Marshal Law

by Adam D Jones

  Raine looked to Marshal and Dawn, and then pointed to where he saw it fall. “We could start looking there. If we walk back and forth...maybe hide out when the Republic gets here?”

  He looked to Dawn and Marshal, but they both shook their heads.

  “No?” He looked at Dawn. “You’re smarter than anyone I know, Dawn. Isn’t there some way?”

  She pointed below. “It’s buried in the dune now. And the Republic will be here about the same time we get down there and start looking.”

  Marshal put a hand on Raine’s shoulder. “’Fraid it’s lost, son.”

  “But, Marshal, it’s important.” He could still feel it in his hands, still feel the power shaking in his chest.

  “Don’t think I don’t know that. But we just called the Republic over here, and we’ve got no way to fight them now. And if we don’t get to The Dunes, the Republic will get there first.” Marshal tapped the woman on the shoulder and she turned to him. “Let’s head out, soldier,” he said in a bold voice, “and I want you to guard the civilians, Dawn and Raine.”

  “She’s coming?” shouted Raine.

  “Of course, Raine.” Marshal clapped her on the shoulder. “Trust me, not many things are as useful than a husk at your side. I know we don’t like what the Republic does to these people, but there’s no point in leaving her out here.”

  “At least we’ll be going to your people,” said Dawn. “They’ll be glad to know you survived.”

  He felt the heavy emptiness in his robe pocket, the place where a Dae stone was supposed to be. Raine closed his eyes. Dawn, I promise you, no one on this continent is ever happy to see me. Especially not the Lodi.

  24

  Raine watched her closely.

  The woman, the husk, walked like a machine. Her clothes had been tailored to her lanky body and she stood perfectly tall, no slouch at all. Her green eyes were piercing daggers, and even though husks did not enjoy life enough to smile, her lips always tilted up a bit at the corners.

  I do not find you charming, creature.

  Marshal and Dawn seemed content to treat this thing as a tool, like they’d stolen one of the Sovereign’s horses or a nice wrench instead of a monster, a beast that killed families. He fell behind and stared at her walk, watched her boots make exact, straight tracks the sand.

  “You know she could be ordered to kill us,” he said.

  Marshal turned around. “Who?”

  “Who?” Raine pointed to the husk. “Her, of course! And we’re taking her to The Dunes?”

  “Might be dangerous out here,” said Marshal. “Helps to have a strong soldier in the team.”

  You’re not the one who gets to introduce her to the Keepers.

  “She’s out here looking for The Dunes,” said Raine. “She’s supposed to go there and—”

  “I am not familiar with The Dunes,” she said. The husk turned to Raine and put her hands behind her back in a perfect posture. “I was only sent to scout ahead of the caravan.”

  “And you would never lie about that, would you?”

  “She can’t.” Marshal stepped between them. “A husk can’t lie. That takes imagination.”

  “Alright,” said Raine, “then why attack us?”

  “You seemed like a danger to the caravan,” Amelia answered.

  “I seemed like a danger to you?” Raine exploded. “You know how many Lodi you people have killed?”

  “Oh, you may as well blame a sandship for killin’ someone,” said Marshal, pointing at Amelia’s unblinking face. “She’s about as responsible for it as the Sovereign’s pencil.”

  “She can’t tell us lies,” added Dawn. “And since Marshal used the failsafe word, she can’t attack us.” Dawn scratched at her head. “Unless we meet someone of a higher rank than Marshal used to be. They can override his order.”

  “Well, there’s something to look forward to,” said Raine. “And there’s no way to stop that from happening? No way to keep her from being married to the Republic?”

  Dawn approached Amelia. “No...” She looked up at the taller woman, staring at her forehead. “Well...I’ve always wondered. There’s an alchemical stone inserted into their skull that makes them this way…if we...hmm...”

  Marshal cocked an eyebrow. “Why don’t we move on.”

  ◆◆◆

  The Dunes were intentionally misnamed. The desert eventually became flatland, just hardscrabble and a network of cracks in the ground as far as the eye could see, with a few hills here and there obscuring the horizon.

  They passed the first hill and Raine guided them eastward.

  “Does this seem right?” Raine asked.

  “How would we know?” said Dawn.

  I wasn’t talking to you.

  He turned and looked at the husk. “You. Does this look right to you?”

  She looked around. “I do not know the location of The Dunes. Furthermore, you may need to address me by name so I will know to whom you are speaking.”

  “You don’t have a name. People have names, you—”

  “Raine!” Marshal stepped forward. “It’s hot out here.”

  Raine shook his head. “This way.”

  Leading a husk straight to The Dunes felt like the highest form of treachery to Raine, who was mentally preparing to become known as the most hated Lodi in history. At least they’ll talk about me.

  He’d gone over the impending conversation with every step: “Oh, Raine, we thought you were dead, but it turns out you only got everyone else in Third Bend killed...oh, and look, you’ve brought a husk and a Republic scientist to our secret place—why, the news just keeps getting better! And we’re about to be under attack? Please don’t tell us you still think you’re gifted; at least you’ve given up on that silly fantasy...”

  The unforgiving, hard ground allowed them to make better time than trudging through the sand. By midday, they were cresting a tall hill when they heard someone fire a gun.

  Two hands shoved Raine hard from behind and he fell to the ground.

  The sound of the shot remained in the air and stretched to the edge of the desert. Raine looked up at the horizon and saw nothing. He turned around on his back and looked up to see the husk woman staring down. “Are you trying to kill us?” he asked.

  “You were closest,” she said calmly.

  “You just push people around like that?”

  “I heard a gunshot. Am I the only one?” She looked at Marshal.

  “You’re not the only one, Amelia.” Marshal sighed. “Raine, don’t you get it, she’s…ordered to protect civilians. She thought you should duck.”

  “Civilians!” Raine stood up in a hurry. “I’ve seen how husks help civilians!”

  “Not this again,” said Marshal. “Look. We’re here. Those are your people, firing warning shots because they don’t know who we are. Can we get going before they fire again? I don’t trust amateurs to keep missing.”

  Raine approached the husk. “Listen to me. You don’t help me. You don’t do anything to help me. Not unless I tell you to.”

  Amelia considered his words and then nodded curtly. “I won’t help you again. Not unless you tell me to.”

  “Great,” said Marshal. “Got that out of the way. Again. Now, Raine, I think you should go first. Let them see you. That’ll make them feel better.”

  Yeah, especially if they’re still holding those guns.

  Raine wished he had time to think of a false name. The Lodi people at The Dunes didn’t exactly know what he looked like.

  All four of them raised their hands when they approached the next hill, trying to signal they were no threat. Beyond, a few buildings finally came into view. Somehow, the Lodi had managed to bring wood this far out; the light-colored planks hid the buildings, making them difficult to see against the dry ground.

  They had expected to find a gunman behind the hill, but as they walked around both sides they found no one waiting for them.

  Raine lowered his hands. “They’re gon
e.”

  “That is obvious,” said Amelia.

  “Where?” asked Dawn. “Don’t they want to watch us?”

  Raine’s stomach tightened. “I think they figured out who I am,” sighed Raine, looking down at his robes. “I’m...infamous among my people.”

  Marshal came over and clapped him on the back. “I’m a Lodi-loving deserter, and Dawn’s a turncoat scientist. If you were too normal you’d be in the wrong crowd.”

  “I think I am normal,” said Amelia.

  “Of course, you are,” said Marshal. “Raine, when we get to The Dunes, you be sure to introduce Amelia as the normal one.”

  Raine fumed.

  ◆◆◆

  They saw no one outside as they approached the longhouse, the largest building in the settlement. Only when they reached the front of the door did Raine hear voices and loud movement from the other side.

  “Are they in trouble?” asked Dawn?

  “No,” said Raine with a sigh. “I think they’re moving. When they saw Outsiders, they realized their secret must have been compromised.” He looked at his companions and could tell they did not understand. “Come on. I’ll show you what I mean.”

  He opened the door and led them inside.

  Scattered boxes and canvas sacks filled the large entry room. Further inside, they could see more of the same through the longhouse. Busy Lodi filled every box and sack with food and clothes, and none of them stopped to pay attention to the newcomers. The first non-Lodi to visit The Dunes, and they don’t even want to look this way.

  “They don’t care about us at all,” said Dawn.

  Raine shook his head. “On the contrary. This is the contingency plan in case the location is discovered. They’re preparing to relocate all of this.”

  “Just like that?” Marshal’s forehead knotted. “They don’t even know if we’re a threat.”

  “Let’s tell them,” added Dawn. “Let’s tell them we’re on their side.”

  “Wouldn’t matter,” said Raine. “You are a threat.”

  He said it casually, almost out of habit, but he felt his friends grow cold. They stopped looking around the room and stared at him, and Raine could tell he would have to explain.

  “You say you’re no threat?” He looked at Dawn. “Would you give away this location to a friend? A lover? A torturer? Every single piece of my people’s history that survived the last war with the Republic is here somewhere. All of it. Can you really promise me there’s no chance any of you would talk?” He pointed at Amelia. “That she wouldn’t talk?”

  They looked back at him, each ready to say something but not quite saying it.

  “Bold words,” came a woman’s voice. “But from the wrong mouth.”

  Raine slowly turned. Before him stood an imposing woman wearing a Keeper’s robe, her crossed arms lost in its yellow folds. Raine had never met her, and had only heard her name a few times, but only one person in all of Lodi culture wore the gold-colored headband with the old runes for Keeper scrawled over the front.

  “Friends,” said Raine, “This is Hild. The High Keeper of the Lodi.”

  “High Keeper.” Marshal stepped forward and removed his hat. “Name’s Marshal. I lived in Whitesand.” He extended his hand, but Hild did not respond.

  Marshal continued. “Over here’s Dawn, and that tall woman is Amelia.”

  Hild glanced at them for a moment, then turned her glare onto Raine. He had never felt so small.

  “That man’s pistol belongs to a Republic soldier,” said Hild. “What have you brought here, Raine? Haven’t you caused enough trouble to your people?”

  “Trouble?” Dawn stepped forward. “Don’t you know about him?”

  “Oh, has Raine been telling you stories? That he’s special?” Hild took a long look at Amelia. “Raine...is she…is that what I think it is.”

  “We can explain,” said Raine. “Amelia is with us. Following Marshal’s orders.”

  “Oh, that’s excellent Raine. A Republic soldier and his husk.”

  “Aren’t you listening?” said Dawn. “He’s gifted! Raine is—”

  Hild raised her voice. “No one is Gifted!”

  At this, every Lodi in the longhouse looked up from their work.

  “There is no such thing as being Gifted.” Hild’s voice regained its steadiness. “No one is special, Raine. Though some people are selfish.”

  Dawn began a protest, but Raine motioned for her to be quiet. I can’t prove it anymore. Not without the Dae stone.

  A younger Lodi approached with a steaming cup. Hild took the drink with both hands, and the room filled with the smell of bergamot.

  “You got every Lodi in Third Bend killed with this foolishness,” Hild continued. “And now you’ve killed us by bringing outsiders to The Dunes. I’m sure the Republic army is on your heels.”

  “A caravan of Republic troops was already on its way,” said Marshal, “but with Raine’s help we led ‘em astray. Bought you some time.”

  Hild stared at Marshal, unimpressed. “The Dunes have stood for a century. Someone had to tell them about this place—the Republic didn’t find it on their own. And last I heard, Raine, here, was in the capital.”

  “I didn’t tell.” Raine realized he was whispering.

  “It doesn’t matter. We Lodi are busy. And none of you are welcome.” She stared hard at Raine before turning around. “None of you.”

  25

  Hild walked away and the Lodi returned to their work, keeping their heads down.

  One Lodi man held his eyes on Raine. He was a thin youth, taller than the others, and even though his eyes were curious, his face seemed permanently fallen, like a pet that had been pushed around for so long it never expected to get its way again. He wore a special apron that held charcoal and paper for writing. The scribe. His gaze lingered on Raine until Hild snapped her fingers at him.

  “Come on,” Raine whispered. “There’s something you all need to see while you’re here.”

  Raine quietly walked out the door and waited for his eyes to readjust to the brightness of the desert. Even here, where the ground was hard and brittle, the sand served as a giant mirror for the glare of First Light and Second Light, which both hovered high overhead.

  Next door stood the Bookhouse, the building every Lodi Keeper dreamed of seeing. The circular wall was made of sandstones arranged in a rising circle. It towered above the other structures, reminding Raine of the lighthouses he’d read about.

  But there’s something else special about this one, if the Keepers weren’t lying to me.

  “I have a theory,” he said, leading them toward the Bookhouse. “Why would the Republic care so much about the Lodi?”

  His companions did not offer a response.

  “Amelia?” he glanced back at the husk. “Has no one, in all your years, told you why you’re supposed to kill Lodi?”

  “Not every Lodi,” she said. “Only the ones deemed combatants by my superiors.”

  “Marshal?” Raine asked.

  “No idea, son,” said Marshal. “The orders never came with explanations.”

  “It’s just a theory,” said Raine, “but people usually fight what they fear. I don’t know why the Republic would fear the Lodi, but I’ve always assumed the answer was in here.”

  Raine pushed open the doors.

  At every level of the rising tower, sunlight knifed through stained windows, bathing books in yellow light. A staircase wound around the inner wall, leading to the top.

  Notice anything different? Raine tried to hold down his excitement until the others noticed.

  He saw Marshal blinking to adjust to the dimness. Dawn tilted her head back to gaze up at the top of the tower where angled glass reached upward to form a delicate pinnacle.

  It was Amelia who finally noticed the obvious. “Curious. A Bookhouse that actually contains books.”

  “Yes!” Raine dashed to the nearest shelf.

  “I’ll be.” Marshal smiled. “Real books.
So, you don’t just memorize your history? It is written down—”

  “Not all of it,” came a voice from the top.

  Raine’s fingers, just a touch away from the binding of a book, froze as the voice echoed down to the floor. He pulled back his hand and looked up. A shadowed figure made its way slowly around the stairs while Raine and the others watched in silence. Only when he descended the final steps did the light find his weathered face and white hair.

  “Who are you?” asked Amelia.

  “If there are books, there must be a Bookkeeper, no? My name is Nilus.”

  “Nilus,” whispered Raine. “The other Keepers told me you weren’t ever allowed to leave the Bookhouse.”

  “That’s silly,” laughed the old man. “You’ll notice this single room lacks any place to relieve one’s self. But it makes for a charming story, does it not?”

  “Is this every book your people have?” asked Marshal.

  “Every one.”

  “But you all commit them to memory.”

  Nilus nodded gravely. “We intend to copy as many as we can someday, but, for now, having them placed in the minds of our Keepers, scattered across the continent, is necessary. Terrible thing if these were destroyed in a fire.”

  “Or an attack,” added Dawn.

  “Oh, yes, Hild had a messenger come by to tell me to start boxing these up. It’s quite a job. Never been done, actually, and I’m not certain how to do it. It’s not as if I collect boxes.” He shook his head. “When I saw you four walking this way from my window, I had hoped you were here with good news for me.”

  “News for you?” asked Raine. “How do you hear about anything?”

  “Sometimes Lodi are sent here with news for me, news about books. Every now and then we track down an antique tome. Takes years of following rumors, but my people in the field are diligent.”

  “Sounds like you run a spy network,” said Marshal. “Just for finding books.”

  “You didn’t hear it from me.” The old man winked. “I’m going to stretch my legs and ask Hild where we’re going and how she expects me to get all these books there. Elders know, she’s probably already decided which novitiate will be carrying her precious tea leaves.”