by Payne, Lee
Ohan had never felt so alone in all his life. Malie had run off shouting about her basket. The others had been taken in a carriage, Leahn unmasked and in trouble. He was left alone with a laser cannon, whatever that was, strapped around his middle.
He tried to remember the Commodore's last words, something about their goal being to get into Blackman Nol's house. Maybe that was where the carriage had taken them. Was that where the road led? He didn't dare ask anyone and he couldn't risk following the road in broad daylight. He would have to wait until dark. In the meantime he could go look for Malie. But what if she found her basket and came back here looking for him?
He decided to wait where he was until dark, then follow the carriage. If Malie returned, they would go together. If she didn't, he would go alone. Somehow he felt that Malie's chances of survival in the depot were better than his.
He sat down among the barrels of salt fish to wait and worry. Sitting was difficult in his corset. He tucked his feet beneath him and rolled backwards onto a barrel. That left him staring at a patch of sky between the kegs. Was his a good plan? He doubted it. Was it just an excuse to sit and do nothing? He didn't know. He had never had to do much planning before. His mother, his teachers, the Commodore—they had all planned things for him. He had just gone along for the ride. But now he was alone. It was time to take charge.
He struggled to his feet. He sat down. He stared at the sky. He had a plan. It was to lean here until it got dark, then follow the road. It was the only plan he could think of. It meant he wasn't just sitting here paralyzed with fear. He was waiting. Waiting was part of his plan. It wasn't his fault that this part closely resembled fear and indecision. He would wait. The sun was moving slowly, ever so slowly across the sky.
He woke with a start. They were shouting at him. He was discovered. Wait. They were shouting at each other. Two drivers on the other side of the barrels were moving off toward town. It was dark and Malie hadn't come. He pulled himself stiffly from his hiding place. How long had the sun been gone? He had no idea. The Eye of God was behind the mountains. It was very dark. He chuckled unconvincingly. Ohan, child of darkness, was setting out again in darkness to . . . to do what? Probably get himself killed or captured or tortured or worse yet, lost.
He peered out from between the barrels. The two drivers had walked across the road still shouting at each other. There were lights and people. Perhaps he too should just walk boldly across the road as if he had business there. That might attract less attention than if he seemed to be sneaking across. Once he got into the shadow of the trees on the other side, he would be less likely to be seen.
He took a deep breath and stepped out, slowly but purposefully. He tried to walk casually but that was hard when you didn't feel at all casual. He had to think of something else. Lost. That would be the worst fate of all. He would gladly die trying to save Leahn, even suffer torture . . . well, a little bit of torture. But to get lost, that would be the worst. To fail was one thing. To fail foolishly and uselessly was quite another. He prayed his death would prove useful.
There were trees in front of him. He stepped across a ditch and was among them. He had made it! Unlike his forest trees, these were straight and tall with rough bark and few low branches. But they smelled of earth and wood and decay. He hugged one.
The town was behind him. The dirt road led off into darkness. He started to walk parallel to the road inside the cover of the trees but the ground was rough and the going slow. How much precious time had he lost hiding among the salted fish? He stepped cautiously onto the road and listened. Nothing. He looked down at his clothes. They were dark, the night was dark and if he heard anyone approach, he could quickly duck back among the trees. He would stick to the road.
It led up to the crest of a low hill and down the other side. The depot and town were lost behind him and darkness was all around. He stopped occasionally to listen. The sounds of these woods were unfamiliar but natural. Even the wind in the leaves sounded different. The insects and night creatures were not the same as those of his forest but were still recognizable as they went about their business, doing their secret things.
The road crossed an open meadow. Once in the cover of the trees on the other side, Ohan breathed a sigh of relief until he realized that his road met another there. The new road went off in two new directions. He had no choice but to make a choice. He made it, regretted it and kept on.
The new road followed the far side of the meadow and then branched again. One path led up into the woods where lights were burning. He froze and listened. There were people up there. He crept in among the trees and climbed the hill.
He came to a large clearing. A cluster of buildings in the center was surrounded by a wire fence patrolled by guards. He began to despair. His friends could be in any one of those buildings or they could be somewhere else entirely. How could he possibly find them?
He had circled halfway around the clearing when he came to the stables. Some of the corrals were close to the tree line. He slipped in among the horses, amazed at how little commotion he caused among the beasts that had once frightened him so. The stables were separated from the rest of the compound by two gates some distance apart.
"What you think you're doing there, boy?"
Ohan's blood froze. He whirled to face a heavyset figure in the darkness. "They uh . . . they sent me to look at the horses," he stammered. "I'm good with horses."
"Sent you? Who sent you?" the man demanded.
"The uh, rider. The big rider."
"Oh he did eh? He pampers that beast. There ain't nothing wrong with it. How long you been here?"
"Well, it took a little while. He looked all right to me. I was just leaving."
The man found a lantern and lit it. He held it close to Ohan's face. "What's your name, boy?"
"Ohan, sir."
The man squinted at him. "You're a furry one. Not long out of the trees, I'd say. I'm going to check up on you when I get in, Ohan. If I find out you're lying to me, I'll skin you for sure."
He grabbed Ohan in an iron grip and led him down to the first gate, opened it and shoved him through. "If you ain't telling the truth, boy, you're dead."
Ohan walked unsteadily to the second gate and slipped through. He knew the man behind him was still watching but had no idea which way he was supposed to go. He started in the general direction of most of the buildings, hoping to postpone a final choice as long as possible. As he drew closer, a movement on the porch of the largest building caught his eye. There was another guard there, watching him. The dark figure sauntered up to the rail as Ohan approached. "Where you coming from, boy?"
"The stables, sir. They sent me up there with the horses. I'm good with horses."
"I don't recall seeing you go up there."
"No sir. I've been up there some time."
"Come up here, boy." Ohan climbed the steps to the porch. The guard bent close to his face for a good look. His breath smelled of rotting teeth. "What's your name, boy?"
"Ohan, sir."
"Well you'd best get inside and to bed, Ohan. All you boys have a busy day tomorrow." He grinned evilly. "You'll need your rest."
He held the door half open and Ohan slipped inside. The room was in darkness but his eyes, already accustomed to the night outside, took only a moment to adjust. It looked like the dormitory at school except there were more bunks here, two rows, one on either side of the center aisle. The room was absolutely still. Though he could detect no sound or movement, he sensed that every bed was filled and dozens of eyes were watching him as he walked slowly down the aisle.
"Ohan?" The hoarse whisper startled him. He turned to see a dark figure half rise from a bed beside him. "It's you? They got you too?"
Ohan was almost on top of the person before he recognized him. It was Harz, one of the apprentice drivers from the wagon train. Harz had been one of the most merciless in his hazing of Ohan. Now he actually seemed glad to see him.
As soon as Ohan was identified, the room suddenly b
ecame alive with movement, whispers and someone quietly crying. Harz clung to Ohan. "I'm sorry you're here, Ohan, but I'm glad to see somebody I know. This is a terrible place. You remember Kral, my best friend from the wagons? We swore we'd stay in the depot but we didn't. There was a fight and the next thing we knew we were here only Kral wouldn't be quiet like everybody told him. He said they couldn't do this to him. They just laughed and when he tried to fight them, they beat him. They beat him awful. He died, Ohan. He died just a couple of hours ago and they took him away."
Ohan had taken off his coat and shirt and was untying the belt around his waist. "You can sleep with me tonight," Harz was saying. "I don't want to be alone tonight. We'll find you a bunk tomorrow."
"I won't be sleeping with anybody tonight," Ohan said as he laid the pieces of the laser cannon out on the floor in the dark. "They'll be coming for me just as soon as they find out I was where I wasn't supposed to be. Does anybody here know where Blackman Nol's house is?"
"Everybody does," said a voice from the next bunk. "You going to send him a complaint?"
"I may deliver it personally if I can remember how this thing goes together." He had watched the twins put the machine together and had done it himself half a dozen times but never in the dark and never in a state of suppressed panic. His fingers remembered even though his mind refused to participate.
His mind kept saying things like, "it won't work" and "you're doing it wrong" and "it's not the same machine you drilled holes through pyramids with."
That last part was true. There seemed to be less of it now. The gas analyzer and data calibrating scale were gone. There was just the boosters and the little light attached in a single package, the capacitors and the bundle of tubes. His mind found a new thought. "What if they've forgotten part of it? They didn't give you all of it. It's going to explode." His fingers didn't care. They turned it on.
It hummed. There was no light, just a vibrating hum he felt rather than heard. It was the same pleasant hum he remembered from warm days in the forest climbing on temple mounds.
The door at the end of the room burst open. A very large shape filled the opening. There was a lantern behind it. "Where's Ohan?" The shout filled the silent room. "Where's the boy who says he's been tending my horse?"
His fingers flew over the machine. It had to do more than hum. They came to rest on the power switch slide. It was locked in the off position. He had never seen the machine's beam. It had always been standing on a mound aimed downward before the twins turned it on. He knew which end it came out of however. He fumbled with the safety, then shoved the switch forward. The big man was stomping down the aisle shouting something, Ohan couldn't tell what. The lantern behind the menacing figure flashed from one frightened boy's face to another. A pencil-thin beam of light shot out. It danced crazily on the man's chest, went through all the colors of the rainbow, then the man exploded and the shouting was gone.
The lantern stopped moving. The beam of light wandered toward the man holding it while, at the same time, cutting the guard with the bad teeth and the door in half. It found the man with the lantern. He looked very surprised when he died. As the beam began to cut through the corner of the barracks, Ohan pulled the slide back and clicked it into the off position.
The lantern had fallen to the floor and gone out. In the silent darkness, Ohan could feel a roomful of frightened faces turned to him. "You can try to get back to the depot," he said. "But the riders will probably be after you. If someone will show me the way, I have to go to Blackman Nol's house."
Chapter 14
The ropes cut into Leahn's wrists. Hossen Em pulled them tighter. Then he led her to a chair in the living room and pushed her into it.
He returned her glare with a smile. "You've grown up prettier than ever, girl. But you don't seem to have gotten any smarter these past few years. Still beating your head against stone walls. You should have stayed away, Leahn. Your return won't do anybody any good, least of all you."
"Still the loyal lieutenant, Em?" she snarled. "Whatever dirty job Nol needs done, you're there to do it. I hope he's paid you well."
"Nobody's going to be able to get you out of this, Leahn, even if they wanted to. You'd best tell him what he wants to know and get it over with." One of his men appeared in the doorway. "Go tell my wife," Em ordered. "Tell her we have guests and Nol wants a dinner party tonight." He turned back to Leahn. "Tell my wife that her sister has come for a short visit."
Leahn stared at him in disbelief. "Your wife? One of my sisters? Blackman Nol has paid you well, far better than scum like you could ever hope for. If you've harmed any of them, I'll . . ."
Em glared at her. "You'll do nothing. And Nol had nothing to do with our marriage."
A woman appeared in the doorway. Large but not heavy, she stopped when she saw Leahn. A cry caught in her throat. Her hair was beginning to go gray but the resemblance was clear. She ran to Leahn's side.
"Keep away from her, Silane," Hossen Em warned. "No one's to come near."
The woman knelt beside Leahn, tears welling up in her eyes. She embraced the girl, burying Leahn's face against her shoulder. Both were crying. Em shook his head but made no move to separate them.
"Darling, darling," the woman whispered after a while. "If only you had stayed away. If only you had left it alone. Just knowing you were somewhere else, free and somewhere else, was a comfort to me sometimes." She held Leahn at arm's length. "I prayed that you were well and happy. Oh, darling, why did you come back?"
Leahn had already collected herself. "I came to kill my father's murderer." She shot a glance at Em. "Apparently there are no men here or it would have been done long ago."
"Let him be, darling." The woman took Leahn's face in her hands, kissed it and rose to her feet. "He didn't know. He believed what Nol told him. Then it was too late. We've been married these last three years. I've been luckier than the others." She looked at the glowering man. "Hossen Em has been good to me. I am his wife."
The Commodore entered the room, his guard close behind. "There's nothing like soap and water to freshen one up. I feel ever so much better. There you are, Mr. Em. Your associate here behind me is a charming fellow but not much of a conversationalist."
He approached the two women. "And who is this lovely lady? Mr. Em, you must introduce us." He took Silane's hand. "I, my dear, am Commodore Ardcasl. Please call me Commodore. All my friends do. I'm a poor scientist travelling through your beautiful land, though I must declare that the loveliness of its women outshines even the marvelous landscape. But wait." He looked closely at the two women. "Is this a family resemblance I detect?"
"I am Silane Em," the woman said. "Leahn is my sister."
"Then you must be our hostess. My dear, I do apologize for myself and my associates. It was not our intention to barge in on you uninvited but your husband here . . . I am correct in that, am I not? Yes? Ah, Mr. Em, you are indeed a fortunate fellow . . . well, he did rather insist that we all come along with him, and now Mr. Nol is talking about a dinner party. I do hope it's not too great an inconvenience . . . Sisters, you say? Well, that explains it. We were all quite dumfounded when your clever husband discovered that the Cirian bodyguard sent to me by the governor was, in fact, a lovely young woman. Confidentially I must admit that I feared we had gotten ourselves into the middle of some unsavory goings on, but if the young woman is, in fact, your sister . . . well, my silly fears of sinister plots are proved groundless. I am relieved that it is only a family tiff. I myself come from a large and contentious family. I know full well the . . . "
"Leahn has vowed to kill Blackman Nol," Silane said softly. "That is why she has come back."
"Oh dear." The Commodore seemed truly shocked, but then said cheerfully, "But look on the bright side. Your husband's vigilance has forestalled her dark design. Mr. Nol is safe and now your unfortunate sister can receive professional counseling. I'm sure that with tender care and a little time, she can be made right as rain. I recall a similar ca
se several years ago. It was . . ."
"I'm afraid Blackman Nol intends to kill my sister."
"Silane!" Em said. "That's enough."
The Commodore was stunned. "Surely not, madam." He turned to Hossen Em. "Surely you would not allow such a thing to happen, sir. Your wife's own sister. You have her securely tied. She can no longer be a threat to anyone. With treatment she . . ."
"Keep quiet," Em shouted. "This is none of your affair."
"You are correct, sir," the Commodore said softly. "But it is very much your affair and I fear you are handling it badly."
He turned to leave but found the doorway blocked by two more young women, both near Leahn's age, with the same family resemblance. One hung back timidly but the other came boldly into he room. "So it's true," she snarled. "You wouldn't leave things as they were. You had to come back."
"I'm sorry, Laral," Leahn said. "I thought I could kill him. Hello Caran." The girl in the doorway edged into the room, smiled nervously and gave a little wave. "Where are the others?" Leahn asked.
"Upstairs in their rooms crying," Laral replied acidly. "That's how overjoyed they were to hear of your return."
She sat on the couch opposite her bound sister, Em watchfully between them. Her manner softened. "It hasn't been as bad this past year or so. Nol is so busy building his empire, he hasn't time for us. But now that he has you, he'll start all over again." She sat for a moment as if collecting herself for whatever lay ahead. "Why did you do it, Leahn? Why did you come back?"
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Leahn said meekly.
Laral stood up. "A joke? That's good, Leahn. I'll have them carve it on your tombstone if Nol leaves enough of you to bury." She saw the Commodore. "Who's your fat friend?"
The Commodore bowed. "Ardcasl's the name, my dear. All my friends call me Commodore. I hope you'll . . ."
"We're not really acquainted," Leahn said. "He was handy when I needed a lift. He says he knew our father and came here to look at all that old junk he collected." She gave the Commodore a long look. "I'd keep away from him if I were you. He looks kind of slippery."