The False Martyr (80 page)

Kian laughed. The soldiers
looked up in surprise then snickered. Dasen lost his concentration
and what little power he had found. Behind him, Teth groaned as she
found her feet. Garth grunted. A knife scraped on leather as it
came from his belt.

“
I’m sorry,” Kian
snickered. “Have you already forgotten Sam, Geoff, and Rog?” The
soldiers nodded and returned to their nails. “We’ve all joined up
to save the Kingdoms,” Kian continued. Dasen realized for the first
time that he was also dressed in the uniform of the soldiers that
patrolled the streets of the city, enforcing the governor’s cruel
edicts. “Right patriotic of us. It also gives us some insight into
what the governor’s planning and allows us to move around the city
a bit freer. The pay is nothing, but we get all the food we can
eat, which is something these days. At least for most people.” He
allowed his eyes to rove the piles of food that still filled the
storeroom.

“
I see.” Dasen calmed his
thundering heart, took a deep breath, and moved on shaking legs to
take the last seat at the table, directly across from Kian. “You
gave me a fright. I thought maybe you’d sold us out to the
governor.”

“
Nonsense! Give you up to
that son of an Exile whore? We need you to help us liberate and
hold the city. We’re patriots, not traitors like your weasel of a
dad.” He spit on the floor at the mention of the Traitor, as Ipid
was commonly known. Dasen still couldn’t accept that he and his
father were the same man. “Giving you up now would be like
surrendering before the battle’s even started, and I don’t even
surrender when the battle’s lost.”

Behind him, Teth rustled.
Dasen looked toward her, but she just shifted on the flour sacks,
posture loose, eyes closed, arms crossed over her chest. Returning
his attention to the table, he was greeted by the valati’s hungry
stare. He nodded in a hope that it would persuade the man to move
on, but his eyes just continued roving him, weighing, measuring.
For a person who was worth his weight in silver, it was a terrible
feeling.

“
That said,” Kian
continued, saving Dasen from the valati’s stare, “every leader
knows when it’s time to change tactics, and I think that time is
now.” He took a deep breath and leaned forward. “I have it on good
information that the governor has started to grow suspicious of a
certain noblewoman from the far north.” Dasen felt his blood run
cold. How could the governor be suspicious of him, he’d barely left
his room? “I can’t blame him really. No one sits in a tiny room for
a week unless they’re afraid to leave it. From what my sources say,
the governor agrees. And if it goes on much longer, he may well do
something about it.”

Kian exchanged glances
with the valati. “Now, Dasen, we all agree that you need to get out
of the inn. It is not natural for a young woman to remain
cloistered as you have. It is drawing all the wrong kind of
attention, staring the wrong kind of rumors as my cousin would say.
Now, before you start to panic, Valati Lareno has a plan to get you
out of your room and further our cause at the same time. Mark has
assured me that you can pass as a woman. And you will be constantly
in Lareno’s company. If you do it properly, you’ll be untouchable,
you will further our cause, and may even help some people in the
process. What do you think?”

Dasen swallowed hard. His
eyes bounced between Kian and the valati. Kian was grim, the valati
amused. He didn’t like it. It was true that he had gotten much
better at playing his character. He now felt almost naked without
the cosmetics and wig and could wear the dresses with a minimum of
discomfort. The recent spate of cooler weather had been of great
help, but even with a return of true summer today, he had managed.
Even with sweat running down his face and soaking through the
dress, the cosmetics had held, the wig had not moved, and the dress
showed nothing. He was as confident as he could be in the costume
he was to wear, but that did not mean he wasn’t concerned about the
character he was to play. “What do you want me to do?”

“
Not you,” Valati Lareno
answered, “Lady Deena Esther.”

“
What do you want Deena
Esther to do?” Dasen looked back at Teth, but she appeared to be
asleep – he desperately wished she were not. Garth watched over her
like a new father.
At least we have
that
. The two of them had been inseparable
for days now, and since Teth had run off yesterday, he seemed to
have taken an increased interest in protecting her. He felt a pang
of jealousy at that but supposed he should be glad that someone, at
least, was watching over her.

“
We need a front,” the
valati said. He had a high, weak voice poorly suited for weekly
lessons projected to thousands. Beyond that, he was short, ugly,
and utterly lacking in charisma or presence. His face and body were
round, head nearly bald though he was not old, teeth bucked and
yellow, skin blotchy and pocked. Dasen had never seen his like in a
valati. “You see, Kian and his men had a great run of raiding the
supply caravans until the governor cracked down. Pretty much
everything from the southern Kingdoms comes through here, so we
were able to build a great store. We have supplies hidden
throughout the city, enough to last for weeks. We use some of it to
supplement what the governor provides for our nightly soup lines,
but if we do anything more we’ll raise suspicion. The whole city is
on a strict rationing program, which makes it hard to explain the
source of any additional food. As a result, we have mountains of
food going to the rats while thousands starve here and at that
abomination of a camp outside the city. At least here, we can
provide soup and bread once a day. I do not think . . .” the valati
stopped as emotion seemed to overcome him, “. . . I do not think
they are getting any food at all in the camp. No one is allowed to
visit, but I have heard that the Exiles would denounce the
inhumanity of it.”

“
Nothing at all,” Dasen
said before he could stop himself. “That’s . . . that’s terrible.”
His mind immediately went to the family he had met outside the
temple, to the man and his grandchildren on the street. He pictured
them and thousands of others children, men, and women locked away
and left to starve.

The valati took a deep
breath. “Though it probably hurts our cause, we want to do more.
But the governor is already suspicious of our soup lines. If we
suddenly start making more bread, he will know that we are
connected to the robberies. He’ll eventually put it all together,
arrest us, and confiscate everything for the invaders. Do you
understand?”

“
Much easier to catch a
thief spending in the light than sneaking in the night,” Dasen said
in way of answer. “So how is it that we eat like kings every night?
Shouldn’t the River Maiden have the same problem?”

The valati nodded. “Mark
has several advantages. At my advice, he made a great show of
stocking food before the rationing was announced. The Chancellor’s
seizures are only of food coming in from the country. He does not
want to be seen raiding people’s homes to steal their food, so he
takes it before it gets there. Thus, this storeroom is safe. Mark
has also made a show of purchasing ration papers with the money of
his wealthy residents. In all, he has the resources to create a
very effective illusion. The Church, however, has no such
resources. We are feeding hundreds every day and if we purchased
ration papers, we’d just be feeding those same people with their
own rations. Do you see?”

“
Of course, but what can I
. . . what can Lady Esther possibly do about that?” Dasen’s
commercial mind was already deep into the problem. “I can appear to
be financing you, but that doesn’t really solve the problem,
because the shortage is the problem. If you buy more food, it will
only come out of the bellies you’re trying to fill.”

“
You’ve got it!” Valati
Lareno smiled, clearly pleased with the mental sparring. “As it
turns out, Lady Esther is the perfect solution. Mark made you rich,
so he’d have an excuse for giving you a room when he was turning
away so many others. He established your devotion to the Order when
he sent you on a pilgrimage. He made you the talk of the city by
making you noble and of questionable heritage.” Garth snuffed
loudly behind them. “My apologies, Garth,” the valati responded.
“Of unusual heritage. I have been seen visiting your room several
times over the past week. You are horrified by the state of the
city, by the rumors you hear about the camp. You consider it your
duty to the Order to do something about it. We have often discussed
various options, but today, you decided you had heard enough. For a
week you have been praying, but as our savior said, ‘the most
powerful prayer is action.’ Seeing that your week of prayer had not
worked, you begged me to let you help with the distribution of
food.”

“
I’m pretty sure that
Valatarian never said that,” Dasen started.

The valati waved him off.
“The point is that you had to do something.”

“
But how can that possibly
help? Just because a noblewoman hands out food doesn’t mean there
is any additional food to hand out.”

“
Not at first,” the valati
countered. “But maybe, just maybe, it will in the future. It is
best if you not know all the details. An element of surprise will
be necessary for it all to seem real. But know that if we succeed,
you will not only feed a starving city, you will be untouchable,
and you will bring an end to this whole terrible
system.”

Dasen looked from Lareno
to Kian and back again. He was not sure that he had enough
confidence in his new identity to stand in front of a thousand
people handing out food. It was one thing to convince a few people
while sitting on a bench. It was something altogether different to
face thousands while close enough to ladle soup.

“
Trust us,” Lareno
continued. “Mr. Tappers assures me that your disguise is good
enough. It is only the story that is lacking. This will complete it
and end all doubts as to Deena Esther’s real identity.” He paused,
then pushed himself forward, diving in for the kill. “I ask, if you
were a wanted criminal, would you hand out bread to half the city?
Certainly not. You would remain hidden. You would see as few people
as possible for fear of being discovered. Sound familiar? That is
exactly where we are now, and suspicion is only growing. If it
continues, the governor’s spies will start to look into the
mysterious young noblewoman that no one has heard of, and that is
the one thing Deena Esther won’t survive. If, however, you are out
in the open, standing before them, waiting for their inspection,
they will not even bother to look.”

Dasen thought about it for
a long moment. “What about Teth? What will she do?”

“
Nothing. She will remain
a boy most concerned with himself and becoming a soldier. She will
spend her days training with Garth as she does now. He will guard
and protect her. I will ensure your safety. No one would doubt a
valati in his word to protect the honor of a young noble woman. But
just in case, I will be bringing on two new acolytes to assist me.”
He gestured toward Torin and Jax. The twins had drifted off, were
surprised to be included in the conversation, but eventually
smiled, showing identical gaps in their teeth. “They will keep an
eye on things and be ready to act if anything goes
wrong.”

Dasen looked at the
brothers. They were not as big as Kian but every bit as hard. Their
eyes were dull and narrow, faces lax. These were not thinkers. They
were men who followed orders, and Dasen guessed the orders would be
to keep him in line as much as to keep him safe. “And I will hand
out bread and ladle soup?”

“
That is it exactly,”
Lareno smiled, yellow buck teeth showing like a beaver. “It is the
perfect role for a woman in this time. Caring for the needy, giving
out food, healing, and nurturing. It is the stuff of
Cornissina.”

The name of the Xi Valati
who was credited with defining the roles of women within the Order
sent Dasen’s eyes to Teth. The very mention of that name a few
weeks ago might have sent her into a fury – even when asleep – but
she did not stir now. “I don’t know,” Dasen said. He was not sure
how he would pull off being a woman in front of so many
eyes.

“
It is a bigger risk to do
nothing,” Valati Lareno said. “Sometimes, we need to give ourselves
up to the Order and trust that Its pattern exist for a
reason.”

Dasen nodded. “It will be
good to do something worthwhile if nothing else. What do I need to
do?”

“
Tomorrow is Teaching
Day,” Valati Lareno explained. “You will come to the lessons, and
we’ll get you started after that.” He smiled wide. “I can see the
Order in this. I think we have aligned ourselves to Its will and
will be rewarded.”

“
As long as the reward
isn’t my weight in silver,” Dasen mumbled in response.

Chapter 45

The
38
^th
Day of Summer

It was a day of heated
interruptions with the first coming before Ipid was even out of his
bed, before the sun had touched the horizon, before he was even
fully awake.

“
Stop!” Eia whispered
harshly, halting their love making almost as soon as it had
started. She pushed him off of her and rolled away.