The Grand Crusade (33 page)

Erlestoke turned in the saddle and looked at Dranae. “There are those who say Oriosans always look for too much symbolism in things, but I think there is no mistaking the message here. They were executed as spies, with the masks granted to honor their courage. We are not wanted; we are invaders.”

The big man smiled. “You knew this is how we would be seen. Did you really have hopes your father would change in the week we’ve taken to get here?”

“Not hope. I just wished it would be so.” He pointed at two scouts and then at the corpses. “Cut them down. Organize a burial detail.”

The scouts advanced as ordered. Further along the road, where the meadow through which they had passed began to shift into hills forested with evergreens, a small group of riders was coming toward them. The party consisted of a half-dozen of the Meredo Guards and two others—one a youth, and the other a man Erlestoke recognized.

Holding up his hand to restrain his troops, Erlestoke rode forward. Dranae, Rounce, Nay, Borell, and Rumbellow advanced behind him, but kept a respectful distance from those approaching. The Gyrkyme, Preyknosery, circled lazily overhead. Erlestoke did note, with pleasure, that two squads of scouts moved out to either side of the hanging tree, ostensibly to honor the dead, but also within a range where they could cut down those approaching with a flight of arrows.

There is, after all, no flag of truce showing.

The Oriosan party reined up short of the border. Their horses stamped, and some lowered their heads to nibble at the bold tendrils of grass poking up through the thin snow. The guards, with green pennants hanging from their lances, remained watchful, but made no threatening motions. The older man spurred his horse forward, then glanced back and, with a curt nod, beckoned the youth to accompany him.

Erlestoke flipped back his hood. “Cabot Marsham, how unexpected to find you out in weather like this. Then again, wet and cold so suits a worm like you.” His father’s aide curled his lips in a sneer. “Denigrate me all you wish, Erlestoke, for a true Oriosan will take your insults as high praise.”

“Erlestoke?” The prince’s eyes hardened. “You are becoming far too familiar for your own good. Have you forgotten who I am?”

“A freebooter, no more. And no more a true Oriosan.” Marsham reached beneath his own cloak and produced a packet wrapped in oilskin and tossed it on the ground. “There, your father has issued an edict that disinherits you and your worthless brother. He has taken Lady Norrington for a wife and has proclaimed her sons to be his rightful heirs. Bow before Prince Redgrave.”

Erlestoke laughed aloud and, to the boy’s credit, a scarlet flush spread over his face. The prince looked from him to Marsham. “It infuriates you that you were not considered worthy for anything more than delivering messages in the rain. Now, give me the packet.”

Marsham snarled. “I am not yours to command, Erlestoke Noland. In there is an order to strip you, and any who travel with you, of your masks. It is all legal, and shall go into effect the moment you step onto Oriosan soil.”

Nay had slipped from his saddle and picked up the thick bundle of papers. “Inhere?”

“Have someone read it to you, Carver. You’ll find your home has been seized. And you, Master Playfair, are now master of nothing.”

Nay glanced back at Erlestoke. The prince had no doubt that at a word, at the

flick of a finger, Naysmith Carver would smash in Cabot Marsham’s face. Erlestoke fought the temptation to let him do it.

“Master Carver, if you please. The papers to me.”

Nay nodded, then pointed the packet at Marsham. “Remember something. Masks are earned. Being born to one isn’t earning it.” The smith straightened up and looked at the guards again. “Duty to Oriosa is how it started, how it still goes. You’ve done nothing.”

The little man tugged his mask back into proper position. “I have served my king faithfully.”

The prince extended his hand and took the packet. “You’ll find that serving my father is not the same as serving Oriosa. Thank you, Master Carver.”

Nay nodded once. “Don’t need anyone to read them.”

“I know, but reading them would be a waste of time.” Erlestoke flipped it over and saw it had been sealed with his father’s ring. He tossed the whole thing to Rumbellow. “If you don’t mind, incinerate it.”

The Addermage smiled and deftly caught the packet in one hand. His lips barely moved, but in an instant the papers were burning furiously. Rumbellow then threw it back onto the Oriosan side of the border.

Marsham, pale and sodden, trembled in his saddle. “You have been warned. If you enter Oriosa, you will be outlaws. Your passage shall be contested, every step of the way, and your bodies shall be left where they fall.”

“I doubt that.” The prince pointed to two of the Guards. “From the marks on your masks, I see you are from East Country. Taloso?”

The gangling blond looked startled. “Me, Highness? Er, sir

”

“You’ll ride there today. You’ll tell Count Storton I have returned to Oriosa, that I have come to protect the nation. You will tell him that I don’t come to wage war, but to prevent it.”

Marsham wheeled his horse around and grabbed the guardsman’s reins. “He’s lying. You’ll deliver no such message. It will be treason if you do. You and your family will be stripped of your masks.”

Erlestoke nodded. “You will. Right after Count Marsham strips me ofmymask.”

Marsham scowled furiously as Erlestoke’s companions circled more closely around him. “You will not get away with this, Erlestoke.”

“I’d not be so confident if I were you, Count Marsham. Think about it. Under my father’s orders, these two were hanged here. You were sent to confront me and my army at a time when, justifiably, we would be enraged. You did not even ride out beneath a flag of truce. My father intended I should slay you, and likely this pretender, too.”

All color drained from Marsham’s face.

“My father knows you are a schemer. He can’t trust you, wanted you dead, and assumed I’d kill you as soon as look at you. The story probably circulating

through Meredo is that you came to offer me your fealty. Because I killed you, none of your allies would trust me, thus isolating me from those who would fight against my father. You are a small price to pay to prevent our countrymen from joining me.“

Erlestoke again looked at the guards. “Which of you was to see to it that Count Marsham did not survive to report back?”

Two of the guards smiled and raised their hands.

“Thank you.” Erlestoke nodded to the captain of his scouts. “Kill them.”

In an instant, two dozen arrows hissed through the air and thudded into their chests. Both men sagged in their saddles, then fell to the ground in a clatter of plate and mail. Redgrave reeled from his saddle and vomited.

Erlestoke’s hazel eyes hardened. “Oriosans are not assassins; I will not tolerate that behavior. The two of you from the East Country, you will ride out now and bear my message. Go.”

The two of them reined their horses around and galloped back the way they had come. The two remaining guardsmen looked very nervous, though not half so nervous as Marsham. He couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from the riddled bodies of the assassins.

“Count Marsham.”

The little man gave no sign of hearing.

“Attend me, Count Marsham!” Erlestoke put an edge in his voice, and the little man quivered. But he did force his gaze to the prince. “You are a treasonous dog—and I apologize to dogs for saying that. I know I cannot trust you out of my sight. By rights I could kill you for the insults you have offered me here, but I shall not. I will give you a chance to live, which is more than my father was willing to do. Will you prove yourself useful to me?”

“I am yours to command.”

“Not quite the answer I sought, but it will have to do.” The prince rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I know you have plotted against my father. You will go to your supporters and enlist them to my cause. They are all guilty of treason, but I can be forgiving and even understanding. You will tell them this for me. You will return with their answers, and I will measure their loyalty in the lances and swords they send to aid me, do you understand?”

“Yes, Highness, completely. I am your creature, heart and soul.”

“A pledge of cowardice and corruption; how comforting.”

Redgrave slowly stood with Borell supporting him. “What of me, Highness?”

“You, my brother, are a long way from your home in Valsina. Would you like an escort back there?”

The skinny young man nodded. “Please, yes. Thank you.”

The prince did raise an eyebrow. “You can, if you wish, return to Meredo.”

Redgrave shook his head. “I don’t expect your father intended me to return either.”

“Probably not, since he knows I don’t believe you are the Norrington.”

Erlestoke smiled. “But you areaNorrington, and we would be pleased to havey ou with us. By the time we get to Valsina, you can decide how much further you

wish to go.“

“Thank you, Highness.” Redgrave accepted a boost from Borell and climbed back into his saddle. “I’ll go as far as you need.”

“Good.” He looked at Marsham. “Now, go about your duty. Hurry, before I

change my mind.“

Marsham set off at a hasty trot.

One of the two remaining guards ducked his head nervously. “And what of us, Highness? What are we to do?”

“You have the simplest job of all.” Erlestoke smiled. “Do your duty. Welcome us to Oriosa, and wish us well in all we do.”

The moment Alexia had dreaded since leaving Narriz had arrived. She tried to steel herself for it, but it was not an easy task. Pain and fear she could defeat, and would defeat yet again. This, however—this sense of loss—just opened a hollow in her belly that would not close.

She knew, in part, it was because of how wonderful the latter half of the week had been. Her troops had made the journey to Bacirro quickly. The Delasena had not yet flooded and the drainage was sufficient that the roads were not washed out. So while plenty of snow and dirt was ground into cold mud that froze each night, it never got boggy enough to slow the carts or the soldiers. It took them only six days to reach the city. And the citizenry, who had already learned about Muroso from the refugees encamped in tents to the south and west, welcomed the troops into their homes.

Alexia had given strict orders about conduct and made very clear the dire nature of punishment if her troops behaved like the enemy. The vast majority of the army comported themselves as guests might, but a few people did get out of hand. Unit leaders made swift examples of those who violated the rules, and the whole of the unit worked to repair any damage done. By and large, order reigned, allowing most troops to work preparing defenses for both the city and the refugee encampments.

Alexia did send scouts out, but not Crow’s formation. She kept them close, but scattered so no spies would discern that they were working as a unit. Her intention was to send Crow and his people back south, as if they were to gather more troops and lead them north. When they got halfway back to Narriz, they would head east, into the hills, and disappear.

The scouts she chose did manage to range east and had a number of skirmishes with Aurolani troops. Gyrkyme reported smoke rising from the area

around Fronosa, but not the city itself. Bodies were being burned, and the presence of Aurolani scouts to the west of the pass indicated the city had fallen.

A bit more disturbing than that was news that the scouts she sent west had not linked up with General Pandiculia’s forces. In less than a week, those troops were supposed to reach Bacirro, putting them in position to oppose whatever army came in from Fronosa. If they did not arrive in time, Alexia would have to hold off the enemy alone. And any siege of Bacirro would begin with the wholesale slaughter of refugees, or their fleeing into the city and swelling it to the point where the supplies would evaporate.

All of those concerns did occupy her, but still there was Crow. They had been given rooms in the home of a prominent merchant whose brother led the Bacirro Horse Guards. While not the most opulent of the rooms they had shared, the accommodations somehow suited them best. The bed was big and warm, and a fireplace nearby produced more than enough heat to hold the cold at bay. The room even had a bathing alcove with a huge wooden tub, and after six days on the road Alexia had very much wanted to scrub herself clean.

While she attended to business that first night, Crow had heated the water and scented it for her with sandalwood. Then he sought her out and conducted her back to the room while steam still rose off it. He removed her boots, then slowly stripped her of her clothes. She made to slip his tunic off him, but he gently put her hands aside.

“Be patient, my love.”

She watched him closely and bit back a smile as he freed her from the last scrap of clothing, then slowly circled her. He kissed her shoulders, front and back, again gently pressing her hands back to her sides. Standing behind her, he moved her thick braid aside and kissed the back of her neck. She felt the heat of his breath against her skin and pressed back against him. Just feeling him there, his chest pressed against her shoulder blades, made her shiver.

He whispered in her ear, “Princess Alexia, you are everything I desire, I need, and I love in this world. Allow me to care for you.” He kissed her again on the back of the neck, letting his teeth graze her flesh. Then, with his hands on her hips, he slowly walked her to the bath and held her hand as she stepped into the water.

She groaned aloud as the warmth washed over her. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and smiled. While she had accepted that long marches, hard saddles, harder ground, and an all-pervading sense of cold was likely to be her lot in life, the luxurious heat of the bath and a scent that was not sweat, blood, or manure pleased her enormously. She relaxed her shoulders and arched her back, letting her spine pop.

Then Crow’s strong hands drew her right foot up out of the water. The cool air hit it instantly, but Crow’s hands compressed her foot, rubbing, smoothing and soothing, caressing and kneading.