'There you are, Byren,' Unace announced as she strode into the open area in front of her snow-cave. They wanted a public place for the fight. 'I'm getting tired of this waiting game. My fighters need to be home by spring cusp to put their crops in. I need to take the stronghold and avenge the murder of my kinfolk.'
'I understand but my hands are tied,' Byren protested. 'I could support you if the warlord of another spar attacked Unistag, but not with an internal war.'
'What kind of man are you?' Unace demanded. 'Here I am, wronged, cast out, facing a ruthless kin-killer and you — '
'I can't — '
'You can't do anything. You're useless!'
There was a hushed intake of breath. The healer, who was the only other person to know of their plan, stepped in to play his part.
'Lady Unace,' he pleaded. 'Think — '
'Too late,' Byren snapped. 'Rolencia has been insulted. I cannot stay.' He glanced at the sun as if to gauge how much time he had before nightfall. 'We'll march now.'
'Lady Unace?' Seagrass repeated.
'Good riddance,' she snapped and strode into her snow-cave.
As Byren went back to his snow-cave, news travelled apace with him. Old fighters sent him worried looks, young men muttered under their breath. The scattering of women, some camp followers, the rest shield-maidens, exclaimed at the news then discussed the argument, their high voices carrying above the men's.
The healer caught up with Byren as if to try and persuade him to stay.
'We'll meet you at the Lower Portals, midday tomorrow,' he confirmed.
'All being well, Temor should be there with the unistag,' Byren whispered, then raised his voice. 'No. I won't be insulted. Tell her she can come crawling to me!'
By the time he entered his own fire circle the men knew. They were gathered uneasily, waiting for him.
'Orrie, see to the packing,' Byren ordered. 'We march as soon as we're able. I won't spend another night in this camp.'
Orrade left Garzik's side and approached him, speaking softly. 'Byren, stop and think. If Rolencia pulls out now — '
'Warlord Steerden may hear of it and open the gates to attack. So be it!' It had been a possibility he had discussed with Unace. People would think him ill-tempered and hasty. He'd thought himself ready for this but, now that he saw the disappointment in Orrade's eyes, he was surprised by how much it stung. Byren wished he could have been honest with Orrade of all people, but the fewer who knew about this trick, the more chance it had of succeeding.
He consoled himself with the thought that they would reach the Lower Portals just after dusk, where Temor and the unistag would be waiting just out of sight.
Piro perched on the ledge, watching the track below the Lower Portals, while trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. Now that their meeting was imminent, she realised Byren was not going to be pleased to see her, but she had their mother's support. As far as the rest of Rolenhold knew the kingsdaughter was in bed with a sore throat, refusing to see anyone but Seela.
Above her the sky gleamed like mother-of-pearl, but here on the steep slope twilight cloaked the jagged rocks. Chilled from sitting still for so long, Piro blew on her hands to warm them. The soft snort of a tired pony made her listen intently. Yes. They were coming.
She jumped from the ledge, running down the path to meet them and test her disguise. Would Byren and the others recognise her?
Taking up a stance, she leant against a rock, watching them come round the bend.
The first man-at-arms was tired and grumpy, obviously not looking forward to making camp in the dark.
'Out of the way, goatherd,' he muttered, brushing past her.
She stepped aside and let them pass. They hardly cast her a second glance. Out of devilment she fell into step beside Garzik's pony which Orrade was leading.
'Spare a coin for a poor goatherd, kind sor?' she whined, holding up a hand and cringing as if she expected to be kicked.
Orrade barely glanced at her, eyes on the track ahead. Garzik looked tired and his gaze went right through her. That's right. Temor said Garzik was recovering from the amfina bite, that explained Orrade's distraction. Trust Garzik to get in the way of an enraged amfina.
Piro spied Byren leading another pony.
'Spare a coin for a poor goatherd, kind sor?' she repeated, hand extended palm up. 'Please, sor.'
Byren frowned and felt in the pony's pack, pulling out a roast chicken wrapped in calico. He tore off a leg. 'Here, take this and be off with you.'
Piro contained a bubble of laughter and accepted the chicken. She was hungry after all. 'Is that all you can spare, sor?' She winked as she said it.
Byren blinked, and stepped off the path, handing the pony's lead to the man behind him. He lowered his voice. 'Piro? What are you doing here?'
'Hush. I am a simple goatherd.' She danced in front of him, just stopping herself from hugging him. 'And I'm bringing the unistag. What made you think he'd go anywhere with Captain Temor?'
Byren frowned. 'Does Mother — '
'She knows.' Piro rolled her eyes. 'I can't wait to meet this Lady Unace. Does she really have a battletale with five kills?'
'Seven,' Byren said with a smile, but his eyes held worry.
'Come on.' She danced ahead of him. 'I'll lead you to the cave where Temor's hiding the unistag.'
Byren signalled to the last man who was waiting for him to catch up and called, 'I'm going to see if this goatherd's got any decent cheese for sale.' He diverted from the path and fell into step with her saying, 'I don't know, Piro — '
'Don't worry. I can pretend to be a goatherd for a day or two. Then you can get Lady Unace to gift the unistag to Rolencia and I'll escort it home. No one but you and Temor will know.'
Byren looked grim. 'A fine plan, but things never go according to plan. I learnt that on my first raid.'
Piro ignored his gloom. She was out of the castle and having fun for a change. And she didn't intend to go back to the restrictions of her old life. Knowing that she could get away like this would make the days when she had to do the castle accounts bearable!
Chapter Eighteen
Byren straightened up, flexing his shoulders and looking around the camp. It was mid-afternoon and he'd told the men he was giving Lady Unace time to reconsider. He intended to stay at the Lower Portals so Unace could send him a message when she retook the stronghold. Then she would welcome him into Unistag Castle and give the oath of fealty as arranged. That meant Piro would be on her own for only a few days. He would have to let Unace into the secret of her identity. He only hoped nothing went wrong while Piro was out of his sight. He checked the angle of the sun. Unace would arrive at the cave soon. He wanted to be there when she did.
'Ho, Orrie,' Byren called. 'Think I'll go see if that goatherd's got any more cheese for sale.'
Without waiting for a reply he set off down the path then stepped off it, following an almost invisible path to the cave itself.
Piro gave him a wave and continued to groom the unistag.
'You'll spoil the beastie,' Byren told her.
'We want him looking his best,' she said.
'Where's Temor?'
'Looking out for Lacy Unace.'
'As I live and breathe I don't believe it,' Orrie muttered coming up the path to the clearing in front of the cave. He held back, turning to his brother. 'Would you look at that, Garza, a tame unistag. The only other one I've seen was in Rolenhold.'
Byren cursed softly. He had hoped to keep this from Orrade. Not that he could see a way for Cobalt to discredit him with it. 'What are you two doing here?'
'Watching your back,' Garzik said. 'We wouldn't be true honour guards if we didn't.' His gaze wandered past Byren to the unistag. 'You weren't after goat cheese at all.'
Byren was struck by the similarity between the brothers. Garzik's injury and fever had left him thinner of face, more like Orrade.
Across the far side of the clearing Piro continued to brush the uni
stag's coat, humming a song that Seela used to sing to them as children.
'That goatherd,' Orrie whispered, 'there's something odd… why, it's — '
'Piro!' Garzik gasped.
Piro's face fell and she crossed to join them. 'How did you guess?'
'And that is the Rolenhold unistag.' Orrade turned to Byren. 'What are you up to?'
'Lacy Unace needs to break the siege. Only a sign from the gods will do that, so I've arranged for one.' Byren smiled at their surprise, then noticed Piro's frustrated expression. 'You were humming one of Seela's songs. That's what gave you away.'
Her eyes widened. 'I'll have to be more careful.'
Byren's conscience stabbed him. He was mad to send Piro into danger. But Rolencia needed the Unistag warlord's loyalty and he needed the Unistag's support of Unace, so he needed Piro.
'What's she doing here in this disguise?' Orrade asked.
'Piro was the only one who could get the unistag to behave.' Byren heard his own voice, a mixture of pride and annoyance.
Orrade swore under his breath. 'You'd never catch Elina dressed in rags with dirt under her nails, grooming an Affinity beast!'
'That's for sure,' Garzik muttered, but he sounded admiring rather than amazed.
Temor's deep voice could be heard, answered by a higher one.
'Lady Unace is coming,' Byren warned. 'Bring the unistag over here, Depiro.' He added for Orrade and Garzik's benefit. 'That's what we're calling Piro. Don't forget. It's the spar version of her name.'
She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and the unistag picked its way over to join her. When it did she wound her fingers through the unistag's mane and whispered to him.
Within a few moments Unace and the healer entered the clearing. Both of them stared at the white unistag. Nimble as a mountain goat but twice the size, fiercely shy and independent, unistags were rarely sighted. To see one calmly standing with several people was enough to make anyone stare.
'Lady Unace, Monk Seagrass,' Byren greeted them.
Unace laughed softly and approached him cautiously. 'You said you'd do it, and you did. I shall never doubt you again, Byren.'
'Indeed,' Seagrass marvelled. 'When Unace rides into camp on this unistag no one will doubt the gods are with her!'
'No.' Byren's lips twitched. 'But there is one small hitch. You'll have to take this disreputable goatherd with you.' He nodded to Piro, who beamed through her dirt.
Piro brought the unistag to a halt in a hollow just before the first camp lookout. She patted the beast's neck as Unace climbed onto the healer's cupped hands and gently swung onto the unistag's back. The beast shuffled, made uneasy by the sudden weight. Piro had accustomed him to carrying her on the journey to the spar. Luckily, he was sturdy despite his forty years. Piro suspected the unistag would never have lived so long in the wild.
'I feel strange with no reins to hold,' Unace muttered. Piro could tell she was still awed by the beast, which had walked beside them all afternoon on their way back to camp.
'Use your knees to guide him,' Piro explained. 'He's gentle really, but if he gets frightened he'll try to gore his attacker.'
Both the healer and Unace looked worried.
'That's why I'll be just to one side, in front of you,' Piro reassured them. 'He knows me. If he can see me he'll stay calm, and I can help if he gives you trouble.'
Unace nodded. 'Very well, Pi — Depiro.'
It was one of those sunny winter afternoons when the snow seems sprinkled with sparkling diamonds and shadows are so rich a blue it made your eyes hurt to look at them. Piro never felt happier.
Unace wore her woolen cloak of emerald-green, and carried a hastily embroidered emblem, the white unistag on the green background. She had confessed to Piro that the white material was made from Ostronite silk and had been cut from her best chemise.
'Ready?' the healer asked.
Unace met Piro's eyes. 'I am, if you are.'
Piro nodded, repressing her uneasiness, for if the unistag panicked, she would have to call on her Affinity to soothe it and she feared the healer would notice. As one of Halcyon's monks, he had been trained to recognise and deal with untamed power.
Piro pressed her forehead to the unistag's cheek, to whisper soothingly. While she spoke, she concentrated on warm, safe images. 'It is a beautiful afternoon, King Unistag, and after so many years you are coming home. Stand tall and proud. No harm will come to you.'
Then she pulled back and smiled up at Unace. 'Ready.'
Piro and the healer fell into step ahead of the unistag. As they rounded the bend a greeting cry echoed across the rocks, followed by a startled exclamation when the lookout spotted the unistag.
Piro straightened her shoulders and inhaled deeply, smelling the camp's cooking fires: roast lamb with sage tonight. Her stomach rumbled. She was hungry, but first they had to get through this.
The lookout had been waving madly and, when they breasted the crest, people already lined the path. Beyond them, she saw the camp spread across the steep slope. It was hard to pick because their shelters were snow-caves, only the smoke of cooking fires giving them away.
The healer began to hum under his breath. Piro recognised the tune, a spar song of praise for their icon, the unistag. She took up the words, thankful for her mother's tutoring.
In awe and wonder, Lady Unace's warriors dropped to their knees, some in the snow, others on the bare rocks, and a deep-throated version of the song sprang from many fighters' lips, embroidered by the high voices of the shield-maidens, who harmonised around them.
Piro glanced behind her. Unace sat astride the unistag, black hair dark against the vivid green cloak, pale skin glowing in the afternoon sun. She carried the spar's emblem so proudly, no wonder her people responded.
The sound of their voices carried across the deep valley to the castle opposite where helmeted heads bobbed and pointed. Piro nudged the healer. 'Look. They've seen her on the castle battlements.'
'They'll be sending for Steerden now.'
After that it was all a blur. When Lady Unace reached her snow-cave, an area was cleared for the unistag. Then her supporters crowded around. While Unace debated the best course of action with her supporters, Piro cared for the unistag, rubbing him down and sneaking him treats. The unistag was unsettled by the many visitors.
The healer joined her, studying the unistag with great interest. 'I find it hard to believe this is the creature King Byren the Fourth captured thirty… nearly forty years ago,' he whispered. 'The beast looks so well. I'm sure they don't live that long in the wild.'
'Good food and a safe life,' Piro said, growing uncomfortable.
'We should all be so lucky,' he said, with a grin.
She smiled. She liked him, couldn't help it. With his crooked back, he was only a little taller than her and he reminded her of a fragile but clever bird.
'The unistag is an Affinity beast. I suspect that he needs more than food and a warm stall.' Seagrass stepped closer, offering his palm to the unistag who snuffled hopefully. 'I've read of rare people who could share Affinity with the god-touched beasts.'
Pretending she did not understand what he was hinting at, Piro yawned and stretched. 'I'm tired. Where do I sleep?'
The healer glanced down to the carpet-covered ground. 'Here, beside the unistag would be best.' He lowered his voice. 'Don't worry, your secret is safe with me.'
Her guilty gaze flew to his face, then she realised she had given herself away.
'In Rolencia all those with Affinity must serve the abbey or choose between death or banishment,' she whispered. 'The warlords all agreed to follow father's law on this. Why risk yourself to keep my secret?'
'I have seen Unace and her brothers grow into adults, seen their children born.' Tears glistened in his old eyes and his chin trembled. 'I never thought I'd see the day they were all murdered by a kin-slayer!'
Tears of empathy blurred Piro's vision.
He managed a sad smile. 'Sleep, li
ttle goatherd. You can trust me.'
Piro nodded. It would kill her to lose her family.
'Sleep,' he repeated.
Piro made herself comfortable with a rolled-up blanket for a pillow. The unistag knelt beside her and dozed. The drone of the adults' strategy discussion echoed in her ears but Piro did not mind. She was finally living out an adventure as she had always longed for.
It felt as if she had only just fallen asleep when there was a distant but ferocious clashing of metal and yelling.
Piro rolled to her knees, calming the unistag reflexively. Unace opened the canvas flap. The healer lit a lamp and joined her at the entrance. Piro went over to peer into the night.
'An uprising in Unistag Stronghold,' Seagrass said.
Around the camp, people came out of their snow-caves, trying to see what was going on. But, though the stars were bright enough to cast shadows, events in the Stronghold remained obscure.
'I can't tell what's going on,' Piro whispered in frustration.
'They deal in death,' Unace replied with a shiver. 'I've known the Stronghold men-at-arms and servants all my life. I'm guessing they've turned on Steerden and his warriors.'
'Will they succeed?' Piro asked, then cursed herself. How would Unace know the answer?
'We'll know tomorrow,' Seagrass said softly as he draped a blanket over both their shoulders.
'Thank you,' Unace whispered.
'It is cold, you haven't had much sleep, Unace,' he said.
'I can't sleep, not while my supporters are fighting for their lives,' she replied.
Like Unace, Piro felt she couldn't sleep. So they huddled under the blanket, watching the Stronghold. Light gleamed in a row of high windows.
'Those are the warlord's private chambers,' Unace whispered. Her small son woke and cried. She fed him.
Piro let his tiny fingers curl around her little finger. He was a marvel. 'So small but strong.'
'He will have to be, with his father and brother dead,' Unace muttered.
'Byren told me,' Piro whispered. 'I'm so sorry.'
'I can grieve later. Right now I must avenge them.'
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