Remember?’ Froi needed to unnerve the sentinel. He was matter-of-fact, as if he was re introducing himself to one of Isaboe’s kin.
Silence followed. Then a gruff, ‘I know who you are.’
‘Good. Good. I thought I’d have to explain my lineage. Ah, Fekra, I can’t begin to tell you how complicated it all is.’
Silence again.
‘I don’t have a weapon, Fekra. It means that I’m probably going to have to climb up and kill you with my bare hands, which may be drawn out and painful. I’m quicker with a weapon, but still thorough without. I’d say our best scenario would be if you came down and we made some sort of arrangement.’
‘I’m the one with the weapon,’ Fekra reminded him.
‘Yes, but I’m not the only one down here,’ Froi lied. ‘During your tardy exchange with the other guard, at least a dozen of us made our way from the fortress into the little woods, and the only reason they sent me was because I assured them I had a better chance of making an arrangement with you. They’re Lasconians. Tariq of Lascow’s people. You’re a member of the former King’s army. They’ll want you dead immediately and I think Gargarin would prefer you alive.’
‘I don’t believe a word you’re saying. Why would they allow you to come out here unarmed?’ Fekra asked, his voice flat and controlled.
Good question.
‘Well, you have me, I’m lying. Because they didn’t ask me to come along,’ Froi said, almost truthfully. ‘I just took a chance, hardly dressed for the day really. But I knew the moment they came across you, they’d kill you, and to tell you the gods’ honest truth, Fekra, I don’t want you to die. I need information from you. So if you trust me and surrender, I’ll do all I can to keep you alive.’
‘And you expect me to believe you?’
‘Fekra, trust me when I say that if I wanted you dead, you’d be dead by now.’
Froi heard a grunt of irritation.
‘You’re a bit of a gnat in the arse, Froi … or Olivier, or whoever you choose to be today,’ Fekra said. ‘It’s what they call you in the barracks. That gnat in the arse that won’t go away. The lads are feeling a bit of an attachment.’
‘Fekra, stop the flattery now or you’ll have me weeping by the time I get you to that gate.’
Fekra didn’t challenge Froi’s lies about a dozen men in the little woods. Instead he stayed quiet as they crossed the clearing towards the fortress, shrugging himself once or twice from Froi’s grip. When they were close enough to see the faces of everyone staring down at them from the outer wall, Fekra stopped. The Lasconians and Turlans aimed.
‘We don’t know what we’re fighting for anymore,’ Fekra said quietly to Froi. ‘Do you?’
‘Oh, I’ve always known what I’m fighting for,’ Froi replied. ‘Quintana of Charyn and her child. Nothing else matters, Fekra.’
The portcullis was raised and Froi wasn’t surprised to see the bailey filled with almost everyone from inside the castle. Gargarin was limping towards them, fury in his expression. Lirah’s eyes were swollen with tears.
‘Did we not have a plan?’ Gargarin shouted at Froi.
‘I thought a hostage would give us more accurate information,’ Froi said, deciding to be the calm one. He looked beyond them to where Florik stood.
‘I’m sorry I took away your glory, Florik. I wanted the task for myself and never gave you the chance. It’s in my nature to compete and win.’
Florik didn’t respond. His lads glowered at Froi instead.
‘Where’s our girl?’ Gargarin demanded of Fekra, his expression cold and hard.
‘We were hoping she was with you, sir.’
‘Really? Bestiano was hoping she was with me?’
Fekra shook his head. ‘No, sir.’
‘So there’s more than one “we”?’ Gargarin asked.
Fekra shrugged free of Froi. ‘We’re being attacked from the north, sir,’ he reported to Gargarin, chatty all of a sudden. ‘It can’t be from the provinces, because Alonso has no army and Desantos has plague. Bestiano believes that the Sarnaks and Lumaterans are advancing towards us.’
Froi saw the horror on everyone’s face. He knew it could not possibly be Lumatere. But Sarnak, yes.
‘Which means, sir, that the Belegonians may have taken the south.’
Chapter 30
The memory of what he saw in the cave with the women haunted Lucian all week. Phaedra scrubbing blood off stone. Harker’s daughter sobbing against her mother, the girl’s face battered by a man’s fist. Worse still was Quintana’s look of despair. Lucian knew that her body had swung its way close to oblivion months ago in the Charyn capital. What terror and madness went through the mind of one who knew she was moments from death? Had she ever imagined that Froi would save her? And with those thoughts, Lucian felt contempt for himself. He should have been able to protect his own wife and he didn’t. When he first saw Phaedra in the woods with the Princess he should have dragged her kicking and screaming up the mountain, but he allowed his pride to get in the way.
Days later, when he found time to escape, he travelled down to the valley. Tesadora and the girls were across the stream and he joined them as they were about to enter the cave of a dying man. He noticed even more fear among the Charynites, and Tesadora glanced quickly up high and then back to Lucian as a warning. On one of the rock ledges above he could see a furious exchange between Donashe and his men. Rafuel was with them. When they noticed Lucian, Donashe climbed down to where he stood.
‘One of my men seems to have disappeared, Mont. Galvin of Jidia. You would have seen him with me.’
‘And that fool Gies insists on searching for him,’ Tesadora said, as Rafuel and the rest of Donashe’s men joined them.
Lucian kept his expression impassive. He knew Tesadora was warning him that Gies had crossed the stream.
‘This man who’s disappeared?’ Lucian demanded. ‘Let’s hope he doesn’t think he has a chance of getting up my mountain. He’ll pay with his life.’
‘I heard Galvin’s grumbling from time to time, Donashe,’ Rafuel said. ‘And he’s a lazy one. If he’s chosen to run off, we’re better without him. I’d go through all your things to make sure he didn’t take any with him.’
Donashe thought for a moment.
‘He has challenged me from time to time. Even in the Citavita he wanted all the control.’
‘Why would he leave?’ one of Donashe’s men asked.
‘Why wouldn’t he?’ Rafuel said. ‘It’s a large reward the First Advisor Bestiano is paying for the return of Quintana of Charyn. Perhaps Galvin realised he was wasting his time in these parts and has been given an inkling of where she is in the north country.’
Lucian secretly applauded Rafuel for the doubt he was planting in the camp leader’s head. He hoped it worked. It meant that Donashe would steer the search for Galvin the hangman far from the women.
He spent the rest of his time in the valley with Kasabian and Harker. The men had learnt half the facts of what had taken place in the cave.
‘Arm us,’ Harker begged. ‘The people here are frightened. Donashe has become even more violent since Galvin disappeared. He says he trusts no one. And there’s talk that an army is two days’ ride from here between the three hills of Charyn. Along with hundreds of men much like Donashe, who answer to no captain but the promise of gold. It will end in this valley, Lucian. I feel it in my bones. Arm us, so we can better protect the Princess and our women.’
Lucian shook his head, frustrated.
‘Don’t ask me to do that, Harker. That decision belongs to my queen and her consort.’
Instead of returning home, Lucian found himself riding away from the mountain. It was close to her cave that he found Phaedra, not realising that he had gone searching. He was on higher ground and could see her below in
