Clockwork Goddess (The Lesbia Chronicles) (14 page)

Chapter Nineteen

The camp was soon broken down, all souls assembled before Kira. The soldiers had formed two columns of equal length when Ayla and Liz approached, finding they were the last to arrive. The warrior was waiting at the head of her armlette, dressed in relatively light leathers. She wore bracers the length of her forearms and her legs were clad in tight leather leggings culminating in heavy boots. Her upper body was covered in a leather and mail vest which left her tattooed upper arms bare. Though she was not heavily armored, everything about her spoke to battle readiness.

Ayla and Liz stepped to the back of the group and Kira's dark eyes flicked to them briefly before she began giving the final orders.

"We are splitting three ways. Aeron, Trebuchet, Ayla and respective parties, you're with me. The rest of you head east or west according to your designation. Keep moving until you hit the coast. If you're ambushed or cornered, split up and return to your villages. You will hear from me in due course. Take care with your lives. Avoid conflict where possible. I don't want to lose a single one of you in this. Now go."

The columns split and moved off according to her orders. In less than two minutes the camp which had hummed with raucous life was empty, nothing but a well trodden clearing. The small party left behind was comprised of Ayla, Kira, Trebuchet, Aeron, Moon, Vix and Liz.

"What has precipitated this?" Ayla asked the question mildly, showing little concern.

"We have a pursuit," Kira said. "The queen herself this way comes." A slow smile spread across her face. "Riding on a pony."

Ayla lifted a brow at her old friend. "You do not seem worried, but you must be to have disbanded."

"I don't need my armlette being caught," Kira said. "They are too loyal and worth more than that."

Ayla nodded. "And where are we going?"

"Further south."

"There is not all that much further south to go."

"We will escape into the peninsulas if required. There is more to Lesbia than the main continent. For the moment, all that matters is that we move. Aeron, you will scout ahead. Trebuchet, take up our rear." Kira pointed at Vix, Moon and Liz. "The three of you should go to the nearest village and take up gainful employment."

"I was not made for gainful employment," Liz said, speaking first. "I was made to do Ariadne's will."

"I will not leave Trebuchet's side," Moon spoke next. "I will not sit in some village and wait to hear bad news."

All eyes then turned on Vix, who shrugged. "I'll go to the village."

"On second thoughts," Kira said. "We may need a hengineer. You stay."

"You haven't needed me thus far that you've noticed," Vix said. "I'm sure you can manage to bash through the undergrowth without my help."

Kira's eyes narrowed in Vix's direction. "We are at war," she said. "I have no time for the temper tantrums of spoiled brats. You will follow orders, or you will suffer the consequences."

"We're more at running away than at war," Vix replied. "Or is this how you have lived so long? Running away from every battle?"

Every jaw that was not Vix's dropped at her unexpectedly bold rudeness.

Kira did not waste another breath on words. She took Vix by the front of her vest and hauled her forward. She then proceeded to slap Vix hard across her behind with a blow which made every muscle in her considerable arm ripple, and Vix's britches jiggle. Vix let out a plaintive yowl of pain which did nothing to stop Kira from slapping her again.

"Easy," Ayla said, putting her hand on Kira's exposed arm. "I know she is vexing, but there is not the time to beat her now. I will keep her with us."

"Keep her silent too," Kira said, letting Vix go. "Her impudent tongue is dangerous to her hide."

"What has gotten into you?" Trebuchet pulled Vix aside while Ayla distracted Kira. "That's not like you."

"Maybe it is like me now," Vix shrugged. Her bottom hurt and her pride was wounded and she was most unhappy.

"You and I are going to talk," Trebuchet promised. "Next time we make camp. Just keep your lips sealed until then and stay close to Moon. She will no doubt have some herb to soothe you."

"I can't believe you said that," Moon giggled as they began their march to the southern bounds of Lesbia. "You're getting bold."

"I'm getting tired," Vix said. "This is futile."

Kira whipped around to glare at her. "If I hear another word out of you I will thrash you so hard you will not remember your name."

"Then I'd be like you, you don't know what my name is either," Vix muttered under her breath as she sank into resentful silence. The great warrior was nothing but a great bully as far as she was concerned.

Fingers were hooked in the back of her vest and she was drawn backwards to Trebuchet with a swiftness. "Stop," the bulky warrior said "I mean it."

Trebuchet didn't often give orders, but Vix had the feeling she would do well to obey that one. Both Kira and Trebuchet were looking at her with unimpressed expressions. Kira seemed especially annoyed, but Vix was more worried about Trebuchet whose shadow was falling over her in a way that could only be described as ominous.

The party continued onward, but Trebuchet held Vix back.

"Seems we won't be able to wait until we rest to deal with this," the stocky warrior said. "You do understand that lives are at stake here, don't you?"

Vix nodded. She did not wish to fall afoul of Trebuchet. It would be an unpleasant and ultimately alienating experience she was sure.

"Don't get sulky with me," the warrior said, giving her a gentle nudge to get her moving so they did not fall too far behind. "We talked about this with you and the witch."

"This isn't just about Ayla," Vix muttered. "This is about all of this. I'm tired of it."

Trebuchet's hand fell on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "Vix, sweetie," the warrior said in a low murmur. "This hasn't even begun to happen yet. You don't know enough to be tired of it."

"I'm tired of Kira thinking she can order me around."

"She's the commander of this armlette," Trebuchet said. "That means she can order you around."

"Well I don't like it," Vix grumped. "She doesn't show me any respect. She doesn't show me anything."

"She just showed you the flat of her hand, and she'll show you a lot more of it if you don't settle down," Trebuchet said. "I might too."

If the talk was supposed to be calming Vix down it was failing terribly. She fell into sullen silence and walked a little faster so she would not have to listen to Trebuchet's chastisements.

"What's wrong?" Moon fell into step beside Vix.

"Your lady friend is threatening to beat me," Vix said in less than impressed tones. "Everyone's a brute."

"She's threatening to beat you? Why?"

"Because I dared express my feelings about our dear leader," Vix snapped. Trebuchet's lecturing, however mild, had not been appreciated one bit.

Moon nodded slowly. "I'll talk to her."

She hung back while Vix sloped off to the side a little, close enough to hear what was going on, not close enough to be seen.

"Quit being mean to Vix," Moon said to Trebuchet, broaching the subject with all the tact of a bull. "You know she's having a hard time."

"Her hard time isn't an excuse to act out," Trebuchet rumbled in reply. "If you want to come and play soldier, then you have to be disciplined about it. Kira was gentle with Vix, and I was even softer. She's got no cause for complaint."

"I don't think anyone else gets to decide if Vix has reason to complain," Moon said. "I think it's good she's complaining. She never used to. She used to just accept any old treatment. We should support her standing up for herself."

"She's picked a bad time to start,” Trebuchet sighed.

Chapter Twenty

While what remained of Kira's armlette made a fairly disgruntled attempt at escape, many miles hence three riders moved at a smooth trot across a grassed plain. They rode sturdy battle chargers, tall horses with fine heads and strong bodies. At the head of them Queen Cadentis jostled and bounced atop a much smaller bay cob, a broad backed sturdy mount which was jigging between a trot and a canter and occasionally, a frustrated walk.

"What's wrong with this beast?" Cadentis flung the question over her shoulder.

The cob was the only horse in the royal stables able to stand up to the rigors of being ridden by the queen, not because the queen was overly large, but because she was not in any way an equestrian. She preferred her clockwork carriages to beasts of flesh and blood and it showed.

The riders looked at one another. It was not their place to correct a monarch, but the cob was growing impatient and it seemed that sooner or later there was to be a falling out between queen and horse. As horses tended not to honor the monarchy, it would not go well for Cadentis.

"If it pleases her highness to not dig her heels in, and instead to let her body move with the horse so she does not plunk up and down," the lead rider suggested with a tone of mildness.

"Don't give me a riding lesson, get this damn beast under control!"

The rear riders exchanged looks. The queen was known for her passion and her foresight, but also for her temper and her vigor. The cob was the quietest animal in the stables, but under Cadentis' rear it was flaring its nostrils and tossing its head and beginning to prance.

"If the queen would do me the honor of riding with me," the lead rider suggested. "I might alleviate some of her troubles."

"I'm not going to ride two to a saddle like a peasant," Cadentis snapped, tossing dark hair out of her eyes. Her regal lips and strong jaw were both set in displeasure as she lurched to the left and then the right. "This horse should do as it is told!"

"I'm afraid the horse is doing as it is told," the lead rider informed her smoothly. The answer did not please Cadentis, who tried to turn around and curse at her bodyguard but was unable to due to the fact that her mount had decided to increase its speed at rather short notice.

"Help! I say help!" Cadentis threw her arms and legs up just as the horse came to a halt. She did not come to a halt at quite the same time. She only stopped her not very regal motion when she slid over the horse's shoulder and abruptly onto the wet grass where she sat, entirely discombobulated and quite furious.

Having unburdened itself, the cob began to graze.

"Are you hurt, your highness?" The lead rider dismounted quickly and went to her queen's aid.

Cadentis let out a stream of profanity which eventually confirmed that she had bruised her hip and her ego. The lead rider did not respond to any of the queen's anger, letting it roll over her cloaked shoulders like water off a pig's back. She waited until Cadentis had stopped shouting and helped the queen to her feet.

"I will tie the cob to my steed," she said. "That will keep her nicely under control."

"Ah yes," Cadentis snapped. "And then I will be a queen being led on a lesser steed. What will the people say?"

"They will no doubt admire the queen for her many accomplishments and the good she has bought to the kingdom," the lead rider said smoothly.

Cadentis' eyes narrowed, thick lashes weaving together as they almost closed. "Do not handle me, Minerva. I will not be handled, understood?!"

The lead rider bowed her head. "That has not been my name for a very long time, your highness. I am your humble, nameless servant."

"If I am to take you to task you have to have a name," Cadentis replied. "And it may as well be the one that is yours."

Minerva, the lead rider, she who had been nameless, nodded. "As you wish, my queen."

Cadentis also nodded, slightly mollified for having stridently corrected her bodyguard. "I will not ride that mount," she said. "We will travel on foot to the nearest village and there we will send for a carriage."

"As you wish, my queen," Minerva agreed. "Though the nearest village is three days walk at least, and time is of the essence if we wish to overtake the witch."

The queen's face performed unsettled contortions. "I cannot be seen to be weak by the common folk," she mused. "It would do untold damage." She thought a little while longer, then snapped her fingers. "I know!" She pointed at Minerva. "You will give me your cape and cowl and you will wear my emerald of office. You will ride at the head of our party and you will act as queen. I will travel incognito, lead between the others on my mount."

Minerva paused a moment, then agreed. "As you will, your majesty."

Cadentis beamed and held out a hand, snapping her fingers. "Well, take it off, I want to don my disguise!"

The lead rider hesitated a moment. This was unprecedented. A rider did not remove her coverings except in private and in the company of other riders. She did not bare her features to the sun, or speak to common people, or partake in every day life. The queen was asking Minerva to act directly contrary to her sworn oath.

"Quick!"

At Queen Cadentis' urging, Minerva complied, removing the cowl and cloak which had been hers for many years. Revealed in the light of day, she proved to be quite a beauty. She was a middle aged woman of good strong stature and excellent health. Her dark hair fell about her shoulders in a silken curtain, her skin was pale, and green eyes flashed out of a face of uncommon wisdom and kindness. She was much taller and had a more elegant bearing than Cadentis, though nobody would ever have dared say so, and once she had the emerald in place on her forehead, she looked every inch a queen.

Cadentis might have taken exception to that, but Cadentis was more concerned with her own appearance than Minerva's. Having donned the rider's attire, Cadentis did not quite look the part, for the cape was a little long and dragged on the ground, and the cowl fell all the way to her nose.

"I'm quite hidden," she announced, very pleased with herself though she appeared to be little more than a walking nose with a pair of boots sticking out the bottom of a thick cape. "This will do very well."