The Ancient Enemy (16 page)

And for all the intensity of their new love, both knew that it was about to be interrupted. In a day or so Nuza would be gone, until the following year. Their communication would be a matter of letters until he could leave Dronned and go to visit her in Tamf, after the harvest was in.

Thru faced the thought of lonely weeks ahead with a new dread. It had been so long since he'd felt this happy... to be without her was going to be torture. He wished he could just travel with her and the troupe. But how could he do that if he was going to play for the Laughing Fish team?

As always since Highnoth, he woke at dawn and entered the morning kyo. Nuza was still asleep as he pulled on his boots and did up his jerkin. For a moment he studied the slim form under the covers. She was so beautiful in her sleep. He felt immensely fortunate to have found her.

He let himself out of the house and made his way through the empty streets to his own lodgings outside the wall on Garth Road. The city was absolutely silent, except for a cock crowing in the south ward.

He felt very blessed at that moment. That was something that he remembered clearly, later. Right before it happened, he'd been feeling wonderful.

He crossed the bridge, and started up Gate Street. A moment later he heard a step, then something hard and heavy struck him on the back of the neck and shoulder. He staggered, and everything went dim for a moment. A second blow drove him to the ground, but paradoxically the impact cleared his vision.

He rolled over and saw the dim shape of Pern's thug Ulghrum, wielding an ax handle. Instinctively he squirmed aside, and the ax handle hit the paving stone where his head had rested.

Ulghrum tried again and missed a second time, and then Thru rolled sideways and scrambled to his feet. Ulghrum was swinging, but Thru dodged out of the way, felt a wall at his back, and slipped to the side. The ax handle struck dust off the wall a moment later.

Thru pivoted and swung his right foot hard into Ulghrum's side, producing a gasp of pain. Ulghrum fell back a step. Suddenly another thug loomed out of the alley behind him, also holding an ax handle. This time Ulghrum had brought backup.

"Master Pern said your account needed to be closed," said Ulghrum with a sneer.

Thru was still shaking his head, trying to clear it, but not succeeding too well. He didn't think he could run, but he had to.

Ulghrum swung high at him, but he ducked the ax handle and staggered off down the street. The other one was coming. He was running out of time.

And then another figure suddenly came running up with a shout. There came the unmistakable sound of a sword being drawn.

"Hold or die," said a cold voice. It was Toshak.

The mot snarled and flailed at the swordsmot with the ax handle. Toshak dodged the blow with a liquid movement and brought the sword point up and under the mot's chin. A drop of blood ran down the fur on his throat.

"Drop it," snapped Toshak.

The ax handle bounced on the pavement.

"Back off both of you, or I'll be forced to spill more of your blood."

Ulghrum was already retreating, fading back up the alley. The other thug followed him at a clumsy run.

Thru sagged back against the wall of the nearest building. The back of his head was hurting.

"Thank you, they were going to kill me."

"I know. I was following them. They were watching our lodgings last night. You, of course, were too busy to have noticed them."

Thru said nothing.

"But I saw them, and I followed them to their lair. They slept in a cellar behind the House Norvory. I watched again at dawn, and they woke early and came out at once." The question in Toshak's voice was unavoidable.

"I have an enemy from my village. He is wealthy and ambitious, and my family thwarted him in court. I thought that I was safe from him here in Dronned."

"I detest this use of hired assassins. What is this mot's name?"

"Pern Treevi."

"I have heard the name before. A rake they say. Drinks too much, well-known among the gamers."

"As to that I don't know, but he hates me."

Thru found that his head had been laid open by one of Ulghrum's blows and that blood was seeping through his fur and pooling on the shoulder of his jacket. Toshak had noticed, too.

"I think you should get those wounds seen to."

"Where shall I go? I don't know the healers in Dronned."

"Try Nuza. She's the healer for the troupe, and damned good, too."

"Nuza? You'd encourage me to go to her?"

Toshak gave him a grim smile.

"After saving your life I want to be sure you survive. Nuza loves you, and anyone she loves becomes important to me. Go to her, she is very good at healing and sewing up cuts."

Thru groped for words.

"I thought you hated me."

"Hate? No, young Thru, I may be jealous, but I will not descend to hatred."

"I am very grateful for that. Once again, thank you."

Thru had some colorful bruising by the time of the next game for the Laughing Fish, but he still played. The game was held in Yupay Village, up the valley from Dronned. The Yupay team had beaten the Laughing Fish in three previous games that season.

Thru played well, making four catches and striking nineteen runs to help run up the Laughing Fish score to 112. Rawli Perensa and the others in the inner group of the club were delighted.

Nuza and the troupe had all come to Yupay to watch the game and support Thru. Afterward they traveled back to Dronned in a lighthearted group. Even Toshak was there, although he generally showed little interest in such outings.

Thru added thirty-eight shillings to his account with Kussha, who had a personal vault at the big Merchants Bank in the city. Keeping back a small purse, he went out with Nuza to visit the emporia and trade shops on the market square. He was feeling flush enough to be able to afford a few gifts for his family to take back for Harvest festival. At the House of Fanor he bought some cloth for his sister Snejet. For young Gil he bought a fine knife, sheathed with lacquered withe.

Nuza and the troupe stopped off at their lodging house while Thru went to the Laughing Fish clubhouse to see Gurb about a new bat. Old Gurb took care of the club's equipment. Thru found the main floor was empty, but he heard voices upstairs in the room where Rawli Perensa did the club's business. Gurb was in the big equipment room below, in the process of making up an order for new bats.

Thru wanted his new bat to be fractionally heavier than the one he'd been using. Gurb wrote some notes as he spoke about the bat he wanted, and then Thru's business was done. He headed up the stairs to the main gallery and the front door.

As he stepped into the exit hall he saw Pern Treevi standing with Rawli Perensa in the doorway. The surprise was complete. For a moment Thru struggled to draw a breath.

Rawli had spotted him and now waved him over with a big smile.

"Thru, I want you to meet our latest benefactor. He's from your home village I believe. He's going to join our club committee."

Pern had the most evil little smile on his face.

"I know him," said Thru quietly.

"Pern has a couple of good young throwers he's discovered in your valley. Gurb will give them a tryout in the morning."

The gloating in Pern's eyes was dreadful to behold.

"This is a great day for our village," said Pern in a tone just short of outright mockery. "Just think, Thru, you'll be hitting the ball for me."

Thru calmed himself by closing his eyes a moment and reaching for the peace of the kyo. Then he turned to Rawli Perensa.

"May I speak with you alone?"

"Well, yes, of course." Perensa's brow wrinkled. "I was just stepping over to the tavern for a spot of dinner. Are you sure you wouldn't like to accompany us?"

"Quite sure."

"You go ahead, Pern, I'll be along in just a moment. This won't take long, will it, Thru?"

"No."

Pern left them with a mocking smile.

Thru leaned on the wall with a sudden extreme sense of weariness.

"I cannot play for the Laughing Fish team anymore."

Perensa's jaw dropped.

"But why? I do not understand."

"Pern Treevi is my sworn enemy. I will not take up the bat for any team of which he is a part."

"This is a joke?"

"No. Pern has tried to kill me on two occasions." Thru pointed to the bandage on the back of his head. "His malicious lies turned the Grys Norvory against me and caused me to lose my best work."

"These are serious allegations. Do you have evidence against him?"

"I have a witness, someone who saved my life."

"Can this witness be produced?"

"Oh, yes. His name is Toshak; he accompanies Nuza's troupe. I'm sure you've seen him."

Shock spread over Rawli's plump features as the enormity of it all sank in. If Thru's charges were correct, then Pern had played a terrible trick on the Laughing Fish owner.

"This is terrible news. We have signed paper with Pern; there is no way we can go back on it. There are lots of gold pieces in play. And, on top of that, we have your contract. You cannot play for another team anywhere in Dronned."

Rawli's plump cheeks quivered with indignation. Thru sighed.

"I know. That's what I agreed to, for this season. Next season I can play for anyone I want to."

"Surely you will reconsider. Are you quite certain about these charges you have made?"

"All too sure."

"I have been made to look like a fool," Rawli said in disgust.

"Pern will not care about that."

With his dreams in tatters Thru left the Laughing Fish and went back to his room at Kussha's. He sat there trying not to let himself be consumed with the rage he felt. What would Master Cutshamakim say about this? What would Uzzieh Utnapishtim tell him to do in these circumstances?

Every avenue had been sealed off by Pern's malice. And Pern's thugs would keep on trying to kill him until they succeeded. It was easy to feel doomed. But if Ulghrum could be brought to trial, then Pern's conspiracy might be unmasked. Of course, Thru was sure that Ulghrum would not be seen in Dronned again for a long time. Pern had other thugs at his disposal.

When Thru failed to appear at Veso's Tavern for dinner, Nuza grew anxious. She hurried out of the city gates and on to Garth Road and Kussha's house, finding Thru in his small attic room. His news shocked her. Pern Treevi's hatred knew no bounds. At the same time she felt a wild sense of hope.

"What this means, my love, is that you no longer have any reason to stay in Dronned. So you can come with us. Join the troupe." She was smiling, her eyes sparkling.

"I'm not that good at juggling, and I'm surely not good enough to be an acrobat."

"No, silly, you didn't learn those things young enough. But you can hit the ball."

"So?"

"So I have an idea."

Thru was now a member of the Magnificents, who accepted him quite happily as one of their own.

"We're like a big family," said Gem, a tumbler and fiddler, who also kept stock of the troupe's store of gossip.

"If you ever need to know somebody's business, ask Gem," rumbled big Hob, the brilby.

"Oh, stop that. How will I ever gain his trust now?" said Gem in mock complaint.

At the head of the procession marched Toshak, the grim, grey one with the sword. Apart from saving Thru's life, Toshak hadn't spoken much to him. Behind Toshak came their wagon, with Serling and Nuza walking beside it.

Thru walked beside Gem while listening to the fiddler's tales of the life on the roads.

"Nuza's very pleased at having added you to the troupe," Gem said with a conspiratorial wink. "She has an idea that hitting the white ball for money will be a crowd pleaser, too. It will be something completely different for a carnival, that's for sure."

Thru got the feeling that Gem wasn't quite so sure. For all his flamboyance, he was a bit conservative at heart.

"Nuza is a great artist, you understand," said Gem, suddenly turning serious. "She's the best acrobat I've seen, and I've been around carnivals all my life."

"I've not seen that many, but certainly I've not seen one as graceful as she."

"And I owe her a lot, because when I met her I was, well, very depressed. She helped me get back to tumbling and traveling."

"Is there anywhere you haven't been?"

"Oh yes, I've never been to Mauste. I spent a summer in Fauste, and that was hot enough to make me never want to go any farther south. But it was nice to see everyone walking around bare-chested, if you know what I mean."

Thru chuckled. Gem was an extroverted lover of his own sex, no doubt of that. There were some mots who held prejudices against such folk, but Thru wasn't one of them.

That evening they arrived in the village of Justero, twenty miles south of Dronned on the road to Sonf. They took rooms at the Oak Tree Tavern.

When the sun rose the next morning, Thru visited the famous Justero shrine of the Spirit. Set in an oak grove south of the village, the stone shrine was like a bowl cut in the gray stone fifty feet across. He sat in the bowl and heard the soft echo of his own breathing. Mindfulness was easy to achieve here, and he meditated for a while.

There was a shallow stone bath at the shrine, and Thru bathed in the cold water, conscious only of the feel of the water on his skin while he performed the ritual ablutions. Then he went up the steps into the stone building behind the meditation bowl.

In the cool, dark interior a single lamp burned. An elderly mot in a brown robe bowed to him from his seat in the narthex. Thru stood quietly for a few minutes, absorbing its peaceful essence. Three rows of seats carved from stone occupied one part. An altar for placing ritual sacrifices filled the far end. A gallery opened out into the west for sunset ceremonies.

He stood on the open stones of the gallery and did kyo. While he swept smoothly through the moves, the old brown robes watched him with complete fascination.

Later Thru strolled back to the village in a relaxed, confident mood. Despite all the reversals and losses he had suffered in Dronned, he still had the most important thing of all, Nuza's love.