Order of Swans (The Blue Swan Duology #1)

Chapter 18

18

Tanek took them to the stables in Doyen. When he ducked his head to get through the double doors, Kaley felt the energy leave his body. Maybe he was relieved that his part of the job of getting her there was over. The spotlight was now on her. If only I knew what to do , she thought.

She swung her right leg around, glad there was no high pommel to get past. But then she sat still in the saddle. Tanek appeared to be asleep. If she got down off the horse, he might fall. “Tanek!” she said. “I need help here. Could you—?”

Her body came alert when she saw a man step out of the shadows. Since they were on Selkan, a place where there were few women, she felt the hairs on her neck rise. But in the next second, she recognized him. It was Garen, the man who’d been the head of the king’s guard. Her body tightened. She wasn’t sure, but she thought it was men from that guard who’d drugged them and stolen their possessions.

Garen came into the light. There was a large, new gash on his face. It was deep and had been sewn together with thick black threads. It was quite hideous-looking.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking up at her on the horse.

She was surprised that she could understand him.

He held up his arm that held the chip. “Adjustment.” His eyes were pleading. “I tried to stop the men when they robbed you, but I couldn’t control them.” He made a motion to his cheek and the ugly wound. “They told me you were dead, but then I saw you and him...” He didn’t finish, but glanced at Tanek, then back at her. “Would you like some help?”

“Please,” she said. “I need to go to where the women are...” She waved her hand, not wanting to say what she was envisioning.

“It’s bad,” he said. “The women have been hiding for years but now they’ve come out. They’re taking knives to themselves. I didn’t like seeing that. I had to leave.” He reached up and helped Tanek down, but he couldn’t hold him and had to let him fall into a pile of straw. “He must not have slept in a while.”

“For days.” She didn’t want to tell the reason for that. “Which way is it?”

“You shouldn’t go.”

“I must. I think I can stop it. I’m not sure how, but I have to try.”

Garen looked serious. He withdrew his sword and held the blade before his face. “Then I will help you. I failed before so I swear my life to you now. But I fear that if you try to stop them, when it strikes, the women will go after you with their knives.”

“What strikes?”

“The clock at four. The women will start again in one herin.”

Kaley gasped. “Fifteen minutes?” She started running out the door before he could reply. Unfortunately, there was a dense crowd surrounding the platform that she could see in the distance.

Garen pushed and shoved to clear a path for her.

“Can you hold off the crowd so I can talk to the girls?”

“I’ll try, but will they listen?” He gave a mighty shove to a big man who looked like he might hit back, but then he saw Garen’s scarred face and moved aside. It seemed that the men who were in the cutting games were respected—or maybe feared.

“No,” Kaley said, “but maybe if I yell enough, I can get the cowardly prince to talk to them. They’ll listen to him .”

When they reached the stairs to the platform, Kaley’s stomach heaved. There was blood everywhere. She nearly lost it when she saw what looked like a severed toe.

On the platform stood six armed, uniformed guards. They were stoically watching Kaley and Garen as they climbed the stairs. At the top, each guard gave Garen a nod of respect and didn’t try to stop them from stepping onto the blood-soaked boards.

When she got to the back of the platform, she looked down to the ground and saw a line of young women. They were waiting for when they could start again in trying on the slipper. Waiting for a chance to stop spending their lives in hiding. Their faces were hopeful and afraid.

Kaley looked up. Above them, on the wall of a brick building, was a clock that looked like it was straight out of Pinocchio. It had a carved roof and a little door that would probably open to reveal a cuckoo bird. She had just minutes.

Kaley looked down from the clock. There, on a gold-trimmed stand, sitting on a purple velvet pillow, was the shoe. It was for the left foot and it was indeed glass, with a short heel and a rounded toe. For a moment Kaley forgot about the women. Here was a real fairy tale in all its blood and enchantment. Silk tassels mixed with self-mutilation; magic with evil.

A uniformed guard picked up the little shoe and held it out to her.

Kaley couldn’t help herself as she took a half step forward. What did it feel like? “No,” she said. “That shoe is no more than a size four. Too small for me.”

Above her head, the door on the clock clicked, the bird came out and made the “cuckoo” call.

“You’re sure?” Garen asked.

“I...” Kaley began. The clock sang out a second time. Without another thought, she found herself removing her shoe. Her sock came off with it. By the third bird call, her foot was bare. She picked up the slipper. It didn’t feel like hard glass, was almost soft. It had become a common joke that Cinderella’s glass slippers were the most uncomfortable shoes ever made, but not this one. Bending, Kaley lifted her foot and touched the beautiful slipper to her toes.

In the next instant, the shoe was on her foot. It fit like it had been custom-made for her.

Her first reaction was of pleasure, the joy of living out a fantasy that she’d read about all her life, then of surprise. How could that little shoe fit her foot?

She glanced at Garen and saw that he seemed to be as surprised as she was.

The clock gave the fourth call. It was time!

Kaley grabbed the shoe to take it off. It wouldn’t move. “Help me!” she said to Garen.

He went to one knee and pulled, but the shoe was stuck.

At the other end of the platform, the young, hopeful women were stampeding up the stairs. Curfew was over. It was time to start again in trying to win the prince and earn the privilege of staying on their home island with the families they loved.

When the women saw Kaley standing there with the glass slipper on, with scarred, armored Garen kneeling before her, they halted. It took them a full three seconds to realize that this woman they’d never seen before, who had to be from someplace else, had the shoe on and it fit her foot.

“It’s a mistake!” Kaley said, but then she drew back. She was seeing the hate, anger and absolute rage of a pack of young women. And it was all directed at her ! The women bared their teeth, made their hands into claws and started running straight for her.

Garen threw himself in front of Kaley in protection, but the guards on the platform had been prepared for what might happen if someone fit the shoe. Garen was dragged away and Kaley saw a man hit him on the head with the hilt of a sword. He collapsed.

Four guards stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a wall in front of Kaley, blocking the screaming women who were trying to get to her. Kaley frantically pulled the shoe, trying to get it off, but it had become part of her body. She could no more remove it than she could peel off a tattoo.

It was when she saw the tiny blue light of the pen in the hand of a guard that she panicked. “No!” she yelled. “Not that! Tanek! Sojee! Someone help me. I—” When the pen touched the scar on her arm, she felt the electric current run through her body. It was strong! She blacked out.

Kaley was dreaming. She was up to her neck in warm water. A hot spring? Her eyes were closed but she could feel other people nearby. Was it Tanek? Sojee? Maybe Mekos. Were the white swans close? Maybe they had more feathers to give her.

As she felt herself waking up, she began to hear voices, but none that she recognized. They were women’s voices. Too bad , she thought. She was getting used to being surrounded by beautiful men. It was just her and Arit and... Her thoughts began to fade.

“I thought she’d be smaller,” a woman said.

“She’s much too big on top. He might not like that.”

A woman gave a grunt. “She has thighs like a man. She must be kept away from riding horses.”

Kaley frowned. She didn’t want to have a bad dream. She opened her eyes to a blurry vision. There were three women, not young, all of them dressed in flowing gowns of Easter-egg colors. Nothing too bright. To Kaley’s shock, the “hot spring” she was in was a big stone bathtub set in the middle of a tiled room. She was naked and the women were washing her. She did not like that!

She pushed their hands away. “I want my clothes, and where am I?” Her head was aching.

The women were unperturbed by her anger. “You’re here to marry the prince.”

Her mind wasn’t clear but then she remembered the shoe. “No. I’m not the right one. I can’t marry a stranger.”

The woman in blue gave a little laugh. “He won’t be a stranger after the wedding night.” Kaley started to get out of the tub.

The woman in pink nodded to someone she couldn’t see, then put her hand at Kaley’s throat. It was a soft touch, but it threatened to be more. “You should be grateful. You’ll get to live with the king’s family in a beautiful house. You can go outside. You’ll have children.” When Kaley settled down, the woman removed her hand, lifted Kaley’s leg and began to wash it.

The smallest woman, in yellow, looked sad. “The other poor girls have shown themselves, so they’re being sent away. But you get to stay here.”

The blue woman said, “You won’t have to live with all those men and their cutting games, and the way they butcher animals. You’ll be with us.”

The yellow woman lifted Kaley’s left arm and she felt the little electrical charge. The magical pen had been used on her. “There’ll be no Pithan for you.”

Kaley could feel herself going to sleep. “Pithan bad?”

“Yes, it’s bad. Very, very bad.” The pink woman lifted Kaley’s other foot and there was the glass slipper, still on her foot. It was the only clothing she was wearing.

“Pretty,” she whispered, then went back to sleep.

Arit got Sojee’s attention by blinking so brightly that he had to put down his weapon and shield his eyes. He’d found a sharpening stone on a foot-powered frame and had moved it outside so he could see the trailhead. If Tanek returned with Kaley, he wanted to be the first to see them. But as the hours went by and they didn’t return from the mountaintop, he smiled. Maybe they were involved in some adult play. He didn’t dare go up there to see. Instead, when he saw that his credits had been lavishly restored, he made a journey down the road. He’d seen a farmer with a horse that was big enough to haul a freight wagon. He hired the horse and rode it back to the homestead. If he did have to leave, he’d be ready.

Sojee was beginning to grow concerned when tiny Arit started her blinking. He covered his eyes and sheathed his weapon. He didn’t know what her signaling meant, but he knew he had to do something.

He went to Haver’s bedroom to wake up young Mekos, but the boy wasn’t there. Sojee frowned at his lack of awareness. How had the boy escaped his notice? But then he remembered that he was a Lely, and in Mekos’s case, he was one quarter fox.

Sojee said, “Where is he?” meaning to bring back Arit, but she didn’t appear. He listened. It was very quiet where they were, but he heard a quick swish sound that he recognized. Keeping his head down, he stepped through the ruins. He’d been trained to move soundlessly, something that at times could save a man’s life. At the top of a small hill, near the ruins of a storehouse, was Mekos. In his hands was a long bow and arrow, and he was shooting at a target that was too far away for Sojee to see. Curious, and staying hidden, he went toward whatever Mekos was aiming at. Yards away, almost to the village, Sojee saw that it was a small, round ball of straw, no bigger than a man’s hand. It was on a rope so it was a moving target. There were four arrows in it.

Sojee’s eyes widened. He’d never seen such perfect marksmanship. That Tanek hadn’t mentioned this talent of his son’s made Sojee suspicious. Did Tanek know Mekos could do this?

Quietly, Sojee went back to where Mekos was and watched how quickly he slipped another arrow in place. The ease of his movements showed that he’d had years of training. Sojee stepped back, then called out for Mekos. As he’d thought, the boy hid the bow and arrow from sight, then yelled, “I’m here.”

As Sojee went up the hill, he murmured, “I’m so glad my daughters never hide anything from me .” That absurd thought made him laugh.

“What amuses you?” Mekos asked.

“That I’m alive yet another day.” He paused. “That woman your father loves is here.”

“Is that Arit, Indienne or Kaley?”

Sojee gave a laugh that came from his belly.

“My father doesn’t hide much from you, does he?”

Sojee’s eyes twinkled. “Unlike you.” He glanced at the pile of rocks where Mekos had hidden his weapons.

Instantly, there was fear on his young face.

“I don’t betray,” Sojee said seriously. “It’s Arit. She was blinking fiercely, and she was so close to my face that I think her toes touched my nose.”

Mekos became alert. “We must go. It’s Papá. He’s in trouble.” He looked Sojee up and down. “We need a horse that can hold you.”

Sojee’s look of amusement returned. “I have one. Can you talk through Arit?”

“Only if she allows it—which is rare.” Mekos pulled back his hair to expose his tall, pointed ears, and Sojee was fascinated to see them move about.

Mekos had a look of concentration. “Kaley is in trouble. It has something to do with women being cut.” His head came up. “Maybe it’s that game the men play.”

Sojee’s face fell. “You mean women are playing it for the enjoyment of the men?” He was startled when suddenly Mekos bent and pulled his bow and arrow from its hiding place. Sojee was impressed at how fast the boy drew it, but he couldn’t see what Mekos was aiming at. When he did see it, he cried out, “No!”

Frowning, Mekos turned to him. “It’s a tabor. Even my family stays away from them.”

“This one is here for Kaley. It sleeps near her and protects her.” Sojee kept his distance from the little animal as he looked at it. “We need to find her.”

The animal turned, his head pointed south, then looked back at the men as though in impatience. The animal seemed to be showing them which direction they should go.

“First, we must find my father,” Mekos said. “He’ll know where Kaley is.” He turned to the tabor, which was fully in the open. “You may follow us, but do not be seen.” It was almost imperceptible, but the tabor seemed to give a nod.

Minutes later, the two men were riding hard and fast down the old road into Doyen. Their horses were fresh and the men were determined. They got there in what had to be record time. It was the tabor, disappearing in and out of doorways and alleys, that led them to the stables.

A burly man greeted them and their foam-slicked horses. “I bet you’re looking for somebody.” He didn’t wait for a reply, just nodded toward the stall at the end.

They found Tanek half-buried in straw and sound asleep. Mekos took one of the illegal pens out of a pocket in his vest and looked at Sojee. “Don’t tell Papá.”

“You have so many secrets from your father that I don’t know if I’ll be able to remember which ones to keep.”

Mekos gave a smile that looked exactly like his father’s. “What you know of my doings is the size of Arit.” At that somewhat disparaging remark, she appeared and gave three flashes of light so bright that it made Mekos close his eyes. It took a moment before he could see again.

Sojee grinned. “That’ll teach you to not insult a lady no matter her size, her looks or her intelligence.”

Still blinking, Mekos put the pen to his father’s forearm. Nothing happened. Tanek was still sleeping.

Sojee held out his hand for the pen. “You’re too gentle. Your father is tougher than you think.” When Sojee put the pen to the scar, Tanek jolted as the charge went through him. As his eyes opened, Sojee gave the pen back to Mekos, who put it in his pocket. “Where is Kaley?” Sojee asked.

Tanek was having trouble waking up. Sojee looked across him to Mekos and their eyes agreed. This was not a normal sleep.

Tanek had to make an effort to sit up and he was rubbing his eyes. “She is...” He didn’t seem to have an answer, but then his head came up. “That shoe. The glass one. She must have gone after it, but I told her not to.”

“Odd,” Sojee said. “Women are usually so obedient.”

That Tanek didn’t give Sojee a look in reaction made the big man frown. Something was very wrong with him.

When Mekos offered to help his father get up, Tanek didn’t push him away. “Come on, old man,” Mekos said. “We’ll get you a cane.”

“Who did this to you?” Sojee asked.

“I don’t know. When I rode through the door with Kaley, I nearly fell off the horse. I didn’t see much after that. Where is she now?”

Sojee and Mekos stared at him. That was their question to ask him, not the other way around.

“Blood,” Tanek murmured, then stood up straight. “She’s in the square, where the blood is.”

Sojee grimaced. “Of course that’s where our Kaley is. Right in the middle of whatever horror is going on. What’s her story this time?”

“Some prince wants to marry a girl who left a glass shoe behind.”

“That doesn’t seem like a reason for blood,” Mekos said. “Wait! I bet it’s Prince Bront.” The two men looked at him. “He’s King Aramus’s nephew. Lives in the south on a massive estate that’s walled off. You don’t know about that family?”

“How do you know of them?” Tanek was tightening his sword strap and checking that he had his other weapons on him.

“Mamá and I—” Mekos began, then stopped. “I’ll find out where Kaley is. I’m sure people will know.” He left the stables as quickly as his ancestry allowed him to do, which meant that the two humans hardly saw him move.