Amazonia

  Grabbing the sheathed Rune sword nestled behind her, Amazonia rose to her feet and followed the others toward the door. As she walked into the short hall, Dancer and Troll came through the chiming bead curtain, Dancer looking worried. "Domina, we heard everything. Do you want your armor?"

  Az shook her head. "There's no time."

  Lys, riding on Karl's shoulder, added, "If Inanna is just the raised dead, I should be able to gain control." She looked at Amazonia. "With a bit of help from your Domina."

  "I hope this works," Timur said as they headed out the door into the afternoon's cold air, "because if she cannot be controlled, she has to be destroyed."

  Dancer and Troll grabbed their weapons and followed as Ishi gave the prince a dark look. "Inanna is my sister."

  "Your dead sister," Timur growled as they strode between the buildings on either side toward the main street. "The one who possessed Cermet and killed one of my guards."

  "She would never do that. It was that necromancer's doing."

  "Cermet is under my hand," Lys said, "and would never pick up a spear, let alone kill a guard, without my orders."

  "But—”

  "We'll find out once we get there," Karl said, "and act accordingly." Ishi looked as if she wanted to keep arguing, but shut her mouth as they reached the main street and turned left toward the Temple District.

  Bukhara was still subdued, but Az could see life slowly returning to normal, with people walking together in small groups, either heading somewhere specific or visiting the scattered shops that had reopened. The groups pretended not to notice them but hurried past as they reached the plaza beside the main gate and turned right toward the Temple district's walls.

  The statue of Yun-Kax over the Temple district gate that the Shadow Knight, as Amazonia had begun thinking about her transformed self, had stood behind on the night of the raid, was gone. Only the stone base and the jagged ends of the leg stumps coming out of its sandals remained. The group strode through the open gate, the soldiers in brass armor bowing to Prince Timur as they passed.

  As they approached the black pyramid that was once the temple of Ghash-Kimil, at the entrance stood a half-dozen women in black robes, huddled together in the warmth of the late afternoon sun and keeping well away from the robed figure with a cowl over her face, waiting in the shadows of the opening.

  As the group got close to Cermet, the miasma of fear she gave off caused everyone to slow down and stop except for Lys, who jumped down off of Karl and hurried over to her side. "Cermet, what happened?" The Revenant necromancer dropped to her knees before Lys and the two of them began speaking in hushed voices. After a short time, Lys patted the dead woman's shoulder and turns towards the others. "Ishi, someone other than Inanna turned your sister into a spirit powerful enough to possess Cermet and force her into using her skills to reanimate Inanna's body."

  Ishi gasped. "You are telling me Inanna has become a Shade?"

  "Evidently so. Cermet shared Inanna's mind during her possession, and the Shade has an overwhelming compulsion to make Bukhara become a city of the dead, with all the dead in the charnel pits raised, and all the living changed into Revenants." Lys set her fists on her narrow hips. "In addition, I am to become a full blown Lich myself, serving her by keeping everything going."

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  "Over my dead body," Timur growled, rage giving his face an evil look. "Lys, how difficult will Inanna be to destroy??"

  Bells of Hades, this isn't what I signed up for. "My prince, if she's anything like the dead I commanded the other night, she might have no choice but do as I command."

  Timur grimaced. "As a Shadow Knight."

  Amazonia nodded as Lys said, "I will add my voice to yours. Between us, we should be able to put her under our hands—”

  "Wait," Ishi said, her expression torn between anger and fear. "Let me speak with her first, reason with her, and see if I can talk her out of this." Lys glared at her and Ishi added, "Please, I have to try."

  "Speak with her then," Timur said, catching Lys' eye. "But if this fails, we take matters into our own hands."

  Witchlight lanterns had been placed at regular intervals along the main corridor leading inside, until it reached the dead, grey tree in the central chamber, with incense burners beside each one. But the scent of Frankincense couldn’t entirely mask the stench of old death. Ishi wrinkled her nose before turning towards the other three priestesses. "Sybil, even if my sister is being reasonable, you remember her old prejudice against your race."

  "Considering what the Daemo Princes did to her during the war," Sybil said, "I understand her hatred and will remain here with Cermet. However, on the chance she is not the sister you remember, it might be prudent to leave Xaman here as well."

  Xaman seemed relieved as Akbal said, "I will come with you. If I am to serve Inanna, I must risk it."

  Ishi nodded. "Agreed. My prince—"

  "I will come along as well," Timur said in a voice allowing no disagreement.

  Az raised her hand to stop Ishi from speaking as she put her head close to his. "My prince,” she murmured, “no one would dare fault your courage. Yet you're the key to destroying the Sasnayam Empire. I trust in my skills, but if your Shadow Knight's not strong enough to stop Inanna..."

  Amazonia left her words hanging and he grimaced. "I see your point. I will still go with you, but remain out of the fray. Agreed?"

  Az inclined her head as Ishi headed down the corridor with Akbal beside her. "Dancer, Troll," Az said, "you both are to remain out of the fray as well and guard the prince. Understood?" Neither looked happy, but both nodded, Karl falling in beside Az while Lys leaped back onto his shoulder. They started down the passage after the other two.

  They passed by corridors leading off the main passage and shadowed stairways, the incense losing the battle against decay as they reached the main chamber where the grey tree stood. Standing in front of the tree was a woman taller than Asena and just as powerfully built, her flesh desiccated like a corpse left in the desert sun. She wore the clean linen shift someone must've dressed her body in and held a spear in her hand like a queen's scepter.

  A dead soldier in leather armor lay sprawled out at her feet. A pool of blood around him had begun congealing, the buzzing of flies a faint hum as Ishi stood at the crimson edge, waving her arms as she spoke to Inanna's raised corpse in an unknown language. Akbal stood like a silent shadow beside her. Dark haired Inanna glowered at her sister as she listened in silence. I don’t think this is going to work. "Dancer, take the Rune sword a moment."

  Dancer grasped it by the sheathe and Amazonia stripped off her tunic. "Az," Timur said as his eyes widened, "what are you doing?"

  She adjusted the leather breast binders as Dancer held the sheathed sword out, hilt first. "The tunic will only bind my arms if this turns into a fight."

  "We've seen her fight in less," Troll said with a leer. Az gave him a dark look and he grinned. "Yes, Domina, I'll shut up now."

  Shaking her head, Az pulled the Rune sword from its sheathe. "The other reason is this: I want all of you to understand what becoming a Shadow Knight does to me, especially you, my prince."

  "I owe you that and much more," Timur replied, "with the inn only a part—”

  Akbal cried out and Amazonia whirled around as the priestess fell to the ground. Inanna was now holding the spear like a club, pulling it back as Ishi dropped to the stone floor beside the fallen priestess. "Why did you do that?" Ishi said in Greco. "Akbal only wants to serve you."

  "I struck her a light blow," Inanna replied in a rough voice, as if her throat had been damaged. "If she wishes to serve me, then teach her necromancy and have the Fae make her a Revenant, so she can help you carry out the commands I have given you." Inanna held the spear over her head. "Carry them out or I shall strike you next."

  Troll chuckled. "So much for being reasonable."

  Indeed. "Antonius," Az said with a sigh to the Rune sword, "it's time."