Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest) (26 page)

"They
have no right to grant us what is already ours!" Benfaaro retorted
angrily.

"I
understand that. But now our friends among the Crescent Houses are fewer. And
there is a growing movement among a faction known as the Eradicators. They
demand revenge, and they have members among most of the Houses. All except the
Eighth House, which shuns violence."

"If
they would stay where they belonged, there would be no need for revenge,"
Benfaaro said evenly.

Adalginza
picked up another ceramic cup placed next to the fire, and ladled herself more
steaming brew from the iron pot.

"You
are right, of course. But each person you slaughter in the frontier leaves a
grieving clan back on the Prime Continent. The ranks of the Crescent knights are
growing in numbers never before seen in the past, because of volunteers. And
now they are being sent in greater numbers to fortify the settlements."

"Let
them come," Benfaaro said defiantly. "We are better warriors by
far."

 "If
you goad those of the Crescent Houses much further, they will begin their own
slaughter. And they will  not stop."

"They
planned all along to destroy us anyway," Bruna said from where she still
stood at the fire. "We are now simply striking first."

Adalginza turned
away from her and to Benfaaro.

"Please
hear me. Captain Kalos burned the Village of the Circles while you were gone so
that he could demonstrate to you that he had the power to do so. That was his own
message sent to you."

"Child's
play," Benfaaro said derisively. "It meant nothing to me."

"You
were not listening to what he was telling you. So far, he has not ordered an attack
on any of the occupied villages. He knew of the planned revolt at Sola Re and prevented
it by exiling the free savages who lived there. He could have killed them instead,
but he has shown compassion. Repeatedly. Even while his heart is still sick with
the loss of his own family."

Benfaaro
held up his hand.

"Enough
of such praise for the captain, or I will start to question your loyalty. Need
I remind you of the terms of our bargain?"

Adalginza
lowered her eyes. "You will not attack any caravan led by Captain Kalos.
You will not harm his mother or his nephew. And you will not attack Sola Re."

"For as
long as the information the captain gives you is useful. When he becomes more
harmful than useful, he
will
be killed."

"Or
perhaps I will make him my slave," Bruna said malevolently. "I have
potions that can make zombies of men. He will do all that I ask of him. He will
even make love to me..."

Adalginza
suddenly jumped to her feet, appealing to Benfaaro.

"Silence
her for once!"

"I have
no power to do this."

"Then
you are not a man."

Benfaaro
visibly winced at the accusation, but Bruna only laughed.

"I
thought it would be dangerous for Adalginza to fall in love with the enemy,"
she said. "Instead, it has only made her weaker. She serves us much better
now, because of this pitiful state she is in."

Adalginza
leaped toward Bruna, recklessly determined to shove her into the flames of the
campfire. But Benfaaro moved even more swiftly to stand and intercept his
sister. He wrapped his arms around her, restraining her.

"I told
you to guard your heart," Benfaaro said roughly. "You did not listen
to me. For this folly, I have no pity for you. Sit back down and tell me the
secrets you have brought me. You do this now or my spies stationed near Sola Re
will execute your captain before the next eve. If you don't tell me what you
know, I will have him, his mother, and his nephew gutted before your very eyes."

Adalginza
realized Benfaaro meant those words, because this was the man her brother had
become. She had no doubt, at least, of who
he
was.

She began
talking, barely recognizing her own hoarse voice as she outlined the planned movements
of troops in the frontier. She also related details of when the next caravans of
settlers were scheduled to depart from the coast.

"At the
next dawning of the crescent moon twins, on the 'morrow, Luzicos will lead a
group of about twenty knights to establish a military post on the north peak of
the Mountain of Treasures," Adalginza said. "My husband will not be
with him. Kalos has duties in Sola Re."

"What
is the purpose of this new post?" Benfaaro demanded.

"Its
existence is to be kept a closely guarded secret. It is a way to provide
protection to caravans that are to be sent from an alternate route, arriving
from the far shore of the Sumal Sea."

Benfaaro
held up one hand, stopping her.

"Luzicos?
The Crescent knight who murdered my daughter?"

"I was
there," Bruna spoke up hastily. "I was in hiding when I heard his
name. And I saw the blood on his hands."

"Hear
that?" Benfaaro turned back to Adalginza. "Speak to me no more of
compassion. The Crescent knights have taken that which is most dear to me. You
know this man, Luzicos?"

Adalginza felt
the blood drain from her cheeks as she nodded wordlessly

 "Then
give me his description in detail. I want to know who it is I am looking for. I
plan to spend considerable time with him before he finally dies."

"I know
his face well," Bruna said. "I will describe him for you."

Adalginza attempted
to still the rapid beating of her heart, trying to think of something to say to
ease her brother's wounded soul.

But then,
she suddenly sat upright.

"Gather
your things and go," she whispered urgently. "Someone comes."

"You
hear the animals?" Benfaaro asked.

"I feel
them, yes," Adalginza said. "They slip away as a man approaches."

"She
lies," Bruna interrupted. "She doesn't want to tell us anything else."

"She
told us enough," Benfaaro said. "And I do hear someone approaching."

"It is Kalos,"
Adalginza said.

She saw her
husband's intense expression mirrored through the eyes of a frightened mewl doe
bedded down in the cover of brush.

When next
she looked around, both Bruna and Benfaaro hastily were gathering their belongings
including the cook pot and cups into a pack. Then they faded into the darkness.

They left no
prints, which was part of the purpose of their rocky meeting place. And when
shortly thereafter Kalos stepped into the firelight, Adalginza looked up at him
without surprise.

He peered
around, giving the surrounding area his usual scrutiny.

"I saw
the Pinto where you tethered him. Is this where you now spend your time? Brooding
with the ghosts in the Canyon of Despair?"

After Kalos
sat down beside her where Benfaaro had been only moments earlier, Adalginza
snuggled against her husband.

He placed
one arm around her to pull her against him. He moved aside a few strands of her
hair, and whispered in her ear.

"I miss
my wife."

"You
are too busy planning the conquest of the frontier. I did not think you would
miss me
that
much."

"I miss
her in my bed at night. I sometimes overhear the dowagers in Sola Re gossiping
about the daughter of Lady Donzala, and her wanderings under the night moons.
They are aghast that the captain's new wife now openly rides the sturmons as a
man would ride. But then, most of them are from the House of the Fifth Crescent
Moon. And ugly. And jealous."

"Let
them say I am crazy. It is explanation enough."

"For
them, maybe. But not for me." He hesitated. "As I approached your
campfire, I thought I heard voices."

"I was
talking to the ghosts."

"Tell
me this isn't really so."

"To
myself, then. As disturbed women are apt to do."

"I am
concerned for the condition of both your mind
and
your body." Kalos
held up one of her thin wrists, and let it drop limply to her side. "You
are wasting to nothing before my very eyes. Is it so tragic, then, to be
married to me?"

"The
tragedy is that you broke your promise to me. Without that promise, I never
would have consented to wed you."

Kalos gave
her an exasperated look.

"And
you, in turn, are breaking
my
heart. Dear Adalginza, why can you not see
that it is impossible for us to escape to the wilderness? I cannot abandon my
family and my obligations just to satisfy some delusional notion you may have
of happiness."

"Bring
Zartos and Lady Redolo with you then." Adalginza turned to him, and took
both of his hands in appeal. "The two of them are strong. They will
survive. The land is friendly to those who understand it. We will be safe. And
we will be hidden."

"You
are still serious about this?"

She put one
hand on his chest, desperate for him to hear her next plea.

"In
this way, you can seek more evidence of the House of the Seventh Crescent Moon.
This is your true desire, is it not? You are in your heart an explorer. And a
scholar. You can seek for as long as you want, without being forced to carry
the shield and sword of the Crescent knights."

Kalos gave
her a tender look, and kissed her cheek.

"I
understand only that you are pursued by fear. You refuse to tell me the source
of it. But I know this much. No matter how far you flee or where you go, you
still must turn around someday and look directly into the eyes of fear. Just as
you faced down that snake."

"You
understand
nothing
about my fear."

Adalginza
stood angrily. Kalos stood with her, and grabbed both of her wrists to hold
them firmly in his hands.

"You
love me. I know you do. And yet you withhold yourself from me."

"How
dare you make such an accusation? I make myself available to you in our
marriage bed."

"Without
looking at me. Without taking satisfaction for yourself. What kind of marriage
is that?"

"Then
release me from our vow! I will return to my own clan house in Sola Re, so that
you will no longer suffer the pain of my presence."

"I will
always suffer the pain of your presence," Kalos answered quietly.

Then he reached
out and forced her chin upwards.

She knew
better than to look at him while under the spell of the night sky and its powerful
moons. For there was lunacy in the air once more.

She felt him
fumble with the bodice strappings that drew her sash together. She felt the
warmth of his hands, though the night air was chilled.

She closed
her eyes, trying to shut out the sight of him. Trying not to feel him. Trying
not to love him any more than she already did.

Then they
fell together on the hardness of the rocks. They would have bruises the next day.
But for this tender moment, they were lost in each other.

Two pale
crescent moons smiled low on the horizon and the campfire had died to only a
few lazy embers when finally the two lovers rose and donned their clothing.

The sun was
beginning to rise, casting a few exploratory rays into the cover of the canyon.
Birds fluttered to life, beginning the day's cycle of pursuit of winged
insects.

Kalos was
smiling now as he teased her.

"Now we
have given the dowagers new fodder for their gossip. Not only does the Lady
Adalginza wander in the night, but she is followed by the love-crazed captain.
And the two of them do not return to their home until the sun is high in the
sky the next day."

Feeling
suddenly shy around him, Adalginza gave him a sidewise smile.

"Luzicos
will be worried about you."

"Luzicos?
Luzicos is not my mother. Why not Lady Redolo?"

"Your
mother knows you are with me. And approves. Luzicos probably knows you are with
me also. But by the alarmed way he now looks at me, he probably thinks I have
placed a blade to your throat."

"You
cannot blame the man. He still has a scar on his upper thigh from where you
attacked him with my own Crescent sword. Lucky for him and his manhood that
your aim was not slightly higher." Kalos sounded more amused than
concerned.

"That
was where I was aiming."

Adalginza suddenly
fell silent and looked down, lost in thought.

Kalos shook
his head sadly.

"Ah. I
should have said nothing of that day. I have succeeded in dousing the mood.
Once again."

He held out
his hand to her, eyeing her sternly.

"It is
time to go home. The Golden is tied where you left your sturmon."

***

As they rode
home, side-by-side, the distant rumbling of wagons could be heard from Sola Re.