Dynasty of Rogues

by Jane Fletcher

  *

  Riki inched across so that she sat more fully in the patch of early morning sunlight. With her hands and feet bound, she could not move around to keep herself warm. Sasha Li, standing guard, eyed her suspiciously but said nothing.

  Riki gazed bitterly at the rope around her wrists and then across the camp to Loke, who was standing and talking to Gerry Baptiste in a voice too low to be overheard. At the sight of her sickeningly earnest expression, Riki’s shoulders slumped. She could not believe how slow she had been. Why had she not challenged Loke over the switched cloak? Why had she agreed to find the supposedly lost glove? Why had she let Loke go alone to give the first report?

  Or as a last resort, why had she not added the evidence up, so that she could have given her explanation as soon as the sergeant and the others arrived and before her footprint and the piece of ripped cloak had been found? Her story would have sounded far more convincing if it had not been pulled from her as each new incriminating scrap of fabricated evidence was found.

  Two Rangers rode into the camp and leapt from their saddles. “Ma’am. The Guards have broken camp and moved out. And—” The Ranger broke off and looked at her companion, as if seeking support.

  “And?”

  “They have Tanya...Corporal Coppelli, prisoner. She’s alive.”

  Riki let her head drop into her bound hands, unable to restrain the groan. From the sounds around the camp, others were reacting to the news in a similar fashion. Captured alive by the Guards was worse than dead, and there was no hope of a rescue. Even if they sent a messenger off with spare horses to use in relay, and riding the animals into the ground, the news would not get to Westernfort for at least twelve days. By the time Captain Coppelli could assemble a large enough force of Rangers to tackle the Guards and bring them out this far east, well over a month would have passed. No matter how much the Guards might dither around, they would surely be back in the Homelands long before then.

  “Was she badly injured?”

  “We couldn’t tell, ma’am. But they left this nailed to a tree.”

  Riki looked up. The speaker was holding up a sealed letter.

  “On the outside it says, To Captain Coppelli, concerning your daughter.”

  Sergeant Baptiste strode across the camp, reached down, and grabbed Riki’s jacket, close to her throat. She jerked Riki’s face to within a few centimeters of her own. “So it wasn’t some sort of accident. The Guards didn’t just ambush the pair of you. You fucking called her into a trap and you told the Guards who she was as well.”

  “No. I didn’t. I—”

  The sergeant raised her free hand in a fist. Riki tuned her head aside. She had no way to duck the blow, but then the grip on her jacket relaxed.

  “You fucking pile of shit.” The voice was a snarl of contempt. “I knew you hated her, but I never thought you’d pull something like this. I’d like to gut you here and now. But I’m going to do something much worse. I’m going to take you back to Westernfort for Captain Coppelli to deal with. I just hope she lets me watch whatever she decides to do to you.”

  Chapter Six—Framed

  Riki’s denials ended in a grunt as Captain Coppelli’s fist pounded into her stomach. Coppelli’s other hand was twisted into the collar of Riki’s shirt, holding her steady and providing extra purchase, but the third punch was hard enough to unbalance the stool Riki sat on. With her hands tied behind her, and her ankles bound together, she was unable to break her fall. Riki and the stool hit the ground hard. The impact jarred every bone, adding to the burning spikes in her stomach. Her cheek cracked against the stone floor and she tasted blood from a bitten tongue

  Coppelli grabbed another fistful of Riki’s shirt and hauled her into a sitting position. “Why did you do it?”

  “I didn’t do—”

  The backhand swipe sent Riki crashing to the ground again. She lay where she landed, trying to suck enough air into her lungs to clear her head, but every movement of her rib cage provoked fresh darts of pain.

  They were in the cellar of the council building in Westernfort. The small room had no windows. Its only light came from two oil lanterns and its only furniture was a desk and a bookshelf full of ledgers. A wooden flight of stairs in the corner led up to the ground floor. A doorway in the wall opposite gave access to a corridor with storerooms leading off. One of these rooms had doubled as a jail cell, where Riki had been dumped after arriving in Westernfort two hours earlier, and from which she had just been dragged for an interview with Captain Coppelli.

  Gerry Baptiste, Sasha Li, and Loke Stevenson had provided her escort for the journey to Westernfort and would also be acting as witnesses in her trial. However, Captain Coppelli had clearly heard their evidence and already made up her mind.

  “Why did you do it?”

  A rough shove from a boot rolled Riki onto her back. She looked up at the woman towering over her. Every muscle in Coppelli’s body was knotted with tension. Her fists clenched and unclenched. Her face held an expression of crazed fury, demonic in the lamplight. She was not going to hear a word Riki said that did not fit with what she already believed.

  Riki gave up. What was the point of telling the truth when it would only get her a worse beating? She carefully drew a shallow breath and said, “I hated her.”

  “Just that?”

  Riki closed her eyes. Was a confession not enough? Did Coppelli want imagination as well?

  “There has to be more!” Coppelli shouted.

  Riki flexed her stomach muscles; the hot stabs had dulled to a general burning. Breathing was getting easier. She scrabbled among her thoughts for something to say, because it was clear that the captain was not going to give up until Riki had said what she wanted to hear.

  “I was angry she outranked me. She was better at archery than me. Never bought me a drink. She insulted my new haircut. Her horse was prettier than mine.” Riki knew that she was getting inane, but what else could she say? “Her nose was too small. I couldn’t—”

  A savage kick stopped Riki’s flow of words. More followed. She tried to roll away, to protect her body from the battering, but there was no way to avoid the succession of blows. Each one triggered a fireball explosion in muscle and bone. Riki heard her own voice whimpering, groaning, and screaming. The echoes filled the basement room, punctuated by the thud of impacts, but it all felt distant. Everything else was irrelevant behind the wall of pain and panic.

  The back of Riki’s head cracked on something hard. Her body dissolved into water. Sparks swam in the darkness. Her thoughts drifted away with the echoes, and for a while there was peace, but then the sounds flowed back. Riki found herself still lying on the floor in the cellar, but the kicking had stopped.

  A new voice was speaking. “Chip, I understand. Believe me, I understand. But it won’t help Tanya, and when you come to look back on this, you won’t be proud of yourself for beating a prisoner to death.”

  “I...she...that little shit. She’s not even sorry. She—” Coppelli’s words stumbled to a halt and were replaced by sobs.

  “Chip. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. But we’ll do this the right way.”

  Riki stayed motionless, struggling to restrain any sound that might draw attention to herself, but cautiously, she opened her eyes a slit.

  The only other person present in the cellar was Kimberly Ramon, the elected leader of the heretics. Riki knew that Ramon had been a Ranger and that she and the captain were close friends of many years standing. So far, Ramon had played no part, but now she had clearly decided to intervene. She had her arms around Coppelli, holding her while she cried.

  “Tanya should’ve...” Again Coppelli’s words were lost in sobs.

  Ramon rubbed her back. “Oh, Chip. This is tough. I wish I could say something to help.”

  Coppelli’s arms tightened around her friend and for a while she just cried, but eventually her sobs subsided and she pulled back. “You do help. Just being here.”

  “I still feel usele
ss.”

  “If you weren’t here, I’d—” Coppelli drew another deep breath and moved away, wiping her eyes. She scowled in Riki’s direction. “I want to rip her to pieces. But you’re right. It won’t help. She’s not worth feeling guilty about afterward.”

  Coppelli leaned back against the wall, pressing the sides of her head with both hands.

  Ramon watched her for a while, and then asked, “How’s Katryn taken the news?”

  “On the face of it, better than me. She’s busy being strong for our other kids. She’s not asking any questions. I think she’s blocking a lot out. But we both know, in Landfall, the Intelligence Corps will—” Coppelli broke off again and she fixed her eyes on the ceiling, clearly struggling to maintain her newfound composure.

  “I know. It’s what they’d do to any of us,” Ramon spoke softly. “And I know it’s a trite thing to say, but Tanya knew the risks. It was her choice to become a Ranger. And she’ll continue to do her duty, as well as she can, for as long as she can.”

  “I know. But the Guards know she’s my daughter, which might make them take a bit more care with her, and not in a good way.” Coppelli’s tone was battling to stay even.

  “I heard the Guards left a letter for you. Was that one of the threats in it?”

  “It was nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  “Nothing I’m going to give any thought to.”

  “Would you like me to give it some thought on your behalf?”

  “No.”

  Ramon studied her friend. “Now you’ve got me wondering what it could have said.”

  Coppelli groaned and turned her face away. “They offered to swap Tanya for Lynn.”

  “Ah.”

  “I don’t want you to even pretend you’re giving a split second of thought to it, because I haven’t.”

  “I wouldn’t be your friend if I didn’t.”

  “And you wouldn’t be our leader if you did. That Tanya’s my daughter and Lynn’s your partner is irrelevant. Tanya’s just another Ranger. Lynn’s our only Imprinter. She’s far more important to us. And the Guards know it.”

  “Yep.” Ramon sounded regretful. “Actually, most of the split second thought I gave was to do with the offer only being intended to create divisions here.”

  “Exactly. Which is why I don’t want Lynn or Katryn to know.”

  “I don’t think Lynn would do anything stupid.”

  “But she’d feel guilty. Anyway, I bet the Guards wouldn’t give Tanya back. They’d find some loophole to break their word while pretending they hadn’t.” Coppelli’s face crumpled again. “There’s nothing we can do. Tanya’s gone. I just wish she’d died cleanly.”

  Coppelli pushed herself away from the wall. Riki forced herself not to react as the boots stopped, scant centimeters from her face, hoping the captain would not take one last kick if her victim was already unconscious.

  “We’ll have our trial tomorrow. And then we’ll string this bitch up by her neck. I wished I’d had her dumped on the border the first day she set foot in Westernfort. It was what I wanted to do. But I was the one who put her in Tanya’s patrol. I set all this up.”

  “Hindsight is the bitch. You can’t blame yourself for not knowing the future.”

  “How many times do you think I’ll need to tell myself that before I believe it?”

  “Come on. Let’s go. Katryn will need you.”

  “And promise you won’t tell Lynn about the letter?”

  “Yes.”

  Riki heard the sound of feet on the wooden stairs.

  “I’ll get someone to throw Sadiq back in the storeroom and stand guard. I know that even doing it properly won’t help much, but I’m so looking forward to watching her swing tomorrow.”

  *

  The straw-stuffed mattress on the ground was the only item in the cell. Riki eased herself around on it, trying to lie more comfortably—not easy with her hands tied behind her back. Her bruises were sore and stiffening, and her head ached, but nothing appeared broken. The narrow room was in complete darkness. Riki was sure that it was after nightfall, although she had no way to check. She had missed seeing her last sunset.

  Persuading anyone of her innocence on the next day was a hopeless task. To be fair, with the way Loke had set her up, Riki could not blame them. She doubted that she would believe her own story if she were hearing it from someone else. Her situation was not helped by Tanya’s popularity. At the moment, people were more interested in revenge than justice. Everyone knew she and Tanya hated each other. In addition to providing Riki with a motive, although a weak one, it meant that she was an especially fitting target on which the town could take out its grief.

  Apart from Loke’s testimony, the only evidence against Riki was the incriminating footprints and the torn cloak, but it would be enough. Loke had judged her ploy with the lost glove well. Not only had it resulted in the false clues, but it had taken Riki away while the Guards returned to camp. If she had seen that they held Tanya as a prisoner, Riki would have been more alert and might not have sleepwalked into the frame-up so blindly.

  Riki turned her face to the ceiling, staring up, though she could see nothing in the darkness. One of the offices overhead would be used as the courtroom tomorrow. From there she would be taken out to the town square and hung from a gibbet. At least she would get to see the open sky one more time.

  The sound of a key in the lock made Riki tense and look down. A thin line of light shone through the gap beneath the door. Who was coming to see her now? And were they also interested in some impromptu pre-trial retribution?

  The door swung open. Riki was temporarily blinded by the lantern shining directly into her eyes. She averted her head, while listening for footsteps. Just one pair of feet. Whoever it was had come alone. This was not a good sign. One person could inflict as much damage as a mob, and there would be no calmer heads calling for restraint.

  The lantern was put down in front of Riki’s face and then whoever had entered the room knelt behind her. Riki’s bound hands were pulled back, straining her shoulders. Riki clenched her jaw, bracing herself, but to her surprise, the only thing she felt was the rope being loosened. Riki looked over her shoulder. The lamplight showed Loke, frowning in concentration as she worked on the knots.

  “What?” Riki was bewildered.

  Loke glanced up. “Look. I’m sorry about all this. I didn’t mean it to go so far. I didn’t mean Tanya to get caught. I’m sorry. I...I can’t just let you hang, when I know—” She ducked her head and returned to the rope.

  “You’re going to tell the truth?”

  “No, I can’t. It wasn’t my fault, but Captain Coppelli won’t believe it. She’s going to want to hang someone. If not you, then me. But I’m giving you a chance to escape.”

  “Doesn’t sound like much.”

  “It’s the best I can do for you.”

  The rope fell away and Loke moved to Riki’s ankles. Riki rolled over and gently rubbed the chafed spots on her wrists, then flexed her hands to get the circulation back. As she did this, her thoughts bounded ahead.

  “Why did you give Tanya to the Guards?”

  “The Guards cornered me and caught me by the rocks. They said they’d take me back to Landfall for the Intelligence Corps to play with unless I helped them catch somebody more important. Tanya was the only person around who’d count. I hoped when she arrived we’d be able to sort something out and escape, but the Guards had everything covered.”

  “You mean you sold Tanya out to save your own skin?”

  “No. It wasn’t like that.”

  Riki was not convinced, but getting the truth out of Loke would take more time and coercion than she had access to. The last knot loosened, and Loke stood up. Riki also got carefully to her feet, with her hands braced on the walls. She tried not to wince as her bruises complained.

  “Okay. So you’ve untied me. Now what?”

  Loke licked her lips. “I’m the only one on jail watch down
here, and there’s just a couple of clerks in the office upstairs. When I leave here I’ll go and chat to them, which will be your chance to sneak out. Just give me two minutes, and then you’re on your own. If anyone sees you escaping, I won’t help. I’ve done my bit for you.”

  Riki made a show of massaging and flexing her knees. The first thing was to get a bit more time to work with. She did not trust Loke or the offer to create a diversion. “Can you make it ten minutes? I’ve been tied up for ages. I’ll stand a better chance if I get my legs working properly before I try moving.”

  “All right. Ten minutes.” Loke nodded and picked up the lantern. At the doorway she paused and glanced back. “Sorry, again. And good luck.”

  “Thanks.”

  Riki listened to Loke’s footsteps departing down the corridor, and then the sound of the door at the end opening and closing. She shook her head scornfully. Just how gullible did Loke think she was? Okay, she had been played for a fool once, but she was not going to be caught out again so easily. Riki was sure that she was reading the signs right.

  Tomorrow, at the trial, she would get the chance to tell her version of events, clearly and in full. Of course, nobody would believe her. She would be found guilty and executed. But in a month or two, when everyone had calmed down a little, surely a few folk might start to wonder why a Ranger skilled in bushcraft had left her footprints behind so carelessly. Some would come to realize that it really had been just Loke’s word against hers.

  The rethink probably would not be enough for a retrial, or a posthumous pardon, but it would have people looking slightly more suspiciously at Loke. When you considered what she was like, it would be amazing if Loke did not have her full share of enemies, eager to believe the worst of her. This was why she did not want Riki to stand up and lay out the whole story for everyone to hear. And for her part, Riki was not greatly interested in anything that might happen posthumously.

  Riki crept into the passageway, alert for signs of a trap. The door at the end was outlined by lantern light from the room beyond. Riki caught her lip in her teeth. She was prepared to stake her life that Loke was waiting there, sword drawn, ready to cut down the escaping prisoner, who would thus never get her chance in court.