The Silver Serpent Read online

  Chapter 7|Departure

  Shanis observed the match with an increasing sense of despair. She couldn’t believe Hierm’s misfortune. The collision with Karst must have been worse than it looked. Hierm’s face was swelling up like an angry bullfrog. Worse, Hierm was losing. Badly. He had managed to fight off his opponent’s attack, but just barely. Hierm appeared desperate, almost frantic. Karst’s smirk had returned. Shanis knew that it was only a matter of moments before he pointed Hierm. Hierm had obviously reached the same conclusion. He ducked his head, and plowed into Karst. It was the same trick he had used against Shanis with occasional success. This time it did not work.

  Unlike Shanis, Karst outweighed Hierm by at least a stone. Rather than knocking his opponent off balance, Hierm merely bounced off the bigger boy and stumbled to his left. As Hierm tried to regain his balance, Karst’s blade drove home.

  “Point!” A collective groan arose from the audience, none of whom seemed to like Karst. The dark- haired youth did not seem to notice. Still smirking, he turned and genuflected deeply toward Prince Lerryn. Shanis kicked the ground. Even Karst’s bows were arrogant. She had to beat him. She wanted it with every fiber of her being.

  She watched as Hierm clambered to his feet, tossed the tournament sword to the ground, and pushed his way through the throng of onlookers. Finding his own sword, he slammed it into its scabbard, and stormed off. Shanis watched him go. He would probably want some time to himself. She noticed Khalyndryn following Hierm. Not good. Khalyndryn would be the last person Hierm would want to talk to right now, except his father, of course. Shanis quickly followed behind the retreating blonde heads of Hierm and Khalyndryn.

  Squad Leader Khattre seized her arm in a strong hand. “It will be a while yet, girl. The Prince likes to make a speech before the final match. Listen for us to call you!”

  Shanis nodded, then made her way in the direction Hierm had gone. She quickly lost sight of him in the crowd, but she easily followed Khalyndryn’s golden hair and red bow bobbing through the throng. Several times, she was forced to hastily shake off well-wishers. Not too rudely, she hoped. Gradually, Khalyndryn moved farther ahead of her. Shanis lost sight of the girl once. Climbing atop a nearby cart, she finally spotted Khalyndryn disappearing into the woods that bordered Galsbur to the west. Hierm must be going to the river. She’d grab Khalyndryn, and get back to the field in plenty of time for the match. She hopped down from the cart, and made her way hastily into the forest.

  She dodged between trees and skipped across roots. Khalyndryn had disappeared quickly. Behind her, she heard a distant roar. Stopping, she inclined her ear and listened. Even at this distance, she could easily recognize Lerryn’s voice. Strange. Oskar would have called it sorcery, but likely it was some sort of trick. At any rate, if Lerryn was just starting his speech, she had time to spare. Where had Khalyndryn gone?

  “Khalyndryn!” Shanis called out. “I need to talk to you!” A muffled sound came from somewhere ahead of her. It sounded almost like a cry. She trotted off in the general direction from which the sound had come. “Khalyndryn?” Again the sound, it was definitely a cry, but muffled. She hurried ahead. “Hierm? Khalyndryn?” Now she heard it clearly. A whimpering sound coming from a thicket of fir trees to her right. She leapt through.

  Khalyndryn was flat on her back. Her skirt was pushed up to her chin. A bulky soldier in a wine-stained uniform of the White Fang knelt atop her. One meaty hand was clamped down over her mouth. The other worked at his belt. The look in Khalyndryn’s eyes was a mixture of terror and disbelief. Shanis did not hesitate.

  “Get off of her!” Shanis sprinted across the gap separating them. She delivered a solid kick to the man’s chin just as he turned to look in her direction. The blow knocked his head back a bit, but he did not release his grip on Khalyndryn. Shanis aimed another kick at his head. This time, he reached out and caught her by the ankle. A swift yank, and Shanis was on her back alongside her friend. The man was quicker than he looked. Before she could get up, his hand was at her throat. His breath reeked of sour wine. His oily black hair brushed her cheeks as he leaned down toward her.

  “Well now. I’ve found me a little spitfire here.” She struggled. She tried to pull his hand away from her throat, but his muscles were like iron. “This one’s a fighter. I like that much better.” She fought harder, driving a punch into his kidneys. He grunted, but his face registered no response.

  Out of the corner of her eye Shanis watched her assailant release his grip on Khalyndryn, but only long enough to hit the blonde girl hard in the temple. Khalyndryn crumpled to the ground. The man then turned his full attention to Shanis. Keeping his grip on her throat, he began to remove his hose. Stark realization froze Shanis’ heart. She struggled desperately, first punching at him, then trying to heave him off of her. As the soldier tried to force his hose below his knees, he shifted awkwardly. Shanis felt something cold and hard against her palm. Something in the back of her mind knew that it was his belt knife. A vicious yank and it was free in her hand. She thrust upward with all of her might.

  A jolt ran up her arm as the blade met with resistance. Another stab. Nothing. His mail shirt! The inebriated soldier fumbled with his smallclothes, still oblivious to the fact that she was now armed. Somewhere in the far reaches of Shanis’ mind, a voice told her that it was time to scream.

  Hierm winced at the sounds of crashing brush and snapping twigs that grew ever closer. He had no desire to talk with anyone, especially Khalyndryn. He had been so close. So close! What had gone wrong? A stray lock of hair dangled over his swollen eye. He brushed it away reflexively and was jolted by the sharp pain. He cursed.

  “Watch your language, Van Derin. Your mother might hear you.” Oskar emerged from a thicket in front of Hierm. He walked directly over to his friend and inspected Hierm’s eye. “This is bad,” he declared flatly.

  “It’s not that bad,” Hierm replied. “He only hit me with his shoulder. It hurts, but the swelling has already gone down.” He tried to turn away, but Oskar seized his shoulders, and spun him back around so that the two faced one another.

  “That’s not what I mean. Karst put something in your eye.” Hierm could tell by the look on Oskar’s face that his skepticism must have been evident. “That’s why I followed you. He cheated. We have to tell someone.”

  “He didn’t put anything in my eye. You saw the match. He hit me in the eye, that’s all. I lost.” He brushed Oskar’s hands away. “Who would cheat right in front of the prince? It’s unthinkable.”

  Oskar shook his head. “That’s no blackened eye I’m looking at. Your eye is bright red. He put something in it, something that made your eye swell shut.”

  Hierm was surprised at Oskar’s intensity. He thought for a moment. The burning, the searing pain, the way his eye had swelled so quickly. It made sense. “He must have put something on his clothing. When he hit me...” Realization tumbled fully upon him.

  Oskar picked up where he left off. “I saw him rubbing his shoulder in between points. I thought he was hurt. Once I saw the way your eye was swelling, I knew what must have happened.”

  “Why didn’t someone realize what he was doing? Why didn’t I see it?”

  Oskar stared off into the distance for a few moments, his palms upraised. “I guess it’s like you said. No one would ever dream of cheating going on right in front of Lerryn. You see what you expect to see, I suppose, and nothing more.” Oskar’s dark eyes stared at the ground. Regret was painted across his face. “I tried to get to you, to get to the ring, but the crowd was too much. It was over before I got there. I’m sorry.”

  Hierm was touched by his friend’s earnest apology. “It’s all right, Oskar. You tried. I couldn’t ask for a better friend.” He placed a hand on his friend’s beefy arm and gave him a quick squeeze. “Let’s go watch Shanis whip Karst.”

  “What do you mean?” Oskar shook his fists in frustration. “We have got to tell someone. I’ll support you.”

&
nbsp; “Who would we tell?”

  “I don’t know. The prince? Your mother could tell him.” Even as he said the words, Oskar scratched his head and looked quizzically at the sky. “That won’t work, will it?”

  Hierm chuckled despite himself. “No, it won’t work. Even if we’re right, we can’t prove anything. Doubtless he’s washed off whatever it was. I’d just look like a poor loser. My father’s going to be disappointed enough without me acting the fool in front of royalty.” Hierm winced. He had been so disappointed at losing that he hadn’t even thought about his father.

  Oskar seemed to read his thoughts. “Well, Van Derin, there’s one good thing that’s come of all this.” He didn’t wait for Hierm to ask. “Your father would be much more upset if you’d lost to Shanis than to Karst.”

  Hierm had to admit that his friend was right, though it did little to improve his mood. A loud cry startled him from his reverie. “Did you hear that?” Oskar shook his head. Hierm began walking in the direction from which the sound had come. Silence. “I heard something!” He quickened his pace. He didn’t know who had shouted, but his instincts told him that all was not right.

  “I didn’t hear anything,” Oskar said, following along behind him. “What did you hear? Slow down!”

  Hierm kept moving. Toward what, he did not know.

  She ought to be frightened, should have kept crying out for help. But instinct took over. One with the blade! A voice seemed to whisper inside of her. One with the blade. There was no more thought. The blade slashed her captor across the wrist. That got his attention! But before he could make a sound, Shanis struck again. Hot blood splashed over her face as she opened his throat. She clamped her lips together against the sickly salty taste. The man’s hands went to his throat, as if he could keep the life in. When he raised his arms, Shanis plunged the knife deep into his armpit, where his mail did not cover. The man convulsed, then fell slowly to the side. Shanis shoved him away and sprang to her feet.

  Molten rage burned inside of her as she watched the man’s final moments. Frothy blood bubbled from his lips as he futilely fought for breath. With a cry of bestial rage, she lashed out. She kicked the dying man. She fell to her knees and pummeled him. She fought to drive the rage out of her body. She screamed at him, willing her anger out of her, but nothing helped. The anger, the hurt, the fear roiled inside, raging in a furious storm. She had to get it out, or it would rip her apart. She clutched her head in her hands and screamed in anguish.

  Her scream seemed to last forever. She felt someone’s arms around her, lifting her to her feet. She opened her eyes and was met with Hierm’s gaze. His blue eyes were aglow with feelings too deep and too many for her to read. His hair had fallen in front of his eyes again, partially covering his swollen face. His chest was covered with blood. If he was that bloody simply from helping her up, what must she look like? She tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. Hierm also seemed to be having trouble finding words. A voice spoke from behind her.

  “Shanis? What...?” Oskar couldn’t finish the question. Shanis shrugged out of Hierm’s embrace and turned to see the husky boy cradling Khalyndryn against his chest. Her fair skin had gone stark white. The slender girl seemed little more than a child, trembling against Oskar’s broad chest. Shanis shook her head. She was still angry, but it was no longer the fiery rage that had shaken her so badly. Even Khalyndryn, spoiled, manipulative Khalyndryn, didn’t deserve this.

  Shanis found her strength had returned, and with it her resolve. “You know what happened! I killed him.” She was surprised at how easy it was to say. “I killed him.” The second time was easier than the first. She felt the anger slowly draining away. Hierm still had not found his voice. “I’ve got to get away from here. I’ve got to get away fast!”

  “Are you sure?” Oskar asked in little more than a whisper. “If you tell the truth, maybe you can see your way clear of this.” His words held more obligation than conviction.

  “I’m certain, Oskar. I killed one of the Prince’s guard. The blood is on my hands...literally.” She held out her hands to show them. “You two don’t have to let anyone know that you saw me. Take Khalyndryn home. I’ll…”

  “I’m not going back!” Khalyndryn cried. She wriggled from Oskar’s grasp. “You’re taking me with you. I can’t go back.” She looked at Shanis with pleading eyes.

  “No one is going anywhere.” Hierm finally spoke up. “We all know what happened. You were defending Khalyndryn. She can be your witness. She’ll tell what happened...”

  “Nothing happened to me!” Khalyndryn’s shriek bordered on hysteria. “I’m not telling anything to anyone because nothing happened to me!” She turned back to Oskar and buried her face in his chest. Her body heaved with her sobbing. Hierm opened his mouth to speak, but Shanis gently placed a hand on his lips.

  “The truth doesn’t matter, Hierm.” She was surprised at how calm she felt. “Khalyndryn can’t tell what happened. Everyone will consider her soiled no matter what the truth is. They’ll assume the worst. People always do. She’ll be ruined.”

  Khalyndryn’s weeping grew louder and more aggrieved. Hierm shook his head, but Shanis continued. “Even if both of us told the truth, it wouldn’t make a difference. This is one of the Prince’s guard. One of his own. This wouldn’t be a trial before your father and the city leaders. The Prince can do anything he wants. What do you think he would do to me?” She let the question hang there in the silence. After a moment, she took Khalyndryn by the hand. She couldn’t believe what she was about to do.

  “You can come with me if you want.” The look of gratitude in Khalyndryn’s face was almost enough to make her forget her dislike of the wispy blonde. Almost. “We should go now.” Where would they go? They’d have to get to her house quickly, and get her horse, and what money she had. That wouldn’t do. They’d be searching the roads for her. Through the forest? They’d make little headway. And how would Khalyndryn manage days in the wilderness, being the soft, spoiled girl that she was? Her head began to ache. What was she going to do?

  “I want to go with you,” Oskar blurted. “I have a plan. I have money, too. A lot of money.”

  Shanis knew that she should refuse. Two lives had already been ruined today. Oskar should stay with his family. He didn’t have to be a part of this. But the truth was, she wanted Oskar to come. She had never felt so alone or so uncertain. She smiled. Oskar seemed to take heart. “I’ve been planning for years. I can help.” Shanis clutched him in a tight embrace.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “I know it’s selfish, but I want you to come.” She gave him another hug. “I’m sorry to do this to you.”

  Oskar smiled. “Don’t be!” Before he could say more, Hierm stepped between them.

  “You’re not, I mean, I’m...” He struggled for the words. “If you’re going, I’m going!”

  “Hierm!” Shanis was shocked. “You can’t.” As much as she wanted Oskar to go, she wanted Hierm with her even more. He was her best friend. She couldn’t imagine leaving him. And yet, he had the most to lose.

  “I’m going with you.” Hierm insisted. He cupped her face in his hands. His gaze locked with hers. “I have no choice.”

  Shanis was startled at the look of longing in his eyes. He had never looked at her like that. No one had. What could she say? She wanted to protest, but her words were cut off by the sound of someone rustling through the underbrush.

  “Borram!” A deep voice boomed. “Borram, we’re due to be on watch.” Through the trees, Shanis caught a glimpse of white cloth and silver mail. A soldier was coming right at them.

  “Run,” she whispered. No one moved. She raised her voice. “Run!” She gave Oskar a shove, and followed on his heels, Khalyndryn in tow. Hierm brought up the rear.

  Behind them, the voice called out again. “Who’s there? Come back here.”

  They ran harder. Branches slapped Shanis in the face, and gnarled roots seemed to reach up to ensnare her. The
ir pursuer must have found the body by now. His footsteps no longer rustled behind them. She heard a shout of surprise, then a mournful cry.

  “Borram!” A string of curses ensued.

  They continued to run. It soon became apparent that the man was not going to follow them. Still their pace did not slow. He would notify the guard, and time would be short. She hoped that Oskar’s “plan” was a good one.

  It took only a short while to reach the Clehn farm. The small house was kept in good repair. A barn and a few outbuildings separated the main house from the broad expanse of farmland that stretched northward for leagues, hugging the west bank of the Vulltu. The local farmers thought Master Clehn a bit foolish to plant so close to the river. In Shanis’ memory, she could not recall the Clehns ever losing a crop to the rains. Master Clehn claimed to be “lucky that way.”

  Oskar took command immediately. “Hierm, you and Khalyndryn get a sack from the barn. The kitchen garden is around the back of the house. Get as much food as you can carry.” Hierm responded to this new, confident Oskar without question. Khalyndryn, who still seemed to be stunned by her experience, stumbled along behind Hierm. Oskar turned to Shanis.

  “Find some clothes for you girls. You know where my sister’s room is.” Shanis smirked. Oskar blushed. “Sorry. You can wear something of my brother’s.” Oskar did not wait for a response. He ran into the house ahead of Shanis, and disappeared into the room shared by him and his younger brother.

  Shanis felt badly about taking anything that was not hers, so she took only one set of clothing for Khalyndryn. In Oskar’s room, she selected something for herself from among his brother’s things. Oskar stuffed the clothes into an oilcloth bag he had been filling. Her friend assuaged some of her guilt by leaving coins on both his brother’s bed and that of his sister. They rushed out the back door to find Hierm and Khalyndryn waiting for them. Oskar continued to bark orders.

  “Shanis, look in the rafters of the old smokehouse.” His arms were full, so he gestured with his chin in the general vicinity of the barn. “There’s a bundle up there that we’ll need. Meet us at the river.” Again he was off without waiting for a response.

  Shanis hurried to the old smokehouse. Inside, she fought her way through a mass of dust-encased farm implements and other items she did not recognize. In the far corner, tucked high in the rafters, was a large bundle of what appeared to be canvas. The smokehouse ceiling was low and it took her only a few jumps to grab hold of the bundle, which promptly came crashing down on top of her. With a curse, she fell heavily onto a pile of old crates. Thankfully, they were empty, and cushioned her fall somewhat. She heaved the bundle onto her shoulder, wondering what it might be.

  Outside, in the light, she stopped to examine her burden. She was surprised at what she found. “A tent! Why does Oskar have this?” She knew that she had little time to waste. Hefting the bundle, she trotted to the river, where a bigger surprise greeted her.

  Hierm and Khalyndryn stood at the river’s edge alongside a strange-looking boat. It was long and narrow, and appeared to have been hollowed out of a log. Each end came to a point. Shanis could not tell the front from the back. “What is that thing?” Hierm looked down at it and shrugged.

  “Oskar called it a canoe. He read about it in one of his books.” Hierm shook his head. “He says the Baghma, or something like that, use it. It’s supposed to be good for river travel.” Shanis could not believe it. Oskar expected her to get into that thing?

  “This is his plan? This? Float away on a log?” She kicked the odd craft, and found it to be solid. “We can’t take a boat downriver. Boats never travel the Vulltu. Papa says it’s too narrow, rocky, and shallow!” She held one palm slightly above the other to illustrate her point.

  “That’s why we need the canoe.” She had not heard Oskar walk up behind her during her ranting. “It sits high in the water, so it will clear most of the shallows. It’s narrow, so we can guide it between rocks, and it’s light enough that we can carry it if we have to.” The burly youth fondly caressed the edge of the craft. “I read about it in one of Lord Hiram’s books. It took me more than a year to carve it.” Shanis was impressed.

  “You did this yourself?” She wasn’t impressed with the craftsmanship, so much as she was surprised that Oskar had kept his head out of the clouds long enough to see a task through to completion. Then another thought struck her. “Oskar, are you certain that it floats?” Oskar started to reply, then seemed to realize that he was being mocked.

  “We’d better hurry. No one should have any idea that we’ve come here, but we should waste no time.” He heaved the tent into the center of the canoe. He had drilled a small hole in each side of the canoe’s center, near the top edges. Through these holes, he strung a rope, with which he secured the tent, the bag of food, and the oilcloth sack which held their spare clothing and whatever other items he had squirreled away. He pushed the canoe out into the water until only one end of the canoe was on land.

  “Shanis, you’ll be in front. Get in and try and stay in the very center. Lean too far and you’ll tip it over!” Shanis paused, looking first at the canoe, then at Oskar, then back at the canoe. “What are you waiting for?”

  Shanis hoped that she was not blushing. “Which end is the front? They both look alike.”

  Hierm chuckled, but nodded his agreement. Oskar’s shoulders slumped in seeming disbelief.

  “That end.” He nodded to the end that extended into the water. “And take a paddle with you.” Shanis assumed that a paddle was one of the giant wooden spoons that lay on the bank nearby. Not willing to add to her embarrassment by asking another question, she took a chance and grabbed one. Oskar did not contradict her, so she assumed that her guess was correct. Following Oskar’s gestures, she climbed into the canoe, and clambered out to the far end. She sat down, facing back toward shore. Oskar shook his head. With a curse, she realized that she was facing the wrong way. “Don’t say a word,” she cautioned the young man. She whirled around, nearly upsetting the craft, and dropped cautiously to her knees, making certain not to overbalance.

  “Good,” Oskar called out. “Hierm, you and Khalyndryn get in. Take a paddle.” Hierm half-dragged Khalyndryn into the canoe. He helped her climb across the pile of supplies secured in the center of the tent. She sat down limply, leaning back against the bulk of the bundled tent. She stared blankly at Shanis’ back. She did not speak. Hierm positioned himself just behind the supplies, kneeling as Shanis had.

  Shanis felt a sudden jolt as the canoe shot forward into the water. The front end heaved up, and then wobbled. Stealing a glance behind her, she saw that Oskar had pushed the craft into deeper water, and was awkwardly trying to climb in. She laughed. She had been feeling a little inept, but seeing Oskar struggle so valiantly somehow put everything back where it should be.

  Instinctively she leaned away from the side to which Oskar clung. Hierm followed her lead, and soon Oskar was able to haul himself in.

  “All right then,” Shanis called back to him, “what do we do now?”

  Oskar demonstrated how the paddle was used, and explained how best to propel the wobbly boat. Being strong, and having a good sense of balance, Shanis quickly had the hang of it. Hierm was also a quick study. The three of them soon had the canoe skimming down the river.

  Home was soon left behind. As they slipped quietly along the bank, Shanis’ paddle struck a small limb that lay lodged against a stone. Spinning loose, the stick tumbled down the river, and disappeared from sight.