Death and Honor: Book 2 of 2 (3 page)

One day during an exercise break Xander spotted Sophia sitting by herself watching the other kids play. Xander finished helping Kaylin make a few rounds of the clearing where they’d stopped. She was getting stronger all the time and hardly needed his help anymore. When she’d had enough he went to talk to Sophia.

“Want some company?”

She gestured to the grass beside her and he sat. “How are your patients doing?”

“Gregor will be permanently blind in one eye. John is fine, his wounds were shallow. How’s yours?”

Xander grinned. “Kaylin should be good as new in a couple weeks.”

Sophia bit her lip.

“What?”

“How can you look after her like she did nothing wrong? It might have been you that got whipped because of her. As it was an innocent boy suffered because of her actions. Aren’t you angry at all?”

“I’m angry, furious, but not with Kaylin. She didn’t swing that whip or lock any of us in cages. I find fault with her timing not her actions. If she’d waited a few weeks or a month she’d have caught him off guard. One of the lessons my father used to teach is that it’s hard for a guard to stay alert all the time when nothing ever happens. After a month of monotony even the most alert guard gets bored. Once he gets bored he’ll be slow to react when something happens. That might have been all the edge she needed.”

Sophia looked at him, a little frown creasing her forehead. “You have an odd way about you. You sit here and show me kindness and respect; you tend the girl’s wounds and help her with whatever she needs. All that says one thing about you and yet I saw what you did to Gregor. How can that be?”

Xander sighed and stretched out of the grass. How could it be? He wasn’t sure he knew the answer. “Maybe if I told you about my family. Father was a knight. For as long as I can remember he taught my brother, Gabriel, and I about honor and what it meant to be a knight. Perhaps that explains the kindness and respect. As to the other, I’ve always been small for my age and the only thing fighting fair does for people like me is get us beaten up. I have to rely on speed, which is useless in a cage or I fight dirty. My style drove Father crazy. I think he’d have rather seen me lose the right way than win my way.”

“Is it such a terrible thing to do things the right way?”

“Not at all. I’ve thought a lot about what Father taught us. I’ve had a lot of spare time. Look at it this way: say there are two knights. One fights honorably and dies in battle rather than compromise his beliefs. The other fights to win and survives with his honor tarnished. Who’s the hero? The dead man or the one that’s still alive to protect his people when the next threat appears.”

“You have given this a lot of thought,” she said.

Xander nodded. “Perhaps too much. Honor will do me no good as a slave. I will do what it takes to survive. Whoever killed my family will wish I never crawled out of that fire.”

Sophia shrank back from him. He smiled to take the darkness from his words.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. How long until we get where we’re going?”

“Three more weeks,” she said. “Maybe a little more depending on the roads.”

Three more weeks. Xander felt strong enough to make a run for it, but he had no idea where they were and Kaylin was still too weak. He’d have to wait a little longer.

“
I
’ve got a plan
,” Xander whispered in Kaylin’s ear. It was late afternoon and they snuggled together in the back on the wagon. He’d gotten the idea for them to play at being a couple so they could whisper and no one would think twice about it. If Sophia was right they had two weeks before they got to the slave market. “When Hess brings dinner tonight I’ll have a coughing fit. When everyone’s looking at me I need you to steal a bottle from Sophia’s satchel. It’ll be marked with three zs and contain a gray powder.”

“No problem. What are we going to do with it?”

“Nothing, right now. When we get dinner save the biggest piece of meat from your soup.”

A few minutes before sunset the wagons rattled to a stop. A little while later Hess threw the tarp back. Hess’s helper got a fire stared and put the soup pot on it. Half an hour later he filled the bowls and Sophia brought them to the back of the cage. Hess unlocked it. Xander moved toward the door to collect his bowl. When he reached the edge of the wagon he started coughing and fell out onto the ground. He rolled around hacking like he couldn’t breathe.

Kaylin jumped out. “You have to do something.” She sounded every bit the worried girlfriend.

Hess shoved her aside and Sophia ran for her satchel. She set it down, collected the yellow powder, and started mixing. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kaylin ease over to the satchel.

Xander took the cup and swallowed the contents, nodded, and stopped coughing. When Sophia swung around Kaylin was back on the ground where she’d started. They collected their food and got back in the cage.

Later that night when everyone was asleep Xander whispered, “You got it?”

Kaylin placed a small bottle in his hand. “Easy. What now?”

“Did you save your meat?”

She put something wet in his hand beside the pouch.

“Good now we start the dogs’ training.”

Hess kept the mastiffs tied to the rear axle of the first wagon. When Xander stuck his arm out of the cage they growled. He tossed his piece of meat to the left mastiff who snatched it out of the air. Kaylin’s went to the one on the right. Neither growled any more.

“
O
ne more day
you little bastards.” They’d stopped for the night outside a small, two story traveler’s inn. “Tomorrow we reach Arbadha, the glorious city of my birth, and I finally get rid of you.”

Hess laughed, dragged Sophia out of her cage, and led her by the arm toward the inn. For the last two weeks their pace had picked up and Hess hadn’t bothered covering the cages. When, Xander asked Sophia about it on one of their now rare rest stops she said they’d entered a country that allowed slavery.

Xander grimaced as he watched Hess lead Sophia away. Tonight they would make their move and he didn’t want to leave her behind. Without Hess to oversee him the dimwit handed out dried meat without cooking. Xander leaned against the back wall and motioned Kaylin to join him. She snuggled up under his arm.

“We’re going tonight, you ready?”

“I’ve been ready for the last ten days. When do we move?”

“After midnight, that idiot won’t wake up unless we yell in his ear. Once the dogs are out we’re home free.”

They lay together, the picture of a happy couple. Kaylin dozed on his shoulder but Xander’s eyes stayed open, alert for anything that might change their plans. He hoped Sophia was okay. Xander couldn’t stand the thought of leaving her with Hess.

A few hours later a lantern came bobbing through the dark toward the wagons. In the meager light Hess’s red, sweaty face gleamed. As the slaver got closer he saw Sophia beside him, Hess had her by the hair.

Hess hung his lantern on a nail at the rear of wagon, unlocked the cage, and threw Sophia inside. Her face was a solid bruise and blood leaked from the corner of her mouth and nose. Xander helped her away from the door before Hess slammed it shut and locked it. Hess stalked back to the inn without a word.

Xander took a scrap of cloth and wiped the blood off Sophia’s face. “Are you okay?”

She whimpered. Xander brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Come on, talk to me. What happened?”

Sophia sobbed and between breaths said, “Master Hess, he tried. But he couldn’t. Said it was my fault. He hit me. Dragged me back.”

Xander got the gist and held her as she cried. It wasn’t enough to get away now. When she fell silent he said, “You’re okay now.”

Her whole body shook. “He said he’d sell me to a whorehouse.” She sniffled again.

“Don’t worry.” No, getting away wasn’t enough at all. “What room is he in?”

“Seven, on the second floor. Why?”

“No reason. You just rest.”

After her crying spell Sophia fell into an exhausted sleep. A little past midnight Hess’s assistant snored in his seat on the second wagon. Xander took the dried meat and chewed in a little so the sleep powder would stick. When he dosed two pieces with a thick coating of the powder he went to the back of the cage. The mastiffs perked up when he stuck his hand out of the cage, eager for their evening treat. He tossed each of them a piece which they snapped out of the air. Kaylin joined him and they watched as the dogs fell over on their sides, sound asleep. They shared a grin and eased over to the cage door

Xander gestured to the door. “Be my guest.”

Kaylin picked the lock in seconds and they climbed down. The dogs never flinched. He reached back and helped Mary down then Jackson. Sophia came awake at all the movement and Xander motioned her to climb down.

“Let the others out,” Xander said. “If I’m not back in half an hour start toward the city, I’ll catch up.”

“Wait.” Kaylin grabbed his arm. “Where are you going?”

Xander pulled free. “To say goodbye to our generous host.” He ran toward the inn, not giving her a chance to argue.

He walked with slow silent steps toward the door. Xander had spent a good deal of time hunting and sneaking around back home so stealthy movement came natural to him. About three quarters of the way to the inn he stopped and wondered what he’d do if someone locked the door. Kaylin had the pick. Xander shook his head and kept going; he’d have to hope for the best.

Xander ignored the front door and went around the back of the building. As he’d hoped the inn had a back door and when he tried the latch it opened. A banked fire provided enough light that he could make out where the kitchen work stations rested. Xander stood in the doorway and held his breath. The inn was corpse quiet. No one had noticed his entrance.

A quick, quiet search of the kitchen yielded a six inch serrated knife and a thin bladed paring knife. If Hess locked his door Xander hoped he could force it with the thin blade. Carrying a weapon in each hand Xander eased the kitchen door open. The empty common room held nothing of interest save a set of stairs leading up to the second floor. Xander mounted the steps, keeping close to the edge to avoid squeaks.

At the top, straight across from him, was a door with the number three glued to it. A hall branched ten feet to the right and forty feet to the left. A lantern at either end provided dim illumination. Xander turned left and eased his way down the hall until he stood before room seven. He tried the door, but as he feared Hess had barred it. Xander slipped the thin blade of the paring knife between the casing and the door and worked it up until he hit the bar. He kept pushing until the resistance vanished and a dull thump sounded.

He tensed, ready to run. A slow count to thirty later Xander eased the door open. Hess’s snores echoed through the room. In the dim light of the moon the half naked slaver sprawled on the bed like a mountain of flesh. Xander gagged at the stench of sweat and spilled ale. He eased over closer, one cautious foot at a time.

The closer he got the more Xander trembled. Here laid the man that made him a slave, that hurt innocent children for fun, that hurt Sophia. Standing over the quivering mound of flesh Xander found stabbing him in his sleep insufficient. He wanted Hess to experience fear for a change.

Xander raised the serrated blade in his right hand then poked Hess in the shoulder with the paring knife, deep enough to draw blood. Hess’s eyes popped open. When he saw the knife in Xander’s hand his eyes widened. Xander smiled and slammed six inches of sharp steel into Hess’s bulging right eye. The slaver convulsed twice then went still.

Knees weak, Xander made a quick search of the room. He found Hess’s coin pouch, light, but better than nothing. He peaked out into the hall. Someone staggered by half asleep and he shut the door. After a slow five count he peaked out again in time to see whoever walked by open the door to room four and step inside. Xander left Hess’s room, shut the door behind him, and retraced his steps back to the kitchen. He opened the kitchen door a crack, but everything looked the same as he left it. The cook wouldn’t start the morning bread for another couple hours.

Xander found an old grain sack and searched the kitchen for anything useful. He collected half a loaf of day old bread, some dried sausages, and four apples, not much, but it would have to do. Beside the sink pump he found two skins and filled them with water. Last he grabbed a heavy steel cleaver and a second serrated knife. With the grain sack over one shoulder and the skins over the other he ducked outside and jogged back toward the wagons.

In the dim moonlight he spotted the other kids gathered a ways up the road away from the still sleeping guard.

“Where have you been?” Kaylin asked as soon as he joined them.

“I told you I had to say goodbye. I got stole food from the kitchen in case it’s further to the city than Hess made out.”

“We should get back in the cages.” The side of Sophia’s face had swollen while he was gone. She still clutched her satchel of healing supplies. “Master Hess will be upset if he finds us out.”

“Don’t worry.” Xander put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Hess won’t be upset. Nothing will ever upset him again. We need to put some distance between us and the inn before morning.”

“If we go with you we’ll get caught and be punished like when she escaped,” John said. The rest of the kids seemed inclined to agree with him.

“Anyone that wants to come with us is welcome. If you prefer to stay here suit yourselves.”

Xander took Sophia by the hand and started down the road, Kaylin beside him. He glanced back and saw the other kids standing around outside the inn. He shook his head. If they didn’t move they’d all get recaptured. He’d given them a chance at freedom. Now he needed to look after himself and his friends.

T
hey traveled
at a steady walk until the sun colored the horizon. “We should get off the road,” Xander said.

Kaylin nodded and they turned off the road and into the scrub growing alongside. “How far do you think we should go?”

“Until we find a good place to hole up for the day, I’m beat.”

Ten minutes of walking and they found a thick stand of palm shrubs. Xander pushed his way though and found a clearing in the center. Tight, but he thought they’d all fit. They sat in a circle and Xander handed out food. The girls had an apple apiece and he ate some meat and bread.

They ate in silence for a few minutes then Sophia said, “Master Hess will be angry. Shouldn’t we go back? If we say we’re sorry he might not be too mean.”

“I told you Hess won’t get mad. He’s dead. I stabbed him in the eye and left him rotting back in his room. You’re free. We’re all free.”

“You killed him?” Sophia’s eyes got wide. “You killed the man that provided you with food and shelter for the last three months. If not for him you’d have died.”

“Better to die than live as that pig’s slave. After the way he treated you I thought you’d be the first to dance on his grave.”

“Oh, no, Master Hess only punishes me when I do something bad. He took care of me after I became a slave. Who will take care of me now? Don’t you feel bad about killing him?”

Gods above, was she serious? “The only thing I regret was that I didn’t have the time to give him the death he deserved.” Xander shook his head. “Why don’t you get some sleep? We’ll keep watch.”

Sophia finished her apple, tossed the core away, and curled up on her side. When her breathing became deep and regular Kaylin said, “When you said you wished you’d given him the death he deserved did you mean…”

She let the sentence trail off, but he knew what she asked. Not in the mood to mince words he said, “I would have liked to roast him over hot coals for a few hours then feed his still screaming body to a pack of starving dogs.”

Kaylin swallowed. “Oh.”

Xander grinned. “Is that what you were asking?”

“Yeah, that’s what I was asking. Damn, remind me never to become your enemy.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Were you thinking of becoming my enemy?”

“Of course not. You took care of me when I was hurt. None of the others cared. No one ever did anything like that for me before.”

“No one? What about your mother?”

Kaylin’s laugh sounded more bitter than amused. “My mother was a two silver a night whore that worked the King’s Port docks. The only thing she ever did for me was allow me to be born and the only reason she did that was she couldn’t afford the potion that would have gotten rid of me.”

“I’m sorry.” Xander sighed then smiled. “Forget about it. My family’s gone, Sophia’s is gone, and you never had one. We’ll take care of each other now, be a new family. I always wanted an older sister and now I have two.”

The look she gave was both curious and hopeful. “You want a thief and the daughter of a whore for a sister?”

“Sure, you can’t control who your mother was. I’ve known noblemen whose children I couldn’t stand despite their high birth. The truth is we’re alone in a strange country. If we don’t keep an eye out for each other no one will, besides.” He offered a lopsided smile. “I like you.”

Kaylin’s lip trembled. She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him. She cried against his chest and he hugged her. When the crying stopped he asked, “What was that about?”

“I’ve been alone for so long.”