by Dean Cadman
When the code word arrived in the form of a hand delivered message, she had scarcely believed her eyes. She had been in the middle of cooking the midday meal and the children had been tending to the goats outside. She’d had to read the message several times before she could fully absorb the enormity of it, and the knot in her stomach grew with each successive reading.
She remembered feeling incredibly numb as she gathered together a few essential items for her trip, including their life savings and what little jewellery she owned. No one was to suspect them of leaving for good, so she had been forced to leave behind almost everything else that they owned. She had, however, taken one thing against her husband’s wishes, and that was her servant, Ida. Tiana knew that if she left her behind she would be killed, or even worse. In fact, it was very likely that Ida would have been tortured for information regarding where they had fled, and because she wouldn’t have known any of the details, it would have been a very long and painful death. Something which Ida certainly didn’t deserve for her many years of faithful service to her family, even if she was only a slave.
The journey to The Badlands had been arduous, to say the least, and on many occasions, Tiana had been thankful for her decision to bring Ida along. She had followed her husband’s plan to the letter, first heading east away from their home, before eventually turning south towards The Badlands. It was a far longer route, but anyone who had seen them leaving would inadvertently give the authorities misinformation when they eventually came looking for them.
Tiana had been forced to spend some of her limited coin on blankets and other supplies in the first town they encountered. She knew that they couldn’t simply cross the border into The Badlands without being arrested by Empire soldiers. The southern towns and villages of Thule were prone to raids from The Badlands, and as such, the border was heavily guarded against incursions into Empire territory. The only way to cross the border and avoid the Empire soldiers was also the most dangerous, due to bandits, bears, and mountain lions. Not to mention the occasional avalanche. It involved going directly through the southern mountains. A dangerous route at any time of year, but with winter looming over them, it could easily have proved just as deadly as not fleeing the Empire at all.
Tiana knew it was impossible to take the horses with them through the mountains. Even if they were able to climb the steep slippery paths, their scent would attract the unwanted attention of mountain lions. Instead, she was forced to sell them for meat at a border town for a fraction of their real worth. Apparently, horses were seen as more of a liability than an asset so close to the border.
The various warlord clans of The Badlands prized horses above just about everything else, making their acquisition a high priority for them. Any town or village along the border known to be in possession of such animals was almost guaranteed to be raided. Tiana found out later that the warlord clans with the most horses were often the most prosperous, and therefore the most powerful within The Badlands. Owning many horses meant they could raid Thule quickly, and often return unscathed. Something that was not always the case for the unmounted raids, as they were often intercepted on their return journey by Empire soldiers. The soldiers’ Necromatic rings were a fast and efficient means of communication, making it almost impossible for any raiders to escape them undetected on foot.
They had stayed overnight in the small town where they sold the horses and set off towards the mountains before first light the following day. As far as Tiana was concerned, the fewer people who saw them leave or knew where they were heading, the better. But all of those concerns faded away when the first light of day lit the morning sky. It was a terrible grey leaden sky that was revealed to them. One which held the promise of heavy snow and storms to come. The wind started to strengthen too as they climbed the mountain path, and Tiana began to wonder if their deaths might not have been more merciful at the hands of the Empire, rather what awaited them in the mountains ahead.
She had prayed almost constantly to the Gods as they slowly ascended those steep mountain paths, and miraculously her prayers were answered. Somehow, the snowstorms held off, and even the wind shifted to a more favourable direction. Not only that, but thankfully they never even saw a bear or mountain lion on their trek—nor any bandits. It wasn’t until they were safely through the mountains and she’d had time to reflect, that Tiana realised the same ominous clouds that had caused her so much concern, were probably also responsible for them not encountering any bandits. After all, no one in their right mind would have willingly ventured into the high mountains with such bad weather looming. Not unless their lives had depended on it—just as theirs had. Having made it safely through the southern mountains and into The Badlands, Tiana thought the main danger was over for her and her children—but little did she know, how wrong she was.
Although her cousin, Avril, was pleased to see Tiana and the children, her husband was most definitely not. At first, he had flatly refused any of them sanctuary within his home, and only later relented when Tiana had offered to pay him. But even then he had refused to take Ida in, no matter how much Tiana had begged him or offered to pay. She had been forcibly ejected from his house into the street, and Tiana had been powerless to do anything about it. He was a truly despicable man, and nothing he had done since that first day had altered her opinion of him one bit.
Tiana feared to be alone around him, due to how he leered at her when Avril wasn’t looking. He also made openly explicit remarks about her, even in front of his wife. And it was obvious to Tiana, that Avril felt unable to challenge him about any of it. But it was for her daughter that she feared the most. His predatory gaze rarely left her when she was in the same room, and Tiana dreaded to think what would happen if he ever found himself alone with her. Tiana knew that if her husband ever saw him looking at her that way, he would kill him on the spot, even though it would likely mean the death of all of them at the hands of his clan.
It had been more than a month since Tiana had fled her home in Thule and almost three weeks since she had arrived at her cousin’s house, but still, she had not heard any word from her husband. She had no idea if he was even still alive, let alone if he was on his way to meet her in The Badlands. But she did know that her own fate, and that of her children depended on him arriving very soon. She was now almost completely out of coin to pay for her lodgings, and didn’t even want to imagine what Avril’s husband would demand in exchange when she did finally run out. The worst thing was, with the exception of her daughter, Tiana knew she would have to accept any demands that he made of her in exchange for a roof over their heads. Ida’s fate had made that perfectly clear to her right from the start.
Tiana had saved some of her own food and managed to sneak it outside for Ida that first night. But the following day when she had tried to find her again, she had only discovered signs of a struggle, along with a few remnants of her bloodied clothing. Later, when she had spoken with Avril about it in private, she was horrified to learn that any woman without a clan in The Badlands was considered fair game for anyone who wished to take advantage of her. Avril then told her that if she was lucky, Ida would already be dead, if not, she would soon wish that she was. Tiana hadn’t thought it was even possible to hate Avril’s husband any more than she already did, but upon hearing Avril’s words, she discovered an entirely new level of hatred for the man.
Now she stood there, watching her children play in the dirt of a foreign land. A land that had already claimed her soul, and would soon likely claim her life too, along with her children’s. Tiana heard the door open behind her and a sudden wave of fear ran through her, but a moment later she relaxed again when she heard her cousin’s quiet footsteps behind her. She didn’t want to turn around and face Avril. To do so would reveal that she’d been crying, and she couldn’t allow anyone to think that she was weak right now—even her cousin. Avril startled her slightly by placing a hand gently on her shoulder.
“Is there any chance you could go back home to Th
ule?” Avril asked in a gentle voice. Tiana simply shook her head and continued to stare out of the window at her children.
‘How could it have come to this? How could I have put myself in the position of not even being able to protect my own children?’ she thought to herself. She shook her head, feeling utterly powerless to do anything it. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath, trying her best not to betray herself with a sob.
“What will he do?” she asked in a broken voice. “What will he do when I run out of coin to pay him?”
Avril squeezed her shoulder gently, but didn’t reply right away. She paused, as if searching for the right words. But when she did finally speak, it was all the answer Tiana needed to hear.
“I’m sorry, Tiana,” she whispered. “I truly am.”
It was Tiana’s turn to remain silent. She had expected as much. But having her fears confirmed filled her with terror and rage in equal measure. How could anyone condemn innocent children to death on the streets like that? Tiana found herself speaking even before she had given her words much thought.
“I can kill him for you.”
“No! Please. Tiana, don’t,” Avril pleaded desperately, spinning Tiana around to face her. The look of panic on her cousin’s face enraged Tiana, almost as much as the thought of her husband condemning her children to certain death on the streets.
“How can you even defend a man like that?” Tiana spat, pulling her shoulder away from Avril’s grasp.
“No… no, you don’t understand,” Avril replied. “If you kill him, we will all die. In The Badlands, whenever a husband dies, his land and wealth are not bequeathed to his wife and children as in Thule. Instead, they become the sole property of his clan. The only exception is if he dies during a raid. If that happens, the surviving wife is given one year to remarry someone else from his clan, or make her preparations to permanently leave The Badlands.”
Tiana stared at her cousin slack-jawed. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She knew that citizens’ rights, especially those of women, were somewhat constrained within the Empire, but compared to this place it was positively liberal.
“How can you choose to live under such… tyranny?” Tiana asked, almost feeling sorry for her cousin now.
Avril snorted in self-disdain. “Unfortunately, like you, I have no choice. I didn’t choose this life. It chose me. My supposed crimes in Thule forced me to flee here, just as yours did you. I was young and pretty when I first arrived here, and that alone was enough to save me from certain death on the streets. It’s amazing how grateful you are when you’re plucked out of the gutter and given a chance to live again. Even by a man such as my husband.”
Tiana moved forward to give her cousin a hug, but before she could reach her, the kitchen door crashed open against the wall.
“Even by a man such as me, eh?” he said, with murderous intent in his voice. He moved so quickly across the kitchen towards Avril, that neither of them had time to react. He grabbed her by the throat and began dragging her backwards, kicking and screaming towards the outside door.
“Leave her alone!” Tiana screamed, diving towards him. He effortlessly swatted her with a heavy backhand, sending her sprawling across the floor towards the cast iron oven. Blood trickled from her nose and lip and her vision blurred. Shakily, she managed to stagger back to her feet, only to witness Avril’s head being repeatedly bashed against the outer door. She was trying to scream, but he held her firmly by the throat, causing her eyes to bulge and the veins to stand out on the sides of her head.
There was no doubt in Tiana’s mind that he was trying to kill her.
Tiana swayed, half-dazed by the force of his vicious blow. She didn’t have time to think, she just ran at him, picking up the nearest weapon she could find and plunging it deep between his shoulder blades. He stiffened, gasping for breath, and began desperately trying to reach the handle of the knife she’d just thrust into his back. His eyes were wide with shock, and his mouth moved silently as if trying to utter some final words. A heartbeat later he dropped to his knees, then plummeted face first into the stone floor with a sickening crunch—dead.
Tiana stared numbly at the motionless corpse, not daring to move or even breathe. Avril slumped against the outer door, wheezing and coughing as she desperately tried to fill her lungs with some much-needed air. It took her several minutes to regain control of her airways and stop coughing, but when she did, she simply sat with her back against the door and stared at the knife handle protruding from her husband’s blood-soaked back.
Strangely, only Tiana shed any tears, but they weren’t for the dead man before her. They were for the two dead women in the kitchen, and the two dead children playing outside. Soon they would all be playing in this land’s dirt… forever!
Chapter Six
Their journey east towards Fairport went far better than they had expected. In the beginning, however, Neala had refused to even acknowledge the minstrel’s presence and simply rode her horse in stoic silence by Lusam’s side, forcing Kira to follow behind them on the narrow dirt road. It had created a strange atmosphere which made Lusam feel somewhat uncomfortable. He contemplated striking up a conversation with Kira on several occasions but felt that doing so would somehow upset, or even undermine Neala in some way. So that first morning passed in complete silence as they trudged along the eastern road towards Fairport.
The sky was covered by thick grey cloud, making it difficult to accurately judge the time of day. Lusam could feel the threat of rain in the air and just hoped that they could reach the next village or town before the heavens opened. The road was fairly well protected by the tree canopy above, but it was nowhere near as dense as The Dark Forest’s had been, and as such, Lusam knew it would still allow more than enough water through to thoroughly drench them should it begin raining heavily enough. He was already very cold, so the last thing that he wanted was to be wet as well. He knew that he could easily erect a magical barrier around himself and Neala to keep them warm and dry, but the presence of Kira made him hold back from doing so. He had no doubt that she would be closely monitoring everything that he did, so he didn’t want to give her any reason to believe that he was who she thought he was. If Neala was right, Kira only suspected who they were, and as yet, hadn’t even had a chance to confirm their names, let alone their identity. Lusam suddenly wished he’d had more time to discuss the situation with Neala beforehand, but of course, neither of them even knew the minstrel would be joining them when they had set out that morning.
Another hour passed by in complete silence, and Lusam began to recognise a few landmarks from the last time he’d travelled this route. He felt confident that they were not too far away from a medium-sized village where they’d previously exchanged their horses. And if he was correct, it would give them an opportunity to eat something warm, and possibly wait out the coming rainstorm. He turned in his saddle to confirm his thoughts with Kira, suspecting that she would likely know this particular route far better than he did, and was astounded by what he saw. She was sitting upright on her horse supported by a metal framework that was attached to her saddle, and she was fast asleep. At first, Lusam thought that she might be faking it, hoping to trick them into a false sense of security so they would talk openly between themselves, whilst she secretly listened. But when he looked more closely, he could tell that she was indeed asleep.
Lusam realised that the minstrel’s horse must be trained to follow any other horse in front of it, and to test his theory, he slightly increased the speed of his own. Neala gave him a sideways glance when she was forced to increase the speed of her own mount, but seemed unwilling to break the silence and ask him why. Her stubbornness made Lusam smile, but he knew far better than to challenge her about it. It was obviously her plan to remain silent and simply hope the minstrel would lose interest in them altogether. Little did she know, however, that the minstrel had probably not even noticed her tactics yet. She’d no doubt been asleep since shortly after joini
ng them on the road earlier that morning.
Lusam casually glanced over his shoulder a few minutes later and grinned when he saw that his theory had been proven correct. The minstrel’s horse had indeed increased its own speed to match that of his and Neala’s. No wonder Kira could stay awake most of the night entertaining people if she always slept during the day whilst travelling between venues, Lusam thought. His grin suddenly broadened into a wide smile, as he momentarily flirted with the idea of levitating himself and Neala into the air and escaping from the sleeping minstrel. But his smile faded just as quickly when he thought about what Neala’s reaction to his antics might be, not to mention their horses’.
The village eventually came into sight further along the road, but not before the rain had begun to fall. The rain was icy cold as it trickled through his hair and down his neck, and it wasn’t for the first time that day that he wished he could use his magic to stay warm and dry.
“Hollybrook,” Kira called out loudly, startling Lusam and Neala a little. She paused for a moment, but when no one replied she continued as if she hadn’t even noticed. “It’s the name of that village up ahead. The Boar’s Head Inn is renowned throughout these parts for the quality of its stew and dumplings. Its ale isn’t half-bad, either.” Kira chuckled.
“I guess you should know,” Neala replied acidly, not even bothering to turn in her saddle. Kira sucked air in past her teeth loudly, pretending that her feelings had been hurt by Neala’s barbed comment. Neala didn’t respond, but Lusam noticed her shoulders stiffen slightly, and just hoped that they could make it to the village before she did anything that she might regret later, or more to the point, something that Kira might regret later. The silence stretched on for a long time before Kira spoke again.
