Chapter 5

Kitiala made her way to her and Jobis' rendezvous spot after work that day. She straightened her dress before slipping between the fence posts at the alley entrance.

A hooded figure stood in the middle of the alley. The stranger was too short to be Jobis.

"Where's Jobis?" Kitiala nervously asked.

"I sent him home," the hooded figure answered. The voice sounded familiar, but Kitiala couldn't quite place it. The stranger drew back her hood, and Kitiala couldn't help but gasp in astonishment. The stranger was a girl that looked just like her. "My name is Ash. We need to talk, Kitiala."

Kitiala was alarmed by the use of her name. "Ash? Who are you?"

Ash answered, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am one of the king's servants. I needed to-"

"Magic missile!" Kitiala had heard enough. She was alone in a dead end alley with a stranger that looked just like her and who claimed to work for the king. The law had caught up with her. Jobis had been jailed or killed, and now she was next. Well, she thought, I'm not going down without a fight!

Now well practiced, Kitiala was able to produce the magic projectile with a split-second flick of the wrist. The purple pellet sailed straight at Ash while she was still in mid-sentence.

Though Ash saw it coming, she made no attempt to evade the magic missile. It came within hair's breadth and fizzled out with a loud pop. Kitiala was stunned.

Ash slowly advanced, shouting, "Stop, Kitiala!" But, she would not listen. Unnerved yet still determined to escape, Kitiala let fly another magic missile at Ash while backing away toward the exit. It also fell just short of Ash, dissolving harmlessly with a pop.

Ash then stopped and stood perfectly still, concentrating. A strange sound emanated from her for a brief moment, like that of a dozen incomprehensible whispers all speaking at once. Kitiala found herself unable to run, as if her feet had been pinned down. A thin, dark line on the ground connected her shadow to Ash's. Kitiala squealed in fright. Ash moved to close in on Kitiala, all the while trying to convince her to stand down, "Stop! I need to talk to you!"

But Kitiala didn't believe her. Backed into a corner and with Ash practically on top of her, Kitiala was desperate. She cupped her right hand, held it out in front of her, and cast the spell she had learned yesterday, "Shower of sparks!"

A small, swirling white sphere appeared in her cupped hand. The ball of energy emitted a burst of white hot sparks and disappeared. The sizzling sparks fanned out and sprayed all over Ash, singeing her red robe; however, they did nothing to halt her advance. Ash didn't even flinch.

Ash grabbed Kitiala's right hand with her left and pushed it into Kitiala's chest, trapping her against the alley wall. Kitiala started to scream, but a snap and some magic words from Ash squelched her. Kitiala still tried to yell, but no sound came out of her mouth. She squirmed under Ash's grip, but her efforts were in vain; Ash was much, much stronger.

"Give up," Ash loudly whispered. "I'm not releasing you until you stop trying to fight me. I am not going to hurt you."

Kitiala's mind raced. She considered what Ash was saying. Although Ash had her in a tight hold, it wasn't painful. Ash really wasn't hurting her; she was just preventing her from moving. If she were a constable, Kitiala thought, wouldn't she be trying to haul me away to the pokey by now? Why would she want to talk to me? Kitiala relaxed and nodded.

"Plucky little lass, aren't you?" Ash commented while letting Kitiala go. "I'll give you your voice back, but if you try to scream, I'll silence you again."

Ash gestured toward Kitiala, and suddenly she could speak again. "What do you want with me?"

"Like I was saying, I am one of the king's servants," Ash stated. "I needed to speak to you."

Kitiala wasn't eager to speak with her. "What if I refuse?"

"The Guild can be rather ruthless in their pursuit of unlicensed spell tutelage, but I hope it doesn't come to that," Ash sternly stated.

"Fine," Kitiala relented. "You've got me where you want me. I'm listening."

Ash waved her hand, and the shadow binding Kitiala faded away. Ash then went on. "I am a naga. You've probably heard of us."

Indeed Kitiala had, but, like most people, she had believed the existence of the shape-shifting spies to be simply a rumor.

Ash lowered her voice and continued, "It is our intention to overthrow the king. One week from today, we will slay him and put his tyrannical reign to an end."

Kitiala was not concerned about the king in the least. She certainly would not shed any tears if he were to meet a sudden demise. "That's all well and good, but why are you telling me this?"

"The king likes you," Ash said. "He's been visiting you a lot lately."

"Almost every day, it seems," Kitiala commented off hand.

"Kitiala, I'm familiar with the king's behavior in the bedroom. I know what he's done to you and how he's hurt you."

"It's just part of the job," Kitiala remarked dryly.

"No, it's not," Ash countered. "You're not the first girl he's taken a fancy to. There have been others, and there will be more unless we stop him.

"You've noticed that we look alike. We will arrange for the king to come see you on the designated night. When he comes, I will pretend to be you, and, when he least expects it, I will kill him."

"How does this involve me then?" asked Kitiala.

"You need to be with him at first," Ash explained. "I'll take your place after he's gotten his sadism kick."

"Wait a minute," Kitiala interjected. "Why do I have to endure the beating? Why can't you do it?"

"I'll do better than tell you," Ash answered. "I'll show you why."

Ash pulled a dagger from what seemed out of nowhere, unsheathed it, and offered it to Kitiala. She hesitated but accepted the knife. Ash then unfastened the brooch of her robe and let it down a little past her shoulders. Tracing a line across the top of her chest, Ash told Kitiala, "Cut me, right here."

That was unexpected. "Uh, are you sure?" This dagger looks pretty sharp, Kitiala thought. Wouldn't stabbing her in the chest seriously maim her?

"It's all right," Ash reassured. "Go ahead. You won't hurt me."

Then again, the girl I just attacked seems completely confident handing me a weapon, Kitiala thought, and she resisted my spells, as well. She lunged and slashed. There was a lot of resistance for just bare skin, as if she were trying to cut a sheet of metal. The resulting wound wasn't deep, but it should have been enough to draw blood--except that it didn't shed a single drop. Within a couple of seconds, the wound closed on its own. The skin was once again flawless; there wasn't even a scratch.

Kitiala was awed. "That was amazing. I see what you mean. When you don't bleed when he expects you to, he'll catch on."

"Exactly," confirmed Ash while cinching up her robe. "You'll be rewarded, rest assured. You will be guaranteed a position of power in the new government, and you'll be able to learn all of magic spells you want."

Though Ash's promises appealed to Kitiala, she was still uncertain. "It's still too dangerous. The guards will catch us."

"No, they won't," Ash insisted. "Our plan is excellent. They'll never suspect a thing."

Kitiala looked at the ground. "If it were this easy, somebody would've done it by now. It'll never work."

"Kitiala, look at me." She looked up, and Ash continued. "How old do you think I am?"

"Well, you look as old as I am, so that puts you around fifteen?" Kitiala guessed.

"Wrong," Ash said. "I am nine years old, Kitiala."

Kitiala couldn't believe it. "I don't understand. How can you look like me and yet be so young?"

Ash explained, "King Santaheim has been magically aging me and some other nagas so we can be his sex slaves."

Kitiala nearly gagged. She'd heard from Jobis about pedophiles using magic to indulge such perversions, but only in distant, faraway lands like Takar. Who would have thought that this vile practice was happening in her own city, let alone perpetrated by the monarch?

Ash kept talking. "Don't you see, Kitiala? He must be stopped! You've lived on the island, haven't you? Need I list all his crimes against our people? You'll be a hero, Kitiala. The whole city will be grateful."

Kitiala pondered Ash's words. "Yes," she finally said. "I'll do it."

"Brilliant. Reserve a private room for us in the guildhall for tomorrow afternoon, and we'll work on the details." Ash gave Kitiala a pouch of coins. "I'll meet you there."

Ash snatched the dagger from Kitiala's hand and departed without another word, leaving Kitiala deep in thought.