The Wasteland Soldier, Book 3, Drums Of War (TWS) (36 page)

Stone set down his mug. “Tell us about the city.”

But then a messenger elbowed his way through the crowd; they had been summoned to present themselves to the Albury’s.

As the messenger led the three of them back to the compound, twenty Churchmen soldiers assembled inside the armoury wearing full armour and carrying bows and swords. The sergeant leading the men remained at the door. He was a tall man with a short red beard and a thick neck. A long sword was strapped to his back and a shorter blade hung from his belt.

He formed him men into two columns and called for absolute silence.

Rondo was stretched across the back seat of the buggy, hands behind his head, staring at the roof of the barn.

He thought of the men inside the armoury.

And grinned.

A solitary sentry closed the gate behind them and came to attention. His armour bore the sign of the cross and he gripped a pike in his gloved fist. His bearded face was expressionless. The courtyard was empty. The night air was cool. Stone noticed the walls were clear of men.

All the doors were closed. All the windows were shuttered.

The hackles rose on his neck. His hand glided toward his revolver and rested on the handle. Nuria flicked her gaze at him, at once realising the same thing.

“This way,” urged the messenger, a clean faced youth, no more than twelve or thirteen years old.

They crossed straw scattered flagstones toward a set of broad double doors flanked by statues of naked women with no hands and tightly curled hair. Stone kept his hand casually on his weapon. The messenger pulled open one of the double doors and gestured into a modest hall where a giant wooden cross hung from the wall. It was damp and draughty. A serving girl rushed by carrying a wooden tray. She didn’t even glance at them.

There were no guards anywhere.

“Please,” said the messenger.

He pointed to an open door where Boyd and another man stood in deep discussion beside a roaring fire.

Quinn went into the room. Stone and Nuria followed, looking back at the courtyard one last time.

Stone imagined a dour family burden with crosses and books of law, crowded by priests and advisors, righteous and blinkered in their views.

But the one Albury he met couldn’t have been further from that.

“Lewis Richard Albury,” announced Boyd. “Governor of Touron and Ennpithia’s Principle Ruler and Law Maker.”

“I have an additional list of titles,” smiled Albury. “Trust me; they’re boring and mostly redundant.”

He was clearly educated and there was a spark of energy in his handshake. He was tall, six foot, with narrow, almost hunched shoulders. His skin was pasty white, hairless, with high cheekbones and hollow jowls. He was clearly a man who avoided the sunlight, whether through choice or not, and there was a somewhat faded and gaunt appearance to him, but not enough to dim the vivacity in his blue eyes. He was in his late twenties, early thirties, certainly a few years older than Nuria, whose hand he now gripped. Stone saw him hold onto it for a moment longer as his eyes sparkled at her.

At length, he thanked them, individually, for shattering the myth of Mosscar and their courage and bravery in fighting the Shaylighters at Great Onglee.

“I’m not a soldier. I rule with my head and my heart, not my fists. But I never forget the sacrifice men and women make in battle. With their lives and with their souls. What happened at Great Onglee will leave a deep scar. In the years to come, long after we have all departed into the Above, people will still talk of the massacre of our people and the courage that was shown by all of you.”

He wore a cross but there were no more crosses in his chamber though there was a bookcase brimming with papers and scrolls. The stone floor was scattered with rugs. There were benches and low tables with bowls of freshly washed fruit and a drinking cups and a jug of wine. He invited them to sit and eat and pour themselves a drink. Quinn and Nuria accepted but Stone declined and remained behind them both, his right hand still resting on his revolver.

“You’re perfectly safe here, Mr Stone. You can take your hand off your firearm. And, Benny, please take your hand away from your pistols.”

“So you don’t object to these forbidden weapons?” said Nuria, arching one eyebrow. “These weapons of sin?”

“Sin is determined by a man’s actions,” said Albury. “The tools he carries is irrelevant. In my view.”

Stone smiled thinly. “The courtyard was too quiet. You should have left a few men on the walls.”

The fire crackled, torches flickered.

“A good soldier will always spot a trap,” said Albury. He appeared sincere. His voice was still bright and energetic. “But this is not one. Not unless you want it to be. If you tell me the truth then you will walk away from my chamber the heroes you were before you entered. But if not, then the twenty soldiers outside in the courtyard will subdue.”

Nuria rose slowly to her feet. “Why are you people this way? You’re no different to Captain Duggan.”

“That’s Ennpithians,” said Quinn, speaking for the first time. “Saving all their gratitude for the Lord.”

“Calm down,” said Albury. “My soldiers are a precaution.”

“But not a very good one,” said Stone. “Because they’re out there and we’re in here, with you.”

He whipped out his revolver and pointed it at a frustrated Boyd. Nuria hurriedly disarmed him and pocketed his pistols. Boyd fumed at them. Stone checked the door; silence outside and no one trying to force their way in.

He eased the chamber door shut.

“Am I now a hostage?” asked Albury.

He seemed unperturbed. He placed his hands on his hips, calmly drumming his fingers.

“What truth do you want from us?” asked Nuria.

Albury glanced at Stone’s revolver. Stone nodded, lowered it but kept his finger against the trigger.

“Thank you, Mr Stone.” He moved to the fire and folded his arms. “Since the winter we have received an emissary from Kiven. His name is Rondo and he is a member of the League of Restoration. He was dispatched by the Alliance to seek a trade treaty with us. Naturally, I was suspicious of this man, he was Kiven, after all, but the war was a decade ago and time does march onward. Rondo spoke of the changes in Kiven, the supply of energy into homes, the rebuilding of schools and libraries and the development of black energy to power motorised vehicles. He even spoke of a burgeoning religion. It’s a city that fascinates me.” He touched the cross around his neck. “Understand that I’m a man of the Holy House, a man of faith with devotion to the cross. But I’m not in agreement with every aspect of our religion and I have a mind and I have thoughts and I have opinions.” Boyd grumbled. “Benny, we both take liberties with Holy law.” Albury turned his attention back to his guests. “Life is too short. The Lord urges us to be fearful of the past and the period of history known as the Before because of the destruction that was caused. But I would prefer to be wary of it, rather than frightened. We want the Kiven to learn from us and allow the Lord into their hearts, yet it seems we do not want to learn anything from them. That’s ignorance, in my view.”

Stone kept thinking of the soldiers in the courtyard. “I knew a man once called the Thinker. He liked to talk, a bit like you. And when he finished talking he used the men around him to inflict horrific pain.”

Stone nodded at Nuria.

“We tore his world apart.”

Albury looked at them evenly. “I’m not planning on hurting anyone. But you need to understand why those soldiers are outside and that we are prepared to defend ourselves against you, Mr Stone. Or do I call you the Tongueless Man? Or is it the Wasteland Soldier? Well?”

Both Stone and Nuria stared at him.

“How do you know those names?” whispered Stone.

“Let him talk,” said Boyd. “Time is running out and you have to understand what’s going on here.”

“Thank you,” said Albury. “As you are now aware, Benny is one of our most important spies. The first thing he discovered about Rondo is that he is not a man suited to negotiation.”

“I have sources inside Kiven,” said Boyd. “Information can be smuggled out. He identified Rondo as the League of Restoration’s enforcer. The man is a killer. Not a statesman. He served under the previous governor, Traore, and now serves the new one, Omar. The man we now know to be the Engineer.”

“Benny showed me the slingshot carbine,” said Albury. “It’s a weapon the Kiven used in their war against us although I believe they have more advanced weaponry now. I also believe they intend to use it against us. The trade agreement is a ploy, a distraction, whilst they arm the Shaylighters to stoke up trouble in the west. We are on the verge of a two front war. And we do not have enough men to fight both enemies.”

He paused.

“When Benny’s messengers arrived I made the decision to recall four hundred Marshals from the Place of Bridges. The regiments will arrive at dawn.”

“Then you’ve made a terrible mistake,” said Stone.

“Benny told me your thoughts on the matter and I agree with you. That was an interesting analogy. Untying one hand only to tie the other.” He nodded. “But the Marshals will not be deployed against the Shaylighters. They will remain here. Concealed. If this man, Omar the Engineer, has constructed an elaborate plan to weaken our border then, in his eyes, it will have worked. Now his hand will be forced. He will have to make his move. Let’s see if he truly wants peace and trade or all out war. The Marshals can be sent back to the Place of Bridges if the Kiven invade and we will crush them.”

Nuria frowned. “What about the Shaylighters?”

“I believe Captain Duggan is resourceful enough to counter them. He is forewarned of their intentions, unlike at Great Onglee. He has good men and a village prepared to fight. A messenger has already been sent to Brix to destroy the beacon. That will give them some time. The Shaylighters will wait and when they realise it’s never going to be lit they will turn back to Mosscar.”

“That’s a gamble,” said Quinn. “It sounds as if you’re prepared to sacrifice Brix. That village is my home.”

“Not anymore, I understand, isn’t there a banishment order on you? In fact, on all of you?”

Stone shrugged. “We’re going to ignore that.”

Albury smiled. “I do like you, Mr Stone. You would make a fine Captain in the Marshal Regiment. I will write to Captain Duggan and have those orders scrapped. You will be free to travel back there. Now, to this other business with Rondo. A few days ago we finally signed the agreement with the Kiven to establish a trade route; food for iron. But a few hours ago Rondo drove back here with a wild story to tell.”

“Is that his buggy in the stable?”

Albury nodded. “You have very keen eyes. Yes, the vehicle belongs to him. He’s waiting for you to be arrested. He claims a man named Stone is an assassin, wanted in Kiven for the attempted murder of Omar.”

“We’ve never been to Kiven,” said Nuria.

“You can’t trust them,” said Quinn.

“I tend to agree with them, sir,” said Boyd.

“I allowed you in here with your weapons,” said Albury, smiling. “I would’ve hardly done that if I feared for my life. You shed blood fighting for our people. My heart tells me you’re an honest man and my eyes confirm it, despite your surly nature and readiness to draw that weapon. However, my head wants to know more. Did you attempt to kill this man Omar in Kiven?”

“I don’t know who he is.”

“Do you know Rondo or anyone else in Kiven?”

“No.”

Nuria said, “Did Rondo give you those names?”

“Yes, he did. But this is confusing. In the midst of such a dangerous plan why would the Kiven be so concerned about one individual?”

Stone’s mouth curved into a grim smile.

“I think we should find out.”

Rondo heard the voice and sat up sharply; he must have dozed. He grabbed his rifle, rolled in his seat. The young messenger ducked down, covering his head with his hands.

“Please, don’t shoot me.”

Rondo looked around the barn and saw no one else. He eased his finger off the trigger and jumped down from the buggy. The messenger was little more than a child. He lowered the rifle and demanded to know what he was doing here.

The boy slowly uncovered his face. “Governor Albury needs to see you urgently. He says the man is here and they have arrested hum.”

Smiling, Rondo put the rifle back into his vehicle. He had only expected to deliver the message; he had never anticipated Stone actually being here in Touron. Omar would be elated.

“Lead the way,” he said.

The messenger pulled open the barn door. Rondo stopped in his tracks. A dozen arrows were pointing at him.

Omar was in the underground car park, standing with a mechanic beside a large armoured vehicle, when a car sped down the ramp and skidded to a halt. The driver scrambled out, leaving the engine idling, the door hanging wide open. His leather clothing was dusty. He tugged down the scarf covering his mouth.