The Daylight War (53 page)

R
o
jer’s head was pounding when he was woken an hour before dawn. The novelty of Sikvah waiting on his every need – bathing him, picking his clothes, dressing him – had begun to wear thin, but he was thankful for it now. His head felt like it was kicked by a mule, and his mouth stuffed with cotton.

‘Haven’t gotten sauced like that since Angiers,’ he muttered.

Sikvah looked up. ‘Eh?’

He shook his head. ‘Nothing. Going to need you to entertain Erny and Elona in the carriage this morning. Need to talk to Leesha.’

‘That is not appropriate, husband,’ Amanvah said, sweeping in from her personal chamber carrying a small wooden box, varnished black and polished to a shine. Had she been in there all night? Rojer had no recollection of her coming to bed, but he had been far gone. ‘The daughter of Erny is unwed and my father’s intended, and you are a married man. You cannot …’

Sikvah was buttoning his shirt cuff, but Rojer yanked his hand away so fast she gasped. ‘Demonshit. I swore to be a good and loyal husband, and that was honest word, but that don’t mean I gave up my right to talk to my friends in private. If you think it does, we’ve got a problem.’

Sikvah seemed scandalized, and Amanvah was silent a long moment, looking down at the box she held, tapping it against one hand. Rojer knew that was as irritated as he would likely ever see her, even if she were about to put her knife in his eye, or have Enkido break his fingers.

But at that moment, Rojer didn’t care. ‘Marriage is the death of freedom,’ his master used to say. He shook his head, deliberately buttoning his own cuff.
Not
for
me. Corespawn me if it is.

At last Amanvah looked up and met his eyes. ‘As you wish, husband.’

Leesha was a little surprised when Rojer asked to ride with her that morning, but did not question it. She told herself she was still annoyed with his decision to marry, but truer was she missed him terribly. Rojer had been her best friend and closest confidant for over a year, and she felt an emptiness when he was not close by.

Amanvah and Sikvah had put up an impenetrable wall with more than their singing and wailing. When they stopped for the night, they guarded Rojer like lions around a kill. This was the first time Leesha had been alone with him since the trip started, and even now they were forced to leave the curtains of the carriage open as a nod to Krasian decency.
Sharum
rode by regularly, not even bothering to hide their spying as they checked to ensure that she and Rojer remained clothed and on opposite benches.

But they had privacy nonetheless. Gared and Wonda rode to either side to keep everyone out of earshot, and Leesha had selected a driver she was sure did not speak a word of Thesan. Most of the Krasians who knew more than
please
and
thank
you
in Thesan tended to keep it secret as Amanvah and Sikvah once had, but the Hollowers were wise to the trick now, and had ferreted most of those out over the last week. Elona had proven particularly adept at the game, making outrageous statements and watching closely for tics and tells.

‘I think my mother liked your carriage a little too much,’ Leesha said. ‘You may find her unwilling to trade back after we stop for lunch.’

‘It’s a bit cold at the moment,’ Rojer said. ‘Amanvah and Sikvah did not care for the idea of us being alone together.’

‘Well they’re just going to have to get over that.’ Leesha nodded out the window to where Kaval was passing by on his horse. ‘Ahmann as well. I didn’t agree to cut every man out of my life when I slept with him, regardless of what his people think.’

‘My point exactly,’ Rojer agreed, ‘but I think it will be an ongoing battle.’

Leesha smiled. ‘That’s marriage, as I understand it. Are you regretting the decision?’

Rojer shook his head. ‘No one gets to dance for free. I’ll put my coins in the hat, but corespawned if I’ll be overcharged.’

Leesha nodded. ‘So what was worth risking the wrath of your wives to discuss?’

‘Your intended,’ Rojer said.

‘He’s not—’ Leesha began.

‘You’re throwing your weight around with the Krasians like he is,’ Rojer cut in. ‘So which is it?’

Leesha felt a twinge in her temple and pretended to brush back her hair so she could rub it. ‘What business is it of yours? You didn’t consult me on your betrothal.’

‘My wives aren’t kidnapping every able-bodied boy under fifteen,’ Rojer said. ‘If just half of them make it through
Hannu
Pash
…’

‘In a few years Ahmann will have an army of Thesan fanatics big enough to conquer everything from here to Fort Miln,’ Leesha finished. ‘I’m not blind, Rojer.’

‘So what are we going to do?’ Rojer asked.

‘Build our own,’ Leesha said. ‘The Hollow must keep expanding, and training Cutters in battle. Ahmann has named us tribesmen, and will not attack us if we do not attack him first.’

‘Do you really believe that?’ Rojer asked. ‘I’ll admit he’s not what I expected, but do you trust him?’

Leesha nodded. ‘Ahmann is many things, but he is honest. He has made no secret of his plans to conquer everyone who does not willingly join him in Sharak Ka, but that does not necessarily mean all must bow to him in the day.’

‘And if it does?’ Rojer asked.

‘Then perhaps he will take my hand as a symbolic conquest,’ Leesha said. ‘It’s not my first choice, but better than open war pitting neighbour against neighbour.’

‘That may save the Hollow,’ Rojer said, ‘but Lakton is still on the gibbet. The city might hold up better than Fort Rizon did, but the hamlets are indefensible. The Krasians will begin swallowing them soon.’

‘Agreed,’ Leesha said. ‘But there’s not a lot we can do about that.’

‘We can warn them,’ Rojer said. ‘And have them pass it on. Offer sanctuary and training in the Hollow now, while the roads are still passable.’

‘And how are we supposed to do that?’ Leesha asked.

Rojer smiled. ‘Play your princess act. Demand a roof over your head every night as we pass through Lakton, and no more kicking out everyone else at the inns. I am going to debut my new song, and need an audience.’

‘I do not think this is a good idea, mistress,’ Kaval said. He was the ranking
Sharum
, his red veil hanging loose about his throat in the midday sun. They had stopped briefly for lunch, and to allow folk to stretch their legs. The drillmaster’s tone was polite, but there was frustration under its veneer. He was not accustomed to explaining himself to women.

‘I do not care what you think, Sharum,’ Leesha said. ‘I will not sleep on the roadside with rocks for pillows when there are perfectly good inns until two days out from the Hollow.’

Kaval frowned. ‘We are no longer in the lands of Shar’Dama Ka. It is safer—’

‘To camp on the road where bandits can come on us at night?’ Leesha cut him off.

Kaval spat in the dust. ‘The
chin
cowards will not dare come at us on the road at night. The
alagai
would slaughter them.’

‘Bandits or demons, I don’t care to spend the night out with either,’ Leesha snapped.

‘Mistress has shown no fear of
alagai
before,’ Kaval pointed out. ‘I would worry more about hidden spears in some unknown
chin
village.’

‘What is this?’ Amanvah asked, coming over to them.

Kaval immediately went to one knee. ‘The mistress wishes to sleep in a
chin
village tonight, Dama’ting. I have told her this is unwise …’

‘She is correct, of course,’ Amanvah said. ‘I have no more desire to sleep in the naked night than she. If you’re afraid of a few local
chin
,’ she made a mockery of the word, ‘then by all means, leave us at the inn and put a tent out in the woods to hide till dawn.’

Leesha bit back a smile as she watched Kaval bow deeper to hide the grinding of his teeth.

‘We fear nothing, Dama’ting,’ the drillmaster said. ‘If this is your wish, we will commandeer—’

‘You will do nothing of the sort,’ Leesha interrupted. ‘As you say, this is not the Deliverer’s land. Our beds will be bought and paid for, not taken at spearpoint. We are not thieves.’

Leesha could swear she heard the grinding of teeth. Kaval’s eyes flicked to Amanvah, waiting for her to countermand the order, but the girl was wisely silent. She had regained something of her former haughtiness, but they both remembered what happened the last time she crossed Leesha.

‘Call the
Sharum
. All twenty-one, and have them sit there,’ Leesha pointed to a small clearing. ‘I will address them while they eat. I want no misconceptions about what is acceptable behaviour, both for the runners we send ahead and the bulk of the group when we reach town.’

She swept away, heading over to the cauldrons where the
dal’ting
prepared lunch for the caravan under Shamavah’s watchful eye. Most would receive a heavy brown soup of beef stock and flour with potatoes and vegetables, along with a half loaf of bread. The
Sharum
ate better, with spits of lamb and couscous in addition to their soup, which had large chunks of meat. Leesha, her parents, Rojer, and his wives all ate better still, herb-encrusted roast pheasant and rack of lamb, their couscous spiced and thick with butter.

Leesha came over to Shamavah. ‘I am addressing the
Sharum
over lunch. I will need you to translate for me.’

‘Of course, mistress.’ Shamavah bowed. ‘It would be my great honour.’

Leesha pointed to the place where the warriors were already beginning to gather. ‘See to it they are seated in a half-moon and given bowls.’ Shamavah nodded and hurried off.

Leesha went to the woman preparing the
Sharum
’s soup, taking the ladle from her and tasting it. ‘Needs more spice,’ she said, taking a few handfuls from the bowls of spice the cooks had laid out and tossing them into the soup. Along with a few herbs from her own apron.

She pretended to taste it again. ‘Perfect.’

Rojer held the last note of the
Song
of
Waning
for a long time, eyes closed, feeling the hum of the wood in his hands. He cut the note hard, and Amanvah and Sikvah followed him easily.

‘The hush before the roar,’ Arrick used to call it – that precious moment of silence between the last note of a brilliant performance and the applause of the crowd. With the heavy curtains pulled, even the myriad sounds of the caravan were muted.

Rojer felt his chest tighten, and suddenly realized he was holding his breath. There was no one to applaud, but he heard the sound anyway. He could say with no ego that as a trio, they exceeded anything he had ever done alone.

He let his breath out slowly, opening his eyes at the exact moment Amanvah and Sikvah opened theirs. Those beautiful eyes told him they, too, sensed the power of what they had wrought.

If
you
only
knew
, Rojer thought.
Soon, my loves. Soon I will show you.