Moons' Dreaming (Children of the Rock) (56 page)

Vray drew back, safely unnoticed in the shadows. Theka had said she was afraid of the guards. Perhaps this sort of thing had happened to her before. But she was only a child!

What should I do? What can I do?

Would it do any good to run to cousin Vrain, beg him to stop his men from molesting a servant? At Soza?

Can I hide here and let her be raped? Can I let anyone else get hurt?

The knife still sat on the table beside the abandoned loaf of bread. She almost laughed. She was a skinny girl, and they were two guards. Drunken, probably, but they were still trained killers. No. Heroics weren
’
t in order. She put her bowl of potatoes on the floor. Knees shaking, she stepped out of the shadows and went to the trio by the window. She touched one of the guards on the shoulder.

“
Leave the girl be.
”
When a bloodshot eye was turned on her, she smiled, hoping it was suggestive.
“
She
’
s got a meal to cook for Vrain. You don
’
t want him angry, do you?
”

The second guard made a grab for her. Vray danced back. Drunk, all right. She almost gagged from the stench of his breath. The first guard released Theka. The girl scrambled away as he planted his hands on his hips. His eyes raked Vray with interest while she kept smiling at him.

“
You
’
re a pretty one.
”

She gestured toward the dark storeroom.
“
Why don
’
t we go in there? You, me, and your friend.
”

The second guard pushed her forward while his hands tugged at the fastening of her robe.
“
Good idea,
”
he slurred in her ear.
“
Pretty girl.
”

The first man laughed. Retrieving a wine bottle from the table, he hustled them into the storeroom and slammed the door. Vray was glad of the darkness as she was pushed to the floor between the two guards.

* * *

Tob hit the floor, not sure if he was awake or asleep, not sure if the scream was real or something he
’
d dreamed. He did know, groggily, that he
’
d rolled out of bed and was sprawled on the rag rug spread on the attic floor. He climbed to hands and knees, shaking his head just as thunder cracked overhead
—
and Matti and Pepper began shrieking.

“
Uhh,
”
he groaned muzzily.
“
What?
”

“
Iris! Wake up!
”
Matti called.
“
Tobble!
”

Tob blinked, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and stumbled as quickly as he could to the girls
’
side of the attic.

“
What?
”
he asked again. Matti, Pepper, and Iris were all huddled on the same bed. The girls were pummeling Iris, trying to shake her awake, and both of them were crying. He said,
“
Stop that,
”
and moved forward just as Jordy
’
s head appeared at the top of the attic ladder.

“
What
’
s going on?
”
his father demanded irritably.
“
Do you know what time it is?
”

Tob started to say something, but it was Iris
’
s voice that answered from the pile of girls.
“
I
’
m sorry. I had a nightmare.
”

Jordy grunted.
“
You all right now, lass?
”

“
Yes.
”

She didn
’
t sound all right. Pepper and Matti were still snuffling.
“
I
’
ll take care of it, Dad,
”
Tob promised.
“
Go back to bed.
”

Jordy grunted again.
“
Good lad. Good night.
”
His head disappeared once more.

Tob came forward, plucking first one sister, then the other out of Iris
’
s bed. He hugged them and got them settled under their own covers without too much trouble. Both of them were sleepy, and it was easy enough to soothe them.

When he finished he turned back and found Iris sitting in the center of her bed, arms wrapped around her drawn-up knees. He came and sat down beside her.

“
You all right?
”
he whispered.

She scrubbed at her face. Tob wondered if she
’
d been crying, too.
“
I
’
m sorry,
”
she repeated.

He would rather she answered his question.
“
You afraid of storms?
”
He hoped not. He didn
’
t want to have to share the loft with a girl who screamed every time it rained. He wouldn
’
t get much sleep that way.

“
No. Yes.
”

“
Which is it?
”

“
Yes.
”
She was silent for a while, then said,
“
My memory
’
s too good.
”

“
You
’
re a Redmother,
”
he reminded her.
“
Do you remember your nightmares?
”

“
No. I make nightmares out of memories.
”

“
You should try to dream good memories, then.
”

“
Do you believe in wind demons?
”

“
Of course. Don
’
t you?
”

“
I used to be afraid of wind demons. Silly. All a wind demon can do is kill you.
”

“
That
’
s scary.
”

“
No.
”

He shook his head.
“
You
’
re a strange girl, Iris.
”

“
I
’
m sorry.
”

“
Stop being sorry,
”
he said irritably. Getting up, he did his best to sound like his father.
“
You go to sleep, now.
”

She nodded and stretched out on her side. He started to smile, elated at his the sudden sense of authority, but a yawn interrupted his new feeling of power.

“
Good night, Iris.
”

She turned over.
“
Good night, Tobble.
”

She called him Tobble. He went back to his bed.

As if she really is my sister. I think I like that.

* * *

Feather stumbled into the dining room just as Dektrieb collected the last of the dirty dishes. Her head hurt. She didn
’
t quite remember why, but knew it had something to do with the dining room.

“
Why aren
’
t I in bed?
”
Feather asked.

The man looked up from the dishes.
“
Good morning, ma
’
am. No, you
’
re not late.
”

Which wasn
’
t what she
’
d asked. He was being circumspect. She hated it when people were circumspect. Feather approached the mostly empty breakfast table with careful steps, mouth pursed with the effort of swallowing a tart rejoinder.

“
I was drinking.
”
She blinked her nearly swollen-shut eyes.
“
Don
’
t ever let me do that again.
”

“
I
’
ll bring your orange juice with a restorative right away,
”
he said.
“
What else would you like? Cook saved some eggs for you.
”

Her stomach lurched.
“
No.
”

Feather sat down in front of the sole remaining place setting as Dektrieb nodded agreeably and hurried off to the kitchen. When he was gone, she leaned her head on her hand.

“
I don
’
t like breakfast anyway,
”
she told the empty verandah. A stray breeze fluttered the corner of the pale green tablecloth.
“
I came for the first council meeting of the day. Not for the food. Me and a plate of eggs. I should forget the whole thing and to back to bed.
”

Her stomach rumbled.

“
How dare you,
”
she muttered. Her stomach thought it belonged to a princess getting an early start on her day. Her body got out of bed despite how it felt. She was getting used to the routine of this place. The king was very well organized, and his good habits seemed to rub off on everyone else.

Thoughts of Sene focused her attention, and she took another look around the empty dining room. Empty? Sene changed other people
’
s habits, but he didn
’
t change his own. He lingered over meals, waited for everyone in the household to put in an appearance at the table so he could give them their orders for the day. So, something had happened. Otherwise he would still be at the table. Feather thought she would be worried if her head felt better. Or be furious at being left out. Not that being worried should necessarily stop her from being furious. Except Sene would say that being furious all the time clouds one
’
s judgment.

A clatter of hoof beats distracted her. She groaned but turned in her chair. The king rode up from the direction of the road, his white stallion
’
s flanks glistening with sweat. A stable boy came running around the side of the house. Sene gave him the reins, then climbed directly from the saddle over the railing of the terrace. He was bare-headed, and his clothing was dusty. He stamped dirt off his boots before coming to the table.

“
Feather. Good,
”
he greeted her.
“
Have you been waiting long?
”

She hid her misery and answered,
“
Only a few minutes.
”

“
I asked Jeyn to wait for you, but now I
’
m told she was called away as well. Quite a morning, eh?
”

“
Apparently so.
”

Sene took a seat just as Dektrieb appeared with a glass for Feather. The servant accepted his master
’
s appearance without surprise.
“
May I bring you something, Sire?
”

“
Another melon, Dektrieb. And a wash basin.
”

“
Yes, Sire.
”

Dektrieb left. Feather watched Sene expectantly over the rim of her glass as she gulped down the restorative. He said,
“
A sea monster. We received the report just before dawn. And Chasa
’
s nowhere to be found.
”

Feather stopped feeling sorry for herself. The only thing she knew about hunting sea monsters was that an expedition needed to be launched as rapidly as possible.

Sene glanced in the direction of the harbor, out of sight beyond the headland to the west.
“
The boy needs to be at sea.
”
He frowned at the door leading inside.
“
I wonder where Jeyn went?
”

Feather thought uneasily about why she
’
d gotten drunk. She asked,
“
Was this sea monster reported to be especially large?
”

“
They
’
re all large to a man in a fishing boat. Why?
”