The Call of Crows

Chapter 17: Besieged

Shahla grinned. She was no longer the new one.

Yes, Najeem found his Shedim after her, but he advanced his skill far faster than she did. Now Vai and Shakti were the ones with no idea what they were doing.

Though, she realized it was kind of stupid to take pleasure in such a thing. She just liked that Seang and Lokapele had found new people to yell at.

The army had arrived at Xinhou's gates and were setting up their siege camp, but they wouldn't make an assault for at least another day. So Lokapele and Seang had one day to teach Vai and Shakti everything they could about Shedim out on the patio.

Of course, she and Najeem were practicing, but unlike the other two, they could take breaks.

"Cold drink?" Najeem offered her a porcelain cup as he sat down on the bench she was lounging on.

"Cold drink is a very vague term." Shahla grinned as she took the cup from him.

"Well, I'd be more specific if I knew what it was. It tastes like...tea, I guess. But it's been chilled and there's some kind of root mixed in with it." Najeem said.

Shahla took a sparing sip. "Woah. That's good!" The drink was sweet, but only mildly so. It had a sort of...tang to it she couldn't identify.

"Have those two manifested their Shedim yet?" Najeem asked.

Shahla shook her head, "No, but Vai seems to get close every so often."

As if on cue, Blue mist whirled from his back and manifested into a Shedim.Vai's Shedim had the top half of a human Aotearoan man, but the bottom half was made of the tentacles of an octopus. An eight-pointed star surrounded by concentric circles tattooed on the Shedim's chest.

Seang asked him if he recognized the man at all.

"This is the Deepness of the Sea and Sail. He is who most of our canoes are dedicated to." Vai recited as though he were reading from a book, but with a twinge of awe and disbelief.

Shakti managed hers not long after. Her Shedim was far more bizarre. It shared her facial features, had bright pink flesh, and wielded four arms. It wore an elegant Jambudvipi gown of white with gold embroidery and a golden headdress. In two of its hands, it carried a string instrument. The other hands each carried a pen and a book.

"This is rather obvious, yes?" Seang asked.

Shakti nodded, "She who Beckons the Essence of Self."

Both Shedim vanished into their masters.

"Come across any new abilities recently?" Shahla asked.

Najeem shook his head. "To be fair, Lokapele herself only has two, and she claims to have been at this Shedim master thing for years. What about you?"

"I found something rather interesting." Shahla said, "According to Seang, I caused her to see and hear things. I can almost simulate what it's like to go mad. But I can only target one person at a time." She sighed. "I wish I had something more offensive to use during battle. That way people wouldn't have to keep watching me to make sure a stray pebble has not knocked me out."

"I think that would be asking a little much." Najeem said, "As far as I can tell, being a Shedim Master isn't being given a weapon. It's being given a tool that you have to learn to use as a weapon. My power doesn't hurt people at all, but I can sure as hell terrify someone or sneak up on them. Your abilities make it so your enemy can't fight back. And I certainly hope that time I taught you to use a sword didn't go to waste."

"You mean those twenty minutes we had left of a lunch break? Besides, you didn't really tell me how to use a sword. You told me how to not be afraid of stabbing someone." Shahla chuckled, "But you have a point. I suppose I shouldn't expect much in the way of attacking power from the moon."