"What's your name? Don't you have any clothes that fit? Aren't you cold? Why didn't you change?"
He didn't want to take the time to change. He had to get going. She would mention the word cold. Up until now his queasy stomach had taken his mind off the frigid weather.
"I bet you're a knight from far away, with a special horse like that. I've never seen a horse like her. Wouldn't my cousin Seth be jealous to see me riding her?"
Cianan rolled his eyes and motioned her to be quiet as he swung up behind her. "It is not safe for you to be running around town after dark."
She sobered. "You're telling me. Tzigana'll kill me. I was going to ride your horse to hurry home. You shouldn't leave her like that. Anyone could come along and steal her. 'Course, not everyone sees how pretty she is, do they? How does she do that? How do you do that?"
When did she breathe? "What are you doing out here after dark with no family?" he countered.
"I wanted to find someone, and I did. I have to get home and tell Uncle Dagonet."
Cianan stared down at her. How common a name was Dagonet in this land? "Time to take our little horse thief home. We have work to do," he told Kikeona. "You shall get your ride, after all. How far away is your home?"
"About five leagues from here, due east."
Cianan did not believe in coincidence. "Who were you looking for, Jana?"
"You saw the Shamaru in the prison, didn't you? Are you a spy?"
"I am a friend from far away," he hedged. "I am here to help a friend."
Kikeona snorted.
Jana twisted in the saddle. "Are you here to help us? Polkara said someone would come, a stranger from far away, to help our people against Sunniva. I'll bet you're him. A knight on a white horse, like in the tales."
Lady, save him from impressionable ten-year-olds and minstrels' tales. "Sunniva has done some bad things with the good," he remarked. She must have done some good things?
"Sunniva's a bitch," Jana retorted. "Rumor has it she had her own family killed. No surprise she'd put mine in prison."
"Who?"
"My uncle Andorjan."
"Go, partner. Run like the wind."
Kikeona broke into a full gallop, charging across the countryside toward the lightening eastern sky. Soon enough Jana signaled them to stop.
"The camp's outer boundary is through those trees." The Shamaru girl pointed ahead. "Uncle Dagonet guards the western line. Tia Jana!" she called. "Velkeshknya kommaru! Mou Tzigana atta pavarikil!" She turned to Cianan. "Walk from here and lead her in."
A greybeard with old warrior's scars on his face and arms stepped forward. He met them with a sword in one hand and a long knife in the other, flanked by a half-dozen other men armed. All were grim-faced.
"Jana, where've ye been?" the lead man demanded. "What're ye doin' with this Shamari warrior?"
Jana hopped down to the ground. "I wanted to see where Uncle Andorjan went, Uncle Dagonet," she answered.
The men took a collective breath. The air crackled, like afore a storm with lightning but no rain. Dagonet grasped Jana's arm. "What're ye talking about?"
"The stones spoke true. He's in Soto, in the winter palace dungeons." Jana turned to Cianan. "You saw him." She addressed Dagonet again. "This man helped me get out of there and got me home. Trust the land. We're alone. We weren't followed." She strode through the men toward the encampment.
Dagonet had Cianan searched, and stripped all the gear from Kikeona's back. Disarmed and under guard, Cianan led Kikeona into the heart of the Shamaru camp. A circle of covered wagons ringed the perimeter. Tethered goats and brawny horses grazed on the dry autumn grass. He smelled meat roasting and counted fourteen campfires to match the number of wagons.
An old woman with long white hair strode up to them from betwixt two of the wagons, an armed guard at her side. Her eyes widened. "It's ye!"
Cianan felt her reading. Another seer. This night went from bad to worse. How could she act as if she had seen him afore? They had never met. Jana's tales about the prophecies about his arrival came back to haunt him. Polkara?
"Jana, what've ye done?" She turned to one of the guards. "Get Tzigana. Now. "
He left at a run.
Other grim-faced men encircled them, all armed.
Cianan sighed as he kept his hands out from his sides. He had found little to trust in this land – not a caravan with members who saw right through the seeming, their greatest defense. "Stay alert. Be prepared. This could get ugly fast."
"I sense concern for the girl and fear of us. They are waiting to see what we do first."
"That is the first good news I have heard all night." Cianan focused on his escort. "Who is responsible for this child?"
"I'm Tzigana, leader of this family." The small crowd parted, and a young woman came forward. Backlit by the weakened but valiant sun, she stood afore him in the vivid layered silks and gold of the drifter clans. Her beauty struck him, a hot blow to his mid-section. Black curls tumbled down over her shoulders, framing a heart-shaped face. Wide dark brown eyes stared back at him with a direct gaze from above a pert nose and a lush mouth. Not tall, she nonetheless had a commanding presence and a forthright, no-nonsense manner. She stopped in front of him, hands on her hips. "What're you doing with my sister? Release her at once."
"We have a problem."
"What do you accuse her of?"
"I caught her trying to steal my horse, outside Sunniva's dungeons. Not a place for a young girl to be, alone and after dark. I would keep a closer eye on her."
The old woman gripped Tzigana's arm and whispered in her ear, at length. Tzigana speared him with a sharp glance. "My sister's no horse thief."
"Would've gotten clean away if she'd moved when I told her," Jana piped up. "Dumb horse wouldn't budge."
"As if I would abandon you for a street urchin." Cianan felt Kikeona's amusement.
Tzigana glared at Jana. "Shut up." She turned to Cianan. "She has a child's sense of daring and lack of judgment. As I see it, you still have your horse, sir, so she didn't succeed. Thank you for giving her a ride home."
"Where I come from, our horses are our lives," he said. "But I am a stranger here and I would follow the laws of this land. What is the Shamari punishment for horse thieves?"
The woman's dusky face paled. "Death."
That staggered him. " Dracken rue! She would expect me to kill a child?"
"Aye."
Cianan was beyond appalled. "Even had she succeeded, I do not kill children." He paused, weighing his next words. "Since she did not succeed, there is no crime. Killing you would be murder, lady, and I am no murderer. I am but a soldier, far from my homeland."
Tzigana handed Jana off to the old woman. "Stay with her, Polkara."
The woman dragged Jana away.
"Dagonet!" Tzigana called.
"Aye, lady?"
Tzigana indicated Cianan. "This man has information about Uncle Andorjan?"
Dagonet nodded.
"He's now my guest." She motioned a strapping yet still gangly teenaged lad over. "Seth'll take your mare."
Cianan sensed no duplicity and turned to Seth. "Her name is Kikeona, lad. Do not tie her. She shall follow where you lead."
The lad nodded. "Come on, old girl." Taking Cianan at his word, he turned away.
"Old?" Kikeona sputtered as she followed. "Who is he calling old? I shall show him old!"
Cianan grinned.
Tzigana eyed him. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing." He straightened.
"Dagonet, you're with us. Accompany us to my fire. We've much to discuss." Tzigana turned and addressed everyone else. "The rest of you, go on about your business."
Cianan watched the colorful crowd disperse as he followed the woman to a wagon at the far edge of the camp. Dagonet strode a half-step behind him, a knife in each hand.
Tzigana stopped at the fire and turned to face Cianan. Her face relaxed. "For aiding my little sister, you're welcome to share our fires, food
and wine tonight. What's your name?"
"Cianan, lady."
She poured a goblet of wine, took a sip and handed it to him. Her gold bracelets jangled. "You've word of my uncle? He's alive?"
The scent of the wine turned Cianan's stomach, but he forced himself to take a sip and willed his rebellious stomach to keep it down. "When I left him. I tried to release him, but he stopped me. He told me Sunniva's guards broke his leg to prevent his escape."
Dagonet's jaw tightened. Tzigana swallowed hard.
Cianan hesitated, then plunged in to tell the rest. "He is in her dungeons, with others of your people. Women and children." He watched members of the camp go about their business, trying not to be obvious in their stares. "He sent me for Dagonet."
Tzigana sat on a bench and motioned the men to do the same. She looked both relieved and more worried. "At least we know they're still alive. We must get them out."
"That place is a fortress," Dagonet warned her.
"It is," Cianan agreed. "Are many people missing?"
Tzigana and Dagonet shared a look, but said nothing.
"Andorjan said Sunniva is rounding up your people," Cianan said. "The men she gave wine laced with cloudwort. Those it makes ill she locks away. The women and children are also held prisoner. Why would she do that?"
"Leverage." Dagonet spoke first. "She came around some weeks ago, t' another camp, ordering our men into her armies. What do we want with her army? When we refused, she took th' women an' children back t' th' palace. Th' men she made toast their new allegiance. Those who don't vomit it up have their brains turned t' mush an' become part of her army." He faced Cianan. "Ye were given th' same offer also?"
"How did you guess?"
The man's lips curved in a sardonic smile. "Our wine's th' best in th' land, yet ye struggle t' keep one sip down. I figured ye drank something didn't agree with ye."
"I did, and Sunniva locked me up for my trouble."
Quick as a striking snake, Dagonet held a knife to Cianan's throat. "How'd ye escape where others couldn't?"
Cianan forced himself not to react. "Tricked my guard, the young fool. Knocked him out. Stole his clothes and weapons, killed three other guards on my way out. Did you think these were my clothes?"
Tzigana stared him down. "Dagonet, find him some clothes that fit."
"But, lady... "
"It's all right. Leave us."
Dagonet rose, growling.
"With Sunniva looking for the mercenary Cianan, you'll be safer garbed as another Shamaru man," Tzigana commented. "Are you hungry?"
"Starved," Cianan admitted, staring at her mouth. A lush mouth, made for kissing.
"Let me send someone for food." Tzigana motioned a young girl over. "We need our morning meal."
"Whoa," Kikeona teased. "I did not hear you consider kissing their queen, did I?"
He pulled back from that carnal thought. Lord and Lady, had he been so long without a woman his thoughts betrayed him? "I do not seduce foreign leaders."
"Glad I am to hear that."
Heat flushed his skin and tightened his body. Not good. Time to change the subject. "What is the difference betwixt Shamari and Shamaru?"
"This land is Shamar. Our people settled here a hundred generations ago. Shamaru means 'The People of Shamar'. Shamari – " her upper lip curled " – means not of Shamar."
"So I guess I am Shamari after all." Cianan stared into the fire. He raised his gaze to hers across the dancing flames. "When did the Shamari take over?"
"Mayhaps two hundred years or so. They came and built their stone roads, their walled cities with street lights and sewers. We're scattered and travel with the seasons. Their governments meant nothing to us." Her eyes were haunted. "Until Sunniva's taxes, restrictions, harassment and arrests. Enslaving orphans for the Marcou slave markets and brothels. We're too few and they're too many. It's been getting worse, but now with Sunniva... Sunniva... " She all but hissed the name. Her eyes glittered with rage, and she took a big swallow of wine.
The Shamaru girl interrupted them with a tray of bread, herbed goat cheese, dried meat and dried fruit.
Tzigana toasted the cheese over the fire, spread it on a piece of bread and handed it to Cianan. "My parents were asked by the other families to go to the queen, to try to reason with her. They never returned."
"I am sorry."
"Now it might be just me."
"So you are Shamar's true queen," Cianan stated. "Sunniva is not."
Tzigana's eyes blazed. Cianan watched her hands clench around her goblet until her knuckles turned white. "Sunniva's the queen of butchers. I want nothing to do with her government. I'm leader of this family, and we want to live free, without fear."
"In Arcadia, south of here, are laws similar to Shamaru ways – guest laws, road courtesy," Cianan said. "But not here. Because of Sunniva. What of her other victims? The honest Shamari farmers and merchants who also want to live free and without fear?" He leaned forward. "If Sunniva were gone, would this land be big enough for Shamaru and Shamari to coexist, side by side?"
Dagonet arrived, carrying the colorful garb of a Shamaru man. "Ye're dreaming. Wake up. They'll never allow us equality."
"I saw a Shamari tavern owner turn a Shamaru man out into a storm," Cianan conceded. "There is much tension betwixt your two peoples. But that can change. With hope for a better future, people can change."
Tzigana's sad eyes stared at the dancing flames of the campfire. "People don't change. Those with power will never give it up."
"I have seen it done. My own king put aside the woman chosen by his parents because he loved a woman not of our kind, and made her his queen. Now borders once closed are open. If Sunniva were to... step down, would you be willing to work as part of a new government?"
"If they leave us in peace, we'll leave them in peace." Dagonet set the clothing down on the bench next to Cianan, lost a staredown to Tzigana and wandered off again.
Tzigana nodded as Dagonet walked away. "I want no part of their government, but I do want peace."
Less than he had hoped, but better than he had feared. Cianan knew to leave it alone for now. He caught her eyeing him over her goblet from across the fire. She had a puzzled look on her face. "What?" he asked.
"Only a prophet or a fool would believe as you do... " Her lips quirked upward. "With my luck, in your case it's probably a fool."
From across the compound, Kikeona snorted.
He grinned. "Do not say it." He returned his attention to Tzigana. "My friend Loren would agree with you. Call me an eternal optimist."
"You're a crusader." Tzigana rose and came over to sit next to him.
He tried to ignore the spicy scent she wore as he considered her statement. "Mayhaps," he admitted. His gaze locked with hers. "Someone has to take action when things need changing from wrong to right. I cannot stand by and do nothing."
"Dangerous ideas, dangerous talk."
"What? The truth?"
She shook her head. "People don't want the truth, they want reassurance, platitudes."
"They want others to change for them," Cianan said.
"'I'm not the one with the problem, you are.' 'I'm right, you're wrong.'" Tzigana rubbed the back of her neck. "As long as that's what we face, nothing changes."
Cianan forced his own hand to not reach out to replace hers. "A blizzard starts with but a single snowflake."
"Are you always this... " she visibly struggled to find the right word, "... persistent?"
Kikeona snorted again. "If she only knew."
"This is who I am. I shall not apologize." Cianan addressed both Tzigana and Kikeona with that statement.
"People die in revolutions."
"More people die without them – their hearts, their spirits, their hope."
"Hope." She looked away, stared into the fire. "The most dangerous word of all."
"Aye. It is the one weapon they cannot defeat."
They finished their meal in thoughtful silence. Ci
anan rose and stretched, twisting to release a muscle knotted below his left shoulder blade.
"I've the perfect cure," Tzigana stated. "Hot oil massage. Have you relaxed and sleeping like a baby in no time. Step into my wagon." She held out her hand.
"Every baby I have known screamed all night," Kikeona commented. "Not much of a recommendation."
Aquamarine eyes wreathed in flames flashed into his mind's eye. Cianan hesitated, reached down to help Tzigana to her feet. This close, he could smell the tantalizing scent of soft, warm woman beneath the perfume. "Kikeona?"
"Aye?"
"Go away."
"Mind your manners, warrior."
"When have I not?" Kikeona gave no reply, and Cianan sighed.
Tzigana's gaze searched his. "You're a noble man, Cianan. Nice to meet, not so nice to live with, I suspect. You're too good for me. I'm not so good, not so nice and not so noble. Do you understand?"
He frowned, reading the truth in her soul. "That you have been forced to make hard choices to survive? For your family and your people to survive, in the face of constant persecution? I think you are extraordinary. I am honored we met, lady."
She shrugged. "This is who I am." She repeated his own words back to him. "You can't leave this land yet. Your task isn't finished. The one you seek has not yet been found."
"She is not going anywhere. I shall yet have Queen Sunniva's head on a pike. Her crimes are unconscionable."
She brushed a strand of his hair back from his forehead.
He froze at her touch and tried not to sweat.
"You aren't the head-on-a-platter type, Cianan. You're too honorable for that." She led him into a plain-looking covered wagon with a sumptuous interior of woolen curtains and blankets of blue and green, watered-silk hangings, fleeces and furs. He could see women's clothing hanging on a rope stretched along the front. A hairbrush, mirror and perfume bottles sat on a fold-down shelf.
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