Devan Chronicles Series: Books 1-3 (50 page)

She should just ride away and never come back, but she couldn’t do that. Jihan needed her. She couldn’t leave… but she had to get away from... from
him
. With that thought in mind, she quickly changed into her riding dress and boots. Looking around for anything she had forgotten, she ignored the commotion outside to snatch up her mirror and cloak. In the corridor, the shocked stares of Ahnao and the woman of Malcor confronted her.

“Are you all right Julia?”

Not
really
.

“I’m fine Ahnao.”

Julia studied the shocked faces of the women. “I’ve had an accident with my door. Would someone ask the master wood crafter to make a new one for me?”

“I will.”

Julia nodded her thanks. With a weak smile for Ahnao she walked away with her cloak billowing behind her.

When Julia reached the stables, she couldn’t find a stable-hand to help her. In frustration, she tried to ready the horse herself. She managed the bridle without getting bitten, but the saddle was harder. She could lift it well enough, but her horse was too tall. Trying not to scream with frustration must have taken her attention. She didn’t realise that Mathius had arrived until his hands appeared from behind her to lift the saddle into place.

“Lord Keverin said you were upset,” he said, not looking at her while he buckled the girth. “I already knew. I felt you use your magic. What did you do to him? He looked like a troop of cavalry had ridden over him.”

“I did nothing to him,” Julia said guiltily. “If he looks bad, it’s probably his guilty conscience plaguing him.”

Mathius finished with her horse then started saddling his own.

“You’re mot coming!”

Mathius continued saddling his horse with practised ease. “I’m afraid I must. Please don’t confuse matters by ordering different. Lord Keverin holds my oath. He ordered me and some others to protect you.”

“What others—” Julia started to say, but she could guess. In the end, she didn’t have to because Brian and Udall walked in and started saddling their horses.

This bodyguard business was no longer just irritating. It had reached the point where she couldn’t move without being followed by this guardsman or that, and now Mathius was getting in on the game. She had to find a way to take back control of her life!

“Would you stay if I ordered it?”

“You are stronger than me Julia, therefore you lead, but please don’t order me to break my oath. To do so would mean my dishonour.”

Julia turned to Udall. “And your orders are?”

“To accompany you, Lady.”

“And if I say we ride to Athione—what then?”

“Then we ride. The Lord said to take your orders.”

He did, did he?

“Fine!” Julia snapped. “Let’s go.”

Julia felt better once Malcor was behind her. She calmed down enough to appreciate the company of Mathius and the others. She was still determined to find a way to shed the bodyguards, but it would be stupid to try while on the road. Besides, she needed someone to keep her company. After riding for a candlemark or so, she called a halt.

“What’s to the north except more of these hills?”

The rolling hills were empty of people as far as she could see, but there must be people out here evidenced by the few scrawny sheep and cattle wandering around. She couldn’t see the farm house, but that didn’t mean much. The hills blocked her view after a few hundred yards.

Mathius put on his teaching voice. “Camorin is in the north as you know. The plains cover most of the land. You’re not thinking of going that way are you? We certainly won’t be welcomed by the clans.”

“The clans?” Julia said. “I think you mentioned them before.”

Mathius nodded. “We might not come across any—they are nomads—fierce warriors who can hide behind a blade of grass! Traders used to meet them at a place called Denpasser to trade for horses, but now the crafters have left Chulym no one goes that way.”

“Why wouldn’t we be welcomed? Are they enemies of Deva too?”

Julia wouldn’t be surprised if they were, everyone was trying to kill everyone else on this bloody world.

“Not exactly enemies. An occasional raid across the border doesn’t make them such. They like to fight, but it’s regarded more as a sport than warfare. They gain honour by making off with various goods without being caught. They’ll fight if confronted, but they rarely kill unless pushed to it. Outsiders are regarded with suspicion. Traders are tolerated for the goods they bring.”

Julia nodded and looked for the sun. “Sunset is not far away. Can we reach Malcor before full dark? The town I mean.”

“If we continue as we are we should be able to.”

“Good.”

They started moving again and entered the outskirts of the town well after dark. Julia hadn’t taken the unfamiliar ground into consideration. She had been concerned about the horses vulnerable legs and wouldn’t take Mathius assurances that the ground before them was safe. Malcor Town was walled, but by the look of the gates they hadn’t been shut in years. It was a good sized town. She estimated the population at about fifteen thousand.

“That’s about right,” Mathius said. “It’s bigger than East Town by far.”

“Does Jihan rule the town as well as the fortress?”

“Yes, but not directly. The town council answers to him of course, and he is the sole judge in criminal cases, but the council runs the town day to day. The same system is used throughout Deva.”

That arrangement sounded as good as any other Julia could think of, but it did rely on good rulership by the lords. Athlone had been a traitor, but even he hadn’t upset the town’s circumstances too badly.

They left the gates far behind, and followed the street toward the centre of town.

“Do you know a good place to stay?”

“Most of the inns have good rooms,” Mathius said. “Jihan did mention the Ram’s Horn. It’s in the main square just ahead.”

Julia nodded, but she silently fumed about the men in her life trying to run it for her. First Keverin using her for his own ends, and now Jihan was making sure he knew where to find her. She decided yet again to take charge of her own life from now on.

The Ram’s Horn looked well cared for, at least on the outside. It was a three story building made of wood except for the ground floor, which was brick. The slanting roof seemed to be tiled with slate, but the light was bad and she couldn’t be sure. Faint voices came from inside, and light shone through the slits in the shutters. Brian and Udall took charge of the horses while Mathius and Julia entered the common room. There were plenty of patrons listening to a man playing a harp and singing a quiet folk song.

Mathius tapped her on the shoulder to gain her attention, and pointed to the innkeeper. She nodded and made her way there.

“Have you four rooms for rent?” Julia said raising her voice over the singing.

Some of the patrons looked at her in annoyance for spoiling their enjoyment, but then did a double take. Julia sighed. They knew who she was. The slightly balding man looked at her then at Mathius’ green robes. His eyes widened when he recognised him as a mage.

“I have but three left lady, and they ain’t my best, but they be good rooms when all is said.”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine. Now, how much?”

“You can have all three for six silvers a day, or I could do the three for five golds if you stay for a tenday.”

There were ten silvers in a gold, but she didn’t know if six silvers per day was too much or not. Glancing at Mathius from the corner of her eye, she thought she saw him shake his head slightly.

“Daylight robbery,” Julia said coldly. “Three silvers a day would be closer.”

The man’s eyes popped wide in outrage. “
Three!
You will put me out of business! I couldn’t take less than five.” He looked about to have a seizure by his colour.

“Fine then, four it is,” Julia said. “But I want a nice dinner for the four of us... over there.” She indicated a table she had just chosen. There were four seats around it, and there was a clay jug in the centre.

The innkeeper sighed. “All right four—but not a copper less!”

Julia had no money, and no way of earning any, but Mathius had a large pouch of coin and paid for a tenday in advance. They settled at the table and Julia poured a mug of water. She drank half.

“Thank you for paying, Mathius. I’ll get it back to you.”

“Ah, you see... that is…” Mathius broke off with his face burning red with embarrassment. “The Lord gave me this to hold for you.”

So much for going it alone.

“Just out of interest, how much is in there?” Julia said trying to peek into the pouch.

“Two thousand silver.”

“Two thous—that’s two hundred gold. Is that a lot?”

“Yes. You paid too much for the rooms. Two or three silvers would have been about right—assuming they’re good ones. A meal would be a copper each, perhaps two if it were exceptionally good. A horse could cost anything from ten golds up. A good warhorse trained to fight would bring twenty golds easily. With this pouch you could buy two dozen Camorin horses and double your money on market day.”

“Lord Keverin was generous,” Julia said with heavy irony.

“Perhaps,” Mathius said with a shrug, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. “A lord such as he could give this much away every day and not notice the loss.”

That put a different complexion on things, and incidentally made her feel much better. She knew Keverin was wealthy—he had to be to keep a fortress like Athione from ruin, but now she realised he must be the equivalent of a millionaire back home.

Brian and Udall chose that moment to wander in, and she called them over. They sat around the table, and a serving girl came to take their order. Mathius chose the lamb roast, and rather than take a chance on something else Julia ordered the same. Brian agreed with their choice, but Udall preferred the beef.

“Three lamb, and one beef,” the girl said. “And what to drink?”

“Beer,” Mathius said and the other men agreed with him.

“What wine have you?” Julia said.

Mathius looked quickly away.

Oh, bother it!

“Have you any milk?” Julia said quickly changing her mind and trying not to notice the surprise on Udall’s face.

“
Milk!
” the waitress choked. “I mean yes lady. I’m sure I can be finding some.” She shook her head as she was leaving. “Milk.”

“Thank you,” Julia called to her back with her face flaming.

The waitress went off to arrange the meals still muttering, and Julia looked crossly at Mathius. He grinned and nodded at her. She rolled her eyes in exasperation. So much for not letting anyone else run her life.

“Are all the lords rich then?” Julia said and topped her mug with water from the jug and sipped it.

“They’re all wealthy, but the Lord Protectors are fabulously wealthy in comparison to the others.”

Just then, the serving girl returned with the meals they ordered. The plates were piled high with roast meat and vegetables. Potatoes were potatoes anywhere it seemed, but the orange things weren’t carrots. Mathius called them darella-root. Julia took a bite and found them delicious. It tasted like a cross between a carrot and a parsnip. Halfway through her dinner, Julia asked an important question.

“If a woman wanted to pay her own way, how would she earn the money?”

“I know what you’re really asking,” Mathius said. “But you see, none of the normal things would suit you now that you have tasted power. The only thing for you is magic. If you learn some useful spells, people would pay for what you can do or make for them. Digging a well is a good example. That would earn you five silvers. As it is, you could be a healer. A good healer is always in demand.”

“I know one other thing you must be good at—a lord’s whore!” a man shouted at the top of his lungs.

Brian and Udall jumped to their feet and kicked their chairs away to draw steel. Julia hadn’t noticed the man approach as she listened to Mathius. There was a mad scramble, as the inn patrons cleared a space.

“Stop!” Julia shouted.

“But Lady—your honour!” Brian said spluttering in outrage.

“I said stop, Brian. You as well Udall. Put up your swords and step aside please.”

They looked rebellious, but Julia glared at them and they reluctantly sheathed their blades. This was just what she needed to show them she could look after herself. She didn’t need bodyguards.

“Do you have something to say to me?” Julia said to the disreputable looking man who had insulted her.

“I think you heard me the first time you whore! You let the traitor into the fortress after m’lord Athlone accepted you as a guest!”

“Ah…” Julia said seeing clearly what had happened. “You are one of the traitor’s men then. I should have known scum like you wouldn’t just disappear. How can you walk among these people without shame?”

Julia turned to the spectators and told them the news. “Athlone was a traitor. He was working with the sorcerers to bring an army through the northern border. This town would have been the first of many to fall. It still might. Lord Jihan and his men will soon be fighting for your freedom, and they are outnumbered. Men like this man would see you enslaved.”

The patrons shouted their hate and moved toward the ex-guardsmen en masse, but he surprised Julia by standing his ground and drawing his sword. The next few seconds went by in a blur. With sword raised, he charged her—

Craaaack!

—and met his death at Julia’s hand.

The man came to rest against the door with a hole the size of Julia’s fist burned through his chest. The sudden silence was deafening. The inn patrons looked at her and flinched back at the cold expression on her face.

“Death to Deva’s enemies,” Julia said coldly. She turned to her companions and raised an eyebrow. Both the guardsmen seemed pleased and even Mathius nodded.

The innkeeper had the body removed then offered to show them to their rooms. Julia quickly agreed, and followed the others as they made their way upstairs. The whispers started behind her as she climbed.

“Did you see that?”