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Chapter 47. The House of Bones |
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t the end of a long day of travel, the wallow coach nudged its way back through the ancient iron gates and up the root-encrusted track to the Svenka estate. Perpetual gloom clung to the forest floor as the lifeless trees crowded out the sky. Only ferns and moss grew there, clustered in scattered pools of filtered light that speared the petrified canopy. At the top of the rise loomed a ring of massive trees that had been transformed into a grand mansion for its secretive clan. The diamond-paned windows blazed a warm amber hue in the dimness, but no comfort awaited Lemony there. Lancet arches and amber-veined pillars of stone dwarfed her tiny form as she limped wearily toward the immense iron-bound door behind Josef while clasping Xue Xue’s little hand. Ama greeted him in the entry hall before the throat of an immense fireplace that cast an infernal glow over the high-ceilinged hall. Despair settled in the pit of Lemony’s stomach once more. They need use no chain to bind her there. Threatening to harm Mog was hardly necessary for she would not survive a day alone in that remote forest with its terrible creatures. Xue Xue pressed close to her, trembling like a frightened bird as the two of them stood silent at the edge of an immense white tiger pelt laid out on the stone floor. Without a sound, she squeezed the girl’s hand and allowed the child to curl under her arm despite the pain of her bruised ribs. Her greatest desire now was simply to rest somewhere quiet, alone and undisturbed. After a bath to wash Josef’s taint from her flesh. A pair of rangers wearing the white fur-trimmed regalia of Svenka stood just inside the door, watching their arrival with mild disinterest. Lemony knew of at least ten of them, each with white tigers, that prowled the perimeter of the vast estate and kept uninvited guests at bay. They would find her long before the dredge or mantis if she tried to leave and they would not be gentle in her retrieval. Josef enjoyed hunting with them and had a set of leathers and a black lacquered bow to match theirs. A few of the serving women gossiped in whispers of his prey, Luxon prisoners or disloyal servants, that were set loose on the grounds and chased until they could run no more. In the end, the tigers always feasted upon the spoils. Lemony had at first thought it nothing more than idle prattle, but now she was not so certain. “This is your daughter?” Ama asked Josef coldly, folding her arms imperiously as she stood before them dressed in a long black gown. Her unbound silver hair cascaded brightly against the rippling darkness of the fine cloth. Her age showed in deep lines around her eyes and mouth now that she was without the usual Kurzick carapace of paint and powder. “Would I bring back any other?” Ama’s dark eyes narrowed and fell upon Lemony. “She was limping. Playing rough with property that does not belong to you?” “She is a healer. Once we are done here she can see to herself.” Ama snorted dismissively, her eyes hard with anger. “How do you know this child is yours? You said her mother is your mistress. Does that not mean she had others in her bed? Might she not be the spawn of a lesser man?” Josef snorted as if the idea had no merit at all and the evidence was right before them. “The harlot lived with me and served me alone during the time of conception. When she became pregnant I sent her away and then she vanished for a time. I assumed she rid herself of the babe because it threatened her livelihood. Apparently she was a sentimental fool.” Lemony swallowed, realizing Josef spoke of Xue Xue’s mother in the past tense. “A harlot is not a worthy vessel for the daughter of a lord,” Ama snapped. “What of my father? How am I to know whether he was noble or peasant? You and Marga laugh and jest about my likeness to him but you will never tell me his true identity.” Ama laughed cruelly. “And you know very well why that is.” Josef’s jaws tightened with rage but Ama cut him off, holding up a hand adorned with long translucent nails reminiscent of claws. “Until you marry and breed properly, I will acknowledge this as your heir. Should a legitimate child of your issue arise, however, I will send it away.” Xue Xue’s grasp tightened over Lemony’s hand and she pressed closer as Ama knelt on one knee to get a good look at her. The necromancer’s long nails dug into the child’s jaw as she grasped her face and turned it one way, then the other. Xue Xue made no sound or attempt to escape, only shuddered. “A pretty child. Her mother would have done well by her when she came of age. Is the mother alive to lay claim?” “Of course not. I saw to that.” Ama released the girl and rose, gazing upon Josef as Lemony fought to stifle a cry of disgust. He had killed Xue Xue’s mother because it was expedient and he made no attempt to hide that from his child. “As her grandmother and Keeper of the Bones, I will see to her care and training,” Ama said despite the white rage creeping onto Josef’s visage, “It is my right.” “Very well,” he snapped fiercely. “Until I know which god has touched her, she will stay in my wing with her nanny. And it looks like you wisely chose Poppet for the task,” Ama said, now turning her hawk-sharp gaze upon Lemony, “You would never harm a child now, would you, Poppet?” Lemony shook her head, emotion straining her throat. “If I see that Poppet is hurt while under your care again, you will regret it, Josef. Do I make myself clear?” “Yes, Mother,” Josef croaked and for once something other than gloating or anger slithered across his visage. He was afraid. Ama called for a servant and without further discussion, the matter was settled. Lemony and Xue Xue were led into a part of the house she had never seen before. It was lush and richly appointed, its paneled walls draped with fading tapestries depicting scenes of a forest rich with life and sunlight. The carpet beneath her feet was so soft it was like walking on clouds and its intricate pattern was of fanciful birds and rosettes. A long gallery of arched windows cast the gloomy gray light of the morning forest into the depths of the house. In the next hall, they moved past a long table that gleamed under a dark patina of age and varnish. The walls were graced with paintings whose dark eyes followed them. They all had the hard dark eyes of Josef and Ama. Lemony knew without asking they depicted long dead members of the Svenka line. The servant guided her then up several flights of worn stairs hewn from the petrified flesh of the great tree. The steps traced a flat spiral winding up and up, its curved walls occasionally pierced with a narrow window that cast its amber light upon them. They climbed past three landings, coming at last to a cluster of rooms empty of inhabitants or furniture. Even the tapestries and carpets had been removed leaving rectangular spaces to record their absence. “The late Lady Kalindra’s suite,” said the young man reverently as if this should have meaning to Lemony, “No one has dwelt here since she passed two score winters ago.” Lemony did not know what to say and only nodded. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the rooms beyond its palpable antiquity. The stone walls had been smoothed and plastered but it was crumbling away as dust and damp did their work. The curved walls were pierced with more lancet windows sealed with diamond-paned glass. It was a nicer place than a mat at the foot of Josef’s bed but it was still just another prison. “Josef’s daughter can stay in that room,” the servant continued, gesturing to the smaller of the two chambers that lead from the empty parlor in which they currently stood. “What is your name?” she asked, taking a chance that a servant would not have the authority to discipline her for speaking. She had never seen him before, and as far as she could tell, they were as far from Ama and Josef as it was possible to be in that place. “Leod Asper,” he replied after an awkward pause, “I am not allowed to have a conversation with you, Miss.” He lowered his eyes apologetically and turned from her to stride toward the larger of the two rooms. She had not looked closely at him until then. Like most people, he was considerably taller than she. He wore a stiff jacket of watered black silk over a high-collared blouse and matching vest. His form-fitting pantaloons were of a floral patterned cloth in a gloomy purple hue that buckled at the knee and over the top of his pale stockings. His face was painted white and his brows had been plucked and drawn back in with a thin line so that he had a constant expression of serene attentiveness. She fancied the strangely coifed pile of glossy black hair on his head was a wig, like hers. Lemony would never understand the Kurzick aesthetic. In her native Ascalon, only the dead were made up so meticulously, and that was only in households that believed in displaying a bloated corpse before it was buried. “This will be your room. It has a spacious window seat where you can rest while we procure furnishings.” “Xue Xue has not had a morsel to eat since yesterday. I will also require a basin and hot water for bathing and linen enough for afterward.” Leod paused and wrung his hands, clearly uncertain what to make of her demands. “Of course,” he said at last, “Please, make yourself at home.” The man departed, closing the heavy door with a rattle of keys. Lemony knew without looking that there was no other way out of there. This was the topmost suite, and as she approached the window seat with its oriel windows, it was no surprise that she gazed down from a great height on the fern-encrusted ground. Sighing, she tossed the wig carelessly aside and cast off the mask. Without asking, Xue Xue attempted to release the laces on the back of the corset. Josef had drawn it much too tight that morning and she gasped in pain when its pressure was removed from her bruised ribs. “Are you alright?” Xue Xue asked as Lemony chanted softly to heal herself. A soft azure glow suffused her aching body and the agony of his violation faded from her flesh but not her memory. She turned her face toward the window, not wanting the little girl to see her weep. “I’ll be fine.” “Why do you let him hurt you?” Lemony sobbed in response, the child disarming her with that most basic of questions. How could she explain the delicacy of her situation, that sometimes there were no good choices, only bad or worse ones. “They will hurt my friend,” she said after a time, trying to keep her voice even and regain her composure. Oddly, Xue Xue seemed satisfied by that answer and sat down beside her on the window seat before crawling into her lap to embrace her gently. The aching need of the child drew Lemony back from despair and she rocked the little girl gently until the servant returned with food and the comforts she had requested of him. As the two of them ate and washed behind an ornate screen the servant procured for their privacy, other servants arrived with furniture and fresh bedding. Soon they were left alone and the two of them went to their beds for a well-deserved nap. Lemony did not awaken until Leod nudged her arm. “Master Josef requires you to escort his daughter to the ebon hall. I will await you in the parlor.” Lemony’s stomach flip-flopped unpleasantly. It was too much to hope Ama would keep Josef away. Ama often warned him not to harm her, but it had not deterred him before and she doubted he would comply now. The only difference was that she no longer shared his quarters. The servants were terrified of their masters. They denied Ama and Josef nothing. With the help of a maid servant, she was quickly thrust back into her usual attire and Xue Xue joined her at the door. Down the stairs they wound, coming at last to the long hall with its staring gallery of portraits. Josef was now in his ranger leathers, his hair drawn back in an oiled tail and a predatory smile on his lips. “Come here, Daughter,” he said as if Lemony were not there. Xue Xue stared numbly at him, then took a tentative step forward, jolting when he snarled at her to come quickly. He took her hand and led her unresisting into the entry hall. It was late afternoon, but the largely empty and silent house seemed no different. A fire still blazed within the great hearth and the two rangers stood on either side of the door. Lemony trailed behind him, uncertain what she was meant to do. As the child’s keeper, she decided to stay with Xue Xue and prayed he did not do something horrible. The air was heavy with moisture and the smell of moldering soil as they strode out into the sun dappled court. Birds chirped faintly high in the stony canopy and the light had the honey warm quality of late afternoon on a long summer day. Lemony’s eyes trailed over the bleached skulls of long dead tigers that adorned old stone posts or hung from crumbling walls. A low building of bent timber and stone loomed out of the misty darkness beyond the yard. She had never been this far away from the house and the path cut through the accumulated duff of centuries was narrow and seldom used. As the old structure rose before her, she remarked how unlike the rest of the buildings it was. It had not been hewn from the living flesh of trees as the others, but built stone by stone. The darkened timbers were thicker around than she, old and warped by weight and time. A fetid odor emanated from its shadowy depths and no door had ever barred its broad lintel entrance. Xue Xue hesitated as they approached but Josef ignored the child and only jerked her arm, dragging her forward now that she resisted him for the first time. Lemony was frightened, hating that they were alone in this grim place. To her relief, he released Xue Xue once he stood within the gloomy maw of the building. Lemony hurried to the child’s side, taking her hand quickly and squeezing it to comfort her. “Look, Daughter, tell me what you see,” Josef demanded, his voice thick with gloating. “I want to go home,” the child whined softly, showing her true age for the first time since Josef had come crashing into her life. “But you are home,” Josef snarled, “You are of Svenka by flesh and blood and bone. See those shelves, Daughter, those are your ancestors gazing back across time.” Lemony felt her gorge rise as she realized the walls within the towering single chamber were covered with little nooks, shelf after shelf of empty-eyed skulls. Normally bones in and of themselves did not trouble her. She was a healer, accustomed to all manner of wound, but there was a wrongness about this place. Those skulls might well have belonged to Josef’s ancestors, but they had not come here willingly. The place was haunted, thrumming with the memory of violence repeated generation after generation. Josef laughed hoarsely. “Hello, Grandmother Kalindra,” he cackled, gesturing roughly toward what appeared to be a shrine that occupied the center floor of the chamber. He grasped Xue Xue harshly and drew her forward, a shriek of terror drawn from her throat. Lemony reached for her but Josef predicted her response and backhanded her with a cruel laugh. The metal of the mask bit into her cheek and Lemony spun around, landing painfully on her side. “Stupid woman,” he barked at her, as always blaming her for his violent impulses. Lemony staggered back to her feet, hesitating when she saw the raised plinth of stone that was Josef’s destination. It rose two hand widths above the pounded earth, a single sheet of black glistening stone that had been smoothed by water. Nearly five paces square, two old planks of wood formed a low shelf at its center. On the highest tier, a pair of skulls gazed back at them. A small pile of jewelry and a pair of candles were arrayed on either side of them. On the lower shelf rested a pair of moldering tiger heads, the remains of their white-stripped fur was a puckered rotting rind over their crowns as maggots and flies seethed over what remained of their flesh. “Here is my grandmother and grandfather,” Josef said in a voice approximating reverence, “Each generation, it is the true heir who must claim power and place them here to serve. That is the way of Svenka.” “I want to go home,” Xue Xue whimpered again. “One day, I’ll kill my mother and put her there,” he said hoarsely, a greedy feline burr in his voice as he gestured toward the skull on the right, “and when I know who my father is, I will place him there. And then I shall be lord, the last heir living, and they will serve me because they must. I will be the Keeper of the Bones.” The last living heir if Xue Xue ceased to exist. Lemony read the meaning of his words in the hungry smile upon his lips as he gazed down at the little girl. “But there are only so many men who could have sired me,” he laughed and Lemony realized now he was speaking for her benefit, “Was it one of Marga’s students at Shing Jea? Pei Yang, the budding elementalist? Alas, no, for when I tracked him down, his blood did not sate the spirits of this shrine. Was it bumbling Minister Chen, a known paramour of my mother in her youth? No, he died long before I was conceived. “That left three possibilities. Two servants who had never been touched by the gods. She might have used them for her pleasure, but she would not have polluted her womb with their issue. Or Master Bei, last of a once celebrated line, his ancestors imperial knights and generals of the golden past. He is a sire worthy of my bloodline.” “Master Bei would never lie with your mother!” Lemony snarled, her rage and disgust at the very thought making her forget her peril, “He would never sire such a monstrosity.” In an instant she was lying on her back, her head ringing as he hexed her. His knees bore down on her arms and he sat astride her. “I kill those who displease me,” he roared, “but I heard Marga and my mother speaking about Keisha’s deeds. It seems your friend captured Master Bei and now he is missing.” Lemony laughed. She could not help herself now that she realized the irony of what had happened. Ama had not preserved Zhou’s life out of mercy or obligation, she had feared the consequences if he were slain. “Keisha delivered him to your mother.” “NO!” he snarled, shaking her until her laughter became a cry of pain, “When? Tell me!” “In the spring. Keisha feigned his assassination. Two of her friends brought him here with Marga’s help. We have been searching for him ever since.” He swore and released her. Lemony rose quickly to her feet, afraid he might harm Xue Xue. He would kill the child. He wanted sole claim to the family legacy. He had brought the girl home to thrust his intentions in Ama’s face. But Ama had gotten the last laugh. His heavy footfalls pounded up the track, leaving her and Xue Xue alone in the stinking shadows of the building. Xue Xue was weeping softly, reacting to something Lemony could not see. Grasping the child’s hand, she resolved to take her back to some semblance of safety, knowing even as she thought this there was none. They were both prisoners here and both drew breath at the mercy of their jailors. |
