Griffin's Daughter (16 page)

“
Have the troops fall in, Captain,” Ashinji commanded. Gendan turned and called out the order in a clipped bass-baritone. Jingle of harness and creak of leather, horses stamping and blowing, the muted conversation of troops preparing to ride out—Ashinji let the sounds and sights flow through his mind like water over stones. He did not want to think right now; he just wanted to let the horse carry him along to where he needed to go so that he could do what he had to do and return home.

“
The company is ready, my lord,” Gendan reported. He maneuvered his ugly dun mount alongside Ashinji’s black gelding, who, in a fit of equine ill-humor, flattened his ears and turned to bite. Ashinji checked the animal with a quick jerk of the reins and grudgingly, the gelding turned his head away from the dun.

Ashinji looked over his shoulder toward the main door of the castle, then back to the now quiet company waiting at attention. He sighed.

Time to go.

He flicked the reins and clicked his tongue. The gelding started forward, angling toward the gate, Gendan riding alongside, the company following behind in orderly pairs.

“
Ashi, wait!”

Ashinji drew rein and turned in the saddle to see Lord Sen striding toward him. His father’s hair hung loose, and he wore only a simple robe and sandals, as if he had just left the warm haven of his bed to come see his son off.

“
Whew! Thought I’d missed you,” Sen exclaimed as he stepped up and put out a hand to rest on Ashinji’s knee. “It’s harder to get out of bed the older I get. Just wanted to be here when you left. I know I don’t have to tell you to be careful. Don’t take any foolish risks. These are only ragtag human bandits, after all, not trained warriors.” He looked up at Gendan, and a quick message, conveyed by eyes only, passed between lord and liegeman.

Gendan nodded once, sharply.

Lord Sen turned back to Ashinji.

“
I know I can rely on you, Youngest Son.” He patted Ashinji’s knee and stepped away from the gelding’s side.

“
I’ll return in ten days’ time, Father, whether or not I’ve found the bandits,” Ashinji promised. Once more, he urged his mount to walk on toward the gate, which swung slowly open as the riders approached. He led the way onto the sturdy bridge that linked Kerala Castle, which stood on a rocky island in the Saihama River, to the tree-lined shore.

As the company crossed the span, the
clop clop
of the horses’ hooves on wood broke the early morning stillness. Birds were just beginning to stir and twitter in the trees as the first rays of the sun shot upwards into the purple sky, kindling the underbellies of the clouds to rose-gold fire. A fine mist writhed among the treetops, but it would soon burn off in the rapidly warming air.

The black gelding blew noisily, then threw his head up and jigged sideways into Gendan’s dun, who answered with a swift nip to the neck. The gelding shied away, and Ashinji cursed as he was momentarily thrown off-balance. “I don’t think this horse has been ridden enough lately,” he commented ruefully as he tried to steady the animal.

Gendan chuckled. “He does seem to be feeling his grain, doesn’t he? He’ll settle down after a good brisk lope, I should think.”

“
Huh. Let’s hope so!”

Saihama Village lay a day’s ride to the east. The company planned to follow a track that paralleled the river for about a league, then cut across open pastureland until they reached the dirt lane that led to the village proper. Once there, Ashinji would meet with the sheriff and form a plan of action. He looked back over his shoulder at Kerala Castle, its whitewashed walls gleaming pink in the early morning light. He imagined that he could just make out the tiny figure of his father standing in the gate, arm raised in farewell.

I wonder how Sadaiyo will feel when he learns that our father sent me to do this job, rather than him,
Ashinji thought.

He’ll be angry, no doubt, even though he’ll know it makes more sense for me to go…but when did my brother ever allow sense to guide him where I’m concerned?

He turned back in the saddle and focused his eyes forward, somewhere beyond the black horse’s swiveling ears.

For most of his life, Ashinji had been aware that Lord Sen favored him over his older brother, Sadaiyo. He suspected this was so because he and his father were much more alike in temperament than was Sen and his Heir. Ashinji had never encouraged this. In fact, he had always sought to discourage his father’s favoritism, subtle though it was. Try as he might, however, Lord Sen could not conceal the difference in affection he felt for each of his sons. The special bond he shared with Ashinji was just too strong, and because of it, Sadaiyo had nursed a dark, bitter resentment against his brother since childhood.

Ashinji shook his head sadly, knowing that there would be trouble with Sadaiyo when he returned home.

“
Begging your pardon, my lord, but you look as if you’ve got the very weight of the world on your shoulders this morning,” Gendan commented, his rugged face a mask of concern. “Something troubling you?”

“
Only the usual things, Gendan,” Ashinji replied.

Gendan was intuitive enough to know when not to push. “D’you think there’s going to be war with the humans, my lord?” he asked instead, changing the subject.

Ashinji shrugged. “I don’t know. I pray that there won’t be. Alasiri would be hard-pressed to defend itself against an all-out invasion by the Empire.”

“
Humans!” Gendan spat. “They’ve overrun practically all the known world, but that’s not enough for them. Now, they want to take away the little part of it we elves have managed to hold on to!” Gendan’s dun horse snorted and tossed his head, sensing his rider’s agitation.

“
To be fair, it’s not all humans, Gendan, only the Soldaran Empire,” Ashinji pointed out. “I daresay a lot of the other human nations conquered by the Soldarans resent them as much as we do.”

“
That may be so, my lord, but the Soldarans don’t want to just conquer us. They want to annihilate us… wipe us from the face of the earth!” Gendan shook his head in bewilderment. “Why do they hate us so?”

“
Ignorance and superstition,” Ashinji replied. He had studied enough about Soldaran religious beliefs to know that this was the case. As long as most Soldarans were taught that elves were, by their very nature, demonic, there could be no understanding or peace between the two races.

The new sun already burned hot in a perfect, cloudless sky. Ashinji wiped his perspiring brow with the back of his gloved hand. “If war does come, it’s going to take everything we’ve got just to survive,” he said. Gendan grunted his assent.

And I’ll have to give up on any hope of leaving the army,
he thought.
War will require great sacrifices of all of us.

Ambush

Jelena and Magnes walked all night, with only the stars and a tiny sliver of moon to light their way. They passed through rustling fields of growing wheat and orchards awash in blossoms, always heading northwest. Magnes had chosen as their goal the only spot in the Janica River where he knew that the water was shallow enough to cross. To reach the fords, they would have to traverse a small but dense patch of woodland that lay at the northernmost edge of Amsaran territory. Across the river, which marked the boundary of the Empire, lay elven lands.

At dawn, they reached the edge of the forest and decided to stop and rest a few yards into the trees. Magnes went off to forage while Jelena set up their meager camp. It was dark and chilly beneath the thick canopy of oak, beech, and chestnut. The trees themselves were large-boled and hoary, a testament to their great age. This stand was but a remnant of a once vast forest that had covered much of Amsara back in ancient times. With the coming of people, the mighty trees had fallen to the cold iron of the axe blade as the land was cleared for fields and pastures. Somehow, this small patch had survived, most likely due to its closeness to elven territory.

Jelena tried to fight her growing unease by busying herself about the camp. Despite the dim light, she could see well enough to collect a supply of sticks and dry debris, and with flint and steel, soon had a small fire burning.  Next, she cleared away the litter of last year’s withered leaves and acorns to make a relatively smooth spot on which to spread out the bedrolls. The fire cheered her a little, as did the sunrise, which put to flight some of the darker, more sinister shadows.

Even so, the trees seemed to possess a kind of slow and alien awareness, like strange old men huddled together, whispering secrets over her head. She sat cross-legged on the ground close to the little fire, pulled her blanket over her shoulders, and settled down to await Magnes’s return.

The snap of a breaking twig startled Jelena up out of a light doze. She had not realized that she had been asleep until that instant, and a thrill of alarm shot through her. She jumped to her feet and snatched her long knife from the sheath at her waist.

“
Easy! It’s only me.”

At the sound of Magnes’s voice, Jelena’s fear evaporated, and all of the nervous energy tensing her muscles drained away, leaving relief in its wake. “You scared me half to death!” she exclaimed. “I must have dozed off.” She re-sheathed the knife and came forward to see what Magnes had foraged.

“
It’s these damned trees. They’ve got me jumpy, too,” Magnes said sympathetically. He hunkered down by the fire and laid out his harvest. “It’s been a little dry this spring, but there’s still quite a lot of stuff growing. I’ve got some leeks and cleavers, and a few spring beauty roots. We’ll have a nice salad.” He held up each plant as he named it. “And now, I’ve saved the best for last!” With a crow of triumph, he dumped a handful of tiny, brilliant red wild strawberries into Jelena’s lap. She clapped with delight. With the fruit of Magnes’s foraging to supplement the rations they had brought with them out of Amsara, it should be several days before they would be forced to hunt.

“
Cook should be noticing I’m missing right about now,” Jelena said around a mouthful of bread and cheese. “I think I can hear her yelling.”

Magnes laughed.

“
When do you think your father will send his guards out to look for us?” she asked, unable to disguise the worry in her voice.

Magnes’s face clouded over. “My father won’t realize something’s wrong until I don’t show up with the morning report,” he replied. “Once he finds out that I’m not in my chambers and that no one has seen me, then he’ll start to worry.”

“
And Cook’ll send someone up to tell him I’m gone, and…oh, no!” Jelena exclaimed suddenly. Sick fear twisted her gut. “Magnes, what have I done…
Claudia!
” Jelena sprang to her feet. She wanted to turn and run and not stop until she had made it all the way back to Amsara. 

“
What about Claudia?” Magnes scrambled up and grasped his cousin’s shoulders. He seemed to sense that she teetered on the edge of panic and wanted to steady her before she fell off.

Jelena looked up into his face, her eyes full of tears and terror. “Your father will want to question Claudia about my disappearance. Magnes, she’ll be forced into a position where she’ll have to lie to protect me, or else tell him where I’ve gone, and she won’t do that! She’ll lie, and she’ll be so nervous that your father will know she’s lying, and he’ll punish her. I can’t let that happen. I have to go back.”

Magnes shook his head and tightened his grip on her shoulders. “My father may be hard, but he’s not a monster, Cousin. He knows how much Claudia loves you, and he understands the need of a parent to protect a child. He’ll certainly be angry with her, but he won’t hurt Claudia. You don’t have to go back.”

Slowly, Jelena relaxed. She wiped her eyes and sat back down next to the fire. For a time, she said nothing. Overwhelmed by the enormity of what she had done, she was afraid to think too hard on the consequences. Magnes threw another handful of sticks onto the fire, and Jelena stared into the leaping flames, seeing in her mind’s eye her foster mother bowed before Duke Teodorus, trembling in the face of his wrath. The image pierced her heart, but she knew, deep down, that Magnes was right. The duke was a hard man, but he had always treated his servants fairly. Claudia would suffer because of her, but not at the hands of her master.

What’s done is done. I can’t go back, only forward. I’m sorry, Heartmother.

Magnes coughed to get her attention. She looked at him, and he held out a strawberry, which she took with a smile and ate. The sun hung well above the horizon now, and the air was growing steadily warmer, heralding another fine spring day. The forest had gradually come to life around them as the sun rose, and the dense canopy above them trilled with birdsong. The ancient trees, which had seemed so mysterious and frightening in the darkness of the predawn, now looked almost friendly. They finished off their small meal and followed it up with sips from their water bottles.

“
You’d better try to get some sleep if you can,” Magnes said, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “I’ll take the first watch.”

“
Shouldn’t we keep moving?” Jelena asked.  Despite the weariness she felt after walking all night, she was willing to go on if it meant staying that much further ahead of any pursuit.

“
We have a little time,” Magnes replied confidently. “Remember, first they’ll search the castle. That’ll take awhile. After my father realizes that we’re not there, it will take time to organize a search party, and they won’t pick up our trail right away. All of this presupposes that my father figures out fairly quickly that your disappearance and mine coincide.” Jelena nodded. “So, it’ll be hours before any search actually gets underway. Don’t worry. I won’t let you sleep too long.”