Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest) (17 page)

She grasped
his tiny body, and held it to her, oblivious to the red stains that now covered
her bodice and leggings.

"He was
playing. He was chasing the embers," Adalginza sobbed. "Herol always
loved the fire. It made him dance with joy."

She felt the
hand of Kalos on her shoulder, felt it digging in with abject apology.

"I am
so sorry, Lady Adalginza. How could I have known?"

"By
taking the time to learn the truth! Why must men always kill first? Why can
they see no other way?"

"Let me
take him..." Kalos began.

"No! I
will bury Herol. I know where to take him."

"I will
help."

"You
will stay here, out of my sight."

She pushed
by Kalos, knowing that all her rage that had been building for her entire life
was being vented in his direction now. It was unfair, but she did not care. He
made a convenient outlet for emotions now gushing out of control.

"Will
you ever forgive me, lady?"

"Never!"
She turned back to him for one furious moment. "Will anything I love ever
be allowed to live?"

She burst
out into the darkness, in the opposite direction of the barracks where the
knights had bedded down.

She cradled
Herol to her bosom and, her path lit by eight of the moons, picked her way up
the difficult path to the burial ground. She could not help but dwell on the night
when she had somehow found the strength to drag two bloody bodies up this same
trail.

As she was
deluged with those memories and the feeling of loss, her tortuous thoughts
warred between the irrational and coldly logical.

Could it be
that an ancestor of her savage bloodline, many generations ago, angered one Of
The Blood? Did she now have a curse upon her, too?

Impossible,
answered her rational self. She was Of The Blood. No one Of The Blood could be
cursed, or they would not be given such an exalted role among all the tribes.

Yet, she was
not fully Of The Blood. She had indigo eyes. Pretty, hated indigo eyes. She was
a lady of great status in the Crescent Houses. And a woman with great power in
the Tribe of the Circles, if only she would claim it.

So
privileged. So damned.

All you
see, hear, and feel of this world is but an illusion. You will find peace when
you listen to a Greater Voice, which speaks only the Truth...

It sounded
like Medosa. But Medosa was dead. And it wasn't really a voice, but a
whispering inside her head.

"Be
silent! You are not real!" Adalginza mouthed the words in a whisper, but
did not shout them out loud for fear of rousing the Crescent knights who kept
watch along the outer perimeters of the grounds.

Adalginza
felt thorns tear at her flesh and clothing as she finally plunged through the
thicket, to the cleared earth and mounds where Lady Donzala and Medosa were
buried.

Three of the
moons above her were full, casting a vague shadowed lighting on the scene.

Adalginza
used her bare hands to tear a hole in the dry, reluctant earth. Only after her
fingers started bleeding, did she find a nearby rock and begin beating the
ground into compliance. At this point, she did not care if a Crescent knight
heard her.

But the
muffled noise created no alert. Most of the knights were asleep, and those on
guard were too far away.

It took a
long while, but she finally had a place for Herol. She laid the furred corpse
inside, and covered it up. Then she stood, feeling depleted and better somehow from
the almost violent explosion of physical effort.

"I felt
Herol die."

The words
both startled and disheartened Adalginza, as she turned to face the tiny girl
who had voiced the words almost breathlessly.

"Calasta."
Adalginza held out her arms. "Come here, child. Poor child."

Calasta
rushed into her arms.

"Don't
tell mother that the animals speak to me. She is so proud that she is a knower
of the plants. She wouldn't like it that I have a gift, too. She already doesn't
like it that I am Of The Blood."

"I won't
say anything. You know that."

It had been
more than a season since they had last been together, and they held each other
for a long time.

Adalginza
finally released her grip and stepped back, so that she could get a better view
of Calasta's thin face. It was filled so appealingly with huge, dark eyes.

She would steal
many hearts when she was older. Regardless of her looks, however, there would
never be a lack of suitors.

Calasta was
Of The Blood.

She would
likely never be loved for herself alone. It was the curse of status. And the unfairness
of the world in general.

Even worse,
this child of Benfaaro's was now a target of the captain's revenge.

Feeling at a
loss, Adalginza spent a few moments contemplating the wisdom of grabbing Calasta,
stealing a sturmon, and running away into the night.

To go where?

"Mother
is here," Calasta said, a little gloomily.

"What?"
Adalginza looked around. "Where?"

"Not
here. Yet. She is looking for you."

"Then I
suppose she will find me. What are you doing here, child?"

"Herol
was missing. I came to bring him home."

"You
were taking care of Herol for me?"

"Yes."

Sparks flew like
embers from Calasta's eyes as she glared down at the distant abode. Through the
open doorway, they could see the shadow of the captain outlined against the
firelight.

He appeared
to be peering out into the night. Looking for Adalginza? 

"That
man killed Herol," Calasta said furiously. "I hate him!"

"Never
hate until you fully know the truth." Adalginza's heart was heavy as she
regarded the captain's outline. "You know how Herol's eyes catch the glow
of the firelight? The captain believed the glowing orbs to be an evil spirit."

"But we
always thought it was so funny!" The catch in Calasta's voice was the only
sign that she was stifling her tears.

"It's
funny only when you know what it is." Adalginza sighed deeply. "Captain
Kalos is very sorry about what happened. It was an accident. You should not hate
him."

"He is
the enemy." Bruna's voice sliced through the conversation, as she stepped
out of the darkness. "Of course you should hate him."

"Then
why is he with Adalginza?" Calasta asked.

"I am
spying on him," Adalginza said simply. "To learn his secrets. To help
our people."

"Do not
tell such things to this silly child," Bruna scolded. "Only a few
among us know you or of what you are doing."

"She will
keep silent. I trust Calasta with my life."

"Ridiculous."
Bruna clapped both hands together toward the child, a habit that always jangled
Adalginza's nerves. "You go now. Go home."

"Her
dear pet has been killed," Adalginza said. "Can you not show your
daughter a little compassion?"

"She
must learn to deal with death sooner or later." Bruna nodded her head
sharply toward Calasta. "I said go home."

"Yes, Mother."

The child
paused momentarily to stare at the tiny heap of ground, and then melted into
the darkness where she would no doubt find a place to cry alone.

"I
thought you would be at the Festival of Blood," Adalginza said.

"Benfaaro
is there. You are here, and in need of watching."

"Both
you
and
Calasta should be by Benfaaro's side at such an esteemed event.
Calasta is Of The Blood. Her place is there."

Bruna toed the
mound of dirt, taking a curious interest in a few drops of fresh blood left
beside the grave.

"Benfaaro
has some foolish notion that it is better for Calasta that she not realize the
full importance of being Of The Blood. At least not while she is so young. Nor
did he want her to see him celebrated."

When Bruna
looked up, naked hatred was in her eyes.

"Benfaaro
knows you are here, little one. He does not appreciate that you brought the
captain to the Place of the Circles at this time. Now that he and his warriors
are away, the village is unprotected."

"Captain
Kalos has no plans to attack the village that I know of. It would be a foolish and
unnecessary gesture, with everyone gone."

"You waited
to do this until after I left for the festival. You told me nothing of your
plans to bring the captain here. And then I learn from my spies that you dared
entrust the care of valuable sturmons at Sola Re to that boy."

"Why
shouldn't I? Zartos is very trustworthy."

"Who is
receiving the benefit of your spying, Adalginza? Benfaaro? Or Captain Kalos?"

"I gave
you Tremasto."

"We
wanted Sola Re. And now it is too late, because the captain has fortified the
settlement. I ask you. What good are you to us?"

"Hear
me well. I have learned much more because of this journey."

Adalginza
glanced down at the abode, still keenly aware of the captain's silhouette as he
scanned the darkness.

"Captain
Kalos fears that I am mad. Like Lady Donzala. He fears that her madness has
been passed on to me. This is why he holds back from me."

"Then
this is such a fine joke." Bruna chuckled with wicked satisfaction. "Lady
Donzala was never mad."

"What
are you saying? Of course she was mad. Madness was in her bloodline."

Bruna walked
over to the mound representing Lady Donzala's grave. The replica of the
crescent moon that Adalginza had placed on her grave was untouched. Made of
crudely fabricated bronze, it was a product of the Fifth House.

When Bruna
kicked at the mound, Adalginza had to restrain herself to keep from pushing her
away.

"It
took only a few times," Bruna said vaguely.

"What
did?"

"I know
of a very special plant. It grows on the east slope of the Mountain of
Treasures. It does something to the mind. Of a permanent nature."

"You
poisoned Lady Donzala." Adalginza turned her head, determined not to let
Bruna see the tears of grief pooling in her eyes.

"I
placed some of the leaves within the water of her well. It made her more
pliable to our wishes. Do not worry about yourself. It was before you joined
her here."

Adalginza
suddenly thought of something else. But does one really ever want to know the
full extent of evil?

She slowly
walked over to where a tiny mound could barely be seen below the wild growth of
suckleberries.

"Medosa
said the baby was not healthy when she was born."

Bruna
laughed out loud. "It would be more accurate to say that the baby was not
healthy soon after she was born."

Adalginza
stared down at the tiny grave. "You killed Lady Donzala's baby?"

"The
plant that caused madness for the mother killed the infant. But I soon gave
Lady Donzala another to suckle. You."

Adalginza
tried to find her voice. "How could you kill a tiny, innocent baby? How?"

Bruna
shrugged. "If I find a den of baby snakes, I kill them before they can
grow to kill me. It is the same."

"It is
not
the same." Adalginza turned and shifted her gaze back to the grave with
the crescent moon marker. "You show great courage by standing so close to Lady
Donzala. Her hands could reach up from below the earth and take you by the
throat.
Right now.
"

Bruna started,
and took several involuntary steps backward. The malicious smile she wore was
abruptly erased.

"She
was not murdered here," Bruna protested. "She was murdered in the
abode. And that is where her spirit is tied."

"Bruna,
where did you learn such hate? It is unnatural."

Bruna kept
an anxious eye on the grave.

"It was
taught to me. By Captain Heinste of the Crescent knights."

Adalginza's
voice softened. "I heard that something terrible happened to you. When you
were a child. No older than Calasta."

Bruna clutched
both of her hands into fists.

"After the
plague killed my parents, the captain and his knights found me. I was half
starved. And they gave me sweets, from the Prime Continent. I thought they were
being kind. I trusted them. Then the captain started doing things to me. He
tortured me, saying I was a savage and no better than an animal. After that, he
gave me to the knights."

"I am sorry,
Bruna," Adalginza whispered.

"There
were three of them, besides him. They were all swine from the House of the
Fifth Crescent Moon."