by C. R. Daems
"Stela and I'll help as much as we can. I had better leave now, Luka will be here shortly." Marku kissed me on the forehead and walked toward the wagons. He hadn't been gone long when Luka waved to me as he strode between the trees.
"I missed your act tonight. I don't think you know how much a part of the show you've become." He sat and put an arm around me. My face didn't react, but I flinched in pain. He let go.
"What's wrong, Ryana?" he asked, leaning back to search me with his eyes. I opened my blouse to show my ribs and chest. Stela still had it wrapped, but purple bruises and scrapes went all the way up to my shoulders.
"I love your touch, but I'm very sore." I rebuttoned my blouse.
His face froze, his eyes wide, and mouth open. "What are you doing up? You should be lying down." He took my hand. "Come, I'll walk you back to the wagon."
"No, let's sit and talk. You'll be leaving tomorrow."
We sat and talked for a long time with me leaning back against his warm chest. I felt protected from the world.
"Ryana, you're like no other woman I've ever met. Alida's right…" He smiled a little smugly. "I flirt and lie to all the women. But with you, it's real. I'm sick about leaving tomorrow without you, knowing I may never see you again." He paused for a moment. "My love, join our clan. Marry me." He turned my face enough to look into my eyes. My traitorous eyes misted. My training had deserted me.
I blinked them back. "I'm confused, Luka. You know I grew up among women. This is so new. I love being with you. I wouldn't let anyone touch me like you have and love the clans, but… How can I be sure it's the life for me? I love you, but… I'm not sure that's enough." I kissed him on the lips lightly. "I need to go home and sort out my feelings."
"I'll never see you again if you do." His voice was a whisper.
"Yes, you will. You'll stop in Scio in less then a half-cycle. I'll be there. By then we'll both know." I wondered if that were another lie or somehow the truth. He nodded, stood, and pulled me up to my feet. Then he held me against his chest. It hurt but was welcome. He surprised me when he let me go and ran toward the wagons.
I waited until near midnight and then slid into the forest. With Kasi and Anil's help, I ghosted toward the Intermediate's house. Kasi showed me the two Shadows were hidden two hundred paces behind the house. I snuck up behind them. Each had a small cat on her shoulder.
"Evening, Sisters," I whispered. The Assassin's apprentice Carla jumped and spun around, knife drawn. Assassin Alina turned and smiled.
"It's good to see you alive, my senior Sister. Thank you for saving our lives," Alina said. She put her hand on Carla's arm, lowering it. "I hear a Fire Wizard killed two Wind Wizards and burnt down their guild house—a story that will be told for generations. A dream for every aspiring Assassin."
"Return to Ahasha," I said. "Tell our senior Sister I believe we are being killed not because of what we've discovered but what we may discover. There's a plot of some kind. Province rulers and the guilds are taking sides."
"I acknowledge your right. We'll leave tonight. May we help you in anyway?"
"Yes, I would like your apprentice's blacks. Mine are getting shabby." I grinned at Carla's expression. She shook her head, no. "She's closest to my size."
"Our Sister needs a change. She's staying. We're going home."
Carla reluctantly stripped and handed me her blacks.
"I'm sorry. Please turn your backs," I said and waited as they did. I stripped and put on Carla's clothes. "Thank you." I handed her my bundled clothes.
"Why?" Carla asked.
"Carla, she's our senior Sister's avatar. She would…did…risk her life for us, but she can't risk her secrets with us." She gave me a small bow. "May you walk safely in the shadow of our Sisters."
CHAPTER TWELVE
Kaslos—Tuska Province
The next few days flew by. Although I was still sore and every move either painful or uncomfortable, I began practicing on the third day. The Sisters had taught me to tolerate pain as little more than an inconvenience.
Yoan and I practiced the skit, and I joined the tumbling act. For my assignment, I needed to join the clan for their performance at Lord zo'Stanko's dinner party.
We arrived well before the dinner to set up for the acts. We had more than enough space. The hall could accommodate several hundred. But the dinner had been restricted to royalty and influential people—less than a hundred. We waited in an adjoining room while they ate. After they had finished dinner, a uniformed chamberlain motioned for us to come in. Alida and Ilka spun through the door with cartwheels. The rest of us paraded in behind them. Baldi went first with feats of balance on the tightrope. Next, Stela made balls, scarves, and birds appear and disappear. Yoan followed with his precision knife throwing, finishing with several throws blindfolded. Finally, it was Yoan and my turn.
Yoan led the way onto the stage. "Are you ready for the show, Kati?"
"Of course, Adami. Just make sure you stand still," I said. "No scratching and no making faces to throw me off."
Yoan went to the wall and assumed a position inside the outline drawn there—legs spread and arms extended straight out from his sides. "Ready."
I stood twenty paces back, knife in hand, staring at him. My hand whipped back and then forward. The knife slipped out on the way back, dropping to the floor.
"Damn, Kati. You said you practiced."
"I did. Well, sort of. It's so boring. Anyway, the knife slipped out. My fingers are greasy from the chicken. I'll be fine," I said while wiping my hands on my shirt. Now the audience was leaning forward and snickering. My second knife hit the board a foot away from him. I looked at him and waved.
"More grease." I said again wiping my hand and the knife on my shirt. "I'm not worried."
"No, you have the knives. It's me that should worry."
"Quit fussing!" The knife flew and hit with a thud, hilt first, and dropped to the floor. "Don't give me that look. I didn't hit you, did I?"
The audience was roaring.
"I think that's enough –" Yoan said stepping away from the board. I held my knife pointing toward him.
"Get back, you worm, or I'll skin you like a chicken."
Yoan stepped back. The second he was against the board, a knife thudded two inches above his head. I put my hands on my hips.
"That was good, Kati," he said, beaming a smile.
"Well, sort of. I aimed for the outside of your hand."
By now, everyone was shouting for Kati to throw another knife. The next knife went between his legs. That got gasps and more chanting to throw. Now the audience was well into the skit, feeling like it was real. The next knife went wild, hitting the floor first.
"That one doesn't count, Adami. I was looking at the handsome man over there." I winked at a young man at a far table.
"Pay attention to me, not him!"
The next knife stuck six inches below Yoan's crotch.
"But he's cute." I smiled in the table's direction, turned and threw again. This time two inches above his wrist. "I got it, Adami!" I jumped up and down clapping.
"What?" Yoan said.
"If I aim for your arm, I miss. Watch." The audience gasped as I threw. A knife thudded above one wrist and then the other. Then one after another struck next to each shoulder and then an inch from each ear.
The room was silent, and then clapping exploded.
We took our bows to shouts of "Bravo!" Lord zo'Stanko motioned Yoan and me over.
"You are a very brave man, gypsy." He handed us each five toras and waved to his chamberlain, who led us toward the door. We paraded out, waving, to applause.
Two serving girls carried in a tray of roasted chickens redolent with the scent of onions and another piled with loaves of white bread and apples. We stuffed ourselves while waiting for the party to break up, so that we could remove our makeshift stage and props. I caught one of the servers as she was leaving.
"Do you know Sir Haris and Lord G… I forget his name."
I hoped they were regular visitors or important enough to be well known. She nodded.
"Yes, Lord zo'Goran. He's zo'Stanko's son. He lives out of town. Sir Haris is chief of his guard."
"Thank you. I had heard Lord zo'Goran is an important man. He may be interested in our performance." I slipped her a silver. "Thank you for your help."
She gave a small curtsy and left smiling. Now that I knew them, what did I do with the information? I decided to do nothing and let him think they were anonymous. That might lead me to others involved in the plot.
We packed and left Kaslos as dawn broke the next morning. Our next stop was Bywick, a small town on the Tuska border with Calion.
* * *
Bywick—Tuska Province
On the way to Bywick, we rode past pairs of mercenaries, who stopped to watch us pass but made no attempt to search us. We passed a merchant's train of two wagons being searched by two mercenaries. One had a woman backed against one of the wagons, blouse torn open. The two merchants didn't look like fighters and were making no attempt to interfere although clearly furious. There was nothing they could do as the other mercenary stood guard with his sword drawn.
When we stopped each night, we built a fire in the middle of the camp and everyone sat around eating and talking. A lot of the talk the first night was about the Tobar clan, sharing what each had learned. Talk centered on their acts, possible changes in ours, and potential new acts.
"Everyone," Alida stood, shifting from foot to foot. "Pali –"
"Proposed!" Ilka shouted and everyone started laughing, crowding around, and hugging her. Soon a party began and drinks and snacks appeared. Confused, I leaned over to Ilka.
"Why is Alida staying with us, if she is going to marry Pali? Shouldn't she be leaving with the Tobar clan?"
Alida laughed. "And live with who? Pali is living with his brother in their family's wagon. Pali will have to buy his own wagon before they can get married. His family and friends will help, but it will take time. Alida hopes that he will have everything settled by the time we meet up with the Tobar clan next. Then there will be a wedding and a big party. And no acts for a few days."
I wasn't only learning about gypsy life but life in general. At Ahasha, there was no social life and no men. I owed the Dorian clan much. Without them, I wouldn't have survived more than a few weeks. I would have been on my own and noticeable. I didn't know the price of anything and wouldn't have known how to interact with people. Even now, I would have trouble on my own.
They were helping me to understand how complex life was outside Ahasha. Right now, the main complication was named Luka. I had an assignment that could impact the Sisterhood and didn't know how they dealt with…love. I had lots of questions and no answers. I guess it didn't matter, since my assignment took precedence. Yesterday was gone and tomorrow might never happen. Today and my assignment were all that mattered.
We entered Bywick toward evening and made camp a half league out of town. The town's income came from lumber and wood products. Ironically, the town made the wagons that Alida and Pali needed to get married.
Bywick tended to be a convenient stop between Kaslos and Slicci, which meant visitors often outnumbered the town's permanent population. It also meant that the town had more nobles than justified by its size.
Marku planed to stay five days but only put on two acts. The stop would give the clan time to work on new acts before we reached Slicci, in Calion Province.
I sent Kasi to monitor our Intermediate's very modest house. Because of the limited demand for Shadows, she had a small business providing herbs and drugs. The second day, two men visited her. One was a noble, dressed in silks and leather boots and carrying a gilt sword. It seemed strange, a noble visiting a modest herbalist. I shook my head. The other wore leather, had a well-worn scabbard, and walked with a fighter's swagger. Kasi couldn't tell what they said while inside the house but did catch parts of the talk as they walked away.
"She would have to pass through here on her way to Slicci."
"The money we offered should be plenty of incentive. We'll know if she comes."
The next evening, I waited by the fire until everyone had gone to their wagons for the night, then dressed and disappeared into the night. When I reached the house, I slipped through the bedroom window. The Intermediate sat at her small kitchen table putting some sweet-smelling herb into small bags.
"Clarra," I said quietly from behind her.
She jumped, dropping a handful of herbs on the floor. She rose and bowed.
"Shadow," she said. "I didn't know a Shadow was in the area."
"I'm not, Clarra. I leave for Ahasha tonight. I would like some guarana powder." The powder was used to stay alert and awake when having to work or travel for long hours. Clarra went over to a row of jars, selected one, and put a few spoonfuls into a folded paper pouch. I gave her several silvers and turned to leave. "I wasn't here."
I left Anil to watch and returned to the camp. It was a risky gambit. If she worked with the killers, she would report my visit to the noble. Implying that I was only passing through, I hoped to avoid any connection to the gypsies. There was still the chance they might connect the presence of gypsies when and where I had been. Even with the risk, I felt it necessary to know whom we could trust and whom we could not.
The next morning, Yoan and I played around with our skit, which had been such a success with zo'Stanko and his guests. Currently, it was different from anything the other clans were doing, although I suspected similar acts would soon appear.
That night I returned to watch the Intermediate's house. No sooner had I arrived than the same two men appeared. As they pushed open the front door, I slipped in the back.
"Have you heard from a Shadow?" he asked more as a demand than a question. "Lord zo'Stanko will be very upset if he finds a Shadow was in the area, and you hadn't let us know."
"No, Sir Haris. I know of no Shadow in the area. Two sixdays ago one passed through headed for Ahasha. Mistress hasn't told me of any Shadows coming to Bywick or going to Calion."
"Remember, Clarra, Lord zo'Stanko will pay five toras if you can locate one. The lord's in desperate need of a Shadow." After glaring at her, he and his fighter companion left. I waited while Kasi followed them for a league.
I stepped into the kitchen. "The Shadows appreciate your loyalty."
Clarra knocked over her chair as she tried to rise and turn around at the same time.
"There isn't much business in Bywick for an Intermediate, and you could certainly use the five toras."
"Yes, but it would be blood money. They're looking for Shadows to kill. Several have already died at their hands. I hear that there's a Shadow loose that has them very nervous." Clarra sat back down. "I'm not as stupid as Sir Haris thinks."
I walked over to the table and laid five toras on it. "The Shadows have been negligent in Bywick. Mistress wishes you to have this as a token of her appreciation. Loyalty's a precious value." Five toras was more than Clarra could earn in a cycle selling Shadows' services in a large city. "I wish you to send a message thanking Mistress for her modest gift. If Sir Haris is watching your house, he'll know you sent a Kite to Ahasha. If he asks, tell him that it was to let Mistress know you are looking for a Shadow and to let you know if one is in the area. If he questions you, say selling a Shadow's services is your job, and you want to earn the five toras."
She nodded.
I left the way I had come and worked my way back to the campground. There, I saw Stela sitting on a fallen tree trunk well away from the wagons. I changed out of my blacks and decided to join her.
"Good evening, Ryana. Were you out for your late-night stroll?"
"Yes, it takes a long time to get over the Shadows' ridiculous training. I can't be walking the streets of Scio all hours of the night, can I?" I shrugged. She smiled.
"You know Luka's in love with you."
"No… I don't know. I can't say I understand men." I hadn't known what to think when he r
an off. "I've no one to give me advice. There are no men at Ahasha. I need Mistress's advice, but she isn't here."
"You've stolen the heart of the one man every woman in every clan has been trying to catch. But that's a problem, isn't it?"
"Yes, mother…Stela. I'm sorry." Stela felt like a mother, just like the clan felt like kin. My visual and shadow selves had become confused—a bad thing.
"Don't apologize. You're beginning to feel like a daughter, if a bit wild." She folded her hands together. "Everyone considers you clan. I can give you advice about men and people, but not about…your duty. That you understand well."
"Yes. I can't change the past. I'm a Shadow. And I can't know the future. All I can count on is the present. I'm sitting here talking to you. If tomorrow comes and I'm still here, who will I be? I won't be the Ryana who left Ahasha. It terrifies me."
"All of us change. Usually, it happens slowly. We become different yet remain basically the same. But sometimes life-changing things happen. Think about Ilka. Without you, she would have been raped. If she had lived, that would have turned her life upside down. She would have gone on with her life, but she would never be the same person.
"In a sense, that's how things are for you. Unlike Ilka's, your experiences are occurring every day. It's more than an older Shadow could handle. If you need someone to talk to, daughter, you can talk to me –"
"Fire! Fire!" I shouted and took off running toward the wagon. Anil had seen the fire on the side of one of the wagons. A flaming arrow was stuck in the side. Kasi found three men hiding in the woods.
"Stop!" I shouted. "It's a trap!"
As Baldi ran around the corner of the wagon with a slashing bucket of water, an arrow hit his shoulder. Others thudded at his feet. The bucket clattered to the ground as he staggered behind the wagon. Since the clan didn't use bows, they had few means of chasing the men off before the wagon was destroyed.