* * * * *
Jarren sat in the pitching boat, and his uneasiness had nothing to do with the motion. The town of Erebrus was only a few hundred yards away, and it was really the last place he wanted to be. There wasn’t a person in sight, and that did not surprise him one bit. It wasn’t the cold wind or the sleet that was mixed with it that had driven the people from the streets, he was quite sure of that. No, it was the four great warships crowding their harbor which had done that.
What was he going to say to these people? They were sure to think he had betrayed them and the wizards. Were they right? Certainly he had broken his word by bringing these other people here, but was it truly a betrayal? Colonel Krasner, and everyone else, had been trying to convince him for weeks that he was doing the right thing. He had thought he believed them, but now all his doubts were returning.
“It’s a tidy little place, just as you said it was,” said Krasner from beside him. “It’s still amazing they managed to keep the secret as long as they did.”
“I wonder what’s going to happen to them when this is all over?”
“It all depends on what ‘all over’ you’re talking about.”
A final pull on the oars drove the bow of the boat up onto the gravel beach. Seamen jumped out and pulled it farther up with the help of the crashing waves. After a moment, the boat was stable enough for Jarren to stand up and jump out. Krasner and Gez were right with him. Jarren had managed to convince the commodore and all of the ambassadors to stay on the ships for the moment. He was afraid that a sudden invasion by dozens of important-looking—and armed—men might frighten the villagers to the point they would just run up into the hills.
“Where first?” asked Krasner as they crunched up the beach toward the town.
“I suppose we should start with the innkeeper. I think he’s the leader of these people. I’m sure he knows how to get a message to the wizards. He probably already has. I’m sure the sight of the fleet in the harbor has them all very frightened.”
“Well, the sooner we get what we want, the sooner we’ll be gone. Make sure they realize that, eh?”
They climbed up a set of stone steps to reach the street. The inn was only a short distance away. Jarren halfway expected to find it deserted, but to his relief, the innkeeper was there along with a small crowd of townsfolk. It was obvious that their arrival had been observed, because no one seemed surprised. Fearful, yes, but not surprised. Jarren felt very awkward, but Krasner towed him right up to the innkeeper.
“H-hello, you remember me, don’t you?” said Jarren.
“Yes, I remember,” said the innkeeper. His face was filled with anger and his voice as cold as the wind outside.
“I’m sorry for barging in on you like this, but there is a terrible crisis on the mainland. We need the help of the wizards. I know you have some way of contacting them. Could you please send them a message? I assure you that we mean no harm to you or them.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“What? Of course you do! I want you to contact the wizards just as you did when I was here before. And if you could send a message we’ve prepared, I would be very grateful.”
“No wizards here. You want some ale?”
“But you must send the message!” said Jarren, who was both alarmed and angry. Before he could say more, Krasner stepped up to the bar. He twitched aside his long great coat, revealing his splendid uniform—and his sword.
“I’m Colonel Krasner, and my friend here has told me that you have a means of contacting the wizards. Now I don’t think my friend was lying, so therefore you must be. I don’t like it when people lie to me. Perhaps you’d like to give us another answer?”
The innkeeper, a man named Gethorpe, as Jarren recalled, looked nervous, but did not budge from his position. “No wizards,” he said.
Krasner sighed. “My friend, you are trying my patience. I want you to understand that we are not leaving here without seeing the wizards. You also need to understand that we don’t have the time to wait for you to change your mind. I’m sure you’ve noticed the ships sitting in your harbor? Well, the very big one is called the Titan, and she carries thirty cannons on each side. The big cannons are twenty-four pounders. Can you imagine what a twenty-four pound cannon ball would do to your little inn here?”
Gethorpe swallowed nervously but said nothing. As irritating as it might be, Jarren could not help but admire his courage. But Krasner went on,
“Now, I’m not going to blow your inn to flinders—at least not yet. But if I don’t get the right answer out of you, the Titan and one of the other ships—probably Firedrake, she’s nearly as large—are going to start using those very big cannons. They are going to start at the two ends of the town and work their way inward.” He turned to the watching townsfolk. “You might want to warn the people in those houses to get out of them.” The peoples’ eyes got very wide and several of them dashed out of the inn. “They are going to work their way to here, my friend. And then, if I still don’t have the answer I want, we are going to knock down this building, too.” Krasner leaned forward and stared the sweating innkeeper right in the eyes.
“Make no mistake: get the wizards here, or I’ll blow this town apart around your ears!”
* * * * *
“You really didn’t have to be so hard on them, Colonel,” said Jarren on the ride back to the ship. “You scared those poor people half to death.”
“It got their cooperation, that’s all I care about,” said the colonel.
“Really? And if he had still refused, would you have actually carried out your threat?”
“Yes. Or at least part of it. I would have had the commodore start blowing down the houses. Presumably the townspeople would have had the sense to get out of them so no one would have gotten hurt. Whether I would have destroyed the whole town…” The man trailed off, and Jarren wasn’t sure what he might have said.
“So what do we do now?”
“We wait. I was charitable and gave them three days. We wait and see if the wizards get our message.”
So they waited. Nothing at all happened on the first day, except that the missing Wyvern finally showed up. It looked as though nothing would happen on the second, either. At dinner, Jarren began to feel very nervous. The commodore was discussing plans for leveling the town if it became necessary. The emotionless manner in which they talked filled him with foreboding. They would really do it! They would use their great cannons to reduce a defenseless town to rubble. Jarren began to wonder if Stephanz had been right about the mainlanders. But no, they were only threatening this because the situation was so desperate! He had to believe that. Still, he wondered if he could convince Thaddius to intervene. Of all the people here, he knew what it was to be in a city under attack. Surely, he would side with the villagers!
Halfway through the main course, a man hurried into the cabin to report that a sail had been sighted. They all rushed up on deck, and sure enough, the small ship that had carried Jarren to the wizards’ island and back was just rounding the headland and coming into the harbor.
“Only five people aboard,” said the commodore, who was looking through a telescope. “They are heading for the town, rather than here.”
“We’ll have to meet them there,” said Krasner. “Would you lower a boat for us, Commodore?”
This was quickly done, and Jarren found himself heading for town again. His heart was pounding at the thought of confronting Lyni like this. The wizards’ boat was already there by the time their own boat reached the shore. Jarren, Krasner, and Gez walked slowly across the beach to where a cloaked figure waited for them. As they got closer, Jarren could see that it was, indeed, the young woman who had first met them. As he got closer still, he could see the look of raw fury on her face.
“Lyni,” he began, “please, let me explain…”
“Carabello! You miserable bastard!” she snarled. “I should have cut you up for fish bait myself!”
* * * * *
Thelena sat on the parapet of one of the city’s few surviving walls and looked out to the south. Her father was out there. He had been gone for weeks, and she missed him terribly. But he was on his way back. He would be here in a few days, if the messengers were correct.
“Thelena? What are you doing up here?” She turned and saw Kareen standing there. She was holding a beautiful fur-lined robe. “It’s freezing outside! You are going to catch your death!” Kareen came over and wrapped the robe around her. It had belonged to some Berssian woman, and it was wonderfully soft and warm.
“How did you know where I was?”
“One of your guards told me.”
“My guards?”
“Well, your father’s, but when he’s not here, they are yours.”
“Yes, it seems so strange to have them lurking around all the time. In the old days, it was just the four of us. Now it’s like our household by itself is a whole tribe.”
“Your father is very important,” said Kareen.
“Yes, that seems so strange, too. Before, he was a simple tribal shaman. Respected, yes, but with no real power. Now, all the kas and even the re-ka look to him for guidance.”
“That would make you very powerful, too, it would seem to me.”
“In some way, I suppose,” said Thelena. “But you are right: it is very cold here. Let’s go back to our tent.”
“I’ve been thinking that moving into one of these buildings would be a lot warmer when winter really gets here,” said Kareen,
“No doubt. But my father will not live in one of them. At least he agreed to move the tent into the courtyard of the palace.”
“True, with all the buildings around, at least it will break the wind.”
They walked down the cracked steps to the rubble-strewn streets. The city did not look much better than it had when it was first taken. A few gangs of slaves had been put to work to clear the debris from the main thoroughfares, but that was about all. The Kaifeng had already taken the least damaged of the houses for their own use. If the other slaves wanted to fix up whatever houses they had been given, they were welcome to do so.
Many of the buildings were nothing but burned out shells. The smell was still strong even weeks after the fires. The skies were gray and threatened snow. It was a drab and dreary place.
They picked their way through the wreckage and soon reached one of the bigger streets. Thelena glanced behind her to see one of the guards following them. Her father insisted that Gettain assign at least one guard for her at all times. It seemed very strange to have to worry about her own people wanting to harm her.
There were a lot of people in the streets. Mostly Kaifeng, of course: there were still new tribes arriving, despite the lateness of the year, and they naturally wanted to see the conquered capital of Berssia. Impromptu markets had been set up where those who had managed to grab the loot were selling it to those who came too late. Thelena wasn’t quite sure what the newcomers were using to trade, but she supposed there were certain things that were becoming rare in the city—like food. And it seemed that one of the most common forms of loot that was being sold were the city’s inhabitants. Slave markets had sprung up all over the city. Thelena noted the grim look on Kareen’s face as they hurried past one.
“I’m glad you were unconscious when I bought you from those Varags and didn’t have to go through something like that,” she whispered. “What a demeaning thing! I hope you or your father never decide to sell me.”
“What a thing to say!” exclaimed Thelena. “I would never allow it!”
“I’m glad. I don’t mind being your slave, but to be sold to someone else…” The woman shivered.
They crossed a small bridge over a stream that fed the Glovina and entered the section of the city near the palace. The houses were bigger here and the streets wider. Much of the nobility had lived in this quarter. Now the noyens and the kas lived here—and the former nobles served them.
Up ahead, Thelena could see a small group of Kaifeng children. They were laughing and shouting and clustered around…what? As they got closer, Kareen stiffened and a chill went through Thelena that had nothing to do with the weather. A young Berssian woman—just a girl really—was carrying a bundle of wood. Or she was trying to. The children were tripping her, pelting her with pebbles, and hitting her with switches. Her face was running with tears, but she kept trying to carry the wood. From the remains of her clothes, Thelena guessed that she had once been a servant to a noble family. Now she stumbled along with a blackened eye and bare feet, despite the cold.
Suddenly, Kareen gasped and Thelena realized what had caught her attention. One of the boys—a lad of seven or eight—who seemed to be leading the attack, was someone she recognized. He was a Berssian, a captive from the fort. The other children were Kaifeng, and the boy was dressed just like they were. Kareen stopped with a furious expression on her face.
“Edard Halaran!” she snapped. “You stop that at once! You should be ashamed of yourself!”
The children all jumped like they had been stung. Edard whipped around to look at Kareen. At first, he looked scared, but after a moment he looked as angry as Kareen.
“How dare you speak to me like that—slave!” he said in thickly accented Kaifeng. “I am the son of Yiranar of the Hyami tribe! Keep quiet or we shall whip you, too!”
Kareen gasped and looked shocked but still angry. Before she could say any more, Thelena took her arm and shook her head. “If he’s been formally adopted, then he’s a free man. Hold your tongue, Kareen.”
“But…”
“Edard, son of Yiranar,” said Thelena. “Your behavior shames your family. Leave this poor girl to her duties. She has done nothing to deserve such treatment.”
Now the boy looked less sure of himself. But another lad, a bit older and Kaifeng, came to the front of the group. He looked at her with a sneer. “And who are you to talk of shame? I know who you are! And I know that you were the Berssians’ whore!”
It was Thelena’s turn to gasp. Coming from the mouth of this child, the slur hurt worse than all the stares and whispers of the adults. She didn’t know what to say or do.
“Berssians’ whore! Berssians’ whore! Berssians’ whore!” the children shouted. The woman they had been tormenting took the opportunity to slip off with her wood. Thelena and Kareen backed away as the children came toward them, chanting their insults. Thelena grabbed Kareen’s arm and tried to steer her down the street, but the children swarmed around them, blocking the way. Some of them were picking up stones…
“Begone, you little vipers!” roared a loud male voice. Thelena’s guard came dashing up with his sword drawn, and the children shrieked in fright and ran. In moments, they had vanished. The man stopped next to them. “Are you all right, my lady?”
“Yes, fine,” said Thelena, thoroughly shaken. “Thank you very much for your help.”
“Maybe I should stay a bit closer to you in the future, my lady.”
“Very well.” They continued walking and a short while later arrived at the palace. Thelena and Kareen went into their tent, and the guard took his position outside. The women put more wood on the small fire in the middle of the tent. Thelena took the wine skin and poured a cup for each of them. Kareen took it gratefully.
“I can’t believe that happened,” she whispered. “Edard always seemed like a good boy.”
“He seems to have adapted very well. He’s a perfect little Kaifeng now.” Thelena regretted the bitterness that had slipped into her voice. Kareen noticed it immediately.
“They shouldn’t have called you those things, Thelena. They were very cruel. But pay no attention to it. They’re just children.”
“But they were right,” said Thelena, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I was the Berssians’ whore.”
“You were not! You had no choice! No more choice than…than I’ve had!”
“I could have died. That’s what I could have don
e. That’s what I should have done! Sometimes I wish you had not saved me, Kareen.”
“Rubbish! Oh, what a foolish thing to say!” Kareen came over next to her and put her arms around her. “I’m so glad you are alive, Thelena. Don’t ever think such things.” Thelena returned the hug, but she could not stop crying.
“All the rest of them can go the Nine Hells!” said Kareen fiercely. “As long as we are friends—as long as we have each other—we can stand up to all of them!”
Thelena nodded her head and buried her face against Kareen’s shoulder.
* * * * *
“Well, the traitor has returned and brought the jackals with him, I see!” snarled Stephanz. Jarren cringed as he stepped into the library. He had spent so many pleasant hours here, but he knew that the next few minutes were not going to be pleasant at all. Dauros was seated in his usual chair and looking very old, Stephanz was standing off to one side, and Idira was near a window and looking terribly worried. Lyni had not said a word to him on the voyage here, and she excused herself as soon as she had delivered her passengers. The rest of the wizards were clustered out in the foyer, and thus left Jarren, Colonel Krasner, and Brother Thaddius to face Dauros and the two others. The dozen man ‘escort’ they had brought with them stood outside.
“Please, Stephanz,” said Dauros. “You saw the message. They have come to us for help.”
“Yes, I saw all three messages from Erebrus! The one telling us the ships had arrived, the one from them—and the one relaying their threat to destroy the town! Hardly a surprise from this sort!”
“I’m terribly sorry about all this,” said Jarren. “I can’t ask you to forgive me for betraying your trust, but I hope you can understand that I would not have done so if it had not been the gravest crisis.”
“I can vouch for Master Carabello on that issue,” said Colonel Krasner. “If it will help you think less badly of him, I should mention that I threatened to wring his neck if he did not cooperate.” Jarren looked to the colonel with gratitude. It should have made no real difference—but to him it did.
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