by Dave Duncan
Andor had noticed. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure. Felt something.”
He had felt Inos, a faint glimmer of Inos. Now it had gone. Impossible! His feeble sorcery was not nearly strong enough to scrutinize Krasnegar. It must have been imagination.
“Don’t know. ” He shrugged. “Nerves, maybe. Those clouds are the Mosweeps. How do you feel about lady trolls?” Andor shuddered. “Don’t even joke about it.”
Rap had little desire to joke. He wished he had not felt that sinister little premonition of Inos in danger. Still, she would soon be warned about Zinixo and the Covin, because Shandie must be almost at Kinvale now.
3
Goblins! There were a dozen or more of them packing into the little room-thick, short men in buckskin breeches, some in tunics, others bare-chested, with khaki skin shining greasily. They all bore swords, and some had bows and quivers on their shoulders also. Their ugly, angular eyes were bright and angry within ugly arabesques of tattoo.
Absurdly, as she struggled to her feet, Inos could think only Thank the Gods that Kade did not live to see this!
Then one of the men grabbed Kadie in a one-armed hug. He pushed his mouth on hers, bending her over backward in a forcible kiss, choking off her scream. His companions laughed, or jabbered in guttural amusement.
“Stop that!” Gath shouted. He tried to stand, and a goblin banged him with a knee, knocking him flying-more laughter. Then Inos was on her feet and the nearest goblin reached for her also, grinning white tusks through the bristly fringe on his lips. The reek of rancid bear grease made her stomach churn. She backed away, and felt a chair blocking her.
“Stop! ” she yelled.
He blinked, and stopped, looking puzzled and then angry. Released, Kadie staggered away, retching. For a moment no one spoke. There was noise outside-screaming, and much coughing, and a muffled roar. Smoke billowed in through the open doorway. Someone shouted urgently in the corridor.
Somehow Inos had to get back through the portal, and take her children with her. She couldn’t speak goblin. She mustn’t let the raiders discover that secret way into Krasnegar. Where was all that smoke coming from?
A goblin lifted a table and smashed the nearest window, and that broke the spell. The leader shouted orders. Inos was seized and dragged, her shouts ignored. In a pack of stinking, halfnaked goblins she was hauled out into a smoke-filled corridor. Coughing and weeping, she tried to struggle free. A leathery palm slammed into her face, dazing her.
The outside air was cold, but enormously welcome. The pale sun of a winter afternoon was blinding, sparkling in the tears that streamed from her eyes. She was hauled along by a single stocky goblin, whose hand seemed nailed to her arm. He ignored her efforts to break free or resist, until she thumped at him. Then he slugged her across the face again. She stumbled; he held her upright without effort and kept on going. She called out, “Gath! Kadie?” and thought she heard an answer … She was tossed forward in one easy gesture as she might throw away an apple core. She sprawled, rolling into a group of people sitting on the ground, provoking cries and shouts of protest. Hands were helping her sit up …
“Mom!” That was Kadie, kneeling beside her, her face a white blur.
“I ‘m all right, dear. ” Inos clutched her daughter’s hand. “You all right?” Ignoring pain, wiping the torrents from her eyes, she looked around. She was within a group of thirty or forty people, all sitting on the flagstones of the south terrace, penned against the stone balustrade. The ground was dry, but icy cold. There was no snow anywhere. Half a dozen goblins stood guard with swords and bows. Others were still streaming from the burning mansion. She saw Gath approaching, being dragged by the scruff of the neck. She began to rise and the nearest guard came forward, swinging the flat of his sword at her head. She sat down again quickly. At best, it would have stunned her. He leered big goblin fangs and said something mocking.
Gath was tossed into the heap. His mop of golden hair disappeared, then popped up again, so he was conscious. He looked around wildly, saw Inos, and registered relief on chalk-white features.
The west wing was an inferno, flames roaring into the sky. Nearer windows were streaming black smoke, so the whole place was going up. Oh, that beautiful mansion!
What would Kade have said? And what was all that terrible screaming? There were goblins everywhere Inos looked. This was no small raiding party; there were hundreds of them in sight. Most of them were bare to the waist, oblivious of the cold. She was shivering convulsively inside her heavy Krasnegar furs, but perhaps that was mainly from shock.
The other captives were mostly women in servant dress. She recognized some of the faces vaguely, but there was no one she knew by name. If any of them recognized her, they were too terrorized to speak. From time to time others were dragged or driven from the house and added to the group huddled along the balustrade. A body draped over the rail wore a feathered arrow protruding obscenely from its back, so there was no escape that way.
Part of the roof collapsed with an ear-splitting roar. Fire leaped to the skies. Even the nearer windows were starting to explode as the flames spread. Oh, Gods! The magic portal was in there! There was no way back to Krasnegar now.
Gath came wriggling through the crowd on hands and knees. His lips were blue and quivering, but he seemed quite conscious and somehow he had hung on to one of the blankets. Inos peeled off her own fur robe and insisted he wrap himself in it. She took the blanket and bundled all three of them together snugly. She started to say “We shall have to-” and sudden enlightenment changed it to “What happens now?”
“W-we w-wait awhile,” Gath said through chattering teeth. “There’s one you can t-t-talk to. “
“Good stuff!” Kadie whispered.
Good stuff indeed! His prescience would be a Gods-send in this mess-except that, if any of them were going to be killed or raped, then he would know ahead of time. He admitted that bad things couldn’t always be avoided. Really bad things were better left unexpected, and some goblin customs were about as bad as mortals could conceive. The shrieks of agony coming from the sunken rose garden beyond the balustrade were mingled at times with bursts of applause. Inos twisted around to try to see between the uprights, but there were too many people in the way.
“Torture,” Gath said. “They’re raping the women and they have the men tied-“
She had never seen anyone look so pale. “Never mind, dear. How are you feeling now?” She knew the question was absurd under the circumstances.
“Head aches,” he muttered, leaning against her. Nevertheless, he was making a very fast recovery.
“Who did it to you?” Kadie demanded.
“Yes, tell us.” Inos knew the question was utterly irrelevant now, with the culprit five hundred leagues away in Krasnegar, but she welcomed the distraction, and she must try to keep him conscious.
Gath sighed. “Brak again. “
Not surprising-Brak was a head taller and twice the weight, but Gath had knocked him out last time. No adolescent jotunn could live with such a memory.
Kadie snorted scornfully. “He’s been after you for months. How come you let him catch you this time?”
“Because it was worth it. I knew. I knew I had to let him have the last punch, too.” Gath sniggered faintly against Inos’ neck. “But you gotta see his face! Oh, you gotta see it! It’s a guts bucket! “
He smiled, showing the tooth Brak had broken the last time.
Kadie made enthusiastic noises.
Inos reflected that none of them might ever see Brak’s face again. While Gath described the massacre in detail for Kadie, she glanced around. The captives were mostly sitting with their faces on their knees, not looking at anyone or anything, but she managed to catch the eye of a nearby woman, one who was older than most and might have some wits left. “How long has this been going on?” she demanded.
“All day, ma’am …”
A guard shouted a warning and waved his sword. They
were talking too much, apparently.
More roof collapsed. One good thing-the heat from the fire was perceptible now, and welcome in the chilly afternoon. The guards were closer to it, but they did not seem uncomfortable. Goblins were notoriously indifferent to temperature.
Oh, that beautiful house! Inos wanted to weep for Kinvale. Paintings, sculptures, gold plate, fine china, carpets-a huge fortune was vanishing before her eyes, climbing skyward in a pillar of smoke. That same pillar of smoke must be visible for leagues, perhaps even as far as Shaldokan. The IXth Legion was quartered at Shaldokan now. The goblins might have fought their way over Pondague Pass-they had been trying to do so for twenty years-but they were not going to remain very long in possession of Kinvale. She felt a little better when she realized that. Unfortunately, murder and rape could be completed long before a legion could march in to the rescue.
Gath had laid his head on his knees and seemed almost asleep. On her other side, Kadie was cuddling close. Oh, poor children! And Inos could not bear to think about her kingdom. The palace must be a madhouse now, with everyone hunting for the royal family. Nor did she want to think about Rap, returning to Kinvale to find his magic portal destroyed. It would be months before any of them could go home by sea.
Three weeping, naked girls came hobbling along the terrace, clutching their clothing bundled in front of them. Two of them had blood on their legs. They burrowed in among the rest of the captives and were given help in dressing. A squad of six goblins trotted up eagerly and began to argue with the chief guard. Grumbling, the newcomers selected two of the younger women and took them away. Obviously they had wanted more than two. Obviously they were going to rape them. Now Inos understood why the prisoners were all keeping their faces hidden, not looking up. Kinvale had supported a staff of hundreds-where were all the rest?
The screaming and cheering in the rose garden answered that question.
Then another band of goblins came marching along the terrace. Gath shivered and lifted his head. “Mom? You have to do some shouting. “
“What?” Inos said.
The leader strutted, looking important. Beside him walked a goblin youth, perhaps no older than Gath, although much shorter and thicker. He was smooth-faced and bore no tattoos. There was a discussion with the chief guard. Then leader and youngster came forward together-father and son, most likely. They looked over the captives. The boy grinned and pointed at Gath’s conspicuous blond head. The leader waved for two of the others to come and take him.
Gath croaked, “Mom!”
Inos reeled to her feet. “No!” she shouted. “Not this one! Choose someone else! You will not take this one!” She glared and stamped her feet and kept on bellowing.
And it worked! They could not understand the words, but her tone was enough. The young goblin paled to a sickly green and backed away. The older man scowled, but he also seemed cowed by Inos’ fury. He said something to the boy, who nodded and pointed quickly to another captive, a youth in footman’s livery.
Inos sat down again before her wobbling knees gave way under her. The footman was pulled out from the crowd and dragged away, howling in terror.
Everyone knew how goblin boys earned their tattoos. Once they had used other goblins. Now they used prisoners.
Gath mumbled, “Thanks, Mom! ” Then he rolled over on his side and threw up.
4
The sun sank down behind the smoke. The main house was a glowing shell now, the welcome heat fading before the cold of a winter evening. Very few of the captives remained. Three times Inos had prevented one or other of her children being removed, and now she knew why her shouting had such a truly sorcerous effect. Years ago, Rap had laid a royal glamour on her. When she gave orders, people were compelled to obey. So far it had worked, but she suspected that it was far from foolproof where goblins were concerned. It obviously provoked fury in them, and one of these times it might well get her killed out of hand.
Then Gath stirred and lifted his head from her shoulder. “Mom?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Remember about Blood Beak?”
Inos stared at him, wondering if he was hallucinating again. Then she realized that his earlier talk of goblins had not been the hallucination she had thought at the time. He looked somewhat better now, anyway. “No.”
“Death Bird’s son. Dad told us. You must remember!”
“I’m afraid I don’t, dear.”
“You do!” Gath said urgently, twisting his mouth as if it tasted bad. “Dad met Death Bird at Timber Moot. Blood Beak killed a bear single-handed! Dad teased me about it.”
“Oh, yes, I do remember,” Inos said, lying. “What about it?”
“He’s here. He’s coming. The old man speaks impish.”
“Right!” Inos gave her son a hug. “Well done!” At last she could see some action in store.
A few minutes later, yet another small procession of goblins came striding along the darkening terrace to inspect the scanty supply of captives. All the men had been removed, and all the younger women. The women were not coming back anymore. The men never would.
The leader was a powerful-looking goblin, but the greasy rope of hair hanging down his bare chest was streaked with gray. That would qualify him as old to Gath. At his side walked an adolescent, beefy even by goblin standards.
They came to a halt and Inos jumped up before they even spoke to the guards.
“Hail to Blood Beak, son of Death Bird!”
The goblins recoiled a pace in unison, but perhaps they were more surprised by her blond hair than her words.
“I am Queen Inosolan of Krasnegar! I demand to speak to Death Bird! “
The gray-haired goblin frowned, moving his lips. If he understood impish, then obviously it was not well.
She tried again, speaking more slowly, keeping it simple. Gesture. “Am Inosolan! Woman of Chief Rap. Rap, chief of Krasnegar, friend of Death Bird. Am his woman.” Gesture. “These his son, his daughter. His children.”
Young Blood Beak asked a question. The old man repeated what she had said, and some of the words sounded right. Everyone turned to stare hard at Inos.
“Friend of Death Bird! ” she insisted. She stalked forward on legs like jelly. “Blood Beak? Great hunter! Hear how you kill bear with sword.”
“How know this?” the leader barked.
“Death Bird tell Rap, his friend. Very proud of Blood Beak.” Translation … The older man was deferring to the king’s son, but the king’s son brightened at hearing how his reputation had preceded him. He gabbled something, waving hands.
The leader nodded, then spoke more respectfully to Inos. He tapped his chest. “Am Giant Feller of Beavers. Here Blood Beak of Ravens, Death Bird son, as say. How come this place?”
Relief poured through Inos like a spring freshet. “Am guest. Friend of goblins. Not enemy of goblins. Friend of Death Bird many years ago. Long ago knew Death Bird. Was Little Chicken. Very little!” She gestured to indicate a big man.
She was already mastering the awful pronunciation. Amusement flickered on some of the ugly green faces even before Giant Feller translated.
Then young Blood Beak scowled and jabbered something. Everyone looked at Gath.
“Need captive,” Giant Feller explained apologetically. He pointed to Blood Beak. “Is killing ‘soldiers all day. Has not shown worthy, er, manhood marks. ” Then he nodded at Gath, and shrugged. “Is only man left. “
Inos recalled with horror how close Death Bird had come to earning his tattoos by killing Rap. She sensed a horrible irony, as if the Gods were about to play a monstrous joke on her-like father, like son!
“Is son of friend of Death Bird!”
“Die slow. Is great honor.”
“Oh, no it’s not!” Inos screamed.
5
The rose garden was the worst. After that, nothing could ever seem bad again.
The Kinvale rose garden had been one of the wonders of Julgistro. Every summer gentlefolk came league
s to view the rose garden. In the golden days of youth before her father died, Inos had played skittles there; she had listened to music on warm evenings, and blushed at Andor’s polished compliments. Now women were being raped wholesale there. Small fires burned where men and the remains of men lay staked out between the bushes, mingling an acrid smell of burning rose twigs with savory odors of roast meat. Spectators applauded and offered advice as boys continued to dismember the living in ingenious ways. In the background, the great house was a blackened ruin, still dirtying the sky with smoke.
Upright, Gath was so dizzy he could barely walk, but to show weakness before goblins was to invite instant execution. He staggered along, leaning on Kadie. Inos followed, trying to make sense of Giant Feller’s guttural jabber.
It had been a very close-run thing. She had protested that Gath was already too weak to make a suitable victim for Blood Beak, but the young lout had decided that a king’s son was ideal material for a king’s son to work on. Only when the case seemed hopeless had some goblin soldiers arrived with a husky young gardener they had just discovered hiding in a hayloft. Gath had been saved, but Inos was certain she would never sleep again. That other boy’s face would haunt her forever, and the certainty that she could not have rescued him would be no comfort, because she had lacked the courage to try.
Now she was being treated as an honored guest, being shown the rose garden. Not being taken to Death Bird. Death Bird was not at Kinvale, which seemed to be a minor training exercise, or perhaps a rest and recreation posting. Death Bird was at the front.
“Imp soldiers will come soon,” she said cautiously.
Giant Feller laughed, showing yellow teeth. “No imp soldiers. “
She was not fool enough to mention the IXth at Shaldokan. She would let the invaders discover that for themselves! But she soon learned that the situation was much worse than she had realized. Giant Feller had no qualms about telling her the de tails, he boasted of them. The goblins had not come through the defenses at Pondague, they had outflanked them by an unmapped pass and fallen on the Imperial forces from the rearmassacre! They had ambushed the IXth and XXIst legion: somewhere south of Kinvale-more massacre! The entire imp ish army in northwest Julgistro had been wiped out, or so he insisted. Now Shaldokan itself was invested. It would fall within a day, he assured her, and then the goblins would cross the frozen Paddi River. The road to Hub lay open before them.