Citadels of Darkover

by Deborah J. Ross

  “Mercenaries have their place, but thieves and traitors are universally despised. The right word in the right ear and you’ll be both arrested and deported. You will never set foot on Darkover again.”

  The ring of absolute sincerity in his voice made Madoka sick with thwarted fury. Another man determined to make her do things his way no matter how much she suffered. Just like her father, determined to make her into the son she’d never be. Just like her partner, Conrad. He’d maneuvered her into giving him the Spaceforce quartermaster information he needed to tip off the smugglers.

  “Fine. I prefer to work with Free Amazons.”

  “Why?”

  “Because most men are more trouble than they’re worth.”

  “Very well.” The Comyn drank the last of his tea. “As a gesture of good faith, I will see to it half of your fee is deposited within the next few hours. Be ready to leave as soon as it clears.”

  Madoka watched him walk out of the cafe. Dom Gavin might think he was clever, but by hiring an off-world mercenary he’d already revealed one very useful fact. Whatever he was really up to, he wanted to keep other Comyn out of it.

  ~o0o~

  A bitter wind blew down from Scaravel Pass. Kyrrdis shed its murky blue-green moonlight across the dull brown hillside. Madoka hunkered down behind a patch of scrub. A shirt and pants of the sturdy green cloth woven by the mountain folk topped with a dark brown cloak helped her blend into the landscape. Fifty feet away stood the back of the guard tower. Arrow slits in the crumbling masonry allowed the faint glimmer of lantern light to brighten the darkness. A shadow slid away from the tower. Moments later, Raziya n’ha Sandel crept up beside Madoka. In the usual dark brown clothing favored by Amazons, with the hood of her cloak drawn up to hide her golden braid, she was almost invisible.

  “How many guards?” Madoka murmured.

  “Two upstairs, four downstairs.”

  “Anybody on patrol?”

  “Two. They’re on the far side of what’s left of the wall.”

  “Where is our target sleeping?”

  “He’s in the upper story. It’s the only part of the forst with four walls and a roof.”

  “Mountain granite. Wonderful.” Madoka shook her head. “I knew I should have brought more black powder.”

  “Explosives? Really?” Gavin scowled. “Why not just start a forest fire and drive them all out that way? Bad enough we’ve ridden into bandit territory with nothing but women.”

  “They’re not ‘women’,” Madoka said. “They’re Free Amazons. Don’t make me explain this again.”

  Gavin’s eyes, that eerie silver-gray, narrowed. “Kindly bear in mind we are working against a deadline.”

  “Sain Scarp was a fortress back in old Rumal’s day.” Madoka looked up at the broken wall of granite blocks jutting out from the hilltop above them. “Now we’ve got eight bandits holed up in a two-story stone hut. Not the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced.”

  Madoka slid down the side of the ravine. Gavin followed her. Raziya’s fellow Amazons had made a cold camp with four tents surrounding a circle of fist-sized stones. That would have been their fire pit had they been certain the smoke would not betray their presence. Anja, the rounder, cheerier Amazon with a wealth of gray curls had prepared a meal of brown bread, cold meat, and slices of pale cheese. Madoka sat cross-legged on a saddle blanket spread out on the stony ground. Anja began handing round the wooden dishes that held each portion.

  Raziya accepted her dish and sat beside Madoka. She bit into a cooked rabbit leg and chewed, frowning. “I’m still wondering what in Zandru’s hells a Ridenow was doing on the far side of the Hellers.”

  Gavin stared at her across the cold fire pit, those silvery eyes gleaming in the dusk. “What makes you think Dom Anndra was that far north?”

  Madoka drank a long swallow of watered wine. “Gayla, tell the man what you heard.”

  A thin Amazon with straw-colored hair cut short above her ears looked over from checking her horse’s saddle girth.

  “The men here have no liking for this place. They wish they hadn’t come, no matter what riches they were promised.”

  “Who did the promising?” Gavin asked.

  “It’s a family matter. None of them would say more.”

  “What happened to your cousin’s escort?” Madoka asked. “He would have had one, wouldn’t he?”

  Gavin shrugged. “It’s not unknown for a lad his age to do some traveling on his own.”

  “Over the Wall Around the World?” Madoka asked. “And at this time of year, when the sun fades early? And all by his little red-headed self?”

  “I hired you to find him and get him away from the bandits who captured him. That’s all you need to know.”

  “Dom Gavin,” Raziya said, “by our reckoning these bandits caught the Ridenow at least two weeks ago. That’s how long it would take a man riding two, maybe three, horses to get from here to the Ridenow Domain.”

  “What’s your point, mestra?”

  “These men have been here not more than a tenday.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “Trail sign is too fresh. Not enough horse droppings piled up. Only one latrine pit dug so far. Not enough trash, scraps, or bones from supplies they’ve used up.”

  “Bandits are messy gre’zuin.” Madoka tossed the rind from her cheese into the fire pit. “They don’t care because they’ll just move on.”

  “This is all fascinating, but what does it prove?”

  Madoka smiled. “Ridenow has no idea these bandits have their boy. You knew, so that means one of two things. Either you had him taken, or you intercepted the ransom demand.”

  Gavin shot to his feet. All four Amazons closed in, trapping him in a ring of bared steel.

  “I am Gavin Mikhail Lanart-Alton,” Gavin said. “From the Alton Domain. Stand down or learn why even Comyn fear the Alton Gift.”

  Madoka got to her feet. “Look around, Lord Alton. It’s just you and us out here. I’m guessing whoever sent you to fetch Dom Anndra won’t be in a hurry to risk discovery by making sure you come out of this all right.”

  “Loyalty among Comyn is legendary. We do not betray our kinsmen.”

  “Does the name Aldaran mean anything to you? Barred from becoming a recognized Domain for the despicable act of allowing Terrans to set foot on Darkover?”

  “And rightly so.”

  “I really don’t care who lives or dies among you Comyn as long as we complete the job and my people get paid.”

  “You have taken pains to point out how isolated and vulnerable you believe me to be.” Gavin eased back down onto his seat on the other blanket. “What do you want?”

  “Tell me the truth.” Madoka leaned forward to stare right into those silvery eyes. “Are we here to rescue Dom Anndra or to kill him?”

  “You can’t kill Anndra. Not until I get the answers I need.”

  “Interrogation? No problem. I can’t guarantee he’ll survive it.”

  Gavin shot her a look of contempt. “I’m a telepath. I hardly need your barbaric methods.”

  “Fine. The half you’ve already paid can be my fee for getting you this far.” She stood up. “Break camp. We’re done here.”

  “Mestra Nakatomi. Surely you’re not walking out on a contract only half-finished?”

  “When the client won’t tell me what the contract really is, I decide when I’m done.”

  Gavin blew out a long breath. “Very well. Stay. I need your services to ‘extract’ Anndra. What happens from there depends entirely on how he answers my questions.”

  ~o0o~

  A night bird twittered from the rooftop of the guard tower. The cry of a mud-rabbit snapped up by a hungry predator rose just above the wind.

  “Follow me.” Madoka whispered. “The Amazons will clear the way. Let me do the fighting.”

  Gavin nodded. “Agreed.”

  Madoka kept to the shadows cast by the tower as Kyrrdis, the blue-green moon, crept higher
. A knotted rope slapped down against the wall. Madoka tugged at the strap that secured her katana in its scabbard across her back, patted the bandolier draped over her left shoulder, then grabbed the rope with both hands and planted her feet against the mortared stones. Out in front of the guard tower a tree crashed down, spooking the bandits’ horses. The clatter and jingle of harness betrayed their frantic rearing and plunging. Sleepy voices cursed.

  “Jaken! Damn you, Jaken! Are you asleep out there?”

  Madoka climbed up to the wooden platform atop the tower where Gayla waited. The slim Amazon bent down and held out one hand. Madoka clasped wrists with her and Gayla hauled her the rest of the way. Gavin clambered onto the roof behind her.

  The bandit who’d been acting as lookout lay in a spreading pool of his own blood. Madoka squatted down beside the body. Shirt and pants made of good quality cloth. Boots and belt cut from matched leather. Hands somewhat roughened from handling reins. Nails trimmed and clean.

  “Quite a tidy bunch of bandits,” she muttered. “One might think they were something else entirely.”

  Keeping low, Madoka led Gavin across the roof to the trapdoor where Anja sat, using her bulk to thwart the efforts of the bandits below. The clamor out in front of the guard tower grew louder with sudden shouts and a scream.

  “Boran! We’ve got Ama—”

  The warning was silenced by a meaty thud.

  At Madoka’s nod, Anja rolled off the trapdoor. It burst open and a man’s head popped up. Anja slammed her heavy fry pan down on the man’s skull, cracking it like a nutshell. He dropped out of sight. Anja peered down after him, then looked up at Madoka and nodded. Madoka jumped down through the trapdoor to land on a tabletop, scattering bottles of firi and a deck of playing cards.

  “Stop! Or the Comyn dies!”

  In the far corner, another well-dressed “bandit” had his back to the wall with his captive held before him like a shield. The “bandit” had one fist buried in the captive’s red hair, pulling his head back. The red hair, fine clothing, and lack of any wounds or even bruises told Madoka she’d found Anndra Ridenow.

  Madoka froze where she crouched on the tabletop, right hand gripping the hilt of her katana, left hand resting at her belt.

  “Easy now,” she said. “You want that fellow alive. Spilling Comyn blood means a bad death for all of us.”

  “Who are you?” asked the man holding Ridenow. “Why are you here?”

  “He might be Anndra Ridenow, but you are no bandit.” Madoka stepped down onto the seat of a chair, and from there to the floor. “I’m guessing you’re his escort, trying to blend in with the local bad boys.”

  “Did the Dealer send you?” Ridenow asked. “We were supposed to meet at the rendezvous point.”

  Aware that Gavin still perched on the rooftop next to the open trap door, Madoka chose an easy answer. “The Dealer changed the plan once he found out you were holed up in Rumal’s ruins.”

  “I don’t believe you. In his dealings with the Comyn, the Dealer would never send a woman, much less a woman with a sword!”

  “More fool him, then.”

  The door burst open. Another “bandit” stumbled in backward, one sleeve soaked in blood. Raziya charged in after him. She snatched up a chair and swung it hard, slamming the man against the wall.

  “Free Amazons?” The man holding Ridenow stepped to the side and pushed him into the corner. He sheathed his dagger and drew his sword. “Stay back, Dom Anndra!”

  The bandit Raziya hit spun away from the wall, coming for Madoka with a big knife in his hand. Madoka reached back and drew her katana in one smooth slash that cut the bandit from shoulder to hip. On the backswing she sliced straight across his belly.

  “Stop that!” Ridenow cried. “I’m not being held captive!”

  Gayla staggered in, left arm cradled in her right, her features pinched with pain. “All clear. Danna is calming the horses.”

  Ridenow’s guard lunged toward her. Madoka’s left hand snapped forward. A gleam of silver streaked through the air and buried itself in the man’s throat.

  “Marcus!” Ridenow fell to his knees beside his guard. “Damn you, you Terran bitch!”

  Gavin swung down through the trapdoor, landing just behind Ridenow. He threw one arm around Ridenow’s chest and jammed a Terran syringe into his neck.

  “Where is it?”

  Ridenow hung limp in Gavin’s grip. “Reish. Reish to you, Gavin.” He giggled. “Gavin, King of Reish.”

  “What did you do to him?” Madoka asked. “Why is he babbling about horse droppings?”

  “I told you, I need answers.” Gavin’s silvery eyes narrowed. “Anndra, tell me. Where is it?”

  Ridenow winced, teeth bared as he shook his head.

  Raziya stepped up beside Madoka. “He’s trying to pry the answers out of Ridenow’s mind. He must be an Alton.”

  “And that makes the drug kirian.”

  Madoka flicked the blood from her blade with a practiced snap of her wrist, then sheathed it. She put two fingers into her mouth and blew a sharp whistle. Anja looked down through the trap door. Danna came running from outside. Gayla stayed by the door.

  “We have a problem,” Madoka said. “Dom Anndra claims he’s not a captive. That he was waiting for word about a meeting.” She shot a glare at Gavin. “Dom Gavin appears to be after something he believes Dom Anndra has taken possession of. Whether or not either of them has any right to whatever it is has yet to be determined.”

  She slapped the hilt of her katana twice.

  The Amazons flanked Gavin, daggers ready. Anja tossed the knotted rope down to Raziya. She threw it around Gavin’s ankles and hauled backward, jerking his feet out from under him and dumping him on his backside. Anger burst forth in a stinging tide, leaving a scalding pain inside Madoka’s mind. Freed from Gavin’s grip, Ridenow sprawled on his side. Gavin rolled over onto his belly. Before he could get up, Anja planted a boot between his shoulder blades. Madoka put an end to his telepathic assault with one hard kick to the back of his head.

  Ridenow struggled up onto his feet and ran for the door, staggering under the influence of the kirian. He threw his weight against Gayla, driving her wounded arm into the doorframe. She cursed him in blistering cahuenga and tried to grab him with her good hand. He shoved her aside and disappeared down the hallway.

  Madoka ran after him.

  ~o0o~

  Anndra Ridenow burst out of the tower doorway and made straight for the nearest horse. Madoka expected him to wheel around and take the trail back to the road that led to Thendara. Instead he drew his own sword and kicked the horse, making the stallion burst into a thundering gallop right at her. Madoka plucked a sparkflower from her bandolier, twisted the small pink tube, then tossed the sparkflower at the horse. It hit the dirt in front of the stallion. Crimson and purple sparks erupted, spinning into the image of a lotus blossom. Ridenow’s horse reared, fighting to turn aside. Ridenow struggled one-handed with the reins. The horse shook its great head, jerking Ridenow half out of the saddle, then jinked sideways. Thrown off balance, Ridenow tumbled forward over the horse’s shoulder.

  Mindful of the answers worth so much to Gavin Alton, Madoka kicked the sword out of Ridenow’s hand. Ridenow wobbled to his feet. His fingers closed on Madoka’s bandolier. He jerked her to him, driving his fist into her solar plexus to force the breath out of her. Madoka slammed the heel of her hand against Ridenow’s nose. He flinched back with a yelp of pain. She broke his grip on her bandolier and spun to her left, using a foot sweep to scythe his legs out from under him. Muddled with pain and the effects of the kirian, Ridenow rolled away from her, toward the latrine pit.

  Madoka hurried forward to stop him before she had to ask the Amazons to haul him out of the pit. Ridenow rolled back and flung his arms around her knees, toppling her across him. Their combined weight sent them both tumbling over the edge into the foul reek of the latrine pit. Madoka landed on top. Her weight shoved Ridenow down under the surfac
e of the soupy muck. The stench left her dizzy and sick. She thrust both hands down into the mire and closed her fists in the front of Ridenow’s tunic. She dragged him up onto his feet. He cursed and spat and wiped at the blood running from his broken nose.

  “Enough,” Madoka said. “I was hired to get you out of here.”

  “Gavin—kill—” Ridenow fought for breath, straining to inhale. “Kill—you, too.”

  His knees buckled. Ridenow yanked at his collar, then fell face first into the mire. Madoka grabbed the back of Ridenow’s sword belt and a fistful of his tunic. Hands slipping, footing unsure, she hauled backward and dragged him upright, then pinned him against the wall of the pit. No heartbeat. She pressed her hands over Ridenow’s heart and pumped as well as the awkward leverage allowed. Pinching his nose shut, she blew three breaths into his mouth. Still nothing. Weakened by the kirian, his breathing hampered by the broken nose, Anndra Ridenow was dead.

  So much for Gavin’s precious answers. And so much for the other half of her fee.

  Madoka swiped the back of her hand across her eyes, trying to clear her vision. The adrenalin burn drained away, leaving her sick and shaking. She kept her katana ready in her right hand and fumbled her way along the side of the pit on her left. Every step through the knee-deep sludge brought fresh fumes bursting upward. She gripped the hilt of her dagger in her left hand and jabbed it into the wall of the pit, searching for some strata beneath the topsoil dense enough to support the pitons she carried. Six or seven of those would give the footholds she needed to climb out. On the fifth stab, the point of her dagger hit something solid. Madoka pushed the point deeper. The tip slid away to the side. She pried away enough soil to reveal a glint of gold. More digging left a scrap of cloth hanging out of the hole. The high moon shed its blue-green rays on a band of fine embroidery. In the center of each tiny flower glittered an orange gem.

  Madoka pulled on the cloth. A heavy weight held it trapped. More digging freed a lump that fit into the palm of her hand, rolled up in a strip of cloth torn from Ridenow’s tunic. What had he hidden here, and why? She unwrapped the cloth. Inside it lay a raw chunky crystal fresh from the belly of the planet.