Scarlet and the White Wolf [02] - Mariner's Luck (18 page)

Scaja was right, Scarlet thought in awe, not only well-born, but well-known. Liall's family name must carry a lot of weight here. That must be what the ring is for.

The astonished soldier stepped back and another, younger man pushed forward. He was not dressed like the soldiers, but wore fine robes of blue accented with silver, and some kind of sunburst badge or medallion of office on his shoulder.

He had a kind face and handsome features, evident even through his surprise.

"Jochi," Liall said with perfect calm.

The young man went to one knee and bowed low before speaking rapidly and intently.

Liall acknowledged the kneeling man's words with a single, curt nod of his head. "Come, Scarlet," he said in Bizye, his words a cloak of quiet dignity. "Transport awaits us."

On his feet again, the man Liall had addressed as Jochi gave Scarlet a startled glace and looked like he was going to make trouble. Scarlet heard the word
lenilyn
again and there was a surge of hostility from the soldiers surrounding them.

Liall said something sharp, his voice like the lash of a whip, 154

Mariner's Luck [Scarlet and the White Wolf Book 2]

by Kirby Crow

and got another bow from the soldiers before Jochi led them through the rest of the corridor. They stepped out into the snowy twilight again, but the wind was less. That was a great relief to Scarlet, whose feet and hands were quite numb. The healing scar on his cheek throbbed with the cold.

Their transport was a strange contraption, like a child's sled, only made larger and with a body like Scarlet had seen on carriages in the capital of Byzantur. This one had real glass in the carriage windows, not shutters, and it was all agleam with polished black wood and bright brass runners.

"What is it?" he asked Liall quietly, thinking how much Scaja would have liked to have seen this thing. Being the son of a wainwright, he was no less awed than Scaja would have been. Scarlet wanted to share this with Liall, but the man was far away, his expression distant.

"It is called a sleigh."

"Slain?" Scarlet ventured, but Liall shook his head with annoyance.

One of the tall soldiers opened the door to the carriage and bowed. Liall nudged Scarlet's shoulder, indicating that he should go first, ignoring the surprise on the soldier's face.

The interior was luxurious with furs and cushions piled high on a sort of bed or couch against the rear housing. The door closed and the sleigh began to move forward. Now that they were alone, Liall drew Scarlet close to his side and began to pull the furs over them both.

"We have a long way to ride," Liall explained softly. He rubbed Scarlet's arms, and then took his other glove off to touch Scarlet's face. "You are so cold."

155

Mariner's Luck [Scarlet and the White Wolf Book 2]

by Kirby Crow

"Where are we going?"

Liall ignored the question and rubbed Scarlet's hands through the gloves. "How do your toes feel?"

"Numb," he confessed. "Stop fretting."

Liall frowned, but obeyed. Between body heat and the furs, Scarlet was soon much warmer. He did not recognize what kind of beast the furs might be taken from, but they were silky soft and obviously costly. Some were black and some were of a bluish gray that he had never seen before, and very large. He could not imagine the animal it had once graced.

"Where are we going?" Scarlet asked again.

"To my home."

That was not informative, but again, Scarlet reckoned with Liall's demons and began to poke around the inside of the carriage. There was a door on either side of the contraption, and he leaned forward and peered through the little window on his side. It looked like they were passing tenements and warehouses, very like to what one would see in the port of Ankar, but sturdier and much cleaner. Huddled figures stood bunched around small fires near the waterline, their hands held out for warmth. Workers, no doubt.

The sleigh was moving with astonishing speed, far faster than any cart Scarlet had ever ridden in. It jolted suddenly and he drew back from the window with a hiss.

"Do not be afraid," Liall said, and for a moment he was back all the way, his eyes focused on the present, not looking into whatever memories possessed him. "It was a bump in the snow. We shall not overturn, these are balanced well."

156

Mariner's Luck [Scarlet and the White Wolf Book 2]

by Kirby Crow

"I'm not afraid," Scarlet said with dignity, which was partly true, "Only startled. We're moving so fast!"

Liall nodded and sank back into his thoughts. He ignored Scarlet after that, and Scarlet settled into the far side of the seat and looked out the window. They had moved past the tenements and into an area of small shops crowded together in tall buildings. He watched and noticed that everyone went heavily dressed in woolen coats and boots and none neglected to wear some manner of hat or head covering. He stared at the conical fur hats that most of the people wore.

They had long flaps to cover the ears and odd little flaps on the top, which folded down and were decorated with many kinds of stitching and beads. Mostly, Scarlet was amazed at the lights: torches, lamps and candlelight were everywhere, a glittering city of light. He wondered at his surprise. Obviously, the winter darkness would necessitate the need for light even in the hours that were marked as day, but these folk seemed to love light and revel in it. He saw that in the way they decorated their lamps with colored bits of glass and dressed up their street lanterns with wrought iron and cut crystal and panels of painted paper. Scarlet had a hundred questions about the city, but Liall brooded silently on his side of the couch and Scarlet did not want to risk treading on whatever was haunting him.

They traveled so quickly, it seemed hardly any time at all until they were in a wealthy part of the city. Sleighs passed them on the road, some open and plain, with men and women bundled in wool and sheepskin. But most of the sleighs were closed, the exteriors richly painted and 157

Mariner's Luck [Scarlet and the White Wolf Book 2]

by Kirby Crow

decorated. They left the city soon after that, and the heavy traffic gave way to almost none as they moved into the countryside surrounding the port and began to pass great mansions fairly glowing with light, and surrounded by snowy expanses.

Scarlet could not see what lay before them on the roadway, but after a time, he noticed that nothing but snow and trees filled the landscape. And such trees! No plain brown or black trunks here, but pale like the petals of white roses, or Linhona's clean linens. The tall, slender trees, barren of leaves, were all of a ghostly white color, whip-stroked here and there with black. They were nothing like the weather-blasted junipers and pines he was familiar with in Byzantur, and the lack of familiar plants just seemed to highlight how alien this land was, and how alien he was in it.

Scarlet turned to Liall to ask him about the trees, but he seemed to be dozing, his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest. It occurred to Scarlet that he might try to do the same, not knowing what awaited them or how much energy he would need, but the landscape, the new sights and smells, fascinated him so. Despite all that, in less than an hour he was fighting to keep his eyes open. The movement of the sleigh lulled him until it finally won and he slept.

* * * *

Scarlet woke with a start some time later and found he was lying curled on the wide seat under a layer of furs, his cheek against Liall's shoulder. Liall was peering out the 158

Mariner's Luck [Scarlet and the White Wolf Book 2]

by Kirby Crow

window. "We are nearly there," he said without looking at Scarlet.

"Liall?"

Liall gave Scarlet an unconvincing smile. "What is wrong?"

Scarlet hesitated. "Nothing," he said finally.

Liall sighed. "Do you remember when we sparred on the deck of the Ostre Sul? It is like that with me now. I am only remembering. It happens to the best of soldiers."

Scarlet was not reassured.

"Please do not worry," Liall said. "Whatever comes, I am with you."

Scarlet squeezed Liall's hand, his heart going out to the man. "Don't vex yourself on my account. I'll be fine, like always. Just do what you have to do."

Liall nodded absently.

The sleigh turned sharply, and Scarlet gasped at the new vista beyond the window. He had thought the city was beautiful, but the castle fortress before him was ten times that. Blue light from lanterns of the same color, lights and spires and towers, all laced with icicles and snow, beautiful carved domes of blue and silver, and battlements that seemed to reach into the very sky, all twinkling with that luminous blue light.

"My home," Liall said. "The Nauhinir."

Scarlet stared, his mouth dry. Before he could summon the wits to mouth the questions drumming in his brain, the sleigh began to slow.

"Take off that coat," Liall said, meaning the heavy overcoat he had found for Scarlet on the ship, now frayed and white-159

Mariner's Luck [Scarlet and the White Wolf Book 2]

by Kirby Crow

patched with salt. Scarlet removed it, keeping only his red pedlar's coat on, which was also travel-worn but still better than the coat. The crimson color was fading from exposure to the salt air, but it was still deep and brilliant.

"And the cap, and your weapons," Liall added, drawing off his own coat and pulling a long cloak from his pack. It was deep blue with some sort of curling silver design splashed over it in long slashes. It looked very fine. Scarlet wondered where he had gotten such a cloak. Such a garment would have spoiled fast at sea if Liall had worn it on the ship.

Scarlet removed his Morturii knives from his belt with misgiving, pulled his cap off and tried to comb his tangled hair with his fingers. It had grown longer on the voyage.

"Where'd you get that cloak? It's grand."

Liall did not answer, and before he could ask again, the sleigh came to an abrupt stop and the door opened.

Liall rose and stepped out, whipping the blue cloak around his body, and then turned to hold out his hand for Scarlet. It seemed an odd thing to do, helping him out of the carriage as if he were a lady or invalid, but he was in Liall's land now. For all he knew, this was a proper custom. It was not until they were standing in the snow under the blue lamplight that Scarlet saw there were men and women outside the great fortress, waiting for them on the wide steps of a stone gatehouse that was larger than the army barracks in Patra.

Everyone here was taller than him by yards and yards, it seemed.

"What is this place?" Scarlet whispered.

160

Mariner's Luck [Scarlet and the White Wolf Book 2]

by Kirby Crow

"The Nauhinir, as I have said," Liall answered tightly out of the side of his mouth, which told him nothing more than a name.

The people were dressed in furs and bright fabrics, as if they could deny the bleak landscape simply by the colors they adorned themselves in. Brilliant jewels glittered on the ears and throats of both men and women, and many wore the same kind of conical fur hat Scarlet had seen in the city, though richer and more heavily decorated. He stared at the broad stone steps that led upward, intimidated by the sheer size of everything, and the men and women surrounding him were like pillars of gold, tall and unapproachable. He smoothed his hands down his red jacket, knowing that his boots and shirt were mended and he looked poor and uncouth beside Liall.

Liall took his arm. "Now I must ask you to remain silent until we are alone together. If I nod at you, deliver your best bow."

Scarlet nodded, painfully aware of the many pale eyes on him. Never more keenly had he felt the differences between him and Liall. Liall turned to the men who waited. They bowed to him. Liall did not bow back, but kept hold of Scarlet's arm as he guided him up the stone steps that were so deep that Scarlet's legs ached by the time they reached the top.

Two enormous iron doors—gates, really—opened inward, pulled by several men in blue and silver livery. Scarlet wondered briefly if they were servants or soldiers as Liall swept him in, past the great gates and past glittering folk in silks and heavy velvets and furs, into the largest hall Scarlet 161

Mariner's Luck [Scarlet and the White Wolf Book 2]

by Kirby Crow

had ever seen. The gates closed behind them with a muffled, booming noise that rang throughout the hall like muted thunder, and Scarlet thought that this place must hold great treasures indeed, for surely not even an army could breach those gates.

Liall continued to lead them forward. Scarlet had to practically bite his tongue to prevent more questions from falling out, but he decided that to mimic Liall was probably the best course of action. From the edge of his vision, he could see everyone bowing low, men and women alike, but Liall strode with his head high and his eyes forward, not returning the proffered respect. Suddenly, though he had always been at ease around strangers and new surroundings, Scarlet was frozen into some inner stillness and fear. There was something here that he did not understand.

A man dressed as richly as the rest approached and bowed low. Liall spoke to him clearly and loudly. The man flicked a glance at Scarlet, and Scarlet immediately sensed danger.

The man spoke a few words in the rapid Sinha dialect, and Scarlet looked up at Liall.

"He is only greeting me," Liall explained. His dislike of the strange man was plain.

"Who's Nazheer.. Nazur..." Scarlet's tongue tripped on the unfamiliar sounds. "What he said?"

"Nazheradei," Liall supplied. "It is me, it is my name.

Prince Nazheradei. Now be silent."

Scarlet stared at him, frozen in that odd stillness. He heard nothing but a rushing sound in his ears, felt nothing but the cold.

162

Mariner's Luck [Scarlet and the White Wolf Book 2]

by Kirby Crow

Liall led him forward again and Scarlet allowed it, moving woodenly. A set of tall, carved doors opened and they entered together.