The Desert Spear (37 page)

Leesha nodded. 'I'd like to observe the charging tonight.'

'Of course,' Rojer said.

Darsy and Vika were waiting by the hospit doors. 'Mistress Leesha.' Vika greeted her with a curtsy as they arrived at the hospit. She was a plain woman, neither beautiful nor ugly, sturdily built with breeder's hips and a round face.

'You don't have to curtsy every night, Vika,' Leesha said.

'Course I do,' Vika said. 'You're town Gatherer.' Vika was a full Herb Gatherer herself, but she and Darsy, both years Leesha's senior, accepted Leesha as their leader.

'I doubt Bruna put up with that,' Leesha said. Her mentor, the town's last Gatherer, had been a woman of terrible temper who spat upon meaningless formality.

'The old crone was too blind to see it,' Darsy said, coming up and giving Leesha a nod of greeting. Bowing and scraping was not Darsy's way, but there was as much deference in that nod as in all Vika's curtsies and
mistresses.

The daughter of Cutter stock, Darsy was tall and heavyset, though more with muscle than fat. She could overmatch most men at festival feats of strength, and the heavy warded blade at her waist had cut the limbs from more than one demon seeking to finish off an injured person on the battlefield.

'Hospit's ready, if the Cutters come back with wounded,' Darsy said.

'Thank you, Darsy,' Leesha said. The hospit was always busiest at midnight, when Cutters came back from the hunt. Even against warded axes, wood demons could be a terrifying foe. Under the canopy of trees, their skin blended into the bark as if they wore Cloaks of Unsight, and while some walked the forest floor, looking much like trees themselves, others stalked the limbs like monkeys, dropping unexpectedly on their prey.

Even so, fatalities among the Cutters were few. When a warded weapon struck a demon and flared to life, there was always feedback. The magic jolted through the wielder, bringing with it a flash of ecstasy and a feeling of invincibility. Those who tasted the magic were stronger and healed faster, at least until the dawn. Only Arlen still had power in the day.

'What are the apprentices working on'' she asked Vika.

'Eldest are embroidering your cloak patterns,' Vika said. 'The rest are sterilizing instruments and practicing their letters.'

'I've brought fresh books and a new grimoire I've completed,' Leesha said, handing her the satchel.

Vika nodded. 'I'll have it copied right away.'

'You have your Gatherer's apprentices copying wards'' Rojer asked. 'Isn't that better handled by Warders' apprentices' I could have a word''

Leesha shook her head. 'Every one of my girls gets warding lessons now. I won't have them left helpless at sunset like we were.'

Leaving Leesha to make her rounds in the hospit, Rojer went over to the music shell at the edge of the square where his apprentices gathered. They were a mixed bunch, as motley as Rojer's pants. Some were Hollowers, but most had come from other towns, drawn to the tales of the Painted Man. Half of them were too old to lift a tool or weapon, and so they decided to try the fiddle, only to find that their fingers lacked the necessary dexterity. Several others were children whose skill might not tell for many years.

Only a handful of the remainder showed promise, pretty Kendall most of all. She was Rizonan, and new to the Hollow. Old enough to handle complex arrangements, but young enough to still learn quickly, she had a real aptitude for music. She was slender and quick, as adept at tumbling and acrobatics as fiddling. She would make a fine Jongleur one day.

Rojer did not immediately acknowledge his apprentices, and they knew to keep back until he did. He took out his fiddle and plucked the strings, checking their tune. Satisfied, he took up the bow in his crippled hand. He was missing his index and middle fingers, bitten off by a flame demon when he was only a child, but his two remaining fingers were limber and strong, and the bow became like an extension of his arm.

All the feelings he had hidden behind his Jongleur's mask that night found voice in his music then, as he filled the square with a haunting melody. Layer by layer, he added complexities to the music, limbering his muscles and readying himself for the night's work.

The apprentices applauded when he was finished, and Rojer bowed before taking them through a series of simpler melodies to warm them up. He winced at all the discordant notes. Only Kendall was able to keep pace with him, her face knit tight in concentration.

'Terrible!' he snapped. 'Has anyone other than Kendall even lifted their fiddle since last night' Practice! All day, every day!'

Some of the apprentices grumbled at that, but Rojer played a jarring series of notes on his fiddle, startling them. 'Don't want to hear your grumbles, either!' he barked. 'We're looking to charm demons, not spin a wedding reel. If you ent gonna take that seriously, it's time to put your fiddle back in its case!'

Everyone looked at their feet, and Rojer knew he had been too harsh. Not half as harsh as Arrick would have been, but more than felt fair. He knew he should say something encouraging, but nothing came to mind. Arrick hadn't set much example there.

He walked away, breathing deeply. Without even thinking about it, he put his bow back to work, turning his guilt and frustration into music. He let the emotions drift off with the sounds, and he looked back to his apprentices and made the music speak to them, giving the hope and encouragement his words lacked. As he played, folk began to straighten, their eyes growing determined once more.

'That was beautiful, Rojer,' a voice said when he finally took bow from string. Rojer saw Kendall standing beside him. He hadn't even noticed her approach'lost in his music.

'Are you thirsty'' Kendall asked, holding up a stone jug. 'I brewed sweet tea. Still hot.'

Did Leesha know all along she meant it for me'
Rojer wondered.

You ent good enough, fiddle boy,
Elona had said,
and you know it.

Leesha knew it, too, it seemed. She might as well have tied Kendall with a bow.

'Never much cared for sweet tea,' Rojer said. 'Makes my hands shake.'

'Oh,' Kendall said, deflating. 'Well'that's all right.'

'I want you to solo tonight,' Rojer said. 'I think you're ready.'

Kendall brightened. 'Really'' She gave a squeal and threw her arms around him, hugging a bit longer than was precisely necessary.

Of course, that was when Leesha chose to arrive. Rojer stiffened, and Kendall pulled back in confusion until she saw Leesha. She quickly stepped away from Rojer and dipped into a curtsy. 'Mistress Leesha.'

'Kendall.' Leesha greeted her with a smile. 'Is that sweet tea I smell''

Kendall blushed a deep red. 'I, ah''

Rojer scowled. 'Run and fetch your fiddle, Kendall.' He turned to Leesha. 'Kendall is going to try a solo tonight.'

'Is she ready for that'' Leesha asked.

Rojer shrugged. 'Is Wonda ready to hunt corelings' I was younger than Kendall when I first charmed a demon.'

'Your need was more dire,' Leesha said.

'It's safe,' Rojer said. 'I'll be ready to take over if I'm needed, and the women will be watching with arrows nocked.' He nodded to the edge of the wards, where archers, including Wonda, had gathered in force.

They began preparations by ordering the archers to keep clear a wide area of ground past the edge of the forbiddance. Rojer then led his fiddlers into a series of loud, jarring notes, filling the air with an atonal cacophony that corelings hated. The music shell focused the sound to the area just outside the forbidding, where corelings tended to gather, sometimes in force.

Thus secure, the glassblower's apprentices rushed out from the forbidding and placed warded glass throughout the clearing. There were large sheets, blown bottles, vials, even a glass axe that must have taken weeks to make and ward.

When the glassblowers were safely returned, the fiddlers changed their tune. Rojer led the music, calling out instructions to the others as he did, using them to amplify his special magic as he coaxed demons out of the woods and into the clearing. He then walked alone outside the forbiddance, calling with his music, controlling each step forward the corelings took until they were arranged as he liked.

'Kendall!' he called, and the girl stepped forward and began to play. Rojer softened his music and backed away from the corelings as she strengthened hers and approached them, until he was able to stop playing entirely, leaving the mesmerized demons to her sole control.

Rojer went to where Leesha waited by the ward's edge. 'She really is quite good,' he said proudly. 'The demons will follow her around like puppies, charging everything they touch.'

Indeed, the corelings drifted after Kendall as she stepped carefully about the field. There were flares of light as demons touched the glass in their path, the etched wards siphoning off a tiny fraction of the demons' magic and guiding it to new purpose.

The corelings hissed, clawing at the areas where they had felt the drain. Kendall tried to change her music to calm them again, but her fear was apparent in her playing as she began to miss notes. She tried to increase her tempo to compensate, and that only made things worse. The demons started to shake the confusion from their heads.

Rojer moved toward her slowly in his warded cloak, with plenty of time to reach her before the corelings turned ugly, but then Kendall misstepped. A bottle shattered under her foot, sending glass through the soft leather of her shoe. She cried out, and her bow slipped from the strings with a jarring sound.

Immediately the corelings perked up, and her spell shattered. Their nostrils flared as they caught the scent of her blood, and they shrieked, launching themselves at her.

Rojer broke into a run, but he had drifted far away to speak to Leesha, and one of the corelings buried its talons deep in Kendall's body, pulling her close and sinking rows of teeth into her shoulder before he could get in range. Blood soaked her dress, and other demons leapt in, prepared to fight one another for a share of the kill.

'Archers!' Rojer cried desperately.

'We'll hit Kendall!' Wonda cried back, and Rojer saw that all the women had bows drawn, but none dared risk the shot.

He put his fiddle to work, notes meant to frighten and drive off the demons. They shrieked and broke off their attack, Kendall collapsing to the ground, but there was blood in the air now, and they were not easily driven back. They hissed and swiped, blocking Rojer's path.

'Kendall!' Rojer screamed. 'Kendall!' Weakly, she lifted her head, gasping air as she reached a bloodied hand his way.

Suddenly a huge shape swept by Rojer, nearly bowling him over. He looked up to see Gared tackle one of the wood demons into another. Both corelings were brought down under the burly Cutter's weight, and the wards on his gauntlets flared brightly as he laid heavy blows on the one he had landed upon. By the time the other recovered, he was up again, but the coreling was quick and bit hard into his arm.

Gared screamed and grabbed the demon's crotch with his free hand. He flexed his mighty arms, lifting the huge wood demon and using it as a ram to drive into its fellows. He and the demons all went down in a tumble just as other Cutters rushed in, hacking at the prone creatures with warded axes.

His fiddle useless amid the commotion, Rojer hurried to Kendall's side, staining his cloak with blood as he threw it over her. Kendall croaked weakly at him as Rojer struggled to lift her. The commotion had drawn more demons from the woods, though, faster than the archers could pick them off.

Gared, an axe in each hand and blood streaming down his arm, hacked his way to them. He dropped the weapons and lifted Kendall like a feather. With the archers and Cutters providing cover, he ran her to the hospit.

'I need a blood donor!' Leesha cried as Gared kicked in the hospit door. They laid Kendall on a bed, and apprentices ran for Leesha's instruments.

'I'll do it,' Rojer said, rolling up his sleeve.

'Check if he's a match,' Leesha told Vika as she moved to scrub her hands and arms. Vika quickly lanced a sample from Rojer as Darsy tried to have a look at Gared's arm.

'Worry about those that are hurt worse,' Gared said, pulling away. He pointed to the door, where other injured Cutters were being carried in.

There was a whirlwind of bloodied activity as the Herb Gatherers worked. Leesha cut and clamped and sewed Kendall for two hours as Rojer looked on, dizzy from the blood transfusion.

At last, Leesha paused to drag the back of a bloodied hand over her sweating brow. 'Will she be all right'' Rojer asked.

Leesha sighed. 'She'll live. Gared, I'll have a look at that arm now.'

'It's just a scratch,' Gared said.

Leesha bit back a scowl, reminding herself how brave Gared had just been, but try as she might, she could not forget how his lies had almost ruined her life, and how he had brutally beaten any man caught speaking to her after she broke off their betrothal.

'You were bit by a demon, Gar,' she said. 'You let the wound fester, and I'll be cutting that arm off before you know it. Get over here.'

Gared grunted and complied. 'It's not so bad,' Leesha said, after she had washed the wound out with hogroot tincture. Charged by the magic he had absorbed, the clean cuts from the demon's sharp teeth were already closing. She wrapped the arm in a clean bandage, and then took Rojer aside.