“Look,” he said, from within Mokosh’s stall. He held up one of the pups. They still had their eyes closed.
“Oh, he’s adorable,” Nadia said, holding the pup against her cheek as it nuzzled her. Soon she handed the pup back. “You’re worried,” she said. “You brought me out here to warn me. And that’s why you followed us into the Chestnut Grove.”
Ivan fidgeted.
“Speak,” Nadia said. “You’re so quiet.”
“What do you think about Sir Karlo?”
Nadia sighed. “I wasn’t completely honest with my mother,” she said at last. “Karlo is unlike any knight I’ve known. In Pavia, there are two kinds. Either they’re tough, grizzled men with badly scarred faces and rough manners. Those knights fight and keep the kingdom safe. The other kind infests the court. They’re courtiers with smooth manners, pretty faces and soft hands. Those can swish a sword well enough. One finds them in gardens, skewering one another over stupid insults. More likely, however, one will find them with willing maidens. Strap armor to that kind of knight, let him feel his stomach scrape his spine in hunger or let cold steel touch his pretty face…” Nadia shrugged. “That kind would whimper about a cruel fate. Only in the court, where they can swagger without becoming dirty, are they any good.
“Sir Karlo,” said Nadia, “can surely ride in the saddle as well as any of the fighting knights and battle with a sword in the middle of a blizzard. He’s been hungry before, and the scar under his chin came because enemy steel kissed him there. Yet he can sing like a courtier and his manners are smooth and polished. I’m sure he’d skewer those fancy knights any day.”
“Do you love him?” asked Ivan.
Nadia frowned, although she didn’t look up.
“Do you trust him?” Ivan asked.
“…I don’t know what you mean.”
“Have you taken a good look at his men?”
“They’re a rough bunch, and brutal. I did see what happened this afternoon.”
Ivan scowled.
“You shouldn’t take it so badly,” said Nadia. “Perun is a trained killer.”
Ivan looked up sharply.
“I-I mean a trained man-at-arms,” Nadia said.
“No. You were right the first time. He’s a killer. You can see it in his eyes.” Ivan fidgeted. “I hit him good, but it didn’t shock him. Petor would have a hard time with Perun.”
“Be honest,” Nadia said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Perun would destroy Petor. I saw how Perun lifted you above his head. He toyed with you, Ivan. He could have killed you at any time. Could Petor do that?”
Ivan shook his head.
“I know you’re strong,” said Nadia. “I know you’re no palace courtier. I’ve lived here almost all my life. I’ve seen you out-wrestle the other boys. But Perun...he’s something else altogether. He’s one of those men that loves battle, thrives off it. He’s like a bear, a brute born for battle.”
“What are you saying?”
“That you don’t have to feel ashamed at how Perun handled you.”
“Maybe,” Ivan muttered, “but I do.”
“You always were stubborn.”
He tried to return her smile.
“Perun also shows us what kind of man Sir Karlo is. He easily handled the brute.” In a breathless tone, Nadia said, “He must be a champion.”
Ivan glowered. “Can you trust someone who travels in the company of men like Perun?”
“I suppose it depends on why he does that traveling.”
“You’re avoiding the question.”
Nadia pursed her lips. “That’s one of the reasons I’ve been spending so much time with him. I’m trying to figure out the answer.” Her eyebrows lifted. “That’s the opinion you wanted, isn’t it?”
It wasn’t, but he nodded. “You probably know him better than anyone else here. There have been a few strange occurrences, and I was wondering if I should go to Master Volok about them.”
“You promised to keep quiet.”
“I have. But…”
“What strange things?” she asked.
“For one, my hounds hate Sir Karlo.”
“What?” Nadia laughed. “Your hounds? You’re kidding, right?”
“No.”
“Oh,” she said a moment later. “I see. Yes, that is strange. Hate him, you say?”
“And fear him,” said Ivan.
“Hmm. Don’t tell my escort that. It might ruin everything.”
“Maybe that’s just what I should do,” he blurted.
Nadia gave him a stern look.
He told her about the leather pouch and the chess match with Yury and how Sir Karlo could change his manner so quickly.
“All courtiers can do that,” said Nadia.
“Mask their true feelings?”
“Oh yes. They’re quite expert at it.”
Ivan shook his head, wondering what a duchess’s court would be like. It didn’t sound like a nice place.
“I appreciate this talk,” Nadia said. “But I’m getting cold.”
“You’ll be more careful?”
Nadia smiled and touched his face. “You’ve always been a true friend. And Mother told me long ago that I can trust you. So if you have some qualms about Sir Karlo, then yes, I’ll be more careful.”
As Nadia turned to go, Ivan wondered if she’d just given him a courtier’s answer.
-11-
Night came quickly. In the kennel, Petor told Ivan that he wanted both Janek and he to stand guard tonight.
“Two of us?” Ivan asked.
Petor lowered his voice. “I saw a set of wolf tracks this morning. And…” He eyed Ivan. “I saw Perun. His type doesn’t bruise easily, but someone hit a few good ones.”
“His face did look bad,” Ivan admitted.
“Your left arm looks sore.”
“Yes. I hurt it.”
“Carrying wood?” asked Petor.
“I suppose…”
“Listen to me,” Petor said. “Leave Perun alone. You’re a dog trainer, not a man-at-arms. His kind eats dog trainers for breakfast.”
Ivan wondered what Petor knew and how he knew it. “I’m not sure what you mean,” he finally said.
“Perun gives you murderous glances. His face and your arm fill in the rest of the story. I also noticed that you brought Stribog in with you for supper. Did you have a reason for that?”
Remembering his promise to keep quiet, Ivan shrugged.
“I’ll not order you to tell me what is going on. If you’re keeping quiet then there’s a good reason for it.”
“Yes, milord.”
“No. I don’t want you picking up Sir Karlo’s habits. I’m a Belgorod knight and this is Belgorod Holding. You’re Ivan, not some sniveling servant to a Bavarian lord. Now it’s clear to everyone that Nadia adores Karlo, just as it’s clear that you adore Nadia.”
Ivan tried to splutter a reply.
“No, don’t bother,” Petor said. “I’m sure she’s twisted you around to making a foolish sort of promise. That’s the way of young beauties. Magda understands this and so does the escort. Maybe your silence is for the best. It keeps Father from noticing. That stops him from doing something that might be hard to finish.”
“Master Petor?”
Petor fiddled with his sword pommel. The knightly waist-belt hung below his soft belly.
That’s when Ivan truly noticed the sword. Petor seldom wore it. Then it occurred to him that maybe it was like him taking Stribog everywhere. Petor had also become afraid of Karlo and his men. Well, maybe not afraid, but worried.
“Karlo has become harsh with his men,” Petor said. “There’s a reason for that. I wouldn’t be surprised to find Nadia entangled in the reason, maybe you as well.”
Ivan couldn’t help but turn red.
“I see,” Petor said in a tired voice. “Magda was right.”
“Magda?”
“Don’t underestimate her,
lad. Maybe we are country bumpkins compared to Nadia’s Pavia court, but we at Belgorod understand people as well as anyone.” Petor dug a finger into Ivan’s ribs. “I’ll tell you a secret. If you’re honest with yourself, if you study your own feelings, then you can understand others and why they do things.” Petor laughed. “I’ve stumped you, eh? Then think of it like this. Why do you know your hounds so well?”
“Master Petor?”
“You know your hounds because you can get inside their heads.”
“I suppose.”
“Think, Ivan,” Petor told him.
Ivan crunched his eyebrows. He did know how his hounds’ thoughts—usually. He knew because he understood them. He understood them...because he could put himself in their place. He grinned at Petor.
“If you can do that with hounds,” Petor said, “begin doing it with people. Magda has the knack and so does my mother.”
“What about Dimitri?”
“Yes, Dimitri understands himself,” Petor said. “That’s the trick to understanding others. Try to put yourself in Perun’s place, try to understand him. Then maybe you’ll still be alive by the time they leave.”
The knot Perun’s glances had put in Ivan’s stomach tightened once more. His felt his arms tingle and his mouth begin to dry out.
“Take your club with you tonight,” Petor said.
“I don’t know if Janek is the right person to be with me.”
“He is,” Petor said. “You tell him to run in and start screaming if Perun shows up. We’ll do the rest.”
Ivan grabbed his club, which lay on his cot, and chose the needed hounds. Soon, Janek and he prowled the starlit front yard. Ivan gave Janek his instructions and soon told him to stop asking so many questions.
“Go sit by the porch,” Ivan said. “And don’t go to sleep.” He kept the taller hounds with him. From time to time, a cold gust of wind blew eerily through the treetops. Ivan rattled the lantern, watched his misty breath and studied the stars. The hounds seemed restless tonight.
The full moon rose and filled the landscape with silvery light. Ivan brought the lantern to the porch and gave it to Janek. They told jokes until Feodor stepped outside.
“Go warm yourself by the fire,” Feodor told the lad.
Janek bounded inside.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Feodor told Ivan.
“What’s going on inside?” asked Ivan.
“Karlo told stories for awhile. He finally grew sleepy and went upstairs.”
“He turned in, eh?”
Feodor said, “Let’s walk. It’s too cold to stand still.”
They strolled to the barn and headed toward the Chestnut Grove as the hounds ambled with them.
“Everyone’s restless,” Feodor said. “Nadia itches to be with Sir Karlo. The escort frowns and seems ready to give her a good tongue-lashing. Perun scowls at everyone, even at my father. Master Volok moodily stares at the fire. Only Magda seems calm.”
“What about your father?”
“He just combs his beard with his fingers,” Feodor said. “I know him, though. He’s nervous.”
“How can you tell?” asked Ivan.
“His axe always lies within easy reach.”
“Are you nervous?”
“What happened this afternoon?” Feodor asked.
“What do you mean?” Ivan asked.
“Ivan. This is me, Feodor. Something happened.”
“...if I told you, you couldn’t tell anyone else, not even your father.”
Feodor nodded.”
“Then you swear?” asked Ivan.
“You know my father and I never swear. Our word is our oath.”
Ivan knew that. He also knew that when he’d told Nadia he wouldn’t tell, that she and he both meant he wouldn’t tell the adults. At least, that’s what he decided now. It was his out and he wasn’t breaking his word. He wondered if other people did that. They must, if Petor was right. Know yourself and you could know others. What an interesting idea.
Feodor nudged him. “Are you trying to be a woodcutter?”
“Huh?”
“You’re not saying much, and you’re thinking before you speak.”
Ivan returned his friend’s grin. Slowly at first, then quickly and breathlessly, he told Feodor about the fight. He left out most of what had occurred between Karlo and Nadia before the fight, though.
“No wonder you’re nervous,” Feodor said.
“Does it show?”
Feodor laughed, clapping Ivan on the back. Then he sobered. “I suppose this is no laughing matter.”
“Maybe in several weeks after it’s over it will be.”
Feodor grunted.
“But I’m worried. How can I handle Perun?”
“Yes. A good question. Let me think.”
They crunched across the snow. The wind moaned. Once, it seemed, a wolf howled. It came from far away, however.
“Who chops down a tree faster than anyone else?” Feodor asked.
“Your father, of course.”
“Who do the hounds love best?”
“I guess that would be me,” Ivan answered.
“Would you say that Yury tells the wildest stories?”
“I would.”
“And when a farmer wants his plow fixed, doesn’t he go to Gruner?”
“What are you getting at?” Ivan asked.
“Perun knows how to fight. You would be a fool to go at him as if you’re a fellow fighting man.”
“So I should run away every time?”
“That isn’t what I said. You’re a dog trainer, and you do a lot of hunting. So treat him like a bear.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t face Perun as if you’re a warrior. You aren’t trained as one. He is. In fact, it sounds as if he’s an expert at war. Would you bet your life in a contest against my father at chopping down a tree faster than him?”
“Of course not.”
“It would be just as senseless to face Perun in the trade where he’s the master. You, however, are a trained huntsman. You know how to trap bears. Very well, treat Perun as a bear. Use your hounds, your nets and your various hunting skills.”
“That’s not fighting fair,” Ivan said.
“Fair! Is it fair for a trained killer to go one-on-one with a lad? No! So don’t. Treat him like a bear.”
Ivan saw the wisdom in that. “Maybe you’re right. Yes, then we could defeat Sir Karlo and his men.”
“I never said that.”
“I know. But it gives Belgorod Holding a chance for victory in case the Bavarians try something.”
Feodor nodded.
“A-ha,” said Ivan, snapping his fingers. “I wonder…?”
“About what?” Feodor asked.
“Petor told me to fix the bear-nets. Could he have already been thinking like you?”
“It’s possible.”
“I know,” Ivan said. “I’ll rig my kennel. If Perun tries to sneak in there, bam, a net will drop on him.”
“Now you’re starting to think like a hunter.”
Ivan stopped and peered at his friend. “When did you come up with this insight?”
“I didn’t. My father did.”
“And he sent you out here to tell me?”
Feodor clapped Ivan on the shoulder. “You know, it’s cold out here. I’m going in. I’ll send Janek back out.”
As Feodor turned to go, Ivan said, “Thanks.”
“What are friends for,” Feodor said. He jumped onto the porch and disappeared into the house.
-12-
The moon toured the night sky. Stars glittered. A wolf howled, making the hounds bark fiercely in return. Ivan calmed them as he waited for a wolf-pack to bay. Instead, the wind responded as it moaned through the snowy branches.
As he sat on a stool, Janek nodded off. Ivan put the lantern near the lad’s face, studying for signs of frost-burn. There wasn’t any, so he let Janek sleep.
It was cold tonight. It was clou
dless, that’s why. Ivan stamped his feet and walked back and forth in front of the porch. Stribog paced with him. The other hounds slept in the snow, their tails covering their noses.
Stribog’s hackles rose as the dog peered into the night.
“What is it, boy?” Ivan whispered. Stribog aimed his snout at the Chestnut Grove, as he whined softly. Stribog’s whine increased as his sleek body tensed. Slowly, the dog pulled Ivan toward the Chestnut Grove.
Ivan awoke to the danger. “No!” he hissed. He tugged the leash. Stribog paused. “I need my club.”
Soon, Ivan hefted his club. “Janek, wake up.”
The young lad stirred. After another shove, he looked up with bleary eyes. Ivan told him to stay alert. He was going to check on something.
Then, with his club and Belgorod’s three toughest hounds, Ivan marched toward the Chestnut Grove. His heart hammered. If Perun baited him, the brute would learn a thing or two. Ivan stopped. Feodor had told him to be a hunter. A hunter should be ready for any contingency. He’d heard wolf howls before. Ivan ran to the kennel and took one of the bear-nets. He unrolled it, folded it and draped it on his shoulder. A quick flip and by using both hands, and he’d drop it over a wolf, trapping the beast. Only then, did he return to the house and approach the Chestnut Grove.
Stribog’s hackles had settled. The other hounds didn’t seem to sense anything. Ivan had left the lantern behind, so it was dark and eerie among the chestnut trees. Then Stribog sniffed the snowy ground.
Ivan squinted. He saw tracks, boot tracks. He knelt. These were Sir Karlo’s tracks. What was Karlo doing prowling around this late at night? Ivan debated turning back. The knight was likely a champion, but if he treated Karlo like a bear…
“Let’s see what we trap tonight,” he whispered to the hounds. Ivan followed the tracks. He knew it might be unwise, and that Karlo could take this wrong. Ivan paused. What if Nadia met the knight? Panic threatened. Hadn’t he learned his lesson? “No,” he whispered. I haven’t. He continued tracking. He saw, by the brushed-off snow, that Karlo had climbed the fence. Ivan did likewise. Now he felt exposed, however. He was in the open, out of the yard. He followed the tracks up the hill and toward the lone oak tree. A bad feeling rose in his gut. The hounds didn’t cower or grow angry, however.
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