Fortune and Fate (Twelve Houses) (5 page)
Read Fortune and Fate (Twelve Houses) Online
Authors: Sharon Shinn
Karryn nodded enthusiastically. “
So
much more than my own father! He’s very kind. And he explains things to me. And he understands things, even when you don’t tell him.”
So
much more than my own father! He’s very kind. And he explains things to me. And he understands things, even when you don’t tell him.”
That endorsement kicked the scholar up a notch in Wen’s estimation as well. Cammon trusted him, and this wretched girl admired him. Still. He hadn’t provided adequate protection for someone in his charge, and Wen believed that was about the gravest error anyone could make.
“Well. We’ll hope we encounter him very soon, headed our way, leading a mass of Fortunalt soldiers,” Wen said. “But I think our odds will improve if we ride for a while and start looking for a settlement of any size. And this time,” she added, “I’m sitting on the front of the saddle.”
Karryn laughed, which made her look less like an obdurate and frightened child, and more like a privileged and carefree young lady. “If you want. I can’t imagine it’s too comfortable no matter how we sit.”
“True enough,” Wen said, tugging the horse to a halt.
She’d just put her foot in the stirrup when Karryn said, “Wait a minute. I keep forgetting to ask your name! You know mine.”
Wen hesitated just a second, staring over her shoulder at the girl. Then she said, “My name is Willa.”
Chapter 3
THEY RODE FOR ANOTHER TWO HOURS AT A FAIRLY GEN
TLE pace. At first, Karryn chattered about topics that Wen found unutterably boring—her friends, her clothes, a ball she had attended last winter. But soon enough she began yawning heavily and allowing long pauses to build up between her sentences. Eventually her arms went slack around Wen’s waist and her head rested against the back of Wen’s. Wen waited with a sort of dour impatience for the girl to fall so deeply asleep that she loosed her hold and actually fell from the saddle.
TLE pace. At first, Karryn chattered about topics that Wen found unutterably boring—her friends, her clothes, a ball she had attended last winter. But soon enough she began yawning heavily and allowing long pauses to build up between her sentences. Eventually her arms went slack around Wen’s waist and her head rested against the back of Wen’s. Wen waited with a sort of dour impatience for the girl to fall so deeply asleep that she loosed her hold and actually fell from the saddle.
They needed to find a place to stop, and they needed to find it soon. Fortunately, unlike Karryn, Wen actually had a moderate number of coins in her saddlebag. They’d be able to pay for food, a horse, and overnight lodgings if they needed to. If the tall, soft, wise, kind uncle didn’t catch up to them first.
When they came to a crossroads that looked like a major route, Wen ruthlessly shook Karryn from her drowsy state. “Wake up. Does any of this look familiar? Where do you think this road leads?”
Karryn sighed and sat up. “I thought you said we wanted to go southwest?”
“Eventually we do. But I’m wondering if there’s a bigger town closer to us if we head northeast?”
Karryn covered her mouth to hide another yawn. “I told you I don’t know. I don’t even know where we are.”
“Just think about it,” Wen said. “Marlords—and marladies—are supposed to have some mystical connection to their land. If—”
“I’m not a mystic!” Karryn exclaimed, sitting straight up. “We don’t harbor mystics in Fortunalt!”
“I thought you despised your father and everything he stood for,” Wen shot back. “
He’s
the one who hated mystics. You should welcome them.”
He’s
the one who hated mystics. You should welcome them.”
“I don’t hate them,” Karryn said stiffly. “I just don’t want anyone calling me a mystic. I don’t have any magic at all. I don’t want any.”
Wen sighed. “Well, all right. Do you think we should go left or right? Not that I’ll do what you say, but I thought I’d ask your opinion.”
“I think you should go straight,” Karryn said crossly. “
That’s
where the next town is.”
That’s
where the next town is.”
There was a little silence between them for a moment. “Really?” Wen said at last.
“I don’t know why I said that,” Karryn replied.
Wen was grinning as she urged the gelding forward. “Well, let’s just see. At any rate, I’m guessing your devvaser friend went left, chasing after us, so straight is a better choice than that.”
They had only ridden another fifteen minutes when they topped a low hill and saw a market town spread out in the shallow valley below them. It was nowhere near the size of Ghosenhall or Forten City, but there were shops, there were stables, there were inns.
“You might not have magic in your veins,” Wen said, a smile in her voice, “but you definitely have serramarra blood. Let’s go find food and a fresh horse.”
A
meal revived Karryn and she claimed she didn’t need to sleep. “I want to go
home
,” she said. So Wen bargained with a stablemaster to buy an aging but well-behaved mare, and pretty soon they were on the road again. Not long after, they came to the crossroads and headed southwest.
“Here’s where it gets tricky,” Wen said. “We want to be on the road to flag down your uncle, if he’s coming, but we don’t want to be seen if the devvaser turns back to find you. If we hear anyone coming this way, we want to get out of sight, fast. So we need to ride slowly, and single file, listening very hard. And we need to be very quiet.”
She didn’t have much real hope of Karryn falling silent, but, in fact, the girl was just tired enough to need all her energy to ride. Wen sat straight in her saddle, head bent a little, all her senses alert. She probably should have hired an escort while she was buying a horse. True, she was a much better fighter than either the devvaser or his brutish friend, but she could get unlucky; she could be hit from behind; she could take a hard blow that incapacitated her and allowed the kidnappers to snatch Karryn again. Wen didn’t like the girl much, but she deserved more protection than a lone guard could provide.
They’d been on the move maybe half an hour when Wen caught the first drumming hoofbeats and muffled shouts that indicated a sizable party was headed their way. She swung the gelding off the road and Karryn hastily followed, but Wen wasn’t so sure they needed to hide. This was a big group. Unless Tover had managed to recruit a whole host of equally ambitious and amoral confederates, this was probably not the devvaser.
“I think we’re probably safe enough, even if this isn’t your uncle,” Wen said, but she made no move to steer the gelding back to the road. “We’ll just stay here and let them pass, unless it’s someone we’re glad to see.”
Two minutes later, the first riders swept into view, and even Wen knew that help had arrived. She counted ten soldiers, all dressed in gray uniforms and black sashes embroidered with white. In their midst rode a thin, bearded man wearing fine clothes and a look of worry.
Karryn kicked her mare into a run. “Uncle Jasper! Uncle Jasper!” she cried, making a headlong dash toward the oncoming riders.
Wen stayed where she was, watching with a half-smile on her face. Naturally, Karryn’s maneuver churned the whole party into chaos, as the soldiers wrenched their mounts aside to avoid riding over her. Jasper Paladar jumped from his saddle and ran over to Karryn, who was sliding off her mare as quick as could be. He
was
a tall man, Wen noted, and reed-thin. Both his beard and his hair were a very dark brown streaked with gray, which gave him an air of sober distinction. He was smiling now, though, as he caught his cousin’s daughter in a hard embrace. Wen was too far away to hear what he said to her, but she saw his mouth moving. A scold? A prayer of thanks-giving? A demand to know what had happened to her?
was
a tall man, Wen noted, and reed-thin. Both his beard and his hair were a very dark brown streaked with gray, which gave him an air of sober distinction. He was smiling now, though, as he caught his cousin’s daughter in a hard embrace. Wen was too far away to hear what he said to her, but she saw his mouth moving. A scold? A prayer of thanks-giving? A demand to know what had happened to her?
The latter, Wen decided, as Karryn pulled back a little and began an animated response. Then the formation of soldiers shifted and Wen lost sight of the glad reunion. She slowly urged her own mount back to the road. She wondered if she could ride away right now, give a friendly wave to the curious Fortunalt soldiers and disappear. Wen found expressions of gratitude and endless recountings of the adventure to be far more exhausting than the adventures themselves. She had been fortunate enough, these past two years, to aid dozens of individuals in one state of distress or another, and it was always the same. The action sustained her, the sense of purpose and even righteousness. She was at her best in those circumstances.
But she was clumsy and uncertain and even a little angry during the aftermath.
So I helped you or your husband or your daughter or your friend. It is not enough, do you understand? Your thanks only shame me. My success now only reminds me that I failed before.
So I helped you or your husband or your daughter or your friend. It is not enough, do you understand? Your thanks only shame me. My success now only reminds me that I failed before.
Best if she slipped down the road right now and left Karryn to look around blankly and say, “She was here just a moment ago!”
But Wen had hesitated too long. The line of soldiers parted, and Karryn came dashing through them, towing her guardian behind her. Bedraggled and exhausted as she was, Karryn finally looked pretty, Wen thought. Or maybe just happy.
“Willa! Willa! Here’s my uncle Jasper. He wants to thank you.”
Wen forced a smile and swung out of the saddle to make a creditable bow in the nobleman’s direction. When she straightened, he was standing right in front of her, his height making her feel so small that she started to resent it. At the same time, he had his hand outstretched to take hers, a rare mark of favor from a man of his station to a woman of hers. Reluctantly, she put her hand in his and found his grip firm, though his uncallused palm had clearly never held a weapon.
“Karryn has just told me your part in this extraordinary story,” he said, and Wen marveled that such a deep and pleasant voice could come from such a slim frame. “My name is Jasper Paladar, and I’m her guardian. Thank you so much for saving her from a dreadfully grim fate.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. “I was glad to do it.”
“I would like to reward you for your efforts.”
She almost smiled. It was the least original thing he could have said. “I did not befriend her hoping for a reward.”
“Perhaps not, but heroism can be an expensive endeavor,” he replied.
She laughed, because
that
was a phrase she hadn’t heard before. “In fact, my only outlay was for the mare, which you can certainly buy from me if you like,” she said. “Karryn will need to ride something, after all, as you head back to Forten City.”
that
was a phrase she hadn’t heard before. “In fact, my only outlay was for the mare, which you can certainly buy from me if you like,” she said. “Karryn will need to ride something, after all, as you head back to Forten City.”
“She’s not a very exciting horse,” Karryn said. And then, when she caught Wen’s look, “But of course I like her very much!”
“Karryn tells me you have exceptional skill with a sword,” Jasper Paladar added. He was looking down at Wen with a mixture of curiosity and speculation, and his gray eyes were keen and considering. Even if Karryn hadn’t told her so, Wen would have instantly guessed that here was a man of rare intelligence. “That’s unusual for a woman, isn’t it?”
“I have skill, but I don’t know that it’s exceptional,” Wen replied coolly. “Being able to outfight a nobleman and a brigand isn’t much of a challenge. Any of your guards could probably manage it.”
That raised his dark eyebrows and sharpened his expression. “I would like to think that’s true,” he said softly. “But the caliber of soldier willing to fight for this House has deteriorated sadly since my cousin’s husband went to war.”
“I understand that you might face some difficulties in raising an army for your House, given its history, but even the queen would realize that you need a strong personal guard,” Wen said. “If for no other reason than to prevent the sort of disaster that just happened.”
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