Killer Plants Of Binaark

Chapter 13

The first thing Blade did when he and the queen returned to her rooms was to make love again. The bloodlust was out of Tressana now, and she was warm and tender, falling asleep peacefully afterward. Blade wished he could remember her like this, when she looked hardly more than twenty, innocent and lovely. Unfortunately he couldn't leave the Elstani at her mercy, and that meant bringing in the Keepers no matter what they might want to do to her. He'd do his best to save her life and perhaps her throne after that, but no more.

So the second thing he did was go back to his own rooms at the other end of the building and wake up Lorma. The queen didn't expect him to stay with her after she fell asleep. He crouched in the darkness, using the moonlight to scratch a coded message on Lorma's collar. Then he buckled it around her neck, told her, «Find Jollya,» and watched her scramble out the window and drop to the ground as quietly as a ghost.

The third thing Blade did was to fall into bed and go to sleep.

Lorma was back the next morning, with the mark on her collar that showed Jollya had read Blade's message but that indicated nothing else. Blade didn't worry. Most of what would happen from now on was in the hands of the Keepers. It was back to waiting for him, unless he and Jollya were lucky enough to be able to talk privately sometime soon.

Within a few days Blade was less happy about the waiting. Planning for the war was out in the open now, and Tressana had picked Blade for one of the most demanding jobs.

With fifty picked cavalry, he was to move into the western fringes of the forest of Binaark. All his men and animals would have scent amulets to protect them from the killer plants. They would find the best way of hacking a trail for rolghas and wagons through the forest. When the rest of the army came up, they would teach what they'd learned to the trail-cutting parties on foot, and also guard them at their work. Blade, not Curim, would have the honor of being the first man in Jaghd to take the scent amulets to war.

«It will probably make you enemies,» said Tressana. «It's certain that every fighting man of rank in Jaghd except Curim had hoped I would choose him. Also, it will take you out of my bed and even out of my reach for a time. But there is a time for taking pleasure and a time for thinking of the work to be done.»

Blade agreed. He only wished Tressana would realized that her desire to enslave the Elstani and slaughter the Masters was a foolish pleasure. If she would just change her mind on that!

He was glad he was going to be in action and well up toward the front. He wasn't so happy about leaving well before the rest of the army. He'd be a long way from the capital, where things might happen very quickly. He'd be in no position to help Jollya, and it wasn't much consolation that he'd hardly be able to help the girl even if he stayed. For at least the fiftieth time since he left Oxford, Richard Blade would have cheerfully sold his soul for a week or two of being able to be in two places at once.

At least he didn't have the job of picking the fifty men, since he didn't know the Men's Guard that well. He had plenty of time to watch Jaghd's army gathering. There would be about nine thousand men in the cavalry force going through the forest. Six thousand infantry would be going up the Adrim. This didn't seem like much to conquer a land the size of Elstan quickly. It seemed even less when you realized that except for the queen's and the Keepers' guards none of the army were «regular» soldiers. Many of them were brave and skilled enough to be formidable in a fight, but they had no permanent organization, little discipline, and not much experience of operating together. They would have been no more than a well-armed mob without the determination of Queen Tressana, the respect they gave a few leaders such as Efroin of the Red Band, and the hope of victory and loot. A man who hoped to have his share of Elstan's wealth in metal, jewels, and slaves might put up with a good deal.

Jaghd's weaknesses weren't going to be enough to save Elstan. True, the Elstani had plenty of weapons, many of them better ones than Jaghd's, but they also had a habit of using those weapons only to settle personal quarrels. They had no enemies on their frontiers, and hadn't had anything deserving the name «war» in centuries. The Elstani were also split up into hundreds of villages and a few farms, and only a handful would follow any one leader. The Masters would probably be obeyed if they all got together and started giving orders, but they'd never done that. The Jaghdi hadn't invaded before, either, and perhaps this new crisis would produce a new reaction among the Elstani, but Blade refused to be optimistic. The Jaghdi were bound to be triumphant, and then Queen Tressana could proceed to destroy the Elstani and their Masters. The Keepers of the Jaghdi were going to have to do most of whatever was done to stop Tressana.

Before going into the forest Blade had plenty of time to fit wooden handles on either end of the wire he'd brought from Home Dimension. When he'd finished he had a handy garrote, easily concealed, quickly brought out, and highly effective for silently strangling people. He wasn't sure if he would need it, but he never passed by an opportunity to provide himself with another weapon.

Three days before Blade was supposed to lead his men off to the forest, Lorma disappeared. She came back the next day with a message from Jollya on her collar. Instead of news of the Keepers' decisions, the message only gave a location-the field where Blade fought the three testing duels-and a time-nightfall that same evening.

Blade was fairly sure that the message wasn't a trap. If anybody had learned the code from Jollya, he would almost certainly have heard about it. Jollya would have told him unless she was dead, and he knew she was still alive.

He wasn't optimistic about what he might learn. Jollya's asking for a meeting could only mean that her message was too complicated for the code to handle. He could only guess what this might mean, but his instincts told him that it was unlikely to be good news. Blade could never explain those instincts in a way that made sense to anyone else, but he knew them too well not to trust them.

It was a clear night except for the usual haze over the river. Anyone watching the riverbank would be able to see a mounted man a long way off. To avoid this danger Blade tethered his rolgha a good half mile from the rendezvous, walked most of the remaining distance, and virtually crawled the last hundred yards on hands and knees. He was holding the garrote ready as he moved, ready to deal silently with any unwanted visitors.

All he found was Jollya, sitting with her back against a tree and apparently asleep. He felt a little foolish, until he saw the tear streaks on her face and the stains on her clothes. Something had badly upset her, and Blade doubted he was so important to her that it was simply his riding off to war.

«Jollya,» he said softly.

She started. «Blade?»

«Yes. What's wrong?»

She looked blankly at him, then shivered. «Those damned Keepers!» She made the word sound obscene. «Those incredible fools! They've betrayed us! I could geld every one of them, the useless-«

«Jollya, what happened?» If she went on like this she'd become either hysterical or loud enough to be heard at a distance.

She stopped as if he'd slapped her, then glared at him. He realized she wasn't hysterical, except possibly with rage at the Keepers. That still didn't explain what the Keepers had done. He repeated his question. Now she answered clearly and quickly, and Blade felt the hot night turn cold around him.

The Keepers had decided that they weren't going to oppose Tressana after all. Or at least they wouldn't oppose anything Blade had learned about. They would certainly make sure that the Masters of Elstan wrote down all their knowledge before they were executed, but as for preventing the executions, Jollya had the feeling the Keepers would make a party of the day!

«I think some of them are even more frightened than-than my father. They don't want to risk going against Tressana. It's her war, and the victory will make her so popular she could probably ask for their lives if they did anything against her.»

«And the others?»

«I know what three of them say. They say that if the Masters of Elstan die, the Keepers of Jaghd will be the only men of learning in the world. They will have all the power that comes from learning for themselves. All of it!» She clenched her fists in the grass and tore it up in handfuls.

«And your father?»

Jollya jerked again, then her head bowed. After a moment Blade realized she was crying silently. He put an arm around her shoulders, but she shook him off almost fiercely.

«My father-Blade, I've been a fool! Maybe you have too. My father-oh, Lady of the Grass-«She started crying too hard to be able to speak, and this time she didn't pull away when Blade held her.

Finally she cried herself out and was able to talk again. «My father has more courage than we've ever believed. More courage than all the other Keepers together. He says no to the whole war. He says we can't trust Queen Tressana to do anything after she's won the war. Even if we could, slaying so many men of learning is a crime cursed by the gods. They will punish Jaghd for it, and any Jaghdi who lends himself to it.»

Like Sikkurad's statement that the Jaghdi were going to march through the forest of Binaark, Jollya's words were hard to believe at first. Blade had to hear her again, in more detail, before he understood. Then he shook his head. Sikkurad seemed an unlikely man to play hero, let alone martyr, and Blade didn't like to learn that he'd been so inaccurate in his estimate of the man. Being able to judge people was one of his most important skills. Still, Jollya had to be telling the truth. After all these years of quarreling with her father, she was the last person in Jaghd to lie to make him look good.

There was also another question Blade knew had to be answered now. «Did your father say this to his fellow Keepers, or just to you?»

«He certainly said it to me first,» said Jollya. She swallowed, then said nervously, «I didn't believe him. I called him a liar to his face, and he-he didn't get angry with me. That was when I started believing him. I don't know if you believe in the stories of a man being touched by the gods. I never did, until now. The way he looked and talked-there was something from the gods in him, and I had to believe that he meant what he was saying.»

«That could be,» said Blade. «It could also be that this sense of doubt about what has to be done has been in him all along, and you just didn't see it. He loves you, Jollya, even if he can't figure out a way to convince you.» Blade badly wanted to do something to reconcile Jollya and her father.

There was a long silence. Then Jollya said slowly, «You could be right. At least I won't say you're wrong. Not until I've talked with my father again.» She smiled faintly. «This time I won't start by calling him a liar.»

«Good. Has he spoken at all about what he thinks to the other Keepers?»

«I don't know. Even if he wanted to, he may not have had the time.»

This might be true; it had been only a few days since Sikkurad learned of Tressana's plans at all. Blade desperately hoped it was true. «If your father hasn't spoken to the other Keepers, try to persuade him not to. If the other Keepers are planning to go along with Tressana's war plans, they may be willing to denounce him to her. She might have no mercy. At the very least you could wind up being held hostage for your father's good behavior.»

Jollya hugged her breasts as if she were suffering from a chill. «I know. But after the gods have made him brave, how can I ask him to be a coward again?»

«There's courage. There's also jumping naked into the creepers of a killer plant. Right now your father will do more for everybody by keeping his mouth shut and waiting for a better time.» He hoped she'd believe him, because he could hardly tell her the real reason why he expected that better time.

She sighed. «I wish I had always believed in the gods. I might feel easier about their working now, or leaving things in their hands. Will you be able to help us in this? I believe you, Blade, gods or no gods!»

«I'll have to lead my men to Binaark first. If I refuse now, I'll make Tressana suspicious at the very least. Maybe she'd even think I was an enemy. Even if there's no war, the work in the forest ought to be done. Now that we have the scent amulets, the killer plants won't be a barrier between Jaghd and Elstan any more. We'll be able to cut a road through the forest and trade with Elstan all the year around. Everybody will be much better off.»

«I understand. But, Blade-come back, whatever else you have to do.» She stood up and practically threw herself into his arms. He held her for a moment, then said, «Wait until I'm out of sight before you leave,» and turned away into the darkness.

He wanted to make sure that anyone who might have been watching would follow him rather than her. He also didn't want to have to tell Jollya any more lies about his plans. He knew he was good at making up plausible stories; he wasn't entirely sure he was good enough to fool Jollya much longer.

If things worked out as he hoped, he would not be returning to Jollya or even to Jaghd after he'd done his work in the forest of Binaark. He'd be on his way to Elstan, with a scent amulet around his neck and all of Jaghd's war plans in his head.

Blade knew that going to Elstan was a desperate solution, but then he faced a desperate situation. If the Keepers didn't act, nothing could stop Tressana's war. Even if the Jaghdi didn't sweep everything before them as they hoped, many people would die and much knowledge would be lost. Also, Jollya and her father would sooner or later do something to make Tressana turn against them, and that would be the end. The only thing that still could be done against Tressana was to warn the Elstani and hope that this warning would help them to defeat the Jaghdi. After that, wiser heads might prevail in Jaghd. True, the Elstani rulers might not be any better than the Jaghdi, but chances were they wouldn't be worse. And at least Elstan would not be a ravaged wasteland fighting a desperate guerrilla warfare against the Jaghdi cavalry.

As desperate as the situation was, Blade wouldn't have chosen this solution if Tressana hadn't helped him. Blade was really very grateful to her for that help, although he doubted that she would appreciate his gratitude. She'd given him all the details of Jaghd's war plans, so that he could even tell the Elstani where the main Jaghdi camp would be. Then she'd let him go out to the borders of Jaghd, commander of his own band of men. That would make escaping merely dangerous, instead of suicidal. He'd have to ride or walk only a few miles to be so deep into the forest of Binaark that nobody could track him.