Chapter 13

Mak fled down the hill, dodging among the crumbled ruins in a desperate attempt to draw off the Chakcha soldiers. Near the crest of the hill, Lyssa and Kim huddled in the shelter of a pile of boulders, not daring to move until they heard the shouts that told of Mak's capture. Then, peering from behind tumbled blocks of ancient masonry, Lyssa saw Mak being led away. She could even make out some of the soldiers' ribald comments as they marched down the hill toward the castle.

When they were finally out of sight and hearing, she rose unsteadily to her feet. Fighting back the tears that threatened to blind her, she allowed Kim to lead her away into the darkening woods.

It was fully dark by the time they approached the camp, and Lyssa had to be guided through the darkness by her grip on Kim's furry ruff. Nurm was the first to see her as she walked into the light of the fires. Her eyes were enormous in her tearstreaked face, and she stumbled along with the stiff unseeing gaze of a sleepwalker.

"Amy! Jewel! Come here," he snapped. Reaching out, he picked her up like a child and carried her into his tent. Cradled in his lap, with Amy bathing her face with a damp cloth and Jewel holding her hands, she sobbed uncontrollably. Only gradually did she grow calm enough to speak coherently.

"No. No, Mak is still alive. At least he was when the Chakcha soldiers caught him."

"Then, they know strangers are here?" Nurm frowned down at her, past her as though he saw only too clearly the problems this mishap could cause.

"No! Mak stripped off his clothing and gear before they saw him clearly. I could hear them talking. They thought that he was one of their males who'd escaped, and they were taking him back to the castle for the reward."

"He should be all right for a while, then, until we can do something about it." Jewel released Lyssa's hands and gave her a quick hug. "We'll just have to figure out a way to get him out of there, as quickly as we can."

"Count on Mak to get out in one piece, if there's any way that it can be done," Nurm reassured her, forcing a tightlipped smile. "He's about as capable a man as I've ever known. Can you tell us what you two found out, or would you rather wait until morning?"

"No, I'll be all right now. It was just... Just being alone in the woods, walking back here. I guess that I'm not really as brave as I thought I was." Lyssa drew in a shuddering breath and straightened to a more erect sitting position, smiling tentatively and bracing herself against Jewel's arm as the woman knelt behind her.

"Everything went just fine until just at the very last." She told of their adventures, the meetings with the True Folk women and the final gathering with all of their leaders. "He convinced them to try escaping beyond the mountains, and gave them samples of the crossbows and arrows."

"Did he point out that there wouldn't be enough men for all of them?" Amy queried.

"Yes, but they didn't seem too worried. The older women weren't too concerned, and the younger ones seemed ready to take their chances." She grinned a bit sheepishly. "I guess there never was a woman who didn't believe she couldn't beat out other women where any man was concerned. Do you really think that Mak will be all right?"

"We can only hope so," Nurm replied. "His chances should be pretty good, really, but it may be rough getting him out of there in one piece. Jewel, why don't you let Lyssa sleep in here with you tonight?"

Jewel nodded, leading the tired girl to a sleeping mat.

"Just lie down here. Nobody will bother you, and you can sleep as late as you need to in the morning."

"All right." Lyssa's eyes seemed enormous in the lamp light. "Do you really think that he will be all right?"

"Do you really care that much?" Jewel countered her question with one of her own. "You know how he feels about you, but you keep putting him off. Just what do you feel for him?"

"I... I guess I love him. I know I love him, but..."

"But, what?"

"It's Mak... How do I know that he's not going to be just like all the others? He's sure to want a home, and a... a family to come home to. I don't want to live that way, all the rest of my life. Not yet, anyway! I'm not like my mother, or my sisters. Especially, not my sisters! They just want to catch themselves husbands, any husbands, as fast as they can, so that they can settle down and start making babies right away. They never want to do anything else but raise children and keep house their whole lives long. Babies are so very important. I've been told that all of my life, and I do believe it, really I do. I know that I'm an awful person not to want all of that, but I don't. I don't!"

"Go ahead and cry," Jewel comforted her as she broke into sobs once more. "It's all right for you to be different from other people, to want different things from life. Just think how dull it would be if everybody wanted just the same things out of life. Haven't you ever tried talking to Mak about how you feel?"

"I just can't! I don't dare to. What if he hates me?" Lyssa sniffled, wiping away tears. "I love him, and he says that he loves me, but how can he keep on loving me when he finds out how I feel, what kind of an awful person I am? And then I think, what if he gets... gets killed. What if I never see him again?"

"You'll just have to decide what it is that you really want the most. It's your whole life that you're talking about, remember. And don't be too sure that you know how Mak will react." She pulled the sleeping furs up around Lyssa's shoulders, settling her in for the night. "Don't be too quick to give up hope for him, either. Mak's too clever to let himself get killed off if there's any chance of his coming through alive. Now, go to sleep. You're tired and upset, and not thinking too clearly right now. Wait until tomorrow morning, at least, before you make any decisions about your future. Maybe by the time Mak is back with us you'll have made up your mind about what you want to do."

The sounds of movement and voices as the camp stirred to life gradually roused Lyssa from uneasy dreams. Even as she threw back the furs that covered her, Jewel lifted the tent flap and brought in a platter of food.

"Good, you're awake. I was beginning to think that you were going to sleep all morning." She smiled as she set the tray down on a low stand and handed Lyssa a steaming mug. "Here, drink some of this."

Lyssa made a face as she sipped the bitter brew, feeling it send waves of warmth throughout her body. The food suddenly looked very good to her. She stammered her thanks to Jewel, whose eyes twinkled in her dark face.

"We've got to keep you healthy for Mak. He'll want to find you in good condition when he gets back."

After a hearty breakfast of hot sliced boar meat, bread and rich brown gravy, Lyssa wandered around the camp, gazing with interest at the preparations all around her. Groups of men and women were busily making parts for crossbows. Others made piles of arrows. A few of the arrows had flint tips, but the more usual pattern was to make a straight, smooth stick with a firehardened point and a tuft of fur or feathers at the other end to make it fly straight.

She turned back toward Nurm's tent, where a halfdozen or so shaggy ponies were tethered. Nearby, Nurm stood talking to three strangers.

"Lyssa, would you come over here, please? I want you to meet Holmar, Kolmar and Aindal. They're from the town to the north, they call it Harbor, that trades with Chakcha City. We met them on their way to the city, and invited them to come and visit with us for a while."

"Captured us, you mean." Holmar grinned goodnaturedly. Taller than the other two, and heavyset, his gray eyes were almost on a level with Nurm's blue ones. "But I'm glad you did. We trade with Chakcha City because we have to, since we've no better source of metal, but we like not the bondage they keep the 'little sisters' in. We had a few families of 'True Folk' as you call them, living near to us long ago. But they were few, and their families have long since mingled with the rest of us. A few of our people still have blond or red hair, but of course none of them are allowed to come with us on our trading journeys."

"Then you should be happy to learn of new places to trade," Lyssa ventured, smiling up at him. "We should be able to help with that. A ready market for the kind of goods you bring should not be too hard to find."

"Spoken like a true trader," boomed Holmar, smiling down at her admiringly. "We would be most happy to trade with you people. With a new source of supply for iron and bronze and the like, we can make King Norgan's people give us fairer prices for our amber, furs and ivory."

"Holmar was telling me what he knows about the inside of the castle, and how the Chakcha live," interrupted Nurm. "I thought you might like to hear what he has to say."

Lyssa nodded wordlessly, a pleading look on her face.

"It's a huge old pile of stone," Holmar rumbled. "Rooms and corridors in all directions, some in use, but many more that are not. I don't think anyone knows all of it, and whole sections have been left to fall into ruins. The hairy males are kept in one small area. They have a series of rooms and a courtyard just inside the north wall of the castle. Food is brought to them twice a day. Women are brought in to them once a month or so, except in the fall when spring pregnancies would hamper work in the fields. No, I never heard of one of the males escaping before. They are brought up in that little area and live there all of their lives, never knowing anything else. I don't suppose many of them can see any reason to escape. With someone as smart and determined as your Mak, though, it could be a different story."

"Are there any windows overlooking their courtyard?" Nurm asked. "If so, something might be done to get word to him."