Keep on the Borderlands

A high-pitched yell of fright and rage. Startled, Eddis nearly let go, but Mead had a good grip, and the swordswoman grabbed at a flailing arm, got it by the elbow, and hung on. She shook her head to clear bits of hay from her eyes as she and the mage dragged their writhing captive toward the fire. She stopped dead and stared in complete astonishment at the furious, grubby little creature they held between them.

“Gods bless me,” she said. “It’s a child!”

9

The grubby little creature twisted furiously in Eddis’ graspand tried to bite Mead’s fingers. Greasy hair, hacked short, slapped across theswordswoman’s arms. Eddis was aware of the bandit captain trying to struggle tohis feet, being shoved back down by Jerdren. The screeching child claimed her full attention once more as its teeth sank into her left wrist. She swore angrily, wrapped a hand around a knotted tuft of hair, and yanked. The child’shead slammed into her forearm, and it shrieked.

“Let me go! You let Blot go! Lemme go!”

Mead’s fingers began to glow as he murmured a spell. Thechild went wide-eyed and quiet, and it tried to back away, but Eddis had it.

“Be quiet,” the mage said evenly, “or this spell will turnyou to stone.”

Blessed silence. The elf mage looked around them, his angry gaze sweeping across the prisoners. “What is a human child doing here and insuch pitiful state? Where is its mother?”

“Maybe this fellow could tell you,” Jerdren replied sharply.“Seemed awfully interested when you two hauled it out of hiding. Captain here,aren’t you? Captain of this camp?” he asked.

Silence, broken by the sound of a hard kick and a grunt of pain. “I only ask nicely the first time,” he said. “What about this child, eh?”

The child twisted half-around to screech at Jerdren. “Don’tyou hurt ’im. You got no right!” It tore at Eddis’ fingers. “Lemme go!”

The swordswoman gave Mead an exasperated look, locked her other hand in the dreadful hair, and shouted, “Mead! Use the spell! Anything toshut the creature up!”

The child caught its breath in a gasp and cowered away from her. Eddis felt ashamed of her outburst and angry because of it.

The captain cleared his throat. “Leave the brat alone. It’sdone no harm. It’s ours, honest like. Not stolen, it ain’t. Born to us.”

“Who’s its father, and where’s its mother, then?” Jerdrendemanded. “Brat that size ought not to be without parents.”

“It-which is the child? Boy or girl?” Eddis askedangrily. Her knuckles stung where ragged fingernails had torn at them, and the hair she kept in a tight grip was disgusting to the touch and smelled dreadful. “I can’t keep saying ‘it’!”

The man closed his mouth tightly.

She eyed the filthy child, bit back a sigh, and essayed a smile. Tried to make her voice soothing. “Little one, I’m sorry if we scaredyou. We don’t mean to frighten children.” Silence. “What’s your name? Are you aboy, or a girl?”

“Told you, I’m Blot,” it replied sullenly. Large tears pooledin the dark eyes and ran down thin cheeks all at once, leaving pale tracks in the dirt.

Eddis was suddenly furious with this captain and all the men who’d camped here with him. To so neglect a child… how low were they?

Blot spoke up, voice thick with tears, “What ye’ll do with Blot? With ’im?”Her eyes went toward the captain.

“Is he your father, Blot?”

“Don’t know what that is. ’Im’s just Captain. Lets me livehere, sleep in the tent there with ’im ’n ’is brother. I gotta do what they say,get wood for the fires, ’n keep ashes cleared proper like.”

Eddis met Mead’s eyes, nodded to let him know she’d takecontrol of the situation. She caught the child’s shoulder gently as the magereleased it and brought the suddenly quiet creature over to where the prisoners had been gathered. Her eyes were hard as they met those of the bandit captain.

“Suppose you tell me, then, Captain! Since the childdoesn’t seem to have any idea?”

He eyed her stubbornly.

“Fine! I guess I’ll let Jerdren kick it out of you-be still,child!” she ordered and tightened her grip on Blot’s skinny shoulders. The childtwisted in her grasp, realized it was no use, and went still again.

The prisoner glanced at Jerdren, looked at the child for a long moment, finally shrugged. “Told you true, Blot’s ours. We had a few campwomen, last place we were. Bad idea, I knew it then, and so it proved. Women like that set the men against one another, always playing little games. And y’get by-blows like that all too often.” His gaze moved expressionlesslyover the child and then beyond her. “Mother died when it was a year old-maybetwo. I forget.”

“It?” Eddis asked. The man glanced at her, away. Shruggedagain.

“She. M’brother took to it-her. Kept her about, can’t thinkwhy. Was it left to me, I’d’ve had it exposed and there’s an end to it. Men likeus got no use for something that young and useless.”

Eddis’ eyes narrowed.

The man went on, clearly unaware of her rising fury. “Turnedout a useful creature in its way. We taught it to tend fires, fetch water-thingslike that. Taught it from the first that it didn’t dare give over its chores,whatever it thought of ’em. Turned out my brother was right. Blot frees up a manor two when they’re needed on important tasks.”

Eddis drew a deep breath, let it out slowly. The poor child was probably expecting a beating. Clearly it was all she knew. She wouldn’tunderstand the swordswoman’s anger was for the man who’d so ill-treated her.

“She,” Eddis said evenly. “So-how old is she?”

He considered this briefly. “Ten-twelve summers? Man losescount.”

“Ten or twelve.” Eddis stared at him. “And you kept her here,openly? Living with all these men?”

He scowled up at her. “Now, listen, there’s none of that!Wouldn’t ever have been, either. I run a clean camp! Didn’t I say we was ridof loose women? Time came,” he shrugged, “and Blot was old enough, we’d give thechild a chance to learn weapons and join us.”

“And if she didn’t want to become a bandit, whatthen?” Eddis’ voice remained soft, but the captain edged away from her, untilJerdren’s boot stopped him.

“What d’ye think? We’re not savages! My brother would’vetaken her to some town and turned ’er loose!”

“And, trained as you’ve trained her, of course she’dbe able to find an honest way to earn her way,” Eddis replied sourly. “Jerdren,get him away from me.” She walked off, bringing Blot in tow.

“What’ll ye do with ’im?” Blot asked in a small voice. “Y’can’t kill ’im. ’E swore ’e’d protect me!” Another thought occurred to her.“Where’s ’is brother? Where’s Hosig?” She pulled against Eddis’ grip, but invain.

“M’Baddah?” Eddis turned to look for her lieutenant.“M’Baddah, where are-? Oh, there, thank the gods,” she added as the man came outof the gloom to join her. “She’s after the captain’s brother-the man with thehorses, down at the river, wasn’t he?”

M’Baddah’s eyes shifted toward the canvas shelter, where themore gravely wounded had been moved, and he shook his head minutely.

“Not yet,” he said quietly, “but soon.”

Eddis shifted her grip on the child’s shoulders and went toone knee to be on her level. “Blot? We’ll take you to see him. But… well,he’s hurt.”

“Hurt? ’E won’t die, will ’e?”