“Maybe you should not go,” Thimeon said. The officers looked at him in surprise, but he kept his gaze on the two women. “Perhaps Siyen should go. She knows Lluanthro, and her face is not known to the guards.”
“What?” Siyen said from somewhere behind him. She did not sound pleased.
But before Siyen had time to voice her objection, Kayam spoke. “Siyen is not quite unknown. Though we disappeared into the secret passages shortly after the alarm sounded, there are half a dozen guards who saw her in the dungeon and will associate her and our ruse with the escaping prisoners. And me also. My career in Citadel is done, I would guess. I don’t think our disguise as kitchen staff would prevent one of the guards from describing us. And you can be sure that Koranth will already have gotten every bit of information he can.”
Thimeon was about to argue, but Corandra forestalled any further discussion. “I will go. If you take care of my sister here, I will be safe. They are not after me.”
“I will go too—” Jhonna started.
“No.” The elder daughter cut her off. “Even if Golach is gone, he has servants who would be happy to collect a reward for capturing you. With Mother and Father in prison and Koranth ruling the city, they might abduct you even in broad daylight.”
“What about you?”
Corandra smiled. “You’re the beauty in the family. I’ll be safe.”
Thimeon closed his eyes and lowered his head. This was a burden he was not prepared for. He knew that Kayam was right about Siyen. Soldiers were likely looking for somebody fitting her description. And Thimeon wasn’t sure he even trusted her. She might disappear and not come back as she had done once before. They had little choice other than to accept Corandra’s offer, he thought. But he wondered. Would he ask his own sister, Siarah, to do this?
He lifted his head and met Corandra’s eyes. Her gaze was determined and steady. And fierce. “Then go and make haste,” he told her. “And may the All-Maker be with you.”
Corandra bowed. A minute later she pulled on a cloak and departed out the back door.
Jhonna turned her attention back to the room. Her eyes fell on the pile of wet clothes and the spreading puddle. “Oh!” she explained. “What my mother would say to you all.” She turned to the prince. “Hang these wet things out to dry in the courtyard!” And then she seemed to realize to whom she spoke and put her hand to her mouth in horror. “Oh!” she said again. “I’m so sorry.”
The prince laughed. He nodded to Kachtin and Banthros and then rose at once to take on the task. Jhonna watched them for a moment and then turned to Thimeon and the prince. “You will find food in the pantry through that door. And, Thimeon, there are stairs in the far corner of the pantry. At the top of the stairs is a small window. From there you can look over the gate and into the street if you wish to keep watch. It has special glass my father had made for that purpose. It is easy to see out but not easy to see in. Unless it is nighttime and you have a lantern near your face, you can look out without fear of being seen.”
“Thank you,” Thimeon replied. He felt overwhelmed by Jhonna’s generous hospitality. He was also eager to set a watch on the street.
“It is the least I can do,” Jhonna replied. “And please help yourselves to the food. I’m afraid our chef was one of the first to leave, and my mother—” She stopped suddenly, unable to finish the sentence as she fought back tears. But she gathered herself and continued a few seconds later. “No pastries or cake or leavened bread, I’m afraid. I can offer you only some flat bread my sister and I made. Yet there is good fruit and dried meats—enough to feed you heartily. While you eat, I will find Athgod, our one remaining hand. We’ll see what we can do about supplies. There are a few markets outside the city. Some of the better ones, really. Fine merchants happy to sell their wares away from the crowds. And there are some things my sister might not think of that I can purchase without having to enter Citadel.” She shook her head sadly. “If we were at my father’s farm out from the city, we could get horses without rival. But even if they have not been stolen, we could not go there safely.” After she said this, she departed out the door into the back courtyard.
A short time later Armas led the way into the pantry, where Jhonna, true to her word, had set out a considerable amount of food. Thimeon felt the pangs of hunger, but he was thinking more about Jhonna and Corandra and Lluanthro than about food. He tore off half a piece of flat bread and a small chunk of dried meat, then went up the stairs to keep an eye on the street.
“I wish she had not gone,” Thimeon said quietly to the prince as they stood eating. “Neither of them.”
“Do you think they will betray us?” Dhan asked.
Thimeon shook his head firmly. “No. Not at all. I fear, rather, that they will try to help us. And they will suffer even more for it.”
28
A COLD WELCOME
Elynna’s relief when she learned that it was Undeani warriors and not soldiers from Citadel surrounding her faded as quickly as it had come. The situation was as bleak as ever.
“Wait,” Tienna shouted. She stepped out from behind the rocks. At the sudden movement, the warrior dropped into a battle crouch and cocked his arms as though readying to throw his ax. Behind him, five warriors stepped out from trees with bows drawn.
Tienna stopped instantly. “Wait,” she repeated. She carefully laid down her bow on the rock beside her. Then, without any sudden movements, she removed the long knife from her sheath and laid that down as well. Unarmed, she took a few steps forward from the protection of the circle. The warrior watched her approach. He held up his hand, perhaps to signal his own companions not to shoot, or perhaps to signal for Tienna to come no closer. She stopped a few paces away. After a fierce glance at Cane, Tienna turned to the stranger. “We do not desire battle.”
“Then lay down your weapons, all of you, and come with us.”
“If we choose to come with you, it will not be unarmed,” Cane replied from behind Tienna.
Be quiet, Elynna wanted to yell at Cane. Let Tienna speak for us.
“Then you will die here,” the stranger answered calmly. “You will not continue through our land armed as you are for battle. Our law does not permit it. Yet you have already come too far to return.”
“If we lay aside our weapons,” Tienna asked, with Cane’s scowl burning into her back, “will you safeguard them and return them to us when you have proven us?”
“When you have passed through our land and depart on the far side, then you may have your weapons back.”
“Is this far?”
“One day of travel,” The man answered.
“And this is the only option you offer us?”
“This or battle.”
“We must discuss this,” Tienna replied. “What you ask is not done simply. Enemies pursue us from the Plains and—” She paused, as if rethinking what she should tell him. “We have another enemy that is not Undeani but which is now in your land. An enemy that is not human. We had hoped to pursue this enemy unhindered. If we succeed, your people will benefit as much as our own. If we abandon our weapons, we will not be safe.”
The stranger’s voice was steady. “While you are with us, we will protect you.”
“Even from the Daegmon?” Cane called out. “From a great winged creature?”
The man turned his eyes sharply toward Cane. “What do you know of this enemy?”
Tienna answered at once. “The winged beast is the foe of which I spoke. The Daegmon it is called. We seek it out to destroy it and to avenge those already lost. But behind us comes a human army in league with the Daegmon.”
“We have heard that name and seen this foe,” the stranger said. His voice now had a tone of awe. “You seek to do battle against the Daegmon beast?”
“We do,” Tienna answered. “We have done so already, more than once.”
The Undea
n warrior shook his head in dismay or disbelief, but after a moment he said, “Your choices have not changed. We will wait for your decision. You may have as long as it takes for my shadow to lengthen by one hand. Then you must give us your answer. As for any human foes pursuing you, they will hear no word of you through us, nor will they pass unhindered through our land unless they are much greater in number than you are.”
He looked at her for a moment longer, as though weighing some other thought in his head, then said, “As leader of my people, I will give you one other option. You may freely return the way you came, unhindered. If you travel back as far as where you slept last night, then turn back to the south or east, you can avoid this land. My men will not hinder your departure in that direction. But you cannot go forward. If you do not either return the way you came or lay down your weapons, then we will be forced to fight you.”
He did not wait to hear what Tienna would say. Turning back toward the wood, he motioned with his right hand as he started to walk. Six more figures stepped out from behind the trees. Four were Undeani warriors, well armed and dressed in garb similar to their leader. They led between them what appeared to be two captives, taller and clothed in Plainsfolk attire rather than the sheepskin of the Undeani. Though they were too far away to see their faces, Elynna guessed who they were. A second later Hruach spoke their names. “Aram and Kayle.”
Elynna watched as the Undeani warriors brought the two captives several strides closer. She saw now that Aram and Kayle were bound and gagged. One of the Undeani warriors made a quick motion behind their backs, and then the four in sheepskin disappeared back into the woods. Aram and Kayle strode the remaining distance back to join their companions, pulling the gags out of their mouths as they came. They appeared unharmed, though their expressions hinted at shame.
“How many are they?” Cane asked them at once. “Would they really risk attacking us?”
“I don’t know,” Aram answered sullenly. “They are well hidden. I thought I saw a dozen on the other side of that hill, but I think there are several more in the woods. And maybe more in hiding.” He paused, then added, “They aren’t big, these men. That one who spoke with you was their leader. He’s the tallest among them. Nonetheless, those I saw were fierce and well armed. They weren’t overly gentle with us.” He rubbed his wrists as he said this. “I don’t think I’d want to face them in battle unless we were evenly matched in numbers. From where they are hiding, their archers would get several of us before we could cover two-thirds that distance.”
“Kayle?” Cane asked. “Did you see anything different?”
Kayle looked equally uncomfortable and avoided Cane’s gaze. “If nothing else, they are skilled in woodcraft. We never saw them coming, else we would have fought them and at least tried to warn you.”
For a moment Elynna was caught up in Cane’s string of questions. He wasn’t weighing the risks of fighting against the risk of trusting strangers as others in the company might. He was Anghare. Surrender, or anything that looked like it, wasn’t an option. She had come to understand that over their weeks together. It was why the Northlanders were so crucial to the company. Why so many looked to Cane as their leader, especially when battle was near. He was already trying to figure out how to win a battle against them.
But despite her respect for Cane, and her own fear and uncertainty, Elynna knew they couldn’t afford to think that way. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “It doesn’t matter whether there are twenty of them or fifty.” The others turned and looked at her, curious or surprised. She avoided Cane’s gaze and continued. “All that matters is whether the Undeani will betray us. It may be they are in league with Citadel. Or with the Daegmon itself. If they are, and we let them take us, we have given ourselves to death. But we cannot hope to fight our way through, whether there are thirty of them or a hundred. Even if we win that battle, what would be the cost? Yet if we turn back now, we might walk right back into the arms of Golach. As far as we know, going onward might be our one chance to fight the Daegmon without having to fight Citadel at the same time.”
Time and time again Elynna had led the company only by telling them where the Daegmon was. But rarely had she sought to guide their discussions in other ways and perhaps never in a way opposed to Cane. It felt good to speak her thoughts.
But then Hruach spoke. “Yes. But you didn’t answer that one question.”
“But I can,” Noab interjected. “This Undean warrior speaks the truth. That is as clear to me as the whiteness of the snow on the ground. I have told you before. I can smell truth even as Elynna smells the Daegmon and Tienna smells health. However afraid or mistrustful he may be, he is not deceiving us. If he promises us safe passage, he will grant it—as well as he is able.”
Noab had proven his gift already in the past. Elynna did not doubt him, and she did not think the others did. A few murmured in surprise or relief, but none ventured to disagree. “I think we must trust them then,” Elynna said after a moment. “We might not like being treated like prisoners, but if they speak the truth, then our other options are far worse.”
“Elynna is right,” Tienna added. “And though I don’t have Noab’s gift, I would have thought the same thing. The Undeani are brutally independent. As independent as the Plainsfolk. I don’t know that they have ever acknowledged the overlordship of Citadel. And however fierce they are, they are not without their own customs. If they decide to attack us, it will not be because they are in league with our enemy.”
How comforting, Elynna thought. But she did not voice her sarcasm aloud. She was glad Tienna had spoken. Glad that Noab was part of the company—that they had not left him behind in the Plains.
It took only a minute for the company to reach a decision. Though they grumbled the loudest at giving up their weapons, even the Northlanders concurred. When the sheepskin-clad warrior returned a short time later, Cane stepped forward and gave him the answer. The stranger nodded. “It is well. Leave your weapons and follow me.”
Cane stared at him coldly for a few seconds, then turned. Under close scrutiny, he and the others sullenly laid their weapons down in a pile one at a time and moved aside. Namha was last. Nobody had to explain to him what was happening. Whether it was a warrior’s intuitive understanding of the situation or he comprehended something of the trade tongue of Gondisle even though he did not speak it, he laid his spear down beside the others and placed his several knives against his spear. It was an odd sight—one who had not even fled from the Daegmon surrendering to a foe who stood barely taller than his elbow. Yet for whatever reason, Namha consented.
When the stranger seemed satisfied with the result, he led the way back toward the woods. Elynna and her companions, now bereft of their weapons, followed. When they reached the trees, Elynna looked back once more. The weapons still sat there. Once they were in the trees, however, a dozen armed Undeani warriors stepped from the shadows and formed a broad circle around them.
They were a wild-looking people, with long braided hair, painted faces, and unkempt beards. They brandished their spears fiercely toward their captives, and for a moment Elynna worried they were in league with Citadel after all. An image flashed across her mind of Golach stepping out from the woods, laughing as he ordered their execution. However, their captors came no closer than two spear lengths and made no move to bind the prisoners.
When his prisoners were assembled before him, the leader spoke again. “I am Braga. You will follow me. If you do not seek to escape us, you will not be harmed. But do not wander to either side, or we will kill you.”
Elynna could see Cane bristling at the threat, and she wondered if he now regretted the decision, but there was little they could do now.
Braga turned and started into the woods in a northeastward direction. As the shadows lengthened around them, Elynna and her companions followed. Their course took them deeper into the woods and much farthest east than they would oth
erwise have gone.
Now and then Elynna caught glimpses of the Undeani warriors: white-clad figures moving in and about the trees like sheep dogs herding sheep. Or rather like sheep herding dogs. For the most part, however, the captors kept their distance—especially from Namha. They did not travel far before night was upon them.
About four miles into the woods, their captors led them through a thick stand of firs into a small grotto. It had grown dark under the canopy of needles. Only a few stars shone down through a small patch of sky overhead. The ground was almost clear of snow. “You will spend the night here,” Braga announced. “We will guard you as you sleep.” He started to go, then turned and added, “There are no other humans nearby. No soldiers from the south. If you wish, you may have fire.” Then he disappeared into the trees.
“I don’t care if nobody is around. I’d feel better if I had my sword,” Hrevia grumbled.
Elynna thought the same thing. But she had no sense of the Daegmon’s presence, and that comforted her. So did the thought of a fire. She was glad when Theo and Bandor started gathering wood. The lower branches of the pine trees at the edge of the circle held dead twigs in abundance, and it took only a minute before they had cleared a patch of ground and laid a small pile of wood upon it.
“We will be safe, I think,” Tienna replied as Bandor put a spark to tinder and blew on it. “At least from Golach. I do not know much about the Undeani, but their woodcraft is unrivaled. I caught a glimpse of them working behind us. As soon as they had taken our weapons, several of them headed in different directions, leaving a confused jumble of tracks while two more of them followed, erasing all signs in the direction we actually came.”
The Betrayed Page 28