Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest) (28 page)

After the
frontier belongs to the Crescent Houses.

Those words
were like a vicious slap, reminding Adalginza of who the captain really was to
say such a thing without even a thought.

Now she was
glad she had not betrayed Benfaaro.

***

Kalos and
Adalginza approached the captain's estate on their two spirited sturmons, both
prancing in eagerness for the fresh grain and water they knew awaited them in
the stables.

Zartos must
have seen their approach, because he was astride an energetic, red speckled
sturmon that loped out to greet them.

The Speckle
came from Adalginza's own stables. And she had been delighted at the immediate union
that took place between the young beast and Zartos.

She could
even now feel the lightness of the Speckle's spirit as they approached.

"Good
morn, nephew!" Kalos called out.

"Luzicos
seeks you, uncle," Zartos answered, as he pulled the Speckle to a sliding
halt before them. "There is more news of the caravans. Two more were
attacked. Everyone was killed, and all the supplies were taken. But one caravan
did arrive safely this morning, by the secret route."

"Yes, I
heard the wagons. And keep your voice low, or the secret route will not be
secret much longer."

"There
is nothing to fear. With the slaves now banished, the savages are all gone from
Sola Re." Zartos hesitated. "Except for
her
."

The emphasis
on
her
was enough to reveal the utter disgust with which Zartos regarded
their house guest of the past season.

As if on
cue, a tiny dark-skinned girl with a defiant expression strolled out from behind
the brushy hedge lining the entryway.

"My
name is Calasta," she corrected him. "I have instructed you many
times to use my correct name, and I fail to understand why you do not comply."

"And
who are you to be giving me instructions in the first place?" Zartos demanded.
"Besides, I have so many other good names for you. Pest, for one. Pest
stands for pestilence, you know. And if you touch my collection of
shell-sanders one more time..."

"I told
you the shell-sanders are not happy with where you put them. They want more
shade."

"Leave
them where they are or you will hear even more names that little girls are not
supposed to hear."

"Zartos!"
Kalos scolded, as he slipped off the back of the Golden. "You are not
supposed to know those names either. You have been spending too much time with
Luzicos and the other knights."

"Luzicos
is teaching me to fight with a Crescent sword," Zartos announced
enthusiastically.

"And
Lady Redolo told you to be spending less time with the knights and more time in
the company of your scrolls. Your education has been sorely lacking."

"I have
been spending time with the scrolls," Calasta announced smugly.

"Did
you hear that?" Zartos glared at her. "And you've been cleaning your
room. And all the other rooms. Including mine, where I can no longer find any
of my valued possessions. Anything to curry favor with Lady Redolo at every
opportunity."

"Someone
sounds jealous." Kalos was clearly amused.

"Jealous?
Why would I be jealous of a…?" Zartos must have seen the expression on the
faces of the adults, because he suddenly stopped himself. "Never
mind."

"Was he
about to insult me?" Calasta asked, sounding very much like the princess
that she actually was.

Adalginza
slipped off her sturmon and briefly gave Calasta a hug.

"Give
it no more thought."

Zartos then quickly
began gathering up the reins of the sturmons.

"Come
here and help me, sprite," he told Calasta. "Make yourself useful."

"My
name is Calasta."

"All
right then,
Calasta
. Follow me."

Adalginza
watched them head for the stables, pulling the reins of the sturmons behind
them and arguing the whole way, until they were out of sight.

"She
will have to be told soon," Adalginza said quietly. "And not just
part of it. She will have to be told everything."

"Why?
She seems happy enough. Especially when she's vexing Zartos. He makes good
sport."

Adalginza
and Kalos walked slowly and contently, arm-in-arm, toward the main abode.

"I am
most grateful to you for giving Calasta sanctuary."

"She is
your daughter. She has your blood. She is part of you. That much is obvious to
me, though it would not be so to others who do not know you as intimately as I."

"Nevertheless,
I thank you."

"What I
do for her, I do for you. Though I choose not to think of Benfaaro when I
regard her."

Adalginza
did, indeed, see part of herself in the child, even though Calasta was a niece
rather than the daughter Kalos believed her to be.

As a cover
story and in case the girl regained her full memory, Adalginza also told Kalos
that Calasta believed her to be an aunt when they were at the Place of the
Circles.

"Do you
think she will ever recover completely?" Kalos asked.

"I do
not know."

"Maybe
it will never matter. Maybe she will be content not knowing who she is."

Calasta's head
injury had left her with only partial memories. And, clearly, the one most
important to her was the sound of her own name.

She was
unable to name her attacker. And it was Luzicos who had actually saved her.

Calasta was
regarded by other citizens of Sola Re as an unfortunate orphaned savage girl
with no particular ties. She was under the protection of the captain, and this
was all that mattered.

Yet, it was
dangerous to add this additional complexity to the tapestry of lies that
Adalginza was now weaving.

She often
agonized over what would happen to Calasta if she were to suddenly regain her
memory and unwisely declare in public that she was Benfaaro's daughter.

"No one
without memories can be happy for long," Adalginza said thoughtfully as
they approached the front entryway of the abode. "As Calasta grows older,
there will be too many unanswered questions. And she will only end up hating us
for our deception."

"What
deception?" Kalos asked. "We simply tell her nothing."

"And
that, my dear husband, is the worst of deceptions."

"I still
wish we knew who did it," Kalos said, holding open the heavy wooden door
for Adalginza to enter. "I am haunted by the possibility — nay, the
probability — that one of my knights brutalized your child."

Adalginza
had her own suspicions about what had happened, based on Bruna's story of
witnessing the incident. But she, of course, could not voice them aloud.

She regarded
the living area of their abode, to which she and Lady Redolo had added feminine
touches such as ornate, woven wall hangings and polished brass oil lamps.

As Bruna had
observed, there were — indeed — many benefits associated with being an
officer's wife.

Adalginza
wearily sank into one of the plump, overstuffed leather chairs and breathed in
the fresh aroma of yeasty bread baking in the kitchen.

"At
least one of your knights displayed honor," she said. "Calasta would
have slowly bled to death had Luzicos not found her hidden in the suckleberry
brush."

"And as
his reward for bringing the child out into the clearing for her wounds to be
tended, he is attacked and stabbed by the captain's screeching, hysterical wife.
It is good that you are the daughter of Lady Donzala. Otherwise, I would have
been at a loss to explain your behavior."

"It was
an honest mistake. You saw how it looked."

"I am
only glad that we were not compelled to bury your mistake, dear one." The
captain settled into his own chair beside Adalginza. Then, his expression grew
serious. "It was
not
Luzicos who hurt Calasta. He is not of the
same bloodline as our infamous Captain Heinste the Cruel."

"I know
that now. He would have left Calasta hidden, had he been the one responsible."

"It
would be good if Calasta someday could identify whoever did this to her,"
Kalos said. "If it was one of my knights, rest assured that I will administer
swift justice. Captain Heinste was executed on the Prime Continent for the
atrocities he committed here. There have been no others like him since. At
least, no officers of his rank."

Adalginza
regarded her husband steadily, trying to keep accusation from her eyes.

"Yet, savage
children have been harmed during some of the recent conflicts. And
killed."

Kalos leaned
his head back and squeezed his eyes shut.

"An
unintended consequence of war. Benfaaro, on the other hand, is now deliberately
targeting women. And children. He has become a monster."

"From
the news dispatches we are hearing from the incoming ships, you are very likely
to receive orders from the Congress of the Prime Continent to attack the
villages. To take no prisoners. Is this not the same thing?"

"Do not
ask me that."

Adalginza
leaned toward him and lowered her voice.

"Would
you do what Benfaaro does? In the end, will you also become a monster?"

Kalos kept
his eyes held shut, refusing to meet her gaze.

"I do
not know."

Lady Redolo
picked that moment to cheerily stroll into the living area.

She held a
platter full of newly backed breads fresh from the adobe brick oven that was
the centerpiece of the adjoining kitchen. She held the delicacies temptingly in
front of Kalos and Adalginza.

Adalginza politely
took one of the samples and then slowly bit into the fresh, doughy bread
concoction. Her empty stomach raged in answer, demanding that she eat more.

"I knew
you could not resist hot bread," Lady Redolo told Adalginza. "You
must eat. Recover your strength. And what is this sad look on your face? Kalos,
what did you say to her?"

Adalginza
glanced up in time to catch Kalos barely shake his head, signaling that she
must not tell Lady Redolo about the possibility of attacks on the savage villages.

"Lady
Adalginza is disturbed by something that I showed her on our way back from the
Canyon of Despair," Kalos said. "It is beyond explanation. But it
will serve only to enchant you in your scholarly pursuits, Mother."

"Oh?"
Redolo eagerly placed the tray on a small wooden table in front of the chairs.
"Beyond explanation, you say?"

Kalos winked
at Adalginza. "I knew that would get her attention."

He told his
mother only enough to stir up her considerable curiosity. In fact, Redolo tried
insisting that he take her to the cave at once. But Kalos declined.

"I have
urgent business today. I must meet with Luzicos."

"Adalginza
could show me."

"No. Adalginza
needs her rest. Besides, I want to take you there myself."

"Kalos,
this is most vexing! On the morrow, then?"

"Not then
either. I leave with Luzicos and some of the other knights. We have business at
the Mountain of Treasures."

Adalginza
tried to keep her hands from visibly shaking as she clutched the remainder of
the bread she had been nibbling.

She stared
at Kalos.

"I did
not know you planned to go with Luzicos."

Kalos tore
off a huge chunk of bread from the large loaf on the tray. His next words were
muffled, as he munched on the delicacy.

"A
change in plans..." He interrupted himself to finish swallowing. "I
wish to see the site of the new post before construction begins. I want to make
sure it is properly concealed."

"Then I
will go with you," Adalginza said suddenly.

Kalos
regarded her in surprise.

"You
are not well."

"I will
go."

"No."

Adalginza
forced a smile upon her face and insinuation into her voice.

"I want
to go because I know of a lake near there. In the wilderness. It has been more
than a full season since we were wed there. And I think we might find an
opportunity to visit again."

"Take
her with you, Kalos," Redolo interrupted. "She could do with an
outing. And your company. Besides, did you not tell me that the savages have no
knowledge of this new post or route for the caravans? There have been no
attacks at the Mountain of Treasures. So the danger would be small."

Adalginza
swallowed hard, trying to choke down the last bite of the bread that now tasted
dry and bitter.

Lady Redolo
had no idea how great the danger actually was. But Adalginza's plan was
working. By now, Kalos had assumed a faraway look along with a knowing smile.