Ashling

by Isobelle Carmody

  Her eyes widened in joy. We hurried downstairs.

  I stopped dead at the sight of the ex-Druid armsman waiting just outside the repair shed. He was wearing an oiled cloak, glistening with rain.

  At the inn Daffyd had been concealed by the darkness, and, before that, I had not seen him for an age. Like Domick and Brydda, I saw now that time and whatever straits he had undergone had altered him. He had lost none of his tan, which suggested he still lived an outdoor life, but there was a new intensity and a depth of pain in his dark-brown eyes that made me wonder what he had been doing since he left us. He was taller than I remembered and thinner, the skin on his bones so scant that he looked frail—his flesh too weak to contain his spirit. But when he embraced me, I felt his indomitable will in the sinewy strength of his arms, and was reassured.

  There had always been unquenchable fires in the quiet armsman.

  "I am sorry I did not come sooner but they are very watchful," he said. "Even now I dare not be gone too long or Ayle will become suspicious."

  He nodded a greeting to Kella.

  "Ayle?"

  Daffyd flashed me a picture of a man and I recognized in him the bitter-eyed slave supplier Brydda and I had met at the inn.

  "You said you know where Matthew is," I said eagerly.

  Daffyd gave me an assessing look. "I do, but before I tell you where he is, you must make me a promise."

  I stared at him, bemused. "What?"

  "I have spent much time working my way painstakingly into the slaver's organization, waiting for a time when Salamander would expose himself. That time is near and I can't let you do anything that would stop him appearing."

  "Is Matthew with Salamander?"

  "Ayle has Matthew and the other four slaves, but Salamander is to pick them up. If you would free him and the others you must do it at the last minute. You don't have any idea how suspicious and fanatical Salamander is. If he gets the slightest notion that something is wrong, there will be a lot of dead people and dead ends and, believe me, Matthew and I are likely to be among the cold ones."

  "I'll be guided by you," I said quickly. "We will not act until the last minute."

  "Do you speak for Brydda as well?"

  "I can't speak for him," I said after a slight pause. "But he has also been searching for Salamander because he killed Idris. He won't want to frighten him away anymore than you do."

  "Salamander kills like other people breathe. I suppose Brydda wants revenge."

  "He wants to smash the slave trade," Kella said.

  "That is a fine desire," Daffyd said. "But this is a trade that brings a river of coin into the hands of slavers. Killing Salamander will not put an end to it altogether but I wish him luck. My quest is somewhat more personal, and as important to me as Brydda's is no doubt to him." There was something unbending in his face now, as he weighed things in his mind.

  "You are still looking for Gilaine and the others?" I temporized.

  "Always," he said, the terse word a vow.

  "Then Salamander has them?"

  "Not now. But he had them and he is my sole link with them." He frowned, seeming to make up his mind. "Matthew is being held with a whole lot of other slaves in a warehouse on the banks of the Suggredoon, waiting to be picked up by Salamander."

  "One of the river wharfs?" Kella asked eagerly.

  Daffyd nodded, but his eyes did not leave mine.

  "Then we were right. He means to use the Suggredoon to get them out of Sutrium," the healer said.

  "Matthew is drugged then?" I asked.

  "He was," Daffyd said. "I near died when I spotted him among the others. I was afraid he might give me away— he did not look drugged, you see. When I could touch him, I tried to farseek him to find out what he was up to. That was when I discovered that he had been drugged. I had to sweat it out until the drug wore off to find out what was going on! I was terrified there was some plot afoot that would destroy any hope I had of getting at Salamander.

  "I managed to get the job of redosing the slaves and I let Matthew's dribble onto the ground and kept my fingers crossed he would not give me away before his mind was clear. Yesterday was the first time we were able to exchange stories. I promised to come and find you, but it has taken this long to think of an excuse that would not cause suspicion." He glanced outside where it had begun to rain again.

  "I don't understand," I broke in. "I've farsought Matthew every hour all day yesterday and this morning. If he was free of the drugs, how is it that I couldn't locate him? Is he on tainted ground?"

  Daffyd shook his head. "The place where he and the other slaves are being held is built to extend out over the Suggredoon. I think there is something tainted in the water because sometimes the fish glow at night, or they are grotesquely deformed."

  I opened my mouth and huffed a sigh of relief. That explained everything. Probably whatever was tainting the river had also affected the sea along the shore. And from Daffyd's description of Matthew, it looked as if Domick had been right about the slave suppliers using Sadorian drugs. As we had theorized, the drug must have been administered by the soldierguard in the time that we had lost contact, distorting Matthew's mind signature so that I could not find the wagon. The only mystery was why the soldierguard had stopped the wagon part way to administer the drug dose.

  "How does the soldierguard captain fit into the whole thing?"

  Daffyd gave me a blank stare. "What soldierguard captain?"

  I did not want to divert Daffyd when we had so little time so I shrugged dismissively. "How did Gilaine and Lidgebaby end up in Salamander's hands?"

  Daffyd's eyes gleamed with obsessive fire. "Well you might ask, for it is a strange and dark story. And long. Too long for these few moments. Suffice it to say that they were sold to him as slaves. I have infiltrated the slave trade specifically to reach Salamander, so that I can learn where they were sold, and to whom."

  He looked around again, as if he feared someone might have followed him. Taking me by the arm he drew me deeper into the warehouse, and out of sight of the yard gate.

  "The very day after you and Brydda met with him, Ayle told me that Salamander had sent word that he would come by boat to collect the slaves you were to deliver and a lot more besides. There was to be a change in the way things were done. A streamlining, Ayle called it. In future, all slaves were to be brought to a single spot in Sutrium— this would be regularly changed. The slaves would be picked up by boat and taken over the seas to be sold."

  "Straight to sea from Sutrium? No more routing them through Morganna?" I asked, my mouth dry.

  "Ayle said nothing of that, but I would guess this slave boat will stop at Morganna as well. He is to manage the sorting house in Sutrium, and I suppose there will be another sorting house and another Ayle in Morganna— maybe one in every coastal town. Ayle told me because he wanted to boast at his promotion, and since I had made it my business to have him trust me and think me utterly loyal and devoted to him, if slightly thick-headed, he was telling me that his good fortune was mine too."

  Daffyd's eyes narrowed. "But as soon as I heard Salamander would come in person, I knew it was the chance I had waited for."

  "Chance?" Kella murmured, voicing the question shaping in my own mind.

  The armsman flicked a look at her. "I mean to farseek Salamander when he comes for the slaves, to learn where he has taken Gilaine and Lidgebaby and my brother. If that does not work, I will force him to recall by cruder means. If he has truly forgotten, he will pay for his amnesia with his life."

  "Hard to believe that Salamander would come to pick the slaves up himself," I said. "It seems so out of character for him to expose himself like that."

  Daffyd shrugged. "He is setting a new aspect of the slave trade in place, and he does not trust any other to do it properly. In any case, while he is aboard the ship he will be in no danger. I daresay he will not come ashore longer than it takes to load the slaves and it is likely he will be masked. But a mask will not keep m
e from his mind."

  He looked a little mad, and I decided it was not the moment to ask what he would do if Salamander had a natural mindshield.

  "Why is he taking them from the river wharf, when it means he will have to pass the ferry checkpoint before getting to the sea? Why not take them from the sea wharfs?"

  "The sea wharfs are guarded much more stringently by the Council. Mostly the river is used for smaller vessels that do not go out too deep, and the ships which go back and forward to Herder Isle and Norse Isle. It will have to be a considerable size of vessel to take so many slaves though, and that will surely excite enough attention to cause him trouble."

  "So many slaves?" I was puzzled.

  Daffyd laughed bitterly. "I told you, Ayle's warehouse is to be the new sorting house. Every day more slaves are brought in to await Salamander's ship. There are more than one hundred already waiting for collection."

  "One hundred!" I echoed, astounded.

  "It is nothing to what will be coming, according to Ayle. These are early days."

  "How long before this ship comes to take the slaves?" I asked with sudden foreboding.

  "Ayle said tomorrow."

  "Tomorrow!"

  Daffyd nodded grimly. "Remember, you must not act until the last moment."

  I nodded, thinking this was the last minute! We would be lucky to get anything set up in such a short time. "Does Matthew have any ideas how we might get him free?"

  A rare crooked half-smile. "I think Matthew thought you and Brydda would come up with those minor details."

  I shook my head in exasperation. "Well, without seeing things, the best I can come up with is for Matthew to commit suicide by jumping into the river."

  Kella and Daffyd gave me amazed stares.

  "Is there something wrong with that plan? Your Ayle doesn't sound as if a slave's suicide would cause him too much concern, and I doubt the taint in the water will harm Matthew as long as we get him out quickly."

  "It is a fine plan given the nearness of the water and the fact that the slaves will not be brought out of the shed until they are to be taken aboard," Daffyd said. He looked again from the repair-shed door into the driving rain. "I must go back now. Is there anything you want me to tell Matthew?"

  "Tell him to be ready," I said decisively. "How many guards are there?"

  "Only four. The slaves are easy to handle with these new drugs. The other guards and are I doing little more than feeding and watering them as if they were herd beasts waiting for slaughter. But Salamander will probably have a few people of his own." He pulled the hood on his cloak up, and turned to face me, his eyes shadowed. "Remember your promise."

  He strode away without waiting for a response, and was lost behind the curtain of rain, even before he had reached the gates to the repair yard.

  I turned back to look at Kella.

  "He is so full of hatred," she said. "I have only slight empath Talent, and yet it burned me."

  "He loves Gilaine and he is emotionally linked with Lidgebaby. I had forgotten his brother was in the camp, too. I wonder how they got into Salamander's hands in the first place. And how they escaped the firestorm that destroyed the Druid camp."

  "What are you going to tell Brydda?"

  "Yes, what?" Brydda asked, stepping out of the shadows behind us.

  We both whirled to face the big rebel.

  "It seems I do not have to decide that question," I said coolly, not liking the fact that he had deliberately hidden himself and listened to words that had not been intended for his ears.

  "Perhaps it is lucky for us both that you do not," Brydda said with equal coolness. He shook his head and the harshness melted from his expression. "I did not mean to overhear. I did not recognize Daffyd and so I hid. Only when you spoke did I realize who he was, and by then it was clear he would not welcome my presence."

  "What will you do then?" I asked.

  "What would you have me do?"

  "You heard what Daffyd said. He wants to find out where Salamander took Gilaine and the others. I would ask, as he did, that we do not get in his way."

  The rebel's eyes were somber. "Perhaps I have given you some cause to doubt me, but I tell you now, and my life on this, you can trust me. Daffyd wants Salamander alive so he can milk him for information, and I want him dead. Both our wishes can be met."

  "What did you have in mind?"

  Brydda smiled a feral smile. "Rescuing Matthew and taking Salamander captive, so that we can question him to our heart's content. And when he has no more to tell us, then I will deal with him."

  I shuddered and wondered if there was ever any other way of dealing with hatred and violence.

  "Well?" Brydda prompted. "Do we see how a sly Salamander deals with the Black Dog's teeth?"

  I looked at the rebel steadily. "If I don't agree?"

  He frowned. "You gave your word. I was not meant to hear what I heard and we are friends. Therefore by virtue of that friendship, I will abide by your decision."

  I felt ashamed of my doubts. "You are a better friend than I am," I said. "I will say yes, but I must warn Daffyd."

  "Can you farseek him now?" he asked.

  I thought for a minute. "I might catch him before he returns to the warehouse, but I think it would be better to wait until your plans are firm. He will want to know how and what you mean to do. The only trouble is that the warehouse where the slaves are being held is over tainted water, and Daffyd is inside most of the time, which means I won't be able to farseek him any more than I could Matthew. But maybe if I go there, I can somehow get him to come outside."

  "I will come with you. I will need to have a look at this shed and the river wharfs, and it will give me the chance to answer any questions Daffyd might have about my plans."

  "We will have to go there tonight since the slaves are to be picked up tomorrow. There will be fewer people about then as well."

  "I will call for you before dusk then."

  "All right. Did you come for anything in particular?" I added, as the big man turned to go.

  He slapped his head. "Of course. All of this drove it from my mind. I came to tell you that Malik has agreed to meet you, but that he refuses to come unless the location of the meeting is changed."

  "But you said they did not know where ..."

  "They don't. But he proposes his own location. He says the meeting should occur on truly neutral territory and has named Bodera's home in Sutrium."

  "Oh Lud," I said uncertainly.

  "Malik sent his letter direct to Bodera, which suggests that, in spite of all my efforts, he has begun to see me as a rival."

  "What did Bodera say?"

  Brydda scowled, "Unfortunately he thought it was a good idea. He is proud to think that his home is neutral territory. Also he feels we should accede to Malik's wish for the greater good. If Malik is refused, he will believe I am the reason for it and there is cause to feel I am a danger to him. The worst of it is that Bodera is right."

  "Then what is the problem? If he is not troubled ..."

  The big rebel ran an agitated hand over his unruly thatch. "It is dangerous to have these sort of meetings in a permanent place that we use. And, apart from that, the location of the meeting will be known in advance of the day which increases the chance of treachery."

  "How much danger will there be?"

  He shrugged. "Not so much as all that, I suppose, since none of the leaders would risk giving away a secret meeting at which they themselves might be taken prisoner or slain. The other thing, of course, is that the rebels do want the rebellion to occur and a raid at Bodera's house would immediately put an end to it." Brydda shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe I am worrying over nothing but I think it sets a bad precedent. And I don't like putting Bodera in danger."

  "I suppose I must accept the risk if you and the others do. When will the meeting take place now?"

  "On the same day," Brydda said. "The sooner it is over, the better I'll feel."

  XXIX
/>   I spent most of the day sitting by Dragon's bed, holding her hand.

  I had brought her out of a different kind of solitude to Obernewtyn and, now, she was lost to us again, locked behind the fortress of her own mind.

  In the late afternoon, the rain clouds parted to reveal a watery sun. I donned fur-lined boots and a thick cloak just the same, determined not to freeze as I had done the last time I kept a midnight vigil outside a warehouse.

  I went down to ask if Gahltha wanted a blanket.

  "I/Gahltha am not cold," he sent.

  "Maruman/yelloweyes has been gone longlong days," I sent, wondering as always, why the beasts called a one-eyed cat yelloweyes. Well, I did it just as unthinkingly. Perhaps because, like Dameon, me old cat often saw better than those of us with two eyes.

  Gahltha gave me a level look. "He does what he/yellow-eyes must."

  I frowned into his dark eyes. "Do you/Gahltha know where he/Maruman is?"

  "The voices of his chaos/madness call him when they will and he/Maruman must hear them. The strain of guardianship caused the voices to call."

  I frowned, confused. "Guardianship?"

  "Of the dreamtrails. I/Gahltha know that it is not easy. Yet I havesworn to Maruman/yelloweyes that I would take his place. I didnot know how until he/yelloweyes showed me. The dreamtrails are strange/dangerous. There are beasts like none that walk the earth on them, and shapes that hide/conceal other shapes, yet one grows better at it." I wondered if I was understanding him correctly. In my mind's eye, I saw the black horse leap into the dream tunnel, urging me to run while he fought off whatever it was that followed me. Maruman's H'rayka? A dark unease filled me at the thought that somehow those nightmares were real.

  "Are you/Gahltha saying that Maruman/yelloweyes asked you to look after me... my mind or my dreams, and then went away in his madness/mindchaos?"

  "Did I not sayso?"

  Was it possible I was being somehow stalked in my dreams? But how, and by whom? Again I heard Maruman talking of the H'rayka, seeking me on the dreamtrails. I shivered, for if the one who stalked me was my mirror image, the Destroyer, wouldn't they possess the same powers as me?