The Cyber Chronicles - Book I: Queen of Arlin (13 page)

"More mouths to
feed, water to carry, coats to be groomed and hooves to be cleaned
for you, young lady."

"You can have
the other two now that I have these."

The old woman
cocked a grey eyebrow. "Ye think that makes a whit of difference?
It still be yer job."

Tassin sighed
and struggled for patience, biting her tongue to prevent herself
from snapping at the woman. Mother Amy smiled, her black eyes
twinkling.

"I be goin' to
town now with Bern. The fire needs stokin', the supper needs
startin' an' there's dishes to be washed."

Tassin glared
at her as she walked away, allowing herself the childish pleasure
of sticking her tongue out at the crone's back. The woman was
insufferable, expecting her to do chores. If only she could tell
her with whom she was really dealing. It would be so much fun to
see her on her knees, begging for forgiveness. She marched to the
hut, intent on leaving right away. Falcon would be her weapon; with
him, she would win free across the mountains. As she entered the
hut to gather her few belongings, her eyes fell on Sabre. She
hesitated, torn by an inexplicable longing for the warrior to join
her, and an equally strong wish to leave him behind. Deciding to
leave it to fate, she gripped his arm and shook him.

"Sabre! Wake
up! That is an order!" Tassin bellowed in his ear, something she
had been unable to do before due to Mother Amy's constant presence.
The brow band lighted in a flare of sparkling red, which dwindled
to a more normal level, many of the lights turning green. His eyes
flicked open, staring at the ceiling.

She scowled.
"So, you have decided to wake up at last. Did you have a nice
rest?"

"This unit is
functional."

"Wonderful.
While I have been acting as stand-in slave to the old biddy, you
have been snoring your head off. I was about to leave this dump
without you."

Tassin stepped
back as he rose to his feet, and she glanced around for his
trousers, which Mother Amy had cleaned and mended. Finding them on
a dresser in the corner, she handed them to him. Sabre started to
pull them on, but stopped when he encountered the stitches in his
thigh, fingering them.

"These must be
removed." He turned unerringly to where his harness was stored on a
shelf and pulled it down. Digging in the pouch, he produced a tiny
pair of scissors and cut the stitches, plucking them out. When he
finished his thigh wound, he attended to the injury in his flank.
The arrow wounds in his back presented a problem, and Tassin
wondered what he would do. He held the scissors out to her.

"Will you
assist?"

Tassin
recoiled. "Can you not leave them in?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"They will
fester."

Tassin took the
scissors and studied the five stitched wounds in his back. "I just
cut them and pull them out?"

"Correct."

Pulling a face,
Tassin did as he asked. When she finished, Sabre replaced the
scissors in his pouch and went outside. Tassin followed, curious.
The cyber stripped to his shorts again and waded into the stream
that ran past the back of the hut, bathing in the icy water. Tassin
smiled as she thought of what Mother Amy would say if she found her
newly awakened patient bathing in the icy stream. When he returned
to the bank, he picked up his pouch, extracted a bottle and popped
a tiny pill into his mouth. As he replaced the bottle, his cheeks
swelled, and a minute later he spat out a mouthful of white
foam.

Tassin tapped
her foot as the sun moved past noon and her chance of leaving
slipped away. It would be too late by the time the horses were
saddled and loaded now. Sabre donned his darned grey trousers, then
re-entered the hunt and stood beside the fireplace, lapsing into
his immobile state. Remembering the chores the crone had set her,
Tassin ordered Sabre to do them.

When Mother Amy
returned, the fire blazed, the dinner bubbled and the dishes were
washed. Tassin relaxed in the chair and Sabre stood in a corner. At
the old woman's entrance his head jerked up, his brow band
sparkling. Bern sidled in and sat by the fire, staring at Sabre
with open-mouthed idiocy. Mother Amy paused, her eyes bright, then
closed the door and stood with her arms akimbo.

"I see our lad
is awake."

"Yes." Tassin
smiled. "He woke up just after you left."

"Uhuh. More
like 'e was woken, an' he's been on the go ever since."

"What do you
mean?"

The old woman
shook her head. "Yer think I don't know? I weren't born yesterday,
missy."

"So he helped
me, what of it?"

Mother Amy's
eyes narrowed as she regarded Sabre. "Still as empty as a beggar's
purse, too."

The witch
approached Sabre, who stared through her. She reached up and
touched the brow band, then snatched her hand away as if burnt.

"Eh, that's a
nasty bit o' magic that. Who did that to you, lad?"

Sabre ignored
her, and Tassin smiled. "Answer the question, Sabre."

He turned his
head towards her. "Technicians fitted the cyber."

"An' did these
here tech-nicians 'ave a reason for doin' it?" Mother Amy
asked.

"For
control."

"Ah. So's when
yer told to do something, ye do it, no questions asked." Mother Amy
studied Sabre's blank countenance.

"Correct. A
cyber unit must obey orders."

Tassin stood up
and approached him. "But you will not obey just anybody, will
you?"

"No. A voice
recognition imprint was installed prior to activation."

Tassin glanced
at Mother Amy. "Do you understand what he means?"

The old woman
shook her head, not taking her eyes off Sabre's face. "Nay lass,
'tis gobbledygook to me."

Tassin returned
her attention to Sabre. "You only obey me, right?"

"And the alpha
male designated Pervor."

Mother Amy
shook her head again, made a sound of disgust and moved away to
sink into the chair Tassin had vacated. "'Tis evil, that's what it
be."

"Why evil?"
Tassin frowned.

"'Cos 'e has no
will of 'is own. 'E has to do what yer tell 'im, no matter what. No
complainin', no questionin' and no reward. 'E's a tool, nothin'
more, like an axe or a broom... or a sword. Yet ‘e's not made of
wood nor iron. He's flesh an' blood like you an' me, but 'e's got
no life."

Mother Amy
looked up, her weathered face creased with pity. "That thing on 'is
'ead thinks for him, like a rider tells a horse where to go. Yet
even a horse can buck 'is rider off, an' 'e can still snort an'
swat flies, look around, have feelings, talk to other horses. Yer
Sabre can't, lass, that thing on his 'ead is just usin' 'is
body."

"Can you help
him?"

Mother Amy
shook her head with a rueful smile, as if the suggestion was
absurd. "Nay, I know nothin' about that kind o' magic."

Tassin stared
at Sabre, brooding. She did not really understand how it was done,
but she grasped the gist of Mother Amy's explanation. Manutim had
given her a magic warrior who had indeed saved her, but now it
seemed that he was enchanted as well, spellbound to do her bidding.
This did not please her. She had thought he obeyed her because of
fealty to her kingdom and the honour of serving a queen. Now it
seemed he had no choice in the matter; a spell controlled him,
forcing him to obey. Then again, he had been originally intended to
destroy the Death Zone, since no man in his right mind would
venture in there. She knew little about the Death Zone, other than
it was extremely dangerous to go into it and horrible creatures
sometimes came out of it to terrorise villages. A thought struck
her, and she turned to the old woman.

"What if we
took that thing off his head?"

Mother Amy
sucked her gums, watching the fire. "It won't come off, lass. I
tried, them things go right into 'is 'ead."

"What if we
broke it?"

"I doubt 'e'd
let ye do that."

Tassin sighed.
She did not think he would, either.

"'Sides," the
witch continued after a pause. "You need 'im as he is. If ye break
that thing, 'e could just up an' leave. There'd be no reason for
'im to go on obeyin' you, no indeed. Without 'im, you'd be in a
right pickle, wouldn't you, Yer Majesty?"

Tassin gasped.
"You know who I am?"

"'Course I
does, I ain't stupid."

"But you have
been treating me like a commoner all this time."

Mother Amy
chuckled, her eyes glinting. "I ain't got no time for airs an'
graces, lass. You needed my 'elp an' I've 'elped you, but I ain't
bowin' an' scrapin' just 'cos you got a fancy title."

Tassin seethed,
her hands clenching. Mother Amy looked up at her, black eyes
twinkling in their web of wrinkles. "What'll you do, order yer
warrior to box me ears?"

"I could."

The old woman
laughed. "Sure, an' you'd love to, but ‘member, I be a witch."

Tassin stifled
her anger. "I am grateful for your help. I would not hurt you."

Mother Amy
nodded, looking satisfied. "Aye, now yer thinkin'. Ye may even make
a good queen one day."

Tassin snorted.
"Not as long as those repulsive kings hound me."

"Aye, they're a
problem an' no mistake. What do ye plan to do?"

"I am going to
go to King Xavier. He will help me, I know he will."

Mother Amy
clicked her tongue. "See sense, lass. Do ye really think a foreign
king'll 'elp you?"

"Why not? I am
a queen; he will respect royal blood."

"Will 'e now?
An' what if he don't?"

Tassin moved
closer to the fire. "Then I shall go into the Death Zone."

The old woman's
eyes widened. "Are ye mad, girl? The only thing ye'll find in the
Death Zone be death."

"I would have
died honourably at the battle for my castle, if not for him."
Tassin indicated Sabre with an angry flick of her hand. "He was
meant to destroy the Death Zone. If he can do that, he can take me
with him and protect me."

"Well, seems to
me ye've got a lot to thank that man for, yet ye treat 'im like a
skivvy. Ye owe 'im yer life, girl."

Tassin's lip
curled. "I do not owe him anything! I was ready to die and deny
Torrian the satisfaction of forcing me into marriage, now I am a
fugitive."

"Oh aye, an'
ye'd rather be dead." Mother Amy snorted. "What a foolish girl ye
are! Yer too young an' stupid to know 'ow precious life is, an' yer
ready to throw it away at the drop of a hat!"

She settled
deeper into her chair, her voice dropping. "Anyways, Torrian's men
wouldn't 'ave killed yer no matter what ye'd done. They'd 'ave
disarmed ye, trussed ye like a chicken and made a gift of ye to
Torrian."

"I know how to
use a sword! I am a warrior queen!"

The crone
rolled her eyes. "What a babe ye are! D'ye think yer could 'ave
taken on the whole army?" Amy wagged a gnarled finger at her.
"Listen, madam, yer forget ‘bout goin’ into that there Death Zone,
ye hear?" She pointed at Sabre. "That one can probably survive the
Zone, but with yer in tow 'e'll die trying to save yer sorry buns,
an' ye won't last a minute longer. Mark my words, young lady, the
Zone's no place for a gentle bred little snot like you."

Tassin's hands
curled into fists at the woman's disrespectful tone. "How dare you
speak to me like that? What do you know of the Death Zone, you old
witch?"

Mother Amy's
eyes glittered. "I've a mind to take a switch to that there lily
white butt of yourn, wetling, queen or no! I know what the Zone is,
'tis magic, evil magic! It'll swaller ye up an' spit out yer bones,
not even burp in satisfaction."

The old woman
leant forward, her voice a growl, the fire lighting her haggard
features with its lurid glow. "The Zone's apt named. It be death,
pure an' simple, but an uglier death than ye can ever imagine.
There be monsters in there that'd rip yer heart out an' eat it
while it's still a-beatin'."

Curiosity
overcame Tassin anger. "What is the Death Zone?"

Mother Amy
settled back in her chair, her eyes seeking the soothing ripple of
flames in the hearth. "Like I said, 'tis magic. The Founders
created it, so I 'eard, same time as they broke the world. Laid the
land to waste, they did, spread a sickness that killed most, made
others mad. Them as survived, they made a life where the evil
'adn't touched, but the Zone, that's where it stays, all that evil
magic.

"An' them
things what stagger out of it from time to time, they be its
children. Monsters they be, no two alike, full o' teeth an' claws
an' spines, mad with hate. They jus' kill until they're killed, an'
it takes a powerful many men to kill 'em." Her chin sank onto her
chest, her eyes growing distant. "Many's the brave, foolish men
that 'ave ventured in there to try an' put an end to it. None ever
came out."

Tassin bit her
lip. "Then what should I do?"

"Ah, lass,
don't despair. All you 'ave to do is get hitched."

"No! I will not
marry any of those horrible kings!"

Mother Amy
shook her head. "Nay lass, find someone ye like an' marry 'im."

"But he must be
of noble blood, it is the law."

Mother Amy
laughed, revealing toothless gums. "Stuff and nonsense! Noble blood
my foot! All people's blood be the same. An' as to the law, what's
it goin' to do? Once yer married, yer married, ain't nothin' the
law can do 'bout it then, so long as the marriage is consummated.
Marry 'im, 'e won't give ye no trouble." The old woman gestured at
Sabre. "'E'll make a perfect 'usband, do exactly what ye say, no
back chat, no arguments, just what ye need, lass."

Tassin’s cheeks
warmed and she glanced at Sabre. "I could not marry him, but your
idea has merit. Perhaps I will find a handsome barbarian prince
over the mountains."