by Jason Tesar
Maeryn blew on the ink and folded the parchment into thirds. When she was finished, she noticed Zula standing in the doorway. “Would you please seal this with Adair’s symbol?” she asked as she handed the letter to the woman.
Zula nodded. “I will be back in a few hours. Do you need anything else while I am in the city?”
“No thank you, just the fish.”
As Zula turned to leave, Maeryn felt a pang of guilt. “Zula…”
“I know, ma’am. He won’t ever know. I’ll be careful.” She gave a knowing smile and left the room.
* * * *
The jostling of the wagon stopped, waking Saba from his uneasy sleep. For a moment, he forgot where he was, but the aching in his joints quickly reminded him. Why have we stopped? He couldn’t see anything with the covering over his head, so he sat still, waiting to see what his captors would do. He had been in the back of this wagon for close to a week now, or so he guessed. Several times a day they would stop and allow him to get out and walk around. It was during these times that Saba was able to relieve himself. But it’s too soon since the last break! Saba began to grow nervous.
To his left, Saba heard the sound of metal grating on metal.
“Get out,” one of his captors said.
Saba tried his best to comply with the command, but his body was stiff. Once out of the wagon, the man placed a hand on Saba’s shoulder and pushed him forward. Saba’s heart began to beat louder as he anticipated something terrible.
“Where are we going?” he mumbled through the gag in his mouth.
“Huh? Did you say something? It sounds like you have something in your mouth.” Laughter broke out from the other two men who were following at a safe distance, probably waiting for Saba to try and run.
He didn’t bother. He didn’t repeat his question either.
The ground under his feet suddenly became smoother and the stranger pulled on Saba’s shoulder to stop him. He briefly heard the creaking sound of wood and then they were moving again. After a few minutes he stopped Saba, reaching up to the back of his neck to untie the bag.
“Welcome to your new home,” he said, as he lifted the covering off of Saba’s head.
After seeing nothing but darkness for a week, the light was intense. Saba could only open his eyes for seconds at a time. What he did manage to see was a fenced area of well-trodden soil, containing a few buildings, one of which was directly ahead of them. Saba spat his gag onto the dirt, then took a deep breath. The air was cold, but smelled clean and damp and the soil under his feet showed signs of recent rain. He quickly noticed that his captors were not dressed the same as the cloaked men who had attacked him in the city of Orud. These men wore black as well, but were garbed like soldiers with long-sleeved leather tunics and trousers that reached down to their calves.
“In you go,” he said and pushed Saba toward the nearest building.
One of the soldiers ran ahead and opened a wooden door in the stone structure. Once inside, Saba’s eyes could relax, though there wasn’t much to look at once his eyesight returned. Along the right side of the building was a long narrow room with a fire pit in the floor on the far end. A few crudely built chairs surrounded the pit with others arranged near a table in the corner. Along the left side were thick wooden doors with narrow viewing slots carved into them at eye level. The three men walked Saba down to the far end of the building and opened the last door, pushing him inside.
“Make yourself comfortable,” said one of the soldiers as the others laughed. The door was shut and locked, and once again, Saba was alone. A quick look around the room was all that was needed to take inventory of his surroundings. There were no windows, only a small cot and a hole in the floor that smelled of urine. Saba walked over to the cot and inspected it with a probing hand. I think I’ll stand.
The next few days were as uneventful as his trip in the back of the wagon. They fed him regularly and kept the fire going outside of his room, so that the chill night air never made it to his cell. It was the inconsistency of the situation that confused him most. What do they want from me? Why keep me locked up, and yet tend to all my basic needs? It didn’t make any sense. Saba set his pondering aside at the sound of voices. Footsteps preceded the sound of jingling keys and suddenly, the door was open.
“Come on, old man, it’s your turn,” said a soldier whom he hadn’t seen before.
“My turn for what?”
The guard smiled. “You have a big day tomorrow, don’t you want to look your best? You don’t have a choice in the matter anyway. Come on, get out of your cell,” he said before Saba had the chance to answer.
Saba was escorted back the way he entered the building. On his right, he heard sounds coming out of the other cells. He tried to remember if there were people in the cells when he came in, but before he could recall, the door opened and the guard pushed him outside.
The chill in the air made him feel instantly awakened. For the first time, Saba got a good look at the place where he was being held prisoner. It was a compound with several stone buildings that appeared to be randomly placed within a high stone wall surrounding a dirt courtyard. Although the term ‘courtyard’ is usually reserved for more hospitable surroundings.
A thin fog obscured most of what was beyond the wall, but a few trees which stood close to the wall could be seen. Saba noted that they were some variety of pine, which meant that they must have traveled north from Orud and had climbed a considerable amount in elevation.
“Keep moving,” the guard said in a bored tone.
Saba got the impression that these men were either being paid to do what they were doing or else they were just following orders. They didn’t express any malice toward him, in fact, he felt almost ignored, but for the attention needed to prevent his escape. Like watching animals.
They walked across the courtyard toward a building that looked much like the one Saba had been sleeping in for the past few days, except for a small wing that extended off the main structure at an angle. As they approached the extension, the door opened and a guard led another old man from the room and the two began walking in the opposite direction. When they passed, Saba could see that the man’s head had been shaved as well as his face. Neither guard said anything as they passed each other, as if they had done this a hundred times already.
Saba was pushed through the doorway and into a small room with a wooden floor that sloped downward toward a center drain. One man was sweeping gray hair off of the floor while another was setting down a bucket of soapy water with a rag draped over the side. Saba’s escort pushed him toward a chair that sat in the center of the room.
“Take off your clothes and sit,” he commanded.
Saba looked at the man with raised eyebrows.
“Hurry up, I don’t have all day.”
Saba unfastened his belt and pulled his tunic over his head, tossing both to the side of the room. He had just settled into his chair when he noticed the silence. He looked around at the three men and received suspicious looks in return. Why are they acting so strange? The man who had been sweeping left the room and came back with two more guards. There were now five men in the room and four of them stood guard around the perimeter while the first guard stepped closer to Saba with a short blade in his hand.
“Now don’t move. I don’t want to hurt you, but this thing will take your ear clean off if you’re not careful.”
Saba nodded that he understood and sat still while the guard rubbed soap suds into his hair and proceeded to shave his head. He watched the hair that used to fall down to his shoulders drift toward his feet and onto the floor. It only took a few minutes before the man was done and moved around in front of Saba.
“Put your head back,” the man said carefully.
Saba obeyed, tilting his head back while another man started on his beard.
“You know, I could do that myself?” Saba offered.
“And let you get your hands on this razor? That doesn’t sound like a good id
ea to me. Now shut your mouth so I don’t accidentally cut your throat.”
Saba closed his mouth and tried to keep as still as he could. Shaving his beard took longer than shaving his head, but before long, the man was finished.
“Take that bucket and wash yourself. And hurry up, we’re running late.”
Saba got to his feet and walked over to the bucket, rinsing his head and face first. After scrubbing himself with the rag, he tipped the bucket over his head and let the cold water wash over his skin. Despite the shocking temperature, it felt refreshing to bathe for the first time in weeks. “Do I get something to dry off with?” he asked, setting down the bucket. When he looked up at the men, they were all staring at him again. “What do you keep looking at?” he growled, not able to tolerate the awkwardness.
“How old are you?” one of the men asked.
“Old. Why?”
A different man answered this time. “You sure don’t look that old.” He looked back to the man who had performed the shaving. “We might have made a mistake with this one.”
“Never mind,” the guard said, putting down the razor and handing Saba a towel. “Dry off and put your clothes back on.”
Chapter 17
Two nights after writing the note, Maeryn stared at the ceiling of her bedroom and waited impatiently. She was not sure of the time but it had to be close to midnight. After feeding Aelia and putting her back to sleep, Maeryn’s mind began racing. Soon, the events that she had possibly affected in a tremendous way would unfold, if the letter reached its intended destination. Zula had delivered it with no problems and made it back to the house without seeing Lemus. But since then, there had been growing in her mind a sense of doom. At first, she was pleased with herself and the idea that she could slowly destroy the man who tried to replace her husband. The Empire to which Adair had devoted himself had so quickly abandoned him, even though he had gotten into trouble by serving that very same Empire. It was exciting to think of the privileged information to which she had access on a daily basis. If she was careful, she might be able to do great damage to the Empire that had stolen her true love away. But now she was scared of the consequences of her actions. Maybe the letter was not the smartest thing to send. If Lemus found it, he might suspect her, and he had proven that he had no reservations about sending family members to their death. But she had already sent the letter and there was nothing to be done about it now but to wait. As she watched the moon reflections cast by the ocean dance along the ceiling of her bedroom, she eventually drifted off to sleep.
The sound of a baby crying jolted her awake. She glanced around the room, now awash with the orange hues of early morning, looking for the crib and found it at the foot of the bed. Aelia was sleeping soundly and Maeryn wondered if the sound that had awakened her had been just a dream. She pulled the covers back and got out of bed to stretch her legs. Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed loudly in the hallway. She could tell that it was Lemus; he had a certain attitude that permeated everything he did, including the way he walked. The footsteps passed the door to her room and entered the master bedroom at the end of the hall. From the agitated sound of the footsteps, his plans must not have gone well. Maeryn waited for a few moments, then left the room while Aelia was still sleeping.
She found him out on the balcony that used to be her favorite place to think. Since Aelia had been born, Lemus had not let her return to the master bedroom because of the child’s crying. He told her that a man of importance with his amount of responsibility could not afford to be disturbed at night with crying children. It was just as well though; she enjoyed not having to share a bed with him. Lemus was standing at the railing, overlooking the city as it began to sparkle in the increasing light of the sun.
“Are you alright?” she asked quietly and carefully.
He didn’t respond, but continued to stare out into the bay. After several seconds, Maeryn started to wonder if he hadn’t heard her at all. She tried once more to bring him out of his thoughts.
“Things are not well. You seem troubled.”
“I don’t wish to talk about it,” he stated flatly.
She didn’t want to give up so easily. “Well, if you decide that you want to talk, I’ll be in my room; sometimes it feels better just to get the words out.” As she turned to leave, Lemus let out a sound as if he started to say something, but decided not to. Maeryn stopped and waited for him to say what was on his mind.
“There was trouble last night,” he said at last.
Maeryn waited for the rest of his story and when it didn’t come, she coaxed him out of his silence with more questions. “What kind of trouble?”
Lemus turned around from the railing and walked back into the bedroom. He slumped down on the bed and crossed his arms. “Last night…” he began and then drifted off.
Maeryn figured he was either too worked up to think straight or else he was uncomfortable discussing the details of his business with her.
He took a deep breath and started again. “Last night there was a shipment of armor coming in.”
“And?” Maeryn questioned. “What was the trouble?”
“It was supposed to be attacked by a group of rebels…or so the rumor said. So I pulled most of the men from the armory to help guard the shipment.” The despair in his voice slowly gave way to anger at being outsmarted. “Apparently the rumor was just a diversion because they attacked the armory while we waited for them at the harbor.”
“Oh no!” Maeryn did her best to sound surprised. “What happened?”
“The two guards were killed and the rebels stole everything. Every last weapon and piece of armor is gone.”
“That’s horrible,” Maeryn said with as much disgust as she could muster. “Who do they think they are that they should try to rise up against the Empire?”
Lemus picked his head up and looked at her with piercing eyes. Maeryn thought that she might have sounded a little too eager. When he smiled she felt a great deal of relief.
“Your patriotism is admirable, but there’s more. While we waited at the harbor we heard the sounds of fighting. I sent a man to check on the matter and he came back a short while later to inform me that the armory was under attack. So I pulled the guards from their positions at the harbor and we went to confront the rebels at the armory. By the time we got there most of them had disappeared. We defeated the ones we could find, but the bulk of them got away.”
“I’m sorry,” Maeryn offered.
Lemus continued without acknowledging her words. “When we got back to the harbor…” He trailed off and his skin grew red. He clenched a fist and finished his statement. “The rebels attacked the ships when we were at the armory. They looted the entire shipment and set the ships on fire.”
Maeryn really was speechless this time. She had to admit that the rebels were more devious than she had previously thought.
“Apparently there were two groups and they knew exactly how we were going to respond.” Lemus put his head in his hands and massaged his temples.
“What will you do now? Do the soldiers have no weapons?”
“No, no,” he assured her as if he were speaking to a child. “All the soldiers here have weapons and armor, but I have an additional three hundred soldiers arriving in six weeks and now I won’t be able to arm them.”
“Oh!” Maeryn tucked that bit of information away in her mind as well.
“What’s worse is that I must dispatch a report of the state of my army to Orud at the end of the month.”
“Perhaps the Empire will ship more armor when they hear of this attack. Maybe they will even send more than armor to aid you.” Maeryn offered whatever suggestions came to mind. It was actually easier to make conversation when the words were not planned out beforehand.
“I don’t know what is worse, the Empire knowing of this failure or the fact that the dispatch rider could be attacked on the way and the report stolen.” Lemus got to his feet and walked back out on the balcony. �
�Before last night, I wouldn’t have considered that the rebels were this well organized. But it is clear now that I have underestimated them and I mustn’t let it happen again. This report will contain every detail of the state of my army and it cannot fall into their hands. If they are able to plan such a successful attack, then surely they are a force to be considered and it would not go well to have my enemies privy to all of my military capabilities.”
“Is there no other way to send a report to Orud? Maybe you could disguise the rider.” Maeryn couldn’t feel the least bit of pity for this man; the man who had raped her, had her only son executed, the man who almost killed little Ajani, sent Saba away and tried to take the place of Adair. She had to fight the urge to celebrate his failures right in front of his face.
“I can think of no other way that would be sure to escape the rebels…not after tonight.”
“I don’t pretend to understand how one would govern an entire city, but perhaps there is a solution. I have heard of a man in the city who raises birds and trains them to do all sorts of amazing things.”
Lemus darted a quick, angry glance at Maeryn. “What does this have to do with anything?”
“I’m sorry. I just meant that perhaps this man could help you. Zula told me that he has trained birds to fly all the way to Cerrar and back. The rebels would not be able to catch a bird if you sent the report that way.”
Lemus laughed out loud and turned around to face Maeryn. “You were right…you can’t even pretend to understand all that I must deal with. But it does feel better to talk about it. Leave me alone now, I must figure out what to do.”
Maeryn smiled and left the man to his thoughts. By the time she got back to her room she was overflowing with excitement. She had no idea that the information she gave to the rebels would have such a potent effect. It was a scary thing to write that letter, even scarier to have it delivered into the hands of the enemies of the Empire. She had partially expected to be caught and executed, but fortune had smiled on her this day. And the way Lemus opened up and told her such useful information, it was better than she had hoped for. For the first time since losing Adair, she felt that her future held promise. Aelia was still sleeping soundly and Maeryn stood over the child and watched as her tummy rose and fell with each breath.
