Blood Red Road (40 page)

Jack pushes somethin into my hand. Here, he says. It’s half of the long-looker that Emmi broke back at the Wrecker city.

Jack fixed it! she says. Jest like he said he would!

I put it to my eye.

Be careful! she says. It’s awful bright!

Directly opposite where we are, on the far side of the valley, a big house, the biggest I ever seen, sprawls out half-ways between the valley floor an the ridge above it. The walls is completely covered in shimmer discs. As the sun hits ’em, they shoot off rainbows of light. Red, yellow, pink, green, purple. The colors streak out, like shootin stars, sparkin an dancin so bright that black spots appear in front of my eyes.

Ohmigawd, it’s amazin! I says. I never seen nuthin like it.

They’ll be keepin Lugh there unner guard, says Jack. Ain’t that right, Ike?

Yup, says Ike. An they’ll be takin good care of him, seein they went to all that trouble to git him.

D’you really think so? I says.

You can bet on it, says Ike.

The Palace. I squint at it sidewise. Now I can see it’s got many windows. Tall posts runnin all along the front of it. Two massive front doors made of hammered copper. Wide steps lead down to a path made of crushed white rock. It winds through a garden to the fields below. I think of Ma with her garden of stones at Silverlake. She would never of dreamed that there might be a garden like this one.

There’s a great carved basin with jets of water sprayin way up into the sky. There’s flower an vegetable beds laid out in fancy patterns, an a grove of fruit trees.

Lots of people movin about. Tonton mainly, in their long
black robes and body armor, but some slaves dressed in their white tunics.

See the stables? says Ike. Off to the right?

I focus the long-looker on the low stableyard next to the house. Got ’em, I says.

An the irrigation system? he says.

Runnin all across the fields, raised above the bushes on long legs, there’s what looks like troughs with silvery streams of water runnin through ’em. They’re all joined up together.

That’s what you call them troughs? I says.

Right, says Jack. Keeps the bushes watered with a steady drip. Chaal bushes like it damp but you gotta be careful. Too much water kills ’em off real quick.

You don’t say, I says.

I do say, he says. Now that plan you wanted? Gather round everybody. Me an Ike got a couple of ideas.

The afternoon drags on. Then it’s early evenin. The rainbow shine of the Palace slowly dims as the sun’s power fades. But it’ll be light fer hours still. The longest day of the year. The longest day of my life.

There still ain’t no sign of Nero. No Maev. No Free Hawks.

I never bin so twitchy. We all take turns watchin what’s goin on down below. But when it ain’t my turn, I cain’t settle. If I flop onto the ground, I jump right up agin. I drive everybody mad by askin ’em how long they think we bin there. I comb all the tangles outta Hermes’ mane with my fingers an check his teeth till he gits fed up an gives me a sharp nip. I twang my bowstring till Ash barks at me to stop or she’ll strangle me with it.

Nero should of bin back long before now, I says to Emmi.

You said that a million times already, she says.

Somethin’s happened to him. I know it. It ain’t like him.

You said that a million times too, she says. He’s fine. He’s on his way.

What if somethin happened to Maev? I says. She said there was trouble on the western road. What if … I mean, she could of got herself killed? Happens all the time.

Maev ain’t dead, says Emmi. She’ll come, like she said she would. The Hawks’ll be here, Saba.

You don’t know that. What if they don’t come? I don’t think they’re gonna come. We’re gonna hafta do this all on our own. Let’s jest do it now. C’mon, let’s go. Let’s move! What’re we waitin fer?

Gimme strength! says Ash, as Ike groans, Tommo sighs an Jack lays back with his eyes closed an hums a little tune.

Epona’s on looker duty. Saba, she says, we all agreed that we hafta wait till dark. Ain’t nuthin can happen till then.

Epona. Always calm, always patient. Nuthin like I first thought she was.

Right, I says, yeah … wait till dark. I know, I know but … ohmigawd, Epona, I’m gonna go mad with all this waitin around. I just wanna see him. Make sure he’s all right.

I know you do, she says. Be patient, Saba. Wait till dark.

Darkness is gatherin. Purple an black streak the sky. Clouds drift over the midsummer moon. The moon we bin chasin fer so long.

A cloudy night, says Jack. That’s good.

Then.

A high pitched noise wails across the valley, cuttin through the air. The workers lift their heads an start to move outta the fields. They all head towards what look like some long bunkhouses in the distance. Now I can see they’re chained together at the ankle, six of ’em all together.

Quittin time fer the Children of Light, says Ike.

Can you believe he calls ’em that? says Jack. His Children of Light. Fond memories, eh Ike?

No, he says.

The slaves clear outta the fields an head fer bunkhouses off
to the left. A group of Tonton head fer a big open space in the middle of the fields.

Jack’s on long-looker watch. Well well, he says. At last. This is startin to look innerestin.

Jack an me crouch on the edge of the ridge. We pass the looker back an forth. We got a clear view of the whole valley, but all the action’s goin on between the Palace an the open space in the middle of the chaal fields.

Big horse-drawn wagons is rollin between there an the Palace.

First the Tonton build a big platform in the open space. Then they put together a higher platform at the back of it, with a long set of stairs goin up to it. They bring a massive chair from the Palace an use a pulley an ropes to winch it up to the higher platform. The chair’s golden. With fancy carvin an studded all over with shiny stones.

Jack says, Anybody sittin on that chair would have a fine view of proceedins below.

D’you think they’re gonna go ahead with the ceremony anyways? I says. Even though Pinch is dead?

It looks that way, he says.

The Tonton wheel in two sets of stairs, one on each side of the big platform. Then they disappear back to the Palace an it all goes quiet fer a bit.

Ike, Ash an Epona’s gone off with Emmi an Tommo, takin Hermes with ’em. They’re gittin the first bit of our plan unnerway.

Me an Jack got nuthin to do but wait. An wait some more.

It’s that strange time on the longest day of the year when it’s late enough to be dark but there’s still some last streaks of light. Dark clouds scud across the sky. The wind’s on the rise.

I look up at the moon. Must be a hour or so to midnight, I says.

Almost midsummer’s eve, says Jack.

I shiver. Then I say what’s bin growin on me all day. They ain’t gonna come, I says. Are they?

I don’t think we should count on ’em, he says.

It’s okay, I says. We can do this.

Another wagon’s rollin down the path from the stables to the platform. The Tonton leap down. They start unloadin it an carryin stuff onto the platform. Heavy bags of sand. Armloads of wood.

They don’t look to be carryin no weapons, I says. That’s strange. An I thought you said there was dog patrols.

They obviously ain’t expectin trouble tonight, says Jack. But there’ll be some of ’em armed. At the very least, the King’s bodyguards.

There’s a rustle. It’s Ike an Epona. They’re back. They crouch down beside us. Ike’s grin flashes white in the gloom.

Emmi an Tommo on their way to the meetin place? I says.

Yeah, says Ike. They got off fine. They’ll wait fer us at the tire dump an hour’s ride north of here.

Was Emmi okay on Hermes? She still ain’t so good on a horse. Did you—

She’s fine, Saba, says Ike. Don’t worry.

Yer sure they know what they gotta do? I says.

I made Emmi repeat it three times, says Epona. They wait fer us at the dump. They stay outta sight. If we ain’t there by dawn, they take a big loop to the east an make their way to Darktrees. They know to give Hermes his head.

An Ash? says Jack. She’s at the stables?

Nearby, says Epona. Well outta sight. They won’t have no idea she’s there. She’ll have the horses ready an waitin fer us. Can I take a look what’s goin on down there?

I hand her the long-looker. She trains it on the platform.

What’s that they’re puttin in the middle? Ike says, squintin.

They’re spreadin out a circle of sand in the middle of the big platform, she says. Looks like they’re makin a sandpit. An they’re settin up a post in the middle of the circle.

What, you mean like a fence post? says Jack.

Kinda, she says. But bigger. Taller. I wonder what that’s fer.

Let me see, he says. She hands him the looker. He stares
fer a long moment, then lowers it. He looks at me direct when he says, The post’s about the right size to tie a man to. An a sandpit’s useful if you wanna make sure a fire don’t spread.

The bottom falls outta my stummick. My breath starts to come fast. No, I says. No … they wouldn’t do … Jack, you don’t think they’d … burn him. They ain’t gonna burn him, are they?

No, he says, they ain’t. We won’t let ’em. They won’t hurt Lugh, I promise you. He takes my hands in his, holds ’em tight. Now … listen to me, listen. Are you listenin?

Yeah, I says, yeah.

Yer gonna stay calm, he says. An yer gonna trust me. Yer gonna trust all of us. Me an Ike an Ash an Epona. Tommo an Emmi too. We all know what the plan is. This don’t change nuthin. We all know what we gotta do. We’ll go over it now, okay?

Okay, I says.

Okay, he says. Emmi an Tommo’s on their way to the meetin point right now. They’re outta harm’s way. Once it’s all clear over at the stables, Ash is gonna git six horses ready to go. You an Ike’s gonna snatch Lugh. Then we all meet up at the stables an take off. Epona, you say agin what yer job is.

While Saba an Ike’s gittin Lugh, Epona says, you an me is gonna be … creatin a diversion.

That’s right, says Jack.

Hey, Ike says. Looks like this party’s really startin to kick off.

There’s bin the sound of drumbeats driftin up while we bin talkin. The noise grows louder an louder, with more an more drums joinin in. They’re bein played by Tonton in their black robes. Bone flutes start to shrill. There’s fires lit in big buckets scattered all over the open space.

Slaves in white tunics, unchained now, spill outta the bunkhouses an stream across to the open space. Men, women an even a few children. In front of the platform, they start to dance wildly, swayin an spinnin an leapin high over the fire-buckets. The growin throb of the drumbeats fills the night.

The Tonton drummers start to chant an the slaves join in. No words. Sounds from deep in their throats. The Tonton sway an twirl. The slaves leap an spin.

There’s movement around the Palace. Torches light the path from the house down to the fields.

Epona’s still got the looker. She holds it to her eyes. Somethin’s happenin, she says. Then she sucks in a breath. Ohmigawd, she whispers. Ohmigawd. I don’t believe it.