Dagger of deception, p.17
Dagger of Deception, page 17
part #1 of Rahendo and Ryhunzo Mysteries Series
“Get off your horses,” Morneck ordered.
At first nobody moved. Ryhunzo was trying to keep Morneck’s arm away from his throat with both hands. Morneck lightly cut the back of of all ten fingers with his sword. Ryhunzo cried out, more in surprise than in pain, although the blood welled up from the superficial gashes.
“Pookie,” Rahendo cried out.
“Ry,” Lanio yelled.
“Get off your horses,” Morneck roared, “or next time the little pest loses a few fingers.”
“Nulfie, let’s get off,” Rahendo whimpered.
Slowly all three of them dismounted. Lastly, Arranulf helped Rahendo down.
“Ramaldah, bring your horse here.” Morneck made a cutting movement with his sword.
Very slowly Obyann, leading his horse by the reins, began walking in the direction of Morneck, who took a few steps backward himself, dragging Ryhunzo with him.
“That’s far enough. Now get back to the others.”
While Obyann was walking back, Morneck turned the horse so that the animal’s body obscured what he was doing.
“You first,” he hissed, “and remember your promise. If you disobey, I’ll mount by myself and run the little guy down.”
Ryhunzo clambered up on the horse and Morneck followed him quickly, keeping his hostage before him in the saddle.
“And now, My Lords, bring the other horses, one by one. You first, Landemere.”
Arranulf walked over to Morneck, who remained seated on his horse.
“Now, give the reins to Uberon,” he ordered, “and get back to where you came from.”
Arranulf returned to Rahendo who was following the procedure with mounting fear.
“Now you, Your Highness,” Morneck ordered, getting nervous.
“Morneck,” the prince said, “I’ll do as you say, but Myrmos was a gift from my friends, and, by all the Gods and Goddesses, if you hurt him I will chase you to the ends of the earth if I have to. The same goes for Arranulf’s horse. It was a gift from his grandmother. They’re both Cheridonian Fourbloods, and as far as I am concerned, they’re worth more, each on their own, than you are. But even more importantly, if you harm just one hair on Ry’s head, I will declare you an outlaw and issue an order to everyone in my dominions to kill you on sight. And I myself will haunt you down like a rabid dog and kill you without a second thought. You have the word of Anaxantis.”
Morneck had become slightly white, yet he looked at the prince with defiance in his eyes.
“I will not touch a single curl on the little weasel’s head, My Lord, and I will leave him and the horses, unharmed, a few miles from here.”
Morneck took the reins of the two riderless horses from Ryhunzo and gave his own steed the spurs.
Morneck, with his hostage before him and the two horses in tow, galloped toward the Shield and Arrow.
Several of the Stray Boys who were still hiding in the bushes near the inn recognized Ryhunzo as Morneck steered his horse up onto the road toward Lorseth.
“I still have some clothes in my room at the inn,” he mumbled. “Too bad.”
When they were about halfway to Lorseth Castle, Morneck brought his horse to a stop.
“This is where you get off, Uberon.”
Ryhunzo dismounted quickly.
“Go to the castle. Tell His Highness and your friends that I’ll leave their horses at the first Merchant Guild station on the Northern Highway. Over the border, that is.” Morneck seemed nervous. “Well,” he continued and he sighed as if he was reluctant to go. “This is farewell then, Uberon.”
You shouldn’t have told me you were going for the Northern Highway, Ryhunzo thought.
Without another word Morneck of Miradano rode off, and the young page immediately set out for the castle to warn Anaxantis’s guard.
Chapter 11
The Flight
The prince, Arranulf, Obyann, Rahendo, Olno, Agneth, and Lanio had to go on foot until they got to the Shield and Arrow.
For the Stray Boys there was a happy reunion with their friends, who had waited for them, hiding in the bushes.
“Thank you for your help,” Anaxantis said. “If there’s anything I can do for you, come to the castle and ask for me.”
“Thank you, Your Highness, we will,” Olno said, making a clumsy reverence. He had no intention whatsoever of going anywhere near Lorseth Castle.
“Let’s go,” Rahendo insisted. “Who knows what that brute… that murderer will do to my Pookie.”
“Ry will be all right, friend of Ry,” Lanio said.
“He’s wounded,” Rahendo wailed, ignoring the reassurance of the little Stray Boy.
“Let’s requisition horses from this establishment,” Arranulf proposed.
Anaxantis and the pages went through the gate that had opened to let someone on horseback out.
Ten minutes later they reappeared, themselves on horseback.
“The guts of that churl,” Anaxantis muttered. “If he had said he would rent them to us, I could have accepted that, but he point-blank refused to let us have them.”
“That changed soon enough when you threatened to return with forty soldiers and burn the place down.” Arranulf chuckled.
“Well, he can expect a visit from my steward to go through his books, and make sure he paid every last sarth of the taxes he owes.”
“Hurry, hurry,” Rahendo, who again sat in front of the prince, said, appalled by what he considered under the circumstances to be inconsequential chatter.
When they finally reached Lorseth Castle, Rahendo saw from afar Ryhunzo waiting under the gatehouse. As soon as Anaxantis had made his horse stand still, he clambered down, and ran to his lover.
“Are you all right? Did he hurt you anymore than he already did.” He took Ryhunzo’s hands and inspected them carefully. “Your poor fingers…”
“The wounds aren’t deep, Vigilant Minder of my Life and Limbs.”
“We’re going immediately to the barber to have them dressed,” Rahendo ordered. “And then we’re going to our room and I’m going to check every square inch of your body to make sure you told me the truth and there is nothing else wrong with you.”
Ryhunzo grinned.
“I can’t wait. Please, be very thorough, Sweet Inspector of my Bodily Ailments.”
They had all but forgotten about the prince and their friends.
“They’ll be all right, I guess,” Anaxantis said. “Obyann, have some of the pages on duty take back the horses to the Shield and Arrow. Then come to my war room. You too Arranulf, but first get me Tomar. Oh yes, but before that, tell Eynurm to come pay me a visit so I can personally tell him his house arrest is over. You can tell him about the fortuitous outcome of this sordid affair.”
About two hours later, after Rahendo had made sure everything about Ryhunzo functioned as it should, both pages descended to the communal room of their lodgings.
It had taken that long because making sure nothing was wrong with his lover wasn’t just something that could be ascertained with the eyes alone. Fingers as well were involved, and one thing led to another.
“There they are,” Arranulf said, somewhat superfluous. “Eynurm… they’re all yours.”
“Hm, yes. Guys, please sit down.” Eynurm of Tarnwood flustered under the wide-eyed stare of the young pages. He had clearly cleaned himself up, though, and put on some nice, freshly washed clothes. The bags under his eyes, however, were still prominently visible.
“I haven’t had, eh, time yet to thank you,” Eynurm continued, eyes cast down. Then he noticed Ryhunzo’s bandaged fingers. “Are your hands all right?”
“Mere scratches, Nurm, my man. Mere scratches.” Ryhunzo waived his bandaged fingers before Eynurm’s eyes. “Mind you , while I can lift small and light objects with them, I find it still difficult to clench them firmly. Luckily I have someone to do that for me when it is required, as when—”
“Nurmie doesn’t need to know all that,” Rahendo cut him off.
“I didn’t even know what you two had done for me, until Anaxantis told me I was completely exonerated, and the reason why. Later Arranulf and Obyann explained everything.”
“That was after we dragged him out of his bed,” Arranulf joined in.
“And made him wash himself,” Obyann added. “I’ve known cows that were dead and had been lying in the sun for a week that smelled nice in comparison. Anaxantis isn’t one for much decorum, but we couldn’t present him with a barely walking corpse that would have stunk up his precious war room.”
Eynurm colored red.
“Of course, we first had to sober him up.” Arranulf poured himself a drink. “And make the evidence of his debauchery disappear.” He raised his cup in a toast to Eynurm who in response turned slightly green.
“His room is still a battle field, though.” Obyann shook his head. “And the stench will linger for a few more days.”
“Poor Nurmie,” Rahendo said, wrapping his arm around the duly-chastened page. “You must have been so afraid.”
“Yeah, Nurm, nobody relishes the prospect of having his crown jewels cut off.” Ryhunzo too hugged Eynurm.
“I am so ashamed, guys. You ran all these terrible risks on my account, while I lay unconscious in my bed most of the time.”
Ryhunzo flashed his most charming smile.
“There was nothing you could do, Nurm, my man. Remember? Anaxantis gave you house arrest.”
“Castle arrest, actually,” Rahendo corrected his lover. “But my Pookie is right, Nurmie. You yourself could never have done what we did. Nobody would have wanted to talk to you. Everybody would have made the foregone conclusion that you were just trying to save your ass.”
“His balls, actually,” Ryhunzo said. “Don’t sweat it, Nurm my man, you would have done the same for us.” His face turned unusually pensive. “And we learned a lot from the experience.” He laughed. “We made some friends too.”
“Sit down,” Eynurm said. “I asked the cook to make some pastries to celebrate the happy conclusion of this nightmare.”
Arranulf brought a platter laden with sweet delicacies from the low cabinet it had been standing on to the table.
“There’s also some wine, diluted of course, but only two parts water to one part wine.” He put the platter within reach of Rahendo and Ryhunzo. “There’s undiluted water for you, Eynurm.”
“Don’t tease him, Nulfie,” Rahendo commiserated. “He’s gone through a lot.”
They both grabbed a pastry.
“So, how did you know who the murderer was?” Obyann asked.
“We didn’t,” Ryhunzo said, gulping down a chunk of cake. “Not at first.”
“We started by eliminating all likely suspects, and of course we had help. Not just from the Stray Boys. Even so, it took us an awful long time before we realized just who the real murderer was.” Rahendo took another bite of his pastry.
“I didn’t realize anything until I saw him with my own two eyes,” Ryhunzo said cheerfully.
“I’m not too proud either. It took me a very long time to figure out that this so-called merchant was actually one of us. Even after my Pookie had used the same ruse by disguising himself as a peasant boy.”
“A peasant boy?” Eynurm hadn’t been told all the particulars yet.
“Oh, my Pookie was the most cute peasant boy in the whole wide world.”
“I didn’t fool anyone, though.”
“Of course not, nobody could look at you or hear you talk and think you were a peasant boy. It takes more than clothes to disguise who you really are.”
“Morneck seems to have fooled enough people for some time,” Obyann said.
“Ah, yes, but he wasn’t disguised as a peasant boy but as a merchant’s son. A rich merchant’s son. The distance between a young noble and a wealthy burgher is far less great.” Rahendo frowned. “The gap seems to be filled by lots and lots of money.”
“Just ask our friends, the Stray Boys. They have no money at all. Everyone looks down on them.” Ryhunzo looked with regret at the last crumbs of his pastry. He almost wiped his bandaged hands on his pants, but refrained from doing so under his lover’s forbidding stare. “It’s not fair” Ryhunzo burst out. “Olno’s little brother is as likely to get kicked by one of us nobles as by a rich merchant’s son. Or by a not-so-wealthy burgher. Or a peasant. Anyone, really.”
They remained silent for a while.
“So, you knew it was Morneck before you saw him,” Eynurm broke the silence.
“Almost, but not quite. Of course, by the time I realized it had to be one of the pages, it was almost too late.” Rahendo shivered. “I suddenly remembered that Hrodeck of Braedon did—and probably still does—much the same. In fact, he was insulted when Lanio called him a merchant, although he was dressed as a burgher.”
“When did you realize the murderer was Morneck?” Eynurm asked.
“Far too late, that’s when. We were already riding out to get him when everything fell into place. Morneck had seen us talking to Iselda. At the time I thought he was just annoyed and wanted to go to his riding lessons, but actually he was trying to hide his face from her. I distinctly recall how strange I thought it was that her mood changed so drastically. It was as if all her troubles had melted as snow under the sun. It wasn’t that, but she had seen a way out of them. That was what had changed. She had recognized Morneck— no, she had recognized the one she knew as Cormack, a rich merchant’s son of Dermolhea, and it was obvious he wasn’t a burgher but a page. Mistress Iselda was smart. I can’t be sure what she was planning, but I’m sure she saw several possibilities, all ranging between gentle persuasion and brutal extortion.”
“She wasn’t a bad girl,” Ryhunzo said.
“Oh, Pookie, you’re such a dear, dear, innocent boy. And so naive. You measure everyone by the yardstick of your own generous and gentle nature. I’m sure within half an hour Iselda had several plans. First she would try to get Morneck to marry her. Which he might do if he knew the story of Prince Pie. If not, she could always tell it to him. If he didn’t want to marry her, she could try to make him pay for the upkeep of her child… and her silence.” It seemed Rahendo’s eyes looked through the opposite wall. “She might have thought of a few variations and alternatives… As it turned out Morneck knew she had recognized him and he had made plans of his own.”
“He didn’t exactly plan to murder Iselda,” Ryhunzo said. “Not at first, anyway. The idea came to him when he saw the opportunity to steal Nurm’s dagger, but at some point he was on the verge of reconsidering. There is some good in everyone.”
“Maybe, Pookie, but, when push came to shove, he did kill her.”
“And went almost mad with regret, remorse… I couldn’t tell which.”
“Simple. He regretted having had to kill her because he found her attractive and because he thought it was a waste. He regretted she wasn’t of noble stock, which was obviously her fault. Most of all, he regretted having been found out.”
“You don’t like people very much, do you?” Arranulf asked in an almost bashful tone.
For a moment, Rahendo was taken aback.
“I don’t like some people.”
“He likes you guys well enough,” Ryhunzo said, flashing a charming smile. “Well enough to go to a lot of trouble to try to help a friend in need.”
Two days after the flight of Morneck of Miradano, Rahendo and Ryhunzo entered the Cranky Goat and went straight to the back where the Stray Boys usually hung out. Ryhunzo was carrying a heavy canvas bag.
“Ry,” Lanio cried out when he noticed them. “And friend of Ry,” he added, far less enthusiastically.
“You can call me Rahendo.”
“Yes, friend of Ry.”
Rahendo didn’t insist.
When they were seated and had ordered a fresh pitcher of cow’s piss, Ryhunzo took out his purse.
“It occurred to me that we had a debt to settle.”
“That’s not necessary, Ry,” Olno said. “What you did for my brother…”
“What I did? I can’t remember doing anything than being at the mercy of that brute.”
“You kept Lanio safe at considerable risk to yourself,” Agneth said. “I never in a hundred years would have thought that one of your kind would do such a thing for one of us. And at the peril of his own life, too. I was wrong. I suspected that your war stories were slightly embellished—to say the least. But I’m big enough to admit that I was probably wrong in that respect as well. You showed true courage, there at the barn.” Agneth took a swig of his beaker with weak bear to hide his embarrassment.
“How are your wounds?” Olno asked. “Do they hurt?”
“Nah,” Ryhunzo said waiving his bandaged hands. “He just grazed my fingers.” He grinned. “Mind you, there are some things I can’t do yet and for which I have to rely on my friend. But let’s not get into that.”
Rahendo colored beet red, but realized just in time that chiding Ryhunzo here and now would only make matters worse.
“Did you catch him, that evil son of Tsardoch?” Agneth asked.
“Before I tell you, let’s first get business out of the way,” Ryhunzo said.
“I told you, we don’t want your money.” Agneth crossed his arms.
“And I insist,” Ryhunzo said. “It’s not just for you. You’re responsible for a lot of young, hungry stomachs. They can’t eat your pride.”
“Chicken wings,” Lanio exclaimed.
“Ah, yes, why not?” Ryhunzo grinned. He held one of his bandaged hands in the air and a servant maid with long, raven-black hair, came to their table.
“Two platters of your spiciest chicken wings, please, fair lady,” Ryhunzo said. “We have hungry men to feed here.”
“That’ll be twenty-two sarths, in advance,” the girl answered routinely. “Seems your hands have been caught in a lady’s pants where they weren’t welcome,” she added dryly, while Ryhunzo laboriously counted out the coins with his wrapped-up fingers.
