Shades of the Wind by Charlotte Boyett-Compo

under his
    protection and you are safer in his shadow than in the very vault of heaven.”
    47
    Charlotte Boyett-Compo
    Chapter Five
    After the noon meal, Catherine and Olabishi took a walk in the gardens with
    Kaelin. He showed them a spectacular vista the recent rain had washed clean so that the
    grass sparkled with a healthy green color, the bougainvillea and wisteria stood out
    amongst the foliage, and the blue-gray mountains in the distance looked lush.
    “That is Mount Inferno,” Kaelin said, pointing to the highest peak on the horizon.
    “It is said that is where the bad dead of Diabolusia reside.” He lifted his foot to the rim
    of a circular stone fountain and rested his crossed arms on his knee.
    “Is Anubeion in Diabolusia?” she asked.
    Kaelin shrugged. “Yes and no. Khenty’s estate is a principality unto itself. There is
    also an Oceanian principality between here and Mount Inferno. Those who work on the
    Oceanian estate are primarily Diabolusian. Khenty’s people are from Kensett.”
    Catherine put a hand over her eyes to survey the jagged peaks. “I believe I see a
    thin stream of smoke coming from the zenith.”
    “You probably do,” Kaelin said. “There is a volcano inside the mountain, thus the
    name. My eyesight isn’t that good anymore.” He grinned. “But my hearing is getting
    better as my vision grows less crisp and I often hear that mountain rumbling.”
    “Where do the good dead of Diabolusia reside?” Catherine asked.
    “They go on to a place they call Cielo. It is much like the Serenian heaven or the
    Chalean Neamh.” He glanced over at Olabishi who was signing something to
    Catherine. “What did she say?”
    “She was giving me the Kensetti name for heaven.”
    “Ah, the Fields of Yaru. She is so quiet, I forget she is with us. Is she Kensetti?”
    Kaelin inquired.
    “Actually, she is from Asaraba in the Northern Sector of Rysalia,” Catherine told
    him.
    “Was she born mute?”
    A shadow passed over Catherine’s face. “No, she doesn’t speak because she does
    not have a tongue.”
    Kaelin flinched. “May I ask why not?”
    “It was a punishment her husband decreed for her but I have not been able to find
    out why nor will anyone tell me whatever became of him,” Catherine answered. “All I
    know is that she is a widow.”
    Kaelin looked at the small woman who was standing a few feet away with her face
    toward the closest mountain. “The place to where she is looking is called Mount
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    Shades of the Wind
    Manu,” he said. “It is where the journey of the dead begins for those of the Inner
    Kingdom and—for evildoers—it is where existence ends.”
    Olabishi nodded slowly and made the sign stating this is so .
    Kaelin looked over at Catherine for she had sat down on the fountain’s rim. “Do
    you know what it is Bahru does?” he asked. “Why he was sent here?”
    “I know he is a taricheutes but I don’t know what that means,” she replied. “He
    came here to assist Prince Khenty in his duties as Lord of the Silent Land of the West.
    What those duties encompass is not known to me.”
    “You were not told that Khenty is the Preparer of the Way?” Kaelin asked. “That he
    is the descendant of the Great Lord Anubis?”
    Catherine shook her head. “I am from Chale, milord. I don’t know what any of that
    means.”
    Kaelin straightened up and took his foot from the fountain’s rim. “You must speak
    with Khenty, milady,” he said. “Bahru should have told you before you agreed to come
    to Anubeion.”
    She met the Serenian’s gaze. “Milord, you presume I was given a choice in the
    matter. I was not. My father betrothed me to Lord Bahru long before I even knew the
    man existed. It was a matter of honor to my parents and there was nothing I could do
    about it.”
    “Perhaps you can’t, but I know someone who will,” Kaelin mumbled.
    “I can not go against my father’s wishes,” Catherine said, moisture forming in her
    pretty green eyes.