Marysvale (27 page)

For a few moments, the Brean pounded
the doors, shaking loose dust and rust from the wood and iron that
made up the gate.

Guards swarmed the wall, armed with
muskets and all kinds of weapons, but they didn’t fire. From their
vantage points, and this distance, they could have easily
slaughtered the beasts, even with their thick skins. Still, they
held their fire.

The air was saturated with fear,
despair, and tension.

I eased over to Jane.

“
What are they waiting for?”
I whispered.

“
Permission.”

“
Incredible,” I muttered,
shaking my head.

I found it hard to believe that under
such circumstances, they still needed someone’s consent to defend
the town against unprovoked aggression.

Shortly, the pounding stopped and the
tension melted away—but not the despair or the fear; they remained
intact and unchanged.

In this moment of relief, I got my
first good look at Marysvale. It was much larger than I’d imagined.
Close to the walls were stables and pens for livestock, most of
which were empty. Beyond that, the majority of the town was built
at the foot of a hill. Houses and shops were closely packed
together; several even shared the same inside walls. They were
built out of all kinds of materials. Some had walls of rock, others
wood, a few had brick, and even more were made of all three. The
streets were narrow and confusing, without a logical pattern. What
looked to be the main streets were paved with cobblestones; the
rest were dirt. As the town progressed up the hill, so did the
opulence of the homes. At the top of the mount sat a fortress. A
cluster of massive buildings, which looked like castles, were
encased behind a second stone wall. The town didn’t appear to
extend beyond the hill; in fact, it looked like the main walls of
the town ran up the sides of the hill and connected to the second
wall surrounding the castles. As far as I could tell, nothing was
built on the far side of the hill.
Strange
, I thought, and
made a mental reminder to ask Jane why the town didn’t surround the
whole hill.

My sightseeing was rudely
interrupted.

“
Who are you?” barked a
deep, gruff voice.

Jane and Hannah jumped.

“
And what were you two doing
outside the walls?” he demanded.

The stranger stood slightly taller than
me, by an inch or so, and a seemed little older. He had short,
curly black hair and a scraggly black beard. His skin was tanned
and weathered from long hours exposed to the sun and the elements.
He should have been a bear of a man, but was gaunt and stringy. In
fact, all the men looked malnourished—not sickly, but lighter than
they should have been. His uniform, if you could call it that,
looked worn, faded, and frayed at the edges. Small tears marked his
clothing, but they had been neatly mended; no doubt the work of a
woman, probably his wife.

“
John Casey,” I said in the
friendliest tone I could manage. I thrust out my hand. “And
you?”

Doubtfully, he looked at it, then back
at me, as if he didn’t know what to do. I didn’t withdraw it, but
left it there until it became so awkward that he was forced to take
it.

“
Captain Smith of the North
Wall Regiment.”

I pumped his hand vigorously. “Then
it’s you I have to thank for letting us in.”

He nodded and our eyes locked. Despite
Sarah’s warning, I read his soul and dug deep. He was in a constant
state of tension, sandwiched between the pressure of guarding the
town and pleasing his superiors. Not one who particularly liked his
job, but stayed in the position because he could feed his family
and better protect those he cared about from the savagery of a
superior officer. That bit of information intrigued me, and I
wanted to find out more. I could tell my gaze was making him
uncomfortable, but I held it a moment longer anyway. All in all, he
appeared to be a good man and could be convinced to help a little,
as long as it didn’t endanger his close friends or family. It was
information that could be useful to me in the future.

“
Back to your posts,” he
bellowed to the lingering guards. “Lest any of you miserable dogs
want your food rations cut.”

The men scurried back to their stations
along the wall.

“
You two,” he said,
addressing Jane and Hannah. “By all means, I should have left you
out there.”

“
We’re glad you didn’t,”
responded Jane sincerely.

“
Don’t thank me. If it
weren’t for your new friend here, you’d still be out there…or what
was left of you.”

The girls cringed.

“
When they discovered you’d
snuck away, they put me under orders not to let you back into the
town without senior officer permission. The only reason we opened
the gates is because of
him
.
”He said,
jabbing a thumb at me. “They never said I couldn’t let strangers
in.”

“
Well, thank you,
nonetheless,” said Jane.

“
Save it,” he said. “Letting
you back in may not have been the most merciful choice.” He
gestured up the street.

A group of four soldiers, or who I
assumed to be soldiers, strode purposefully toward us. They were
immaculately dressed in white breeches with green stockings, a
matching long green coat with gold buttons, and highly polished
black shoes with gold buckles. Hats with large plumes sat atop
heads adorned with white, powdered wigs. Each had an ornamental
sword and pistol strapped to his waist. The lead one wore an
additional jewel-encrusted dagger on his belt.

A young, thin-faced man, with high
cheek bones, and a prominently long nose, addressed us in an oily,
condescending tone. “Ah, Captain Smith, are you the one we have to
thank for nearly singlehandedly destroying our city? That is a feat
few men could accomplish on their own…something I am sure we will
discuss later.”

Captain Smith winced and replied
respectfully, “Sir, citizens were outside the city
walls.”

“
Really? And what
fools
would do that?” he replied
condescendingly.

Captain Smith nodded in our
direction.

He looked at Jane and Hannah, and then
walked over to them.

“
I see. Miss Wolfe, how
surprising.”

He said it as if he were anything but
surprised.

“
I am curious to hear how
you will talk your way out of this one. I’m sure you have a good
explanation?” he asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“
I suppose getting food for
starving people isn’t a good enough reason,” spat Jane.

He seemed to enjoy her
irritation.

“
My, my, such temper,” he
purred. “It may be perfectly acceptable for the common, less
civilized among us,” gesturing to the remaining men watching the
exchange. “But in the company of gentlemen…well now, someone may
have to teach you some manners.”

He eyed her lustfully, from top to
bottom, and his companions laughed encouragingly. It made me
sick.

Through gritted teeth she replied,
“When I see a gentleman, then I’ll oblige.”

His demeanor hardened into what looked
to be his more natural state of being. Anger burned in his eyes. He
raised his arm, ready to back hand her across the face. I took a
step forward, prepared to stop him if needed.

The movement caught his attention, and
he lowered his hand, trying to comprehend who had the audacity to
disrupt him in his moment.

“
Well, well, what do we have
here? A newcomer,” he sneered. “How splendid for us
all.”

“
Looks and smells more like
a mutt,” said one of his uniformed friends, theatrically pinching
his nose to the delight and raucous laughter of the other
two.

“
Now, now,” chided the man,
with a leering grin, “we must be courteous to our new citizen
here—no matter how true your statement may be, Matthew.” Then,
addressing me, in what was meant to be an obvious insult, he said,
“Tell me, boy, what is your name?”

“
John,” I replied without
offering my hand. “And yours?”

He gave a little laugh, like I’d made a
joke. “He doesn’t know who I am,” he said to his friends, who also
laughed. “Surely Jane has mentioned to you the name of General
Lyman Wright.”

I shook my head and then paused, as if
I had just remembered something. He drew himself up, pleased by my
apparent recognition. “Unless…you’re related to Governor
Wright?”

This deflated him slightly.

“
He is my father,” he
acknowledged dryly. No doubt living in his father’s shadow was a
constant thorn in his side.

Knowing I shouldn’t, but unable to
resist, I pushed the barb in deeper.

“
Ah, that must explain how
you made general so young.”

Instantly, I regretted it. He grew dark
and much more dangerous than he had previously appeared. He was
like a lethal knife, best left in its sheath, unprovoked. Of
course, foolishly, I had to take it out and play with it. His face
burned red and he took a menacing step closer; his hand hovered
over the hilt of his sword. Leaning in, he hissed, “I can see you
are foolish enough to need lessons about respecting your superiors.
As your tutor, I can assure you, it is a challenge I am up
to.”

“
Thank you, Lyman,” said a
refined, commanding voice.

Lyman looked sour, as if his fun had
just been interrupted.

“
We mustn’t be
rude—especially when he is not familiar with our laws and customs
yet
.”

I glanced behind him and saw an older
man who looked remarkably similar to Lyman and whom I assumed to be
his father.

“
Yes, my lord,” replied
Lyman, with just the slightest hint of sarcasm.

I wondered if his father caught the
distain; it appeared he hadn’t, or at least he didn’t let on if he
had.

Escorted by even more guards, Governor
Wright was dressed elegantly in silk. He wore black, buckled shoes
with white stockings, breeches, a matching waistcoat, and a frilly
kerchief. A decorative coat, and an ornate cane with a gold handle,
finished his ensemble. He, too, wore a powdered wig underneath a
black, three cornered hat, edged in gold. Because of his speech and
attire, he indeed looked like a leader. Unfortunately, though
common enough, choosing a leader based on these factors alone is
usually a costly mistake.

“
And who is our guest?” he
asked, referring to me with a kindly smile, that was betrayed by
his hard and equally unsmiling eyes. I instantly got the impression
that he was not stupid, but cunningly dangerous and not to be
trifled with.

“
My name is John Casey,
sir.”

“
These fine officers here
are called sirs,” he said gesturing at Lyman and his friends.
“Please be so good as to refer to them as such. As for myself, I am
Lord Wright,” he continued in a patronizing tone. Though his voice
was groomed and calculated to inspire trust, with me, it had the
opposite effect. I cringed at the self-proclaimed title. I’d never
taken to people who elevated themselves above others, especially at
another’s expense. However, now wasn’t the time to make a
statement, so I corrected myself and said, “Yes, my
lord.”

He smiled that his lesson had been
received.

“
That is better. Where do
you hail from, John?”

“
Syre, my lord.”

“
That is quite a distance,
and no doubt a fascinating tale—one I simply must hear after you
have had time to rest and clean up a bit. Perhaps tomorrow you
would be so good as to accompany me for dinner, and we can welcome
you properly.”

I had an uneasy feeling. I didn’t like
his curiosity in me, nor did I want to stay that long.
Nevertheless, seeing no other choice, I said, “I’d be honored, my
lord.”

“
Excellent.”

He glanced around at the group with his
eyes lingering on Jane, a little too long for my comfort, before
moving on to Smoke.

“
What an exquisite animal,”
he proclaimed. “He must be very fast and strong to escape the
Brean—and carrying such a heavy load.” Then expectantly, he asked,
“And what is in the packs?”

Jane and Hannah tensed.

He looked at me for a reply.

“
Food, my lord,” I said
simply.

“
How splendid.”

Then, addressing a nondescript town
guard, he ordered, “You, take this food to the minister of
welfare.”

“
But…” said Hannah, a little
too resolutely.

“
Yes, child?” replied Lord
Wright, in that feigned fatherly voice, but with an edge to it this
time.

Oh no
,
please don’t say
anything rash.
I thought, wishing she’d just kept her mouth
shut.

Wisely, she moderated her tone and said
meekly, “We were hoping to bring it to my father.”

“
My dear, that food could do
quite a bit of good for many. You would not really want to keep it
all to yourself, now would you? Not when your fellow citizens could
benefit from it as well.”