The Road To Cordia

  Instead of backing up in horror, he seemed amused. "What are you going to do with that?"

  "I'll stab you if you don't go away and leave us alone. I will."

  "Really?"

  "Really!" Her voice quivered only a little.

  "Stab me unto death?" he asked, still smiling.

  "Go away, O'Keeven. Please." Her hand was shaking, but she meant what she said.

  "See," he said gently. "I told you that sooner or later, everyone meets the Devil." He was looking slightly behind her and smiling.

  Ja'Nil risked a quick look over her shoulder. The only one in sight was Sa'Ari, sitting there, watching them with fearful eyes. Ja'Nil felt the knife wrenched from her. She turned to see O'Keeven, holding the knife in one hand, while his other was raised in a fist, ready to strike her. He was still smiling.

  She cringed.

  He lowered his hand.

  Ja'Nil looked behind him. "Look out," she warned.

  He laughed but did not turn around. "You're a fast learner, sweetheart," he said, then shrieked as the golden wolf leaped on his back.

  O'Keeven fell forward, but with an acrobat's quickness, twisted just before he hit the ground. He raked upward with the knife. Blood flowed as he stabbed the wolf in the foot. But after that, it was O'Keeven who did all the bleeding.

  The wolf clamped his jaws around O'Keeven's knife hand and ripped. O'Keeven yelled and kicked out. He grabbed a rock with his other hand and socked the wolf in the jaw. Startled, the wolf let go of him. O'Keeven rolled and leapt to his feet. "Run!" he yelled at Ja'Nil and then took off himself. The wolf, growling ferociously, loped lazily after him.

  Ja'Nil was left with three frightened children and one dead man.

  "Do we gotta monious him?" asked a crying Little Piet, frantically sucking on his right hand thumb as he pointed with his left hand at the dead man.

  "No!"

  "How'd he get dead?" asked Jari.

  Just then, the wolf sauntered back into the clearing.

  "Wolfy!" said a delighted Little Piet.

  "Jari, Little Piet, both of you get into the wagon," Ja'Nil ordered. "Sa'Ari, you pull them." Moving slowly, never taking her eyes off the wolf, Ja'Nil reached down and picked up the knife O'Keeven had dropped. Placing herself between the wolf and children, she held the knife ready to throw at the first sign of attack.

  The wolf eyed her and the knife, then yawned and leaned down to lick at the wound on his right hind foot. On his front paw, caught in the hair, was a golden ring. The animal seemed completely disinterested in the children.

  It's still dark," Sa'Ari protested.

  "It will be light soon," said Ja'Nil. "Just keep going in the same direction we were going before." It was important to get as far away from the camp as possible, she didn't want the children to see the wolf feeding on the dead man. Just thinking about it made her sick. Still, better he eat a dead man than live children.

  Straining mightily, Sa'Ari managed to start the wagon going. Ja'Nil followed, walking backwards, knife ready. Her last sight of the wolf was of him sniffing at the body of the man he had killed.

  CHAPTER 15

  They weren't prisoners, they weren't being sold like pieces of meat and most of all, speaking of meat, they weren't a wolf's dinner.

  By the time the sun came up, Little Piet was once again perched on her shoulders, while a sleepy Jari half-sat, half-lay in the wagon that Ja'Nil pulled. Sa'Ari trudged doggedly alongside.

  "I'm hungry," whined Little Piet, drumming the heels of his feet on Ja'Nil's chest.

  "Don't kick," she said.

  "I'm tired, too," admitted Sa'Ari.

  "So am I," said Ja'Nil.

  "There's a stream," said Little Piet, who as usual could see farther than the others from his high perch.

  The stream was cold, shallow and fast moving, as it bubbled over the rocky stream bed. All the children including Ja'Nil bathed their feet, washed their dusty faces, and drank deeply. Sa'Ari carefully divided the bread into four parts, giving Ja'Nil the largest. Ja'Nil thought about giving her share to the children, but that was plain silly. She was hungry, bigger than the others and doing more work. Anyway, she had already eaten it. The apples were long gone.

  "If Da were here, he'd catch us a Gundi bird to eat," said Jari.

  "Well, he's not," said Sa'Ari. "He's in Cordia. We're supposed to meet up with him," she added for Ja'Nil's benefit.

  "At the Lady's Keep?"

  "No, in Cordia."

  "You're supposed to go to all the way to Cordia?"

  "You gonna take us, Ja'Nil?" asked Jari.

  "I don't even know where it is."

  "Far and far aways," said Little Piet, in a dramatically mysterious voice, probably imitating his da.

  "I thought you said you always go to the Lady's Keep."

  "We do. On our way to Cordia," said Sa'Ari.

  "But what am I supposed to do with you? I can't take you to Cordia."

  "Ain't nobody asking you to," said Sa'Ari. "We can take care of ourselves."

  Of course you can.

  * * *

  They reached the Keep just as the last rays of Little'un blessed the hilltops and darkened into night. Remembering the lethal hospitality of the Red Horse Clan, Ja'Nil would have preferred to do a little scouting before presenting herself at the Keep's iron bound gates. However their little troupe was spotted almost immediately by the soldiers who stood guard duty.

  "Come on, hurry it along, iffin yas don't wants to be locked out," yelled one of the soldiers.

  Around them, men and women pushing and pulling carts, hefting bundles, carrying boxes and other miscellaneous objects, were hurrying to either enter or exit the Keep before the gates closed and locked for the night. Sa'Ari, pulling Little Piet in the wagon, started running. Jari wiggled down from Ja'Nil's shoulders and ran after her siblings.

  Ja'Nil hesitated.

  The Keep's walls were both solid and high. Once inside, it might not be easy to get out again. The ironbound gates with a prominent Redbird insignia were so heavy that two strong men were needed to open and close them. Did she want to trust herself to the Keep's uncertain hospitality?

  At the gate, Sa'Ari hurried Jari through. She stopped and looked back at Ja'Nil. "Ya gotta come quick-like. They mean what they say. The gates stay locked through the night." Slowly Ja'Nil started forward.

  "Come on, move it," said one of the soldiers to Sa'Ari. But the sturdy little girl stood foursquare in the path of the closing gate looking back at Ja'Nil and refusing to move.

  In spite of her fear, Ja'Nil smiled. Sa'Ari was such a fierce little thing. She picked up her pace. Sa'Ari, Little Piet, Jari and Ja'Nil entered the mysterious Lady's Keep just as the gates clanged shut behind them.

  Other than as a destination, Ja'Nil had had no idea what a Keep was or what it would look like. The only structures she had ever seen were her small village, the No Name Inn, and the stone buildings of Lord No'Sila.

  She had no reference for the towers and stone turrets and bright flying flags, or for the huge courtyard crowded with small buildings that seemed to combine shops and cottages and workrooms.

  Hustle and bustle and laughter, movement and chatter filled the place. The front door stood wide open with people going in and out. Soldiers in colorful uniforms circulated, visible and watchful, but seemed to have no mandate to harass or mistreat the people.

  As they weren't immediately arrested and sentenced to death, she assumed that it would be safe to find some corner against the wall, and huddle there for the night. Maybe she could even scavenge up some food.

  The Mummer children were obviously not beset by Ja'Nil's anxiety. They headed straight for the front door. She caught up with them and grabbed Sa'Ari's shoulder. "Where are you going?"

  "To see the Lady," Sa'Ari answered, shrugging off Ja'Nil's hand. She pulled the wagon right up to the front steps and then made Little Piet get out and walk. With both children following, Sa'Ari pulled the now-empty wagon up the steps an
d through the wide doors.

  Ja'Nil dithered a moment or two, and then followed.

  CHAPTER 16

  They were in a huge hall. It made Lord No'Sila's judgment room look like a hut. Not only was it both long and wide, it reached higher than any inside area Ja'Nil had ever seen. It was also a busy place. Numerous groups of people were scattered around the room, but it was not crowded. Some of the people conversed earnestly; some laughed, flirted or just socialized. Servants set up tables, and dragged benches across the room, shooing away pesky little dragons who were sticking their inquisitive little scaly noses into everything.

  "Are those dragons?"

  "Babies," answered Sa'Ari. "The Lady asks the big ones to stay outside. She says they cause too much damage." Just then there came the sound of crockery breaking, a lot of crockery.

  "I tolds ya to stay away, now didn' I," yelled an outraged servant. She reached down and grabbed up a blue and purple sparkly little dragon with frightened eyes. The woman held the creature by one of its little wings and shook it.

  "Mar'Taia!" said a calm authoritative voice. "Put that child down."

  "But my Lady," protested the servant, still holding on to the dragon by its wing. "Look wha' the little imp has gone and done."

  As a fascinated Ja'Nil watched, the dragon, having gotten over its immediate fright, took matters into its own hands… er, mouth. Inhaling with a long whistling breath, it leaned close to the hand that was imprisoning it and exhaled out just a teeny-weeny little flame.

  Mar'Taia dropped the creature like a - well, like a hot dragon and let out a bloodcurdling scream. "It burned me hand off. It burned me hand off."

  The Lady swept across the room. "Please don't overdo it, Mar'Taia. Obviously your hand has not been burned off. Let me see it. Nothing more than a pinprick; go and soak it in cold water and perhaps a dram of brandy will help it to heal. Tell Wine Master I authorize."

  "Ooh, thank ya, my Lady. I'll just go and do that." Mar'Taia departed hastily, leaving behind the broken crockery and the ruffled dragon.

  The Lady ignored the broken plates and saucers and focused instead on the baby dragon. "That was very naughty of you." The little dragon hung its head. "Truly, Bluebuya, you are old enough to know better. It is not amusing to make people drop things." The little dragon squeaked something. The Lady seemed to understand the words but was in obvious disagreement with the sentiment. "Burning people is very dangerous. Burns can kill. Did you want to kill her?"

  No answer.

  "You do understand that your father and I are working very hard to reach an agreement, don't you?"

  The dragon squeaked something else.

  "Thank you, but I'm not the one you should apologize to… on second thought, perhaps it would be better if you just stayed away from Mar'Taia. "Do you understand?"

  The dragon squeaked something and darted away, half flying, half running.

  "That's the Lady of the Keep?" asked Ja'Nil.

  "Yep."

  "Is she… is she all right?"

  "What do you mean?" asked Sa'Ari.

  "She talks to dragons."

  "Don't you like dragons?" asked Jari.

  "Ahh. That's not the point."

  Just then, the Lady spied the three children. "Sa'Ari," she called in a soft pleasant voice. "Come here children; let me give you a hug." Sa'Ari ran toward her followed by Jari. Little Piet, suddenly shy, stuck his thumb in his mouth and clutched Ja'Nil's hand.

  She looked down at him. "What's the matter with you?

  Silence.

  "Don't you want to say hello to the Lady?" He nodded his head, affirmatively but kept a firm hold onto Ja'Nil's hand.

  "Is that Little Piet?" asked the Lady.

  "Come here, Little Piet," called Sa'Ari. "Come and bow to the Lady."

  Little Piet clutched Ja'Nil's hand harder and shook his head, no.

  Smiling, the Lady came toward them. She was the most beautiful Earth Person Ja'Nil had ever seen. She was as tall as Ja'Nil and very slender. But where Ja'Nil was skinny and all elbows and knees, the Lady was willowy and graceful, her complexion a beautiful creamy tan, eyebrows neat and straight above large forest-green eyes. Her pointed ears clung close to the perfect oval of her face. But it was her aura that captivated Ja'Nil. Serenity seemed to surround the Lady like still blue water on a golden day.

  When she was a few lengths from them, she stopped and smiled at Little Piet.

  "You've grown so big that I hardly recognized you," she said. "You must be - oh, at least five. Are you five, Little Piet?"

  Little Piet shook his head no and held up four fingers.

  "Only four! Well, I'm sure that when you're five you'll have learned how to greet a Lady. Because when you're five you'll be quite a big boy, won't you?"

  Abruptly, Little Piet dropped Ja'Nil's hand, took a step forward and executed a perfect four-year-old bow. In return, the Lady inclined her head slightly, and then winked at the child. He gave her a dazzlingly smile in return. The Lady then turned her gaze on Ja'Nil.

  Oh-oh. How was she supposed to greet a Lady? Should she bow like Little Piet or should she press her palms together over her chest (as the Fisherfolk greeted each other on formal occasions)? Sa'Ari intervened. "That's Ja'Nil. She's not a Mummer."

  The Lady raised an elegant eyebrow.

  "She's Fisherfolk."

  The Lady smiled at Ja'Nil and pressed her palms together over her chest.

  Charmed by the Lady's courtesy, Ja'Nil did likewise, adding a slight inclination of her head.

  "Welcome to Redbird Keep, Ja'Nil. I am Lady Fayre."

  "Thank you, my Lady."

  "Where is your grandfather, Sa'Ari? I was told he would be bringing you."

  "Dead," announced Little Piet.

  The Lady stiffened. "How did he die?"

  "He just went to sleep and never woke up," said Sa'Ari, and suddenly burst into tears. "Oh Lady, it was so awful. He wouldn't wake up." The other two children immediately started crying along with her.

  The children were enfolded in warm hugs, ordered to blow their noses, and offered hot chocee and butter cakes. Inquisitive baby dragons hovered around making little distressed sounds of sympathy. Nursery maids were summoned and the children were taken off for "a good wash and a proper dinner," leaving Ja'Nil alone with the Lady.

  Ja'Nil didn't need the hugs but she wouldn't have minded some hot chocee and butter cakes herself, not to mention dinner and a good wash.

  "Ja'Nil of the Fisherfolk," said the Lady thoughtfully. "What village?"

  Ja'Nil told her.

  The Lady nodded. "You are a long way from home. Why?"

  It was too long a story. Ja'Nil couldn't face telling it all, so she settled for simply saying, "We need a healer."

  The Lady's gazed at Ja'Nil's arm. "You certainly do. Whatever happened to you?"

  Ja'Nil also did not intend to tell the Lady she was an escaped prisoner. For all she knew, the Lady might immediately have her shipped back to Lord No'Sila and his gruesome guards.

  "Dog bite," she said, in the understatement of the year.

  The next thing she knew she was placed on a stool while a business-like, middle-aged woman, wearing a spotless white robe with the Healing Hands insignia of the Healer, attended to her bruised, swollen and very painful arm. The treatment made it hurt even more.

  "Ow! Ow!"

  "Don't be such a baby," said the Healer, as she briskly applied a hot poultice, then wrapped it so tight Ja'Nil feared for her blood flow. Lastly, the Healer ran an orange and red stone along the arm, waved her arm in the air a few times, and sang a few high-pitched notes.

  The old Healer in the village had never done anything like that. This woman was obviously trained in all the newer techniques. Ja'Nil was suitably impressed. To top it off, she was given a nicely warmed, lovely smelling liquid that tasted - Ugh! like dog piss. Not that she knew what dog piss tasted like, but it couldn't be worse than this.

  "Now get some sleep," ordered the Healer, guid
ing her to a pallet in a warm corner. "Should be better when you wake."

  Well, of course she wouldn't be able to sleep with that horrible taste in her mouth and her arm aching like a - But her eyelids were so heavy.

  She heard the sound of someone banging on the door of the great hall. Faintly, urgent voices could be heard, for a moment more she hung suspended between consciousness and sleep. Sleep won.

  Had she been awake, she would have seen a badly wounded man helped to a chair by the fire, and someone racing off to fetch Lady Fayre.

  The Lady and the healer arrived simultaneously. Healer D'Rain immediately went to work trying to save the injured man.

  Lady Fayre turned to one of the guards. "Did he arrive alone?"

  "Aye Lady."

  "He left with Lt. Ty'Ra."

  The guard shrugged. "He returned alone My Lady."

  "Will he live?" Lady Fayre demanded.

  Healer D'Rain didn't look up as she carefully probed the man's bleeding wound. "Probably," she grunted before turning to her assistant. "Fetch me my green box." The assistant, an anxious looking teenager dashed away.

  "Sgt. Da'Lin," said the Lady in a cool, commanding voice. "Can you hear me?"

  The injured man unclenched his teeth to say, "Aye, Lady," and then stiffened as the healer probed deeper.

  "Where is Lt. Ty'Ra?"

  "Dead."

  "You are sure he's dead and not captured?"

  The man stopped watching what the healer was doing and switched his gaze to Lady Fayre. "He got a lance through his heart, then they cut his throat. The lieutenant's dead all right. The healer must have hit a particularly sensitive spot because the sergeant gave a short scream that he immediately cut off.

  The healer's assistant arrived on the run with the green box which he immediately opened. The healer reached in and took out a purple colored stone the size of her fist and a vial of pink liquid.

  "I'm about to reduce his pain," she said. "If you want to question him it will have to be within three minutes after he drinks this. She held up the vial.

  Lady Fayre nodded, giving permission for the medicine to be administered. She watched as he gulped it down eagerly.

  "Sgt. Da'Lin," she said, "who attacked you?"

  "They weren't wearing uniforms," he said. "But they were trained soldiers all right. Riding good cavalry horses. Knew what they were doing."

  "And you and Lt. Ty'Ra just stumbled onto them?"

  "Ah, no Lady. They were waiting for us, they were." The man gasped and his eyes started to roll back in his head.