Dragon Ultimate (12 page)

When it became apparent that they wouldn't pry anything more out of him, they tired of the sport and went back to the ever-present topic of the plague.

The news overnight had been sensational. A complete cut off in cases for six hours… a few cases in the morning, but then no more. It looked as if the witches were right. The campaign against fleas was succeeding.

"Jak's back," said Swane. "What's it like up in Lost Buck Woods?"

"They're still digging. I heard there's ten thousand buried up there so far."

"By the Hand," muttered someone.

"Well I can tell you this," said Manuel. "There's not a flea left alive in the dragonhouse."

"Hey, not that many left in the whole city by now," Curf chipped in.

"I bet there are some. There are always going to be some," groused Endi.

"But the plague has stopped…"

Cuzo's voice cut through the conversation, calling them to a parade. The day's assignments had come down.

With sighs and groans they tumbled out and formed up.

The rest of that day was much like the one before. They worked over the lower parts of the city eliminating rats and smoking out houses. When they finally could take no more they were sent back to take care of their dragons and then sleep.

Thus it went for three more days, by which time there had been no new cases of the plague for two whole days. It was over.

The black plague had been stopped in its tracks in Marneri, but there had been a loss of 13,155 poor souls, most of them buried in the huge charnel pits in Lost Buck Woods. Another 9,406 were infected, but survived the disease, though many of those died within a year or two.

After a citywide ceremony the monument to the dead was begun in Lost Buck Woods. Another was begun on the row of monuments which decorated the parade ground before the Tower of Guard. On it would be engraved the names of those who had died in the effort to stop the plague. Among the names would be that of Efen of the House of Debune.

And life went on. The tenements of Fish Hill and dockside were pulled down, and city planners began to work on their ultimate dream, clearing away the whole warren of slums and putting new commercial avenues through that would allow for expansion of the mercantile areas of Broad Street and Tower Street.

Marneri had taken a heavy blow, but had shrugged off the worst aspects and stood there with head unbowed.

Elsewhere in the Enniad cities the plague was also brought under control. It took longest in Kadein, of course, where more than a hundred thousand bodies were interred in ten enormous pits dug along the Kadein-Minuend road.

Ryotwa and Vo, both of which had been spared the plague, produced an unprecedented outpouring of resources to help the stricken cities. From Vo ships went to Vusk and Talion. From Ryotwa help was sent to all the southern cities, even to Marneri despite the legacy of hard feelings that still existed in Ryotwa toward the larger city on the Long Sound.

In the summer night Lessis the Gray Witch stood with Lagdalen on the moor outside Marneri. The bodyguard Mirk hovered in the darkness of the trees behind them. Standing under the lantern at the mile marker, they awaited the arrival of the witch Krussa. In the near distance glowed the lights in Lost Buck Woods.

"The news is good, Lady?" said Lagdalen, as Lessis rolled up the tiny scroll she'd been reading.

"Yes. The plague is over in Minuend. No new cases have been reported in three days."

"Thanks be given for that. The Mother has heard our prayers."

"But this was a warning. Our enemy struck with a deadly weapon, and we were almost overcome."

"He has a long head start in this evil kind of work." Lagdalen shivered. "Waakzaam has not finished with us. We must be ready for his next blow."

Once more Relkin walked into the high court of Marneri. By the Gods, he thought, but he'd spent too much time in this place.

It had started with the long trial for the killing of Trader Dook up on the Argo River. Then there'd been the long-drawn-out proceedings concerning Porteous Glaves, the former Commander of the Eighth Regiment of the Second Legion. Now he was on trial himself once more on the serious charges of looting the fallen city of Mirchaz.

Looting was regarded as a serious offense, although the provision was relatively obscure, number 545 in the Legion Rule Book. It came long after such important items as theft of camping equipment, or spoliation of cavalry sawdust.

Five hundred and forty-five, "the illegal possession of stolen goods gained in theft during a period of service abroad." Such service was a rare event in a soldier's life in the army of the Argonath, which perhaps explained the low priority given to such a regulation.

There were other charges, which came under the Legion's laws of financial regulation, concerning the accounts he had opened at the Royal Land Bank of Kadein during a brief stay in the big city. These charges, however, were lesser ones and unlikely to be pressed if the first charge was denied.

As he took his place on the front bench he noted the wry look he got from the Usher. They knew him all right. Here he was again, the famous scapegrace Relkin. innocent on murder charges in his first trial. Dragon testimony got him off. The law itself had been changed as a result of that case. Dragon testimony was now taken in many kinds of cases. But now he was back, and this time it looked like the prosecutors had got him cold. They had an admission of guilt. The Ushers and the Guards ran a finger down their collective nose; once a criminal, always a criminal.

Lagdalen came in and sat down just behind him. They had prepared him thoroughly for the trial. Lagdalen had chosen the Lady Bertonne as his barrister: she would speak his case and conduct the examination of witnesses. Lagdalen preferred to prepare the case, but not to argue it. Very few advocates were as good as Bertonne. She was expensive, but well worth the cost.

Quite a few people filed in and took seats in the courtroom. Relkin's case had aroused some interest, it seemed. There were one or two older men identified with the Aubinan cause. They had not committed treasonous acts and were thus still free, but their sympathies were known. They sat toward the back.

Just behind Lagdalen were a couple of dragonboys. The cast of dragonboys would change through the day, but there would always be one or two of them there. The 109th wanted to have its own observers on this trial. They had a vested interest in it after all. King Choulaput had given the gold to set up retirement funds for all the dragons who had campaigned in Og Bogon. There were two thousand gold pieces at stake, a sizable fortune.

The military prosecutor for the case was Captain Plake, a smooth-voiced man with olive complexion and a bright, artificial smile.

Relkin looked up to the polished wood of the judge's bench as the door opened and the judge appeared.

For a moment it failed to register in his brain, and then he realized that the face under the judge's cap was that of Marda Debune, the woman who had approached him on the street and begged him to speak to her mother.

He was stunned. He recalled that look she had given him when he'd told her his name. She'd looked as if she'd seen a ghost. She'd known then that he would come before her in the court.

Judge Marda did not make eye contact with him. She acknowledged only the advocates as she gaveled the court into session.

The advocates rose, and the oath was spoken by the sergeant of the court. Prosecutor Plake moved to have the court take up the case of the Legion versus Dragoneer Relkin of the 109th Marneri.

In support of this request the prosecutor produced a copy of what it termed the defendant's "confession." In fact, it was the Customs Form that Relkin had filled out on his return from Eigo, listing all the gold except for a handful of tabis that he'd had the foresight to keep secret. If only he'd listened to the dragon, he would've never told them about any of the tabis. They hadn't even searched him for contraband when he stepped ashore in Kadein. He could have smuggled that gold through easily. But no, he had to go and fill out the forms and get himself into this nightmare situation.

Prosecutor Plake continued in his presentation in a deceptively bland manner and style.

"We already have the defendant's own testimony to the effect that this gold is loot. Thus there is no reason to put off any further the inquiry into the crime."

Bertonne was quick to rise and to approach the judge's bench.

"Your Honor, the prosecution has neglected to mention many pertinent facts. They have done so in a way that I find disheartening, even dishonest, and certainly disreputable. I must ask why the presentation was skewed so oddly. For instance, only a part of the gold in the defendant's possession is claimed to be loot. The majority of the gold was freely given by the King of Og Bogon. And we shall enter as evidence his letter to that effect. This letter was shown to the prosecution weeks ago, so their failure to mention it is even more astonishing. One can only conclude that before any evidence has been presented they seek to blacken my client's name and prejudice the court against him."

Judge Marda had a thin humorless smile.

"Yes, Bertonne, I rather imagine that Captain Plake has been painting an overly dire picture of the situation. Still, that does not answer the question he poses. Why shouldn't the trial begin on the gold that is admitted to have been looted?"

Bertonne compressed her lips for a moment and smoothly changed track.

"Indeed, my lady, such questions abound in this case. Some of them we hope to answer, such as why this case has even been pursued in the first place.

"Furthermore we shall prove that though Relkin did take the gold tabis from the house of an elf lord in the city of Mirchaz, he regarded it as payment for services rendered. We are also confident that in time we shall have a signed statement from the current government of Mirchaz that will officially designate the gold tabis as payment to the defendant and his dragon, the Broketail of the famous 109th squadron."

"In time? What does that mean? Please explain, Advocate Bertonne."

"Mirchaz lies at the end of the world, you understand, Your Honor. Our first messenger perished on the route and never reached the city. Our second messenger sent word from Eigo that he was traveling south by sea from Sogosh and hoped to round the Cape of Winds by the end of last month. It will take longer for him to reach Mirchaz itself. He must then return with the reply of the rulers of Mirchaz."

"We could be waiting for a year or more."

"That is possible."

"Do we even know who these rulers of Mirchaz are?"

"No, Your Honor, we do not."

"Thank you, Advocate Bertonne. Indeed, there are many questions to be answered in this case, and I hope that we shall see some answers before it is over. However, by his own testimony before me, the defendant did identify part of the gold as loot. We are dealing, therefore, with an immediate plea of guilty, are we not? Therefore, there is no reason not to have the trial on that charge begin at once. The regulation is clear."

Behind him, Lagdalen sucked in a deep breath.

"Therefore, I find in favor of the prosecution. Trial to be held shortly, at the whim of the trial calendar. Speak to my office to set a date."

Judge Marda looked up and nodded brightly to the advocates.

"Court is adjourned." The gavel fell.

Relkin shook his head slowly. So much for any help from the mighty Debune family. He might have saved Marda's mother, but the judge wasn't going to do him any favors.

Outside the court Lagdalen tried to be consoling, but he could see that she was worried.

"Judge Marda was harsher than we had hoped. She has always seemed a sympathetic judge in cases involving dragonboys before. I had hoped she would see our point."

"Now there'll be a trial?"

"Yes. And we have to prepare our defense without any message from Mirchaz concerning your innocence. The judge will demand that we plead guilty. Her mind seems made up, at least."

"If we plead guilty?"

"Then we would go straight to sentencing. It could be anything up to ten years hard labor on the Guano Isles."

Relkin shivered. Ten years of digging birdshit off those rocky islands and living on gruel and onions.

Lagdalen rallied and tried to raise his spirits, but it was an unequal task. He left her at the door to her office on Water Street and made his way up the zigzag on the hillside to the dragonhouse.

While Relkin made his way unhappily back to the dragonhouse, he was not the only one concerned about his legal problems. In fact at that very moment he was the subject of discussion by four very important personages, on a high place far in the east.

In the Imperial city of Andiquant, on the Isle of Cunfshon stands the Tower of Swallows, a graceful structure known to mariners across the world.

Atop the Tower of Swallows the greatwitches met in conclave. Presiding was the oldest of the old, Ribela, the Queen of Mice. Beside her sat Lessis, the Queen of Birds. Irene, Queen of Oceans wore her usual brown tweeds, and beside her the mystic Belveria, one of the Queens of the Higher Air, who wore a simple white surplice and gown. Irene maintained a separate Office of Inquiry from that of the Unusual Insight, with informants placed in every major port around the world. Belveria worked under Ribela's direction in the gathering of information concerning the higher realms and the worlds beyond.