Jurgis whistled. ‘That must be some cave.’
For a moment, Maud smiled. ‘It is.’ She turned around. ‘Let’s go to the quarterdeck. The crew will need this space soon.’ I remembered your scold, Hala. It made her sad that the old veteran wasn’t coming home with her. I’ll have to tell the queen; they knew each other well enough to make it personal.
Back on the quarterdeck, she stood watching the welcoming light on the breakwater getting nearer.
‘We’ll anchor outside,’ the captain said. ‘The Magonaut isn’t the Daisee and I’m not all that familiar with the local situation. I’d rather wait till daylight.’
Maud nodded, staring at the fast approaching harbor mouth till finally she let Jurgis drag her off to bed, and restless dreams filled with angry faces and accusing fingers.
In the middle of the night, she woke to the sound of terse shouts on deck.
‘Trouble!’ she said, waking Jurgis as she jumped from her cot and struggled into her armor. ‘Come here, fasten my straps.’
Jurgis, a light sleeper, was wide awake, and his hands worked fast. Then, fully uniformed, she stepped out onto the main deck, straight into a heated altercation between Yarwan, with a half-circle of armed sailors behind him, and a group of Kells in the spotted uniforms of a leopardess.
‘What’s all this?’ Maud snapped.
The senior girl turned around and for a moment she seemed nonplused to see a Kell officer. Then she saluted. ‘Dalja of the M’Dvargh,’ she said. ‘Leading Leopardess. My orders are to board and hold this ship.’
‘On whose orders, Leopardess?’ Maud said, deadly quiet. ‘And why?’
‘Queen Hilda’s orders, Lioness. I can’t tell you why.’
‘Over my dead body,’ Yarwan said, red-faced. ‘I’ll arrest the lot of you for piracy first.’
‘I wouldn’t advise your trying, Captain,’ the leopardess said sharply. ‘Then much blood will flow.’
‘We’ll not do anything of the sort,’ Maud said with all the authority she could muster. ‘Captain Yarwan, kindly ask the Spellwarden to join us. Leopardess Dalja, have your girls stand down. We’re on the same side, after all.’ In an undertone she added, ‘This ship is the property of the Malgarth & Continental Trading Company, of which Trader Darquine, Overcaptain Wallanck’s daughter, is managing director. The Spellwarden is another proprietor. We don’t want any incidents, now do we?’
The leopardess stiffened. ‘I ... guess not.’
‘Right, then. Leopardess Dalja, tell your boat to wait. We are going to see the queen. You can leave your archeresses on board for now.’
It didn’t take long for Basil to appear, looking flustered and out of breath.
‘We’re going to the palace,’ Maud said shortly and strode to the gangway.
Dalja’s boat was easily as big as Maiwar’s war canoes had been, and rowed by six muscular girls in blue uniforms.
‘To the Royal Pier,’ Maud said. Without a word, the girls changed course, and they shot away over the water. Within minutes, the darkness of the night made place for the lights of Kell Harbor and behind her, Jurgis whistled appreciatively.
‘It certainly looks grand,’ he said, with awe in his voice. ‘Those won’t be real stars, of course?’
Maud looked up to the myriad lights crisscrossing the roof of the cave.
‘No, they’re artificial. A steam engine powers them. We’re plains people, and a dark cave without stars was too depressive. So we made our own.’
‘Royal Pier, Lioness,’ one of the rowers said. ‘We’re not allowed to wait here.’
‘I know,’ Maud said. She hadn’t, but it made sense; the pier was reserved for the queen, after all. ‘Use the next one; we’ll find you there.’
She jumped onto the stone pier and marched toward the waiting town. The idea of coming home with Jurgis in all his pale otherness had terrified her. She growled deep in her throat. Now, she felt only irritation at the new delay.
‘This is where you were born?’ Jurgis said behind her.
She started, snatched from her preoccupation. ‘No,’ she snapped. ‘I’m from Brannoe, to the south. Tar Kell is the capital.’
‘Sorry,’ Jurgis said. ‘I never really understood. Why then is your queen called the Brannoe Queen?’
‘Queen Hilda is the Brannoe Clan Chieftainess, and she was chosen Queen of Kell twenty years ago,’ the Leopardess Dalja said.
‘It’s all very nice, but could someone please tell me what’s going on?’ Basil complained.
‘Later,’ Maud said.
Then their arrival at the side door of a tall sandstone building forestalled any further questions.
Past saluting guards they strode into a large communal hall. Large pillars bore a vaulted roof; the floors were of a peculiar purple and everywhere stood potted shrubs and tired-looking trees.
‘Where is the queen?’ Maud asked of a warrioress.
‘In the Operations Room, Lioness,’ the woman said. ‘But she is rather busy; that enemy ship, you see.’
Maud nodded. Enemy ship? She knew her way here and led them to the left. Through a tall door they entered a room covered in maps. Behind a massive table stood a quartet of Kell warrioresses around a tall, well-built woman with gray hair and an unlined face. The only difference between her uniform and that of Maud were two patches of lion fur on her shoulders and a black lionskin bracelet around her upper arms to prove she, too, had been a lioness.
Both Maud and Dalja marched forward and saluted.
‘Cadet Maud?’ the queen said, frowning.
Maud thought she didn’t seem surprised so much as wary. The queen’s remark wasn’t a direct question, so she didn’t answer.
The queen’s gaze moved on to the leopardess. ‘And Dalja. I ordered you to capture that blue enemy ship, Leopardess. Is something wrong?’
‘That ship is ours, clanmother,’ Maud said carefully. ‘What enemy do you refer to?’
‘Is it? What do you with a ship, daughter? Last I knew was that you and the Veteran Hala were away on a task for the Prince-warlock of Winsproke. Now I find you here, with an enemy ship. And where is Hala?’
‘Clanmother, you have not received my report yet? The prince-warlock had promised to send it on to you, along with his request for my continuing services.’
Queen Hilda sat down on the edge of the table. ‘I haven’t heard anything, only rumors.’
Maud took her copy of the report and Argyr’s letter from a pocket. ‘Then may I give you mine, if you please.’
The queen dropped the papers on the table. ‘Tell me in your own words. Where is Hala?’
‘It grieves me to report the Veteran Hala is dead, my Queen.’
One of the three other Kell beside the queen cursed. Maud knew her as a very senior tigress, one who had been in more skirmishes than any other warrioress alive.
‘Were those rumors true?’ the woman said. ‘Was there an attack on the prince-warlock’s dirigible?’
‘A double attack, Tigress.’ Crisply, Maud told all that had happened between the moment she and Hala departed Winsproke, to the capture of the Daisee. Then she stopped. ‘The remainder of my report is confidential, clanmother. Both the prince-warlock and the Overcaptain told me so.’
Queen Hilda gave her a long stare. ‘Then we will retire to a more secure place. First you will tell me about this blue ship. I got word a vessel answering to that description was terrorizing the eastern coast of Winsproke. That’s why, when the harbor watch reported a blue ship at anchor outside our harbor, I sent Dalja to take possession of it. She didn’t execute my orders?’
Behind her, Maud heard Dalja’s shocked intake of breath.
‘Clanmother, using my prerogative as a lioness, I ordered her not to. It would have caused an incident, so I wanted to explain the situation first. We took the blue ship from her former owners. She is now the joint property of Trader Darquine, the Overcaptain’s daughter, with the Spellwarden, Master Jurgis, Captain Yarwan and me. I was sur
e you were not aware of the situation, my Queen. If I did wrong, the failure is mine, not Leopardess Dalja’s.’
‘That is a most glib response, Lioness,’ said the queen and then she smiled. Maud felt the heat rise up in her face and she heard Jurgis suppress a snicker.
‘It was not meant as such, clanmother,’ she said stiffly.
‘No matter,’ Queen Hilda said. ‘You did well.’ She turned to the leading archeress. ‘Dalja, go and collect your girls. Your presence on board is not needed.’
Maud felt an elbow in her side and Jurgis whispered, ‘Those girls—hire them.’
‘You don’t have to whisper,’ Maud said. ‘It’s a good suggestion. Clanmother, the remainder of my report will show our travels are filled with enemy encounters. Some of these come from the air, and though we can defend ourselves, it’s hard on the ship. For the good of Kell, I would request the assistance of a unit of leopardesses.’
The queen pursed her lips. ‘What enemy encounters, clandaughter?’
‘A wyrm. Flying carpets.’
The queen stiffened. ‘It’s like that, then? Long forgotten memories coming back to haunt us. I must hear your report.’ She gave Maud a quizzical look. ‘You’re a lioness, girl. If you say you need assistance, you’ll get it and explain afterwards. Dalja, you go back to the ship. Tell your girls to ready themselves for a long trip abroad. You’ll be under the overall command of the Lioness Maud and of the ship’s captain. Any questions?’
Dalja saluted, her eyes sparkling. ‘None, my Queen. Thank you for the opportunity!’ She nearly ran from the room.
Queen Hilda smiled slightly. ‘To be so young.’ Then she fixed Maud with a hard stare. ‘How are you holding up?’
‘Well, clanmother. My days are filled with action and I am satisfied.’
‘You got a lover?’
Maud stiffened. ‘Yes, clanmother.’
‘It won’t be a Kell, of course,’ the queen said easily. ‘No matter; as long as you’re kept infertile, it won’t be a problem.’ She dismissed the officers behind her and strode to a side door.
Maud hastened after her. ‘And afterwards, clanmother?’ she said on impulse.
The queen glanced over her shoulder. ‘You can’t enter into a permanent liaison with a non-Kell and beget children. If you won’t give him up, you will have to stay infertile.’
Maud gasped, and the queen gave a curt nod. ‘Don’t break your head over it, girl. You have some years yet; enjoy them.’
Maud felt Jurgis’ hand touching hers and his warmth dispelled the cold in her belly.
They came to a small room without windows, dominated by a round table with identical chairs around them. Apart from several beautiful tapestries on the walls, there was nothing else.
‘You’ve never seen this room before?’ the queen said.
Maud shook her head. ‘Never.’
‘It’s the Clanmothers’ Room. Here I meet with the other leaders. It’s the most protected room in Tar Kell.’
Basil closed his eyes for a moment. ‘It is secure.’
Queen Hilda glanced at him and then nodded. ‘Sit, everybody. This is a place of free speech. No ceremony. Continue your report, girl.’
Maud folded her arms. ‘So we were at Alfway, in possession of a cutter.’ When she came to the masks, the queen swore suddenly, long and fluently, banging the table with the sword that suddenly appeared in her hands.
‘Those cursed Faces! Where are they now?’
Damn, she may be old, but she’s fast! I didn’t even see her draw, Maud thought. ‘The Overcaptain buried the masks deep in his dungeons. He and Argyr were going to invite you for a meeting, to decide about defense.’
‘Defense! I say attack them. Fall onto these Unwaari and exterminate the rats before they infest us here.’
Jurgis coughed. ‘I’m not sure they will. I got word that the war has decimated them as much as it did us, ma’am.’
‘You got word?’ the queen said sharply. ‘How?’
‘We have an informant of sorts inside.’
Maud looked at him and understood what he meant. Not a word about Saul.
Queen Hilda stared at Jurgis through narrowed eyes. ‘You are brothers!’ she said with a nod to Basil.
Jurgis bowed. ‘Yes, ma’am. We’re both the prince-warlock’s sons.’
‘The painful decisions a ruler must make,’ the queen said. And as the boys looked surprised, she added testily, ‘I know all about your rules and things. Of course I do.’
‘There is something else that concerns us, clanmother,’ Maud said hastily. ‘To explain, I must go back to the witch in the Lornwood. It seems the cave she lived in was once the home of Kelwarg.’
Silence fell. The queen stared at her as if she’d uttered some obscenity. ‘That one!’ she grated. ‘The one name I’ve sworn never to mention aloud.’
‘We have no choice,’ Maud said. ‘He is at the heart of the problem we’re facing. We got word he studied in Unwaar. He presented himself as a Kell of the old country.’
Queen Hilda took a deep breath. ‘Yes. It seems half of his treacherous clan stayed behind on the continent when we left Old Kell. We ... didn’t know that. After that one’s fall, the members of his clan here in Tar Kell rebelled against us. We had to expel them, and they fled back to Unwaar. They all proved traitors.’
‘There is more,’ Maud said. ‘When Kelwarg returned to Malgarth to join the Warlockry Council, he brought with him a book of spells. The Tome of Old Ways.’
The queen rose and walked up and down. ‘Are all the horrors coming back? That was the book of the shamans. The male shamans. We thought all copies were destroyed.’
‘According to the kobold king of the Lornwood, this one wasn’t.’
‘Then we must get it back. Where is that book now?’
‘In Vanhaar. Kelwarg has a tower there, where he keeps it.’
‘And you are going after that book.’
‘Yes.’ Maud gestured to the others. ‘We all are. It contains a spell of healing we need.’
‘Good.’ The queen rested her fists on the table. ‘You go to Vanhaar and return that book to me. And should you find a chance to do something unpleasant to that one I won’t name, don’t hesitate. He is a deviant and dangerous to us all.’
‘Clanmother,’ Maud said carefully. ‘We do need to locate this tower yet. We must have more information about the M’Arrangh.’
‘As far as I know, all memories of that cursed clan were erased after their flight.’ The queen thought for a moment. ‘Only their gatherhouse, here in Tar Kell, is as it was then. The wisewomen sealed the doors and declared the house taboo. I’ll arrange for permission so you can visit it. Return to your ship. I will send word of the wisewomen’s decision.’ She gave Maud a quizzical look. ‘Before you go–you know you are not allowed out in the world unsupervised, Lioness-cadet. I could give you a new instructor, but I’m sure she would hold you back. Instead I’ll do it the other way. You may consider yourself a lioness from now on.’ She removed the black lionskin bracelet from her upper arm and handed it to Maud. ‘Wear the Queen’s Band into the old country. Dismissed!’
In a daze, Maud saluted and marched from the room. I’ve made it! Lioness .... The feel of the queen’s own bracelet on her arm filled her with a pride too great for words.
Jurgis paused in the door and turned to the queen. ‘Your rules are hard, ma’am.’
Queen Hilda inspected him from top to toe. ‘Are you the one Maud finds more male than our Kell males, Master Jurgis? Don’t worry; I am sure she will take good care of you.’
‘And I of her, Ma’am Queen. I’m no walkover. We agreed to be equals–though I do have to remind her now and then.’
The queen smiled. ‘Equals! I bet you have to remind her often. It’s not a concept our young girls have much experience with. They tend to be bossy.’
Jurgis laughed aloud now. ‘I told her that, ma’am. We’ll manage, though. And when we are ready for children, we’ll see a
bout her fertility.’ He smiled. ‘We’ll find someone else who understand these things. And I’m sure there are other places to be happy in than Tar Kell.’
The queen gave him a hard look. ‘You are undoubtedly right, Master Jurgis. But in that case she ceases to exist as a M’Brannoe.’
‘The choice will ever be hers, ma’am.’ Jurgis turned to go. Then, as an afterthought, he asked, ‘Did you know of Hala’s illness, ma’am?’
Queen Hilda stilled. ‘Hala was a dear sister in arms, both while we served together and later, when I became queen. Yes, I knew her bog fever was in its final stadium. I knew she longed to die in action, so I allowed her to go. But to let her accept a diplomatic assignment unassisted was too great a risk. That’s why I sent Maud with her on field training. It served multiple purposes. A safeguard for Hala and her graduation test for Maud. I hadn’t counted on enemy saboteurs and wyrms over Malgarth.’ She shook her head. ‘That girl surpassed my expectations. Don’t speak about this. I will tell her myself.’
Jurgis bowed and hurried out.
Maud saw Jurgis appear beside her and she smiled.
‘Congratulations,’ he said. ‘Lioness.’
She suppressed the impulse to embrace him–such a breach of decorum in full sight of the town would cause all kinds of tattle she didn’t need. He’s behaving himself; don’t spoil it, she thought. Later, when we’re back on board.
‘Impressive woman, your queen,’ Jurgis said. ‘She isn’t really your mother, is she?’
The question shook Maud. She hadn’t thought of her mother for years.
‘No; Queen Hilda is the mother of the clan. All Brannoe warrioresses are considered her daughters; that’s all.’
‘Well, you never told me about your parents,’ Jurgis said. ‘I wondered.’
‘My mother was a leading tigress,’ Maud said. ‘She took a unit of mixed troops on a surprise attack against a pirate stronghold on the southeastern coast. There was treachery involved, and the pirates expected her. Out of sixty, only three girls returned.’
‘Your mother wasn’t one of them,’ Jurgis said. ‘And your father?’
Maud’s face was expressionless. ‘My mother had several lovers. He could’ve been any of them. I don’t know. Don’t care, either. Our fathers are begetters, nothing more. Kells are brought up by the clan; we don’t have a family as such.’
Lioness of Kell Page 22
