thou been a slave?' He looked at Ceci Vakon and the others, but they shook their heads. No, the trio had not been part of the slave train.
'We escaped from Hederick, sir.' The woman's gaze returned to her child's bloodless face. She stroked the lad's cheek before she continued. Sudden wrenching sobs made it difficult to understand her.
'We could not pay our taxes. The High Theocrat sought to sell my husband-this old woman's son-into slavery and take me, my child, and my mother-in-law into cus shy;tody. See the poor old lady, sir. She's not been lucid since they dragged my dear husband away.'
'So I see.' Phytos still appeared nonplussed, however. 'Young woman, we are on our way to Solace. I suppose we can carry three more as well, but we must move swiftly…'
The woman sobbed even harder, shaking her head. 'Oh, no, kind centaur! My child is far too weak to stand a ride on the back of a horse. See how much blood he has lost!' She drew back slightly from the child, and the cen shy;taurs and slaves gasped in unison.
Only a darkened stump remained of the boy's right arm. The centaurs burst into protests. 'By the gods!' 'Didst thou see that?' 'What monster would do that, and to a child?'
Phytos had to shout to make himself heard. 'How did that happen, woman?'
'The boy-such a courageous lad, my Buni-rushed forward to defend his father when the goblins came to take him to the slave yard. One of Hederick's hobgoblins cut him badly. My husband fought them, giving us time to escape with Buni here, but I fear my husband is dead.' The woman burst into fresh tears, cradling the child close to her breast, which had the unfortunate effect of making the wound bleed anew. 'Oh, my poor, brave, fatherless boy!'
Her tears broke off abruptly. The young woman felt in her pocket and drew out a small gem-muddy yellow and nearly valueless-which she handed over to Phytos. 'It's all we have. I will give you this gem in return for safe passage. Please, kind centaur, help us!'
Phytos assured her that the centaurs had no intention of abandoning the bereaved family.
But Mynx was frowning. Something about the woman's story didn't ring true. One man-able to fight off a troop of Hederick's trained minions long enough for his wife to escape with a fatally wounded child and a doddering old woman? She gazed at the trio. Mist swirled around the centaurs, but wherever Mynx focused, there was no mist. She found herself stroking the Diamond Dragon again.
Her thoughts were remarkably lucid, she noted. As clear as the diamonds that decorated the artifact's back.
The centaurs were undoubtedly moved by the family's plight, but centaurs were markedly susceptible in some areas. Being so strikingly handsome themselves, they tended to trust that which was physically perfect. And the mournful young mother was pretty indeed.
The slaves, so recently freed from bondage themselves, also were full of sympathy for a trio who appeared to have suffered at Hederick's hands.
Mynx smelled magic.
'Young woman,' Mynx said, stepping around a cen shy;taur with black skin and green eyes. 'Where did you live in Solace?'
The young mother looked up. Something flashed in her eyes as she surveyed Mynx and the Diamond Dragon; then it was gone. Her voice remained sweet and low, though throbbing with sorrow. 'We found a room in the center of town, kind lady. Near the town square.'
'That would have placed you next to the Inn of the Last Home.'
The woman hesitated, then nodded.
'You are refugees? You would have enjoyed Otik's hos shy;pitality at the Inn, then. Otik has a soft spot for the help shy;less.'
The fog deepened. Mynx stroked the Diamond Dragon again, and the cloud was dispelled. The woman glanced at the crone, who nodded almost imperceptibly. 'Yes,' the younger woman said. 'He does. Otik is a kind man.'
'Do you remember his specialty?' Myry‹ went on. She spoke loudly, her words carrying to the centaurs and human slaves. 'Otik is noted for his spiced pepper sausage, fried to a crisp and eaten as hot as you can stand it. I remember it well. Did he share some with your family, woman? He usually does with refugees. As I said, he is a generous man.'
'I…' The woman's eyes brimmed over with tears, and she glanced down at her child. The fog thickened worse than before, except where Mynx stood.
'What is this?' burst out a centaur just behind Mynx. The centaur's head appeared hazily through the deepen shy;ing mist. 'The woman interrogates these poor lost souls when what anyone can see they really need is rest and food and some attention to that child's arm. Thou should be ashamed of thyself, Mynx!'
Mynx turned slightly, making sure to keep the crone, young woman, and child well in sight. 'These three are not what they claim to be,' she shouted to the centaurs. 'They seek to delay us! Look!' She pointed to the north, where the straggling group of riderless slaves were just coming into view. 'Already we have lost precious time, if those with no centaurs to carry them have been able to catch up!'
Mynx peered into the frowning faces of the centaurs. 'I don't know who has sent these three to waylay us, but it is someone whose interests ally with Hederick's. Can't you see they are false?'
Phytos cantered to her side. 'Thou would have us abandon these poor folk here, Mynx? They are destitute, as anyone with eyes can see.'
'Abandon them? I would have you kill them!'
The centaurs, and the slaves on their backs, burst out in fresh protests. The trio in the path did not move, but the two women glared daggers at Mynx.
'Let me ask them just one question,' Mynx demanded.
Phytos nodded. 'One question, then.'
Mynx faced the trio again. 'What spice is in Otik's specialty, the one the fried sausage is known for? If you have truly eaten at the Inn of the Last Home, you will know. It is an easy question. Hurry, now.'
'I…' The women exchanged glances. The crone frowned at the younger woman, who then turned back to Mynx and snapped, 'Pepper! The spice is hot pepper. Now can we get some help from you, or will you make us talk all night while my son dies?'
'Well?' Phytos asked quietly.
'Wrong!' Mynx sang out. 'It's not pepper. In fact, it's not even sausage. Otik is known throughout Solace for his spiced potatoes. Anyone who had ever been near the city would know that. Moreover, the Inn is not next to the town square, as this woman said. You've been ensorceled, centaurs!'
For an instant, the centaurs milled about uncertainly. Some drew their bows, while others fingered their war clubs, and still others continued to counsel patience. The slaves, even Ceci Vakon, likewise seemed confused.
Then the fog melted away.
At that instant, the three fugitives vanished. In their places stood three haggard old women. Two, Mynx's height, had greenish skin, while the third, at least half again as tall as the others, had a deep blue complexion. All bore moles and warts, stringy hair, and withered faces. Their teeth were black. Their hands ended, not in finger shy;nails, but in long claws that looked to be as strong as iron.
'Hags!' shouted one of the centaurs. 'An annis hag and greenhags! Fellow centaurs, Mynx is right. We've been magicked! Attack!'
The centaur, a slender male carrying a young man, dashed forward. The largest hag calmly reached out, clasped the man-horse around the torso with both hands, and crushed him. She flung the body away with a laugh, chased down the centaur's rider, and did the same to him.
'Next?' she taunted, her foul breath polluting the air.
Three centaurs let fly with arrows at the same instant. The hags leaped aside.
'By the gods,' Phytos cried. 'The speed! The strength!'
Another half-dozen centaurs, wielding clubs, leaped toward the hags. The wizened crones deftly outran them, closing and grappling when the opportunity arose. Soon two slaves and three more centaurs lay crushed on the ground, victims of the annis hag. Mynx, caught without a mount in the melee, sought to fight her way to the rear of the surging crowd. Finally Phytos grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to one side.
The other centaurs continued to do battle, but the hags were too quick. They always managed to sidestep
