Notes: Terms used: Wizardkind are Anirage, muggles are medj, or Medjkind, known by the Khatabis as dirt-people. Khatabis: Suma, (Leader,) Hicham. Haru, Bouchra. Khatabi-Richi:. Abensur, Enclosure overseer. The slaves: Carol, leader in Enclosure 2. Helene, leader in Enclosure 1. Valencio. The escapees: Akila, Tristan's mother, Tristan, Bahiti & Hasina, the kidnapped girls. Younger children, Zahra, Najet, & Jiro.
Chapter 10:
Morocco:
Back in Morocco, Helene and Carol, leaders of Enclosure 1 and Enclosure 2, were talking, sitting at adjoining tables, one on each side of the high fence that separated the enclosures.
"Eleven now," said Helene. "They can't be true Favourites of course, but they always ask for the last appointment so the woman can sleep with them, not just have sex. They talk more that way, and we find out more."
"Well done!"
"Brigitta's like a real Favourite, and as far as we know, no-one's tried to dispute with Abensur. She plays up to him, letting him strip her, and play with the breasts she's just starting to develop, but she's still a virgin."
"The other girls?"
"Still hate it, and are used by so many that it's very hard for them to become a favourite of a particular person."
Carol said, "The more men think their favourites really care for them, the safer we all are."
"It's survival. I had to remind them to be subtle, though. Pitono assured Ingrid that he hadn't heard any talk of clearing the enclosures, and in any case, Enclosure 1 was still needed. But when Marietta said something about it, all she got was a curt instruction to shut her mouth and open her legs. I think he tries to have a different one each time now, which I feel is not a good sign."
There were sixty-one medj in Enclosure 2, two men, the rest women, most blonde, from European cultures, as the men favoured these days. They hadn't been used for months, and there were no Khatabi children who would be needing them as subjects in the foreseeable future. Carol was acutely aware that they were expendable. Sixty-one of them, and not a single student to make use of them. She said, "Valencio keeps himself very inconspicuous. If he hit a guard now, I think it would be the end for us all."
Helene said, "We're doing everything we can, and trying to be subtle about it. For instance, Evita just happened to mention to one of them that Hilde is like a mother to her, that it made it so much easier to be a loving partner to him when she has the comfort of the older ones close."
"She's a good girl."
Helene said ironically, "Abensur thinks we trust him."
Carol shook her head. "Since all of us here started out as sex toys to be raped, I don't know how he thinks he could possibly be trusted!"
"He's better than some I could name. Kamchatsu wouldn't hesitate, I suspect."
"There hasn't been a cull for nearly twenty years. I wonder if it's because they made so much trouble after the last one."
"Lucy and Eva say that they were told in New York that the others were sent to Japan, and in Japan, they were told that the others were sent to Morocco."
"Twenty-eight in Japan, and ten in New York. Just gone." No longer wanted, and so disposed of.
Carol sighed. No matter how hard Helene and her girls worked, the cull would surely come soon. What else could they do? Who, of the wizards, had the most influence, and how could they get to the ones with influence? It was her constant preoccupation - better than what sometimes was a temptation - to think that death was maybe not so bad. She hadn't had much in her life, just a happy childhood abruptly cut short. But it wouldn't be just her. It would be all the ones she felt herself responsible for. Carol kept working, thinking, worrying.
Valencio prepared weapons, using bits of glass, and whenever he could get hold of them, metal combs that he spent hours sharpening on a decorative boulder, well away from anywhere he might be overlooked from outside the enclosure.
Every now and then, the guards did a sweep with the akriktia, a magical device for detecting weapons. But Valencio had long ago worked out how to fool the akriktia. All one had to do was to think carefully that the weapon was not really a weapon. Just a pretty piece of glass for a mosaic, maybe, or a skewer for making a fancy hairstyle.
**x**
Rome:
In late November, what Zoe and Najia feared, was attempted. But Zoe propped to a halt the moment she stepped outside the building where they worked, and whipped out her wand. Najia was a little before her, and a stun spell hit her. The auror supposed to be on guard was nowhere in sight.
Zoe screamed in fury, which brought Santo out of the workroom, even as she parried the stunner aimed at her. She was far better prepared than the Khatabi Fighters had expected, and she stunned two, and Santo managed to get another, although the fourth one fled.
Najia was revived, but was white and shaking, apologising for being so useless.
Zoe said, "That's why we stick together at all times, we have to look after each other, because no-one else will."
The Italian aurors took their job a bit more seriously after that. The Kaseys had brought prestige and profits to the Italian DMT, as they now took care of nearly all the demand from all over Europe.
Three of their attackers had been arrested, and were imprisoned for the crime of attempted kidnap. Suma decided it might be more worthwhile to search again for the missing Khatabi mothers who'd taken their children, especially Lileah and Sagirah, who had eight children between them, and were young enough to have more. But both had an inkling they were being searched for, and both had an instruction in their minds that they must stay in their allotted country. They were not found.
Akila, who'd rescued Hasina and Bahiti, as well as three children, now had her hands very full indeed, as both girls had chosen not to return to their families. Neither of them were any more accustomed to having to do any work than she was, and now they were heavily pregnant. Her money was running low, and she was very worried.
She thought it a matter for safety to keep up with the wizarding news, and only wrapped herself up closely, for disguise, before venturing out every day to buy a newspaper. The day that Najia and Zoe's photographs were in the paper, she was thoughtful. There was the story of the attack. Motive unknown, but Akila knew the name, Najia, and remembered a tiny girl with oriental features. Could this be little Najia Khatabi, grown up? And Zoe looked pure Arabic.
She went to them for help, and although Najia looked at her in fear when she asked if they were Khatabis, Zoe looked at her mind, felt her need for help, and did her best for them.
The girls had begun to rely on the benign interest of Pat and Bellamy, and sent an urgent appeal. Bellamy came, and found their small flat very full. The pregnant girls, Tristan, and three children, Akila looking tired and strained.
"They're our family, and need help."
Bellamy cast his eyes around, conjured himself an extra chair, and accepted the coffee that Najia presented him with. Then he just listened to a story of kidnappings, rape and escape.
"They're desperate," said Akila. "If they cannot find members of the family to breed, there'll be none left."
Hasina put in acidly, "And a very good thing!"
Zoe said, "They've still got Tashfin, so I guess they'll just kidnap another girl for him."
"Why stop at one? I'm sure he could get as many pregnant as he chose, and the more they hated it, the more he'd enjoy it!"
"The servants said he showed indications of enhanced power, and was extremely valuable - the future of the family."
Tristan looked only at the floor. The great wizard had looked at him, and now he knew he was a rapist, as he'd never really regarded himself before. He thought if he was killed, it was only what he deserved.
One of the girls appeared, looking for a glass of water before returning to bed. She was twelve, and looked oriental. She was going to have the beauty of some of the Japanese/Arabic mixes, the same as Najia. Akila allowed her to have her water, as the child stared curiously and a touch fearfully at their male visitor, but she then went obediently to bed.
Once she was out of earshot, Akila said, in a level voice, "If Zahra was home, she'd soon be having lessons in reproduction, and soon after, she'd be mated. If she was not obedient, they would restrain her, or maybe use the Snail Spell, and have her mated anyway, only provided they have a suitable fertile male."
"Just Tashfin's not enough, or all the babies will be brothers and sisters."
"Well, Jiro's only four, and I don't know of any others besides Tristan."
Bahiti squeezed Tristan's hand, and said, consolingly, "Don't worry. You made up for it."
Tristan gave her a timid half-smile. He loved her, shared a bed with her every night, and wanted to marry her as soon as he could.
The following day, Bellamy provided each of the 'Peterson' family with passports, escorted the group to an airport, and took them to his own hidden house in London, the Black house. At the Black house, as soon as the weary party arrived, a pair of house-elves started serving coffee and rolls.
"This is Liktry and Kelta," said Bellamy. "I'll try and organise a human helper as well, and maybe a security guard."
Akila looked around at the house. "I can see this house has not been loved for a long time," but then she went to him, wanting to hug him in gratitude, but he was a man, almost a stranger, and she couldn't be that familiar. Instead, she just said a dignified thank you.
He smiled at her, "You're a courageous woman. The children owe a lot to you. You're to ask for whatever you need."
There was ample money now, provided by Bellamy, the money taken for granted by Akila, who took it as natural that someone else should provide for her. She did not take his continuing interest for granted, and took a great deal of comfort from it. Like a sheltering wing he continued to extend over the fugitives.
Bellamy's house finally had someone who cared about it, and it started to become the home it hadn't been for centuries. Akila found a new liking for interior decoration, and Bellamy one day smiled at her in warm approval. "I always disliked this house, but you've already made it a home."
Early in January, on the same day, an expert specialist healer helped both Hasina and Bahiti give birth. Both the babies were girls. The breeding stock now tucked away in Bellamy's house could have been the beginnings of a revived Khatabi Family. Instead, Bellamy visited frequently, and gave them the same sort of defence lessons he'd given Zoe and Najia.
Life settled down for the 'Petersons.' Akila felt far happier now, and the girls adored their babies. Tristan, in spite of his youth, acted as if they were both his children, and Hasina smiled on him. She didn't want her daughter growing up without something like a loving father.
Zahra Khatabi, called Patricia Peterson, started at Hogwarts, the boarding school attended by almost every Aniragi child of Britain, between the ages of eleven and eighteen. Hogwarts had magical protections, designed to protect the children from harm, as well as more mundane precautions, such as security guards and unclimbable walls. Zahra was prohibited from leaving the grounds, even on approved school excursions. She did not complain, made friends, and started to relax, feeling confident and secure in her new life.
Hasina, Tristan and Bahiti were also still of school age, but they could hardly take their babies to Hogwarts. Instead, Bellamy approached a descendant of his, Hila Bancroft, who ran a tiny day school in London. With the addition of the 'Petersons,' there would be just twelve students from four families. Two brothers were in wheelchairs, and retarded besides. Of the second family of five, one was slow, but two girls very bright. It was an assortment of children with differing needs, and Hila made sure they were catered for. It was a very good school, but expensive.
Bellamy organised it all, even providing a nursemaid and two security guards. Hila was warned to be careful, not boast about any possible enhanced power that any of the students might exhibit, or even talk about two young girls with babies.
They would start at the beginning of September, Bahiti in sixth year, Hasina in seventh. Akila was invited to meet the other mothers at the end of school year party in late June. In general discussion it was mentioned that the fees were very high, but well worth while just to keep their children close. Violet said she had no choice. Hogwarts might have been a wonderful place, but was not designed for children with special needs.
It was only then that Akila started to think about how much they were costing Bellamy. All their living expenses, all the school fees, wages of security guards, a nursemaid, and a housekeeper. She went and spent more of his money on a special present for him, and sent it to him for his birthday. It was expensive, too, an original Clare de Silva painting of a mare and foal, because Zoe said he liked horses.
**x**
Najia and Bahiti kept in close touch, with frequent letters. Najia still maintained a regular correspondence with Pat, as well, especially now that Bellamy seemed satisfied with their Defence skills, and no longer visited as frequently.
Zoe asked the aurors about the schooling, leading them, and listening to minds. There was no suggestion that schools might keep collections of dirt-people, and no suggestion that spells were ever practised on medj, whether prisoners or not.
They never spoke of the Khatabi enclosures, especially not to Bellamy. What if he was rash enough to try and rescue them? It had taken him three and a half years to recover from Riza's revenge. And anyway, it was only a few score of dirt-people.
In August, a scandal erupted, with Bellamy at the centre of it. It started in Britain, when Bellamy put his name to a paid announcement that appeared in the main wizarding newspaper, plus a couple of lesser known ones. That medj-born Anirage were often the result of rape or seduction followed by memory change. Sometimes it was rape with the help of the Spell of Compulsion. That some of the culprits left numerous children being raised by different medj families, which meant that there was a risk of brothers marrying sisters. That medj-born should not have a child with another medj-born without either seeing Bellamy, who could tell from the feel of a person whether they were closely related, or going to a medj doctor and having DNA tests, which could give the same information.
The scandal quickly spread to Italy. The aurors, Santo and Luke, were indignantly castigating Bellamy for spreading such filth.
Zoe and Najia were appalled at the allegations. Mixing the blood of dirt-people with that of Anirage! Half-breed babies! Somehow it never occurred to them that Pat and Bellamy's three daughters must also be 'half-breeds.'
They asked Gina if it was true. Gina said of course it was not true. Medj-born children just happened sometimes.
"That's right," chimed in Santo. "It just happens sometimes, and should not be talked about."
Najia asked, "If it just happens sometimes, why should it not be talked about?"
Santo looked away from Zoe's penetrating eyes. The aurors were supposed to prevent the abuse of medj, but it was very common, and very difficult to prevent. If a woman's memory was changed afterwards, she may not know that anything had happened, though some were bound to suspect. A minor cleaning spell helped.
Najia and Zoe had a few things to think about. That sometimes medj interbred with Anirage, that medj women were sometimes raped by wizards - and not just the inmates of enclosures, providing a service. A needed service? And this thing about needing to know whether a man and woman were closely related. Why was that a problem? They knew that Pat and Bellamy were in Australia for a few weeks, but Zoe said that Najia should ask Pat.
The scandal spread further in the next weeks. There were the news articles, headlines such as Wizardry's greatest shame, and An error of judgment, and even, Bellamy balmy? There was a condemnatory article naming Bellamy's known illegitimate children, three of them, a girl and two boys. And two were by medj mothers. It shocked them both.
There was an announcement from the DMT, too, asking Anirage not to go to medj doctors for DNA tests. Anirage was a subspecies of humankind, and were not the same as Medjkind. Too many people with the same oddities in their DNA could cause curiosity.
Najia had her answer from Pat, finally, interspersed among the usual trivia. Henry was deeply immersed in an invention he called the Reya. He'd horrified his Sydney hosts by going swimming every day, even when the weather was cool. He'd taken a deep interest in a new wizarding school that had opened in Melbourne. That closely related people should not have children together because there was a much higher likelihood of deformity or retardation.
Najia read the letter to Zoe, not looking at her. Zoe's face was stony. So that was why little Jalloun had not been quite right. She'd been mated to an uncle. Najia went to her, and held her in her arms, and tough Zoe broke, and cried bitterly for her lost baby.
There was more information in Pat's next letter. Henry was very unpopular, and security measures had been upgraded. He'd seen many people who'd come to him for help. That one wizard in Britain had been crowing to himself about having forty-five children, none of whom he'd had to support.
That Henry was now working on an invention that would tell if two people were closely related, and that he had all his staff ducking for cover whenever they saw him, as he kept wanting blood samples. And she sent a slim book, entitled Line-breeding in dogs, with the information that inbreeding was very risky, but could enhance desirable features as well as undesirable features.
After reading the book, Zoe looked at Najia. "That was what Grandmother Riza was doing, trying to enhance the features that she wanted, like extra power, and ignoring the risk of babies that were stillborn or deformed. She caused Jalloun's slowness, and then killed him for it."
"Everyone here seemed to know about that without being told."
"It's like apparation. Our education had holes."
A couple of months later, London's wizarding newspaper, which Najia still bought, carried the headlines, McMillan Murdered? The subheading almost blatantly accused Henry Bellamy of killing their Dachier. Known to be able to work magic without a wand. Known that McMillan sent an uninvited visitor to his home. Was he so arrogant that he could ignore the law?
Najia said loyally, "I bet he didn't do anything to the man!"
But the next time they worked, Santo remarked, "I always said he was out of control!"
Zoe looked at him, and said, very coldly, "Only because you once raped a medj woman and feel guilty about it!"
Santo whipped out his wand, and Zoe replied by whipping out her own. Zoe warned, "Don't forget how hard my spells are to remove!"
Slowly, deliberately, Santo pocketed his wand, and turned his back.
Zoe had not yet learned to hide that she could know what other people were thinking. She still didn't take much notice of Ethics of Telepathy, either, in spite of what Pat had to say about it. The next day, it was a female auror that came into the workroom, and another woman who guarded outside.
Najia didn't notice an advertisement in the same issue. It was for Bellamy's new invention, the Dolfus device that would tell people how closely related they were. Closer to Christmas, the Italian newspapers carried a large article about the new service available from healers.
Zoe said, "We've always called ourselves cousins. I wonder how close we are really."
Sidonia did the test for them, and said that they were as close as full sisters.
Zoe looked doubtful, but Najia hugged her. "I always said we were like sisters!"
They'd worked as spell-breakers for two years now, and neither Sidonia nor Gina knew their background. Indirect questions were evaded, and Santo's direct question to Zoe once, had been met with a cold stare.
**x**
Najia and Zoe joined Akila and the children for Christmas, and they all had their Christmas tree, and exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve, just before dinner. They regarded themselves as family - the Kaseys and the Petersons. And all of them still relied on the benign interest of Henry Bellamy, though Zoe preferred not to admit it. He visited mid-morning Christmas Eve, laden with presents for each of them, right down to the babies, who would soon be a year old.
In January, Bahiti wrote to Najia that Jiro was being a problem. Jiro was five now, and appeared to have the streak of cruelty that ran in the family. 'He doesn't try it with us, but was picking on the house-elves. Anyway, they consulted with Bellamy, who they still obviously regard as their real owner, and he said to punish if they were hurt. It horrified me to begin with - after all, they're only house-elves, less than medj! But when I think about it, I do not want Jiro to be as cruel as his sire probably was. We think he's probably closely related to Tashfin, maybe a brother or half brother. He looks more and more like him as he gets older.'
Zoe remarked, when Najia read out the letter, "Probably, if I'd stayed, and I would have stayed, if not for Jalloun, it would have been Tashfin mated to me next."
"They said he was vile. Hasina would still kill him if she could, Bahiti says."
"But that house-elves should presume to punish a wizard, even if only a child? It seems all wrong to me!"
Bahiti's next letter reported that Jiro no longer tried to bully the house-elves.
**x**
Morocco:
Carol and Helene were gleeful. Hicham had kept right away from the dirt-people ever since Ingrid had beaten him with a shoe. The medj knew about that, though the wizards didn't. It had been before they'd heard the whisper that some of the Khatabis had been 'meddled with.' But now Mariabella shared a bed with him almost every night, his own bedroom, too, not just one of the working bedrooms.
Hicham was humble these days, but he was still a Khatabi, while Abensur was only Khatabi-Richi, and so was Ryuichi, the manager. Hicham, if he knew in time, might be able to stop the Khatabi-Richi deciding to close down Enclosure 2. Mariabella had been his Favourite before he left for New York, and the ploy had been that she missed him, and wanted to belong to him again.
"He's not like he used to be at all," she told Helene. "He was often rough and impatient - not particularly cruel, but not gentle. Now he's very, very gentle, and if I make the slightest sign of reluctance, he pulls away straight away."
The medj knew a lot more about what had happened to the Family than Suma would have expected. But Suma tried never to think about the people in the Enclosures. She didn't like that they kept so many medj prisoners, but they couldn't be freed, so what could she do?
Maybe one day her position as leader would be secure enough to order that no new girls should be taken - ever. They could gradually die out then. It would be a relief when they were no longer there.
**x**
Rome:
In May, Najia was reading another of Pat's letters to Zoe. Pat described Bellamy's work with what she referred to as 'the refugees.' A farm-load of stock, severely neglected for years, the situation only discovered after the suicide of the widowed farmer. Five hundred sheep, donkeys, horses, cattle. Pitifully thin, weak, and half wild as it had been so long since they'd been handled.
Najia and Zoe didn't know animals, and the care of them was foreign to their experience. Pat wrote, 'It's funny to watch him sometimes. There's always a couple of dogs at his heels, sometimes more, often a cat or two, frequently a horse, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's not soon to be a dozen sheep and two donkeys!'
Pat referred to the human refugees, as well. Henry had called in the other day, 'He thinks Najet might have telepathy, which can only help keep them safe.' The letter continued with more lively talk, her affection for her Henry obvious as she described the way he hauled every person over to admire the new foal of his Bess. 'He calls her Fairy Floss, because, he says, she's so tiny and light and like something without substance, but yet sweet.'
She finished by saying that she was going to a concert with Margaret, who used to work for them, but then married the local lord. 'Funny to think that if she has a boy, her baby will eventually be Lord Lockwood, a Duke.'
The next day, Najia's English newspaper, always received a couple of days late, had the headlines. 'Pat Howard killed in car accident.'
"She's dead," Najia said to Zoe, blankly. "I can't believe it."
Zoe said, "He must be devastated!"
Najia said shakily, "I know I hardly knew her, except by letter, but she was like a mother."
Zoe nodded, and her eyes, too, had tears. "Like a mother."
Their letter of sympathy was answered by the secretary, who thanked them, and said that Bellamy was away, out of touch.
Zoe and Najia felt suddenly exposed, vulnerable, but Zoe reminded Najia that if they needed him, and called him, in their mind, he would hear, and come. "Like when those dirt-people grabbed me."
"Medj," corrected Najia. "Civilised people call them medj."
Zoe said, "Those two, they were dirt-people." Najia nodded. Maybe they had been.
A note a week later, advised of a change of name. Zoe commented, "Living so long, and knowing medj, he'd need to do that every now and then."
"How old is he again?" Najia asked.
Zoe smiled, "I thought you'd know that."
Najia nodded, "I guess I do."
It was hard to believe, and she didn't like to think of it much. But Henry Bellamy, now John Bellamy, was a hundred and seventy years old, and still looked to be no more than thirty, at the most.
**x**
London:
Akila felt herself exposed and vulnerable without the sheltering wing of Bellamy's presence. But Archie Barnes, his manager, called in frequently, and the two security guards looked after the ones at school, and she was assured that he would be back before the July school holidays.
The old Black house was a comfortable home now. Old-fashioned kitchen and bathroom had been renewed, extra toilets and bathrooms added, and every room lovingly decorated, and made comfortable. Akila took a great satisfaction in it. Even the neglected garden was now carefully tended, and fresh flowers decorated the home.
Patricia, (or Zahra) was happy at school, and the babies were a joy, both of them laughing and giggling when their young parents played with them.
Hasina was troubled about her baby sometimes. Nola had the brown skin of her father, Tashfin, and a similar negroid appearance. Jiro looked so much like him as well, and was acting as Tashfin might have acted, although at least, he no longer took notice of the house-elves.
She found him one day pinching Bahiti's baby, and locked his fingers together for a day, as punishment. But he stared at her, and it was Tashfin's eyes that looked at her. She hid her unease, and only spoke sternly, that no-one should ever hurt a person weaker than themselves, just because they could.
***chapter end***
Notes: Khatabis: Suma, (leader) Haru, Bouchra, Hicham. Khatabi-Richi, servant class. Ryuichi, manager. Abensur, Enclosure overseer. The slaves: Carol & Helene, leaders, Brigitta, favourite of Abensur. The 'Petersons:' Akila, Tristan's mother, Tristan, Bahiti & Hasina, Children, Zahra, Najet, & Jiro, plus 2 babies.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter & his world belongs to J. K. Rowling. By the time of this story, Harry Potter is known as Bellamy.
Chapter 11:
Morocco:
Abensur was a happy man. Brigitta was fourteen, and he was sure she loved him. She was still a virgin, but nearly every evening, she snuggled up to him, naked, and sometimes even timidly touched him. She still wore the coloured wrist band that indicated that she was for his exclusive use, and no-one disputed with him. But he was saving it up, he wanted it to be special for both of them, the first time, and she still shrank away from him when he suggested it. He would wait until she was ready.
Ryuichi was the Khatabi manager, and one day spoke to Abensur. How long was it since the dirt-people in Enclosure 2 had been used? Two years? Was it worth keeping them any longer? How many were there, thirty or so?
Abensur said casually, that yes, there were thirty or so, and they'd be in use again shortly, as the healer wanted to train an assistant. And then he hurried to Zola, and suggested that she should have a couple of assistants, and that he had plenty of subjects for her to use for training.
Brigitta would be upset if Enclosure 2 were cleared. And she might stop loving him. He didn't want a slave who might be obedient, but who hated him.
Two days later, Carol's heart went into her mouth as she saw Abensur approach. There were no students. Were they to be killed? All sixty-one in Enclosure 2, maybe?
It was a relief when Abensur said there were two students for lessons in healing, and that there would be several weeks of straight work, and then probably one or two would be kept unconscious a while longer so that the students would know how to look after an unconscious person. "They won't be allowed to die, of course, though they might be thin afterwards. And none of you will be hurt, as when they break bones, for instance, they'll use a Twilight Spell, or a stunner so that you won't feel it. You'll just wake up, healed again, maybe a bit sore."
It didn't sound at all pleasant, but when Maliwan suggested that they might revolt, Carol said firmly that their lives hung by a thread, and they had to be as cooperative as they possibly could. "Even you, Bernice," she said sternly. Bernice always had to be paralysed before anything painful was done.
Jila was thrilled to be offered the chance to be trained in healing. Extra skills could be very valuable in these days of uncertainty, and she relished a challenge. There was little challenge in waving a wand and having floors and shelves dusted and clean. With the additional ones from Japan, there was overstaffing in several areas, and none of the more interesting specialties had been available.
Agneta was the other one who was to do the healing training. Agneta was a couple of years older than Jila, and had a stockier build than most Khatabis. She'd been working in administration, but confided that she wished she could have been a Fighter. Jila was astounded. Women weren't Fighters! But Agneta said that her sire was a German auror, whose two sisters were also aurors.
Jila asked, "Aurors?"
Agneta explained, "Fighters, but in Europe. Supposed to make wizards behave themselves."
Jila left the subject, and said, "I can't wait." Agneta agreed.
They started that afternoon, with a general discussion about the training, and Jila learned for the first time about the enclosures of dirt-people - prisoners kept by the Khatabis. Enclosure 1, girls used by the men for sex, and Enclosure 2, used as subjects to practise spells on.
Zola used a calm, matter-of-fact voice. It was the thing she'd found hardest to accept when she did her own training. She warned, "It can be hard. They might be dirt-people, but they feel pain, and naturally, don't like to be hurt. But they know to be obedient, and we'll hurt them as little as possible."
She didn't tell them that they would need Enclosure 3 for the more advanced training, and that that would hurt the inmates very much indeed. She'd save that until they were more accustomed to the idea of using medj prisoners.
Agneta said, "We need healers, of course. It's an immensely valuable specialty."
Zola gave her a warm smile, and said, "Nothing gives me such satisfaction. The training is challenging, but it's so worthwhile."
Zola wore a red stripe on her left shoulder, a black stripe of competence next to it, and a stripe of diagonal dark and light green, which showed she was head of her section. Not that there were any other healers, but the post of Healer carried prestige.
Jila thought of causing pain to innocent women, but her eyes lingered on the red stripe of Zola.
Zola said, "Of course, when we do anything painful, whenever possible, the subjects are either stunned or under a Twilight Spell. They are hurt as little as possible."
Jila gave a sigh of relief. They wouldn't be badly hurt, it was necessary, and one day, she too could wear the prestigious red stripe next to the boring white stripe that denoted competence in housekeeping.
Jila had never seen any of the dirt-people from the enclosures, and was very curious. They started practical training the next day, when Zola took them to a classroom in an area they'd never been before. "Crio-magic," she explained. "You were probably not even curious what was here, never wondered why you never felt any urge to explore this area."
Jila and Agneta nodded. It was a men's area. Agneta said, "I did know of Enclosure 1. I saw a young woman one day, being escorted to the men's quarters, and a friend told me."
Jila said, "I've never seen one."
Zola explained, "They try and keep it discreet. There are back routes from the enclosures to the men's quarters, and mostly, they use what they call the working bedrooms, just across the corridor from the actual enclosure."
Jila looked expectantly towards the door as a guard entered, followed by ten slaves, filing obediently into the classroom. She looked at one, No. 43, in her fifties, she estimated. Grey strands through her blonde hair.
Mary did not meet her gaze, just standing, accepting. She'd been a slave for over forty years, and knew her place. She had no say in her fate, and fully expected one day to simply be killed, as she'd seen other superfluous slaves killed. Probably not painfully though. They hardly ever badly hurt an obedient dirt-woman.
The slaves were barefoot, and each wore a brief pair of shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. The colour was drab, dull brown, and there were numbers prominent, front and back. On each woman's right upper arm, facing the front, were the same digits, imprinted on the skin. The badges of slavery. Only dirt-people, of course, and they'd not be much hurt. Jila put away any thought of pity. She was learning to be a healer for Anirage, and some small sacrifices were needed in order to gain the skills required.
The first day was not difficult for the subjects. There were the basic spells the healers had to learn - Paralysis, Semi-Paralysis, Three-quarters Paralysis, Stunning, Twilight Spell, an Enfeeblement Spell, Calming Spells, Instant Calm, Deep Calm, and so on.
Jila and Agneta had long ago learned them in theory, and found them quite easy to put into practice. They were 'Control' Spells, most of them, but also could be needed when healing. A badly injured person did not always stay calmly still to be healed.
Jila was ecstatic with herself. Just one day, and they'd learned so much! It certainly helped when spells were put into practice.
They wouldn't be using the slaves the second day. They were to learn sterilisation, a routine duty of a Khatabi Healer. As the prisoners were already sterilised, they were no use to them for this. Instead, the healer and her trainees went to the nearby city, and waited in hired rooms, while Botan and two assistants brought people in for them. They'd be sterilised, their memories changed, and released.
Six women first, secured to conjured floor to ceiling poles, the same as those they used for the doomed inmates of Enclosure 3. The lesson proceeded smoothly, the subjects silenced for convenience. Struggles were not important.
The Nala Spell which vanished the womb, was one of those spells that was visible in the air, like the red streak of light that was the Stun Spell, or the green streak that was the Death Curse. The Nala Spell was seen as a sparkling, almost transparent whiteness. The subjects felt the effect as an unpleasant tingle, almost a shrinking inside them.
Zola had requested a pregnant woman, as well, and now explained that the Nala Spell should never be used on a pregnant woman.
"Agneta, use the spell on her, and see what happens."
Instead of a frightened silent whimper, and sometimes a hand that tried to go to the lower abdomen, this time the subject had her mouth wide in a silent scream, and collapsed, writhing in agony.
"So when you need to sterilise someone," Zola said, quite unmoved, "Check for pregnancy, just in case, as different spells are needed to first vanish the foetus, and then remove the womb."
Jila sternly reminded herself that if she wanted to be a healer, she could not afford inappropriate sentimentality.
Zola glanced at her, and said, "Each of our subjects will find either money or food in their bags. They will remember finding it."
Jila was relieved. The poverty-stricken citizens of Baradan needed money, and the suffering was comparatively minor.
The trainees went on to male sterilisation. "The Nroko Uviki Spell is quite simple, totally without sensation to the subject, and does not affect sexual function." The trainees learned quickly, and only six men were sterilised.
They went on to another spell, which rendered a man impotent as well as sterile, and they also learned the Castration Spell, which was also simple and painless. It could be seen that something had been done to the five subjects for that, and Jila looked at Zola, apprehensively.
Zola said to Botan, "In the other room, please." Jila decided not to ask what was to happen to them.
Agneta asked, "When would we need that?"
"Hardly ever. I've never had to do it myself, but sometimes when they get a boy for the enclosures, it's preferred that they become eunuchs. More docile, it's thought. But mostly, in that case, the enclosure overseer would perform the spell. Kosin always did it himself, I've heard."
Both young women were shocked, and Agneta said, "I didn't even know they sometimes have boys."
"Sometimes. There's one I've seen a few times. He's been very troublesome, but he was treated with utter barbarity, and I never really blamed him." She smiled, "Little devil! Just a kid still, in a great deal of pain, could easily have died or been permanently damaged from something that was done to him, and he still somehow managed to steal a pair of scissors from my bag, and attack Adil with them a few weeks later. Ruined his eye."
She glanced around nervously, but there were no witnesses. Hesitantly, she asked, "Please don't tell anyone. I don't want to be whipped at my age."
Jila and Agneta both quickly said they would not tell anyone, and both would make sure and keep potential weapons away from any prisoner they might have to treat.
Jila asked, "Are the healers called very often for the prisoners?"
"Not very often. Only when one is particularly valued."
"Are they often hurt then?"
Zola said, hesitantly, "I don't think so. Khatabi-Richi are not allowed to damage or seriously hurt a slave, except in the case of an authorised punishment."
Agneta asked, "The one you spoke of. Is he a eunuch?"
"His name's Valencio, and he wasn't when I saw him last. He was in his late teens then, and very much upset his owner by slicing through his own carotid artery. Barely survived. He's in Enclosure 2, so you'll be seeing him in the next few weeks, no doubt."
Another, far more tricky, lesson. The men and boys used were not supposed to show any external difference afterwards. It took a few tries, and one was so badly deformed that he would have to be put down as well. But finally, five men and seven boys were castrated, but showing no difference in appearance. They were released.
Zola smiled with satisfaction, and admitted that it was the first time she'd done that, just that Nusa'pei had asked about it once.
"For Valencio?"
"Presumably. Maybe didn't want him going on a murder spree, or trying to kill himself again. He was very much valued."
Jila couldn't help herself, and asked, "Who, of our men, want boys, instead of girls?"
Zola didn't answer. It wasn't something the women were supposed to talk about.
Jila was beginning to be pleased with herself. It was fascinating, and both she and Agneta were learning quickly. Zola commended them on their quick progress, and asked Botan to bring them several pregnant women.
"This is something we'd need seldom, but should know. How to vanish a foetus without hurting the mother. Then, if we need to, we can use the Nala Spell to sterilise her."
She smiled with satisfaction when the six women now showed flat tummies. "Well done," she said. "As you can see, it was quite painless."
Botan spoke to her, and she nodded. It was only prudent. One could be saved, left in a toilet with blood around her, and remembering that the tiny foetus had been flushed down the toilet. But Botan thought it too much trouble, and the six women were all killed. They were only dirt-people, and there were millions of dirt-people.
Back to the normal work with subjects from the enclosure the following day. Valencio appeared among the file of prisoners the next morning, and Jila looked at him with interest. He ignored her look. He was tall, blindingly good-looking, and wore permanent wrist and ankle cuffs, the right hand wrist cuff marked with colours. Zola had mentioned that a 'Favourite' of a Khatabi had a coloured wrist band, but that was only in Enclosure 1.
But Valencio was no longer used for sex, and his wrist cuff was coloured. She didn't understand why, though she understood the purpose of the three silver rings on each cuff. That was so that he could quickly and conveniently be restrained whenever needed. She said nothing.
During the next couple of days, the 'work' for the inmates began to be harder for them. Even when kept under Twilight spells or similar, when injured and healed, they would feel the after-effects of discomfort and weakness. There was a minor change. In place of some of the older women, Abensur started including Valencio in every session, at his own request, he said to Zola when she queried. The slave never showed aggression, usually just staring into the distance, as if indifferent.
Twelve subjects needed for helping the trainees learn to heal broken bones. Abensur provided two large jugs of potion for the subjects that day, as he said that, although healed, they might be sore for a few days.
"These ones won't be used again until next week," he told Carol, and ordered that the spa baths be heated ready for use.
Carol thought that it could be worse. They were kept under the Twilight Spell all day, and didn't feel it much when their bones were broken with a tap of a wand, and a muttered incantation.
The following day, another twelve subjects. This time, the breaking of bones was to be done with physical trauma, as Zola said it was more of a challenge that way. Jila saw Valencio restrained for the first time, clipped to a conjured pole by one of the silver rings on his right hand wrist cuff, apparently to his resentment, as the guard said soothingly, "Just that you may react out of instinct when confused. You don't want to find yourself in trouble, do you?"
It seemed that he didn't want to be in trouble, as he looked away again, assuming his mask of indifference. By the time the subjects for the day returned, some walked with pain, but there was not even a bruise to show how they'd been mistreated.
Jila was too much involved in learning to worry any more about how the medj slaves might be feeling about it. After the practical training was finished, there would be theory, especially potions. About eight months, Zola estimated, when she asked, and then they would be awarded the narrow red stripe that denoted healer.
Jila enjoyed the lessons, read books about healing every night, and bored her husband by talking interminably about her new interest.
"We did spell-breaking today," she told him. "Zola said that all the powerful Khatabis were taught that, because sometimes, it's only someone with extra power who can break the spells. Like Ahjmed. Only Grandmother Riza could break his spells."
Patek said, "A few Khatabi-Richi are like that as well. Yoweri, for instance."
Jila grinned. "He's terribly popular. I hear he's tried out all the single women, plus a few married ones. So good-looking. And apparently a better lover than one would expect."
"Please don't be tempted. I don't want to duel with that one!"
Jila giggled, and promised not to be tempted.
Various types of cutting trauma, and the lessons with these went on for over a week. There was a lot to learn.
Brigitta mentioned to Abensur that so many in Enclosure 2 were looking ill, and Abensur replied that they had to be seen to be working, as the manager complained about the money it cost to keep so many medj. Brigitta pretended not to take in the implications, but reported to Helene as soon as she was returned to the enclosure.
Helene talked to her group about how they might get to Ryuichi. They didn't know him, and those in Enclosure 2 were looking dazed and unhappy, and she didn't like to ask if any of them had ever been with the man. Mariabella finally found out from Hicham. Ryuichi and a female servant were close, and that's why he didn't come to the Enclosure.
Helene consulted with Carol, but Carol said that everything ached, including her head, but that as soon as she could think again, she'd try.
Once the trainees started on pain relief, the subjects were not as obedient. To observe the effects of pain-relieving spells, pain had first to be caused. After the first day of this, Clarence tried to run, breaking away from the line, followed by Bernice. It did them no good.
Carol reminded them sternly that they couldn't afford to give trouble. Their lives hung by a thread. Bernice had tears in her eyes, but said she'd try not to run next time. Clarence merely nodded. They'd try not to run, but the pair of them couldn't seem to help themselves. They'd suffered too much pain in their time as prisoners, and were damaged.
It was a hard week for Jila and Agneta as well. To cause pain to unwilling subjects, some of whom were put under a semi-paralysis in order to keep them under control... But pain relief was a major part of a healer's art. It was necessary, and sacrifices had to be made.
Valenciohad a break for those few days. Zola explained to her students. "He's not suitable for this purpose because his reactions to pain are not normal. We'd have to use a pain monitor, which would be a nuisance."
Jila asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"I think a result of exposure to too much pain when he was in Enclosure 1. No need to go into it, just that for this purpose, he's not suitable."
No need to go into it, Zola said. It must have been a Khatabi then. Ahjmed, maybe? Ahjmed had a reputation, but he was not the only one.
Another couple of weeks, internal injuries, then two more wearing days of review when the trainees ran through everything they'd been taught, and those in Enclosure 2 gave a sigh of relief.
Abensur told them that the trainees would be doing some theory, and that there would be another couple of days of review in four weeks, and probably another a couple of weeks after that. He thought they should be grateful. They might be hurt slightly, now and then, but his idea of the healing training had kept them alive a while longer. Ryuichi had suggested that if the closing of Enclosure 2 might upset the ones in Enclosure 1, then maybe both Enclosures should be closed down, and they could have all new girls in Enclosure 1.
Brigitta was carefully tutored. Luckily she was a clever girl. Innocently, she asked, as Abensur caressed her breasts, what other men liked. Did all of them like young girls, or did some like really big breasts, and she gave her rehearsed giggle, though the blush was real. Did some of them even like boys? And then she started giving names of those they knew. What did Yasuo like? Haruko? Ryuichi? Botan?
Abensur answered, not thinking of it, but feeling more and more stimulated as she questioned. When he moved over her, parting her legs, she stifled her reluctance, and made her breath shorter, pretending to want it too. He must not be alienated.
Abensur could have them all killed if he wanted, they were sure of it. Brigitta tried to pull away when she felt the pain of him in her, as every virgin girl did, but afterwards, she sniffled a little in his arms, and only said she loved him and wanted to please him. He cuddled her very close, and replied that he loved her, too.
Helene was waiting for her when he returned her to the Enclosure, watching as she gave him a loving kiss. But once he was out of sight, Brigitta turned to her and sobbed in her arms. Helene held her tight until her sobs died down.
Brigitta said in a low voice, "I was silly. I knew he'd do it one day, and I still hoped that one day my dad would come for me and take me home."
Helene had tears in her eyes. "We all wish that, my dear," and she rocked the child in her arms. "We all wish that."
Brigitta passed on the information gleaned. Ryuichi was over fifty, and so was his woman friend, but years ago, he'd been besotted with Valencio, and as he was the Favourite of Narzu-Han at the time, had pestered for another boy to be taken, Italian too, with black hair. He was only Khatabi-Richi, even if Manager, so his requests had been ignored.
Evita and Inge, the two girls brought in for Tashfin, had rarely had an evening off since his death. They were fourteen, both rather thin. Evita, Helene thought, looked like a boy, even a bit like Valencio. It was a lot to ask, but there were a lot of lives at risk. Evita looked at the floor, and nodded. The following day, Angini cropped her black hair short, almost like a boy.
Mariabella, with Hicham, was in a good position, as he spoke to the manager quite frequently. A casual comment, "I'm surprised he didn't pursue his interest in boys. Young Evita looks just like a boy. Like a beautiful Italian boy. You should tell him. Might make him better-tempered..."
Hicham hugged her, and said, "You've made me a lot happier."
There was a bit of hilarity in both Enclosures that night. Quite a few of them had lost their virginity to Hicham. Poor Hicham! He was certainly a changed man!
Helene, in spite of her experience, blushed as she suggested to Evita that she help her get used to penetration, as if she was a boy.
Evita said, in a hard voice, "I've had it like that, quite often. Botan. He likes to hurt, and it hurts more like that. Except that when I bled once, he was very worried. Maybe he thought he'd be in trouble."
"Did you tell anyone?"
"I was too ashamed."
Helene wondered if it had to hurt. She remembered Valencio when he'd been Narzu-Han's, and she didn't think he was being physically hurt, but there was another time when he'd been roughly pushed back into the enclosure, naked, and with blood all down his thighs. No-one ever spoke to him about any of that, but this was survival.
She asked Carol to get Clarence and Valencio for her to talk to. Clarence answered her question, "I was always hurt, sometimes very much, sometimes a bit less, but it always hurt."
Valencio was acutely uncomfortable, but this was about survival. He said, not looking at her, "If a man goes slowly and carefully, and if he uses small dildos, or maybe a finger for a while first, and also lubricating lotion, it need not hurt."
Helene was blushing more red than Valencio. "Is it worthwhile then, trying to get a body used to it?"
"You want him to want her, and think she wants him. It will be easier for her to pretend if it doesn't hurt too much. Certainly, it's worthwhile."
Clarence gave Valencio a very curious look as they left, but didn't ask any questions. If Valencio felt anything like as shamed as himself when he thought of it, he would not appreciate any discussion.
Evita agreed, and every morning after that, Helene joined her in the shower, and gently penetrated with a pencil, or a finger, until Evita agreed that she was getting better at relaxing muscles, and didn't mind it so much.
Hicham had to be prompted again, and then Ryuichi didn't do anything about it straight away. Evita was well prepared by the time she saw his name on her list for the evening. When he said what he wanted, she was able to tell him that she loved it like that, if only he'd go slowly, and use the lubricating lotion that was always available in the working bedrooms.
There had been a time when Ryuichi relished talking to those who'd used Valencio when he'd been just a boy who wanted to kill. He knew the care that Nusa'pei had insisted on and had already provided himself with three dildos, the first quite narrow. And as he gently prepared the girl for penetration, he pretended to himself that he was finally having the boy who'd been once so coveted.
He found the experience exciting and satisfying, and after the third time, Evita wore a pink wrist band, denoting that she was for the exclusive use of Ryuichi. Ryuichi stopped suggesting that the Enclosures were a waste of money.
**x**
London:
Bellamy's beloved wife, Pat, was dead, and Akila 'Peterson' worried that Bellamy might forget them in his grief. But he reappeared in early July, when school holidays began, and in her relief, she gave him a hug. He was a little surprised, and Akila was suddenly bashful, "Sorry. Just pleased that you're all right."
But Bellamy assured her he was fine, and admired the babies. He talked with Jiro a long time, listening as Jiro spoke excitedly about finally going to school.
Akila looked on with approval. Jiro was a worry to her, and Bellamy's influence could only be good. He said that if Akila gave permission, maybe Jiro could come with him sometimes, when he went out. Jiro beamed, and Akila gave her permission.
"Take me out, too?" asked Najet, but Bellamy said definitely, "Only medj places. You must not be found by those who want to take you away." The children had not been lied to, and the girls knew their danger. Najet nodded obediently, and said that she'd like that.
As promised, he took Jiro about a little, also Najet and Zahra, just one at a time, firstly as it was too dangerous to apparate with more than one at a time, and secondly because they would be more likely to be spotted if they went out in a group.
Jiro looked up to him. Bellamy was the most powerful wizard in the world. He must be able to do anything. Surely he must be able to fight anybody, and win. He could tell anybody just what to do. But Bellamy was nice to people, from Mr. Smith in the Joke Shop, to young mothers who wanted to show them his babies.
"But why?" asked Jiro.
Bellamy answered, "I'm very old, and they're my descendants. It's a bit of a tradition in the family to show me new babies." And he ruffled the boy's hair. "Besides, I like babies!"
Bahiti and Tristan married, a quiet medj ceremony. In a medj area, it was not too dangerous for them all to attend, even Zoe and Najia. There had been a lot of discussion about whether they could risk a honeymoon, maybe in a medj area. But Akila said it was too dangerous. The Khatabis were presumably still looking for them, and would very much want the baby girls. The Petersons lived a very limited life, and didn't know when that would change. They were still fully supported by Bellamy, and didn't know when that might change, either. Maybe never.
Bellamy regarded the refugees from the Khatabi family as his responsibility. 'Akila and crew,' as they were referred to, felt a comfort in his continuing interest.
Zoe and Najia were also refugees, and far more exposed. They, too, drew comfort from his interest, though independent Zoe refused to acknowledge it. They thought themselves good fighters now, probably as quick as any of the Khatabi Fighters, and definitely as powerful. They practised every day, and Zoe was always alert. Her telepathy was a vital part of their defence.
She sat up one evening, smiling, and said, "Najia, Bellamy's coming. I can feel it."
When the doorbell rang, Najia was already there, seeing him too thin, but smiling at her as if he'd never been away. Like Akila, she hugged him. He hugged her back, and looked for Zoe, shaking her hand. Zoe was not a person who liked to touch.
Zoe made a stiff, rehearsed speech of sympathy, but he brushed it aside, saying that things just have to be accepted. People lived and people died, and that's how it was. But Zoe looked at him, and knew his desperate loneliness.
**x**
Jiro started school finally at the beginning of September, and raced ahead in learning. Akila wondered if she'd made a mistake keeping him home. Maybe she should have sent him the previous year. He was a highly intelligent child.
Hasina was nineteen, and was technically finished school, but the group was safer if they stayed together, and she helped with the younger children, and continued to take lessons in Defence with Bahiti and Tristan, in their final year.
Their teacher was Michael Bruce, who'd taken the place of one of the original security guards. He was highly competent, and had been an auror until he found himself sitting on the floor, staring at the stumps of his legs. Both feet severed and vanished. They knew the story - that he'd called for help in his mind, and Bellamy had appeared almost at his side, and given the needed help. And then the great wizard had done the impossible - he'd made new feet grow. It was impossible to restore lost body parts, but the loss was only minutes old, and Bellamy did it anyway.
"Couldn't walk for days," Michael always said. "They were soft and pink, adult size, but brand new like a baby. But I was hobbling within weeks, and only limping after three months."
And then he'd always say with a vast satisfaction, looking at his feet, and waggling them up and down, "Good as new now, but it took almost a year."
**x**
Morocco:
With both Evita and Brigitta marked as exclusive property, the other young girl, Inge, was being overworked, and getting more and more thin. Helene finally went to Abensur and requested that she have a few weeks holiday.
Abensur had Zola look at the girl, and Zola nodded. She should have a few weeks off. Jila and Agneta were both present. Occasional attendance like this was a part of the duties of a Healer. Afterwards, Zola discussed the injuries that could be caused to both boys and girls by rough treatment, and how to treat such injuries. "Not that I've seen many," she added. "Only Valencio, really. I was told it happens now and then, but that the permanent enclosure guards have training in such matters."
Jila said, condemning, "They have training in how to treat the victims of violent rape." Zola only nodded.
Jila didn't speak about it with her husband. Surely Patek would never do anything like that. But she declined when he suggested sex. Somehow, she didn't like men very much that day, even her own husband.
As well as studying, Agneta and Jila were doing a lot of the routine work that Zola usually did. Preparing and issuing potions for the aching bones of the old ones, though standard potions came already prepared from the potion-makers in Khartoum. Spell-breaking, when the men duelled, mostly only things like donkey ears and pig snouts, though once they had to go to Haru when none of them could undo the Semnor Curse, inflicted on Rafik.
Haru managed it, and Zola explained that it wasn't only the power of the wizard who'd inflicted the spell that could make it difficult to undo. The type of spell was also important, and the Semnor curse often caused difficulties.
An ancient wizard died peacefully in the night. Jila and Agneta prepared the body for burial under the watchful eye of Zola. They also learned the spells that would preserve the body, unchanged for months if required. There was a lot to learn.
**x**
Mariabella reported to Carol and Helene. "He agreed, and even asked the servant to bring two breakfasts from now on."
Carol congratulated her. Having the privilege of sharing a meal with her 'owner' was the beginning of a different relationship. Mariabella already wore a full skirt, brightly coloured, instead of the brief shorts normally issued to slaves, and Hicham had needed to make a request to the laundry for that.
Carol cautioned, "Go slowly, carefully, but take extra privileges, bit by bit. Then one day, if you're clever enough, you'll be able to tell him what to do."
Mariabella said doubtfully, "He's still a wizard, and I'm just a dirt-girl in his eyes."
"He's a wizard who cannot stand up for himself. He's lost his arrogance, and he needs you. Do it by inches, but try."
Mariabella nodded, "I'll try, of course. After all, the worst he'll do to me if he thinks me too insolent, is not have me as Favourite any more."
Carol said, "He's not very bright. We know that."
Mariabella nodded, and said, "I want to ask him to see the Healer - have his bad breath fixed."
Carol looked doubtful, and Mariabella sighed, "If only he didn't want to kiss."
"Can you stand it for a few weeks more?"
Mariabella agreed that she could stand it for a few weeks more.
Helene said, "If you have to act quicker then expected, you could remind him of Margaret. Margaret was his Favourite for years. Also Valencio. Valencio was never his favourite, but Narzu-Han liked to share."
Carol said, "Don't tell anyone else, of course. He never talks about any of that himself, never has. Just that we're talking about survival." She glanced at Helene, "I never knew that Hicham liked Valencio."
"All of the Khatabis did. And I'm pretty sure that Narzu-Han allowed nearly all of them, now and then."
Mariabella admitted, "It makes me feel sick, to think of Hicham using him that way."
Helene said, "They became fond of him too. Not just that. So if you hear that Enclosure 2 is to be cleared, talk about Valencio, and say that Hicham must not allow him to be hurt, either by being killed, or by seeing the rest of us killed. And say that Margaret is his best friend."
"Is she?"
"One of them."
There were complaints. Too many of the inmates of Enclosure 1 were with the ones who called them favourites. Loud comments were made that really only Khatabi were allowed exclusive use, though the 'favourites' usually had one or two appointments before they joined their men for the night. Only Evita and Brigitta were treated as true 'Favourites,' for exclusive use, plus Mariabella, of course, but Hicham was Khatabi.
More women were needed to serve the men, but Suma refused permission to bring new ones in. It was unprecedented, but Abensur consulted with Carol, six extra bedrooms were built, and six women packed their things, and moved back to Enclosure 1. They were not old, ranging in age from twenty-six to thirty-five, but had thought their days of acting as sex slaves were over.
Valencio gave Tasha a squeeze, and said how glad he was that she wasn't chosen.
Tasha was enormously grateful that Valencio was not called back into service now that one of his powerful protectors was missing and the other dead.
But he'd been very special to Abensur, as well, and although he could have been used when rendered helpless with spells, he would have been finally destroyed, Abensur knew. Valencio had always been something special, and even as a full grown man, there would have been a lot of demand. Abensur didn't consider it, and when it was suggested, reminded the man that Narzu-Han was almost certainly still alive, and could return.
Ariz shrugged, "I'd have taken the risk!"
Zhang would have liked to, as well, but that was more that he wanted to punish the slave for all those times he was insolent, and the guard had not been allowed to teach him his place.
Tasha suggested to her Valencio, "Let's have something like a marriage ceremony."
Abensur was not helpful, reluctant to draw anyone's attention to the continuing existence of large numbers of useless mouths to feed. The inmates devised a ceremony anyway, a double ceremony, as Clarence and Bernice also thought it a good idea.
Georgia and Adelbert couldn't go, as they were held unconscious in a separate, small enclosure, while Agneta and Jila learned the spells to clean beds, keep comatose patients clean, and learn the tricky little spell that got a little pure water into them so they didn't die of dehydration. The patients were starving, as Aniragi healers had no way of feeding a deeply unconscious person.
It was a good learning exercise, and the trainees were checking the patients every day, watching the continuing decline in the LV measure, as well as other indications of health, and of approaching death. At last, Zola said it was enough, the spell was reversed, and the starvation thin women were returned to Enclosure 2 to be nursed back to health by their friends.
Jila and Agneta were deeply immersed in theory. Zola told them that the next time Enclosure 3 was used, she'd ask if they could do some further practical training.
Jila was puzzled, "Enclosure 3?"
Agneta said, "I thought we were finished with the practical work."
Zola said, "Enclosure 3 is further away, the ones in the other enclosures don't know about it, and hardly any Ania, either. The inmates of Enclosure 3 are used by the men to practise the serious curses. It's because they don't like seriously hurting the women who've been their bedmates."
Jila nodded. Of course. She'd known there had to be something like that. Just preferred not to think about it.
Agneta asked, "What happens to them afterwards?"
"There is no afterwards for them when Fighters are trained."
Zola paused, and added, "We never speak about it to the other women, and, of course, not children."
That night, Jila asked her husband, "Tell me about Enclosure 3?"
Patek frowned slightly. The women were mostly protected from knowledge of unpleasant things, but Jila wanted to be a healer, and he finally said, "It's a regrettable necessity. We have to know the serious curses, and what you're learning, too, is very valuable. Concentrate hard, learn as quickly as you can, and fewer prisoners will need to be sacrificed."
Jila said, "They're only dirt-people, of course..." She would like to have thought that dirt-people didn't feel pain like Anirage did, but she'd been studying pain relief, not very long before. The dirt-people felt pain.
Patek hugged her. "Sometimes it's needed. I'll be very proud to be married to a healer."
"Right at the beginning, Zola told us that it was not easy to train to be a healer."
"A Khatabi cannot afford to be too sentimental when there's a job to be done."
Jila wanted to be a healer. She could not allow inappropriate sentimentality to stand in her way.
***chapter end***