by Dana Davis
He nodded as he passed with Gail’s crude coffin, what there was of it, in his arms and went out the back door. Kepriah hoped Larisa could coax the girl into trusting them. Something tapped against her nerves and she did not want to stay here any longer than necessary. Hurry up, Larisa. Check her over and let’s get going.
“How old are you, Gail?”
“Sixteen.”
“Are you all alone here?”
“Mama died when I was a babe. I got no sisters. Papa and my brother, they—I’m the only’un left.” Frantic eyes darted about. “I got to clean this place up.”
She started to rise but Larisa laid a tender hand on her shoulder. “That can wait. Let me look you over.” She pulled a chair in front of Gail’s, sat, and continued to wash dirt off the girl’s exposed skin. “Did those men hurt you?” she said in a quiet voice.
Gail lowered her head. “They killed my papa and brother.”
“Yes. I am so sorry. Did they hurt you? This is important.”
“You mean did they rape me?”
“Yes, sweetness. Did they rape you?”
“No. Papa told me to hide in the barn but I ran when they killed him. I stayed in the old mine ‘til they left. No one knows about that place ‘cept me and my brother. And Papa, of course. I dinna help ‘em.”
Larisa took the girl’s face in her hands. “I am sorry about your family, Gail. But you did the right thing by hiding.”
“Those men would have raped you,” Kepriah said. “And probably taken you with them for future pleasure.” Larisa’s hard eyes met hers but she held her sister’s gaze. As eldest and First Noble, Kepriah was in charge here. And here was not somewhere she intended to stay for long. “Get her cleaned up. We need to get to the next village before nightfall.”
“You leavin’?” Gail gazed up at Kepriah with worry.
“Yes. And you are coming with us.”
The girl’s eyes grew wide and she shook her head. “No. This is my home. My great-grandsire built it. I promised Papa if anythin’ happened to him I would rebuild the farm.”
“There is nothing left, Gail.” That came out harsher than Kepriah intended but she was not used to coddling anyone. “You are not safe here. You are coming with us.”
“No.” Gail pushed Larisa back and reached for the knife that still lay on the floor.
Kepriah sent an order and the girl froze in mid-reach. Another word from her lips and Gail sat back in the chair. She could not keep this up. She was still tired, despite several hours of sleep she got last night, and using magic did not help any. She let the magic leak from her and the scepter’s glow faded.
Gail stared at her with wide eyes and made the sign of protection. “Dunna kill me. Please. Just go away. I will tell no one you was here. I p-promise.”
“Calm down, Gail,” Larisa said with a harsh look to Kepriah. “No one is going to hurt you.”
“Papa dunna allow magic. Y-you have to leave.”
“You saw magic?” No one was supposed to see the scepter when it conquered another’s will, except the Trine.
“I seen those stones light up. I wanted to leave but then I dinna want to.”
Well now, something we need to talk with Jakon about. “This is just a staff, Gail.”
The girl’s face hardened. “I seen the stones. I seen them glow.”
Maybe she sees through the concealing magic because the Moirai chose her like They chose us. Something brushed against Kepriah’s mind, like a whispered affirmation, and she stared at her scepter for a moment. “We will leave after we have eaten,” she finally said. “And you are coming with us.”
She had to make the girl understand and they had little time to dawdle. Selenea depended on them and they could not do the hoisting unless they got this girl and the boy, whom they still had not found, to the Pewter Throne. They only had a short time left and who knew what other tasks the Moirai would put upon them before the hoisting deadline. That day fast approached, too fast for Kepriah’s taste, and she frowned.
Patrice stood at the pot and stared harshly at her. Anger washed against her senses from both her sisters. Will they ever understand? How can they? They have never seen war. Kepriah knew. Jakon knew. Gail knew. The two heads out there were just a peek at the brutality, at the atrocities one human could perform on another. This was war territory whether a war was still going or not. Raiders were dangerous and villagers desperate. Her sisters would just have to obey.
Kepriah returned a hard gaze to Larisa. “Get the girl cleaned up and collect any food and supplies we can use.” She held her scepter where Gail got a good look at it this time. “If she gives you any trouble, use magic to make her obey.”
The girl paled but Larisa and Patrice did not argue. Kepriah stepped out the back door and toward the barn where she heard Jakon hammering away. She glanced toward the jabbers, as she made her way to the barn, and noticed that they had been fed and watered already.
“That girl is going to be trouble, Jakon.”
He gave her a quick glance before he stooped to pick up another wood plank. “I have every confidence you can handle her.”
“She is still a child. And traumatized. Why in two moons would the Moirai send me a child?”
“We will not know until we reach Abandoned City.”
“It’s bad enough having to keep my sisters under watch in this area, but now we have that spooked girl underfoot.”
Jakon hammered in another nail then stood, golden eyes studying her. Kepriah had come to trust the desert dweller as much as she had trusted Manry. He was too far from Patrice for the camouflage to reach him but there was no one out here. Of course, Kepriah could not see that magic working, anyway. Only Patrice and Jakon could, along with anyone else they encountered. With one exception.
“I had to conquer her will for a moment and she saw the scepter light up.”
His head snapped to her and he frowned for a moment. “Are you certain, First?” He seemed to grow more handsome with each passing day and she wondered if she might bed him sometime. She kept that thought private.
“Yes.”
“How old were you when you took your first sword into battle?”
“Fourteen, why? Oh, I see. Gail is just two years older. Well, I was not some sheltered farm girl, Jakon. A warrior raised me. She taught me how to kill a man well before I reached her shoulder.”
“Then you can teach Gail what you know. If she is destined to sit on the Pewter Throne, and I believe she is since she saw the jewels glow, then she will need training. Abandoned City will take a firm hand and strong heart to rebuild.”
“You think these children we are after are supposed to rebuild? Look around you, Jakon. There is nothing left.”
He shrugged and tapped another nail into the small coffin. “I do not know. But if they are, they will need help from someone with power.”
“Someone with magic, you mean. Jabber shit, Jakon. I am not some bloody nursemaid.”
He peered at her from beneath dark brows. “What do you intend to do when the hoisting is successful and magic is returned in full to Selenea?”
She stared at him as if he had just asked her to explain why the sky was blue. “I had not thought that far ahead.”
“You need to keep the girl close. The Moirai work in Their own way, First. We all have our tasks.” Jakon went back to his work.
Kepriah left the barn with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. What would she do after the hoisting? The scepter would never let her touch a weapon again, but it was a weapon in its own right. Perhaps she could use it to become a warrior again—no, the scepter could probably annihilate an entire village on command. That would not be a fair fight, even if it filled Kepriah with an enormous sense of power. In fact, once everyone knew about the Trine, they would probably trip over their own feet to acquiesce to her wishes.
What are the Moirai planning? What do You want from me? Since the Moirai never answered in that manner, she pushed the thought from her head and retraced
her steps back to the farmhouse.
****
Jakon had finished Gail’s coffin as promised, large enough for two men, dug a grave, and placed the empty coffin inside. Kepriah had used the scepter to recover the bodies that lay in a ditch not far from the farmhouse and she helped him lower them into the box, along with the heads. She thought it best to bury them rather than let Larisa destroy them with the talisman. Gail was frightened enough. He put on the lid, climbed out of the hole, and covered the coffin with earth as Kepriah and the rest stood watching.
When he finished, Kepriah uttered, “Go with the wind.” Something she had been saying too often lately.
Gail placed several wildflowers Larisa had found growing beside the house onto the freshly moved dirt. Kepriah was still amazed that flowers, pretty as they were, could grow just about any place, no matter what carnage had recently taken hold. They had seen a few even in Donigere.
Larisa placed an arm around Gail’s shoulders and the girl began to weep. Kepriah might not be a nursemaid but she had learned that showing grief now was a good thing. Once the girl spent herself, they headed inside.
They ate the meager stew Gail had started and Patrice finished. It could have used spices but the farmhouse had none. Gail’s father had hidden a stash of potatoes, carrots, lard and flour in the old mine in case they needed it during the winter months, but the family had no luxuries like salt. Raiders had destroyed the garden and pilfered what little the family kept in the kitchen.
After dinner, the girl said, “I got to rebuild here.”
Kepriah caught sight of Patrice. The Earth woman looked exhausted. Jabber shit. She’s still holding magic. Gail had seen her use magic, so Kepriah ordered Patrice to release Jakon’s camouflage.
Patrice shook her head. “No. It’ll just scare her.”
“She’s in this whether she likes it or not. Just as we are.” When Patrice pressed her lips together, Kepriah added, “Just how long can you keep up the camouflage?” That got the reaction she hoped for and she felt her sister’s resolve caress her senses.
Larisa held up a hand to forestall Patrice and turned to face Gail, who sat next to her. “Gail, sweetness. Jakon here looks a bit different from what you see now. Patrice made him appear as a farmer so we would not startle anyone. But the Moirai sent us for you.”
“The Moirai sent you?”
“Yes.” She licked her lips and glanced at Kepriah, who gave her an encouraging nod. “We are going to let you see Jakon’s true appearance. Have you ever heard of the desert dwellers?”
Gail nodded. “I heard a talemaster once tell about ‘em. Fables, Papa always said. He never lied.”
“Well, I am certain your papa was a great man and would not lie to you intentionally. But the stories are true. Jakon is a desert dweller. We visited his village and his wonderful people. Jakon would never hurt you.”
Gail gave the man a wary look. Kepriah wanted to tell her sister to get on with it, but Larisa knew more about young, frail girls.
“Patrice is going to release Jakon from her magic and show you his true face. Are you ready, sweetness?” Gail swallowed hard but she nodded.
Kepriah turned to her youngest sister. “Now, Patrice.”
She expected the girl to scream and bolt or, at the very least, wet herself, but Gail just sat staring wide-eyed at Jakon, as though she might faint.
“I am still the man I was a moment ago, Gail. I just look a bit different.”
The girl nodded but stayed silent. In fact, she looked a bit more relaxed now that she knew this secret. Not willing to wait any longer, Kepriah ordered them to pack up the jabbers.
****
By the time they mounted, the sun was near zenith. Larisa carried supplies on her jabber. Patrice rode with Kepriah, and Jakon had Gail with him. The girl had refused to ride with the desert man, until Kepriah threatened to tie her to the jabber. Jakon led them this time, his jabber content to be in the front of their little caravan, while Kepriah stayed at the rear and kept eyes and ears open for danger. Jakon had a code word to use if any situation needed Faytool magic.
Still, they stuck to an abandoned route that took them past the more devastated areas. Raiders and looters had little use for rubble. For now, they could allow themselves the luxury to relax a bit, however short it may last. Even Jakon, who usually sat tall and alert in the saddle, let his shoulders droop slightly. Kepriah doubted her sisters noticed the subtle change.
“I dunna want to go,” Gail whined, bringing Kepriah from her thoughts. “Please, let me off here.” It was the third time she had protested since they left the farm, and Kepriah wondered if she might try to run away first chance she got.
“Hush, girl,” Jakon said in a fatherly tone. “You are as safe as you can be with these three sisters.”
“They gonna kill me.”
“Nonsense.” Kepriah called from the back. “If I wanted you dead, you would not be speaking right now.”
“Kepriah?” Patrice said into her ear. She used the familiar syrupy voice that meant a scolding was about to take place. “Can Larisa and I have a word with you?”
“Later. We need to get to the next village by nightfall.” She ignored the anger that waved from her sisters and tried to create an archway. No such luck. So far, the only archway she had been able to make was the one that took them from the farmhouse to this trail. Since then, she had hit nothing but cold spots.
Anger waved against her senses again. Her sisters did not seem to understand. The Moirai would not put a skittish deer on a lion’s throne. Gail had seen more than anyone ought to, but if she was to be future leader of Abandoned City, then she had fire in her somewhere. Fire that needed tempering for the girl’s own safety, until they had her cute little ass seated on the Pewter Throne.
Patrice deliberately squeezed Kepriah around the middle, tight enough that she had trouble breathing. A pinch to a thigh made Patrice loosen the stranglehold. Astride a jabber was no place to hold a confrontation but Kepriah twisted enough to look into Patrice’s narrowed eyes. “Do that again and I will thrash you.”
The Earth woman’s eyes widened slightly and she nodded. Satisfied with her sister’s obedience, Kepriah turned around and concentrated on her surroundings again, praying to the Moirai to keep them safe and help them find the boy before it was too late.
Chapter 23
Careful steps from each mossy stone to the next with the scepter in one hand and a leash in the other, trying not to slip into the murky water where poisonous vines longed for blood. Try as she might, Kepriah could not command magic into an archway here, so they had to cross Blood River on foot. Blasted cold spots! They had abandoned their jabbers well before the river to keep the beasts from becoming meals to the poisonous vines. Jabbers rarely turned down a drink and the river would have been too great a temptation.
Kepriah took another careful step with the leashed girl behind her. Gail whimpered again.
The little chit had been whining ever since she woke to find herself tethered, which annoyed Kepriah more than she would let on. The looks and anger she got from her sisters did nothing to calm her, either. Those two had berated Kepriah nonstop about how wrong it was to leash the girl, especially after what Gail had been through, but reasoning had not kept the little idiot from trying to flee twice already. The second time she almost killed herself running straight for a cliff’s edge in near darkness. Only Jakon’s quick strides had saved her.
She sympathized with her captive, she truly did, but the Moirai had plans for the girl. Kepriah was not about to let her know those plans just yet, but Gail would sit on the Pewter Throne if she had to chain and gag the girl all the way there. She gritted her teeth for the umpteenth time today and wondered how long before they were ground to nothing. Jakon had been the only one not to question her actions.
Kepriah took another careful step, moss flattening beneath her boot, and wondered whether they would find the boy in time. He had not been in the last two villages.
/> Patrice was becoming more adept with her camouflage magic and they managed to avoid trouble with a group of raiders they passed after the last village. Patrice had seen the men coming and deftly maneuvered her magic to make the Trine appear as pirates, the one thing Kepriah had told her raiders would avoid. Though pirates hardly existed anymore, the ones that did had nasty reputations. It was a beautiful sight to see an aggressive group of men cower to the side of the road and let them pass without so much as a grunt, and Kepriah smiled at that memory. Patrice and Larisa had hidden their fears quite well, too, though Kepriah had felt every bone-trembling emotion from her sisters. Gail had kept close and quiet until the raiders were no longer a threat, then she began whining again.
“Three more boulders,” Jakon called from the front. “We are almost there.”
He had been assisting Patrice and Larisa across the dangerous boulders. Everyone had slipped but, Moirai be with them, no one had stepped into the water and disturbed the gruesome vines.
Gail whimpered again, but Kepriah ignored the girl and stepped off the last boulder into the clearing, where her sisters now stood. But Gail slipped, one booted foot plunging into the watery muck. Kepriah yanked on the short leash to keep Gail upright, as Jakon stepped onto the boulder and lifted the weeping girl over his shoulder. Mud-laden vines began creeping onto the stone in search of a meal and one wrapped around Jakon’s ankle.
“Toss her!” Kepriah yelled.
Gail fought and screamed, but Jakon was a strong man. He lifted the struggling girl over his head with little trouble and flung her to Kepriah’s waiting arms. Gail hit with enough force to knock Kepriah’s breath away and both landed hard on the muddy ground. Jakon cried out as a vine plunged into his calf. He pulled his belt knife, sliced through the attacker, and it cowered with a piteous shriek.
Kepriah struggled to her feet and pushed the leash into Patrice’s hands. She managed to help Jakon off the rocks and into the clearing, where he collapsed, semiconscious and bleeding from his wound.