by J. E. Keep
For the first time since they’d set out, it was Ramtok rather than his brother who sighted the danger first. “There, matron,” he said, his dark eyes glued off towards a patch of brown shrubbery near a thicker tree line. It took her gaze a moment to adjust, but she saw it then. It was at least two of the kaliak camouflaged in the tundra, and most definitely aware of their encroachment.
The negotiation of this would be tricky, even for her. Her two Kron mates would definitely stand out under any close scrutiny. Yet she needed to conclude her deal and secure a place to rest from the elements. And on the flat tundra, it wouldn’t do to just camp anywhere.
Aleena’s footsteps stayed the same pace, her body still holding the same poise as she watched them, watching her. She began to move towards them, her hands unseen beneath the fur coat. The metal of her dagger touched her left hand, the cool wood of her pistol’s handle clasped in the other.
“Stay back,” she said as she made her way forward, her hands squeezing around her weapons before she relinquished them. “I’ve come to negotiate. The large brothers obeyed, as she knew they would, but she felt their unease. They hadn’t left her alone since they’d acknowledged her as their new matron and set out together, and being in a strange land of their enemies heightened their sense of agitation.
As a show of faith I’ve left my guards behind,” she called out loudly over the wailing of the wind, moving her arms from under her cloak and spreading them in the air.
Ahead, however, she saw as the silhouettes of the scouts crouched in the shrubs rose, rifles at the ready, aimed for her. More came out of the trees with bows and arrows, but as one of the men studied her then waved the others to lower their weapons, she knew it was fine.
“We know this one,” came the voice, and when he pulled back his hood she saw it was the familiar face of the short-haired militia captain she’d dealt with before. That made initiation easier, but the rest... undoubtedly harder. This one was a slippery negotiator. Too cunning to rise to any higher a position amongst his people, as he was safe and in control right where he was. “Long time no see, elf witch,” he remarked loudly and wryly as he folded his arms and let her approach.
“Aleena, actually.” She smiled amiably as she moved forward, letting her arms rest back at her sides. “And I’ve missed you too.” Her white hair whipped across her face, freed from the hair tie, but she ignored it.
“So what brings you here this time, huh?” he queried, seeming only half interested. “Smugglin’ some drugs on through again? Or is it ‘medicine’ this time?” He smirked just a bit, but she had to watch as his keen, blue-eyed gaze slid over to her two conspicuously large Kron brothers and saw the danger there.
“Why, are you wanting for something? I do get around, if you have any special requests.” Aleena was cold and anxious to get back to her Kron, but her posture was artificially relaxed. She seemed at ease, yet every muscle was at the ready, danger still prickling her scalp. “If you don’t want to say it in front of them, we could discuss in private.”
“I’ve no secrets from them,” he said, though all the same he looked back to her then waved them off and they retreated, giving them space to speak. “What’ll it be this time, elf? Whatever it is you’re after, it won’t come cheap. The state’s breathin’ down our necks, lookin’ for excuses to conscript more of my men on any flimsy pretext they can come up with.” It was hard to miss the slight dip his ice-cold eyes took down over her though, sizing her up in a less-than-professional manner.
“Well, perhaps I could help with that. I’m here to give you a break.” Her nose crinkled slightly. “I’m sure you can use it. The weather is beautiful this time of year, after all. However, I’d like a private lodge. In return, well, I think me and my guards can let you and yours take some time off from patrolling.”
The look on the tall, dark-haired northerner’s face was sceptical, to say the least. But businesslike at its core. “I’m sure,” he responded in a gruff voice. He paid her new Kron mates but a sparing glance more then leaned in. “Like I said,” he began in a lower tone. “This isn’t a good time for us to be cuttin’ deals that could endanger us.” With a shrug of his shoulders he glanced to the brothers once more, raising her anxiety. “There’s somethin’ more you could do for us though. Earn the ‘privilege’ of helping us out at one of the lodges.” His lips crooked up in the corner.
Her expression softened, even as she inwardly cursed him. “Please don’t say cook you a good meal. I’m a lousy chef,” she said lightly, her green eyes narrowing as another gust brought hard debris to her cheek. She swatted it away and blinked back at him.
“You have quite the small army amassed,” she added.
The man gave a dry laugh at her remark then shrugged. “We got somethin’ to get to tomorrow. A trade,” he stated. “Gotta meet some folk and trade ’em some of our specialty crafts for southern goods. Y’know, the usual.” He smiled cooly. “And don’t worry, rather not be eatin’ any elf brew anyhow.”
“Oh, my delicate sensibilities,” she exaggerated with a playful roll of her eyes. “I’m assuming you’re expecting the trade to go... sour?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Not particularly. But y’know, anythin’ could happen.” She detected it wasn’t quite the truth, but then, nothing said ever was in her experience. “What’s really important is that we not be caught tradin’ directly with these... sorts, with the state breathin’ down our necks. So an intermediary like you would serve the function just right,” he said with a toothy grin, the fur-clad northerner so smugly full of himself.
“Ah, because I’m so objectionable in the first place. I’m your fall girl.” She gave a saccharine smile. “Aren’t you sweet. Well. You have me by the toe, don’t you? Tell me what and when and where, and I’ll tell you what types of sheets I’d like for my lodge.”
She saw that hint of a sneer on his face then as he looked at her, not much appreciation for her tone. Though it faded fast as he was more of a businessman than anything else. Which worked for and against her. “There’s a lodge just a couple miles to my rear,” he said with a thumb towards the tree line behind him. “You’ll find the goods there for trade. You make the switch, we pick up the supplies two days from now, and other than that... the lodge is yours. How long you need it for anyhow?” he asked with only professional interest.
“A month or so, and I’ll leave it in better shape than I left it.” She offered her freezing cold hand out to him. She didn’t trust him, or his deal, but one thing she did manage to trust in was herself. It’d kept her alive so far.
She could see the look on his face as he seemed about to debate her on the length, but instead, reluctantly, he reached out and took her hand. He gave it a firm shake and nodded. “All yours for that time then. We’ll give you a wide berth after we pick up our supplies. Don’t care to know exactly what you’re up to anyhow,” he added truthfully enough. “So with that, I’ll see ya again in two days’ time.”
She knew then the deal had to be worse than he let on, for certain.
Her hand squeezed his, and her piercing green eyes locked on him. “And there’s absolutely nothing else I need to know about who you’re trading with?”
The captain gave a dry laugh at that as he took his hand back. “Really? You need me to say any more?” He turned and began to walk off instead. “You got enough of a warning.” And it was true. Anyone trading without sanction of the state was someone to be wary of, for they were either bandits or crooked black-marketeers like her who knew how to protect themselves either way.
She rolled her eyes at his back before trudging back to her Kron. She pushed her hair back from her face, though the red in her cheeks was no longer just from the cold, but anger at the obnoxious, insulting man.
The large, armoured Ramtok took a long look at her then stared at the back of the captain as he receded into the distance. “It’s not too late for me to gut him for you, matron,” he said, solely inferred upon her angered reaction he
seemed ready to do just that on her behalf, his hand gripping his scimitar hilt.
“It’s fine. He’s a peon. Besides, I could use a little adventure in my life.” As if what she was doing wasn’t already adventurous enough. “We’ll be doing a trade. Then you might have to actually kill some people.” She smiled. “In return, we’ll have a cozy little lodge all to ourselves.”
The broad Ramtok gave her a toothy, almost lecherous smile. “Very well, matron. By your command,” he stated respectfully, and together they set off towards the lodge in the woods.
Chapter 11 – The Soldiers
"They’re up here, sir,” said the black-uniformed Landsreck — the Landed Knight, special forces of the state — as he led the pair of officers through the woods. “We found them while searchin’ where you told us.”
Major Hendrik Kelifron moved along at a brisk pace, forcing the man to pick up speed to keep astride him. “And they were tied up when you found them?” he asked brusquely, the stern man’s voice so firm and resolute. All business.
“Yes, sir, that’s correct. We didn’t ask them anything, as you instructed. We waited for you and your adjutant.”
He was surprised they managed that amount of adherence, but he gave just a firm nod in approval. It was hard to say what went on beyond those steely eyes of his as the tall, slender man strode through the woods so speedily.
Liena’sa was close at his heel, her walk just as formal and purposeful as his. Her blonde hair was tied up and away from her sharp features, half hidden beneath her officer’s cap.
She was a stern-looking half-elf with a purposeful stride and her shoulders were squared. She understood what it all meant, finally.
They were hot on the would-be killer’s trail.
As they reached the small clearing with the dead fire pit, the two bound bandits were hard to miss. They were knelt down at the center, with the second Landsreck’s rifle at the back of their heads. “Step aside, Sergeant,” came the Major’s firm voice, and the two guards took up position to the side.
The two scraggly-looking ruffians peered up at the stern captain with wide, terrified eyes. “We didn’t do nothin’, sir! I swear! We was on our way ta sign up when we was waylaid by bandits and—”
The Major pulled out his pistol and struck the quiet, shorter one with the hilt of the gun. He spoke with an eerie calm as if he hadn’t nearly just bashed in the jaw of the other man “Don’t waste my time with bullshit. Just tell me the truth.”
With those steely eyes upon him, the first swallowed then spoke again sheepishly. “I swear, sir, what I said about bein’ tied up was true—”
“Obviously,” butt in the Major coldly.
The man flinched at that. “Was two of ’em. A man dressed in dark-brown leathers with blonde hair, spoke a bunch about fightin’ the power and stuff.”
Major Hendrik Kelifron’s brows furrowed in a rare display of open thought at that. “And the other,” he urged.
“She... she was a pretty lass. Real fine lookin’. Too good ta be true,” he said with a nervous swallow.
The Major studied the man intensely, satisfied himself that this was the truth based on what he knew already. “Keep going. I like honesty.”
Liena’sa didn’t flinch at the violence but spent almost as much time studying the Major’s expression as she did the two bandits’. She was a clever woman, but he was cleverer, and she watched as the gears turned in his head.
The ruffian jerked his head up to the north. “They went thataway sir,” he blurt out immediately. Nodding to his own words, he was insistent, eager to appease the Major. “After the feller got a drop on us, tied us up, and took our stuff for the missy, they went off in a rush. Even though she was lookin’ ragged!”
The Major never let his eyes slip from the man, that unrelenting gaze boring through him to the truth. “So you were waylaid and hog-tied by two rebels in the woods, who then robbed you and preached about their cause,” he said in accusation.
Flinching a bit, the man nodded. “Well... we was... we — ” He glanced to his companion, whose jaw was already a mess. “We took ahold of the lady and... while we was busy with her the feller got us.”
Liena’sa’s eyes were as cold as the Major’s. “Poor dears.”
The Major looked at her for a split second, giving the bandit his first reprieve from that harsh gaze. “So were they working together or did he just happen to drop in on you three while you were ‘busy’?” he asked with his eerie calmness, barely slipping with the derision on that last word.
“He... he” — the man swallowed again — “they seemed ta be separate. But... but after he tied us up they talked like they was real familiar. They definitely knew each other, sir. I swear, that’s all I know!”
Taking his time, the Major nodded to that then walked around the man. “Alright then. Moving on to other business,” he stated, much to the barbarian’s relief. Hendrik grabbed the filthy man’s arms, going down to the ropes that bound him. “You’re going to tell me the location of the nearest outcast hideaways.”
The man flustered for a moment. “What?” He jerked his head about but couldn’t see the Major. “We don’t know nothin’ like that, sir, I swear!”
Liena’sa saw as Hendrik took hold of one of the man’s fingers and bent it back at such an obscene angle as the sound of cracking bone filled the chill spring air. “Not good enough,” he stated firmly over the sound of the man’s screams.
“Try again,” came the Major’s insistence, and even amidst the man’s cry of “I don’t know
The next bone broke.
“We swear we don’t!” cried the other man with the near broken jaw. “If we did we wouldn’t be out here!”
He earned another blow for that one. “Parasites like you two doubtlessly were kicked out. Now tell me what I want to know and I can send you on your merry way.”
The Lieutenant saw him take out a tool from his pocket, and she knew what it was even before he had it ready. If the bandit didn’t start talking soon, he was going to have much fewer fingers.
Chapter 12 – The Nobles
Through all her years, Caprice had never had the opportunity to witness her father get his hands dirty with work. Yet she’d just watched him torture and kill a man.
She knew, of course, that he had been an officer. A Marshal of the Union Military. He’d commanded men at the front in combat, and spent years organizing the Landsreck behind the lines before he took over as head of their family. She suspected the skills she’d witnessed him display were earned during the latter.
As he came out of the bedroom, his sleeves still rolled up and his normally brushed-back hair a bit tousled, she could see him in a different light. The silver that brushed his temples did not diminish his vigor there before her with his jacket over one shoulder. “He’s in place now,” he said to her smoothly. “Tidied up and waiting to be found in the morning,” he explained to her calmly, as if he hadn’t just murdered a man — her husband by law— — on her behalf.
Duke Samei was such a tall and imposing man, but he gave her an uneven smile as he reached up and cupped her cheek in his palm. “It’ll all be done and over with soon, sweet child of mine.” His voice was so rich, his tone so fatherly despite the topic.
Relief flooded her and she let go of the breath she’d been holding for so long. Her entire body seemed to yield to exhaustion after the ferocious and trying evening, and her bared shoulders slumped.
The gold-and-teal dress still covered her arms but left her cleavage and shoulders scandalously exposed, but it was expected of youth to rebel a bit. To let others enjoy their bodies as everyone pretended to be offended.
“Thank you,” she sighed, her pale flesh seeming a bit flushed.
He bent down and kissed her forehead tenderly. “You’ll have to check in the morning to be sure before you send for help, but otherwise that’s it.” He stroked his strong thumb over her smooth, fair skin. The same hand that had just been responsible for murde
r touching her pristine, virginal flesh. “Make sure the Landsreck or a doctor get here before you send for me.”
Her lower lip trembled and she glanced past him for a moment. “You expect me to spend the night alone with a dead body?”
Samei slid his hand back, stroked her beautiful dark hair and its carefully coiffed curls. “Not in the room with him, but yes. I can’t stay the whole night, it’d be too risky,” he explained to her with a calm patience. The sort of control she was used to her father exhibiting with her. “My poor girl,” he said with deep fondness, “your trials are nearly over. I swear.”
“What if he wakes? And I’m all alone and can’t protect myself?” she asked, her tone an annoyed hiss. “Father, you can’t leave me all night like this.”
His gaze hardened, but only for a moment. “Come along,” he said and took her by the arm. He guided her to the bedroom down the hall, led her into the lavish residence, and slung his jacket to the side. He took hold of her hand and lifted it up, squeezed her palm then kissed the backs of her fingers in the dark room. She could make out the reflection of light on his eyes though, the silhouette of his form against the window behind him.
She blinked as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light, her body aching with exhaustion. “Tucking me in won’t calm the monsters when the monsters are us, Father,” she protested but squeezed his hand at the same time.
“None of that,” he reprimanded in his velvety husk. There was no harshness in those words, just tenderness and care. “Come here,” he said and led her by her hand to the bed. He sat upon the edge and guided her along with him. “I’ll stay a while,” he promised.
The gown gathered beneath her as she sat beside him, the lush duvet so soft against her weary muscles. Caprice leaned her head against his shoulder as her eyes fluttered down. “It could have been so much better, couldn’t it have?”
He put his big, reassuring arm about her, held her close, and kissed her luscious hair. “Don’t worry about such things, my sweet,” he urged. “Could-have-beens are a thing for peasants, not lords and ladies.” His hand stroked down her arm then came to rest on her hip as he tugged her close. “You’re a free woman now. Once word is out, you’ll be a widow officially. And never need worry about the whims of another ever again.” His dusky voice had such a soothing way of reassuring her in between the kisses of her hair and forehead.
