ROAD TO CORDIA

by Jess Allison

  Admittedly, her plans were not yet clear. For now, she intended to find those two prisoners and see if they really came from Lady Fayre. In the back of her mind was a half-formed plan on how to use Lady Fayre’s gift to save Cancordia. She worked on the plan as she moved down the dusty, cobwebby secret passage.

  * * *

  Outside their cell, Ja’Nil saw the walls were also made of rough stone and dirt, only up here, there were sturdy looking wooden support posts to prevent cave-ins. Just as well they hadn’t tried to climb the walls; they would probably be buried under a ton of rock if they had. There were three lanterns on a rough wood table near the trap door. Two of them were dark, but one still fluttered and flickered.

  “You sure you can’t see in the dark?” Ee'Rick asked her.

  “Of course I’m sure,” she whispered. “I’m not a cat.”

  He grinned. “Cats aren’t the only animals that see in the dark,” he whispered back, as he buckled on his belt. “If it gets too dark, grab hold of the back of my belt and hold on so we don’t get separated.” Then he leaned forward and blew out the one remaining lantern.

  “What are you doing? I can’t see.”

  He reached out, grabbed her hand, and guided it to his belt. “Off we are.”

  How he knew which direction to take was a mystery to Ja’Nil. As far as she was concerned, the passage was pitch black. But Ee'Rick seemed to know, or at least see, where he was going. He moved fast. Clutching his belt, Ja’Nil stumbled after him. At one point, she banged into a series of metal bars. “What’s that?” she asked.

  “Cells. They’re empty.”

  “We were the only prisoners?”

  “So far. Keep it quiet, there must be guards somewhere about.”

  Not if they were planning to just leave us there to die a slow death, thought Ja’Nil. Thank the Lord of the Circle they had escaped.

  Suddenly, Ee'Rick stopped. He stood very still.

  “What is it?” she whispered.

  “There’s a locked door in front of us. Can’t you see it?”

  “No.” She was getting tired of counting all the ways she was inferior to him. “Can you open it?”

  “Maybe,” he said.

  Oh great. After everything, they had gone through to escape, to be stopped now by a locked door. .

  She heard metallic sounds. “What are you doing?”

  “Picking the lock.”

  Ja’Nil grinned. ‘Never say die,’ that was Ee'Rick. Suddenly, she felt his back stiffen. “What?”

  “Someone’s inserted a key in the other side.” He pulled her in front of him. “Stand here where they can see you,” he said, as he moved away.

  “Where they can see me! What about you?”

  Ja’Nil wanted to move away also, but it was so dark that she wasn’t even sure where the door was. She froze. There was a loud screech as the door was pushed open from the other side. A sliver of light outlined the opening. She took a step back. As it opened wider, the light fully illuminated Ja’Nil. She put a hand up to shield her eyes.

  “Who are you?” demanded a vaguely seen figure. The figure, glowing with a strange greenish light, stepped over the threshold, advancing on Ja’Nil.

  Ee'Rick stepped out of the darkness. From somewhere, he had found a short iron bar that he raised to swing at the intruder’s head.

  The intruder was no slouch either. Dropping the light stick, the barely seen figure whirled to face Ee'Rick, knife hand outstretched to slash at him. Ee’Rick had already started to swing the iron bar when he realized the intruder was a young woman. He managed to twist his body so the iron bar passed harmlessly over her head. The intruder, however, kept a firm hold on her knife.

  “Who in the name of the Blessed Golden Goddess are you?” Ee’Rick snarled. He was sick at the thought that he’d almost decapitated a female.

  The female in question straightened from her knife fighter’s crouch and looked them both over.

  Ja’Nil sidled around so her back was to the door the woman had just come through. Now the woman, who was really not much older than Ja’Nil herself, had Ja’Nil on one side of her and Ee'Rick on the other. Ee'Rick, was looking the knife wielding stranger over carefully. To Ja’Nil’s annoyance, he seemed to like what he saw.

  “Are you the prisoners who are supposed to be in the dungeon?” she asked.

  “Yes,” said Ee'Rick. “Who are you?”

  The young woman looked at him proudly (arrogantly, thought Ja’Nil).

  “I am Princess Lil’Li, Queen Presumptive of all Cancordia.”

  “How can you be Presumptive?” asked Ja’Nil. “Either you’re the Queen or you’re not.”

  The intruder cast a quick dismissive glance at Ja’Nil and turned back to Ee'Rick. “I will be proclaimed Queen as soon as the council meets and my coronation is celebrated. For all practical purposes I am your Ruler.”

  Maybe, thought Ja’Nil.

  “And what is the Queen Presumptive of all Cancorida doing sneaking around prison cells in the middle of the night?” asked Ee'Rick.

  “I was coming to interview you.”

  “Why not send for us…Your Majesty?” Ee'Rick added ironically.

  Lil’Li ignored the question and his tone. “Did Lady Fayre send you?” she asked Ee'Rick.

  Ee'Rick said nothing.

  “Well?”

  “She sent me,” said Ja’Nil.

  “You?”

  “She thought no one would notice me.”

  “Ahh, yes, I can see that.”

  Ja’Nil decided to ignore the implied insult; after all, it was true.

  “What message did she send?”

  “The message was for the Queen.”

  “I am--”

  “The Queen, your mother.”

  “My mother is dead.”

  “Yes. I’m sorry about that.” Ja’Nil’s good manners came to the fore again.

  “Thank you,” said Lil’Li. Her voice was suddenly husky with pain. “I will be such a Queen as my mother was,” she said. It was a vow.

  Ja’Nil recognized the pain in the princess’s voice. She looked at Ee'Rick for some hint of what he was thinking. He was studying the soft, slim figure of the princess, admiring her long white hair, her slender graceful neck, and her big dark eyes.

  Ja’Nil thought of the way Ee'Rick had literally run away from their camp to avoid being alone with her. Apparently, a little Fisherfolk girl wasn’t worth a second look, but a Queen Presumptive, ah, that was a whole different story. She watched as Lil’Li became aware of Ee'Rick’s scrutiny and smiled at him.

  A sharp pain twisted in Ja’Nil’s chest. So this is what jealousy feels like.

  Lil’Li turned back to the Fisherfolk girl, who was actually little more than a child. “Please tell me what message Lady Fayre sent the Queen.”

  Grudgingly Ja’Nil did. “She thought there was a lot of magic in childhood friendships. She said I was to tell the Queen ‘Lady Fayre has wired you the truth and the name of your enemy.’

  “I know the name of my enemy,” said Lil’Li. Holding her hand out to Ja’Nil, she said, “Give me The Thread of Truth.”

  “The what?”

  “You said Lady Fayre wired my mother the truth.”

  “All she gave me was a ring and a parchment. Your Lord Raptor took both.”

  “He is not my Lord Raptor,” said Lil’Li.

  “He was giving orders. The soldiers obeyed him.”

  “Not my soldiers.”

  Fisherfolk girl and Queen (Presumptive) glared at each other.

  “Anyway,” said Ee'Rick, wading in to break-up the tension, “he destroyed both.”

  “He destroyed the ring?” Lil’Li was horrified.

  “It was in pretty crumbly condition. He just finished smashing it up.”

  “There was nothing in the ring?”

  “Just dust,” said Ja’Nil.

  “I think Lord Raptor had something to do with my…” Lil’Li took a deep breath. “I think he k
illed the Queen,” she said.

  “What!”

  “You can prove that?” asked Ee'Rick.

  “Not without Lady Fayre’s ring.”

  “What does the ring have to do with it?”

  Lil’Li slumped with defeat. When she had heard the two prisoners were from Lady Fayre, she had counted heavily on The Thread of Truth to resolve things legally; now war might be the only answer. The thought of her country torn, bled to death by civil war, made her sick. But it was impossible to just give up. Without a royal female carrying the Queen’s Gift on its throne, Cancordia would crumble away into nothing, easy pickings for the jackals just waiting beyond the borders. To prevent the destruction of Cancordia would she be willing to marry Lord Raptor? Civil war, or wife to Lord Raptor? Lord of the Circle, help me.

  “The ring?” The Fisherfolk girl reminded her.

  Lil’Li leaned wearily against the dirty wall, her knife forgotten in her lax hand. “Do you know of Lady Fayre’s gift?” she asked.

  “No,” said Ja’Nil. “Someone said she had a powerful one, but that was all.”

  “Her gift is to infuse into metal threads made of Troyceum--”

  Ee'Rick made a soft whistling sound.

  “Yes,” agreed Lil’Li. “Troyceum is very rare and valuable. Also it takes a great deal of energy on Lady Fayre’s part to infuse the metal.”

  “Infuse it with what?” asked Ja’Nil.

  “The Truth.”

  “I beg your pardon?” said the always polite Ja’Nil.

  “If you take hold of it, or if it even just touches your skin and you lie, The Thread instantly heats, first to red, and then to white heat without destroying The Thread itself. In the old days if someone was accused of treason or murder, The Thread would be wrapped around their throat and they were asked if they were guilty or innocent of the charge. If they lied, The Thread would heat so rapidly and so hot that the person being questioned would be decapitated.”

  “Ugh,” said Ja’Nil picturing the whole thing.

  “I understand there was very little blood because the wound was immediately cauterized,” said Lil’Li.

  “That must have been a comfort,” said Ja’Nil meaning to be sarcastic, but actually, feeling too nauseated for her tone to be effective.

  “What if the accused admitted his guilt, or said nothing?” asked a fascinated Ee'Rick.

  “Then they were imprisoned for a number of years, depending on what they had done.”

  “You said, ‘in the old days’. So Lady Fayre is not the only one who has this gift?” asked Ja’Nil.

  “It is passed down in her family. Not all family members are as gifted, but Lady Fayre most certainly is.”

  “And you really think Lord Raptor would cooperate in something like that?” asked Ja’Nil.

  The princess reappraised the Fisherfolk girl. She asked intelligent questions. Lady Fayre had sent her here and she, and the good-looking man of The Golden Wolf Clan, had managed to escape from the dungeon.

  “What’s your name?” asked the princess.

  “Ja’Nil of the Fisherfolk.”

  “And I am Princess Lil’Li.”

  “I know,” said Ja’Nil with a small smile.

  “Welcome to Cordia, Ja’Nil of the Fisherfolk.” said Lil’Li. The two girls studied each other carefully, and then both smiled.

  “As for Lord Raptor cooperating,” continued Lil’Li, “If I can manage to bring it to the council, he will have to cooperate. That is, if the council isn’t already corrupted. What I can’t understand is why he didn’t find the Thread of Truth when he had the ring.”

  “Perhaps it melted,” said Ja’Nil.

  “You let the ring get wet?” Gone was the friendly smile. Lil’Li was furious.

  “Hold off,” said Ee'Rick. “There was no carelessness.We were in a Funnel storm.”

  Lil’Li was still glaring at Ja’Nil, who was glaring right back.

  Who did this spoiled brat think she was? Oh, right! So she was a princes; she was still a spoiled brat.

  All three of them were concentrating so hard on each other that at first, they didn’t hear the men’s voices. Ee'Rick was the first to react. So quickly that Ja’Nil barely registered what was going on, he stamped out the glowing light stick on the floor. They were immediately plunged into darkness.

  “What--?” said Lil’Li.

  Ja’Nil felt Ee'Rick grab her hand and shove it into the back of his belt. She wrapped her hand around it.

  “Quiet,” he hissed.

  He must have grabbed the princess also. They were hustled into a side alcove that only Ee'Rick could see. Ja’Nil kept expecting to be run smack into a wall, but Ee'Rick guided them both safely away from the opening door. They stopped and stood very still watching the faint light that did not quite reach them as two men, one carrying a lantern, passed them. The men were headed toward the dungeon.

  “Do you think they’ll even bother checking on us?” asked Ja’Nil after they had passed.

  A yell from one of the men answered her question.

  “Off we are then,” said Ee’Rick grabbing Ja’Nil’s hand. He shoved both girls ahead of him through the now unlocked door and slammed the heavy door closed behind them. They could hear the lock snap into place.

  “That won’t hold them long,” said Lil’Li. “They have keys.”

  Ee’Rick didn’t bother answering. He took hold of Ja’Nil’s hand again and started down the passageway.

  “No,” Lil’Li said, “come this way.”

  Ja’Nil was completely turned around and on top of that, she couldn’t see a thing. All around her, she could feel the walls closing in on her, inching down to meet the floor. She would be crushed! Her frantic hands clutched at Ee’Rick’s belt. Why, oh, why was she always such a coward?

  Suddenly, a blue and green glow illuminated the three of them. The Princess, standing at the opening of a narrow pathway, had lit another light stick. Now she gestured at them to follow her.

  The pathway she led them through, was not only narrow, but also strewn with rough pebbles and small rocks that had fallen from the unsupported ceiling and walls, causing Ja’Nil and Lil’Li to stumble occasionally. Ee’Rick had no such problem, Ja’Nil noted sourly. She cast apprehensive glances at the ceiling. If small rocks could fall, what was to stop large rocks or tons of earth or-- Stop it! she silently ordered herself. “Where are we going?” she asked. They had stopped at an intersection of tunnels.

  “I am going back to my rooms and hope that I have not been missed,” said Lil’Li. “I cannot simply run away.”

  Ee’Rick nodded approval. “Easier to stay and fight, than to fight your way back in,” he said.

  “Exactly,” agreed Lil’Li. “I ask if you will carry a message?”

  “To Lady Fayre?” asked Ja’Nil. She would love to leave Cordia forever and return to Rainbird Keep, but first, she reminded herself, she had to find the children’s father.

  “No,” said the Princess. “To Capt. Y’Nota. He is in charge of the remaining militia stationed outside the walls.”

  “What message?” asked Ee’Rick in a non-committal voice.

  “Tell him the message comes from the one he taught to use the green bow. Tell him Lord Raptor has taken de facto charge of the palace, and of me. Tell him,” Lil’Li stopped and took a deep breath. “Tell him that I do not know if any on the council are involved in this treason. Tell him also that Lord Raptor killed my mother. Will you do this?”

  Ee‘Rick ignored the question and asked one of his own. “How many troops does this Y’Nota have?”

  “I don’t know. Lord Raptor arranged for most of the militia to be sent far away on what I believe to be a false mission just before my mother…before he killed my mother. Will you take my message to Y’Nota?”

  Ja’Nil looked at Ee’Rick whose expression told her exactly nothing. Still, what else could they do?

  “Yes,” said Ja’Nil. “I will.”

  There was a shout and far
off down the passageway Ja’Nil saw a faint light.

  “I have to go,” said Lil’Li. “Here, take these.” She handed each of them a wicked looking knife, and then pointed toward an even narrower passage than the one they were in. “Follow that tunnel. Always turn right whenever there is a choice. It will lead you outside the palace, but not outside the walls. You’ll have to wait until the gates open in the morning. May the Lord guide your steps.” So saying, she turned and vanished down another passageway.

  The faint light was growing brighter. Ja’Nil could hear the sound of several pair of heavy feet coming their way.

  “Off we are,” said Ee’Rick putting the knife Lil’Li had given him in his moccasin sheath. Ja’Nil hastily slid hers into a loop on her belt. He took her hand, fastened it firmly on his belt, and led off into darkness.

  CHAPTER 29

  She had been imagining the walls closing in and the ceiling falling in the previous passageway. The one they were in now was even worse. Still blind, and blindly clinging to Ee’Rick’s belt, the walls in this passageway were so close that at times Ja’Nil’s shoulders brushed against both walls. At these times, Ee’Rick, who had to move sideways, as his shoulders were too broad to progress in the normal fashion, would hold her hand until they came to wider spots. The ceiling was low, so both of them traveled hunched over. Ja’Nil couldn’t tell if they were going up, down, or around in circles. At least she could no longer see the guards’ lights, nor could she hear them.

  “Ee’Rick,” she whispered. He didn’t answer. Had she really spoken? Maybe she had become mute as well as blind. Maybe the belt she clung to so tightly was just a scrap of leather attached to nothing but her imagination. What would happen if she opened her hands and let it go? The very thought made her dizzy. Was she really in some stygian underground, or was she adrift on the ocean in the dark of night? She had let go of Yonny, hadn’t she? She deserved to drown here in the dark pit.