Chapter Forty-Four: Plot

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The place was even starker in the early morning light. We were surrounded by a snarl of trees and underbrush on the edge of a dark wood. A daughter of the forest, I’d always found trees wondrous and groves welcoming, instilled as they were with the gods of my fathers. But here, the coppice choked with brambles, and tangled treetops blotted out the sun. The damp thicket, its floor a black mass of decaying leaves, gave cover to anything that wished to hide from view. A thick mist rose off the melting ice of the rivers and snow, shrouding all in a cloak of grey. The bony fingers of leafless branches twining overhead obscured the sky. How nomad tribes dwelt here, I couldn’t imagine. I peered into those woods and questioned what kind of people might make such a place their home.

“I’ve seen raids all my life,” Aric said as he finished saddling Saena. “Never has an enemy been so bold as to march on our court. All this time, the Geloni have been partners more often than rivals.” A rare apprehension worried his brow as he secured his pack behind his saddle. “I don’t know why this is happening or what they hope to gain.”

“Nor do I.” It had caught us entirely unawares, which I believe was the point. I’d already tacked Aruna and readied my own things for leaving. But I was still numb with disbelief. “You’re certain they’re planning an attack?”

“I’m not certain of anything. But what other reason could they have for leaving flocks unguarded but to muster all their men to an army?” 

“Perhaps they make war on the Budini?”

“We cannot take that chance.”

“Why now?” I asked, more angry than confused. It couldn’t be the drought. It was clear that they had plenty of sheep, and the woods were full of game.

“The gods punish us for our faithlessness,” he said with dismay. “Our tribes will suffer for the oaths we’ve broken.”

“Maybe they brought us here,” I said more in hope than belief, “to see.”

He brightened at that and nodded slowly as if assuring himself. “Then, by the will of Goetosura, we may yet reach the camps in time. But, should I fall in the coming battle—”

“You will not fall,” I said, grabbing handfuls of his fur-lined coat. “You will die in my bed in a time and place far from this.” I uttered it half as commandment, half as prophecy, willing it to be true.

He pulled away with a scowl. “You curse me three times over.” 

Was it such a curse to trade glory for time? “I forbid you to die,” I scolded him futilely as he swung up into his saddle and gathered his reins. Court camp seemed to lie on the other side of the world.

“Take it up with the gods, then,” he mocked half-heartedly. 

I was in no joking mood. I could only gaze up at him astride Saena, preparing to leave. His golden hair covered in a soft mist, he seemed wraithlike, as if he might drift away or fade into the dawn. And I knew I could not hold onto him; I wouldn’t dare try. This was as it must be. I breathed a sigh, feeling all was about to be put right. 

“Which way should I go?” I asked, knowing I would have to find my own way back. I was truly on my own.

“The way we came is slow but safe. Ride hard until you cross the stony creek we passed. See then if you can use your mirror to signal the scouts ahead of you. There may not be enough sunlight, but try. Stop for nothing else.” Then his face darkened, and he scowled down at me. “When you arrive at the buna, stay put. You hear me? A small force remains to guard the camp. Stay with them.” 

I grasped him by the wrist. “I’m ready. And I’m not afraid.”

“I know. But this is not your fight.”

“Your fights are my fights.”

He took my hand in his, and his voice went low. “Things are different now.”

“How? Am I not Skythian, too?”

“I—I don’t know if I can keep you safe,” he stammered. 

“What about you?” I asked, my throat constricting with emotion. “How can I keep you safe if I am so far away?”

“I’ll have the vazarka and kara beside me,” he said stubbornly. “You mustn’t worry for me. Look after yourself now. Collect your scalp and the gold arm rings I gave you, and keep them close. You may need them. A woman of royal birth will be ransomed. Until we see each other again—in this life or the next—do whatever you must, go wherever you must, to save yourself.” 

Gripping his calf, I closed my eyes and rested my head against his thigh, assuring myself he was real—this was really happening. He placed his palm atop my head. His hand’s warmth, the brush of his fingers on my hair, sent a chill shimmering down my spine. 

Then the faint sound of a horn blowing far off in the distance woke me. I shook off the trance and mounted up, though I could still feel the warm imprint of his hand on my scalp. I drew a full breath as I gathered my reins and stroked Aruna’s neck to calm him—and myself.

“I forbid you,” I said as Aric turned to go, already desolate at the thought of making this ride alone.

We rode our separate ways—I to muster the Warband and Aric to warn the court. As I galloped Aruna across the plain, I had time to consider what the men would think on my arrival about the story I had to tell and why I was now alone. Would they believe me? They must. But their trust in me was sorely tested, and my allies in camp dwindled to only a handful of friends. Would their word be enough to counter the suspicion and slander of all those whose ire I’d provoked?

Besides the soft padding of hooves in the snow and the rhythmic snorting of Aruna with each stride, there was no sound. No sight. No signs of life but for us, alone in the world. And only I knew why we galloped so hard across the empty plain. Aruna trusted I had my reasons. For miles we ran. The plain bleak and white. The sky grey as smoke. My thoughts empty as a shattered vase. Retracing the road that took us away. 

The steppe is the loneliest place on earth, except perhaps the sea. What must a person feel in a boat on the sea far from the sight of land? It couldn’t be much different from what I now felt. The earth featureless. The sky formless. The wind relentless. And the silence endless. The kind of silence that gnaws into a mind. That frays the thoughts. Begins to unravel them and wear them through. It’s a different kind of loneliness than that of an unhitched wagon, an empty tent, the hush of a hunting forest. This, the stern silence before battle, was the peace of eternity. The impenetrable stillness of the tomb. I’d heard it before. I rode through that silence like riding through a cemetery, speeding like I could outrun death. The graves blurring past, opening around me. Only, I didn’t run from it; I ran toward it. 

I pushed Aruna harder than I should have. The horses had already begun shedding their heavy winter coats, but it wasn’t enough to ease the sweat that lathered his neck and flanks. With the snow still melting underfoot, going was slow. Aric had said to take an easy pace and spare the horses. The Geloni, mostly plowmen rather than herdsmen, would be on foot rather than horseback and slow to cover ground. But there was no telling how many were coming. How could I be easy? 

After crossing the shallow, stony creek, I stopped to let Aruna rest and drink. Here, I tried signaling under the grey sky toward camp with my mirror, but I couldn’t catch a beam of light. In every direction, I angled the burnished bronze disc and saw nothing. Then polished its smooth face and tried again. The horizon remained silent, and no light answered mine. I could wait no longer for the grudging sun and resigned myself to press on alone.

When I arrived at camp, I found Antisthenes, who seemed surprised to see me. He had a younger karik care for poor, spent Aruna while he invited me inside for a bowl of bone broth beside the fire. He hushed me when I tried to speak and bade me take some nourishment first. I could hear the men gathering outside the tent as I quickly slurped down the warm broth, and the heat of the fire made my bones shiver with such comfort that, had I not been so afraid, I would have been in danger of drifting off to sleep. When I had finished my bowl, Antisthenes came and sat beside me.

“Now, tell me what has happened,” he said calmly, his keen eyes shining. 

I told him about the Geloni shepherds’ absence in the fields and how Aric and I believed the men might be gathering somewhere in preparation for war. If they were to march on the nearby Paralatai camp, the Skythai would be taken entirely by surprise, with few defenses prepared for such an assault. Aric rode ahead in hopes of warning them, and I returned to alert the Warband. To his credit, ever the faithful friend and steward, he asked no questions about our absence, though I suppose he likely guessed already. “I understand,” was all he said, then called the vazarka to assembly. 

Gathered near the hearth in the ring of wagons, I stood before the men and told a tale Aric and I had agreed upon. That I had a vision that revealed a secret plot of war. Aric didn’t want to alarm the camps until he’d confirmed my prophecy for himself, taking me along as his guide to help interpret the signs. As soon as we found the evidence needed to prove our fears were founded, we rode back to warn the separate camps—I to the Warband and he to the court. It was not entirely untrue. And though I disliked deception, I disliked upsetting the men in this time of necessity more. 

“How do we know this isn’t one of her witch’s tricks?” surly Mourdag said, his grey eyes shining coldly from his square face, his thick oakbark waves frizzed by the damp. He’d called me a witch when I first arrived, and I told him then to fuck himself and struck him upside the head, but now I needed him. “If she divined this, why did the king’s seers not do the same?”

“Right,” said roguish Azarion with his habitual smirk, “or maybe this one has stuck her dagger in Aric’s back somewhere out there, and we’re getting led right into an ambush.” Feverish assent and dissent roared between the other vazarka, and Azarion continued: “I say we ride north to search for Aric. Trust your eyes, not a woman’s words.”

More cries jumbled in a dispute over the credibility of my word. I couldn’t tell which way the men leaned, and I dared not try to sway it with more talk. 

Finally, the deep, clear voice of Antisthenes boomed over the assembly: “How do I know she speaks the truth? I know because Aric warned me of the danger they tracked before he departed. You call this a trick? I call this a blessing. Anaiti risked herself to bring us this report. Will we waste time airing our grievances or make use of it? We can outwit and outflank an enemy army as it marches on our king. Those who wish to indulge in petty squabbles and outlandish intrigues remain here. Those who would defend their king, prepare to ride with me. I shall summon the kara to arms.” He didn’t wait for their response but turned away from the gathering toward home.

“You should stay here with the guardsmen. Rest,” Antisthenes said to me as the vazarka dispersed. He walked briskly toward our tent, and I followed.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“A lie saves time. But you know this.”

I nodded, unable to look at him. “Thank you.”

“I did not do it for you.”

“I know.”  

He paused before the door of our tent. “Another hard ride lies ahead. He would want you to stay behind—stay safe.”

“I can’t. He’s there. My kara brothers all go to fight.” I couldn’t help but feel this was somehow, if not my fault, at least my responsibility. I couldn’t point them to the slaughter and walk away. I’d tried walking away already, and something about it didn’t sit well. How often had we assembled around the hearth and eaten, argued, wept, or sang? This was where I belonged if we were lucky enough to return to it. Aric belonged here as well. We were fools to ever think otherwise. “What good am I if I don’t join them, to win or lose this fight by their side?”

Pursing his lips, he frowned. Then nodded. “Let us make haste then.” He ducked through the doorflap. 

There was no time to waste. The bulk of the Geloni army would be moving on foot. They would travel slowly even if they had a head start. If they’d mustered an entire army, they likely had designs on the court, not just the Warband’s small camp. If we left now, we could get to court first, or at the very least, meet them on the road and delay them for a while. Antisthenes dispatched our Ravens to muster the allied tribes’ warbands in the event it was a long fight and told them to bring their spears as well as their bows.

Inside, I tested the few pieces of protection I’d acquired—a thickly quilted hemp vest and a light crescent-shaped shield of wicker and leather. I crammed a few more items in my pack that I’d left behind—like the wolfskin cape Aric placed around my shoulders the night I was initiated and the lapis lazuli amulet he gave me after the Mard-Khwaar attack. The amulet was stashed in a hole I’d dug under my bed, concealed beneath the reed mats and carpets. In the same spot, I kept the little bottle of potion that Erman had given me and I’d secreted away all those months ago. 

Aric would be angry, but I could only hope he’d understand. What good was I if I couldn’t keep my oaths—to him and the others? My vows to myself? Whether I was Bastarnai, Rokhalani, or Paralatai, hamazon, karik, vazarka, or satanaya, I couldn’t say. But I knew that this was where I belonged. This was my purpose. I will not abandon my comrades at whose side I stand. I will not leave this land diminished but greater and better than when I came. These things I swore. 

I took out the bottle and thawed it between my hands as Antisthenes strapped on his shield. With my back turned to him, I broke the beeswax seal, said a little incantation, and quickly downed the bitter liquid. I removed the amulet, shining like the dome of the night sky, and stuffed it into the pouch at my waist, carefully replacing the reed mats and carpets over the hole. Then, slinging my saddle to my hip and my pack on my back, I grabbed my spear beside the door and rushed out to find Vatra. Aruna was spent, and we had a hard ride ahead to reach court before the Geloni army.

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Chapter Forty-Five: Foes

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