Free Leviathan's Blood by Ben Peek

not just by bigotry, but by their grief, their frustration and
their boredom. Thus far, nothing had come to a head, and Ayae had not had to defend herself, but she knew that it would not be long before she was forced to do so.
    ‘You are not required to stay on Wila,’ the Captain of the Yeflam Guard continued. ‘You are a person of unique qualities and the Keepers of Yeflam do not believe that it is
right for you to be constrained by the negotiations that Lady Wagan made on behalf of her subjects.’
    ‘I’m no different to any of the people here,’ she said, a hint of reproach in her voice. ‘None of us should be here.’
    ‘But you are different. You are not a mortal woman, Ayae. You have left that behind. You are a god – or you will, one day, be a god.’ He said the words in a simple,
matter-of-fact tone. ‘One day soon you will understand that and the Keepers will aid you in that education. All of Yeflam will. An entire nation waits for you to explore the power that is in
you.’
    ‘She knows that and she will go with you.’ Muriel Wagan stepped from the crowd behind her, her feet bare. ‘The offer is greatly appreciated by all of us.’
    Despite herself, Ayae wanted to tell her no. She wanted to tell him no, as well. She wanted to deny the authority of the Keepers, to reject the words that echoed so closely the ones that Fo had
said to her after she survived the fire in Samuel Orlan’s shop. She was not a god. She would not be a god. Nor did she want to be a god, not if Zaifyr was right. If a god was a being that
kept the dead in cages and bled their souls for her own power, then she did not think that anyone should be a god. Another part of her knew that the Lady Wagan was right, that what she had said to
her on the first day on Wila was still true: she did have to accept the offer. She did have to leave Wila.
    After she agreed, after the horse was unhitched from the cart, after Xrie pulled it out onto the sand with one hand, the Captain of the Yeflam Guard said, ‘They are taking careful note of
you.’
    They were halfway up the ramp when he said that. ‘They want to leave as well,’ she said.
    ‘I do not mean the Mireeans. I mean the men and women and children who stand on the edge of Neela and look down.’
    She looked up and, this close to them, she noticed them properly for the first time. She thought that most looked poor.
    The two left the ramp and stepped through the small ring of soldiers. Beyond them, streets ran in straight lines towards square buildings of discoloured stone. ‘The Yeflam Guard is
mine,’ Xrie said, in relation to his earlier comment. ‘But we are a large nation and the twenty thousand soldiers who serve beneath me are sometimes not enough to keep everyone
safe.’
    He was leading her to a pair of horses hitched to a small carriage that had been painted blue.
    ‘Some of those people watching you will be employed by papers, some by politicians, and some will not be employed at all. They will try and sell what they have seen today.’ On a seat
near the top sat the carriage driver, an elderly grey-haired man in a blue cloak. ‘The ones whom you should be concerned about mainly belong to the Empty Sky. They are led by Bnid Gaerl and
he is primarily employed by the Traders’ Union. By Benan Le’ta, in fact. The Empty Sky,’ Xrie said, as if it were an afterthought, ‘is a reference to atheism.’
    He opened the door, but Ayae did not step into the carriage. ‘I’ve no interest in the politics,’ she said. ‘I just want to help everyone get off Wila.’
    ‘That is politics,’ he said.
    Inside the carriage, a sword waited for her.

9.
    The first person to visit Zaifyr was Kaqua, the Pauper.
    The charm-laced man had not left Aelyn’s house. He knew that he was being watched, but he was content to wait, to think about his arguments, and to rest. In the dusty rooms, he had laid
his boots with burnt soles on the table near the doorway. He pulled out his