I confess that a part of me was proud of how well they worked together amidst the chaos, though I knew how deadly the repercussions of our mistake and their discipline may be. All of them were burnt by the embers, Marten, Ben and Nacam were struck by bullets.
Though the renegades and villagers quickly organized a bucket brigade, no one could approach the fires, where bullets were flying every which way. All they could do was watch the fireworks from a distance and attend to the injured among the Allemen who had rescued the cart. At least the workshops and village were safe, isolated from the blockhouse by firebreaks, and none of the villagers was hurt.
Kiv seemed to be everywhere, shouting at those tending the injured, then at the idle bucket brigade, prodding them to do something, anything. Back and forth she ran to no real purpose, because there was nothing she could do. Suddenly, she darted from the camp to a clearing near the forest where we hid, and screamed, “Show yourselves!”
Dram started to step forward, but I stopped him. Yes, I know Meika had instructed me to appoint another to speak for us, but I couldn’t send him out into that melee, with Kiv screeching, fires burning, bullets flying wild and everyone’s nerves frayed to the breaking point. Instead, I went out into the clearing alone, my hands held wide and open in the universal sign that I was unarmed.
As I came within the penumbra of the fire, Kiv saw and recognized me. “You! Why am I not surprised that it’s you?” With an almost gleeful sneer, she added, “A son who would side with his father’s murderers against an Allesha.”
By now, Beatrice and Devra had joined Kiv, as had some of their Allemen. Elnor hovered nearby, within earshot, surrounded by a protective guard of her own Allemen. Kiv’s Tevan had his gun raised and pointed at me, but I couldn’t believe he’d actually pull the trigger. He had danced at my wedding.
“I’m amazed that you dare come out in the open,” Kiv cried. “Aren’t you afraid of being shot?”
I tried not to look at Tevan, to avoid any challenge to him. I stared only at Kiv. “You mean the way you killed Caith?”
“That was an accident,” Beatrice said.
“Not according to Hester’s autopsy. Someone pushed her, and I have a strong feeling I know who.”
Beatrice turned toward Kiv. “You told us it was an accident! That she was already dead when you found her. That she probably fell when she heard unexpected noises in the night.”
I was close enough to them to see the fires reflected in their eyes, but in Kiv’s was a rage that burned from within. Kiv snapped at Beatrice, “You can be such a fool.”
I’ll never forget the look on Beatrice’s face, the raw horror quickly turning to rancor as the truth sunk in. Without a word, Beatrice stomped away. Devra retreated more slowly.
Tevan lowered his gun and gradually backed away from Kiv. He briefly locked eyes with me, and I understood. She was his Allesha. He owed her everything, would have done anything for her. Now he walked away from her, accompanied by most of the other Allemen who had come forward to confront me ~ including other Kiv Allemen.
I should have felt triumphant. Instead, I was filled with pity for Allemen who had been forced by their Allesha’s actions to break their covenant with her. That, more than anything else I have seen or heard, brought home to me just how damaged the foundations of our Peace have become.
Kiv was left standing alone, with only Gerard and Bran at her side. For perhaps the first time in her life, she was wordless, not from shame but fury. She grabbed Bran’s gun and pointed it at me. Even faster than I could respond, a hand shot out from behind her, pushing the barrel toward the ground. Another pulled me out of the way. Fanor, the Forreze headman, now stood in my place, facing Kiv. Two dozen armed villagers surrounded her and her Allemen.
Fanor is a small Alleman, but he didn’t flinch when Bran and Gerard leapt into a protective position in front of their Allesha. “I’ve had enough of your treachery, woman. Get out of my sight,” Fanor commanded. Speaking to me, he said, “You and I have some reparations to discuss.”
I followed him away from Kiv, certain that the armed villagers would be able to contain her. That was my second mistake, turning my back on that woman. The greatest insult anyone could give Kiv would be to ignore her. The next thing I knew, what felt like a hot poker tore through my upper arm, twisting my body with such force that I lost my balance and fell to the ground.
“No!” Rishana cried, jumping up from her chair.
Startled, Tedrac dropped the papers as he struggled to rise, but Ryl reached her much more quickly, putting his arm around her shoulders while guiding her back to her seat.
Tedrac reassured her in the only way he knew, through logic. “Eli is fine. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be reading a letter from him.”
“Please continue,” Ayne commanded.
Tedrac settled back into the cushions, picked up the papers, found his spot, and resumed reading.
I lost my balance and fell to the ground.
Suddenly, I was surrounded by a swarm of people. I tried to reassure them that it was only a flesh wound, but they wouldn’t listen. Later on, I was told that Kiv had moved so fast grabbing Gerard’s rifle that none of the villagers had time to act. It was Bran who jarred the gun barrel just as she shot. She was his Allesha, but he wasn’t about to watch her shoot a fellow Alleman in the back.
I heard rather than saw Fanor clomp away from me and slap Kiv in the face. “Bitch!” he yelled. “I should have you hanged from the nearest tree for everything you’ve done.”
The Forreze Healer cleaned and bandaged my wound and gave me a draught, which he said would speed the healing. I didn’t realize it would also make me sleep through the night and well into the day. If he hadn’t, perhaps I could have prevented what happened next.
Somehow, Kiv and nineteen renegade Allemen managed to sneak away in the middle of the night with the one loaded cart. Fanor estimates that it held about 20,000 bullets and 400 magazines, enough to kill every Mwertik many times over.”
Marten succumbed to his bullet wounds almost immediately, while Ben lingered until dawn. You can’t imagine what it felt like to bury two Allemen who were killed because of me. Marten had such an open laugh; Ben and I had been friends since we were kids. I never wanted them to be hurt. I never wanted any of this.
I tried to leave right after their burial, but Fanor and his council insisted we draft an agreement regarding reparations for their catastrophic loss. What’s more, we had to contend with scores of renegade Allemen who claimed to be loyal once more. We sent Peter and Dram as scouts to follow Kiv while her trail was fresh. Unfortunately, an afternoon downpour obscured the tracks.
The Forreze were tough negotiators, but they had right on their side. The signed agreement and a formal report to the Alleshine Council are enclosed in this packet.
Elnor, Devra and Beatrice took charge of those of their Allemen who remained, organizing them into teams to help rebuild the Forreze blockhouse. Can we trust them not to hand over new ammunition to Kiv as it is manufactured? Fanor assured me that his villagers were capable of keeping them in line, now that he knew the truth about them being renegades. But I insisted that the three Alleshi send some of their Allemen away so they wouldn’t have the force to overpower the Forreze.
As for the many Allemen who no longer belonged to Kiv but could never again belong to us, that was much more difficult. Some slunk away in the night, perhaps to rejoin Kiv or return to their homes. A few asked to accompany us in our hunt for their former comrades. I weighed their request carefully. They might have information that could be of value. But how could I trust them? It’s a question with too many ramifications to solve in a day. So I’m leaving it to Ralf and Fanor to figure out what to do with them.
We’ll eventually have to deal with the former Kiv Allemen who didn’t stay with the Forreze. No longer loyal to The Valley or to their Allesha, what laws and responsibilities will they recognize? What further disruptions will they cause as individuals or bands who owe
allegiance to no one? You’ll find in this packet two rosters of the Allemen involved. While both list who went with Kiv, who disappeared, and who remained, the one meant for your eyes alone includes my comments about many of those named.
Tomorrow, we will finally be free to leave here, to follow Kiv and recover the guns and bullets.
Please send my love to my mother, but don’t tell her about the wound. It is, after all, minor, and I wouldn’t want to give her further cause for concern.
Respectfully,
Eli.
Tedrac looked at Rishana sheepishly. “Eli didn’t know you had joined the Guardians.”
Rishana nodded, not trusting herself to respond.
Tedrac opened another page. “He penned one more report before he left the Forreze.”
Dear G’s,
This morning, as I prepared to leave, Elnor came to me. I’ll not take the time to write about the regrets she voiced, for which I had little patience. Instead, I’ve enclosed her letter to the Alleshine Council. But I doubt you will want to deliver it, because we dare not share what she has divulged.
To get to the core of the matter, the Before Times weapons that Kiv unearthed are far more dangerous than anything we could have imagined. Elnor called them “Windspeakers.” According to the one reference to them that Elnor found in the hidden archives, these palm-sized devices allow people who are some distance away to talk to each other.
I fear these Windspeakers and the chaos they might unleash. The strategic advantage they could give Kiv is terrifying ~ allowing her to instantaneously communicate and coordinate far-reaching movements. Beyond that, should their existence and how they were uncovered become generally known, the Alleshine Library and storehouse would be torn apart by those who would seek more and more advanced weapons, bringing on an unstoppable escalation of war.
According to Elnor, of the approximately one hundred Windspeakers that they found in the storehouse wall, about eleven appeared intact. Elnor claims that Kiv hasn’t yet figured out how they work, beyond the fact that exposing them to sunlight causes them to emit a blue light. I now have one in my possession, which Elnor says she stole from the renegades’ cache.
I managed to extract a promise from Elnor that she wouldn’t disclose any of this information until she hears from you or me. But I don’t trust that she’s as contrite as she claims, and wonder what advantage Kiv might gain by inserting Elnor back into The Valley and its library. So I’ve arranged for Fanor to keep her at Forreze and not let her out of his sight.”
Respectfully,
Eli.
For several moments, the only sounds were the rustling of paper as Tedrac folded and put away Eli’s reports. Peren reached for the leather satchel, removed Elnor’s letter and quickly scanned it. Then, with a sigh, she folded it and put it into her skirt pocket, carefully buttoning the flap.
“We must destroy that,” Hester insisted.
“You don’t yet know what it says,” Dara countered, holding her hand out to Peren for the letter.
Peren passed it to Dara, who shook her head as she read it.
“But we can’t trust anything Elnor says,” Mistral reminded them. “Are these Windspeakers what she claims? If so, are they truly non-functional, or is the one that Elnor gave Eli a trap in some way?”
Tedrac cleared his throat, making sure he had everyone’s attention. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a rectangular device, about the size of the sweetcakes still on the tea tray.
“Is that it?” Ryl asked, as he stood to look at it more closely.
Silver-colored, with brownish dents, scratches and wear-spots, about half its front was covered with a circle pattern of slots. On the top was a sloping mosaic of tiny mirrors. It had a hook on the back and three black knobs on the side.
“Have you figured it out yet?” Rishana knew that Tedrac would never let go of a puzzle until he solved it.
“Not yet. But Elnor was right about one thing. When I exposed it to the sun, this area lit up.” Tedrac pointed to the circular pattern. “It was faint at first. By this afternoon, it was quite bright — but emitted no heat. I haven’t the foggiest idea how. It’s unlike gas, candlenight or any other natural luminant I’ve seen.”
“What do those knobs do?” Mistral asked.
“Logically, I can surmise that one turns it on and off. Perhaps one controls the strength of it. And the third… I’ve no idea. This is beyond anything I’ve ever encountered or read about.”
“Well, let’s see what they do.” Mistral snatched the device from Tedrac.
Dara jumped up to stop Mistral, shouting, “No, don’t! We can’t know—” just as Mistral turned one of the knobs. But she didn’t get to finish the thought.
Suddenly, the device emitted a strange sound, like hot oil sizzling, followed immediately by Kiv’s voice. “What the hell! Dara? How’d you get…” The buzzing faded in and out, revealing Kiv’s voice in an uneven staccato. “…too late… think you know… you’ll never beat… not only Windspea…”
Tedrac grabbed the device and turned the knob in the other direction, silencing it. No one spoke, terrified that Kiv might still be able to hear them. Nor did anyone move until Tedrac stood, turned to Hester to silently mouth “inner room,” then gingerly carried the Windspeaker into Hester’s second bedroom. The others were still frozen in place when he returned.
Hester tentatively whispered, “Is it safe?”
Tedrac answered in his normal voice. “It’s deep in your inner room; no sound escapes those walls. Even so, I piled some cushions over it.”
Rishana’s mind whirled with questions. All she knew for certain was that, as bad as she thought things had become, they were now much worse.
“What did she mean, ‘not only Windspeakers?’” Ryl asked. “Does she have other Before Times weapons? What do we do now?”
“We deal with the facts, and not let these mysteries distract us from what must be done,” Tedrac responded. “For now, you should return to your Allesha’s home, to prepare for tomorrow.”
“No,” Ryl decided. “We’ve too much to discuss.”
“Boy,” Mistral interrupted, then stopped, realizing his mistake.
“No, Pa, not a boy ever again.”
“Yes, I know. My apologies.”
Ryl sat down, crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Ayne. “You planned for years to bring me to this point, to make me one of yours. Tomorrow, you’ll be sending me out into a world tumbling toward war, to seek my real parents who will probably want to kill me on sight. We’re racing against a rogue Allesha who has unimaginable weapons, and we can’t know who she’ll use them against first — the Mwertik or Allemen. If you believe you can continue to keep me ignorant, denying me information that I might need to survive, then you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
Ayne studied Ryl, and for the first time all evening, smiled. Then, without acknowledging Ryl’s demands, she directed, “Tedrac, please give us your initial analyses.”
Tedrac began to enumerate. “These Windspeakers may bring about the greatest changes to our world since Alleen’s Circle of Peace. But we mustn’t allow ourselves to become overwhelmed by cataclysmic potentials. Let’s break it down into areas of investigation and action.
“First, we must figure out how these Windspeakers work. How does Kiv’s possession of them change the nature of our dispute with her? Second, should we consider any alteration to our plans for Ryl? Third, what are the dangers to The Valley, beyond the possibility of being attacked? Eli’s fear is valid. I see no way to keep knowledge about the Windspeakers — and possibly other weapons hidden in the storehouse — from becoming widespread. The keg that has been bonged open can never be resealed, and I doubt we’ll have much control over the rate of flow of information. But is there any way we might minimize the chaos that could be unleashed? And, fourth, if The Valley is attacked, what do we do? Do we use whatever weapons we have or are able to unearth to save it? If so, would saving i
t be its destruction?”
Through the night, they debated the ramifications of the Windspeakers, Kiv’s threats, and the rogue Allemen. While none expected to find viable solutions in a few hours, they did distill the questions, and each now had defined areas to pursue.
Rishana was proud to see Ryl hold his own, facing down the men and women who had planned to control them both. Tedrac had been right, and so had Eli. Being an Allesha wasn’t anything like Rishana had imagined it would be. It had shattered the beautiful illusions she had once allowed to be built up around her, and had set her adrift from everything she had held true. But watching Ryl, she realized she would rather have truth than comfort, as messy, unresolvable and horrifyingly dangerous as facts can be. That was the one thing Jared hadn’t understood about her; that perhaps she hadn’t understood about herself.
Chapter 87
The final morning arrived. Tayar found Dov in the barn, playing with the goats one last time. Standing in the doorway, she watched him silently, though she had no doubt he was aware of her presence. The boy he had once been would have done anything to avoid being seen frolicking in such an undignified manner. Darting this way and that, he made himself an easy target for the goats, who alternated between nudging his pockets for the treats that were always there, and butting at his hands to be scratched and rubbed. Tayar wasn’t sure who was enjoying the game more, the goats or Dov.
Kneeling, he reached out to the animals to ruffle their heads one last time. “Goodbye, girls. Take good care of my Allesha.” Then he looked up at her and patted the ground. “Come, sit with me a few moments.”
Tayar stepped more fully into the barn, but remained standing. “It’s time for you to go to the Communal Hall for the ceremony. Are you packed?”
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