The Way of the Blade (3 page)

“And that’ll make you rich.”

“Very rich. And respected. The leader of our town.”

“As it should be.”

Javery smiled at her ambition as naked as her body. For the next two minutes neither one spoke, though they made plenty of noise. When they had finished, Druzane brushed her lips against his, and with gentle grace, rose from him.

She stepped to the corner of the tall Waypoint, the breeze playing with her hair. “It’s a shame you don’t get the credit you deserve. He doesn’t appreciate you as he should.”

Rolling to his stomach and letting his right leg dangle over the ledge, Javery sighed. “He never has.” Even as a boy, Javery never received interest from Shual. Javery had “discovered” that the ground contained crawling and slithering creatures, or he “discovered” that water transformed dry, solid dirt into slippery mud, but Shual had no time to bother with childish whimsy.

Except the point had never been the discovery. The point was simply that he had attempted to understand the world around him, that he was learning how to think. All Shual cared about was the gods and taking care of the town.

Noble enough, but he failed. The gods had never helped, and the people suffered at the hands of the vile Scarites. The old man might as well have invited the Pali Witch to join them for all the good he had done.

“At least, you have your sister.” Druzane pulled up her robes and combed her fingers through her hair. “I swear, since the day Canto asked to marry her, Soralia’s been more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her.”

The Waypoint would change everything. Javery envisioned long caravans riding his Waypoints to bring the Carsites closer together. They would be able to traverse the difficult rock-strewn landscape with ease. They could help each other as never before. Should a town on the other side of the land suffer a drought, they could send people and aid. Should a town far to the north flood in the summer melting, they could evacuate the townspeople and bring them to safety. All with his fast, safe Waypoints.

“Canto and Soralia. It’s all I’ve heard for months,” Druzane went on. “And now, with the wedding in only a few days, you can’t escape it. Must be driving you crazy having to sit at a family table when it’s always wedding, wedding, wedding. Still, when it’s my wedding, I’ll make sure the entire town speaks of nothing else. And it’ll be such a thrilling day, that they’ll go on talking about it for years to come.”

Best of all about his Waypoints — Javery knew that this grand project, when completed, would end the war with the Scarites. The enemy would lose their numerical advantage once the Carsites could easily and speedily pool their forces. Javery’s idea for better transport would literally bring about peace.

He stared at the metal arm that one day would save them all — beautiful. His eyes roved up the jagged land. On a hill in the distance, amongst the nine foot rocks piercing from the ground, he could see the silhouette of the next Waypoint under construction. If only he could convince Shual to believe in the project, they would have ten times the manpower and the path across the country would be built in a year at most, instead of the four years he expected the project to take.

“Jave, you’re not even listening.” Druzane huffed and crossed her arms.

Javery stretched his arms and stood. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

“I was saying how there are stages in life and that most people our age are entering that stage when people get married.”

Over Druzane’s shoulder, Javery noticed an object in the sky zipping towards them. “Right,” he said, not even hearing his own words. “Marriage.”

“It’s especially important for those who want to run the town, who want to build bold projects, and change lives. They need the strength of a marriage.”

“Strength is important.” The object grew larger. Javery swore it looked like a child barely able to control an autofly.

“So, you see my point. You have a lot to accomplish in the coming years, and you can’t afford to be distracted by the nonsense of courting. You need a good woman by your side.”

The autofly swept by them, and the child driving the vehicle shouted Javery’s name. “Come on,” Javery said, and climbed down the ladder on the side of the Waypoint.

“Jave, we have to finish our talk. Forget the boy. Jave!”

The autofly circled back and braked hard before setting to the ground. Javery put out a hand to hold the dish-shaped two-seater in place lest it flip over. The boy looked terrified.

“What’s wrong?” Javery asked.

“You’ve got to come to the Assembly Hall quick.”

“Shual sent you? You tell him I heard the Summoning Horn and I’m not interested. My Waypoint project is far more —”

“But we’ve caught a god!”

Chapter 3

Malja

They remained with their heads to the floor. Malja walked towards Shual, trying hard to relax her face, to appear non-threatening. A glance at Fawbry, who kept making an exaggerated smile, suggested she had failed.

“Shual,” she said, and gasps flowed through the hall. Over her shoulder, she said, “I heard his name when you announced him.” The old man lifted his head. Malja opened her hands. “I am nothing more than a traveler. And these two are my companions. Please, forgive them for taking what did not belong to them. They know better, and I assure you, I will see to it that they are punished.”

More gasps and shocked breaths erupted behind her. The old man lowered his head and remained stationary. She moved towards Tommy, but the two guards popped to their feet, blocking her way.

She pointed to Canto. “You. You’re the reason I’ve approached this way.” Canto tried to hide his embarrassment by lowering his face closer to the stage. “I could have burst in here, taken my friends, and forced my way out. Believe me, I’ve dealt with far stronger foes than a crowd of farmers. But your words made me think we could solve this peacefully. And I’m trying hard to take that route when possible.”

Canto exchanged looks with Shual. The old man shook his head slightly, but Canto appeared dissatisfied with this. He licked his lips and stood.

Shouts of disbelief grew from the crowd. When Malja looked back, they all dropped to the floor again. This time she even heard a few whimpers. Canto stood strong, breathing hard, swallowing against his dry fear. While avoiding eye contact with her, he crossed the stage, grabbed one of the empty chairs, and dragged it back. He took a deep breath and raised his head.

“Please,” he said, a slight crackle in his voice, and he gestured to the chair.

Malja paused, then nodded. Still more surprised noises rolled in from the crowd. Malja sat on the left corner of the chair, keeping her legs wide apart. She planted her left leg back so that at any moment, she could push off and straight into a forceful attack.

Canto raised a hand to quiet down the people. When he turned his head toward her, Malja saw his bottom lip quiver. “You and your friends ... you say you’re travelers. Where did you come from?”

How much to tell? Malja opened her mouth, hesitated, and saw in Canto’s eyes that taking too long to think over her answers would be a mistake. “Far away. From a land you’ve never discovered.”

Nodding as if he expected the answer, Canto put his hands on his hips. “How long have you been here?”

“About fourteen days.”

His lips curled up slightly, his eyes narrowed. Like Canto, the crowd had recovered from their earlier shocks. They listened closely to every question, every answer, as if they were judges hearing arguments over a complex situation.

“Fourteen days,” Canto said. “And where have you been all this time?”

“We camped in the woods below — the ones your Assembly Hall are anchored to.”

“And for fourteen days you watched us, learned about us, yet kept your distance. Until you decided to steal from us.”

“That was a mistake of my friends. Especially the one in the colorful coat.” Fawbry’s head perked up, but Malja kept her eyes on Canto. “Please understand that where we come from, apples are a rare treat. Many of the trees that grow fruit are hard to find. I’m sure my friends meant no harm and were only overcome by the joy of seeing such unlimited bounty.”

“Not unlimited. We work hard to grow our food, to feed our families, to stay strong so that we may endure the winter.”

“Then my apologies are even greater. We never intended to bother you, and we certainly never intended to harm you.”

Canto’s eyes roamed the crowd as each of Malja’s answers lessened the tension in the hall. “Then explain to us all why you would come from so far away only to hide in the woods and not bother us? Why make the trip at all?”

“Because I’m searching for a man, and I believe he came through this way. We’ve been waiting in the woods until we could figure out where he went. Then we planned to leave. Had my friends not lost their minds over your apples, you would never have been bothered by us at all.”

Canto leaned over and stared straight at Malja. She held his gaze, and he scowled. His dark face filled her view, and she recognized the look in his eyes — she had seen it on the battlefield many times. Canto would be a capable opponent.

His mouth broke into a wide grin as he straightened. “I believe her,” he bellowed, and the crowd applauded.

Shual popped to his feet faster than Malja suspected the old man could move. He placed a hand on Canto’s shoulder and beamed at the big man. “Are there any final questions?” he asked, not even looking to the crowd for a response. “Then I think we can rule on this.”

From the back of the room, a voice called out. “I have a question — does she plan to kill us all?”

All focus turned to the man standing at the entrance. He had a hawkish nose and shaggy black hair, but despite his disheveled appearance, the crowd gave him deference.

Shual’s face dropped as if he smelled something unpleasant. “You are late. You have shown the town disrespect. Why should you be allowed a question?”

“Because when this creature was discovered and you fumbled around on this stage, the townspeople sent a brave boy to fetch me. Obviously, some in this room value my opinion.”

Shual ruffled. “And you take their faith in you and waste it on such a ridiculous question.”

“Ridiculous? Please, Father, you know better.” The man walked to the stage as he spoke. “Let’s not pretend we don’t know what she is, that we’ve never seen the likes of her before. Strangers from far off lands have no place on Carsite, Pali, Scarite, or even the vast, unnamed islands. Have you all forgotten we’re at war?”

Canto said, “Nobody’s saying —”

“You just told them that you believe her to be telling the truth. When have outsiders like her spoken the truth? Not to us. The war began because of her kind, and her presence here will be the end of us all. She is the final step in a plan to cut us down so that no Carsite or Scarite remains alive. Then she and her kind will take over our lands. They’re probably strong enough to kill the Pali Witch as well.”

The crowd’s hushed whispers grew louder. Shual struck out his hand. “How dare you speak the name of that vile creature in this place.”

Malja wanted to defend herself, but she knew she would only make things worse. Anything she said would be either ignored or turned against her. Instead, she pressed her left foot harder and reached back for Viper’s handle. She scanned the stage — cut down Canto first, the most dangerous, then the guards, burly but slow, release Fawbry and Tommy, then turn to face the old man and whoever else had the guts to storm the stage.

Shual thrust out an accusatory finger. “Spreading words of fear will not help us.”

“I’m not afraid, and neither should any of us be. But we should not act like a naive girl lured to a man’s bed with false promises of love. This thing that sits before us wants you to believe that she and her army —”

“There’s only three of them.”

“— would simply have hidden in the woods and then left without ever harming us in anyway. Isn’t that what we were promised before? Isn’t that what happened when the Scarites were our friends? But the promise was broken in moments, the Scarites were mutated into our enemies, and our lives have been nothing but painful struggle ever since. Kill this monster and her two animals, and we can finish our Waypoint project. Together we can end this war without groveling at the feet of the Scarites.”

“Enough,” Canto said. “You have had your say, but you are not the leader of this or any town. Shual leads us because he has shown great wisdom, patience, and humility. He has saved our people more than once, and I believe we should listen to him again.”

Shual’s face reddened as his fingers curled in fists. “Both of you, with me. Now.”

Canto and the other man followed Shual through a side door. Before he left the hall, the man turned back and said, “Don’t forget the past. It will happen again. We will be hurt just as it happened when Harskill came here.”

Malja called upon all her strength and will to keep a steady face, but her heart pounded in her chest.
Harskill
.

Chapter 4

Javery