by Jo Spurrier
She ground her fists into the small of her back, feeling distinctly ungainly with the vast bulk of her belly ahead of her, throwing her off balance.
Nikala shadowed her through the ranks, but fell back at Delphine’s signal when they reached Cam and his companions. Cam glanced up when he saw her coming, and with a gesture to Isidro, he dismounted to meet her. ‘I was going to come see you before we parted ways, Delphi.’
‘Never mind, I’m glad of a chance to get out of that cursed wagon. Though it’s better than a saddle, I grant you.’
Delphine saw Isidro also swing down to join them. ‘Delphi,’ he said with a bow of his head, ‘how do you fare?’
She fought against the urge to bite her lip as she looked him over, her eyes drawn once again to the metal hook at his sleeve. ‘I’m well,’ she said, though it was a lie. Her back and hips ached fiercely, and the muscles of her belly felt strained and stretched. She was cursed tired of being pregnant … yet she was afraid to mention any of it to him. When he’d first returned to his senses he’d done his best to avoid her. Now that he finally trusted himself to be near her, the last thing she wanted was to reproach him for his absence.
From the way he looked at her, she guessed he could tell she wasn’t being truthful.
‘Delphi, are you still happy to stay back?’ Cam said. ‘You’re sure you don’t want to come along with us?’
She would have laughed if she wasn’t afraid it would send her back into spasm. ‘I’m sure. I’d slow you down too much.’
He nodded. ‘And if there’s fighting, I don’t want you in the thick of it in your state. Are they still saying …?’
‘Some weeks, most likely,’ Delphine said, trying to keep the sharp note from her voice. The midwives all said the same: the babe was small, they said, no matter how Delphine argued the opposite, and she’d have to put up with this a while longer before the squirming little beast deigned to be born.
‘Ah, well,’ Cam said, ‘with luck, we should have this settled before it comes. Your woman there will take good care of you, anyway. She never seems to leave your side.’
Delphine followed his gaze to Nikala. ‘She was a slave before your folk freed her,’ she said. ‘I’m afraid it’s all she knows.’ She’d been wary of taking the woman on for that sole reason. The last thing she wanted was to let folk see her with a servant behaving like a slave still … but Nikala hummed the same nursery songs Delphine had learnt from her own nurse, she swore by the same gods and spoke Delphine’s native tongue. Delphine was not confident of remembering her Ricalani amid the stress and pain of childbirth and that alone had convinced her to take Nikala on.
With a toss of her head, she pulled herself back to the present matter. ‘Have you told the Tomoans about the change in plan yet?’
‘We’re just about to,’ Isidro said.
‘Where are they?’
He nodded to the road ahead. ‘Sierra’s keeping an eye on them.’
Her eye kept tracking back to the false hand jutting from his sleeve. It seemed so crude, so roughly made by a man she knew to be capable of great subtlety and refinement. It had stung that morning when he’d sat across from her without even mentioning it. She remembered how excited she’d been when she first found the sketch in the old campaign diary, and then the crushing grief when his eyes had glossed over it, uncomprehending. But she’d clung to hope and packed the book away. She wasn’t sure when he’d got hold of it. Sometime after he returned to his senses, she’d gone in search of it, only to find that he’d rediscovered it himself. And that morning, when he’d turned up with the crude metal hook poking out of his sleeve without so much as mentioning it …
The man she’d fallen in love with would have told her what he was working on, asked her opinion on the design, but instead he’d worked on it in secret, and produced a crude and heavy device with none of the finesse or grace she’d imagined when she first conceived what he might do with the sketch. He’s wounded, she told herself, he’s still healing. And he’s not back to himself yet, not by a long shot. Just be patient. ‘Are you pleased with it?’ she asked him, nodding to the hand.
He shifted his weight, angling his body away from her. ‘It’s good enough for a first attempt.’
‘You think it can be improved upon?’
‘No doubt. When I have the leisure.’
Cam sidled away, leaving them alone, but when he turned towards the Tomoan emissary, Isidro glanced after him, his brow drawn in a furrow. He started to move, but then turned back to her, still frowning. ‘Delphi …’
‘Wait, I need to give you something, Issey.’
He turned his full attention to her, his gaze so sharp it was unnerving. Delphine fumbled in her sash, and pulled out a stone. It was about the size of the first joint of her thumb, and glistened like frost. ‘It’s a signalling device, in case something goes wrong, or the babe starts to come while you’re away, or … anything, really. The new mages can send messages, of course, but … just in case. I can’t give it to Sierra. Enchantments don’t last around her.’
He closed his hand over it and tucked it into his sash. ‘It’s always wise to have a fallback. Will you be alright on your own, Delphi?’
‘Cam’s sending me with two hundred guards and a dozen mages, and we’re heading to one of the largest towns in the region. I’ll hardly be on my own, and you’ll only be gone overnight. I’ll be fine.’
‘Do you still keep those stones on you?’
She laid a hand over her sash, feeling the lumpy shapes within. She’d kept them with her like a kind of talisman, ever since that night last spring when Isidro had sacrificed himself to lead Kell away from them. ‘Of course.’
He nodded. ‘Good. Fare well, then, Delphi.’ With a bow of his head, he turned and strode after Cam.
She bit her lip as she watched him go, and when she felt tears stinging she blinked them back, swallowing hard. She remembered last spring, when they’d set out to find Cam, and how Issey had often sought her face or dropped back to ride beside her.
Her sudden longing brought a rush of guilt. He’d been clinging to life and sanity both then, holding to her like a storm-tossed sailor grips a rope. She shouldn’t want that time back. She had desperately wanted him to climb out of the depths of the despair that swallowed him. Well, she had her wish, and soon, if the gods were kind, she’d have her child into the bargain. She ought to be grateful.
He’s still healing, she told herself. Give him time.
Nikala was waiting for her, patiently, and as she started forward, wiping unspilled tears from her eyes, the woman offered her arm. ‘What now, madame?’
‘Back to the wagon,’ Delphine said. ‘And then we might as well set off.’
‘But madame, the king — should we not wait for his order?’
Delphine shook her head. ‘There’s been a change of plan.’ From the corner of her eye she saw someone striding towards them, and glanced up from picking her way across the muddy ruts to see a grizzled soldier coming towards them. ‘Ah,’ she said. ‘Commander Madric. I’ll be ready to go shortly. Shall we set out?’
Sukaro looked worried. ‘Sir, I do understand your urgency, but I honestly believe it would be better to alert my master.’
‘That won’t be possible.’
‘Your grace —’
‘Rest assured, emissary, I don’t intend to come upon your prince unawares. I’ll have you send word when we’re closer.’
‘Your grace, I have every faith that Prince Makaio will be happy to accommodate this change in schedule, but I must urge you to reconsider —’
‘I mean no insult to your prince, emissary, and I’m sure he’ll understand. I’m truly grateful for the shelter and assistance he’s offered my kinsfolk, but I won’t be moved.’
Sukaro wore an expression of restrained frustration. Isidro had worried that the Tomoan would try to reach the prince’s mages anyway, but he’d felt no power stir. They were all wary and on edge, holding their power ready, but
they made no move to use it. Of course, the fact that Sierra was at Cam’s side might have something to do with that.
Sukaro ran a hand over his close-cropped hair and sighed. ‘Very well, your grace. But I must ask — how do you expect to find the prince and Lady Mira? If you wish us to lead you to them, then I’m afraid I must insist —’
Cam cut him off with a wave of his hand. ‘That won’t be necessary.’
The emissary’s eyes grew sharper at once. As far as Cam knew, this was the first the Tomoan’s knew of Mira and Alameda’s precautions against possible treachery on the Tomoans’ part. If the emissary sent word to the Tomoan prince, the Tomoans would no doubt take the stone away from Alameda. Cam decided he’d have to watch the Tomoan delegation the whole of the way.
Sukaro bowed. ‘Very well, your grace. I would be most grateful if you would give me leave to contact my master at your earliest convenience.’
‘You will have it, emissary. Now mount up, we have a way to go today.’
Chapter 11
There came a rap at the door as Mira accepted her coffee from a servant. She’d been invited to Makaio’s quarters to discuss tomorrow’s meeting, and Makaio turned with a frown at the interruption. When he saw his captain at the door, his scowl deepened. ‘Come,’ he said.
‘Sir, there are a number of Akharian vessels approaching, four from the south and two more from the north.’
Makaio regarded the man steadily for a moment, and set his cup down on the desk. ‘What are we looking at?’
‘South, three galleys and a balinger. North, one galley, one balinger, sir.’
Mira sipped her coffee. She knew little of ships and seafaring, but the thought of six ships facing off against their three was enough to arouse concern.
Makaio turned to his maps.
‘They’ve been sniffing after us for days,’ Mira said. ‘I suppose it was only a matter of time before they found us.’
‘Indeed. But why now? I don’t believe in coincidences, my dear lady.’
Mira narrowed her eyes. ‘Spies.’
Makaio glanced up before turning back to the map. ‘I have no wish to cast aspersions on your son’s father or the quality of his people —’
Mira waved the explanation aside. ‘It’s a difficult situation, cobbling an army and command out of the people you have to hand. It wouldn’t be hard for the Akharians to slip a few spies among them.’
‘Indeed. More than a few, I’d imagine. Given the prince’s location and the timeframe in which he intends to meet us, it wouldn’t be hard for the Akharians to narrow their search to this section of coast.’
Mira set her cup down with a clink of fine pottery. ‘So, what do we do, your grace?’
Makaio returned to the desk. ‘Four galleys, two balingers. Galleys are driven by oarsmen, they’re swift and manoeuvrable. If they close in, they’ll ram and try to sink our ships if our mages don’t destroy them first, but they’ll have their own mages aboard to counter us. However, they won’t fare well on the open sea. The balingers manage rough waters better, but with two of them against my three ships they have small chance of victory. Under most circumstances, I’d have us weigh anchor and pull out to sea.’
‘If we pull out now, my friends will take it as a deception,’ Mira said. ‘They have no cause to trust you as I do, your excellency.’
‘Indeed, my lady, I am well aware. And with the Sympath in play, you may trust I have no desire to raise their suspicions. If we do pull back to the east, the Akharians will try to blockade us, and will continue to attempt to take you and the young prince from me. They may have only two balingers in range now, but they have many more to call upon. Our alternative is to go ashore and send the ships out to sea to draw the Akharians away. But they’re likely to guess our reluctance to put to sea and therefore suspect such a ruse. They would most likely put to land themselves to seek us out.’
Mira glanced towards the map. ‘You spoke of finding a defensible location for tomorrow’s meeting — is there anywhere that would hold against a short siege? We only need hold it long enough for my son’s father to relieve us. Could your mages send a message to Emissary Sukaro?’
‘Hmm, perhaps.’ Makaio drummed his fingers against the table. ‘Is this your wish, my lady?’
‘It is,’ Mira said without hesitation. ‘If we pull back now, my friends will be suspicious, and it will take them some time to trust you. What’s more, if it goes wrong and we’re captured, my friends will have more chance to recover us on land than out at sea.’
Makaio considered the situation for a moment longer, and nodded. ‘I think you’re right, my lady. Very well. If you please, go and have your household prepare to disembark with all speed. We may not have long to get you and the little prince to a secure location.’
Mira stood. ‘I’ll give the order at once.’
They made good time through the afternoon. Isidro kept close watch on the Tomoans, but he saw no sign of their power — not until Sukaro suddenly straightened in the saddle, shifting his reins to one hand and pressing the other to his side.
After a moment, Isidro felt a kind of tingling in the air, a little like the frisson that comes before a thunderstorm. He nudged his horse over to the emissary. ‘What is that?’
Sukaro gave him a startled look. ‘I … I think my master’s mages are signalling for contact. Truly, sir, I’m surprised you can sense it.’
Isidro didn’t answer.
Sukaro cleared his throat. ‘Sir, if Prince Makaio is unable to reach me, he’s liable to think that something ill has befallen us —’
‘I understand.’ He glanced to the head of the line where Sierra rode near Cam, and reached for her. Ask Cam to call a halt, Sirri.
What is it?
The emissary says his prince is trying to make contact.
He could feel her scepticism through the link, but she turned to Cam. Cam nodded and raised his fist in a signal to slow. In moments, the line had halted, the horses breathing hard and dripping foam from lips and flanks spotted with mud thrown up from the roads.
Cam trotted back with Sierra at his side. ‘What’s this about?’ he said, glancing from Isidro to the emissary.
Sukaro bowed from the saddle. ‘Your grace, I beg your indulgence. I have received a signal from my master, requiring urgent contact.’
Cam raised one eyebrow. ‘You have? That seems awfully convenient.’
‘Sir, I give you my word that I mean no deception. I have a protocol for making contact — regular communications can be held for the appointed time, so any request outside the scheduled hours is by definition an emergency. Your grace, I humbly request that I be allowed to answer this summons.’
Cam regarded him impassively and turned to Isidro.
‘One moment,’ Isidro said. He beckoned Cam with a jerk of his head and wheeled his horse out of line. He trotted the beast a short distance away before slipping down from the saddle. A moment later Cam joined him, wincing at the stiffness in his legs as he hit the ground.
‘Show me that map?’ Isidro said.
Cam took it out as Isidro pulled out the stone. A moment’s concentration brought it to life, and a thick, glowing line appeared in the stone, pointing to the south and east.
Cam held the map against his horse’s rump while the gelding hung its head by its knees. Every time they’d called a halt, he’d checked the stone and marked its position on the map. This latest one agreed with the others — they triangulated on a single cove along the coast. ‘What do you make it?’ he said. ‘An hour away?’
‘A little more, with the horses in this state,’ Cam said, and he rolled the map closed again. ‘What do you say, Issey? Are they telling the truth?’
‘It’s Delphi who could answer that, not me,’ Isidro said. She always had a knack for knowing when people were lying. ‘It could be a ruse. If the emissary sent a regular signal, missing it could tell them their plans had gone awry.’
‘True. But ignoring the request will onl
y confirm it.’
‘Hmm.’ Isidro turned around to signal a nearby guard. ‘Bring Rhia over here.’
The guard saluted and wheeled his horse away, returning a moment later with Rhia in tow. ‘Issey?’
‘Have you ever seen the Tomoans make contact with their prince?’ he asked her. ‘What does it look like? Do they talk aloud, or silently in their heads?’
The look she gave him was so blank he knew she didn’t truly understand the question. ‘I … I did see it,’ she said. ‘Karom has a musical instrument, a wooden sounding-box with strings. They can fit stones into it, and I think the power makes the strings hum and you can pick out the words, but I’m not certain. They had it shielded when I saw it used.’
‘Alright. And when they talk? Can you hear it?’
‘I … I’m not sure I understand. I couldn’t hear them through the shield, but Sukaro’s lips were moving, if that’s what you mean. It’s not the way you and Sierra can talk in secret.’
He nodded. ‘That’s exactly what I mean. Thanks, Rhia.’
‘Well?’ Cam said.
‘Let them do it, unshielded. We can hear what Sukaro’s saying, and if he strays into something we don’t want mentioned, Sirri can kill the device.’
‘Alright, then,’ Cam said, turning back to the foreigners. ‘Let’s get it done.’
Sukaro made another deep bow as Cam gave his permission. The foreigners dismounted, and all three of them started producing pieces of a device while Karom pulled out a strange kind of instrument, a bit like Mira’s setar, but with a very short neck and a bulbous, rounded back.
They made no move to hide their actions as a number of stones were fitted into the neck of the instrument. Isidro felt power flare as the last one was slotted into place, and at once the strings began to hum. There came an odd kind of crackle, and then a peculiar, flattened kind of voice issued from them, speaking in an unfamiliar tongue.
‘What language is that?’ Cam said, starting forward.
Sukaro bowed his head. ‘It is Tomoan, sir.’ He set his hand along the neck of the instrument, and cleared his throat. ‘Kindly speak in Mesentreian, I am with our new ally, Prince Cammarian, and he wishes to hear our conversation.’
