The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence (36 page)

‘All right,’ he said, displaying his palms. ‘Finish the ascension.’

‘It’s all but done.’

Darq closed his eyes as Ookami approached him. He didn’t know what to expect, but didn’t think it would be good. The har placed a hand flat on Darq’s chest and held it there for over a minute. At the end of that time, a bolt of scalding energy shot from his palm into Darq’s body. It took Darq’s breath away, and he was afraid it was the first of many excruciating experiences, but then he heard the har move away. He opened his eyes.

‘It’s done,’ said Ookami, rubbing his hands together. ‘A very simple process.’

Darq placed a hand upon his chest. The skin beneath his shirt still felt unnaturally hot. ‘I suppose it’s pointless to ask what you’ve done to me?’

Ookami gestured with both hands. ‘Not at all. I’ve simply done what your mentor would have done, only much more efficiently and in a shorter space of time.’

Darq continued to rub at his chest. He felt burned inside, even his throat. It was as if he’d swallowed a drink that was too hot and it now lay boiling in his stomach. ‘Why?’ he asked. ‘Why are you interested in me? Who are you?’

Ookami folded his arms. ‘Don’t you think you should ask the question you really want to know the answer to?’

‘I have! Tell me!’

‘No, what you really want to know is who
you
are.’

Darq blinked, swallowed. ‘Who… who am I, then?’

Ookami laughed and the blue eyes blazed brighter for a moment. ‘Not yet,’ he said. ‘As for the other questions, let’s just say that I’m your true teacher. I recognise and respect your potential. I can’t stand by and allow lesser beings to meddle with your development.’

‘Are you har?’

Ookami shrugged. ‘This world… all that you see in it, my Darq, will one day be yours.’

‘What?’ Darq had to laugh. The creature, har, whatever it was, must be insane.

‘Laugh as much as you like,’ Ookami said coldly. ‘It’s true. There’s a war going on, of which you are completely unaware. In this war are two main factions, one of which considers Wraeththu to be their disposable allies. The other faction had a stab at controlling hara of their own, through Ponclast har Varr before you were born. This failed, and they realised they couldn’t fight their battles in the earthly realm. Now, they seek other ways to infiltrate and manipulate.’

‘And where do you stand?’ Darq demanded. What he’d heard was similar to things Thiede had told him.

Ookami pulled a sour face. ‘I stand for neither of these factions, as I abhor them both. Or rather, I stand for Wraeththu. I object to lesser species being exploited.’

Darq narrowed his eyes. ‘Come out of that body. Show yourself to me.’

‘Not yet. Make use of this time. I know you desire your mentor and I’m happy to accommodate you in that regard.’

‘You disgust me,’ Darq said. ‘It’s Ookami himself I desire, not an empty shell.’

Ookami shrugged. ‘Suit yourself, my Darq.’

Darq stood up. It was disorientating to think that he was talking to an unknown entity inside the body of a har he knew fairly well. ‘I don’t like what you did to me. It was beyond my control.’

‘Next time you do that, it will be utterly in your control.’

Darq sliced the air with one hand. ‘There won’t be a next time. I think what you did was unnatural.’

Ookami laughed. ‘What an innocent you are. Hara do that all the time.’

‘I don’t believe you.’

‘It’s true. Well, certain hara are aware of the procedure, hara with vision who can see beyond mere physical gratification and a bit of simpering spirituality. Your mentor could have taught you that, but has chosen not to. You have no idea what his plans are. I know everything in his mind. Shall I tell you?’

‘Don’t do that,’ Darq said. ‘It’s wrong.’

Ookami walked in a circle around Darq. ‘Wrong? But you do it, Darq, you know you do. How many times were you chastised for it?’

Darq hesitated, then said, ‘I don’t want to talk with you any more. Go away. I don’t want anything to do with you, or this war that doesn’t exist, or factions, or anything like that.’

Ookami stopped pacing and faced Darq again. ‘Don’t be ridiculous! Why do you think Thiede hid you away in Samway and is now extremely concerned for your well-being? You have no choice in the matter, Darq. You can’t escape your heritage. Ookami is training you to defend yourself, but your ultimate purpose is to defend others.’

Darq was silent for a moment. ‘Who are my parents? Tell me! If I’m to be part of this thing, I have to know.’

Ookami put his head to one side, and smiled in an infuriating manner. The expression didn’t resemble Ookami’s natural smile at all. ‘Thiede is right to keep that information from you,’ he said, ‘because knowing it could make you a beacon to undesirable attention. Thiede is wise to hide you. I have no issue with that. But one day you’ll thank me for my intervention in your life. It just doesn’t seem feasible now, because your life has barely begun.’

Darq’s hands had bunched into fists at his side. He wondered what would happen if he tried to attack this entity. Would it hit back? ‘Tell me your name,’ he said.

Ookami glanced at Darq’s hands. ‘No. I don’t think so. Names are dangerous. Think up your own name for me, if you must use one.’ He laughed again. ‘Relax your fingers, my dear. If you attempt to attack me, I’d have to prevent it, and I’ve no wish to hurt you.’

Darq unbunched his fists self-consciously. ‘So what happens next?’ he asked in a dull voice. He felt as if the weight of the sky rested on his shoulders now.

Ookami’s voice became gentle. ‘You travel, you learn, you wait for what will come. I will be with you.’ He reached out and briefly touched Darq on the shoulder. ‘Befriend the dehara, Darq. Aruhani is a powerful ally, and he was created by Wraeththu. He’s an expression of harish potential. Use him when you need to.’

‘I need to know the history,’ Darq said. ‘I need to know what I’m involved in.’

‘You will. Now, I’ll leave you, but I’ll never be far away. If you ever wish to call me, go to a high place. Swing a weighted cord above your head and intend for me to hear it. Call to me through the winds.’

Without warning, Darq was filled with a feeling of panic. It was as if reality suddenly expanded out from him swiftly in all directions, full of threats. ‘Will you protect me?’ he asked hurriedly. He wished at once he hadn’t said those words. He still didn’t know what this creature was.

‘As much as is possible,’ Ookami replied softly.

Darq bowed his head. Here, in the beautiful summer night, he knew that everything he’d heard was true. Ookami laid a hand upon Darq’s head. ‘Don’t be in sorrow, my Darq. These days will be happy ones for you. Enjoy them while you can.’

Darq looked into the unfamiliar eyes in the very familiar face. ‘Before you go,’ he said. ‘Share breath with me.’

Ookami inclined his head. He said nothing but put his lips against Darq’s own. Darq saw visions of mighty wings, thousands and thousands of them. He was carried upon them.

A voice came faintly in Darq’s head.
I am gone…

Yet the sharing continued. Presently, Ookami drew away and then pressed his forehead against Darq’s own, one hand still cupping the back of Darq’s neck. ‘I am dishonored,’ he said. ‘I could do nothing. I’ve failed you and those who placed you in my care.’

‘You’re
not
dishonored,’ Darq murmured. ‘That creature is very strong. You had no chance. I saw you fight.’

Ookami exhaled a shuddering breath.

‘We both need to learn how to deal with him,’ Darq said. ‘And we will.’

Chapter Twenty-One

For some reason, on the Uigenna’s flight from the Gelaming into the eastern territories beyond Almagabra, they had not settled in Anakhai, other than in the extreme west. This was unusual, because most areas on the Almagabran continent supported small groups of erstwhile Uigenna and Varrs, even if they chose not to remember their history. Most had fled to Jaddayoth, sustained by the rumors that their great leaders had fled before them. Many ended up in Maudrah, where the har who had once styled himself as Wraxilan, the Lion of Oomah, now lived in a semblance of ascetic nobility as Ariaric, the archon of that tribe. Ariaric, now the Lion of Oomadrah, strove to be a just ruler, although the customs of his tribe were peculiar, involving a bewildering array of abstemious restrictions concerning behavior and etiquette. Some said Ariaric was actually mad, as he’d had strange visions in the past that had prompted him to abandon the wild, hedonistic ways of the Uigenna and live like an austere, nomadic monk for years. Whatever the truth of that was, like all hara, the first generation Uigenna had had to grow up; there were few now who would boast of their youthful exploits, or even cared to remember what kind of humans they’d been, which in many cases had been violent and anti-social to say the least.

As Darquiel and Ookami traveled through Anakhai towards the east, Ookami gave his protégé lessons in Wraeththu history. He too remarked upon the fact that no Uigenna were to be found as they ventured deeper into that country. ‘I’ve heard that the hara here in the heart of Anakhai prevented any settlement from what they considered to be undesirable elements from the west,’ he said. He and Darq were traveling upon a wide track that led through a forest. Mellow sunlight fell upon them. ‘They used the mists of the land to obscure their villages and towns,’ Ookami continued. ‘They cloaked themselves well, and sent out their local elemental spirits to discourage strangers. It’s different now, but at one time, it was supposed to be perilous for anyhar other than the Anakhai to travel these lands.’

‘I like the hara here,’ Darq said. ‘I like the way they’re so complete unto themselves.’

‘They are on the whole affable,’ Ookami agreed. ‘It’s because they know they have the power to deal with threats. This allows them to be less defensive than hara in some other territories.’

‘Have you traveled far, Ookami?’

Ookami nodded. ‘I have traveled to many lands, yes. It interests me to observe how Wraeththu is developing. I think it’s commendable that in some places the best elements of human civilization have been retained, while all that was worthless has been discarded. I’m not talking of building and technology, but the components of the psyche.’

‘You think hara are perfect, then?’ Darquiel couldn’t help laughing at the idea.

‘Of course not. What I see is the dream of perfection, like a ghost image over the trees and the mountains, and the ancient spires. I see happy spirits, who are perhaps less bitter than they were before.’

‘Human spirits?’

‘Maybe.’ A long black and white feather drifted down from the treetops overhead. Ookami caught it, twisted it in his fingers. ‘The most important aspect of being har is to be awake to the world. You should constantly be on your guard against the baser side of your nature. It will manifest at times, because we’re still essentially animals, but we should not make the mistake that humanity did and succumb to greed and indolence. We must never let our leaders fool us, although there are some hara who would say that is already happening.’ He handed the feather to Darq, who put it into his hair.

‘What do you think?’ Darq asked.

‘I think we’re still in a stage of transition. Those who hold power were once human; there are few second generation leaders of any great status. Our leaders remember human ways and what appeared to work. They’re not always right in their assumptions.’

Darq considered this. ‘The one who… the one who came to me says I am to be a leader.’

‘This is my thought also,’ Ookami said.

Darq was surprised by this frank admission. As they’d traveled, they’d not really discussed the episode at Reaptide. Darq kept quiet, even when he was bursting with questions he knew Ookami might be able to answer, simply because he was aware Ookami felt deeply shamed by being possessed. Darq didn’t want to add to the har’s discomfort. ‘He hasn’t come back,’ Darq said.

‘I know,’ Ookami said. ‘I would have known if he had.’

‘Can we talk about it now?’

‘We could always have talked about it. I’ve left it to you to introduce the subject.’

‘What or who do you think he is?’

Ookami’s face took on a strange expressionless rigor. Darq could tell then that Ookami was still furious about what had happened, and fully intended to wreak thorough revenge should the opportunity present itself. ‘When he violated my being, I received some impressions, but they weren’t very clear. He could be a very powerful har, who has trained for a long time, and can therefore project himself as something
other
.’

‘Is that what you think he is?’

‘Yes. I don’t think he will come to you again, at least not in the same way. He could never abuse me again like that. I would die before that happened. Now, I’m prepared.’

‘I know,’ Darq said. ‘He surprised us both, at a time when we were very open. But what does he want with me?’

Ookami frowned. ‘Obviously he seeks to use you for his own ends. I’ve made that difficult for him. He’s no doubt just one of the many individuals that Thiede believes are out there, having heard your cry in the ethers.’

‘He says he’s a teacher of mine,’ Darq said scornfully. He rolled his eyes.

‘I remember that,’ Ookami said. ‘It’s what he wants you to believe.’

‘And also that we are partly kin.’

‘We are
all
partly kin,’ Ookami said dryly.

Darq’s strange visitor never again attempted to possess Ookami, but that did not mean he did not continue to make his presence felt. It seemed to Darq that the entity, which for convenience’s sake he now called Zu, was waiting for Darq to call to him. Sometimes, when Darq took aruna with the hara he met on his travels, he sensed that Zu was present, hovering at the boundaries of Darq’s activities, but he did not manifest more overtly than that. The mere fact that Zu was no longer such an invasive presence softened Darq’s attitude towards him. He realised this might simply be a tactic on Zu’s part, so remained aware, but more than once he was tempted to find himself a high place and swing a weighted cord above his head.