Читать книгу Secret of the Giants' Staircase (Amarias Series) - Amy Lynn Green - Страница 5

Even with the darkness of the storm, the wagons of the Kin were the most colorful Jesse had ever seen: huge wooden boxes on wheels painted with swirls of color.

That’s when Jesse realized where he had seen the stranger’s style of clothes before. They were the same as the costumes of a troupe of traveling performers that had once passed through Mir.

“Don’t try to shout for help,” the stranger warned them as they approached the wagons. He was still in the lead, holding Rae captive. “Believe me, if the others know you’re here, it’ll only be worse for you.” With a reward of four hundred sceptres for them, Jesse was sure he was right.

They wove through the maze of colorful wagons, until the stranger stopped at a yellow one with red trim. Jesse realized he hadn’t seen any tents or houses in the clearing. These people must live in the wagons, he realized. No wonder the wagons are so large.

They climbed the three steps that led to the wagon, and the stranger pounded on the door with his free hand.

“Is that you, Tomas?” a voice rumbled from behind the door. “You’re back early.”

The door opened, and a boy no higher than Jesse’s waist stood there. Not, Jesse guessed, the one who owned the rumbling voice they had heard. His eyes went wide. “Who are these people?”

“Just let me past,” Tomas said, pushing by him. “And the rest of you come in too. No sudden moves.”

“They’re not gonna fit,” the boy warned him.

He was almost right. They all fit, but barely. Silas had to stoop slightly, so he wouldn’t graze the ceiling.

Inside the wagon, the furnishings were sparse—just a few blanket rolls and a small table with two thick candles. A large dark-haired man was sitting on a bench that looked like it would crack under his weight.

When he saw his guests, a flicker of surprise registered on his face, but it was gone in the next second. “Now, son, you know that stealing brides is something the Kin gave up many generations ago,” the man said. His voice was stern, but there was a warm twinkle in his eyes.

Jesse had to laugh at the horrified look on Rae’s face. “I am not—” she began.

“Don’t worry. He knows,” Tomas said. He didn’t look amused at his father’s joke either. He released Rae and pressed himself against the door—to block any escape, Jesse assumed.

“Which one gave you that?” the boy said, pointing to Tomas’ black eye.

“Nothing you need to know,” Tomas snapped.

“I did,” Rae said, squaring her shoulders proudly, “and there will be more coming unless you release us!”

“What’s all the noise about?” A woman’s voice came from beyond a curtain that separated the wagon into two rooms. “Did one of you bring in another snake?”

“Yes,” Tomas said, glancing at Rae. She sniffed haughtily at him.

There were footsteps as the mother of the house ducked through the curtain. “Zacchai, I believe we already discussed—” She stopped short when she saw the Youth Guard members. “Oh my.”

Jesse could tell that Tomas had gotten his looks from her. Instead of looking greasy, though, her hair was a mass of sleek, loose waves, falling most of the way down her back. She held a baby against her hip, who took one look at all the people and started to cry.

“Shh,” the woman said, cradling the baby while giving the visitors a quick glance. She turned to her husband, alarm in her eyes. “It’s them, isn’t it?”

“Margo, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the husband said, yawning loudly.

“Of course not, Ravvi,” Margo said, shaking her head. “You didn’t join the Kin assembly yesterday when the messengers from the king came. And when I tried to tell you—”

“There was wood to split!” he protested. “Besides, I care as much for the king’s men as I do for the manure heap.” He spit on the floorboards to prove his point.

The baby was still crying. Rae looked about ready to jump forward and strangle it.

Margo looked straight at her son, pleadingly. “Why did you bring them here, Tomas? Why couldn’t you have left them alone?”

“I did what I thought was best,” Tomas said, folding his arms over his chest. “We can bring them to the meeting of the elders tonight.”

“You know what they would do to them,” Margo said, jostling the baby, who cried louder. Rae growled under her breath.

Jesse stepped over Zacchai, the boy sitting on the floor, and reached for the baby. “May I?” he asked. He was an only child, but the children in the village always seemed drawn to him.

Margo gave him a hard, searching look. A mother’s look, Jesse thought. Then something in her face softened, and she passed the baby to him.

“The elders will turn them in to the Patrol captain,” Margo finished, turning back to Tomas. “They’ll put the money in the Kin treasury.”

“Where it will do much good,” Tomas countered.

“Not blood money,” Margo said. “Blood money never brings good. Only evil.”

Jesse knew “blood money” was the term used to describe money gotten from betrayal, but the phrase still sounded eerie. He remembered another story about blood money—where Judas, a follower of Jesus, turned Him over to the men who killed Him.

But they won’t do that to us…will they?

Jesse rocked the baby back and forth. She—Jesse guessed the baby was a she because of the wooden flower on a bracelet around her wrist—seemed confused at first by the new face looking down at her. But she stopped crying at least.

“It’s a large amount of money, Mama,” Tomas said. “More than we could dream of, no matter how many performances we give. We could have the life we’ve always wanted.”

“Then I do not want that life anymore,” Margo said firmly. “Not at that cost.”

“If I may—” Parvel began.

“No, you may not,” Tomas said.

“Son,” Ravvi said in a warning tone. “No need to be rude.”

“He’s threatening to sell them to their death, and you’re concerned about his tone of voice?” Margo scoffed at her husband.

Jesse made a face at the baby. She giggled. “Shh,” Jesse whispered. “This isn’t funny.” He couldn’t help but smile, though.

“This is none of our concern,” Ravvi said. “What the outsiders do, the laws they have or break…none of that has any place here. We of the Kin should only concern ourselves with Kin matters.”

“That doesn’t seem to be an option,” Parvel said. “We are in your world now. You have to concern yourselves with us.”

He said it like a challenge, and Jesse realized he was right. Any chance they had of survival was with this family.

“There’s no going back now,” Tomas said. “So, Papa, Mama, what do we do with them?”

No answer. Parvel seemed to be staring Ravvi down, but Ravvi wouldn’t look at him.

“What’s her name?” Jesse asked in the pause.

Jesse saw Rae roll her eyes.

“Sofia,” Margo said.

“Right.” Jesse turned back to little Sofia. “Your life is a lot easier than ours, isn’t it?” he whispered as the argument went on. She gurgled and spit up on him. “I’ll consider that a yes.”

“And I agree with Tomas,” Ravvi said. “This is not something we can decide alone. We must consult the rest of the Kin.”

“Isn’t there another way?” Margo asked. “Can’t we just let them go? Pretend they were never here?”

Tomas sighed. “Mama, just because Sofia likes one of them….” He shook his head. Sofia giggled, recognizing her name.

“They’re clearly criminals,” Tomas continued.

“No, we’re not,” Rae blurted. She shot Parvel a quick glance, then continued. “We’re Youth Guard members.”

If they had been surrounded by the king’s men, that would have been a death sentence. As it was, everyone in the room seemed to freeze, except Zacchai and Sofia. Suddenly, Tomas looked even angrier, Ravvi looked hard and distant, and Margo looked about to burst into tears.

Jesse wondered what it was about the Youth Guard that produced such a strong reaction.

“See?” Rae said, pulling up her sleeve to reveal the symbol of Amarias tattooed into her skin, the mark of the Youth Guard. “As protectors of this kingdom, we ask for your help.”

“We don’t owe them anything,” Tomas said, still speaking to his mother. “We should turn them in as soon as possible.”

“No,” Margo said, and when she straightened her shoulders and stood upright, Jesse was sure she would break through the roof of the wagon. “We will do nothing of the kind.” She took a deep breath. “I, too, have a son.”

“Yes, we know,” Rae said dryly. “He’s very charming, especially holding a dagger.”

“I do not speak of Tomas, or Zacchai, though they are both dear to me.” Margo’s face became strong again. “I am speaking of Barnaby.”

Barnaby. Jesse knew that name. He was one of the four Youth Guard members they were searching for in the squad assigned to the swamps.

Ravvi stood from his bench. “He left us of his own accord, Margo, against our specific orders.”

“Yes, and it was wrong of him,” Margo said, “but he’s just a boy still.”

“Stop making excuses for him, Mama,” Tomas snapped.

“I am not making excuses,” Margo replied hotly. Jesse was glad he was the one holding Sofia, because her mother was gesturing wildly with every word she spoke. “Right or wrong, he is our son, and I will not give up on him.”

“He gave up on us,” Tomas shouted back. “Did you ever think about that, Mama? Maybe he did know exactly what would happen when he left. Maybe he wanted to be cut off from the Kin—from us.”

The wounded expression on Margo’s face made Jesse uncomfortable. He felt like they had stumbled into a family conflict and that they should excuse themselves and leave them in privacy. But Tomas still blocked the door, and Jesse was fairly sure he wouldn’t be moving.

“He’s probably dead anyway,” Tomas said. His facial expression told Jesse the second, unspoken half of his statement: It’s no more than he deserves.

“No,” Margo said quietly, but with force. “I will not believe that. As we of the Kin say, ‘Not all that is missing is gone.’ Barnaby may yet come back from his foolish mission.”

“Your son is in the Youth Guard?” Jesse asked, shifting Sofia in his arms.

Margo nodded. “He’s been gone for more than four months.”

Jesse knew that this included the three months of training in the capital city. He glanced at Parvel for guidance. “Should we tell them?”

“I don’t think we have a choice now that you’ve spoken,” Silas said dryly.

He was right. Everyone in the wagon was staring at him. “Well,” Jesse asked, “where should I start?”

“At the beginning,” Zacchai suggested. He looked excited, clearly sensing a story coming.

So Jesse began, “One month ago, I was cleaning tables in Mir….”

“No—” Tomas interrupted, “not at the beginning Something…sooner. And quicker.”

Jesse shrugged. “Fine.” One of the first rules of storytelling was always keep the audience happy. Especially when one audience member is holding a dagger. “We are in the Youth Guard as you know. What you may not know is that, instead of helping us accomplish our mission, the king and his men tried to kill us.”

Jesse waited for a response of surprise and alarm, the same response he had when he heard the news. Nothing happened.

“They don’t care, Jesse,” Rae said. “It’s none of their concern, remember?”

“Oh,” Jesse said. Then he remembered why he had told the story in the first place. “But it isn’t just us the king is trying to kill. He’s trying to wipe out every single Youth Guard member…including Barnaby.”

Now Margo gasped. Even Ravvi looked alarmed.

“Mama,” Zacchai whimpered, and Jesse felt a twinge of guilt about being so blunt in front of the boy. “Is Barnaby going to die?”

“Not if we can help it,” Parvel said. “We have his squad’s last known location. That’s why we’re here, and why the Patrol captain was so desperate to get rid of us. He knows we could save others.”

“Why?” Tomas challenged. “If you could save yourselves and run, why find the others?”

Jesse thought for a second. “Because the Youth Guard members, all of them, are part of our Kin,” he finally said.

That, he could tell, connected with them, but Tomas still stood in the doorway, arms crossed. “What if they’re lying?” he asked.

Silas took out the Forbidden Book. Carefully, he paged through it until he found what he was looking for. He held up the book.

It was a sketch of Barnaby. Jesse could tell that immediately. He looked like a small version of Ravvi, a mischievous grin lighting up his face. Two feathers stuck out from behind his ear.

Margo gave a slight moan, and Jesse was afraid she was going to cry. He was never sure what to do when females cried, unless they were Sofia’s age. She was currently chewing on a tassel attached to her blanket, unaware of the conflict around her.

“You must let us go,” Parvel said. “We cannot promise that we will find your son, but we will die trying, if need be.” Jesse knew that he meant every word.

“We should be going to find Barnaby,” Ravvi muttered, clenching his fists at his side. “I should go.”

“You know you can’t, Papa,” Tomas said. “The Kin could disown you too. If you leave, you leave Mama, Zacchai, Sofia and me.”

“You?” Ravvi demanded, his voice rising. “You would not come with your father to save your own brother?”

Tomas didn’t answer.

“We must decide,” Margo said, “quickly, before the Kin meeting is called and the elders gather.”

For a few seconds, no one said anything, not even baby Sofia.

Then Ravvi sighed deeply. “Go,” he said. “Tomas, you will make sure they get safely away from the camp.” Tomas didn’t look happy with the command, but he nodded. Margo immediately ducked into another room.

“Then let’s go at once,” Parvel said. Jesse knew he wanted to leave before Ravvi changed his mind.

“Good-bye, Sofia,” Jesse whispered. “You were my favorite.”

She smiled toothlessly at him like she could understand. Jesse decided he was probably her favorite too. He handed her back to Margo, who had reentered the main room.

In exchange, she gave him a wrapped package and a small object on a leather cord. When he looked closer, Jesse could see it was a piece of wood carved in the shape of a bird. “The food is for you,” Margo said, pointing to the package. “The other is for Barnaby. It’s his token, the fledge bird. Each member of the Kin is given a token at birth.”

Jesse put the cord around his neck. “I’ll give it to him,” he promised.

“And tell him to bring Zora back,” Zacchai added.

“Zora?” Rae asked, frowning. “There was no one in the Youth Guard with that name.”

“That’s because she’s a bird,” Zacchai said, like Rae was a complete fool. “A fledge. Like the one on the token necklace. Only real.”

“How was I supposed to know that?” Rae demanded.

“Rae,” Silas said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “He’s six years old. Let him win this argument.”

“Come,” Tomas said, jerking his head toward the door.

“Give me back my dagger first,” Rae demanded.

“Not a chance.”

“Son,” Ravvi said, in a warning tone, “do as she says.”

Immediately, Tomas gave Rae the dagger. She sheathed it with a glare at him. Jesse guessed that disobeying a command from a parent was a serious offense in the Kin. Otherwise, he was sure Tomas would have died before giving back Rae’s dagger.

They ducked out the door into the rain, falling steadily now. Jesse’s staff sank down in the mud with every step. Tomas scanned in all directions before leading them out of the camp.

The others followed behind them. Jesse knew it was not because they couldn’t keep up, but because at training camp they were taught never to let an enemy walk behind you. Jesse didn’t care. He was sure Tomas wasn’t a threat anymore, in spite of his bluster.

“I always knew Barnaby would do something like that eventually,” Tomas muttered.

Jesse guessed it would be better not to ask questions or say anything at all. He just kept pace with Tomas and tried not to slip in the mud.

“He never cared about anyone, or about what others thought of him. He was the bold one, the one everyone liked.” His voice became bitter. “Some in the camp called me Barnaby’s brother, and him the younger one.”

Something about the way he said it made Jesse think of Eli. Immediately, he felt guilty at the comparison. He had always been jealous of Eli, of his strength and good looks and sense of humor, but they had been friends. Eli had always protected him.

And maybe that’s why I resented him.

Jesse shook off the thought. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for Tomas.

They sloshed through the camp as quietly as possible, hiding behind a wagon once when they heard someone passing by.

“Here’s where I leave you,” Tomas said, once they reached the trees at the edge of the camp.

“Don’t worry,” Parvel said, clapping him on the shoulder. “We’ll find your brother.” Clearly, he didn’t understand this kind of sibling rivalry. Jesse knew that Parvel and his brother had been close.

In fact, that was one of the problems. Parvel was searching for his brother, Justis, who had disappeared five years before. What Parvel didn’t know was that Justis now called himself by another name: Captain Demetri.

Jesse and Silas were the only ones who knew. Silas insisted that if they told Parvel, he would do something rash and endanger them all.

“Do you want us to give Barnaby a message from you?” Parvel asked.

Tomas thought about that. “Yes,” he said, tightening his cloak against the rain and turning away. “Tell him: don’t ever come back.”