“I saw you pour something on his food,” Sorgius bluffed. “I thought it was a spice, but it obviously wasn’t.”
“I didn’t know it was poison, either. May my eyes never see the Sun again if I’m lying!”
Vordius whistled. “What are you saying?”
“They told me it was a laxative.”
“And you believed it?”
“I didn’t care, honestly. Two hundred leros is serious money.”
It was Sorgius’ turn to be shocked. “Good grief! That’s an enormous amount of money for a prostitute.”
“I’m not a prostitute!” Fenia cut him off. “And don’t you dare call me one!”
“I can call you whatever you like, but it’s all the same.”
“You don’t know anything about me, and it’s not your place to judge!”
Sorgius smiled. “But of course. You just look for men to be friends with. Money’s got nothing to do with it!”
“Listen, Fenia,” Vordius rejoined the conversation. “This isn’t an official interrogation, but whether you meant to or not, you almost caused the death of our close friend. You have to tell us about yourself, your ties with Asp and who gave you the cistrusa!”
For a while, the only sound they could hear was an occasional fish splashing. Finally, the girl took a deep breath.
“Fenia is my real name. It’s a common name, so there’s no reason to hide it. I never had a family. I made up my last name, Brazelo. I was adopted by the Iron Carp gang before the Iristenians killed them all. Rich men hired us – pretty little girls – for parties and other events. We danced for them. Sometimes they told us to just stand around smiling like nymphs. People at the parties told us we were beautiful, and we were glad if they gave us something to eat. We slept together on rough mats, and when it was cold at night, we huddled together for warmth. We were always hungry, but…” she paused, “…it was the best time in my life. The nightmare started when the Iristenians took over the port. They murdered all the Iron Carps and made all of us sisters sell our bodies. If a girl tried to refuse, they would beat her and then rape her. All of them.” Fenia was silent for a moment. “They couldn’t make me do anything, so they tossed me, beaten and bloody, onto the trash heap for the dogs to finish off. I still see one of those dogs when I close my eyes. We stared each other in the eye, each of us trying to survive. It wanted to fill its belly and the bellies of the other dogs with my meat. I wanted to force it to find easier prey. I don’t know how, but I won that staredown and the dogs left the trash heap. For a while, I lived there, eating whatever I could find. I was thirteen when I killed my first dog and ate it. I still remember it.”
She fell silent again, and Vordius thought he saw tears in her eyes. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for a person who had suffered more in her short life than he and Sorgius had been through, even put together.
Fenia took a deep breath. “I never thought I’d get out of that hole, but then everything changed,” she continued her story.
“Asp showed up?” Vordius asked eagerly.
“Yes. He brought together what was left of the old port gangs and kicked out the Iristenians who had grown soft and stupid because they thought they had absolute power. They had all the civil servants and the guards on their side, but Asp…they were like mice compared to him.
“Have you ever seen him?”
“Are you kidding? Nobody’s ever seen Asp, except his most trusted chiefs. He is his own weapon and his own army. The Iristenians had nine elders – nine gray-headed leaders. Asp killed all of them with his own hands, some at night, some in bright daylight in front of their own bodyguards. He is invulnerable. He always appears out of nowhere, strikes like a snake, and disappears as if he had never been there at all. The Iristenians were warriors, puffed up with their own bravery and fearlessness, but he turned them into cowering dogs. They panicked like sheep. When the destitute people of the port realized what was happening, they raised up and turned on the Iristenians. It was a bloodbath. People wanted revenge for seven years of oppression. When it was over, Fire Asp owned the southern port and he put everything back in order. Every single person knew his place and his share. There was no more infighting. Under Asp, people are earning more. We’re doing business with important people from other provinces, but we make sure that part of the profits go to help the poor, the sick, and the orphans.”
“You make him sound like a humanitarian,” Vordius noted sourly. “I guess he’s been good to you.”
Fenia stared back at him. “He gave me a chance to do work that I’m good at. Yahey, his right-hand man, said that my body is beautiful, but it does not feel pleasure. Still, it would be a crime not to use it. So I work as an actress and I’m proud of what I do.”
“An actress?” They all heard Sorgius slap himself on the forehead. “How did I miss it? Your figure distracted me, that’s how.”
Vordius was ashamed. “I apologize for calling you an unpleasant word. I didn’t know you were from the world of the arts…” He would have continued, but the Vuravian’s laughter interrupted him. He scowled. “Why are you laughing like a horse? I just don’t have time for the theater…”
“We aren’t talking about the theater, you fool. Were you thinking she plays queens and priestesses in history plays at the Honto theater? You’re absolutely naïve. When thieves say a woman is an actress, they mean she draws in dimwits off the street, gets them drunk and relieves them of their cash.” He turned to Fenia. “Now I know why they had her go after me.”
“But who did the choosing? That’s the question,” said Vordius, chewing on his bottom lip. “Describe the man. How did he find you?”
“He was a client like any other,” the girl shrugged. “He approached me and took me upstairs to a room. I thought the Heavenly Deity had sent me an easy mark. But as soon as the door closed behind us, he changed like a snake sheds its skin, and I froze. He tossed a purse at me and told me it contained a hundred leros. He asked if I wanted to earn as much again doing what I was already doing. He gave me a phial of something to use on your friend and pointed me toward Sorgius in front of the tavern. Once you were inside, it wasn’t hard at all for me to talk my way into your party.”
“Ha! And you had your eye on her!” Vordius needled his friend. Turning back to Fenia, he asked, “How did he know so much about us? He had to have known about Uni’s appointment, that we were getting together at the Fish, and that he had a friend with a weak spot for pretty women. He must have had a source at the palace.”
“I don’t know about that,” Fenia said simply. “He just said that your friend Uni had jumped over his head to get an important job and he wanted to humiliate him in front of his friends. With the laxative. I think you understand…”
“What nonsense!” Vordius exploded. “How on earth could you believe it?”
“I don’t know,” she shook her head. “I didn’t really think about it. He gave me the money up front. It’s not my business what other people have in their heads!”
“Fine. But what did he look like? Can you at least remember that?”
“I can. I have a good memory for faces. Although I doubt anyone would forget a face like that.”
“Was he ugly?”
“Not exactly, but he wasn’t to my taste. I don’t like these folks from the plains. They’re worse than even the Iristenians.”
“Wait, he was from the wastelands?”
“Yes. He had a funny little beard and squinty black eyes. And his name was hard to pronounce. Abd…Abdarhyz, I think it was.”
Vordius