All of which was more or less true. I was pretty sure my amulet was safe as long as it was intact, but if the enchantment were damaged somehow it could easily start leaking radiation or even explode. At some point I needed to find a way to lock my power source inside an armored box to protect it, but until then I was trying not to expose any more people to such possibilities than I had to.
“I see,” he mused. “Well, desperate times call for desperate measures, and you seem to have it in hand. But that wasn’t my major concern. Your apprentices have been telling some disturbing tales about their situation, and it’s causing talk.”
I sighed. “Yeah, sorry about that. I let them spread a few rumors to encourage random armsmen to keep their hands to themselves, but Cerise gets carried away with it. That girl loves to make it sound like she’s a demon bound to a dark wizard or something.”
“Not surprising, considering her nature,” he observed. “I can smell the taint of darkness on her soul from halfway across town. She’s a witch, isn’t she?”
Crap.
I turned to look out over the frozen fields surrounding the town. “She’s a teenage girl who’s willing to risking her life to protect innocent civilians from monsters. Isn’t that what matters now?”
“That’s a valid point,” he conceded. “One could even argue it fits with Odin’s command for all men to set aside their grievances and fight together against the traitor’s hordes. But at the same time you can’t expect a leopard to change its spots. Given half a chance she’ll be sacrificing young men to her fell goddess, and enchanting innocent maidens into submitting to her cult’s perversions. I suppose binding a pretty young witch might seem less dangerous than trapping a demon or elemental, but I assure you that is not the case. How confident are you that whatever leash you have her on will hold?”
That was not exactly the tack I was expecting him to take. Apparently he believed Cerise’s little story about being bound? I’d thought they just killed witches here, but it sounded like maybe slavery was considered a viable option too.
What lovely people.
“Sure enough that I let her out of my sight,” I said slowly. “Did you have some specific recommendation?”
“To be honest, I’d like to recommend handing her over to the church for a proper execution,” he replied grimly. “Whatever power she wields is born of blood sacrifice, Daniel. Can you let her claim more victims in good conscience?”
“She’s under my protection,” I said stiffly. “Also, it turns out that monsters are valid sacrifices.”
That surprised him. His brow furrowed in thought.
“I see,” he said slowly. “Turning darkness against darkness? That’s more devious of you than I’d expected. But with time she will become what she preys on, and no simple binding will be reliable on such a protean creature. If you insist on taking the chance, you should at least impose the Riven Covenants on her.”
“Hmm. You’re really concerned about this?”
He nodded firmly. “Yes. I can’t stress this enough. Witches who practice freely are inevitably consumed by their own power, Daniel. I can see that the girl has some affection for you, but you can’t expect that to hold when tested. She might turn on you last, but she will turn.”
“Well, I suppose that isn’t exactly my field of expertise,” I allowed. Did I dare admit that I didn’t know what this covenant thing was?
“Indeed. The Church, however, has considerable experience in these matters. I’m told you arrived with little baggage, so I assume you don’t have a proper library?”
“Unfortunately no,” I admitted.
“Well, I have a copy of In Tauro de Maleficis I can loan you, for reference purposes. It’s a translation into the vernacular, but it should still work well enough. Can I have your assurance you’ll take action quickly?”
I nodded reluctantly. “Yes, I do see your point. But I’m going to have to brush up on a few things before I move on this. I assume you can have it delivered discretely?”
“Of course. No need to forewarn the witch. Well, I’m glad we have an agreement. If you’ll excuse me I have another appointment soon.”
He headed off down the wall rather than asking for a lift to ground level. A sign he wasn’t as comfortable with magic as he acted? Or perhaps just a reluctance to put himself in someone else’s power after making demands?
I watched him go thoughtfully. For obvious reasons my knee-jerk reaction to priests who wanted to persecute witches wasn’t very favorable, but in this world magic was actually real. For all I knew Hecate really was an evil goddess, and based on her own comments Cerise had a habit of playing with fire. I didn’t think I’d actually use whatever spells were in this book, but it could be informative reading.
Besides, pretending to cooperate for a week seemed less likely to make me a new enemy than just refusing outright.
I worked until nearly sunset, finishing another tower and a good stretch of curtain wall beyond it. My guard squad changed shifts sometime during the afternoon, and one of the men in the new squad did a fairly neat job of manufacturing an opportunity to pass me a small book bound in worn leather.
Which meant my guard detail was infiltrated with people willing to do favors for Holger. One more thing to worry about, as if there wasn’t enough on my plate already. I made a note to check with Avilla about how the recruiting was going, and switch to having my own people watch my back as soon as possible.
By the time I started to make my way back to my temporary home my brain was aching from channeling magic all day. I trudged wearily down the length of the wall I’d built, my cloak pulled tight against the wind. My face was a bit numb despite the warmth of the enchanted garment, and I can only imagine how frozen my escorts must have been. Maybe I should put in some kind of overhead cover, or a passageway through the wall itself?
I was still turning over possibilities in my mind when I opened the door to my tower, and was interrupted by shouting from below.
“Now what?
I shook my head and hurried down the stairs with the six men of my escort trailing along behind me. I noted in passing that no one had been guarding the door, which didn’t do much to allay my growing concern. Had a monster gotten in somehow? I could make out Avilla’s voice now, along with a bunch of angry men.
I reached the bottom floor, and circled around to the storage area that took up a quarter of the floor to find it was full of shouting people. There was a small pile of sacks and boxes against a wall, which Cerise was standing over with her knives out. A rotund and rather foppish-looking young man surrounded by four guards was shouting at Avilla, who glared back at him murderously. Gronir and another man I vaguely remembered as one of the refugees were standing beside her clutching their spears, obviously ready to defend her if the interlopers made a move. A couple of Captain Rain’s men stood back from the whole mess, looking like they had no idea what to do.
“Hey!”
No one heard my shout. Damn it. I made a tiny bubble of force overhead, and grew it into a thick disk that covered half the room’s ceiling. Then I canceled the spell. The thunderclap of displaced air shook the room, and shut everyone up momentarily.
“Everyone, shut up! Avilla, what’s going on here?”
As I’d suspected, she recovered from her shock faster than the men at arms. “We caught these people trying to steal our supplies, Master Black.”
The fop flushed. “Now see here, wench! I’m Lanrest’s duly appointed tax farmer, and you’d better adjust your tone if you expect to live in this town. My uncle doesn’t suffer rebels in his lands.”
“She’s not a subject of your Baron,” I said firmly, striding into the room to put my hand on Avilla’s shoulder. “She’s the apprentice and personal retainer of a traveling wizard who happens to be saving your sorry asses from the giants right now. Do you have any proof of who you are?”
I glanced around the room, and found that my escorts had joined the spectators by the door instead of
moving to back me up. One of them nodded.
“That’s him, sir,” he confirmed. “Squire Cezary, the Baron’s nephew.”
“There, you see?” The idiot said self-importantly. “Now get your people out of my way. My uncle has declared an emergency tax of a thousand silver pennies on the town, and after this fiasco I’m taking a hefty share of it right here.”
He stepped forward confidently, and ran face-first into the invisible barrier I’d conjured in front of him.
“Ow! My nose!”
“Go bother the peasants, junior. I’m not falling for that.”
He glared at me and clutched his nose. “You can’t do that! That’s assaulting a noble, with magic no less! My uncle will hang you for this!”
I snorted. “Your uncle needs me to build a real wall around his town so you don’t all get killed when the giants get around to you. Cerise, you’ve been reading up on customs around here. Do you know anything about this?”
She gave me a puzzled glance, but then understanding blossomed.
“No, master. I know a lot of the nobles in this part of the kingdom use tax farmers to collect from their towns instead of trying to do something complicated like licensing or property taxes. But I’ve never heard of something as crazy as sending a tax farmer after a noble’s party. If he’d pulled this on a visiting baron it would probably start a war.”
Cezary sputtered. “Noble! I don’t see any livery on these servants, and you haven’t a single real man-at-arms. You’re just a jumped-up hedge wizard with delusions of grandeur. If you know what’s good for you you’ll stop putting on airs and start showing some deference for your betters.”
“Betters!” Avilla fumed. “Our wizard is worth a hundred of you, you worm!”
He scowled. “That’s it, I’m out of patience. I’m assessing a two hundred silver fine for obstruction of my duties, payable immediately. I suppose your so-called apprentices would fetch that on the open market, if you don’t have the coin-”
He self-important demands were cut off when I slammed him into the wall with a burst of force magic. His men went for their swords, and I did the same thing to them. They hit the stone in a cacophony of rattling steel, and found themselves pinned a foot off the ground.
I released Cezary, and stalked across the room to punch him in the gut while he was trying to regain his balance. He folded over nicely, but I wasn’t satisfied with that. I grabbed his arm, spun him around, and planted a kick in his ass that sent him sprawling on the stone floor at Avilla’s feet. Another burst of force magic flipped him over, and pinned him to the floor on his back.
I walked over and put my boot on the middle of his chest, and pushed. He choked, and scrabbled at the floor.
“You’re a complete dumbass, aren’t you Cezary? Well, let me see if I can explain this in small words. Your job is robbing your uncle’s subjects to fill his coffers. I’m not one of your uncle’s subjects. So you can take your crooked tax laws and bogus fines and fuck off. If I catch you bothering my girls again I’m going to break both your knees so you’ll never walk right again, and then I’ll let them have you. What would you do with this brainless wonder, girls?”
Avilla stepped up next to me with her butcher knife in hand, and started to sharpen it. “We need soap and candles, master, and he has plenty of fat. I’ll cut it all out and render it down.”
Cerise glided across the room to lean against my other side, and the light seemed to dim. “I need more vellum for my grimoire, master. Can I flay his skin off and cure it? He’s got so much, I could make twenty pages easily.”
Avilla held up a finger. “Oh yes, I need bone meal too. Not much, those little bones from his fingers should be enough.”
“Mmm. And if you lay a finger on Avilla?” Cerise knelt to look into the man’s eyes. “I’ll cut your eyes out and sacrifice them to Lord Sargoras, so you’ll see nothing but the Realm of Madness for the rest of your life. I’ll put a curse on you that makes your balls swell to the size of melons and drives you mad with lust, but makes it so anything that touches your dick feels like broken glass. I’ll-”
I put my hand on her shoulder. “He’s already pissed himself, Cerise. I think he gets the idea. Now get out.”
I released his men and shoved him at them. The whole group retreated hurriedly, the soldiers at least being smart enough not to make any more trouble. They half-carried him up the stairs and out the door.
I kept an eye on them until they were gone, then rounded on Rain’s men. “You! What the hell are you here for if you’re just going to stand around and watch?”
“But sir,” their sergeant protested, “they’re the Baron’s men. We can’t go getting in no fight with them. Not unless we get the Captain’s say-so.”
“Then what use are you? Out. I’ll talk to your Captain in the morning.”
I barred the door myself, and leaned against it with a sigh.
“Damn it. It’s just one thing after another. Gronir, did Avilla hire you?”
“Ah, yessir,” the woodsman answered nervously.
“Well, good job backing her up. That’s exactly what I want from you. Is everyone alright?”
There were nods all around. Then Avilla’s eyes went wide.
“Oh no! Dinner!”
Chapter 9
I wasn’t terribly surprised to receive an urgent summons to appear before the Baron the next day. His men were pounding on my door before the sun was even up, although apparently the household was already stirring by then.
I’d been up late into the night working on a better version of the hover-barge, just in case we had to leave town in a hurry. So I was still soundly asleep when Beri came up to tell me we had company.
“Gronir isn’t opening the door for them,” she reassured me. “But they say the Baron wants you in the keep right away.”
I rubbed my eyes. There was still one naked girl lying next to me, and it was awfully tempting to just roll over and go back to sleep. But that would be a bad move.
“Alright, I’m up,” I grumbled. “Tell them I’m on my way down.”
I sat up, and Cerise made a sleepy little protest and cuddled up against me. I sighed, and extracted myself from her grip as gently as I could manage.
Avilla appeared at the doorway while I was pulling on my shirt, looking worried and wringing her hands. “Daniel? What are we going to do?”
“Keep the tower locked up, and put someone on watch. Be careful not to let anyone in unless you’re sure there aren’t any soldiers ready to rush the door. But try not to worry too much, that’s just a precaution. I don’t think the Baron is actually going to try anything.”
“What’s going on?” Cerise asked sleepily. She sat up and stretched, which had the effect of completely distracted us both from the conversation for a moment.
“Slugabed,” Avilla groused, but she was smiling.
I shook my head, and pulled my shoes on. “Time to see the Baron. You stay here and keep an eye on things.”
Cerise frowned. “The Baron? But what if he decides to take offense? You’ll be all alone.”
I shook my head. “He needs the wall I’m building too much for that. I think he’ll wait until it’s done. Besides, if something does happen I’d rather have you here making sure Avilla is safe. I fight better if I don’t have to worry about where I’m throwing my spells.”
“We should really figure out how to fight together,” she complained. “But I guess now isn’t the time. Should we keep working on hiring?”
I nodded. “Yes. I want us to be ready to leave the instant I get paid. But don’t risk going into town until I’ve got a better feel for the situation.”
“Sure thing,” Cerise agreed. “Good luck.”
“Stay safe,” Avilla added.
I gave them both a reassuring hug, and headed for the door.
I was a bit more concerned that I let on. I’d given Cezary a bit of a beating, and in retrospect that wasn’t such a smart idea. When did I become so violent,
anyway?
Maybe that wolf heart was affecting me?
Or maybe it was just that I could finally strike back at injustice without being locked up for it. I’d spent so many years knuckling under to an increasingly crushing burden of stupid, nonsensical rules that there was no way to fight. Arguing with an employer just gets you fired, and arguing with the government is a good way to land in jail. But here politics was a matter of individuals and personalities rather than impersonal bureaucracies and leaderless ideological trends.
It had felt awfully good to just punch that idiot instead of having to listen to him talk. But did I really want to make a habit of that kind of thing?
There were only four soldiers, and they were cautious but respectful. So they probably weren’t going to try anything, but I kept my shield up just in case.
A light sprinkle of snow was falling, settling onto roofs that already carried a heavy load of the stuff. There was only a thin dusting of white on the streets, but I could see deep drifts beginning to develop in corners and along the sides of buildings. The streets were still full of activity now, but another blizzard or two would probably leave most of the town snowed in.
How hard would that be to prevent? Put roofs over the narrower streets, maybe. Fuse the cobblestones of the wider roads together, and enchant them to radiate enough heat to melt the snow. Or would the runoff just freeze into ice sheets before it found its way outside the walls?
I reminded myself I wasn’t going to be here that long, and turned my attention back to the people.
There were a lot of soldiers in the streets, hurrying about in groups of a dozen or more. Most of them weren’t nearly as well equipped as the 5th Margold, however. Lots of light chain shirts instead of proper hauberks, and half the spearmen wore leather armor instead of mail. Some groups wore relatively standardized equipment, with various insignia embroidered on cloaks or armbands. But others had the motley assortment of personal gear I’d have expected of medieval troops, where each man spent his own money to buy whatever equipment he thought he might need.
Fimbulwinter (Daniel Black) Page 14