by C. R. Daems
CHAPTER TEN
Naze—Tuska Province
We reached Naze three days later. Even before we caught sight of the town, the stink of fish filled the air. As we drove nearer, I could see the harbor, which had a dozen ships coming and going with their sails billowing in the wind. They varied in size from small five- to eight-man fishing boats to larger oceangoing merchant ships. We stopped a league short of the town in an area designated for the gypsy caravans. It was surrounded by woods and near a moderate-sized stream, which provided good sanitation for the large audiences the performances attracted. We didn't try to put on a show that night. It was late in the afternoon and we were tired. Besides, our presence had to be announced. The next day several of us went into town handing out notices. I volunteered because I wanted to learn the layout of the town and the location of our Intermediate's house. It may help me find the Spy and her apprentice working in Naze. I hoped to contact them before I left.
The performance went well that night, and the clan made a nice profit. Afterward, I sent Kasi and Anil out to watch the Intermediate's house, a narrow two-story building in a row of similar houses. Most of our Intermediates had other businesses to supplement the money they made from arranging contracts with the Shadows. Tonight men came and went while others loitered near by. Just after midnight, a Shadow entered. She moved quietly and stayed in the shadows but was easily seen through Anil and Kasi's echo-sounding sight. She slipped in, and shortly afterward three men followed. It felt like a trap and it was. The same three men exited dragging the woman by her arms and into a doorway three houses away.
I dressed in my blacks and collected my weapons. The peasant clothing went over them, and I faded into the night. The building was located well across town. Although it was late and the streets deserted, it took close to an hour to reach the building. When I did, it was the only house on the street with lights showing. I worked my way around to the back of the Intermediate's building and found a man leaning against a nearby tree watching the back door. Every now and then, he took a drink from a bottle he was clutching. I stood debating between a rocktail and rockberry dart, wondering if he had been one of the three who had captured the Shadow. It didn't matter. Morag said my assignment wasn't to avenge our Sisters, only to find out who and why. I loaded my blowtube with a dart laced with rockberry. The dart hit him in the neck. When I reached him, I picked up a good-sized rock and smashed him in the head. The darts had to remain a secret. With the lookout down, I slipped into the house through the back door. The Intermediate sat at a table with a mug in one hand a gold tora in the other. She smiled as she turned it in her hand.
"I guess this means you no longer work for us."
She jumped up, sending the chair crashing to the floor. Her face turned pale and she began to tremble.
"I…I was forced to do it," she said in a high-pitched squeal and took a step backward into the table.
"By who?"
"A Wind Wizard… I had no choice…Shadow."
"As I have no choice." I said as I approached her. Whether she did it for pay or out of fear, she would sell me out at the first opportunity. As she held out her hand to keep me away, I grabbed it and twisted. When she bent from the pain, I drove my palm into her temple. Although she was unconscious, I gagged her and tied her arms and legs. To make sure she wouldn't be able to talk for hours, I stuck her with a rockberry needle. I slipped back out and dragged the outside guard into the house. Before I left, I blew out the candles, leaving the house dark.
Moving like a stalking cat, I slipped back to the building the men had dragged the Shadow into. The ground-floor lights were on, but it was dark on the second. Using ledges, terraces, and other protruding features, I climbed to the second story and peered through a window. The room was dark and neither Kasi nor Anil's echoes could penetrate glass. Inch by inch I opened it and climbed in. The room was empty, as was the one across the hall. As I exited the room, I heard screams and laughter from downstairs. I crept down the stairs, one foot at a time. Halfway, I froze at the sight. Two naked women hung like butchered cattle. The older, heavier one hung there covered with bruises and blood oozing from the many cuts to her body and legs. The young one's cuts and bruises were new and fewer. A young skinny man with a stick stood smiling as his eyes roamed over her body.
"Well, sweet thing, what other Shadows are in Naze? I'm in no hurry. I've all night." He laughed and struck her on the thigh. She jerked in pain but didn't scream. With her feet and wrists tied and suspended two hands off the floor, she could do nothing. A third man, sitting at a small table, laughed and lifted a bottle to his mouth.
A muscular man stood behind the older woman with his pants around his knees. His burly arms squeezed her to him, and his hands pulled at her breasts. I wanted to scream my outrage to the gods. I wanted to vomit when he squeezed her to him. Tears would come later. Ice flowed into my veins as I blew a rocktail dart into his neck. He froze for a second then fell against her, pushing her forward. She swung like a pendulum as he fell. The skinny one gapped at the man as he hit the floor. The man at the table looked up and pointed at me.
"There, on the stairs!"
The skinny one's head jerked toward me just as my throwing knife buried itself in his throat. I loaded my blowtube. The one at the table jumped up, knocking over his bottle, and drew his sword. He managed only a step before a dart hit him in the chest. He stumbled two steps more toward me before collapsing.
The ice in my veins melted and I stood trembling. I had killed three people in less than a minute. On the way to Miffin with Morag, I had wondered if I could kill anyone, even in self-defense or to save a Sister. Now I knew. I had become an Assassin who could kill without mercy, without doubt, and…without guilt. If our enemies wanted a war, so be it.
I dragged a chair over to where the older woman hung and reached up to cut the rope that held her. I tried to hold her as I cut the rope, but she was too heavy. We landed on the floor. Luckily, I managed to absorb some of the impact. I lay with my arms around her.
"You're safe. They will never hurt you again. I wish I could stay here with you and nurse you back to health. I can't." I could feel her trembling. Tears rolled down my face. "I can't. Worse, I must ask you to summon the strength you learned at Ahasha. To feel the strength and love of your Sisters, those still alive and those whose shadow we walk. I'm sorry. You must leave within the next two hours, and I can't go with you. Rest for a bit, while I attend to your apprentice and make arrangements."
I went over and cut the ropes that held her apprentice. She sat there trembling and quietly sobbing. I left her trying to gain control. There were things to be done. After recovering my knife from the man's throat, I cut it open. The gypsies had an act with throwing knives, and I didn't want even the hint of a connection. I picked up the chair and smashed the man on the floor in the head and broke the other one's neck—in case people wondered how they had died. Then I collected my darts and returned to the Intermediate's house. There I collected clothes and all of the food I could find, which I stuffed in an old traveling bag. When I returned, Renee had Eshe in her arms and was still crying. Eshe looked awake. She looked up at me and tried to smile.
"I've clothes and provisions for you. We must get you dressed and gone within the hour." I felt inhuman asking and worse knowing I would force them if necessary.
"We can't leave. Look Eshe can't walk. Who are you to tell your Sister what she should or shouldn't do? You're a vicious killer. I saw what you did to those men after they were dead! Did you enjoy that?" She coughed and cried at the same time.
I guess she forgot I saved them.
I didn't mind. She and her Sister had been through hell. But it didn't change anything. I dumped the traveling bag on the floor and removed some clothing.
"Get dressed, Renee. You and Eshe are leaving. You can curse me after I'm gone." I knelt next to Eshe and began helping her put on the clothes. I died inside watching her pain as she tried to help. She grasped my hand. I could f
eel the two lines that proclaimed her a senior Spy as she could feel my Assassin/Spy sigil.
"Thank you, Sister. Renee, do as she says. It's her right."
"She's vicious. Did you see what she did to the men—after they were dead?"
"Your Sister knows what she's doing. You've no right to judge her. Anyway, if we don't, she has the right to kill us," Eshe said, choking as she tried to laugh. Renee dressed in silence and anger. I fed Eshe a little food and drink while I talked.
"I need you to carry a message to Sister Morag…" I went on to explain what I had found without mentioning the gypsies. "Tell her I'm ordering all Shadows home, except the rogue, who I'll kill. Tell her intuition rules her student. I hope it's what she wanted."
Eshe sat in silence, listening. "Our senior Sister has chosen wisely. What do you want us to do?"
"Here are twenty silvers our friends have donated for your inconvenience. It should help ease you on your way to Ahasha. They have also agreed to give you three horses for travel. Keep the third horse as long as you can. It's important. I want you to go north as many hours as you can. Find a place to camp for several days to regain your strength. There's a blockade at the Naze and Lanpo crossroads, though I believe it will be gone tomorrow. In any event, they are detaining those going to Naze, not to Adak."
"That's stupid. We'll go west toward Ahasha not north, and we don't need another horse." Renee scowled.
"If you don't go north, and don't take the third horse –" I walked over and grabbed her hand. I knew she felt the Assassin/Spy sigil. "Are you a Shadow Sister or a rogue? Do you obey your seniors or not?" I held her eyes until she dropped her gaze. North would be the one direction no one would look. Why would the escaping Shadows go north? They would be expected to head south to Kaslos or west toward Ahasha, since east lay the ocean and north went nowhere useful. It was illogical and, therefore, the right direction. The third horse would make their pursuer believe I had gone with them.
"Renee, she's thinking and we're not. Again, thank you, my Sister. May the shadow of our Sisters follow you wherever you go."
Was I thinking? I was drained of all emotions. I should feel something. I didn't. I felt detached. But for now, we had to leave before someone else arrived. Since Kasi and Anil detected no unusual activity, I sent them on their way. Covering my blacks with the peasant clothes, I returned to my wagon.
* * *
I let my visual-self relax into the clan's activities, refusing to think about my shadow-self's activities. Our skit continued to improve as I fine-tuned my accuracy. I could now, at twenty paces, put a knife in a one-inch circle every time. I think Yoan finally felt comfortable that I wouldn't miss. He had been brave to let me throw knives at him in the first place, especially since he didn't know anything about my previous training.
My tumbling improved as the group included me in routines that were more complex. It made me more flexible, and since I only took part as a member of a team, I didn't attract special attention. I also improved at fortunetelling. People seemed easier to read, and I enjoyed making up stories. As a result, I frequently found myself in the fortuneteller tent. Life felt good.
We left Naze at the end of a sixday stay. The clan had made five gold toras, which was a good profit. The two toras I had collected from the mercenaries, I gave to Marku. I had decided not to give them to my Sisters in case they were searched. That would have drawn too much attention. Marku gave me a strange look but said nothing. I knew he had heard a twisted version of the killings and was surprised he didn't ask me to leave. I had smashed the hornet's nest, and the killer bees swarmed Naze, looking for someone to kill.
We had no trouble on the road to Kaslos, which surprised Marku and me. We passed isolated pairs of mercenaries, who scanned the caravan as we passed but made no attempt to stop us. My ruse may have made our pursuers assume I had too much of a head start by the time they discovered the bodies and the missing horses. From the casual way the two-man patrols scanned our caravan, I would bet Kaslos seethed with angry people wanting me dead. Seemed fair; I wanted them dead, too.
* * *
Kaslos—Tuska Province
Along the road, we passed huge wagons being loaded with logs to be hauled into Kaslos, which was the main supplier of hardwoods used for making boats and furniture for the wealthy. When we arrived, the sun had begun to set and the giant oak trees cast long shadows across the campgrounds assigned us. The site suited me because of the inconspicuous access. We spent the evening preparing for the performance tomorrow.
After most had gone to bed, I sat a few hundred paces away from the wagons contemplating my next move, while watching Kasi and Anil dart between trees catching bugs. I smiled at the thought. I had bugs of my own to find. An Assassin, Alina, and her apprentice, Carla, were operating somewhere in Kaslos, as well as a mob of angry people hunting me.
It wouldn't be easy finding two people in a large city when they were undercover. If they visited one of the performances, perhaps I could pick them out. In the meantime, I sent Kasi to watch the Intermediate's house. When nothing interesting happened after watching for a few hours, I walked back to the wagons. Ilka and Alida called out to me as I passed.
"Ryana, how do you stay up half the night and function the next day?" Alida asked. She and Ilka were sitting on the steps of the wagon they shared.
"Habit. It's a good time for thinking and dreaming," I lied and sat down next to her. "Thinking about going home and life after the Shadows."
"Yes, dreaming is good. I hear the Tobar clan will be here tomorrow. Pali is with them. He's very cute." She had a dreamy expression as she gazed off into the sky.
"What happens if Pali and you decide to marry?" I asked, curious about the clan's interactions. I had found peace among them. I couldn't stay, but for now, they were family. Alida's cheeks turned red. She lowered her head and giggled.
"When a man and woman decide to join, there's a gathering of the clans. Afterward, the woman's adopted into the man's clan." When Alida looked up, she was smiling. "Yes, Ryana. I'm in love with Pali and hope he feels the same. We've been apart for over two seasons."
"He would be a fool if he weren't."
Alida was a good-natured woman, with a kind and happy disposition. She would make a good wife and mother. I stood and yawned for effect. "We both need some sleep if we're going to be our best tomorrow."
"Good night, Ryana. You're a good friend. I'll miss you."
She knew her destiny. The clan's members had few choices except to marry within the clans, and their numbers were limited. I had heard there were five clans with maybe twenty-five to thirty eligible males and females whose genealogy were several generations apart.
* * *
I woke to a lot of shouting and jumped out of bed with a knife in hand. When I left the wagon, people were hugging and exuberantly exchanging greetings. I envied their simple life and the way they treasured family and friends.
"You must be Ryana," a tall man said from a few feet away. He had a thin face, high cheekbones, a hawk nose, and a pleasant smile.
"Yes." For a moment, I found myself speechless. He made me feel like I was part of the Dorian family with that simple greeting. "And you are?"
"I'm Luka from the Tobar clan. We've just arrived. Why not join us? We can learn about each other." He reached out his hand. I took it, and we walked toward the chaos. Food and drink had magically appeared and the two clans formed a large circle.
"Luka, I see you've already found a new woman to flirt with. Don't trust anything he says, even if he swears it on his honor. He has none," Ilka said, invoking laughter from everyone.
"You've driven a stake through my heart, Ilka."
"You've no heart, Luka. It's a fable told to young innocent women," Alida said. The morning went quickly as the clans caught up on the other's experiences since they last met. Pali and Alida sat close, holding hands and whispering. I hoped Pali proposed or whatever clan men did to get married. I felt protective of Alida, like a much
younger sister. That was funny because she was several cycles older.
"I hear many things about you, Ryana. I hear the Dorian clan has adopted you and that you take part in the acts. Do you plan to join a clan?" Luka asked, leaning near to me. That was an interesting question. Twice interesting. He just arrived, yet he knew my status in the clan and wanted to know if I planned to join a clan—not the Dorian clan.
As I thought over an answer, he went on: "I want to see your act tonight. The Dorian clan will perform first, then Tobar. Afterward I'll come and have you tell my fortune." He smiled as he rose and followed the others. Everyone needed to begin preparing for tonight's performance.
* * *
When we had finished our acts, I strolled over to the Tobar area to watch their show. They were the same as the Dorian clan but different. They had tumbling, knife throwing, tightrope walking, and other acts like us, yet each was unique. Even their games varied. After watching them, I realized we could duplicate the same routines with a little practice, but the differences allowed each clan to draw an audience. If they were the same, people might skip some clan's performances because they knew it would be the same as the last. It was the same reason we changed or added variations to our routines over the seasons. Luka walked the tightrope and performed a solo tumbling act with fire rings. It proved a clever variation on our tumbling.
I felt someone approach from behind me and spun around as he leaned toward me. I caught myself in time and slowed reaching for my knife. He caught my arm before my knife cleared my skirt. He smiled. "Was my act so bad you want to kill me?"
"Sorry, there are a lot of bad people around," I said, returning his smile. "I enjoyed it. You're very talented."
