Lightnings Daughter (20 page)

Here, at this propitious meeting of river, land, and sea, the people of Calah built their capital and nourished it into the richest and most powerful maritime city on the Tannis. Their fleet control ed the northern and western coasts and roved the sea to its farthest reaches. The merchants of Pra Desh traded everything in the known world from raw materials such as grain, timber, and ore to livestock, slaves, and finely wrought crafts. They shipped silk, wool, and cotton, jewelry, spices, wines, pottery, weapons, and carpets. They brought anything that could be bought to the marketplaces of Pra Desh and filled their coffers with the gold coins of many realms.

After a moment, Khan'di pointed to the right, and the travelers saw where their path wound down out of the hills to the valley and joined the caravan route as it paralleled the river to the city. They rode on to the last heavily wooded hil before the path dipped down to the open farmlands. There, Khan'di led the party into the shadows of the trees.

He turned his horse around and addressed the others. "Pra Desh is only three leagues away, and I want to get you into the city unnoticed. The Fon's spies are on every street of Pra Desh and at every gate. They have orders to report anything unusual."

Gabria sadly ran her hand down Nara's neck. She knew what she was about to say would be painful, but she had thought about it for days and there was no other way to maintain the party's anonymity.

"We wil have to leave the Hunnuli," she said quietly.

Khan'di bowed his head to her in mixed respect and relief. "Lady Gabria, you have saved me the pain of asking that favor. Unfortunately, there are no other Hunnuli in my country, and as far as anyone knows the only one in the clans belongs to the great Corin sorceress. You would not be safe for long on the streets of Pra Desh."

The young woman nodded unhappily. Although she had made the suggestion, the thought of leaving Nara behind made her very uncomfortable. "Do you mind?" she asked the black mare.

Of course I do,
Nara answered.
Leaving you goes against everything I am. But you are right. It must
be done.

If you real y need us, we wil come,
Eurus added.

"Thank you,” Gabria replied.

"All right,” Khan'di said. "Listen. We wil separate here. I should not be seen with clansmen. It might also be best if you split up and enter the city in smal groups." He dismounted, found a stick, and drew a detailed map in the ditto

"This is the Serentine River,” he explained to his listeners, pointing to the relevant marks with his stick. "This is the harbor; this, the Redstone Hil s. Here is the old city wal on the west side of the river. It extends around the Fon's palace here on Second Hil , the temple of Elaja on First Hill, and the older residential districts, warehouses, and merchant offices. This is the arsenal where the Fon's guards live and the weaponry is stored.

"The city, of course, has long outgrown these walls, and you will find the markets, the auction houses, and the shipwrights' yards here, here, and here." He pointed to each spot on his map. "The rest of the city spreads out this way to the north along the river and up the slopes of the hil s. The land to the east is swampy and often floods. Only the poorer peasants, criminals, and runaway slaves live there. Do you understand so far?"

The fascinated clanspeople nodded in unison.

"Good. Now, there is a row of warehouses here in the old city. Follow this caravan road through the gate called the Sun Door. If you look for the tall buildings with the different colored flags on their towers, you will find the warehouses. Go to the fifth one in the row. It is a wool house and will be flying an orange flag. There is a wooden sheep hanging above the doors. Go there and wait for me. Do not wander around. Do not ask questions."

"What wil you be doing?" Athlone demanded.

"Seeking information." Khan'di's heavy face broke into a scheming grin. "I have spies on every street, too."

"Whose warehouse is it?" Piers asked coldly.

"My cousin's. He pretends to be a supporter of the Fon, but he has been helping me." The Pra Deshian actual y rubbed his hands together and chuckled. It was obvious he was delighted to be back in the midst of the intrigue and political scheming.

"What do we say if we meet anyone at the warehouse?" Gabria asked.

"Say nothing." He glanced at the sun through the tree branches. "By the time al of you get there, the warehouse will be empty except for my cousin. He usually works late. He will know who you are."

Athlone grunted. "Do you trust this man?"

"Totally. His daughter is my son's wife. He knows what I will do to her if he betrays me."

The travelers were quiet for a time as they studied Khan'di's map. The Pra Deshian mounted his horse. "Remember. The fifth warehouse." He spurred his horse back to the path.

"Be careful, Khan'di Kadoa," Gabria called after him.

He glanced back, hiding his pleasure at the concern in her voice. "You, too, Sorceress." Reluctantly Athlone, Gabria, and Tam dismounted from Eurus and Nara. The chieftain wiped out Khan'di's map with a leafy branch while the others unloaded one of the packhorses and secreted most of the traveling gear and tents in a dense thicket.

Gabria was wearing her riding skirts that afternoon, so she brought out a long, cotton scarf and wrapped it like a veil over her head and across her mouth and nose. In her travel-stained garments, she would pass as a simple clanswoman. While she gathered a few belongings out of the packs for herself and Tam, someone bumped into her. Gabria turned and came face to face with Athlone.

The chief was as dirty and travel-worn as she and stil bore the evidence of his recent battle. His face had lost its swelling and he could see out of both eyes, but the bruises were colorful shades of blue, green, and yellow.

Gabria decided his bruises and his newly sprouted beard gave him a raffish look. Hesitantly she touched his arm. "You look like a border ruffian,” she teased.

For a moment, he almost gathered her in his arms. He turned toward her, lifting his hands to caress her face, then he saw Sayyed standing close behind her with a strange glint in his black eyes. Athlone's impulse faltered in a rush of renewed doubts. His hands fell back to his sides.

To hide his confusion, he patted Eurus, then swung up on his gray stal ion. "Mount up, you motley plains rats. Let's ride." His warriors grinned at him and sprang to obey.

"Bregan, you and I will ride with Lady Gabria. Piers, you go with Tam, Sayyed, and Secen. You two,"

Athlone said to the last warriors, "are on your own. Go first. Don't get lost and don't stop to chase the women." The two warriors saluted and trotted out of the woods.

Gabria threw her arms around Nara's neck. The world suddenly shimmered through the blur of her tears. "By Amara, I am going to miss you,” she whispered to the mare.

Nara gently pressed her head against Gabria's back, enfolding the woman in the curve of her neck.

And I you.

"I don't want to do this. It doesn't feel right."

I will be close. You only have to call.

Gabria sniffed and smiled lopsidedly. "Like in the marshes?" she asked, remembering that awful day she'd been forced to leave Nara behind to seek the Woman of the Marsh alone.

Yes, but this time you have friends with you. Trust them. They love you. I wil be waiting when you
are ready for me.

Gabria nodded. Lovingly she traced the white lightning mark on Nara's shoulder before she patted her again and stepped away. A sharp nudge almost knocked her over. She twisted around and found the foal nearly stepping on her feet, Tam hanging onto his wispy mane. Treader sat beside her, his ears drooping.

"Good-bye to you, too, little fellow,” Gabria said.

The colt whinnied shrilly in reply.

Gabria was about to take Tam's hand, but the girl's stricken expression made her pause. The child's dark eyes were huge, and a trail of tears had blazed tracks through the dirty smudges on her cheeks.

She doesn't want to leave us,
a light, childlike voice said in Gabria's mind.

The sorceress started in surprise; this was the first time the colt had sent his thoughts to her. She knelt by Tam. "You must understand,” she said to the girl, "we are going to a big city. We cannot take the Hunnuli. It would be too dangerous for them, and for us, as wel ."

Treader barked.
She thinks she'l never see the horses again if she goes away.

"They will wait for us,” Gabria explained patiently. "When we return from the city, they'l come down from the hil s and greet us." She took Tam's chin and lifted her head up until the girl had to look at her. "All you'll have to do is whistle and they'll come." She smiled. "You can whistle, can't you?"

The little girl grinned through her tears and nodded.

She wants to know if we wil be gone long,
Treader growled.

"No. Only a few days. All right?"

The colt bobbed his head, Treader woofed loudly, and Tam let go of the Hunnuli's mane to take Gabria's hand.

"That was some conversation," Athlone remarked as Gabria settled Tam on Piers's horse.

"Do you know what's really amazing? Tam never once opened her mouth. She can send her thoughts to these animals just like the Hunnuli do."

"Good gods," Athlone exclaimed. "Is that a natural part of her talent or something she learned to do?"

"I don't know," Gabria said. "I hope we can find out one of these days. It certainly is a useful ability."

The little girl sniffed loudly and wiped her nose on her sleeve, then she waved good-bye to the Hunnuli and settled comfortably against Piers's back.

Gabria touched the healer's knee. During their preparations he had sat on his horse without speaking or moving. Now, as he glanced down at Gabria, she was startled by the haunted expression on his face. His normally pale skin was deathly white; his thin features were pulled tight with tension. His hands were clenched around the saddle horn.

"Are you all right?" Gabria asked worriedly.

He nodded and drew a long, ragged breath. "I did not expect to feel my memories so sharply."

Gabria understood completely. "Face them," she whispered, "and you wil find they are only ghosts." She waited while the healer considered her words, then he relaxed a little and took his hands off the saddle horn.

He squeezed her hand. "I'll see you at the warehouse." He reined his horse around, and he, Tam, Sayyed, and Secen took the two' remaining packhorses and rode off through the trees. Treader ran ahead of them.

Reluctantly Gabria threw an extra saddle blanket over the withers of the pack mare and mounted.

It felt so strange to sit astride such a smal , thin horse. She gathered the reins and cast one last look at the Hunnuli, then she fol owed Athlone out of the trees and back to the path without a backward glance.

Before long, they trotted their horses over the last rise and down into the fertile Serentine Val ey.

Here, this close to the sea, the valley was so wide that the travelers could barely make out the hills on the opposite side. The land was so fertile almost every square acre was used for crops, pasturage, or vineyards. Huts, cottages, barns, sheds, farmhouses, and outbuildings of every kind were scattered on both sides of the river. The closer the riders drew to the city, the more numerous the Cottages and houses became. Inns, hawkers' stands, and shrines appeared along the road. The caravan trail soon changed to a stone-paved road as other trails and paths met and joined it.

The flood of people, carts, wagons, and animals on the road increased with every step closer to Pra Desh. Gabria and her companions had seen several caravans and small groups of riders on their journey, but they were not prepared for the crowded, swarming populace that lived in Pra Desh. The clanspeople had never been to a city this size, and the largest group of people they had ever seen in one place was at their own clan gatherings. This city was mind-boggling. Even Piers, who was a native Pra Deshian, had lived on the open plains long enough to be taken aback by the throng that rushed purposeful y back and forth. They crowded into the markets, crushed into the streets with a seemingly endless tangle of animals, pedestrians, and conveyances, and shouted, sang, talked, and bel owed in every known language.

Gabria tried not to let her mouth hang open as they fol owed the road into the city, but she could not hide her wide-eyed amazement at everything she saw. There were so many new things to look at!

Pra Deshians were fervent in their worship of their one god and his prophets, and built shrines and temples at every wide spot by the road. There were also open markets, shops, tenements, stables, and huge houses all along the great caravan route.

The road passed through the outskirts of Pra Desh, past a guard post at the official city limits, and into the city proper. Customs officials were checking loaded wagons and collecting taxes from irate drivers. A squad of five guardsmen in purple tunics helped enforce the col ection. They were too busy to notice the small groups of dusty clanspeople that rode by. Gabria breathed a sigh of relief as she, Athlone, and Bregan passed the guard and were lost to sight in the crowded streets.

They stayed close together in the streets, fol owing the road as Khan'di had instructed. It stil paralleled the river into the heart of Pra Desh's market district. They passed the huge fish market, the meat mongers' street, and the livestock market. One street seemed to be dedicated to the leather trade and another was obviously for bakers.

Along one particularly busy street, Bregan reined his horse closer to Athlone's and leaned over.

"Lord, I don't think this city is at war yet," he said over the noise of wagons and pedestrians.

Athlone glanced around. He had come to the same conclusion. "You're right. But have you noticed the number of armed men in the crowds? The city looks like a fortified camp. The Fon's invasion must be coming soon."

"So we have come in time," Bregan replied.

Gabria, riding close by, said, "I don't think there's much time left. I've been watching the people and they seem to be in an ugly mood. They don't like al the soldiers in their midst."