“Eh? Which friend?”
“The one you’re hunting. That carried off this feller’s daughter.”
Silent and I exchanged glances. I said, “Better not count on seeing Moleskin again. I think he’s dead.”
“What brings you to say that?”
I told him a little about Raven faking his own death and leaving a body that had been confused for his.
“Bad thing, that. Yep. Bad thing, doing like that. Hope you catch him up.” His eyes narrowed slightly, cunning. “You fellers wouldn’t be part of that bunch come down from Juniper, would you? Everybody headed south talks about how.…” Silent’s glower shut him up.
“I’m going to get some sleep,” I said. “If none of my men are up yet, roust me out at first light.”
“Yes, sir,” the innkeeper said. “And a fine breakfast we’ll fix you, sir.”
Meadenvil: Trouble
And a fine breakfast we had. I tipped the innkeeper another piece of silver. He must have thought me mad.
Half a mile up the road One-Eye called a halt. “You just going to leave them?” he asked.
“What?”
“Those people. First Taken comes down this way is going to find out everything we did.”
My heart flip-flopped. I knew what he was getting at. I had thought about it earlier. But I could not order it. “No point,” I said. “Everybody in Meadenvil is going to see us put out.”
“Everybody in Meadenvil don’t know where we’re headed. I don’t like the idea any better than you do, Croaker. But we have to cut the trail somewhere. Raven didn’t. And we’re on to him.”
“Yeah. I know.” I glanced at Asa and Shed. They were not taking it well. Asa, at least, figured he was next.
“Can’t take them with us, Croaker.”
“I know.”
He swung around, started back. Alone. Not even Otto joined him, and Otto has very little conscience.
“What’s he going to do?” Asa asked.
“Use his magic to make them forget,” I lied. “Let’s move along. He can catch up”
Shed kept giving me looks. Looks like he must have given Raven when he first found out Raven was in the body business. He did not say anything.
One-Eye caught up an hour later. He busted out laughing. “They were gone,” he said. “Every blessed one, with all their dogs and cattle. Into the woods. Damned peasants.” He laughed again, almost hysterically. I suspect he was relieved.
“We got two days and some gone,” I said. “Let’s push it. The bigger head start we have, the better.”
We reached the outskirts of Meadenvil five hours later, not having pressed as hard as I wanted. As we penetrated the city, our pace lagged. I think we all sensed it. Finally, I stopped. “King, you and Asa wander around and see what you hear. We’ll wait at yonder fountain.” There were no children in the streets. The adults I saw seemed dazed. Those who passed us moved by as widely as they could navigate.
King was back in two minutes. No lollygagging. “Big trouble, Croaker. The Taken got here this morning. Big blowout down at the waterfront.”
I glanced in that direction. A ghost of smoke rose there, as if marking the aftermath of a major fire. The sky to the west, in the direction the wind was blowing, had a dirty look.
Asa returned a minute later with the same news and more. “They got in a big fight with the Prince. Not over yet, some say.”
“Wouldn’t be much of a fight,” One-Eye said.
“I don’t know,” I countered. “Even the Lady can’t be everywhere at once. How the hell did they get here so fast? They didn’t have any carpets.”
“Overland,” Shed said.
“Overland? But.…”
“It’s shorter than the sea trip. Road cuts across. If you ride hard, day and night, you can make it in two days. When I was a kid, they used to have races. They stopped that when the new Duke took over.”
“Guess it doesn’t matter. So. What now?”
“Got to find out what happened,” One-Eye said. He muttered, “If that bastard Goblin got himself killed, I’ll wring his neck.”
“Right. But how do we do that? The Taken know us.”
“I’ll go,” Shed volunteered.
Harder looks you cannot imagine than those we bent upon Marron Shed. He quailed for a moment. Then: “I won’t let them catch me. Anyway, why should they bother me? They don’t know me.”
“Okay,” I said. “Get moving.”
“Croaker.…”
“Got to trust him, One-Eye. Unless you want to go yourself.”
“Nope. Shed, you screw us over and I’ll get you if I have to come back from the grave.”
Shed smiled weakly, left us. On foot. Not many people rode through Mead-envil’s streets. We found a tavern and made ourselves at home, two men staying in the street to watch. It was sundown before Shed returned.
“Well?” I said, signaling for another pitcher of beer.
“It’s not good news. You guys are stuck. Your Lieutenant took the ship out. Twenty, twenty-five of your guys were killed. The rest went out on the ship. The Prince lost.…”
“Not all of them,” One-Eye said, and tipped a pointing finger over the top of his mug. “Somebody followed you, Shed.”
Shed whirled, terrified.
Goblin and Pawnbroker stood in the doorway. Pawn had been carved up some. He limped over and collapsed into a chair. I checked his wounds. Goblin and One-Eye exchanged looks that might have meant anything, but probably meant they were glad to see one another.
The tavern’s other customers began to fade. Word who we were had gotten out. They knew some bad people were hunting us.
“Sit, Goblin,” I said. “King, you and Otto go get some fresh horses.” I gave them most of the money I had. “All the staples that will buy, too. I think we got a long ride ahead. Right, Goblin?”
He nodded.
“Let’s hear it.”
“Whisper and Limper turned up this morning. Came with fifty men. Company men. Looking for us. Made enough fuss we heard them coming. The Lieutenant sent word to everybody ashore. Some didn’t get aboard in time. Whisper headed for the ship. The Lieutenant had to cut loose. We left nineteen men behind.”
“What’re you doing here?”
“I volunteered. Went over the side off the point, swam to shore, came back to wait for you guys. Supposed to tell you where to meet the ship. Ran into Pawn by accident. I was patching him up when I seen Shed poking around. We followed him back here.”
I sighed. “They’re headed for Chimney, right?”
He was surprised. “Yeah. How’d you know that?”
I explained briefly.
He said, “Pawn, better tell them what you know. Pawn was caught ashore. Only survivor I could find.”
“This is a private adventure with the Taken,” Pawn said. “They snuck down here. Supposed to be somewhere else. Figured it was a chance to get even, I guess, now we’re not on the list of the Lady’s favorites.”
“She doesn’t know they’re here?”
“No.”
I chuckled. Despite the gravity of the situation, I could not help that. “They’re in for a surprise, then. The old bitch herself is going to turn up. We got another black castle growing here.”
Several of them looked at me askance, wondering how I would know what the Lady was doing. I had not explained my dream to anyone but the Lieutenant. I finished patching Pawnbroker. “You’ll be able to travel, but take it easy. How’d you find that out?”
“Shaky. We talked some before he tried to kill me.”
“Shaky!” One-Eye snarled. “What the hell?”
“I don’t know what the Taken told those guys. But they were cranked up. Wanted our asses bad. Suckers. Most of them got killed for their trouble.”
“Killed?”
“Prince what’s-it got righteous about the Taken walking in like they owned the place. There was a big fight with the Limper and our boys. Our guys practically got wiped out.
Maybe they’d have done better if they could’ve rested first.”
Funny. We talked it over like those men and we had not somehow become mortal enemies, sympathizing. And, in my case, feeling bitter toward the Taken for having turned and squandered them.
“Shaky say anything about Juniper?”
“Yeah. They had a real old-fashioned blood bath up there. Not much left of anything. Counting us, the Company was down six hundred guys when the Lady finished with the castle. Lot more guys was killed in the riots that came after, when she cleaned out the Catacombs. The whole damned city went crazy, with that Hargadon leading the rebellion. Had our guys trapped in Duretile. Then the Lady lost her temper. She wrecked what was left of the town.”
I shook my head. “The Captain guessed right about the Catacombs.”
“Journey took over what was left of the Company,” Goblin said. “They was supposed to pull out with the plunder as soon as they got it all together. City is so wrecked there isn’t no reason to stay around.”
I looked at Shed. A bleaker face could not be imagined. Pain and questions twisted inside him. He wanted to know about his people. Did not want to speak for fear someone would accuse him. “Not your fault, man,” I told him. “The Duke asked the Lady in before you got involved. It would have happened no matter what you did.”
“How can people do stuff like that?”
Asa gave him the odd look. “Shed, that’s dumb. How could you do all the stuff you did? Desperate, that’s what. Everybody’s desperate. They do crazy things.”
One-Eye gave me a how-about-that? look. Even Asa could think sometimes.
“Pawn. Shaky say anything about Elmo?” Elmo remained my main regret.
“No. I didn’t ask. We didn’t have much time.”
“What’s the plan?” Goblin said.
“We’ll head south when King and Otto get here with the horses and supplies,” A sigh. “Going to be hard times. I got maybe two leva. How about you guys?”
We catalogued our resources. I said, “We’re in trouble.”
“The Lieutenant sent this.” Goblin deposited a small sack on the table. It contained fifty silver castle coins from Raven’s horde.
“That’ll help. Still going to make it on prayer, though.”
“I have some money,” Shed volunteered. “Quite a bit. It’s back where I was staying.”
I eyeballed him. “You don’t have to go. You’re not part of this.”
“Yes, I am.”
“For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve been trying to run away.…”
“Got something to fight for now, Croaker. What they did to Juniper. I can’t let that go.”
“Me, too,” Asa said. “I still got most of the money Raven gave me after we raided the Catacombs.”
I polled the others silently. They did not respond. It was up to me. “All right. Get it. But don’t dawdle. I want to pull out as soon as I can.”
“I can catch you on the road,” Shed said. “I don’t see why Asa can’t too.” He rose. Shyly, he extended a hand. I hesitated only a moment.
“Welcome to the Black Company, Shed.”
Asa did not make the same offer.
“Think they’ll come back?” One-Eye asked after they left.
“What do you think?”
“Nope. I hope you know what you’re doing, Croaker. They could get the Taken after us if they get caught.”
“Yeah. They could.” I was counting on it, in fact. A vicious notion had come to me. “Let’s have another round here. Be our last for a long time.”
The Inn: On The Run
Very much to my amazement, Shed overtook us ten miles south of Meadenvil. And he was not alone.
“Holy shit!” I heard One-Eye yell from the rear, and: “Croaker, come and look at this.”
I turned back. And there was Shed. With a bedraggled Bullock. Shed said, “I promised to get him out if I could. Had to bribe some people, but it wasn’t that hard. It’s every man for himself up there right now,”
I looked at Bullock. He looked at me. “Well?” I said.
“Shed gave me the word, Croaker. I guess I’m in with you guys. If you’ll take me. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Damn. Asa shows up, I’ll lose my faith in human nature. Also blow an idea I have. Okay, Bullock. What the hell. Just remember we’re not in Juniper. None of us. We’re on the run from the Taken. And we don’t have time to fuss over who did what to whom. You want a fight, save it for them.”
“You’re the boss. Just give me a shot at evening things up.” He followed me back to the head of the column. “Not much difference between your Lady and somebody like Krage, is there?”
“Matter of proportion,” I said. “Maybe you’ll get your shot sooner than you think.”
Silent and Otto came trotting out of the darkness. “You did good,” I said. “Dogs never barked.” I had sent Silent because he handled animals well.
“They’re all back out of the woods and tucked in their beds,” Otto reported.
“Good. Let’s move in. Quietly. And I don’t want anybody hurt. Understand? One-Eye?”
“I hear you.”
“Goblin, Pawnbroker. Shed. You watch the horses. I’ll signal with a lantern,”
Occupying the inn was easier than planning it. We caught everyone asleep because Silent had fuddled their dogs. The innkeeper wakened puffing and blowing and terrified. I took him downstairs while One-Eye watched everybody else, including some northbound travelers who represented a complication, but who caused no trouble.
“Sit,” I told the fat man, “You have tea or beer in the morning?”
“Tea,” he croaked.
“It’s making. So. We’re back. We didn’t expect to be, but circumstances dictated an overland trip. I want to use your place a couple days. You and me need to make an accommodation.”
Hagop brought out tea so strong it reeked. The fat man drained a mug the size of that from which he drank his beer.
“I don’t want to hurt anybody,” I continued, after taking a sip myself. “And I’ll pay my way. But if you want it that way, you’ll have to cooperate.”
He grunted.
“I don’t want anybody to know we’re here. That means no customers leave. People who come through have to see things looking normal. You get my drift?”
He was smarter than he looked. “You’re waiting for somebody.” None of the men had figured that out, I don’t think.
“Yes. Somebody who will do unto you as you expect me to, just for being here. Unless my ambush works.” I had a crazy idea. It would die if Asa turned up.
I think he believed me when I claimed no wicked plans for his family. Now. He asked, “That the same somebody who kicked up the ruckus in the city yesterday?”
“News travels fast.”
“Bad news does.”
“Yes. The same somebody. They killed about twenty of my people. Busted the city up pretty good, too.”
“I heard. Like I said, bad news travels fast. My brother was one of the people they killed. He was in the Prince’s guard. A sergeant. Only one of us ever amounted to anything. He was killed by something that ate him, I heared. Sorcerer sicced it on him.”
“Yeah. He’s a bad one. Nastier than my friend who can’t talk.” I did not know who would come after us. I was counting on someone doing so, with Asa to point the way. I also figured the pursuit would develop quickly. Asa would tell them the Lady was on her way to Meadenvil.
The fat man eyed me cautiously. Hatred smouldered behind his eyes. I tried to direct it. “I’m going to kill him.”
“All right. Slow? Like my brother?”
“I don’t think so. If it isn’t fast and sneaky, he wins. Or she. There’s two of them, actually. I don’t know which one will come.” I figured we could buy a lot of time if we could take out one of the Taken. The Lady would be damned busy with black castles for a while with only two pairs of hands to help her. Also, I had an emotional debt to pay, and a mes
sage to make clear.
“Let me send the wife and kids away,” he said. “I’ll stand in with you.”
I let my gaze flick to Silent. He nodded slightly. “All right. What about your guests?”
“I know them. They’ll sit tight.”
“Good. Go take care of your part.”
He left. Then I had it out with Silent and the others. I had not been elected to command. I was running on momentum as senior officer present. It got angry for a while. But I won my point.
Fear is a wonderful motivator. It moved Goblin and One-Eye like nothing I’ve ever seen. Moved the men, too. They set up every gimmick they could imagine. Booby traps. Hiding places prepared from which an attack could be carried out, each glossed with a concealing spell. Weapons prepared with fanatical attention.
The Taken are not invulnerable. They’re just hard to reach, and more so when they’re ready for trouble. Whoever came would be.
Silent went into the woods with the fat man’s family. He returned with a hawk that he tamed in record time, and cast it aloft to patrol the road between Meadenvil and the inn. We would be forewarned.
The landlord prepared dishes tainted with poison, though I advised him that the Taken seldom eat. He petitioned Silent for advice concerning his dogs. He had a whole pack of savage mastiffs and wanted them in on the action. Silent found them a spot in the plan. We did everything we could, and then settled in to wait. When my shift came, I took my turn getting some rest.
She came. Almost the moment my eyes closed, it seemed. I was in a panic for a moment, trying to banish my location and plan from my mind. But what was the point? She had found me already. The thing to conceal was the ambush.
“Have you reconsidered?” she asked. “You cannot outrun me. I want you, physician.”
“That why you sent Whisper and the Limper? To return us to the fold? They killed half our men, lost most of theirs, wrecked the city, and didn’t make a single friend. Is that how you win us back?”
She had not been party to that, of course. Pawnbroker had said the Taken were acting on their own. I wanted her angry and distracted, I wanted to know her reaction.