Julian shook his head.
‘Sir?’ Miles asked with a frown. ‘I thought...’
‘I can’t risk anyone else learning the truth,’ Julian said. ‘Besides, I promised I’d send David Rayámina a message.’ He reached into a saddlebag, pulled out a rope and tossed it to Felix. ‘Help me string him up.’
‘With pleasure,’ Felix said, grinning.
Nick reeled back. He collided with Miles, tripped, tumbled across the dirt. Julian grabbed his bindings and tugged him towards a towering redgum.
‘Sir, this wasn’t part of the plan!’ Miles cried, hurrying after Julian. ‘You can’t hang him in Bandála territory! That’ll undermine our whole purpose!’
Julian released Nick, pivoted, drew his sword, and plunged it through Miles’s chest. Miles slid off the blade and fell in a quivering heap. Nick scrambled back, tried to run, but Julian snagged the back of his collar, yanked him off his feet, dragged him coughing and spluttering to the redgum.
A rope looped around Nick’s throat. He rolled and kicked Felix hard in the groin. Felix shrieked and doubled over. Nick leapt up, aimed another kick at Julian, this time much higher. He missed by a finger. Julian sidestepped him, grabbed the end of the rope, and tossed it over a branch above his head. Nick tried to prise the noose off his neck, but it tightened before he could get it over his chin. Another tug had him on his toes. Julian put all his weight onto the rope and Nick’s feet lifted off the ground. His breath stopped. He clawed at the noose. Sparks flashed in front of his eyes.
Then he thudded to his knees, gulping lungfuls of air. His throat was raw, as though he’d just swallowed a cup of acid. The bush swirled in a sickening mass of greys, greens and purples. When a hand touched his shoulder, he slapped it away and scuttled back, ripping off the noose.
‘Nick, it’s okay. You’re safe.’
The hands returned, this time cupping his face and tilting his head so that he could see the anxious green eyes.
‘Artemis?’
She freed his wrists and hugged him. He clutched her, knocking the bow and quiver that was slung across her back. His whole body trembled with relief. He couldn’t remember the last time he was so glad to see someone, and he didn’t want to ever let her go. High above their heads, he saw an arrow sticking out of the tree. It took Nick a few blurry seconds to realise that this must have severed the rope.
‘Thank you,’ he whispered.
She disentangled herself, but he kept hold of her hand, afraid she might be nothing more than an illusion conjured by his oxygen-deprived brain. Julian lay at Cal’s feet. Blood trickled down Cal’s drawn sword and dripped into the dirt.
‘Is he...dead?’ Nick asked.
Artemis shook her head. ‘No, just knocked out. The blood is Felix’s.’ Artemis gestured to where Felix sat, his leg oozing. ‘Cal put a hole in his thigh so he can’t try to run anywhere.’
She helped Nick to stand, and he grabbed onto her as the bush slanted and tumbled around him. Julian groaned, his eyes flickered open. Cal rested his sword tip on the commander’s chest.
‘Wait,’ Nick said, then coughed as his throat burned. ‘Don’t kill him. I’ve got questions.’
Julian glared up at Nick, his breathing rapid and pained, like an injured dog caught in a trap.
‘Was this Alexander’s idea or yours?’ Nick asked.
Julian didn’t reply.
‘How about blackmailing Cal? Or preparing forged reassignment orders? You would’ve brought those forward as evidence of David’s betrayal after I’d been handed over to the Arai. That was your plan, wasn’t it? But none of it worked, so you tried this!’ He kicked the noose into Julian’s face.
‘Don’t flatter yourself, Nick,’ Julian said, spitting out dirt. ‘You aren’t half as important to the Bandála as you think.’
Nick raised his eyebrows. ‘Well, you think I am, otherwise why would you bother going to all this trouble to implicate David, Cal, Artemis and Miles...’
Something clunked in Nick’s mind. He glanced towards the riverbank. Korelios was a three-minute swim away, but Julian hadn’t crossed the border, and Nick was beginning to understand why.
‘Auremos,’ he murmured.
Cal frowned. Artemis stared at Nick, and he saw in her face the dawning realisation.
‘He wants Auremos,’ Nick said. ‘And I bet that’s what Alexander offered him.’
Artemis nodded. ‘If the Korelians win back Auremos, they’ll need a governor. Someone to oversee the running of the city. That’s a big step up from commander.’
‘Treacherous bastard,’ Cal said, and kicked Julian in the guts. Julian curled up, clutching his stomach and wheezing.
‘Take your jacket off,’ Nick said.
Julian stayed on the ground, grimacing.
‘Do it, or I’ll ask Cal to cut it off. And he won’t be gentle.’
Cal twirled his sword with convincing menace. Julian sat up, peeled off his jacket, and tossed it at Nick’s feet.
‘Now your shirt.’
‘Why?’ Julian demanded.
Cal’s blade prodded his jaw. ‘Don’t ask questions.’
Soon, Julian’s shirt lay beside his jacket. Nick wasn’t at all surprised to see an Arai tattoo inked onto his skin.
‘Does anyone have a spare knife?’ Nick asked. Artemis offered him the hilt of her hunting knife. ‘Thanks. Now hold him down.’
Cal and Artemis pounced. While Julian snarled and writhed, Nick grabbed his fringe and pushed his head to one side.
‘Stay still, or I might accidentally slit your throat.’
Julian stopped struggling, giving Nick the chance to cut a five-pointer star into the side of his neck. Nick selected a piece of charcoal from the campfire, crushed it in his hands, and smeared it into the wound.
‘That’s something to remind you never to mess with the Bandála.’ Nick stood up, brushed off his hands, and rammed his boot heel into Julian’s face, knocking him out again. ‘And that’s something to remember me by, you arsehole.’
‘It’s good to have you back, Nick,’ Cal said.
Artemis nodded her agreement.
Felix sat on the riverbank, cursing and fumbling with the knot on a makeshift bandage for his thigh. He spat in their direction.
‘Charming,’ Artemis muttered.
Both Artemis and Cal looked exhausted. Their eyes were shadowed, their hair matted, and their Bandála uniforms caked in dust. They must’ve ridden all night to get here in time. He wanted to hug them.
Artemis walked with Nick to the river where he doused his face and dreadlocks. ‘When we get to the road, I’ll find somebody to go on ahead and tell Rayámina that you’re alive. Last time we saw him, he looked ready to dismember anyone who crossed his path. He could do with some good news.’
Nick groaned. ‘He didn’t blame you two, did he?’
‘No. He sent us to find you.’
While Cal gathered the weapons and Artemis kicked dirt onto the campfire, Nick retrieved his Bandála necklace from Miles’s pocket and knotted it around his neck. He reached for the thick canvas to cover Miles’s body, and saw a finger twitch.
‘Shit!’ he cried, scrambling away.
Cal and Artemis were at his side in a nanosecond.
‘I think he’s still alive.’ Nick found a pulse. ‘He is. Can you get Julian’s shirt and jacket? We need to stop the bleeding.’
He tore the shirt into strips and sliced the jacket up to use as padding then wrapped Miles’s chest.
‘We’re going to need the wagon,’ Artemis said, glancing over Julian, Miles and Felix.
Nick frowned. ‘Wagon?’
‘They left it back by the road. That’s how they got you here. Smuggled you out under a load of horse manure.’
‘Ugh. That would explain the smell.’
They lay Miles on the canvas sheet and dragged him to the wagon, which stood upended next to an anthill. The pile of manure was swarming with flies and dung beetles. Next, they collected Julian, tie
d his hands and feet, and deposited him on the back of the wagon alongside Miles. Cal coaxed Felix onto a horse by threatening to smash every one of his fingers. Artemis hitched a horse to the wagon and tethered Felix’s horse and the other spares to the back of the tray. Then Nick crawled beside the unconscious Miles, and promptly fell asleep.
Chapter 34: Home at last
Nick jolted awake as the wagon rolled over a pothole. Blinking his grogginess away, he looked around. Artemis sat beside him, her legs stretched out in front of her. Cal was in the driver’s seat, brushing flies off his cheeks. Julian and Felix both rode behind, their hands tied to the saddles and their horses tethered to the tray. Blood had dried thick and dark underneath Julian’s nose and on the freshly-sliced star under his ear. Miles was still unconscious, his clothes caked in dried blood. Someone had folded leaves under his bandages, and a faint smell of burnt flesh hung about him.
Nick sat up slowly. ‘How’s Miles?’ he asked.
Artemis shrugged. ‘Xanthe says he’ll probably live.’
Nick noticed another two horses ahead of the wagon. One of the riders was Xanthe, sitting straight-backed and haloed by her frazzled blonde hair. Kráytos rode next to her, his bald head glinting like a brown bowling ball.
‘She sent a messenger to Auremos to let Rayámina know you’re alright.’ Artemis shuffled nearer to Nick. ‘You look heaps better.’
He touched his smashed temple where a sticky, honey-smelling ointment had been smeared across the left side of his face.
‘Xanthe? He’s awake,’ Artemis called.
Steering her horse in a one-eighty, Xanthe ordered, ‘Stop the wagon, Cal.’
She dismounted, leapt onto the tray, and knelt in front of Nick to inspect his face and neck. He could see the worry in her eyes and felt it in her light touch.
‘How are you feeling?’ she asked.
‘Like I’ve been run over.’
‘Understandable.’
Taking his chin, she tilted his head up and checked his eyes, though for what he had no idea. Then she squeezed his shoulders, jumped off the tray, mounted her horse, and led them on through the grasslands. He gulped down a lump in his throat. The only person who’d ever shown him that sort of concern was Mía, and for a fleeting moment it had felt like she was here again.
They reached Auremos well after sunset. Drumbeats thrummed the air and kids danced in the streets. A fire night had begun somewhere in the southern quarter. The rhythm got under Nick’s skin like a heartbeat from the earth. He closed his eyes, inhaling the smell of wood smoke and eucalyptus. He knew right then that, no matter where he ended up, a large handful of his heart would always call this place home.
A cohort of soldiers escorted them to the council chamber, some carrying torches that flared in the gentle night breeze.
‘Take Julian back to the vaults,’ Xanthe ordered when they stopped outside the council chamber. ‘Make sure he’s very well-guarded. And send a doctor to dress his wounds.’
The Bandála untied Julian’s hands and helped him out of the saddle. His face scrunched up in agony as his feet hit the cobbles.
‘What about me?’ Felix demanded. ‘Don’t I get a doctor? That savage little peaker punctured my leg!’
Cal jumped down from the driver’s bench. ‘You’re lucky that’s all I did.’
Artemis stepped over Miles and leapt to the ground. Nick slid off the wagon. His whole body ached, and his left temple still throbbed. His focus slipped, forcing him to grab onto the tray so he didn’t topple. Strong hands supported him, and David’s face appeared, his gaze full of the same concern Nick had seen in Xanthe.
He pulled Nick into a fierce hug. ‘I thought I’d lost you.’
It took all of Nick’s remaining strength not to pass out from sheer exhaustion.
‘You nearly did,’ he replied.
NICK SLEPT ALL THAT night and most of the following day. In the afternoon, a knock on the front door finally woke him. He rolled onto his back and listened to see if anyone was going to answer, but the apartment was silent. Another knock sounded. With a groan, he tugged on a shirt, scuffed down the hall, and opened the front door. Artemis was waiting on the stairs. The gold strands in her fringe reflected the late afternoon sun.
‘Hi, Nick,’ she said. ‘Are you feeling better?’
‘Yeah. Heaps.’ He smelled jasmine, and his heart beat faster.
Cal appeared on the landing. ‘Conscious at last. How’s your head?’
‘Still attached, thanks to you two.’ Nick touched the sticky ointment on his temple. ‘Xanthe reckons this stuff helps with the bruising. I’m not so sure.’
Cal wrinkled his nose. ‘I guess you haven’t had a bath yet.’
‘Oh. Sorry. I wasn’t expecting visitors.’
‘We can wait.’
‘Ah...okay.’
Cal and Artemis disappeared into the lounge room, leaving Nick alone in the hallway. He sniffed his armpit and winced then grabbed some clean clothes, trudged downstairs, ran himself a bath, and lowered himself into the enormous tub. The warmth was so soothing that he felt the tug of sleep again and had to shake himself awake. He scrubbed the dirt and grime off his skin and tried to wash it out of his dreadlocks and fingernails as best he could. The bathwater turned murky brown.
He returned to his apartment to find Cal and Artemis settled in the lounge room in front of an open fire. Nick stretched out on the free couch and dangled his bare feet off the armrest.
Cal sniffed the air. ‘Much better.’
The smell of roasting meat wafted down the hall. Nick’s stomach gurgled, and he realised he hadn’t eaten anything in the last three days. He wondered what fantastic feast Amaránta was preparing, and he released a deep, contented sigh.
Artemis gave his foot a light kick. ‘It’s good to have you home, Nicholas Kári.’
He wrinkled his nose. ‘Don’t call me that.’
With a chuckle, Cal said, ‘He’s definitely back.’
Chapter 35: Saving Miles
The view from Nick’s bedroom window was the same as before. The same stall owners were selling the same vegetables, spices and glittering copper trinkets on the same trestle tables. Bandála soldiers still guarded the city battlements, still sparred at the training field, still mingled with the rest of the Auremos population.
But there was a change in the air. It was more than the autumn chill. It was something Nick couldn’t quite put his finger on. The temple bell rang one hour after sunset to mark the start of curfew, and the first shift of Bandála night patrols took to the streets. Laughter still rang out from the alleys, and the city was as alive as ever, teeming with energy and fresh life. It was infectious, and it felt to Nick like he was part of a big, living, breathing, healthy mob.
‘I want to be initiated,’ Nick said one morning at breakfast.
Jinx looked up from her plate of warm honey bread and roasted bush apples. ‘I want to be initiated too.’
‘You’re too young, Jinx,’ Xanthe said, reaching for a bunch of herbs that hung above the window.
‘No, I’m not. I’m almost fifteen.’
‘Maybe next year.’
David studied Nick over the crest of a half-eaten flatbread. ‘Do you think you’re ready?’
Nick nodded. ‘I can use a sword and I can shield.’
‘That’s not what I meant, Nick.’ David patted his chest. ‘Are you ready in here?’
‘Absolutely. Can Artemis and Cal be initiated too?’
David considered this for a minute. ‘Alright then. The three of you can come to the ceremony at the next full moon.’
‘When’s that?’
‘Tomorrow night.’
Jinx grabbed her plate and stormed out, muttering, ‘This is so unfair.’ A moment later, her bedroom door slammed.
Nick gulped down the rest of his roasted apple then went to his room and grabbed his jacket.
Sticking his head around the door, he asked, ‘Can I go and tell Cal and Artemis?’
‘Yep. And...can I maybe have some money for coffees? Please?’
David tossed him a silver coin. ‘Make sure you’re at the council chamber by midday. Valerius and I need to speak with you about Miles.’
Nick’s guts clenched. ‘But I already told you what happened.’
‘It’s just a couple more questions.’
‘Okay. I’ll meet you there later.’
It wasn’t until he was in the foyer that he realised he didn’t know where he was going.
‘Do you know where Cal and Artemis live, sir?’ he asked Kráytos.
The bodyguard nodded.
‘Could you please take me?’
Kráytos led the way without uttering a single stern word.
Cal and Artemis’s apartment, Nick soon discovered, was on the top floor of a dilapidated building in the burnt-out eastern quarter. He climbed the rickety wooden staircase, ducking under the cobwebs and leaping across gaps where planks were missing. When he got to the top floor, he rapped on the apartment door and waited.
‘Who is it?’ Artemis called.
‘It’s Nick. I’ve got good news.’
The door opened with a tortured groan. Artemis’s hair was tangled and she wore nothing but an oversized shirt, which just covered the top of her thighs and hung askew off her shoulders, showing the top curve of her Arai tattoo. She yawned so widely that Nick saw her tonsils.
She beckoned him inside then kicked at a closed door, which Nick assumed was Cal’s bedroom.
‘Wake up! Nick’s here!’
The apartment was tiny and cold, with a blackened fireplace, a beaten pantry, and a table covered in burn marks. The floorboards were rotting in one corner, and Nick could see daylight shining through the gap. The rough living conditions surprised him. He’d expected something nicer, more like a smaller version of his apartment.
When he met Artemis’s gaze again, she blushed and mumbled, ‘Not as fancy as your place, but this is home.’
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