Queen (Brotherhood of the Throne) (17 page)

Brenna drew in a deep breath. She’d
been thinking all day about how best to do this spell. In the end she simply pictured
Pater in her mind, as he’d looked all day, and whispered her spell. She felt
energy flow around her for a moment and then - nothing. There was nothing to
view her reflection in so she had to trust that the spell had worked. She
rolled over to try to get a few hours of sleep before she put her magic to the
test.

Spelling herself to look like Pater
hardly seemed necessary, Brenna thought as she trudged through the mud. It had
started raining at first light, a cold rain that held the threat of snow. The
prisoners were even more miserable and dejected than yesterday and the guards
had barely looked them over. They did count them though, and Brenna was
thankful that she’d been able to get Ronan away last night. What would have
happened had they’d counted one extra child? Some of the older children looked
around the wagons when the count was finished, perhaps trying to find the boy
who’d been caught yesterday, but none of them said a word to their captors.

 There were twenty men, twelve
women and fourteen children spread amongst the two wagons. Many of them looked
familiar to Brenna and there was one woman she was sure she’d seen a few times
at Mistress Took’s laundry, but none that recognized as one of her old patients.

The wagons continued to climb
towards the sharp peaks of the Godswall and Brenna needed all her energy just
to keep putting one foot in front of the other on the slippery trail. At times
a wagon would get stuck in the mud or caught against a rock and the line of men,
including her, would be shoved ahead to push the wagon free. Pater would not
have been able to manage such a strenuous task and Brenna tried not to think about
what would have happened to him if he’d still been chained up.

The men around her were silent,
each in their own pocket of misery. Brenna remained silent too – she didn’t
think she could disguise her voice.

 She tried to watch the guards,
hoping to pass along their routines to Dasid, but the treacherous footing meant
she had to keep her eyes on her own feet most of the time.

By mid afternoon all the prisoners,
even the children, were covered in mud and the guards were cursing loudly and
often.

Each time a wagon was stuck on the
mud-filled track the children had been unloaded from under the tarps – finally the
guard in charge decided that having the children travel on foot would be no
slower than continually putting them on and off the wagons. Brenna saw the hope
and relief as the smallest children were handed to the women. The men trudged
past them to push and pull the wagons up a steep incline.

If she could make sure that the
children were not in the wagons when Dasid’s men arrived it would be so much
easier to keep them safe. Brenna peered up at the drizzle and then around at
the muddy slope. She smiled as she remembered one particular lesson with
Mistress Utley.

“
Kane
.” Brenna reached out
through the old steel and until she found him. “
Kane, can you talk
?”

“
Brenna, thank the gods. You
were supposed to contact me last night
.”

Despite the wet ground and rapidly
cooling air, she felt a surge of warmth from him.

“
I’m sorry
,” she said. “
I
ran out of time
.”

“
Brenna
.” Kane paused. “
What
are you doing? Have you done something that’s put you at risk
?”

“
A necessary risk
,” Brenna
said. “
The wagons were on a different route and Wils, Neemah and I came
across them before Dasid
.”

“
And you didn’t wait for them
,”
Kane said.

“
They caught Ronan
,” Brenna
said. “
And Pater was with them. I couldn’t leave them
.”

 Kane was silent for a minute and
Brenna huddled into her borrowed coat. She could feel his worry and disappointment.

“
And what is that you did
?”

“
I got Pater and Ronan out
safely and then took Pater’s place
,” Brenna said. “
Using magic
.”

“
You
took Pater’s place in a slave train
?” Kane asked. “
Are you safe
?”

“
I’m safe
,” Brenna said. “
Dasid
agreed with this plan
.”

“
Did he
?” Kane asked.

She felt his anger subside a little
but he was afraid for her and she felt a pang of guilt.

“
He did
,” Brenna replied.

“
All right
,” Kane said. “
When
will Dasid and his men be there
?”

“
Another day, maybe a day and a
half
,” Brenna replied.

“
Be careful, Brenna
,” he
said. “
Don’t do anything to attract attention. Let Dasid and his men do any
fighting. Don’t try to use your knife in a fight – not unless you need to
defend yourself. And even then make sure you call for help. You cannot win
against a trained swordsman.
”

“
I know
,” Brenna said. “
All
I want to do is help those people.
”

“
But you are far too important
to risk
.”

“
The precious prophecy
.”

“
To me
,” Kane replied gently.
“
I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you, especially with you
so far away
.” Kane ended their discussion, leaving Brenna to try to catch
her breath.

She knew she was important to him,
knew he cared for her, loved her, but she’d never before really thought about
what it would do to him if she died. Kane had never talked about it but she’d
overheard talk that he’d gone berserk when she’d been taken by Thorold’s men.
Even Dasid had been careful around him after she’d been rescued. Kane had killed
over a dozen men trying to get to her. She shuddered. If she couldn’t take
better care for her sake, she should do it for his.

She contacted Dasid. He expected to
intercept them the next afternoon. Dasid outlined a plan to capture the wagons and
after a few suggestions from Brenna, they agreed on how to proceed. When Dasid
suggested she draw some power from him, Brenna hesitated.

“
You have a lot of magic to do
tomorrow
,” Dasid said. “
You need to be at full strength
.”

“
Yes, but so will you
.”

“
Then contact Gaskain
,”
Dasid said. “
From what you’ve said his new sword is the strongest old steel
for you, besides mine. And he’s sleeping in a soft bed - he won’t even notice
.”

 “
I’d feel strange simply waking
him up to take his energy
.
”

“
Do it. He’ll be happy to serve.
Besides
,” Dasid said. “
He and I
spoke about it a few times while
the weapons were being forged - he’s expecting it
.”

“
All right
.” Brenna severed
the contact with Dasid and before she could lose her nerve, found the bright
beacon of Gaskain’s old steel sword.

He was awake and agreed to her
request without any explanation. The connection between her and his sword was
so new and solid that as soon as she thought about drawing some of his strength
to her, it was done. Once she felt rejuvenated, she stopped.

“
Brenna
,” Gaskain said. “
Take
as much from me as you need. Tomorrow I’ll keep my sword close by in case you
need more energy. There’s no need for you to ask first
.”

“
I couldn’t do that
.” Brenna
was horrified at the thought. How could he expect her to simply reach out and
rip his energy from him? She couldn’t, she wouldn’t.

“
You can
.” Gaskain was firm.
“
You’ll be in a fight and won’t have time for niceties. I do not want to live
with the thought that you could have saved yourself or someone else with my strength
and didn’t because you were too polite. I’ll gladly serve you in any way I can.
So I’ve sworn to you as my queen
.”

Reluctantly she agreed though it
didn’t feel right.

Lastly Brenna contacted Wils with
instructions for his role in the next day’s clash. Her responsibilities complete,
she finally closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She’d done what she could
tonight.

She went over again Mistress
Utley’s lessons on weather. In the spring, it had been a simple thing to coax
rain to fall where she wanted it. She hoped tomorrow’s task wouldn’t be any more
difficult.

ten

Brenna squinted trying to see
through the fog.

“
To your left, Brenna, right
behind the large stand of spruce
,” Dasid said through old steel. His voice
was so clear that she looked around to see if anyone else had heard him. She
followed the ghostly shapes of the men she was chained to as they trudged
forward. Gently, carefully, she gathered the tendrils of fog behind them and
nudged them towards the trees to her left. She heard a grunt of satisfaction
from Dasid and knew she’d provided his men with enough cover.

Dasid and his men had caught up to
the wagons one hour ago. They’d sent a scout ahead to find a spot to ambush the
wagons and were now waiting for him to return.

Brenna quickened her pace hoping
the line of men opened up more distance between them and the women and children,
who trailed the group. Dasid wanted the prisoners split – that would also split
the guards.

“
We’ve taken the rearguard
,”
Dasid said a few moments later.

Brenna breathed a sigh of relief. Eight
guards left, along with the three drivers.

“
Two of my men are changing into
their gear. Will the women come quietly do you think
?”

Brenna looked over her shoulder at the
huddle of women and children struggling up the slope. “
I think they’re so tired
they’ll do anything
,” she said. “
But there are another three guards with
them
.”

“
Thicken the fog between you and
the women and children. I’ll let you know when we have them
.”

Brenna concentrated, drawing the
fog in behind her. Ears straining, she thought she heard the rattle of weapons
and a muffled shout. The guard on her right stopped and turned, his eyes
scanning the trail behind. Brenna saw a shadowy guard in brown step out of the
fog for a moment. The guard beside her, satisfied that all was well, turned
back up the slope. Brenna, still staring back down the trail, saw a flash of
grey beneath the brown and nodded as the guard behind her finished buttoning
his jacket.

“
We’ve got them
,” Dasid
said. “
Does anyone suspect?
”

“
No. I’ll keep the fog dense
,”
Brenna said. “
And let Wils know. He can’t be too far down slope. Last I checked
he was about half an hour behind
.”

“
Tell him we’ll leave two men
behind with the women and children
,” Dasid said. “
He’s to send my men back
to me as soon as possible
.”

When, half an hour later, Wils let
her know that the women and children were safe with him, Brenna was so relieved
she almost stumbled. She said a quick prayer for the rest of the plan to go as
smoothly.

The scout had selected a section of
trail just over the next ridge for the ambush and Dasid had taken ten men ahead
to set the trap. Dasid sent a quick message when he was in place and ready. Brenna
forced herself to breath slow and steady - she had to be ready when Dasid gave
her his final signal.

She scanned the ridge,
concentrating on the details Dasid and given her. Grateful for the power she’d
drawn from Gaskain, she started to gather up all of the fog from the
surrounding area.  In moments she’d wrapped fog around the little band of three
wagons and the string of forlorn men walking behind them.

“
It’s time Brenna
,” Dasid signaled.

Brenna’s her heart stuttered
nervously.  Focused, she recited the spell she’d been working on since dawn. She
harnessed a gust of wind and sent the fog and rain clouds skidding away. It
took a few moments for the prisoners to realize that the wagons had stopped
moving. When Brenna looked ahead, she grinned.

“Stop.” Dasid’s voice rang out
loudly. “You will hand these prisoners over to us and surrender. You are
greatly outnumbered.” Dasid stood, his sword pointed at the driver of the wagon
closest to him. Behind him, fifty men dressed in the grey uniforms of her
militia stood where the trail narrowed between rocks. Other armed men stepped
forward until each wagon driver and guard was at the end of a sword.

“Don’t expect any help from behind
you,” Dasid said. Brenna saw the leader of the wagon guards swivel his head
back along the trail they’d just traveled. Another large group of men in grey
stood shoulder to shoulder along the path. Brenna smiled and the image wavered.
She sucked in a breath and concentrated on making the soldiers look solid and
real.

Without a fight, the wagon guards
dropped their weapons. Dasid’s men tied them together and looped the rope to
the first wagon. Brenna dropped her disguise and sighed as she let all her
magic slip away. The freed prisoners looked at her in surprise and the wagon
guards faces went from shock to anger.

“What witchery is this?” one asked.

“Real witchery,” Brenna said. She
walked past the line of men still chained together until she reached Dasid and
the leader of the wagon guards. “Used to help people.” The man spat at her feet
and Brenna shook her head.

“Grieve here is in charge.” Brenna
nodded to the man. “Not very friendly, is he?”

“We don’t need him to be,” Dasid
said, eyeing him. “We just need to know what he knows.” He turned to her and
winked. “You can get that for us, can’t you? I’m not especially worried if he’s
simple when you’re done rooting around in his mind.”

Grieve looked from Dasid’s stern
face to hers. “Duke Thorold ain’t payin’ me enough to deal with a witch,” he
said slowly. “Nor to lose my wits over one. I’ll tell ye what ye want.”

“You said that Duke Thorold hired
you,” Brenna said. She and Dasid had moved Grieve away from the rest of his men
and now she sat on a damp log, her boots off and her aching feet bare despite
the coolness of the breeze. “I thought this was the church’s mission.”

“Church don’t want folks leaving
Kingsreach,” Grieve said. “That High Bishop, he’d like to have a chance with
‘em first.”

“You don’t like the High Bishop?”
she asked.

“Like him, don’t like him, I just
stays out of his way,” the prisoner said. “That’s one reason why I work for Duke
Thorold. The High Bishop won’t be able to have at me or my men if we’re the
duke’s.”

“He certainly won’t have at you
now,” Dasid said. “Where exactly is it you’re taking these good citizens of
Kingsreach?”

“Good citizens?” Grieve laughed.
“These folks are from Thieves Quarter. And they’re better of out of Kingsreach
if you ask me.”

“I’d watch what I said if I were
you.” Dasid’s voice was low and hard. “You were dragging a friend of ours
behind your wagon and if anything had happened to him, I’d be a lot less reasonable
right now.” 

Brenna’s own anger subsided when
Grieve gulped and looked away from Dasid.

“So you’re doing them a favor,” she
said. “Why not simply let them go once you leave the city instead of splitting
husbands from wives and children from mothers?”

“The pay was good.” Grieve shrugged
his shoulders. “Half when we left and another half due when we got to the
mines.”

“What about Langemore?” Brenna
asked. “What did you get to deliver slaves to King Mannel?”

Grieve laughed. “King Mannel,” he
said. “I’m not even sure he wants them. I took one group over the mountains to
meet up with the trader ships, that’s all. And they seemed mighty surprised to
be getting’ them, I can tell you.”

“What?” Brenna said before she
could stop herself. She looked wide-eyed at Dasid. If Mannel didn’t want them
then why were they being sent to him?

“You don’t think Mannel has
requested these slaves?” Dasid asked.

“Hmph. Like I said, they seem
surprised like,” Grieve said. “But they took ‘em all the same. Me, I would’ve
left them on the coast to fend fer themselves and I told the captain of the
ship that. Lots of game and fish round there and I wasn’t gonna take them all
the way back over the mountains. Asides, these were the ones the mines already
rejected.”

Brenna felt sick. “
Those men
would have no idea how to fend for themselves
,” she sent to Dasid. “
Especially
with winter coming. They’re city folk
.”

Dasid’s mouth tightened and he
nodded. “
The captain of the ship knew that leaving them there would mean
their deaths. I think he took them on board to save their lives.
”

Brenna stood, suddenly feeling very
tired. “I’ll see if Wils has arrived yet,” she said out loud. “I’m sure Neemah
can use an extra pair of hands.”

Brenna added a pinch more witch
hazel bark into the mortar and quickly crushed it, combining it with the paste already
there. Neemah had already organized the women and children, taking care of the
worst of their injuries and now she was checking over the men. While she did
that Brenna was making a salve to soothe minor scrapes and chapped skin.

“Let me know if you need any help,
lass.” Brenna looked up to see Pater peering down at her, his left foot wrapped
with what looked like a piece of her jacket.

“That was my second best jacket,”
she said. She stood and hugged him close.

“Sorry bout that.” Pater grinned at
her. “Do you want it back?”

“No thanks. But I am surprised
Neemah didn’t use some of the supplies from the wagon.” Brenna picked the
mortar back up and scooped the salve out of it onto a small dish. “We brought
lots of cloths for bandages and compresses.”

“Neemah didn’t wrap my ankle. When
we was invisible I tripped over young Ronan and put my ankle out. I had t’ wrap
it up in order to keep moving.” Pater reached out and placed his hand on her
arm and she looked up into his serious eyes. “I want t’ thank ye, Brenna, fer
savin’ me. Even though you shouldn’t a done it, shouldn’t a put yerself at
risk, I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome Pater.” Brenna
smiled. “I didn’t feel I was in any great risk otherwise I wouldn’t have done
it.” Pater’s eyebrows lifted and she smiled. “All right, maybe I would have
done it anyway - but I don’t regret it. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself
if I let people, especially my friends, suffer when I can do something to help.”

Pater looked at her steadily for a
few seconds. “Fair enough,” he said at last. “Ye can’t go against yer nature,
bein’ a healer and all. But that invisible thing.” He shook his head. “That were
somethin’, I tell ye, not knowin’ how to find the boy ifn’ I was to let go of
him. And he’s a hard one t’ keep a hold of, that Ronan. Now, I offered t’ help,
so let me know what ye want done with this.” Pater gestured to the salve she
was holding.

After she’d sent Pater off with the
salve Brenna finally had some time to get cleaned up herself. She found her
saddle bag and rummaged through it, looking for something clean to wear. Neemah
had mentioned that some of the women were taking advantage of a stream that was
close by so clothing in hand, Brenna headed there.

She heard voices, quiet and
subdued, but when she rounded an evergreen the voices stopped.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle
you,” she said as she saw two women scrabble from the stream and wrap
themselves in blankets. Two other women looked at her suspiciously. Brenna nodded
and picked a spot a few feet upstream from them.

Carefully, she placed her clean
clothes on a rock and peeled off her dirty ones, letting them drop to the
ground. Her earlier magic had sent the rain clouds away and now the stars dotted
the darkening sky. She stepped into the water, biting her lip as the cold
numbed first her feet and then her whole body. Despite her shivering she was
determined to get as much muck and grime of the day off her. She scrubbed at
her skin and as soon as she felt clean enough, Brenna climbed out and started
donning her clean clothes.

“Where’d ye get them fresh
clothes?” one of the women asked. She was wrapped in a blanket, no doubt one of
the ones they’d brought in the wagon.

“Oh, from my saddle bag,” Brenna
said, pulling her breeches up and dragging her shirt over her head. “Sorry,
Neemah and I didn’t think to add clean clothes to the supplies.” Brenna picked
up her belt and knife and wrapped the belt around her waist, letting her shirt drop
to cover the hilt of her knife.

“Yer the one’s saved us,” a second
woman said, her eyes wide in the dusk. “The one Neemah’s boy said is goin’ to
be queen.”

“Yes, well, someone’s got to do.”
Brenna bundled up Pater’s old coat. She sighed. She wished Ronan hadn’t told
them about her.

The first woman stood up and backed
downstream a little. “He also said you was a witch.”

Brenna turned to face the women.
“Yes, that’s true,” she said. “I am a witch. Despite what the church says
witches aren’t evil. Mostly we just try to help people. Me, I’ve been healing
in the Quarter for years. Does that sound evil?”

“You’re the healer lived over
Mistress Dudding’s shop?” One of the women who had been keeping to the back, warily
stepped forward.

Brenna nodded.

“You helped my sister when her boy
was sick with the fever. No one else would talk to her cause they was afraid of
catchin’ what he had, but you came right over, she said.” The woman stepped up
and held her hand out. “I’m Shalla.”