The Dread Hammer (18 page)

~

F
or a time my brother was distracted by his wounds and the loss of Britta and it slipped his mind that he’d sworn vengeance against an innocent merchant woman in Nefión.

Smoke woke again in the evening, feeling well enough to get up and walk about the room. Ketty wasn’t at all pleased with his progress. “You should not be walking! You’re too weak for this. You’re going to fall.”

He couldn’t remember anyone fussing over him before. It was oddly pleasant, though kind of insulting too. “The Bidden aren’t weak, Ketty. If we don’t die outright, then we recover quickly.”

“You haven’t recovered yet. Look how swollen your poor shoulder is. You haven’t even eaten yet—and I watched half your blood drain away!”

“I have blood enough left to fill me when I look at you. Ketty, you’re so beautiful. If you want me to lie down again, then take off all your clothes and come lie down with me.”

The scathing look she gave him could have melted candles. “What kind of man are you that you can even think of your own pleasure when our Britta is gone?”

He frowned at her in puzzlement. What did one have to do with the other? “Why shouldn’t I think of you when you’re here beside me and it’s been so long? I’ve been dying for you. It’s long past the second moon.” He slipped his one good arm around her, and though she turned her face away, he kissed her neck and wheedled, “
Please?
”

It took some work, but eventually he persuaded her into bed. He was surprised to discover she was as hungry as he was. She helped him into her sacred gate. Then she grabbed his hips and thrust herself against him, her lips nibbling at his neck and his chest while he leaned on his good arm. How was he supposed to know the effort required of him would ignite such a fiery pain in his shoulder? Ah, but it did. A red hot poker thrust through his flesh would surely have been no worse.

Ketty was so deep into her pleasure she didn’t notice. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, crushing his left arm between them. “More, Smoke, more,” she whispered, as he tried not to scream. “Ah, such sweetness, I love you so much.”

He held on until she finished. It was a matter of pride. And was she grateful afterward? No! She berated him for half an hour just because the pain got so bad he was left retching on the pillow.

Takis barred anyone from entering Smoke’s room except herself, Tayval, and Ketty, while Smoke was not allowed to leave—not by walking anyway. “The Koráyos hate you,” Takis told him bluntly. “There are many who would kill you if they could, for murdering Dehan.”

Smoke shrugged it off. What did he care? “It was Dehan who forced me back here. I didn’t want to come.”

“Do you think that matters? The people loved Dehan. They don’t love you. You will stay here in your room, so no one will be tempted to be the hero.”

But she broke her own edict a few days later by bringing a stranger to his room.

Smoke’s recovery had continued its rapid pace. Ketty had gone out, so he’d shoved the sparse furnishings against the walls and was practicing with his sword, to get the knack of fighting with his left arm strapped and useless against his chest. Takis had given him a new blade, and its smooth, sharp edge whistled through the air as he progressed through the exercises. He was shirtless and sweating, his honey hair bound up in a top knot when the door opened without a knock and Takis came in with a Koráyos soldier. Or maybe he was a former soldier; though he had the bearing, he wasn’t wearing the uniform.

Smoke ceased his exercise, but he didn’t put the blade away just yet. He studied the soldier for a moment, then, “Seök,” he said, recalling a name and face from at least three years before. “So you’re not one of those who wants to kill me?”

“How do you know Seök?” Takis asked in surprise.

Smoke gave the memory a moment to fully surface. “You served in the borderlands, right?” Seök nodded. “Your company had the misfortune to stumble onto the irregulars when we were at work carrying out the Trenchant’s orders—but he’s not the Trenchant anymore, is he? We were carrying out Dehan’s orders. You didn’t know about the village massacres before that, did you?”

“I didn’t, sir, and we were told not to speak of it.” Seök was so on edge his voice was little more than a whisper. If he’d been armed, Smoke didn’t doubt his hand would be tight on the hilt of his sword.

“I’m sending Seök with you,” Takis announced. “I know you’ve never bothered to learn the paths through the East Tangle, but Seök will guide you. He knows them all.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. He’s afraid of me.”

“Does he have reason to be afraid of you?”

Smoke shrugged. “No more than anyone.”

“Swear that you won’t hurt him or his kin, that you’ll hold your temper in check, that you will not seek vengeance for any perceived slight—”

“When do I ever do that?”

She smiled. “
Everyone
is afraid of you, Smoke. Death is your nature. I think only Tayval knows how many you’ve slain, and maybe even she doesn’t know all. Men, women, children—”

“I didn’t want to kill the women and children! Dehan demanded it.”

“All of them?”

“Yes, all!” But that wasn’t quite true. “Almost all,” he amended. “There was one—”

“Yes?”

With a sudden sick feeling he remembered how it had felt to drive his sword through the midwife’s heart. “She cursed me for it, but it doesn’t matter.”

Takis’ gaze was stern. “Swear you will not assail Seök, or his kin, so he will not need to be afraid in your company.”

Smoke shrugged. He
was
a murderer; he had a fearsome demeanor. It was natural for people to be afraid. “I swear it. I will not assail either Seök or his kin and if it’s in my power I’ll protect them from harm.”

Takis turned to Seök. “You may go now.” When the door had closed behind him she walked up to Smoke. “Hand me your sword.”

“Why?”

“Just do it!”

“Why are you always in such a bad mood?” But he handed the sword over to her.

She stepped back, turned the blade around, and with lightning speed she set the point against his throat. “If you try to run the threads, I will pin you.”

He drew back, but she moved with him. “What’s wrong with you Takis? Have you gone crazy?”

“I want to tell you something before you find it out on your own. Seök is the one who saw you in Nefión. He’s the one who brought word of it to Dehan. He is the reason Dehan found you.”

Seök? Then it was not the midwife’s curse?

Rage flushed through him as he thought on everything that had changed. If not for Seök, would he even now be happy in the Wild Wood with Ketty? If not for Seök, would Britta be safely asleep in Ketty’s arms?
Seök
. His babbling tongue had wrecked everything! It occurred to Smoke that he should cut out Seök’s tongue prior to killing him. He would have gone in that moment to do it too, except for the sharp pressure of steel against his throat. That was the only thing that kept him grounded in the room.

“Remember your oath,” Takis warned him.

“You tricked me!”

“I did.”

“But I don’t remember Seök! I remember a woman in Nefión—not the one I killed, the other one, and I should have killed her too, I will kill her—she’s the only person who saw me and lived.”

“You will
not
kill her,” Takis said, pressing a little harder with the blade. “That woman was Seök’s sister. There’s no complaint you can make against her. She still believes you were a visiting Hauntén. Seök knew who you were, but he didn’t tell his sister.”

“Then he was there? In the store?”

“He was there, determined not to be noticed by you.”

“He betrayed me, Takis—”

“Seök did
not
betray you. He faithfully served the Trenchant, and at great risk to himself. He understands Koráyos loyalty far better than you do, brother. He’s an honorable man, you have no complaint against him, and by your oath you may bring him no harm.”

Smoke tried to see a way around it, but she had taken his oath, and now he was bound to it. It was a defeat, and it put him in a foul mood. “Stop sticking me with my own sword. Give it back to me now.”

Takis lowered the blade but she did not give it back. Her gaze was hard and angry, the same as it had been most days since he’d murdered their father. “You’re always against me now,” he complained. “But I love you still.”

“You have no choice.” She handed the blade back to him. “You will leave in the morning with Seök and Nedgalvin.”

“And Ketty.”

Takis shrugged. “You are not Bidden, Smoke, and you don’t belong to the Puzzle Lands, but you’re also not Hauntén.”

“I am Dehan’s demon son. I am what he made me.”

“I hope the Hauntén don’t kill you.”

“I share this hope.”

“I hope you live long enough to bring woe and ruin to the Lutawan king—and to set up Nedgalvin in his place.”

“You’re a very strange woman, Takis, to send away the man you love. I would never send Ketty away.”

“We do what we must, Smoke. In the end, even you might find it so.”

~

N
edgalvin is a dangerous man, bloody handed and ruthless. The very same words may be said about my brother, Smoke—but Smoke is bound by his word.

The sky above the fortress wall was pink with dawn when Seök led two horses, saddled and provisioned, from the stable. One of the stable boys followed with two more.

Seök had Smoke’s oath, along with the assurance of the Trenchant Takis that her demon brother would not seek revenge for his loyalty to Dehan, but he had a bad feeling for this venture all the same.

Bidden Hall’s tall doors opened. Takis and Tayval came out together into the morning cold, along with the tall Lutawan. Seök had been shocked when Takis introduced him to Nedgalvin, but the talk in Samerhen was that even Dehan had condoned the man, though no one knew why—so people were curious. As soon as the trio emerged onlookers began to gather: soldiers on their way to the mess hall, stable hands, tradesmen, housekeepers—all eager to know what passed.

Nedgalvin bowed to the Bidden twins, Takis and Tayval. His dark gaze lingered on Takis for longer than seemed polite. Then he descended the stairs and took his horse from the stable boy.

Motion drew Seök’s gaze upward, where a snaking plume of gray vapor spilled down along the stone face of Bidden Hall. From the onlookers there came anxious gasps and angry murmurs as Smoke materialized between his sisters. He was dressed in britches and boots, but his torso was bare except for the sword on his back and the sling that still bound his left arm against his chest. His honey-brown hair was tied in a tail on top of his head so that it cascaded down his back. One by one his gaze picked out those soldiers and servants who dared to speak against him and very quickly there was only silence in the courtyard.

Then the girl Ketty came running out the door with a leather satchel slung across her shoulder and a look on her face that said she was afraid that if she was late she’d be left behind. Smoke took her hand. He said something to his sisters that Seök couldn’t hear, then he brought Ketty down the stairs.

Seök took one of the horses forward for Ketty to ride.

Smoke stuffed Ketty’s satchel into a saddle bag, then he boosted her onto her horse. He took a few minutes fitting the stirrups. Then he turned to Seök. Death looked out of his eyes. “My sister has gifted your life to you. If not for her—”

“I understand,” Seök said softly.

Smoke nodded. “I put it on you to keep Ketty safe when I’m not nearby. She’s the mother of a Bidden child, and is owed Koráyos loyalty.”

Seök did not even try to conceal the keen insult he felt. “Of course I’ll safeguard her! I don’t need to be threatened to do what is right. She’s clearly no soldier, but a vulnerable young woman like my own dear wife, and is owed protection on that alone.”

Smoke drew back, looking confounded by this outburst, but after a moment, he shrugged. “It’s just that I love her. You understand?”

Seök did. And what did it mean that a demon like Smoke could have the same feelings toward his wife that Seök had toward his?

Smoke turned back to Ketty to bid her goodbye.

“But aren’t you riding with us?” Seök asked.

Smoke scowled in contempt at the horses. “I hate riding almost as much as I hate walking. I’ll be going ahead to make sure there are no wolves lying in wait along the road. Bring my horse though. I’ll likely need it later.”

So Seök called to the stable boy to bring the other horse. But Smoke wasn’t quite through. He caught Seök’s sleeve. “Keep an eye on the Lutawan too. If he shows any disrespect to Ketty, I want to know of it.” Then he did as demons will: he unfurled himself into vapor and sped away. The startled horses snorted and danced in fright, but Seök held onto them.

When the horses were quiet again Seök climbed into the saddle, and as they set out his thoughts went again to his own wife and he offered up a short prayer to Koráy,
Please, Lady, grant that I may see her again
.

Seök led them east into the mountains. At first there was little conversation, but after a time he found himself talking to Ketty about his wife and his business as a teamster, and she was excited to hear that he had just come south from the Binthy sheep country where she’d been born. She didn’t talk of her missing baby though. There was no point in it.

Seök didn’t see Smoke all that morning. Despite the demon’s absence, he felt sure they were being watched. Nedgalvin said as much when they stopped to rest the horses. “He’s here somewhere. I can feel his presence like a chill on the air.”

Ketty shot him an angry look but Nedgalvin didn’t notice. He didn’t speak to her, or even look at her, that Seök could see. Of course it was rude, but Seök figured it was just as well. If Nedgalvin never spoke to the woman he could not insult her, and Seök would ask for no more than that.

Midafternoon found them deep within the East Tangle. They followed a back road that wound through a pine forest above steep valleys where plantations of timber bamboo grew. The slightest breeze would rush through the canopy of bamboo leaves with the sound of a cataract, but when the breeze rested a deep quiet filled the mountains. It was during one such respite that they heard ahead of them a
clip-clop
of hooves and the crunch of wheels against the paving stones.

Moments later there came around a bend in the road a farmer’s cart pulled by a gray pony. Two men walked beside it, one young, one old. They looked up with a start at the travelers. Seök was surprised to see fear on their faces. They whispered to one another as if debating their options. Then the young man shook his head. A pony cart could hardly hope to run away from three horsemen, so they had no choice but to come on.

Seök waved, hoping to ease their fear. “Greetings to you,” he called out. “Though you look uneasy—have you had trouble on the road?”

“Ah, sir!” They hurried forward, and Seök dismounted to meet them.

Nedgalvin followed his example, but Ketty stayed on her horse, eyeing the two farmers anxiously.

The older farmer studied both Seök and Nedgalvin with a squinting gaze. “Are you soldiers, sir?” he asked with some hope.

“Retired,” Seök told him.

“Ah, well.” He looked disappointed. “It’s my advice to you not to go on. It isn’t safe. There’s a bloody-handed demon, not a mile behind us, waiting at the crossroads, with long, brown hair and a beardless face, dressed in britches and boots—”

“But no shirt!” the youth cut in. “Just a scabbard on his back!”

“Yes, and he has but one arm,” the elder added.

“No, Pa. His other arm was in a sling!”

The father shrugged. “Anyway, he was splattered with blood—not his, I’d wager—though he had a terrible scar on his neck. He was sitting there all quiet, with his back to the waystone and his sword across his lap, gazing this way down the road. He’s waiting for someone, I tell you. I just know it.”

“He didn’t threaten you?” Nedgalvin asked curiously.

“Nah. He said nothing to us, though we left him an offering of sweet cakes. But there was such a chill on the air we knew he had someone’s death in mind.”

“He said he would look for wolves along the road!” Ketty said defensively.

“Are there wolves in these parts?” Nedgalvin asked the farmers.

Both looked at Nedgalvin as if he were loony. The old man answered, “No, sir. These are settled lands.”

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Ketty whispered as the two farmers went on their way.

Nedgalvin still didn’t look at her. He might have been talking to the air when he said, “Spattered with blood already. It didn’t take him long to find some poor bastard to murder.”

“You don’t know what happened,” Ketty said, but her voice was soft with doubt.

Nedgalvin pretended he didn’t hear her.

They continued on. Ketty was anxious, so she kicked her horse into a trot and it was only a few minutes before they reached the crossroads where the waystone stood, but Smoke was not there.

Ketty rode her horse in a circle around the waystone as if she hoped she might find him hiding on its other side. “Why isn’t he here?” she asked no one in particular.

“He left the sweet cakes,” Nedgalvin observed. “Go fetch them, Seök.”

Seök did, but he brought them to Ketty to eat. “We’re going to leave the road here,” he told her gently. “This far north, the only way through the East Tangle is by trail.”

She looked at him with worried eyes. “But if we leave the road, how will Smoke find us?”

Seök wondered that he could feel Smoke’s presence along the road while Ketty could not. “Don’t worry. He’s been keeping an eye on us. I know it.”

A close eye
, Seök thought, though he didn’t say it aloud.