Naamah's Curse - Jacqueline Carey [192]
“Enough!” Her voice rang, and her dark eyes flashed. “This is unacceptable. I will not remain a prisoner in my own palace, starting at shadows. I will not allow my people to be tortured and killed for their loyalty. No more fear, no more suffering. Enough. I do not care if we have not found the perfect plan. We are going to Kurugiri. I am going to Kurugiri. Once and for all, we will put an end to this!”
Ravindra swallowed hard, but he did not protest.
No one did.
I glanced at Bao, leaning on his staff. He nodded at me, promising whatever aid was required.
I glanced at Ravindra, thinking how I had flung the twilight around him.
I thought about Jagrati and Kamadeva’s diamond, and how I had been able to sense them in the twilight.
I thought about how Amrita had placed herself between me and Jagrati in the meadow, her hands raised in a warding mudra, holding the Spider Queen herself at bay.
“My lady Amrita,” I said softly. “I think I know how to take Kamadeva’s diamond out of play.”
Filled with fierce determination, Amrita turned her lustrous gaze on me. “Tell me.”
I did.
SIXTY-EIGHT
No one loved the plan, and our young chess-master Ravindra liked it least of all.
“It’s very dangerous, Mama-ji!” he said in an unwontedly frightened tone. “What if Moirin…” He made a helpless gesture. “Falls victim again?”
“I won’t,” I murmured. “Not this way.”
“She won’t,” Amrita said with conviction. “Not with Bao-ji at her side, not with me there. I will not allow it.”
Bao met my gaze. “If we’re to survive the maze, it will require your magic after all, Moirin—even before we reach Kurugiri. There’s no other way. We’ll have to kill in stealth, you and I.”
“I know,” I said steadily. “And there is no honor in it. But I do believe that the stakes are high enough that the Maghuin Dhonn Herself will forgive me.”
Ravindra’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure?”
“No, young highness,” I said honestly to him. “Very little in life is certain. But I am quite sure that if we navigate the maze, I can find Jagrati and encompass her in the twilight, rendering her and Kamadeva’s diamond invisible for a time.”
“A time,” he echoed.
“A time is long enough for us to secure the fortress,” Hasan Dar said in a pragmatic voice. “That is all we need. Once it is done, there will be too many of us for her to contend with.”
“Once we have gained entrance to the fortress, she will make her stand in a smaller place.” Bao pointed at the drawing of Kurugiri’s layout. “Here in the throne room is my guess. We will not be able to fit more than a score of men in there.”
“How many can she control at once?” Hasan Dar inquired. “Can she force them to turn on their fellows?”
“I don’t know,” Bao admitted. “Only that the compulsion to do her bidding is powerful, but it can be overridden.”
“How?”
“Love.” Bao glanced at me, eyes crinkling in a smile of rare sweetness. “It is a force strong enough that it allowed me to walk away from her. It allowed the Rani to protect Moirin. Kamadeva’s diamond commands a powerful desire, but there is no love in Jagrati, only rage and hatred. So. I suggest you meditate on those you love, commander, and advise your men to do the same, whether it be their wives and sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, priests and mentors, or their love for and loyalty to the Rani Amrita herself. Love, and love alone, is the force that will allow you to resist.”
It was not a speech anyone would have expected Bao to make, me included. Hasan Dar inclined his head in surprised respect. “I will do that, Bao-ji.”
“Good.” Bao returned his attention to the map. “If I may make one more suggestion, I would advise dividing your men into two companies. Jagrati will have Lord Khaga and every last man standing guarding her.” He tapped the map. “The harem will be unguarded.”
The commander followed his thoughts. “So if everything else goes wrong, we can still rescue