Despite the heaviness of my head and the ache of my body, I knew sleep would not come easily. I lay down again with my cloak thrust under my head. Seeking out the Almighty’s peaceful presence, I spoke with Him about the future and the burdens that lay on my heart as morning began to creep weakly over the windowsill above my head.
* * *
Zezilia
As Hadrian promised, the next morning was hectic. I woke to a moving, empty wagon. Stumbling out into the sunshine, I found no one I recognized within sight. I, however, was instantly recognized. A buxom woman with a child on her hip waved to me from a small group of women following my vehicle.
“You are awake,” she announced as she smiled up at me while keeping pace with the wagon. “We were wondering if you were going to sleep the day away. Valens said to let you sleep as much as you needed. But now you are awake. Stay there, and I will bring you your clothing.”
Handing her babe to a nearby woman, she moved with surprising speed to overtake the wagon and disappear around the front. I barely had time to exchange a smile and greeting with the remaining women and child before the first woman returned with her arms laden. She shooed me back into wagon while capering up the short stair. “Just give me a few minutes to get you changed, and Raziya will be here with your breakfast,” she promised.
True to her word, I emerged a few moments later dressed as an aegypti. The short tunic of burnt cream over a full skirt the color of wine felt strange. More foreign still was the length of brown linen she had bound around my head. As Hadrian predicted, she braided my hair into a single thick cord that now swung around my shoulders as I descended to the moving ground. I quickly discovered why Nuru, as she called herself, had insisted that I wear thick-soled sandals made of leather and molded cork. The caravan never stopped.
I walked with the women until a young woman arrived carrying a wooden bowl of steaming pottage and a leather water bag.
“Now eat it all,” Nuru instructed. “It will keep you until we pause for the men to eat.” I obediently managed to fill my stomach while keeping up with the steady strides of the others.
Once Nuru saw that I was swallowing the last bite, she jabbered at Raziya to hand me the water bag. I suspected that I wasn’t going to get another chance to drink soon; so, I gulped down as much as I could as we trotted along.
Nuru saw that I had been clothed, fed, and hydrated enough to last until our stopping time. She shooed me off in the direction of a group of children. “Go and walk with the little ones. We have work to do.”
Obediently I wandered off to join the bounding and chattering children as they ran and played along the trail. When I glanced back, I was surprised to find that the other women had already disbursed and disappeared in various directions. Leaving the little ones to their adventures, I set off in search of someone I knew. Any familiar face would be welcome.
I wove between three wagons before I noticed a group of riders farther up near the head of the caravan. Picking up speed, I gained on them slowly. They were keeping pace with the wagons, but the wagons were lumbering at a swift striding pace, faster than I was used to moving for long periods.
I couldn’t help being ashamed at the protesting of my legs and feet already after only a half hour of walking. I had thought I was pretty fit. Selwyn had impressed upon me the importance of a defender’s body being physically ready for any event where she isn’t able to use her energy. While at the farm, I had made a point to take long walks and jogs through the woods daily, climbing trees, and training with the ferrum, a slender sword with a tapered edge, that Selwyn commissioned especially for me. Of course, in the week of travel between the farm and the goddess’ city, I had done nothing but ride a horse and sleep and eat. Surely only a week of lowered activity wouldn’t have made my muscles so lax.
Finally, after almost running to catch up with the group of riders, I spotted a familiar outline in their midst. “Renato,” I called.
Renato turned and to my great relief raised a hand in greeting. Slowing his horse, he dropped back from the group to allow me to catch up. In moments, he was walking his mount beside me and grinning down at me with amusement in his eyes.
“Hadrian was right,” he commented.
“About what?”
“With that headdress and clothing, you do look like one of the aegypti. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“You also look like you were born to the role,” I replied. Renato did. Sitting astride his bareback horse with only a rope halter to guide the stallion, he looked like the classic images of the nomadic race. Only his sun-lightened eyebrows hinted otherwise.
“So, would you like a ride?” he asked.
“Please.”
Extending a hand down to me, he grabbed my forearm and swung me up in front of him. “It is a good thing we are siblings,” he informed me solemnly. “Otherwise, this would be considered a marriage proposal by the clan.”
I frowned at him. “So, the only way a woman rides a horse is if she is being proposed to by a man?”
He nodded. “They generally walk. The only time anyone rides in the wagons is when it rains, someone is seriously injured or ill, or when a woman is with child and in her last months.”
“Then this is conspicuous to any who are passing by or observing us,” I realized.
Renato shook his head. “Only if they know who we are. I would recommend that you walk later, though. Right now it will work out well. Hadrian wanted to speak with you when you appeared.”
“Why?”
“I will let him explain.”
He sent a query, and within a moment, Hadrian’s taste flooded my mouth. “I will be right there.”
One of the riders ahead reined in his horse, falling back through the ranks to join us. Since the trail was heading due east at the moment, I could only make out his outline against the young sun and not much else. Despite my eyes, I knew it was Hadrian. A mixture of emotions, the strongest being worry, grew as he approached.
“Did Renato tell you about the situation?” he asked. His horse fell smoothly into step with Renato’s. If I had not known it was him, I wouldn’t have recognized him. The bold colors and looser clothing of the aegypti suited his dark coloring, especially when his hair was wind ruffled and he rode his horse like he and beast were one. Gone was the tension in his broad shoulders and the slight stoop. He seemed more relaxed and definitely more like the man I had first met three years ago in the high king’s gardens. He smiled over at me. “Did you sleep well?”
“He said you would explain.” “Yes, thank you.”
“The council no longer recognizes my authority as sept son, and they are calling for Korneli to bring Septimus Pewlin to the goddess’ city as soon as possible” “Good.”
Pushing aside the impulse to frown, I tried to keep a look of polite curiosity on my face. “Did you rest well?” “What will Korneli do?”
“Well enough.” He smiled warmly then. “As I suspected, you look every inch an aegyptus maiden.” “He will obey. However, he will do it as slowly as possible. I am working contrary to the government as a rebel. Since there hasn’t been issued a price for my head, at least not publicly, we can hope that the council is waiting to see what my response will be. Regardless, we are increasing our awareness. Plantonio wants to set up rotating shifts, and since the only other trained defenders in our group at the moment are Renato and you, he was hoping you would take a shift. I know this is an unusual first assignment, but we need…”
“What are the shifts?”
His smile widened, and he laughed. “I knew you would be willing. I believe he wants you to take the mid-afternoon shift. Renato picked morning as his first choice and Plantonio has something against you staying up all night.”
“How will we manage it, though, when I cannot ride without being conspicuous, and I have yet to see a grown man walking?”
“I will ride in one of the wagons during the afternoon and evening. I have work that will need attention after th
e courier catches up with us with the daily news and correspondence.”
A thrill of excitement shot through me. Here it was: my first assignment as a true defender. Suddenly, the excitement was replaced with a whisper of fear and nerves. What if… Shaking away the thought before it fully formed, I refused to consider the worst. When I finally glanced over at Hadrian, I found him watching my face with understanding.
“You will do just fine. We doubt that anything will happen, but it is better to be prepared. Besides, there are some aspects of your training that I am going to have to expand on with you as well. We can’t exactly work on them out in the open.” He then looked over my head to catch Renato’s eye. “Let her walk now. Nkosi wanted to discuss some concerns he has about our route,” he sent to Renato.
Then with an encouraging smile to me, he heeled his horse forward to rejoin the head of the caravan.
* * *
Chapter VII
Hadrian
The seventh day on the road dawned with a rumble of thunder and a torrent of rain. The day shift drivers, walkers, and riders crowded into the food wagon to eat without being soaked. During breakfast, I listened to Renato lose his temper at Plantonio over the location of Renato’s boots while Ardyne threw a tantrum because she didn’t want porridge. Blocking out the uproar, I struggled with my own patience, seeking the Almighty’s peace. As each day passed, the travel became more difficult.
Then Ardyne’s flailing spoon hurled bits of her breakfast about the crowded wagon. Donata responded by taking away the child’s spoon with a longsuffering air. As the responding shriek tore through the room behind me, I slipped through the door and down to the moving ground outside. The sounds of chaos quickly moved off down the trail as the wagons continued lumbering along past me.
Why, Lord? I tipped my head back and let the rain course down my face, cooling the heat behind my eyes. As wonderful as the moisture felt on my skin and helped the parched ground at my feet, it was not a welcome traveling companion. Not even the aegypti could transverse muddy trails swiftly. With the mesitas’ men searching the countryside between the goddess’ city and the compound, I needed to make it to the compound as quickly as possible before they chanced upon us.
“Are you alright?” Mint infused my senses along with a wave of calm. I was not surprised. Her presence lingered on the fringes of my consciousness constantly now. Within the confines of our small troop, it was impossible for me to be completely unaware of her. I would have expected the constant awareness to be draining, but I found it strangely peaceful.
“And you?” I asked as I turned to find her standing behind me. The caravan continued its slow progress behind her. The rain plastered wisps of her dark curls to her forehead.
“You first.” She narrowed her eyes. “You don’t look well.”
“I was just realizing that this rain will delay us.”
She nodded. I didn’t have to tell her what that might mean. Renato, Plantonio, and she were abreast of all the letters I received. “Nuru predicts it will last a fortnight.”
I closed my eyes, hesitant to really think about it. However, my mind was already racing to calculate what it would mean to Renato’s and my time estimates.
“Is Nuru usually correct?” Threads of worry whispered along the edges of her sending.
“Now don’t you start too.”
“Start?”
“Remember it is your job to keep my perspective straight,” I pointed out. “I am the one who is allowed to worry. You are the one who is supposed to remind me of the Almighty’s sovereignty and grace.”
She smiled. “Sorry. Now, are you finished getting wet?”
“No.” I closed my eyes and threw back my head, welcoming the wet drops. I opened my mouth to ask her about the exercises I had taught her the afternoon before.
“Someone is coming.”
My instinct reacted before I was able to think. My hand went to my waist and closed on the hilt of my dagger. I touched my amoveo, and my energy-sight sprang to clarity. As I turned toward the sound of approaching hoof beats, I glanced over my shoulder toward the last wagon of the caravan disappearing into the distance behind us. I debated running after it and calling out the alarm, but it was already too late. A lone horseman rode out of the haze and pulled up just short of where Zezilia was taking up a defensive position between me and the unknown.
“Stand and announce yourself,” she called above the sound of rain. My energy-sight was bright green with the blanket of energy she had thrown around me. I could barely see my own defenses around her through the curtain. I blinked and tried to focus on the rider.
“I come in peace with news,” the man declared as he dismounted. Unwrapping the oilskin muffler around his head, he approached on foot. “Impressively done, Zez, considering I am startling you, but do you think it was wise to let the caravan get so far away?”
“I sent a warning to Renato,” she replied.
“Korneli, what brings you here?” Dropping my defenses, I stepped forward to greet him. Zez lowered her gathered energy, but I sensed that she was still on the alert.
“More than you want to hear.” His face was grim as he reached to grasp my hand. “Is there somewhere we can talk without getting soaked? You might enjoy acting like a duck, but I am more of a cat myself.”
“Certainly, follow me.”
* * *
Zezilia
We all crowded into the storage wagon that Hadrian had been using as an office for the past week. Renato and Plantonio were still glaring at each other as they found places to sit on opposite ends of the cramped space. Plantonio’s dark rimmed eyes were blood shot and raw. Sleeping during the day did not agree with him. He grew more irritable as each night passed. Yet, when I suggested that I take the night shift for a day or two, he still cut me off and wouldn’t hear of it. All I had been able to put together from his mutterings was that it had something to do with propriety.
Korneli sat on the only chair in the room, an abused three-legged stool, and dripped into a bowl of porridge. After a large bite, he coughed, said something about it being as nasty as he remembered it, and reached for the mug of mulled wine that Hadrian offered him.
“How bad is the situation?” Hadrian asked as he took a seat on a water barrel.
“Bad.” Korneli took a gulp of wine and then made a face. “The mesitas is basically running the whole place. His Segia were all over the high king’s palace, and I could barely make it into the outer court when I arrived with Eldivo before I was firmly told to go away.”
“You weren’t able to see High King Marcellus then?”
“See him? No. Hear news of him? More than I wished.” Washing down large spoonful of porridge with a swig of wine, Korneli grimaced at Hadrian. “He is seriously ill and apparently has been since the middle of the last Caelestis Novem. The sibley prophesies that he will decline into death before the next Caelestis Novem unless you are dead first. I would be willing to wager a great deal of money that he will die, whether or not you live, and soon.”
“Poison?” Renato asked.
“I suspect that or mind control. The high king hasn’t made a public appearance since voting to remove Hadrian’s title from him.”
“What of Eldivo?” Hadrian asked.
Korneli paused and studied the half-empty bowl in his hands for a moment.
“Is he the new sept son?” Renato queried, voicing all of our suspicions.
“It was announced before I left. The swearing in ceremony was scheduled for later. I think it took place two days ago.”
“I wonder what they did when no one heard his sending,” Renato muttered.
“Did he know what he was facing?” Hadrian asked quietly. His eyes hadn’t left Korneli.
Korneli nodded slowly but didn’t raise his head. His knuckles whitened as he tightened his grip on the bowl. Then, he threw it away from him. It bounced off a crate of apples and skittered into the farthest corner.
“Goddess be hanged! I don’
t have the stomach for this, Hadrian. I felt like I was leading a lamb to the slaughter. And he knew it.” He looked up at Hadrian. “He knew it, Ilias. When we first arrived in the city, you should have seen his face when he saw his father and mother standing next to the mesitas, pleased and proud. They weren’t proud of him. No, they took pride in their ability to fleece the nobility into believing their son was a seventh born.
“The mesitas was worse. He didn’t even give Eldivo a serious glance. He acknowledged him, barely, and then shooed him off with servants under the pretense of preparing him for the ceremonies to come. Everyone knew that he is only a place keeper, a puppet, nothing more.”
“There was nothing you could have done,” Hadrian pointed out.
“It doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“I know.” Hadrian glanced in my direction. I caught a rush of regret from him before he pulled the conversation back into focus. “What is the response among the Talented at court?”
“Mixed.” He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I passed on your messages and then left. I couldn’t stand any more of the politics.”
Hadrian nodded in sympathy. “Plantonio, show him to a bed and return.”
As the two rose to depart, Korneli fumbled under his cloak and produced a thick packet wrapped in leather. “I almost forgot. These are from Cayphis Honorus. He said something about it being the least he could do.”
Hadrian accepted the bundle with a muttered thank you. As soon as Korneli and Plantonio closed the doors behind them, Renato burst into rapid fire sending.
“Just speak, Renato,” Hadrian replied. He turned to lay the pouch on the nearest crate and began untying the strings. “She knows you are sending, and she can hear my replies. Besides she is privy to all of it already.”
The Defender Page 8