Nexus Point

by Jaleta Clegg

  Chapter 31

  My stomach filled with knots as I walked to the castle through the gray dawn light. Birds quarreled in the trees. I sweated heavily, though most of it was nerves.

  The chattering girls seemed happy and excited until we reached the castle. The gate opened. Rope nooses on a scaffold swayed ominously in the muggy air. The girls filed solemnly past, their chatter silent.

  The guards stopped us in the courtyard.

  "Who's she?" One of them pointed. "I've never seen her before."

  I raised my head so he could get a good look at the fake sores Tisa had spent hours painting on my face. He shrank away with a snort of disgust.

  "She's my cousin," Tisa said. "She hasn't been well."

  "Keep her away from my food," the guard growled. He laughed as he stepped out of my way.

  I lurched past. I stumbled a lot and tried to look stupid. Their rude remarks followed us across the courtyard.

  Girls worked everywhere in the spacious kitchen. We threaded our way through the busy maze. Tisa handed me a heavy pot.

  I didn't have to fake stumbling after that. The lumpy porridge in the pot slopped over the sides with every step. Tisa led us to a well in a back courtyard. She filled a bucket with water. She nodded at three girls waiting nearby. They nodded back. We had about fifteen minutes before they started their diversion.

  I followed Tisa down a stairway. I recognized the rough walls and the worn steps of the base dungeon.

  One guard lounged in a creaking chair. He took one look at my face and waved me past, wrinkling his nose in disgust. Tisa stopped to flirt with him while I lurched down the passage to the cells.

  I passed three empty ones, including the one I'd occupied with Dysun. I turned a corner and found what was left of Commander Nuto's men. Quite of few of them sported grimy bandages. I set the pot on the floor. The men stared sullenly. I lifted my skirt, rolling it up to get to the blaster.

  "Do we get breakfast before or after the show?" one of the men grumbled.

  I brandished the blaster.

  "She's threatening you, Fisher," one of the other men joked.

  I studied the lock. I needed the key. The blaster would make too much noise. I was suddenly aware of silence. I looked at a ring of faces clustered around the door.

  "Anyone have a spare key?" I asked.

  "It's the Enforcer spy," Fisher said. "Are you here to break us out?"

  Shouts and screams sounded from beyond the tiny windows. The diversion had begun.

  I rattled the lock and swore.

  The guard rushed around the corner, tying his breeches shut as he ran. "Hey, what are you doing there?"

  Tisa smashed his abused chair over his head. I rolled out of the way as he collapsed.

  "He doesn't have the key." Tisa kicked him.

  "Stand back." I pointed the blaster at the lock. I sincerely hoped the explosion wouldn't be noticed. I squeezed the trigger. Energy arced, smashing into the lock.

  It held, a bit soft on the edges but still in one piece. The bars weren't as strong. The door slowly tilted out, then crashed on top of the guard. The men swarmed out of the cell and down the passage, Tisa at the front. I ran after them, the smoking blaster in my hand.

  The castle was in utter chaos. Vunia's men took a sound beating from the village girls. The Patrol dished out their own punishment. I ran past the fighting mobs. Good thing I hadn't spent half the night planning an attack, no one would have listened to me anyway. I ran into the courtyard.

  The gates exploded. I ducked into a doorway. Splinters of wood and bits of iron shot past. Screams echoed across the courtyard. Villagers brandishing pitchforks streamed through the smoking remains of the gates, followed by a team of horses and a wagon. I stifled the urge to laugh hysterically when I saw their leader. Dysun posed dramatically on top of the wagon holding a sword in the air.

  "Save your daughters!" His accent was atrocious. "Eat the daisies!"

  The horses bolted across the courtyard. Dysun waved his arms for balance. Turnips spilled across the pavement. A blaster shot came from a window high on a side wall, striking the wagon and setting it ablaze. The horses ran faster, barreling over knots of fighting villagers and Vunia's men. Dysun tumbled from the bed of the wagon, rolling out with more turnips.

  He scrambled away, diving behind a stack of crates. The blazing wagon tipped over in front of the gates. The horses disappeared down the road outside.

  Boots pounded across the floor behind me. I darted into the courtyard. A blaster shot seared the flagstones in front of me. I hid behind a row of barrels.

  The man firing wore Pardui's uniform. I took careful aim with my blaster. Three men and an older woman tumbled over me, knocking me down. A blaster shot hit the barrels. We scattered to new shelters.

  I skinned my knees as I skidded behind a stack of crates. I rolled backwards as more blaster bolts scored the cobbles. Answering fire came from the roof. Dysun slid behind the boxes, grinning like a maniac through the soot on his face.

  "What were you thinking?" I shouted.

  "I was helping you." A belligerent frown replaced his grin.

  "How did you ever get the villagers to follow you? You don't even speak their language!"

  "He helped me do it!" Dysun pointed over his shoulder. "It was actually his idea."

  Will sprinted towards us. Shots traced his boots along the cobbles. He dove, landing neatly next to Dysun. More blaster shots took off the top layer of boxes.

  "Through that door, now!" I pointed at the doorway to the stables.

  Glass exploded in the crates. The three of us scrambled for the dubious shelter of the doorway.

  The door was barred. I took my blaster to it, then kicked it open. Panicked horses danced and squealed.

  "Go let them out, Dysun," I ordered.

  He glared, but went to do it.

  "Should I help Dysun?" Will Scarlet asked. His green outfit looked rather worse for wear.

  "Who are you really?"

  "Robin's assistant professor of linguistics," he said cheerfully. "I really don't think we should stay here much longer."

  "Do I dare ask how you got mixed up with Dysun?"

  "I was looking for you and found him instead. He told me you were going to pull some harebrained scheme so we decided to help."

  Dysun herded horses into the courtyard.

  "Eat the daisies?"

  "His accent is terrible. He was supposed to say attack now. All a matter of vowels. The villagers think he's a mercenary from far-off Slovania. I had to teach him a few phrases. We didn't have much time to work on pronunciation."

  The horses added considerably to the confusion. Smoke and flames filled the air. Blaster shots arced across the courtyard from time to time. People ran back and forth, screaming and beating each other.

  "Main hall." Will pointed across the courtyard at a building just beginning to spew smoke. "That's where they are gathering."

  "Those doors, the ones with the big ugly men in front of them?"

  Will nodded.

  Pardui's men edged out. They dragged three of the girls through the doorway, shoving them to the front.

  The courtyard stilled. The horses broke through the gate and galloped away. The men held the girls as shields.

  "We want out," one said loudly. "Let us pass or they die."

  One of the girls was Librette. Bruises colored her face. She whimpered.

  I stepped away from the stable, the blaster hidden in my skirt.

  The men pulled the girls closer. Knives glittered in their hands.

  "Let them go." I had to stop them. It was my fault for getting Librette and her friends involved.

  "Why?" Vunia stepped through the crowd of men. She aimed a blaster at my head. "This time, Dace, you are going to die."

  "Not before you do." I pulled the blaster out of my skirt and fired.

  Vunia stared in disbelief as she crumpled to the cobbles, her middle burned away. The men stared in shock.

&nb
sp; I turned the blaster on them. "Let the girls go." The blaster's charge flickered red.

  "She can't kill us all," one of the men muttered.

  "No, but I can kill quite a few before you get me. Who wants to be first?"

  They hesitated. I aimed the blaster, pointing it at one and then another of them. One of the men finally swore and dropped his knife. The girl he held scurried out of reach. The other men followed suit.

  "Drop the knives, then kneel down with your hands on your heads." I had no idea what to do with them. I hoped someone would enforce my orders. How long before Pardui's men realized I held them hostage with an empty blaster?

  Will and Dysun came to my rescue, using rope from the stable to tie the men. The Patrol rounded up the rest, helped by villagers and the girls, adding them to the string of prisoners.

  "What do we do with them, sir?" one of the Patrol asked as he saluted me. "Ma'am," he added uncertainly.

  "I don't know." My arm sagged; the blaster dropped to the cobbles. "What do you want to do with them?"

  "We have control of the base." He wiped soot from his cheek. "What's left of it. The com unit is destroyed. The rest of the buildings are on fire."

  "Give them to the villagers. Let them hand out justice. Most of the men are natives." I'd just shot someone point blank and faced down a mob with a useless weapon. I stared at Vunia's body sprawled on the cobbles. She had been a rotten person, but she had still been a person. I'd never shot a person before. I didn't like the sick twisting in my belly. I closed my eyes and still saw Vunia's body on the cobbles.

  "Dace," Dysun said urgently.

  I opened my eyes, blinking them into focus. The Patrol tied Dysun and Will to the string of prisoners.

  "Tell them, Dace," Dysun urged.

  The fog around me snapped. Vunia was dead. I killed her in self-defense. I could pity myself later. "They are both with me. Let them go."

  "This one is a known pirate, sir." The man dragged Dysun into the line of prisoners.

  "I know. He also happens to work for me."

  "This is highly irregular," the man objected.

  "Everything on this rotten planet is irregular. Let him go. Let them both go."

  The man slowly untied the two of them. Will smiled wryly.

  I looked over the string of Pardui's men, I had an idea. "Ensign."

  A trooper looked up from his knots.

  I deliberately spoke Basic. "Take them outside and shoot them all."

  He nodded. Five of the Patrol came over, three holding blasters.

  "Untie this one, and this one," I said as I walked the line of prisoners.

  "You told us to shoot them," the ensign objected.

  "Only the ones who speak Basic. The others you can untie." I pointed out more.

  "You're dangerous when you get ideas, Dace." Will slouched nonchalantly, hands in his pockets.

  "Take those men out and shoot them. Give the others to the villagers." I waved my hands. I didn't want to be in charge. All I could think about was Vunia's body on the cobbles and Tayvis in Leran's hands. The gates collapsed, sending sparks shooting off in all directions. "Gather everyone and meet me in the meadow." I pointed randomly.

  Men bellowed my orders, herding people different directions. They formed several squads, then swept the burning buildings for any survivors. The villagers marched to their village, half of Pardui's men dragging in their wake.

  "We ought to go before the other gate burns down." Dysun tugged my elbow.

  We found a patch of shade under the only tree on the north side of the castle. Streamers of thick smoke poured into the summer sky. Dysun and Will found me a big rock to sit on. I tried not to think about Vunia.

  The Patrol mustered around the tree. Some of the men were detailed to go find water, others sent to carry supplies salvaged from the wreckage of the castle.

  "Sir? Ma'am?" The Patrol officer saluted. "What are we supposed to call you?"

  "Captain Dace?"

  He snapped to attention. "Lieutenant Harborl reporting, Captain."

  "Forget that. Just tell me how many men are left."

  He stayed rigidly at attention. "Eighteen men are fit for duty. Another twelve are injured seriously enough to need care. Five are dead."

  "Only five? I'm surprised. What about the villagers?"

  "What about them, sir?"

  "Send someone down to find out how many of them are missing or dead." I looked behind me at my shadows. "How about you two brave mercenaries?"

  Will flipped a salute, then sauntered off. Dysun shot suspicious glances at me as he followed.

  "You really shouldn't trust them, sir."

  "I don't trust anyone," I answered.

  "I'm curious, sir. How did you get our message so fast?"

  "I didn't, Lieutenant. I came because I need your help. Where is Commander Nuto?"

  "Shomies Pardui has him. If he is still alive. He was wounded pretty badly in the fighting. When she came and took over the castle." He watched me a moment. "Sir," he added.

  "How did I end up in charge?"

  He shrugged, uncertain.

  I sighed. It wasn't worth the arguments if I tried to put someone else in charge. I wanted their help, now all I had to do was order it.

  "Lieutenant Harborl, is there a Chey in your men somewhere?"

  "The dark one, down there." He waved at the men sorting supplies.

  "Good. Have the men gather the supplies and the wounded and transfer everything to the village." I stood. Harborl hadn't moved. "Did you hear me?"

  "Why, sir?"

  "There's an inn where the wounded will be much more comfortable. There's some other business that needs attended to as well. And then the rest of us are leaving. Do I have to be more clear or will you just do it?" I tilted my head, looking up at him. Did the Patrol recruit tall men on purpose? "Am I in charge or not?"

  "Yes, sir." He snapped another salute. He marched away, shouting orders in a crisp voice.

  I walked to the village. The men rigged litters and carried those too hurt to walk. Others carried awkward bundles of supplies.

  People bustled through the village. Those of Pardui's men who hadn't been executed by the Patrol were tied in a long line in a field. They looked hot and thirsty. I couldn't feel much sympathy. Let the villagers decide what to do with their own countrymen, I told myself. I'd dealt with the ones Pardui had imported. Now I had their deaths on my conscience. The sight of Vunia's body would haunt my dreams. It was self-defense. I didn't feel any less guilty.

  The villagers muttered together as the Patrol arrived to set up camp in the main square. Lieutenant Harborl strode over to me, every inch the proper Patrol man, except for his dirty, tattered uniform. He saluted crisply.

  "Don't do that."

  He ignored my comment. "Where do we station the wounded, sir?"

  I turned to the nearest villager. "Where's the inn?"

  "You can't put demons there," the villager protested. By some lucky chance, I'd grabbed the innkeeper out of the crowd.

  "The demons have been executed. Where is the inn?"

  The man grumbled and pointed to a large building at the end of the main street.

  "Put the wounded there."

  The innkeeper's face flushed red. He glared angrily.

  "You'll be paid a fair price." I glanced around. "Will Scarlet, pay the man."

  Will held out his empty hands. "With what?"

  "That's your problem, isn't it?" I smiled brightly. "How many of the villagers were hurt?"

  He shrugged as he dug through his pockets.

  "You," I pointed at a man at random, "have the villagers gather here and the men muster in ranks. You have fifteen minutes."

  The man protested.

  "Just do it," I said, cutting him off.

  He looked at the men around him. They grumbled and got to their feet.

  "You really should pay attention to rank if you're going to lead them." Will sifted through a handful of coins. "That should
be sufficient."

  The innkeeper bowed, smiling, as he clutched the money. He trotted to his inn, bellowing for his cook to start the fires.

  "Did you overpay him?" I asked.

  "Of course. That's the only way to guarantee the men will actually get fed and looked after properly. You owe me for that. Dace, I have news you aren't going to like."

  "Well?"

  "Not here, it's too public."

  I glared at the men around us. They found things to do farther away.

  "Give it to me. Just talk quietly." I was tired, hungry, and through playing games. I'd just killed a person and ordered a dozen more executed. I wanted to go back to my sane life; away from the madness that got worse the longer I stayed on Dadilan.

  Will shuffled his feet. He spoke quietly. "Pardui has Commander Nuto and most of his officers in custody, as you have already found out. She also has someone named Blake. I don't know if he's a prisoner or not."

  "Probably not." Knowing Ricard Blake's silver tongue and charm, I guessed he had talked himself into Pardui's confidence.

  "I don't think you know about Gerant Clyvus. He's holding Robin and most of his leaders. John Littlebottomford sold us out. That should void his research assistant's contract."

  "Leran, Pardui, and Clyvus? What are they doing?" All three of the villains together, could I ask for better luck? Or worse?

  "Arguing, mostly."

  "You got word from the monastery. Is Tayvis . . . And Commander Nuto," I added hastily, as my face grew hot, "are they all right?"

  "They're still alive and breathing. That question seems like a lot more than professional interest."

  "It's none of your business." Knowing Tayvis still lived made me all the more impatient to be moving.

  Will winked. I turned away. The men mustered in the square. The villagers gathered on the opposite side. The old geezers who had teased me before sat on their bench.

  I sucked in a breath. I was about to really break protocol. "Which one of you is Chey?"

  "I am, sir," A man stepped forward, tall, dark-haired, and handsome, of course.

  "Congratulations." I smiled at him.

  "Sir?" He swallowed nervously.

  "You're getting married."