Chapter Eighteen—The Rules of the Game
They did not stop until midmorning, when Landfall was many kilometers behind and long lost from sight in the gently rolling farmlands. Some time earlier, they had abandoned the main road in favor of a lesser used sidetrack. This route followed the path of a sluggish river through freshly plowed fields and small strips of woodland. Kim finally called a halt on a deserted stretch of grassy embankment and set her horse off to graze. It was a break to rest the animals, and a chance for the women to eat a light meal and to make a final decision on the route they would take back to the mountains.
“How long before you’ll be missed?” Kim asked, once they were all seated or sprawled on the grass.
The question was one that Lynn had already given some thought to. “With extreme bad luck, they’ll be after me already, but I was due to be meditating all morning, so I shouldn’t be missed until I don’t show up at lunch time. And they probably won’t begin a major search until the meal is over. Then they’ll start by turning the sanctum upside down before moving on to the rest of the temple.” Lynn shrugged. “It could well be late afternoon before they know I’ve definitely gone.”
Mirle looked thoughtful. “That’s not too bad.”
“But as Lynn said at the beginning, we can’t rely on it,” Kim said.
The heretic pursed her lips. “True. And whenever the chase starts, we still have the same basic choice: either we go hell for leather and try to outrun them, or we go slowly and try to blend into the scenery.”
“This part of the journey is your specialty. What do you recommend?”
Mirle had no hesitation. “Slow and steady. They may well suspect that we’ve got Lynn and are taking her to Westernfort. When you think about it, there’s nowhere else for her to go, so they’ll be looking west. We could drop down toward Alderwood and take the roundabout route by Southwater. There are some good safe houses that way.”
“Fair enough. Do you two have anything to add?” Kim looked at the others as she spoke.
“Only to agree with Mirle.” The chunk of bread in Carma’s hand was waved in the heretic’s general direction as she spoke. “If the Guards are changing their horses at way stations, we’ll never be able to keep ahead of them.”
“True. Any thoughts, Lynn?” Kim’s eyes moved on.
“Er...I...no.” Lynn could think of nothing sensible to say and her voice sounded, to her ears, nearly as weak and unsure as she felt, but no one else seemed to notice her confusion.
Carma and Mirle were both looking to Kim as leader, waiting for her to make the final decision. She looked thoughtful for a minute and then nodded. “Okay, Mirle, we’ll follow your lead. Where should we aim to stay tonight?”
The conversation moved on to routes, distances, and provisions, a detailed debate about places Lynn had never heard of. She sat to one side, trying to follow the intricacies of the plan, but suddenly she was feeling completely out of her depth. She did not know how far a horse could travel in a day, how much it cost for a room at an inn, or whether you could ford the river Wade in April. The dull security of an Imprinter’s life had gone, and Lynn had no experience relevant to the new situation. In fact, apart from the journey to Landfall, she had no experience of adult life outside the temple at all. Lynn fixed her eyes on the trees overhanging the river, hoping to take comfort in their beauty, but at the moment, it all seemed frighteningly alien.
At last, the other three concluded their planning and began to get ready for the return to the road. As she went to stand, Lynn’s legs felt a little wobbly from the unaccustomed strain of riding, and the sharp sting on her left heel reminded her of the intention to pad her new boots. She hesitated. She should have thought of it sooner; now it would mean delaying the others. Yet it would be foolish to get blisters if it could be avoided. Surely a few minutes extra wait would not matter?
Lynn sat down again and pulled off her boots. “Can you pass me the Sister’s robe?” she asked, feeling embarrassed to be wasting everyone’s time.
However, Kim was by her side in an instant, her voice concerned rather than critical. “Oh yes, your feet. How are they?”
“No blisters yet, but...”
Lynn did not need to finish the sentence. Already Kim had pulled the robe from a rucksack and began tearing off strips to pass to her.
Carma watched with melodramatic mock horror. “Oh no, after all I went through to get that.”
Kim and Mirle laughed. The acquisition of the robes was obviously a shared joke, and a subject that had given Lynn cause to wonder. It could not have been easy. She paused her wrapping to ask. “Just how did you get a set of clothes from a Sister?”
The laughter became even louder, but eventually Mirle controlled herself enough to answer. “It was as heroic an example of self-sacrifice as you could ask for from a Ranger. Carma slept with the woman who runs the temple laundry.”
Kim handed the last strip of cloth to Lynn before adding her own comments. “Yes, it was courage up to and beyond the call of duty. I didn’t even need to order her. I just suggested it vaguely, and straight away, she volunteered. And if you’d seen the woman, I tell you, there was no guarantee Carma was going to get out of there in one piece.”
“I must admit I was impressed by the valiant way she threw herself into the action.” Mirle feigned seriousness.
Kim matched her tone. “You tend to get a lot of practice at it in the Rangers. Carma more than most.”
“She’s got a healthy running tally?”
“I don’t know about running, I think the count galloped into the distance years ago.”
At which point, the gibes became too much for Carma to resist some good-natured retaliation. She directed a long, hard stare at Kim. “Now that’s a bit much, coming from you, Ramon. I can remember Captain LeCoup threatening to put a sentry outside the door to your room to keep the line in order.”
Lynn concentrated on wrapping the padding around her feet and putting her boots back on while the laughter and teasing continued between the other three. It was all said in jest, Lynn realized, but it was based on events and an experience of life that was even more unknown to her than the planning of a dangerous journey. Now it was too late to question exactly what she had agreed to with Kim. In fact, Lynn was not certain what the right questions were, or what she wanted the answers to be. Some of Sister Dunsin’s warnings echoed in her mind, and even Dunsin could not be totally wrong about everything. And then Lynn remembered the hopeless, deadening slavery of the temple. Surely nothing could be worse than that? But whatever happens, Lynn told herself, I’ve made my choice and I’ll stick with it.
*
The skies remained clear for the rest of the day, but the weather was cold, even for early April. As the sun drew near to the horizon, the temperature dropped still further. Fortunately, the party was well equipped, and in addition to her jacket, Lynn had a riding cloak over her shoulders. Although she was warm enough, Lynn knew she was trembling, but she knew it in a vague, detached way.
Shortly after the midmorning break, Lynn had become aware that the unfamiliar exercise was making heavy demands on her body, but she could not afford to let it impede the rest of the party. She knew all the warnings about using the healer sense to overcome physical limitations, but the situation did not allow her any other options. They had to escape. All their lives depended on getting away, so she had exerted her skill to block out the pain of overworked muscles and chafed skin. At first, it had been only the gentlest of interventions, but by the time sunset approached, she was totally absorbed in the healer-trance. The rift between mind and body was so great that she failed to notice the change in surroundings when they finally rode into the enclosed courtyard of a crossroads inn.
The innkeeper, a plump, middle-aged woman with a flour-covered apron, came out to greet her guests. “Welcome, travelers, what can I do for you?”
Mirle slipped from her horse and stepped forward. “We’d like a quiet room for the nigh
t.”
A slight hesitation and flicker of recognition crossed the innkeeper’s face, but the woman’s voice was unchanged as she said, “We’re short on private rooms. Would the hayloft over the stables do?”
Kim and Carma caught each other’s eye with approving looks, knowing that if necessary, the hayloft would provide the quickest escape from the inn without drawing the attention of others. Mirle and the innkeeper walked a little to one side and spoke in low voices, giving the charade of agreeing on a price, although the information being exchanged was undoubtedly far more significant. The two Rangers dismounted and caught their horses’ reins. However, Lynn remained in the saddle.
Kim walked to her side. “Lynn. Are you all right?” But as the Ranger looked more closely, she could see Lynn swaying slightly and the pallor of her face. Kim reached out to put her hand on the Imprinter’s arm. At the touch, Lynn appeared to jerk awake. She shook her head slightly and then swung her leg over the rump of her horse and dropped to the ground. Quite literally. As her feet hit the cobblestones, her knees buckled, and if Kim had not caught her, she would have fallen.
“Carma, get over here.” But there was no need for Kim to speak. Already the Ranger healer was at her shoulder. “What’s wrong with her?” Kim asked in alarm.
Carma’s eyes unfocused as she put her hand on Lynn’s forehead for a few seconds before replying. “Nothing too serious. It’s mainly strained muscles. She’s overdone things and has been holding herself together with the healer sense.”
The innkeeper had also stepped up close and now hissed. “If she’s the one you don’t want people to notice, then get her out of sight at once.”
The advice was very good. Lynn felt herself being picked up and carried, and for a while the world pitched and swung about her. When the whirling stopped, she was set down on a fresh bed of straw with a thick cloak laid over her as a blanket. She opened her eyes to see the sloping rafters of the hayloft and Kim kneeling at one side with the other two standing behind.
“When did you last ride a horse?” Kim demanded to know.
“You saw me, back in the fort,” Lynn managed to reply.
“A year ago! And when was the last time before that?”
“When I was twelve.”
“Damn it. Why didn’t you say before?” Kim sounded angry.
“I’m sorry. You’d planned out your route. I didn’t want to slow you down.” Lynn felt her eyes filling with tears.
Kim sighed loudly and lowered her head, then put her hand on Lynn’s shoulder. “No, I’m the one who should say sorry. I should have thought. I’d seen you ride, but it should have been obvious you wouldn’t get to practice at the temple.” She looked over her shoulder. “Carma, can you do anything for her?”
“A little.” Carma’s voice was softly regretful. “Unfortunately, it’s been a long day for me as well. Once I’ve had a rest and something to eat, I should be of more use. At least enough to make sure she gets a good night’s sleep. By tomorrow, she’ll be able to look after herself, but I doubt she’ll be ready to move on.”
Kim pursed her lips. “Mirle, will the innkeeper mind us staying?”
“She’d probably rather we didn’t, but she’ll cover for us as long as we need.”
“Okay. Carma, if you do what you can now, then you and Mirle can go over to the common room and get supper. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on her for a while,” Kim said and moved back to let the other Ranger take her place.
Lynn closed her eyes as Carma’s hand rested on her forehead, and slowly the worst of the pain slipped away, while the exhaustion softened to a bearable level. She still felt as if she had been through a mangle, and her hips and thighs throbbed, but her thoughts were back in the present and clear enough for her to know the risks she had taken that day. Only when she had released herself from the cocoon of the healer sense had she found that she had pushed herself much, much too far.
“Do you feel any better?” Carma asked eventually.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“That’s okay.” Carma looked over to Kim. “Mirle and I will be off in search of supper, then.”
“Right. I might be along later.”
“If not, we’ll bring something back for you.”
“Thanks.”
There was the sound of the Ranger and heretic climbing down from the hayloft, and then Lynn was aware that she was alone with Kim. All her doubts from the morning returned in a rush. Was Sister Dunsin right? Would Kim be looking simply to notch up another conquest? Some sort of competition? But Lynn did not know the rules of the game. She hunted desperately for something to say.
“I’ve been stupid. You’re right. I should have spoken earlier.”
“We all do mad things sometimes. And it allowed us to get safely to this inn.” Kim spoke quietly.
Lynn turned her head and looked around. A third of the hayloft was taken up with a mound of loose straw. An oil lantern hung from a rafter, casting oblique shadows across the sloping roof that came down almost to the floor. At one end of the loft, a bay jutted out, presumably overhanging the road outside. The tall loading hatch at the back was bolted and shuttered. A ladder stuck up through a trapdoor in the middle of the floor. Lynn frowned. She had no memory of how she had been carried up it, but obviously it had been managed somehow. And then, sitting on the straw less than a meter away and watching her intently, was Kim.
Something approaching panic clawed at Lynn. Try as she might, she could not push away the memory of Sister Dunsin’s preaching, the words that echoed in her head. She would have taken what she wanted from you, and I can guarantee it would have been more than you wanted to give. And what did she want to give? Lynn’s eyes closed as she felt fresh tears rising. At the moment, the answer was definitely nothing. Her whole body ached from head to toe, the burning in her groin was the effect of the saddle, not lust. Dunsin had derided her for childish romanticism, had promised that reality would be both crude and unpleasant. In the security of the temple, it had been so very easy to dismiss the words as religious ranting, but now?
Lynn fought back sobs. In her current state, anything that happened was likely to be far worse than Dunsin’s most dire warning. And what was Kim going to want? Lynn remembered the conversation from that morning, the jokes about a Ranger’s running tally. Then another memory came to mind, the parade ground at Landfall, and what had happened to Kim there. Lynn set her jaw. That had been her fault, her ill-planned actions that had resulted in the flogging, and she owed Kim something by way of repayment. Lynn was still frightened, still unsure of what she had bought into, and the time and place were not those she would have chosen, but she was not going to start complaining. Whatever Kim wanted, she could have.
“Lynn?” Kim’s voice was soft. “Are you all right to talk?”
“Yes,” Lynn said. Talking was not the issue. Kim reached out a hand as if to touch her, and despite her resolve, Lynn felt herself flinch away and freeze.
Kim’s hand dropped and she said, “There’s something we need to sort out.”
“I’m listening.”
Kim hesitated for a moment and then began talking, but her sentences limped along in untidy chunks. “I...er...I came to the temple to ask you to join us because...when we were thinking about the need for a new Cloner...you came to mind...since you’d told me how unhappy you were at the temple, and I thought...perhaps, you’d be willing to join us. It wasn’t that I was hoping...” And finally, the erratic speech died. Kim hesitated for the space of several breaths before continuing. “I know I’m sounding disjointed. Basically, what I want to say is...what happened in the stable in Petersmine...I haven’t been putting any...expectations on it. I’ll understand if it was just that you didn’t want to go to Landfall, and got a bit overwrought, and didn’t mean what you said to me, and you only kissed me because you were unhappy.” Kim’s words paused for the longest gap of all. Lynn waited in silence, unsure of quite where the awkward monologue was going, but at last Kim picked u
p again in a rush. “Because I didn’t seriously feel that way about you, it was just the situation. And I’m not hoping or wanting for us to become lovers now, in fact, quite the opposite. Westernfort needs an Imprinter, and I know celibacy is part of the job. So we can just chalk up Petersmine as one of those stupid things that happen sometimes. And we can be friends. Okay?”
Lynn felt as if she had been thrown a lifeline. She grabbed at it eagerly. “Yes. Of course.”
“Right.” Kim took a deep breath. “As long as that’s sorted. Now, do you want me to stay with you, or would you prefer to be left alone to rest?”
“No. You go and get something to eat.”
“You’re sure? Do you want me to bring you over something to eat yourself?”
“I’m sure, and I’d better wait until Carma is around before I try eating.”
Kim got to her feet a little uncertainly and walked over to the trapdoor. She stopped once as if about to say something else, but then climbed down without a word. Lynn watched her go, her relief turning rapidly to a perverse and irrational disappointment.
*
After stepping off the foot of the ladder, Kim walked to the stable door and looked out on the darkened courtyard. Night had fallen while she had been in the hayloft; one crescent moon hung low in the sky. The gusting breeze was icy cold. From the entrance to the inn’s taproom came the hubbub of cheery voices, laughter, and the clunk of beer tankards on tables. The promise of warmth and food. The sound was normally enticing, but Kim was not quite ready for company. She pressed a palm against her forehead and closed her eyes. Before she faced the other two members of the group, she wanted to have her expression fully under control. Carma certainly would have questions, whether or not they were voiced aloud.
The Temple at Landfall Page 20