“We could still find him,” came a soft, clear voice. “The legend….”
“Is just a legend.” This second voice was deeper. Firmer. “What if he eludes us? What if he doesn’t exist, or already existed, what then? Zalski’s been picking us off since the beginning, that’s how Ranler put it, picking us off like ticks off a dog. And the man’s got a point. It’s a matter of time before his henchmen kill us all.”
The first voice replied, “You should try to believe, Lanokas.”
“I’m sorry, I just can’t. It’s a story to amuse children. How many times must we have this discussion? Month after month it comes up, the same argument.”
A third voice, clearly feminine, said, “The Giver could send him. Anyway, what can we do but plow on with or without him? We’re in too deep. We’ve been in too deep for months.”
The speaker fell silent when she saw Kora and Sedder, who scrambled to their feet and studied a red-haired girl more or less their age and plain of feature. She wore a single, long braid. Her companions both were men, one blond, maybe twenty-five, his ruddy cheek scratched by a branch. The other looked a few years older, with a gently carved face and pale skin; a hint of black showed beneath his common hunter’s hat. All were simply clad and stared fixedly at Kora.
“Could it be?” said the girl.
“Could what be?” Kora asked.
“The legend,” said the blond-haired man, the one called Lanokas. “Surely you’ve heard the legend of the Marked One?”
“That ridiculous knight-type with some kind of mark on his face?” Kora’s eyes moved from one of the strangers to the next. They peered back determinedly. “You can’t think…. Listen, I don’t have magic, I….” She tried once again to pull the ruby away. “I can’t get it off,” she moaned. Her arm fell to her side.
“How long has it been there?” demanded Lanokas. Kora saw, uneasily, that both the men carried crossbows, loaded ones, and the girl had an unsheathed sword.
“Half an hour, maybe. Twenty minutes. There was a, a cart….”
“You’re coming with us,” said the man with the hat. Lanokas protested the choice was Kora’s.
“Are you insane?” the older man asked.
“Lanokas, they’ll kill her on sight,” said the girl.
Kora clung to Sedder. “What? Who? Who’ll kill me?”
“Anyone in uniform,” said the man with the hat. “As soon as they see that jewel. Marked One or not, child’s story or something more, Zalski isn’t taking chances. You’re lucky we found you first. We’re all lucky.”
“I’m not the Marked One,” Kora insisted. She attempted once more to tear the ruby off. At her side, Sedder found his voice.
“Who are you people?”
Lanokas pulled an arrow from his quiver. A single, scarlet feather dangled from its end.
“The Crimson League,” said Kora.
The girl said, “You’ve heard of us?”
“The whole kingdom’s heard of you. There’s wanted posters everywhere.”
Lanokas looked over his shoulder. “We’ve company,” he hissed, and dropped the unloaded arrow. He and his male companion aimed their bows, facing the thicket they had left. Next to them, the girl raised her sword. Sedder pushed Kora back against an oak, an arm in front of her. Everyone was silent.
Then two soldiers appeared through the trees. They too had crossbows, which they aimed at the Crimson League. “Drop your weapons,” barked the first. Lanokas held his arm steady, but the man with the hat lowered his bow. “Drop them!”
Without warning, as though by reflex, the second uniform moved his aim to cover Kora and shot.
Sedder grabbed her, to throw her to the ground. Kora crossed her arms before her chest, recoiling from the rushing arrow, and a domed red shell encased not only her but Sedder as well. The arrow hit the shield as they were falling, and Sedder’s side, in the line of fire, was not pierced.
The soldier who had fired was not as lucky; the man with the hat shot him in the chest. On the ground, Kora uncrossed her arms and the red shell disappeared. The remaining soldier glanced from Lanokas to the dark-haired man to the girl, then started, his gaze shifting back. “It’s her,” he cried, before Lanokas’s arrow struck him and he slumped over. The sound of pounding feet crushing leaves, just out of view, broke the silence that descended.
“We missed one,” said Lanokas.
“Someone saw,” said the girl. “From the tree there. We’ll never catch him!”
“We can try,” said the man with the hat, and darted off. He followed the footsteps, which Kora no longer heard, either due to distance or the mental stun she had suffered. In no time at all he was back, mud and grass-stains covering his left side.
“I almost caught up to him. Or to them: I didn’t expect three. They got away when I tripped on a root, dodging arrows. I nearly was hit. I wounded one of them, but….”
“This is bad,” said the red-haired girl. “This is… just bad.”
“How bad?” asked Sedder. He pushed himself to his feet. Kora, still shocked by the advent of the mysterious red shell, stayed on the ground.
“We need to go,” said Lanokas. “Now.” Kora forced herself to stand. He said to her, “That shield, do you know how you conjured it?” Once more, Kora crossed her arms like an X. The red shell reappeared, though this time it enveloped only her.
“Good,” said the man with the hat. He and Lanokas reloaded their crossbows, while the girl held her sword ready. “Let’s move.”
Sedder kept close to Kora. His presence was the only thing that kept her from hysteria. She looked over her shoulder, horrified, at the two men in black lying on the grass, and struggled not to vomit.
“Where are we going?” Sedder asked. Lanokas replied:
“Someplace safe. Well, safer than here. More people are willing to hide us than you’d think, even if they won’t help more actively. Resisting Zalski doesn’t make for a quiet life.”
“Though it can make for a short one,” Sedder qualified.
No one responded. In fact, no one said anything until they left the forest and entered the hill region east of the village. Every second Kora expected an ambush, but they met nothing, not even a robin or a sparrow. They drew closer and closer to what was clearly the edge of some farmland; a wooden fence marked the boundary. A particularly tall group of hills lay just beyond, surrounded by rocks and boulders. When they came to a cave Kora almost passed it by, scattered rocks concealed the entrance so well. Lanokas led the way inside.
“Spacious” and “homey” were not proper descriptions of the lodging, but at least the outlaws had logs stacked to start a fire. Lanokas took a flint stone and arrowhead, and soon had a small blaze going. The cave was larger than Kora originally thought, and deeper; she saw by the flickering firelight that the League had lived there for some time. The rebels had stacked blankets against the wall farther in, with water and food stores, and collections of wigs and clothing.
The group of five took seats, huddling by the flames. The dark-haired man removed his hat, and Kora had to stop herself from gawking. He was not a man at all. She was a woman, possessed of a classic elegance, as tall as Auntie Mader with ice blue eyes and jet-black hair that tumbled down her back. Though she wore a tunic, Kora wondered how she could ever have mistaken her for a male.
“It’s time we introduced ourselves. My name is Laskenay. This is Bendelof,” she indicated the red-haired girl, “and Lanokas.”
“Actually, I go by Bennie,” said the carrot top.
Kora and Sedder introduced themselves in turn, and Laskenay asked, “Do you have any family, Kora?”
Kora’s heart rose to her throat. “A mother,” she said, “and a brother. They’re not in danger?”
“They will be. The men that got away, they were Zalski’s, and they saw you. One of them must have. They saw that jewel, saw the shield you conjured. Zalski won’t rest until he knows who you are. We’ve got to get your family to a safehouse.”
“A safehouse?” Sedder repeated.
Laskenay asked her companions, “Who’s closest?”
“Mader Zaygro,” said Lanokas at once. Kora’s heart dropped an inch or two closer to its proper place, while Sedder, in contrast, jumped up.
“Kora’s mother knows me. I’ll explain what’s going on.”
“Not alone you won’t,” said Lanokas.
“I’ll go with him,” offered Bennie. “Just give me a moment. I should probably change.” She went to the piles of clothing, grabbed a dress and a wig, and disappeared with a candle through an opening in the left wall.
The girl looked completely different when she emerged with blonde hair. She passed Sedder her candle, and he chose a brown wig. Kora thought he looked much the same, but then, she was used to his face. Laskenay gave Sedder her crossbow. “Take horses from the stables,” she directed.
Before leaving, Sedder wanted to speak to Kora. Bennie told him not to dawdle, and he and his childhood friend separated themselves, not quite entering another chamber of the cave. He launched into a story about an acquaintance, a seaman on the eastern coast.
“He told me he would sneak me on his ship, get me to Traigland, for forty gold pieces. I’ve saved eight. I wasn’t….” He stammered at the hurt expression on Kora’s face. “I hadn’t made up my mind to go. I would have told you before I went, if I went. I just wanted to have it as an option. With Zalski’s control of the ports, stowing away’s the only way out. Listen, with my eight pieces, if we sold a jeweler the other half of that ruby we might have enough to get you, just you, away from here.”
“I couldn’t,” said Kora. “I couldn’t take your money. Eight gold pieces…. Sedder, that must be all you have left of your life savings. I know what they pay you at that bakery, it’s a pittance. A pittance.”
“The money doesn’t matter. Listen, keeping you alive matters.”
“I couldn’t leave my family in the straits they’re in. I’d never forgive myself. I’d never see them again!”
“So you’ll join them at the safehouse?”
Kora looked away. Sedder directed her gaze back to him. “Kora Porteg, you’re going to that safehouse?”
For the second time that afternoon, Kora took Sedder’s arm to expose the wound across his wrist. “You think you’re the only one they’ve done that to? That you’ll be the last? Look, I don’t know what I’ll do, I really don’t,” she insisted. Sedder inclined his head in marked skepticism. “I just feel that sitting on my ass in a safehouse won’t be any use to anyone. We can sell the ruby, like you said, and you can go. Like you’ve been planning.”
“What good would my going to Traigland do? What the hell is in Traigland?”
“What’s here, Sedder?” He left the answer unspoken: she was here, and in trouble. He would not leave her in trouble, no more than she would abandon her family. “Are you getting on that boat?” she asked, knowing what the answer was, no matter his response.
“I’m getting your mother and that kid brother you have to safety.”
Kora wrung her hands. “Zac listens to you,” she said. “You’re the only one he listens to now. You have to make him see he can’t sneak off from Auntie Mader’s.”
“Kora, he wouldn’t….”
“He’s been leaving home at night and going places after school. He’ll want to sneak off, I’m telling you. If he leaves Auntie Mader’s and he’s recognized….”
“Is he what’s been on your mind all day? All those escapades? Kora, I’ll talk to Zac, don’t worry. He’ll see reason. He’ll understand that no matter how tempting Hogarane is, he needs to stay put.”
“Hug them both for me. Tightly, all right? And tell them I’m sorry.”
With a squeeze of her hand he told her, “You’re not responsible for this.”
Sedder left with the blonde-haired Bendelof, leaving Kora, her knees tucked to her chest, at the fire with Lanokas and Laskenay. Less than two days ago, no time at all, she and Zacry had argued about the Crimson League. To think she was with them now, that hundreds of miles and not six or seven might as well separate her from home….
“Bennie shouldn’t be long,” said Laskenay, to break the silence. “We have horses. The owners of this land let us share their stable. Our mounts might be noticed if we tied them in the woods.”
Kora hardly heard the woman. She was thinking of the two slain soldiers, of that awful moment she had realized they would kill her, and likely Sedder too.
“Where did those men come from? The ones who shot at us?”
Lanokas told her, “Zalski has a base here, a small one he’s using to plan something secretive. We need to discover what. We were on our way back from searching it out. They must have followed us.”
“Did you find it?”
“We didn’t. But we weren’t the only ones looking.”
“There’s more of you,” said Kora.
Laskenay said, “They should be here soon, I think.”
“You mean you hope.”
Laskenay smiled weakly. “You’re frightened,” she said. “I won’t tell you not to worry. You should worry. You’re in danger, and you won’t last a week if you fail to understand how real that danger is. But you should know, legend or no legend, we’ll do everything we can to protect you. In the meantime, you should cover that jewel.” Laskenay went to the clothing pile and found an orange bandana. She wrapped it around Kora’s hairline to hide the ruby, tying it at the base of her neck like field workers do to keep sweat from running down their faces. Her bound curls protruded from beneath.
“You haven’t asked to join your mother at the safehouse,” said Lanokas, once Laskenay sat back down. “Can I ask why?”
Kora stared at the fire. With Sedder gone, it was time to reveal her true intentions, to admit the actual reason, and not the flames, that a line of sweat had broken out across her forehead. “If I was in a safehouse,” she said, “I couldn’t be working to get my family out of one, could I?”
Lanokas nodded, as though he understood. “Does that mean you wish to swell our illustrious numbers?”
Kora did not want to join these rebels, not ever. She thought of Zacry, though, miserable at Auntie Mader’s. She thought of Sedder’s wrist and of Auntie Mader’s child growing up in a world more oppressive by the hour. No, Kora wanted nothing to do with the Crimson League. Somehow, though, what she wanted made no difference. She almost smiled as she imagined what Zacry would say, if he knew she had the chance to join the resistance and passed it by.
“I’m in, if you’ll have me, but I understand you might have reasons to reject the offer. I can’t say I’d be of use,” she told them. “I don’t have skills for your line of work, not one. I know how to weave. And I read and write, if that’ll be useful in some way, though it probably won’t be. There’s nothing to prove I’m the Marked One, or even that there is a Marked One.”
“We know that,” said Laskenay.
“Then you’ll agree to tell no one about the ruby.”
Lanokas said, “We won’t breathe a word. Relax, you need to relax, we won’t throw you to the wolves with that mark you have. I thought we’d made that clear.”
Laskenay added, “If you’re serious about joining, there’s an induction rite you have to go through. It’s nothing but questions, but it’s important. When Menikas returns we’ll administer it.”
“Who’s Menikas?”
Lanokas answered, “My brother. He and Laskenay lead the Crimson League. He will have to know about the stone, but he’s the only one. He makes decisions, distributes tasks. He could endanger you unwittingly. It’s best for me to speak with him, because he can be…. He’s an intimidating figure.”
Laskenay told Kora, “Sedder’s welcome to stay on as well, if he would like. I suspect he may when he learns your mind’s made up.”
All thoughts about Menikas left Kora. “I’ve known Sedder my whole life,” she said. “The same woman watched us when we were little. He has no ties left to Hoga
rane, not since his parents died a few months ago. They got ill pretty suddenly. Sedder had to sell their cottage and move to a little cabin just to pay the doctors, and the burial, and the taxes, the debts that surfaced from years ago.”
Lanokas asked, “Weapons training?”
“He’s a swordsman. That’s his hobby. And I’ll say this for him, when he says he’ll do something, he means it.” Kora sighed. “Look, I don’t want him risking himself. I don’t want him here. I’d lie to him about what I’m doing, but it wouldn’t make a difference. He can always tell.”
Laskenay prodded, “Is there anything else we should know?”
“Not about him. I can’t believe I didn’t mention this yet, there are jewels in Zalski’s coal crates.”
A part of Kora doubted anyone would believe her, the story was so fantastic, but she gave full details about what had happened on the road, and the two Leaguesmen seemed to accept her account. A bitter satisfaction descended upon Laskenay. “We thought there was more than coal in that shipment. The gems keep Zalski’s cronies faithful. We have associates of our own set to snag them farther north.”
“His soldiers here,” said Kora, “they’re searching for something.”
Lanokas leaned back with a long, low whistle. “Where did you learn that?”
“I saw them. They nearly got their hands on important papers.” Kora told the Leaguesmen about Opal’s father’s shorthand. “Is that what they were looking for? The Letter’s notes?”
“I doubt it,” said Laskenay.
“You don’t know what they’re after?”
“That’s what we came here to find out.”
Kora said, “They were pretty methodical, whatever they want…. Who’s that?”
Someone was walking to the cave, multiple someones. Lanokas jumped up. “That should be the others.”
445
CHAPTER THREE
The Crimson League
Four people tromped into the cave, talking all at once. “We found it,” said a man who could be no one else but Menikas; he had the same dark green eyes and light hair as his brother, though his face was fuller and he looked to be two, maybe three years older.
The Crimson League (The Herezoth Trilogy) Page 4
