Rider's Rescue (The Rider's Revenge Trilogy Book 2)

by Alessandra Clarke

  The Lady nodded, acknowledging his question.

  The man wasn't the only one glaring at the Lady with anger or distrust. K'lrsa shook her head, amazed by their gall. Couldn’t they see they were challenging a god?

  Maybe they could and just didn't care, but surely they had to know that an angered god was a dangerous god?

  The Lady addressed the crowd. "It's true that we don't give you everything you could need or want. That some die that we could save."

  The man's gaze darkened further.

  The Lady turned to address him, but her words carried throughout the space. "We did that once. Gave everyone everything they asked for. And we learned that they want what they should not. That they ask for what no one should ever ask for. And that times of plenty twist them away from the right path. No matter how much we gave, they were never satisfied." The sorrow in her voice vibrated in the air. "They always wanted more. When we gave everyone all they could want, the world burned." Her eyes flashed silver. "Never again will we be so foolish."

  "So what good are you then? If you won't help? If you won't give us what we need?" the man demanded.

  The Lady tilted her head to the side, studying him. "We do help. But there is more to life than gold. Or silk. Or fine foods."

  "I didn't want gold. I wanted my wife to live." He glared at her, his whole body shaking.

  She frowned. "But it was her time. You all must pass to the Promised Plains at some point."

  "She was only twenty summers old."

  "Life must have balance. Those who are born, must die. And not all can live to old age. There must be uncertainty and challenge and loss."

  He shook his head in disgust. "You're worthless. Go away."

  K'lrsa stepped forward, but Badru pulled her back and whispered, "She's a god. She doesn’t need you to defend her."

  But didn't she? Because so far she wasn't doing a very good job of convincing anyone to follow her.

  The Lady sighed and turned back to the larger crowd. "We are at a crossroads. Your ancestors swore to protect the desert and the Hidden City. They swore not to reveal its secrets to strangers. But there are those among you who lead trading caravans across the desert and would willingly sell the secrets of the desert to any with gold enough to pay."

  She turned towards the Black Horse Tribe, but her voice continued to carry to everyone present. "We will not force you to honor the vow your ancestors made us. That is not our way. But I will say this."

  Her eyes flashed silver as she scanned the crowd. "If you choose not to protect the Hidden City. If you decide to lead those who are not part of the tribes across the desert—be they trader or slave—we will remove all protections we have granted you."

  She stepped forward, the cold anger on her face more fearsome than a shout. "No longer will there be shelters in the desert. No longer will the barren lands protect you from the greed of the Daliphana. No longer will your moon stones and your sun stones guide you. All of this, we will withdraw."

  She glared at the man who'd spoken before. "And any who try to cross the desert—be they of the tribes or foreign—will find that the desert has turned against them. That the sun burns so hot they blister through their clothes. That the sands shift before and around them until they are lost. And that water, once available in enough quantity to help a man live if not thrive, is lost to them."

  There were angry mutters and frightened whispers from the crowds.

  "So you're abandoning us?" the man demanded.

  "No. You have a choice to make. Renew the vow your ancestors took and continue to benefit from our protection. Or turn away from us and live a godless life with all that entails." She raised her chin, a breeze blowing her hair back as her eyes flashed silver once more. "You must decide. As a people. Follow us or go your own way. We will not intervene, but we will enforce your choice."

  The wind whipped to a frenzy, spitting dirt and grit into the air. K'lrsa shielded her eyes as those around her cried out.

  A moment later, the wind was gone.

  And so was the Lady.

  Chapter 54

  The crowd erupted in conversation, people shouting and screaming at one another. Some rushed the dais, looking everywhere for the Lady, but there was no sign she'd ever been there.

  K'lrsa covered her ears to stem the noise, but it didn't help.

  The man who'd challenged the Lady shouted to anyone who'd listen that he didn't care what protections she removed, he didn't need her or any other god. Look at his wife. Look at the Black Horse Tribe lands, now all desert. Where were the gods when he'd needed them?

  Another man from the Black Horse Tribe shouted right back that he was a fool to believe they could trade with the Daliphana if they didn't have access to the desert. It took four days to cross to the northern lands. How would they make it without protection and water and with the sun and sand against them?

  Eventually, the wise ones managed to quiet the crowd.

  The wise woman for the Black Horse Tribe stepped forward. "You heard the Lady. We have a choice to make, as a people. Either we swear an oath to the gods and accept their protection and their limitations, or we choose to sever our ties with the gods, to make our own way forward."

  The man who'd shouted at the Lady opened his mouth to speak, and the wise woman silenced him with a glance and a raised fist that held a carved wooden rod. "All who want their say, will have it."

  It was the oath stick that each member of the tribes swore upon when they reached the age of fifteen summers. The paint was flaking from its surface and large chunks looked like they'd been gouged out of it, but it was still solid and whole.

  "Only he or she who holds the oath stick may speak." She looked at the man once more. "You want to argue, you wait your turn. Who's first?"

  The man yanked the stick from her hand only a moment before the man who'd been arguing with him.

  He spoke passionately about all of the benefits he'd seen from trading with the Daliphana and the distant northern lands across the desert. He pointed out his wife in the crowd, fully healed from the summer fever that had almost killed her. He held up an arrow with a metal tip, that glinted in the late day sunlight, and told how that little bit of metal he'd traded for had changed their lives. How they dined on baru almost every night, no longer constrained by poor weapons.

  K'lrsa listened with narrowed eyes. Much of what he said was true. But was it worth the sacrifice of everything they were?

  Next came the man he'd argued with. He spoke of how the tribes counted on the gods to protect them. How he'd sheltered in the desert more than once, protected by their benevolence. He spoke of the distant Daliphana and how they had never before dared to cross the barren land, but how they might covet the lands of the tribe if there were no barrier to keep them back.

  Back and forth it went. First one side, then the other.

  Those waiting to speak lined the steps of the dais and wound around the crowd like a gigantic snake.

  K'lrsa listened to everyone, Badru at her side.

  As the arguments continued, people saying the same thing in different ways, others began to drift away. First the children left. What did they care about some argument they didn't understand? Their friends were there and they wanted to play.

  Slowly, others drifted away, one by one, two by two, until only a small core remained.

  But that small core argued back and forth, neither side willing to concede. They talked well into the night, long past the point where the moon had shown herself as a sliver in the sky. The same arguments over and over made by the same people.

  At last, the wise woman took the oath stick back. "Enough for now. Sleep on what's been said here. We'll continue in the morning."

  K'lrsa and Badru made their way back to the White Horse Tribe tents that had been set up near the center of the gathering grounds. (One of the many blessings of taking Vedhe's path into the gathering grounds was they actually had supplies once more, not just what could be carried on a fl
ying horse's back.)

  Herin, Lodie, and Garzel were seated a little distance away in front of two tents.

  "Why didn't you stay?" K'lrsa sank down on a small stool and took the hunk of baru Garzel offered. She was so hungry she would've eaten one of his travel bars.

  Herin shrugged. "The first day is never worth listening to. By mid-day tomorrow it'll have devolved into a handful of arguments. Then I'll listen."

  K'lrsa took the drinking skin Badru offered her. It was full of fermented mare's milk. She grimaced at the taste and handed it back. "What do we do if the vote goes against us?"

  Herin shrugged.

  "We should leave for the Hidden City tomorrow. Maybe we can…"

  "It's too late."

  "But you said that maybe if Badru's father…"

  "He's dead. Died the year after he left the Daliphana. Summer fever."

  "Then…"

  "If we lose the vote, that's it."

  K'lrsa leaned against Badru, taking comfort in his steady presence.

  They'd brought everyone here. Now they just had to hope it was enough.

  Chapter 55

  K'lrsa was too worried to eat breakfast the next morning. She sat in the shadow of the rock and watched as the debate raged on. Only a few diehard supporters of each side were left, saying the same things over and over again, neither side willing to budge.

  Finally, when she couldn't take it anymore, K'lrsa stepped forward and snatched the oath stick. The next woman in line yelled at her that it was her turn.

  "Please. You've spoken three times this morning and haven't said anything you didn't say yesterday." K'lrsa stepped to the center of the dais. She flipped the stick over and over in her hands, trying to find the right words. Finally, she looked up. A few more people had drifted closer, curious to see what someone new might say.

  She cleared her throat. "I don't like trade. I don't like what it's done to us. I don't like how men of the tribes who've spent too much time in the Daliphate look at me." A woman on the edge of the crowd nodded agreement. "And I don't like how they treat me. I don't like to see our proud young warriors stumbling around drunk on fire ice or high on smokeweed."

  There were a few jeers at this, but she licked her lips and stared over their heads. "Like I said, I don't like trade. And I certainly don't like that we, who believe that all are equal, would participate in the enslavement of others." She pointed at Vedhe. "That woman was taken as a slave and dragged across the desert by traders we led here. Her entire family was murdered and we were part of it if not by action then by assistance. She only lives now because I helped her escape before they killed her, deeming her too scarred to sell."

  K'lrsa paused, letting the crowd turn to study Vedhe who faced them with confidence, her chin high and shoulders back.

  The next woman in line reached for the oath stick, but K'lrsa moved it away. "I said I don't like trade. But there is nothing in what the Lady Moon said that would prevent us from trading in the north and bringing our goods to the Daliphana." She held up her hand to forestall argument. "We'd have to do it. We couldn't just lead traders across the deserts. We'd have to negotiate and pay for the goods and take the risk that no one would buy them, but we could do it if we wanted."

  There were some nods from the crowd and a few intense conversations as people debated how they could make that work.

  Somehow in all their arguments, neither side had noticed that the Lady hadn't forbidden them to trade. She'd just forbidden them to take others across the desert.

  K'lrsa opened her mouth to continue, but the wise woman from the Black Horse Tribe plucked the oath stick out of her hand. "I think that about settles it. We've all had our say. It's time to vote." She nodded to a man nearby who shouted for the tribes to gather. He was louder than anyone K'lrsa had ever heard before.

  Slowly, the crowd gathered round, most not looking very interested in the conversation even though this vote would change their lives.

  The wise woman stepped forward. "It's time to vote. We must decide whether we swear allegiance to the gods in exchange for their continued protection or whether we choose to go our own way. Your council members have listened to the arguments. They can repeat them for you if you need them. Each Council will take the votes of their members old enough to vote and we will gather here at sunset to give their count. The side with the most total votes will win. Now go."

  K'lrsa trudged back towards their camp. Had she done enough? She didn't know and wouldn't until that night.

  Badru came up beside her. "We need to plan."

  "For what? How to flee when the vote goes against us?"

  He shook his head. "No. How we're going to get to the Hidden City once the moon is full enough for us to fly again."

  "Badru, we don't even know if we're going to win the vote."

  "Better than sitting around sulking all day."

  "I wasn't going to sulk," she said, but he was right.

  Better to do something than just sit around worrying all day.

  Chapter 56

  K'lrsa and Badru sat down outside the tents. Vedhe, Lodie, Garzel, and Herin were already there, waiting for them.

  "So?" K'lrsa asked. "What's the plan?"

  Herin pointed to Vedhe. "You'll take Garzel." She pointed to K'lrsa. "And you'll take me. We'll leave as soon as the moon rises, make it as far as the horses can take us, rest until day and then continue for as long as we can until it gets too hot."

  "What about me?" Badru asked.

  "You and Lodie will stay here."

  Lodie glared at her, but didn't say anything.

  Badru stood. "No. I'm going with you."

  "Pzah, boy. Sit."

  "No. Not until you agree that I'm going."

  Herin glared at him. "You don't need to go."

  "How do you know?"

  "Because I know."

  K'lrsa looked past them, trying to see if she could tell how the vote was going.

  Lodie stood. "I want to go, too."

  "No!" Herin said, too harshly, and K'lrsa turned to watch them.

  Lodie loomed over her. "It's my choice. And I'm going."

  "Who will take you?"

  "I will." Vedhe went to stand next to Lodie.

  "You're taking Garzel."

  Vedhe shook her head. "No. Lodie wants to go. I take her."

  Badru smiled. "Then I'll take Garzel."

  Herin was so angry her eyes were almost popping out of her skull. She stood, fists clenched. "You don't understand," she hissed at Badru.

  "Then explain it to me." Badru firmed his stance, crossing his arms as if readying himself to resist a charge.

  Herin leaned forward and whispered in his ear too quietly for K'lrsa to hear what she said.

  Badru pulled away, his brow furrowed. "But then…That means you and…" He looked around at the others.

  Herin nodded. Badru turned to K'lrsa, but Herin grabbed his arm and dragged him back whispering to him the whole time. He whispered back, clearly furious.

  K'lrsa looked at Lodie. "Do you know what that's about?"

  Lodie shrugged. "Just Herin trying to make decisions for everyone. As usual."

  Herin glared at her, but Lodie just smiled.

  Badru took the opportunity to pull free. "I'm going."

  "But…"

  He glared his grandmother into silence. "I'm going."

  For a moment, K'lrsa thought Herin would keep arguing but instead she turned and stormed away.

  Badru sat down next to her, with an embarrassed shrug.

  "What was that all about?" K'lrsa asked.

  "Nothing. She's just trying to protect me is all."

  "From what?"

  "Life."

  Chapter 57

  At sunset everyone made their way back to the central dais. Even the little children were there. K'lrsa scanned the crowd, wondering what the results would be. To her it was so obvious that the best choice was to choose the protection of the gods, but from all the arguments over the
last day she knew not everyone saw what she did.

  The members of the Tall Bluff Tribe were standing together but in two distinct and almost equally-sized groups that wouldn't look at each other.

  That wasn't good.

  Nor was the general feeling of excitement coming from the Black Horse Tribe. She met F'lia's eyes from across the platform and saw her fear. For K'lrsa? Or herself?

  The wise woman for the Black Horse Tribe stood on the dais and everyone fell silent. "We are here to vote on whether we obey the god's rules and in return enjoy their protections or whether we go our own way."

  Behind her stood six representatives, one from each Council. D'lan was on the far right. She turned to him. "How does the White Horse Tribe vote?"

  He held up his counting board with its white stone and black stone markers. "We have one hundred and twenty-three votes for the gods and forty-three against."

  K'lrsa glared at him. It would've been a hundred and twenty-seven for the gods, but he'd refused to let Herin, Lodie, Garzel, or Badru vote even though they had the blood of the tribes. One hundred and twenty-eight if he'd allowed Vedhe's vote.

  K'lrsa studied those around her wondering who had voted against the gods.

  And why?

  She should have spent the day walking amongst them, trying to counter whatever argument had swayed them rather than watching Herin and Badru brood.

  She turned back to the dais. She'd missed the counts for the next two tribes. The wise woman turned to the angry man from the day before. "What does the Black Horse Tribe vote?"

  "We vote to cast aside the meddling gods and go our own way." There was a loud cheer from his tribe.

  The wise woman shook her head. "Your count please."

  "Ten to follow the gods and a hundred and eight-two against."

  A woman shouted from the crowd. "You don't even have that many adult members."

  The man grinned, but didn't answer. K'lrsa tried to count how many adults they did have, but already the wise woman had moved on to the next tribe.