Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest) (8 page)

True, he had
a finely hewn warrior's body. But it would be an empty shell were it not for
the bright interest lighting his eyes and the wry humor that lifted his lips.

She
genuinely liked this man, enemy though he was.

She stole a
look at him, and saw that Kalos was now intensely scanning every detail of the
stonework surrounding the parameters of the trail, as though assuring himself
of the safety of her abode.

In a tall
tree ahead Adalginza saw a familiar rainbow flash of feathers. She immediately
sent forth a message to Starla.

Go. I
have no time for you now, and the enemy is here with me.

Starla was
more highly evolved than many of the furred and feathered creatures in
Adalginza's realm. But she still could not grasp complex human thoughts. The bird's
answering query was simply puzzled, not understanding.

Just go.
Danger.

The distant
swoosh of the bird taking flight fortunately attracted only a brief,
disinterested look from Kalos. Nor did he look Adalginza's way.

It was as
though the captain had dismissed Adalginza as someone of no importance to his
future endeavors, therefore making her a non-person in his eyes.

The soft
part of her urged her to take her leave of Captain Kalos as he had suggested, so
that she would have no part in his downfall.

He would
die, eventually. That was certain. And it would not be just any death, but an
unspeakable one.

Adalginza could
not bear to witness such an end. So she told herself she would say her goodbyes
to Kalos and his family, confess her failure to Bruna, and return home in
disgrace.

But at least
she would be home and away from this bizarre world of rules and customs created
by those of the Crescent Houses.

"What
do you know of a savage named Benfaaro?"

Adalginza
struggled to keep her expression normal, while battling the irrational fear
that perhaps her companion could read minds.

"I — know
the name."

"Of
course you do. You grew up near his birthing grounds."

She stopped,
and turned to face Kalos. "How do you know this about me?"

He, too,
stopped. He gave her a glib look. "I asked about you, before joining you
here."

"Why
would you do that?"

"Knowledge
is power, dear lady. So I know you grew up in your mother's abode near the
Place of the Circles in the frontier. A very odd upbringing for a lady of the
Fifth House, was it not?"

"I was
very isolated. Yes."

"Because
of your mother. I was told she was — unbalanced."

Kalos said
this gently, not accusingly.

"I
found her to be nurturing, nonetheless."

Adalginza
felt her panic gradually ease. Kalos clearly did not know her relationship to
Benfaaro, though he was closer to the truth of who she really was than he could
ever imagine.

She had,
indeed, been raised by the Lady Donzala. Before she was murdered, the woman had
been — in truth — quite mad.

Lady Donzala
often thought Adalginza was her daughter, even though her real daughter had
been long dead.

As she reassured
herself that Kalos could not possibly know this part, the captain watched her
closely.

"I
bring this up not to stir old hurts. But only because you are familiar with the
Place of the Circles. I ask you again. What do you know of Benfaaro?"

"I knew
him as a child."

Perhaps it
was risky, but Adalginza's instinct told her to stay as close to the truth as
possible.

"So the
savages were your friends?" Kalos asked.

"Yes.
When I was very young. There were no other children around who were from a
Crescent House. Ours was the only such abode left in the Place of the Circles,
for many seasons."

"So the
savages accepted you?" Kalos sounded incredulous.

"Not
exactly. Never fear, my mother ended all friendships with the savages as I grew
older. She taught me the true place of a lady of the Fifth House. And whatever
I knew of Benfaaro, I was only a child at the time. He was so much older he was
of little interest to me."

"So the
savages were once your friends. At least now I understand why you did not lay a
whip to your slave."

"But…"

"Do not
disgrace yourself with a lie. I know the difference between the sound of a whip
laid to flesh, and a whip laid against a solid surface. We shall speak no more
about it."

Adalginza grew
silent, sorting her way through a tangle of feelings as they approached the stable
now visible in distant, flickering lamplight.

 Until now,
she had thought her brother's name was unknown to the enemy. She could only
guess that a Crescent knight somewhere must have tortured a prisoner and loosened
his tongue.

And what of
her own identity? Was it still a secret?

Few among
her people knew her, or of what she was doing in Sola Re. Besides, if Kalos
suspected the truth about her, he would not be so quick to dismiss her.

He would, in
fact, try to cultivate their relationship so that he could spy upon the spy.

This meant Captain
Kalos had accepted the story that Lady Donzala was her real mother. And why
not? It would seem logical to him, because no savage had ever been known to be
born with indigo eyes.

Adalginza
was now so certain her secret was safe that she felt secure enough to ask the
next question.

"Why
did you mention Benfaaro?"

"Because
I have direct orders from the Prime Continent. I must find and kill him."

In the time
it took Kalos to speak those chilling words, Adalginza had an abrupt change of
heart. This man who had just declared himself the sworn enemy of her brother
must be watched closely.

Desperation
made the next lie spill from her lips as convincingly as any truth.

"You
have brought back memories for me, Captain Kalos. Of a childhood spent roaming
the hills near the Place of the Circles. I had not thought of this, until now.
But I once saw some images, in relief, carved on the stone wall of a cave.
Placed there by the distant ancestors of the savages. And there are rumors of
artifacts found there. I — I hesitate to speak aloud of what I saw and heard,
but you dared to say the name of the sacred House earlier."

"Are
you saying some of those images are linked to the House of the Seventh Crescent
Moon?"

"One,
at least. I am not sure of the rest. You would have to see for yourself."

Kalos
grabbed her shoulders, unaware of the pain of his grip.

"You
must tell me now. Where exactly did you see this symbol?"

Realizing
that he was holding her in an unseemly way, he released his grip and backed off
a few steps. Still, the captain continued to regard her in an eager and almost
boyish manner.

And that's
when Adalginza knew she had real power over this man who was more scholar than
soldier. The House of the Seventh Crescent Moon was his weakness. Perhaps it
was even a way to his heart. And, ultimately, his trust.

"I
cannot tell you exactly enough where this cave is, for it is well hidden. But I
can show you."

"You
would do this?"

"For
you, sir? Of course."

Kalos
regarded her somberly.

"It is
very dangerous now at the Place of the Circles. Because of the rebellion. Is
that not why you and your clan left for Sola Re in the first place?"

"I
would be safe with you, a brave warrior."

"Yes,
but would I be safe with you?"

"Excuse
me?"

Kalos
laughed arrogantly, as though he had suddenly found himself again. Adopting his
old cavalier and superior manner, he took Adalginza's arm to escort her to the
stables.

"I see
I have offended you yet again. Please forgive me yet again. But be assured I am
most grateful to you for your offer. In fact, what you say is most fortuitous. Benfaaro
is rumored to still dwell at the Place of the Circles. Perhaps I would be lucky
enough to find him there. Or at least learn more about his homeland."

"
Many
savages still dwell there," Adalginza corrected him. "You would not
have enough Crescent knights at your disposal to fend off any attacks."

"True."

 "So I
would suggest you wait until autumn's eve, when the savages will be gone. All
the tribes will be gathered at the Festival of Blood in the next province. Then
you could freely travel, as well as have access to the cave."

"An
excellent idea, Lady Adalginza."

Adalginza at
that moment felt the coldness of the mind, ahead of them on the path.

It was a
small brain, yet dangerous in its single-minded purpose. It had found prey,
much easier to squeeze into lifelessness than the sturmons that fought back
with blows of painful, sharp hooves.

"There
is danger!" Adalginza shouted. "A snake!"

Without
waiting for Kalos, she grabbed for a sharp metal pole left leaning against the
seedling to which it was meant to be bound for support.

She hurled
herself down the path, screaming for Zartos and Lady Redolo to take shelter.
But they were too far away to hear.

Adalginza's
moccasined feet pounded the trail so desperately fast that she had no awareness
of contact with the ground.

She could
hear Kalos racing behind her, trying to catch up as he shouted at her to
explain herself. She glanced behind her, seeing that he was out of sight behind
a grove of trees.

She had no
time to wait for his help.

She ducked
through a thicket, taking a short cut she knew of that bypassed the trail. Kalos
was too far behind to see her strategy, so he would be delayed even more. For
now, she was on her own.

As Adalginza
desperately thrashed her way through the brambles and thorns of the underbrush,
she pulled constantly at her long gown to untangle it.

Finally, she
emerged from the thicket to spot Lady Redolo and Zartos rounding a curve of the
main path. She stopped abruptly.

They had not
yet seen her, and she did not want to alarm them into any sudden move that
would attract the snake's first strike.

Adalginza knew
the creature was close, by the focused attention of its chilly mind. Its whole
being was now centered on the two who remained oblivious to all but the playful
bantering they now exchanged as they strolled closer.

Immediately
beside her next to the main trail, Adalginza noticed the clean knife cut in the
fiber webbing that helped provide screening against incursions from snakes. She
realized then that Bruna had disobeyed orders to go to her sleep room after the
"whipping."

Instead, the
wretched woman must have slipped through the front door to furtively prowl the
grounds.

Seeing that
Lady Redolo and Zartos had gone off by themselves to the stables, Bruna must
have stopped long enough to cut the screen behind them.

The area
also had been baited with fresh, uncooked red meat from the kitchen. Adalginza
saw some of the remnants, where the snake had been feeding.

Waves of
fury pounded at Adalginza, fueling her frustration. But a reckoning with Bruna,
along with demands for an explanation, must wait for later.

 For now,
Adalginza stepped back onto the main trail and steeled herself to slowly
approach her two distracted guests.

As she
gripped the metal rod, her eyes darted back and forth.

The monster
could be anywhere.

Snakes were
masters of camouflage, with their reptilian ability to change the color and
patterns of skin to blend perfectly with the green of grass or the mottled,
rocky patterns of an arroyo bottom.

The presence
of this one would be known only when it moved.

Adalginza
felt a startled awareness from the creature, as it finally spotted her. But it
was not alarmed. It had not killed in days, and had plenty of venom to spare.

Adalginza
guessed the snake must be huge if it regarded all three of the humans in its
vicinity as viable meals to be eaten in one session.

Desperately
she tried forcing her eyes to see in more detail, hoping to detect where it was
hidden. At the same time, she felt the monster's growing anticipation.

After one
quick strike, its prey would become slowly paralyzed while squirming in
unspeakable pain. The snake would then take the meal into its open mouth,
holding the squirming victim in place with its fangs while waiting for the
final death throes.

The snake
would swallow only after it was assured there would be no internal damage from
a last, frantic kick.