"What kind of magic do I produce?" I asked.
"Rat magic, of course," said Ura.
"So cowardly magic, hmm? Do we make all their food decay or something?"
Ura blinked at me. "I forget sometimes that you're not Chapori. Where I come from, rats are pragmatic leaders and hard workers. They are not viewed the same here." He kept walking, away from the fires and the burning lotus flowers.
"Where are we going? Isn't the fire the other way?"
"Yes," said Ura. "But there's a brook this way."
We stopped at the foot of a small brook. Ura shifted back to his ogre form.
"I don't suppose you could put me down when you do that." It was an unsettling experience to sit on his shoulder when he changed shape.
Ura chuckled. "Sorry, I'm not accustomed to have passengers riding on my shoulder." He took out several small ivory cubes. "These are dragon bones. I use them to focus my magic. Or in this case, your magic."
"What happens now?"
Ura held me in one open palm. "Now we cast the bones and see what happens."
He jangled eight of the bones in the other hand. Before I could say anything else, he threw the bones down. They formed patterns of long and short dashes that I didn't fully understand.
"Dui," said Ura. "Excellent, you really are helping me channel water magic!"
"I am?" I said. "I don't feel any different."
"I don't expect that you would." He stepped back from the river. "Now, it's time to get out of here."
"Why?'
"Because this brook is about to become a raging river."
He gathered up the dragon bones and put them in the pouch hanging from his loincloth. Then Ura transformed back into his wildcat form, grabbed me with his mouth, and took off.
Being in the jaws of a cat was even less pleasant than riding on its back. Fortunately, Ura was being gentle.
Behind us was the roaring of a flash flood. A flood created by my magic. I felt a sense of pride, but it quickly was replaced with guilt.
"What about the people still in the valley?"
We made it up to the hill just in time as the water blasted around its base, sloshing like a famished animal that consumed anything in its path. It roared past us in an angry wave, splashing down the valley towards the burning fields.
Ura transformed back into his ogre form to watch, arms crossed in satisfaction at our handiwork.
There were some shouts. Men ran in all directions. But it was too late. The bandits, the peasants, everything was washed away.
In moments, the water receded, wiping clean all signs of devastation. The peasant huts, the fields they worked, the violet lotus blossoms, and the fires…all gone.
Ura turned toward me. "Someday you will understand," he said. "Part of the burden of leadership is making tough decisions. Sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good."
But I couldn't help but ask myself...the greater good for whom?
* * *
Another dream came to me as I slept fitfully that night.
Piper and I were on another job. I begged, sometimes dancing, sometimes talking, but always distracting the wealthy that came to watch me. I targeted the women, who always felt bad for me for some reason. And Piper did his work.
Most of the time, the marks didn't even know he was there. The few times they did, it was on purpose—Piper was forced to bump into the really paranoid folks, and then mollify them with a seemingly sincere apology. And he always walked away with more than just a stern glance from his elders. Between Piper and I, we were making Black rich.
Every once in awhile we encountered targets that were so wary, we didn't even bother. But those were few and far between. Most of the time, we just did what we did best and then shared the spoils with Black. I even got in on the action, when silk handkerchiefs or cufflinks dangled tantalizingly close.
We handed over a particularly large haul one night when Piper took me aside. "Ya know, we could make more cash than ever on our own."
I hushed him. "That kind of talk will get us both in trouble!"
"Aww, come on now, don't tell me ya never thought about it?"
"I do," I admitted. "All the time. But there's no way we could start our own gang. We don't have enough boys..."
"Don't need them." Piper was fingering something that hung around his neck. "Can I let yew in on a secret?"
"Anything."
"Swear you won't tell no one?"
"I swear it."
Piper leaned forward conspiratorially. "I been goin' tah school."
"What? How?"
"I bumped into an elderly gentlemen, Heer Halewijn, he calls 'imself, and he sez he wants to reform me after I lets him catch me pickin' 'is pocket. So I does. And he pays a stipend, once a week, to Venefigrex..."
"Venefigrex!" I exclaimed.
"Shh!" hissed Piper.
"I been goin' to the school o' enchantment. They been teachin' me th' way of the ancient bards. And I learned a lot, lemme tell you. Halewijn thinks I could be real wizard material. Just gotta pass the exams..."
"Do you even know how to read?"
Piper's features darkened. "Naw, but I can get by. I'm gonna learn though. Gonna learn and then one day I'm gonna use this pipe to make us both rich!"
I looked at his pipe warily. "Is that a magic pipe?"
Piper shook his head. "Nah. But it’s a really good one. I made it mesself. Had to, it's part of the way the magic works. Making my pipe was part of the test. But I still gotta pass the final exam."
"That's great! I know you can do it."
"That's why I need yer help," said Piper. "Yew can read, right?"
I nodded. "I went to school before I was orphaned."
"Ya gotta teach me. I need to learn before the year's out."
"No problem, Piper," I said. "I'll be happy to."
"First," Piper grinned, "we need tah filch some books."
"I know a librarian who walks back and forth along Clove Street," I said. "I think we can trip him up and nick a few..."
And thus began the education of Piper.
* * *
"Scrap, wake up!" boomed Ura.
I rolled over in my cage. Despite the level of trust Ura displayed in me, he always made sure I was locked up in my cage every night.
"Is there an audience today?" I asked groggily.
"When is there not?" said Ura. "But that's not why I woke you so early. We need to refresh the crops."
"What do I have to do with crops?"
"Rat magic, my furry friend." Ura looked positively pleased with himself. "Monkey magic doesn't grow much except violet lotus flowers. But rat magic, well now that can do wonders!"
A carriage pulled up to the front gate. We were traveling in style as part of a publicity stunt. The Margrave planned to tour the villages that supported his castle.
So off we went, horses and driver and carriage and all. And me hanging from a cage that swung wildly to and fro with every bounce of the carriage. Ura shifted to his lighter human form so the horses weren't quite so strained.
To my surprise, our first stop was Boris' village. He looked much like the other peasants: Dirty and bug-eyed, with a hungry look. He seemed to have a perpetual stoop. And yet when he grinned, it took up most of his face and showed his uneven yellow teeth. Boris was luckier than most; many of Ura's peasantry had few teeth left at all.
"Margrave!" He bowed low. "I am so glad ye come t' honor me request!"
I was about to translate when Ura waved me off. "I got the point. Tell him to show me were the pigs are."
We went straight to the pigpen, which both smelled and sounded awful. Dozens of piglets squealed in their slop. Ura placed me on the fence.
"Is this really necessary?" I asked, fearing I would fall in the muck and the pigs would eat me.
"Yes. Now sit still."
Ura threw the dragon bones again. More long dashes and short ones came up amongst the eight bones.
"Kan!" He said with a
smile of satisfaction.
The pigs stopped squealing for a moment. Then they squealed louder and louder as they grew massive. They crammed against the fence, they were so large. Ura scooped me up just as it burst.
The pigs were now easily the size of a man and three times his weight. They were massive oinkers.
Boris and the other villagers fell down on their knees in awe. They said complimentary things that I didn't bother to translate.
All I could think was...did I do that?
* * *
The day Piper gave up pick pocketing was the day he got caught.
"Anyone else ever catch you?" I asked Piper, scanning the daily crowd for our next mark.
"Besides Halewijn?" said Piper. "No. Not by anyone who mattered, anyway."
"Mattered?"
"Well, they've got tah want to do somethin' about it. Sometimes the ladies feel bad for me. Sometimes the gentlemen don't wanna let their lasses know they been had. There's lots of reasons for marks tah be complicit in nippin'."
I nodded my approval. Use of the word "complicit" was evidence of Piper's secret education.
"Here we go," said Piper. "You beg, I'll get 'im."
I came forward, putting on my pathetic best. "Please sir, surely you can spare a coin?"
It was a man in an overcoat with a broad-brimmed hat. He wore long boots and his face was covered in stubble. I regretted the choice immediately.
What was Piper thinking? The man stopped in his tracks, squinting at me. His hand immediately went to his sides, as if he were ready to reach for a weapon. It made me nervous.
But I saw that he had large pockets in his coat. Large enough to conceal something worth stealing.
The man's features softened. His hand shifted from reaching for a weapon to reaching into his pocket.
I panicked. Piper and I had both pegged him as right-handed. We always knew when a mark would go for something and how, especially if he was in a rush. And this man was definitely right-handed. Up until he reached for his coin. With his left hand.
He was ambidextrous. That meant he was a trained warrior. But most importantly, Piper's hand was already in his left pocket. The stranger whirled, grabbing hold of Piper's wrist.
"Steal from me will you?" He lifted his other fist.
Piper took hold of his pipe in the hand that wasn’t being held. He played a quick little tune and the man let go of him.
At first I thought he had released Piper out of shock. But it was something else, as Piper backed up, playing the pipe with both hands. The man's features went slack. After a moment he started to clap.
Piper took the pipe from his lips, gasping for air. "Did ye like me performance?"
"Very much so," said the man, still clapping.
Piper took off his hat and held it out. "Then I think ye should show yer appreciation."
And he did, by dropping his entire coin purse into Piper's hat. The man walked off whistling.
In my dream-memory I recognized the man. It was Spindle.
I came out from my hiding spot. I had ducked for cover when the man grabbed Piper. "How in the world did you pull that off?"
Piper shrugged. "Magic," he said with a wink. "I'm thinkin' it's time tah start saving up," he said.
"To start our own gang?"
"Think bigger, me boyo. Why a gang? Why not our own place? With nobody tah tell us what tah do?"
I blinked. It had never occurred to me that we could be anything more than thieves.
"With me magic, I could do lots of services. I just need th' certification. Professor sez I'm a natural!"
I was in awe. "So what do we do next?" I asked.
Piper winked again. "It's time tah put on a show!"
* * *
"Wake up, Scrap, it's time to go to work," said Lycus.
I rolled over. There was Lycus' face beaming with his big smile at me.
"What now?"
"More peasant issues, I think," said Lycus. "Ura wants you in his throne room immediately to translate."
I didn't need to wash or get dressed, so preparing for the morning mostly meant eating food and getting a drink. Then I was off, or rather Lycus was off, swinging me wildly down the hallway.
"Can you NOT swing my cage that hard?" I asked in irritation.
"Oh, sorry." Lycus slowed the swinging by a fraction.
"I can't believe you're so cheery all the time," I said. "Don't you know we're trapped here?"
"Trapped?" The notion hadn't occurred to Lycus. "We've got all the food and drink we could want. A roof over our heads. A job to do every day. What more could you want?"
He had a point. "You used to know Piper, right?"
Lycus nodded. "Aye. Bloke that played a pipe. Sure. Kind of an arrogant git, if you ask me." The other boys were never fond of Piper, because he was Black's favorite.
"And do you remember what happened to him?"
"You mean what happened to us?" He corrected me. "Piper and Black got into some sort of fight. Then we were all dancing and skipping through fields and forests to some delightful music, with promises of food and candy in the song. It was the most beautiful song I've ever heard..." His eyes went unfocused for a minute.
I snapped Lycus out of it. "Yeah, I've heard it."
"Then next thing I know a rat is telling us to step out of the portal."
I was going to ask him more, but we had reached our destination. There were several peasants in the throne room this time. Ura waved us over.
"Took you long enough!" he growled. "Find out what they're babbling about!"
I took my customary seat on Ura's throne. "What's the problem?"
"My pigs!" said Boris.
"--eating us out of house and home!" said another peasant.
"Attacked my cattle!" said a third.
"What?" I asked Boris. "What's attacking your animals?"
"A cat!" he replied.
"A cat? What kind of cat?"
"Huge," said one.
"Angry," said another.
"Black," said Boris.
I nodded. Ura watched me expectantly.
"A huge, angry, black cat has been stalking livestock," I reported.
Ura laughed. I stared at him.
"Oh come on!" Ura snorted. "Do you think I'd honestly go around eating livestock?"
I kept staring.
"I'm an ogre, not a monster," muttered Ura. "I've got plenty of cooked, delicious food here. Lycus isn't a bad cook, as a matter of fact."
He indicated Lycus, who didn't understand a word of our conversation but beamed back at his master anyway. Lycus' slavish devotion was really beginning to get on my nerves. He reminded me of Switch.
"Well, what are you going to do about it?"
"We don't have a standing army," said Ura. "What am I supposed to do about it?"
"Did you ever think that maybe whoever sent the clockwork soldiers after the key might send something else?"
"Like a giant livestock-eating cat?" Ura's smile faded from around his protruding tusks. "It's possible. But rather unsubtle."
"There's nothing subtle about clockwork soldiers either," I said.
Ura conceded the point. "Tell them I will patrol the border personally myself. And give them warning torches. We'll organize patrols or something..." Ura seemed to be bored of his own conversation.
I conveyed the message, which mollified the peasants. But Boris said something before he left that stuck with me.
"We've killed wildcats before," he said. "But this one...this one seems smart."
* * *
It was a quiet day when Ura summoned me again.
"You're still angry over the loss of those peasants, aren't you?"
"Loss?" I didn't look him in the eye. I had learned to not challenge Ura. "I didn't think it was necessary."
"But it was. Do you understand the concept of feudalism?"
"I know what feudalism is," I would have said through gritted teeth, if I were actually using my mouth to speak.
&n
bsp; Fortunately, the aggravation wasn't obvious to Ura. "We had something similar in Chapor. It seems the peasants are familiar with it in the West."
"You taught them feudalism, but you couldn't learn their language?"
Ura scratched idly at his throne arm with one steel-hard fingernail. "They understood the language of violence well enough. These peasants were attached to the castle lord before me. When I came in, I merely took up the same traditions. Lords, vassals, and fiefs. I am their lord, they are my vassals, and in turn I allow them to work the fief."
"What does this have to do with killing them?" I asked coldly.
"I was protecting the fief," said Ura, staring at the fingernail that had just peeled an inch-long curl of wood from his throne. "There are always more peasants, but there is a limited amount of land. Land is precious. Land is all."
I didn't say anything.
"You think you can do better?"
"That's a trick question," I said. "I think the issues the peasants bring to you could be handled more...diplomatically."
"So the rat's a diplomat now? Very well then." He gestured to Lycus. "Bring in the first complaint." Ura reached into my cage and grabbed me by the scruff off of my neck. Then he placed me on his throne. "Let's see how you do," said Ura.
With a wink, he transformed into a snake and slithered off the throne.
The first peasant came in. It was Boris again.
"Where is the Margrave?" he asked.
"I am the Margrave, remember?" I said with my most authoritative voice. "What's the problem?"
Boris clearly did not remember. "But you can't speak our language?"
"Take him away, Lycus," I ordered Lycus, who was looking at me with amusement. "He obviously doesn't want my help."
Boris put up his hands. "Wait, wait! I meant no disrespect my lord." He bowed low. "I came to ask about the violet lotus. As the cold season arrives, they are dying off. What will protect us?"
I thought about that for a moment. "We have men on patrol now, yes?"
"Yes, our most trusted, on the lookout for the phantom cat."
"I believe we will have to make the militia permanent, with training. We have hunters, yes?"
"Of course, m'lord."
"Then we will teach the use of the bow. All who know how to use the bow will be mustered for military service. We will review each hunter by village, and that man shall be a reeve. They will report to me, collect the taxes, and organize defenses. Each reeve will be responsible for the protection of his village, and for contributing to the patrols."
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