My Travels with Clytemnestra

CHAPTER V

'MINERVA'

I've learned a great deal in the five weeks Clytemnestra and I have been working at the Crossed Staves. With my magic I find I can alter or maintain most of the simple properties of things around me. Things like temperature, state, mass, the wavelength of light and sound. These things are just numbers to me now, numbers I can rewrite at will, provided I have physical contact. More advanced magic, real spells still elude me, but I feel powerful, moreso than I probably should, but perhaps, less? Even these simple tricks can be used in a huge number of ways.

Yes, my magical studies have advanced in their own slow way, but perhaps more importantly I find I now feel as though I understand the world I'm living in. It's a simple thing, and a simple thing to feel, but I never knew how critical that feeling could be until I missed it.

There is no sickness here, and little illness. No parasites, no fleas or bed bugs or their kind, nor viruses and harmful bacteria. Or at least, if those things exist, they do not cause diseases. With no moon, the tides are slight and the seasons mild. Crops may be grown year round, at least, in this part of the world.

The thrusting, muscular mountains against which Pyre Silver is built are overflowing with valuable metals and minerals, especially the silver for which this city is named.

In this world, there is no religion! The very concept is unknown – no one has ever thought to postulate gods and monsters. Aniviv, who is well educated, could barely understand the questions I put to her on the subject, and seemed to write them off as the bizarre sort of ideas one should naturally expect from a sorceress. I found that hilarious and I'm not sure why. She made excuses and left quickly.

That explains something that I had not realised had been bothering me. Unconsciously I think I had noticed it. No temples or shrines in the city. No-one ever prayed, or swore, or or even mentioned prayers or gods. Again I asked Aniviv, by far the best educated person on the staff, how people explained the things they don't understand, she thought the question was silly, things which people don't understand cannot be explained yet.

No sickness, no gods, no shortage of food or land or materials... Yet for all that there is still war, and crime. It just goes to show that human nature is the same here, mostly. Avarice is not to be sated no matter how abundant the things we crave are. I call it a good thing. Desire is what drives civilisation, and what drives individuals. That's something that comes home to me very personally today!

Clytemnestra and I are eating spicy beef soup in the taproom, watching the early lunchtime customers when Ti approaches us.

"Miss.. Er... Miss Juno and Miss Isis want to see you both," Ti tells us.

"Did they say what about?"

I'm a little worried, wondering if I've done something wrong. We've barely seen either of the sisters since our memorable 'interview' five weeks ago.

"No. Just, can I go fetch you when you're done eating?"

Clytemnestra stands up, "Of course."

Ti leads us through into the sisters' apartment and to the same little parlour where we had played with the sisters that first day. She knocks on the door, but doesn't enter when it opens.

One of the sisters, and I still cannot tell them apart (save by taste!) bids us sit and offers us sweet white wine in crystal glasses.

The other speaks next, "How are you both? Settled in?"

"Very nicely, lady, very comfortable," Clytemnestra replies, and sips her wine.

"Mmm. Nice to have a roof over my head again," I add.

"Excellent! Juno and I couldn't be happier with your work," ah, so this must be Isis in green satin today, and that is Juno in blue, "The place is as well ordered as it's ever been, haven't had a real brawl since you started."

I nod as though I agree. It chills my soul to think what might qualify as a real brawl, given some of the scrapes I've seen here.

"Better, even! Some of the nobility like to go slumming once in a while and they've latched onto the Crossed Staves since they think it's safer than the competition," enthuses Juno.

"Swimming in money," adds Isis happily.

Juno becomes more serious, "Only one dark spot on the horizon."

"Nasty is what I'd call it," says Isis, "Extortion!"

"Blackmail," Juno.

"Vendetta," Isis.

"What is?" I ask, worried.

"Those scoundrels you replaced," says Juno.

Isis exclaims, "Scoundrels is the word! We told you they were doing other work besides?"

"Thuggery, hired muscle," Juno clarifies.

"Yes?"

"Well," says Isis, "It was worse than that! Mixed up in the Half Feather, they were."

Juno sees our puzzled looks and explains, "Criminal gang, bastards to a woman."

"Bastards. They paid us a visit this morning," Isis goes on, "Tried to take a slice of our pie."

Juno nods, "Tried to intimidate us! Cheek!"

"Of course, we didn't get where we are today by being intimidated," Isis points out.

"And we didn't stay where we are today by not having hired muscle of our own."

I have a feeling I know where this is going. This 'Half Feather' doesn't sound very threatening, as a name, but then, if the gang itself is, it can probably get away with a soft sounding name. Besides, Clytemnestra and I are only two people, one of them not one tenth the sorceress she's supposed to be. How are we supposed to fight gangsters?

"Obviously," Isis continues, "there'll be a little something extra in it for you, since this is a little over what we hired you for."

"Not to mention our own significant gratitude," Juno adds, less than subtly.

"Say no more," Clytemnestra says, damn her, "We've no more love for banditry inside city walls than we have for it in the wilds."

How my face isn't showing raw horror I can't imagine, "What... What exactly is it you want us to do?" I ask, trying to keep my voice businesslike.

"Warn them off," says Isis.

Juno adds, "We don't really care how."

"Folks don't tell us how to do our job and we don't believe in telling folks how to do theirs," concludes Isis.

"Commendable attitude," Clytemnestra reckons, "It does you credit. Although we will need a little more to go on. Where does this Half Feather operate from? Who is in charge, do you know?"

"If we knew that we'd tell the Prince and scoop the bounty on their heads," Juno points out, reasonably.

Isis carries on the thread, "And the same for where they hole up, I think it's part of being criminals."

"The two who were here this morning said they'd be back tomorrow, same time for our answer," explains Juno.

"I don't think either of us is cut out for following them back to their lair," I point out – I'm the only light skinned woman I've seen in this city and Clytemnestra is nearly nine feet tall and partially a horse – blend in we do not.

"That's not what I was going to suggest. As Isis said, we don't tell people how to do things, but I suppose if you were to make one of them, for example, explode, the other might convey the message back to her masters..."

"Explode!" I splutter.

"Or whatever you think best," Juno permits.

Isis jumps in, "Not explode, please, we're rather fond of the carpets here."

"That's true, not explode, but something sufficiently nasty that anyone who hears about it would not want to cross your employer," Juno looks hopefully at me.

"I... I promise I won't make anyone explode," I manage, truthfully.

"That's settled then!" the sisters clap excitedly.

Our shift in the ordinary passes quietly. Normally I'd be glad of that, but I could really use something to take my mind off of tomorrow.

That night in our room Clytemnestra slips a hand around me, cupping a breast as I lie against her warm, hard body. She is obviously desiring sex and for the first time I do not leap at the chance.

I take her hand in both of mine and hold on tight, hugging it to me as we lie on her bed. I take comfort from simple physical contact.

"Worry will kill you, lady," she says kindly, stroking my hair.

"I can't stop, though. What am I going to do tomorrow!?"

"You'll think of something. You could... I don't know. You can set fire to things. Do that."

"I have to be touching them, and it takes a while even then. Besides, you remember what Isis said about the carpet?"

"That's what you're worried about?"

"No! Oh... You know... Couldn't we just shoot them?" I suddenly realise what I'm thinking, "And how can I just... Just lie here and think up ways to kill someone?"

"They're bad people."

"That's not how it works. You don't just have good people here and bad people there and it's okay to kill those ones."

"Sometimes it is. What about Lecto."

"That was different. She was... Well, I don't even know what she was about to do, but she was going to kill us! She said it, it was her or us."

"Ah, now we understand your morality. Your life, oh, and mine, must be protected, but the lives of strangers can just blow in the wind."

"That's not what I mean."

"No, I don't think it is what you mean, but it's what you said. Tomorrow, when we stand against the Half Feather's women, we will not be protecting you or me, but we will be protecting Isis and Juno, and a lot of other people we never will meet, but who are worth just as much as us, or them. Or may we let them suffer just because they were foolish enough not to meet us and become our friends and lovers?"

"That... Still doesn't make it okay to kill people."

"You're a strange lady. Your heart is both too soft and too hard. But while it is so, point perhaps the hard part toward the evil and the soft part toward their victims?"

"I... don't know how! And I still don't know how I'm supposed to do anything tomorrow!"

"I often find that, having fallen asleep on a problem, I awake on a solution... and since you sleep so damned long, I expect you to have an excellent solution come morning. Clear?"

I don't think I'll ever fall asleep, but of course I do eventually, curled up naked against Clytemnestra's large body. I awake tangled in my thin blanket and alone on her bed.

Ominously Clytemnestra is a few feet away, cleaning our guns, the thin, sweet smell of gun oil is in the air and she smiles happily as I stretch.

"Has a solution presented itself in the night?" she asks.

I think about that for a long moment, "I'm going to have to wing it."

"See, I told you."

I should have expected her to think that's a good idea, that's her life's philosophy! I dress in the plain white clothes that I first had, I've not worn them since Lecto's house, but it seems appropriate. They are fresh and clean from the laundry, but of course, Clytemnestra is still hanging on to my knickers, so I wear the pair I took from Kyani. I should wear other people's knickers more often, it's fun.

Presently, we meet the sisters in their parlour. Isis and Juno both seem a little surprised at my appearance, this is the first time they've seen my wear anything but red. Clytemnestra intends to wait just outside the parlour, since her presence would likely give the game away. I am very disturbed to see her go, and when the door closes behind her I feel very, very alone.

One of the sisters, I still cannot tell them apart, asks me if I'm ready.

"As I'll ever be."

"What does that mean."

"I... uh, I really don't like hurting people."

"Well I should think not. No right-thinking person does like hurting people."

"Outside the bedroom," adds her sister, and they share a glance.

Before I can deal with that, one of the servants knocks on the door. That's the sisters' cue to leave, which they do through the other door, following Clytemnestra. I summon the servant inside, he hands me a small pasteboard card and introduces two women as Miss Leah and Miss Dinah. The card belongs to Leah Merroa.

Both are clearly dangerous sorts of people. They carry themselves with utter confidence, contempt written on their faces. They are wearing conservative, probably fairly expensive dresses over hard, athletic bodies. Leah has a short sword around her waist and Dinah has a metal truncheon.

"Good morning," says Dinah, brightly as the servant retreats, "Who're you?" she glares at me.

My heart hammers in my chest as I stand, I feel my hand tremble with nerves and adrenaline as I extend it toward Leah, who is closest.

"Good morning," I say, offering my hand, "I'm here to negotiate terms for the sisters."

Leah takes my hand automatically and I change her body's temperature to well over boiling point. She screams horribly and I throw her hand from my own, my palm and fingers burned by the contact! Leah collapses on the floor, shrieking in agony, Clytemnestra bursts through the doors, sword drawn.

It's the most horrible thing I've ever seen, Leah's death takes at least half a minute, writhing, screaming, wailing on the floor as Dinah and I stare in shock.

Finally, her red, blistered body lies still, steam flowing freely from her eyes and mouth. Dinah looks between the body, and me, and Clytemnestra's naked blade. Clytemnestra sheaths it now, but keeps her hand near the hilt.

"Those are our terms," she says, cooly.

Dinah looks at me and I decide I'd better shift the light reflecting from my eyes into the red spectrum, just in case. She instantly looks away, frightened.

Clytemnestra goes on, "The Crossed Staves is our house, and it is protected. The half Feather made a mistake coming here, and it will be its last."

"What... what do you mean?" Dinah stammers.

"Tell us where we can find the head."

"What!?"

Clytemnestra glances at me and I raise my hand, finger pointed at Dinah's chest.

"Tell us!" she demands, "Tell us who is in charge."

Dinah looks at me, at Leah's steaming corpse, and gives in. It's almost impossible in fact to shut her up. She tells us everything she knows, the Half Feather's leaders, its bases of operation, it's businesses, even history. When she's done Clytemnestra gives her a handful of money and tells her to leave the city and not come back if she knows what's good for her.

"Are you sure it was wise to let her go, Clytemnestra? There's every chance she'll go straight back to her mistress, tell her what happened and we'll both be killed in our sleep."

"I doubt it. The girl's scared out of her little mind, besides, her mistress can't kill us in our sleep if she dies today."

Clytemnestra opens the parlour doors and invites the sisters back in, saying that everything's safe now. They eye the poached body on the floor with distaste.

"Those two won't bother you again, ladies, but we're going to need the night off tonight."

"What for, what happened?" one of the sisters asks.

Clytemnestra points at the body, "Her friend was very talkative. We're going to cut the head off this snake, to make sure no-one else comes looking for victims here or anywhere else. The head of the Half Feather is Minerva Kanna. Heard of her?"

Both sisters nod emphatically, "Everyone knows Lady Kanna, fabulously wealthy, sleeps on a pile of money ten feet deep I shouldn't wonder."

"Rumour is she owns half the knocking shops in the city," says one.

"And fond of sampling her own wares," volunteers the other, "They say her first wife used to be an employee."

"They don't say it to her face," the other adds, "People who get on her wrong side tend to be unlucky. Like her first wife, for example. Not a huge leap from there to things more shady, sill."

"Don't worry about a thing, this time tomorrow the Half Feather will be a memory," Clytemnestra smiles broadly, but for the first time it doesn't reach her eyes.

She and I give the sisters assurances that I don't fully feel and we return to our room.

"Pack your things, lady." Clytemnestra is even now packing hers, putting everything she owns into her magic bags, and then starting on mine when I dither.

"We're leaving?"

"Of course we're leaving..." she looks at me with feeling, "I'm sorry. I thought we could stay a little longer too, but that's life."

"But what about the sisters, and this Kanna woman?"

"Oh, we're going to slit her throat, and the Half Feather will be stirred up nicely for, ooh, up to a week! Good for us. Then someone else will take the lead and their first order of business will be to kill her killers, which is us if you've not been following."

"So we just, just run away?"

"Walk, but yes. Time to move on, the horizon's not getting any closer while we lie on our tails, you know."

"Seems like a... Mean thing to do."

Clytemnestra laughs and strokes my hair, "To whom? Mean to ditch Isis and Juno, or mean to assassinate Lady Kanna?"

"Er... I meant the first one."

"But killings not?"

"You know how I feel about that."

"About as well as you do, which is garbled and confusing."

"That doesn't make much sense."

"Nor do you," she kisses me on the top of my head, "But I like you anyway."

When we've packed we drop our bags through the window and then leave by the back door, carrying only our weapons. We tell the sisters that we're going to deal with Lady Kanna, but deliberately give no hint that we do not intend to return!

Once we've collected our bags we go to a market and waste a few hours buying provisions of the kind likely to survive on the road, and enjoy a long, leisurely lunch of the kind we won't see again outside of civilisation.

Lady Kanna's house is grand and large, there can be no doubt that she's as wealthy as advertised. Clytemnestra and I walk slowly, innocently even, along the road to get a good look at the place. It, and all the neighbouring houses are four-story brick buildings with large glass windows that overlook the small, woody park across the road. After our pass we veer into the park.

"Are you ready?" Clytemnestra asks.

"As I'll ever be," my heart is thumping and I'm not at all happy, but it's got to be done. We owe the sisters that much for all they've done for us.

I give Clytemnestra my guns and my pack. I compose myself as best I can and make a show of confidence as I stride to Kanna's door and pull the bell. It rings deep within the house and the door opens very quickly, revealing a conservatively dressed butler.

"Yes, madam?"

I smile pleasantly and present Leah's pasteboard card, "Good afternoon, I wish to see Lady Kanna, my card."

The butler takes it automatically.

"It is a matter of some importance," I tell her.

"Very good, madam. If you would care to step inside I shall inform her Ladyship that you are here."

She leads me into a sitting room and departs with the card while my panicked mind runs over the myriad things that might go wrong, or may have gone wrong already. Dinah had said she'd never been here, and I see no reason why Leah would have, but I still fear the butler might know what Leah looks like, and that I am not she.

Moreover, I am afraid that I won't be able to kill Lady Kanna silently and make my escape undetected. And now I'm worrying that I can so casually plan to kill a stranger and I'm worrying that I should feel something other than nervous.

The butler returns in less time than it feels and says that Lady Kanna will see me now. I stand and, after she's frisked me thoroughly I follow her, clasping both hands tightly behind my back to keep them from shaking.

I'm shown into a handsome marble-floored study. Who can only be Lady Kanna is sitting behind an ornate gold-leafed desk. She's still a good looking woman, for all that she must be fifty at least, imperious looking, both stern and wise and still very bedable, I should say. Though right now she looks very angry.

As soon as the door is closed behind me she demands, "Who are you, girl?"

"I... I'm a messenger," I stammer, voice quaking in genuine fear, "From the Crossed Staves."

"Are you!? And where are my women?"

She's frighteningly angry and I cannot even meet her eye, I almost stumble back as I mentally bind a temperature-maintaining spell to my body.