Samual

by Greg Curtis

  “You plague ridden wart!” Heri started abusing Sam the instant he laid eyes on him and didn't stop until he ran out of breath.

  What came out of his mouth though was more of a screech. The healers had done their best work to keep him alive, but even they had their limits. Heri would never walk straight again. Too many of his back and stomach muscles had been severed for that. And for some reason his voice no longer worked as it once had either. Added to that he had only half of his good hand remaining. He was a rather pathetic figure lying there on his cot. But again Sam had to remind himself, he could never underestimate Heri again. He could never again let himself believe the stories of the Fire Angel again either. He wasn't invulnerable.

  Sam ignored him. He had expected his little brother's tirade. There was in fact only one thing the two of them agreed on. Their hatred of one another.

  “Elder, might I be permitted to burn out his tongue at least?” Really he wanted to burn off his entire head, but he could restrain himself. And just keeping his brother completely silent would be a blessing. Especially when Heri heard him and started screeching about the deal he had made. He was panicking.

  “Regretfully not.” Elder Bela shook his head. “We did unfortunately make a deal with him that included healing his injuries and not harming him. But still, with a viper's tongue like his I do wonder if we were too generous.”

  Too generous or not, his words shut Heri's mouth very quickly as he was reminded once again that he was not among friends.

  “Letting him breathe was too generous.”

  Sam couldn't help but let his bitterness show. Ever since the confessions Heri had made had been brought to him, he had discovered a whole new level of hatred for his little brother. For his entire lineage.

  Heri had claimed during the battle that his mother had poisoned his own mother. That she had died in childbirth but not of childbirth as he had always believed. Apparently Lady Dreasda had had designs on the throne from the start and his mother had simply been in her way. Heri had also claimed that she had later poisoned his father as well. There had been no assassin with a poisoned dart who had somehow escaped the guards. Heri had maintained that story during his questioning. Even when the elders had had soothsayers there to hear every word. It seemed that the Lady Dreasda had ruined his life and murdered his entire family. And she had raised her son from the start to be the same as her. No doubt she had fed Heri her poison in her very milk. Which made it somewhat ironic that Heri had killed her. There was no love lost among vipers.

  “Perhaps, but there is at least no reason to fear his return. He will not be coming back. And he will never be able to cause harm to you or your family again. We had a very powerful geas placed upon him. One that will endure for a lifetime. To even raise a hand against you or ask another to do so will cause him terrible pain. To attempt to do more than that will be far worse for him.”

  “Thank you Elders.” Sam bowed respectfully to them though there was no joy in his heart at the news. Whether it would be enough to stop Heri forever he didn't know. But at least it was something.

  “Young Samual.” Elder Bela was smiling as he gently mocked him. “Do you truly imagine that we could ever allow Heri to harm you again? That would be shameful. And we worked hard to find a suitable sentence.”

  “Sentence?” Heri looked up at the Elder from his cot, suddenly worried. His face was completely white. “There was to be no sentence. I am to go free. That was the deal.”

  “Of course young Heri.” Master Bela smiled at him in what had to be the least genuine smile his face had ever worn. “Perhaps I misspoke. I did not mean to suggest that we would be punishing you for your crimes. We did give you our word after all. But there will be retribution and restitution made for your crimes regardless. Justice will be done. Of that you can be certain.”

  Heri looked confused and frightened. Sam on the other hand was just confused. He didn't truly fear his brother's return anymore. Not when he had had such a powerful geas placed on him. Heri might hate him, he might have wealth and power, but against an elven geas he was powerless. Besides, he still looked completely helpless. His body was broken, and the healers said he would not walk easily again.

  A broken body. A powerful geas placed upon him. His throne gone. Sam did not fear his brother's vengeance. Mostly.

  Any questions Sam might have had though were taken from him by the unexpected thunder of horses hooves in the distance, and he turned to see a patrol galloping furiously towards them.

  “Ah, right on time.” Elder Bela smiled some more and even Heri probably realised that he was planning something. He would have been more worried if he'd seen the smiles on the faces of the other elders.

  “What have you done?” he screeched at the Elder in panic.

  “Why exactly what we agreed upon of course.” Elder Bela managed a suitably surprised expression. “We are setting you free. And these men are here to witness the fact that you have been freed. In fact they have expressed some interest in escorting you safely all the way back to Fair Fields.”

  Free to die was Sam's thought. And die badly. He could suddenly make out the pennant of the Fallbrights flying proudly over the heads of the riders, and it was all he could do to keep from laughing. The elves had delivered him straight into the arms of his enemies. Sam might have held back his laughter but he couldn't stop a smile from finding his face. He had always found the elves passion for word games strange and somewhat unexpected in a people with a love for the truth, but sometimes sophistry was its own blessing. This it seemed was one of those times. His brother didn't find it so amusing however, and instantly started shrieking in terror. He had a fair idea of what was going to happen to him when the riders had him.

  “No! I gave you everything you asked for!” Heri was almost out of his mind with terror, and though it was probably something he should not do, Sam found pleasure in that. A lot of pleasure. But after all the terrible things Heri had done he figured it was at least something.

  “Yes you did Heri. And we are giving you your freedom in return.”

  Sam could feel the quiet anger in the Elder, burning slowly but steadily. And he had every right to be angry. If what Heri had said was correct, the Elder had every right to want to kill his verminous little half-brother on the spot. Heri it seemed had been secretly capturing, imprisoning and torturing the elves of Shavarra for useful information for years. And he had sent in assassins after Sam who had killed many more in their quest. Any elf would be outraged. So would be the dwarves of Ore Bender's Mountains, who had been similarly targeted. And the gnomes of the Fedowir Kingdom. In fact any people from any land where Heri thought there was something to be gained. Sam was outraged. He had had no thought that Heri would go so far. But as did any true elf, Elder Bela held it back and maintained his calm. And he kept his word. He would have made a fine knight.

  Sam was saved from having to think any further on his brother's villainy as the riders pulled up in front of them, and he was grateful for that. Even when he saw the leader pull off his helmet and recognised his face. More importantly the man recognised him.

  “Samual Hanor?” He seemed surprised, and behind that, suspicious. But then he was Galan Fallbright, the elder brother of Harmion, and if he knew nothing else he knew Sam had cut half his brother's hand off. They were not friends. But on the other hand Galan was a soldier. He respected the laws of the land.

  “Galan.” Sam nodded politely. There was no reason not to. But he was surprised to see him. After all, it had only been a week since Heri's attack on him and the elves. There was no way that anyone, even if they'd known of it immediately it had happened, could have made it all the way from Fair Fields. He must have already been in Golden River Flats for some reason. Perhaps he had been visiting the Fallbright family's trading outposts. They had a number of them.

  “Are you here to argue for your brother?”

  Of course he would think that. Galan had actually liked his brother. Even if the whole family
were a pack of greedy robber barons extorting traders and robbing the people blind, they still had a bond of family. Sam envied them that.

  “No. Not by Alder's balls or his tits!” It was crude and out of the corner of his eye Sam saw some of the elders' faces fall as the words slipped out. But it was the truth.

  “No?”

  “No. Heri should face justice for his crimes. A proper trial where he can be judged fairly and then given a swift execution.”

  Galan's eyes widened a little in surprise when he said that and Sam wondered why. Did he truly not know of all the terrible things Heri had done to him and his family? But it didn't matter. Neither did his brother's screeching as he lay on the cot. In the end he just wanted to be rid of him. One way or another.

  “You will not …?” Galan's words trailed off as he stared at him, maybe a little nervously.

  “What, rescue him? Defend him?” Sam was surprised that he could imagine such a thing. But then he guessed that Heri had hidden a lot of what he'd done from the rest of Fair Fields. “By all the gods no. Heri is a monster. He has done terrible harm to me and my family, and disgraced us all. He imprisoned my wife in his dungeons for five years, until I rescued her. He exiled me and sent numerous assassins after me for all that time. A week ago he made another attempt on my life, bringing assassins with shadow vipers to this land, harming many, He again threatened my family and stabbed me with a poisoned blade. He is Alder's very right hand!”

  “No I will not protect him in any way.”

  “You can't do this!” Heri abruptly started screeching again. “I'm your brother!”

  Sam almost fell over in shock when he heard Heri say that. And all around him he could see the other elves staring at one another in disbelief. The sheer effrontery of it was beyond belief. And yet he had said similar things before. Did Heri not understand what he'd done Sam wondered? It was almost as though he had no concept of right and wrong. He recalled having wondered that very thing before. Was he truly so blind? Or was he simply desperate? Either way no one answered him.

  “Now Heri,” Elder Bela turned to the fallen king, “Our deal is complete and you are free to leave as agreed. We will even provide you with some crutches to help you on your way.” The instant he said it a healer rushed over with the promised crutches and started to help Heri to his feet.

  “And you can go with these men, or alternatively if you choose, run away. We don't care. We just want you gone.”

  “But they're going to kill me!”

  “That is between you and them. Our deal is done and you are free to go. But perhaps you should start running then.”

  Heri gaped at the Elder. At all of them. And then, suddenly realising that he had no hope that anyone would rush to his aid, he started running exactly as he needed to. But his running was a short lived event as Galan simply nodded to his men and a moment later Heri was caught, knocked to the ground, bound, thrown over a horse and quickly lashed to it. Heri never stopped screeching as they did so.

  “Elders.” Galan nodded respectfully to them as Heri screeched in terror. And they in turn nodded back.

  “Samual.” Galan nodded to Sam.

  “Galan.” Sam returned the fairwell. But then thought he should say something more.

  “I'm sorry for your loss. Harmion was not a good man, and he like Heri harmed my wife terribly in his ambition. But at least he was a brother and I sorrow that mine took that from you.”

  Galan didn't answer him. Sam wasn't sure he had expected him to. But it had had to be said. And he was glad he had as he watched the young Fallbright lord mount up and then ride away with his troop and his prisoner.

  Was it over? Sam wondered about that as he watched them ride off into the distance. The Fallbrights would not be counted among his friends he knew. But they had Heri and he doubted that they cared half so much about him. And as for Heri, though the odds were against him he doubted that he could ever say he was safe from him. Not until he was finally dead.

  But at least it was over for now.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Ryshal sat on a flat rock on the side of the river that flowed through their new home, her feet in the water as she worked patiently on the laundry.

  Laundering clothes wasn't a particularly difficult job. It was just a matter of soaping the clothes, squeezing them against the rocks to get the foam to wash through them, and then rinsing them in the flowing water before pounding them on the rocks to get the water out. Routine, boring and repetitive drudgery, but still good exercise for muscles that had done too little for far too long. And it was good to grow a little strength Ryshal thought. To breathe a little heavily from time to time and feel the blood flowing. And it could be quite pleasant when the sun was shining as it was. Then again the water was icy cold on her hands and feet.

  Some days it was also quite a social event as the river was filled with women doing the same as her while the river flowed white with little soap bubbles. It would be good though when eventually they had houses and tubs. Especially once they had warm water. But those days she suspected were a long way off. For the moment they had to do things as simply as possible. You couldn't get much simpler than a bar of soap, some flat rocks and a river.

  Today though the river was nearly empty. But from the sound of footsteps behind her she was about to have company. Ryshal looked around to see Mayvelle walking towards her and immediately had to suppress a surprised sigh. If there was one person she had never expected to see again it was her. In fact after the way she and her family had been treated by Mayvelle and her parents, she would have been grateful for that. Even though she guessed the reason for their rudeness, she didn't want to see the Ellosian family again. She had been grateful that she had not seen them since that day. Save for Mayvelle who had been there when Heri had attacked. But she had noticed little of her or anyone else then.

  Yet it seemed she was about to see Mayvelle again regardless of what she wanted. But at least it was Mayvelle alone. She wasn't certain she could endure the parents' barely concealed hostility as well. On the other hand she did wonder about the timing. Samual had just returned to his proper duties and studies with the elders that morning, leaving her to do the laundry alone. Was that a coincidence? Somehow she thought not. The two of them had a fractious relationship at best.

  Ryshal concentrated on washing the clothes as the woman approached, deciding not to change her routine just because she had a visitor. And besides, laundry wasn't a task she particularly enjoyed. It was best to get it over with as quickly as possible.

  “Ryshal?” Mayvelle greeted her.

  “Mayvelle.” She could have been rude and ignored her she supposed, but Ryshal saw no point in that. Besides, her parents would have been unhappy with her if she had done that. “I didn't expect to see you here.”

  “And did not wish to either, at a guess.”

  Ryshal didn't answer her. There was no answer she could give that was both polite and true. Instead she concentrated on her work, pressing the clothes against a flat rock to squeeze the soapy water out of them, then dunking them again in the river before repeating. Eventually Mayvelle seemed to understand that she wasn't going to get an answer and carried on.

  “I came first to apologise.”

  “There is no need for apologies among family,” Ry answered her automatically.

  “Yes, but sometimes there is a desire. And my family and I were unfailingly rude to you and yours. I desire to repair that failing.”

  “It is repaired and forgotten.” Ry finally looked up to see her standing there looking awkward. No doubt Mayvelle didn't do a lot of apologising in her life. But she also looked nervous. Annoying and direct as she was, Mayvelle was never a nervous woman. This was not about a mere apology. Something else was weighing on her mind.

  “Thank you. Your husband was most … certain in his words to me.” Mayvelle said it awkwardly.

  “My husband is like you, a soldier. He can be very direct. Especially when he believes his
family has been wronged in some way.” Ry managed a small smile. If Mayvelle was apologising than she had to be gracious. “But I will speak to him, and I apologise on his behalf if he was too direct.”

  “He was not. Sometimes it is good to hear the truth plainly spoken.”

  “Then I will tell him that, and thank you for your understanding.” Ry returned to her work, knowing that there was more that Mayvelle wanted to say but also that it wasn't her place to ask.

  “You are well after the attack? Your parents too?”