If Crows Know Best (Mage of Merced Book 1) (2 page)

Annora stepped out of Werrel and Lorneh’s gate without a backward look. Her uncle and aunt stood in the doorway and raised hands in greeting our way, but made no move to come out to see her off. Her cousins were nowhere in view. And if she felt slighted she gave no sign. Wils vaulted off to help her board the wagon, grinning down at her upturned face. She had found white flowers and pale green ribbons to plait in her gold hair, but wore the same linen blouse and bodice and brown woolen skirt she had been wearing the first time we saw her—when we brought her the sickly kid. She smiled and handed over a package of what must be her personal things, clothes and all. Wils handed the packet to me,
why would I want it?
I passed it to Morie, who hugged it to her chest and watched, with her lips in a round “O” as Wils lifted Annora up into the wagon.

Morie stared at her unblinking, until I thought Annora would catch fire from the glare of it.

“Are you a magic princess?” Morie breathed.

“She is a magic princess, well and truly,” Wils laughed, and his bride turned rosy-pink. Soon as we set off again, Morie wheedled some flowers and a bit of ribbon for her own hair, and Annora sat her in her lap and prettied her up. There would be no living with Morie now, I thought. The magic bride had petted her.

Town fair teemed with people when we rolled in. Da drove to a chapel on the rise above the market street—crumbly yellow stone with a dusty yard shaded by a huge oak. Crows crackled and cawed to each other in its twisted branches. Some perched on the bell tower, above the great bronze bell. The chapel apostate within spoke the joining ceremony in a lispy voice that made Morie giggle. He had particular trouble saying “Wils.” The bridal couple knelt facing each other as the apostate walked the circuit around them calling down the blessings from the five gods. At the end, Wils took Annora’s face in his hands and kissed her.

“See, now we can go home,” said Morie. “And I’ll show you my kitten.”

Annora laughed as she hugged each of us in turn. Da kissed the top of her head and welcomed her to the Lebannen family. “We’ll do our best to give you a good life and a full heart,” he said, as he wiped away a tear. And I found I was lying back when I said I didn’t know what possessed Wils to want to get married. Because I thought right then that Annora was the prettiest thing that ever drew breath.

Da gave the apostate a donation for the chapel, which must have been more than the usual, from the way the man’s eyes widened. The town grew ever louder, noise from the street below the chapel gushed in when we opened the heavy oak doors to leave. “Is it some festival?” wondered Da. “The ships shoving off?”

“The tholdiers have been coming in from parts west for the past three days,” the apostate told him. “There’s been thuch rumors! King’s troops gathering in the borderland, raiding parties reported all along the river. Look how many helmeted men you thee in the threet!” He shifted uneasily. “All the best to the newly joined.” He wanted to shut the door, I saw, and he edged us out into the dappled shade on the steps.

“Judian, bring the wagon around.” Da shaded his eyes and looked out to the harbour.

I went round and untied the team, and hoisted myself up to drive them to the door.

“You!” shouted one of the helmeted men. “How old are you?”

“It’s my da’s wagon. He told me to get it.”

“Leave it, Boon. This one’s voice hasn’t broken yet,” his companion growled.

“We’re to bring any we can use. Boys can be of use!” They were already walking on, though.

“Of use for what?” I called after, but they did not turn, so I clucked to the horses and we rolled to the steps that went up to the chapel.

“What are the soldiers looking for?” I asked Da.

He sighed. “Soldiers are always hungry.”

“What, they wanted food?” I said, uncertain that was what they were about.

“Always hungry. And not just for food.” He handed Morie up and gestured to Wils and Annora to come, and me to get down in the bed so he could climb onto the seat and drive. “We’ll want to get out now and back to our own lands.”

“Why?” I persisted. The apostate began to ring the chapel bell to mark the joining he had just officiated. I had to wait until the echoing clangs faded before adding, “What’s happening?”

“Da thinks the soldiers have come to press men into service because there looks to be a war,” Wils answered. He and Annora climbed aboard and we set off.

Da drove through narrow, packed streets. People were calling out, the crowd surged and eddied. Da looked more and more grim. Morie crept into Annora’s lap and held her hands over her ears. I
knew the look, she’d be sniveling soon.
She hates loud noise and crowds. Annora settled her chin on Morie’s head and crooned “Hush, shhhh.” Wils kept his arm tight round the two, and I sat opposite hugging my knees.

Wils tried to get up on the bench seat beside Da when we slowed and stopped in the thronging, rushing people.

“No!” Da said sharply. “Get down low, so it looks like only the girls are there. Put the sides down.”

“I won’t!” I said. “They can’t take us! What are we hiding for?”

Da didn’t turn round. “Do it now.”

I did it, but grumbled to Wils, “I’m not a baby.”

“Be glad if they think you are,” he hissed. He and I untied the heavy canvas rolled up above the wagon bed and drew down the panels that secured to cleats on the sides. Our wedding decorations were shredding and trailing away as the people pressed close to go by. I could still see through slits between the panels, few soldiers, mostly town folk shouting and pushing past us. I could make out snatches of what different people called to each other:

“Bring my sword!”

“They’ll give you a sword—”

“—and all the dried meat you can pack in it—”

“Aren’t there any more blankets? Bring them all!”

The younger horse, Sollen, began tossing its head and tried to sidle in the traces, snorting. There was no turning round, or even turning off the main street. Annora handed a quivering Morie to Wils and jumped down to stand at the gelding’s head, whispering and touching her hand to its lips and cheek.

I could tell Wils didn’t like it, her down there on the cobbles with frenzied folk pushing at her, but the horse stood still and, except for breathing fast, seemed to steady.

“Can you lead him on, girl?” Da said, leaning forward to peer ahead.

She stepped out with a hand on its neck, not the harness. Again and again, she drew the team forward. “Where do we want to end up?” she asked, calling over her shoulder. I could see now the tide of folk had shifted, most of them were going the same way as we were, burdened with packs and armfuls of goods.

“We’ll have to go along with them,” Da said. He looked out the back of the wagon and saw Wils and me. Wils was up on one knee with Morie perched on the other with her face buried in his shirt. I knelt and swayed just behind the bench seat so I could see. “We’ll end up where the soldiers are driving us. I’ve seen the conscription before.”

He had fought in a war years ago, I knew. Before he married Mum and had us. He still had a sword at home and other gear. “What will happen?” I asked Da. “Will they take us all?” I didn’t mean Morie and Annora of course—girls can’t go off and fight.

“There’ll be soldiers in the town square, organizing this mess into ranks, I expect. The soldiers in charge are the ones I want to talk to.” He set his jaw and held tight to the reins while Annora led on.

Wils patted Morie and did not take his eyes off of his new wife, drawing our team step-by-step through the throng. Every time someone pressed too near Annora, Morie would yelp “Not so hard!” into his shirt-front.

“Give her to me, if you’re going to whack her.” I only had to ask once—he thrust her at me and put his head up by Da’s hip to watch out for Annora.

“You’re choking me,” I told Morie, so she clung round my chest then, instead of my neck.

“I want to go home now,” she whispered.

When the street opened onto the square, we could see helmeted men with pikes herding town men into files, checking what stuff they had carried in. Shouting and swearing, they pushed them toward the far side of the square. Most of the women seen earlier in the streets were gone now, and I saw men of every age. Some of them surely too old to march?

“Stop it here, under the inn sign. Wils, you’re with me. Judian, you, too.” He vaulted down, and Annora climbed up to take Morie from me, so I could go. “Don’t let them take the wagon!” Da called over his shoulder to her.

“And how would she stop them?” Wils snapped, but he put out a hand to help me down and we set off after Da.

Men got out of his way. He’s like a big old bear, heavy built. Men just moved aside until he came to the man he wanted. This one was a taller soldier in a tan tunic, where the others wore green. He had silver braid on his shoulders and other soldiers surrounded him, vying for his glance to ask him questions.

“Yah, Coulier,” said Da, for that was this man’s rank, “What is this you’re organizing? What orders?”

The Coulier snapped his head round, to tell Da to go where he was wanted, I think, but then saw his face.

“Blast me if it isn’t Fenn Lebannen!” he shouted, his voice hoarse from all his other shouting so far today, maybe. “Have you come to help me wet-nurse this lot of whelps?”

“Not I. I came to town to see my son married, and went from chapel into your war-drive. What’s the word, Dub?”

“War is upon us. Troops massing on the western border, readying an assault. We’re to gather as many as we can equip and march out to meet them. It looks to be huge.” Dub ignored the soldiers hurrying up to him, leaving them shifting foot-to-foot as they waited.

“But by the gods, why would Keltane want to attack us now? It’s madness to start a war with winter coming on. In a month, the passes will be snowed-in and their army will be cut off from supplies and reinforcements.”

“What I hear is their king is god-touched and says to his advisors that the gods told him it’s his destiny to march on us.”

“Bah, the gods told him he needs a decent harbour, more like,” said Da. “But why now, in the name of sweet reason?”

Dub shrugged. “Help us sort it out. Bring your boys, there, and come see the troop marshal. You outrank him.”

“I did.”

To the men pressing around us, Dub announced, “Here’s Paladin Fenn Lebannen, come to set us all on the right path. Make way!”

Da, the paladin in the old war? That I never knew. Wils and I made to go with him, but he put up a hand. “Let me see my younger boy back to the bride and my little daughter. Wils and I will come with you then.” Dub waved assent and turned to the other soldiers jostling him. We set off, following Da as he cut across the square filled with shoving, stamping men. I could scarcely keep pace with Da, and turned to Wils beside me.

“I’m not getting left behind as if I was a girl and no use!”

“Shut up, can’t you? I need you to get Annora home. She’s never even been to our place.” Wils pushed me toward the wagon.

“Why do you get to go with Da?”

“Who’s older? Don’t you think I’d rather go eat my wedding feast?”

“You do that, then, and I’ll go with him and be a soldier.”

“You must be thinking they’d want you!”

Da forged ahead through men gradually filing into columns. We found Annora standing on the wagon bench, Morie clutching at her skirts, and the team digging in their hooves while two great hulking soldiers swore and dragged at their harness. It was all too apparent they would have taken our wagon if they could have, and left Morie and Annora standing on the grass by the square without anything but the clothes they wore.

“Leave go of it.” When Da sounded like that, no one would cross him. They let the harness go.

“We have supplies to load,” the first one started.

“We need the rig. She won’t get out,” put in the other, pointing angrily at Annora.

“And these horses are rooted here,” said his fellow with a rude oath.

“Da won’t like you to swear,” Morie scolded him, clearly sure with Da’s return, our side was winning.

“He’s Paladin Fenn Lebannen,” I said. “Are you going to tell him to give over his wagon?”

Both of them stammered and flushed, and got away quick. Da smiled at me but said, “Don’t toss that around too free. I’m not paladin now, that’s past.”

“Didn’t it work, though?”

“I’m thinking Annora wouldn’t have let the horses set a step forward. It’s so isn’t it, girl?”

Annora nodded. “Still, I’m that glad to see you back.” She reached for Wils, who helped her down and held her to him.

“Da and I are setting off with the soldiers, love. You and Judian and Morie are to go home now. Look for us as soon as we get things sorted.”

“Please, you can’t mean you’re going to war? Today? Not today.”

Da looked across the square. “Today’s the day to find out what’s been set in motion. And why.”

“You picked a bad day to get married,” I said to Wils, still smarting about being left behind.

“Come aside, Judian, and let them say good bye.” Da led me around the back of the wagon. “When you can do so unobserved, you gather supplies at home. Water, food, arrows, knives. Take my sword, you know where it is. All this you take to three separate caves up in the mountain, close in and further up as well. Enough you can take Morie and Annora there and last a week and more. Pack it safe from animals and other foragers. Do you understand what I’m telling you to do?”