Zara the Wolf (21 page)

"Meaning you're stubborn."
Shelly laughed. "But I think the Indians were easier to overcome than the duke
will be."

"I don't wish to overcome him,
just not let him make me into something I'm not."

* * *

"You won't develop a plan?"
Phipps rose out of this chair, shouting.

"I'm not a leader and wouldn't
know how to develop a plan. You and your advisors are best qualified to develop
one. I will assist you in any way I can."

"Phipps," the Monk said
softly from his seat in the corner. "If threats would work against her,
Zara would still be a slave in the Ojaza camp. I believe she's right. Her best
use is not in developing a plan or in implementing one, although she would be
valuable in helping develop and implement one."

"I agree, Your Grace. I've spent
months traveling with Zara. She has never shown an interest in leading,
although Duke Wetzel gave her the authority. But neither I nor the caravan would
have survived without her advice and jeopardizing her life to save us."
Shelly said, risking the duke's ire.

"My initial reaction is to throw you
in the dungeon. But you have some strong allies, and on reflection, you would
be of little value to me in the dungeon." He stopped for a drink of wine
and to think. "Be back here in an hour, both of you. I'll have my advisors
here and we can discuss the problem. Send in one of the guards, Lady
Shelly."

Shelly and I rose quickly and left.

"Thank you, Lady Shelly. Dukes can
be nasty when they are contradicted."

"I can be stubborn too. You're my
friend. I'd be nothing if I wasn't willing to stick up for my friend and fellow
slave." She smiled.

* * *

When we returned, we were introduced to
the duke's advisors.

"Gentlemen, let me first make the
introductions and state the purpose of this meeting. Baroness Shelly was sent
by Duke Wetzel along with her companion Zara with instructions to visit every
major city and look for Sirens." He held up his hand to stop any
questions. "Sirens are people the Trasslat Monastery let go for lacking
the talent to become Cheyo Monks. Someone has collected these people into a
secret society intent on overthrowing the royalty. While they aren't Monks,
they have talent and are very dangerous." Phipps paused for a drink of his
wine before continuing. "Captain Higgins is the senior captain of my
military and an experienced leader."

Higgins was an elderly man, with
graying hair, a mustache, an angular face, and eyes I would wager didn't miss
much.

"Sergeant Rhodes is a senior
sergeant with experience and knowledge of Monis and Arucci."

Rhodes was a broad-shouldered man with
a muscular build and a rugged square face that had seen more than one fight.

"Baron Bradley is the senior baron
in my domain and a longtime friend and advisor. He led my army in several
battles and knows the royalty at Monis and Arucci."

Bradley was the oldest man in the room.
He remained expressionless during the introductions but had given Shelly and me
a long evaluating look when we were introduced.

"Minister Connar, who is also a
trusted friend and advisor."

Connar was thin and elderly. He looked
relaxed, but his eyes were constantly assessing everyone.

"And of course, the Honorable
Monk. Zara, you should start. Everyone here would benefit from knowing
something about you and why Duke Wetzel selected you, and what you encountered
as you visited each city."

"Your Grace." I bowed to him
where he sat at the head of the long oblong table. "The Ojaza killed my
parents and … " I went on to give a short description of my life with the
Ojaza, the caravan I accompanied to Calle, negotiating Shelly's release, and
accepting Duke Wetzel's
take-a-look
assignment. That took the better part of two hours and required Shelly to confirm
my account of her release. Then I recounted our journey from Calle to Kariso,
with Shelly helping to verify my accounts of several incidents. When I finished
the room was quiet.

"Now that you have the background,
we need to develop a plan to ensure Monis and Arucci are free of Sirens and to
find the head of their organization. Let's break for dinner and take the
evening to think about what you've heard. The Honorable Monk assures me that what
we heard here today is true. We will meet back here tomorrow an hour after
breakfast. You are not to speak to anyone about what you've heard here except to
the people in this room."

* * *

"Duke Phipps, why don't we just
take half the troops and demand entry in the name of Duke Brodka and the duke's
council? Once inside, Zara can point out the Sirens, and we can execute them.
The same at Monis," Captain Higgins said, smiling as if the solution were
obvious and he didn't understand the need for this meeting. I guessed he never
considered that the Sirens might be in control and that they would not consider
Brodka or any duke their liege lord.

"What if Earl Meade's not in control?"
Shelly asked.

"A few kids couldn't have gotten
control of Arucci, Lady Shelly," Higgins said in a condescending voice.

"Then how do you explain the
Arucci troops attacking my caravan?"

"Lady Shelly has a valid point,
Captain Higgins. We can't assume the enemy is stupid or that they will
cooperate with our plans. If they do, that's all good, but we must assume they
won't and be prepared to deal with a worst-case situation. Arucci troops
attacking a caravan doesn't sound normal, especially when the caravan was a
full day's ride from the city," Bradley said, smiling in Shelly's
direction.

"I served at both Monis and
Arucci, and I can tell you we are not going to breach the city walls with less
than several hundred troops and siege engines. And you can't starve the castle
while they have access to the city, because they grow most of their food inside
the walls and have access to a water supply from the mountains. You'll have to
get someone into the city that can hold open the gates. That won't be
easy," Sergeant Rhodes said, looking to the duke for support.

"Zara, do you have nothing to
contribute?" the duke asked, looking angry. Passing the problem off to me
hadn't worked, and his advisors were confirming there wasn't a simple solution,
so I was the problem. That only emphasized my reason for trying to avoid
royalty. Right now, the Manola community was looking better and better.

"I believe the Trasslat Monastery
needs to participate in the solution, since they are partly responsible for the
creation of the Sirens." I mentally braced myself for an attack by the duke's
Monk, but nothing came. Everyone's head turned toward me, probably expecting me
to be struck dead.

"The Wolf has a point," the
Monk said with obvious amusement. "The Trasslat Monastery—not me or any
other individual Cheyo Monk," he added by way of clarification. The
discussions went on all day and eventually coalesced around taking a party of
fifty mounted troops including Sergeant Rhodes and led by Captain Higgins.
Baron Brady would be in charge, with Shelly and me as advisors.

"I think Duke Phipps would have
preferred you proposing a solution," Shelly said when we entered her room.
"You're not in his good graces right now." She laughed. "Funny
we're concerned about the duke's mood but not yours or mine ... "

"Because he has the power, so our
feelings aren't important—and that is the reason I prefer to stay clear
of royalty," I said, which was true in general but not specifically, since
I liked Shelly.

"And I thought you liked me,"
she said, trying to look hurt.

"I did when you were a slave, but
now you are a baroness." I shook my head and closed my eyes, trying my
best to look sad. Shelly laughed.

"Commoners are much like slaves
under the nobility. They ... we can make the rules as we go along. Phipps could
have had you thrown in the dungeon or whipped or both for not complying with
his wishes, even though you are not one of his subjects, but you are on his
land."

"That is why the Sirens
exist," I said.

"Why?"

"Because they have been
abandoned."

"But they failed ... "

"Would you discard a noble who was
a poor hunter, or swordsman, or poor at reading?"

"Baroness Shelly's first rule,
Zara the Wolf is not allowed to leave her."

"Or?" I asked, feeling she
was only half joking.

"I'll cry and sulk." She didn't
smile. "I enjoy hearing your perspective. It helps me to see my prejudices
and others’, and it's what I'll need to be a good leader. I don't want to
change the world, but I want … need to understand it."

"You should return to Calle, Lady
Shelly. I fear this isn't going to be as easy as Duke Phipps or Captain Higgins
believes. You can't help, and you could get killed."

"You need me to keep you out of
trouble," she said, fists on her hips and a stubborn look on her face.

"Without you there, I could just leave
if I didn't like the way things were going."

"And live in the mountains,
because you'd be a wanted woman. That would be a waste—and that is the
reason I'm going."

"If I leave and you are along,
they will blame you," I said, having begun to understand the nobility.

"I'll take that chance." She
folded into a meditation posture and I followed, too exhausted to argue and
doubting it would accomplish anything. Sometime later, she appeared in the blue
dimension, sitting on her bed reading. "Thank you for helping me find this
place. It's very peaceful," she said, smiling but without looking up from
her book.

When Shelly and I entered the
courtyard, Lieutenant Eaton and Lutz were there with their troops. Baron
Bradley had decided to use packhorses rather than mules, which would have
slowed us down.

"What are your orders, Lady
Shelly?" Eaton asked. Shelly had merely told him that she would be joining
the duke's expedition.

"Baron Bradley is in charge of the
duke's campaign. We are along as advisors and to help if we can. Lutz, I’d like
you to join us, but you are free to leave if you want."

"I'll stay, Lady Shelly. Zara's an
interesting person to be around." He laughed and walked off, talking with
Eaton. At Bradley's invitation, Shelly and I joined him at the head of the
patrol.

"I'm glad you decided to join me
and to bring your troops," he said as we walked the horses through the
town and out the gates.

"It avoids a potential conflict.
My companion is commissioned by Duke Wetzel to chaperone and protect me."
She smiled sweetly.

"That would have been a problem.
Judging by the tales of your journey, Zara could leave anytime she wanted, and
we could never catch her. That would be unfortunate since I, unlike others,
believe she will be essential in resolving this issue." He nodded good-naturedly
in my direction.

It took five days of hard riding to
reach the Trasslat Monastery. We arrived well after sunset and Bradley decided
to wait until morning to disturb the Abbot. I doubted the Abbot was concerned
with night or day or the normal hours the rest of Aesona kept, but it was a
nice gesture on the baron's part. In the morning, Bradley, Shelly, and I
approached the front gate and asked to see the Abbot. A meeting was arranged
with only a minor delay. When we entered her hut, I noticed Sonya standing off
to the side of the Abbot. We nodded to each other.

"Please sit," the Abbot said.
"I understand you wish to speak with me about the ones you call
Sirens."

"That is right, Honorable Abbot.
We have been led to believe that they attempted to take control of Hipula but
failed; however, they might be in control of Arucci and Monis ... "

While Bradley talked, the Abbot engaged
with me in the blue dimension. As before, she opened me like a book. I didn't
resist, having nothing to hide. "You have grown in strength, Zara. I find
that troubling, because it means the Sirens may have also grown since they left
here, and it will have been through hate, not love. Your strength, however,
feels neutral."

"... Zara feels—" Bradley
continued, but the Abbot interrupted.

"Zara feels I have failed the
students of talent and that has spawned the Sirens, therefore I should be part
of the solution. I agree I failed the students. Whether I should help is not
clear. We have always been neutral."

In the silence that followed, I engaged
with the Abbot in the blue dimension. "You don't wish to take sides in
case the Sirens win. You would willingly support them as you do the current dukes,"
I said, preparing to fight no matter how useless.

"Relax, Zara. My power is based on
love, not hate. I would only attack you in self-defense, which is the same
reason I can't help you. And yes, I feel an affinity for the talented ones. I
did not force them to leave out of hate but only because they would waste their
time here trying to be what they could never be. I'm sympathetic to the problem
and would help but am unable."

"But you have solved that
dilemma," I said, beginning to understand the Monks’ basic problem. They
posed a threat to some who would like them eliminated, but a Monk would be slow
to defend himself thus making him vulnerable. The Abbot was quiet for a long
while.

"Sonya and Joanna, another Cheyo Guard,
have agreed of their own free will to accompany you. Sonya will protect you.
She believes as I do that you are worthy of protection. You do not seek to
eliminate the Sirens for the dukes’ sake but because the dukes are the lessor
evil. Joanna will protect Lady Shelly to reduce your worry in the event of
trouble."

"Thank you, Honorable Abbot, for
your support." I rose, forcing Bradley and Shelly to rise and exit with
me.

"What happened?" Bradley
asked once outside.

"The Monks would be of little
value in the conflict, since they won't harm anyone except in self-defense—and
even then they would be slow to act. The Abbot has agreed to let two Cheyo Guards
accompany us."

"How will two extra guards help?"

"The only way we will be
successful is if we can get the army inside the city gates. With a Cheyo Guard,
I may have a chance."

"I don't understand, but you seem
to know what you are doing," Bradley said, appearing content to wait and
see. In fact, I didn't have a plan. I just knew it was the best I could hope
for from the Trasslat Monastery and maybe better than having a Monk when all
was said and done.

As we prepared to leave the next day,
Sonya and Joanna appeared.

"Lady Shelly, you know Sonya and
this is Joanna, who is also a Cheyo Guard. She is assigned to protect you.

"Why?"

"So I don't worry when I can't be
around when trouble arises."

"Welcome Joanna, you'll have to
tell me a little about yourself when we get time." Shelly scowled at me.
"Where are you off to?"

"I thought I'd scout ahead. The
Sirens seem to be very well informed," I said, feeling better leaving
knowing Joanna guarded Shelly. "Sonya, how are you at running?"

She smiled. "Probably not as good
as you, but I'm in good condition."

"We’ll take Greystone in case you
get tired." I put the bridle on her and then began a slow jog in the
direction of Arucci. Leaving before the troops did would keep us an hour or
more ahead of them.

"Ride Greystone," I said to
Sonya early that afternoon. "You've done far better than I did on my first
training runs with the Ojaza. She nodded and mounted, showing she felt she
wasn't in competition with me and had nothing to prove. We saw nothing and
stopped early to wait for Bradley and the troops to arrive.

"You're impressive," Sonya
said. "I can understand how a warrior can outrun a horse. It doesn’t have
that kind of endurance, especially with a man and saddle on its back."

"I hated running when I was with
those training to be warriors, but it has proven a life saver." As we
talked, the dust from the mounted troops could be seen, and sometime later
Bradley and Shelly came into view at the head of the column. The country's
grassland was slowly turning to rolling hills with shrubs and small patches of
trees as we left the coast. But from here on out, the land would become
increasingly rocky and the hills larger and valleys deeper.

"Lady Shelly said you were
scouting ahead. See anything of interest?" Bradley asked as they reached
us.

"No. More likely the closer we get
to Arucci. I would think they would like advance notice of anyone
approaching."

"I agree. Any plans yet?"

"No. Don't know enough yet."
I grinned. Shelly grabbed my arm and walked me away from camp, with Sonya and Joanna
following.

"You were right. Bradley knows you
won't run off while he has me in custody."

"It's obvious Bradley doesn't
agree with Higgins that Arucci will open the gates because we come from Duke
Phipps. So he hopes I can get us in but doesn't trust me—I'm part savage
and talented." I laughed.

The next day, Sonya and I again left
well before the troops were ready. But instead of stopping where I thought
Bradley would, I pushed on into the early evening. A few hours later as we
crested a hill, I pointed down into the shallow ravine below us and then to the
hill on the other side. Sonya nodded, and we slowly made our way back down the
hill and in the direction of the expedition.

"Clever. Civilized men light fires
at night for a hot meal—Indians wouldn't," she said. "The Ojaza
taught you many useful things. But like Cheyo Guard training, to pass you must
know how to use it."

We arrived back at Bradley's camp close
to midnight. The guard nearest the picket line was half asleep and didn't
notice us until I was tying Greystone to the line. He must have notified
Bradley, because by the time I finished feeding my horse, he was approaching.

"Shelly and I were concerned when
we didn't see you at the end of the day. Trouble?" he asked as Shelly
approached with Joanna following.

"No. Scouting. There is a band of
mounted soldiers camped about two hours ahead. I counted fifteen. I don't think
they are aware of your detail."

"What do you suggest?"

"Capture them. They will have
useful information you need." I thought it a safe gamble as they were a
day's ride from Arucci and wouldn't be missed for a while. Bradley stood silently
studying me then called one of the guards over.

"Wake Captain Higgins and
Lieutenant Eaton and have Sergeant Rhodes quietly wake the camp. I want
everyone ready to leave in fifteen minutes," he said, and the guard took
off at a run. "You think there will be a Siren with them?"

"The one leading them, unless I'm wrong."
I waited as Higgins and Eaton came running, their jackets only half buttoned.

"Sir?" Higgins said while
saluting.

"Zara, what's the camp like?"

"Fourteen mounted troops are
camped in a narrow ravine about two hours from here. They have a sentry posted
on the hill north of the ravine, and I believe they have a Siren with them,
probably the ranking person leading the detail. I would suggest someone take
out the guard on the hill and let me deal with the Siren before you
enter."

"Enter?" Higgins asked,
frowning at me.

"They are just soldiers obeying
orders. If that is the case and the Siren is incapacitated, they should be
willing to cooperate." I saw Shelly and Eaton nodding agreement when
Bradley looked at them.

"Alright, lead us to the hill
overlooking their camp, and we can get in position while you confront the
Siren," Bradley said, waving for Higgins and Eaton to get things moving.
Shelly said nothing but gave Sonya a look that she nodded to in reply. Something
else I needed to learn—women's talk. Sergeant Rhodes came running up
shortly afterward.

"Lead on, Zara. I have a small
detail with me. The main column will follow shortly." He grinned.
"This should be fun."

"Hopefully," I said as I
untied Greystone and began a slow run beside her with Sonya following next to
her horse and the sergeant and his detail riding behind us. As we approached
the hill, I had everyone dismount and hobble his or her horse. Then we quietly
made our way to the top, where I pointed out the position of the guard. When Rhodes
nodded, I slid over the top with Sonya following and began my decent toward the
camp. There was only one half-awake sentry and we avoided him easily. I found a
position some twenty yards from the only tent and sat. Sonya moved off to the
side.

I entered the blue dimension easily and
extended it toward the tent. As my sight reached the tent, it disappeared and a
young man sat with snakes crawling over him and one held in his hand.

"You are not one of us. Are you
here to join us and be free, or are you here to die?" He smiled, raising
the snake to his lips.

"To negotiate a peaceful
surrender. I believe the Abbot would accept you back."

"To do what, serve her like a
slave? She rejected us and now we reject her." As the snake in his hand
grew, he flung it at me. It grew as it sailed through the air. I drew my sword
and as it descended I slashed through its body—it disappeared—and the
snakes around him began to crawl toward me, poisonous judging by their diamond-shaped
heads. They grew as they came, hissing with mouths wide and fangs dripping
venom. I shuddered. I had seen an Ojaza bitten by a poisonous snake and it was
a painful death. They began coiling just out of my reach.
Panic kills,
I mused as I sought a quiet mind. I changed to a hawk
and took to flight just as the first one struck. I caught it in my talons then
torn its head off with my beak. Swooping down, I dropped the remains on the
young man. He gave out a blood-curling cry that woke the camp as my talons sank
into his head and my beak plucked at his eyes. He went into shock and hung limp
in my talons. I let go, feeling sick.

I jerked awake as four men came running
for me. I staggered to my feet, hoping to stop them, but too late. Sonya had
killed all four before I could say anything. Good thing, because in my state of
mind they would have killed me. Bradley's troops were now coming into the
ravine from all directions. Thankfully, the soldiers were making no attempt to
fight and had dropped their weapons. Bradley entered the tent before walking to
where Sonya and I stood.

"He's only a young boy," he
said in a surprisingly neutral voice.

"The Trasslat Monastery takes them
in when they are only children. Many are let go within the first couple of
years to return to their families. The ones with potential talent are not
judged until they are teenagers, so it's not surprising many of the Sirens are
young," Sonya said. "That makes them no less dangerous."