Demonkin (69 page)

* * * *

Edmond Mercado turned off the Zinbar Trail onto a narrow seldom-used track that ran north of the road. The wagons following him barely fit on the path, and branches tore at the canvas coverings. The five wagons and outriders moved quietly through the forest for some distance before coming to a large clearing. The clearing was already occupied by hundreds of unicorns and two humans. Garth and Kalina approached Edmond as the wagons circled around and halted facing the path back to the Zinbar Trail.

“Any problems?” asked Garth.

“None that we are aware of,” answered Edmond, “but it is early yet. As best I can tell, the guards did not see us split off from the main caravan.”

“Well,” Garth replied, “let’s be quick about this and let you get back on the road. Kalina, you take the first group to Aranak. I will send the others after you and then follow with the last of the children.”

Kalina nodded and called for the children to exit the wagons. The children poured out of the wagons and got their first glances at the assembled herd of unicorns. The elven children stared at the horned creatures with looks of awe upon their faces. Hundreds of questions gushed forth, but Kalina merely shook her head.

“There will be plenty of time for questions later,” she said as she addressed the children. “Right now we have to keep you moving until you are in a safe location. I want all of you to pair off by age. I want every young child to be paired with an older one. Each pair will have a unicorn to ride. The unicorns are friendly, and they will keep you from falling off, so do not be afraid. We will be flying for a couple of hours so I want you older children to make sure that the younger ones are comfortable when you mount the unicorns.”

“Flying?” gasped one of the children.

“Yes,” Kalina smiled broadly. “The unicorns will be flying you to a secret place. They know where it is, so you do not have to worry about getting lost. In fact, there is nothing at all for you to worry about. Just remain calm and quiet, and you will soon be resting comfortably. We will answer all of your questions then. Okay, let’s get paired off. Make sure that no young child is left without one of you older children to hold him.”

While Kalina organized the children, Edmond and his men paid attention to the wagons. The relatively new canvas, marked with the name Spino Mercantile, was stripped off each wagon. Boxes and crates that had been prepositioned in the clearing were loaded onto the wagons and the wagons were then covered with the original canvas bearing the name of Sidney Mercado. Garth nodded with approval as Edmond approached him.

“As soon as the last of the children is on the way out of here,” Edmond stated, “we will head back to Giza. How should I get in touch with you if I hear anything alarming?”

“Natia will be back in Giza soon,” Garth responded. “She can get word to me. Are you and your men going to be all right?”

“Sure,” grinned Edmond. “Our story is that we have just arrived from Tyronia. We will report seeing no other travelers on the Zinbar Trail. The Federation will be chasing their tails trying to discover how the children escaped.”

* * * *

The soldiers of the fake V Corps halted at the foot of the makeshift bridge. Morro walked up to Clint and smiled up at him.

“You and your people have made my dream come true,” the elven thief grinned. “I now pledge my life to your struggle.”

“It seems to me that you have already done that,” Clint replied with a smile. “Take the children to safety. Your people will need their help as well as yours in the coming days. May we meet again, my elven friend.”

Morro led the elven children across the makeshift bridge. As the group disappeared into the forest of Elfwoods, Clint ordered the bridge removed and hidden on the Elfwoods side of the Despair River so that the Federation could not use it to follow the children. Twenty of his men rode across the bridge and prepared to dismantle it. Clint nodded with approval and then turned to Colonel Hardi.

“The time for impersonating the V Corps is over, Colonel. Instruct the men to remove the patches from their uniforms.”

“What is next for us, General?”

“I am not sure,” admitted Clint. “I want your men to head north, but covertly. It may be safer to move without uniforms, but I will leave that to your discretion.”

“Is the goal to reunite with the rest of A Corps?”

“That is a worthy goal,” mused the general, “but not worth such a long march. The A Corps will be moving south soon. Find a place to remain invisible for a while. Pose as bandits or soldiers, whatever works, but stay out of trouble. I will contact you when I need you.”

“How will you find us when you need us?” asked the colonel. “We can be pretty good at hiding.”

“I bet you can,” chuckled Clint, “but I will find you. Have no doubts about that.”

* * * *

The wind howled as the Skate bounced roughly in the tumultuous seas. Captain Gomery set the mug of tea down on the top step of the companionway and untied the line attached to a nearby cleat. He tied the line around his waist and then bent down to pick up the mug. The sailors had strung a safety line running from the bow to the stern, and the captain grabbed it with his free hand. He looped the arm holding the mug around the line and pulled himself onto the deck. Hot tea sloshed from the mug as the captain strained to move towards the bow, but he had expected some loss. It was to be expected in such heavy seas. He sighed wearily as he struggled to keep his footing, but he eventually made it to the bow. He looked at Haditha with admiration and seized the rail next to her. He looked at the mug as he handed it to her.

“It is only half,” the captain apologized loudly. “I will get you more when you are done with that.”

Haditha tore her eyes away from the angry sea, and the Skate lurched almost immediately. The water witch quickly returned her attention to the task of maneuvering the Skate through the towering waves. Without looking away from the sea, she moved her hand towards Captain Gomery. He pressed the mug into her hand. She brought it to her lips and drank some tea.

“You should not be out here,” she scolded the captain when her mug was empty. “It is too dangerous.”

“I am tied to the ship. You will not lose me.”

“You might not fall overboard,” retorted Haditha, “but you can die easily enough by being smashed into a mast. Do not come up here again.”

The captain stared beyond the bow, and a deep frown creased his brow. The waves were nearly as tall as the mast, and the Skate bounced around like a cork floating through the rapids. At times, there was no water under the bow, and moments later, the deck was awash as the bow plunged into a swell. The wind blew fiercely and howled at times.

The captain shouted to be heard over the roar of the wind. “Is she going to hold together?”

“I don’t know,” the water witch responded. “This sea can break her in two easily enough. Go below. I need to concentrate on what I am doing, or we will all die.”

The captain nodded and gripped the safety line. As he stepped away from the bow rail, the wind picked him up and carried him aft. A moment of fear gripped the captain, but his feet hit the deck again, and he lunged for the companionway. Chanz was there to grab the captain, and he did so. He pulled the captain inside and untied the line around his waist.

“You should let me go the next time,” stated Chanz. “You are getting too old to be quick on your feet.”

Captain Gomery’s face darkened with anger and his mouth opened to issue a belligerent retort, but no words came out. His face softened and he nodded as he sighed.

“It is not so much my age,” he said to Chanz. “It is the magnitude of this storm. I have not been in such a storm since the days of my youth. If this were another place or another time, we would be heading for the closest port, but that is not an option today.”

“Do you think we will make the Isle of Despair?” asked the mate.

“Only Haditha can get us there,” replied the captain. “One thing I know for sure, the Federation will not be following us until this storm makes landfall. As bad as it is for us, the storm is heading straight for Valdo. It will be worse for anyone trying to follow us.”

Colonel Fisker knew that something was amiss in Giza as he walked towards the building his office was in. Soldiers were racing all over the city, and whistles started blowing. He could almost picture the gates of the city slamming shut as he mounted the stairs to the building. He opened the door and found the guards whispering excitedly. He was tempted to ask them what was going on, but his office was just up the stairs, and he did not want to appear uninformed. He passed through the soldiers and glanced at the off-hours logbook as he passed. He faltered as he saw Captain Beck’s name in the log, because the name was familiar to him, but he didn’t associate it with any of the offices in the building. He could not remember why the captain’s name troubled him, so he pushed the thought away. The colonel took the stairs to the second floor at a brisk pace. As he walked past the office of Judge Julius, he heard the judge call his name. He backed up and entered the judge’s office.

“We have a problem, Colonel,” the judge said as he waved the colonel towards him.

“So I gathered,” nodded the colonel. “What is the matter?”

“I have been robbed,” answered Judge Julius. “When I left this office last night, there was a bright pink pouch in the drawer of my desk. It held twenty-thousand in gold. It was gone when I arrived this morning. In fact, my door was unlocked when I arrived. Do we no longer have security in this building?”

The colonel frowned and looked at the judge questioningly. “You raised the alarm over a theft?”

The judge looked momentarily confused and then shook his head vigorously. “I have not raised the alarm. You are the first person to know about this theft. The alarm must have been raised for some other reason.”

“Then I must hurry to my office,” stated the colonel as he turned to leave the office. “I will speak to you later about the theft, but the alarm demands my immediate attention.”

“Do not forget about this,” the judge yelled at the retreating officer. “That gold must be found.”

Colonel Fisker did not like walking out on Judge Julius. The judge was a very influential man in Giza, but the colonel’s superiors expected him to be on top of anything that could raise an alarm in the city. He ran to his office and threw open the door.

Colonel Fisker shared an office with another colonel, and there was a corporal who managed the office for both colonels. Both of the other men were already in the room. The corporal rose and immediately handed an envelope to Colonel Fisker.

“I found that under the door when I arrived,” the corporal stated.

“Have you been informed of the escape yet?” asked Colonel Corry.

“Escape?” Colonel Fisker asked. “What escape?”

“The reeducation center,” replied Colonel Corry. “All of the elves are gone.”

“You’re kidding,” balked Colonel Fisker.

“Wish I were,” replied Colonel Corry. “Every single elf has disappeared. General Antero has called his staff to a meeting at the palace. I thought I would wait until you arrived. Come on. I will tell you what I know on the way over there.”

Colonel Fisker shoved the envelope into his pouch and followed Colonel Corry out the door. They hurried out of the building and then walked towards the Royal Palace of Aerta.

“When the shift change arrived this morning,” Colonel Corry related, “the new guards found the guards from last night sleeping. The outer door was unlocked, and there were also two kegs of ale in the lobby.”

“Those men will be lucky if they don’t hang,” scowled Colonel Fisker. “Where are the elves?”

“We don’t know,” answered Colonel Corry. “I suspect that is the reason for the general’s meeting. I imagine that King Anator is seething about this. If we don’t recover the elves, he will have to report the loss to Emperor Jaar, and that will make things hard on everyone around here.”

“The elves could not have just disappeared,” replied Colonel Fisker. “Either they left the city through one of the gates or by sea, or they are still in the city. Did you ask for reports from the gate guards and the harbormaster?”

“The reports will be sent directly to General Antero’s office,” answered Colonel Corry as they arrived at the gates of the palace.

The two colonels passed through the gates and into the palace. They made their way to the general’s office and found the general studying some reports. The general did not immediately recognize the colonels, and Colonel Fisker took the time to retrieve the message left for him. He read the message and a deep furrow creased his brow. He shoved the paper back into his pouch as the general turned to face him.

“There was a single caravan that left the city last night,” the general stated. “Perhaps the elves talked the drivers into hiding them. I want several squads sent after the caravan, and one of you will be leading the column. I want it searched thoroughly. If the children are in those wagons, I want every human associated with that caravan executed. Their bodies are to be posted alongside the road as a warning to others who might try such foolishness. The elves are to be brought back to the center.”

“What if the wagons are empty?” asked Colonel Corry.

“Then they have already let the elves flee,” frowned the general. “In that case I want everyone brought back to Giza. We may have to torture the truth out of them.”

“It is possible that the elves are still in the city,” offered Colonel Fisker. “Should we start a search for them?”

“The city gates are closed,” replied General Antero. “No one is getting in or out except the two of you and the squads going with you. Check the caravan first. If that doesn’t turn up anything, we will start a house-to-house search.”

“Are we sure that they didn’t escape by boat?” asked Colonel Corry.

“No,” the general replied. “The harbormaster reports several ships leaving after dusk, but he didn’t think anyone would have allowed the elves onto their ship, and he didn’t think they could sneak onto the ships without him noticing.”