Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest) (41 page)

"All
part of the secret plan," Swiala said, sounding resigned. "Now that
his horrible weapon has been demonstrated in public, the captain feared that
word would leak out if the invasion was delayed."

Swiala explained
that the Prime Congress had concurred with the captain's need for urgency. To
assuage those who protested the military action, the governing body also voted
to send its own ambassadors to observe and monitor the activities of the
military.

Lady Swiala
was among the delegates. And Captain Kalos insisted that Lady Adalginza was to
accompany her. Umbrea, too, would be present to serve them both.

Adalginza
knew that Kalos requested her presence only because he did not trust her and he
wanted her under his watchful eye. If she was confined to his ship, there was
no way she could send any reports to Benfaaro.

She was
given barely enough time to pack a few of her more practical belongings, before
rejoining Umbrea and Swiala in the outside courtyard.

They started
walking toward the street. But Lady Swiala hung back to give last minute
instructions for running the household to a distressed group of servants
clustered to bid them farewell.

"It may
be best for all of us that it has worked out this way," Adalginza
whispered to Umbrea, as they kept walking.

"But
why me?" Umbrea asked mournfully. "I do not want to go."

"Maybe
you, too, are part of The Prophecy."

Umbrea's
expression said she was more disturbed than honored by the prospect. They
hurried toward the carriage and team of four sturmons that awaited them for
transport to the ship.

Adalginza
again lowered her voice, so that only Umbrea could hear.

"When
we reach the frontier, you will escape. Find Benfaaro. Report what I told you
about what happened at the session of the Prime Congress. I'm sure he will have
been reunited with Calasta by the time we arrive. For that reason, you must
hurry before she is harmed. Tell him of the threat to his daughter."

"But he
will never believe Bruna would harm Calasta. You said so yourself."

"Perhaps
Calasta herself now remembers."

"We
cannot know that for sure. And we cannot know that she would tell her father."

Adalginza
then saw her grandmother hurrying toward them. She lowered her voice still
more, and spoke quickly.

"Then do
not mention Bruna's name. Say only that I sent word that Calasta was taken to
protect her against those among our people who would murder her. Calasta must
be watched at every moment. She must have a guard with her at all times. Say
only that."

"I
will, lady. I will. But what will I tell him of you?"

"Tell
him that I will rejoin him when the time is right. It is very important that
you give Benfaaro every detail of all that I have related to you about the
weapon and the possibility of a new plague."

"You
must come with me," Umbrea said. "The Prophecy says you will lead
your people. You cannot remain with those of the Crescent Houses."

Adalginza
considered those words, as she watched the woman she now called grandmother. Her
heart was pained already with potential loss, because she had actually learned
to love Lady Swiala.

"My
blood is mixed, and I no longer know where I belong. I do not know any more
what is best. Or even what is in my own mind and heart."

Umbrea
quickly touched Adalginza's arm. "You are Of The Blood. The moon gods will
guide you."

 After a
quick carriage ride, they were escorted aboard the lead ship where they were
politely greeted by Captain Kalos himself. Of course, Lady Sagawea accompanied
him.

Polyper also
was a surprising member of the welcoming delegation.

At
Adalginza's raised eyebrows, he simply shrugged.

"It is
time to begin my holy mission in the frontier," he said simply.

But upon
seeing Sagawea's advanced state of pregnancy, Adalginza knew Polyper had other
reasons for joining the expedition.

Others among
the ship's occupants included about a dozen political appointees from the Prime
Congress and six representatives of Lady Sagawea's School of Minds.

The ship
debarked without much fanfare, though in the company of twenty six other
floating vessels. Adalginza did not miss the significance of the number. There
were twenty seven launchers for the new weapon. So, obviously, each ship was
equipped with its own launcher.

Adalginza
recognized the strategy. Even if the armada was attacked en route to the
frontier, there was no way all the ships could be destroyed at once. In this
way, enough of the weapons could be preserved to cause considerable damage on
land.

During the
first day of the journey, Kalos was preoccupied with his command of the twenty
or so Crescent knights aboard the ship. They remained generally engaged in what
appeared to be ongoing strategy sessions conducted in private.

In fact, it
seemed that Kalos was so preoccupied he barely had time to exchange a civil
word with any of those aboard.

Adalginza also
sensed the presence below deck of the captain's sturmon, the Golden, safely
stashed in his own paddock along with about a dozen other animals. She tried
mindlinking with the animal, but the Golden rejected her inquiry as though
sensing that she was an enemy.

On the
second day at sea, Adalginza stood at the rear railing to stare over the vast
expanse of water and the bubbling wake left as the ship's sail caught a brisk
wind.

It helped with
her peace of mind to keep her back turned to the weapon that was being brought
to massacre her people. What would she do to stop it? What could she do? And
were there containers aboard that carried the dreaded plague itself?

Then, a
familiar voice interrupted her dark thoughts.

"At
last we are alone together."

"I
would not call this a very private moment."

Adalginza
gave Kalos a weak smile, as he leaned over the railing beside her.

She glanced
over her shoulder at the various antics of the crew and a few of the passengers
who were topside for purposes of stretching cramped muscles.

While it was
good to have Kalos so close again, somehow his very presence made her feel
immensely dejected. He seemed to sense her melancholy, for he dipped his head
to peer upward into her eyes.

She wanted
so much at that moment to take his face into her hands, and press her lips
against his. But she fought the urge.

"Perhaps
now we can talk," he said.

"I know
not what you mean."

"You
tried once before to tell me something, after you had recovered from your
illness. Just before I left Lady Swiala's palace. It was something that seemed
very important to you. It seems you never got that chance."

"And
now you are offering it." Adalginza laughed once, without humor. "It
is true I once thought I had a way to bring peace to the frontier. But forces
are in place now that are beyond your power and mine to stop. My ideas no
longer seem to matter anyway."

"Because
of the weapons?"

"Because
of many things. We are as helpless in our personal course as those seabirds,
trapped by wings that are forced to follow the current of the wind."
Adalginza regarded him sadly. "How is Lady Sagawea?"

"Still
below deck. And heaving at regular intervals. Polyper is there to offer solace."

"As
well he should."

"I fear
Sagawea already despises the frontier, and she has not even yet arrived."

"She
has a keen interest in that which she despises."

"A keen
intellectual interest. I do not think she ever believed that her physical
presence would ever be required. The Congressional appointment was quite a
shock to her, especially in her current condition."

"I will
be anxious to see her intellectual reaction to blood and carnage, after you
launch your first attack on a savage village. Perhaps you should release the
plague first. The killing would be cleaner and faster. And complete. You could
be known as the captain who finished what Heinste the Cruel started so long
ago. It would be interesting to see how history eventually judges you."

"I have
no intention of releasing the plague!"

"Yet,
it exists."

Remembering
then the words of The Prophecy Umbrea had so recently recited, Adalginza
suddenly shuddered.

"I
asked this at the Prime Congress, and the question was never really answered.
How can you be so sure that the plague will kill only the savages? Was it tested
upon people of the Crescent Houses first?"

"It is
a variation of that which Captain Heinste discovered by accident. It was not
considered necessary to test it."

"The Ancients
who lived in the Valley of Beginnings taught that the vessels of disease are
too small to see and too complex to understand. To survive, they can transform
themselves in ways that we might not anticipate."

"Captain
Heinste's plague killed only savages."

"Has
any form of the plague ever caused citizens of the Crescent Houses to become
ill?"

"No.
Never. It is not considered possible."

"Oh,
Captain. Do not be fooled, because all things are possible."

"We can
stand here and argue for as long as we want. But I suppose these matters will
always stand between us."

Sighing,
Kalos gazed out over the sea, as though he could already see to the far shore
of the frontier he seemed so determined to conquer.

"How is
Calasta?"

"Gone.
She recovered her memories, and then ran away to join her father."

"Will
she be safe?"

"Not if
she is in a village soon to be attacked by canisters filled with death. Or
perhaps she was already murdered by a good citizen of a Crescent House who
cannot abide the sight of a savage."

"Why
did you tell me you were Calasta's mother? Is this the only way you thought you
could protect her from me?"

Adalginza
said nothing.

Kalos
watched her closely before speaking again.

"It
concerns me that Calasta was able to disappear so thoroughly. She was a little
savage girl alone on the Prime Continent. She could not possibly have managed
this on her own. So she had help. From Benfaaro's spies. Are you a spy?"

"I did
not help Calasta escape." Adalginza stepped away from the railing. "You
make many excuses about why we are no longer together. But the truth is you no
longer trust me in any way. Nor do I trust you. And it is
this
that
stands between us."

As she
walked away, she heard him mutter behind her.

"I hate
the masque. I really do."

***

It was deep
into the dark of night, and Adalginza somehow managed to fall into a restless
sleep lulled partly by the gentle rocking of the ship.

A short time
later, she felt a hand close over her mouth. She struggled, but could make no
sound.

In the bed
next to hers was the dark outline of the rise and fall of gentle breathing,
indicating that her grandmother was still peacefully asleep.

Then Adalginza
looked up, barely able to see the outline of the captain's face. He held a
finger to his lips, released his hand, and swept her into his arms.

Above deck,
and in the crisp breeze of the sea winds, she dared speak.

"Put me
down. What do you think you are doing?"

"I
found a private place for us," he said.

He carried
her toward the back of the ship, and then set her on her feet. He looked around
in the moonlight to see if anyone was watching. Then he lifted up the edge of
the canvas covering that hid one of the smaller craft used for fishing and
scouting expeditions.

He swept his
hand in a grandiose gesture, inviting her to go under the shroud with him.

"Really?"
Adalginza regarded him with total disbelief. "You have a very high opinion
of yourself, Captain Kalos, if you believe you can simply carry me off and
expect a night of love-making after all the time we have been apart."

"I
thought long of what you said. About trust."

Two crescent
moons were directly overhead, illuminating the sincerity of his expression.

"Oh,
Kalos."

Adalginza
felt her heart twisting as she watched his face. She wanted to tell Kalos that his
instincts were right. That she had a darkness within that he should fear. And
that, for his own good, they should remain apart forevermore.

Instead, the
salty ocean breeze sprayed them with its own perfume. The dim lighting of the
night moons bathed them in a fantasy glow. His hair whipped in the wind. And
her eyes could not leave his face.