A Simple Darkness (The Young Ancients: Tiera) Read online

  Sitting behind them, Karen moved forward and patted her on the shoulder. It was a kind gesture, to comfort her for the lost days, Tiera thought, until she spoke.

  "It was an amazing thing Pet. Kolb was going to give her extra pell work for a few days, but when he got in she was fighting with short staves against Havar. You know how he is. He'd already beaten her bloody and they just kept going... It was epic. She ended by crawling over to him, broken and bleeding, still trying to fight, waving the shattered end of her weapon almost blindly. After that Kolb didn't have the heart to make her stand for anything more, not for a few missed days." There was a nudge then, rocking the smaller girl forward. "Then he pulled over one of the new boys, who'd also been missing. Off getting himself taken care of in a whorehouse for a week. Kolb just wanted to scare the kid I think, so he asked Tiera what she thought his punishment should be. She volunteered herself to stand it with him, so now if Mitchell doesn't show, he'll look horrible. Then she kicked his sorry backside for half an hour. Even Havar thought it was a bit much. Sets the bar a bit high for the next person that gets drunk, you know?"

  Petra chuckled a bit, and leaned into Tiera's arm, companionably.

  "Ouch. Havar is one of those people that doesn't like to pull back a lot. Did you tick him off or something?"

  Karen shook her head, smiling.

  "Nope! I asked about it over dinner that night. Rold said that they always practiced like that and had been almost every morning. He did step things up a bit, since she'd had her first breakthrough earlier in the day. It's only her third week too."

  They landed then and the conversation switched, since they were sitting outside the white wall of the Capital, past the west gate. She nearly mentioned it, but Timon changed the color of the craft and made it look like a regular wagon then. A rough thing that could have hauled grain or ice without drawing attention. It was incredibly done. They were all sitting in it, and there were a pair of brown blobs in the front, that looked nothing like real horses, but might just pass for them in the dark, if people weren't looking that hard. She hadn't realized that the Fast Craft could do that.

  "They can also make a little restroom, if you want. That's actually built in. Did you know that? All this time I've been scheduling stops for it. Count Lairdgren mentioned it the other day. I'll show you how, later. I have to tell you, that made me feel like a moron, when I found out."

  They didn't talk a lot then, just sitting and waiting for someone to come. At nearly an hour after the communications device cut out exactly, two Royal Guards showed up, using Tor-shoes. They floated up next to them, and looking a little baffled, got into the wagon. George was next to her, and the woman with him was a bit older, but seemed to be kind enough, smiling at everyone as they made room.

  "I'm Wensa. Nice to see you girls again. Timon, I hear you've been keeping busy?" She bowed to everyone, Tiera getting the last one. At first she wondered if that was because the rest of them were already friends, or if it was a slight, but the woman held her hand out to her, not shaking so much as touching palms lightly. "I've heard a bit about you as well, miss."

  There was no mention if that was good or bad, but she didn't seem to be judging her, so that got let go. Besides, Timon altered the craft again, then, as soon as it was solid, all in black for once, he raced off.

  "Alright, we basically need you two to stand behind us and look official as Tiera and I lie. We need to get Patricia Morgan and a man she had playing decoy for Tor out of prison in Galasia. It was illegal, but Tor put Trice up to it, I think. If you can't do it, well, let me know now. I can have you back to the palace in a few minutes."

  There was no hesitation in course though, as if he already knew the answer. George just seemed to think it was a decent plan. At least neither he or the woman he'd brought said anything against the idea.

  Galasia was only about twenty minutes away, and George knew exactly where the Baron lived, if not where they kept noble prisoners.

  "Or, more likely, if they believe them to be true frauds, the hole they shoved them into. I wouldn't expect that they'd just been put in the guest house." The man didn't seem concerned over the idea of their possible mistreatment, then, Tiera wasn't either, so that worked for her as well. Pretty much anything that happened to Trice was no more than she deserved.

  She walked to the front of the group and knocked on the door firmly, getting a man servant to come, holding a lamp so that he could see who was there. Another was hidden behind the door, probably armed, since she could see his shadow on the wall inside the place.

  "Hello! Sorry for the late arrival. I'm Conserina Lairdgren, one of them at least. Tiera Baker? This is my brother Timon. We heard that Patricia Morgan and our brother are here, in a bit of trouble? Did Tor lose his disguise amulet again?"

  It came out in a rush and was loud enough that a tall, older, but still blond man came to the door, holding a cane that had a sword handle on it. She hadn't seen the like before, but could guess it had something sharper than wood inside. When the man saw her he made a face, but then nodded.

  "This is the Tiera Baker that I met before, do you have a letter for me?" He seemed concerned, but she smiled.

  "No, nothing like that, though if I could pay you and your wife a visit one of these nights? It might be... interesting. You're both very nice, and attractive." It was a cover at least, but it got the man to nod.

  "We'd love that, of course. At my age not many beautiful young ladies visit that late at all. Now, you say that you came about the man that's claiming to be your brother? My younger brother swears that it isn't him. They've met before, more than once, so it's fairly certain."

  She froze. That would be harder to explain but was probably why they hadn't simply believed the man. She was about to simply demand he be freed, when Timon sighed and made a rather shamed looking face.

  "I... sir. My mother and father have eleven children and, well, Tor has a twin. We don't speak of it, since, he's... not right all the time. You understand? Torrance and Tory. The one you have isn't the famous one, but the woman with him is Patricia Morgan, the Ducharina. She's been very kind, looking out for him as he went out on an adventure. It isn't a good thing, but he actually is a kind soul. He means well and only sought to help, while Tor has been out of touch. We normally keep him in Two Bends, our Country home?" The way it was said made it sound like the Baker family had several, and Tor actually did, so that worked. Tim did too, come to think about it, and Taler had his own place...

  Tiera looked down then and took a very deep breath.

  "Tory is... well, family, can we leave it at that? This is pretty embarrassing. He didn't hurt anyone did he? Or get himself injured?" It sounded like the right thing to ask and the Baron shook his head.

  "A minor tavern brawl. One of the local men said that he recognized the woman from a whore house, the one at Wildlands, where he was stationed. He offered the lady some coin for her services, and it seems that your... brother, took offense. No doubt rightfully. We'll have them brought to you at once. Forgive this unfortunate turn of events, please." The man bowed then, so Tiera bowed back, getting that she at least needed to be on good terms with him, since she'd likely be back.

  "That sounds like Tory. We'll take him back home tonight. Do we owe any fees for damage?"

  There had been some broken tables and a bench, as well as doctors bills. It came to about fifteen gold in all. That was horrible price gouging, of course, since basic benches and tables would cost in silver, and while doctors were pricy, they didn't charge that much for simple patching.

  Timon had the coin in hand almost instantly anyway, bowing as he handed a small silk bag to the man.

  "I can only ask that you don't hold this against him, as his brother it's my responsibility to see he doesn't fall into things like this. I apologize for any trouble that has been caused."

  The Baron wasn't personally involved, though he did promise to make sure the coin all got to the right places. One of the servants, dressed
in a white night shirt already, scurried with a lamp to get the prisoners for them, and came back half an hour later. They hadn't been invited in, but the Baron did have warm chocolate brought for them all. Including the Royal Guards, who he didn't question at all. Really it was almost as if he were ignoring them.

  Instead they spoke of the new sewer system that had been put in, since Tor had provided the very expensive equipment so that they could make it. The older man seemed to be very proud of the work and his voice held a bit of awe when he spoke of "The Wizard Tor".

  "He never even charged us for the use. Or for the giant water filters that stopped the death plague several years ago. I probably shouldn't mention it, but we owe him, and through extension, the rest of his family, a great debt. I promise you that Ferdinand didn't mean to insult you, or your brother, we simply didn't know..."

  Timon bowed to the man again.

  "If... it's all the same, sir, would it be possible to keep it that way? It isn't that we're ashamed of Tory, exactly, but perhaps it would be..." He blushed then, which was just visible in the lamp light. It was timed so that the man wouldn't have to answer, precisely as a small single horse cart was led up, with two figures sitting in the back.

  They didn't have chains on, but looked a little worse for wear, both naked and the smaller one, the man, seeming misshapen and bent.

  Tiera didn't wait, running to the cart anyway, being careful not to scare the horse, who was a pony really, not being very large himself.

  "Tory! Mother is going to be most cross with you. You're to come home at once! You're expected as well Trice. We need to get you some clothing, the both of you. Did you lose your amulets too then?"

  Trice had her left arm, but no visible amulet at all. Where that one was Tiera had no clue. The arm was magical however, and still in place.

  She held her head high, but something seemed to be very wrong with her. There was a trembling in her shoulders and her face... Twitched.

  After a few seconds she spoke, and it was clear to Tiera, who'd moved close to the woman, that she'd been beaten pretty badly. The little man with her had as well, possibly even worse.

  "The jailers... They raped me... They, him too..." Then she cried.

  That wasn't a good thing at all.

  Chapter ten

  To his credit the Baron seemed at least as shocked as the rest of them, and moved instantly into anger at the people that had done the deed, not anyone else. He even took the Truth amulet Timon held out and swore, without being asked, that he had nothing to do with it. More, he didn't know who would. It was hard for him to believe that any of his people would do anything like that.

  The marks on the faces were clear and both people moved awkwardly when they got out of the cart. There were dried blood stains on both their legs that were telling as to how they'd been abused, so no one doubted the claim at all. Petra had a weapon in her hand, and when Tiera looked around, she realized that everyone else did too. Even she did, of course, but that just made sense. Baron Gala was just standing there, glowing still. Showing that he wasn't a liar.

  Timon fished under his clothing at the neck and pulled out several amulets, all on silver, meaning things he made, since Tor worked in stone. He got clothing on each of them first, careful not to touch flesh at all, then gave them each shields.

  Trice got herself under control, but "Tory" seemed nearly broken. No one spoke for a moment, but Timon started making demands, his young voice snapping out orders as if he actually expected someone to listen to him. Oddly enough, they did.

  "We need to bring in all of these people for questioning. Then we kill them. Is that understood?" His voice was hard then, and Tiera felt an odd tingle of discomfort. It wasn't about the death, no, her own anger would allow for that. It was seeing such rage in her little brother. It always took her by surprise when he did things like that, sounding hard and manly. Almost like he wasn't exactly sane anymore.

  The first time she'd seen it had been when he announced that he planned to torture a Count. Then he went and, as far as she knew, had done just that. Count Rodriguez had surrendered to the King the next day and was awaiting execution in a week or two, after the Council started. He was a traitor and everyone knew it. What had actually happened she didn't know and hadn't even thought to ask. It didn't impact her life at all.

  "Right. George, Karen and I will go and see to that. The rest of you stay here."

  She got her own Fast Craft out. They had to take one of the servants in order to find the place, but they checked him using the Truth amulet, just to make sure he was actually on their side. Tiera went in first and used her Force Lance, so that the men could be questioned, rather than just scrapped out of the remains of the rather humble building they were in. It didn't take long, since they didn't have much more than clubs and never even got close to her.

  There were five men there and no other prisoners to deal with, so, fifteen minutes later, they had them all back, mainly unconscious since Karen hit them when they moved. Tiera didn't blame her, the horror of it made her want them dead already, but that could wait a few minutes.

  They let George and Wensa ask the questions, and when the men refused to answer, Tiera got to help them make the opposite choice.

  They still didn't have luck with getting any answers until they got to the third man, who was the youngest, and even though they were all dressed identically in loose tan tops and brown trousers, his actually seemed to have been washed. At least once.

  "I can't say anything." That however was something, Tiera pointed that out, moving closer to him, enough so that he tried to pull back, even in the dark. Clearly afraid of her at that moment. It was wise of him, but still a little odd. Who was afraid of little girls?

  "You can. Tell me, who paid you to do this?" The words surprised her, but the man seemed truly baffled.

  "We weren't paid for it. It's just a game. No one cares what we do to scum like them, so we like to have a little fun." Except, in Gala, rape was always illegal.

  That bit came from the Baron and no one doubted it was true. Oh, the rules might have been different for himself, if he wanted, or his family, but not for these rather filth ridden creatures in front of them.

  The other men chimed in with a chorus of groans and ordering the younger man to shut up, but it was too late. Everyone knew they were guilty. The man hadn't lied at all.

  It wasn't until a few minutes later, when George was slapping one of the men a bit, to get him to say the words himself that Gerent finally seemed to come around. It happened when the seedy looking jailer on the far end smirked and made the mistake of speaking.

  "They liked it. Hollering for more and squealing like little girls. 'Oh, do me in the back hole, right up the tight!' like that." Who he thought he was mimicking Tiera couldn't tell, but her new brother "Tory" jumped the man and started flailing at him like an insane person. It worked decently well, since he had a shield on and it activated with the first blow. It should make his fists seem a bit like iron, she thought.

  Half a minute later, the man still alive, she fished out her cutter and held it out.

  "Take off his arms and legs. Anyone have a healing amulet?"

  A few seconds later Timon fished one out, handing it to her. Then, working together, she and Gerent turned the man into a body that was healthy, but wouldn't ever be whole again. Then the little warped man took off the man's trousers and shaved his crotch until he no longer had anything but a bloody patch. She healed the man as he screamed. Wimp.

  "Shut up. Your punishment is only half done."

  Then Trice came over and they did the rest. One of them died of blood loss before they could heal him and he didn't come back from it. The other four were stripped totally, left as pale blobs in the night, like peeled potatoes, waiting to be boiled.

  She looked at the Baron, who seemed ready to throw-up and made her face hard.

  "Put them in a whore house, a copper a turn. If they refuse... Well that will be hard for them to do now
, won't it? Is that sufficient?" This she addressed to "Tory". Her brother after all. She didn't feel like it was enough, but after a few seconds he spit on each of them in turn, then the corpse of the one that had died.

  "It's too good for them, but I can't think of anything else." He did kick one of them however. "How dare you touch her. Never again. Never again!" For a second it seemed like the men were about to die, but he backed away, Trice coming over and holding him, both of them dressed in black now, but shaking, traumatized.

  The Baron laid on the ground, apologizing to them both, then offered his life in exchange for the wrong done to them. That wasn't exactly an empty thing either. There was a real chance that the two might take him up on it, but Trice shook her head firmly, her voice not steady at all. Part of that was the crying and wailing from the now crippled men. It was annoying.

  "We can't afford to lose our friends here. The kingdom can't. I believe it wasn't you. They were your people though, and you should have known what they were doing in your name. I can't take your life for it, but I hope that it won't ever happen again."

  Gerent moved in and started to kick the Baron too, but George held him back.

  "Sir. You may take his life as offered, but seek to hold your honor and leave him his."

  "They raped her. I don't care what they did to me, but they touched her. Patty..."

  The woman, her hair dark and curly, if stylishly short, held the much smaller form and didn't let go at all. She didn't offer platitudes or comfort either. It was Wensa that moved them along, suggesting that they go to the palace immediately. That made sense to almost everyone it seemed, except for Tiera, who thought that wouldn't help anything really, and Gerent, who seemed even more freaked out suddenly.