Born Magic Read online

  “There’s a rumor that certain factions in Perathea might be looking to stir things up again, but it’s little more than a rumor at this point.” Bhati ran a finger along the edge of the mug sitting on his desk. “Sounds like the storm is still going outside. Get some rest, none of us are going anywhere for a while.”

  Jamal and Tarik nodded and left the office.

  “You hungry?” Tarik asked.

  “Not especially. I’ll worry about that in a while.”

  Jamal turned in the direction of the infirmary. Hopefully, Ishaq wouldn’t bar him from checking on Nev. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. Ishaq, the healer, was on one knee beside a cot. He appeared to be examining some of the worst abrasions on Nev’s arms. A light sheet was drawn up over his legs. Nev’s eyes were closed, his body motionless.

  “Is he going to make it?”

  “He’s in rough shape. Dehydration and sunburn on top of…he was beaten. I cast a spell to check for broken bones and internal injuries. His cheekbone is cracked, as is one of his ribs. I need a little time to get my energy back before I tackle healing all of that. Of course, I don’t know why I’m calling him ‘he,’ since that’s not really correct.”

  Startled, Jamal glanced from Ishaq to Nev. “That’s a woman?” The information didn’t seem to match with what he’d seen.

  “No, well, yes and no.”

  “Huh?”

  “Nev is a tveir, both male and female.”

  Jamal digested that piece of information. “I thought they were mythical or maybe the word is imaginary?”

  “No, Nev is only the second one I’ve ever seen. They’re a product of a very specific type of thaumaturgy. I’ve heard that it takes months of spell work, and they’re designed for use in magic that has sensitivity to gender influence.”

  “Does that mean he…it…that Nev isn’t human?”

  “That’s a hard question. A tveir breathes, eats, talks, and obviously can be injured. I guess that qualifies as human. They’re not born, though. They’re…made.”

  Made? Jamal wasn’t sure what that entailed. He stood looking at Nev, trying to decided how much of what was going through his head now was curiosity, and how much was that odd feeling that he truly cared about Nev’s well-being.

  “Can you stay with Nev for a bit?” Ishaq asked. “I’m going over to the kitchen to see about getting myself some tea and some broth for…him.”

  “Sure.”

  As Ishaq left, Jamal pulled up a stool and sat near Nev’s cot.

  * * * *

  Everything hurt. Yet, he was dimly aware of lying somewhere fairly soft and much cooler than the heat of the Burning. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He was inside a building. Obviously. There was a roof, and he suspected he lay on some kind of a bed. It took a long moment of mental scrambling to recall what happened after collapsing on the sand in the Burning and assuming he was going to die there. He’d been rescued by a man, well, two men in truth.

  Scraps of conversation between the two floated back. One was definitely dubious about Nev’s value, the other one…the other one was kind, offering water, holding him securely on the horse during the ride, holding him tighter yet when the firestorm was drawing close.

  Cramps tore through his lower belly, turning an ache into a nauseating knot of pain. Nev rolled onto his side, pulling his knees toward his chest, waiting for the pain to pass.

  “Nev? Are you okay?”

  It was the voice of the kind one. A hand touched Nev’s shoulder. Nev squinted, looking up at the man. He had the burnished golden tan skin of a Querteshan, raven dark hair, and a closely trimmed beard and moustache.

  “Dunno,” Nev whispered.

  It was hard to sort out the pain of what Kustaa had done to him from the more usual pain of the blood cycle, or the pain from his trek through the desert. Rolling over had made him aware that someone had dressed him in a loincloth lined with what felt like heavy cloth. That was both a humiliating and a comforting thought at the same time. His escape had been made completely naked. In the run through the alleys of the city, he had stolen a long tunic from a clothesline. There was no time or opportunity for anything else. In other circumstances, he would have used folded rags as a female servant had taught him.

  “The healer will be back in a little while. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Water,” Nev whispered.

  “There’s some in a cup here beside the bed. I think you might have to sit up to drink it.”

  Nev took a few slow breaths. The cramping pain had eased some. He managed to push himself up somewhat, enough that he could sip from the cup the man held. Lying back down, Nev closed his eyes for a bit before opening them again. “May I ask your name?” His throat wasn’t quite so dry and sore now.

  “Jamal Fayed. I’m a guardsman for the Quertesh border.”

  So the man was a soldier. Nev had met a few soldiers in Perathea while running errands for Kustaa. He would not have thought the words “kind” and “soldier” went together, but maybe Quertesh had different cultural expectations. On the other hand, Nev wasn’t sure what Jamal intended to do with him.

  “Will I be sent back to Perathea?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not the one who makes the decisions around here.”

  “Where is here?”

  “The Ninth Garrison of the Querteshan Border guards. Tarik and I brought you here. I don’t know if you noticed the firestorm chasing us, but we had to get someplace safe. We were headed back here anyway. Captain Bhati is planning on speaking with you in a while. He’s probably going to be the one who decides what to do with you. Well, unless he passes it further up the chain of command, but that may be thinking too far.”

  Nev mulled the information in his head. It felt like he was in a very precarious position, but it certainly didn’t seem worse than being tied to post and waiting to have his throat slit as a sacrifice to power a spell. “He will interrogate me?”

  “He indicated he wanted information. I don’t know if I’d call it interrogation, but it may depend on whether he views you as a threat to Quertesh,” Jamal answered.

  “Understood.” Nev wasn’t sure he was capable of being a serious threat to anyone. He hadn’t even managed to kill Kustaa, only knock the mage in the head hard enough to daze him while Nev made a desperate escape. Another wave of cramps twisted his insides, and he curled tighter, arms around his body. He felt a tear form in the corner of his eye and slide down toward his temple.

  “You’re in pain. I should get Ishaq. He has things that can help with pain. He’s not too bad on the magic end of things, and he keeps a lot of herbal remedies around.”

  Nev gave Jamal a small nod.

  * * * *

  As Jamal got up and hurried next door to find Ishaq, he hoped the captain would hold off a few more hours at least before grilling Nev. It was obvious the man was not in good shape.

  Ishaq was chatting with Liri in the kitchen. Liri was the captain’s lifemate. She lived in the garrison and ran the kitchen. A rotating roster of guardsmen got assigned to help her with food prep for the people stationed there.

  “Ishaq? Can you come have a look at Nev?” Jamal asked. “He seems to be in a lot of pain.”

  “Here, carry the bowl.” Ishaq thrust a bowl of broth into Jamal’s hands and picked up a pair of pitas, which he put on a wooden plate. He followed Jamal back to the infirmary.

  Jamal watched with concern as Ishaq knelt down beside Nev.

  “How much of your pain is from the cracked bones in your face and ribs, and how much from your belly? Or can you tell?”

  “The blood cycle…it’s worse,” Nev murmured.

  “Okay, I will make the assumption that what helps any woman will help you. I’ll make you some cramp bark and chamomile tea.” Ishaq examined Nev’s eyes and a couple of spots where blisters were peeling on his arms and hands. “You’re still hellishly dehydrated. Jamal, see if you can help him drink some of the broth while I work on the tea. I shoul
d probably throw in some boneset, too.” He got up and began to sort through numerous jars on the shelves of the infirmary.

  Was he supposed to have Nev drink from the bowl or ask if there was a spoon? Either way, Jamal realized Nev was going to have to sit up. He set the bowl on the floor and perched on the edge of the cot. “I’m afraid you need to be more vertical for this. Is it going to hurt you if I slide my arms under yours and lift you enough to lean against my chest?” Now that they weren’t running for the their lives from the firestorm, Jamal wanted to spare him as much pain as possible.

  “It’s okay.” Nev made an attempt to help with the move.

  Situated with his own back to the wall and Nev leaned against him, Jamal gingerly stretched to pick up the bowl. He held it in front of Nev, supporting the bowl as Nev’s hands tipped it slightly.

  Nev drank maybe half before he murmured, “No more right now.”

  Jamal put the bowl back on the floor. Maybe he should have moved, let Nev lie back down, but he wanted to hold him. The hours spent hugging Nev to his body while on Stonekicker had left Jamal with a feeling that he needed to comfort and protect this…person. Was it attraction? He’d had male lovers and female ones, too. Gods…that raised the question of which gender Nev considered…himself…herself…themselves? Or did it make any difference?

  “The tea is nearly ready,” Ishaq said. “I’ll dump some honey in it because it’s not going to taste very good.”

  “How soon is the captain going to want to speak to Nev?” Jamal asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe I should find out.” Ishaq handed the cup of tea to Jamal but addressed Nev. “The more of it you can get down, the more likely it is you’ll feel better.” He headed for the door.

  Once Ishaq had left, Nev asked, “Is this captain going to torture me?”

  The idea disturbed Jamal. “Not that I know of. He’s probably got some intense questions, but I don’t know that I’ve seen him violent except for the time a band of raiders attacked a group of farmers taking cattle to market. Have you been tortured?” The bruises and other injuries indicated it might be so. He supported the cup as he had done the bowl because he thought Nev’s grip was still weak.

  Nev drank a portion of the tea. “Kustaa sometimes beats me if he thinks I have performed my duties poorly.”

  Jamal was aware that Perathea had a different social structure than Quertesh, and he’d heard talk that women were viewed as having few rights or protections. “Um, are you treated as a woman?”

  “Most people view me as male at least to the eye.”

  “That didn’t really answer the question.”

  “I am owned. Created and possessed by a mage. I guess I would say I was a man if asked and no one knew I was both and neither. There are times, however, like now when the female components of my body make me feel as if I’m not.”

  “If I thought of you as he, is that okay?”

  “It’s as close to my usual opinion as any.” Nev drank some more of the tea.

  “When you mention duties…um, does that include…sex?”

  Nev’s laugh was a bitter snort. “No. He might grab me by the throat to siphon energy from my body, but I don’t think he ever thought of me as human enough for sex.”

  “I think that might be a good thing. He sounds like a nasty son of a bitch.”

  Nev closed his eyes and slowly went limp in Jamal’s arm. For a minute, Jamal panicked, checking to make sure Nev was breathing and had a pulse. Yes and yes. Given all that happened in the past hours, the logical assumption was that Nev had fallen asleep once the tea began to lessen his pain.

  * * * *

  “Let’s start with basic information,” Captain Bhati said. Another soldier, who Nev had not seen before, was stationed at a desk with a pen, ink, and paper.

  Nev was seated in a wooden chair in the captain’s office. He’d been given an ankle length cream colored tunic that the healer referred to as a thawb. Anxiety knotted his gut every bit as much as his non-traditional biology.

  Bhati continued. “Name?”

  “Nev.”

  “Surname?”

  “I don’t have one.”

  “You’re a slave?” Bhati asked.

  “No, well, sort of. I am the property of the mage Kustaa. He created me.”

  “What purpose do you serve the mage?”

  “I am an energy source, free of gender bias, to be used to fuel some of his spell working.” Nev tried to answer as honestly as he could.

  “Why did you leave him?”

  “I was going to be sacrificed to provide enough power for him to open a portal to the dark dimension. His intention was to call forth an oschaert and bind it to his will.”

  “A what?”

  “An oschaert. It’s a kind of demon, but more of a hell dog. I only know what I was told.”

  Bhati frowned and crossed his arms. “And do what with it after that?”

  “I don’t know. I think it was supposed to increase his power.”

  “So he decided not to sacrifice you after all?”

  “No, he tried. I…I broke the restraints. I hit him in the head with a brass pot. It dazed him, and I ran.” Nev scrunched the fabric of the robe with his hands. It was probably wisest not to mention that he had used magic to break the restraints, magic he was “theoretically” incapable of using. “To the best of my knowledge, he is still living, probably only slightly injured.” The last thing he wanted was to be accused of murdering his master.

  “Tell me of Kustaa. He’s a powerful mage?”

  “I…think so. I’ve overheard some conversations with other mages. Kustaa is considered to be capable of doing things some others can’t, magic things I mean.”

  “Does he have political aspirations?” Bhati asked.

  “I don’t know. With the exception of giving me orders, he didn’t talk to me very much.”

  “But you were a bystander during some of his discussions with colleagues.”

  “A few times,” Nev replied.

  “Did he discuss attacking Quertesh?”

  “Not that I know of, except in general distaste for your people.”

  “What about the other mages?”

  “I didn’t hear anything about that.”

  Bhati paced, then stopped in front of Nev again. “What did you usually do for him on a day to day basis?”

  “Preparation of herbs and incense and other magic components. Some cleaning. Help with cooking. There is a woman who is mainly in charge of that. Some days, I just sleep.”

  “Just sleep?” That seemed to mystify Bhati.

  “If he drained the energy from my body to fuel a spell, it would often leave me so weak, I could barely walk. Occasionally, I would lose consciousness for a day or more.”

  Bhati turned to the soldier taking notes. “Make sure you verify the possibility of this with Zafar.”

  “Yes, sir,” the soldier said.

  “Find him a bunk,” Bhati continued. To Nev, he said. “You will staying here at the garrison for the next few days while I consult my superiors and decide what’s to be done with you. I’ll also be speaking with you again, with my mage present. Go.”

  Nev nodded.

  The soldier, who had been playing scribe for the captain, beckoned for Nev to follow him. Outside in the courtyard area, the soldier said, “There’s a spare bunk in Tarik and Jamal’s room. You can sleep there. Breakfast and dinner are served in the great hall. Stay out of the way of guards doing fighting practice. I’m sure if you’re here for more than a couple days, you’ll be assigned chores. Expect to be summoned to speak with the captain again tomorrow. I don’t know what time.”

  Nev fell in step beside the man, following him to the side of the compound that appear to be barracks. The soldier rapped on the half open door of a room.

  “Yes?”

  Pushing the door open, the soldier went in. “You drew the short straw. “

  A few candles lit the room. Jamal was sitting on a bed, sortin
g items into a leather pouch. “Oh?”

  “You found him, well, you and Tarik, and you have a spare bunk. He’s sleeping here.”

  “Okay,” Jamal answered.

  “Bhati’s hanging onto him for the moment. Keep him out of trouble.” Turning to leave, the soldier added, “I’d keep an eye on him for general purposes, too.”

  “Noted,” Jamal replied as his colleague left. “You can use that one. Tarik’s been sent on errand to the main military complex. He won’t be back for a couple of days.” He pointed at the bare pallet on the wooden bunk by the back wall, the third one in the room.

  Nev assumed the empty one with blankets was Tarik’s.

  Jamal got up and took a blanket from the foot of Tarik’s bed. “You can borrow this at least for the night. I’ll talk to the lieutenant in the morning about acquiring you some temporary extra bedding and a change of clothes.”

  Nev sat wearily onto the indicated bed. “Is this just a postponement of torture?”

  “Did Captain Bhati hurt you?”

  “No. Like you said, he asked lots of questions.”

  “Then let it be for the moment. If he thought you were a serious threat, he wouldn’t send you to sleep here in the barracks.”

  Nev just sat staring at his hands. The healer had done enough for him that his cheekbone and ribcage were now only an ache. His skin itched in places where the sunburn and abrasions were mostly healed. His gut…still twisted in intermittent waves of cramps. That was likely to continue for another couple of days. What he wanted most right now was to be clean. For all the abuse and misuse by Kustaa, the one thing he could count on was easy access to bathing. Kustaa was fastidious and insisted all his servants bathe frequently.

  “Are you okay? Well, as okay as you can be at the moment?” Jamal asked.

  “Is there a place where I can clean up?”

  “Sure. The baths are on the other side of the courtyard. Do you…do you want to use the men’s or the women’s? I mean, it doesn’t really matter. I kind of doubt there’s going to be anyone in either one at the moment. It’s late. I just wasn’t sure…” Jamal trailed off.

  “Tonight, I think the women’s bath would be best. I didn’t know there were women here.”