Except the rug. Gurlish, by the design, and even to an inexperienced eye the fibers were finely woven.
Adamat fished inside his jacket for a handkerchief. He blew his nose noisily and dropped it, then bent and snatched it from the floor, making sure to look away from the Proprietor’s desk.
When he stood, Amber still had the expectant look on her face that told him he’d overstayed his welcome. She glanced toward the door and he nodded.
Outside, the eunuch stood by the door.
“Stay here,” he said, going into the Proprietor’s office.
Adamat took the moment alone to examine the fibers in between his fingers. There were only a few, all crinkled and dry. He couldn’t tell them from the lint in his pocket. But he knew a woman who might be able to identify them.
The eunuch emerged from the office, pulling the door closed behind him with a click. He seemed troubled. “You’re free to go,” he said. “Of course, we can’t just have you walk out the front door. Keep the clothes.”
Adamat opened his mouth to respond, when someone grabbed him from behind. A rag was shoved over his mouth and nose, and the last thing he remembered was the overpowering smell of ether.
CHAPTER
11
Taniel was awakened from his half doze at the reins by the distant report of cannon fire.
Dark thoughts swirled in his mind, thick as the clouds of smoke in the mala den. He could still see the Warden eating black powder. He could still feel the powder-enhanced strength in the monster’s twisted limbs. How could the Kez have made one of those creatures out of a powder mage? From what he knew of Wardens and Privileged, that seemed impossible.
Then again, so did stabbing a Warden with its own rib after ripping it from the creature’s chest.
The sudden sensation of falling made him grip the saddle horn in a panic, startling the horse. The world seemed to spin around him. He took several deep, ragged breaths. Even once he knew that he wasn’t actually falling, his heart still raced. Five days without mala. His hands shook, his mouth was dry, and his head pounded. The heat of the sun beating down didn’t help any of it.
A cool hand suddenly touched his cheek. Ka-poel sat in the saddle behind him, arms wrapped around his waist for most of the journey, for she didn’t know the first thing about riding a horse. It should have been terribly uncomfortable to have her clinging to him in this heat, but somehow it was the only thing that gave him relief.
Not that he’d admit it to her.
It was early afternoon and the mountains were closing in on either side as they traveled into Surkov’s Alley. They’d spent the night in Fendale, a large city of some hundred thousand that was swelled to four times that number with army reserves and the refugees from Budwiel.
What little sleep Taniel had managed in Fendale was restless and plagued with nightmares. He’d read once that the only way to sleep well after forming a mala addiction was with more mala.
Ka-poel removed her hand from his cheek, to his decidedly uncomfortable regret. What would he do with this girl? She seemed to think he belonged to her in some way. He could sleep with her, he supposed, but the thought of it made him feel… conflicted. She was a savage, and his servant. A companion and nothing more. There wasn’t a soul in polite Adran society who wouldn’t think it most improper.
When had he ever cared about what society thought proper, he reminded himself. And a savage? Taniel had seen Ka-poel’s sorcery. She’d saved his life on several occasions. She was anything but “just a savage girl.”
Taniel tried to blink away the fog that permeated his mind, but with little success. Drifting off like that could be dangerous. They would reach the front by tomorrow evening, and from there he’d have to find out if there were any other powder mages left in the army, and news of his father. And of course, he’d have to report to… to who? Taniel had never reported to anyone but Field Marshal Tamas.
Could Tamas really be dead? Taniel was a little surprised to feel a lump in the back of his throat at the idea. He loved Tamas, admired him even, but he didn’t like him, and they had never been especially close. After all, the old bastard had ordered him to kill his best friend. Taniel didn’t even know where Bo was now. Maybe he’d died on the mountain, or been executed by Tamas weeks ago.
Taniel hoped they were both alive—Tamas and Bo. There were still things that needed to be said.
As for Ka-poel… Respect. That’s all Taniel was feeling. And a feeling of hopelessness, for Tamas had been Adro’s best chance at winning the war.
They stopped to rest in one of the many little towns in Surkov’s Alley between Fendale and Budwiel. Normally a town like this would have a couple thousand residents. With the war on, it was overflowing. Supply trains flowed through the city, and infantry reserves walked the streets in their uniforms, enjoying a few days away from the front. Taniel watched as dozens of carts rolled by, carrying wounded and dead soldiers from the front. He’d seen hundreds of such carts since leaving Adopest. It didn’t bode well for the war.
“Captain, if you ignore me for another moment, I’ll have you flogged.”
Ka-poel, seated next to him on a grassy bank while they ate their lunch, elbowed Taniel in the ribs. Taniel looked up, feeling genuine surprise that someone was talking to him.
A colonel sat on horseback, his narrow features twisted in a scowl. He pointed his riding crop at Taniel. “Captain, what brigade are you with?” He gave Taniel a moment to answer, and then, “Wipe that stupid look off your face. Is that such a hard question?”
“I don’t have one,” Taniel said.
“Don’t have a… are you daft? Are you a captain in the Adran army or not? Be careful how you answer, son, or I’ll have you brought up on charges of impersonating an officer!”
Taniel fingered the captain’s stars on his lapel. They were gold, as he’d used his silver buttons to buy mala and these were the only replacements he could get on short notice. His powder-keg pin was in his pocket. Who the bloody pit was this man? Taniel had never answered to anyone other than the field marshal. He supposed that technically he was attached to a brigade. The Seventh, maybe?
Taniel shrugged.
The colonel’s face turned red. “Major!”
A woman in her midthirties rode up beside the colonel. “Sir?” She had long brown hair tied back behind her head in a single braid, and a thin face with a beauty mark on her left cheek. She saluted the colonel and then looked down at Taniel.
“Have this man arrested,” the colonel said.
“Charges, sir?”
“Disrespecting a superior officer. The man didn’t salute me, or answer my questions, or stand in my presence.”
The major climbed down from her horse and gestured to a pair of neatly dressed soldiers to join her.
Taniel watched the three of them approach. He took a bite of mutton and cheese, chewing slowly.
“Stand up, Captain,” the major said. When Taniel didn’t respond, she jerked her head to one of the soldiers. He bent to grab Taniel by the arm.
Taniel lifted the pistol from his lap and cocked back the hammer, pointing it at the soldier. “Bad idea, soldier.” Taniel almost cracked a smile at the looks on the faces of the major and colonel, but he doubted that would help his position.
“Uh, sir,” one of the soldiers said, “are you Taniel Two-Shot?”
“Yes,” Taniel said, “I am.”
“I used to be with the Seventh. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir, but it seems we’re supposed to arrest you.”
Taniel locked eyes with the major. “That’s not going to happen today.”
The major retreated for a moment and held a quiet conference with the colonel. A few moments later the colonel nodded and the major and the soldiers were dismissed.
Taniel returned to his lunch, only to find the colonel still sitting on his horse not ten feet away. The man rode a little closer. Taniel looked up. He wasn’t in the mood for this.
The colonel’s expression wa
s still disapproving. “Captain, I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you. We’ve met before, but it was years ago. Your father was a great man.”
Taniel swallowed a mouthful of food. How was he supposed to answer that? “Yes, he was.”
“Captain, I should warn you. The field marshal was quite lenient with all his soldiers, especially his mages. With his death there’s been a shift in policy in that regard. I doubt the General Staff will make an exception for you, even with your reputation. Point a pistol at a ranking officer again and you’ll be—”
“Shot?” Taniel asked, not able to keep the smirk from his face.
The colonel scowled. “Hanged.”
“Thank you for the warning. Sir.”
The colonel nodded. “I’m glad to hear you’re on your feet again, Captain. We need you on the front.” He paused for a moment, as if waiting for Taniel to stand and salute him. He could have waited all day for that, as far as Taniel was concerned. After nearly a minute he turned his horse and was off at a canter.
Taniel couldn’t help but wonder why the colonel wasn’t on the front with the rest of the army.
“Pole,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to come with me.”
She rolled her eyes at him.
“I’m serious, Pole. It’s a war zone. I know you’ve been in war before.” Pit, she’d been with him facing down the same Kez Grand Army just a couple months ago. He’d watched her butcher half the Kez royal cabal up on South Pike. “But I’ve felt… strange since you brought me back. I don’t know what I’ll do. I’d rather not get you killed.”
Taniel again remembered the blood on her hands when he awoke from the coma. He had seen dead soldiers, and a man he felt he should recognize lying on the ground unconscious. Ka-poel had tried to explain it with hand gestures. Taniel had surmised that she’d traded a life for his. Whose, he didn’t know, but the thought made him sick.
Ka-poel took the piece of cheese from his hand and tossed it in her mouth. That seemed like all the answer that Taniel was going to get.
“Oh well,” he said. “I had to try. It’ll be good to have you at my side.”
Ka-poel pursed her lips in a sly smile.
“My side, Ka-poel. I don’t—”
She put her finger to his lips, her smile widening.
“They won’t like you being with me,” Taniel said. “There are some women soldiers, and fraternization is strictly prohibited. It happens all the time, of course, but the officers like to keep up appearances. They might try to make you sleep in a different tent.”
Ka-poel spread her hands, questioning.
“What? Fraternization? You know. Men and women being… together. Intimately.”
She pointed between them, then made a flat, chopping motion with her hand. But we aren’t. The grin on her face made the motion appear mocking, like a child denying that they’d done something wrong when they’d been caught doing it.
It made Taniel’s heart beat faster, and he could feel his face go red. “All right, girl, we’re going now. Just after I piss.”
When he got back to the horse, he found her sitting in the saddle already, but toward the front, as if she expected him to sit behind her.
“Move back,” he said.
She ignored him. He pulled himself up into the saddle behind her, and to take the reins, he had to wrap his arms around her waist. She snuggled up against his chest and he flicked the reins with a sigh.
The number of people along the road increased as they got closer and closer to the front. In the last ten miles there were so many tents that they filled the entire valley from one side to the other. It seemed like a sea of people—soldiers, smiths, whores, cooks, laundresses, and merchants. He saw soldiers with the stripes of just about every brigade in Adro, including all of the Wings of Adom, Lady Winceslav’s mercenaries. By now she’d know that Tamas was dead. Taniel wondered if she’d pull her mercenaries out of the war.
The road seemed to disappear beneath the crowd, and Taniel knew they were just one good rainstorm away from it becoming a shit hole of mud. The Addown River cut through the whole thing, a dirty mess clogged with the waste of hundreds of thousands of people. There were barges moored here and there along the river—supply ships from Adopest, no doubt bringing food, weapons, and fresh recruits.
The tents gained some order as he finally reached the army proper. He didn’t think he’d ever look forward to straight lines and discipline again, but after having to push his way through the final few miles he was glad to leave the reserves and hangers-on behind him.
For most of the trip down the Alley the cannon fire had rumbled together like thunder in the distance. Now he could pick out individual blasts. The artillery crew were working full-time, it seemed. That didn’t surprise him; he’d seen the Kez Grand Army.
What did surprise him was the crack and spark of sorcery he noticed as he got closer. There were Privileged fighting on the front—on both sides. Most of the Kez Cabal had been wiped out at the Battle for South Pike or at Kresim Kurga by Ka-poel. And where had Adro gotten any Privileged?
It took some questioning, but Taniel was soon able to find the closest officers’ mess. It was mostly full of officers from the Third Brigade. He tossed his powder-keg pin on the bar.
“I need a room,” he said.
The barkeep eyed him suspiciously. “No rooms here, sir. All full up.”
“Kick someone out,” Taniel said. “I’m not sleeping in a tent in this mess.” Pit. He’d skin a man who tried to do something like that to him. But Taniel wasn’t about to leave Ka-poel anywhere in an army this size that didn’t have a locking door.
“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t do that.”
Taniel looked down at his powder-keg pin. “You see that, right?”
The barkeep slid the powder-mage pin back across the bar toward Taniel. “Look, ‘sir.’ There aren’t any powder mages left in the army. They’ve all been wiped out. So don’t try to pull one over on me.”
Taniel rocked back on his barstool. All of them? Gone? “What do you mean ‘wiped out’? How could they be wiped out?”
“They were with Field Marshal Tamas when he was lost behind the enemy lines.”
“There’s not a single Marked this side of Budwiel?”
“Not just this side of Budwiel. They’re dead.”
“Have you seen the bodies?” Taniel demanded. “Well, have you? Do you know anyone who has? Has there been recent news from Kez? I thought not. Now get me a drink, and have someone find out about getting me a room.”
The barkeep folded his arms across his dirty apron and didn’t move.
“Look,” Taniel said, “if I’m the last living powder mage north of Budwiel, then I’m a damned celebrity. There are Privilegeds out there who need to be killed. I’ll need a drink and eventually some sleep to be able to do that.”
“Is this man bothering you, Frederik?”
A woman positioned herself at the bar and looked at Taniel, bemused. Taniel recognized her as the major with the beauty mark on her cheek. The one who’d tried to arrest him earlier that day. Had she followed him?
“Ma’am,” Frederik said. “He claims he’s a powder mage.”
“He is. This is Taniel Two-Shot.”
The barkeep ducked a quick bow. “Sorry, sir. What will you have?”
“Gin.” Taniel cleared his throat. “No apology needed.”
“And for the savage?”
Ka-poel was drumming her fingers on the bar, looking bored.
“Her name is Ka-poel, and she’ll have water.”
She smacked him in the shoulder.
“Wine,” Taniel amended. “Something with a light taste.”
The major regarded Taniel warily, sizing him up the way she might an enemy on the battlefield. “You let your servants treat you like that?” she asked.
“I’m sorry,” Taniel said, trying not to let his irritation show. “I must have missed your name?”
“I’m Major D
oravir, of the Third, adjutant to General Ket.”
“My ‘servant’ is a Bone-eye, Major. A sorcerer more powerful than half the Kez Cabal put together.”
Doravir seemed doubtful. “Is she your wife?”
“No.”
“Your fiancée?”
Taniel glanced at Ka-poel. Had he given this major that impression? “No.”
“Does she have a rank?”
“No.”
“Then she doesn’t belong in the officers’ mess. She can wait for you outside.”
“She’s my guest, Major.”
“With all the crowds, General Ket has declared that only spouses may stay with officers at the mess. Too many men bringing their whores back to sleep with them.”
Taniel felt his fingers creeping toward the pistol at his belt, but remembered the advice the colonel had given him earlier in the day. No, he couldn’t do that here. He turned to Ka-poel. “Pole, will you marry me?”
Ka-poel gave one serious nod.
Pit. Taniel hoped she saw what he was playing at. He turned back to Doravir. “She’s my fiancée.” He glanced at the barkeep. “Get me a room.”
Doravir snorted out her nose. “You’re funny, Two-Shot. You can stay with me in my room. Frederik, give him a key.”
“And my fiancée here?”
“She can stay in the closet.” Doravir gave Ka-poel a mocking smile. That did not bode well.
Taniel took the glass of gin from the bar and drained it in one swallow. It almost knocked him clean off his feet. How long had it been since he’d drunk hard liquor? He blinked a few times, hoping his eyes weren’t visibly watering. “I’ll stay somewhere else, thank you.”
“Good luck.” Doravir snorted. “There’s not an empty room within five miles of the front, and with Tamas gone, no one will put up with a mere captain shoving them out. You’ll have to push a private from his tent.”
Taniel took some pleasure in the annoyance in Doravir’s voice. “I think I’ll do that, then. Come on, Ka-poel.”
The Powder Mage Trilogy: Promise of Blood, The Crimson Campaign, The Autumn Republic Page 64