The reaction of the gatekeeper was somewhat extreme. It must have had a low toleration of pain. It leaped backwards so quickly that most of its thousand legs became entangled; it lost its balance and rolled sideways in the snow, crushing another unfortunate militiaman.
Do you like the sensation of slither? I asked, speaking my words straight into its head.
Enough! Enough! it cried – although of all the sentient minds around, I was the only one who heard it, its thoughts trembling within my head.
Allow me my rights! I demanded. Grant me entry into Valkarky and a hearing before the Triumvirate and I will ease the discomfort in your eyes and slither right out of your brain.
Yes! Yes! I grant it! it said.
Keeping my promise, I withdrew from its head. It rolled back onto most of its feet and brought its head close so that my horse began to tremble even more violently and little Nessa began to moan with terror. Quickly I spat into its nearest eye for a second time. This time my saliva contained an antidote to the irritation.
However, it was a long time before it spoke, and for a moment I feared betrayal. ‘I must test you to verify your claims,’ it growled.
I nodded acceptance, and now it was my turn to feel the touch of its long tongue on my forehead. It would be able to taste whether I was lying or not. At last the tongue withdrew back into its cavernous mouth.
‘You believe that you are telling the truth. But lies can sometimes be cloaked by magic. Nevertheless, your claims deserve further investigation. Would you submit to a rigorous probing?’ it asked.
‘Willingly,’ I said.
‘On that condition, I grant entry to the city and a hearing for this haizda mage!’ it cried out, and it was done.
I leaned down and whispered into Nessa’s ear, ‘That wasn’t too bad, was it? I promised your father that I would look after you, and I am certainly keeping that promise!’
Thus we were given permission to enter Valkarky, and our enemies could do nothing to prevent it. The two younger sisters were hysterical now, while even brave Nessa was clearly struggling with the prospect of entering our beautiful city. So I breathed into each of their faces in turn, using boska, and caused them to fall into a very deep sleep.
So long as I lived, they were safe. So long as I kept them in separate rooms in my own quarters and always accompanied them in public in the appropriate manner, the law would protect them.
I walked through the gates, my head held high, while the sisters were carried inside by the Kobalos servants summoned by the gatekeeper. We haizda mages rarely visit Valkarky, but in case it ever proves necessary, we maintain quarters here, along with a small number of servants to receive us. Within an hour I was safe in that refuge, all my needs attended to while the sisters slept.
What lucky girls they were to have such a benevolent owner!
First I tried to wake Nessa.
I had already breathed into her face to counter the effects of boska, but her eyes remained stubbornly shut. She was proving very difficult to rouse, and for a few moments I feared that in my haste to render her unconscious, I had made the chemical mixture too strong and damaged her brain. This happens only rarely, but it is always a risk. My error would have been forgivable. After all, I had been occupied with my negotiations with the gatekeeper and had other, more important things on my mind.
I studied her face, willing her to wake up. My anxiety growing, I began to call out her name.
NESSA
‘WAKE UP, LITTLE Nessa!’ cried a voice. It seemed to come from a great distance. I was in a deep, comfortable sleep and just wanted to be left alone. Then I was shaken roughly by the shoulder.
The moment I opened my eyes I was filled with the extreme terror that comes to one whose nightmare follows her back to the waking world. Instantly I remembered the horrors before the gates of Valkarky and the terrible sensation of choking when Slither breathed into my face. I had fallen into darkness, believing that I was dying. But it wasn’t that which caused my heart to flutter and my whole body to shake. Nor was it the snarl on the face of the beast as he shook me.
What made me shrink away to the far corner of my bed was the thing that I saw behind him.
‘There is no need to be afraid,’ Slither told me in his gruff voice. ‘For the present you are quite safe. This is the refuge for haizda mages visiting Valkarky.’
I took several shallow breaths and managed to point over his right shoulder at the horrific thing on the wall. He looked back at it and then gave the travesty of a smile.
It looked like an extremely large human head with six thin, multi-jointed legs sprouting from the place where its ears should have been. It had long hair but neither eyes nor a nose. There wasn’t room for them. A huge oval mouth took up most of its face, and from it protruded three long thick tongues covered with backward-facing barbs. It seemed to be licking the walls, making a harsh rhythmical rasping sound as it did so.
‘Because these quarters are rarely used, they are subject to fungal growth. What you see is just a harmless sklutch, one of the lesser servants that we employ. It is merely going about its routine duties, cleaning the walls with its tongues and sucking up the loose fragments. There is no need to be afraid, little Nessa. It is simply a diligent servant, but as it disturbs you I will send it away immediately.’
With those words he clapped his hands very hard. The hideous creature stopped its cleaning at once and raised two front antennae which, until then, had been hidden by its long hair. They twitched and revolved in a slow circle.
Slither gave three more claps, and it immediately scuttled down the wall and retired to a narrow crevice near the floor.
‘The sklutch, with its soft brown hair, thin black legs and efficient tongues, is perfectly formed and suited to its task, little Nessa. It never ceases to astonish me how such a plump creature is able, without the use of magic, to fold itself into such a narrow crack. Anyway, how are you feeling now?’
Suddenly I felt ashamed. My own fears had dominated everything and I had forgotten all about Bryony and Susan. ‘Where are my sisters?’ I demanded, rising up onto my knees.
‘They are quite safe, but according to Kobalos custom each purra must be housed in a separate room. I can behave no differently here than I did in the kulad. Besides, your sisters are still sleeping.’
‘They weren’t safe in that tower. Why should this be any different?’
‘Fear not, Nessa. This is Valkarky, a city ruled by law where everyone watches. That kulad was under the control of a corrupt High Mage with no respect for the property of others. I assure you that it will be different here.’