Broken World Book Three - A Land Without Law (24 page)

He called,
"See you at home, kid; Letta will make you a nice stew. You know
the way." The warriors clicked, and Vosh retreated, holding up his
hands. "Okay, okay. I wasn't going to hurt the kid, anyway."

Law tried to
stand up and bumped into a warrior, which backed away. Vosh left
the cavern, presumably to grope his way home. The swirling images
caused by his collision with the warrior had not yet settled in
Law's mind, and the room moved around him, the lines of Dolana that
mapped it mixed with the semi-ants' shimmering Shissar. He
staggered into another warrior and gripped it as it tried to move
away. The semi-ant froze, providing a solid object to which he
clung. With its help, he was able to stand still long enough for
the images to settle.

He faced the
queen. "Don't harm him."

"As you
command," she clicked.

"He's afraid.
He did not intend to hurt me." Law released the warrior, no longer
needing its support. A sweet scent from the queen commanded the
warriors to leave, and their withdrawal allowed the workers to do
their jobs unhampered. Law approached the queen and ran his hands
over her armoured foreparts, mapping her domed head with its
compound eyes. She released a scent that told of her happiness at
his touch, but the unreadable line of golden writing flashed across
his mind repeatedly.

"You are
wrong," he stated. "Never have I seen one such as you."

"The world has
changed. All beasts are different."

Law
concentrated on her. "You have a creature of this world in your
ancestry, thence stems your gentleness and obedience."

"The only
beasts here that would harm you are the ones with which you
live."

His hands
explored her smooth bulk. "And you have bred with them."

"We wished
their cleverness for our offspring," she clicked.

"That is
forbidden."

The semi-ant
queen shifted, her claws scraping the floor as she tried to turn
towards him. Law stood beside her and ran his hands over her
egg-laden abdomen.

"We will not
conceive any more."

"No." Law
moved away to stand before her again. "You shall not."

"Will you stay
with us?"

The Mujar
pondered this. His memories of the outside world were hazy now, for
the hive had been his home for too long. The comforts the Truemen
gave were good, and something deep within him prompted him to stay
with them. Their cosy cavern offered security and food, and he had
no desire for anything else.

"Yes," he
replied, "I shall return to my chamber."

"You honour
us. We will honour those with whom you choose to stay."

Law walked
through the workers towards the tunnel that led back into the hive.
The warrior guards stood aside, and he followed the lines of Dolana
that shone silver in the darkness of his inner eye.

Arriving at
the entrance to Vosh and Letta's chamber, he paused. Raised voices
and the clatter of pots came from within. Letta sounded angry, and
Vosh whined in protest. Law stepped into the doorway, where he
could make out the Truemen's hazy figures. His senses perceived
them as blue-gold forms with a silver framework, their heads almost
featureless. Parts that had more Crayash in them appeared more
gold, cooler extremities more blue. Overall, they looked horrible,
but, having never had any other form of perception, he had become
accustomed to the strange appearance most creatures had. It did,
however, make it difficult to make out expressions, although smiles
were discernable, due to the increase of Dolana and Crayash when
the teeth were exposed. Letta stood with her back to him and Vosh
cowered in a far corner. The woman brandished a large tin pot at
him.

"You idiot!"
Letta scolded, "If he's gone, I'll brain you, I swear! How could
you be so stupid?"

Vosh raised
his arms to ward off her next missile. "I was scared of the
warriors, sweetheart, I didn't mean to upset the kid, honest!"

"But you had
to ask for more, didn't you? Why couldn't you settle for what you
had?"

"Those things
are abominations, my love. They should be destroyed!"

Neither of
them appeared to notice Law standing in the doorway, so engrossed
were they in their argument. Letta drew back her arm to hurl the
pot at Vosh's head. "Fool! You -"

"Stop." Law
stepped into the chamber, and Letta whirled in surprise. Vosh
radiated immense relief as he straightened. Letta dropped the pot
and flung her arms around Law's neck, making him step back in
surprise at her uninvited touch.

"You came
back!" Letta hugged him, ignoring his wriggles of discomfort.
"We're so happy you did, Law."

She held him
away, then pushed him towards the table. "Sit, have some food. Vosh
is very sorry for what he did. Aren't you, dear?"

Vosh nodded.
"Sure am, kid. Those critters gave me quite a fright, that's
all."

Law sat, glad
to be released from the woman's clinging arms. She put a bowl of
food before him, and he picked up a spoon. The two people turned to
each other as Law ate, his mind occupied with the new knowledge he
had gained that day. Vosh sat opposite.

"Do you think
the queen will give us a better place to stay? After all, you're
kind of royalty to them, aren't you?"

The youth
nodded. "Yes."

Vosh beamed at
Letta. "See? I told you. Our son can have anything he wants, and so
will we."

Letta pulled
up another chair beside the Mujar. "We're going to take real good
care of you, Law, you can count on that. Anything you want, you
just say."

Vosh nodded.
"That's right, and when they bring us the women, you'll have your
pick, I promise. The men won't begrudge you anything, seeing as how
you've set us free."

Law ignored
their eager promises, content to sit and eat the good stew. Their
offers did not interest him, as long as he had shelter and food, he
wanted nothing else.

Over the next
week, the Truemen showered Law with gifts, some of which he
enjoyed, others he ignored. The men, learning that this blind Mujar
was willing to help Truemen and excited at the prospect of having
women again, helped to provide the gifts Vosh seemed to think he
needed to give Law. They made him an outfit of soft black leather
studded with silver, which pleased Law, who found the new covering
comfortable. Vosh demanded wood from the workers and built a bed
for his foster son, which Law also found good for resting upon.
Letta, apparently disappointed by Law's loss of appetite, slaved
over her pots to produce tasty treats for him.

Vosh demanded
that his chamber be enlarged, and ordered the work done in Law's
name. In a bustle of activity that lasted two days, workers invaded
the cavern, knocked down walls and built new ones. They added
several extra rooms and coated the walls with a veneer of spit,
like the queen's chamber. A few days later, warriors returned from
across the sea with the women Vosh had asked for, bruised and
hysterical, but unharmed.

Vosh threw a
party and invited all the men to meet their new mates amid music
and feasting. The men took turns to play the instruments, none of
them musicians, and the thumping and screeching hurt Law's
sensitive ears. He tried to escape, hampered by the frenetic
activity of the people who danced around the room, jumbling the
images his brain received. Vosh caught him at the door and dragged
him back, spun him around and made him stagger. He thrust a soft
creature at Law, whom the Mujar fended off in agitation. Mujar
disliked being touched, and Law was no exception.

Vosh laughed.
"How about this one, Law? Pretty, isn't she?"

All people
looked the same to Law, only their scent defined them, and he
pushed the female away. The girl, apparently finding him
attractive, pressed herself closer and twined her arms around his
neck. Relaxed and drunk on the crude liquor the men had brewed, the
women became bawdy and made advances that the men happily accepted.
Only Law was unhappy with the situation, and the more the girl
tried to seduce him, the more he fended her off.

Letta came to
his rescue, pushed the girl away and imposed herself between them.
With her help, he escaped the cavern and retreated to the peace of
the tunnels. Letta stayed with him, muttering about Vosh's
behaviour until the party reached its conclusion, whereupon they
returned to the deserted rooms. Letta discovered that Vosh had left
with one of the women, and prepared a meal for Law with much
banging of pots.

* * *

Across the
sea, Truemen had discovered that life was good. Not only were
crossbreeds useful and hardy, but the war with the land had long
since ended and the threat of the Hashon Jahar was almost
forgotten. A crop of earth wizards sprang up, formerly farmers or
traders who discovered that they could manipulate inanimate objects
with their minds. They explored this new power to its fullest,
inventing spells with which they could make rock or steel cut wood
like butter. The men in power put their skills to good use, sending
them out with armies of woodcutters to clear vast tracts of forest
for grazing, the wood hauled away to build cities and ships.

Herds of wild
deer and cattle were driven into vast stockades and slaughtered to
feed the armies of manbulls every city now owned, and the hides
were cured to clothe them. Clever men became rich overnight, and
earth wizards grew richer still, as did fire wizards. Stockades
that trapped wild game fed the new fortified towns. Rich men
employed earth wizards to unearth priceless gems and became richer
still, while other earth wizards did it on their own. The world was
Truemen's oyster, helpless to defend itself against their
plunder.

The only
problem they faced were the wild crossbreeds, fearsome creatures
prone to attacking Trueman villages and woodcutters for no apparent
reason. The worst of these were those with insect and Trueman
blood. Cunning and quick breeding, they established fortified
colonies from which they raided Trueman stock and villages,
carrying off cows and people alike. The chaos beasts' threat drove
many villagers to abandon their towns and invade the cities, which
swelled their populations and provided fodder for their rulers'
giant armies. The rulers, pressured by their rich citizens to gain
more land, sent their armies to war. Thousands of manbulls and
manhorses fought long and glorious battles, legions of seasoned
Trueman warriors backing them up. At times, these wars were fought
against the manant colonies, and blood reddened the earth.

Water wizards
plundered the seas, filled fishermen’s' nets with tons of helpless
fish and hunted the great whales for their meat and blubber. Rich
women demanded beautiful clothes and baubles, which started a
booming trade in rare furs from distant shores. New and unwholesome
trades sprang up, and great wagon trains crossed the land. Men
built new roads to new cities wherever wealth was to be found. Ore
was carried to giant smelters for refining, then forged into armour
and weapons for the vast armies that had been formed to fight the
many wars. Earth blood was pumped from the ground to tar the new
roads and burn the forests, polluting vast tracts of land with its
careless use.

The people who
enjoyed the wealth and prosperity these outrages brought shouted
down those who raised their voices in angry protest. Protesters
found themselves ostracised and at times threatened. Most left the
safety of the cities and returned to the towns that those who had
fled from the chaos beasts had abandoned. These chosen found their
lives hard, for chaos beasts attacked their poorly defended towns,
stole their cattle and killed their people. They scratched a living
from the soil, but many did not survive.

Deep in the
forests, the tribesmen who had lived in harmony with the land for
centuries found their woods vanishing under the onslaught of earth
wizards and woodcutters eager to feed the fires of the smelters and
provide wood for building new cities and ships. Within four years
of the breaking of the Staff of Law, Truemen had gained supremacy
over the earth and plundered it without remorse. As the laws broke
down, however, other, more terrible things happened. Things that
Truemen could not have foreseen, nor find a use for, and others
that would strike fear into the bravest hearts.

Chapter Ten

The drumming
of hooves woke Talsy. The distant thunder brought back memories of
the Hashon Jahar, and with them the chilling fear they provoked.
Alarmed, she crawled from her tent to find everyone awake and
gathered around the campfire, which was kept burning all night to
warm whoever was on guard. Kieran and Brin muttered together, Mita
comforted Shan while Taff stared into the darkness as if trying to
penetrate its veil. She went over to the Prince, interrupting his
discussion.

"What's going
on?"

He flung her
an impatient look. "We don't know yet. Chanter went to see."

"Shouldn't we
get ready to run if necessary?"

"I was just
discussing that with Brin, but he says that the sound isn't getting
nearer. Whoever they are, they're passing by somewhere over there."
He gestured.

Talsy glanced
around and shivered, the ground's trembling soaking into her with
the cold. A grey owl floated out of the darkness and landed nearby,
and a rush of wind that guttered the fire transformed it into the
slender unman. Chanter approached and squatted beside Kieran and
Brin.

"There's no
danger. They're passing by, but I think you should all come and
see. It's a danger we may have to face yet."

The warriors
rose, and Talsy grabbed a warm jacket as they hurried after
Chanter. He led them up a wooded hill, slowed as he neared the top
and crouched down. The others followed his example, crawling
towards the ridge of rock at the top of the slope. Chanter
flattened himself and poked his head over the ridge, gesturing for
the others to do the same. Talsy peered over the rocks and gasped.
On the other side, the land dropped away in a steep incline,
flattening out below to form a shallow grassy valley in front of
another dark forest.