"Find this Sorceress Monique, what else?" Danica said, shrugging and sitting back. "And pray the wizard's curse still does strike me down."
"I know," Brenda said, nodding sagely. "You can't trust wizards."
Camilla said, "There used to be a High Sorceress named Monique here. She was being retained by the Duchess."
Danica acted surprised, "Really? What did she look like?"
"Let me see," Brenda said, thinking back. "She had long brown hair...all the way to her knees, if I remember right, and the most beautiful big blue eyes you'll ever see."
"Oh, yes. She was a dream and a half, I tell you," Camilla said. "I've always had a weakness for petite beauties, though."
"That sounds like her," Danica said excitedly. "Is she still here?"
"No, she disappeared a while back," Camilla said, starting to look nervous. "About three months back, if I remember right."
"Yeah, and no one likes to discuss it either. Very strange, if you ask me," Brenda said.
"How could I find out where she went," Danica said, trying to sound desperate. She didn't have to act that much, since she hadn't known that Monique had been missing that long. "My life is at stake here."
Frowning, Brenda said, "Try the castle. If they don't know, or won't tell you, then no one in Celia can."
* * * * *
"Why are you so impulsive?" Cat said as they approached the castle gate. Danica had barely taken the time to say good-bye to the Amazons before leaving the pub. "Do you have some sort of death wish?"
Danica just frowned, keeping her eyes on the looming castle ahead. "I'm not one for sitting around and analyzing each and every possible ramification of my actions, like the rest of you womenfolk."
Now it was Cat's turn to frown. Danica knew she had a nasty habit of making broad generalizations, especially where women were concerned. It just annoyed her whenever Cat, or any other woman, wanted to discuss anything about their feelings, fears, or expectations, and especially if the conversation turned toward Danica's feelings and fears. Cat sometimes wondered aloud if Danica was afraid of her fears, doubts, and feelings, or just afraid of revealing them.
Danica was impressed by the guard force at the gate. There was easily a full company. About a third were formed up outside in two platoon-sized formations, one formation on either side of the gate. An equal force was stationed similarly inside, with the rest atop the gatehouse or checking the people passing through the towering gate. The guards were all wearing plain steel cuirasses, stained black, with blue pants and shirts, and black flat-heeled thigh boots.
The guards formed up inside and out also wore blue-plumed, open-faced helmets, and carried both swords and pikes. The guards casually checking people passing through the gate only differed in that they didn't have helmets or pikes. Danica assumed they were officers or sergeants.
She leaned in and whispered. "All right now, Cat. Just act like you own the place and follow my lead."
Danica and Cat strode confidently through the gate with barely a raised eyebrow from the surrounding guards. Once inside, Danica led the way toward the huge double doors leading into the keep. There was a steady stream of women of every station of life going in and out, so she didn't expect any trouble getting inside. As they neared the entrance, she glanced up. On the fourth and fifth levels were long balconies, one above the other, with a number of tall lancet arches with stained glass windows or doors set in the wall. She figured the Duchess and her family occupied those apartments.
Before entering, she stopped and looked around the wide, grass-covered bailey. The stables were just inside the gate, with a number of farriers busy shoeing some fine looking destriers. The stables themselves, like every other structure abutting the castle's curtain walls, were of the native stone with a slate roof. Just from her location Danica could see a billets with guards milling about out of uniform, another stables beyond that, and on the other side of the gate, a large hall she assumed was where the guards gathered and ate their meals.
It reminded her of her own home of Drakehorn Castle, with the laughing and arguing adults, and even more rambunctious children racing about. And friendly, barking dogs chasing playfully after the children. The most glaring difference was the total lack of males. Then glancing at the children, she shuddered. Rumor said Amazons slaughtered any male child at birth, and fed them to the dogs.
She made a mental note to check into that before leaving the Empire.
Noticing Danica's agonized grimace, Cat asked, "What's wrong?"
Taken aback, "What? I'm sorry, just thinking about what they must do to male babies."
Cat's face twisted with horror as she turned the question over in her mind.
"We never have any," a deep, husky voice said from behind, startling them.
Whirling around to face the Amazon, Danica gave her a quick scan. The woman who had spoken clearly was a knight, and a formidable one by the look of her. She wore highly polished half-plate armor, with a blue silk skirt over blue pants and black boots. Her spurs were silver. She was a stout women, with an olive complexion and dark eyes and hair. The ragged white scar slicing across her left cheek from eye to jawbone drew their attention.
"Excuse me?" Danica managed to say.
"We don't give birth to boy babies anymore," she said, almost in a growl. Danica wondered if she was angry, since she was scowling at them, or if it was just her way. "The witches and sorceresses of the Empire long ago came up with spells that only allow the female seed to take."
Cat was obviously relieved.
"Good, I hate to see innocents suffer," Danica said.
The Amazon knight snorted. "Men are never innocent, ever." Giving the two women a once over, "I am Dame Agatha, Chatelaine of Castle Taanur. What may I do for you ladies?"
Ah...the officer in charge of security, Danica thought.
"We've come to seek an audience with Duchess Natasha," Danica said.
"Concerning?" Her tone demanding.
Suppressing a frown, Danica said, "I've been cursed, and it seems she may have the information I require to lift it."
"How's that?"
The big knight's deportment had suddenly taken on a more threatening posture. Danica started working on the problem of getting out of there if trouble broke out. Any way she saw it, escaping out of the castle would be at best tricky.
More cautiously, Danica said, "She may know the whereabouts of a certain sorceress that a wizard has task me with finding. Her name is Monique, and I believe she is an Amazon recently in the Duchess's service."
Dame Agatha's eyes widened just a second before narrowing to slits. She gave the impression of a cat prepared to pounce for a brief moment, then relaxed.
"I've never heard of any sorceress named Monique," she said, her attitude turning decidedly chilly.
"We'd like to ask the Duchess anyway," Danica said.
Dame Agatha considered that a moment, "Come back tomorrow then. Duchess Natasha won't be able to see you today, if she'll even consent to it tomorrow."
Danica hesitated, then turned on her heel, "Come along, Cat. We'll come back tomorrow morning."
Cat, looking confused, cast one last glance at the entrance and Dame Agatha standing before it then hurried after Danica. They strode purposely out the gate and straight over to a nearby pub.
After taking a table in back, Danica ordered them each an ale. Then she turned to Cat, "Well, how did you like that reception?"
"Chilly, at best," she said, frowning. "I think she knows exactly who we're looking for, though."
"I agree, and it makes her nervous for some reason."
"I thought she looked more angry than worried," Cat said. "Either way, her response wasn't hopeful. Do you think she is responsible for Monique's disappearance?"
"Maybe. Then again, we know Monique was captured by Ayesha's allies," Danica said. "Maybe she's being kept prisoner right here in Celia. She could be locked up in their dungeons right now."
"Nonsense," Cat said, dis
missing the idea. "Everyone knows you can't just lock a sorceress up. It takes an even more powerful mage to capture and hold a sorceress. And it's strange enough to find a mere Duchess with her own sorceress on retainer, much less two."
Danica dismissed that argument with a wave of the hand, "Sorceresses are people, just like you and me. They have their weaknesses and vulnerabilities that can be exploited and used against them."
"By other magic-users."
"By anyone brave enough to try," she said. "I've killed and captured wizards before." Glancing around, she continued in more hushed tones, "All you have to do is gag them and bind their hands so they can't move their fingers. All their magic is cast using either Words of Power or hand signals, but usually both together."
Cat sat, silently digesting that information. Danica knew all this talk of magic and capturing sorceresses made her nervous. Until a few weeks ago she'd never had much reason to think about mages and their ways. Cat was just a simple bouncer. She'd given anyone even remotely likely to be a spellcaster a wide berth. Even witches made her nervous. She came from a superstitious people.
"God of Mercy," she whispered, eyes lifted to the heavens. "Why did I have to befriend her? Why didn't I just stay where I was and not get involved?"
"I'm right here. I can hear you," Danica said, arching a brow at her.
"I know," Cat said. She sighed gustily, "So, Danica, what do we do now?"
She studied Cat for a long moment. Her friend was so frustrating at times, but so honest and loyal. Danica loved her to death, knew she was endangering Cat's life every day, and didn't know what she'd do without her. Though afraid, Cat remained with her.
Danica shrugged. "I don't know. I have my doubts about the intelligence of returning in the morning, but what choice do we have?"
Cat didn't have an answer to that. She relied on Danica's experience in these situations to bring her through. For her part, Danica felt the pressure. Cat depended on her to make the right decision.
They drank their ales in silence. Danica, as usual, drank two to every mug Cat downed. When finished, they left and headed back toward the inn. It was well past sunset. The dark, suddenly menacing shape of the castle loomed over them. While Danica brooded over their situation, Cat watched the shadows nervously. Halfway to the inn four large bravos stepped out of an alley before them, all were well-armed. They both reached for their blades, but daggers were placed at their throats by more bravos coming in from behind.
"Not a good idea, ladies," one of the women said.
Danica glanced back at the shadowy figures behind them, cursing herself for not noticing their approach. She was so caught up in her problems, she had let down her guard. They were lucky to still be alive.
Damn my luck! Danica thought.
Quickly, the bravos herded them down the alley. Once they moved around a corner, the bravos rudely shoved them against a wall. As ordered, they leaned against the wall with their legs and hands spread wide.
Their assailant’s demeanor and deportment worried Danica. These women were not common thieves. Flashy gold-cased jewelry, dripped from Danica and should have earned her a stripping of all valuables, yet no one seemed interested.
They were both then punched hard in the lower back. Cat grunted, and Danica fell to her knees with a gasp. Danica fought with all her strength to hold back the tears as more punches and kicks slammed into her exposed back and ribs. Now, she sincerely wished she hadn't left her armor back in their room at the inn. She could hear Cat's grunts as she was also beaten to her knees, her mail doing little to protect her from the beating.
"You two made a very serious mistake today," a pleasant voice said from the shadows. Danica wasn't sure if it was someone new, or one of the original bravos. "You're asking questions people don't like. Very dangerous."
"If I had known you were so touchy on the subject, I wouldn't have bothered," Danica managed to gasp out.
"You got spunk," the voice said. "I don't like that, not at all."
Another barrage of punches and kicks assaulted Danica and Cat. Danica lost control of her tears and even let out a few sobs. Shameful!
On her hands and knees, Danica wiped away the tears and said shakily, "What do you want from us?"
"Your life," a woman standing over Cat said.
Danica saw faint light glinting off a dagger in the woman's hand.
"NO!" Danica cried, pulling a dagger and throwing it at the woman. She misjudged the distance, hitting the Amazon hilt first in the ribs, but it caused everyone of jump back. She threw herself at the dark figures, crying out to her God, "Bandu, give me strength!"
The Amazons were completely taken by surprise. Whipping her sword out, Danica began to show them what a Jarland swordmaster could do with edged steel. With the sword in her right hand, and a dagger in the left, she drove straight into the packed muggers. Within seconds she had them screaming in pain and fear as they tried to claw their way past each other. Then Cat dove into the fray, sword ripping deeply through their attackers.
Within seconds the would-be assassins broke and scattered. Danica quickly laid a restraining hand on Cat's arm.
"Let them go," she said, breathless, holding her aching side. "They know the city far better than we ever will." Then after a loud, deep breath, "Are you hurt?"
"Nothing mortal, I think," she said. "But I'll be sore for days after that little beating."
"I wonder," Danica said. "Was this a result of the questions we asked at the inn or the castle?"
Danica suspected the castle, but word of their questions in the inn's pub could've reached the wrong ears, too. The Chatelaine's reaction did not bode well, but would a powerful knight like that send hired muscle to murder them? Danica felt Dame Agatha was more hands-on, and would personally take care of problems. Yet, it could be someone else in the castle who hired the thugs.
"The inn?" Cat said thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought of that, but it could be. They weren't exactly specific as to what questions they didn't like, though we pretty much asked the same questions both places. Do you think it's safe to go back to the inn now?"
"Don't see what choice we have," she said, starting for the street. "All our gear is back there, plus I don't think we could find a place to stay that they couldn't find us."
"That makes me feel much better, thank you."
Giving a short laugh, "You are most welcome."
They continued down the street, swords out and all their senses alert to the slightest movement or sound. As they neared the inn, they began to encounter others who gave them plenty of room to pass and concerned looks. Inside the inn's front lobby, Danica saw her reflection in a small mirror. Her hair was tousled, with the braid all but loose, and blood splattered all over her clothes and face. Cat wasn't in much better shape, but her dark features and clothes hid it better.
The matronly innkeeper ushered them to a back room, giving their bare blades a worried look. Abashed, they quickly sheathed the swords and allowed themselves to be cleaned up.
"Are you all right? Should I call a physician?" the innkeeper, Wilma, said as she fussed over them.
Danica looked the elderly innkeeper over a moment. She wondered how much she could be trusted, if she could be trusted at all. Did she know anything? With a soft round body, short silver hair, and big friendly brown eyes she seemed harmless enough. The woman portrayed a gentle motherly figure if she had ever seen one.
"We're fine, thank you," she said.
"Speak for yourself," Cat said, eyeing her narrowly.
Shooting Cat a reproachful look, "We only received a few bruises at most, but thank you for your concern. We'll be fine by morning." Then she looked at Cat, daring her to say otherwise.
Wilma nodded as she paused. Danica noticed how nervous she was. She was biting her lip, as if trying to come to a decision. After a moment it began to worry her.
"I...I don't know if I should be saying anything," Wilma started, then glance nervously at the closed door. "But some of the D
uchess's retainers came by asking questions about you. And later Dame Donna, the owner of the Royal Wings Mews, came in for dinner and told me the Duchess has seized your warhawks."
Danica glanced at Cat, who was looking worriedly at the innkeeper, and said, "Did anyone say why they're doing these things?"
"No...strangest thing, too. I usually know everything that's going on around here, but all I know is there's something about you ladies that unnerves them."
"What can you tell me about a High Sorceress Monique," Danica said.
Wilma stared at her several seconds, startled. "Now I know why they're scared. It has something to do with the sorceress's disappearance. Have you come to avenge her?"
"No, just to deliver a message," Danica said. "What happened to her?"
She shrugged, "That was another strange thing. One day she was here, and the next day gone. Too bad, as she was a friendly sort. A little flirty and outrageous for polite company, but generous with her smiles and favors. Not at all what you'd expect from a High Sorceress."
"Any rumors going about?" Cat asked, finally finding her voice.
"Plenty at first, but then it became apparent that any such talk was brutally suppressed," she said, biting her lip again. "It looks like the rumors of her death or kidnapping are true."
"Then she might still be alive?" Danica said. "Is it possible for her to be locked away in the dungeons?"
"No, I'd have heard about that. The castle guards are frequent guests here, and I've become good friends with several of the officers of the castle."
A soft knock at the door took Wilma away. After speaking with one of the many teens working there she turned back to them. "I'm sorry, but we seem to have a problem in the kitchen. If there is anything else you need, please just ask any of my girls."
With that the innkeeper left. They waited for her footsteps to fade away before speaking.
"Now what?" Cat said. "We seem to be marked, and our best means of escape taken away."
Into Lands Forbidden (The Elfmaid Trilogy Book 2) Page 5