Children of the Wastes (The Aionach Saga Book 2) (57 page)

It wasn’t, and he didn’t.

“Bligg.
Zhe ru ghi
,” she heard the Marauder say.

He knows I’m here
, Lizneth thought with sudden panic.
She heard the second guard enter the room, but not the sound of the door
closing behind him. That meant it was open—and if it was open, she could run.

She wished with all her heart that the
calaihn
would
choose this moment to attack, or that Sniverlik would make his miraculous
late-night return. In either case the alarm would be raised, and every
able-bodied Marauder would go rushing to the walls. Even a small disturbance,
like Ryn barking too long in the yard, or two drunk Marauders getting into a
brawl, might send them running to help—or just to see what all the commotion
was about.

Lizneth waited, but no such event took place to save her. She
felt one of the guards begin to poke around in the hay with his spear, and knew
she dare not make the slightest movement to give herself away. That was when
she had an idea. The more she thought about it, the more she realized it was
the
only
idea. The only one she had, and the only one that had any
chance of saving her.

She jumped to her feet and shouted at the top of her lungs,
waving her arms like some creature of the darkness. Both guards gave a start
and pointed their spears toward her. Lizneth broke into laughter, trying to
relax and hoping it didn’t sound as forced as it felt. She lowered her hood to
show them her face and said, “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help it. It was too
tempting. I got you good, didn’t I?”

“What are you doing up here?” said Bligg, tightening his grip
on his spear.

“Go easy,” Lizneth said, sobering. “I miss my Sniverlik. I
miss him so much I just had to come up here and see if there was any of his
haick
left. I wasn’t trying to make trouble. I fell asleep under the hay. Then I
heard you coming, and I thought I’d play a trick. Don’t be angry with me.”

“No one is allowed in here, except by the brood-father’s
leave,” said the other guard.

“Then why did
you
come in? I suppose you’d like me to
tell Sniverlik about you barging in on me, is that right? I’ll have you know
you nicked me with that thing when you were poking around in the hay.” She
wrapped tender arms around her belly, making sure they could see the cut she’d
gotten climbing. “If that’s really what you want, I’ll see that he hears about
you trying to run me through with your clumsy probing when he returns. I’m sure
he’ll be happy to know what almost happened to his babies, and who was
responsible for it.”

The guards exchanged a glance. “No, don’t do that,” said
Bligg. “We didn’t mean to disturb you. We were told no one was allowed in this
part of the stronghold.”

“By whom… Rotabak? That feeble-minded ingrate is just waiting
for something horrible to happen to my Sniverlik.”

“Rotabak is no brood-father,” said Bligg, “but Sniverlik left
him in charge, so we must follow his orders. You should go now… what was your
name?”

“Pryxe,” Lizneth said.

“Pryxe. I’m sure we can put this misunderstanding behind us,
can’t we?” When Bligg grinned, a false tooth gleamed in his gums.

Lizneth didn’t like the way he was smiling. It made her
nervous. “Just as long as it doesn’t happen again,” she said, feeling her
composure falter.

“Right. Get on with you, then.” Bligg stepped aside to let
her pass.

When she walked by him, she heard that dry sound again,
softer this time. He was sniffing her; making sure he got a good strong scent.
This
can’t wait any longer
, Lizneth thought.
He knows I’m bluffing. Or if he
doesn’t know, he suspects it
.

She hurried down the steps and made for the nursery, a big
cluster of rooms where nestlings and expectant dams all lived together and took
care of one another. A guard sat slouched and snoring in a chair outside the
double-hung door. The door’s top half was open, so Lizneth opened the bottom
half and slipped inside.

First she found Nawk in one of the nesting rooms, a tiny box
she shared with three other pregnant females. Lizneth clamped a hand over
Nawk’s snout and woke her gently. “Nawk, we’ve got to leave here. Tonight.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Sh-h-h.” Lizneth leaned in and whispered into Nawk’s ear.
“We have to go. Rotabak told me today he’s going to feed your newbirths to the
Marauders. He said he’s going to do the same thing to mine.”

“That’s impossible. He would never…”

“We’re starving, Nawk. And I’m… I’m a traitor to Sniverlik.”

Nawk winced as if in pain. “What?”

“I helped the
calaihn
. Sniverlik and Rotabak have
branded me a traitor and threatened to punish our family for it. I thought you
should hear it from me.”

“What have you done, Lizneth?”

“There isn’t time for that. I’ll tell you later… when we’re
out of here and safe in the tunnels.”

“What tunnels? Lizneth, you’re sounding like a
quinzhe
right now.”

“I know, I know. You have to trust me. Can you do that for
me? Please?”

Nawk’s jaw unhinged in a massive yawn. She rubbed her eyes
and stretched. “Are you sure you didn’t have a bad dream?”

Lizneth grabbed Nawk’s tail and squeezed it in her palm.
“Wake up, Nawk. It wasn’t a dream. Now please… come with me.”

One of the other dams in the nesting box shifted in her
sleep.

Nawk frowned, pried her tail loose from Lizneth’s hand, and
labored to her feet. She put her hands on the small of her back and stretched.
She was thin, her bulbous belly larger than Lizneth’s. “Okay. Alright. I’ll
come. Where are we going?”

Lizneth’s heart surged, and she nearly squeaked with
gladness. “Yes, yes. We just have to get Raial and Thrin and then we can go.”

“What about Deequol?”

Lizneth had left Deequol out of her plans for one very
important reason: he would’ve tried to stop her. There was no convincing him to
come along; he would’ve refused and then reported her to Rotabak for what he
thought was her own good. “Deequol isn’t coming,” Lizneth said. “He feels his
duty is here, with the Marauders.”

“That skunk,” said Nawk. “Let me speak with him. I’m sure I
can—”

“There isn’t time. Don’t you see? I’ve already tried. He’s
hopeless. We’re on our own.”

The corner of Nawk’s mouth curled into a sad smirk, but she
said nothing more.

They tiptoed to the playroom together, where they found Raial
and Thrin among dozens of sleeping nestlings. The little ones were so thin it
was hard to look at them. Lizneth and Nawk had to tread carefully to retrieve
their brother and sister, treating the room like an obstacle course where one
false step might wake a child screaming. Lizneth took Raial while Nawk scooped
up Thrin, and they left the room to creep toward the nursery exit.

When they rounded the corner beside the double-hung door,
they found the guard who’d been sleeping earlier wide awake and standing in
wait. “What are you doing?” he asked in a voice thick with sleep. “You’re not
supposed to be in here.”

Lizneth grasped for an excuse but came up with none. She
straightened, and with every ounce of resolve she could muster, said, “We’re
taking them.”

The guard snorted. “Taking them… where?”

“Outside.” Lizneth handed Raial to Nawk as she spoke.
“They’re our siblings.”

“Siblings mean nothing here,
sceari
—”

Lizneth drew her dagger and swung. The guard wasn’t expecting
it, and when he lifted a hand to protect himself the blade cut a deep slash in
his palm. He sucked air through his longteeth, cursing as he dropped his spear
and drew the wounded hand to his chest. Lizneth yanked the door open and tried
to shove the guard back, but he caught her with a bloody hand and pulled her to
the floor with him. Her dagger came down between them and sank into the soft
flesh of his belly.

A rush of foul-smelling breath escaped his lips. Lizneth
turned her face away and tried to get up, but somehow the guard was holding
onto her, gripping her arm with uncanny strength. She released the dagger and
wriggled away from him, beating him with her fists until he let go.

“Run, Nawk,” she said. “Go to Sniverlik’s room and shut the
door behind you. It’s on the second floor, in the back.”

“I know where it is. I can barely walk on my own anymore, let
alone climb a flight of stairs carrying two nestlings. And there will be
guards, won’t there?”

Lizneth sighed. “Then hide nearby and wait for me.”

“Where are you going?”

“To get Ryn. I left him outside.”

“Oh, will you forget about that stupid dog?”

“He’s not a dog. He’s a jackal, and I’m not leaving him. I’ll
be back in a minute.”

Nawk clucked her tongue. “You always have been a stubborn
lecuzhe
.”
She began waddling down the hallway, Raial and Thrin now squirming in her arms
as they woke.

Lizneth pulled her dagger out of the guard’s belly and wiped
it on his cloak. Sheathing it, she took his spear and lifted her hood to
conceal herself. She could hear a commotion building outside and hurried to see
what it was. Either the guards were changing shifts, or it was something else.

She emerged to find several of the night guards chasing Ryn
around the yard, brandishing knives and threatening to skin him alive and eat
him whole. Ryn had grown a little, but he was bone-thin, and his leg hadn’t
healed all the way yet. He was still quicker than the Marauders, ducking
between their legs and feinting this way and that to limp out of reach.

Slapping her thigh, Lizneth knelt and called him to her. Ryn
whirled and took off toward her like an arrow. A big agouti with a hooded snout
plucked Ryn off the ground and let him dangle, snapping and growling, by the
scruff of his neck.

“Let go of him,” Lizneth screamed. “He’s mine.”

The Marauder laughed, feigning surprise as the little jackal
floundered in front of him. Then Lizneth was running, holding the spear in
front of her with no intention of stopping. He noticed her at the last second
and tried to step out of the way, but she adjusted her aim accordingly.

The spearhead skidded up his copper breastplate with a loud
scraping sound and slipped into the unprotected flesh of his throat. He dropped
Ryn and stumbled backward, hands clutching his neck. Ryn hit the ground and
scampered behind Lizneth’s legs, where he set to barking at the wounded
Marauder.

The others stopped what they were doing and stared in
bewilderment. Lizneth didn’t give them the chance to react. With Ryn at her
heels and spear in hand, she retreated through the stronghold door, slammed it
behind her, and lowered the bar into place. There were other ways inside, but
this would slow them down. She heard the Marauders shouting after her as they
converged.

She picked up Nawk’s
haick
on her way toward the back
staircase. When she passed the alcove by the rear meeting room, Nawk gave a
loud whisper to let her know where she and the nestlings were hiding. Thrin and
Raial were awake now, though both were still drowsy. Lizneth gave them each a
warm hug and told them it was time to go home now; they’d get to see Mama and
Papa again soon, but only if they were good, and stayed quiet. They both agreed
to this requirement wholeheartedly.

“Nawk, we don’t have much time. I’m going to go around that
corner, and bad things are going to happen. I want you to wait here until I
tell you it’s okay to come out.”

Nawk nodded, though her expression revealed she was anything
but cheerful about it.

One last stretch of hallway remained between Lizneth and the
corner, around which lay the back staircase. She could hear the Marauders
banging on the barred door behind her, demanding to be let inside. She would’ve
liked having Deequol with her right about now—not only for her own peace of
mind, but because it would’ve made her feel like this fight was somewhere close
to winnable.
What am I doing?
she wondered.
I’ve been fortunate so
far. I’ll never take on two Marauders at the same time
.

At the sound of approaching footsteps ahead she ducked into
another alcove. It was Bligg, running for the door to let the others inside. He
caught her scent and turned, slowing to a stop when he noticed her in the
shadows. “What are you doing back here?” he asked. “I told you—”

Lizneth lunged at him with her spear. A mistake. Bligg was
too alert and too far away to be caught off-guard.

He knocked her spear aside with his own, then backed off a
step to point his spearhead at her. “Hey, what was that all about? What’s going
on here?”

Lizneth withdrew, shushing Ryn when he began to bark. “I’m
sorry, I… I thought you were someone else.”

“Like who?”

“Never mind. I didn’t mean it.”

Bligg shook his head and glared at her like she was crazy.
“Fine. You just wait there. I’ll be back. Yorak? Keep an eye on the
scearib
for me, will you?”

The other guard popped his head around the corner. “You
again? Yeah, I’ll watch her. What’s happening out there?”

“Just give me a second,” said Bligg. “Don’t let her out of
your sight.” He ran off down the hall.

Lizneth moved toward Yorak, who took a cautious step
backward. “It’s alright,” she said. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. He just
startled me, is all.”

“You didn’t mean for what to happen?”

Lizneth rested her spear against the wall and lowered her
voice, desperately aware that time was running out. “I heard someone coming,
and I just…”

“Huh? Speak up.” Yorak leaned in.

Lizneth tuned her voice even lower. She heard the distant
squeal of the wooden bar against the iron brackets as Bligg removed it. The
voices of several irate Marauders echoed down the halls. Yorak took a step
toward her, still leaning forward. For a short moment, he relinquished his
focus on her to glance in the direction of the noise.