Western Shore ac-3

  Western Shore

  ( Aldabreshin Compass - 3 )

  Juliet E. Mckenna

  Warlord Daish Kheda has been building political alliances, working to consolidate power over his new realm. Although he has saved his people from the twin evils of wizardry and dragons, he feels tainted by association with forbidden magic and fears he may bring great ill-fortune to his people. So Kheda resolves to once more join his Northern wizard allies in the hope of removing the dragon threat once and for all, and to seek whatever purification he can find. Only time can tell whether he will be condemned for his actions, or whether magic is less a sin than he was brought up to believe ...He tells his son in secret that he may not return, and sets his face to the future.

  Western Shore

  (The third book in the Aldabreshin Compass series)

  Juliet E McKenna

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Any on-going series is shaped by new ideas and unforeseen events. I am grateful to Steve, and to Mike and Sue, for supplying essential feedback, most especially on the vexed question of the final rewrite. For sharing their very personal perspectives on the arrivals of Scotty, and of Jaimee, my thanks to Matt and Trisha, and to Iain and Nici, and also to Liz B for midwifery lore. I'm also indebted to Declan for technical details on eye-trauma.

  The generous support of many people helps ensure home life keeps ticking over when professional calls on my time come thick and fast. Gill and Mike are pals above and beyond the call of duty. Ernie and Betty continue to provide essential assistance for which I am most grateful. The usual circle of friends helps me keep a sense of humour and a sense of proportion; most notably, Liz, Helen, Corinne and Penny.

  On the business side, my gratitude as always to Tim, Gabby, Jess and the Orbit team. I'm indebted to Lisa for both her professional skills and her friendship and my affectionate thanks go to my agent Maggie, and to Camilla and Jill.

  Writers in other genres often tell me they're envious of the well-established SF&F convention circuit and fan networks. They should be; fan enthusiasm is a constant source of inspiration and motivation and here I'm particularly grateful to Michele, Matt and Toby. I would also like to thank those hard-working convention committees

  here and abroad who've given me so many enjoyable opportunities to meet other authors, artists and keen readers of all manner of writing. Never doubt that you and your efforts are appreciated.

  CHAPTER ONE

  What a beautiful day. The rains are long past, all malaises driven out by the heat of the sun, yet the dry season is still far from punishing us.

  Seated on a wide, low-backed bench, Kheda looked around the immaculately tended garden in the hollow square at the heart of the luxurious dwelling. In the centre, grey and scarlet shadow finches sang merrily in their spacious aviary. The turquoise-painted wood echoed the roof tiles adorning the white-walled buildings. Above, the sky was the soft blue-grey of a courier dove's wing and the garden still husbanded the early-morning cool. When the heat of the day came, spinefruit trees would cast their generous shade. Vizail, jessamine and basket-flower shrubs flourished in the moist, fragrant air, nourished by rich earth, black in contrast with the paths of pale sand. Though none of the bushes were flowering as yet.

  They 're saving their strength for the trials of the hotter weather. Their glorious blooms will be harbingers of the rains to come when the first clouds blur the horizon. Then they'll blossom and this garden will be full of sunbirds and butterflies. Then seeds and fruit will fall to the moist earth to wait out deluge and mildew before sprouting to drink in the sunlight.

  'Are you sure it's not too early?' Beside him, Itrac shifted and tossed a silken cushion petulantly onto the raked sand. 'It should be a year less a hundred days—' She broke off, catching her breath.

  Kheda laid a gentle hand on the light cotton gown swathing his wife's swollen abdomen and waited for the contraction to pass. Eyes closed, her face twisted with pain as she groaned and rocked back and forth. Kheda allowed himself a grimace as she gripped his hand.

  At least I remembered to take my rings off. And Itrac's hands are barely swollen.

  He looked at her slender fingers crushing his fingers atop her gravid belly, hard as rock as the contraction racked her. With blood from northern and western domains in her lineage, her skin was more golden than bronze. Her knuckles showed white. Itrac drew a shuddering breath and opened her eyes, sweat beading her forehead.

  'Twins always come early,' Kheda said gently.

  'You really think it is twins?' Itrac brushed a stray wisp of hair from her forehead with a shaking hand. The thick plait of her waist-length black tresses was tousled and uneven after the long night of her steadily progressing labour. Stripped of the intricate cosmetics expected of a warlord's wife, she looked very young.

  As young as my eldest daughter, very nearly. Born half my life ago. When life had none of the complications that have so beset us both and forced us together like this.

  'Your womb grew by more than two fingers for every turn of the stars.' Kheda resisted the temptation to press harder as her belly softened with the passing of the contraction, to try to feel which way the babes were lying. 'I'm sure I could feel more than one head.'

  Was I right? Is one of them safely head-down? What do we do if they are both head-up? I can't feel any movement. But there's rarely any kicking this far into a birthing.

  He resolutely thrust away half-formed fears and used a scrap of muslin to mop Itrac's forehead. 'You're already as big as any woman bringing a babe through ten full turns of the stars.'

  As big as any of my former wives when the birthing came upon them.

  'But it's taking so long,' Itrac wailed. A weary tear escaped one hazel eye to glisten on her cheek. 'If I die, you must bury me here.' Her voice trembled. 'In this garden, so your next wife will be able to bless the domain with children—'

  'The first birth always takes the longest. Many women labour much longer—' Kheda swiftly changed tack at Itrac's mordant look. 'There is no reason to fear any danger to you or the babies.' He wiped away the tear and cradled her face in his sword-callused hand. 'Look at me.'

  Itrac obeyed, her face shadowed with fear.

  'Every turn of the stars has seen you in good health,' Kheda continued, reassuring. 'You've eaten well and rested as you needed to. I've done this before, many times—'

  'No you haven't!' Itrac's face contorted at the onset of another contraction. 'You may have watched. I watched—' She bit her lip, unable to continue.

  True enough; I have only watched, like any man. But I was there to receive my children wet with their birth blood as they slid from Janne, from Rekha. Such is the most intimate expression of a warlord's duty to care for every man, woman and child of his domain. But my former wives and children are lost to me, along with my former domain. Now all I can do is see Itrac safely delivered of these innocent babies that I have begotten on her with undoubted affection but no real love.

  The dull ache of loss gnawed beneath Kheda's breastbone as the contraction passed and Itrac's ragged moans gave way to weeping. 'I'm so tired,' she sobbed. 'I wish Olkai was here, and Sekni.'

  'It won't be much longer,' Kheda soothed as he put an

  arm around her shoulders. 'Jevin!' He snapped his fingers and the youth who'd been waiting motionless beneath a flame tree hurried forward, bearded face anxious. Like Kheda, he wore an unadorned tunic and trousers of unbleached cotton. This wasn't a day for the finery expected of a noble lady's body slave. Unlike Kheda, he had the straight black hair and compact physique of these southernmost domains.

  'Yes, my lord.'

  'A drink for your mistress.' Seeing the uncertainty in Jevin's eyes, Kheda frowned at the young man.

  Do you
remember I told you you 're to show no fear? No one must voice doubt as to a wholly favourable outcome.

  The youthful slave immediately forced a cheerful smile as he proffered the brass ewer and goblet he had been clutching. 'My lady?'

  'It's izam juice.' Kheda helped her take the goblet. 'Your favourite. Do you want another of the rosehip sweetmeats?'

  'I don't think I'll ever want to eat rosehips again.' Itrac managed a watery smile before sipping obediently.

  'Not too much.' Kheda's hand hovered, ready to ensure she didn't drink too deeply.

  Rosehips crushed with quail berries and yellow-fan seeds to ensure you don't labour in vain, just to feel the pains fade and the babies die with them, within you. Those herbs have done their work and better an empty stomach for what is to come. Izam juice with its sweetness to give you strength, with just enough poppy syrup to take the edge off the agonies for you without putting the children at risk. I learned to mix those doses precisely after Rekha and Janne's early labours.

  'Twins born to the domain will be a powerful omen.' Jevin was clutching the ewer so tightly he was in danger of leaving dents in the metal.

  'A portent of fertility and fair weather for all our islands and their people,' Kheda agreed robustly.

  As long as I can deliver them both safely and see Itrac through all the perils of childbed. These people could see few worse omens than the death of any one of them.

  'What do the stars say?' Her voice faint, Itrac looked up at the cloudless square of sky framed by the roofs of the pavilion.

  / never even thought to look at the skies when her pains first began. No matter. I could draw the jewels and constellations in every arc of the heavenly compass blindfold. I might as well be blind, for all the truth they can show me.

  Kheda looked up as he drew her close, feeling her trembling within the circle of his arm. 'The Pearl is in the arc of death -' he spoke resolutely over Itrac's inarticulate murmur of distress '- which in its positive aspect is also the arc of inheritance. With the Pearl waxing so close to its full, its talismanic properties make positive aspects dominant. Of all the heavenly gems, the Pearl's the most potent charm against death and for the present it's set among the stars of the Sailfish. That's always a symbol of fertility, all the more so when it swims with either moon.'

  'The Lesser Moon as heavenly Pearl must be a talisman for you, my lady.' Jevin looked at Kheda with uneasy hope. 'With our domain's pearl harvest so fruitful last year.'

  'In claiming that arc of the compass, the Lesser Moon also forms the point of a triune reading of the whole sky.' Kheda smiled confidently at Itrac. 'Today, of all days in the year, the Opal, the Amethyst and the Diamond are all in the heavenly arc of parenthood.'

  'Truly?' Itrac's wonder momentarily relieved her near-exhaustion.

  'Opal is a talisman for truth, while Amethyst counsels

  calm and humility. Believe me — we'll need both as parents.' Kheda handed the goblet back to Jevin. 'Diamond, talisman for all warlords and symbol of long life. The stars with them are those of the Horned Fish, a powerful emblem of life and renewal.'

  'They live and give birth in the open seas,' Jevin said encouragingly, 'even though they breathe the same air as us.'

  'If that's two points of the triangle, what's the third?' Itrac shifted, her bulk unwieldy, so unlike her usual elegant slenderness.

  'The Ruby is in the arc of life.' Kheda brushed a kiss across her clammy forehead. 'Talisman of vigour. In the arc of life where the stars of the Vizail Blossom are particularly bright at this season, and that's one of the most potent tokens of the hope all women carry within them—'

  'And the Ruby is a powerful talisman against blood loss,' Jevin interrupted.

  'Indeed.' Kheda shot a repressive look at the anxious youth.

  Weren 't you listening when I told you all she needs from you is constant reassurance? Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to warn you about all the things that can go wrong in childbirth.

  Another contraction seized Itrac. She moaned, low in her throat. Kheda took her hands and braced himself as her nails dug deep into his palms. Her groan rose to a howl that startled a cooing pair of glory-birds out of the nearest shade tree.

  That's a new note in her agony. It won't be long now, for good or ill. Jfevin can put his trust in rubies and heavenly conjunctions if he likes. I'll rely on all I was taught and all I've seen and all the preparations I've made.

  Kheda watched Itrac intently as the contraction passed,

  leaving her panting. A shiver ran through her and clear liquid darkened the cotton skirt of her loose dress. 'Oh, Kheda,' she gasped, suddenly scared.

  'My lord?' Jevin was equally alarmed.

  'That's the birth waters.' Kheda rose, lifting Itrac to her nerveless feet. 'It's time to go inside. Jevin, take her arm.'

  With the young slave supporting her other side, the warlord guided his wife towards the rear of the garden. Double doors stood open revealing a handful of apprehensive maidservants hovering inside.

  'Touai.' Kheda nodded to the foremost among them. He noted that two of the girls shared the older woman's lean build, their angular features softened by youth but still marking them as Touai's daughters.

  She brought her own living proof of successful childbearing, if Itrac's in any fit state to take comfort from their presence.

  Itrac's personal withdrawing room had been stripped of its customary lush carpets, the banks of silken cushions and low tables of polished and inlaid wood. Only the pale-pink walls painted with a riot of colourful birds flitting among nut palms and lilla trees remained the same. A sturdy bed with a firm cotton mattress had been set against one wall of the airy room and the cool lustre floor tiles were covered with swathes of calico. The morning sunlight filtered through thin muslin drapes tightly secured to bar entry to any flies drawn to the scents of blood and birth to come. As Kheda escorted Itrac inside, the maidservants circled around to close the door behind them and refasten the curtain, hiding the garden outside.

  'Let's get you to the bed.' As he spoke, another brutal contraction gripped Itrac, forcing them all to a halt. 'Where's Lihei?'

  'Here, my lord.' A sturdily built woman with tightly braided greying hair stepped forward and smiled reassurance at Itrac. 'Most honoured to be here, my lady.'

  / hope you got some sleep last night.

  Kheda set his jaw against his own fatigue. 'Let's get her to the bed.'

  Itrac collapsed onto the mattress as the next contraction seized her. She crouched on her hands and knees, keening wordlessly. Lihei hugged her shoulders, crooning soft reassurance. 'It'll pass, my lady, just let it pass.'

  Forcing himself to leave Itrac to the grey-haired woman's tender care, Kheda crossed the room to a wide table covered with more calico.

  She should have sister-wives to support her, offering that understanding no man can hope to match. All we have is our steward's new wife, a widowed weaving woman until she caught his eye. But Olkai and Sekni are dead and gone and I'm done with marriage for alliance or advantage in trade or territory. I wouldn't have married Itrac if there had been any other way to see her safe from those who would have abused her.

  'Touai, you're certain there will be plenty of warm water when we need it?'

  'Yes, my lord.' The older maidservant filled a basin from a tall ewer, her hands steady.

  Kheda felt a tremor in his own hands as he scooped soft soap from a shallow dish and rubbed it to a lather. As he scrubbed his hands and nails scrupulously, he surveyed cotton cloths neatly folded, ready to swaddle the newborns. A silver tray held smaller squares of muslin as well as a handful of brilliant red ribbons weighted down by a small set of gleaming steel shears. A copper box hid its contents from view.

  Needles cleansed with flame. Boiled thread for sewing, inevitably.

  'It hurts so much,' Itrac moaned, turning her head into Lihei's accommodating bosom.

  'I know, flower.' Lihei hugged the young woman close. 'You rest a moment and let me see h
ow we're doing.'

  With Jevin's anxious help, the grey-haired woman persuaded Itrac to sit up against the head of the bed, propped on firm cushions, her feet planted wide. Itrac's head lolled forwards, her chin on her chest, her eyes closed. Kheda rinsed his hands as Lihei sat on the end of the bed and lifted Itrac's skirts up over her knees to see how matters were progressing.

  Jevin came to meet him as he approached the bed. 'She's exhausted, my lord,' he said, low and fearful. 'How can she go on?'

  'She's past the point where she has any choice,' Kheda said with compassion.

  Itrac gasped before Jevin could say anything. 'I have to push.'

  'That's as it should be,' Lihei agreed calmly. 'I'll be easing you with warm cloths and oil, my lady, to see if we can't do this without leaving you too sore.' The older woman glanced over her shoulder at Kheda. 'It won't be long now, my lord.'

  The warlord nodded. 'Jevin, open that blue bottle and sluice my hands.' He held them over the bowl. As the young slave obeyed, the sharp alcohol stung small scratches on Kheda's hands that he hadn't even realised were there. 'Empty the basin,' he ordered. 'No, not in there!'

  About to empty the basin into a shallow ceramic bowl underneath the table, Jevin froze.

  'That's for the afterbirth,' Kheda reminded the slave, curbing his own irritation with some difficulty.

  Jevin's face was already muddy with weariness after the long, sleepless night. He went positively ashen before scurrying away to empty the basin into a slop bucket standing by a far door.

  Kheda glanced at an ebony coffer tucked away beneath the table's calico drape.

  Blue casque in case the pains stop altogether; we shan 't need that now. Saller rust, perhaps, if there's too much bleeding, but not before the afterbirth is delivered. Hind's herb and black bark, to bring on her milk and ease the pains after the babes are born; that can wait awhile. The root of the yellow earth star will be the most important, to strengthen her blood against childbed fevers. But we have to see these children born first.