Off Center (The Lament) (23 page)

Then
he turned and walked off, leaving Eric and Lyse to follow her and the others with
the heavy and still mainly loaded, wagon.

"Over
here, I think?" They had eight people working and slow or not Lyse was worth
her hire in manual labor. They didn't move fast, but it still didn't take that long,
since they just cleared a good path and arranged things. Half an hour later they
were all waiting for her. The horses were tethered, but had food, and some buckets
of water, which meant two of them had to run to the ship for it, and everyone was
paid out of the back of the wagon. It was all in meat, like she promised, but they
all seemed happy enough with it.

When
they were gone, she nodded. As long as the men could get enough of a head start,
this was ready. Of course, now she had no reason at all to have Zeke come out did
she? Well, she realized, he could watch the horses. If he went a couple of times
in the evening, it would work out pretty well. Maybe he'd take payment in Will's
meat too?

It
seemed a good enough plan, so she headed back inside, to find the man and see if
she could start cutting pieces for her instruments. She needed someplace larger
than Pumpkin Hollow if she were going to have strings for things, but eventually
that would come.

It
all took a while, of course, and she stopped for dinner, having not eaten lunch.
Zeke was there for it, so she was able to lead him off to the horses, along with
Roy, who was acting a little odd about it all. It wasn't until they walked back
that he explained. Alone, since Zeke was busily making sure the animals had food
and water and got some exercise even if it was a little bit too dark to see much
of anything.

"We
got a call in and need to be in the air by midnight. We have to leg over to Warrensburg,
get the medicine and get directly to Hilden. It's nearly five hundred miles which
will take... days. I don't know what you'll do with all those things. You can't
just leave the horses."

She
tilted her head.

"Crud?
Well, I'll think of something." She just didn't know what.

They
both kept walking.

That
part wasn't too hard to do, though she had to run into town and find Eric again,
to set up his watching of the horses while they were gone. She was back in place
well before they were supposed to take off however, and she wasn't a ship's hand,
so really there wasn't much for her to do at all. She decided that hanging around
Judge Claire would be a good enough thing to do, and the woman didn't seem to have
any problem with that at all.

"I'd
enjoy the company, and this way Mara and Clark can both go and get some rest, they
always work so hard. You're already armed for that, I see?" The woman nodded
at the rifle.

Mara
did too, but her words did sound a bit tired.

"Good
idea. Since we're probably going to have to charge up a mountain in a day or two,
carrying a Med-pack with us, we should rest while we can. You too Pran. Then we'll
just need a fourth person for it."

The
Guardian yawned, which seemed to be a real thing. Pran thought about it, or at least
pretended to and then spoke in a normal tone, trying to sell the idea that it would
really be happening, even though she had a suspicion that there was about to be
an escape. As soon as she thought it, she made herself stop, since every now and
then Claire was so good at picking things up that it was a lot like mind reading.

"Zeke,
the new hand, I told him to volunteer for it and he'd said he'd be ready. We don't
want to end up being dumped off the ship." It was actually really part of her
personal plan. Besides, that town would need the help, wouldn't they?

Mara
agreed with her, pretty easily, and then closed the door to the space, with her
on the outside. Pran locked them in and sat in one of the wooden chairs that had
been pulled out, setting her air rifle on the floor, pointing toward the outside
bulkhead. If it went off it wouldn't go through the wood, but just in case she didn't
want to risk hitting either of the people in the space. She'd never been shot, but
bet that it would hurt.

As
soon as she was comfortable, Judge Claire smiled at her, and they started to chat.
Mainly about make-up, of all things. Pran had some skill there, and actually knew
a lot more about it than the Judge did, having had classes in it for stage work.

"Ah?
So, you blend the foundation back? All the time?" The pretty blonde seemed
seriously interested in the idea, so Pran nodded and stood up, getting the woman's
supplies out without asking her, and moving a chair in front of the small mirror
in the woman's sleeping room.

Then
they played with things for a while, going over three distinct looks for Claire,
and letting her do one for Pran as well. It made her look older and a bit more rosy
cheeked. The black outfits she'd been wearing caused her to be a bit washed out
all the time.

After
that they sat again, make-up still on.

"I
got some goods from in town, if you want anything? Most of them don't apply to your
personal life, being food stuffs or alcohol. I did get some metal bits from the
local blacksmith. A few knives too, and small cutting blades for fine work."
It seemed as if there was no need to mention any of it to the woman, but she leaned
in and smiled.

"Scissors
or shears? I need a new pair for hair trimming."

"Actually,
yes. There are a couple of those to pick from. Most of them made it into my portion
of things too. I hadn't really thought of it, just that Will won't need a lot of
those on the road at first. No wire that was suitable for instrument strings, unfortunately."

There
was a bell then, that rang to in the distance. It lasted for about a minute.

Claire
looked around and then gestured for her to follow along, securing anything that
had been left loose. Pran had been around long enough to recognize the signal for
rope release. After that they'd take off almost instantly.

They
both resettled on the floor, Pran cradling her rifle on her lap. It was just so
the thing wouldn't go sliding across the room when they started up, which happened
about three minutes later. It was a smooth thing, but the room still became uneven.
That always happened a bit. Then with only a soft whine from the engines, they rose
into the night.

She
did some math in her head, trying to work out the complicated set of things that
would tell her how long the trip would take. Five hundred kilometers for the whole
trip, at about twenty per hour, baring bad weather, would take twenty-five hours.
That didn't take into account anything else, like delays or having to circle around
storms. If that happened it might take twice that long to get to the base of the
mountain.

Really,
if they'd been smart, the whole thing would have already been taking place, starting
as early as possible. If people were dying of this fever, then each day they took
might make a huge difference. So far no one had, that she'd heard of, but it might
start at any time. A wave of sudden deaths as dehydration set in, for instance.
Doctor Millis had mentioned that.

Claire
set to meditating again, so Pran did too, facing the door to the room and giving
it all her attention. Or at least as much as she could. It was strange, having the
woman at her back like she did, but it was the job of the moment. If anyone forced
their way through that heavy and locked door, Pran would try to stop them. Not that
anyone would be. Even Will Butcher wouldn't harm a Judge. That would be suicide
and not really help him in the end at all. No one else on the trip would either,
but Judges were important, and hence, had guards. A good guard was ready, all the
time. Since it was what she was supposed to be doing, Pran tried her best. That
meant clearing her thoughts and listening, trying to feel everything around her,
for hours on end. Yes, her mind drifted and certainly she wasn't anywhere near the
level that Mara or Clark would have been, had they been there, but nothing happened,
luckily.

When
the bells signaled it was ten, Claire stood up, the rustle of her clothing alerting
Pran to the fact.

"I'm
off to bed. I doubt that you really have to sit there all night." She smiled,
which was a kind thing.

"No,
I'll sleep, across the door here. If anyone comes in, they'll at least have to be
really good to get to you without me screaming first." It wasn't going to be
comfortable, but it also wasn't like she'd never slept on the floor before. At least
the ship was warm now that the engines were working harder again. There would be
hot showers in the morning too, instead of just warm, like they'd had for the last
few days.

"I
really don't think that's going to be needed, do you?"

"It
better not, but I'll do it anyway. Can I use those big pillows for it?"

That,
it seemed was fine and she had a blanket after a few moments, since Claire clearly
didn't want her to catch a chill or be too uncomfortable. She was fine, and the
room was nice and dark, so she drifted off with only a little trouble. She really
was across the door, even if it had sounded like a joke, so when the pounding on
it came, about six hours later, she spoke from the floor. No doubt sounding a little
panicked. It was a loud thing, when you were that close to banging.

Whoever
it was didn't try the handle at least, which was good.

"Who's
there!" She yelled the words, trying to sound tough, rather than scared. It
didn't really work, but it was hard to act when you were mainly asleep. "Name
yourself. Now!"

"It's
Clark and Mara." The voice was male at least, and sounded right. "Prisoner
Butcher has escaped and we need to search the whole vessel."

Pran
tried to think and finally nodded to herself in the dark. It was them, she knew,
but there had to be a process for things like this. One that she just didn't know,
it never having come up before. So she asked.

"I've
been sleeping across the door, with it locked all night. I'll let you in, but how
do I check to make certain it's you? We don't have any code words or secret information
that only we would know."

There
was silence for a minute, but instead of calling her stupid, Mara laughed.

"Good!
Arm yourself, then unlock the door and move back. We won't open it until you say
to. If we try, shoot us."

That
took about a minute, and Claire tried to come in, which Pran noticed when the wall
lamp was lit.

She
waited at the door lock.

"Go
into the other room and bar it, or lock it, until I say otherwise." It made
sense, but she blushed, realizing that a "not-quite" Apprentice Bard had
no real call to be ordering a full Judge to do anything at all.

Surprisingly
she just did it. As soon as the door clicked the woman called out.

"Locked
in."

Then
she unlocked the door, moved back about ten feet and kneeled, pointing the rifle.

"Ready.
I have the rifle aimed at the door. Come in, slowly."

She
held her breath, but realized that was stupid. Even knowing that it was Clark and
Mara she half expected to be rushed anyway, but the wooden barrier opened very calmly
and not fast at all. Mara came in first, her hands empty. Clark was behind her however,
armed with his kinetic pistol. It was pointed at the floor, since unlike her little
rabbit gun, it could and very well
might
if aimed the wrong way, take them
out of the sky.

Once
inside, Mara shut the door.

Pran
looked at them closely, as if she really needed to examine them and nodded. "It's
clear in here, but check again, just in case. Judge Claire? It's Guardians Mara
and Clark. I'm confirming that." She sounded strong, even though the words
were a little stupid. Then, what was she supposed to say? The bedroom door opened,
and the Guardians moved efficiently, searching the whole thing, not leaving any
space unopened, just in case. They even looked under the woman's bed. When it was
cleared, Clark smiled at her, looking at the slightly skewed pillows on the floor.

"Excellent,
Pran. Will you stay here and guard the Judge? We don't know where the man is, but
she might be a target, if he's desperate enough. The hands are searching the ship
too, but we'll have to go over it ourselves, just in case they miss something or
are in collusion with him."

"Right."
She held the rifle, as if she really expected to have to fight in the next few minutes.
She certainly felt that way, so it wasn't that hard to make seem realistic.

When
they left she locked the door again and looked back at the Judge.

"You
might as well get some more sleep. If the man is still on board, he won't be easily
coming here. Not through this door."

The
woman nodded, and turned off the lights for them, but Pran didn't go back to sleep
herself, sitting there with her eyes open, holding the rifle. Her job was to protect
Claire right now, and she had to do it right. Even knowing about the escape plan.
After all, what if that had been fake? The real plan might be to kidnap a Judge
or something, or even try to take an airship. She didn't know why, but it was possible,
she guessed. So holding her mind as alert as she knew how, Pran waited, ready to
fight at any moment.

She
nearly shot the door when a knock came, two hours later.

"Judge
Claire? The Guardians said to tell you that the ship is clear." It was obviously
Paul, the First Mate.

She
shook her head in the dark, anyway.

"They
need to come and tell me in person, Paul. Just in case some wild eyed Butcher has
you at knife point or something. Sorry to be untrusting, but the door doesn't open
without them here." She got ready for the man to argue or something, but he
didn't. There wasn't even a chuckle.

"Right-oh.
I'll pass that along to them. Say, do you have the new crew man in there? Or does
Claire?"

"What?
Zeke? No. Why?" She nearly stammered the words, but clarified, not even bothering
to try and sound innocent about it, since it was shocking enough to be asked. "I
mean, why would we have
him
in here?"

"Well,
he's good looking enough..."

Pran
thought about it and made herself shrug, still in the dark.

"I
suppose so. And here I was just thinking how much he reminds me of
you
. But
no. We're alone in here. Clark and Mara already checked the rooms."

"Got
it. I just can't find him. Any ideas?"

"Well,
he knows where the wood shop is? I can't think why he'd be there. That or the horse
stalls. He might have gone to check the horses. He seems to like them."

The
voice that came sounded a little troubled, "I already checked. Well, keep an
ear out. I'll let the Guardians know what you said."

Then
things were silent again for a long time, with only the hum of the engines. Until
daylight came she sat in the dark. About then Claire came out and stretched, actually
getting down on the floor to do it, taking about half an hour, she invited Pran
to join her, which seemed like a fine idea, though she did keep the rifle near.