Tam shook his head without words as he clung to the beast. Uthey growled as he bent to heft a large rock with one ruined arm. He slammed the rock into the vurole’s face until it was no longer recognizable. Only then did Tam let go. He glanced at the surrounding chaos. The entire camp had been swarmed. The slavers fought with weapons and talent while the slaves were torn apart or scrambled for hiding places. Several had closed themselves in the wagon, but they would not open the door to admit others, so men climbed each other to huddle on the roof. The vuroles moved in to surround the wagon, and Tam and Uthey were left to fend for themselves.
Tam tugged Uthey toward a downed slaver and grabbed the man’s sword. By the lack of blood on the blade, he figured the man had never had the chance to use it against the creature that killed him. Tam pushed Uthey out of the way as a vurole jumped at him. He stabbed the beast under the ribs just before he was yanked off his feet by the chain around his neck. Another vurole had grabbed Uthey by the leg and was dragging them both toward the forest. Tam dug at the collar, trying to breathe, and he suddenly knew how the vurole he killed had felt. The vurole loped around a tree, and the chain became wrapped with Tam and Uthey on opposite sides. Uthey screamed as the creature savaged his leg, frustrated by its lack of progress. Tam blinked away the spots in his eyes and coughed as he gasped for air. He rolled onto his side and felt something hard jabbing his rib. To his relief, the sword had caught in a tear in his clothes. He grabbed the hilt and stumbled toward the creature. It abruptly released Uthey’s leg to try another attack, and Tam stabbed the beast through the throat. Blood spewed over them both as the blade ripped through flesh.
Tam breathed heavily as he glanced toward the campsite. The slavers would likely succeed in fighting off the remaining vuroles, so he figured this was their only chance to escape. He surveyed Uthey’s wounds, then ripped a strip off the bottom of his shirt and quickly wrapped the man’s leg.
He said, “Can you run?”
Uthey gritted his teeth. “I’ll run to the hells and back if I must.”
Uthey exhaled heavily a few times, and then Tam helped him to his feet. Tam threw Uthey’s good arm around his shoulders and, with Uthey holding his injured arm to his chest, they ran. Progress was slow in the dark forest, but they were driven by knowledge of the fate that awaited them if they were caught. After a few hours, their path was abruptly truncated by a steep ravine. The bottom could not be seen in the dark, but they could hear rushing water.
“Which way do we go?” said Uthey.
“I don’t know. We need to go east. Maybe we can board a ship in Ferélle.”
“We’ll not be safe in Ferélle, either. The enslavement of criminals is legal there.”
“But we’re not criminals,” said Tam. “We were kidnapped illegally!”
“They’ll not believe us. We should go west to Pruar. No slavery, and it’s closer.”
Tam looked to the sky for direction, but the canopy blocked most of the view. “Which way is west?”
Uthey blinked upward and shook his head. “I can’t tell.”
Tam glanced back at the ravine. “The river should flow toward the sea, right?”
“Maybe. According to the maps, Verril has many streams and rivers coming off the Drahgfir Mountains in the south. Some flow mostly east, others west, some go straight north. I couldn’t say which way it goes.”
“Alright,” said Tam. “We can’t stay here. Do we go upriver or down?”
Uthey shook his head. “No, I’ll not be responsible for us getting caught.”
“Okay, we’ll toss a stick.”
“Sounds fair.”
Tam picked up a small stick with a knob on one end. He glanced at Uthey. “We follow the knob.” Uthey nodded, and Tam tossed it into the air. From there, they traveled downriver.
Chapter 19
Malcius stepped off the ferry and could not have been gladder to be on foreign soil. Japa came next, pushing the small wagon that contained Yserria’s trunk and their traveling packs. Eight guards, four from each of the echelons, followed, and then Yserria. She passed the line of guards that waited on her without rolling her eyes, but Malcius knew what she was thinking. She had severely protested the need for guards, but the influential matrianeras of both echelons insisted that she needed them. Malcius had decided they were all spies and assassins.
“Come on,” said Malcius. “The docks are not far.”
Japa said, “First Consort, perhaps we should seek lodgings for the echelon. The longer we wait, the more difficult it will be to find a place in the event that no passage is available.”
Malcius scowled at the man. “I have asked you not to call me that. You are probably right, though. Is anyone here familiar with Esk?”
One of Yserria’s guards, Noko of House Linoni of the Fourth Echelon, said, “I have been here many times. It would be my honor to seek shelter for the echelon.”
Malcius said, “Very well. You and Japa find an inn. The rest of us will head to the docks.” Everyone nodded, but no one moved. Malcius sighed and rolled his eyes. He looked to Yserria and said, “By your leave, Echelon.”
Yserria glanced at the others. She waved her hand and said, “Yes. Go. Do what he said.”
She sidled up next to him and muttered, “It is like having children. I must tell them to do everything.”
“That is what it means to have servants at your call,” said Malcius. “Eventually, they will learn your preferences and disposition and start taking care of those tasks on their own.”
As they began walking south along the road that followed the river to the docks, she said, “I do not intend to have them that long.”
Malcius glanced at the guards who followed them. A few spoke Ashaiian, but most did not—or so they claimed. He said, “You are now the head of two echelons. You had best get used to them.”
Yserria said, “Queen Erisial will not permit me to retain that kind of power. She already feels threatened by the perception of strength I bear through Rezkin. I doubt she will allow me to keep one echelon, much less two. Besides, I am committed to serving Rezkin as a royal guard. I do not have time to administer an echelon.”
“Rezkin collects influence,” said Malcius. “He will probably value your position as echelon more than as a guardsman. It seems that most Leréshi overlook the fact that he is their king. As echelon, you can encourage your people to accept him.”
After a minute, she said, “You are very good at politics—at least, in the way people relate to each other—outside of Lon Lerésh, that is. Rezkin would benefit from your counsel.”
“Rezkin has little need of my counsel. It is I who have benefited from knowing him. I guess you could say that he helped me put my life into perspective. At first, I did not comprehend his desire to befriend Tam, nor did I understand his interest in Frisha. Dark things exist in this world, though, and loyalty and dedication are more valuable than titles.”
“I am surprised to hear you say that,” she said.
“My whole life has been wrapped in politics. Every word, every action has been judged as a reflection of my house. I accepted this with the understanding that everyone else was enduring the same scrutiny. It was important to make waves only when such was your intention. I had thought Tam and Frisha uncouth and lacking in culture and propriety. I realize now that they were being genuine, with no concern for house politics. They wear no masks. Mage Dolinar said something that made me realize the same is true with you.”
Yserria glanced at him but did not respond. Eventually, she said, “Rezkin wears a mask.”
“But was that not the point?” he said. “No one knew who he was. He could have been anyone. He forced us to recognize him for his skill. His mask is overly intimidating, but it need not be. His achievements speak for themselves.”
She did not look at him as she said, “I have not heard you speak so highly of him since Palis died.”
Malcius had no response, and he was saved from thinking of something when they encountered a massive crowd. Everyone was attempting to shuffle toward the docks, which, according to their guards, were still several blocks away.
A female guard named Ptelana stepped forward. She was a dark-skinned Leréshi woman from the Third Echelon who had considerable skill with the bow and spoke fluent Ashaiian and Ferélli. She said, “By your leave, Echelon, I will discover the reason for this gathering.”