“Yes. I understand.”
Lalani nodded, not smiling at all any longer. “I was lucky. Every girl’s lucky who comes to one of Lord Gaur’s talons. With Ugaro it might be different, but among Lau, sometimes a man isn’t kind to his woman. But Lord Gaur never promotes a man like that higher than file leader, so women are safe here.”
Sometimes among Ugaro, a man might be unkind to a woman. Sometimes a woman might be unkind to a man. But the lord of the tribe or his wife would not let that turn into the kind of trouble I thought Lalani meant.
She was going on. “But I’m luckier than the others because my file is the best in the whole talon. But, Ryo, all my men are soldiers. I did have a favorite once. He was named Eranat. He died three summers ago. That was ... I was glad to have a whole tent to look after. I was glad to have a whole file, nearly a whole file, to look after me. I like Esau very much. Please tell me if you learn something I would want to know.”
I could not refuse. I nodded.
“Good,” she said seriously. Then she smiled again. “He is very cunning, though!” She jumped to her feet, patted me on the shoulder as though I were one of the men of her file, and dashed away, graceful as a young doe.
I looked after her and wondered where Esau was now, and whether a sorcerer, or more likely the slaves of a sorcerer, waited along the path he must take. Lord Aras had not needed to say he thought so. That had been clear enough without the words being spoken.
As the day eased at last into dusk and then into full night, I tried to put all the questions and fears out of my mind. I lay down in the tent. Usually Suyet slept in the tent he shared with his own file, but tonight he came into the tent of Esau’s file with me. Enough light came in from the fire outside that I could see he did not close his eyes. I told him, “Sleep if you wish. I think I have decided I do not have to break my oath to Lord Aras.”
“That’s good to hear,” he said, smiling. But he did not close his eyes. He turned on his side so that he could look at me. I waited, but he surprised me. He asked, “Would you teach me taksu?”
I had to settle my tone before I could answer. Then I said, “If you wish to learn it, I would be pleased to teach you.”
“I think I would. What’s the taksu for ‘Lie down and go to sleep?’”
I laughed. Then I told him.
“Lie down and go to sleep,” he advised me. His accent was terrible, and I corrected him, so he said it again, better. Then he went on in darau, “Whatever’s up, it’s important and it’s got you upset, I know that, and I wouldn’t mind knowing plenty more about it, but you wouldn’t catch me fretting all night. You said you’re not going to try to break your oath, so you might as well go to sleep. You want someone to cool the tent, or would you rather be too warm?”
He was not old enough to correct me in anything, but he meant it in a friendly way. I said, “If you believe I will not try to break my oath, you should sleep too. There is no need for a cantrip.” I turned on my back and pretended to go to sleep, and Suyet did not speak to me again, though I knew he was not asleep. I was aware when Geras came in and sat down by the entrance, watchful and quiet. Suyet turned over and went to sleep then. After a little while, the air in the tent grew a little cooler. Neither of them could have worked the cantrip, but perhaps Laraut had done it. I did not like that, but I had not liked the close warmth either. The cooler air did make me feel more comfortable. After a time, I think I slept a little, but it was a restless night. Every time I woke, I saw one or another of my guards awake and watchful. That had not always been the case lately, but tonight I was more closely guarded. I pretended I did not notice.
-15-
Well before the early dawn of the summer country, we were all awake. Even then the time seemed to pass slowly. Geras kept an eye on the eastern horizon, pretending not to notice my impatience. Suyet asked me for the taksu words for bread and porridge and wheat and all manner of related words, which at least helped me pretend to pay attention to other things. Lalani came and listened and repeated all those words back to me. She showed no sign at all that she noticed Esau was not there or that she worried for him. Her pronunciation of taksu was much better than Suyet’s. She slanted a teasing look at him when I said so and said, “Of course, Ryo. A woman has to listen more carefully than a man.”
Suyet only grinned and said slowly, “Give me the bread,” in taksu. His pronunciation was better that time.
Laraut had been listening tolerantly. Now he said to Suyet, “An Ugaro would hit you for putting it like that. You better learn to say please.” Then he told him one of the ways to say please in taksu. When both Suyet and I looked at him in surprise, he shrugged and said, “You pick it up. M’ mother used to trade with Ugaro women, a long deal of years before any trouble started. Us boys used to pester the warriors to try their bows. Not that there was any Lau brat could ever draw an Ugaro bow, but they’d show us a trick or two on our own bows. Taught us to say please and thank you right quick too.”
I had not known any of this about Laraut. “We think it is important to be polite,” I agreed. “What tribe was that?”
“Don’t rightly remember. A ways farther east from here. I think maybe inTaravo, something like that.”
I nodded. “That would have been the inTarova. That tribe is an ally of inNawa, which is an ally of inGara, so they are an ally of ours as well despite the distance.” The unexpected connection made me feel as though the world had suddenly become a smaller place. After a moment, I added, “I did not know your people lived by the river. I would regret hearing that the war brought harm to your family.”
Laraut gave me a brief, wry smile. “When times’d just got tense, my sister’s husband moved away south. Took a loss selling out, but he wouldn’t stay in the borderlands. At the time I thought the man a fool, worried over nothing. Turned out he was smarter than me. Some of those as waited too long lost everything down to their boots.”
I was relieved to know Laraut’s people had not suffered so much, and disturbed as well, to realize I could not be pleased to hear of Lau farmers being driven out of the borderlands. I was glad that Geras finally signed to us that it was time to go. The Sun’s light had turned the eastern horizon luminous, and it was near enough dawn at last.
Lord Aras stood up as I came into his tent. His scepter lay on the table, but most of the papers had been put away. I thought again that he looked tired. He said to Geras, “My talon commanders should be arriving shortly. No one else should need to see me for the next hour.”
“Yes, my lord,” said Geras, and withdrew, along with Suyet and Laraut.
I waited until they had gone. Then I asked, “Have you decided what we should do? Is it something you can tell me?”
“Possibly,” he said, not showing any sign of impatience. He turned to nod as Talon Commander Harana came in. “Karoles, good. You’ve nothing dramatic to report, I gather.”
“Nothing across the river but peaceful snow as far as the eye can see. Which doesn’t mean all the Ugaro in the world aren’t three miles off, just waiting for a signal.” The talon commander threw himself into a chair, blowing out a breath. “You’ve worked out what you want to do, I presume. I’m not going to like it, am I?”
“No,” said Lord Aras. “But you wouldn’t have liked it better if I’d gone with your plan.”
“You’re right about that. Gods-hated sorcerers making themselves a gods-hated nuisance, too bad they don’t all poison themselves with their own madness and save us the trouble. Present company excepted.”
“Of course,” Lord Aras said, smiling. He nodded to Talon Commander Ianan, who came in then. “Good morning, Nikoles, and how is your talon? Bored and restless, I hope?”
Ianan smiled. “Not noticeably, but I’m sure they’ll be ready to march as soon as you give the word. I gather you expect to give it.”
“Yes. I think we’ll aim for midmorning.” Lord Aras sat down, gesturing to Ianan to sit as well. I sat on the floor, with some relief that there
were not enough chairs.
“I’m going to send young Erinet back the way he came,” Lord Aras told us all. He tapped an envelope that was already sealed and waiting. “I’ve written to Soretes: I’ve expressed my relief at the death of the Amara sorcerer; my conviction that Lord Marotau was duped into the winter country and died there; my certainty that my talon commanders can certainly handle continuing hostilities here, at least as long as no sorcerer interferes with their efforts; and my intention to follow the courier south with all possible speed.”
“While in fact you’ll stay right here and deal with the problems we’re facing along this border,” Talon Commander Harana suggested. He shrugged when Lord Aras looked at him. “Well, I could hope. Fine, then. You’ll take Ianan’s talon, start off south, swing west, skirt the border of Gaur, cut through northern Evalea and the edge of the Peacock Desert, come back into the mountains south and west of Tamaudan, and try to take the sorcerer there or else drive him in this direction and pin him between us.”
“Yes, that’s much closer.” Lord Aras unrolled a map. “Considering the threat from the Ugaro, you can’t spare an entire talon. I’ll take half of Ianan’s.”
“Aras—”
“Horses for half a talon will already leave you dangerously short of mounted troops. Most likely our enemy’s working with nothing but an ordinary house guard—probably not more than twice that, at the most. I imagine that if he wants a real army, he plans to take mine.”
“Fine,” Harana snapped. “It’s a risk, but plainly you’re determined.” He crossed his arms over his chest, glowering at Lord Aras. “You think I can hold against him? I’m not talking about numbers.”
“I know you’re not. I hope so, yes. I’ve done everything I can think of to shield your mind from him, and the minds of our people. If he were to have time to work on you ... we’ll try very hard not to give him sufficient leisure for that.” He picked up a leather envelope, tapped the edge of it against his palm for a moment, then gave it to Harana. “Contingencies. If you meet circumstances that aren’t covered here ... use your best judgment.”
“Oh, that’s very reassuring. I certainly feel confident now. Suppose our enemy’s not waiting politely in Tamaudan for you to catch up to him?”
Unruffled, Lord Aras answered, “If our enemy was in Tamaudan nineteen days ago—twenty, now—then by this time he’s probably somewhere between Eles and Sova. If he plans to ambush me, as I believe we can assume he does, he’ll most likely intend to do it here or here.” Lord Aras touched the map, indicating places along the road, near the mountains. I stood up to look, but I could not tell much about how the land lay from the notations on the map.
Lord Aras continued, tracing a line on the map. “We’ll proceed up this route, Nikoles. Before we even reach Laudet, we’ll cut away west, but first I’ll send a second courier south.”
Ianan nodded. Unlike Harana, he did not seem angry, but there was a small crease between his eyebrows. “Carrying news you’ve been delayed, I assume.”
“Exactly.” Lord Aras picked up a second envelope. “This expresses my dismay that I have been forced to delay in the borderlands and promises that I will come as soon as possible. It indicates my intention not to delay longer than seven days. I’ll send a courier to carry this south. I have almost no doubt this courier will ride straight into our enemy’s hands. That should focus his attention on the road and keep him in place while we circle around.”
“It’s hard on your courier.”
“Yes, that’s true,” Lord Aras agreed. “That’s why I don’t want to send more than a single man. He may be killed, if our enemy sees nothing better to do with him. More likely he’ll be enthralled and put to whatever use our enemy wishes. Once I’ve put the sorcerer down, even if I can’t clear his victims’ minds myself, they’ll eventually fight free of any pernicious influence.”
“Well, we’ll hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Indeed. If the gods are kind, we’ll get around behind our enemy. Either he’ll face me or he’ll break north. If he faces me, I hope I’ll be able to deal with him immediately. If I can’t, I’ll try to force him all the way north and throw him against Karoles.” Lord Aras met Harana’s eyes. “If I can’t get it done with finesse, we’ll have to do it with brute force.”
“If we have to, we will,” Harana said, smiling almost as fiercely as an Ugaro.
“Yes,” Ianan said again. He did not sound nearly as satisfied at the prospect. He hesitated. Then he asked, “And if the letter from our king was genuine?” He glanced at the scepter, where it lay on the table.
Lord Aras shrugged slightly. “If I let this sorcerer have his way here, Soretes will probably agree that whatever situation he’s facing in the south suddenly seems less critical. If I’m wrong, that’s my mistake and I will answer for it.” He picked up yet another envelope. “This one contains the truth, or as much of the truth as I know now. It needs to reach Soretes. I’ll take it with me, with plans to add to it and send it on when we’ve gone as far south as I plan to before turning back north.”
He turned back to Harana. “Now, Karoles. You’ll need to be prepared either for our sorcerer to come charging out of the south or for a possible Ugaro attack from the north; quite possibly both. I realize this will complicate your situation. I recommend that you break your people into at least four units and spread out so that if it comes to the worst, our enemy can’t take you all at once by means of sorcery. But don’t divide up so far you invite defeat in detail by ordinary military means. String out couriers and be prepared to send up flares. Make certain every unit has at least one sufficiently strong magician for the purpose.” He paused. “Of course you know all this. Forgive me; I fear I’m a little fretful.”
“Fretful,” Harana said drily. He shook his head.
“In the worst possible case, our enemy may prove to be a substantially more powerful sorcerer than I am. I don’t think that’s likely, and I hope I’ll prove to hold the advantage no matter how powerful he is—he can’t have had Lakasha training. But in the worst case, you might conceivably find yourself facing him without any hope of support from me. That’s a contingency I’ve addressed, but I realize your position in that case will be difficult. Keep the men spread out. Be attentive for memories that seem too clear or too inconsistent with the smooth flow of events. Be especially suspicious of memories of Ugaro atrocity ... I do apologize.”
“Fretful, I know,” said Harana, his mouth twisting. He got to his feet. “I’ll tell you, if Marotau isn’t dead after all and turns up, riding cheerfully out of the winter lands, I’ll have him shot before he sets foot on the south bank. Just to be sure.”
“Unless he has a few thousand Ugaro clearly under his thrall, I can’t advise that. Even I might not be able to protect you from the consequences. Especially in the event you were wrong. Possibly not even if you were right.”
Harana snapped impatiently, “Aras, I’m not asking for advice and I wouldn’t ask you to protect me. I’m just telling you. If you’re not here, I’ll shoot him if I see him, Ugaro or no Ugaro. I’ll do the same if I see Amara or Sebastas or Lorellan. If any borderlands lord turns up in my way, I will shoot him the moment he’s in bowshot, and gods take the consequences. I won’t ask you to protect me in that event, either.”
“You wouldn’t have to ask, Karoles. You do realize, all of those men have every right and reason to visit their various estates, or each other’s estates.”
“I know,” Harana said, not quite shouting.
“Of course you do.” Lord Aras stood up and touched his arm lightly. “May the gods be kind, but please try to give the gods as much help as you can by declining to shoot anyone important unless you’re perfectly certain you’ve got your arrow aimed at the actual sorcerer. All sorts of people have a perfect right to ride along the river in any season, though I grant you, I might be a trifle uncomfortable if Lord Marotau turned up just now, even without an immense number of furious Ugaro in his thrall. If t
hat should happen ... do your best.”
Talon Commander Harana made a pessimistic sound, touched his hand to his heart in the Lau salute, stalked to the tent entrance, jerked the flap open, and went out.
Lord Aras sighed. He said, “Nikoles?”
“My lord, I think I understand all of this. I do understand it. I wish you’d agree to take more than a half-talon.”
“I think speed is going to be more important than numbers for my part of the contest, Nikoles. We’ll take extra mounts, and no wagons. No women either, though the men will grumble, I’m sure. Nothing that will slow us. Half a talon should be enough. I believe Harana is far more likely to need the men than we are. If I’m wrong ... I do hope I’m not wrong.”
Ianan bowed his head for a moment. Finally he said, “I don’t like it. But I can’t argue.”
“I don’t like it very much either,” Lord Aras said gently. He turned to me at last. “Ryo, under various plausible circumstances, Talon Commander Harana might find your presence here extremely helpful, but I don’t think it’s either fair or possible for me to order you to obey him and leave you here.” He paused, looking at me. Then he said, “Yes, I thought that might be your reaction. Well. In that case, Nikoles, I hope you don’t object to Ryo coming with us.”
“No, of course not,” Ianan said, with just enough edge that I realized for the first time he disliked me, probably intensely. I had not guessed this at all. I looked away, pretending I had not realized it now.
“Well, we’ll have to manage,” Lord Aras said. He stood up, but paused, studying me. “Ryo, try not to worry. I think with only a little luck, we’ll be able to wrap this whole business up satisfactorily in just a few more weeks. Then I’ll see what I can do to end this war.”
“Yes, my lord,” I said. Privately I thought nothing was likely to prove simple. Or, considering the matter again, perhaps those thoughts were not private. But I did not speak them aloud.
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