The Barbed Coil

by J. V. Jones

  Ravis tucked the folded vellum into his tunic, then made his way upstairs.

  Pax met him by the door. “The Garizon camp is in chaos,” he said. “Izgard is dead.”

  Ravis nodded. “Any sign of his warlords?”

  “I’m not sure. I watched as a whole troop mounted their horses and rode east.”

  “They’ve started scrambling for power already,” Ravis said. “It won’t be long before others follow suit. The Sire and his army should be able to send back those who are left.”

  “I’m going to ride out and take a look myself.” Camron entered the kitchen via the courtyard door. His wounds had been bandaged, and he was wearing a clean tunic. Ravis noticed he favored his left leg as he walked.

  “Keep yourself safe,” Ravis said to him. “If you’re not back within a couple of hours, I’ll come looking.”

  Camron acknowledged the caution with a grin. “You forget who you’re talking to, Burano. I know a thing or two about the land around here.” With that he left, slipping out into the courtyard and the bright morning beyond. Seconds later Pax followed him, claiming his own horse needed brushing down, and a moment after that Emith picked up his bags and went the same way, mumbling about fresh water for his brushes and fresh air for himself, and finally Ravis and Tessa were alone.

  Ravis came to Tessa and held her close. Touching her soft, pigment-flecked hair and her hot, scorched cheeks seemed like a blessing he didn’t deserve. He couldn’t let her go. So they stayed together, holding each other, until Camron rode back into the courtyard hours later, safe and excited, calling for everyone to join him outside in the warm light of day.

  E P I L O G U E

  T he birch, oak, and chestnut woods of Runzy were beautiful to walk through in the dimming light of a breeze driven day in midautumn. Leaves crunched beneath Tessa’s feet and swirled along with her cloak. Some even got caught in her hair. As she made her way back to the manor house, she found herself feeling for her ring: something about the gold leaves reminded her of ephemeras. Perhaps it was the fact that next time she came here they would be gone.

  The ring felt warm and heavy in her hand. Its barbs flashed as they emerged from the darkness of her bodice. Satisfied that all was as it should be, Tessa tucked the ring back into place and moved on.

  Emerging from the woods to the cleared area surrounding Camron’s manor house, she spied Camron and Ravis on the steps. Ravis spotted her instantly and waved. Tessa felt her heart jump a little as she returned the gesture. She had so much to be grateful for. Walking suddenly seemed too slow, and she burst into a run, hoisting her long skirts around her knees and making for the manor house as fast as she could.

  Camron grinned as she approached. Ravis flat-out laughed. Doubtless she was breaking all sorts of rules of conduct by running in the company of men. Not caring one whit about that, Tessa came and sat by Ravis’ side. He made a space for her and hugged her close, then whispered something soft in her ear. Blushing, she jabbed him in the ribs. Really! How could the sight of bare knees have that effect on anyone?

  All sorts of papers and charts were laid out on the step between Ravis and Camron. Tessa glimpsed inventories, bills of sale, and maps of Garizon and its borders. Seeing where her gaze rested, Ravis said, “We’ll be heading into Garizon before the first snow blocks the passes.”

  Tessa nodded. She’d known this was coming. After Izgard died from the shock of losing the Barbed Coil, the war had turned inward. The Garizon forces had broken up and returned home. The death of their king, the loss of the Coil, and the bad omen of the earthquake had been nothing compared to the havoc wrought by Izgard’s warlords. Fighting among themselves over who would take the king’s place, they had raced back to Garizon, each determined to be first to claim the throne. Many bloody battles had been fought since. Thousands of Garizon soldiers were dead.

  “We have to do this, Tessa,” Camron said, his gray eyes shifting colors as he spoke. “We can’t let Garizons go on killing each other.”

  “Izgard is dead,” Tessa said. “Isn’t that enough?”

  “No. Not anymore.” Camron ran a hand through his hair. “It stopped being about revenge for me a long time ago. It’s about people now. My people.”

  Tessa leaned forward and put her hand on Camron’s arm. She could hardly believe this was the same man she had met all those months ago in a wine cellar in Bay’Zell. He had changed so much—all of them had, but perhaps he most of all. “Does this mean you’re going to try to take the throne?”

  Camron shifted his gaze to Ravis. There was a question in his eyes. The two men looked at each for a long time, and Tessa knew that to them, she was no longer there.

  Ravis’ scar was white in the failing light. His eyes were inky, unreadable. After many minutes he spoke. “I am a fighter, Camron. My brother told me that a long time ago, and whether it was true at the time or whether it became so later doesn’t matter anymore. I’m not a man to rule and watch over land. I have all I want here”—Ravis found and pressed Tessa’s hand—“and here. . . .” He patted the scabbard containing his knife. “And I will fight with you, at your side, because you are a brother to me, not because I expect to share in your rewards.”

  Camron looked down. Heavy breaths pumped through his chest, and it was a while before he could control them enough to speak. “If you wanted this—if you wanted to bring peace and rebuild Garizon in your own name—I would stand by you.”

  “I know.” Ravis created silence for those two words to rest in, then said, “But you will do a better job of it than I. You think of Garizons as your own countrymen. I never will. I have no wish for the throne.”

  The breeze picked up, strewing golden leaves over the steps. Camron caught one in his hand. Closing his fist around it, he stood. “I never knew what it was to fight for myself, for something I believed in, until that night I fought at your side in Castle Bess.” Opening his palm, he let the crushed leaf fall to the ground and held out his hand for Ravis to take. “I owe you more than I can ever repay.”

  Ravis rose and gripped Camron’s hand. “There are no debts between brothers.”

  Camron held Ravis’ gaze. He went to say something, then stopped himself, simply nodding once instead. With a short wave of his hand, he turned and made his way back to the house. Ravis watched him go.

  Tessa took a deep breath and settled down to wait until Ravis was ready to speak. Surprisingly, it wasn’t long.

  “I received a message from Malray today,” he said, his voice soft, almost puzzled. “He’s here. In Runzy.”

  “He wants to see you?”

  “Yes. Violante persuaded him to meet with me. She spoke with him in Mizerico. Told him I was a fool. And that while he was busy plotting some new way to kill me, I had actually spoken up to save him.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Ravis made a small gesture with his hands. “I hardly understand it myself. Violante and I spoke so little about Malray. I thought—” He shook his head. “I thought I’d made my feelings clear.”

  “Perhaps you did.” Tessa met Ravis’ gaze, and after a moment he looked away. “Is Violante here, with Malray?”

  “No. She’s in Rhiga. Malray says in his message that she’s caught the eye of the Liege’s son and is busy being wooed.”

  Tessa tried not to let the relief show on her face. Just the memory of Violante of Arazzo was enough to make her feel plain and disheveled. Absently she smoothed down her dress. “So will you see him?”

  “Yes. Soon.” Ravis glanced up at the darkening sky. “Tonight.”

  “How can you be sure it’s safe? It might be a trap.”

  Ravis leaned forward. “He’s willing to come here, Tessa. Unarmed and alone. Remember what you said on The Mull? About how Deveric has been interfering with our lives for twenty-one years? Well, it’s over now. This could be a new start for all of us: Camron, you . . . me.” Something shone in Ravis’ eyes as he spoke, and Tessa reached over and kissed his cheek. Scar tissue b
rushed against her lips.

  “Do you still want a portion of Burano land?”

  Ravis shook his head. “No. It was never about the estate. I would have fought for anything just to be at Malray’s side.” He made a small gesture toward the woods. “Autumn leaves, even.”

  A strong breeze rustled the leaves underfoot. Tessa stood and tugged Ravis up. “Come on. Let’s go inside. It’s getting dark.”

  Hand in hand they entered the house. Warm light from the candles surrounded them, and warmth from the fire made their cheeks glow. Emith came dashing over to greet them, a wax tablet in his hand.

  “I think I’ve found something, miss,” he said, holding out the tablet to catch the light. “This pattern here, the one with the double row of knotwork, looks similar to the one you were working on just before you broke the first binding in the cavern.”

  Tessa nodded. “Where did you copy it from?”

  “Master Deveric’s last painting, miss, the one that drew you to the ring. The pattern’s repeated several times: in the border and around the central medallion.” As he spoke, he helped Tessa off with her cloak. “It just might be the one.”

  Tessa took the panel from him and looked at it more closely. A string of S-shaped knots had been etched into the green-black wax. Frowning, she brushed flakes of excess wax from the surface. For the past few weeks she and Emith had been working to find a pattern that would enable her to get in touch with her family back home. She didn’t want to go back, but she wanted to let her parents know she was safe. And she needed to say good-bye.

  “I’ve already traced it out in hardpoint, miss. So all you’ll have to do is paint.”

  Tessa smiled. There were times when she thought that killing the creature in Castle Bess had changed Emith, yet it was hard to pin down how. Sometimes he stayed in his room for hours at a time, mixing pigments and binding boars hair onto brushes. Other times he didn’t act like himself at all. Last week he had told Pax to stop returning from town with his horse lathered and overworked. Tessa smiled at the memory. Pax hadn’t known what to say—though he had gone easy on his horse ever since.

  “Have you two got your bags packed?” Ravis was busy building up the fire. “Pax will be wanting an early start in the morning.”

  Tessa nodded. She and Emith were going back to Bay’Zell. She had decided to spend her time there until Ravis returned from Garizon, and Emith had plans to turn part of his mother’s house into a small school and teach local children how to read and write. He didn’t say it, but Tessa suspected that one day he hoped to come across a child who was talented enough to be trained as a master scribe, so he could pass on all the knowledge he had gained from Avaccus and Deveric. Tessa hoped very much that such a child would come along. Emith had a lot more to give.

  “I’ll just see to the last of my things,” Emith said, shaking down Tessa’s cloak and draping it over a chair close to the fire. “Miss Gerta promised to help me pack the food for the journey. She says that bread should always be wrapped in waxed linen to stop it from turning stale.”

  Tessa and Ravis exchanged a glance. The old Garizon maid had been in Runzy for less than a month, yet Emith had already taken it upon himself to care for her. She was blind in one eye and her body jerked and trembled as she moved. Watching them together made Tessa’s throat ache. Every time Emith opened a door for Gerta or brought her a shawl or a hot drink to warm her blood, it was like watching him with his mother all over again. He was the kind of man who needed someone to care for—nothing had changed that.

  Gerta and her mistress were planning on staying in Runzy until it was safe for them to return home to Garizon, so tonight was Emith’s last chance to look after the old maid before he left. Tessa’s smile was sad as she watched Emith deciding whether to return to his chamber or cross the entry hall to the kitchen. After a little anxious brow furrowing, he took the path to the kitchen: Gerta’s domain.

  Ravis came to stand by Tessa. “You be sure to keep yourself safe in Bay’Zell,” he said, taking the wax tablet from her hand and placing it on a chair. “I don’t want anything happening to my wife while I’m away.”

  Tessa didn’t reply. She slipped her arm through his. After all these months she still found it hard to believe she could touch him whenever she wanted. She loved him very much.

  Ravis put his palm flat upon her arm, holding it against him. “Come on,” he said, moving toward the double doors that led into the great hall. “Let’s go and catch up with Camron.”

  “Hold on a minute!” Both Tessa and Ravis turned at the sound of Pax’s voice. The young guard dashed from the kitchen, nearly bumping headlong into Emith, who was heading the opposite way. Pax was carrying a jug of wine that sloshed liquid over his tunic as he moved. A handful of pewter goblets were tucked under his belt. Grinning from ear to ear, he stopped, extracted two goblets from his belt, and poured wine for Ravis and Tessa. Handing Tessa a cup, he tilted his head in the direction of the double doors. “I wouldn’t go in there just yet.”

  “Why not?” Tessa asked.

  “Because Camron is in there, asking a certain young lady to marry him.”

  Tessa glanced at Ravis. “Do you think she’ll say yes?”

  “Well, according to Bay’Zell law she’s his anyway. Anything that washes up on the beaches and sand marshes surrounding Castle Bess belongs to the landholder. Camron found her, he holds the land, so legally she’s already his.” Smiling, Ravis pushed against the door. “Let’s go and find out what the lady herself says, though.”

  Grinning all the way, Tessa and Pax followed Ravis through to the great hall.

  Angeline of Halmac and Camron of Thorn were standing at the far side of the room, looking out at the courtyard beyond. They were holding hands but pulled quickly apart as soon as they realized they were no longer alone. Seeing Angeline by the window, her face lit up by the setting sun, Tessa marveled at how quickly she had recovered from her injuries. Tessa still remembered the terrible state she was in when Camron brought her back to Castle Bess. She was barely alive, her lips cracked and dry, her body limp and broken. Numerous bones in her ribs and fingers were cracked, and deep gashes marked her shoulders, neck, and back. She was horribly bruised. Although Angeline had fought with all her strength to keep the baby she had been carrying, she lost it two weeks later. The physicians were cautiously optimistic of her chances for having more.

  All of them had cared for her. Emith, Ravis, Tessa herself, Pax, and most of all Camron. It was hard not to love her. She was gentle and sweet natured and strangely tough when it came to bearing pain. No one questioned her about how she had come to collapse on the sand marshes that day—Camron wouldn’t allow it. Right from the start, right from the very first night he’d stayed awake by her bedside, seeing her through the worst of the pain, he had been fiercely protective of her. He was like a young boy who had found a stray puppy: he would let other people care for her, as long as everyone knew she was his.

  They had not spent a day apart in weeks. Tessa had watched their closeness grow. Sometimes, just for fleeting instances when Angeline looked into the flames of a roaring fire, or heard a door slammed shut by the wind or voices raised in anger, Tessa saw a glimpse of something dark and afraid in her eyes. There would be a moment when Angeline’s entire body stiffened, then Camron would be beside her, touching her hand, brushing a stray curl from her face, making whatever scared her go away.

  “Does no one knock in this place?” Camron asked, eyes twinkling as he turned to greet them. Seeing Pax loaded down with wine jug and goblets, he beckoned him forward. “Come and pour Angeline a cup of wine, Pax, before we lose whatever’s left to your tunic.”

  Tessa noticed Camron’s fingers retwining around Angeline’s as he spoke. When Pax had poured wine for everyone, Camron leaned toward Angeline and said softly, “Tell them.”

  Angeline glanced nervously at Camron, then cleared her throat. Along moment passed while everyone waited to hear what she would say. Looking down at the
floor, she worked to control a muscle quivering in her throat. Finally she spoke, her voice shy and halting. “I want to thank all of you for taking care of me these past months. All of you. You’ve been so good to me. I don’t deserve it. I feel as if I’ve been given a second chance.” She hesitated, glanced again at Camron, who smiled back at her with such gentleness that Tessa felt a lump form in her throat.

  Angeline took a gulp of air and let the rest of her words out in a great rush. “What I actually mean to say is Camron and I are getting married, tonight, before he goes away.”

  After that everyone in the manor seemed to find their way to the hall. Gerta came and passed out food. Her bad eye was covered by a patch and she couldn’t judge distances too well, but Emith was more than happy to help her carry heavy trays loaded with ham and drumsticks and lay bowls of fruit and cheese on tables of her choice. Pax called in the entire troop and spent the good part of an hour devising a series of festive toasts, each one more elaborate than the last. Servants bustled, filling glasses and removing empty trays. One man started singing, and someone else began plucking on a fiddle. Through it all Camron never left Angeline’s side. He was very gentle with her, giving her plenty of time and space to speak for herself.

  Tessa ate and drank and danced. Like everyone else, she couldn’t stop grinning. It was only when she had drained her third cup of berriac that she noticed Ravis was nowhere to be seen. Feeling a small pulse of unease beat in her temples, she set her cup on the nearest table and worked her way across the room.

  The entry hall was empty, and the fire was burning low from lack of care. After stopping to pick up her cloak, Tessa approached the outside door. Sounds of merriment from the great hall made it difficult to hear anything outside except the wind. Gently, so as to make no noise, she lifted the latch and pulled open the door.

  It was full dark now, and Tessa’s eyes needed a minute to adjust. A sharp gust of wind made her blink. She headed down the steps and into the courtyard. All the shutters had been closed, and only thin strips of light escaped from the house. Somewhere ahead a horse snuffled and shook out its mane. Tessa heard the metal fastenings on its bridle jingle. Focusing on the sound, she made out the form of a sleek stallion. Its shanks shone an oily black color in the darkness. Looking past the horse to the stable wall, she saw two figures standing close.