Dead Rivers - Freedom's Gate Part 26

I wheeled Kara and we bolted back out onto the steppe.

It's over.

I had let Kara slow to a walk; I didn't think anyone was chasing me, at least not yet. I felt lost, bereft. I couldn't return to the Alas.h.i.+. I wouldn't return to Kyros. It's over. And I'm alone.

What was I going to do?

Well, I could find some overland merchants like the two who'd stopped by the sisterhood camp, and see if I could get hired as a guard. Or perhaps I could make my way to Penelopeia-Janiya had mentioned the guardswomen kept by the Sisterhood of Weavers. Surely they could make use of me. As Kyros made use of me. Though the Sisterhood had sold Janiya into slavery as punishment for a crime she hadn't committed. Not people I felt I could trust. Just as well. I trusted Kyros, and see where that got me...

I found myself thinking of Alibek. My little straying bird. As lonely and frightened as I was, I didn'tu couldn't-begrudge Alibek his freedom. He deserves to be one of the Alas.h.i.+. As much as Tamar, or Kuan, or Janiya, and more than me. He had taken his freedom, and when it was taken back from him, he took it again. I thought again of that day I'd hunted him down, and the offer he'd made: Come with me. We'll tell them you were a slave, too. I couldn't quite wish I'd taken him up on that, though, as I'd never have met Tamar.

Tamar. What if she was tarred by the story Alibek would tell about me? Surely, surely he would tell them that he'd never seen her before, and they would piece together the story and realize what had happened. And that Tamar was innocent, deserving of their protection.

Unlike me.

I had returned five slaves in addition to Alibek to Kyros. And where are they now? Kyros had sold at least some of them. One was a slave in a mine now. I vaguely remembered hearing where the others had been sold-one to a large farm deep in Penelopeian territory, one to a man somewhere else in Elpisia, another down to someone in Daphnia. I'd heard rumors, each time, and listened with half an ear, wanting to know and yet not wanting to know. Kyros must have sold Alibek, or he'd have sent a djinn to warn me when Alibek escaped. Unless he'd already decided I had turned against him, and didn't care whether I lived or died. But that's not like him. Even if he knew I'd betrayed him, he'd have some clever idea about twisting my arm, as he tried to do with that last djinn.

What if they didn't believe that Tamar wasn't also a spy?

She deserves her freedom. They can't cast her out. What if they hurt her? What if they executed her, thinking that she was a spy like me? I felt sick, staring at the horizon. If anyone deserves that, it's me, not Tamar.

Before I could change my mind, Kara and I headed back to the clan's camp.

I rode back in with my bow unstrung and my sword tied into its scabbard, to show that I wasn't coming back to threaten them. Not that I could threaten them without the Greek army at my back, but I thought the gestures of surrender would make it more likely that I'd be able to say my piece without someone killing me. To my surprise, no one so much as challenged me as I pa.s.sed the edge of camp, though I knew someone must have been on watch. I dismounted and led Kara toward the center of camp.

Everyone seemed to be gathered there; as I approached, everyone turned to look at me. I could see the sisterhood cl.u.s.tered together on one side of the fire; young men were cl.u.s.tered on the other. The sword brotherhood, no doubt- Alibek's brothers. As I approached, many of the men laid hands on their bows or swords, though no one raised his weapon. The sisters kept their hands at their sides, though I could see Janiya's hands gripped into fists.

"Why have you returned?" the elder asked, breaking the silence.

"I came back to tell you not to blame Tamar," I said. My voice was rough in my throat. "She was a slave, like Alibek."

"So you do know each other," the elder said.

"Alibek claims that you work for his former master," Janiya said. "That you hunted him down, the first time he escaped, and brought him back. That if you're here, it could only be as a spy."

I forced myself to meet her gaze; her face was cold and stony, and her eyes were distant. What could I possibly say that anyone would accept? If only I could talk to Janiya, just to Janiya... I swallowed, and turned my empty hands up in supplication, or a shrug. "I worked for Kyros when I last saw Alibek.

And Kyros sent me to spy. He sent me first to the house of his friend Sophos, who-who-" my voice faltered "-also owned Tamar," I finished, finally. "My escape was prearranged; Tamar's escape was not."

Tamar stepped forward; she'd been somewhere behind the other sisters. "I told you I'd scream if you didn't take me with you. Spoil your escape. But that wouldn't have mattered, would it? And you took me with you anyway."

I looked at her, my voice steadying a little as I saw the warmth in her eyes. "I don't know what would have happened. Sophos had already broken his promise." Tamar nodded slightly, and I knew that she knew what I meant. "He might have had me flogged, saying that it was necessary not to compromise my disguise. Or he might have had you sent to the mines, to keep you from talking to the other slaves in his household. But anyway, I didn't want to leave you behind."

"And then you rescued me from the bandits."

I nodded.

"Are you still spying on the Alas.h.i.+?"

"No." I glanced back at Janiya. "I had been drifting for a long time-dodging the questions when Kyros sent a djinn. Just before the bandits attacked us, I decided that I wasn't ever going back to him. I wanted to stay here."

" Why didn't you tell me?" Janiya whispered.

"I was going to," I said. "But then we were attacked, and traveling-there was so much else going on..."

She knows, I thought, looking into her eyes. She knows that this is what I wanted to tell her last night.

"What about your old master's djinn?" one of the brothers asked. "Is it here now?"

"No." I glanced around, looking for Zhanna, and spotted her, finally; she was avoiding my eyes. "It came looking for me a few days ago, and I-banished it."

That got Zhanna's attention. "What do you mean, you banished it?"

"I touched it, and used the words of banishment, like in an exorcism. And it went through me. Back to wherever the djinn come from. I can't really explain it; I was actually hoping maybe you could."

Zhanna sat back, looking thoughtful, but didn't say anything else.

"Anyway, Kyros has a second spell-chain. They gave him two, but I doubt he'll want to risk his second djinn when he doesn't know what happened to the first one." I looked around at the brothers, the sisters, the elder, and the other members of the clan. Even Erdene had made her way out, wan and unsmiling.

"My loyalty is to you, not to Kyros. I don't expect you to believe that, which is why I ran away. I only came back because I had to make sure that you weren't a.s.suming that Tamar was as guilty as I was."

There was an explosion of conversation. "She has to die," shouted the head of the brotherhood, Rishad.

"Not Tamar; Alibek has already said he's never seen her before in his life. But Lauria, the slaver-she's a spy, she's admitted it herself."

"She was a spy," snapped Ruan. " Was, not is. If she had no loyalty to anyone but her master, why would she come back now?"

"And confess her crimes?" Zhanna added. "She could have denied everything from the start and accused Alibek of being a spy-set us against each other."

"Alibek was flogged and branded by Kyros after Lauria brought him back," Rishad snarled. "A spy wouldn't carry the scars I've seen."

"Lauria was raped by Sophos," Tamar said. "I saw the blood."

"She has to die!" Rishad insisted.

"You have no authority over her!" Ruan shouted. "None. How dare you try to pa.s.s judgment on her; it's not even your place!"

"It's for me to decide," Janiya said. She spoke softly, but as she stepped forward, the camp fell silent, waiting. "Not the head of the brotherhood, not the elder, not even the eldress of all the clans. I still hold the sign of authority-" her hand fell to the horn at her belt "-and her fate is for me to decide."

Janiya stepped forward, and her hands were trembling. "I wish you had told me," she said softly. "And I believe that you meant to. But you didn't. And so I can't trust what you say now."

"Just promise me that nothing will happen to Tamar."

"Not unless they kill me to get to her," Janiya said, and the corner of her mouth lifted for an instant. Then her face was stony again. "Take off your vest."

I shed the black wool vest I'd embroidered and gave it to Janiya. She dropped it on the ground, then raised her voice, speaking to me, but for the ears of everyone. "You would have been welcomed into the Alas.h.i.+ during the fall gathering, but you are Alas.h.i.+ no longer. You know nothing of consequence and we will not kill you, but you can't stay with us. Take your horse and go."

"Her horse?" one of the brothers hissed, but Janiya silenced him with a glare.

"Go!" shouted Janiya. "Or we will consider you a bandit, an intruder, and treat you accordingly!"

I mounted Kara, and we fled the camp as quickly as we could.

It wasn't until we were well clear of the encampment that I heard someone shouting to me to wait. I stopped Kara and turned back; it was Tamar.

"Why are you following me?" I asked.

"Because I'm coming with you," she said.

"What? Why? They weren't going to send you away, Janiya promised me..."

"No. I chose to leave."

She had left her vest, I realized.

"You're mad," I said.

"I'm your sister," she said, and held up the hand she'd slashed when we'd sworn blood sisterhood to each other.

"That doesn't mean you have to follow me out onto the steppe!"

"I didn't come because I had to. I chose to follow you."

I stared at her, perplexed.

"What are you going to do now?" Tamar asked. "Go back to Kyros?"

"I'd rather die."

"So what, then?"

I was silent for a long moment. Then I said, "There were five other slaves, other than Alibek, that I returned to Kyros. None are owned by Kyros now, but as far as I know they're all still slaves. I want to find them. And I want to free them."

"I was hoping you'd have some plan like that," Tamar said. "And that's why I followed you."

I gaped at her. "Like I said-you're mad."

"No, I'm not. You're going to need someone to help you. I bet you don't know where any of the wells are, or the rivers."

"Are you saying that you do?"

"Of course I do. It was something I asked Saken about, to teach me, specifically. And sometimes the djinn talk to me now; they're always helpful when it comes to finding water."

"Where's the nearest water hole, then?"

"About a half mile that way." She pointed. "We can go camp there tonight, if you want."

"Just because you can help me doesn't mean you should throw away your life with the Alas.h.i.+. You could go back now, tell them that you found me to hear my side of the story, and that I'm a miserable traitor who deserves to die. They'd probably take you back."

Now she was silent for a moment. "It has always annoyed me that the Alas.h.i.+ refuse to free slaves," she said. " 'Take your freedom'-ha! As if it's that simple. As if I could have taken my freedom when I was ten. As if Meruert could take it, pregnant, or with a newborn baby."

"Or Aislan?"

"She acts like she likes to be a slave, but if she could, I think she'd rip Sophos's b.a.l.l.s off and feed them to his dogs." Tamar gave me a level glare. "I tell you what, Lauria. You clearly need my help, since you didn't even take advantage of your months with the Alas.h.i.+ to find out more about locating water. I'll help you free your old enemies if you'll help me free my old friends."

"And we'll rip off Sophos's b.a.l.l.s, and let Aislan feed them to his dogs," I said, beginning to smile for the first time since I'd recognized Alibek.

"I think we may have to draw straws," Tamar said.

"Well," I said. "Did you bring your bow?"

"And food. And water."

"I wish you'd brought a yurt."

"You slept outside half the time anyway."

"Winter's coming."

"Yeah, we'll definitely have to come up with somewhere else to sleep pretty soon." Tamar touched the bags on the back of her saddle. "I'm not going to miss Ruan."

"I'll miss Zhanna."

"She liked you better than she liked me."

"Not anymore, I bet."

"You might be surprised."

"Before you left, Zhanna didn't say anything to you about what I said, about banis.h.i.+ng the djinn..."

"No." She sighed. "And I have no idea how you did that, either. The only thing I know is, I've heard all sorts of strange stories about what people can do with djinni-in stories about the Sisterhood of Weavers. But they keep a lot of what they can do a secret. Maybe when we're done freeing slaves, we can ride to Penelopeia and you can ask someone's advice?"

"Good thought," I said. "Let's go find your water hole."

Tamar turned her horse and I fell into step behind her. It's over, I thought, as our horses stretched out to a gallop. And then I thought, No, it's starting.

And I'm not alone.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

Thanks, first of all, to my agent, Jack Byrne, and to my superb editor, Anne Groell, who rocks.