"This is one lesson you've learnt too late. Never take on an assassin in single combat, you'll lose."
The Cotti glared at Blade with glazing eyes, and the assassin gave him a push that sent him sprawling. He left the man to die and strode to the door, trotting along the corridor to the staircase. Now he had to find the Queen before the other soldiers did, or they could use her as a hostage. Also, he must kill the man of crows before his familiar reached Trelath, but without knowing how far away the Prince was, he could not be certain of preventing the message from getting through. Already several time-glasses had passed, and it may be too late. As he loped towards the door that led to the courtyard, he considered his next move.
Outside, the desert sweltered in the midday heat, the sun beating down like a blazing hammer on a golden anvil of sand. Blade glanced around, then set out to find a soldier or the Queen, he did not care which, so long as they were not together. The soldiers would be easier to find, since Minna would be hiding. The oasis had little in the way of cover, and soon he spotted a Cotti walking about, peering around walls and into crumbling rooms. The assassin strode towards the man, who drew his sword and shouted for his companion to aid him. Blade recognised him as Vegar, but his shouts would bring the other soldier, so Blade slowed, giving him time to call his friend.
The Cotti raised an arm to protect his throat, reducing the available targets to eyes only. This did not bother the assassin, who could slice a thrown apple in two at thirty paces. The soldier allowed Blade to close the gap, but, as the assassin raised a dagger, he sensed a presence behind him and whirled, throwing himself sideways.
The soft thrum of a crossbow's string was followed by a tug at his arm, and he spotted Bosset ducking behind a wall just before he hit the sand and rolled to his feet. Heavy footsteps alerted him, and he whipped back to face Vegar, who charged, his sword raised to cleave Blade in two. He flung the dagger, impaling the soldier through the eye, and he dropped like a puppet deprived of its strings, ploughing into the sand.
Blade turned to scan the oasis for Bosset, but the soldier had vanished. Glancing down at his arm, he found a crossbow bolt protruding from it. As yet there was no pain; that would come later. Right now, he needed to find Bosset before his familiar reached Trelath.
Once its human friend was dead, the crow would lose its purpose and return to the wild without delivering the message. The Cotti would hide now that he was alone, and probably take pot shots with the crossbow whenever he could, but was unlikely to show himself. He considered the quarrel again, which had penetrated the muscle of his bicep, its barbed point protruding through his sleeve.
Blade toyed with the idea of pulling it out, but decided to leave it. The shock and pain of its extraction would only incapacitate him further. He reclaimed his daggers from Vegar's belt, then set off after Bosset, ready to duck behind the nearest wall if the Cotti shot at him.
After several minutes of futile hunting, he deduced that the soldier had gone to ground in order to give his familiar time to reach Trelath, or perhaps out of cowardice. Either way, he was unlikely to find the man quickly. The ruins were full of nooks and crannies in which to hide. The next best thing was to find the Queen and get her away from here as soon as possible, so Trelath would not be able to follow their tracks. Since she was as well hidden as the soldier, he called her name as he walked through the crumbling buildings.
A few minutes later, Shista appeared, trotting towards him with a cat's peculiar floppy-footed gait. She rubbed against him, purring, then led him through a walled courtyard to a row of tumbled down stables, where he found the Queen sitting in the corner of a stall. Her eyes lighted with joy, and she smiled as he approached. She looking pale and tired, her brow sheened with sweat.
"It gladdens my heart to see you, Blade. I thought it was a trick when I heard you calling. That is why I sent Shista to make sure it was really you, and that you were alone. I was sure someone was mimicking your voice, or else they were forcing you to do it. How did you get free?"
He sank to his knees beside her, glad to be able to rest for a while. "I goaded my guard into trying to kill me."
"Few people would have ever conceived such a bizarre plan, my lord, and even fewer would make it work, but presumably your guard is now the dead one."
"Correct."
She sighed and stroked Shista. "Are all the guards dead now?"
"All save one, and he is hiding. His familiar is on its way to Trelath, and he wants to make sure that it gets there."
"You must find him."
Blade shook his head. "It is probably already too late, and he is well hidden. It would take too long. Also, he has a crossbow." He glanced down at his injury.
She gasped. "You are hurt!"
"I had noticed that."
"This is no time for jests, my lord. You must pull it out."
"Not right now. It can wait until we have left this place, which we must do immediately, so our trail will be cold by the time Trelath gets here."
"Yes, I suppose so." She looked doubtful, and he knew that she was worried about her weakness. "We must reach Jadaya with all haste."
"No, not Jadaya. We must head in the opposite direction and find a small town to hide in for a while."
She frowned at him. "We must go to Jadaya! There Kerrion can protect us."
"Kerrion could protect you and Kerra, if we reached the city safely, but our chances of doing that are slim. Trelath will expect us to head for Jadaya, and, unless he is a long way away, he might well overtake us before we reach it. You are weak and I am wounded. We will not be able to travel fast.
"What is more, we cannot gallop into the city and announce ourselves at the palace, or I will be executed. Also, Kerrion will probably be away searching for you, and we cannot trust anyone else. We will be safer if we hide for a time, then circle around and enter Jadaya without anyone knowing."
Minna-Satu pondered his words, looking uncertain. Although Shamsara had instructed him to obey the Queen, he knew that he was right in this. He understood her desperate need to return to the safety of her husband, but so would Trelath.
She murmured, "You could disguise yourself, and there are many servants loyal to Kerrion, who would help me. His chief advisor, Jadar -"
"The palace is rife with princes, and any of them would jump at a chance to help Trelath and win his favour. Any disguise I donned would be useless, since they would dispense with me no matter who they thought I was. To a Cotti prince, murder is just a tool. Kerra would be a double boon, as you know."
"If Kerrion is there -"
"But he may not be. It is too great a risk.
"We could find out in the city and hide there until he returns."
Blade inclined his head. "Perhaps, but Jadaya is full of spies, most of whom work for the princes. It is too risky."
"There may be spies in the town that we hide in, too."
"Not as many as in the capital, and I will find a quiet place where our presence will not be noted. I know what I am doing."
"I suppose you are right. I did appoint you as my advisor, my lord. I have not forgotten. As soon as we find a town, I will send a message to Kerrion, and he will come for us."
Blade shook his head. "That is dangerous. Most Cotti dislike the fact that Kerrion married a Jashimari woman. You will be betrayed."
She sighed and leant back against the wall, closing her eyes. "You think of everything, my lord. But I do not think I have the strength to walk to your camp in the desert."
"No need. Send Shista. She can follow my trail and give Kerra a message." He rose to his feet. "Come, we will go back to the keep and find something to eat, and write a message."
The Queen rose, tottering a little, and clung to his arm when he offered it. They made their way back towards the keep, Shista walking beside her friend to offer her support. Blade's arm throbbed, and shock made him light-headed as he scanned the ruins for the soldier. They reached the castle safely, and he took Minna to the supply room, wher
e she sank down on a pile of blankets. He rummaged around until he found paper and a quill, but no ink.
Resorting to the old assassin's trick, he used his blood to pen a brief message to Kerra. Minna instructed Shista to follow Blade's trail out of the oasis and give it to the girl she found at the end of it. The cat left with the missive in her jaws, and Blade settled down to light a fire and cook a meal. He sweated in the leather clothes, but could not remove his jacket with the bolt in his arm. He unlaced it and pulled his good arm from the sleeve, which helped a little.
Chapter Eighteen
Kerra sat on the baking sand, holding her jelabah over her head in an effort to stay cool. The temperature had risen until she was sure her brains were boiling. She stared at the distant oasis, wondering at the wisdom of her earlier decision. A horse had provided her with shade earlier, but now it was noon, and she dared not sit under its belly, for it stamped to chase away flies. She waved the annoying insects away from her face, slapping at them when they landed to suck blood.
One of the horses raised its head and pricked its ears, gazing towards the oasis. Soon the other two did the same, swinging around to face in the same direction, their nostrils flared as they scented the breeze. Kerra peered into the shimmering heat haze, wondering what had caused their disquiet. Unable to see anything at first, she squinted and raised a hand to shade her eyes.
A glimpse of movement riveted her gaze, and she focussed on the anomaly, waiting for it to become clearer. A horse snorted, sounding an alarm that the other two echoed. Kerra glanced at them, wondering if they would bolt. Worried that they might, she rose and went over to soothe them, stroking their velvet noses as she gazed at the moving, ghostly shape.
The object of their concern revealed itself to be a sand cat trotting towards the camp, ears pricked. A pang of fear went through the young queen, and she glanced at the bags where Blade's crossbow was stowed, then back at the approaching cat. It was strange that the beast headed so boldly towards the camp, apparently coming from the oasis. As it drew closer, she made out what looked like a piece of paper gripped in its jaws, and relaxed.
It had to be the familiar Myasha had seen with the woman in the oasis, and was therefore harmless. The horses also seemed to sense that it was not a threat, for they calmed, starting to stamp and swat flies again. The cat slowed to a walk several paces from the camp, then stopped and sat down.
After a brief hesitation, Kerra approached the female feline and took the piece of paper from her jaws. She rose to sniff the girl's legs, her tail twitching. With one eye on the prowling cat, Kerra read the missive, delighted to find that it was from Blade, but written in blood, and terse. It told her to follow the cat and bring the horses.
Filled with a mixture of concern and relief, Kerra saddled the animals and loaded the supplies onto the packhorse, then mounted her beast. The cat watched her, licking her paws, and set off back to the oasis as soon as Kerra was aboard her horse. Kerra wondered why she needed to follow the cat when the oasis was in plain sight, but the sleek feline did not slow her, bounding ahead as if she had springs on her feet.
When they reached the oasis, Kerra tethered the horses in the shade and followed the cat into the keep. A short way along the corridor, the cat turned into a room, and Kerra strode after her, stopping in the doorway as she took in the strange tableau. Blade sat on a pile of blankets, poking strips of bacon that sizzled in a pan over a fire.
On the other side of the fire, a delicate woman lounged on an even larger pile of blankets, dressed in a ragged cloth that had once been a rich velvet sheet. She reminded Kerra of the portraits of her mother that hung in the palace in Jondar. Her tangled raven hair looked as if it had been hacked off on one side, and spilt in a silken skein over ivory shoulders, framing a face of unsurpassed beauty, even though smudged with dirt. The woman's flame blue eyes raked Kerra with a bold glance that made blood rush to her cheeks, and she raised her chin. The cat flopped down beside the woman, purring, and she stroked it. Kerra looked at Blade, who glanced up from his chore, then turned back to it as she stepped into the room.
"Are you all right, Blade?"
The woman shot him a smile. "Such concern. I am touched, are you not, my lord?"
Blade poked the bacon, not looking at either of them. "Not particularly."
The woman's highborn speech surprised Kerra. Even she had never mastered the art of speaking so precisely, as was expected of noble Jashimari.
Blade gestured to the wine skins lying next to the wall. "Bring me one of those."
The woman studied Kerra again as the girl obeyed. "Such obedience, too. I am surprised, I must say."
Blade muttered, "She vowed to obey me before we left Jondar. It was a condition of my help."
The woman smiled at Kerra as the girl pulled up some blankets and settled beside the fire. "You look like your father, my dear."
Kerra frowned. "If you know who I am, then you should refer to me as 'my Queen'."
Blade chuckled, shooting the woman an amused look, but she merely smiled, as if Kerra's response pleased her. "Of course. And does Lord Conash call you this?"
"No." Kerra's mouth twisted in a wry smile. "He says he will only do that when I learn to act like a queen."
"Indeed?" The woman raised her brows at Blade. "How very rude of you, my lord." She glanced at Kerra again. "But then, do you call him 'my lord'?"
"He told me not to."
"Ah."
Kerra gazed at the purring cat stretched out beside the woman, a germ of realisation taking root in her mind. "My mother had a cat like that. Her name was Shista."
The cat pricked her ears and glanced at Kerra. The woman smiled. "Do you know much about your mother, Kerra?"
"I know that she is dead. Who are you? Why has Blade not introduced us?"
"I asked him not to."
"Why?"
"I wanted you to work it out for yourself. I thought it would be less of a shock that way. My familiar's name is Shista, and I am not dead."
"Blade?" Kerra turned pleading eyes upon the assassin.
He glanced up from the bacon pan, first at the woman, then at Kerra. "Kerra, this is your mother, Queen Minna-Satu."
Kerra gazed at Minna-Satu, struck speechless.
Minna lifted a hand to pat her tangled hair. "I apologise for my appearance. I am certain that I do not look like a queen at this moment. I would have preferred that we met under more auspicious circumstances, but unfortunately fate did not allow it. At least Trelath allowed me to bathe a few days ago, or I would have been in an even sorrier state."
Blade handed Minna several rashers of bacon wrapped in fat-soaked journey bread, and she nibbled it. Kerra accepted a similar sandwich in a dazed manner. Her mind had gone blank, as she tried to come to terms with this astonishing revelation. Minna glanced at Blade, who chewed his repast, washing it down with long draughts of wine.
"You took the Queen's Cup," Kerra mumbled.
"Yes, I did, but your father saved me. That was a terrible day, one that I have tried to forget, but cannot. I fully intended to go through with my plan, but Kerrion went to Shamsara and obtained the antidote. He saved Blade too, that day."
"Blade?" Kerra glanced at the assassin, who ignored her.
Minna replied, "Blade shared the Cup with me, at his own request. Kerrion needed him to slay his treacherous brothers, who plotted to kill me. Blade assassinated Ronan and two others at my behest. I forget their names."
"Targan and Rigal," Blade supplied.
"Yes, that is right. Blade and Rigal had the most awful fight when Rigal came to kill me. He saved my life."
"Does Chiana know you're alive?" Kerra demanded.
"No, of course not. Poor Chiana. She would not have been able to keep it a secret from you."
"But Blade did." Kerra shot the assassin an accusing glare.
"From Chiana's letters to Kerrion, I gathered that Blade has not been at the palace these past fifteen years."
"No, but I've been w
ith him for almost an entire moon now."
Minna frowned. "Mend your speech, Kerra. You and Lord Conash speak like Cotti."
"We have been disguised as Cotti, my queen. It was necessary," Blade said.
"Well, we are all Jashimari here."
"Soon we will have to hide amongst the Cotti again. I trust that you will not speak to anyone?"
"Certainly not." Minna glanced at her daughter and smiled. "It is good to finally meet you. I have often wondered about you over the years, and I am not disappointed."
"You abandoned me," Kerra growled.
"I had no choice. I had to end the war that was tearing Jashimari apart, and would have resulted in our defeat once Contara attacked us. I had no wish to die, I assure you. When Kerrion saved me, I could not reveal my existence, or my people would have demanded my return, and the Cotti nobility would have forced Kerrion back into the war."
"Did you plan on telling me the truth?"
"Yes. Kerrion and I had decided to bring you to Cotti for a visit when you were eighteen, and then you would have met me. I had to be sure you were old enough to keep the secret, for even now, revealing my continued existence would stir up a great deal of trouble in Jashimari. I also wanted you to meet your brothers."
"I have brothers?"
"Yes, two. Shantar and Ashton. Shantar is the older, fourteen, and Ashton is twelve."
Blade finished his sandwich and doused the fire, then gathered provisions and stuffed them into a bag he found, while the women talked. When he had all that they would need, he returned to his pile of blankets and considered the bolt protruding from his arm once more. The pain had ebbed to a dull throbbing, and the prospect of renewing it held little attraction. The bolt had to be extracted, however, and it could be put off no longer. He touched the end of it, and winced as a hot spike of agony shot from it, turning his sweat cold. Noticing a lull in the women's conversation, he glanced up to find them watching him, Kerra with horror in her eyes.
The Queen's Blade IV - Sacred Knight of the Veil Page 27