The Desert Spear

not need to.
    “What’s this last one?” Jardir asked, pointing to the large carving at the end of the list, though he could well guess.
    “The last place the Par’chin went before coming to the Desert Spear,” Abban said.
    “Anoch Sun,” Jardir said. Abban nodded.
    “Can any of the other merchants read this tongue?” Jardir asked.
    Abban shrugged. “A few, perhaps.”
    Jardir grunted. “Have men with mauls smash this stone back into sand.”
    “So none may learn the Shar’Dama Ka is chasing a dead
chin’s
footsteps?” Abban asked.
    Jardir hit him, knocking Abban to the ground. The fat
khaffit
wiped blood from his mouth, but without his usual simpering and piteous cries. Their eyes met, and immediately the rage left Jardir and he was filled with shame. He turned away, looking out at the great swath his people had cut through the sand, and wondered if any of them had trodden unknowingly upon the buried bones of his friend.

    “You are troubled,” Inevera said when Jardir retired to his pavilion. It was not a question.
    “I wonder if the true Deliverer was troubled at every turn,” Jardir said, “or if he sensed Everam guiding his actions, and simply followed the path before him.”
    “You
are
the true Deliverer,” Inevera said, “so I imagine it was much the same for Kaji as it is for you.”
    “Am I?” Jardir asked.
    “You think it a coincidence that the Spear of Kaji was delivered into your hands right at the time you were in position to seize control of all Krasia?” Inevera asked.
    “Coincidence?” Jardir asked. “No. But you have been ‘positioning’ me for more than twenty years. There’s more of demon dice in my rise than deservedness.”
    “Was it demon dice that claimed the hearts of the
khaffit
and unified our people?” Inevera asked. “Was it demon dice that saw you to victory again and again in the Maze, before you ever laid eyes on Kaji’s Spear? Is it for the dice that you march now?”
    Jardir shook his head. “No, of course not.”
    “This is about the Par’chin’s sandstone carving,” Inevera said.
    “How do you know of that?” Jardir asked.
    Inevera dismissed the question with a wave. “The Par’chin was a grave robber, nothing more. A brave one,” she allowed, putting a finger to Jardir’s lips to forestall his protest, “cunning and bold, but a thief all the same.”
    “And what am I, but the one who robbed him in turn?” Jardir asked.
    “You are what you choose to be,” Inevera said. “You can choose to be the savior of all men, or you can sulk over past deeds and let pass the opportunity before you.”
    She leaned in, kissing him. It was deep and warm, a kiss that gave without asking, one that reminded Jardir that even now, he still loved her. “I have faith in you, even if you do not. The dice speak Everam’s will, and neither they nor I would have aided in your rise if we did not believe that you, you and no other, could shoulder this burden. Killing the Par’chin was a necessary evil, like killing Amadeveram. You would have spared them, if you could.”
    She slid into his arms, and as he embraced her, he felt something of his strength return. Necessary evil. The Evejah spoke of it, as Kaji accounted his own subjugation of the northern
chin.
Every
alagai
killed helped to balance those scales, and Jardir meant to kill them all before he went to the Creator to have his life’s deeds weighed and judged.

    The scout rode his camel up to Jardir on his white horse, stopping at a respectful distance and punching a fist to his chest.
    “Shar’Dama Ka,” he greeted him. “We have found the lost city. It is half buried in the sand, but much of it seems intact. There are several wells that we believe can be restored to service, but little in the way of food or grazing.”
    Jardir nodded. “Everam has preserved the holy city for us. Send an advance group to map the city and prepare the wells. We will slaughter the livestock and preserve the meat to save our grain stores.”
    “Dangerous,” Abban said. “Slaughtering all the animals gives no way to replenish stock.”
    “We must trust in the green lands to provide,” Jardir said. “For now, we need as much time as possible to explore the sacred city.”
    The bulk of his people moved slowly, and it was days before they caught up to the scouts, who by then had mapped the sprawling city in some detail, though it was larger by far than the Desert Spear, and there might yet be parts