Maig's Hand

by Phillip Henderson

  “You do not strike me as a man with any particular loyalty to your betters, Lord Lytton. Am I wrong?” Keira asked.

  His mouth bent into a smirk. “The only loyalty I have is to myself and to my men and our continuing safety and prosperity.” His face grew dark with anger, but his voice remained controlled as he added, “And I do not take well to those who would put either at risk. Do you understand me? So I suggest you measure your replies wisely.”

  “With the amount of gold we have agreed to pay, I would think you are hardly in jeopardy.”

  Lytton stepped forward and lifted his sword to Keira’s throat, silencing her. She threw out an arm, stopping Allius from coming to her aid. The heavy iron bolts of a score of crossbows were trained on them now and at such a short range they would not miss.

  “Do you think it will not be discovered who supplied you with these weapons and uniforms? Or perhaps that was part of your plan, Milady; to see all witnesses to your person executed for regicide? Hung in gibbets from the walls of Amthenium for being party to the murder of the Lady de Brie?”

  “Lord Mason assured me the sum of gold we have promised would out weigh any concerns you might have?” Keira said. Her voice was now strained and urgent.

  “It’s one thing to supply weapons for use against plate and mail, even a merchant and lesser noble, quite another to be party to an attempt on the life of a royal, particularly one with the allies and resources of the de Bries. Her reach beyond the grave will be without precedent.” He gestured to his men. “Seize them. You know what to do.”

  Gripped by terror, Lea was shoved to her knees and her arms wretched behind her. Keira and Allius were receiving the same treatment, while Mason was protesting loudly. “These are my clients. You cannot do this, Lytton. Lady Celine’s family and friends will hunt you down to your last …”

  Lytton sneered. He was pulling on his riding coat and collecting his hat. “Better that than be hunted by the most powerful family in the world.”

  “Then we’ll increase the price we’re willing to pay. Name the amount. We’ll pay it,” Keira said.

  “Gold is of little value if you’re not alive to spend it.”

  “Name it! You could escape to the colonies and live like kings.”

  Lytton considered her a moment, then glanced over at the red haired woman. “How much do you think, my dear; a hundred thousand gold sovereigns? Two hundred thousand?”

  It was a ridiculous amount of gold.

  “Five hundred thousand gold sovereigns,” she replied with a wicked look in her eyes.

  “You can not be serious. The Arkaelyon treasure doesn’t secure as much from annual taxes,” Mason said.

  “Then I guess we have nothing more to discuss. And thanks to your lies I have two wagons of weapons and uniforms to dispose of.”

  Lea felt cold steel press against her neck. She knew she was going to die.

  “Wait, please wait,” Keira said, her voice quivering with fear. “We agree to your terms.”

  Lytton laughed. “Five hundred thousand gold sovereigns for a wagon of uniforms and weapons?”

  “And our lives.”

  “Where would you get such money,” the red haired woman demanded incredulously. “And if you had such wealth at your disposal why would you need your family estate? You could buy another one, nay another dozen if you wished.”

  “You would be familiar with the value of black diamonds?” Keira said.

  Lytton eyed her suspiciously, and then motioned to the man behind her to remove his sword from her neck and help her back to her feet. “Of course.”

  Keira nodded at the red haired woman. “In my left pocket. You’ll find a leather pouch. There are twelve black Vafusolum diamonds inside, each of unrivalled size and beauty. You may have five if you agree to the terms I just offered.”

  Lea couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The only pouch in Keira’s pocket contained seeing bones.

  Lytton seemed momentarily stunned by the offer. Which was of little surprise for it was more than generous, though not exactly equal to five hundred thousand gold sovereigns

  “Take a look. But be careful,” Lytton said to his female companion. The woman laid her sword aside and approached.

  “The question still stands, Milady; how would one such as yourself come to have such a rarity in your possession? And why would you be concerned about an estate when you could buy a dozen more with such wealth?”

  “We have a very wealthy benefactor. And our family estate is on lands rich in un-mined diamonds—a secret only a few are privy to, hence our desires to have it back. Our benefactor has agreed to help us mine the lands for a small percentage of the profits.”

  The red-haired woman drew the pouch from Keira’s pocket. To Lea’s ears at least, its contents jingled in a way it shouldn’t have.

  The woman drew open the pouch and she looked up, grinning from ear to ear. “She speaks the truth, Milord.”

  “Give it to me.”

  The woman did as asked, quickly crossing to the young lord’s side and remaining at his shoulder as he sheathed his sword and emptied the contents of the pouch into the palm of his hand. The black translucent stones flickered wondrously in the lantern light, drawing every eye.

  “How do I know your wealthy benefactor will not come after us?” he said, holding one stone up to the light.

  “You take five stones, no harm will come to you. You have my word.”

  “How is Arkaelyon’s princess involved in this?”

  “She is a supporter of my uncle. They are to have a private meeting in a few days and both will die if our plans go to plan.”

  Lytton nodded. “Given the importance of the one you intend to kill, and consequences for my men and I, I think this is a fair payment; five stones for your lives, the uniforms, weapons and our silence and safety. We also keep the gold you have already paid as a deposit.” He selected the five largest diamonds and returned the rest to the pouch before tossing it to Lord Mason.

  Lea felt sick to the soul as she watched the five diamonds disappear into Lord Lytton’s pocket. The bones were more precious than any amount of diamonds or gold. There were only two sets left in the world, gifts from the Dark One herself dating back to the time of Larnius. She couldn’t believe that their priestess was going to let them out of her sight. Odder still, she got the impression that this was intended all along—that Keira was actually pleased with the outcome. She stole a glance at Mason and Allius and found them as stony faced and unreadable as ever.

  “Has the cargo been examined and found sufficient to our needs?” Keira asked, looking to Lord Mason.

  “It has, Milady,” he replied stiffly.

  “Then we have a deal.”

  Lytton offered a grateful bow. “My apologies for the rough treatment, to you and your sister, Milady, I’m sure you can understand our fear when we heard this rumour about the Lady de Brie. I wish you all the best in your endeavour.”

  A curt nod to one of his men and Keira, Lea and Allius were cut loose and allowed back to their feet.

  Lea rubbed her wrists.

  Lytton was donning his hat, preparing to leave.

  “What about our weapons,” Allius demanded, his sharp frown following the smugglers to the door.

  “I’ll leave them at the end of the alley for you to retrieve. “Good evening to you all.” His men followed him out of the door into the night, their weapons still at the ready.

  Lea was flabbergasted, and when the door closed she, and the others for that matter, immediately looked to Keira.

  The Lord Marshal seemed ready to explode, but Keira silenced him with a look. Nothing was said as they listened to the smuggler lord and his men retreat up the alley, their excitement evident enough in the raucous laughter.

  As soon as it was safe to speak, Allius and Mason turned on Keira. She didn’t give either a chance, shushing them mid-sentence. Her eyes shone with excitement and it was obvious she was up to something.

 
“This is extremely imprudent,” Mason insisted. Unlike Lea, he and Allius evidently knew what Keira was up to.

  Keira paced over to a pile of broken wine barrels, grabbed a piece of wood and hurried back. She was kneeling down on the dust-covered floor, when Mason repeated himself.

  “Find Bale, tell him what is afoot and be ready to move. Allius will join you once he’s finished here. I want no mistakes.”

  “If your little game fails, Keira, we will lose those bones forever, and our lives to boot.”

  “I am aware of that. Now go.”

  Mason skulked over to the wagon and climbed up onto the driver’s bench and took the reins to the pair of horses already in traces. “Lea, get the door. Hurry.”

  Taking one of the lanterns, she ran the length of the storehouse to the main door. The iron bolt took some working, but she’d managed it by the time the wagon approached. Mason hardly acknowledged her as he drove out into the street and turned towards the wharves.

  After closing and locking the doors, she returned to the back of the store house to find their mistress had begun to drawn a circle and series of symbols on the dirty floorboards. She recognised the predict Keira was about to conjure as a hex - a very powerful hex. The very thought of it made the tiny hairs on her neck stand up and the flesh on her arms goose with excitement. She jumped in fright as the back door opened and Allius came in with their weapons. His own sword was firmly back in its scabbard at his waist. He tossed Lea her sword and dagger as he walked over to Keira. “You’re going to need those.”

  Everyone seemed to know what was happening except for her.

  Keira took the blade he handed her and then glanced over her shoulder at Lea. “You’re to be my eyes while I deal with Lord Lytton’s gang. Follow the young lord and stay out of sight. Once I am done with his men, I’ll seek you out. And don’t lose sight of him or draw attention to yourself. You know whose watching and I don’t have to tell you what the White Ones will do to you if they get their hands on you or my bones.”

  “What if he parts with the bones?”

  “He won’t. Now go! And don’t lose sight of him whatever you do.”

  Lea nodded fearfully and raced out the door. This was an honour. It was also extremely dangerous. Reining in her fears she quickly glanced around to see that she was alone. Sure no one was watching she transformed herself into a crow and flew up over the adjacent storehouse moving in the direction of the road. No one noticed her as she winged down and landed on the parapet.

  In the street below, Lord Lytton and his female companion were climbing into a black carriage. The rest of his gang was beginning to dissipate in different directions, some on foot, others on horseback, all with purpose.

  The whip cracked and the horses began to move. Lea watched the carriage until it was almost at the end of the street before taking to the air again. She was careful to stay just above the rooftops as she followed it through the town. It wasn’t long before it reached the road that led out of Pelorus, and after slowing to cross the stone causeway it took to the dusty highway and picked up speed. Lea winged above the treetops, trying not to think of Keira’s warning. She prayed to the Dark One to protect them all, and hurry Keira’s hand. For with every mile the song of the bones was growing louder, increasing the chance the White Ones might hear.

  Worse still the wooded landscape below, including the shimmering lake out to her left and the Amthenium Mountains to her right, were bathed in moonlight. She could see for miles. And if she could see as clearly, so too could their enemy.

  Careful to keep an eye on the carriage, Lea veered to her right, making for the rampart of the old Arkaelyon castle, which, up until a decade ago, the Goddian crusaders had used every summer to launch their siege on the barbarian held Amthenium. Built on the top of a small rise over-looking the lake, the ruin commanded a good view of the area, all the way down to the mouth of the Amthenium tributary and the eastern end of the Corundum Gorge thirty miles away.

  The wind buffeted her feathers as she sat there watching the carriage moving away in the distance. It was easy enough to see as a trail of meandering white dust from the highway marked its passage through small woods and over rolling hillocks.

  Lea figured that the young lord and his female companion were most likely making for the town of Lockliff. It occupied a small peninsula ten miles on and was the only settlement of note between here and the Arkaelyon border, some forty miles down the Corundum Gorge. More importantly, it was also the last settlement for miles around from which passage out of the region could be easily obtained aboard a passing trader or river barge and it was almost certain that Lord Lytton’s thoughts were occupied with little else given his haste to be out of Pelorus.

  Thinking to catch up to the carriage before it entered the town, Lea took to the air again, and glided down over the moonlit valley below. She swept over a forested hillock and down the highway before turning in land and cutting through the farmlets on the outskirts of Lockliff. The carriage was a few miles from the town. Lea silently flew over it and continued on to a tall elm tree where she settled in the upper most branches. The bones were singing more loudly than ever now. She couldn’t believe that Keira had let them travel so far from her and do nothing to prevent it, except to post a watch.

  Panic was beginning to creep into her thoughts when a familiar presence touched her mind.

  Be ready to collect the bones. When you have them, hold them and keep them safe until help arrives.

  “What do you mean, until help arrives?”

  “Tonight we catch a White Druid, my dear.”

  “Catch?”

  “You’ll understand soon enough.

  Confused and scared, Lea acknowledged the order. The plan had been to take Lord Cargius when they seized de Brie in a few days time. That had obviously changed.

  Lea could see her priestess in her mind’s eye. Keira was still kneeling in the circle she’d drawn on the floor in the storehouse. Only now, she’d conjured one of her more difficult spells and was waiting to cast it. She took up the dagger.

  Lead me inside the carriage.

  Lea stared at the carriage as it approached her tree, forcing her senses to focus. Then she closed her eyes and let the sight work though her. She immediately heard the woman and young lord laughing, joking about their new life together in the colonies. Their jubilance filled her senses. At least until cold steel reached through the ether and the smell of warm blood erupted around her. Lea saw the driver drop the reins and grab at his throat. She saw him fall and felt the bump as the carriage rode over the top of him. Her senses erupted with fear and panic. Then cold steel reached out again and Lytton’s throat opened like a bloody waterfall. The girl screamed in terror. But as the animated blade turned on her the unmanned carriage veered wildly and smashed into a ditch at the side of the highway. Timbers shattered and splintered as the stricken vehicle rolled several times and came to land on its roof.

  Get the girl!

  Slightly dazed, Lea winged down towards the wreckage. The girl had scrambled out of the smashed carriage and was running away through a wheat field. Her right hand was clenched around the five black diamonds. Lea swept passed and landed in the corn. A flash of green light and she materialised in time to draw her sword. The woman was looking back at the carriage as she ran and the flash of light drew her attention forward just as she ran straight onto the point of Lea’s sword. She drew up sharply, blinking in horrified surprise. Lea twisted the blade viciously. The woman tensed in agony and blood flowed over her lips and down her chin as her eyelids dropped and her life force left her body. Lea pulled her sword free, lifted the blade and took the woman’s head off at the neck with a downward stroke. She then quickly knelt and took the stones from the dead woman’s hand. It was then that she realised she wasn’t alone and what Keira had meant when she had said they were going to catch a White Druid.

  Fear seized her as she realised who was watching her.

  Mistress, what do I do?
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  To her horror, Keira laughed at her desperation. You are the worm on the hook, my dear. You do what all bait does. You draw the prey.

  Lea saw the reflection of a large white eagle in the girl’s lifeless eyes. It was silently swooping down on her out of the night sky. There was barely time to tighten her hold on her sword and throw herself sideways before heavy wings beat the air around her head. She lashed out with her sword and struck nothing. Sharp talons tore into her shoulder. The pain forced the sword from her hand and drove a scream from her throat. Next, a brilliant white light blinded her and then a white haired man was on top of her, his strong arms and legs pinned her to the ground.

  “Give me the bones and I’ll let you live!”

  His breath was hot on her cheek. There was fury in his green eyes. Lea clenched her fingers around the diamonds. “I will not!” She’d die before releasing them.

  “So be it.”

  He shifted his weight and forced his forearm across her throat. With his free hand he quickly drew a long curved knife free from the scabbard at his waist.

  Lea cried out in fear and grabbed his wrist with both hands, desperate to stay alive.

  “Maig, help me! Help me!

  It was then she sensed Mr Bale and the Lord Marshal, streaking towards her across the darkened field.

  The White druid was so eager to have the bones from her, he did not sense his peril until Allius and Mr Bale transformed in mid-flight and ploughed into him with the force of catapulted boulders. Their combined body weight sent the man rolling away into the corn. He tried to get up, but was quickly rendered unconscious as Allius and Bale kicked and punched him mercilessly.