The Falcon in the Barn (Book 4 Forest at the Edge series) (103 page)

Shem wet his lips and scrunched his
mouth.

“
Oh no,” Perrin said in a
low voice. “Since when?”

“
Remember her first letter
to the Department of Instruction, asking about letting parents
teach their children at home?”

“
Her first letter?” Perrin
blinked in surprise. “That was
years
ago! It didn’t make it
past the skimmers.”

“
Yes, it did,” Shem
whispered. “All the way to Gadiman. He started a file
then.”

Perrin covered his mouth with his hand.

“
It’s part of the reason I
didn’t come earlier. I saw the file on your desk, I mean, the
command desk
this afternoon. I think it was supposed to have
been hidden under the papers on top of it, but there was a lot of
activity in the office and some of the younger soldiers were a
little sloppy around the desk. I think they were trying to put
their transfer requests on top of the others.”

Shem unbuttoned a pouch on the inside of his
bag and pulled out a thick stack of papers with a thin leather
cover. He laid it on the dirt and straw in front of Perrin and
opened it to the first page.

“
I’d been waiting for my
chance to get it, but I had to do it when no one would suspect it
was me. Lemuel thinks he misplaced this in his quarters. He was
tearing it apart tonight, searching. That’s why I was finally able
to sneak out and come here.”

Perrin didn’t touch the file but stared at
the name and the notes on the front of it as if it were a poisonous
snake ready to attack the first thing that moved.

Shem didn’t like touching it either, but he
shifted over Gadiman’s notes to reveal Mahrree’s first letter,
marked with underlines and comments in the margins written in
Gadiman’s hand.

With a stick, Shem pointed at where Perrin
was already staring.

“
Mahrree Peto Shin. Red
dot. Traitor. Perrin, she’s scheduled for trial in three days. And
so are you.”

Now Perrin’s other hand covered his mouth
too, but he didn’t take his eyes off the file.

Shem slid over a few more pages, still with
the stick, as if the file were infected. Mahrree’s second letter.
Her third. Her fourth. Everything she said in front of the
Administrators in Idumea. More notes. More comments. More
pages.

“
General Thorne came to the
stables in an excellent mood afternoon before last,” Shem related
quietly. “He was actually whistling as he retrieved his horse and
whispered lovingly to it. I heard him mention your names, and
that’s when I knew the Administrators had finally come to a
decision. And if it was something to make Qayin so happy, it
certainly couldn’t be good for you. I left immediately, dropping my
pitchfork in the middle of the dirty stall, and borrowed a horse
from my contact to get back here, riding all night and ‘borrowing’
a few more animals along the way.

“
Late this afternoon a
messenger came for Lemuel. I was in the forward office when he
arrived. Thankfully Lemuel has yet to figure out about those holes
in the wall under the banner and map. I heard him discussing the
contents of the message with Lieutenant Radan. Perrin,
Administrator Genev is on his way. He’ll be here late tomorrow
night and will be taking over Rector Yung’s home and the rectory.
He’s to escort you, Mahrree, and even Peto day after tomorrow in
the morning to Idumea. You’re to ride in separate coaches with four
guards for each of you. Perrin, you know as well as I do that
there’s no chance of a fair trial for any of you.”

Perrin didn’t breathe. He didn’t blink. He
just stared, motionless, at the death sentence that sat before him,
written in his wife’s hand, begun several years ago.

Shem continued. “There was no mention of
Jaytsy. Thorne knew she was having pains earlier and was rather
anxious about it. He seems to have his own plans for her, Perrin,
but I don’t know what they are. I don’t
want
to know,
either.”

Perrin remained immobile.

“
Do you see now why we have
to get you out tomorrow night?” Shem gripped his shoulder again.
“There’s no more time for you. The Saver of Edge is now the Traitor
of Idumea. And his wife caused his downfall. You may just be
imprisoned at the garrison for the rest of your life so General
Thorne can come gloat at you, but Mahrree? Recently the
Administrators passed all the laws they need to convict and execute
based on someone expressing their ideas. Death for merely
words,
Perrin. No actions, just thoughts. They don’t even
need this file! Mahrree said more than enough about her disbelief
in the findings of Terryp’s land, and in front of far too many
witnesses.”

Finally finding the strength to move, Perrin
could do nothing but slowly shake his head. “Before we were married
for two years, Hogal told me that Mahrree was the most dangerous
woman in the world,” he whispered. “But she never knew she was
dangerous. All she ever did was try to find the truth. That’s all
she’s ever been guilty of, Shem. She’s no traitor. Just a little
woman in a little village intent on finding the truth.”

He stared at the ground, his countenance
heavy and dark.

“
We have to destroy that
file, Shem. And Mahrree must never know about it. At least not
until we reach Salem.”

Shem sat up. “So you agree to go? Jothan said
he wasn’t convinced you were really ready to leave.”

“
So his name’s Jothan,”
Perrin said dully, staring at the file and fear flickering in his
eyes. “Shem, there’s nothing in this world I want anymore. Nothing
except to take my family and leave it.”

“
Yes!” Shem said in a loud
whisper. He grabbed Perrin’s arms and shook them
enthusiastically.

He even managed to shake a frail smile on to
his friend’s face. “All right, all right already!” Perrin said.
“I’m doing the right thing, correct?”

“
Absolutely! Perrin, you
can trust Jothan with anything. He’ll get you over and see to it
that Jaytsy’s comfortable—”

“
Wait,” Perrin interrupted,
“you’re not coming with us?”

“
I can’t. I have more work
to do here. I can’t leave yet. Someday I will, but I don’t know
when.”

Clearly not happy with that response, Perrin
said, “Shem, I don’t know if I feel good about this now. I was
fully expecting you’d take us—”

“
I don’t go, Perrin. I keep
the route clear, but I don’t go, unless it’s on leave. That’s
another thing I need to confess. On leaves, I never went south to
go home—”

“
I figured that out by
now,” Perrin said hurriedly. “Shem, I barely know
Jothan!”

“
But he knows all about
you.”

Perrin scoffed. “So he says.”

“
Perrin, trust Jothan more
than you trusted me. He’s the one who got you through your trauma,
not me.”

Perrin’s skepticism returned, once again.
“What do you mean?”

“
I told Mahrree that I
found a book which explained how to help traumatized soldiers,”
Shem began guiltily. “There was no book. That’s why, even though
she insisted on reading it, I told her she couldn’t because it was
never to leave the surgeon’s office. Another deception—sorry. She
didn’t want the surgeon to know what was going on with you,
although he figured things out by your behavior. Another thing I
failed to tell you about. Sorry. There are actually several more
things you don’t know about yet. I know, I know—keep
going.

“
Anyway, there never was a
book. Rector Yung has helped several traumatized soldiers, but even
he depended upon Jothan. Normally Jothan lives in the forest in a
camp he and his wife have set up, returning to Salem maybe once
every four to five weeks unless he’s escorting families. But when
you were having your nightmares, Jothan made the journey far more
frequently to deliver my concerns to Salem, and to find out how to
help you next. Usually Jothan and Asrar rotate the escorting duties
with two other couples throughout the year. But when their turn for
the year was up, they refused to leave. They didn’t want to go back
to Salem until they knew you were going to make it. They stayed the
full year, just to keep watch over you. Their last name is
Hifadhi.” Shem watched Perrin intently to see how much he might
pick up from that.

Perrin rubbed at some dirt on his boot until
it was gone, unable to look Shem in the eyes. “Jothan and Asrar
Hifadhi. I had no idea,” he whispered. “I, uh, I wasn’t the most
friendly to him tonight. In fact, most of the time I was trying to
figure out if I could beat him in a fight.”

Shem shook his head. “Nope. Even at your best
he would’ve thrown you to the ground like you used to throw me.” He
smiled. “A few times I really wished I could have seen you two
wrestle and see you get humbled. Maybe I still might get my wish.
You
might
have a chance at beating him. He’s only two years
older than you.”

Perrin looked up. “Seriously? I thought he
was a lot younger.”

Shem grinned. “If that doesn’t get you, this
will—he’s a grandfather!”

That did get him. “No!” Perrin almost forgot
to keep his voice down.

Shem laughed quietly. “He and Asrar married
when they were eighteen. They had six children in seven years. Now
that they are all grown and married, he’s devoted his life to
helping others reach Salem like his wife’s ancestors.” Shem’s voice
quieted. “He’s really quite a remarkable man. I have no doubt the
two of you will become great friends. He can keep you entertained
until it’s time for me to return to Salem. And Perrin? This wasn’t
your first encounter with Jothan.”

Perrin rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know how
much more I can take. All right—when did I meet him before?”

“
Not exactly
meet
,”
Shem bobbed his head. “It was before my time in Edge. It seems
there was a determined captain who knew that twelve Guarders were
coming to take his expecting wife and daughter—”

“
Oh, Shem,” Perrin
breathed. “I think I know what this is about.”

“
You do, Perrin. There
weren’t twelve men. There were fourteen. Our scouts counted them as
they came into the forest. Salem knew what was coming, and they
called out as many volunteers as they could find. Perrin, more than
seventy men came to your aid that night—I’ve read the reports. You
took out a few Guarders right off, but others had slipped past you.
So the Salemites caught them and herded them back to you, knowing
you wouldn’t leave until you knew all were secured. Some of our men
even held and muzzled the last two men after you killed the initial
twelve. They lost grip on the one who tried to strangle
you.”

Perrin rubbed his throat as if he could still
feel it. “The man was massive. I took my long knife and thrust it
behind me, catching him on the cheek—”

“
And also catching Jothan
Hifadhi on his right hand. He was coming to your rescue, and you
nicked him as you slashed the Guarder on the cheek. Jothan still
has the scar. And it was Jothan who plunged his knife into your
strangler’s neck an instant later, and bounded off into the woods
so you wouldn’t know he’d been there. You did kill the fourteenth
on your own, after you were injured. Had you been unable, you
would’ve been helped again. Jothan had also killed a Guarder who
you only injured with an arrow in the thigh. But the rest really
were yours.”

Another minute passed in silence as Perrin
stared at his hands. “Jothan saved my life that night,” he said
after a while. “And also spent another year seeing me through my
trauma? Shem, how would I even
begin
to thank him?”

“
By trusting him. When he
comes for you tomorrow night, just nod. He’ll get the message. He’s
not a very emotional person. He’s much more like you than me, and
will be pretty annoyed when he learns how much I’ve told you about
him. Now, I suggest we dispose of these papers properly and get
some sleep tonight. You have a journey ahead of you tomorrow night,
and my duty shift just changed to the night shift. Neither of us
will have had enough rest.”

As Perrin stood up and wiped straw off his
pants he said, “I always wondered why you took so many night
shifts. What else don’t I know yet, Shem?”

Shem smiled guardedly as he got to his feet.
“You’ve heard enough for one night.”

---

Early in the morning Deckett walked into his
barn to begin milking. He immediately saw that one of his shovels
was in a different place than it was the night before. He normally
wouldn’t have noticed, but he was sure he had left the shovel
leaning against the back door after he had used it to pointlessly
move some dirt back and forth while waiting for his wife to calm
down after her frustrating day where she didn’t yet become a
mother. He was too lazily distracted last night, and didn’t hang
the shovel next to the second one on the pegs on the wall.

Yet it was there now.

Nervously, he looked around the barn. In the
dim morning light it was hard to tell, but it seemed that in an
empty stall the ground had been disturbed and straw strewn over the
top so as to conceal the act.

He evaluated the spot for a moment before
deciding not to touch it. His father-in-law would be over in a
little while. He could investigate it and tell Deck what may have
happened.

After all, Perrin always knew everything.

###

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge that my writing will never be
flawless, so please don’t let me get in the way of the story. Even
though I’ve gone through this three-fifty bajillion times, errors
remains.