Draggah (10 page)

“
You gave my brother his whip?
”
Leonosis said in surprise. 
“
Robere, Robere, Robere.
”

He backhanded the elderly servant. The savage blow snapped Robere
’
s head to the side and split open the thin skin on his cheekbone.

“
Forgive me,
”
Robere cried, drawing out the word in a long sob.

“
I want to know what Tiberius was planning.  Surely he confided in you.
”

“
He was angry,
”
Robere said. 
“
But I didn
’
t know why.  He spent all his time at the temple.
”

“
He wanted to leave the city,
that much is certain,
”
Leonosis said. 
“
I had his room searched, a good deal of his personal belongings were missing.  Did you deliver those to my brother as well?
”

“
No, my lord.  I asked him about them and he told me he moved them to the temple.  I had no reason not to believe him.
”

“
You were helping him!
”
Leonosis shouted. 
“
Admit it!  Tell me what he was planning!
”

“
I do not know,
”
cried Robere.

Leonosis turned and picked up a mace.  It was a cruel looking weapon, very plain with just a wooden handle and a rusty spiked ball fixed on the end.  Leonosis held it in front of Robere
’
s face.

“
No, no,
”
cried the servant. 

Leonosis let the weapon
’
s heavy spiked end drop.  There wasn
’
t much force in the blow, but the weight of the weapon was enough to break the skin on Robere
’
s shaking legs.  Blood welled up between the spikes.

“
Tell me what he was doing,
”
Leonosis said calmly, but loud enough to be heard over Robere
’
s wail of pain.

“
I don
’
t know.
”

Leonosis pressed down on the weapon. The spikes dug into the servant
’
s leg.  Robere was not a big man. In fact, his legs were rather thin, but the mace dug into the thick thigh muscles.  The rusty spikes weren
’
t sharpened, and they tore through the flesh rather than cutting.  Robere screamed in agony.

“
Tell me what you know!
”
Leonosis shouted.

“
I saw something,
”
Robere howled. 
“
I saw a book.
”

Leonosis lifted the weapon and the torturer quickly placed a clean rag over the wound and pressed down.  Robere moaned in agony.

“
What kind of book?
”
Leonosis demanded.

“
I
’
m not certain, my lord.  I cannot say exactly what it was.  But the day after you slew the Graypees, I came in and found Master Tiberius asleep.  There was a trunk pulled out from under his bed and on the table was a book.  It looked very old and in fact it was only a fragment of a book.
”

“
What was it?
”

“
I asked Master Tiberius and he said it was from the temple.  I had no reason not to believe him, but I distinctly saw the word magic on the page.  I only saw it for a moment before Master Tiberius swept it away from me.  I swear I
’
m telling you the truth.
”

Leonosis leaned back.  He had expected to learn something of his brother
’
s plans, but magic had never entered his mind.  He considered the possibility that Tiberius had been telling the truth.  Magic was forbidden by the holy writings.  It could have been a text from the temple describing various abominable practices and the penalties for such infractions, but why would the book only be a fragment?  All books on magic had been destroyed in the great purge following the cataclysm, but perhaps it was possible that a few had survived.  They would be very old indeed and quite possibly only in fragmented forms.

“
You never saw the book before that?
”
Leonosis asked.

“
Never before, never after,
”
panted Robere.

“
We didn
’
t find it his room,
”
Leonosis said.

He hadn
’
t meant to voice his thoughts out loud, but he quickly decided that it didn
’
t matter.  They had found the trunk under Tiberius
’
bed.  It was full of keepsakes, mostly junk.  There had been no book, no writing of any kind.  He would have to confirm that the book wasn
’
t actually from the temple. But if it wasn
’
t, could it mean that Tiberius was actually practicing magic?  That would explain why he wanted out of the city.  If it was discovered, he would never be allowed to live, not in any of the Nine Cities of Valana.

The lingering question was why.  Tiberius was smart, Leonosis knew that for a fact.  Tiberius understood the dangers of magic as much as anyone, so why would he have a book about it in his room?  If he was a wizard, that would certainly explain how he managed to save Rafe and kill a Graypee.  Leonosis had been skeptical that Tiberius could hold off a pack of vicious animals with only his whip.  Still, it didn
’
t make sense.  Learning magic wouldn
’
t get Tiberius ahead in the family; it wouldn
’
t earn him a place in the palace.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, he remembered his last visit with the Princess.  His knees felt weak.  He leaned against the door frame.

“
My lord, are you ill?
”
the torturer asked. 
“
Does the sight of blood make you faint?
”

Leonosis looked up, suddenly remembering the other people in the room.

“
Don
’
t be a fool,
”
he barked. 
“
Clean Robere up and await my orders.
”

“
Thank you, my lord,
”
Robere cried.

“
You had better hope this story pans out, or I
’
ll see that your skin is flayed from your body.
”

Leonosis spun around and stalked out of the room.  He had been worried that the Princess had done something unnatural to him when they last met.  In his haste to build his team of spies and learn the truth about Tiberius, he had forgotten that encounter.  The truth was, Leonosis didn
’
t like thinking about how impotent he
’
d felt around the Princess.  He
’
d wondered if she had used some sort of magic on him, but he
’
d dismissed the thought.  How could she?  Magic wasn
’
t just outlawed, it was the bane of the empire.  No one in all of Valana would ever willingly use magic, or would they?

As Leonosis slowly climbed the dungeon staircase, a plan began to form in his mind.  He still needed answers to his questions. But if he was right, he was certain he could use this new revelation to his advantage.  He couldn
’
t help but smile at the thought of it.

Chapter 7

Olyva

So much had changed almost overnight.  The sun was more than wonderful and warm on her skin, it nourished her.  She could sense things through the soil as she dug her toes down into the spongy turf.  She could feel the massive herd of Tamakas long before anyone from the tribe knew they were near.  She could sense the pressure of the air and somehow instinctively knew that rain was coming.

The people of the tribe treated her with reverent awe. Some laid flowers at her feet; others brought little gifts of jewelry or food.  She had to pull herself away from the radiant glory of the sunlight when a runner came with news of the Tamakas.  The Hoskali were a nomadic tribe.  It took less than an hour for everything to be neatly packed away and for the tribe to begin their trek across the plain.

One of the tribesman, an elder whose hair matched the white paint on his body, offered to let her ride in the Swanee’s wagon.

“
You can sit on the high seat,
”
he said. 
“
The Swanee will not mind.
”

“
No, thank you,
”
she said. 
“
I prefer to walk.
”

It was the first time she
’
d ever considered walking a preference.  She didn
’
t like riding horses. The beasts were unpredictable and smelly, but had never preferred doing something that was likely to be taxing.  She could have rode on the wagon easily enough, but she wanted to keep her feet on the ground.  She liked the feeling of soil on the bottoms of her feet.

As she walked along, the children of the tribe surrounded her.  Some spoke in quiet whispers, pointing when they thought she wasn
’
t looking, their eyes wide when she caught them staring.  Others asked her questions.

“
Does it hurt?
”
one curious girl asked.

“
Does what hurt?
”
Olyva asked.

The young girl pointed at the patches of soft, brown stem-like growth on her arms and legs.  Olyva was still wearing the woolen pants and tunic that Rafe had given her, but she had rolled up the sleeves and pant legs so that more of her skin could soak up the precious amber sunlight.

“
No,
”
Olyva said with a smile. 
“
It doesn
’
t hurt.
”

“
Aren
’
t you afraid of becoming a tree?
”
asked another girl.

“
I don
’
t know,
”
Olyva said.

She hadn
’
t really thought about becoming a tree.  When she first noticed the changes, she had been frightened, but now she felt a calmness about her life that was unexplainable.  The sun was her food, the earth was her home.  She wasn
’
t afraid of who she was or what she might become.

“
I don
’
t want to be a tree,
”
said the girl.

“
We are who we are,
”
Olyva said. 
“
We can
’
t change it, and we won
’
t be happy until we learn to embrace it.
”

The noble-born Olyva wondered at the words she was saying.  They weren
’
t like her. There was an unmistakable wisdom to what she was saying, but she had never considered herself to be wise.

“
You
’
re different,
”
said a small boy with a giggle. 
“
Your toes are the longest I
’
ve ever seen.
”

Olyva looked down.  Her toes were long, longer than they had ever been before, and covered with rough, scaly skin that looked like tree bark.  She realized that before she
’
d been banished from Avondale, the sight of such ugly feet would have revolted her.  But now, she felt her feet served a very useful purpose—one more than just walking.  She wiggled her toes and discovered she had a newfound dexterity in the long digits.

“
They are a bit strange, aren
’
t they?
”
she said.

“
Why are your toes so long?
”
the boy asked.

“
So that I can dig them down into the ground like this,
”
Olyva said.

She pointed her toes down, and the ends disappeared in the turf.  She wiggled them, working them deep into the ground.  She could feel the warm soil on her feet and sensed a strength she
’
d never possessed before.  She could also feel the tremors of the Tamakas, along with the much slighter vibrations of the tribe as they walked across the wide open prairie.