by Джеффри Лорд
After several more generations, the radioactivity and chemicals faded away. People came from the mountains and the farms and tried to rebuild civilization in those cities which still stood. They found much of the Sky Masters' machinery still intact, but the knowledge of how to build or repair it was gone. When a piece of the Old Technology-shortened to Old Tech, then corrupted to Oltec-wore out, it could not be fixed. Some brave men and women tried to repair dead Oltec, but many of them died in accidents and learned nothing.
Slowly the supply of Oltec shrank, as one piece of equipment after another died. Slowly the cities began to fight over what was left. Slowly the Law emerged in most cities, slightly different in each one but with two points in common almost everywhere.
First, Oltec could be used only in the most desperate situations, when life or something equally valuable was in danger. Second, no one should try to repair a piece of Oltec or use any Oltec machine which wasn't lying around ready for the taking. The people of the Land would seldom climb the towers to look for it, and never went into cellars. Oltec not lying around ready at hand was Oltec they were not meant to use.
Everyone knew that in time there would be no more Oltec to take from the ruins of the cities. Everyone was afraid of what might happen then. Everyone knew that trying to go outside the Law would make matters worse. Under the Law, Blade was actually guilty of two capital offenses: using Oltec unnecessarily and trying to repair it.
«If you hadn't discovered the secret of the fire jewels, I do not think even our father could have kept you alive until the Gathering,» said Kareena grimly. «The people would storm this tower and tear you to pieces in front of his eyes, and set a new chief in his place if he tried to speak against it.»
«They may still try it, if Saorm tells the city before we talk to our father,» said Bairam. «Blade, have you heard enough so that you can stand before him?»
«I have.»
«Good. Then let us go to him.» He rose, and Blade noted that the boy was gone, at least for the moment. In his place was a sober, quiet young man. Blade wondered if it was the rivalry with Kareena which had brought out the worst in Bairam. He certainly hoped this new maturity would last.
Chapter 8
Peython quickly understood the importance of Blade's discovery. Before Blade could even finish his story, Peython summoned his guards.
«Go to the house of Saorm the merchant in fire jewels,» he told them. «Bring him and his daughter Geyrna here at once. Do not harm them, but do not let them resist you or delay you. If anyone questions you on the way, say that Saorm is suspected of giving aid to Doimar.»
After the guards left, Peython glowered at his son. «If the Doimari learn about this because you lost your head, you will be guilty of aiding them. I'm not going to punish you for that, but I will hardly forget it either. Now continue your story, Blade.»
Blade did so. Peython let him finish, then asked Kareena and Bairam to tell their versions. When all three were finished, Peython squatted cross-legged on his table and seemed to be meditating. Neither his children nor Blade dared to interrupt him. Before he'd finished his meditations, the guards returned with Saorm and Geyrna. Peython dismissed the guards again and listened to Saorm tell his story.
Much to everyone's relief, the merchant had told no one of what he'd seen. He'd been too busy praying to the Sky Masters, the Spirit of the Law, the Lord of the Towers, and anyone else he thought might listen. He was barely able to believe what he'd seen and was quite sure he'd never be able to make anyone else believe it. Since she was already in her father's bad graces for her affair with Bairam, Geyrna hadn't dared move a step or say a word without his permission.
When the man was finished, Peython said, «You have done nothing against the Law. You will do nothing against my pleasure, as long as you are silent about what you saw today.»
«I can do this, Peython. But what about my daughter and your son?»
Peython smiled as he studied the girl. «I have decided that you must give your permission for your daughter to see Bairam. I will have Bairam follow the Law if Geyrna bears his child, of course. Otherwise I think it best we save our words until they are needed.»
Both Bairam and Geyrna looked happy at Peython's words. The merchant shrugged, apparently realizing that he had no say in the matter and that the interview had come to an end. «Come, Geyrna.» He was reaching for her hand when she suddenly jumped back.
«Tell them about the fire jewels of Gilmarg! Tell them where they are and why you hid them, Father!»
«What are you talking about?» the man snarled, but Blade saw his eyes flicker and his tongue come out. Blade moved close to him and signaled Kareena to do the same.
«You hid enough fire jewels to bring life to all the Oltec in Kaldak, because you and your friends wanted a good price for-«
«Peython, my daughter is lying! You can't believe-«
Peython stood up. Suddenly he no longer looked quite so much like a professor playing the part of a barbarian chieftain. His face showed the same cold rage Blade was used to seeing on Kareena's. Bairam drew his sword and stood close to Geyrna. Saorm looked at all the grim faces around him and swallowed hard.
«My son, who knows your daughter well, does not think she is lying,» said Peython. «My daughter, who is wise beyond her years, does not think she is lying. Blade of England, who has seen many lands, does not think she is lying. I myself, chief of Kaldak, do not think she is lying.» He jumped down from the table and walked up to the merchant.
His voice softened. «You have done no harm yet. When you found these jewels, you could not have known their secret. They were no more than pretty things you bought and sold. Now they are more. They are the future of Kaldak and perhaps of all the Land. They are no longer yours. So where are they?»
The merchant's mouth hardened, although sweat was breaking out on his forehead. «And if I do not choose to tell?»
At a signal from her father, Kareena put the bar in place across the door. «Among us, I think we know enough to make any man talk,» said Peython. «After that-well, wagging tongues can be cut out. Hands which reach for what belongs to other men can be cut off. Eyes which see only greed can be put out.»
The merchant started trembling so hard Blade was afraid he might faint on the spot. «Come, Saorm,» said Blade more gently. «The only way you can keep your secret now is by killing yourself. We might not let you do that. Even if you succeeded, you would get no profit from your discovery. If you tell us what we want to know, I at least think you should have some reward.»
«M-m-my life?» said Saorm.
«Yes,» said Peython. «Perhaps more. But start talking!»
Now that he'd found himself with no choice but to talk, Saorm could hardly get the words out fast enough. When he'd finished, Kareena asked, «Does anyone else know where these jewels are?»
«No, lady. Only me. The stone I pushed into the mouth of the tunnel-one man could move it. I swear it, by the Sky Masters!»
«We believe you, Saorm,» said Peython. «If you hold your tongue and guide my men to the jewels, I will even reward you. For now, you will be my guest. I will also take your daughter and your slave into my care.» He sounded the gong for his guards.
After they'd taken Saorm out, the chief turned to the others. «We have won ourselves some time, but not much. The sooner we send men to Gilmarg, the better. But I think we shall speak more wisely after some food. Geyrna, will you accept a place at my table?»
The girl flushed and looked at the floor. «I would be honored, Peython.»
The dinner was supposed to be a planning session for the expedition to Gilmarg, to bring home Saorm's roomful of fire jewels. Instead it became a celebration of Blade's discovery, the bright new future it opened for Kaldak, and all the other discoveries he might make in the future. The table creaked under the weight of platters of meat, and the beer and liquor went around and around, one toast after another.
The liquor still tasted like gin to Blade. Now it seemed
like good Bombay gin, not the sort of cheap rotgut sold in dockside pubs. Kareena slid lower and lower in her chair and sometimes broke into song. It was always a relief when she stopped. She had a lovely speaking voice but couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. Geyrna giggled a lot and leaned openly on Bairam's shoulder, while he held her up and caressed her. Only Peython seemed to remain completely sober, although he drank half again as much as anyone else in the room. For all the effect the liquor had on him, he might have been drinking fruit juice.
At last Bairam and Geyrna staggered off to his room, both nearly naked and their arms around each other's waist. Kareena was having trouble standing up, so Blade went over to help her. She sprang up like a jack-in-the-box, then leaned against him and raised her face to him. The invitation in her eyes was unmistakable. Blade bent and kissed her. For a moment her lips flared wide and hot, her seeking tongue darting out to meet his. Then she jerked as if she'd gripped one of the power cells, and she twisted away from Blade. He watched her lurch off to her room, and he was very conscious of Peython watching him.
Blade reached his own room, to find the door unlocked and the guard gone. He was beginning to drift off to sleep when he heard a knock on the door. Before he could move, the door opened and he saw Geyrna silhouetted against the light in the hall. She carried a fur robe over one arm, but otherwise she was stark naked. Her red hair tumbled down wildly, almost reaching her buttocks.
«Geyrna, what are you doing here?»
She giggled. «I have come to make you Bairam's brother. What else did you think, Blade of England?» She patted one full breast and the patch of red hair between her legs.
«Ah,» said Blade. If two men who'd fought side by side in battle also had sex with the same woman, this gave them a form of brotherhood under the Law. Blade wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be any sort of kin to the hotheaded Bairam, but he could hardly insult both the chief's son and the girl by flatly refusing. Before he could even think of any words to delay matters, Geyrna darted across the room, swept the blankets off the bed, and leaped on top of Blade.
«Ah,» he said again, this time in a very different tone of voice. The girl seemed to be kissing or caressing every part of his body at once. Her warm smooth skin and the musk of her own arousal made Blade aggressively ready for her almost at once. She was starting to kiss his throbbing penis when he gripped her shoulders and rolled her off him. Then he bent over her, kissing her lips, letting his tongue and hers dance together while he stroked her breasts. Nipples like miniature spear points tickled his palms, and he heard Geyrna moan. He trailed fingers across her pubic hair, felt dampness, heard her moan louder. Then he raised himself above her and entered.
Her thighs and legs clamped around him as if he was her only hold on the world. Her nails dug into the skin of his shoulders, and he heard her sobbing breath in his ear. He thrust steadily, with increasing eagerness as his own self-control began to go. He wanted to hold back, but he also wanted to ease the exquisite agony slowly turning every part of his body to fire.
Blade's breath tore its way out of his throat in a long gasp at the same moment as Geyrna cried out. Blade knew that half the tower could have heard her and didn't care. He sagged forward, the strength oozing out of his arms. It was all he could do to keep from settling down on her with his whole two hundred and ten pounds of now thoroughly limp muscle and bone.
She lay beside him, one nipple brushing his elbow and one hand resting on his groin. «Now you and Bairam are brothers,» she said quietly. «You will be even more his brother if you bed Kareena. I think she will have you if you ask her.»
Blade doubted this but was too tired to find words easily. By the time he'd thought of an answer Geyrna's even breathing told him that she was sound asleep. Blade pulled the blankets over both of them and closed his eyes.
Blade didn't wake up until well after dawn. By then Geyrna was gone, and his head was throbbing with a ferocious hangover. By the time he'd washed and shaved, he felt ready to face Peython and the others.
Either Peython had stayed awake all night or got up very early. Even more annoying, he still showed no signs of all his drinking. That was more than could be said of his son, Geyrna, or Kareena, who wobbled in last of all, obviously nursing a hangover even worse than Blade's.
They quickly unrolled a map of the Land and made their plans. Saorm would lead them to where the fire jewels were hidden, and Kareena, Bairam, and Blade would take fifty fighting men and women and twenty munfans to Gilmarg. That was all Kaldak could spare at the moment, although there might be enough fire jewels and other valuable Oltec to load every munfan the city had.
«Gilmarg is also, in land claimed by Doimar,» said Peython. «The last time we sent men to Gilmarg, the Doimari killed many of them. The same thing could happen again. I would not be sending either of you or Blade if I had a choice, but-«
«You have no choice,» said Bairam, with unexpected dignity. «And we have the duty of proving ourselves worthy children of Peython of Kaldak.»
Bairam and Kareena would in theory be leaders of the expedition, with Blade serving them. In fact, Blade would be a third leader.
«And you will both swear to listen to his advice,» said Peython sharply.
«Yes, Father,» his children chorused.
Blade would teach them all he knew about Oltec, then let them do all the actual work with it. «Under the Law, Blade, you cannot touch Oltec-or carry any weapon until the Gathering gives its judgment. Even I could not set the Law aside without making many tongues wag. Then we might lose all we have gained.»
The «cover story» for the expedition was mostly the truth. In Gilmarg there was a great hoard of fire jewels. If enough could be brought home to Kaldak, Peython would ask the Gathering to allow wise men to study the fire jewels: This would prepare everyone for a possible change in the Law, without giving away the secret of Blade's discovery.
Kareena looked at the map and traced the march from Kaldak to Gilmarg with her forefinger. «This should be easy enough. It is a short journey.»
«It is the longest journey ever made by men of Kaldak, daughter,» said Peython. «It is a journey from the past of the Land into its future.»
Chapter 9
From the top of the tree where Blade was perched, the city of Gilmarg looked like a smaller, more battered edition of Mossev. Two of its eighteen towers were only piles of rubble, and the rest had lost most of their color and ornament. Tall trees grew up through the paving of some streets, and vines choked many of the doors and lower-floor windows. There was no sign of human life. Although the Doimari claimed Gilmarg, it was far enough from Doimar so they didn't keep a permanent garrison in it.
Blade sat up, straddled the branch, and shouted down to the people on the ground eighty feet below. «No sign of the Doimari!»
A voice floated up through the needles. «Would Blade recognize a Doimari if he saw one? Best that I go forward and see.»
That could only be Hota. He couldn't be denied a place on the expedition. He was a leading warrior of Kaldak, who'd been to Gilmarg several times before. This honor hadn't improved his manners. He considered being obliged to associate with Blade an insult, and being obliged to take Bairam's and Kareena's orders was almost as bad. He said whatever he pleased whenever he pleased and seemed to be hoping to provoke Blade or Bairam into a quarrel. Sooner or later, he was going to succeed with Bairam.
Blade scrambled down the tree too late to hear what anyone said to Hota. Hota and four other fighters were already on their way toward the edge of the forest and Gilmarg. Blade was relieved to hear that one of them was Sidas. He at least would keep his eyes open enough to keep Hota from returning and talking nonsense. For a while there was nothing for Blade to do except join the men who were cutting ferns for the munfans. As a man outside the Law, he wasn't allowed to carry a weapon, so he couldn't even sit down and sharpen his sword.
Blade was feeding the last munfans when Bairam came up behind him. The boy carried two swords, to mark his ran
k as Peython's son even though he was also a man under judgment for breaking the Law. «Hota will push himself forward every time he can,» Bairam said. «He wants to be the hero of this journey, so he can ask our father for Kareena.»
«Would Peython give her to him?»
«Hota's courage has won him many friends. If they spoke for him, Peython would have to listen, or fear them becoming his enemies.»
«Kareena would not be happy with Hota, I think.»
«No. I have heard her say she would rather marry an ox, or live without a man all her life.»
Blade smiled, remembering Kareena's lips hot against him and her graceful red-brown body naked in the firelight. He doubted she would be happy with a celibate life, or would need to accept one, although he hoped she would not have to accept Hota just to keep peace in Kaldak. She would never be happy with a man who had more courage than sense, even if he wasn't a loudmouthed boor as well.
It was well past noon before Hota and the other scouts returned. «There cannot be enough Doimari in Gilmarg to fight us,» said Hota.
«Not unless they can hide themselves better than usual,» added Sidas.
«The warriors of a city without the Law cannot have such skill,» said Hota crushingly. Sidas was about to reply, but a black look from Kareena silenced him. Blade was glad. Sidas was too intelligent to believe much of Hota's superstitious nonsense about the Law, and much too likely to blurt out his heretical opinions in Hota's presence.