by C. R. Daems
I changed direction, angling left into the trees to circle around them. Dawn was breaking, and with the gypsy clothing I was wearing, one noticed me before I was within knife-throwing distance. He turned and loosed an arrow at me. Fortunately, all three were poor archers. I darted from tree to tree with random moves. His accuracy improved as I moved within knife-throwing distance, but he was slow to respond to my moves. The other two men were concentrating on the camp, keeping the clan pinned down so they couldn't put out the fire. The fire had climbed up the side, and every time someone attempted to throw water on it, an arrow flew in their direction.
I closed my eyes and let Anil give me sight. I slid partway from behind the tree and waited. When the shooter stepped out from behind a tree and loosed the arrow, I threw. My knife missed by a finger's width as he jumped back behind a tree.
I threw myself into a roll as he shot at me again. At the same time, a second man spun toward me. I rolled to a standing position. While the first one reached for another arrow, the second man took aim. He loosed his arrow as I threw a knife and rolled again. The shooter missed. I didn't.
He shrieked and dropped his bow. "Let's get out of here. The bitch hit me."
He ran with a hand pressed to his shoulder. I had a clear shot at one of the men's backs but held my throw. If I killed one, it would call attention to the gypsies, and that would hurt future relations for all the clans—the realities of being gypsies. Besides, they had come to damage the wagon and had killed no one.
"It's all clear. You can put out the fire." I shouted. While I stood with my eyes closed reaching for peace, Stela ran up behind me.
"Once again, you're our guardian angel. Are you hurt?" she asked, holding me at arms' length before hugging me hard. "How did you know they were there? Oh, each of you has a familiar. Where? Never mind, Ryana. Thank your friend for me."
* * *
Our performance that night was well received. Afterward, Marku posted extra guards, but nothing happened that night or the next. We left the following morning for Slicci, a three-day journey. During the morning, Yoan rode with me, going over our skit and possible changes.
"How did you know three men were attacking?"
"I didn't. I was sitting with Stela when I saw the fire. When Baldi came running around the wagon, I saw the arrows and knew the men were still in the trees."
I had always been good at making up stories. The real trick was making them so close to the truth they were easy to remember but the lie difficult to detect. I had seen the fire through Anil's eyes, and I had seen the men before they shot at Baldi. If someone had been paying attention, they would have realized I shouted before anyone had shot at him. A small detail that gets lost in the excitement. People heard what they wanted to hear.
"You seem to be our lucky totem. You're clan whether you want to be or not," Yoan said, as he jumped off the wagon.
Two, sometimes three men followed the caravan far enough back as not to be noticed.
The land was heavily treed until the last day, when the soil became sandy and the trees smaller and fewer. Slicci was located on the coast and a major trade route, one of only three ports along the Calion and Tuska coastline.
The first night we sat around a fire in that family way I had come to accept as normal. Everyone joined in the cooking, except me. I helped fetch, peel, and stir, but I watched closely. I didn't know when or if I might need the skill. Shadows survived and became successful because they could blend in. No skill could be ignored.
"I hear you turned down Luka. Is that true?" Alida asked as we chopped up carrots for the stew. "It took me three cycles to find a husband. It will take another cycle to be married. You snagged Luka in a few days."
I chopped, smiling. "I may have snagged more than I can handle."
"I can understand him wanting you. Everyone in the clan loves you. I'm not sure if the women in the other clans will be jealous or relieved. Some won't mind if Luka finally knows what it feels like to be rejected."
"I don't know if I turned him down exactly…" I was no longer sure about anything. Scio, in a cycle? The past existed but tomorrow did not. I hoped Luka found someone rather than wait for a tomorrow that would never come. Or did I? The thought of him kissing another woman made my chest ache.
"You didn't exactly?" She laughed and shook her head as if I said something funny. "You're going to keep him guessing until you meet him again, in a half-cycle? That's justice and cruel. What about your boyfriend in Scio?"
"I've no boyfriend in Scio. Please don't tell Yoan. I didn't do it to hurt his feelings."
Alida laughed for a long time. I didn't think I had done anything funny to Yoan or Luka. I had lied. Telling the truth would have been cruel.
"You put us gypsies to shame. I not only thought you had a boyfriend, but I felt sorry for him." We lapsed into silence.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Slicci—Calion Province
The clan had planned to stay six nights in Slicci, putting on a performance every other night. I watched the audience each night, trying to determine Calion's allegiance. I spotted cut-purses at work in teams, although most of the people in the audience didn't seem worth stealing from. But then, thieves pitied no one. Most had begun stealing out of desperation to stay alive. I also thought I recognized assassins in the crowd. They weren't very subtle, walking through the people scanning every woman, young or old. Based on their interest, I surmised that the assassins' guilds in Calion and Tuska were part of the conspiracy. Perhaps they were just paid for their services, or more likely they were promised something to make it worth their cooperation. Two Wizards, a Fire and a Wind, were present. They didn't look friendly, but then Wizards thought themselves above the masses and nobles and therefore tended to be aloof. Ironically, the Wizard's allegiances didn't seem to carry across province boarders. The Fire Wizards appeared to be with the cabal in Saxis but not in Tuska, whereas the Wind Wizards appeared part of the plot in Tuska but not in Saxis. The Earth Wizards appeared neutral in both provinces. But then, appearances could be deceiving.
I had Anil watching the Intermediate's house, but no one had gone in or out except the Intermediate to do her shopping. Rather than relieved, I was frustrated. I should be doing something.
That evening, I took over the fortuneteller booth. I brought in the most money, so I frequently drew the duty. A line of women desperately hoping something good would happen in the future lined up at the front. Their current lives were hard and sometimes abusive. I tried telling what I perceived to be true, leaving a tread of hope that I wished for them.
The next customer was one of the older men who I had identified as an assassin.
It would be nice just to kill him and get to the next customer.
Of course, it just meant I'd have to be extra careful.
"Well, fortuneteller, what's my future?" he said as he sat. No small talk to help me determine a little about him—not that I needed it.
"You're an aggressive man, used to getting your way –"
"I already know that. You fake."
"Why waste your time if I'm a fake?" I looked him in the eye. "Aggression and experience protect you while you are vigilant. But another waits –" He rose quickly, lifting the table. My first reaction was to roll back with chair, flip to a standing position, ready to put a knife in his throat if necessary. Instead, I fell backward and lay there with a knife in my hand, as any female clan member would do, and shouted.
"Clan, to me." A clan call would bring everyone within hearing. I palmed a rocktail needle in my other hand.
He stood there looking at me as Yoan ran in, knife in his hand. Baldi stood behind him in the open flap, knife in hand. When he spun toward them, I switched my knife to a throwing position.
"Trouble, Ryana?" Yoan asked, crouched and never taking his eyes off the man.
"I don't think he liked his fortune. Sir, I can only tell you what I see," I said innocently. He reached in his pocket and threw a silver at my feet.
> "Do you see into my mind or the future?" He turned and walked past Yoan and Baldi.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes, sorry." I gave a rueful smile. "It would ruin business if I killed a customer."
* * *
The next night, as I stood watching, the assassin with whom I had the incident returned. There were more assassins than last night. I hoped he hadn't returned to cause trouble, or worse, because he suspected I might be a Shadow. Four were obvious. A mid-aged man, experienced and confident, roamed the crowd along with three younger men. I almost missed a young woman standing quietly off to the side. She appeared to be watching the acts, smiling and clapping at the appropriate times. In reality, she was scanning the audience and stopping to evaluate each person on and off the stage. Perhaps I should warn Marku, but pitting the clan against assassins wouldn't be fair and could cause more problems than the assassins would.
After our nightly performance, I again drew the fortuneteller tent. The first customer was the assassin from the night before. I palmed a rocktail needle. He sat quietly.
"I'm sorry about yesterday. You were too close… I won't cause you any trouble whether you're a fake or really can see more. I'm not here to cause you trouble." He dropped five silvers on the table. "If you can tell the future, I want the truth, not stories to make me feel good."
I studied him while my mind raced. He seemed sincere, but even if he were, that didn't make him less dangerous. Should I just admit I was a fake? That would make him happy. On some abstract level, I felt sorry for him. He had grown up in the slums and survived by becoming an assassin. He stood alone, surrounded by danger, with no one he could trust or turn to for help.
"I can't tell the future," I said and held up my hand before he could say anything. "There are too many possibilities. I can give you the advantage of my insight."
He nodded. I cut the smoke in the globe.
"Put your hands on the table." When he did, I placed mine over his. That assured me his hands were empty and that I would know if he tried to move. I closed my eyes.
"You lead a dangerous life and feel there's no one you can trust. You're wrong. You can trust the one you've known longest. He does not want what's yours. You've met a woman. She's dangerous. She wants something from you but not what's yours. The others are young with little experience. They are more dangerous to themselves than to you." Before I could continue, he gave a snort. "One thinks he's smarter than you. He's stupid but wants what's yours. That's all I can see. The future is yours to make."
I opened my eyes. He sat for several seconds, then nodded.
"Yes, I brought them all. If you were a fake, you would tell me a story based on my looks and clothes. If you were real, I hoped you could see them for what they are. You have. I should slit your throat, but of course, you already know I won't." He laughed this time and dropped a tora on the table as he left, brushing past Yoan and Vali as he strode out.
After we closed for the night, I sat thinking about the assassin. He hadn't been in my tent looking for a Shadow. He was desperate, looking for help from someone, anyone. He would now rely more on his old friend and kill the cocky young man. It would serve as a good example for the other youths. The woman was the dangerous one. She carried herself like an Assassin. If she was, she was assisting the assassins and had indirectly confirmed she was helping those responsible for the killings. The thought that a Sister could betray the Sisterhood brought tears to my eyes. I buried my face in my hands. How could a Sister betray us?
Later that night, while I was sitting around the fire pit eating a chicken stew, Yoan sat down beside me.
"What did he want this time?"
"He was a sweetie and gave me a tora." I picked it out of my purse and flipped it to Stela, who kept the clan's money. I spent the next hour talking about my encounter. As usual, I sprinkled a little truth along with a few lies and wove it into an interesting story.
* * *
I didn't know what to do about the Assassin, who I refused to think of as a Sister. Kasi continued to watch the Intermediate's house for me while I tried to decide.
The evening performance had a good-sized crowd. In the middle of the tumbling act, someone screamed, "Fire!"
Everyone scrambled off the stage. Flames shot above the trees in the direction the horses were tethered. Marku formed us into a line to get water to the blazing hay. Choking smoke spread, but we couldn't stop without it spreading to the wagons. The next two hours were chaos. Every bucket with water or any other liquid was thrown on the burning hay.
Yoan and Vali threw blankets over the heads of the screaming, plunging horses. One jerked loose and galloped by wild with terror and covered with lather.
Just as things settled down, Ilka jumped from her wagon shouting, "My earrings are gone!"
That wasn't the only thing missing. We found items had been stolen from the tents and stage. It was late when the clan finally gathered around the fire to have their evening meal.
"Did anyone see who started the fire?" Marku asked. Everyone was shaking his or her head.
Ten-year-old Kata held up a burnt arrow. "Look! I found this next to the hay!"
Little Tania jumped up and down, waving her hands, and pointing. "Three men ran that way when the fire started."
I wondered if the three men had followed us from Bywick. Would they continue to follow us? And what would they do next?
A schedule was prepared to ensure the camp was guarded each night during the performances and during the night. Everyone was exhausted, but the wagons had to be packed to leave at dawn the next morning. When we finished, I fell into bed still not sure what to do about the Assassin.
* * *
Kadal—Calion Province
I drove my wagon lost in thought. The three men who had attacked the wagon were intent on destroying property. They weren't trying to kill anyone, just to keep us from putting the fire out. The second attack was meant to stampede the horses, injuring or killing them. The attacks were escalating. The next attack would be against one or more clan members. If the predators were to be stopped, it would have to be away from any town. The people of Hesland tolerated the gypsies for the entertainment they gave, but they would be quick to blame the gypsies for any troubles.
Capturing whoever was attacking the clan would be useless. The town would at best give them a small fine and release them to continue the attacks. I concluded they wouldn't stop until they were killed. To avoid implicating the clan, that would have to be away from any town and made to look like… I wasn't sure. Vali interrupted my musing.
"Mind if I join you?" he said jumping from his horse to the wagon. Stela was right, everyone did consider me clan. To an outsider, Vali would have waited until invited. For clan, the question was rhetorical. Family wouldn't object.
"Why didn't you call for help when that man came back? Yoan and I would have thrown him out."
If I told the truth, it would tell too much about me, so I played with the truth—lied. I found myself doing a lot of that lately. At the time, I had wondered why Sister Rong had spent so much time teaching us how to come up with plausible stories.
"He was quiet when he came in and dropped a silver on the table. No one willing to pay a silver can be all bad. Besides, if I killed him, I wouldn't know his future."
Vali laughed.
"He looked to be a hard man. Someone nobody would want to mess with, so I decided to wait to see what he wanted. He actually thought I told the future. I think that's what upset him the previous day. He expected a fake."
"But you're a fake…even though you do tell good stories."
"I'm hurt, Vali. To think you don't believe I can see into the future." I closed my eyes. "I can see that in the near future, you and a woman from the Sorin clan will be married."
He jerked around to stare at me, his mouth open. "How did you know?"
As though everyone hadn't noticed. He only thought they were being coy. Clan knew everything about each other.
&
nbsp; "I can see the future." I laughed. It had taken the focus of the discussion off the assassin. We talked about the woman, Rodica, for a long time. Rather, he talked and I listened.
* * *
I stayed up late that night, watching for the three men stalking us. They would attack soon. Success would give them a heightened sense of being invincible. What was their motive? It didn't seem to make sense. Nothing happened. The second day's ride also proved uneventful. The clan was taking its time: up early, ride until noon, rest and eat, and ride until dusk.
I went off into the woods as usual. By now, my nighttime wandering was ignored as normal. Sitting with my eyes closed, I listened to Kasi and Anil hunt. After a while, I nudged Kasi and Anil further out in opposite directions. Then Anil found them. They were sitting around a small fire about a league away.
I moved a half league closer and stripped down to my blacks. Like a wraith, I flowed through the trees using Kasi and Anil's eyes to home in on the men. Before too long, I lay a few paces away.
"What next, Borin?" a thin young youth asked as he took a bite of some meat on a stick. "I'm getting tired of this. The stuff we took isn't paying for our time."
"That bitch Lucija still needs a lesson. A silver's more than any gypsy's worth. The nerve of her putting a knife to my throat. Guys were laughing at me for days."
"Maybe we could kidnap her and share her between us," the third one, a muscular youth, said rubbing his crotch.
Borin shook his head. "Although that would be fun, they don't go far from the wagons. I suggest we show them what happens to trash like them when they start thinking they are better than us Heslanders. They'll probably post a guard now that we have them scared. We'll kill him tonight and another the first night in the next town. No one will do anything to us. We'll say they attacked us. The town people will run them off after destroying their wagons."
I agreed with Borin. In town, they would assume the gypsies had started any trouble and that these three were telling the truth. The gypsies would suffer the consequences. A rocktail dart took Borin in the neck. He grunted and slumped forward. The thin youth jumped up. He joined Borin on the ground, a dart sticking in his back. The muscular youth spun around, jerking out his knife. A dart took him in the eye.