Warriors Of Latan

Chapter 19

By the time the Mistress Ellspa was asleep, it was dark. If things were not the way they were, Cheeky would have been afraid to leave the hut in the darkness. But he had to go to the Uchendi village to find the Master Blade and tell him what he knew.

The Wise One had gone into the Uchendi village with Moyla, leaving Ellspa and Cheeky a short distance away, in case she needed them. The feather-monkey and his mistress were staying in a deserted hut in the woods not far from the village, awaiting word from the Wise One.

Cheeky had learned what was afoot from Moyla, who had sent a message to him. (Apparently telepathy worked over long distances, like radio transmission.) What Moyla had said was that tonight, the Mistress Wise One was going to send another Master-Cheeky had the picture of a young man who seemed to be angry all the time-to kill the Master Blade. If Cheeky did not go to the village and give a warning, the Master Blade might die. Cheeky could not let that happen, no matter how dangerous it might be to try to stop it.

Cautiously Cheeky crept out from under the blanket he shared with Ellspa and looked up at the roof, which was full of holes. He could see that the moon was in the sky. Maybe it would not be quite as dark as he had feared. But animals would be walking in the night bigger than he was and hungry enough to eat him. He could not see the mountains that during the day would have guided him to the village of the Uchendi Masters and the Master Blade. He might get lost. Then he would die even if he did not meet a dangerous animal.

The Mistress Ellspa sighed softly and stretched out her arms on either side. One hand nearly touched Cheeky's back. He stayed very still and took small breaths until he was sure the Mistress was still asleep.

Cheeky wondered if he should try to mind-speak the Mistress Ellspa without her knowledge. He might be able to do it. If he could, he might be able to make sure she slept so deeply that she would not wake up until long after he was in the village. That would be better for him, since then she could not warn the Wise One. It might also be better for Ellspa because the Wise One would not be so angry with her if she was put to sleep.

Cheeky did not want anyone angry with Ellspa. She had always been kind to him, not only in what she did but in what she thought. She really liked him, so much that he had sometimes heard her thinking that she wished he was a man. He had wished that she was one of the Feather People.

That could not be. Also, she was not kind to the Master Blade. She was still his enemy, and she would help to kill him if she could. He did not even try to talk to her about this. She would not change her mind, and she would tell the Wise One what he felt. The Mistress Wise One was not kind to anyone except Moyla, and not always kind to her. The Wise One would be sure to have Cheeky killed, or at least keep him from escaping.

He decided that he would not try to speak to Ellspa's mind. He knew more about strong thoughts, both his own and the Masters', than he did about mind-speaking. He was not sure he could enter a Master's mind without the Master knowing and stay there until the Master did something he or she did not want to do. So he would just go out of the hut now and hope that the moon would let him go to the village before Ellspa woke up.

Fortunately the hut was so ruined that there were many ways out. Cheeky used a gap between two logs. It was tight, but he finally got out with rumpled feathers and a few bruises. The ground outside the hole was hard, not soft like the ground outside the door to the hut. He would not leave any footprints on the hard ground. Beyond that was forest where he would also be hard to follow. He would not stay in the forest long, though-he did not want to lose his way.

Cheeky hurried across the ground toward the trees. At every step he expected to hear Ellspa shout, either in his mind or with her mouth. Instead there was silence all the way to the forest, and even after he got inside it.

Inside the trees it was very dark on the ground, but overhead he could sometimes see the moon through the branches. He scrambled up a tree until he was the height of six or seven Masters. Now he could see the moon even better, and there might not be any dangerous animals up here. Birds, yes-he remembered the hawks the Masters of the Crimson River sometimes used. But nothing else would be up this high unless it could climb trees as well as he could.

Cheeky started swinging through the forest, from branch to branch and from tree to tree. He was happy to be able to move like this, in the old way of the Feather People. He was not so happy that he forgot about the Master Blade, the danger to him, and the warning he must bring.

Blade awoke to the sense of something warm close to him. He wasn't surprised to find that it was Eye of Crystal snuggled against him, her bare rump pressed comfortably against his stomach. His hand crept over her shoulder and down to cup one full breast.

«Yeeeeep?» came a soft sound from the darkness around the sleeping furs.

Suddenly Blade wasn't sure that he was awake after all.

That sound was so much like Cheeky, but he was hundreds of miles away with the Rutari. There had to be some other explanation.

(«No, Master. It is me, Cheeky. I have come back. I want to stay with you. «)

In that moment Blade took back a good many of the things he'd said against telepathy. Cheeky's mental voice was absolutely unmistakable, and the darkness of the hut didn't make any difference. No problems with identification, as long as the other telepath wanted to be identified.

That started a train of thought that brought Blade wide awake and up out of the furs in a moment. Crystal murmured and rolled over, but didn't wake up. Blade hoped she would stay asleep until he'd finished talking with Cheeky.

(«How did you get here? Did you escape from the Rutari?»)

(«I left the Mistress Ellspa. She is in an empty hut that is all broken, about half a night's walk for me from here. The Mistress Wise One and Moyla are here in the village. The Mistress Wise One wears Master-skins to make you think she is something she is not. She hides-«)

Blade let out an oath that would have blistered the paint on the hut if there'd been any, and jumped to his feet. This woke Eye of Crystal. She sat up, naked and staring at Blade as if he'd gone crazy.

«I was right about the hiba-gan! It's no Holy Wanderer! It's the Wise One of the Rutari in disguise. She's got River Over Stones as an ally and they're planning to kill me!»

«Blade, what in the name of all Wisdom are you talking about?»

Blade took a deep breath. «I don't have time to explain more than once.» He repeated Cheeky's message, while Crystal stared alternately at him and at Cheeky. She seemed uncertain that the feather-monkey was really there, and kept rubbing her eyes as if this might just possibly make him go away.

When Blade was finished and it was obvious Cheeky was real, Crystal put on her loinguard and tucked her knife into it. She didn't bother with sandals or headband.

«I think you are telling the truth, or at least what you believe to be the truth,» she said. «However this may be, I must go with you. You do not know all the laws and customs, and you may need someone to speak of what we see.»

In other words, a witness. Blade nodded. «That is true. But you do not need to come into danger with me. Your father-«

«It would take time to wake up my father and bring him. If what you say is the truth, we do not have the time. If you have been told a lie, then there will be no need for the Guardian. «She stood on tiptoe to kiss him. «Besides, you swore you would take me to the war with you. Is this not the first battle of the war with the Rutari?»

Blade knew he wouldn't win this argument. «All right. Come on. But don't get too close to me. We may both have to move fast.»

He turned to Cheeky. («You come with me. Ride on my shoulder until we get to the Wise One's hut. Then get down and do not get in my way.»)

(«You do not think good of me again?»)

(«I do not think much of you at all until we have fought the Wise One. Is that not also wise?»)

(«Oh, yes.»)

Crystal's eyes widened as Cheeky jumped onto Blade's shoulder, but she said nothing. Either she hadn't overheard the telepathic conversation, or she knew there was no time to waste satisfying her curiosity.

Blade would have liked to explain Cheeky to Crystal. He would have liked even more to have Cheeky explain how he'd been getting along among the Rutari. That might tell him something he hadn't known about the Wise One. Again, the problem was no time. If Ellspa had noticed that Cheeky was gone and communicated with the Wise One, the older woman might already be alert and waiting.

If she is, Blade thought, bugger the laws about dealing with hiba-gans. I'll knock her flat and sit on her until I finish explaining who she is. Somehow I don't think those laws were meant to protect spies and assassins disguised as Holy Wanderers.

The hiba-gan's hut was at the far end of an isolated cluster of buildings on the riverbank, upstream from the walled village. This was traditional-Holy Wanderers were expected to keep themselves a little apart from the people they visited. This was good luck for Blade. He got there without having to explain Cheeky or his mission to the guards at the four gates of the village or people on the streets.

Twenty yards from the hut, Blade put Cheeky down. The feather-monkey fell back while Crystal came forward to stand on Blade's left. For a moment Blade again savored the unusual sensation of not having to go into battle alone. Then he charged straight at the door of the hut.

Blade's two hundred and ten fast-moving pounds hit the hut door like a battering ram. The door's hinges were leather thongs and they snapped like thread. The door not only flew off its hinges, it flew clear across the hut and smashed itself to kindling wood against the far wall.

There were two people in the middle of the hut, the Wise One and River Over Stones. The Wise One wore nothing but her scars and a head band, and was riding astride River, who wore about the same. Lost in lust for the moment, neither of them even looked up until the flying door hit the far wall.

Moyla wasn't so pleasantly busy and was more alert. Out of the corner of his eye Blade saw her snatch up something, then dart toward him. As she moved, he also heard a wordless screech in his mind.

(«Master! Moyla dangerous!»)

Blade couldn't see how a creature even smaller and weaker than Cheeky could possibly be dangerous, but he was too well trained to ignore any warning. He remembered what one of his combat instructors said: React first, evaluate afterward, and you just may live to die in bed.

Blade leaped high and to one side as Moyla came at him. She could turn practically on a dust mote, though, and changed course to match Blade's movements. He had time to see she was holding something in her hand, long and thin with a glistening black tip.

Then Cheeky darted between Blade's legs and ran against Moyla so hard that she bounced off him like a billiard ball. The black-tipped object flew out of her paw and landed on the floor. Cheeky jumped on top of it, arms outstretched to fend Moyla off without hurting her. His crest was laid back, though, and his mouth was open to show all his teeth.

Moyla ignored Cheeky's obvious distaste for a fight to the death. She came at him again and grappled, trying to get him away from her weapon. Cheeky refused to be budged. The feather-monkey and his ex-girlfriend rolled over and over, screeching and clawing at each other until fur and feathers flew.

By this time the two humans were also alert. The Wise One's techniques of mental control got her ready to fight faster. Blade saw her leap to her feet, a knife in her hand. She would be fast and probably dangerous with it, even more dangerous if she had time to use her telepathic weapons.

The blunders of her ally and lover kept her from using either. River Over Stones lurched to his feet, holding a spear and shouting obscene curses at Eye of Crystal. Any fool could have seen that he was in no shape to fight, and Eye of Crystal was the first to take action. She brushed past Blade, closed with River, and kicked him smartly between the legs.

River's scream froze everyone in the hut except Blade and Cheeky. Blade snatched up River's spear as the young man doubled up. He was tempted to return it at once to its owner, point first, but he remembered in time that River Over Stones owed his people an explanation and ought to be kept alive long enough to give it. So he reversed the spear and slammed the butt down on River's skull. The man crumpled and flopped to the floor almost at Blade's feet, twitching and writhing as the agony in his groin penetrated even his half-numb brain.

Meanwhile, Cheeky got on top of Moyla and pounded her head against the hard earth of the hut floor until she went limp. For a moment he knelt beside her, making little noises that might have meant anything. He wasn't sending any telepathic messages, and Blade certainly wasn't going to intrude on his mind at this time anyway. If he'd had any doubts about the sincerity of Cheeky's return and loyalty, they were now forever laid to rest.

After a moment he bent down, patted Cheeky gently on the head, and picked up Moyla's weapon. It was a long thin dagger, almost a needle, with its point covered for several inches with something black and glistening like tar. Blade didn't try to examine it closely or wipe it off; he merely wedged the dagger into a chink in the logs where it couldn't be stepped on or grabbed by an enemy.

Two of the three enemies were in no shape to grab anything. A sudden wail from Cheeky told Blade that Moyla was dead, while River Over Stones had passed out from pain. While Blade kept an eye on the Wise One, Eye of Crystal dragged River to the door, tore up her loinguard, and tied him hand and foot with the strips. Blade stopped worrying about the girl's handling herself in action.

While all this was happening, the Wise One was standing by the tangled furs and skins on the floor. Except for the rise and fall of her breasts and the sweat on her thighs, she might have been a statue. Blade was careful to avoid meeting her eyes. He wasn't sure what telepathic weapons she might have, but he wasn't going to give any of them a chance.

Then the footsteps of what sounded like half the village thudded outside, and the doorway was suddenly filled with people. Blade wasn't surprised, since River Over Stones had made enough noise to be heard for miles. Eye of Crystal was nearly knocked down, and Cheeky had to jump onto Blade's shoulder to keep from being trampled.

«This is no true hiba-gan, «said Blade. «This is the Wise One of the Rutari. She came here disguised as a hiba-gan to kill me for fleeing from the unlawful ways of the Rutari. Not far from here her friend Ellspa waits to help her.»

«She could still have taken a hiba-gan's vows,» said someone outside.

«She has not,» said Crystal. «When we entered, she and River Over Stones were as man and woman. Hiba-gans are celibate.»

A long sigh issued from the crowd. Then Winter Owl's voice rose above it. «Make way for the Guardian!»

The warrior and the shaman marched into the hut side by side, and Blade stepped clear to give them room to face the Wise One. For the first time, the woman seemed uneasy. She'd been prepared for death or torture, but to see her one equal among all the telepaths of Latan facing her was another matter, particularly without Moyla. She licked her lips.

«I have heard everything,» said the Guardian, «and your life is mine to take as I will. You know this is true. You came here to do murder, without an oath protecting you, and disguised as a Holy Wanderer. Three times over, your life is mine to take.»

«That is so,» said the Wise One. It was the first sound she made.

«But I will not give you to Winter Owl or to Blade of England to kill slowly,» the Guardian went on. «Instead, I give Challenge. Meet my Challenge, here and now, without calling your friend Ellspa, and if you win, you may go free. «

The Wise One's eyes widened in surprise. «You swear this by the Wisdom?»

«Father-!» began Eye of Crystal, but Winter Owl gripped her arm.

«Do not shame him,» he whispered, so low that he probably thought no one heard him, and indeed no one except Blade did.

«Better dead than shamed?» Crystal replied in the same tone.

«Yes.»

She muttered something that sounded like a curse on all men in general, but then fell silent.

«I swear by the Wisdom that this shall be the Fourth Challenge,» said the Guardian.

«Then I shall meet you as Wise Ones and Guardians have met thrice before, and Ellspa shall not know of this.» She knelt and spread her hands on the ground. The Guardian knelt and spread his hands on top of hers. The Wise One was so graceful that Blade's mind flashed back to how he'd held that slim brown body locked to his.

After that there was nothing for everyone except the two shamans to do except leave the hut and let the Challenge proceed. Winter Owl led Eye of Crystal out, keeping a watchful eye on her, as if he was afraid she would speak out of turn again. Blade suspected that he might agree with Eye of Crystal if he knew more about this Challenge. He also knew that he couldn't say or do anything about it. The Guardian was going to do things his way and that was all there was to it.

The villagers who'd been inside the hut formed a ring around it, keeping the other villagers back at a safe distance. Two went and brought the Sweet Wisdom, in case either shaman's telepathy needed help. One of these was Winter Owl, and with him gone, Blade had a chance to talk to Crystal. He put down Moyla's body near Cheeky and led Crystal aside.

«What is this Challenge? A duel with the Voice?»

«Yes. They go together into the Sphere of Wisdom and fight with every weapon that may be used there.»

Blade frowned. Even if he hadn't experienced Latan telepathy, he would have known this could be dangerous. There were too many Home Dimension tales of paranormal powers being used to kill; not all of them could be dismissed as nonsense.

«He did not have to do it,» she said. She was as close to bursting into tears as Blade had ever seen her. «The Wise Bitch's life was his to take! But he knew the glory that came from the Challenge, and wanted it more than anything else!»

«It must be great glory, to make him want it so badly. «

«It is. His name will live forever. But Blade, in the last three Challenges, all six of the Guardians and Wise Ones died.»

«Damn,» said Blade softly. It was inadequate, but then he himself felt just a little inadequate in the face of a man blithely going to his death so that his name would live forever. Perhaps the Guardian was not showing the highest degree of wisdom, but he was certainly showing a kind of courage Blade wondered if he had himself.

He put an arm around Eye of Crystal's shoulders, and a minute later Cheeky joined them.

(«Is this Mistress a friend to the Master Blade?»)

(«Yes. «)

(«Then I want to be a friend to her. «) Cheeky put one arm around Crystal's leg, barely reaching her knee. It might have looked silly, but Blade felt no urge to laugh. Cheeky was bearing up remarkably well after killing Moyla with his own hands. He shouldn't have had to learn about this dirty side of the spy business-the betrayal of friends-so soon.