Chapter 22
Blood for Blood
Sekvar Highlands, Adom
They had counted thirty Dragons in the squadron that fell for the trap at Yoffa Gorge. Only four of the Dragon Riders were taken alive. Badly beaten in the course of their apprehension, they were frogmarched into Queen Bulah's makeshift arena in the middle of camp by some of the biggest soldiers the Ostivaris had.
Of the four captives, the one at the head of the formation was a woman and she could only be the one they called Colonel Cray. Her right leg dragged as she tried to keep pace with the soldiers pulling her along. Blood was caked around a cut on her forehead, dried black down the side of her face. One of her eyes was half swollen shut. It was clear that they did not take her easily.
Toma could feel the anger and hatred roiling in his gut as he watched the Dragon Riders being brought before the Queen. He'd been waiting for this day for so long. Now he could finally see his mother and his village avenged. No, he had to do it himself. Surely Queen Bulah would give him that.
As Cray got closer, though, he felt a twinge of awkwardness. Without her helmet, it was hard to not see her as just a woman. As much as he hated her, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. That only made him angrier because it was his mother who brought him up to be a gentleman to the ladies.
Sitting on her crude wickerwork throne, Queen Bulah laughed at the sight of the four Dragoons brought before her. She addressed them in Elban. The Queen had heard about the alleged connection between Cray's squadron and the attack on LeBlanc, so the choice was a calculated move to subtly accuse them from the start.
"The famous Colonel Cray," she said contemptuously. "So the Scarlet Lightning falls to the earth at last. What say you now, whore of Zadok?"
Colonel Cray said nothing, only glaring at the Queen in silent defiance. Half-blind with his hatred of her, Toma barely noticed a quiet voice speak.
"Lulu..."
It was Dru.
Momentarily broken out of his simmering rage, Toma gave her a confused look and asked, "What? Lulu?"
Colonel Cray straightened herself up and replied to the Queen in Ilyrian, as she didn't seem to quite know Elban, saying, "I am Princess Julia Lucretia of Redgrave. On behalf of my kingdom, I want to offer my thanks for your treatment of my sister. Queen Bulah, if you mean to ransom me, my condition is that you spare the lives of my men. If you do not, I will see that you get not a single pruta."
Toma found himself stirred by the revelation. He never expected the person responsible for the attack on LeBlanc to be Dru's sister. Of course, Dru seemed surprised by it too. Queen Bulah, however, didn't show the slightest change in her demeanor. Either she already knew or it just didn't matter to her.
"Perhaps I mean to have you and your men fight to your deaths for my amusement," the Queen replied. "You are in no position to give me an ultimatum, no matter who you say you are."
"No, Your Majesty, I beg you!" Dru pleaded. "She is my sister!"
"Stand down, Drusilla," Cray said. "I'll not have you plead for me."
"But, Lulu!"
Toma gritted his teeth. He couldn't think about the fact that Cray was Dru's sister or his resolve might waver. He stepped out before the Queen's throne, pointed to Cray and said, "Queen Bulah, this woman is a murderess. She attacked my village, burned it down. She killed my mother."
"You claim the blood right, Toma?" the Queen asked.
Toma looked at Cray, then back to the Queen.
"I do," he said, gripping the hilt of his bayonet.
"This boy has made a serious charge against you, Colonel Cray," Queen Bulah said. "We in Ostivar take the blood right seriously. Do you deny the charge?"
Colonel Cray said nothing. She didn't deny the charge and that was enough of an admission of guilt to satisfy the Queen. She motioned for Toma to step forward.
As Toma squared off with Cray, Queen Bulah said, "Colonel Cray, you do not deny the charge and so I grant Tomasino Marisco the blood right. Blood washes blood."
"You Ostivaris are quick enough to take gold when your greed outweighs your bloodlust," Cray sneered.
"Your tongue is sharp enough, whore of Zadok," Queen Bulah replied. "If only your blade were as sharp, you might not be here."
Toma wasn't interested in their words. Only action mattered now. The bayonet felt heavy in his hands. It was the weight of his revenge.
"Toma, no!" Dru cried.
"Quiet, Drusilla!" Cray snapped. She then leveled her gaze at Toma. There was no fear in her eyes, no anger, only resolve. "Tomasino Marisco, was it? I knew this day would come. I saw it in your eyes that day. I knew that so long as you drew breath, you would not stop until you got your vengeance. Well, your day has come at last. For whatever it is worth, I am sorry for what happened."
It would have been better if she were unrepentant. The apology only made it worse.
"You're sorry!?" Toma balked. "Sorry won't bring my mother back!"
"Nor will killing me," Cray replied. "but it is as Queen Bulah says. Blood washes blood." She then shouted at the soldiers holding her, "Unhand me!"
A testament to the commanding power of her voice, even the hardened Ostivari troops seemed compelled to release her. She limped forward, unbuckling her breastplate as she went, letting it fall to the ground. She pulled open her jacket, popping off several buttons, and rent her undershirt down to the navel. The sight of her pale skin was unnerving, but she showed no sign of shame or embarrassment.
"Here, boy!" she shouted, holding her shirt open. "Here is my heart! If you wish to avenge your mother, do your work and be quick about it."
Toma intended to do exactly that. She had the decency to admit to her crimes. He could grant her a quick death, not that he would have the stomach to drag it out. A single thrust and his mother would be avenged. It almost seemed too easy.
As he got into his stance, he felt a pair of small hands tugging at his sleeve. It was Dru.
"Toma, please..."
Her voice was quavering and her eyes were brimming with tears. The sight of her made his heart ache, but he couldn't let her sway him. Not now.
"Step away, Drusilla," Cray said. "Let him do what he must."
One of her men shouted something, and was held back by a couple Ostivari guards. Cray replied in a level voice, probably telling them to stay out of it, all the while never taking her eyes off Toma.
"Let go of me, Dru," Toma said in a low voice.
Queen Bulah nodded to her guards and they pulled Dru away screaming and pleading. Only the sound of her sister screaming seemed to have any effect on Cray, but she held her ground. Her men had resigned themselves to her fate. Two looked away, but the third kept his gaze steadily fixed on both Cray and Toma.
Toma drowned out the sound of Dru screaming and focused on Cray, focused on his anger and hatred. Blood for blood, he told himself. He sprang forward. One clean thrust was all it would take.
The blade stopped, the point just barely breaking the skin. A drop of blood beaded around the blade and slowly trickled down between Cray's breasts. Why did the blade stop? Why did he stop?
Cray continued to stare into Toma's eyes, but said nothing. Her resolve was unnerving. The bayonet shook in Toma's hand. He could no longer stand it.
He howled in frustration, throwing the bayonet to the ground and turning from Cray.
"What's wrong, Toma?" Queen Bulah asked. "Don't tell me you've lost your nerve."
Toma hated himself even more than he hated Cray in that moment. It was not like he had never killed before and there was perhaps no one else in the world who deserved it as much as she did. And yet when the opportunity was staring him right in the face, he couldn't follow through and end it.
And then it came to him. The answer.
"Let her live," he said. "Let her live with what she's done."
Queen Bulah's frown twisted into a slight smile.
"You choose the cruel mercy. They say it cuts deeper than any blade, but only for those with a conscience. Are you sure a human heart beats in that breast?"
Toma looked back at Cray and then to the Queen.
"Yeah, she's human enough."
The Queen shrugged and said, "I've already given you her life. You can do with it what you will."
"Lulu!"
The guards let go of Dru and she ran to her sister, throwing her arms around her and weeping openly. Cray's formidable reserve failed her and the tears began streaming down her cheeks as she awkwardly returned Dru's embrace.
Part of Toma was happy for Dru and while another part of him should have been angry about not fulfilling his revenge, he only felt numb instead.
After crying into her sister's chest for a while, Dru's open weeping quieted down. She gently stepped away from Cray and went to Toma and hugged him tight.
"Thank you, Toma... Thank you..."
Toma couldn't bring himself to hug her back. Instead he looked to Cray, who was in turn watching him. She was too proud to even wipe away her tears.
Someone walked up beside him. It was Marius.
"You've learned something valuable this day, boy," he said. "Lucia would be proud of you."
Would she? Toma wondered. Yes, if he was honest with himself, his mother was never the sort of person who would delight in vengeance. But if the world delighted in kind hearts like hers, she would have never died the way she did.
Marius approached Cray and said, "Colonel Cray, or should I call you Princess Lucretia?"
"I don't think I'm either anymore," Cray replied.
"Well, that's no good," Marius said. "Colonel Cray may be finished, but I have use for Princess Lucretia."
Cray eyed him suspiciously.
"What do you mean?"
"We're going to move against Zadok and we could use Redgrave's help. Now that we've got Ostivar opening up an eastern front, your sister can be sent on along to Tiberia to seal the alliance with the Aureans as your father intended. That'll create some strong pushback from the south and if I can get you to help, we can get some action going from the north as well. Zadok won't know what hit it."
"You want me to turn my people to open revolt against Zadok?" Cray asked incredulously. "Did Drusilla not tell you that our brother is held hostage in Ur-Zadok? Who are you anyway?"
"Call me Marius. Think of me as a problem solver and right now the problem is Zadok."
Dru then said, "Lulu, you can report to Father. Tell him that I am with Prince Aurelius and that we're on our way to Tiberia. Tell him that we have an alliance with Ostivar. I know it wasn't part of the plan, but this can only help us."
Cray shook her head and said, "I can't believe Father put you up to this."
When faced with the disapproving look of her sister, Dru's shoulders slumped and she lowered her head, like a scolded child.
"It... it was the least I could do... My duty... my duty as a princess of Redgrave..."
Though Toma was still stewing in discontent over his decision to spare Cray, he couldn't help but notice the change that had come over Dru. She seemed more passive and uncertain. Maybe she was always that way around her sister, maybe it was all the years it had been since they had last seen each other, and maybe it was just the current circumstances.
Cray looked at Marius and said, "It would seem that I have little choice. Very well. I will go with you, Mr. Marius, but on the same condition I said before. I want guarantees for the lives of my men."
"Colonel, I would go with you," one of the Dragoons said, the one who didn't look away before. He then said something to the other two in Zadok and they replied with what sounded like assent. "We all would."
"You would be deserters, traitors," Cray said. "You know what that would mean."
"We died when we lost our Dragons," the Dragoon replied. "Anything else is just a formality."
Marius said something to the Dragoons in Zadok and the one who seemed to be the leader among them gave a firm reply, followed by what sounded like the other two agreeing with him.
"It would seem that you have the makings of your own queensguard, Princess," Marius said.
Cray only glared at him. He certainly had a way with people.
Marius turned to Queen Bulah, who answered his question before he could ask.
"You can have them," she said, "but you'll be responsible for them. If they should escape and rejoin Zadok, I'll have you torn limb from limb."
"Four limbs for four Dragoons," Marius said. "A fair trade, my queen."
"Your limbs will be safe enough, Mr. Marius," Cray told him. "These men are sworn to me and would die before breaking their oath."
"Like their oath to Zadok and the Melek?"
Cray narrowed her eyes at him.
"You would impugn our honor?"
Dru got between them and said, "Now, now, Lulu, Mr. Marius, this is no time to quarrel. I'm sorry, Lulu, but Mr. Marius has a bad habit of provoking people for his own amusement. Please don't take his words to heart."
"Why are you defending this man, Drusilla?"
Once again, when directly confronted by her sister, Dru reverted into an awkward mess.
"Well, he... he's one of our companions and... he, he's Toma's father."
Cray looked at Marius, then to Toma, and back to Marius.
"I see..."
Switching to Grelish, Marius said, "Don't think I care much mindin' four lizard-lovers by me lonesome. Wot say ye, Schwartz me lad? Fancy a walkabout?"
"Ye want me te go with ye?" Schwartz asked.
"Wood too," Marius said. "Wouldn't 'urt te 'ave 'er eyes where we're goin'."
Schwartz looked to Molly and asked her, "'Ow 'bout it, Wood?"
Molly's eyes strayed to Toma as she muttered, "I, ah... yeah."
"That's still three of you to four of them, brother," Duran said to Marius.
"I 'preciate the offer," Marius replied, "but I've got a different job for you. I need you to stick with my boy an' the royals."
"You sure you don't want him with you?"
"He needs to see this thing through to the end," Marius said. "I think it's better this way... for everyone. Ain't that right, son?"
Travel with the long-lost father he hated and the people responsible for his mother's death? He'd rather be torn to pieces by wild dogs. His response, however, was nothing more than a dull "Yeah..." It was enough to tell what he meant to say.
"Well, I'm happy to have you with us, Toma," Dru said. "I'm sure His Majesty the Emperor would want to express is gratitude as well."
Toma wasn't that interested in the Emperor's gratitude beyond a commitment to beating back Zadok. Would he even be all that grateful after everything Goldie had been through? That would be Dru's problem to deal with. Or maybe he'd have to answer for it. Wouldn't that be a fine way for things to end up?
"Perhaps I'll come along too," Crescenza said. "I was thinking about going back to Ilyria to round up my boys, but maybe it would be more effective if I negotiated a deal with the Aureans first."
"You sure it's not just 'cause you'd be lonesome without me, beautiful?" Duran asked.
"In a pig's eye."
Although those two had scrapped like cats and dogs in the past, things seemed to be more lighthearted between them. Their banter sounded downright playful. Toma wondered if that meant something more was going on between them but quickly decided that he didn't want to think about it.
Marius then said something to Shaya in Adomite, leading to a three-way conversation including Dru. When they were done, Toma asked Dru, "What was all that about?"
"Mr. Marius was asking Shaya if she wanted to stay here and fight Zadok. She said she was going to go with me."
Shaya patted Dru on the head. Duran really knew what he was talking about when he said the She-Bear found her cub. If the promise of killing Zadok soldiers wasn't enough to tear her away, nothing was.
"Well then, I guess this is where we part ways," Marius said. He then turned to Queen Bulah and said, "My queen, might you grant an escort for the Princess through Lustig?"
"It's the least I can do for the partners in our alliance," the Queen replied. "What about you?"
"I would prefer to keep our numbers small so we can remain light and agile," Marius said. "I do not suppose you would trust me to treat with the Redgravers in your stead."
"You aren't that close in my confidence, Andreas Marisco," the Queen said "You will take one of my staff officers and a team of Huntsmen. Will that be light and agile enough for you?"
Marius bowed and said, "You are as generous as you are considerate, my queen."
Queen Bulah sniffed and said, "You know, Andreas Marisco, we once had courtiers as slick-tongued as you. Do you want to know what we did to them?"
"I believe imagination paints a far more entertaining picture."
"You might learn a thing or two from your son about genuine charm."
Marius looked at Toma and Dru and said, "You may be right, my queen."
Dru blushed a little, earning a critical look from Cray. Toma really wished people would stop drawing attention to the situation between him and Dru.
Changing the subject, thankfully, Marius said, "Well, there's no point in wasting time. We should get our provisions together and set out at dawn. Any objections?"
No, none at all.