Part 19 (1/2)

”But there is little time before dawn. The hold will start to stir within the hour. I do not know when the prince will rise, but you should not be here when he comes for you.” Dain said nothing, listening hard, his thoughts spinning inside his head. ”I know you are awake and hear what I say,” the voice continued in that same quiet, unhurried, rea.s.suring way. ”I am Thum du Maltie, and I bear you no ill will.”

Dain matched that name to the freckled, serious face of the boy with red hair. Thum who had tried to stop Prince Gavril from whipping Dain in the marsh. Thum had also refused to drink wine with the prince last night. This was no friend of Prince Gavril's. No trickster.

Warily Dain rose to his feet and peered through the gloom at his visitor. ”Why?” he asked, his voice hoa.r.s.e with cold and thirst.

”They are cruel, the other fosters,” Thum said. ”They keep you here like a caged animal, with no one to stop them. I thought about telling Sir Bosquecel, but I was not raised to be a tongue-tattle.”

Dain swallowed. ”You brought food?”

”Are you hungry? You must be, after being shut in all night.” Dain rested his hand on the rough bark of the tree, wondering if he was dreaming this. ”You are not my friend, Thum du Maltie,” he said. ”You know me not. Why do you help me?”

”Does it matter?” Thum asked.

Dain sensed no lies in him as yet, but neither had he spoken the complete truth.

”Why? Why help me?”

”The knights are still talking about you. How you came from nowhere to help them with the battle. They said if not for you, Nocine the huntsman would be dead now. They said you saved Lord Odfrey's life.”

”Is the lord dying?”

”I don't know,” Thum said. ”The steward looks very grave. He tells us nothing. Sir Roye barely leaves his lords.h.i.+p's side. He has great fever, and Master Sulein fears for his life because of that.”

Dain thought of the sorcerel who had nearly caught him yesterday. He did not like the idea of that creature, who dabbled in magical realms best left undisturbed, treating Lord Odfrey. Who was guarding the chevard from being possessed by the darkness? Who was protecting his soul from theft? ”We wouldn't have feasted Aelintide at all if the prince hadn't insisted,” Thum continued. ”I-I guess such celebrations mean nothing to you, but I think it's wrong-disrespectful-to be making merry while the lord of this hold lies so ill. But Prince Gavril said the harvest feast should be made, in order to show our grat.i.tude to Thod for such generosity. No one but Lord Odfrey dares deny his highness anything. With the chevard so ill, his highness is doing everything he pleases. No one says him nay. No one! It isn't right.

Especially with Lord Odfrey so-” He broke off, worry strong in his voice.

Dain bowed his head with regret. Although he hated to hear that the chevard was dying, he closed off the liking he'd begun to feel for the man. He'd lost too much already. He wanted no more grieving.

”Get away from the food,” he said harshly.

”What?” ”Back away.”

”Oh.” Thum retreated from the fountain, his shadowy figure a little more visible than before.

Dain glanced at the sky, which had lightened to a dark gray. In the distance, birds chirped sleepily. Time was running out.

As soon as Thum was halfway between the fountain and the gate, Dain dashed forward and s.n.a.t.c.hed up the small bundle lying on the edge of the fountain. Holding it against his chest, he ran past Thum, heading for the gate and freedom.

Thum crashed into him from behind, gripping the back of Dain's tattered tunic. Dain tried to wrench free, but he would not let go. There came the sound of cloth ripping, and Thum flung an arm across Dain's injured shoulder. Gasping aloud, Dain staggered and sank to his knees, driven down by the pain.

Thum gripped his arms. ”What is it? What's wrong?”

Dain concentrated on breathing through the agony, and didn't answer.

”I did not mean to hurt you,” Thum said. ”Really, I'm sorry.”

Snarling, Dain pushed him away. Thum overbalanced and landed on his backside. Dain expected him to lose his temper and come back fighting, but Thum sat where he was.

”You don't have to run,” he said. ”I'm going to let you out. In fact, I thought I'd help you get out of the hold if that's what you want. But if you run away, I can't help.”

Dain didn't answer. He tore open the wrappings and crammed a chunk of cold meat into his mouth, gulping it down in desperation, barely bothering to chew. The totie was cold and shriveled. Dain cared not. He ate it, coa.r.s.e, gritty skin and all.

In seconds the food was gone, and some of the terrible ache in the pit of his stomach eased slightly. He thirsted more than ever now, and turned on Thum. ”Do you have more?”

”I-no,” Thum said apologetically. ”I didn't realize you were so-I should have brought more.”

”Must get out of here,” Dain muttered to himself. He was still kneeling on the ground, and felt too tired to move. But with dawn coming, there wasn't much time. He looked behind him and listened to his inner senses. ”It's a risk for me, but I'm determined to help you. Anything to defy his highness,” Thum said.

Resentment throbbed in his low voice. ”He rises early, so we must hurry. If you aren't hurt, we'd better go.”

Dain pushed himself to his feet, holding his elbow tight to his side to keep from moving his aching shoulder.

Thum stumbled along the path, heading for the gate. ”I have to put the cart back across the gate once we're out. Will you help me?”

Dain didn't answer.

Thum stopped and turned to face him. ”Look, if the prince finds out I helped you, I'll be in serioustrouble.”

Dain told himself not to be a fool. He sensed no lies in this boy, and he could tell that Thum's nerve was beginning to waver. ”I will help,” Dain promised. ”Aelintide is over, you see,” Thum said in relief, hurrying forward. ”The villagers will be coming today to conduct business as usual, so the main gates will open after sunrise. If you hide somewhere close to the gates, you can get out during the general coming and going of the throng.” ”I can do that,” Dain said, liking the plan. It was simple, and simple plans worked best. He slipped outside through the gate behind Thum with the feeling of having escaped a cage.

Thum shut the gate as quietly as he could, then tapped Dain's sleeve, making him jump in the darkness.

”You push when I say,” Thum whispered. Dain stood behind the cart and pushed it while Thum picked up the traces and steered. It wasn't far out of position; Dain figured Thum had been able to budge it only so far by himself. Together they moved it back across the gate. Thum dusted off his hands. ”Let Thod keep the prince from ever knowing it was me,” he said under his breath.

Dain wondered why he was so nervous. ”Can the prince beat you too?” he asked.

Thum uttered a sour little laugh. ”Worse than that.”

”He can kill you? But would your family not avenge you?” ”It's not like that,” Thum explained. ”My father sent me here, hoping I'd become a companion, maybe a favorite, of the prince. I'm the youngest son. I have to make my own way in life since I can't inherit land. The prince could give me a start, but I haven't pleased him. We don't get along at all, and I-I-” He broke off, his voice a tangle of anger, unhappiness, and restraint. ”I don't like him.”

”I hate him.”

Thum uttered a breathless little chuckle. ”Morde, but it's good to hear someone say that. Treason though it is, I hate him too.”

Suddenly friends, they grinned at each other in the shadows. Dain reached out and gripped Thum's hand. ”My thanks, Mandrian. I will repay my debt to you.” ”You owe me no debt,” Thum replied fiercely. ”I have done what is right. No reward should come for that.”

Elsewhere in the hold, a c.o.c.k crowed. Dain heard distant sounds of life. The hold was coming awake.

He must hide himself again, and quickly. But as he turned away, Thum came after him and gripped his arm briefly. ”My mother says it's good luck to help the eldin,” Thum whispered shyly, as though half-ashamed to say it. ”We're up-landers, and the old ways are still known to us, even if we now follow Writ. You are nothing evil, and should not be treated so.” Dain understood what he was really asking. ”If ever there is luck in my life to bestow, I will share it with you,” he said.

Thum stepped back. ”How close to the gates can you get? They should open just after morning ma.s.s and-” ”I know all the hiding places by now,” Dain said, interrupting his advice. ”Then may your path be sure,” Thum said. Dain hurried away from him, melting into the shadows between the next building and the wall. Around him, objects and outlines were becoming distinct shapes. The air lay still and cold, and his breath fogged white about his face.

Hurrying, he circled the courtyard, staying well against its perimeter where shadows remained dark. No sentry saw him and called out. No yawning serf stumbled across his path. He slipped past the stables, and paused to break the thin layer of ice on the watering trough. His reflection was a pale, unfocused shape glimmering in the water's surface. Dain drank long and deep of the ice-cold water. It hurt his teethbut cleared his head. From inside the stables, he could now hear the horses nickering and shuffling in their stalls. m.u.f.fled, sleepy voices spoke. A sudden light glowed from a window. Ducking low, Dain flitted onward.

With much trepidation, he ventured into risky territory-the outermost keep, where villagers were allowed in for daily business, bread loaves were sold, and tribute was brought for display. The barracks windows shone with light. From within the guardhouse came the aromas of boiled pork and heated cider.

The sentries stamped their cold feet on the battlements like men counting the minutes until they were relieved.

Dain took cover behind a stack of crates and settled himself there to wait until the gates opened. A c.o.c.k crowed loudly, and the smell of wood smoke filled the air. Dain swallowed and buried his face against his crossed forearms, trying not to think about his stomach. Thum's gift of meat and totie had been well intentioned, but of small proportion. Listening to his stomach growl, Dain doubted he would ever eat his fill again.