by Laura Abudo
Karl just left her room when she felt his arm wrap around her waist. He pulled her with him outside to the waiting horses. He looked down into her eyes with a look of determination and said quietly, “They want the girls. We have to move.”
“Oh gods,” she muttered and ran to the wagon. To the girls she cried, “Ride with the men.”
“You too,” he told her, helping her climb up in back of Kel. “The wagon is too slow.”
Within moments they rode out onto a side street, the girls all with men in the middle of the group, Karl with Kel near the front, with Amias and Pat in the rear. They took a wrong turn into a street that led them into the square but it was too late to turn now. Facing them was a few dozen townsfolk still lingering after the speech, four Brothers, the mayor and five Sisters, covered head to foot in yellow. Of all the people in that square the Sisters were the most menacing of all.
Krisa exhaled a horrible primal whine then fell from the horse to the ground. Glory soon followed. The girls stood up but seemed unable to move. Pearl and her rider were next, and then in succession all of their party was forced from the back of the horses. Everyone in the square seemed frozen in place except the Sisters.
Karl struggled against the invisible bonds holding her. Kel was perspiring and red faced with the effort. The Sisters moved forward.
“The girls come with us,” one said emotionlessly. “They will be Sisters.”
Panic tore through Karl as she realized she hadn’t protected the girls at all. She had failed. She was told by the gods, she was selected by the gods, to keep them safe and out of the Sisterhood. Tears fell from her eyes in guilt and rage. How could they ever forgive her? How could Amias and the others ever forgive her? The girls would be lost.
Pearl collapsed. She lay still for several moments then slowly got to her hands and knees, stood up straight, and stepped forward. The Sisters took a step backward, their eyes wide with shock. The Brothers, also frozen, stared at the little girl.
“You…will…not…take…us.” And with each word Pearl took a step forward pushing the Sisters violently backward with an unseen concussion. In one final word, “NO!” she slammed them into the wall of a building, knocking them all unconscious.
Mayhem ensued as everyone in the square unfroze at the same time. Screams and rushing bodies filled the square. Amias dashed forward to grab Pearl. He pulled her back toward them. Grasped in his arms she started crying and gulping for air. The other girls were hustled to the horses, and once everyone returned to their senses the entire group made their escape and galloped out onto the road north, desperate to get away from that town and the Sisters.
Pearl didn’t stop crying for ages. Amias held her close as they tore through the countryside. Satisfied they weren’t being followed, and finding a stream to water the horses, the group dismounted. Pearl was passed to Karl and she kept crying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Pearly, you saved us!” Glory told her with great pride in her voice. “You saved us from them.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
“How did you do it?” Karl asked, loosening her grip on the girl to look down at her. “You could move.”
“In the well. They taught me. They taught me how to do a lot of things. They said I needed to know to help everyone.”
Karl thought back to her time in the pool of blue water. The images she saw of the women the girls would become were fresh in her mind. Krisa in uniform dashing through the trees was happy and safe. Pearl had been dressed in long blue robes adorned with white symbols down the front, like those the gods had worn when they came to each of them at the well. She had people around her, the sick or impoverished, royalty and common alike. She was a warrior of the people, she fought for them all.
“You did a marvelous job,” she told Pearl, kissing her on the forehead.
The men all came to her with their thanks and words of encouragement, gave her hugs and tickles. They ate a meal then got back on the road at a more relaxed pace, though the scouts were sent back to monitor whether they were being followed. They would now have to be prepared in case the Sisters tried to get the girls again.
Brother Karl couldn’t help but contemplate what the events of the day could mean. Why had Sisters come out of cloister? The gods had mentioned that they were dabbling in sorcery, which now had become evident. And they’d entrusted Pearl with the ability to stop them, at least for a short time. Who else had they touched with such instructions? Selfishly, she wondered why they hadn’t given that power to her or one of the men, so they could protect the little ones. After thinking about it for a short time Karl realized the little ones had to be able to protect themselves and that’s precisely why they would have blessed Pearl. Krisa was infinitely resourceful already.
Later in the night Amias asked around, told his men that he knew most of them had been told to keep some of their new knowledge to themselves, but if they had new skills to let him or Kel know. None of them came forward. Brother Karl sat in a huddle with Amias and Kel long into the night, the three of them speculating about whether the Sisters would come for the girls again or what to expect.
“I felt so helpless,” she told them. “They told me I have to protect them and I was useless.”
They both nodded, obviously having felt the same way. Kel said, “Brother Karl, I’ve never seen Sisters out like this.”
“It is highly unusual,” she replied. “I’ve been around Sanctuaries for years. Sisters just don’t come out to town squares.”
“Is that why they hide their faces? So they can?” Amias asked.
She shook her head, not knowing the answer but didn’t think that was the explanation.
“We are going to have to be very careful with the girls, maybe stay away from the larger towns,” the Captain said, making a plan with Kel to change their route.
When Karl finally lay down on her bedroll, weary and worried, the man who lay beside her wasn’t the foremost thing on her mind.
Chapter 8
Into the north
Villages further north would not let them stop. Farmhouses had signs planted at the roadside with large X marked on them. It became a symbol to stay away, they reasoned, as most of the homesteads were using it and people waved them away if they stopped on the road.
The land became more rocky, the road less traveled. Amias explained that before sunset, if they carried on northwest, they’d reach an outpost the King had set up to monitor the forest, the Siri and the passage between Danycia and lands to the north through the forest. It was strictly a military facility but they’d be welcome. The road they took went through forest for maybe an hour. It was cool and quiet with fresh smells of plant life and soil. The leaves above rustled in the breeze and tiny animals scurried under brush and hopped from tree to tree. Sunbeams cut through the canopy highlighting the leaf litter and mosses on the ground.
“It’s so beautiful,” Krisa sighed, resting her cheek on Pat’s back. “My mother told my father stories of forests. I wasn’t sure if he remembered all the details to tell me though.”
“Is it what you imagined?” he asked.
“Better.”
They emerged from the trees sometime later to find themselves within eyesight of the tower of the outpost. Two men rode ahead at a faster pace. Guards at the top of the tower spotted them and sent two riders of their own to meet the incoming party. They returned with the Marshalls.
“Greetings,” one of them called from a safe distance. “Do you carry any ill?”
“No, sir,” Doran replied, starting a salute with his fist to his chest. “Captain Amias Natan Filbar Doran, King’s Marshall requesting lodging and passage.”
“Lieutenant Fren Pol Kir Dennon,” the man answered, completing the salute first. “Welcome. We have room for everyone. Even the ladies.”
“Thank you,” Amias told him. “We’ve been riding hard.”
“Understood. Please follow.”
The outpost was a large square st
one building of one level with a wooden tower rising from one corner and a barn set apart along one side. It had no wall so couldn’t be considered a keep, but it seemed sound and well protected. Guards manned the tower and patrolled the grounds. Inside was a large meeting and dining hall in the middle with barracks along two of its inner walls. Offices and a kitchen were along the other walls.
Amias met with the commanding officer in his office after exchanging salutes. Another showed Karl and the girls to an empty barracks room with bunks. It looked like they’d have to share with the men, but they were used to close quarters with them on the road.
“This is nice,” Karl said to the girls as they practiced getting up and down from their bunks.
“Is there a latrine?” Glory asked, practically dancing in her urgency to go.
“Let’s go find out,” Karl said quickly taking the girl’s hand. They were directed to a small outbuilding at the edge of the trees, where Karl stood waiting for Glory to finish.
The smell of fir trees filled her senses, reminding her of boughs her father would bring in from the woods that bordered their property to the west. He’d hang them on the inside of the door so when you entered the house the smell would engulf you. She wondered if he still did those things. She wondered how he was fairing now that Ruby was gone. She worried about her mother, who had spent so much time with Ruby preparing her for life as a wife and mother with a large estate to run someday.
One of the guards walked by so Karl called to him. “My family is from close to Wickton, we’ve been traveling an awfully long way but I’ve no idea how close I am.”
He smiled and pointed to the north and east slightly. “Only three days I would say. The road northeast takes you to Danyc but you pick up a crossroad due west at another outpost that will take you to Wickton.”
Karl’s heartbeat raced as she realized how close she was to home. “Oh, thank you!” she told him with a big smile.
He tipped his hat at her and continued his patrol around the building. Glory emerged looking relieved. They returned to the dining hall, where a quick cold snack of bread and cheese was placed on a table for them while the cooks started a full dinner preparation in the kitchen. They were told they had fresh boar caught in the forest the day before to serve for dinner. The men looked ravenous as they all picked at the bread and cheese.
Amias waved her over to him when he came out of the barrack room. His face was damp from just having washed up and his unruly hair dripped on his collar. Her eyes lingered on his neck, where his scruffy jaw made way to smooth muscle. A tingle of longing swept through her belly forcing her to start reciting her prayer to herself. Gods give me guidance and strength.
“I am sending a messenger to the next post. It is east of here along the road that goes directly to the King’s seat. If you need to send a message home or to the city we can add it to mine.”
“I just learned that we are not far from my father’s lands. It will only be a few days. I will send a note to prepare them for our arrival. Mother will get the guest quarters ready. There is enough room for all. I’d love to show you the lake and …”
He looked at her so strangely she stopped, mid-sentence. For a moment she felt fear, thinking something was wrong. She looked around to make sure everyone was safe.
“Please, get your letter ready. The messenger leaves soon.” Amias walked away from her toward the door. He stepped outside.
Amias cursed over and over to himself as he marched away from the outpost buildings. He walked south along the forest edge then back north again, spun and went back south. He was furious at himself, at the gods, at the world, at Karl, at the Sisters. He was simply furious. And he thought he had everything under control. He picked up a stick and hurled it angrily at the trees, taking pleasure in the cracking sound of something breaking.
He had everything under control. He got them here safely. They escaped with the help of that precious little Pearl. He was mad the gods hadn’t given him the power to protect them all. All he was was a pack mule. He was being used because it was convenient. Now they were getting closer to their destination and he had to …
And he realized why he was truly angry. He almost allowed himself to sob when he thought of being only a few days out from Karl’s home. That meant he had to give them all up. The sweet girls who wanted nothing from him but his smile and strength, who made him laugh and feel of more use than he’d ever felt doing any job for the King. And Karl. That damn woman. She was the most fun, smart, careless, infuriating, loving, selfless, bothersome, kind woman he’d ever known. He longed for her more than anything else, yet he couldn’t act on it. He knew she felt the same, the way she watched him, looked away when he sought her eye, the way her breath caught when he moved next to her in the dark. She practically shuddered when he put a hand on her arm.
As soon as they were in the safety of Karl’s homeland he’d turn his back on them and head home. He was a servant of the King and of his own family. The gods told him he couldn’t break those ties or change his destiny when it came to his family. He must go home, marry the daughter of some rich landowner and not see them for a very long time. He knew what was to become of the girls, he had the visions, he would know them in years to come, but Karl…he didn’t see Karl. He feared the worst. He dared not satisfy himself with her, to fall in love only to have to walk away or have her die.
Amias squatted down, racked with troubling thoughts. He shook his head repeatedly trying to rid himself of the doubt, fear, anger and love. He stood and roared into the sky in pain and guilt. A small animal darted in fear through the trees.
To his surprise, two tall and slender men, slipped from the trees and simply looked at him.
Chapter 9
The Dance
Two guards on horseback met them as Amias and the two Siri walked toward the outpost. They were almost a foot taller than Amias, very slim and wore plain brown clothes. The guards greeted them with honest smiles and friendly words, having met the two men before. Amias was told they came to the post a few times per month to do some trading of goods and news from either side of the forest line.
Amias, the two guards and the two Siri entered the outpost. All heads turned toward them. One small figure with the same dark hair, slender build and watchful eyes stepped forward. A single tear rolled down Krisa’s cheek.
The Siri stayed during the meal of roasted boar the cooks had prepared. The Marshalls devoured their food declaring it was the best they’d eaten in almost a year. Krisa and Pat sat with the Siri the entire evening, talking and sharing stories. It turned out that Krisa’s mother was indeed Siri and the two men knew her clan.
One of the outpost guards produced a mouth pipe and another held a small wooden box with tight strings stretched over an opening. When he pulled or flicked a string it made beautiful tones. Each string sounded different. They played well-known tunes and Glory sang along, teaching Pearl the words.
Kel jumped up during a song with a faster tempo, pushed a table out of the way and grabbed Pearl’s hand, pulling her to dance. He twirled her around the room then spun her off to Roben. Pat and Krisa got up to try their turn at it as Kel motioned Karl to join him. Amias’ back straightened briefly at the joy she showed at being asked to dance. She easily swung around the room in Kel’s arms, laughing in a way he’d never seen before. He could have drilled holes into Kel’s back with the fierceness in his eyes if Glory hadn’t bounced up to him for his turn.
Kel was a good man, he thought to himself as he twirled Glory and held her small hands as they swept across the room. He had no family obligations, no betrothed nor anything keeping him from being there for Karl and the girls for years to come. He would make a good husband to her. He was honest and hard working.
Glory twirled a little too far and fell against Kel, causing a collision between the two couples. She wasn’t hurt at all. She demanded she now dance with Kel, who traded Karl to Amias. He took her hands stiffly in his and they spun more carefully around
the room.
“The girls are so happy,” she told him looking at each as they turned.
“I’ve never seen you with such a sparkle in your eye,” he said, looking into her face. “Do they teach all Brothers to dance like this?”
“I had to learn in secret,” she told him, pulling a bit closer. “Though I probably look a lot less clumsy in a dress than in grey robes.”
A smile flicked the corner of his mouth and she laughed, reaching up to twirl the hair touching his collar around a finger. He saw that look in her eye again, one of longing as she studied him. He pulled away, quickly stopping their dance.
As he moved away her smile turned to a concerned frown and then he was gone.
Amias delayed their departure. Karl was anxious to get home and told him so but he seemed not to listen or care. He had changed, become more distant and she didn’t know why. He was fine with the girls, but became indifferent to her.
Two days and nights passed. On the first night, after everyone had settled in and were fast asleep, the storm resumed but further north. It had passed them, to their relief. They would not have to endure that again. At dusk on the second night Karl stopped to talk to Horse at the paddock. Amias stepped toward her from the side of the building, startling her. She didn’t know he was there. He’d been avoiding or ignoring her so much lately she thought he was angry. He just stood silently beside her for a long while.
“I’ll take the girls and go in the morning,” Karl told him. “I don’t want to delay any longer. You don’t have to take us.”
“I’ll take you. But not tomorrow.”
“For someone in a rush to get home and to get rid of us, you are certainly slow about it.”
