by Barb Hendee
After slipping outside, Julianna quietly pulled the door closed behind herself and then went down the steps. At the bottom, she was surprised when Jan grabbed her arm and pulled her around the side of the wagon. She couldn’t break his grip and was somewhat taken aback by the strength in his hand.
“What are you doing?” she whispered as he stopped and let her go.
“I have to go into Kéonsk,” he whispered back, sounding slightly manic, “inside the castle… to find a scroll.”
If he’d told her the sun was going to rise in the west tomorrow morning, she wouldn’t have been more confused.
“What?”
In fits and starts, he began to recount what had happened to him since he’d left her here a short while ago, and her incredulity only grew.
“A curse? She cursed the wine? How is that possible?”
“She said she’d stopped studying and begun stealing the spells of other casters. She probably stole the one she used on Rico.”
“And this scroll she wants you to fetch. What is it used for?”
He shook his head as if the question were unimportant. “I don’t care. She said it came into Kéonsk years ago along with some papers removed from an ancient Knaanic monastery.”
Julianna had no idea what that meant… but how exactly would this Nana person have any idea what was stored inside the castle?
“She seems very well informed for a Móndyalítko from a family so poor they are not even allowed a minor assignment at the fair.”
Again, he seemed to view this as unimportant and waved her off. “Well, I think she’s trying to remedy that and is putting every penny into spell components for now, but I don’t care! I need to go. She told me the scroll she wants is in the cellars on the north side of the castle, in the second alcove on the right of the first passage.”
Julianna grabbed his sleeve. “And yet she won’t even try to get it herself! Jan, Väränj soldiers guard that castle. You’ll never get inside, and even if you do, you’ll never get back out again. You’ll be caught and killed and then the family will have lost both you and Rico!”
To her further surprise, he pulled away briefly and grasped her hand. “Trust me. I have to try. Cover for me again, just until I have time to get inside the city gates. If Uncle Rosario knows where I’m going, he’ll try to stop me.”
She stared at him, realizing that no words from her would change his mind. He was set on this mad course.
Well… if she couldn’t stop him, another idea occurred to her.
Nodding, she said, “All right. I’ll cover for you.”
He studied her face with sudden suspicion, as if doubting her sudden agreement, but then he glanced around. “Where’s my violin?”
“Here,” she answered, pointing towards the back steps of the wagon. “Belle put it back into its case.”
“Thank you.” He took up the case but continued casting his gaze around. “Where’s Uncle Rosario’s hat?”
“There.” She pointed to the ground near the campfire. Jan hurried over and picked it up.
Turning away, he said, “I’ll be back before sunrise. I swear.”
He hurried off into the darkness toward the west gate of the city, and Julianna remained in place, watching him go.
· · · · ·
Although Jan had no idea how he was going to get himself inside the castle, he anticipated no trouble with getting inside the city itself.
Once he was outside the temporary autumn market, he crossed the main road in front of the city. A short path led straight forward to the huge arch and rounded wooden gates of Kéonsk’s west entrance. Guards in varied light armor manned the entrance, but they all wore the bright red tabards of the Väränj, marked with the black silhouette of a rearing stallion. In truth, though, the men posted on the outer gates were more of a formality, and they seldom denied anyone.
No one else was attempting to enter at this late hour, and Jan walked up to one of three guards currently on duty.
He smiled, holding up his violin and the hat. “Thought I’d go in after the market closed out here and try to earn a little coin on my own.”
This was not uncommon, and the guard began stepping aside to let him pass.
“Jan!” a familiar voice called from behind. “Wait.”
Incredulous, he turned to see Julianna running toward him. Wearing her red dress, paisley sash, dangling bracelets—and carrying her tambourine—with her long hair flying, she looked every inch a young Móndyalítko woman ready to perform.
“You got ahead of me,” she panted at him and then smiled at the guard… who smiled back. Her eyes turned to Jan. “Did you forget I was to accompany you?”
With his jaw clenched, he glared at her. “I thought to go in alone tonight. You should go back to the camp. Now.”
“I can’t. Your uncle asked me to come and perform with you. Should I go back and tell you sent me away?”
The muscles in his jaw tightened further as he heard her implied threat: that either he allow her to come along or she would go back and tell Rosario everything.
“No, of course not,” he answered, resuming his own smile.
The guard finished stepping aside, allowing them both through the gates and inside the city, but as soon as they were out of earshot, Jan turned.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Helping you,” she answered. “You don’t know how to get inside a castle.”
“And you do?”
“Not yet.”
The answer infuriated him. “You find some place to hide and wait here for me! I mean it, Julianna.”
“Nope.” She walked forward. “And if you try to leave me behind, I really will go and fetch Rosario. I’m not letting you get yourself killed.
With his mouth hanging open, he watched her walking away. She was serious, and he could not have his uncle interfering. Rosario was not subtle—and this was going to require subtly. Jan also felt guilty, almost responsible. He should have spotted Lydia for trouble two or three nights ago and looked into her more carefully.
But one thing was clear. Julianna was not going to hide or leave.
With a harsh sigh, he jogged after her, catching up quickly.
They passed through the open cobblestone area that made up the year-round city market area. It was quiet and still now, with canvas tarps covering scores of booths and carts that would come alive at dawn with hawkers selling goods to the city’s population.
After that, they entered a district of inns and taverns where the night was not so quiet. Bargemen, prostitutes, and gamblers kept late hours. A slender young woman in a doorway caught Jan’s eye. She smiled and held up a hand, rubbing fingers and thumb together to indicate that coin was required for her company.
He looked away quickly, before Julianna noticed the silent exchange.
By far, the most common inhabitants moving in the night streets were soldiers. Most were small patrols of Väränj, but there were occasional groups wearing the light yellow tabards of the Äntes.
Both sides ignored each other as if they’d not recently been engaged in near civil war. Jan found this almost unfathomable.
He led the way directly toward the city center and the gates of the castle.
But as soon as those gates were in sight, he and Julianna stopped and kept to the shadows. A half dozen Väränj soldiers in red tabards guarded the courtyard’s entryway, and more patrolled the ramparts and walls.
By the dim light of a streetlamp a half block away, Jan raised an eyebrow at Julianna.
“And now what do you suggest?” he asked sarcastically, not expecting an answer. They certainly couldn’t attempt to scale the wall.
But her gaze was on the front gate guards. “I think we need to get closer, close enough that we can hear any exchanges between those soldiers and anyone they actually let inside.”
He blinked. That wasn’t a bad idea.
Then he shook his head to clear it as he studied Julianna’s profile.
She was a survivor, and he well knew it. They were both here to save Rico, and instead of resenting her for following him, he realized he should stop playing the fool and accept her offered help.
“All right,” he breathed, peering forward to a dark shop closest to the gates. “If we head one street over and come in the south side, we should be able to slip up and peer around the corner of that shop, and I think we’ll be close enough to hear.”
Nodding, she motioned him forward, and he led the way. Within moments, they were one street over, and he hurried up the block and then turned south until they approached the correct shop and crept up to peer around the corner—with Jan standing and Julianna crouching below him. The front gate guards were even closer than Jan had expected.
“You wanna play dice later, once we’re off duty?” one of them asked another.
“Naw,” the other answered. “I’m out of coin until the end of the moon.”
After the two men had spoken, Jan glanced down at Julianna as she looked up. They could hear the exchange perfectly. As of yet, Jan had no idea how this might be useful, but at least the first thing they’d tried had proven a success.
And so… they both hunkered down to wait and to see if they could gain some idea of who the guards might be letting in and out of the castle.
Time passed.
Almost nothing happened.
A few Väränj soldiers went in or came out with little more than a polite nod or greeting to the guards, but no one else even attempted to enter.
Finally, Jan whispered, “Maybe I could catch one of them alone, knock him out, and steal his uniform?”
Julianna frowned up at him thoughtfully. “I’m not sure you could pass for a Väränj soldier. Your hair is so long… and your skin is dusky.”
He paused. She had a point. A few of the soldiers wore helmets, but even if he managed to procure a helmet and hide his hair, there wasn’t much they could do about his skin tone.
Still… he couldn’t think of anything else to try, and he wanted this done tonight. He wanted Rico awake and drinking water.
Just then, the sound of female laughter sounded near the gates, and he peered around the corner again. Five young women with painted faces and brightly colored gowns walked right up to the guards.
A middle-aged guard with a beard, and wearing a helmet, stepped out to greet them, his expression a mix of annoyance and relief.
“You’re late, Mira,” he said to the woman leading the small group. “Commander Rupert expected you right after supper. The officers are all waiting.” He glanced over the others, and his eyes stopped on two women at the back. “I don’t know them.”
Mira couldn’t have been much over twenty years old. Her red-gold hair hung loose around her oval face as she tilted her head. “Don’t be so suspicious, Sergeant Greer,” she answered. “They’re new recruits, but you know Madam Clarissa only sends her best here.” She pursed her mouth in a pout. “And we’re late because our cook served some bad fish last night. Half the house is sick.”
The sergeant nodded, and then he glanced over the group again. “Wait… where’s Lorenzo?”
Mira shrugged. “Sorry. He ate the fish.”
Sergeant Greer’s expression shifted to a new combination, somewhere between alarm and embarrassment. “Lorenzo’s not… he isn’t coming?”
“Sorry.” Mira repeated, and her small nose wrinkled. “But trust me, Commander Rupert would not want his company tonight.”
The alarm on the sergeant’s face increased, but he motioned her forward. “Well, you five had better hurry inside. Like I said… the officers are waiting.” He turned to a much younger guard. “Take the girls into the main hall and don’t try to explain Lorenzo’s absence to the commander. Let Mira handle it. If there’s any fallout, I’ll deal with it myself.”
The young guard nodded once and ushered the women into the courtyard.
As Jan was taking all this in, Julianna stood up beside him in the darkness. He wondered if she had a clue what was transpiring, that a small group of prostitutes had been hired to entertain some of the officers… and one of the commanders preferred men—or at least preferred a man called Lorenzo.
When Jan turned to try and whisper a brief explanation, he found Julianna studying his face, and judging by the look in her eyes, her mind appeared to be working quickly.
“We need to act fast,” she whispered. “Leave the hat and bring your violin.”
“What do you think we’re going to…?”
Her eyes left his face and moved down his body, and a shocking realization hit him. She understood exactly what had just transpired.
“No!” he hissed.
“Why not? You’re slender and handsome enough to be called pretty. I don’t see any other way… and we have to hurry.”
“Julianna?”
“Come on.”
With her scarlet dress flying around her feet and her tambourine in hand, she ran for the gate, and after only an instant of further shock, he grabbed his violin and followed. Slowing as she reached the sergeant, Julianna continued panting as if she’d been running.
Though her face wasn’t painted, her long hair was loose. Her purple sash and dangling bracelets certainly set her apart from a normal townswoman. Jan stopped just behind her, stunned that she was taking the lead here. After all… he was the trickster, not her. But on little more than instinct, he let her continue.
She smiled. “Are you Sergeant Greer? I’m sorry we’re late. Mira thought it best to take the other girls and go on ahead.” She motioned to Jan. “Madam Clarissa was still trying to find a replacement for Lorenzo.” She leaned forward and added quietly. “This is Renaldo. He does not care for fish.”
By the light of the braziers on the both sides of the gate, Greer looked out at Jan, taking in the sight of his face, slender form, and longish dark hair. Jan seethed inside. The man’s assessment was beyond insulting. Jan was clearly a ladies man and not some male strumpet. This was never going to work.
Julianna must be mad, and now she’d brought them both out in the open.
Then, Sergeant Greer nodded in what appeared to be open relief, and he stepped aside. “Mira’s already gone in, but if you hurry, you might catch her before she reaches the hall.”
Jan fought to keep his mouth from falling open. The guard believed Julianna’s story? He took Jan and Julianna both for… prostitutes?
Julianna, however, suffered from no such surprise. “We’ll hurry.”
Greer turned to a large guard in his early thirties. “Take them in.”
Before Jan had time to seethe any further, he found himself ushered forward through the gates, and then he realized they were inside the courtyard walking toward the main doors of the castle.
Julianna had managed—through some very quick thinking—to get them inside. Pushing down his injured pride, he focused on the moment at hand, knowing that he’d soon be required to do some quick thinking of his own.
A few guards, all in red tabards, inside the courtyard glanced their way, but as they were under escort, no one spoke to them. Jan strode behind their escort, with Julianna trotting beside him, he couldn’t help wondering how in the world she’d understood the situation so rapidly. Before this journey, Julianna had spent her entire life in the small village of Chemestúk—where there were most certainly no brothels or madams… or fancy male strumpets named Lorenzo.
As they reached the main doors to the castle, they’d not yet caught up to Mira and the other women, which was a good thing. Their escort paused long enough to open one of the doors and motion them through.
Jan and Julianna stepped into an entryway with a long passage running north, a long passage running south, and a wide one running straight ahead.
More importantly, as Jan looked around, there was no one else in sight. For the moment, the three of them were alone.
“Where is everyone?” Jan asked before thinking, but the guard didn’t appear to find his question strange.
&n
bsp; “As the prince is not in residence, few servants are needed. Most of the officers will be in the main hall at this hour,” the guard said.
“Which way is the main hall?” Jan asked. “I’ve not been inside before.”
The guard stepped past him toward the wide passage. “I’ll take you. Just follow me.”
As he neared the corner of the stone passage, Jan moved in a flash, dashing forward, grabbing the man by the back of his neck and slamming his head into the wall. A crack resounded, but Jan jerked the guard’s head back and slammed it again. Never having trained as a fighter, he’d learned to rely on the element of surprise.
“Stop!” Julianna gasped softly.
What had she expected him to do?
Jan dropped the guard, who fell to the ground, his eyes closed, bleeding from his forehead.
“Did you kill him?” Julianna asked, dropping to the floor and touching the side of the man’s throat.
In truth, Jan had no idea. He hadn’t really thought about it. His only goal was to remove the guard, so that he and Julianna would be free to head down the north passage unencumbered.
“He’s breathing,” Julianna said. “But we need to get him out of sight. Everyone in the courtyard saw him escorting us.”
Yes, of course she was right.
“Grab his leg,” Jan told her.
Without a question, she stood up and did as he asked, and he grabbed the other leg.
“Down the north corridor,” he added, remembering what Nana had told him.
The scroll is in the cellars on the north side of the castle, in the second alcove on the right of the first passage.
He knew it still troubled Julianna that this woman had somehow known exactly where the scroll was hidden, but Jan still didn’t care how she’d known or what was in the scroll itself. He couldn’t think beyond saving Rico.
Dragging the unconscious guard, they headed north.
Jan tried to not pull faster than Julianna was able.
“We need to find a stairwell… quickly,” he said. There was no telling how soon someone might come along and see them here in the main floor.
She glanced over at him in annoyance. “Yes, that had occurred to me.”