she did.

“Your staff feels warm like it’s alive,” she said. “Can I hold with both hands?”

“Sure,” Zuri said nodding. “Take both hands and I will let go.”

“My God, I feel emboldened, powerful even,” she said. “What is this?”

“What you are experiencing is everything your father and your brother deny is possible, Netta,” Zuri said. “This is the legacy that the Gura forgot or put away; they deny vehemently that Ahsa even exists though they can see it with their eyes. If you can hold my staff without fear, then you have the capacity to receive this legacy. You can earn your own staff.”

“God is great,” she said.

“No, God is a given,” Zuri said. “Greatness is what we strive to achieve through our words and actions. In the ghura way Ghura Way, you are not allowed to call upon or rely upon God to accomplish what needs doing.”

“I like your way a hell of a lot better than dad’s,” Netta said. “How do I start?”

“Can you get yourself to Kaosa in Qirin?”

“Aren’t you going to Covanera?” Netta asked.

Zuri shook in head in denial. “I needed an excuse to look at the maps in the temple. I’m headed for the Convocation as your father has.”

“You will never get there in time. He left weeks ago.”

“The distance is not an issue for a Ghura, Netta. Can you get to Kaosa?”

“My uncle and cousin are merchants who have a route that goes there, for something they will not mention,” Netta said.

“They’re buying drugs; expensive, addictive mind-numbing drugs and some exotic brandies to cover their deeds,” Zuri said. “They’re smugglers. If you can convince them to take you, you want to go to the Two Doves Inn and ask for Adana. Tell her First Master Zuri sent you, and she will take care of the rest. If she is not there, go to the Gura temple and tell Kortazar the same thing.”

“I can become a Ghura like you in Kaosa?” Netta said.

“Kaosa is not your final destination,” Zuri said. “The Old Folk of Qirin outside of Kaosa itself will protect you and guide you. I will meet you at the final destination.”

“You make it sound mysterious and dangerous,” Netta said.

“For a young woman traveling about the kingdom, the way is dangerous,” Zuri said. “You show the gift though and I’m afraid the gift is rare. If you can make it to Kaosa, all the skills I have can also be yours through your own merit.”

“I’ll try,” she said. “I’ll start tomorrow.”

“I will be leaving early tomorrow as well,” Zuri said, taking her hand in his. “Be safe and I will see you there. Now, let’s both get some sleep because there is much to do.”

Zuri arose early, graciously accepting a hunk of bread and a slab of cheese from the cook. He was in the Pointing Chayre and began searching for his next destination before the sun rose fully above the horizon. Each time he used the device, his confidence in manipulating the mechanism grew. He chose a link and tapped.

Chickens were clucking and a rooster was crowing a challenge nearby. The chapel was small and while somewhat clean, it appeared little used. The back hallway was blocked off. The front door was unlocked though. He stepped out into a large pen for chickens and goats. Just down from the pen was the backside of a large two-story house made of fired bricks. He picked out the two sheds and the washer tub overhang. Zuri was confused.

“What are you doing on the Earl’s property?” a man dressed as an overseer with high boots said. His aura was angry.

Zuri gave the man a passive face. “Temple; Gura. Gura; temple.”

“This is the Earl’s private temple and if he wants Gura on premises, he’ll bring his own. Now get the hell out of here.” The man went to grab Zuri’s arm as if he was used to manhandling people. Zuri allowed him to grasp his arm as he opened himself to Ahsa. As the overseer attempted to throw Zuri to the ground, Zuri shook the man’s Ahsa, causing him great pain as he fell to his knees. With a pique of anger, Zuri kicked the man in the side of the head, causing him to fall into the dirt.

Placing his staff above the man’s heart, Zuri pushed a slight pulse that caused the man writhe on the ground. “The temple does not belong to the Earl or to anyone else for that matter. I will return and more Ghura will be coming as well. If this temple is not free and open to all by the time I return, the life of the Earl and all the people who serve him are forfeit.

“What you are experiencing is a mere taste of the power,” Zuri said with a feral grin. “I know the crimes you have committed against the local people. ‘I was only following orders’ is not an excuse I will accept. If you continue, I promise you your innards will not go to waste, becoming slop for the hogs.

“You don’t have to take my word, overseer. Let the power speak for itself.” Zuri moved the staff to the man’s head. With an experimental twist of the Ahsa, he caused every follicle of hair on the man’s head to die, his scalp, his eyebrows, and his fulsome beard. “You’ve been warned once and there will not be another. You’ve been marked as a demonstration of the anger that awaits the Earl if he chooses to ignore my words. If one window or one stone of the temple is scratched, the price will unbearably heavy too.”

Zuri withdrew his staff and took a step back. “Run.”

The man crawled to his feet faster than Zuri expected and took off like his pants were on fire. He ran past the house, the whiteness of his bald head standing out in contrast to his tanned skin. The man disappeared around the corner. After straightening his cloak, Zuri followed him.

The front of the house was beautiful with a raised porch and columns that soared two stories high. The front door was open. Zuri did not bother to knock as he stepped inside the country manor. He listened for a moment, trying to determine from where the voices were coming. Upstairs.

“They’re upstairs,” the young maid said, making Zuri jump. He did not see or sense her presence before she spoke.

“Who are they?”

“Earl Jargodan’s middle and youngest sons and Overseer Kul,” the maid said with a quiet voice. “The younger is not a problem, but you will have to watch yourself with the other one, a nastier piece of work hardly exists, and I’ve met some horrible ones. The whole family is a boil on a demon’s ass, if you want to know the truth.”

“Make yourself safe,” Zuri said just as softly while looking up the stairs. “Courage comes with many rewards. A blessing on your head, young maid, for your courage.”

He barely heard her thanks as he started climbing the stairs. Upstairs, the loud voice was easy to hear. “Well, just burn down the damn building. No one uses the stupid place except for these wretched peasants. Of course, all they have is prayer and after all the prayers they’ve uttered, you’d think their god would answer. Father would never allow one of those religion dolts near the house.”

Another voice spoke but Zuri could not hear it. As he walked down the hallway slowly, the loud voice spoke again. “By the demons, you look ugly. How did he wallop you so hard that your hair fell out?”

“There was no walloping involved,” Zuri said, stepping into the room. “Ah, a well-appointed library and a settee for lounging; how quaint.”

“Vermin in the house! Kill him,” the man with long hair tied in a bow enunciated in distinct syllables.