Marri's Approach (Brackish Bay) (4 page)

I thought we were in love, Fortuna. Surely that was the meaning of it all, the times I slept with him, both of us exhausted by our respective clients, both of us reveling in the scent of each other, the sweetness and savagery in our union. But Fortuna does like to have the last laugh, and when I cared enough about Aleksei to want to keep him safe, cared enough about the other women in my madam's house, I had formed a plan with Dinis to not only destroy the warlord who threatened their city, but to gut the traitor inside, an abusive husband to a fellow whore's sister, and hamstring the power of madam's enemy in the council.

It had all gone according to plan, except for the part where Aleksei married Madame Bon.

I put aside the pain. There was time enough to brood on it later. Besides, I still had Dinis, my favorite lover from the army, and that was enough. Isn't it, Fortuna?

I climbed down the tree, the trajectory of my path fixed in my head, and began to run. Silent, deadly, I was nearly nude except for the leather belt with a couple of short weapons sheathed under it, my boots, and the torn tunic that only sort of covered my torso now. I was scratched and raw in some spots from multiple tree climbs, but overall I felt good. It was far better to be back in action then stuck on that damnably small boat in the cramped room the ten of us—William, Amadeus, Katherine, Dinis, my patrol, and I—had shared. I settled into a loping stride and let it carry me to the road.

Once there, I slowed down. What would a trekker have, Fortuna? I kicked through several piles where old tech had been gathered—whether by rain or human activity, I wasn't sure—but there was nothing useful there. Nearly all the wire had been removed already, taken for the value of the copper; it had so many uses—I even wore some carefully wound copper inside my womb. The broken plastic boxes were nothing more than sad reminders of our past. There was no fabric, no leather, nothing actually useful. I examined the next hulk of metal and glass. It was off to the side, broken and twisted up against some trees. I cocked my head, curious about its position, and then peered closer. Bones. Someone had gone off the road, maybe during the bombardment, maybe after. But no one seemed to have walked away from this. I saw smaller bones in the middle, and for some reason this struck me as sad, so I stood still for a moment, my heart aching.

I am a soldier. I fight and kill. There is nothing in this that holds fear for me. I turned away, trudging through the tall weeds and the seedlings that were coming ever closer, seeking to swallow up the dark surface of the road. The ground squished under my boots, always damp.

There was nothing else to glean. So I continued walking along the road until I judged I was far enough past Rari's territory, and then I climbed another tree to verify my assessment. I was correct. It was now a pretty straight shot back to the meeting place, and too far north for me to worry about Rari and her dogs. I grinned.

Marri one, Roy zero.

It was the middle of the night before I reached the meeting place. I was the last one there, save Zarilla. I was exhausted by that time, so I merely slipped into the circle of women soldiers, nodding at Petunia, who was sitting guard. She shook her head at me, her dark skin gleaming in the firelight, but let me sleep without questions.

“By Krist, Marri. I didn't think you were coming back.” Sami's normal reticence burst upon seeing me the next morning.

I woke up and stretched, still wearing the boots and tattered clothing from the day before. “Oh? Why is that?” I sat up and pulled off my boots, rubbing my aching feet.

“I was
in
the outpost when the uproar happened. I got out of there, pronto.”

“Good girl.” She bared her teeth at me. “What uproar?”

“Hello? You told one of his core men that you were a spy?”

“I didn't, actually. I told the child of one of his core men, which I didn't know at the time, mind you, a
story
about a spy. Then when the boy told his dad, dad put two and two together.”

Petunia slapped her forehead. “Woman, you are an idiot. Tell me again why we're following your lead?”

I glared at her, a snarl on my lips. “Because I always win. I've never been captured on a mission, not for longer than a night. I don't lose. I destroy my enemies.”

Carol's voice was reasonable. Too reasonable. “So? Who's your enemy here? Who will you destroy? You won't, because you can't.”

“You can't, either.”

“No, because we promised William, individually.”

“And you promised me.”

“And we promised you.”

“So you are bound to my will and my word.”

“Again—why? This isn't your usual style. Maybe we need to be released from following you?”

I snarled out loud this time. “You'll not be released. Not until I am satisfied with the success of the mission.”

“And if we get captured? What then? I don't want to be a goddamned slave because I was too stupid to go away from a self-important soldier who wants to play general.”

My eyes narrowed at her. “What did you learn in town?”

She snapped back. “Sorrow and distress. Did you know that their queen just died? A few months ago?”

“So I heard.”

“Why should we torment a man who’s in a suicide spiral?”

My head whipped up to pin her with my eyes. “Suicide spiral?”

She squirmed. “Yeah, that's what the rumor is about the governor, Roy. He's functioning, but he beat the fuck out of his second's slave just to get to that point. His daughter doesn't go to the island anymore. His wife's slave leaves often and goes to some house in the outpost and stays there, not at home.”

“She's grieving. He's grieving. They all are. It doesn't mean they're in a suicide spiral.”

Carol shrugged. “They say the minute Roy takes his hands off the reins, it's all going to go to shit, the structure is going to fall apart, and then where will they be? Some people are leaving, taking their chances in another city.”

“Why? This is more defensible, if they do it right, than most cities are. And I'm impressed that they were able to track me as far as they did.”

“There was no problem with me getting in and out.”

“Good. Tell me about it.”

“I came at them sideways, stepped over the little fence announcing their territory, and walked through the woods until I found a stretch of road with no one there. From there the rest was eating cake. I walked into the market, inquired about wares, listened to the gossip, and when I heard the commotion about you, I went back the way I'd come.”

“What was the commotion?”

“They said that a woman spy had snuck onto the island and that Roy himself had ordered two of his best soldiers to find you and bring you in.”

I grinned, feral and nasty. “Best. Hah.”

“They told everyone what you looked like, so I knew it was you.”

“They couldn't have gotten that good a look at me from a distance!”

“Auburn-red hair, medium skin, heavily muscled, above average height for a woman, small breasts and medium hips, with a warrior's way of moving.”

“What?”

Petunia guffawed. “Nailed you, Marri.”

I shrugged, disgruntled. “So they got the description from the house I stopped in on the island, then, not the men who were chasing me. So it's accurate. Doesn't mean I can't still make the mission work.”

Petunia was incredulous. “And just how are you going to make it work if everyone who heard the description will be keeping an eye out for you?”

I grinned. “I'm not a spy for nothing.” I turned to Sami. “So tell me about your entry into the outpost.”

She shrugged. “I walked to the gate. I told them I was lost and hungry.” She was small and wiry enough that I could see them believing her. “They let me in and gave me food, and when no one was watching, I slipped out.” She shrugged. “Easy.”

I nodded. “They do seem to be generous.”

“Yes. But when I heard the alarm raised about you, I knew it would only be a matter of time before they wondered if I was connected, so I found a lesser noticed section of the wall and scaled it.”

I nodded. “No one saw you?”

She half-shrugged. “No one pursued me, nor did I hear any shout or call behind me.”

“Good. Petunia?”

“I swam across, landed on the beach, and walked up straight from there.”

“They don't have any guards on the beach?”

“None. They have a lot of fishermen, but they are busy. They don't notice anything but the fish. I picked a time when they were unloading and there was a lot of bustle around the dock. No one looked to the side.”

“What did you learn?”

“I learned that that outpost has been one of the most often hit by warlords. There is a square in the middle of town where the stones are mortared with rust.” I nodded, understanding her meaning. Blood. “They have a moat, and the wall is strong; it's been built up over years. But it will become a problem. The city is growing, and they will need to expand it. Also, the wall does not extend to the river. The moat does. It is quite clever, actually, in that it makes use of the river's natural flow to fill the moat and return the water again past the outpost. But it, too, will need to be expanded, and when it is, it will need to be at least twice as deep to maintain an adequate defense.”

“But it is defensible from all directions except the river.”

“Yes. I have no doubt that a land attack at this time would fail. It is the river that is the weak spot. I came back via boat. They leave their little boats free for the taking by anyone who can untie a knot.”

I turned to Dawn. “How about the other outpost on that side?”

“I started to swim out, but there were too many crocodiles, so I came back. I went through this outpost and took a boat. Going about my business, I was unremarked. Like Petunia said, there are no guards, no watchers on the boats. So I rowed to the outpost and landed. I was questioned, but the soldiers expected women to be meek and cowed and not necessarily knowledgeable about their errands. It was easy enough to bluff through with some nonsense about my master wanting a particular cloth from the market. Once that was done, I could wander around. I did get caught stealing an orange.” Her grin was sufficient to tell me I need not worry about the incident. “So I pretended to cry and blew the orange seller.” Petunia slapped Dawn’s arm in mock outrage, but she shrugged, still grinning. “What? He was cute.”

I laughed and nodded. It was a good tactic, and one I'd used countless times.

“And what do you think of their defenses?”

She shrugged. “This one is much smaller than the first. I believe it was the second one built, and probably has citizen overflow from the first outpost. But they built the moat and the wall much bigger to start with. The bridges are solid and well guarded, but they seem to have forgotten that though most people will use the bridges, some will not. That's where the danger lies—the invisible spots between the bridges and the walls.”

“You came back via boat, also?”

“Yes.” She was smug. “Put the one I borrowed right back where I found it. I bet they won't even notice it's been moved.”

“Good.” I glanced around. “Has anyone seen Zarilla? Heard about her?”

“No.”

Petunia crossed her arms and raised a black eyebrow. “You were on the island with her. Did you?”

“No. I didn't see her or hear her at all once she touched the island.”

Carol spoke up. “This is only the second day. She has until tomorrow.”

I agreed. “Let's get some food.”

Sami held up a brace of rabbits. “I left a snare yesterday.”

I grinned. “Smart woman.”

We skinned and roasted them with some potatoes we found growing not far from our camp. It was hearty for a breakfast, but that's the sort of food that is best for soldiers, especially soldiers who don't know where their next meal is coming from, or when. I licked  hot grease from my fingers, savoring the taste.

The rest of the day we spent hunting and gathering food, drawing up diagrams of the city's five parts, and making plans for the second infiltration.

Chapter 3

On the third day, Zarilla came back. She was bruised and worn, so we tucked her into one of the sleep packs and let her rest for a time. When she woke, I sat with her.

“What happened?”

“They saw me almost as soon as I landed. I escaped, but spent the rest of the day dodging and hiding from them. There are many buildings on the main section of the island, and many places to secret oneself—trees, the reeds by the water, the storehouses—but it's difficult. There is a guard patrolling the main house—I'm sure that's where Roy lives—that is at least a half-dozen strong. There was no way I could get any closer than their circuit. It's heavily defended.”

“What about the rest of it?”

“There are houses, but I didn't see a barracks. I think the soldiers either live in the main house or in their own houses.”

I frowned. “I wonder how they maintain discipline, then.”

She shrugged. “It took two days of careful sneaking from hiding spot to hiding spot to get down close enough to the shore to see about either crossing one of the bridges or swimming or stealing a boat. I tried to cross, but the guard didn't recognize me, and I fought my way out of that one.”

Her sneer was sufficient to identify who had won, but my concern was for my promise.

“Did you kill anyone?”

She snorted. “Do I look inept to you? I know my strength. I knocked them both out. It gave me enough time to run for a boat.”

She paused, grimacing as she rubbed her arm, and I took her hand away to examine it.

“Carol, help me. Zarilla, you're bleeding.”

“Still? I bandaged it up.”

“What was it, arrow?”

“Yeah.”

Zarilla grunted as Carol cut off the dirty makeshift bandage and cleaned the wound. Carol scolded her as she worked.

“You're lucky it cut across the outside of your arm rather than sticking in or going through.”

“Don't be a nag.” Carol dug a little harder with the alcohol soaked cloth and Zarilla winced. “Yes, I'm lucky.”