by Jo Spurrier
‘No, nothing like that. They’re not really magic-users, despite what you just saw. It’s the tattoos, they give them a few minor abilities. Very old spell, not terribly useful. Hardly anyone bothers with it anymore.’
Kara scoffed at that. ‘Not terribly useful? Did you see how fast they moved?’
‘If you’re not ready for it they can be a pain, but they’re not that hard to deal with.’
‘What abilities?’ I said, cutting in.
‘Eh, nothing much. Some enhanced reflexes, strength and heightened healing, a bit of darksight. Sometimes they have resistance to mind control in there too.’
I turned to her with a frown. ‘That doesn’t sound like nothing much.’
‘On the face of it maybe, but it’s limited. They can move like that for a short time, but they won’t be able to do it again in a hurry. Look, even ordinary folk can take them with a bit of planning and luck, but they’re nothing to us.’ She nudged me with her elbow. ‘You could deal with them if you had to, and you’re green as grass.’
‘Oh, thanks,’ I said sourly. ‘Why do you say no one bothers with it? I mean, clearly they did.’
She shrugged. ‘It sounds impressive, but living with it’s a different matter. Those marks make you stand out like a sore thumb. They can forget about laying low somewhere or blending into a crowd.’ She leaned around me to look across at Holt. ‘Where’d you dig them up from?’
As Holt started to answer, Kara wrapped her hand around his arm and squeezed. ‘Don’t answer that,’ she snapped. ‘What do you care, anyway? I thought you had news about my father?’
‘We’ll get there. Let’s get off the road first. Looks like we’re nearly clear of the rocks. Take us over there, Dee,’ she said, pointing to a gap in the trees up ahead. ‘Back into the scrub.’
‘You don’t think they’ll come after us?’
‘Not unless they’ve got worms for brains,’ she said.
Before long we were well hidden from the road, though close enough to hear if any other travellers came past. We all dropped down from the bench seat and gathered in a ragged circle, Aleida leaning against the wagon’s huge wheel, Kara standing stiffly with her arms folded, and Holt looking like he didn’t know what to do with himself since no one was paying attention to him.
Kara glowered at my teacher. ‘Can we get down to business? You said you had word about my father.’
‘First things first,’ Aleida said. ‘Where’s my money?’
Kara clenched her jaw, and glared.
‘Your money?’ Holt said, looking bewildered. ‘We never took anything from you!’
Aleida ignored him, and kept her gaze on Kara.
‘It wasn’t yours,’ Kara said. ‘You gave it away.’
‘Oh, it’s mine all right. And if you want to know where your father is, you’ll hand it back.’
Kara blanched with anger, opening her mouth to speak, but before she could Holt caught her by the arm, squeezing hard. ‘Kara! You never told me that money came from a witch!’
She yanked her arm away. ‘And you never told me she’s the one who gave you that cut yesterday!’ She turned to Aleida. ‘You can’t take it back. I need it! Those toffee-nosed nuns don’t need your help, they’ve got plenty of friends and favours to call on! I don’t have anyone!’
‘So that’s why you took it?’ Aleida said. ‘To pay those thugs to help you?’
‘Those marked men? No, not them.’ She spat, and glanced at Holt. ‘Him. To pay him, and his men.’
As one, we all turned to him.
‘Look, it’s not for me,’ he protested. ‘It’s the lads! I promised them money when they agreed to follow me, and I’m a man of my word. Kara, sweet, I told you, I’d do anything for you, but my men . . . they’ve got families back home who need the coin. I can’t ask them to work for free.’
Aleida heaved a sigh and turned back to Kara. ‘Listen, kid. Dealings like this, the rule is you pay half upfront, and the rest when the job’s done. If he’s got all the money, you’ve got no leverage, and he’ll just string you along. I’m surprised your da didn’t teach you better than that.’
Kara looked down at her boots. ‘I couldn’t help it,’ she muttered. ‘The nuns buried all the coin under a bloody great flagstone, there’s no way I could move it without him.’
Aleida’s gaze slid to Holt. ‘So. Where is it?’
He tried to smile, but there was something uncertain behind it. ‘Here now, you can’t just—’
‘Oh, I can,’ she said. ‘And I will.’
Kara started to protest, but Aleida raised a hand and the girl’s mouth snapped closed, and she fell silent.
‘Well?’ she said to Holt.
There was desperation in his eyes. ‘I . . . I . . .’ Power flexed around me, and he blurted, ‘I don’t have it!’
Aleida scowled at him, her face dark as thunder. Kara regained her voice. ‘You what?’ she demanded, rounding on him. ‘What happened to it?’
‘The . . . those marked men. They took it. Last night, after we came back from the Haven. They just took it.’
With a hiss of rage, Kara punched him hard in the arm. ‘You just let them do it? And you hid it from me? You godsdamned son of a bitch!’
Aleida rolled her eyes skyward. ‘Oh, gods above, I’m dealing with amateurs.’
Kara and Holt didn’t hear her, they were arguing too fiercely. ‘I told you they were trouble,’ Kara was hissing. ‘This is all your fault! You should never have told them where we were!’
‘Kara, I told you, I’ll handle it. You have to trust me! I’ll deal with them, I’ll find your father. It’ll all work out!’ Then, looking thoughtful, he turned to Aleida. ‘Actually, you could take care of them, couldn’t you? Isn’t that what you said?’
The look Aleida shot him was as cold as the heart of winter. ‘Do I look like some godsdamn killer-for-hire to you?’
‘Well, do you want the money back or not?’ Kara said with narrowed eyes. ‘We can’t give you what we don’t have. But if you help us get rid of them . . .’
‘You’re offering to pay me off with my own damn coin? You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that.’
Kara folded her arms tight across her chest. ‘What about my da? You said you had news.’
This time, Aleida shrugged, leaning back against the side of the wagon. ‘What about him? You not only stole my money, you went and lost it again the same night! Why should I tell you anything?’
Kara clenched her teeth, her face turning mottled red with fury. But before she could speak I reached for Aleida’s arm. ‘You can’t just leave her hanging,’ I hissed.
‘Oh, I beg to differ.’
‘He’s her father! Just because you were raised by wolves doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t give a toss about our kin! Taunting her like that is just cruel! Besides,’ I leaned closer and dropped my voice, ‘it’s not like she can do anything about it.’
Aleida started to pull away from me, and I saw her dark eyes tighten with anger. For a moment she looked about to speak — no, not speak. About to bite my head off. But then she fell still and blinked a few times, and just like that, the anger was gone. ‘Oh. Yeah. That’s a fair point.’ She glanced at Holt. ‘But let’s just keep it between us for now. You there, you can go. Go on, run along.’ She made a shooing motion with her hand and, looking bewildered, he obeyed, turning away to shuffle off through the dust and dry grass.
Aleida watched him go, and then turned to Kara. ‘So, he promised, did he? I bet he promised a lot of things. Whatever it takes to get you into his bed, am I right? Well let me tell you one thing, girl — no man wants a girl’s father lying in the tent next door and listening in when he’s trying to get a bit of slap and tickle, you understand?’
Kara flushed furiously. ‘I haven’t—’
‘Don’t waste your breath trying to lie to me. Let me tell you, it’s not worth it.’
‘Oh, hold your wretched tongue!’ she hissed, eyes blazing with anger. ‘I�
��ll do whatever it takes to get my father back, and Holt’s the only godsdamn person in this wretched forest who’s willing to help me! I’m not a fool. I know he’s playing me. I’m playing him right back! And if you had only taken me out of the Haven like I wanted, the nuns would still have your precious money; so you’re as much to blame for all this as anyone! Now, please,’ she said with a crack in her voice. ‘Please tell me about my da.’
Aleida tipped her face skywards with a puff of breath. ‘Listen, kid, it’s not good. Your father and his friends robbed the wrong person — they tangled with a witch. One with real power. She didn’t take kindly to being assaulted on the roads, and she took the whole troupe prisoner.’
‘But he’s still alive. I know he’s still alive.’
‘Yeah, probably. I’ve got no reason to doubt you.’
‘What has she done with them, then?’
‘She’s taken over some ruins up to the north,’ I said. ‘She dragged the lot of them up there, and worked some ritual to turn them all into beasts.’
Kara just stared at each of us in turn. ‘What?’
‘Yeah. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but that’s what happened,’ Aleida confirmed.
‘But . . . why?’
‘Who knows? She must have had a good reason. Now, we know a few of them escaped — you haven’t had any animals turning up back at your old house, acting strange, have you?’
Kara shook her head. ‘No. None.’
‘Right, I didn’t think he made it out, but that pretty much confirms it; if he had he’d have gone to you by now.’
‘By now?’ Kara said, frowning. ‘How long ago did this happen?’
‘Months,’ Aleida said. ‘Four, or six.’
‘That’s about as long as he’s been gone,’ Kara said. ‘So he’s been there all that time? What is she doing with them?’
‘Honestly, I have no idea,’ Aleida said.
Kara took a step back, her eyes wide. ‘She turned them into beasts . . . but if we can get him out, you can turn him back, right? You said some others escaped, so it must be possible. Holt and his men can break him out, and then you can turn him back!’
Aleida shook her head, but Kara didn’t see it. ‘That ruin to the north, I know the one you mean. It’s ten or fifteen miles from here. We could get there by tonight! If you can turn him back—’
‘No.’
Kara broke off, staring at her. Then her eyes grew narrow. ‘If this is about that blasted money . . .’
‘It’s not. I can’t break the spell.’
For a long moment, there was silence.
‘Can’t, or won’t?’
Aleida said nothing. She just shrugged.
‘I’ll pay you,’ Kara said through clenched teeth. ‘I’ll get the money. I’ll kill those men myself if I have to.’
Aleida raised one eyebrow. ‘Forget it, kid. You might be able to deal with one or two of them, if you were smart about it, but not all five. And it’s not about the money, I honestly don’t care that much; it’s just the principle of the thing. And trust me, it’s can’t.’
Kara leaned back, studying her. ‘Have you tried?’
Aleida looked away, raking her hair back from her face.
It cost her to admit she couldn’t do it, I could see that. But what was pride when there were lives at stake? ‘We tried,’ I said. ‘We managed it for a short time — no more than a few minutes. Long enough for him to tell us what happened.’
Kara leaned forward, her eyes intent. ‘Who? Who told you?’
‘He calls himself Toro,’ I said. ‘Do you know him?’
Kara gaped at me for a moment. Then her mouth snapped shut and she looked around wildly — and her eye fell on the ill-kempt chestnut horse that stood to the rear of the wagon, mostly out of sight, but with his ears pricked towards us.
She started towards him, hand resting on the hilt of her sword. ‘Toro,’ she said, and he gave a sharp snort, pawing the ground with one hoof.
‘We met him in town yesterday,’ I said. ‘Well, I say met. Some of the village men were dragging him off, and we kind of got in the way. We could tell he wasn’t really a horse, and, well, you heard the rest of it.’
Kara glowered at the beast. ‘You escaped. You escaped, and left him there? You piece of shit! You godsdamned traitor! He was your friend! He was . . . he was . . .’ For all her brow was furrowed and her eyes blazed with fury, tears were spilling down her face when her voice gave way. ‘Why didn’t you take him with you?’
Toro lowered his head with a low nicker.
Kara whirled to Aleida. ‘Do it again.’
Aleida shook her head. ‘I can’t.’
‘Don’t give me that bullshit! Do it again! I need to talk to him!’
‘I can’t! I don’t have it in me. I shouldn’t even have done it the first time.’
‘You’re not strong enough, is that what you’re saying? You’re too weak?’
Again, Aleida shrugged, and Kara tossed her head in frustration. ‘I have to talk to him, I have to.’
I was clenching my jaw hard enough to make my skull ache. I made myself let it go, and turned to my teacher. ‘Isn’t there something you can do? Not change him back again, but, I don’t know, some spell or something?’
‘What good would it do?’
‘It’s not for us,’ I said. ‘It’s for her. We can’t help her da, I get that, but if she can at least talk to someone who was there, ask him about it . . . it’s better than nothing, surely?’
Kara was listening, wiping tears from her cheeks. ‘Please. You have to!’
Aleida looked from me to her and back again. ‘Oh, Lord and Lady . . .’ She turned to Toro. ‘Do you want this too?’
He snorted twice, before she’d even finished speaking. Yes.
‘All right. Fine. You,’ she pointed to the horse. ‘Down. You need to be on the ground. I’m going to take you out of your body for a while, and there’s a decent chance you’ll fall — or I will.’
Toro snorted again. Then, he circled on the dusty earth, and carefully lowered himself until he lay on the ground, legs tucked to one side and his head and chest upright.
Aleida took a step towards him, then staggered when her leg seemed to give way beneath her. I hurried to steady her. ‘Want your stick?’
‘Just help me over to him first, then go fetch it. I’ll definitely need it afterwards.’ She leaned heavily on my arm, and then settled gingerly in the curl of Toro’s legs, her back against his ribs. ‘Can’t believe I’m doing this,’ she muttered, tucking her skirts around her feet to hide them. ‘Right. Here goes.’ She breathed out, her head sinking to her chest, and slumped as though the force that kept her up and breathing was suddenly . . . gone.
Then, in the time it took to draw a sharp breath, her head lifted once more. Only her face . . . her face was different. The muscles slack, her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide and shocked. She looked down at herself, raised her hands to her face and then flinched back, as though they were something foreign and unexpected, and somehow terrifying.
Then, the horse swung his head around towards us and gave a sharp, impatient snort, and I understood at once what she’d just done. ‘Kara,’ I said, and nodded towards them. ‘Go on.’
She looked utterly bewildered too, but she quickly shook it off. ‘Toro?’ she said.
Aleida’s head came up, the eyes focusing on her. ‘Kara.’ The voice was deeper than Aleida’s usual tones, rusty and harsh.
‘What happened?’ she said. ‘What happened to him? Tell me!’
He rubbed his head, fingers tangling in Aleida’s long hair. ‘You’ve heard it already, lass. These ladies told you all there is to know.’
Kara narrowed her eyes. ‘The hells they did. They said what happened, but not why. You all attacked a woman alone? Here, in our own damn neighbourhood? Don’t shit where you eat; even I know that rule. Why would they do something like that?’
Aleida’s eyes slid away. ‘T’aint fit for your
ears, girl.’
‘I’m no fool,’ Kara said through gritted teeth. ‘I know what the others were like, Mattock and Grinner and the rest of those sods. They’re the godsdamned reason Da taught me how to fight. But my da wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t. And there was a time I’d have sworn you wouldn’t either.’
Aleida’s gaze stayed off to the side, as though the one behind her eyes couldn’t bear to look at Kara, this slender lass full of fury and determination. ‘Your da didn’t want to,’ he said. ‘You’re right. He wouldn’t. But the others . . . they made him come out to stop her on the road. They said he had to prove himself. Prove his loyalty to the troupe.’
Kara was seething, her breath hissing between her teeth. ‘Loyalty? What bullshit is this?’
Aleida’s eyes snapped up at that. ‘No bullshit, girl. They knew he was pulling out, leaving us, and they didn’t want to lose him. He was the best of us, you know — he knew people, people who’d tell us what caravans were worth hitting, what guards could be paid off, when things were getting too hot and it was time to make ourselves scarce. He was the reason we all lived as long as we have. We wouldn’t last a year without him.’
Kara listened intently, pressing a knuckle to her lips while her left hand toyed with the hilt of her sword. ‘But . . . leave? He never told me. Why? Where?’
‘For you, lass. You’re getting older now. He said it was time to start thinking about your life, your future. He didn’t want you to waste any more years living in a hovel in the woods.’
Kara’s eyes were wide with shock. ‘No . . . no! I told him I didn’t want that! I was happy here! I just wanted . . . I just wanted him around more. I didn’t want him gone so much.’
‘And how would you make a living?’ Toro rumbled. ‘Cutting wood? Gathering mushrooms? Poaching from Lord Belmont’s lands? He was right, lass. He wanted more for you than this.’
‘All right,’ Kara said, her voice flat. ‘So how did they find out? He wasn’t stupid enough to tell them.’
Again, Aleida’s eyes dropped, her gaze sliding away. ‘No,’ she said. ‘No, I did.’
