The Crimson League (The Herezoth Trilogy) (6 page)

“Neslan’s done his research, actually. He thought it wise.”

“How does Lin grow, then? By using it? Stretching it, in a way? People stretch their muscles when they run.”

“We’re not sure. When magic was used openly it seemed like the fastest growth came in sleep, the next sleep after casting, but it’s not something anyone could prove. You can bet Zalski’s using magic whenever he can, though, which means that each day, his power grows.”

“What about my case?” asked Kora. “I never did magic before today, and I know I’m not a sorceress. I don’t have the mark. Where did that, that shell-thing come from?”

“You’re a bit of a mystery,” Lanokas admitted. “I don’t know where your power lies, maybe with that ruby.”

Kora looked at him. Lanokas stared back expectantly, waiting for her to speak. She asked the question before she could stop herself, because the greater part of her balked at the idea of voicing it.

“Do you think I’m the Marked One?”

“I’ve no clue if you are or not,” he said. “What I know is you’re capable of great good. You’ve given Laskenay hope—she hadn’t smiled in weeks before she met you—and her good spirits will trickle down to the rest of us. Maybe that alone makes you the Marked One, Kora. Maybe that’s the extent of what it means.”

Kora took a sip of water, then stared at her glass. “This time yesterday I was sleeping. In my bed. No one wanted to kill me, or depended on me to fulfill some ancient legend, and an absurd one at that. Lanokas, I have no idea what’s happened to me.”

“And you’re coping. Whatever lies ahead, you’re prepared. Listen, when that arrow was flying, you knew precisely what to do.”

“I threw up my arms to block it. It was a stupid move. It shouldn’t have blocked anything.”

“You knew precisely what to do,” Lanokas repeated, “to protect not only yourself, but Sedder with you. Who knows what other powers you have hidden?”

“I don’t want powers. I want the life I had yesterday! As awful as it was, it was better than this.”

“It’s always a trial to learn you can do magic. Our world’s hostile to those with powers, quite unjustly, and you don’t need me to tell you how little Zalski’s done to improve the situation. I discovered my power at age three. It didn’t shock my parents, as Menikas had shown the same ability years before, but they were quick to act, quick to teach me not only to control it, but to stifle it. I always wondered how many people were hiding magic just like mine. What if we were all the same, concealing who we truly were for no reason at all?

“Like it or not, your power’s a part of you now. I don’t imagine it’ll dissipate, and the fact is, you won’t protect yourself as you need to—you won’t find peace, even when safe—until you’re able to accept your talent.”

“Why are you awake?” she asked.

“Can I ask you a question first?” said Lanokas. “A personal one? When you spoke about your family I noticed you mentioned no father.”

“He died,” said Kora. “Six m
onths ago. He was a carpenter. H
e took some pieces to the market one day and left there late, and was robbed on his way back home, killed by some band of thugs who must have lost everything when Zalski came to power. That road, the stretch right outside the wood, it was always safe before.”

Lanokas let out a dull whistle. “That’s one effect of Zalski’s rule you don’t usually think about. Unless,” he qualified himself, “unless you’re living it.”

“I don’t know who killed him, but it was clear why they did it from the first, and I blamed Zalski. I blamed him just as much as the men who stabbed my father. Maybe more. I mean, it’s hard to loathe someone without a name or a face.” She paused. “Your turn to answer.”

“About what I’m doing up? I couldn’t sleep either, so I thought I’d take guard duty from Neslan and stare outside. Pointless really, it’s too dark to see much of anything, but I tend to spend guard duty thinking. I don’t need a view for that.”

“Thinking?” said Kora. “What about?” Lanokas launched into a feeble protest. She insisted, “I was honest with you.”

“And open.” Lanokas sighed. “What do I think about, is that the question?” Kora said it was. “Generally, it’s the fiancée I deserted when this hell broke out. I had to. I’d proposed a week before, and she’d accepted but hadn’t told anyone. Neither had I. We had our reasons, and you’ll have to excuse my going into them.”

“Of course. I’m not meaning to pry.”

“I never thought you were. So, where was I?” He paused for a second. “The engagement, right. Brianna. I hail from Podrar, so when Zalski stole the throne, I was one of those who tried to stop him right away. Obviously, that didn’t end so well. I avoided capture, but I knew he’d have men looking for me, so the capital wasn’t safe. A legal marriage was impossible. I was able to send a letter to Brianna, one letter, by way of Neslan after the coup. We grew up together, he and I.”

Lanokas pulled a rolled-up stretch of parchment from his pocket. “Brianna sent this back with him. She said she’d wait what she had to wait. That’s all I’ve heard of her for two years. I don’t have time to think of her by day.”

“So you do it at night.”

“There’s some form of logic there, you have to admit.”

“All of this, then—the League, the resistance—you do it in the hope to marry her?”

“I suppose you could say that.”

“Why are the others here?” Kora asked.

“Well, Menikas…. Menikas wants revenge, seeing Zalski killed our parents and destroyed our live
s. The same goes for Laskenay. S
he was raised in Podrar as well. We’re all of noble birth, the three of us and Neslan.”

Kora’s mouth dropped. “Nobles? I wouldn’t have thought that, not about one of you.”

Lanokas smiled. “Not by the way we speak?”

“I hardly marked a word anyone’s said all day. My nerves are, are entirely on end.”

“I’m sure the traces of our past have grown subtle over time. We’ve made a conscious effort to blend in with the masses. Bennie, now, that girl hasn’t a drop of noble blood in her. She’s no personal score to settle with Zalski either. She does have the most developed sense of duty I’ve ever seen. I don’t think she could live with herself if
she did nothing to fight back, and she’s q
uite d
evoted to the Giver, that one. D
on’t get her started on spiritual topics unless you’re ready for an earful.

“Neslan’s grudge against Zalski is somewhat different. Neslan had a magicked sister. She rearranged wood molecules with touch, but died ten years ago, fell ill when the royals still had power. Obviously, Neslan never forgot her. He joined a group that fought to change the people’s views on magic by promoting tolerance. Nothing violent: petitions, speeches, exhibitions, that sort of thing. Zalski supported them with funding, but never attended events. He never let anyone know he was a sorcerer, not a soul. His father was too well-known.”

“The king’s adviser,” said Kora. “Then why…. What’s Neslan doing in the League? If the right to practice magic’s so important to him, shouldn’t he—I can’t believe I’m saying this—shouldn’t he admire Zalski?”

“Many of his old crowd do. They’re glad someone with magic has the throne, so much so they turn a blind eye to Zalski’s crimes. Neslan, thankfully, learned somewhere to think for himself, and claims Zalski’s done more to hurt the cause of magic than to aid it. You can’t deny relations between magic and non-magic society are tenser than ever. So Neslan came with me. He never did think power of any kind should be abused.”

“And the bald one? Ranler?”

“Ah…. His is an interesting story. He’s a huge asset to the League, tremendous. He used to be a cat burglar.”

Kora’s muscles tensed. “He’s a thief?”

“Not a common one. Nothing like the scum you say killed your father. Ranler has a unique set of values, I admit it, but he’s a decent human being. He never killed. In the king’s time, he went to prison when he was seen and neglected to silence the witness. That’s where he was during the
coup, prison. H
e got out when Zalski offered convicts their freedom if they joined the army. Deserted right away.”

“How do you know that’s not a crock of lies?”

“I’ve had it verified. Listen, I understand why you don’t like thieves. Hell, if I were part of your family, I’d personally hunt the animals that slew my father, but you should give Ranler a chance. He’s not that breed. He’s loyal. Indispensable, is what he is. He gets us into buildings. We draw on his connections for funds, for weapons. The criminal sector’s not too fond of Zalski. His soldiers are merciless.”

Kora changed the subject. “What about Kansten?” she asked. “Maybe you missed it, but she didn’t seem too pleased with me.”

Lanokas laughed. “She resents you’re in Laskenay’s good graces. Her entry in the League wasn’t quite as smooth as yours.”

“What happened?”

“She tends to be contumacious.”

Kora blinked. “Contumacious?”

“She resists authority. Those who don’t annoy her. Oh, she’ll tolerate leadership of a type, to a point, but it sits ill with her. She’ll take Laskenay over Zalski,
that’s what it comes down to. T
he lesser of two evils. She’s good in a pinch, though, I’ll say that for her. She’s got a brain, and she uses it.”

“Is this the whole League? The seven of you? It can’t possibly be so small.”

“We’re the League’s elite, I guess you’d say. We’re the founding members, or we’ve useful skills we’ve proven in tough moments. Many others took the oath you swore tonight. Some can live in open society. They’re useful. We have a spy in the elite guard. He’s more useful still. It was he who discovered that Zalski was sending men here.”

Kora shivered. “I can’t imagine being a spy.”

“I’m sure it isn’t easy,” Lanokas told her, and yawned.

“What’s the elite guard?” she asked.

“Zalski’s most capable and loyal m
en. They do what he tells them. T
hey’re not exactly part of the army, so they don’t answer to the general. They serve under a separate captain. You’ve heard of Zalski’s wife?”

“The whole kingdom’s heard of Malzin. Of what she can do. The League made sure to get the word out.”

“That’s who attacked us today, Malzin’s elite guard. I recognized one of them. They get their start in the army, no exceptions.”

“Why were they wearing army uniforms?”

“To blend in with the soldiers stationed here. Zalski wants their mission hushed, whatever it is. They normally wear blue.” Lanokas yawned again.

“You look exhausted,” said Kora.

“I’m not the only one,” said Lanokas. He drained his glass. “You, however, don’t have guard duty. Go rest, Kora. Or try to. It’ll do you good.”

Kora went to push herself up from the ground, and recoiled as she touched a puddle of water, spilled from the pitcher when Lanokas poured her glass. For an instant she thought it was blood, from Zacry’s throat. Never had her dreams been that vivid.

“It’ll make no difference, I’m afraid. Thanks, though, for the chat. Listen, about tomorrow….”

“Don’t worry about any raid. Try to rest.”

“About today, then: could the elite guard have posed as lieutenants? To move the jewels in that coal?”

“How should I know?”

“But Lanokas….”

“Nope. We’re done talking. Get some sleep.”

Kora grabbed her orange bandana and crept back to the women’s chamber. Her head was spinning with all Lanokas had told her, and with what he refused to discuss. She slipped back beneath her blanket, but did not bother to shut her eyes.

* * *

             
The next morning was pure chaos. Everyone was grabbing wigs and weapons, rushing to get on the move. Laskenay was one of the first dressed; she wore a tunic again, and her hunter’s hat to hide her hair. The others were still squabbling over wigs when Kora saw her exit the cave.

“You could wear this one,” Bendelof suggested to Kansten. “It’ll fit you fine.”

“That’s a man’s wig!” cried the blonde.

“There are women with hair that short.”

“Yes, prostitutes! Neslan, you want it?”

“His hair’s too thick,” said Bendelof.

Kora caught Laskenay when she came back in about twenty minutes. She was glad to see her; to nurse unease was more difficult with Laskenay around. The woman oozed collectedness from every pore. She smiled at Kora, and the new recruit asked where she’d gone.

“To buy two horses from the man who farms these hills. You and Sedder need mounts…. And you should decide on a wig.”

“You think I can wear one?”

“Pin your hair flat at the base of your neck. Turn it under. You’d make a nice redhead, Kora.”

Kora did as Laskenay suggested, though she made sure to sneak off to an empty cavern first; she wanted no one to see the ruby.

The wig she selected was long, straight, and vibrant red, just as red as Bendelof’s natural hair. After Kora set it on her head, amazed at how it itched, she put her orange wrap back on and went to grab fabric of a different color.

Bennie went brunette for the day, and Kansten chose a wig a shade or two darker, and much longer, than her actual blonde locks. Menikas’s hair turned black; it made his skin look pale. Lanokas wear no wig at all, but a hat similar to Laskenay’s. So did Neslan. Ranler was the only Leaguesman who did nothing to change his appearance.