Tamar stood up, wincing, and resolutely picked up her two waterskins. I lifted the others, though my shoulders now felt bruised where the pack rested. “Let’s go,” Tamar said, and fell into step behind me as I turned us northwest again.
As we searched for shelter at dawn, Tamar caught her breath and pointed. “Look!”
I turned, expecting—hoping for—water, but instead I saw a narrow plume of smoke, curling toward the sky.
“It’s the Alashi! It must be!” Tamar said, her eyes searching my face.
I shook my head. “We’re too close to the Greeks. It can’t be the Alashi yet. Come on, we need to find a good place to hide today.”
“If it’s not the Alashi, who is it?”
“Bandits, maybe.”
“But—”
“The Greeks call the Alashi bandits, but there are real bandits as well. Most are former soldiers who mutinied and fled into the desert.” I thought of the outpost of Arachne worshippers who had tried to kill me to keep me from learning their secret. “These are real bandits, not Alashi. I know what I’m talking about.”
“How can you be sure without at least looking at them?” Tamar mumbled, falling into step behind me as I turned away from the smoke and picked up our pace.
“I told you, we’re too close to the Greeks. Speak softly. Someone might be out hunting, and there’s no sense in attracting attention.”
We found a cave this time—a very small cave, but it would give us shelter and conceal us thoroughly. I squeezed in first, and Tamar slid in next to me. I split the last of the bread with Tamar and broke off a small piece of the cheese. Then I passed her a waterskin. “Two swallows,” I said. She drank her water in two big gulps, then reluctantly put the stopper back in.
“There has to be water near here,” she said.
“Yeah, but the bandits are probably camped right by it,” I said.
“I’m thirsty.”
“I’m thirsty, too.”
“I want to drink more of our water now. I’m carrying my share, why do you get to be the one who decides when I drink?”
“You— Fine.” There were six waterskins still full; I handed three of them to her. “Ration your own water, then. But don’t come crying to me if you run out.”
Glaring at me, she unstoppered the waterskin and took another two gulps, then put the waterskin down. I ignored her as well as I could, drank as little of my own water as I could stand, and put it away. “We should trade off watches,” I said. “In case we’re found.”
Tamar nodded. “I’ll go first,” she said. “You go to sleep.”
“Wake me at around noon,” I said, and laid my head down on my pack to sleep.
When I woke, it was well past noon. I sat up, rubbing my neck, which was stiff and sore from the way I’d slept. It was late afternoon, I realized, not long until dusk. Tamar was nowhere to be seen. But I was not alone in the hollow.
There was a shimmer in the doorway, like hovering raindrops, or a wisp of fog in the sun. “Kyros sent me,” the aeriko said.
I squinted at the aeriko as it shifted in the air. “Kyros? Why now? We left Sophos’s days ago.”
“Kyros said to wait until you were alone.”
I nodded, recognizing the sense of that. “What is the message?”
The aeriko shifted again, and its voice fell an octave, in a rough approximation of Kyros’s voice. “Lauria, Sophos told me that one of his slave girls escaped the same night you left. I’ve told him that if you brought her with you, you had a good reason. However, this could cause you to run short on water. I’ve sent this aeriko to help you find water. I don’t care how miffed Sophos is about the loss of his slave; my concern is for you, and for your mission.”
Listening to Kyros’s words, I felt as if I’d been wrapped in a soft cloak and handed a cup of chilled juice to drink. I can trust Kyros, I thought again, and smiled to myself.
“I’ve asked Sophos to quit searching; it’s not worth the risk to your mission. This aeriko will return to me as soon as you’ve made contact with the Alashi. Good luck.”
The aeriko fell silent.
I can send word to Kyros about what Sophos did, I thought. Right now! Relief washed over me; Kyros would take care of things. But first, water. Water and Tamar; where was she?
“Where is Tamar?” I asked. “Did you see her leave?”
“The slave girl slipped out shortly after you fell asleep.”
“Why hasn’t she come back?”
“Possibly the bandits have detained her.”
“Bandits—oh, hell!” I started to crawl out of hiding, then sat back on my heels and looked at the aeriko again. There was no point in risking reconnaissance when I had an aeriko to serve as my eyes. “Tell me what Tamar did after I fell asleep.”
“She sat beside you for a while. Then she crawled out of your cave and went to one of the hills overlooking the bandit camp.”
“Was she at least trying to stay hidden?” I asked. The aeriko bobbed in the air silently. I sighed and rephrased. “Did she walk up to the camp, or did she stay close to the ground?”
“She crawled to the crest of the hill and lay there.”
“What happened next?”
“She lay still and watched; then she stood up and walked down into their camp.”
She went in voluntarily? Surely she wasn’t so stupid as to think these were the Alashi? That can’t be it; Tamar may be a pain in the ass, but she’s not stupid. “And then?” I asked.
“The bandits seized hold of her. She said that she’d come to join them—”
“Tell me exactly what she said.”
The aeriko’s voice went a little high, in a credible imitation of Tamar, but far breathier and more girlish than I’d ever heard her speak. “She said, ‘I wondered how long it would take for you to find me, boys! Aren’t you going to welcome me?’ The bandits all spoke at once, and one stepped forward to take her arm. And the girl said, ‘I escaped from a Greek man’s harem; I can satisfy all of you, but not all at once. Surely you must be the bandit king I’ve heard about; wouldn’t you like to enjoy my company first?’ He took her to his tent. I came back here.”
“How long ago was this?”
“The sun was near the horizon, but still bright in the sky.”
I bit my lip and let my head fall back against the hard dirt wall. What in Zeus’s black pit was she thinking? What an idiot. Why would she voluntarily put herself in their power? As my initial fury ebbed, I thought I could guess what she’d been about. Tamar hadn’t believed me; she’d wanted to take a close look at the bandits herself, fearing that if we continued into the desert we’d die of thirst before we found the Alashi. She’d crept out while on watch. Once she reached a vantage spot, she’d taken a good look and realized quickly that I was absolutely right; these were Greek deserters, outlaws, not people we could trust. As the camp roused for the day, she’d probably realized that if she moved, she was more likely to be seen, so she lay where she was, hoping for the best, planning to creep back to the cave at dusk. But then she was seen—that’s why she’d said, I wondered how long it would take for you to see me. Once she was seen, there was no point in running; they’d have caught her. So she played the role she’d learned in the harem, buying time and perhaps more lenient treatment so that she could try to escape later.
Now what?
Kyros would tell me to leave her here and continue my mission. But my stomach turned at the thought of leaving Tamar in the hands of bandits. Leaving her with Sophos would have been one thing, but here . . . Besides, she was a determined and resourceful person. She probably would escape eventually, and if she joined the Alashi after I reached them, she’d tell them that I’d abandoned her. I couldn’t imagine that the Alashi would look fondly on someone who would abandon a friend so callously. No, I had to fetch her out. The success of my mission might depend on it.
The sun was setting. “Go back to the camp,” I said to the aeriko. “Go into the tent of their leader a
nd check on Tamar. If she’s in no immediate danger, come back and tell me what you saw. Both in the tent and outside it.”
“And if she is in danger?”
I licked my lips, trying to decide how to phrase my orders for the aeriko. I wanted Tamar back alive and able to travel, but I didn’t want her to know an aeriko was helping us, not if I could avoid it. “If she is in danger of injury or death, then move her here. Go now and obey my instructions.”
There was a shimmer in the air and the aeriko whisked itself off. I waited in the gathering darkness for what seemed like a very long time, then the aeriko returned.
“Within the tent, the man sleeps with the girl at his side. She is bound, hand and foot. Her eyes are open and she breathes, but she lies still.”
“And outside the tent?”
“Some sleep, some are awake.”
“Are they talking?”
“Yes.”
“What conversation did you hear?”
A pause, then the aeriko began to repeat the snatches of conversation it had overheard, run together like unsorted coins tossed into a bag: “Worse, I think last night’s—so then the butcher says to the blacksmith—snake in his boot—damn bloody bastard ought to—already?—You! Over—already took care of—it’s not a bloody flux, at least—check it—she said she had—at least the water’s—latrine duty—”
“Enough,” I said. If the bandits were grumbling about their leader’s refusal to share, I would never find it out by listening to their mumbling through the aeriko. At the very least, it sounded like he’d kept her to himself, and that was a relief. It would be much more difficult to remove Tamar from the middle of a crowd.
It was quite dark now. I slipped carefully out of the cave, gathered up the water and stored it in the pack, and set out for the camp. “Circle overhead, and come let me know right away, quietly, if anyone’s coming,” I whispered to the aeriko. “I’ll have more instructions for you once I can see the camp.”
The easiest solution, of course, was simply to have the aeriko pick up both Tamar and myself and take us somewhere safe. In a few terrifying minutes, we could be left a short walk from an Alashi encampment. But then there would be the matter of explaining all this to Tamar later. An escaped slave had no plausible business with a bound aeriko, and rogue aerika were not known for being helpful to humans. Quite the opposite, in fact. If possible, I wanted to accomplish her rescue myself.
I’ll need something to cut her free, I thought. Sophos hadn’t put a knife into my bag; I would have the aeriko fetch me one. For that matter, maybe it could find a pair of boots for Tamar, and sturdier clothes for her to wear. I eased myself down to peer over the crest of the hill to the encampment below. As I’d suspected they were camped by a water hole. I thought of the nearly empty bottles in my pack, and pushed the thought away.
“Aeriko,” I whispered, and saw a shimmer in the air. “First, do not let anyone see you and don’t attract attention. Second, I need a knife. Take one from someone who’s asleep. If you can, bring me some boots as well, any clothing no one’s wearing, and—some waterskins, full, if you find them.”
Again, a long pause. I could see the flicker of firelight in the valley, and I could see men moving around. Occasionally, I heard a raucous laugh and the low murmur of conversation, though I could make out no words. A gust of wind brought the smell of horse manure.
The knife hit the ground beside me with a thunk. It was followed a moment later by two pairs of boots and a shower of loose clothing. Then two waterskins fell, full, and I realized my mistake as they hit the ground with a splat. Both burst open and spilled their precious water on the ground. I grabbed one and was able to gulp a little before it ran away; the other was a loss. I bit my tongue and refused to curse out loud; I had always suspected that bound aeriko were pleased to no end when they could follow the letter of your instructions while completely ignoring your intention. I sorted through the clothing quickly: the smaller pair of boots was in better shape, and there was a decent shirt and pair of trousers in the pile of clothes. I stuffed it all into my bag as well as I could, and picked up the knife. “What’s going on in the camp? Speak softly.”
“Some are awake, some are asleep.”
“How many are down there?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“How many are awake?”
“Twenty-three.”
I wondered how many of those were drunk. With luck, most of them. “Is the man with Tamar still asleep?”
No.”
Damn. “What’s he doing?”
“He is talking to the girl.”
I decided that I didn’t really care what they were talking about. “Which tent is his?”
“The largest.”
“Right. I want you to free the horses, then scare them so that they run away. Then come and check on me and Tamar. If we’re in serious danger, pick us up and move us to safety, and I’ll worry about explanations later.”
I moved toward the camp. I couldn’t see the aeriko, but I quickly picked out the tent of their leader and moved toward it, keeping to the shadows. From the edge of the camp, I could hear the high-pitched scream of a frightened horse; closer, I heard one of the bandits curse foully, and they ran toward the horses. The bandit leader appeared at the opening of his tent, tying the drawstring of his trousers and looking around wildly. When he took off to see what was going on, I slit the side of the tent with my knife and stepped inside.
Tamar was inside; she was naked, her hands bound behind her, her face a wide-eyed, utterly impassive mask. I had imagined her crying, but her distant, stony calm was far more disturbing than tears. “We have to hurry,” I said, and cut her free. “Can you run?”
She nodded, her eyes not quite looking at anything. I couldn’t bear to leave her naked, so I snatched the blanket off the bandit leader’s bed and wrapped her in it; she followed me out the back of the tent and we ran out into the night.
The camp was in chaos around us. The horses were galloping through it, screaming in true equine panic and trampling everything in their path—men, tents, food stores. One tent caught on a horse and was dragged through their campfire, scattering smoldering fuel in its wake. With a lurch, I hoped it wouldn’t be dry enough for a grass fire to catch; while it would be an admirable distraction, it would have the distinct drawback of probably annihilating us along with the bandits. Some of the bandits set to work frantically stamping out the glowing coals; the others I saw were trying desperately to catch or calm their horses or else to get out of their way.
I thought for a moment that we’d be able to slip away easily. Then I felt a sharp pain against the back of my head; my vision exploded into stars, and I realized a moment later I’d collapsed to my knees. Tamar was trying to drag me up by my arm, saying, “We have to hurry, we have to hurry,” in a monotone. My ears were still ringing, and I realized that I’d been clipped on the back of the head by a tent pole that was being dragged by a panicked, tangled horse.
I managed to stagger to my feet, only to realize that the bandit leader had returned: still shirtless, he held a long, curved sword, and he stood between us and the open desert. He looked from Tamar to me, and laughed out loud.
“Aeriko!” I shouted. This is where you just grab both of us and I explain later to Tamar that the djinn miraculously answered our prayers, or something. Tamar was so dazed, I wasn’t certain she’d even notice. But I saw no shimmer in the air; we weren’t going anywhere. Of course, it was also possible that Kyros had called the aeriko back to him . . .
“Drop the knife you’re holding,” the bandit said to me in Greek. “Kneel on the ground and put your hands on your head.”
Not a chance, pig-face. I could hear hoofbeats, and I realized that the tangled horse was running back around, still trying to free itself from the mess of tent and poles. I dropped my knife and started to raise my hands, then grabbed Tamar and pulled her down. The pole went over our heads and cracked against the bandit’s. He roared in pain an
d fell to his knees as I had, grasping his head. He tried to struggle to his feet but collapsed with a groan. His sword fell from his hand.
Another grunt, and for an instant, the knife was within my reach; but this is a friend of Kyros, this can’t be happening, and then—
This time, I won’t miss my chance. I grabbed the sword and brought it down on the bandit leader’s unguarded neck. It didn’t cleanly cut off his head but severed his spine where it met his skull; his blood spilled out in a red flood and he toppled forward, dead, as I realized that I’d killed an unarmed, half-conscious man. I had never killed anyone before; I had rarely killed animals. I recoiled from the blood and nearly threw down the sword, but some practical voice in my mind made me wipe it off on his clothes and hold on to it, just in case we ran into more trouble. “Come on,” I said to Tamar, and she grabbed my free hand as we fled into the desert night.
We ran, in our fear, probably a great deal farther than we had to. Their leader was dead, their horses stampeding, their camp in disarray—if anyone noticed us leaving, he lacked the presence of mind to pursue us. I was the one who stumbled, finally, and flung myself to the ground to rest. Tamar crouched beside me in the dry grass like a hunted animal, still clutching the bandit’s blanket around her body. I laid down the sword and took out a waterskin. “Have a drink,” I said, passing it to Tamar and taking out another one to drink myself.
She took a gulp and I saw a glint of tears in the moonlight. With effort, she lowered the waterskin from her lips. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I took one of my waterskins with me. The bandits took it away.” She thrust the stopper back in. “That was my water ration. You shouldn’t have to go short.”
“Drink your fill, Tamar.” I sighed. “We’re in this together, and I don’t imagine you’ve had much to drink since you left our hiding place this morning.”
She shook her head, and now her tears spilled silently down her cheeks. She unstopped the waterskin and gulped water for a long moment.
Freedom's Gate Page 10
