The Pagan's Prize (3 page)

In the next instant a dank, fetid cloth was stuffed in
her mouth, and limp as a rag, she was flung over a broad shoulder, the wind
knocked painfully from her lungs. She felt her captor running, his breathing
hard and labored, and when he abruptly stopped, she heard as if from a great
distance the rush of water and oars scraping. Then all consciousness receded
and pitch-blackness engulfed her.

***

Hermione waited several hours—enjoying a leisurely bath
and the ministrations of her slave women as they massaged her with fragrant
oils and dressed her for bed—before she sent all of her attendants away and
summoned a rain-soaked guard. Reclining comfortably upon a divan, she didn't
deign to look at him, but toyed with a filigree gold and glass perfume bottle.

"Go to Phineas's tent and wake him. I wish to
speak with him at once."

As she expected, the guard returned to inform her that
Phineas had not yet been to his quarters.

"Then search the camp and find him!"

And, as she expected, a short while later a great hue
and cry of alarm was raised, echoing throughout the camp. Within moments a grim
chief of the guards came rushing into the tent. Feigning panic, Hermione rose
to meet him.

"What has happened?" she demanded shrilly. "Why
all the shouting?"

"Princess Zora has been abducted, my lady! We
found the empty litter near her tent and Phineas lying senseless beside it.
Three of the bearers were strangled, while the fourth hovers near death."

"No, this can't be true," Hermione objected
with suitable disbelief while inwardly she fought the urge to laugh aloud in
triumph. "It can't be! How could such a thing have happened? Where were
the guards?"

"Those assigned to your sister's tent were
murdered, their throats cut. The rest in the camp heard and saw nothing. The
rain was so heavy, dousing the torches, and with no moonlight—"

"Did Phineas say anything when you found him? Did
he see his attackers? Holy Mother Mary, I sent him a good while ago to escort
Zora back to her tent after she and I had finished our supper. I thought him long
abed!"

"When we managed to rouse him, he said only that
he and the bearers were almost to the entrance when he was suddenly struck from
behind on the head. He remembers nothing more. As for the slave, we will have
to wait until he regains his senses . . . if he does."

"Have Phineas brought to me." Wringing her
hands, Hermione began to circle the divan in distraction. "My women will
care for him here."

"Very well, my lady. I am ordering a search to
begin at once for your sister—"

"No!" Hermione hysterically rounded upon him.
"I forbid any guards to leave this camp!"

"But, my lady, Princess Zora's abductors already
have a good lead upon us. If we don't set out soon—"

"I said no! We could be attacked again, and if
your elite guards could not prevent this terrible event"—she glared at him
accusingly— "what makes you think half their number will be enough to
protect the camp? This could be some evil plot by Grand Prince Yaroslav . . .
taking hostages to use against my father. Next, they might be planning to come
after me!"

"Calm yourself, my lady. I will post a double ring
of well-armed guards around your tent—"

"Yes, at once! But I still forbid any of your men
to leave! You can blame the element of surprise for this unfortunate night's
work, but you will have no excuse for my father if we suffer a second
successful attack!"

His sweaty face paling, the chief of the guards
reluctantly acquiesced. "As you wish, Princess Hermione, but at first
light I insist upon sending out some of my men. Prince

Mstislav's wrath will be fierce if we do not search for
your sister."

Sensing his stubbornness and accepting begrudgingly the
truth of his words, Hermione decided it was wise to humor him. At least no
guards would be sent out until morning, long hours away.

"Very well, that much I will allow," she said
shakily. "And though Chernigov is almost a week's journey away, we shall
make all haste and alert my father. If your guards fail to rescue my poor
sister, his men surely will." She bowed her head and covered her face with
her hands as if about to weep. "Leave me."

But no one would find her, Hermione thought smugly,
watching the man through laced fingers as he strode from the tent.

The slavers who had captured Zora were miles down the
Desna River by now, and would travel all night to put distance between
themselves and the camp. They had been paid well to do so. Their ships would be
past Chernigov and on their way south to Kiev long before word of the abduction
ever reached her father, no matter how swiftly the caravan traveled. And even
if the chief of the guards insisted upon sending messengers ahead with the grim
news, they would still be too late.

Alone again, Hermione poured herself some wine and
raised the goblet in a silent toast to Phineas. Her loyal chief eunuch had done
his job well. It had taken him weeks to find a slave merchant to suit their
purpose, but two nights ago while visiting a trading town not far from camp, he
had finally succeeded.

A wily old trader bound for Constantinople with over
one hundred slaves had readily agreed to have his men abduct a woman described
as a concubine fallen into disfavor with her master's wife. Apparently Prince
Mstislav's invading forces had killed both of the merchant's sons, and he was
only too eager to win his own brand of vengeance against the royal upstart from
Tmutorokan. He believed he'd be depriving some arrogant boyar of his pampered
whore. Gold grivna had changed hands and arrangements were made. All Hermione
had to do was find some way to drug Zora, and that had been easy.

"Gullible little bitch," Hermione muttered,
disgusted by the conciliatory role she had had to play. She took a draft of
wine, but her throat was so tightened that she could barely swallow.

Poison would have proved simpler—and she would have
resorted to it if the right slave merchant hadn't been found—but mute servitude
suited a bastard daughter born of a common slave better than a quick death. A
bastard who had usurped Prince Mstislav's affection and become the favored one,
the much beloved golden child. A bastard betrothed to Ivan, the man Hermione
secretly loved and hoped to marry. That final indignity had forced the plan she
had long nurtured. Tonight, vengeance was hers at last . . .

Hermione's attention was drawn by a sudden commotion at
the tent's entrance. She glanced up to find Phineas suspended limply between
two burly guards, his soaked tunic muddy and torn, his shaved head lolling upon
his chest. How convincingly he played his part!

"Bring him here," she ordered, gesturing to a
divan that she quickly covered with a blanket. "Be careful, I tell you, or
you'll only cause him more pain!" When Phineas was settled, a warm blanket
thrown over him, she asked one of the men, "Has the bearer been taken to
the healer's tent?"

"He is dead, my lady. A few moments ago."

Absorbing this news, Hermione dismissed the guards with
a nod. She held her breath, waiting until they were gone, then she exhaled
slowly, a smile curving her lips.

"We're alone, Phineas."

The eunuch's dark eyes opened, but he made no effort to
rise. "I have pleased you, my mistress?"

"Infinitely, faithful one. You have secured my
happiness. Lord Ivan's bride will not be a bastard, but a true Rus princess
with the blood of Byzantine emperors in her veins." Kneeling beside the
divan, she lifted his head and brought her own goblet to his lips. As he drank
thirstily, she asked, "Did you give Gleb's men my warning?"

Laying his head down, Phineas met her eyes. "Yes,
mistress, but I have one fear. If Princess Zora tells them who she is before
they can silence her tongue forever—"

"It will make no difference," Hermione
assured him as she refilled the goblet. "You said this Gleb bums for
vengeance for the death of his two sons. Whether his captive is princess or
concubine, he will follow my bidding and sell her with pleasure in the slave
markets of Constantinople."

"But if he becomes convinced of her royal
parentage, he could find his revenge in giving her to Grand Prince Yaroslav."

"You also told me that Gleb was a shrewd man,"
Hermione reminded him. She had already considered this possibility and yet
deemed her plan worth the risk. "To believe Zora was a princess, he would
also know that he had not dealt with a rich, embittered wife as you described
me to him, but someone vastly more powerful. I'm sure he would realize defiance
of my orders would cost him his life." She rose to her feet. "Enough
talk, Phineas. I will summon my women to care for you. Remember, you've been
struck violently upon the head. Now close your eyes and rest."

Turning her back to him, Hermione went to the side
entrance that led to her personal slaves' tent. After sending one of the guards
standing sentry outside for her women, she deftly pulled a small enamel vial
from the tight sleeve of her sleeping dress and poured a measure of fine white
powder into her goblet. The poison dissolved quickly and she returned the vial
to her sleeve.

"I imagine you've heard about the tragedy that has
befallen my sister, and that Phineas was injured," she said quietly to the
first slave who entered. "I put you in charge of his care." She
handed the somber-faced woman the goblet. "See that he drinks this wine.
It will calm him."

"Yes, mistress."

Glancing at the divan, Hermione felt a twinge of
regret. Yet she couldn't allow Phineas to live. He knew too much, and it would
seem suspicious that the four bearers had perished but not him, however
convincing his charade. He would expire of a sudden seizure within the hour, a
development easily blamed upon his injury.

"Is there anything you need, mistress?"
inquired another slave woman who followed Hermione to her curtained sleeping
area at the rear of the tent.

"No," she answered as the brocade draperies
were drawn for her privacy. "Go and tend to Phineas with the others."
Turning away, she smiled to herself. "Tell him I said to sleep well."

Chapter 2

Zora awoke to the sound of snoring. Her ears buzzed
from the loud rumbling noise and her head pounded viciously. Dazed, she opened
her eyes, her blurred vision gradually focusing upon a canvas wall only inches
from her face.

She wondered who could be making such a racket. Her
brain ached at the effort to think. Surely not one of her slave women, and if a
guard was sleeping at his post outside her tent, she would have to report him
for his laxness. Yet she wasn't inclined to leave her bed to discover the
culprit. Besides her terrible headache, she felt dizzy, and it was comfortable
lying here, the furs so soft beneath her

"Furs?" she breathed, confused. Her bed had
never been covered with animal skins, but a fine silken quilt. And she slept
between linen sheets, not under a prickly wool blanket like the one pulled up
to her shoulder.

Filled with sudden unease, Zora winced as she slowly
raised herself on one elbow. Massaging an aching temple, she looked around the
small, shadowy interior.

This wasn't her tent! The space was empty but for this
low pile of furs and some wooden barrels stacked against an opposite wall. A
strange roughly dressed man slumped on a bench near the entrance, his arms
crossed and his chin resting on his chest. Another snore shattered the
stillness and she realized he was fast asleep, his mouth hanging open and drool
trickling from one slack corner.

Her confusion mounting, Zora thought to rise, but
suddenly uproarious laughter sounded just outside the tent. Gasping, she fell
back upon the furs as if she had been struck and rolled onto her side,
squeezing her eyes shut. Her companion snorted awake, the bench creaking as he
shifted his stout bulk and rose.

"Damned Varangians," he grumbled, coming to
stand over her.

Zora fought the urge to stiffen as the man nudged her
bottom with his toe. She heard him grunt and, to her disgust, break wind as he
scratched himself, then he turned abruptly as the tent flaps were thrown aside.

"Still asleep?" The voice was gruff and
gravelly, like that of an older man.

"Aye, Gleb. Hasn't twitched a muscle. Whatever
that eunuch used to drug her, he must have given her a double dose to knock her
out for this long."

So she had been drugged, Zora thought wildly, the dense
mist gradually clearing from her brain. But how? When? She had gone to Hermione's
tent, had drunk some wine . . . Oh, God! Vague memories crowded in upon her and
became more vivid . . . her strange weariness, the litter crashing to the
ground, Phineas's whispered voice, brutal hands seizing her—

"It's just as well. I've no time for her right
now. This trading camp is swarming with eager buyers. Foreign merchants, too. I
want to make more sales before we set off again. The journey downriver will be
swifter with a few dozen less slaves."

"But, Gleb, do you think we should risk another
hour's delay? We've already been here since midafternoon and it's nearing
sunset. Guards could have been sent out to look for the wench."

The older man gave a dry laugh. "For a concubine?
I doubt it, but if they are, we've managed a good day's lead on any search
party. Why do you think we kept our ships so hard to the river until we stopped
here?"

She was no concubine! Zora screamed silently, her
thoughts reeling. She forced herself to take steady breaths, knowing both men
now stood over her.

"Pity she has to lose her tongue, a fine beauty
like this," the younger one muttered. "As a mute, she won't fetch but
half the price in Constantinople."