And that, of course, was what made this screwy world work in the end. They might not have much or be much, but they took pride in what they did have and what they earned, and so did most others. It was the one noticeable thing that seemed everywhere here, standing out even more because of the lack of such a sense back home. Hell, even the crooks had a code of honor here. In a way, it was the one thing about them that was superior to anybody he’d known back home. Finally, they did manage to give them a little extra money for some extra leftovers and an urn of wine; provisions for the journey north to the ferry.
The prefect house was like a small police station—very small, it turned out. The one guy on duty, sweltering in his threadbare but perfectly maintained fancy uniform, was pretty helpful. Yes, there was a ferry, about twelve miles north if you followed the river road. There were certainly others farther up, but even he hadn’t been farther than the first one and had certainly never ridden on it. No, he didn’t know where it went, but it was definitely somewhere in the Kingdom of Marquewood, since that was all the other shore, and it had to go somewhere worth going or they wouldn’t have a ferry there. He had a map of his own of High Pothique, or at least the coastal section, and all that showed was that they were farther south than they thought they were.
Admitting the point, Joe asked, “Any dangers or warnings about the route come down?”
“No, not close to here. There are reports of problems near the northern border, but you will not be going anywhere near that far. As for Marquewood, I cannot say. They say there’s lots of fairy folk along the river over there, and you never know about them. We haven’t had an incident along the route in either direction for a day or more’s ride in—well, since the War.”
“Suits us fine,” he told the prefect, and left. “He says it’s clear riding,” he told Tiana and the boy. “Let’s head ’em up and move ’em out.”
They set out right away, and soon left the town far behind.
“The way the sundial in the square back there pointed, I don’t think we’ve got much more than four hours more of sunlight, thanks to our late start,” Joe said to them. “I’m not too thrilled trying to take this river road at night, the way it twists and turns. I say we make what time we can, then camp and get an early start tomorrow. No telling how long a wait it’ll be to get on the boat.”
Every couple of miles along the road there was a small spur leading down to a flat, mossy area almost at the river. These in, fact were rest stops, so to speak, where you could use the river to relieve yourself, build a fire to cook and to eat, or make camp if you were caught short on the trail by sunset. Sunsets came very quickly in this pan of Husaquahr, and the nights tended to be very, very dark.
After their first pit stop, Tiana said, “No telling how much standing around we’ll have to do tomorrow, so I’m gonna run the distance today. Too much riding makes me stiff.”
“Well, we’re not in any real hurry, so don’t get too far ahead,” Joe warned her. “You never know who or what’s around on roads like this.”
“Don’t worry so much,” she scolded him. “If you’re that nervous, keep up with me!”
“Man! I’m tired just watchin’ her go!” Irv said bemusedly. “How can anybody get that way on lettuce and fruit salad?”
Joe laughed. “I don’t know. She was never like that before. She was like six-two or -three, two hundred and sixty pounds. You saw the statues. She was something of a fitness nut even then, though. Hell, I think she could’a lifted me.”
“She ain’t all that short now, for a girl.”
“Talking averages, no, five-six isn’t short, but it’s three-quarters of a foot shorter than she was. And, of course, the body’s totally different. It’s still her inside, though, and I’d trust her judgment most of the time, except when she’s dancing, anyway.”
Irving looked out at the broad river, more majestic-looking than ever, the distant green shore showing little detail. Suddenly he frowned, stared, and looked again. “There are girls-women—out there!”
Joe turned and looked, not seeing them at first, then finally catching what the boy had seen.
“Holy Hell! Did you see that?” Irv cried. “A big fish just jumped out and right on top of one of them!”
Joe laughed. “No, it only looked that way. Those aren’t women, they’re river mermaids. Contrary to the old legends, mermaids are mammals like us and breathe air. River mermaids mostly have that bluish cast to their bodies and light underbellies, kind of like dolphins. Ask your stepmother about mermaids sometime. She was one of the salt water kind once, in between then and now.”
Irving could just stare for a moment. “Jeez! Just when you start gettin’ used to this place, somethin’ like that pops up and hits you in the face! Mermaids! Wow! Uh—are there any mermen?”
“Not that I know of, but I couldn’t be dead certain on that. I think they mate with regular men, like you or me. They’re supposed to be able to hypnotize you or something so they’re irresistible. But they only have daughters and they’re always mermaids. Don’t get any bright romantic ideas at your age, though. They do it in the water, and it’s even odds the guy drowns in the end.”
Irving gulped. “Uh—thanks for the warnin’.”
“There’s all sorts of things that live out there in and beneath that river,” Joe told him. “A lot of ’em aren’t that pleasant, and even the ones that are might have little flaws like that. You run into any of the nonhuman races, never make the mistake of thinking that they’re just funny-looking people or people with odd abilities or powers. They’re not. They think different, live different, and have a whole different way of seeing things than we do, and most of ’em haven’t got a lot good to say or think about humans. Our people pretty much wiped out their people back on Earth, and they know it, and since death to them is final, they don’t ever want to give us much of a chance here.” There was little traffic on the river road; they passed only a few people going in the other direction, mostly men on horseback, looking as if they were heading home from someplace, and some folks with carts heading in with produce for the town they’d left. Each one reported seeing Tiana and that she was in good shape.
One fellow had come off the ferry. “Yeah, it’s decent,” he told them. “Pricey, though. The next crossing’s almost seventy miles north or fifty miles south and they know it. A Marquewood boat and fairy-run. That means only gold.” “A fairy ferry!” Irv laughed. “What kind?” “You wait and see, youngster,” the man responded. Joe ignored the exchange. “What’s the rate?” “Two gold apiece one way, three round trip. That’s with horse, of course. One and a half and two without, but I wouldn’t advise it. They charge plenty for horses on the other side, too, and it’s a long walk to anywhere else.”
Joe whistled. “We’re short, then.”
“There’s some brokers at the landing, but they’ll steal you blind,” the man warned. “Best if you can sell something ahead of time.”
“Any towns between here and there?”
“No, it’s only about an hour and a half ahead of you. No use hurrying there, though. They don’t run at night and they’re on their last trip of the day by now.”
“Where’s it go?”
“Daryia. Nice little town, but just inland is a main junction for most anyplace in Marquewood.”
“Huh. If it’s as costly as you say, and we’re this far down, I might be better going the extra two days’ distance north and taking the shorter run. I’ve taken that one before.”
“Wouldn’t recommend it,” he responded. “Not much government authority up in that area, and a lot of nasties lurking around. Still got those damned zombies about, you know.”
That got Joe’s attention fast. “Zombies? You mean the Master of the Dead is still going?”
“Sure. Where have you been? His advance stopped about six months ago, and he actually withdrew a bit, consolidating his gains, but he’s still powerful and nobody’s been able to take anything back yet. It’s a mirac
le he stopped his advance at all, but he’s sure to start up again sooner or later. Rumor has it he reached the limit of how many of the walking dead he could control or maybe how big an area of “em he could control. Sooner or later he’ll make a deal with some principalities or others and get what he needs, though, mark my words! I sure wouldn’t be going north right now!”
They pressed on, but Irving wanted to know the details.
“His name is Sugasto, and sooner or later I’ve got a score to settle with him,” Joe told the boy. “I met the dirty weasel on our first quest here. An oilier traitor I don’t think I’ve ever met. Even the old Dark Baron was a gentleman compared to this guy. Ruling over corpses is only one of his tricks, but a good one. Hard as hell to kill somebody who’s already dead. His other little trick of snatching your soul from your body and putting it in a jar is one reason why Tiana’s in the body she’s in and caused us all sorts of problems. That was a trick he even taught the Baron. If you get close to him, your soul will wind up in one of his wine cellars and he’ll be free to play games with your body. Funny. Old Ruddygore said he would be easy to take care of with the Baron out of the way. I don’t like the sound of it.”
“Why not?”
“Well, that second ferry’s just below Castle Terindell on the Marquewood side. If Sugasto’s got control down about to the other side there, that means he’s only stuck because of Ruddy-gore, and that means that he’s pretty much got our old patron in a stalemate and he’s trying to figure a way to break it before going further. I don’t want to run into him just yet. The last time I was but for the count in a bottle, and when Marge found the bottles of all of us, they didn’t have any labels on them. We wound up being poured back into the wrong bodies, and the one I drew was one I don’t want to have to detail.”
He worried about Tiana being out of sight ahead, but just before sunset she came back to them down the trail, breathing hard but not looking out of sorts at all. They took the next turnout to the river, and set up camp for the night. While doing so, Joe gave Tiana the news from the traveler.
“Well, then, we must take this ferry,” she told them. “We don’t dare get near his territory right now, particularly if somebody recognizes us, and we must assume he’s got a pretty good intelligence service.”
Joe sighed. “Well, converting the silver and the copper, we’ve got maybe four gold pieces. We’re two short, and if those traders at the landing are the kind that usually are at places like that, we’ll get no more than one for a horse, bur pay three on the other side to get somebody else’s horse, and it’s another sixty or seventy miles easy to Terindell once we get over.”
She thought about it. “Well, if we sell them one of the horses, and with the silver converted, we should make it. I can run part way and double up with Irving, here, for the distance. Of course, there’s usually a bar or cafe at these landings, too. Maybe I could dance.”
“Uh-uh. Not on this side, anyway,” Joe responded quickly. “No chance of a getaway if things get wild. We might take our chances over there, but not here.”
She shrugged. “Well, we’ll see what the situation is when we get there.”
They built a small fire and had some of the provisions, and Joe was already yawning. “Damn! Too big a night last night and not enough sleep after. I’m ready to fall over right now!”
“You go ahead, then,” she told him. “I want to wind down a little more yet, then I’ll join you.”
By this time the entire region was in pitch darkness; there was no moon, and the stars provided very little decent illumination.
Joe was soon snoring away as usual, but Irving was having problems getting to sleep. He was just starting to drift off when he heard something and came awake. Dimly, by the thin light the dying fire gave, he could see Tiana putting a bridle on her horse. He got up and went over to her.
“What’s up?”
“Shhh… Don’t wake Joe. If I’m lucky he’ll never know I’ve gone and I’ll be back long before he wakes up.”
“But where are you going?” he whispered.
“Up to the landing. It’s only about a half-hour by horse. I know—I saw the boat leave before I came back from the bluff just ahead.”
“You want me to come with you?”
“No. Stay here. Get some rest, and watch over the provisions.”
“But—what you gonna do?”
“Never mind. I’11 make a deal with you. I didn’t go anywhere but to sleep tonight, and you came straight back to camp last night. Period. Okay?”
She had him there.
“But—”
“No buts. I want to get a move on. I’ve just been waiting until he was out. Don’t worry. This is my turf, as you say.”
Irving watched her ride off, not quite knowing what to do. The fact was, this wasn’t her turf; she didn’t know that place ahead, but he knew the kind of people most likely to be around there at night. They’d run from them last night. She was off doin’ some fool thing with nobody to protect her at all.
It felt, well, dishonest, somehow. Sure, he’d had his little thing last night, but it wasn’t the same. He was a guy, and she was, well, married.
Now he had three choices: follow her on the quiet and see what was what and be there to bail her out if she needed it, do as she said, or wake Dad and betray her—and himself. He’d rather not face his father on that, even if he was an adult by Husaquahrian standards at thirteen, so the last one was out. Besides, he might be pissed off at her, too. But he couldn’t just, well, sit here, even if he didn’t like the idea of riding this road in the dark.
He got his horse, put on a bridle and blanket, and headed off in the direction of the landing as quietly as possible.
She beat him by a fair amount of time, of course; he was very cautious, knowing he didn’t have much experience in riding and yet wouldn’t be much good to her if he fell off the road and in the river and killed his horse or maybe broke his own neck. Her horse was tied up at the landing when he approached it.
It wasn’t all that much. A few small buildings, hardly a big deal. The biggest of them was apparently the pawn shop or whatever the equivalent was here; it probably also sold souvenirs. The other place was lit up, though, and from the sounds it appeared to be some kind of bar or nightclub. He tethered his horse away from the landing and crept down to it, then peered inside.
It was a bar, or, rather, what they called an inn here—a small bar and restaurant area, with a few rooms for rent either in back or upstairs. She was in there all right, and she was having a good old time with three or four guys, both doing some playful dancing and getting real suggestive with them. She was lying there at one point, real suggestive and seductive on this table, and one guy was feeding her grapes and stuff!
He knew now exactly what her Majesty was doing, and he didn’t know what to do about it. If Mama could be believed, which was always a question, she’d broken up with Dad after finding out he had a whole string of girls on the road. Of course, she wasn’t no slouch in that department, either, but the only memories of her like that was after the split. Dad had kind of admitted some of it, but claimed Mama was never a one-guy woman and they both knew it straight out at the start and that she’d taken up with this guy who was superjealous and she’d taken the new guy’s side in things and that led to the split. He wasn’t sure, but he sure never liked it the way it was while he was growing up.
He was so mixed up in his feelings he didn’t know quite what to do, so he went back to his horse, sat down on a rock, and just waited. Finally, he got so bored he dozed off, and only woke up when he heard another horse neigh. He jerked himself awake and saw her out there getting on her horse and turning it back toward him. He might have beaten her back to camp if he wanted to risk the ride, but the questions inside him forced him to wait.
She was startled to see him, but instantly she knew the whole story without his saying a word.
“Well,” she sighed, “I could say it was the Rules for me, and I
think it might well be the truth, because I really do love your father deeply and yet I have no guilt or shame about this at all. It might also be something inside me wanting to get even with him.”
“Huh? He cheated on you?”
“Many times, when we were ruling together. It was nearly impossible for him to keep his hands off all those pretty young things who are attracted to strength and power, and with all the scheduling demands it wasn’t that hard for him, either. I’m not so sure that wasn’t one reason I wanted to end that phase of our life.”
“But you never cheated on him—then?”
“Eventually. Not right away, but, after a while, I started playing the same kind of games, partly in revenge, partly because he was getting such a workout with them he had little energy left for me. The difference was, I knew not only that he cheated, but with whom and when. He didn’t know about me. His male ego wouldn’t let him in any case unless he caught me in bed with somebody, and I was much too discreet for that. After a while, I got to like it. The variety, no complications, that kind of thing. But I was always, as you say, hung up with others then. I’m not any more. The other thing is, as I discovered tonight, I can’t just give it away, except to him. That’s some Rule someplace, no question.”
“You been doin’ this all along since we got here, then?”
“No, I’m in full control of myself. This was the first time. I’m not so sure about him, though, although he’s probably been good because you’re with us. I’m just sorry you had to find out, particularly like this. I guess I must not seem much of a change to you, and certainly not a good example. That I feel bad about.”
“Well, I dunno… What if he finds out?”
“He probably will someday, and then I’ll pull the Rules on him—everybody does it because nobody knows what the Rules really say—and he’ll feel free and that’ll be that. But I’d just as soon not right now. I don’t plan on this as a regular habit unless he forces me. I did it for just one good reason—pure practicality.”
“You did it for money.”
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