The King (Rodrigo of Caledon Book 2)

by David Feintuch

  His eyes darted to the stairwell. “Upstairs, they have women. Boys too.”

  “The boy.” My tone was harsh. “I’ve never had a prince. How much?”

  “Two silvers.”

  I snorted. “I thought to rent him, not buy him.” I mustn’t be too eager.

  “In advance.”

  I fished out my coinpurse, bent over it that he not see its contents. We’d had no idea what costs to expect, and I’d come prepared. I fished out two silvers, tossed them on the table.

  The innkeeper gathered them up. “Have to wait.”

  “How long?”

  “Hour, maybe more. Two ahead of you.”

  Almost, in that instant, he died. My blade was near my fingers. One thrust, and ... Somehow, I managed an easy smile. “In that case, beer.”

  “We brew our own. Good stuff.”

  Across the room, a burly Norlander sat, his back to the wall, drinking and watching.

  Danzik.

  Our eyes crossed. Mine showed nothing. To my relief, neither did his.

  Time crept past at snail’s pace.

  I felt eyes burn into my visage. Slowly, casually, I turned. Danzik watched. His gaze held worry. Slowly, with effort, I unclenched my fists, wrapped my fingers around my mug, stared moodily at the amber ale.

  “Your turn.” The innkeeper. He wiped his hands on his ample girth.

  Heart pounding, I trudged up the stairs. A guard stopped me, took my dagger. I paused before the door, took deep breath, swung it open.

  The room held a cushioned bed, a stand, a pitcher and ewer.

  But not Elryc.

  I rushed out to the hall. “What ...”

  “In a moment.” The guard, sitting in a ledge at the far end of the hall, picked at his teeth with a sharpened twig. “He’ll come.”

  The creak of a door. I whirled.

  Silhouetted in the courtyard windows, an apparition moved down the hallway. Taller than I recalled, outlandishly garbed in short robe, silken scarf, sandals, sallow face painted in obscene travesty of a woman’s.

  I backed into the chamber, mouth working. Elryc, forgive me. Whatever I must do to earn—

  The door swung open. “My lord, let me pleasure you.” The tone was coaxing. Firmly, he closed the door. “I know all sorts ... all ...” He faltered, staring at my scar.

  I gazed, speechless.

  A whisper. “Roddy?”

  “GENARD?” How could Elryc’s stableboy vassal be—had they castrated him too?

  We stared.

  “Oh, m’lor!” He fumbled at his robe, threw it open. “Look what they did!” With a rush, he pinned me to me wall, and clung to me.

  I managed to keep my voice low. “Where’s Elryc?”

  “Stables.” Genard’s eyes glistened. Awkwardly, I patted him.

  Ah, my prince. A note of sadness.

  Sorry, Rust. I know better. I put my arms about the wounded boy, drew him into a hug. “My poor Genard ...”

  It undid him.

  Later, sitting on the bed, Genard whispered in my ear. “When Larissa let the Norlanders in, I was with Lor’ Elryc. ‘Which one’s me prince?’ ‘I am,’ I said quick, ’fore Elryc could. I tried to sound ... er, haughty. Y’ know, like a lord. I cocked a thumb at Elryc. ‘That’s just my servant.’ ”

  “Why?”

  “Hadda protec’ him. He’s my lor’.”

  I swallowed.

  “ ‘Take ’em both,’ Norlander said. They rode us out, hands tied. They took us here.” The boy paused, and his face twisted. “I said, mean as I could, I didn’t want to share room with a mere stableboy. Tried to sound like you, m’lor’, thought it would convince ’em. Guess it worked; they hauled Elryc out. I figured it’d give him best chance to run away, get help. But next day, they ...” He drew silent.

  “I understand.”

  He twisted his neck, to look me full in the eye. “No, you don’t. They dragged me to that room at the far end of the hall. I saw the table, wasn’t sure, but ... they tried to put on a gag. The table had leg straps. ‘I’m jus’ Genard,’ I cried. ‘He’s the prince!’ But they only spoke Norland, and I was so scared I forgot all the words we learned! Oh, King, I’d have given up my lord. I’d have let Prince Elryc be ...”

  “Of course.”

  “They got the gag on me, and it was too late.” For a while, he could say no more.

  I wondered how long they’d give us.

  He wiped his cheeks. “I think Elryc’s still in the stables.”

  “You never told them?”

  “Too late to save myself. Might as well save Elryc.”

  Lord of Nature, is this my punishment for my beastly temper, my vicious disregard of human decencies? To meet this savaged boy, and know him my superior in all things?

  Genard gripped my forearm with surprising strength. “M’lor’, get Elryc out!”

  “Yes, the both of you. Today. Tomorrow at the latest.”

  “Leave me.” His tone changed. “I’d never be able to look at him.”

  “Don’t be fool—”

  His eyes blazed. “Don’t you understan’? If not for the gag, I’d have done anything, said anything to get off the table!”

  “Lower your voice.” Then, “Genard, if I know one thing, if I’m a dunce in all else, I know you did no wrong. I’ll be back with word of how we’ll free you. But now I’d best go.” I stood.

  “Wait.” Genard unknotted my jerkin, redid the thong a bit unevenly, mussed my hair.

  Some contemptible part of me wanted to flinch.

  We opened the door. “Thank you, m’lor’.” And he was gone.

  Dazed, I made my way down the stair.

  Forty-four

  DANZIK DRAINED HIS MUG, sauntered behind me to the door.

  Anavar crossed the street. “Is he—”

  “It’s not Elryc. Hire three horses. Meet me at the stable.”

  Danzik muttered, “Where is El-er-ek?”

  “In the stables. They got him mixed up with Genard.” I ambled toward the edge of town. Danzik followed.

  Under the shade of a cluster of birches, I told the Norlander all. “I ought to see Elryc, make sure he’s well, but ... what if he blurts out my name? We need be prepared to flee the moment he sees us. We’ll need to have Genard with us. I think there’s a door from stable to courtyard; perhaps I could sneak into the brothel ...”

  “Easier to go back, ask for boy again.”

  “I’ll lose surprise, and they’ll take my dagger.”

  “How many guards?”

  “Three.”

  Danzik grunted. “Three are no problem, you and I.”

  I gaped. “You’d fight?”

  “Elryc’s my friend. Genard is his.”

  “But how could ...”

  “I go up first, with girl. You come up, you whistle tune. I’ll hear.”

  He made it seem so easy.

  “We’d have to wait ’til the morrow. They’d never believe ... twice in a day.” I flushed.

  Danzik grinned. “You’re young enough.”

  My voice was tight. “Guiat, don’t joke of this. I beg it.”

  “Did we not first learn with ‘farang vos’?”

  “Yes, but then my brother wasn’t gelded, locked in a room and made to do it.”

  “He’s not your brother.”

  My tone was somber. “He might as well be so.”

  Danzik studied me with new appraisal.

  In the end, we decided not to wait another day. Let the guards judge me flesh-crazed; it mattered not.

  Anavar returned, flushed and sweating, leading three worn horses. I took him aside. “Danzik and I will free Elryc. I’ve a task for you on which the kingdom depends.”

  His eyes lit. “What, sir?”

  “Find Tantroth. Bid him meet us in the hills, at ...” I cast about for a town we didn’t know was in Norland hands. “Pineforest. In three days. Might you find spoor of Tantroth? Will peasants—”

  “Oh, he’s at W
indcave, somewhere near. It’s common knowledge in the town.”

  I gaped.

  Anavar shrugged. “War talk is everywhere.”

  I threw up my hands. “I’d go to Windcave, but it won’t be safe if they know Tantroth’s near. The road will be crawling with Norls. So, it’s Pineforest. Get word to the duke.”

  “You ought not put yourself in his hands.”

  “Oh, he’s long past betrayal. If I’m wrong, I deserve not to be king. Take the fastest horse. Leave now. Tell him we’ll use the road wherever possible. See he alerts his scouts.”

  “Yes, but—sir, I want to help with Elryc!” The boy braced himself.

  “Elryc’s the easy one; he’s in the stable. It’s Genard we need work at. I can’t get him ’til night, and Tantroth must be told.”

  Complaining all the while, Anavar let himself be persuaded. He took the freshest horse and made his slow way toward the hills.

  The inadequacy of my scheme soon forced its way to my attention. I said to Danzik, “Now what? We’re standing on the street with horses we’ve nowhere to ride.”

  “Board them in the stable.” He eyed the inn.

  “And alert Elryc? It risks all.”

  “He’s no fool.”

  “I—” A moment’s confused thought I knew of no better plan.

  I handed a pair of reins to Danzik, walked my own spavined mount to the stable door. A bony old man was throwing straw in fly-infested stalls. He didn’t bother to look up.

  “Allo?” I spoke my own language with the most outlandish accent I could manage. “Will you board a horse?”

  A grunt that might have been assent.

  “For the day, then. Possibly ’til morn. Have your boy rub him down.”

  “Soan asta.” Mine too. Danzik, behind me.

  “Ho! Boy!” His voice was a rasp.

  A patter of footsteps from the rear. Elryc appeared, gaunt, dressed in rags and torn sandals. “What—” He stopped dead.

  He was unhurt. Relief left me faint. Brusquely, I thrust my reins into his hand. “Have him fed and watered. This man’s mount too.” I flicked my chin at Danzik. “We leave tonight, at tenth hour. See they’re waiting in front of inn. Tenth hour, stableboy!” I skewered him with my gaze.

  A gulp. “Aye.” Elryc’s eyes couldn’t leave mine.

  When we were out of earshot Danzik said, “Now they know we’re together.”

  “Can’t be helped. And it’s only the old man who knows. I’ll meet you at the inn this evening. You go up first. But for now, go back to the boat. Tell Jahl you’ll need to leave just after tenth hour.”

  “At night, no wind for sail.”

  “Then he can row clear of the inlet.”

  “Whole town will be looking—”

  “For me, not you. We ride to the hills. You don’t. If you’d be my friend, go back to Stryx. Find Lord Groenfil. Seventh day hence, at dawn, he’s to attack the garrison at Pezar from the rear.”

  He grunted. “Hriskil left many men there.”

  “I’ll ride with Tantroth, from the north. We’ll meet at the Pezar wall.” I essayed a smile. Then we’ll vestre coa tern.”

  I sat in the din of the smoky brothel, waiting for dark.

  Rustin, Lord Groenfil, any of my advisors would have deemed me mad. I should have found some hiding-hole until the last moment. Instead, here I sat, conspicuous by my appearance. I wiped my brow with my sleeve, found to my horror that sweat had loosened my dye. Inwardly, I shrugged. Better lurk in an inn crowded with noisy drunks than skulk about in the shadows, a dark stranger from Chorr.

  I snagged a plate of stew, managed to get it down. Danzik was nowhere in sight. He wouldn’t betray me, would he? No.

  That, at least, I need not fear. But what if he’d been taken? For months he’d been my veritable shadow. Didn’t his presence signal mine? What if guards who knew of my escape put two coins together?

  As the sun was falling, Danzik trudged through the creaking door and lowered himself into a chair by the wall. As he sipped his beer his expression was calm, but his eyes never ceased to roam. I chewed on, mechanically. Lord of Nature knew when I’d eat again.

  After a time, a pair of locals paused at the entranceway, letting their eyes adjust to the haze. Seeing me, one nudged the other. Together, they made their way to my table. “You from across the sea?”

  “Chorr.”

  “You all so dark?”

  “Mostly.” How to be rid of them?

  “Why are you in Eiber?”

  Yes, Roddy, why? “I have trade goods on the ship. And wanted to see Hriskil, when he comes to Stryx.”

  A guffaw. “You’ll have a long wait, brown man.”

  “How so?”

  “He’s in Ghanz. Rode as fast as his string of horses could take him. Day after Rodrigo burst out of the cave.”

  “How would you know?”

  “Everyone knows. Sor! Hey, Sor!” He waved.

  A Norlander with a curly black beard threaded his way across the room, scowling. “Qa dese?” I shank in my seat. Disaster loomed.

  The Eiberian told Sor, “Tell him Hriskil’s gone home.” To me, “Sarazon sent Sor’s regiment here ages ago. We think they’re forgotten. He boards at my house; his men live in the bam.”

  The Norlander’s eyes peered at my face. Bright-eyed, I sat, elbow on the plank, cheek on palm, hoping my scar was well and truly concealed. I wrestled my thoughts into Norl. “You mean I won’t see king at Stryx?”

  Sor’s voice dropped. “Won’t see him out of Ghanz, is my bet. The child’s got him spooked.”

  “Coa?” How?

  “A boy went into the cave, a dead man walked out.” The Norl’s eyes shifted, as if making sure we were unheard. “Demons rode his shoulder. They killed Sanchu’s whole brigade.”

  I said breathlessly, “Lord of Nature.”

  “Hriskil will win Caledon, no stopping that, but from afar. My bet, he won’t set foot in kingdom ’til child Roddy’s dead and his ashes scattered.”

  I said dryly, “That can’t be long.”

  “No.” Sor drained his mug. “Ah, wish I could be in Ghanz myself.” He had a faraway look. “Even with the mess he’s made of the wall.”

  “Mess?”

  He waved it away. “Building, always building. Last year, it was new kitchens.”

  “I wonder—” Whatever I wondered, it vanished from my mind like a puff of smoke in wind. Danzik lumbered past, on his way to the stair. I turned back to my new cronies, my voice cracking with manic congeniality. “Drink with me.” I shot to my feet, waved to the innkeeper.

  Carelessly, I spilled coin. “Drinks my friends for,” I said in atrocious Caled as I paid. “And ...” I lowered my voice, “again, the boy. An extra hour this time.”

  His mouth widened slowly in a grin. “Enjoyed yourself?”

  “How long wait?”

  “Urn, twelfth hour, I’d guess.”

  “Han.” I shook my head, fished out a silver, slipped it into his hand. “Much sooner.”

  “Well ... I’ll see what I can do.” He winked and sauntered off. After a moment, I saw him whisper to a barmaid, who hurried upstairs.

  Now it was only a matter of time, and trying not to sweat through my jerkin. I dared not wipe my face, lest my hand come away browner, leaving white streaks.

  Roddy, your brownskin disguise was a very bad idea.

  My tablemates babbled on. At times I murmured a reply, or nodded.

  A hand clapped my shoulder. Almost, I launched myself from my chair to cling from the low-hanging roof beams.

  It was only the innkeeper. “It’s time.”

  “Is it?” My voice cracked. I stumbled to my feet.

  “Oh, brownskin, you’re too drunk!” Sor chuckled. “What a pity, to pay so much, and be limp.”

  “Not too drunk.” My mouth was dry. “Just ... Just frightened out of my wits. In moments I might get Genard killed, to say nothing of myself. And then, what escape for Elryc? I trudged to the s
tair.

  Halfway up, I pursed my lips to whistle, and couldn’t make a sound. Sweat oozed down my cheeks. I paused, in frantic, silent effort to pull myself together. Below, Sor’s Eiberian cronies slapped their legs with glee.

  I climbed the few remaining stairs, jauntily whistling the tune on which we’d settled. Well, perhaps not jauntily: what emerged was more a shrill squeak, barely audible over the commotion below. I stopped for breath, grinned in terror at the four brothel guards who crowded the corridor. Had I caught a shift change, or was the House of Caledon about to be extinguished? I asked the nearest fellow, “Heard this one? The Caleds sing it.” I twittered away, a manic brown songbird perspiring like a waterfall.

  The guard didn’t bat an eye. “Your dagger.”

  I unbuckled the sheath, waved it uncertainly. “Take good care; my mother said never to part with it. If she knew I was here ...” I smiled foolishly and broke into song once more.

  Halfway down the corridor, a door swung open. Danzik stumped out, looking annoyed. “Damn girl’s drunk,” he said, in better Caled than I knew he had. “Who I see for another?”

  “Maria, downstairs.” The soldier who’d answered turned back to his companions.

  “In there,” my guard pointed. “Wait, your dagger.”

  “Of course.” I pulled it from the sheath, frowned. “No, keep the whole thing. Is the boy ready?”

  Danzik eased past the guards, stopped abruptly, frowning.

  “Problem, Norlander?”

  “Han.” His huge hands shot out. He grasped two guards by the neck, smashed them together with an ugly crack. I’d never seen a skull split like a soft melon, and cared never to see it again.

  “What—” My guard gaped for the instant I needed to plunge my blade into his throat. His eyes bulged. His mouth worked. He thumped to the floor.

  “Help!” A frantic squawk from the last guard. Danzik’s massive fist smashed the bridge of his nose. The burly Norlander caught his fall. He dragged him, already dead, into an empty chamber. I stared in revulsion at the gory remains of the three guards. Their blood seeped among the planks. That galvanized me. I rushed into an empty chamber, tore off a sheet, frantically mopped the hall lest blood drip through the ceiling and rouse the inn. Danzik clumped out, picked up the second guard under the arms, dragged him into the dumping room. Just in time, I remembered to salvage my blade.