"That"s one way to do it," Aldrick commented. "If you don"t mind spattering blood everywhere."
Fidelias tossed the branch down to one side. "You got blood everywhere," he pointed out.
Aldrick walked back to the clearing"s center. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to fastidiously clean his blade. "But mine"s in a pattern. It"s aesthetically pleasing. You should have had me do it for you."
"Dead"s dead," Fidelias said. "I can do my own ch.o.r.es." He glanced at Odiana and said, "Happy now?"
The water witch, still atop her horse, smiled at him, and let out a little sigh. "Do you think we shall have more rain?"
Fidelias shook his head and called out, "Atsurak. You saw what they intended." He had the satisfaction of seeing Aldrick tense and half-turn to one side, and even Odiana caught her breath in her throat. The former Cursor smiled and took up his horse"s reins, laying a hand on the beast"s neck and stroking it.
From the trees came a gravelly voice, a satisfied-sounding, "Hah." Then there was the sound of motion through the brush, and a fourth Marat appeared. This man had eyes of glittering, brilliant gold, a match for those of the sleek, swift-looking bird beside him. He wore his knife at his belt, rather than in his hand-and he also carried a sword, bound with a rawhide thong about its hilt and blade and slung over one shoulder. He had a half-dozen gra.s.s plaits bound over his limbs, and his face had been rawly abraded, bruised. The Marat stopped several paces from the trio and held up his hands, open, palms toward them.
Fidelias mirrored the gesture and stepped forward. "What I did was necessary."
Atsurak looked down, at the dead man only a few paces away, whose skull Fidelias had crushed. "It was necessary," the man agreed, his voice quiet. "But a waste. Had they met me openly, I would have killed only one." The Marat squinted at Odiana, staring at the woman with a silent, hawklike intensity, before turning an equally intent regard to Aldrick. "Deadlanders. They fight well."
"Time is pressing," Fidelias responded. "Is everything in readiness?" "Time is pressing," Fidelias responded. "Is everything in readiness?" "I am the Cho-vin of my tribe. They will follow me." "I am the Cho-vin of my tribe. They will follow me." Fidelias nodded and turned to his horse. "Then we go." Fidelias nodded and turned to his horse. "Then we go." "Wait," Atsurak said, lifting a hand. "There is a problem." "Wait," Atsurak said, lifting a hand. "There is a problem." Fidelias paused and looked at the Marat chieftain. Fidelias paused and looked at the Marat chieftain. "During the last sun, I hunted humans not far from this place." "During the last sun, I hunted humans not far from this place." "Impossible," Fidelias said. "No one goes here." "Impossible," Fidelias said. "No one goes here."
The Marat took the sword from his shoulder, and with a pair of casual motions, unbound the thong from the weapon. He flicked it forward, so that its point drove into the ground a pace ahead and to one side of Fidelias. "I hunted humans," Atsurak said, as though Fidelias hadn"t spoken. "Two males, old and young. The old commanded a spirit of the earth. My chala chala, the mate to this one," he put his hand on the herd-bane"s feathered back, "was slain. Wounded the old one. I hunted them, but the young one was swift and led me from his trail."
Aldrick stepped forward and took up the sword from the ground. He used the same cloth he had cleaned his own weapon with to brush the mud from the blade. "Legion-issue," he reported, his eyes distant. "Design from a few years ago. Well cared for. The wrappings are worn smooth." He took off a glove and touched his skin to the blade, his eyes closing. "Someone with a measure of experience used this, Del. I think he"s a Legion scout. Or was one."
Fidelias drew in a sharp breath. "Atsurak. These two you hunted. They are dead?"
Atsurak shrugged. "The old one"s blood flowed like a stream. His spirit carried him away, but he was already pouring out into the earth. The young one ran well and was fortunate."
Fidelias spat a sudden, acid taste out of his mouth and clenched his jaw. "I understand."
"I have come to look at this valley. And I have seen. I have seen that the Deadlanders wait to fight. That they are strong and watch carefully."
Fidelias shook his head. "You were unfortunate, Atsurak, nothing more. The attack will be a victory for your people."
"I question your judgment. The Marat have come. Many tribes have come. But though they have no love for your people, they have little for me. They will follow me to a victory-but not to a slaughter."
"All is in readiness. Your people will sweep clean the valley of your fathers and mothers, and my lord will see to it that it is returned to you. So he has pledged."
Atsurak"s lip curled into something like a sneer. "Your Cho-vin. Cho-vin of the Aquitaine. Do you bear his totem as bond?" Atsurak"s lip curled into something like a sneer. "Your Cho-vin. Cho-vin of the Aquitaine. Do you bear his totem as bond?" Fidelias nodded, once. Fidelias nodded, once. "I will see it." "I will see it."
Fidelias stepped back to his horse and opened one of the saddlebags. From it, he drew Aquaitaine"s dagger, its hilt elaborately worked with gold and with the seal of the House of Aquitaine. He held it up, so that the savage could see the weapon. "Satisfied?"
Atsurak extended his hand.
Fidelias narrowed his eyes. "This was not a part of our agreement."
The Marat"s eyes flashed with something hot, vicious. He said, in a very soft voice, "Nor was the death of my chala chala. Already, there is bad blood between your people and mine. Now there is more. You will give me your Cho-vin"s totem as bond. And then I will fulfill my end of the bargain."
Fidelias frowned. And then he flicked the knife, still in its scabbard, to the Marat in an underhand throw. Atsurak caught it without looking, nodded, and turned to walk back into the woods. A few paces past the first branches, he and the stalking bird beside him vanished.
Aldrick stared after the savage chieftain for a moment and then at Fidelias. "I want to know what in the name of all the furies you think you are doing doing."
Fidelias glared at the man, then turned back to his mount and secured the saddlebags again. "You heard him. Something"s got the Marat spooked. Without the dagger, he wasn"t staying."
Aldrick"s expression darkened. "That"s a signet weapon. It can be traced back to Aquitaine. He"s a Marat horde-master. He"s going to be fighting in the front of the b.l.o.o.d.y battle-"
Fidelias grated his teeth and spoke in a slow, patient tone. "Yes, Aldrick. It can. Yes, Aldrick, he will. Thus, we had best be d.a.m.ned sure that the attack succeeds." Fidelias slapped the saddlebags back over the horse. "After the Valley has been taken, it won"t matter what plunder the Marat have. Events will be in motion by then, and it will all fall into politics."
Aldrick gripped Fidelias by the shoulder and spun the smaller man to face him. The swordsman"s eyes were hard. "If it doesn"t, there"s evidence. If it gets back to the Senate, they"ll bring charges against him, Fidelias. Treason Treason."
The former Cursor glanced down at Aldrick"s hand, then up the length of the swordsman"s arm to his face. He met his eyes in silence for several seconds, before saying, "You"re a brilliant fighter, Aldrick. You could kill me, right here, and we both know it. But I"ve been playing the game for a long time. And we both know that you can"t do it before I have a chance to react. You"ll be less of a swordsman without your hand. Without your feet." He let the words hang in the air for a moment, and the ground shifted, very slightly, beneath the pair of them, as Vamma stirred through the earth. Fidelias let his voice drop to something quiet, cool. He used the same tone when ordering a man to dig his own grave. "Make up your mind. Dance or stand down."
Silence stretched between them.
The swordsman looked away first, his stance shifting back into his usual, relaxed slouch. He picked up the weapon the Marat had left and stood facing the other way for a moment.
Fidelias let out a slow, silent breath and waited for the too-quick pulse in his throat to slow down again. Then he turned and mounted his horse, folding his hands over the pommel to hide their trembling. "It"s a necessary risk. We"ll take precautions."
Aldrick nodded, his expression unhappy, resolved. "What precautions?"
Fidelias jerked his chin toward the sword. "We start with finding these two who have actually seen the Marat in the valley. If that belonged to a retired scout, he might work out what"s going on."
Odiana nudged her horse over to Aldrick"s, took the reins, and led the mount over to the man, her eyes on Fidelias, her expression pensive. The swordsman mounted and slipped the captured sword away, into a strap behind the saddle. "So we find them. Then what?"
Fidelias turned his horse and started riding out of the clearing, aiming their path in a gentle circle around the outside of the mountain, toward the causeway, where he was most likely to find the signs of anyone pa.s.sing from the mountain and toward the nearest steadhold. "We find out what they know."
Odiana asked, "And if they know too much?"
Fidelias glanced at his riding gloves and flicked a drying spot of blood from one of them. "We make sure they stay quiet."
Chapter 14
"And that"s what happened," Tavi said. "It all started with that one little lie. And all I wanted to do was to get those sheep back. Show my uncle that I could handle things without anyone"s help. That I was independent and responsible." He picked up a rind from one of the bright orange fruits and threw it back into the plants at the water"s edge, scowling, his thoughts in a turmoil.
"You don"t have any furies at all?" the slave repeated, her voice still stunned. "None?"
Tavi hunched his shoulders against her tone and gathered the scarlet cloak closer around him, as though the fabric might ward off the sensation of isolation her words brought him. His voice came out harsher than he"d meant it to, defensive. "That"s right. So? I"m still a good herder. I"m the best apprentice in the Valley. Furies or not."
"Oh," Amara said quickly. "No, I didn"t mean to-"
"No one means to," Tavi said. "But they all do. They look at me like... like I"m crippled. Even though I can run. Like I"m blind, even though I can see. It doesn"t matter what what I do, or how well I do it, everyone looks at me the same way." He shot her a glance and said, "Like you are, right now." I do, or how well I do it, everyone looks at me the same way." He shot her a glance and said, "Like you are, right now."
Amara frowned and rose, her torn skirts and her appropriated cloak swaying about her ankles. "I"m sorry," she said. "Tavi it"s... unusual, I know. I"ve never heard of anyone with that problem before. But you"re also young. It"s possible that you just haven"t grown into it yet. I mean, you"re what? Twelve? Thirteen?"
"Fifteen," Tavi mumbled. He rested his chin on his knees and sighed.
Amara winced. "I see. And you"re worried about your service in the Legions."
"What service?" Tavi said. "I don"t have any furies. What are the Legions going to do with me? I won"t be able to send signals, like the air-crafters, hold the lines with the earth-crafters, or attack with the fire-crafters. I won"t be able to heal anyone with the water-crafters. I can"t forge a sword, or wield one like a metal-crafter. I can"t scout and hide, or shoot like a wood-crafter. And I"m small. I"m not even good for handing a spear and fighting in the ranks. What are they going to do with me?"
"No one will be able to question your courage, Tavi. You showed me that last night." "No one will be able to question your courage, Tavi. You showed me that last night." "Courage." Tavi sighed. "As near as I can figure it, all courage gets you is more of a beating than if you"d run away." "Courage." Tavi sighed. "As near as I can figure it, all courage gets you is more of a beating than if you"d run away." "Sometimes that"s important," she pointed out. "Sometimes that"s important," she pointed out. "Taking a beating?" "Taking a beating?" "Not running away." "Not running away."
He frowned and said nothing. The slave remained silent for several moments, before she settled down beside him, wrapping the scarlet cloak around her. They listened to the rain outside for a few moments. When Amara spoke, her words took Tavi off guard. "What would you do, if you had a choice?"
"What?" Tavi quirked his head and looked up at her.
"If you could choose anything to do with your life. Anywhere to go," Amara said. "What would you do? Where would you go?"
"The Academy," he said, at once. "I"d go there. You don"t have to be a crafter, there. You just have to be smart, and I am. I can read, and write, and do figures. My aunt taught me."
She lifted her brows. "The Academy?"
"It isn"t just for Knights you know," Tavi said. "They train legates there, and architects, and engineers. Counselors, musicians, artists. You don"t have to be a skilled crafter to design buildings or argue law."
Amara nodded. "Or you could be a Cursor."
Tavi wrinkled up his nose and snorted. "And spend my life delivering mail? How exciting could that that be?" be?"
The slave nodded, her expression sober. "Good point."
Tavi swallowed against a sudden tightness in his throat. "Out here, on the stead-holt, crafting keeps you alive. Literally. Back in the cities, it isn"t as important. You can still be someone other than a freak. You can make your own life for yourself. The Academy is the only place in Alera where you can do that."
"Sounds like you"ve thought about this a lot," Amara said quietly.
"My uncle saw it once, when his Legion was on review for the First Lord. He told me about it. And I"ve talked to soldiers on their way up to Garrison. Traders. Last spring, Uncle promised me that if I showed him enough responsibility, he"d give me a few sheep of my own. I figured out that if I took care of them and sold them next year, and saved up all of my pay from the Legions, that I could put together enough money for a semester at the Academy."
"One semester?" Amara asked. "What then?"
Tavi shrugged. "I don"t know. Try to find some way to stay. I might be able to get someone to be a patron or... I don"t know. Something."
She turned to look at him for a moment and said, "You"re very brave, Tavi."
"My uncle will never give me the sheep, after this. If he"s not dead." The tightness in his throat choked him, and he bowed his head. He could feel tears filling his closed eyes.
"I"m sure he"s all right," the slave said.
Tavi nodded, but he couldn"t speak. The anguish he"d been trying to keep stuffed down inside rose up in him, and the tears fell onto his cheeks. Uncle Bernard couldn"t be dead. He just couldn"t. How would Tavi ever be able to live with that?
How would he ever face his aunt?
Tavi lifted his fist and shoved angrily at the tears staining his cheeks.
"At least you"re alive," Amara pointed out, her voice quiet. She put a hand on his shoulder. "That"s nothing to take lightly, given what you went through yesterday. You survived."
"I get the feeling that when I get back home, I"m going to wish I hadn"t," Tavi said, his voice choking, wry. He blinked away the tears and summoned up a smile for the young woman.
She returned it. "Can I ask you something?"
He shrugged. "Sure."
"Why endanger what you"d been working toward? Why did you agree to help this Beritte if you knew it could cause problems for you?"
"I didn"t think it would," Tavi said, his voice plaintive. "I mean, I thought I could have done it all. It wasn"t until nearly the end of the day that I realized I was going to have to pick between getting all the sheep in and those hollybells, and I"d promised her."
"Ah," said the slave, but her expression remained dubious.
Tavi felt his cheeks color again, and he looked down. "All right," he sighed. "She kissed me, and my brains melted and dribbled out my ears."
"Now that I can believe," Amara said. She stretched her foot toward the water, flicking idly at its surface with her toes. "Now that I can believe," Amara said. She stretched her foot toward the water, flicking idly at its surface with her toes. "What about you?" Tavi asked. "What about you?" Tavi asked. She tilted her head to one side. "What do you mean?" She tilted her head to one side. "What do you mean?"
He shrugged and looked up at her again, uncertain. "I"ve been doing all the talking. You haven"t said a thing about yourself. Slaves don"t usually wander around this far from the road. Or a stead-holt. All alone. I figured that, uh, you must have run away."
"No," the young woman said, firmly. "But I did get lost in the storm. I was on my way to Garrison, to deliver a message for my master."
Tavi squinted up at her. "He just sent you out like that? A woman? Alone?"
"I don"t question his orders, Tavi. I just obey them."
Tavi frowned, but nodded. "Well, okay, I guess. But, do you think you could come along with me? Maybe talk to my uncle? He could make sure you got to Garrison safely. Get you a hot meal, some warmer clothes."
The slave"s eyes wrinkled at the corners. "That"s a very polite way to take someone prisoner, Tavi."
He flushed. "I"m sorry. Especially since you probably saved my life and all. But if you are a runaway, and I don"t do something about it, the law could come back to hurt my uncle." He pushed his hair back from his eyes. "And I"ve done enough to mess things up already."
"I understand," she said. "I"ll come with you."
"Thank you." He glanced up at the doorway. "Sounds like the rain"s stopped. Do you think it"s safe to go?"
The slave frowned and looked outside for a moment. "I doubt it"s going to get any safer if we wait. We should get back to your stead-holt, before the storm gets bad again."
"You think it will?"
Amara nodded, the motion confident. "It has that feel to it."
"All right. Are you going to be all right, walking?" He glanced at her and down at her foot. Her ankle was swollen around a purpling bruise.
Amara grimaced. "It"s just my ankle, not the rest of the foot. It hurts, but if I"m careful I should be all right."
Tavi blew out a breath and pushed himself to his feet. All the cuts and injuries twinged and ached, muscle protesting. He had to brace his hand on the wall for a moment, until he got his balance back. "Okay, then. I guess it isn"t going to get any easier."
"I guess not." Amara let out a small, pained sound as she got to her feet as well. "Well. We make a fine pair of traveling companions. Lead the way."