Devan Chronicles Series: Books 1-3 (103 page)

Methrym waved him through and watched as wagon after wagon followed him out of the gate in a continuous stream. Lorenz had taken his orders to heart it seemed. There were wagons filled with gems, wagons filled with bulk silks straight from the warehouses, wagons filled with every imaginable precious item—figurines, spices, wines… the list was endless.

He turned his attention away from the convoy of wagons and focused upon the situation in the city. The fires had taken a strong hold of the east section by this time, but he saw no sign of Japuran refugees. It was likely the few who did escape would go out the south gate… if the fires didn’t block the route of course. The first he knew of trouble was a yell and frantic hand signals from his men on the towers.

“Terriss!” he bellowed as he ran. “We have a patrol incoming on this gate! Get your bowman in position around the sides of the square! I’ll hold them, and you shoot them!”

“Right!” Terriss said as he pushed his family into a doorway to shield them.

The women and children drew back up the street as word of the patrol was passed. How large a force was it? Did he have enough men to hold them? It didn’t matter whether he did or not, he had to hold! Methrym arranged his men and waited. If the patrol galloped through the gate he was screwed, there was no way he could stop a charge, but he didn’t think they would do that. They didn’t know what they might find in Talayan, so they should be cautious and approach slowly. At least that was what he would do in their place. He prayed their officer would do the sensible thing so he could kill him.

He did.

The patrol was three hundred strong and trotted through the gate with swords bared. The officer was the first to die as Terriss fired. Arrows from all round the square struck their targets invariably killing the man struck instantly, but the Japurans were undaunted and urged their horses forward to the attack.

Methrym’s men didn’t need to be told what to do, every one of them hamstrung a horse and dragged its rider from the saddle. The fight turned into a chaos of screaming pain filled horses and clanging swords. In his own estimation, he did well—at first. He wasn’t struck and he did manage to dispatch three Japurans he was certain of. He took down another two he thought would be badly wounded, but his strength waned quickly. He was wounded twice in rapid succession, and fell away clutching his arm. He hobbled away cursing his lack of stamina, he was still suffering the after-effects of Henna poisoning.

His men covered his retreat.

He widened the cut in his trousers with his dagger and attended to the wound. His forearm was bleeding profusely, but he could tell from previous experience that the wound was minor. The leg was the more serious of the two, and he spent his attention on that. The strumming of bowstrings became constant, but Terriss’ men were losing the battle. Methrym cursed the luck. He had the greatest army in Tanjung’s history, but he didn’t have enough men to hold a single gate!

* * *

It was the screams that alerted Trista. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and listened to the sounds of a struggle in the room above. Another scream made her jump. Without thinking she dashed upstairs to find a man in a filthy loincloth struggling with Mistress Lakshmi on the floor. Without thinking, she snatched up the jug from the table and smashed it down as hard as she could.

The man slumped bonelessly atop the mistress without a sound.

“Did I kill him?” Trista mumbled through her fingers in horror. “Is he dead?”

“If he isn’t kill him again!” the mistress said shoving the man off and climbing shakily to her feet. “Call the girls together and tell the boys to arm themselves. Talayan is burning.”

“Burning… but—”

“Quickly girl!”

Trista jumped to obey. “Yes mistress!” She ran into the kitchen and snatched up a knife before dashing downstairs to find Nona and Magda. Everyone was awake and getting dressed for the night’s custom.

“What’s happening?”

“What was that noise?”

“Where—”

“Who—”

“Quiet!” Trista shouted at her milling friends. “The mistress says to—” she thought for a moment and embellished. “We must collect our best things and go upstairs. The men are to arm themselves with knives and clubs to protect us.”

“Why?” Nona said.

“Talayan is burning. I think the slaves in the pens have escaped. I just killed a man trying to rape the mistress,” Trista said, but even as she did she realised it must be true. The man had been wearing a filthy loincloth and nothing else.

“Good!” Kim said heading for the stairs.

“Where are you going, Kim?” Magda said.

“You heard her, we can escape.”

“Oooh,” Magda said sarcastically. “And will you leave the rest of us to die?”

“No but…
escape
Magda, just think!”

“I
am
thinking, unlike you! The only place close enough is Tanjung, but it’s a long way. We need to stick together. Right?”

“She’s right—”

“There will be soldiers—”

“—the slave pens. They will rape us and kill us!”

Kim growled a curse. “I wish Nisim were here. He would know what to do.”

“Well he’s not, but I am,” Trista said taking control. “The boys will get knives and clubs, the girls will grab the best stuff we have. If we have to, we can sell it.”

“You heard her,” Kim said to the other men. “Let’s go.” He spun and bounded up the stairs. The men ran by leaving the girls to collect anything valuable.

Trista dumped her best dresses and all her small clothes on her bed, they were silk and the mistress said they were expensive. She added the headdress to it. It was made with silver and gold. She used the blanket to make a bundle and the others did the same. Dagmar clutched her case of paints in one hand, and a huge bundle in the other. Nona didn’t have very much, so she helped carry a few things for one of the others. Upstairs, Trista found the men standing guard at the windows and doors. The mistress was clutching a chest containing her gold. She had nothing else with her. Gold was heavy.

The mistress put the chest on the table and clapped her hands. “Talayan is burning. There are slaves killing people on the streets! We must leave for the south gate immediately.”

“I don’t think so,” Kim said.

“Silence!” the mistress said in shock. “You will do as I say!”

“That won’t work,” Trista said smugly. “We
are
leaving, but not to the south. We go north.”

“North to Tanjung!”

“—to freedom!”

“—leave her here!”

“No!” Trista said. “We don’t leave anyone. The mistress comes too.”

“But why? She wants to go south, I say we let her.”

“And do you speak for all of us now, Garym?” Magda said.

“Now Magda, don’t be like that. You know I’m right.”

“No you’re not, the mistress is free born. She can get us through the soldiers,” Magda said smugly.

There was silence as everyone turned to the mistress.

“I… will go north,” the mistress said nervously. She was watching the men as if expecting them to use their knives on her. “If soldiers try to stop us, I will talk us by them… or bribe them with gold.”

Garym and Kim exchanged a look, but they nodded.

“Youngest in the middle, older girls around them,” the mistress said regaining her composure. “The men will guard us,” she said and clapped her hands.

Everyone, including Garym and Kim, jumped to obey.

* * *

Naida searched frantically through the bushels of hanging plants but she couldn’t find it! In desperation, she spun to the curing bins and ransacked them, all to no avail.

“
Ahhhh!
” she screamed in frustration. “
Where is it?
” She clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle the sobs. Tanni was dead… he was dead!

Tears ran over her cheeks and rained onto her blouse, but she took no notice. Her bleary eyes searched the room frantically and stopped. There! She roughly wiped her eyes and stared up at the top shelf. It must be up there, there was nowhere else. She dragged a barrel close to the shelves and climbed up to see.

“I don’t keep my medicines here, Naida,” Adien said quietly. “Those herbs are harmless.”

Naida clutched the leaves to her breast, but then her shoulders sagged and she let the useless things fall. “Help meeee,” she sobbed.

“Not to kill yourself I won’t! Get a grip on yourself!”

Naida laughed and cried so hard it hurt. She held her stomach and cried tears of mirth. Adien thought… Adien thought she wanted to kill herself! She howled in laughter at the thought. Adien came forward in a rush and slapped her face—hard, and it hurt too!

“That hurt!”

“It was meant to. What’s the matter with you? I’m sorry Tanni’s dead, we all are, but I don’t want to lose you too.”

“You have it wrong, I want it for… someone else.”

“Someone else? The
mistress?
” Adien yelped. “That’s even worse! She’ll kill us all if she finds out.”

Naida grasped her friend’s shoulders. “She won’t find out. She’ll be dead.”

“But if you fail… you risk us all with this foolishness!”

“I won’t be turned from this Adien. She killed Tanni!” She said seeing again the fear on Tanni’s face and the desperation on Nisim’s as he fought to reach his friend. Poor Nisim, he had fought so hard and bravely, but it was for nothing. Tiberio was a trained soldier and Nisim was no match for him. He was clubbed and kicked to the floor still trying vainly to save Tanni from execution. “She killed him for nothing… he didn’t do anything wrong!”

“I know, Naida. The mistress is sick—evil. You know what she does to Nisim. She is sick in her head.”

“I don’t care! She killed Tanni, and I’ll kill her!”

“What about Tiberio?”

“That’s why I want the medicine. I’ll take up some wine and when he drinks it—”

“He will kill you,” Adien said with no doubt. She clenched her fists. “You’ll do this no matter what I say—won’t you?”

“I have to do it, Adien,
have
to,” Naida said and made to go around her friend but Adien grabbed her arm.

“I have an idea. Come with me.”

“What idea,” Naida said to her friend’s back. “Where are we going?”

“I have what you want, but I don’t keep it down here.”

“You have it?”

“I said I do. Be patient.”

Patient she says. How could she be patient when the mistress still lived while her beautiful Tanni lay dead? She squeezed her eyes shut and held back the wail of grief that threatened to escape. The mistress had to die before she could join Tanni in the Other World. Naida shifted from foot to foot anxiously watching Adien rummaging in one of her cupboards in the kitchen. She watched wide-eyed as her friend removed a board from the back of the cupboard and pulled out a dagger.

“Here,” Adien said proffering the dagger by the sheath. “Well go on, take it.”

Naida took the thing and looked at it in puzzlement. “Tiberio will take it from me.”

“No he won’t. One scratch from that and he will be dead at your feet.”

“You put something on this?”

“No, a friend,” Adien said evading the responsibility. “Take the tray with the wine and keep the knife hidden under it. When the time comes, make sure you cut him—the deeper the better, but any cut that bleeds will do. He will be dead in less than ten heartbeats.”

“After all you said about me being crazy, it was you who was crazy!”

Adien shrugged.

Naida hugged her friend and picked up the tray. “Can you see it?”

“No.”

“Good.”

“Come back safe, Naida,” Adien said.

Naida nodded, but she didn’t intend to come back. Tanni was waiting for her; she could hear him calling. She climbed the stairs full of excitement but kept her face still. Tiberio was at his post, as she knew he would be. He turned to watch her ascend the stairs and waited for her to come to him. She stopped out of reach.

“You shouldn’t have come up here, Naida.”

“Adien said I must,” she spat not holding back her loathing.

“Hmmm, I doubt it. She has better sense. Why are you really here?”

Naida stepped closer. “The mistress will want her wine when she’s finished tormenting Nisim.”

“Tormenting him? She’s using—”

“I know what she does!” Naida spat and struck.

Tiberio saw the knife at the last instant and slammed a fist at her.

Pain crackled through Naida’s arm and she ducked back. She dropped the tray and attacked, but Tiberio jumped back unhurt. Before he could do more than slap at her knife hand, she bore in. In a frenzy she slashed and stabbed, the only sound was her panting breath and his grunts as he fended her off. She hit his armour more than half the time, but Tiberio—unknowing of the danger—was fending her off with his hands. Naida laughed as blood began to flow.

“You bitch!” Tiberio cried. “You’re
dead!
”

“No, you are.”

Tiberio took a step toward her already reaching for his sword, but then he swayed and stumbled to one knee. He struggled for a moment in silence then sighed and fell face down.

“You see?” Naida said chuckling. “I told you.”

* * *

Methrym was about to order his men to make a run for it, when the crowd of slaves surged forward howling for blood. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The men were unarmed and wearing tiny loincloths that barely covered their tackle, but they jumped onto the lancer’s horses and pulled the Japurans down. The lancers wielded their swords in desperation and killed many of the slaves, but the odds had shifted in Methrym’s favour. His men attacked with renewed energy. He gave up trying to direct the chaos and waded into the Japurans with his sword. He took a grim harvest and tried to ignore the numbers he fought against. He concentrated upon his immediate foe as if the fight was simply one long series of practise bouts.

Lorenz finally showed up with more wagons in tow and the tide of battle turned again. When he realised what was happening at the gate, Lorenz and his men abandoned the wagons to charge forward and engage the enemy. The lancers fought grimly on knowing they were about to die but unwilling to yield.