by J. Thorn
Shella sobbed and blew her nose into the bottom of the apron. Burton pulled back and grimaced. He tugged at the fraying edges of his clothes, making sure they remained firmly in place.
“I will position myself next to a fire, one that I will ignite on the south side of the mountain and within a call of your cave. Should any person appear or grace my presence, you shall be notified forthwith.” Sir Burton Ford stood and exited the cave without so much as a bow or gesture of his cap.
Chapter 20
The pinpoint of light grew from a spark to the size of a coin placed above the trees. An occasional drop of water fell to the dirt, where the floor of the cave devoured the moisture.
The chains sang in discordant chimes as Kelsun shook both legs. The iron cuffs around his ankles felt snug, but the ones around his wrists bit into the flesh. He rose up on his toes to alleviate the pressure and relieve the pain temporarily. The constant drip of the water echoed through the cavern. Kelsun’s eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, but the streaks of chasers marred his vision. The walls pulsed back and forth. Kelsun squinted to bring them into focus, an effort that failed.
“Help,” he said, struggling to get the words out. Not even the water paid him any mind. “Is anyone there?” he asked. Once again, nothing but the echo of his own voice returned to his ears.
Kelsun took inventory of his predicament. He noticed two cisterns on the floor, one full of liquid and the other empty. Through the process of deduction, he determined their contents. A dark swath cut through the wall at the opposite end. He saw a satchel nearby. None of the items sat within reach while he remained bound.
He shook his hands, jangling the chains and forcing the blood to circulate through his veins. The thin shaft of light moved across the wall in a slow arc.
“You’ll get used to it.”
Kelsun whimpered and squinted at the darkness. “Who said that?”
A long sigh.
“Answer me,” Kelsun replied.
“From the looks of it, we’ll have plenty of time to converse. Get yourself together.”
Kelsun shook and ripped at the shackles, but they did little more than chafe his skin. He screamed and listened to the echo fade through the tunnel.
“You’d think some creature at the top would hear that, but you’d be wrong. Probably why the son of a bitch put you in here with me. Ain’t no worries about us conspiring to escape.”
Kelsun settled and began to focus on the voice from the dark. It sounded masculine but young. He felt the familiar ring of dialect but recognized that it varied from his own.
“How long you been in here?”
A buzzing laughter filled the cavern, followed by wet coughing sounds.
“What’s yer name, fellah?”
“Kelsun,” he replied.
“From the Commonwealth?”
“Aye, and you?”
“Figures they’d start eating their own. You ever tasted the flesh of man, Kelsun?”
“That’s profane,” Kelsun replied.
“That’s your meal.”
Kelsun struggled again, screaming and bellowing. He called for Jaithe, for Shella, for his dead parents. All the while the phantom voice remained quiet, waiting.
“The Ways never say nothing about the spirit, now, do they?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do, Kelsun.”
“I’m thinking about nothing but getting out of here, and possibly splitting your skull if you don’t stop talking nonsense.”
Another wet laugh, followed by more coughing. The unseen creature inhaled and spat. Kelsun heard it hit the wall and imagined the green slime dripping down it.
“When the riser meets the sea, you’ll see me. Yeah, ma, you’ll see me.”
Kelsun shrugged and brought his shoulder up to an ear in hopes of drowning out the conversation. “The confinement has made you a monster.”
“You got yer clothes on ya? You still covering what you was born with?”
Kelsun waited, tiring of the erratic questions.
“You’d be surprised how long it takes the bugs to chew ’em off. I guess they tire of your flesh when the sun ain’t warmin’ it. The cloth is the next to go, but it ain’t like you need it here.”
“My uncle’s looking for me.”
“Right. That he is.” The voice sounded suddenly tired, drained of emotion and sliding into a troubled sleep.
“You learn not to fight it when it comes, to take what you can, when you can. You’ll see me. Yeah, ma, you’ll see me.”
Kelsun strained his neck towards the voice. He felt the motion rather than seeing it. Another drop fell from the hole and landed on the top of his head.
“He put ya there on purpose. Used to call that ‘the dripper.’ Yeah, ya start to think that ain’t nuthin’ down here random. The cruel bastard thought it all out, every single detail.”
“Thought you were sleeping,” said Kelsun.
“Well, you ought stop thinkin’ all together, ‘cause that’ll just get you like me.”
***
“How much farther down the trail?”
“Looks like the tracks are fading. We might best head back on each side, into the woods, to see what we might see.”
“And risk a skull-crushin’ from the Naturals?”
“That’s not a risk we’ll have to take any longer.” Jaithe tossed the warm remainder of coffee down his throat and kicked snow into the fire’s embers.
They traveled through most of the day, stopping to rest and eat in solitude. The snow picked up and blew across the trail, erasing the evidence of the trip. Jaithe saw the mountain first and signaled to Brinton to rejoin him on the path. If Kelsun remained missing, he would probably not be found on the trail at the bottom of the valley, within sight of the caves.
“Go on up ahead. I’m sure your mother will want you to fetch a fresh pail before we settle in tonight, as there was no one to complete that task last night.”
Brinton nodded and trudged up the trail towards the cave. He anchored to the supply sled they had left at the base of the climb in case they found Kelsun earlier in the search. Brinton climbed the switchbacks, creating two lines in the snow, appearing as an insect on the white background.
“Empty handed, it looks like.”
Jaithe turned with his hand resting on the hilt of a rapier.
“C’mon, Councilman. No savage is gonna greet ya with His tongue.”
Captain Russell stepped through several bare trunks and stood astride in the middle of the path. Michael Sicklemore, eyes narrow and set above a crooked nose, appeared behind him.
“We last spoke under somewhat better circumstances.”
“I understand your boy’s gone missin’.” The captain spoke the line and left it hanging in the air, as if unsure whether it would land as a statement or a question.
“It’s possible. It’s also possible the boy drifted off, chasing a squirrel or a fox. You know how easy it can be to get turned around out here. One minute you’re trudging along the trail, surprising other folk going about their business, and the next you’re gone from the Commonwealth.”
Sicklemore grinned and pulled a sliver of wood from between his lips. Ice stuck to his short beard and hung off his chin. The man’s eyes glared at Jaithe like shiny black marbles when he spoke. “I could see how that occasion might befall a boy, one too naïve to protect himself from the dangers of this place. A boy unarmed and without an escort.”
Sicklemore lost hold of his grin and let it slide into a giggle.
“Do you know something of Kelsun’s disappearance?” asked Jaithe.
The captain took a long look at him, turning his head but not taking his eyes off the man.
“I need to get back to the cave and my husbandly duties,” Jaithe said.
Sicklemore murdered the laugh, and the corners of his mouth dropped, drawing his mouth into a fine line of determination. Russell took a step backwards and fell in ne
xt to him, blocking Jaithe’s way.
“Dem caves seem like a funny thing, now that ya mention it.”
Jaithe rolled his eyes.
“Man could get lost in those tunnels, might even end up on the other side. Maybe your boy’s stuck in there? My associate and I would be willing to help ya look.”
“My wife and I can handle that, thank you.”
“I dunno know, Master Jaithe. She had that dark hair wrapped around tears, enough so that her temple gray stuck out.”
Jaithe pushed his chest into the captain’s, his buttons brushing against Russell’s coat. With his fist balled, Jaithe opened his mouth, but then closed it without a sound. He backed away and gathered a few satchels Brinton had left before heading up the hill.
“Well, Captain Russell, it seems as though you are a determined man and that you would like to tour the caves, even after others have entered and never returned. It would be a shame if that unnatural end were to befall you and Mr. Sicklemore.”
“I think that’s a risk we’re willing to take. But I can’t imagine what would happen to that lovely wife of yours should something befall you, Master Jaithe. We best oughta be lookin’ out for each other, should we travel into the mountain together.”
“By all means, Captain Russell. He says we must be our brother’s keeper.”
The captain slapped his hands together once, leaving them pressed as if in prayer.
“Sounds adventurous, Master Jaithe. Mr. Sicklemore and I shall be at your cave on the morn. Is there anything we need to bring?”
“Nothing that’ll help you deep in the earth, Captain. Nothing you have will do that.”
***
“Where ya been? Whorin’ while yer friend’s dyin’?”
Patience let her hand fly. It sliced through the air with a hush before landing at the side of Abbot’s head. The woman ducked, but only low enough to deflect the blow from her ear.
“Git up and say it again.”
Abbot shook her head and remained on the floor.
“Leave her be, beast.”
Patience aimed her yellow eyes towards Bourne and turned her mouth into a snarl. “Mind yer own, wench,” she said.
Abbot stood between the two, one hand rubbing a glowing left ear.
“I was not in my place, and I offer you an apology.”
Patience looked at Bourne’s outstretched hand, turned to the left, and spat on the ground. “Why the summons?” Patience asked.
Abbot straightened her head-covering and smoothed her apron. She jumped to the wall and poured three satchels into the cauldron.
“Over tea?”
The other two nodded and sat on the rickety chairs. Abbot stirred the pot and ladled three cups of brew into bowls. She offered the first to Patience, who waited for Bourne to sip hers first.
“Is a mighty fine cocktail. For a moron.”
Abbot waved at the insult like a departing visitor after an extended stay. “It’s what I do now that Anas is gone.”
“He was a good man,” said Bourne, hoping to head off any type of emotional engagement.
“We wanted to meet you and git to know ya, like all the newcomers.”
Patience cackled, and wisps of gray hair latched onto her bushy eyebrows. “A welcoming of sorts,” she said through fits of laughter and coughing.
“Yes, of sorts,” said Abbot.
Patience straightened her back and remembered the glint in Abbot’s eye. She recognized the look of the marketplace hustler in her face.
“We’d like to know what you bring on the vessels, for the sake of the Commonwealth,” said Bourne.
“If you’s askin’ about a homestead for yer maiden there, I’d say she gots plenty to daddle.”
“I need a husband. That is all,” said Abbot.
“Uh-huh,” said Patience.
“Tell us about the voyage across the Great Sea,” said Bourne.
Patience cocked her head to one side and leaned in towards the fire. She dropped the words from her mouth as one might a feather in the air. “Stillborn babies, their mamas tossed over behind them. Men violatin’ women, children stealin’. Any more you wanna know?”
The blood drained from the faces of Abbot and Bourne like water over a levy.
“Didn’t think so,” said Patience.
“We heard yer friend, Vera, the wolves got her.”
“Say her name again and you and I is back where we started, and I ain’t stoppin’ till you’re face down in the dirt.”
Abbot smiled, her cheeks twitching.
“My husband is on the council. He serves Master Jaithe, second-in-command in the Commonwealth,” Bourne said.
Patience’s furry eyebrows rose as she rocked back on the chair, the paltry legs begging for forgiveness.
“Master Jaithe,” she whispered, followed by a low whistle through crooked teeth and rotten breath.
“Yes, head of the council, himself,” Bourne said.
“Has he brought ya any of the rock of the Naturals, the golden boulder, or the dust?”
Bourne cocked her head to the side like a dog listening to her master’s rant.
“Gold,” said Patience while slapping her palms on her knees.
“We ain’t no time nor inclination to be fillin’ the coffers of the Commonwealth with gold. Those ain’t His Ways.”
Bourne rolled her eyes at Abbot and shuffled her chair closer to Patience. “Do tell,” she said.
Abbot stood and grabbed the iron spoon. She stepped away from the others to stir the cauldron. “I’ll have no talk of that in my presence, if you do please.”
Bourne put a hand to her mouth and shrugged as if Abbot deserted talk of gold all the time.
“Ya know Jaithe been hoardin’ it?” Patience wasted no time jumping into the speculation, hoping to see Bourne bite.
“He has?”
Patience nodded. “What I been hearin’, he been gettin’ it from the Naturals and hidin’ it in the tunnels of his cave. Word is he’s got stacks of it in there that he’s hidin’ from the council, the Commonwealth, and the company.”
“You seen it?”
“Not with my eyes, but I knows fer sure others have. Captain, he hopin’ ta get a crew together and talk with Jaithe ‘bout it. Nobody wants it ta come ta blows.”
Bourne smiled and looked at the fire. “Of course not, nobody wants that.”
“But what if they find it, or what if Jaithe gives it up? You can’t say he oughta walk free, a man to the crime?”
“Would be an embarrassment to his wife, his family, to the council. That couldn’t happen.”
Patience’s speech purred like a kitten stroked by a firm hand. “Suppose I knew a way to spare him from that. Save the face of his family and such.”
“You? A ship wench sneakin’ around the beachhead while the sailors keep ya locked in the hold ‘til a blind drunkard speaks the vow?”
Patience swallowed the vile insult, refusing to be knocked aside. “If we need to go back to the blows, let’s stop wastin’ words on each other.”
Bourne held both palms up in the air and shook her head. “I find it hard to believe you got a line on that, if, in fact, you do.”
“I may be offerin’ some of that line.”
Abbot’s head turned, no longer feigning attention on the stirring of the pot.
“Yeah?” Bourne said.
“Yeah”
“Half?”
Patience roared in laughter. “You think we is men or somethin’? Ain’t no creature without a dangle swingin’ low claimin’ half of anything.”
Bourne shrugged. “No negotiatin’ ever been won by stickin’ yer nose in the dirt and askin’ for the clouds.”
Patience let loose a reluctant giggle. “One of ten. Probably the best I can do without raisin’ the hackles of the captain.”
“That don’t mean nuthin’ less your claims come through as you speak ’em.”
“I gotta think they will, otherwise I’ll be dumping piss pots for
the ‘gentlemen’ in this Commonwealth ‘til they dump me in the cold earth.”
Bourne let a sly smile crawl across her face like a snake. “One of ten ain’t comin’ from the good nature of yer heart. What you askin’ of me?”
Abbot stopped and stood behind Bourne. She placed her hands on Bourne’s shoulders and waited to hear the response.
“Keep Jaithe occupied, outta the tunnels.”
“I ain’t his woman, case you hadn’t realized it.”
“But you is the woman of his right hand. Use the slit between your legs and the head on your shoulders to get Aiden to take Jaithe elsewhere. I don’t care if he convinces Jaithe that he needs to take count of the clams on the beachhead, just keep ’em out of the caves.”
“That’s it?”
“Unless you got somethin’ else up yer ruffled skirt that you wanna be sharin’, yeah, that’s it. If you can do that much you’ll have earned your one of ten.”
“One of ten for both of us.”
Bourne and Patience turned to look at Abbot. Her shiny eyes did not blink or waver.
“That’s two of ten!” yelled Patience.
“Just like countin’ the number of balls they place on yer chin.”
Patience stood and glared at Abbot, her red face rivaling the flames of the fire.
Abbot continued. “Or I could find my way to the council and share the matter I overheard the captain talkin’ about. Might leave the newcomers with nuthin’ of ten, which, by my reckonin’, is nuthin’. Not to mention the tale of your holy resurrection.”
Patience threw her mug to the ground. The clay shattered, and the fire sizzled with the remnants of the contents. “Damn you to hell. One of ten, each.”
Abbot lifted the broom and turned to dust the stones surrounding the fire. “Takes lots a work to keep the filth outta here.”
***
Aiden stood next to Jaithe and Ford as the captain and Sicklemore came up the trail. Brinton peered out of the darkness at the edge of the opening.