Torbat quivered with superstitious fear.
“Because he knows that people have a way of going back on their word,” Matt explained. “Betrayal is perverse—it may get you what you want in the short term, but it works against you in the long term, as people stop trusting one another and, just when they need help the most, discover that they can't depend on anyone—not even for mercy.”
Torbat stilled, watching Matt with narrowed eyes. Reluctantly, he nodded. “I shall abide by my plea. What would you have of me?”
“Information,” Matt said. “Where did you send the princess you kidnapped?”
“It was not I who kidnapped her…”
“No, you just received stolen goods!” Matt found himself getting angry. “I thought you said you'd keep your word.”
“Betrayal?” Max's hum rose in pitch with keen interest.
“Yes, I took her from her kidnapper!” Torbat cried. “Yes, I attempted to send her to this Void, beyond it to some other world where she would be happy but never come to trouble us again!”
“Tried?” Matt fastened on the word. “Your spell didn't work?”
Torbat ground his teeth, but admitted, “It did not. She retained some glimmer of consciousness and managed to cast a spell of her own that kept her in this world.”
“Where?”
“I know not.”
Max's hum shot up in pitch till he was screaming like a band saw as he drifted closer and closer to the cowering shaman.
“In truth I know not!” Torbat cried. “Withhold your familiar! I truly do not know!”
Matt knew the value of panic during an interrogation. “Well, it's not exactly mine to command…”
“I know nothing more! I swear by Ahriman!”
“How delightful a paradox,” Max keened. “He swears by the Prince of Lies that his words are true!”
“Then I swear by the Thunderer and by the Imperial Dragon! I speak truth—I know nothing more! What more do you want of me? Is it not enough that I must fear Kala Nag? Must I fear you, too?”
Matt stiffened, alert to new information. “Be patient, Max— we have a whole new line of possible paradoxes here. Tell me, Shaman Torbat—who is Kala Nag?”
Torbat looked up in surprise, then turned his head away, watching Matt out of the corner of his eye. “Did you not say this familiar of yours is a demon?”
“The first human who thought of him called him that,” Matt snapped. “He got the term wrong—Max is really an elemental, not a demon. But he knows when somebody is lying. Tell the truth—who's this Kala Nag you spoke of?”
Torbat sighed and gave in. “She is the female demon who appeared to chastise me for sending this woman away from Maracanda. There was nothing to trouble her while the child stayed with Prester John, but now she says the chit may meddle in her plans. She appeared to me in a dream and told me she was sending monsters to tear me limb from limb for my foolishness!”
“Oh. So it wasn't fear of Prester John that made you flee? Say, where'd you find this Kala Nag?”
The shaman gazed off into the distance, and Matt had the eerie feeling the man was drawing on the memories of his ancestors, as though they lived in him still. His voice became remote and emotionless. “She was a goddess once, albeit a bloodthirsty one—the hag who rode travelers to weigh them down, who caused the earth to shake and tremble underfoot, who devoured her own offspring. When the gentle Buddha strode into the steppe, she retired hissing, and your Christ obscured her memory. Now, though, she demands attention again! She wakes, she tells all who remember her that she endures, that she will have her sacrifices once more and will bestow power upon those who worship her!”
Matt stared at the man, shaken—he sounded like one of the converted, not a fugitive. “Why did she think Balkis could be a threat?”
“Not the girl alone,” the shaman said, his voice still remote, “but another with her. By herself, she is a cipher, meaningless, harmless—and in Maracanda she
“Because he knows that people have a way of going back on their word,” Matt explained. “Betrayal is perverse—it may get you what you want in the short term, but it works against you in the long term, as people stop trusting one another and, just when they need help the most, discover that they can't depend on anyone—not even for mercy.”
Torbat stilled, watching Matt with narrowed eyes. Reluctantly, he nodded. “I shall abide by my plea. What would you have of me?”
“Information,” Matt said. “Where did you send the princess you kidnapped?”
“It was not I who kidnapped her…”
“No, you just received stolen goods!” Matt found himself getting angry. “I thought you said you'd keep your word.”
“Betrayal?” Max's hum rose in pitch with keen interest.
“Yes, I took her from her kidnapper!” Torbat cried. “Yes, I attempted to send her to this Void, beyond it to some other world where she would be happy but never come to trouble us again!”
“Tried?” Matt fastened on the word. “Your spell didn't work?”
Torbat ground his teeth, but admitted, “It did not. She retained some glimmer of consciousness and managed to cast a spell of her own that kept her in this world.”
“Where?”
“I know not.”
Max's hum shot up in pitch till he was screaming like a band saw as he drifted closer and closer to the cowering shaman.
“In truth I know not!” Torbat cried. “Withhold your familiar! I truly do not know!”
Matt knew the value of panic during an interrogation. “Well, it's not exactly mine to command…”
“I know nothing more! I swear by Ahriman!”
“How delightful a paradox,” Max keened. “He swears by the Prince of Lies that his words are true!”
“Then I swear by the Thunderer and by the Imperial Dragon! I speak truth—I know nothing more! What more do you want of me? Is it not enough that I must fear Kala Nag? Must I fear you, too?”
Matt stiffened, alert to new information. “Be patient, Max— we have a whole new line of possible paradoxes here. Tell me, Shaman Torbat—who is Kala Nag?”
Torbat looked up in surprise, then turned his head away, watching Matt out of the corner of his eye. “Did you not say this familiar of yours is a demon?”
“The first human who thought of him called him that,” Matt snapped. “He got the term wrong—Max is really an elemental, not a demon. But he knows when somebody is lying. Tell the truth—who's this Kala Nag you spoke of?”
Torbat sighed and gave in. “She is the female demon who appeared to chastise me for sending this woman away from Maracanda. There was nothing to trouble her while the child stayed with Prester John, but now she says the chit may meddle in her plans. She appeared to me in a dream and told me she was sending monsters to tear me limb from limb for my foolishness!”
“Oh. So it wasn't fear of Prester John that made you flee? Say, where'd you find this Kala Nag?”
The shaman gazed off into the distance, and Matt had the eerie feeling the man was drawing on the memories of his ancestors, as though they lived in him still. His voice became remote and emotionless. “She was a goddess once, albeit a bloodthirsty one—the hag who rode travelers to weigh them down, who caused the earth to shake and tremble underfoot, who devoured her own offspring. When the gentle Buddha strode into the steppe, she retired hissing, and your Christ obscured her memory. Now, though, she demands attention again! She wakes, she tells all who remember her that she endures, that she will have her sacrifices once more and will bestow power upon those who worship her!”
Matt stared at the man, shaken—he sounded like one of the converted, not a fugitive. “Why did she think Balkis could be a threat?”
“Not the girl alone,” the shaman said, his voice still remote, “but another with her. By herself, she is a cipher, meaningless, harmless—and in Maracanda she
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