Cold Steel

3

The victory drums heard from a distant ballcourt ceased as I hurried down dim streets too unimportant to warrant street lighting. The smoke of cook fires coated the air. Merchants and artisans were closing up shop. The last transport wagons and carts shared the roadways with people making their leisurely way home from work, the market, or the batey game. No volley of shots disturbed the night, so presumably the prince had moved on before trouble started.

Still hidden, I crept into the compound belonging to the household of my husband’s trusted friend, Kofi. Vai’s sister Kayleigh was busy in the big open-air kitchen, laughing with other young women as they helped with the cooking, supervised by Kofi’s mother and aunts. Wheels scraped behind me. I stepped out of the way as the household menfolk entered, pushing empty carts. Kofi was at the end of the line, a tall, broad-shouldered young man with scarred cheeks and his shoulder-length black hair in locks. Falling in beside him, I tweaked the hem of the sleeveless singlet he wore.

“Kofi, it’s Cat,” I whispered. “I’m in trouble. Meet me in the back.”

He startled, eyes going wide, but without a word he helped the other men sweep out the carts and store them for the night. Then he grabbed a lantern and beckoned to Kayleigh. She looked surprised but excused herself to his mother. I walked behind them as they made their way to the back courtyard and entered a shed for broken axles and wheels not yet repaired.

When I unwrapped the shadows, Kofi jumped back in alarm. Kayleigh chuckled. My secret ways did not trouble her, for she had grown up in a hunters’ village and with a grandmother who was a wise woman with strong magic.

He frowned, glancing at Kayleigh as his shoulders tensed. “I tell yee, Cat, yee shall not ever do that in front of any but them who know yee well. It don’ seem natural.”

“My apologies.” I kissed Kayleigh on the cheek and Kofi likewise. “I’ve been accused of the murder of Queen Anacaona by Prince Caonabo. He came to the boardinghouse and arrested me himself. Once we were away from Aunty’s, I fled.”

“Whsst!” Kofi rubbed his forehead. “Now yee’s a fugitive, Cat. It make yee look guilty of the crime.”

“How can I be sure the Assembly won’t hand me over to the Taino?”

Kofi rested a big hand on my shoulder. “Cat, every Expeditioner shall call the cacica’s death an act of war, and yee a soldier fighting against the Taino in defense of Expedition.”

“That will scarcely help me if I’m brought to trial and everyone believes I killed her!”

“I don’ have the authority to let yee seek refuge here. I must ask permission of the elders of the house.” He shifted broken wheels off an overturned wagon bed so we could sit. “Wait here.”

As he stepped outside, I said, “I told Uncle Joe to send Rory here. I don’t want the Taino to take him into custody. Because he’s the one who killed the cacica.”

“I don’ see it that way.” The lamplight made his scars shine, a reminder that he had endured torture in the cells of Expedition’s Warden Hall for being a radical and revolutionary agitator. Few things intimidated him now. “’Tis true yee made the suggestion and yee brother struck the blow, but ’twas the maku spirit lord, the one yee call master and sire, who had the power to command it done. Seem to me the spirit lord is therefore the killer.”

He walked off, taking the lamp to light his way. In the darkness, Kayleigh took my hand. She was a sturdy, big-boned young woman, not more than seventeen, who looked like her older brother if not nearly as striking. We had not always gotten along, but I was very glad to have her next to me tonight. “What do you mean to do, Cat?”

“I have to get to Europa. I just have to figure out how to get there, for I’ve no money for a berth on a ship taking passage over the Atlantic. I’ve already been warned off trying to walk into the spirit world here in the islands. An opia came to me looking just like Vai.”

She snickered. “That must have startled you.”

Heat burned in my cheeks, for I had kissed the opia quite passionately before I realized he was the spirit of a dead ancestor, wearing Vai’s face. Being dead, opia could wear any face they wished. “Yes, it was quite disconcerting. He’s the one who explained why the Taino spirits are so angry at me.”

“Why is that? For it seems to me that here in the Antilles, living people and their dead ancestors are not often hostile toward each other. But perhaps the spirit people here wish to protect the spirit lords of Europa, who might be in some manner their cousins.”

“Quite the contrary. Long ago, Taino fire mages wove a protective spirit fence around their islands to keep out the Wild Hunt and any other spirit visitors from other parts of the spirit world.”

Kayleigh nodded. This casual talk of the spirit world seemed perfectly normal to her. “I suppose that spirit lords protect their territory just like princes and mages do in the mortal world.”

“So it seems. Anyway, I was able to cut a gate in the spirit fence. The Wild Hunt rode through the gap I made. My sire would never have been able to reach the cacica if not for me.”

“It’s not as if you did it on purpose! You were just trying to save your cousin’s life, for it was her the Wild Hunt wanted to kill.”

“Yes, but the cacica died regardless.”

“You’ll need to sail to Europa, then. If we can’t get the bank to open Vai’s account to you, you shall have the money Vai settled on me when I married.”

“I can’t take your dowry.”

“Of course you can! It’s mine to give, because Vai settled the funds on me according to Expedition law, which follows Taino law in giving women title to households and the family purse. Which do you think I would rather have? The money, or my brother? You have to go to Europa. The hunters of our village can help you rescue Vai out of the spirit world. Shh!”

Lantern light shimmered, illuminating carts lined up against the back wall: The family’s business was local transport. Kofi shepherded his mother, his aunts, and the eldest men into the dusty shed. I received their blessing, which they gave by each one touching a hand to my hair. His mother offered me a cup of juice. After hearing my tale, they agreed that I might stay for one night. As for my brother, however, they were not so sure, for they had never met him and wished to know more about his character and manners.

One of Kofi’s brothers appeared, escorting Rory and Lucretia. I smiled to see them safe, until I noticed the inappropriately intimate manner in which their fingers were intertwined.

“Rory,” I murmured, “did I not tell you to stay away from her?”

Rory released Luce’s hand. He sauntered right past me to greet the older women, his smile as bright as the lanterns. With his lithe young man’s body well clad in one of Vai’s fashionable dash jackets and his long black hair pulled back in a braid, he surely delighted the eye. The men watched in astonishment but I knew what was coming. He offered chastely generous kisses to the women’s cheeks and tender pats to their work-worn hands.

“My apologies. I mean no offense by charging into your territory without an invitation. But I must obey my sister. You understand how it is with a sister who speaks a bit sharply to one even though she is the younger and ought, I should suppose, to look up to her older brother. Please, let me thank you. Your hospitality honors and humbles me. The food smells so good. I’m sure I’ve never smelled better.” He had routed two already and turned to the remaining skeptic. “That fabric is beautifully dyed, and looks very well with your complexion, Aunty.”

A cavalry charge at close quarters could not have demolished their resistance more devastatingly. He turned his charm on the old men, drawing them out with irresistible questions about their proud and memorable youth.

I went over to Luce, grasping her wrist. “Luce. He’s a tomcat.”

She lifted her chin. Because I treated Luce as a little sister, I often forgot that, at sixteen, she was old enough to marry. “I know me own mind, Cat! I’s old enough to do as I wish.”

“Be sure that he makes a habit of charming women of all ages and dispositions. And men, too.” I glanced over my shoulder. Rory was now seated between two of the women, chatting easily with all six of the elders about how things had been different in the old days. His easy lounging grace made the overturned wagon bed seem like the most gracious reception hall couch.

“He cannot help what he is!” Luce’s gaze flashed at me from beneath lowered lashes.

“True words,” I agreed. “You’re blushing. I want you to go home, Luce.” She drew in breath for a retort. “I need your help! Go home and get everything ready. Vai’s tool chest. His clothes chests neatly packed, all my things put in. In the morning fetch the winter coats I’m having made on Tailors’ Row.” I glanced up at Kofi, who had come over to stand beside me. “We might have to leave in a hurry.”

“So yee might,” he agreed. “I shall be going out to speak to the president of the Assembly and some other folk about the situation.” He pinched Luce’s cheek with the familiarity of an older brother. “That man is trouble, gal. Mind me words.”

“Sweet trouble,” retorted Luce. “I’s no fool.”

“I doubt me that,” retorted Kofi in the tone of a man who has seen a girl grow up from a toddling scamp. “Do as Cat ask. Don’ forget to pack Vai’s mirror and razor. And extra soap.”

“I know Vai is vain but surely that is a bit much,” I said.

Luce giggled. “I never knew a man could spend so much time in front of a mirror.”

Kofi frowned reprovingly at us. “’Tisn’t only vanity. ’Tis a shield.”

I exchanged a mirthful glance with Luce, but something in Kofi’s expression killed any desire I had to laugh. “Wearing fashionable clothes is a shield? From what?”

“Gal, in some ways I reckon yee understand that man well enough, but in another wise yee don’ really understand him at all.”

Indignation spiked right up into my head, but then I realized Kofi was showing me respect by speaking so plainly. “I suppose not. He was so awful to me when we first met that it took a long time for me to realize it wasn’t me he disliked. That most of the things he did, he did to protect himself from the way the other mages treated him so contemptuously. I think he assumed I would treat him the same way. All right, then. Luce, don’t neglect any items a man of Vai’s high-strung temperament might need. I must say, you’re a man of hidden depth, Kofi.”

He chuckled. “I know how to get a man talking. Vai was a man who was looking for a friend. I shall walk yee back to Aunty’s on my way, Luce. And don’ be sneaking back here tonight, for Cat and Rory must share a room.”

As they made to go, Rory broke away from the elders to take his leave of Luce. He drew her into the shadows to whisper in her ear so softly that even I had trouble distinguishing words. Then she kissed him in a way that made me suspect the cursed tomcat had kissed her more than once at the batey match, despite my having told him not to do any such thing.

I had no chance to scold him, for we were swept off to eat the evening meal with the entire family in attendance, some thirty people, including elders, adult cousins, all the children, more distant relations who lived and worked in the household, and two lads up from the country to work until they had earned enough to go home and marry.

“Now what do we do, Cat?” Rory asked later when we had retired to a tiny room and its two cots. As I hung a lit lantern from a hook, he dragged a cot over against mine and sprawled out across both. “I don’t want to go on the ocean. It scares me.”

“Move over! You’re hogging all the space.”

“I am not a hog!”

“Of course you’re not a hog, Rory,” I said soothingly, before I pounced for the kill. “But don’t make me call you a lecherous seducer. Didn’t I tell you not to touch Luce? She’s too young and very innocent.”

“Not as innocent as you think she is!” He sat up, crossing his arms as he frowned. “I am not like that unpleasant fire mage, James Drake. I would never pet any person without their full and willing consent—”

My throat tightened. “How do you know about my relationship with James Drake?”

“I lived with General Camjiata and his staff for three days before you came to retrieve me. Remember?”

“Did James Drake say things to you? About me?”

“Goodness, Cat. Your skin is all blotchy.” He patted my flushed cheek. “And warm!”

“I see what you’re doing. You’re changing the subject. Luce is too young for you.”

“Both you and Luce are old enough to breed.” He sniffed several times. “You’re not pregnant. In fact, you’re fertile right now. It’s very convenient for me that human women are only fertile part of the time. That makes it easy for me to—”

“Rory! This is not a subject you and I are going to discuss.”

“You started the discussion.” He ran a hand along his chin and lips like a cat about to start licking its paw in a self-congratulatory fashion. Yet just as quickly, his smirk faded. “As your brother, I ought to warn you. James Drake is a dangerous man.”

“I can handle James Drake. It’s our sire I’m worried about. What are his weaknesses? How can I defeat him?”

“You can’t defeat him. We’re bound to him because we are his children.”

A tap shifted the door. I grabbed the hilt of my sword.

“Cat?” It was Kofi.

I let him in. Kofi’s plain jacket and trousers in the practical Expedition style and his powerful build marked him as a hardworking laborer, but the crisp confidence in his tone revealed him as a successful radical, a member of the new provisional Assembly in Expedition.

“This is a rare commotion, Cat. Now that we Expeditioners have the chance to rule we own selves, we don’ like to feel the Taino can tell us what to do. But yee running have made the situation worse. Yee shall have to sail immediately for Europa.”

“I haven’t money to pay for our passage.”

“So Kayleigh told me. Expedition owe yee a favor for saving us from the Taino invasion. I shall escort yee to West Quay at dawn. There yee shall board a Phoenician ship called the White Horse, bound for Gadir. The tide turn mid-morning. Then yee shall be out of reach.”

“Thank you.” My legs gave way as an avalanche of relief crashed over me.

“Don’ thank me. Commissioner Sanogo arranged it.” He sighed. “I admit I had hoped yee and Vai might settle in Expedition. There is plenty for him to do here. And I reckon the wardens of Expedition should like to hire a gal with the peculiar talents yee possess.”

“I would like to try that sort of work.”

“Warden’s work ’twould suit yee, for I reckon yee’s not suited for a quiet life.”

“I can live a quiet life!”

Kofi laughed. “Yee should last a month, no more, before yee got restless and found some trouble to get into. I reckon Vai love yee for it, and for the knack yee have of getting out of it. If anyone can fetch him back from the spirit world, yee’s the one to do it.”

We talked a little longer about the logistics of our departure. After Kofi left, Rory and I settled on the cots. I pinched out the wick but could not sleep for fretting about Bee.

“Are you trying not to cry?” Rory whispered.

I sniffled. “I didn’t mean to get into trouble before Bee came back tomorrow. What if I never see her again?”

“If it will help calm you, I can comb your hair, or lick your hands and face.”

“Lick my hands and face?”

“It’s very comforting, I’ll have you know!”

I managed a choked laugh. He tucked his back up against mine and began to sing the oddest crooning lullaby in words I could not understand. The melody wound like a nest around my heart, shielding me from the ills of the world.

I slept heavily and woke before dawn, determined to succeed. Luce arrived with the chests. We walked in a trundle of carts through the predawn gloom toward the harbor. Rory pushed a cart among the other men. I walked in the center to be less conspicuous. Luce held my hand. The menfolk bantered in a half-awake, early-morning way. I could not rein in my thoughts, which galloped from the impossibility of rescuing Vai out of the jaws of the Master of the Wild Hunt to the pain of being sundered from my dearest Bee. It was easier not to think at all.

West Quay was the farthest west of the wharves in the main harbor, mostly used by Phoenician ships, and notably marked by a pair of tall wooden posts the locals called Heracles’s Pillars for the famous straits at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. On the opposite side of the jetty was an inn called Nance’s, with a sprawling wooden deck flanked by buildings. The edifice had a grand view of the harbor and of the monumental arch that led into the walled confines of the old city. Almost two months ago, Vai and I had been separated here by an unexpected meeting.

At tables along the railing, men ate with the concentration of sailors savoring their last good meal before shipping out. Barrels were lined up street-side next to the steps. A man leaned against a barrel with an open book in his hands. He met my questing gaze with a polite nod of greeting.

“Blessed Tanit!” I released Luce’s hand. “Rory, we’ve got to run.”

The leaning man closed the book with an audible snap. Kofi looked around with a curse. A piercing whistle cut through the hush of dawn. Rory dropped the handles of the cart he was pushing, and the entire line of carts came to a juddering halt. Taino soldiers trotted onto the jetty from where they had been hiding amid stacks of crates. The men who had been eating clattered down the stairs to fan out onto the jetty, brandishing the short swords known as falcatas that were famous as the preferred weapon of Iberian infantrymen. We were surrounded.

The man with the book approached with a measured tread that drew all eyes. He had height and breadth, the look of a man who fought in wars once and means to do so again. Silver streaked his mane of wavy black hair. His face bore the stamp of his father’s noble Malian ancestors in having brown skin and his mother’s patrician Roman lineage in having a bold nose.

My enemy, General Camjiata.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Cat,” he said with the friendly smile the victor can afford to give the vanquished. “I admire your plan for a bold escape, and your ability to gather allies. But you’re going to have to come to the Council Hall to address the charge of murder.”