“I do not want this woman,” Kariik said, as though he was being offered a plate of fruit. His voice was soft, but it silenced the crowd, but for a single shared indrawn breath, and a strangled cry of horror from Yasha.
Levik shook his head as though he misheard, and managed a confused, “My king?”
Riyik, a black cloud of anger masking his face, surged forward even more desperately. “Brothers, please!” he shouted. “This is not the time or place for such talk. Privately, within your tent, my king…”
“I was enjoying a well deserved nap when she,” Kariik jerked his head toward Yasha, “pushed her way into my sleeping chamber. She had already shed her clothing, and made it plain what her intentions were. Of course I accepted the offer. What man wouldn’t?”
If the crowd had been wild before, they were frenzied now. Most only laughed and jeered, but others, sounding genuinely outraged, began gathering stones and pieces of bone from the hard ground.
Levik turned on his daughter, disbelief warring with rage. “Father, no!” she screamed.
A large, breathless woman, whom Kalie knew to be Yahsa’s mother pushed her way through the crowd. “It isn’t her fault!” she beseeched whoever would listen. “It’s those foreign slaves! They fill a young girl’s head full of ideas…”
Yasha was nodding desperately. “It was Kalie! She told me that among her people, if a woman wants a man, she just goes to him and…”
“Silence!” Levik roared over the voice of the mob.
Kalie pulled her veil tight around her, terrified she had already been recognized. Her eyes sought Riyik, who was making a last desperate attempt to reason with the king. “Kariik!” he whispered harshly. “That was not well done! Tell Levik you want his daughter, and offer him a few horses for her! He’ll sell her cheap in her present condition, and he’ll accept this stain on his honor if it means grandsons with royal blood. Everyone can still win!”
Kariik shot an annoyed glance at Riyik, then a more worried one at the still growing mob. “What do I need with another woman?” he demanded. “I have more than I can use already! And why should I waste good horses on one who throws herself at a man like a harlot? Doubtless she’d make me a laughing stock before winter! Besides,” Kariik eyed the mob. “Their blood is up. They’ll have their entertainment one way or another. It might as well be her.”
But there was more shouting than those demanding the blood of a dishonored woman. Men came to stand by Levik, calling for just compensation for the loss of his daughter. It was, after all, the king himself who had taken her. No true king would behave in this way they muttered, while others shouted that Riyik, too, was owed compensation. No one, they cried, not even a king, could just help himself to a warrior’s betrothed and walk away as if it were nothing.
Then Haraak arrived, out of breath and angry. No, Kalie realized. Not angry. Frightened. He had made Kariik king, and assumed he could control him. Kariik’s blatant incompetence at the job, demonstrated today by alienating so many of his men, threatened to destroy everything Haraak had worked for.
Kariik saw the look on Haraak’s face, and looked frightened himself. Then, gathering his composure, he turned to Levik and the noise of the crowd dropped off sharply. For a moment, Kalie thought he might take Riyik’s advice, and salvage the situation. “Take her home!” the king told Levik. “Find her a husband if you still can.”
Fury boiled in Levik’s face, and Kalie did not think all of it was directed at Yasha. But she was the only one he could strike at.
Riyik now fought to reach Levik, but the crowd would not let him pass. “Wait!” he shouted at his brother warrior. “I will still honor our agreement…”
Kalie never knew if Levik had heard Riyik’s offer. Taking his daughter by the shoulders, he flung her onto the hard, hot ground. Then he turned and walked away. His frightened wife rushed after him, trying to catch hold of him, and the protection she hoped to find for herself, now that her daughter was lost. Kalie guessed that her husband would keep her—after beating her for raising such a wanton daughter.
Then the mob closed in around Yasha’s sobbing form. Kalie sought to back away, as raised arms flung stones, bones and even their own filth at their victim, but found herself trapped by the press of bodies. She noticed the women flung their missiles even more viciously than did the men, and yelled even more outraged epithets.
Then Riyik was by her side, leading her through the crazed mob. They reached his tent, and were at once enveloped by an oasis of calm and quiet. Brenia brought kumis for Riyik and tea for Kalie—without being asked. Dressed in better clothes than she had ever owned, Varena shadowed her, quietly assisting Brenia in all she did.
“Did she die quickly, at least?” Varena asked, pulling Kalie’s thoughts back to the horror she had witnessed.
“I don’t know. I couldn’t see.” Kalie looked at Riyik, surprised to see anger and grief and something more…guilt, perhaps? No, she realized: she wasn’t surprised at all.
Hesitantly, Kalie reached out. “It wasn’t your fault, Riyik. Yasha knew the risks when she went into the king’s tent.”
“She didn’t have to die!” he said, tossing back the skin of kumis. “It would have cost Kariik nothing to save her life, and he’d have gained her father’s loyalty for all time. Instead he threw away a young girl’s life and made an enemy of her father. What kind of king does that?”
Having no answer, Kalie asked, “Would you have really married her after what happened?”
“Yes.”
Brenia gasped. “Brother! You could not have!”
“Do you care for her so much?” Kalie asked. That hadn’t been how it seemed to her. Or was she simply jealous?
“I don’t care for her at all! I was thrilled when I saw her with the king, for I thought it meant a way to honorably get out of the agreement and marry you!” Brenia’s head was whipping back and forth between them as she sought to catch up with recent events. “But I care about what is right! What happened to Yasha was not right.”
“According to your people it was,” Kalie breathed.
“Of course, I didn’t think to ask you.” Riyik now looked uncertain. “Would you have been willing to share a tent with her?”
“Of course!” Kalie realized Brenia wasn’t the only one having trouble keeping up with recent events. “I doubt very much Yasha would have liked it, but I think she might have preferred it to death.”
“Are you two really going to marry?” Brenia asked. Crouched in the shadows, Varena awaited the answer with bated breath.
Kalie opened her mouth to speak but found she could not. Riyik looked up from the leather scroll, which held the tally of all his horses and met her gaze.
“Let us go for a ride,” he suggested.
Chapter 18
They walked through the camp to where the horses grazed under the watchful eyes of many guards. The camp had settled down by then, Yasha’s body dumped beyond the borders of the tribe’s territory and left for the scavengers. As they walked, Riyik made a point of asking if anyone had seen Maalke, and to direct him to Riyik’s tent when they did, as he was anxious to conclude their business.
The horse camp was different from the beastman camp. If there was anything in this world Kalie could call beautiful, it was this. The grass was only knee high and more green than brown, especially by the one of the small springs that fed the lake. Reserved for the horses, the water was still sweet, the land around it fresh and green.
The horses, too, were beautiful. In the early days of her captivity, Kalie had speculated that it was the horses that had shaped the beastmen into monsters. Astride the mighty beasts, men looked down on the earth and those who spent their lives upon Her, as something less than themselves. They tasted power, and the speed at which they could now travel seemed only to inflame their desire for more. As if increased speed actually decreased their ability to think through their actions. It certainly brought them more rapidly into conflict with others like themselves.<
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Now, as Riyik stopped beside Thunder, preparing him for riding, she could only marvel and the grace and nobility of such animals. Surely there could be no evil in them. Surely they were no more to blame for their rider’s behavior than the women who were held equally captive.
Perhaps, Kalie thought as she watched Riyik calling to a second horse, it was that horses were like mirrors: it was what each individual human brought to them that determined what they did. Evil men used the horses for evil purposes. But Kalie could imagine many positive uses as well. Improved travel and communication; Healers brought where they were needed at lightning speed. And imagine how much more productive farms could become if horses could be taught to pull hoes…
“Well, do you want to ride or not?” Kalie came out of her reverie to find Riyik in front of her, holding out the reigns of a placid gray mare.
Kalie stared. “Women do not ride, or so I am told,” she said coldly.
“True,” said Riyik. “But you once said you wanted to. Do you still?”
“Yes, of course!” To her great embarrassment, Kalie found she could not keep the enthusiasm from her voice. Then to her greater embarrassment, she found she had no idea how to mount the animal Riyik held out to her. Rather than admit that, she demurred. “I had thought we would ride on one horse. It is a part of your marriage ceremonies, is it not?”
“Yes, but if you and I are to marry, it would not be as any marriage among my people. We would have to find a way to live as equals. I thought we might start by riding as equals—side by side, each on our own horse. Unless you are offended by the notion of riding on animals, and thus treating them as less than each of us ourselves would wish to be treated…”
Kalie shook her head, unable to believe what Riyik was saying. Yet with all her being, she knew he spoke the truth. Or rather, from his heart. How this new truth of his would stand when met by reality—that was something neither of them could know.
But she wanted to be part of it, for as long as it lasted.
“I would like to ride,” she said, petting the nose of the lovely gray mare, who rasped a tongue across Kalie’s palm, searching for treats. “But I don’t even know how to get on her back, let alone guide her.”
Riyik smiled. “If you could allow me to pick you up without breaking any of my bones, I could set you on her back. She’s a gentle creature; I’ve used her to teach many boys how to ride, and I think you will take to it quickly. Would you like to try?”
For a moment, Kalie stiffened, at war with herself. Later, she was never sure if it was desire to learn to ride, or desire to learn more about the man beside her that made the decision. Perhaps it was both, but she let Riyik pick her up and put her astride the horse. His touch was strong and confident, and not at all threatening. Kalie was surprised by what a simple thing like a man touching her for purposes other than torment and control could mean to her. Once, it had been an unquestioned part of her life.
For the next space of time, Kalie had no thoughts to spare for anything save riding. Once she had learned to move with her mount in a gentle walk, the rest was easy. Riyik showed her how to stay seated until a bone-jarring trot passed into a smooth canter.
And then the world changed.
Kalie was flying! The world passed beneath her, as it must for the birds she had watched with such envy as a child. The horse’s muscles bunched and stretched beneath her body with a power she had never before imagined—and now it was a part of her!
They rode through the tall grass with nothing but the vivid blue sky to stop them. As the wind cooled the sweat from her body, Kalie finally saw just how beautiful the summer sky was. How could she have ever seen that endless blue glory as cruel or oppressive?
Finally, however, the horses slowed, the heat returned, and Kalie began to feel aches in places she didn’t know she had. Riyik led them to a nearly dry watercourse. Three skeletal trees stood guard on the hill above it, providing enough shade to make the place welcoming. Then he showed Kalie how to rub down their tired mounts, who were soon contently drinking water from what looked to Kalie like nothing but mud. Grinning, she saluted their patient ingenuity, and went to join Riyik on the grass beneath the trees.
He had brought bread and cheese and full skin of water. Kalie’s own water bag was only half full, and not nearly as cool, but she offered it to Riyik after drinking from his. He accepted with thanks, and made no complaint when he tasted it. And for just a moment, Kalie found herself admiring him without reservation.
They ate in silence. Kalie, who had been eating less than she might have in order to pay her spies, nearly devoured her share. She could have eaten Riyik’s as well. He was clearly willing to give her all of it, but by then, Kalie had regained a measure of control.
“Is it strange for you,” Riyik asked at last, “to enjoy a picnic, so soon after seeing a woman stoned to death?”
Kalie thought about it. “Yes. And no. Maybe I’ve lived here long enough to grow used to such things.” She glanced at him curiously. “Is it strange for you?”
“Yes. But not for the same reasons it would have been a year ago. Back then, I would have felt as any man of tribe—dishonored by her actions, partially mollified by her death, but still angry; perhaps angry enough to begin a blood feud with her family.”
“And what do you feel now?”
“Guilt. Confusion. Perhaps not grief. I didn’t want Yasha. I suppose I agreed to the marriage precisely because I cared as little for her as she did for me. But now…I feel I failed her. Every boy who grows to manhood among my people is taught about honor. It’s the most important thing a man has. But somehow…I’m starting to think that its real meaning has been lost. Most of the men in that crowd today could see only that Yasha had betrayed me. They could not imagine honor demanding that I still remember my duty to her.”
“I suppose they felt your duty to her ended when she failed in her duty to you.”
“I’m sure they did. But where’s the honor in that? I gave my promise to protect her; in this place, that’s a man’s most sacred obligation. And yet, they find it so easy to shed.”
Kalie was intrigued. “Perhaps they felt your obligation only extended until honor was restored by her death.”
“I’m sure that is true,” he said sadly. He looked off in the distance. “Of course, it’s not just a woman who can regain honor in death. Sometimes, it’s the only way for a man as well.”
Kalie felt a cold knot of fear in the pit of her stomach. Instinctively, she looked for any sign that she was in danger and found none. It took a long time for her to realize that the fear she felt was for another human being.
It was Riyik who was in danger. He was being swallowed by despair. And Kalie had nearly forgotten how to deal with such things. Had, in fact, forgotten that she had once been a person who had cared about the pain of strangers.
And suddenly, more than anything, she wanted to be that person again.
“Riyik?” she said finally. “Are you all right?” Oh, brilliant! Anyone can see he’s not all right! Goddess, if you’re there, help me out here!
Riyik shook himself, as if surprised to find himself here. “Yes, of course—“
“Of course you’re not all right. What I meant was, is there anything I can do to help?”
Riyik’s eyes widened. He seemed about to speak, then shook his head.
Kalie sighed. “Tell me, please. I promise, no matter what it is, I won’t break any of your bones. Even if I’m tempted.”
She had hoped he would laugh. Instead, he looked at her sadly. “You could want me as much as I want you. You could marry me with joy instead of a sense of duty. But that’s the problem: you can’t. Not because you choose to deny me, but because you just…can’t.”
And for once in her life, Kalie had no idea what to say.
Then, as if it was part of the same conversation, Riyik asked, “How did it feel, hitting Maalke?”
Kalie cut short the laughter that bubbled up inside her, for
fear it would never stop. “Wonderful,” she said at last.
“I imagine it did.” Riyik was smiling now and seemed at ease with Kalie. More surprising was the ease she felt with him. “I’ve never seen a woman do that before! It was incredible.”
Kalie wanted to savor the moment, but there were serious matters to discuss. “Riyik, you should know that if you marry me, you could be taking on a lot of trouble, and getting very little value in return. Yasha and her mother both denounced me before…” She could not finish.
“You have nothing to fear from that. For all that you hate our customs, you’ll find that our habit of dismissing what a woman might say—especially at a time like that—will work in your favor.” Riyik hesitated, and then pressed forward. “And you have nothing to fear from me. When I offered to marry you, and adopt Varena, it was because I wanted to help you; to be a hero in your eyes. I hope someday I can be that, but until then…until then, we do not have to…lie together as man and wife. Not if you don’t want to.”
To her horror, Kalie began to cry. She tried to summon up anger at Riyik for breaking down her defenses, for making her feel things that should be long dead—but it would not come.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” she wailed.
Riyik looked away and did not answer.
“Riyik, please! You are offering me so much more than I can ever repay! Maybe it doesn’t make sense to you but my code of honor won’t allow that! You’re offering protection not just to me but to Varena, you’re saying you won’t force me to have sex with you…what do you want in return?”
“For you to keep my tent and raise my son, and do whatever you can to help him walk.”
“You know that I’ll do whatever I can for Yarik whether I live in your tent or not, and—wait, what tent? The one you live in was part of Yasha’s dowry. Won’t you be returning it to her father?”
Shadow of the Horsemen (Kalie's Journey) Page 13