by Joseph Lallo
The patrons shouted angrily, and moved as a group to punish him, but he surprised her by standing his ground. He drew his sword, and the crowd backed away in fear. With sword raised, he rushed her—
Craaaack!
—and met his death at her hand.
He flew back, and came to rest against the door with a hole the size of her fist in his chest. The sudden silence was deafening. The inn patrons looked at her, and flinched.
“Death to Deva’s enemies,” she said, coldly surveying the crowd, and trying not to let them see her shaking. She turned to her companions. Both the guardsmen seemed pleased, and even Mathius nodded.
The innkeeper hurried in from the back, having missed the show. He was the practical sort though. He was more interested in having the body removed, and getting his patrons back to spending their money, than arguing over the rights and wrongs of the killing. It wasn’t long before the music started up again, and he offered to show them to their rooms. She quickly agreed, wanting to find somewhere she could be alone in case she cried. The whispers started behind her as she climbed the stairs.
“Did you see that?”
“Deva’s enemies, she said—”
“I wouldn’t cross her—”
People were people anywhere, she’d found. As on Earth, force was the only thing some people respected. It always came down to who was strongest in the end.
* * *
53 ~ Lady Healer
The next few days went by in much the same way. Julia would wake at sunrise. After washing and dressing, she ate breakfast with the others in the common room. She always had the same thing, two eggs and toast, and a cup of goat’s milk. The milk took a little getting used to, but she’d decided that Mathius was right about the amount of wine she’d been drinking lately. She decided to drink water or milk with one cup of wine at dinner from now on.
The rest of the day she spent exploring the town, and getting to know the people. Brian and Udall wouldn’t let her go alone of course, but word of her first night’s encounter must have preceded her, because she met with no further trouble.
She did regret not being more prepared for her stay. She had clothes in her room at Malcor, but she wouldn’t return there to fetch them. It would feel like failure. So although the money belonged to Keverin, she didn’t mind spending it upon some necessities. In her mind, he owed her more than money. He owed her a huge apology, but the money did come in useful. With a red-faced Mathius helping her choose appropriate clothing, she bought underclothes and various essentials from the local shops. He told Brian and Udall watching from the door, to stop laughing or he’d fry them.
On the fifth day after her arrival, a woman interrupted her breakfast. “Are you the lady healer?”
Julia nodded and swallowed the bite of toast she’d been eating. “I’m a healer, yes.”
“My boy, he’s awful sick. Will you help? I can pay you a copper or two, and more when I get it.”
“Don’t worry about the money. Just take me to him,” she said, and dashed out behind the hurrying woman. She didn’t need to look, to know that her friends were following.
They left familiar streets behind very quickly, and she began to wonder if she’d been wise to come, but she wouldn’t risk a child’s life to paranoia. The streets were dirty and smelly. Garbage and worse things clogged the gutters that edged of the road. It wasn’t the smell that made her suddenly wary though; it was the stares that she received. On each corner, rough men stood watching them pass. She stood out as an outsider, but worse than that, her dress and the guardsmen marked her as highborn. If it hadn’t been for the woman who led them, she felt sure that she would have been mugged or worse.
“Here lady,” the woman said, pointing to a ramshackle house.
Julia grasped her magic, and stepped warily through the door into a gloomy room. It was the only room in the house, and was divided by a curtain to create a sleeping area. The curtain had been tied back to reveal a sick child lying upon a low bed in one corner. He was flushed and crying out in pain. One moment she was at the door, the next on her knees at his bedside, trying to comfort him.
“There, there. Auntie Julia will fix it, don’t you worry.”
“Nonsense. He’s dying.”
She peered into the shadows, trying to penetrate the gloom. She hadn’t noticed the other woman standing in the corner. There was a basket on the floor by her feet, filled with herbs and jars of ointment. She had dark hair, but streaked with grey. Another healer, Julia realised. She was excited by the possibility that she might learn something, but what the woman said finally registered, and a chill ran through her.
“What do you think is wrong with him?”
The healer stepped forward to gently pull the covers down. “Touch him lightly, just there.”
Julia frowned. She remembered her first aid instructor saying that appendicitis could be diagnosed pretty accurately by pressing the abdomen just there. Would magic even cure something like this? She didn’t know, but she had to hope it would. She was no surgeon. She gently touched the boy’s belly, and snatched her hand away when he screamed. There was no doubt. It might even have ruptured into peritonitis.
She took a deep breath, raised her golden ward, and tried to heal him. It was all she could do. Using her mage-sight, she looked for something in his aura to heal, and found it easily. There was an evil looking green and purple light pulsing malevolently. It reminded her strongly of what she’d found in Mathius’ aura when she healed him.
She knew exactly what to do, and quickly destroyed the red streaks that permeated the boy’s aura, until the source of the problem lay trapped in her net. Squeezing it smaller and smaller, she destroyed the nasty thing. When there were no further signs of infection, she dropped her ward, and released her magic with a tired sigh. She didn’t know how long she’d been working, but her legs had gone to sleep.
“Help me up,” she said, reaching a hand out to her friends, and Mathius lifted her to her feet. He steadied her until the feeling came back to her legs.
The healer stepped forward with a frown to examine the child and gasped. “What you’ve done is… it’s a miracle!” she said in awe.
“Not really, it’s just magic,” Julia said, but it was pretty wonderful when she thought about it. God meant magic to be used this way, for healing not killing, she was sure. It felt so right.
The healer looked confused.
“That’s what she means, lady,” Mathius said, smiling at the boy gently. He’d opened his eyes now. “Our magic is the God’s gift to his chosen. It is his will manifest through you that the boy lives.”
The healer nodded, wide-eyed.
“Well I… I mean…” Julia said, feeling flustered. Magic had become so commonplace to her, that she hadn’t thought how it must appear to the common folk.
“Here is everything, lady, but it’s worth it,” the boy’s mother said, her eyes brimming with tears. She held out a dirty hand.
Julia looked down at the woman’s four coppers, and then plaintively at Mathius. Shaking his head, he handed her their money pouch. She pulled ten silver pence out, and added them to the four coppers in the woman’s hand.
The woman looked at the money in bewilderment. “I don’t understand, lady.”
“You need coins more than I,” Julia said, and left the woman staring at more money than she’d ever seen. Once back on the street, she gave the pouch to Mathius, and they walked back to the inn.
Over the following days, she kept herself busy healing the sick, or walking around learning what she could about the Devan way of life. She no longer needed guardsmen to walk any street safely, but Brian and Udall had orders. They took them seriously, and wouldn’t hear of her walking the streets alone. When someone with the means to pay needed her services, she charged them five silver pence, but when she went into the poorer parts of town, she gave her money away. Mathius kept track of it all. She was breaking even, and she was sa
tisfied with that.
Over time, she became known throughout the town as a fine healer, and a fool with her money. People recognised her by sight, and often greeted her by name on the streets. She spent her time healing the sick, talking to the people she met, and learning all she could.
She was content.
* * *
54 ~ Malcor Town
Julia made her way upstairs to her room, leaving the boys to it. They said they wanted to listen to the minstrel who’d arrived that morning, but she thought it was really the serving girls they were interested in. They’d become fond of two in particular. Both girls seemed too young in her opinion, but women were routinely married at seventeen in Deva. Brian and Mathius had found a bed other than their own more than once. Udall smiled tolerantly, and said he was too old for such games, before following her up.
“Goodnight,” she said as she entered her room.
“Night, lady, sleep well and wake,” Udall replied, waiting for her to lock her door.
She smiled, and did that for him.
Sleep well and wake was a strange thing to say. Sort of a prayer, asking God not to take her in her sleep. A sudden foreboding swept over her, but she shook it off with practicality. Considering all that had befallen her since arriving at Athione, she doubted dying in her sleep was part of her future. A fireball in the face was more likely. She snorted at the thought. Besides, Udall was much older than the others. He often said odd things. Something to do with his upbringing, she suspected. She should ask him. Maybe he wasn’t born in Deva, but in Tanjung, or Japura, or somewhere she’d never heard of. She knew very little about the world. Lucius and Mathius had taught her a lot, but not much about what lay beyond the borders of Deva and Hasa.
Thoughts of Lucius made her want her mirror. She fetched it from the vanity, and sat upon the edge of her bed, determined to figure out the problem. She often tried to find him, but always failed. It wasn’t her fault, but something he’d done to prevent her. She knew there were spells to hide from observation, but she didn’t know how they worked, and wanted a way around them. It was damn frustrating that he felt the need to hide from her, but understandable she supposed. Especially when she considered who else might be looking for him. She would bet all the gold in Athione’s treasury that Mortain was. He must be really pissed at Lucius right now.
She concentrated and watched the swirling grey in the mirror expectantly, but it wouldn’t subside. She sighed. It was like all the other times. He was still blocking her. She gave up and thought of Mathius, and suddenly he appeared in the mirror. The image was rock steady, and seemed real rather than a picture made of light. She absently wondered what else she could make with light. Mathius was dancing with one of the serving girls! She grinned at the sight. Brian was standing to one side clapping in time with the music. She could hear it through the mirror, and more distantly through her door. She wondered whether Keverin could dance.
The moment thoughts of him popped into her head, he appeared in the mirror. He was in the saddle without an escort. She frowned at the sight. He never rode anywhere without one. Where was he heading so late? She moved in closer, to see his face better. He was wearing his helm, but she could see his expression well enough. He looked both grim and determined. She widened the view and swung around behind him. In the far distance she could make out the town.
He’s coming here!
She scowled. “I don’t care if he’s coming... I don’t!”
A part of her, a small part, wanted to avoid the confrontation, but she knew she couldn’t. He wouldn’t be coming now if Jihan didn’t need her. Her time here must be up. She quickly packed her few belongings. Two doors down, she knocked and entered Udall’s room.
“Your lord is on the way. I think the enemy must be close.”
Udall nodded, and begun pulling on his armour. He didn’t ask questions. “I’ll tell the others.”
“Meet me in the stables.”
She managed to saddle Yeetah on her own, and was just congratulating herself when the others arrived. Before long, all four of them were riding out of town toward Malcor. The moon provided the only light, but it was nearly full, and was enough to see Keverin galloping towards her near the midway point. She pointed him out to the others, and stopped to hear the news.
Keverin removed his helm, and bowed to her without dismounting. “Well met. The enemy is no more than two days march from the border. Jihan’s scouts rode in just before sunset with the news.”
Her friends greeted their lord warmly, but she said nothing, not trusting herself. Now that he was here, her anger returned as if no time had passed. Rather than start an argument, she guided Yeetah wide around him, and continued riding toward the fortress. She heard the others talking quietly as they moved to follow, but she couldn’t hear the words clearly. She didn’t need to hear them to know that Keverin was hearing their report.
I’ll give him a report!
How about a report on the arrogance of Athione’s lord, how about that? Or a report about the poverty of Deva’s people? She’d learned quite a bit living in town. While the lords and merchants lived in splendour, Deva’s common folk lived in poverty.
“We need to talk, lady,” Keverin said, easing Cavell up beside her.
“Do we, Lord Keverin?”
“You used to call me Kev.”
She snorted. “That was before.”
His face clouded. “Damn it, Julia! I could have destroyed that cursed book if I’d wanted to strand you here! You wouldn’t have known a thing about it, but I didn’t. Instead I kept it for you, and hoped you wouldn’t use it.”
“Hoped I wouldn’t? You knew I wouldn’t. I didn’t know about it! Oh yes, you needed me to save Athione so you didn’t tell me, and then there was Malcor, so you didn’t tell me then either. When would you have told me—after I’d saved the whole bloody kingdom?”
“If only you could,” he said and sighed. “Darius was my best friend, and he died because I showed him that book. I don’t want you to follow him into a grave. Not because Deva needs you, but because I love you.”
“It doesn’t matter, Lord Keverin. Nothing you say does. I just can’t trust you. I’ll help you fight the invaders, but don’t look for more from me.”
He growled a frustrated curse. “How can I make you believe me?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered, but then in a firmer voice she said, “You can’t.”
When she reached the fortress, she left her horse in Brian’s care, and made her way to her old room. The door had been replaced with a new one, and when she opened it, she found Jihan sitting in Keverin’s chair waiting for her.
“I’m glad you’re back, lady. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too,” she admitted. “You cut your hair.”
Jihan smiled ruefully. “Clan braids seemed inappropriate for a lord protecting the border against clan raiders.”
She supposed he was right, but she’d liked the old style better. The beads woven into his hair had looked otherworldly, and the plaits at his temples looked really good on him. They’d framed his face. He was still a very handsome man, but she’d bet Ahnao mourned their loss. A single ponytail at the back like the one Marcus wore, wouldn’t make the girl love him less. He was still pretty, just not as pretty.
She removed her cloak and sat. “What’s the plan?”
“That’s what I want to talk about. Keverin recommended staying behind the walls, but I think that’s a bad idea.”
“It is,” she said in surprise.
Why would Kev say something stupid like that? Malcor would be defenceless against the sorcerers’ magic. She would do her best to hold them off, but she still couldn’t build a ward like the one used at Athione.
“I know why I think so, but why do you?” Jihan said.
“At Athione we had five mages warding one gate and a small stretch of wall. Now all you have is Mathius and me. I couldn’t ward your gate
to save my life, but even if I could, the legion will surround Malcor and attack from all sides.”
Jihan nodded. “Keverin agrees with us on all that, but he thinks you’d be safer fighting from inside the walls, rather than taking the fight to them.”
She probably would be safer, but what about everyone else? The sorcerers would bombard Malcor as they had Athione, but this time they would attack until nothing was left. They knew about her now. They wouldn’t take the chance of her getting away. She was sure of it.
“I have a plan,” Jihan said. “It might even work!” He grinned, but then he sobered abruptly. “It probably won’t, but it might. You’ll hide in the town, protected by Keverin and all his men. The Hasians will lay siege to me here, and while they concentrate upon me, you’ll attack them by surprise. Can you hit the sorcerers all at once as you did before?”
“Probably.”
He nodded. “With luck, I’ll sally with every man I have while they’re still reeling from your lightning. Malcor can hold against any normal siege. If we can kill all their mages quickly, and then retreat inside the walls before they can rally, we might hold out.”
“There’s a lot of luck involved in all that. What if they attack you the moment they arrive? They could take your gate down before I strike. Nothing you can do will hold them out after that.”
“I know, but what else is there?”
“I should fight them over the border,” Julia said reluctantly. “Why should I wait until they’re outside your gate? Where’s the advantage in that?”
“But can you win?” Jihan said in frustration. “They know what you did last time. They’ll be ready.”
“I won’t know that until I try. Your plan relies upon surprise, but so does mine. What’s the difference where it happens? I’ll need your scouts to show me where they are.”