Had they been sneaking out at night, like the time when they turned up on a flying carpet miles from home and high in the sky?
An old man sitting watch by the poor box levered himself out of his chair and shuffled inside.
A woman emerged as we approached the old man’s post. She was about fifty. The twins obviously disturbed her. As obviously she wished that they would go away. Non-orphan children were not welcome here—but Blessed Baku and Beloved Shin had to be welcomed.
Their mother would insist.
I knew this woman. She suffered from persistent back pain because her left leg was shorter than her right. I asked, “Did the special shoe help?”
“It did. And I thank you.” Guardedly.
So. She was comfortable enough with the Company physician but said physician had Silent and the twins in tow. I said, “I but carry out instructions here. I wasn’t told why, only what to do.”
“I understand.” Unhappily. “Such is life. What will that be?”
“The Taken Mischievous Rain is concerned about the health of her onetime sisters and mothers. Evidence unearthed at Honnoh convinced her that the Rebel command intended to use Occupoa’s temples to spread an ugly new disease.”
Temple leaderships would be appalled that anyone could even think of such a sacrilegious effort.
“The Taken gave me the tools to spot the early symptoms—if the Rebel has sunk so low.”
The old sister was appalled. “What must we do?”
“Set me up somewhere and then run everyone past me. Everyone! Temple maidens, sisters, orphans, even the outside people who work here, voluntary or paid. Start with the konzertasa.”
The old sister was not happy about that.
I said, “I do apologize. This is uncomfortable for me, too. But my orders come from the Tower. Even the Taken can’t argue with that.”
“Must those children be present?”
“My instructions say yes.”
“What must be must be. Come.”
“Thank you. One more thing. I’ll need to know about anyone who tries to sneak away to avoid seeing me.”
* * *
The temple’s denizens cooperated sullenly. My first client was the konzertasa, as requested, setting an example. After having survived my fake screening she stood by to observe and to support the sisters who followed.
The temple hierarchy let themselves be examined, also example setting, doing what was necessary to get along with the mundane power.
Ankou prowled restlessly, sniffing, batting things invisible, interspersing kitty stretches, never loafing. Maybe he was being a distraction. Or maybe he was playing to his image. He had been around long enough to have become that cat.
The twins were restless, too. They turned up hither and yon, never seeming to cross the space between.
I found a Tides Elba “sister” right away. She was younger than mine and had reddish hair but with a costume change could pass as Mischievous Rain.
I kept the line moving but did not fool the older sisters completely. They noted my reaction to that younger Tides Elba and did not miss my interest when fourteen-year-old and nine-year-old versions turned up later. These younger girls had the Taken’s raven hair.
How many Mischievous Rains could there be? Well, just one, really. And she was Taken. She was unique. But it now looked like we could round up imitation Tides Elbas by the dozen.
I had no specific instructions about what to do. Mischievous Rain had thought that there might be one more of her here. She had not imagined that there could be a troop. I glanced at Silent, standing guard by the doorway where the temple people came in. He could curb any mischief before it got started but was unlikely to be a source of useful advice.
Well, then, nothing to do but cull the special girls and shift them to the compound, which was sure to make me even more unpopular with the temple.
Beloved Shin blasted an expletive and dove into a shadow. Firefly did the same on her side of the room. Both just vanished, “hiding in the shadows.” I expected wind chimes but was disappointed.
Ankou vanished, too. And then Silent faded away. I noted his absence only after he reappeared accompanied by three temple girls, one of whom was the red-haired Tides Elba from earlier.
Firefly materialized, startling me. “They were trying to sneak out.”
Two of the girls were pint-size, one about three and the other the age of my twins. “Good work, kiddo.”
The temple people were impressed.
I said, “Round up the others. Keep them together.” I asked the konzertasa, “Didn’t these girls ever seem odd to you?”
She did not understand. Neither did her companions. The girls were girls, better than average looking, but …
“Silent, is there a glamour at work here?”
He considered the girls, looked puzzled, looked irked, then looked determined. He gestured forcefully. The world went black for a blink, after which he offered me a tilt of the head.
A murmur passed amongst the older women. They now saw the sameness. The konzertasa asked, “What does this mean?”
“It means that Tides Elba was the first of a line of identical girls planted by the Resurrectionists. We found another four at Honnoh.”
The konzertasa could not get her mind around that.
I asked, “Are there more people that I need to see?”
“Just toddlers, babies, and employees who haven’t taken vows.”
I found no more Tides Elba girls. The two youngest I left in place, thinking that they should be easy to monitor. I arrested the older girls.
* * *
“Nine girls, now?” the Old Man asked. “All exactly alike?”
“Pretty close. They’re all different ages. The oldest one has red hair, the rest all black. The Honnoh girls all had black hair, even the one who looked like she was almost the same age as the redhead we caught here.”
“Your wife is actually the oldest, as far as we know. Right? And didn’t she have red hair, back when?” He sounded unsure.
I could not recall. Except for that moment when I planted Limper’s rescript between Tides Elba’s breasts I could recall almost nothing of what happened back then. That might be worth some thought in itself.
The Captain said, “So, if one new girl got popped out every year after her, there might be a bunch more floating around. Not to mention, some of the ones we already caught look like they’re the same age. So what does that mean, Croaker?”
“Don’t ask me, boss. I have no idea how you make identical babies. I can’t imagine why you would want to. Somebody more smarterer than me might get it, though. Like maybe some spooky Tower lurker.”
Candy and the Lieutenant were listening but keeping quiet. Candy was set to lead the next long patrol, hoping to conjure up another Honnoh kind of raid. Buzzard Neck Tesch would be his field sorcerer. Candy was not happy about that. Neither was Tesch. They did not get along.
The Lieutenant mused, “We have us here a case of eggs in a basket.”
The Old Man grumped, “Meaning what, dickwad?”
“They’re all Tides Elba, whatever their age. So any of them that are old enough to bleed ought to be old enough to be the Port of Shadows. We have no way to tell if one girl is more likely than any other. Maybe we should look for the guy who’s supposed to breed them.”
Grunt. “Luck with that.”
I mused, “So say one new girl every year … Mischievous Rain will be twenty in about two months. The next-oldest ones both look like they’re about seventeen.”
The Captain said, “Which would suggest that there are several more totally ripe ones out there somewhere.”
“At least. Like you said, some of them look like they’re the same age.”
“Twins in the mix?”
“Or maybe whole litters?”
A distracted Candy asked, “Is there any sure way to tell how old a gal is? They don’t have rings like trees.”
The Old Man said, “This migh
t not be all bad news. We might have enough Tides Elbas to go around. A man could pick one at just the right age for his taste.”
I blurted, “What the hell, boss?” That was way out of line for him. And he did wear a dreamy look when he said it.
He had a lust-crush on Mischievous Rain? I should be surprised? Every swinging dick in the Company still breathing had one. But the Old Man? I just could not believe that.
Candy said, “There’s not enough for everybody but maybe enough for senior staff.”
Were they serious? Or were they just screwing with me?
Probably both.
Hardly anyone who finds Black Company life condign would scruple to mass-produce pretty, pliable bed buddies.
I tried picturing us blessed with a hundred Tides Elba camp followers. How would we tell who was messing with whose woman? We would have to brand them to tell them apart … Though mine did come with distinctive tattoos.
“Oh!”
“What?” the Old Man asked.
“What if they really are all alike? Exactly. Not just as potential Ports of Shadow but also with the talents that Mischievous Rain has?”
“Shit. You always find a downside, don’t you? Yeah. Means we need to get them rounded up before the Rebel goes to wondering about that, too.”
I figured those assholes would be way ahead of us. That could have been why they created whole flocks of such pretty sheep.
The Captain continued, “Lieutenant, how cooperative were the religious folks in the towns you visited?”
“Very, considering that Rebels would be watching. Nobody likes those guys better than us anymore.” One big reason being that a lot of Rebels were fugitives from farther west, foreigners who were little more than bandits now. The Company’s banditry was more genteel.
I said, “I’ll have Gurdlief make up some drawings of the girls we have at different ages. You can show them around.” The boy was a talented sketch artist as well as a creative storyteller.
The Captain snapped, “Perfect! Do that! We’ll get every damned konzertasa in every damned temple to tell us every damned thing she knows about anybody who ever showed the slightest damned interest in any of those damned girls.”
Sprawled across his chair, the Lieutenant said, “I just had me a win-win inspiration. We breed these girls ourselves. Bam! We have us some fun and we ruin them as Ports of Shadows prospects!”
I knew about seven hundred troopers who would buy into that strategy. And the Old Man appeared inclined to adopt it, too.
* * *
Suppertime with the “family.” The kids were wary but unafraid. Ankou, too, was attentive to my mood, suggesting that something was expected of me.
I ate while paying close attention. Shin should be pleased. The main dish was not fish. I considered the lapis artifacts on the mantel behind Firefly. “You kids know how I can get in touch with your mother? She needs to know what happened today.”
“She knows,” Firefly said, touching a blue clip in her hair. “And she told you how. I heard her tell you.”
“Oh. Yeah.” These kids paid better attention than I did. “She can’t have gotten there yet, can she?”
Firefly shook her head. “Tomorrow morning.”
Beloved Shin asked, “Did you remember to give the man the jug?”
“The man” would be Candy. “The jug” would be a half-gallon stoneware jar full of treacle-thick shadow. Candy was supposed to set it out whenever he made camp, upright and open somewhere remote. Mischievous Rain supposedly insisted but I had yet to see the jar in any hands but those of the boy.
“I did. I told him it’s critical that he carries out his instructions exactly.” Candy was used to receiving unusual instructions from Goblin and One-Eye. This would be little different.
“Thank you.” The boy made that sound like he was the grown-up.
Firefly asked, “You’ll stay with us while Mom is gone, won’t you, Dad?” She kept using that word. Her tone made it sound like my response meant everything to a six-year-old.
“Sure.” But I would not feel comfortable doing it.
Firefly certainly looked pleased.
* * *
Middle of the night I wakened groggily to find Firefly wriggling in with me. When I awakened again later, in need of the chamber pot, she was gone. Gone gone, as were Ankou and Beloved Shin, though the cat went missing most nights. Despite having no idea where they were or what they were doing I felt no special distress. Their absences fell within a range of weird to which I was becoming accustomed. I went back to sleep.
Shin was in his bed when dawn came. Firefly was back in with me. Ankou lay curled around his bowl, an eye cracked in case somebody put something tasty into it.
* * *
I heard nothing from the Taken, not even a tinkle. The kids just shrugged. They did not care. Life was easier when Dad was in charge.
Candy spent eight days in the field with Buzzard Neck as his tactical sorcerer. Buzz performed well. The team captured three Tides Elbas of breeding age and another two not yet ripe, all with raven hair. And they learned that the Honnoh raid had been so perfectly well timed and executed that the Rebel had decided to give up his summer offensive entirely. The number-one Rebel had gone down, along with a dozen other senior commanders. The top leader surviving had been left paralyzed from the waist down. In one day, in just part of one day, the Black Company had handed the Lady’s enemies more hurt than Whisper and the Eastern Army had inflicted in two years. And we made the populace love us for doing it. All thanks to Mischievous Rain.
She was bad beyond bad. Not once did it seem like she was doing anything, but then, suddenly, our enemies started dropping in ridiculous numbers.
Almost daily new prisoners joined the girls already collected. They were confused. They were frightened. And they were amazed that they all looked alike, except for age, minor scars, and personal style. Every girl had a little wine-stain birthmark in the small of her back.
News of the Honnoh raid and the Aloen temple visit spread. Temple hierarchies everywhere showed eagerness to distance themselves from the Rebel, the Resurrectionist cult, and the Port of Shadows. A few even tried to turn over girls they thought fit the descriptions of those that we were seeking.
I was there for Candy’s report. The Old Man was in so sweet a mood that he let me ask some questions. My first was, “Has anybody, anywhere out there, shown any special interest in these girls?”
“Yes, and it started right after you snagged the ones here. People who know people say that the Honnoh raid convinced the Resurrectionists that we’re on to what they’re truly doing. It also convinced them that we have somebody so deep inside that he has to belong to their central committee. Only four of those guys survived the Honnoh operation, and that only because they ran away as soon as the shit started coming down. They’re supposedly paralyzed by mutual distrust, now. Anyway, about the girls. Some shrines had their girls disappear. The oldest one of those was about thirteen. We also left some in place because they were so young.”
The Captain asked, “And how do you know all that?”
“We got it from people who know people and are willing to talk to us. And we caught a Rebel courier that Buzz made give up everything he knew.” Candy’s tone betrayed a certain admiration, much as he disliked Tesch.
Candy’s confidence buoyed my belief that we were forging positive connections with the locals.
The Old Man said, “Collect every girl from now on, even the ones in diapers. Find a wet nurse if you have to.”
The Lieutenant said, “This all screams that there’s got to be lots more girls. Which means that a crew of women must be hatching them. Or maybe there’s just one weird old broad who shits babies like a queen bee.”
“The girls can’t help us any,” I grumbled. “None of them have any more of a clue than the Taken ever did. None of them knew they had sisters till we showed them.” Really.
The Old Man asked me, “When is she coming back?”
“I don’t know.” Truth be, I figured he would have a better idea than I did. I was still the mushroom man. “She said she’d be gone for six days but it’s been nine already and there’s still been no word.”
Leers from Candy and the Lieutenant. The Captain asked, “Single-father routine getting to you, Croaker?”
“That started before her frigging carpet was out of sight.” Still, the twins were cooperative, mostly. They did what they were asked to do with minimal kidly lawyering, except at bath time. They were like cats when it came to using water for anything but drinking.
I had no idea what they got up to when I was not looking.
The Old Man had no actual interest in my domestic situation. He asked, “About the girls that disappeared. Where did they go? Why did they go there? To get away from us? The girls we found in Honnoh. Did they come from the temple there? Or were they part of the Rebel force? Is there any chance that there are gangs of them that were never distributed to the temples?”
I shrugged. I did not know. Neither did anyone else. I said, “I was busy patching people up when I was out there. You need to ask the men who nabbed them.”
Restraining a smirk that said everybody had seen what I was doing out there, snuggling up with Mischievous Rain, Candy suggested, “Check with the wizards. They were in the middle of everything.”
The Old Man grunted. “See to it, Candy. Is Tesch ready to run his own patrol?”
“Sir?”
“You just had your turn.”
“So did Tesch.”
“Was he useful?” The Old Man tipped a hand toward the Lieutenant, whose right foot was still in a makeshift cast. “He isn’t ready yet. And Chodroze has gone off to the Tower.”
“I can go out again,” Candy said.
“Sure you can. If I need you to. But we need to get a solid read on Tesch. Send Goblin and One-Eye with him.”
“That could be a real test.”
“Absolutely. That’s why.”
It sounded like a recipe for trouble but I kept my mouth shut. I was not in charge. I did say, “Whoever does go, I have some stoneware jars that they need to take along.”
Candy gave me the fisheye. “Like the one you had me take?”