A Distant Tomorrow Page 11

  “Thank you,” Lara called after him.

  The boy stopped and turned a face to her that was rigid with surprise. Then without a word he ran from the cabin.

  Lara shrugged, and, after pouring herself another cup of the wine, began to eat the bread and cheese. When she had finished her meal she looked about, and saw a basin and pitcher stowed carefully in a small cranny. She poured water from the pitcher into the basin, and washed her hands and face using a small cloth she found by the ewer. Then she went back to her seat in the bow window and continued to watch the sea sparkling in the afternoon sunshine. There wasn’t a cloud in the bright blue sky.

  In midafternoon the door to the cabin opened again, and Captain Corrado entered. “How long have you been awake?” he asked her.

  “Since morning,” Lara said. “The wine was drugged, but how?”

  “The servant was instructed to pass the tray to Arcas and to me first. We knew which goblet contained the sleeping draught,” he explained.

  “Of course,” Lara answered him. “’Twas cleverly done, Captain Corrado.”

  “Are you not afraid?” he asked.

  “Of what?” Lara replied.

  “You have been betrayed by King Archeron, and sent into bondage across the sea to another strange land,” Captain Corrado said.

  “Archeron did not deceive me, Captain. He has always been a friend to the Outlands. And Arcas is foolish to believe that by telling me, I should lose all hope. Hope of what? I am here upon your ship now because it is meant that I be here. What lies did he tell you about me? But no matter — I shall tell you my history myself. Will you not sit down and allow me to offer you some of your most excellent wine?”

  He was fascinated. He nodded his agreement watching her closely as she poured the wine and handed him the cup. Then he listened as she quietly and succinctly told him her tale. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her voice was clear and sweetly mellifluous. It was a bewitching sound that caressed his ears. He was not used to hearing a woman’s voice. He found Lara’s enchanting. And her story fascinated him. She was the daughter of a great warrior, and a faerie queen. Arcas had not quite put it that way. If he had to trust either of them, he realized, it would be Lara’s truth he accepted, and not the wily Coastal King’s.

  As she finished he heard her say, “I hope you do not mind, but Andraste and Verica have come with me. They are quite harmless when not wielded, Captain.”

  “I did not see the servant carrying you bring anything else,” Corrado said.

  Lara laughed. “No, he did not, but my weapons came nonetheless. I told you that I am magic, and I am surrounded by magic.”

  “If you have such power then why are you here?” he asked her.

  “I have already told you that, Captain. I am here because I am meant to be here at this time,” Lara explained gently as if she were telling a child.

  “What is your purpose in being here? Have you come to spy for Hetar? Arcas talks a great deal and much too freely. There are changes coming to your world, lady.

  “Your people will take new territory. After they have taken the Outlands they will surely turn their eyes to the sea. The Coastal Kings will no longer be able to keep their secrets to themselves, and once Hetar learns of Terah and our Dominion they are sure to seek to conquer it. Or has Arcas already betrayed his own kind?”

  “The Outlands are protected from he who would be emperor, Captain Corrado,” Lara said. “Gaius Prospero cannot know that yet, and he will strive mightily until he figures it out, if indeed he does. Hetar believes that its provinces and the Outlands are all that there is of the world in which we live. I know it is not, but does your Dominion take up all the rest? Or are their other places, and peoples? How much more is there? Have you not ever wondered that?”

  Her curiosity fascinated him. “I do not know if there is more,” he admitted.

  Lara smiled. “But do you want to know?” she asked teasingly.

  He shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said.

  “Is there magic in the Dominion?” she queried him.

  He nodded in the affirmative. “Aye, there is.”

  “Good,” Lara told him. “I shall look forward to learning all about it.”

  “You are being given to the Dominus Magnus Hauk,” the captain said. “You will live in his castle, and your freedom will be greatly curtailed, for you will be considered a slave, lady.”

  Lara laughed. “I was once before considered a slave by men, for all the good it did them. I am not a slave, and your Dominus will soon learn that. If all he wishes of me are pleasures he may have them, as long as I am free to follow the path set out for me.”

  Captain Corrado shook his head in wonder. “Lady, I had never seen or heard your like before. But because I see no evil in you I must warn you to tread carefully. Magnus Hauk is a very strong, and extremely determined man. He will not tolerate disobedience, especially from a woman.”

  “I thank you for your kindness and your advice,” Lara responded.

  “We will be arriving tomorrow,” the captain said.

  “Tomorrow? Arcas said each ship met three days out from their home port in the center of the sea,” Lara exclaimed.

  “Lady, you slept two days,” came the answer.

  “Two days!” Lara was astounded.

  “The brew we gave you was potent,” he said.

  Lara laughed softly. “Aye, it must have been.”

  “I could not be certain you would not object to your current circumstances, and resist violently,” Captain Corrado told her. “Had I known your disposition I would have permitted myself to enjoy your company more. Terahn women are not at all like you.”

  “If that is so, can you be certain that I will appeal to your Dominus?” Lara asked.

  The captain smiled. “A man would be a fool not to want you, lady.”

  She smiled at him. “You flatter me.”

  “Tomorrow when we prepare to enter the fjord, would you enjoy being on deck?” he offered generously.

  “What is a fjord?” Lara wanted to know.

  “It is an inlet that leads to the Dominus’s castle. There are many such inlets along our coast that you can take to reach our villages.”

  “Have you no central place of authority?” she inquired.

  “The castle of the Dominus is that place. You will see,” he told her.

  The following morning the young boy came to the cabin and said, “The captain invites the lady to view the entering.”

  “Thank you,” Lara told him, and then she said, “Why do you look so fearful?”

  “I have never before heard a woman speak,” the boy responded.

  “Do you not have women in the Dominion?” she asked him.

  “Aye, but our women do not speak,” he answered her.

  “Your women cannot or do not speak?” She was again very surprised.

  He nodded. “They cannot.”

  “Give me a moment to prepare myself,” Lara told him. “Wait outside, and then you will escort me.”

  “Yes, lady,” he said obediently, and left the cabin.

  The gown she wore was thankfully tailored with a long narrow pleated skirt, and long fitted sleeves. The neckline was cut straight across her collarbone and slightly draped. It was a silvery gray in color. Lara went to the sleeping cabinet, and slipped Andraste in her leather scabbard over her head. She picked up Verica and walked from the cabin. Glancing briefly at her, the boy led Lara up onto the high open deck where Captain Corrado was awaiting her.

  “There is our coast,” he said pointing.

  Lara was overwhelmed by the beauty of the green cliffs and steep hills that flowed into taller mountains. It was beautiful, and quite different from Hetar or the Outlands. And then she saw the opening between those cliffs. The ship was sailing toward it. “Is that the entrance to your fjord?” she asked the captain.

  “You have a sharp eye,” he said. “We will reach it shortly.”

  “An
d be done with this infernal rocking to and fro?” a voice demanded to know.

  “Verica!” Lara giggled for both Captain Corrado and the boy by his side looked horrified. She hastened to reassure them both. “This is Verica, my companion staff. He is most outspoken, I fear, but he means no harm.”

  “Stop looking so terrified, lad,” Verica said to the cabin boy. “I am the spirit of the tree from which this staff where I now reside was made. You have, I take it, never seen my like before.”

  “N-no,” the boy stammered.

  “And you are unlikely to see my like again,” Verica told him.

  “This is great magic,” Captain Corrado said.

  “My magic is used only for good,” Lara replied.

  “Will we soon land, and be off this rolling vessel?” Verica asked again.

  “Yes,” Captain Corrado said. “We are almost ready to enter the fjord now. Once we are inside you will find the waters calmer.”

  “I am relieved to hear it,” Verica. “Look at my wood. It has a green tinge to it.”

  “I cannot believe I am talking to a staff,” Captain Corrado said.

  “The staff but houses my spirit,” Verica told him. “Can you not see my face? I am told that it is quite a handsome face. Is that not so, Mistress?”

  Lara turned her staff slightly, and the captain found himself staring into a long stern face with sharp eyes, a long, narrow nose, thin lips and a long curling beard. It was a beautifully carved face of a certain elegance.

  “Ah, now I see you,” the captain said. “And, yes, you have a most impressive visage, Verica. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  “As I am to make yours, Captain,” Verica replied in his most courtly manner.

  The vessel began its turn into the fjord, and after a few moments of rough water where the inlet and the sea met they found themselves sailing upon what appeared to be a silken river. The green of the cliffs around them was so vivid it almost hurt Lara’s eyes.

  “Just a few miles upriver, and you will see the castle of the Dominus upon the heights,” Captain Corrado said.

  “May I remain on deck?” Lara asked him. “It is all so beautiful.”

  “I will have the boy bring you something to sit upon,” he replied. “I must now see to our landing and the unloading of the cargo. I will not take you to the castle until that is done. My first duty is to my ship.”

  “Of course,” Lara agreed. She was quite content to sit in the leather sling chair the cabin boy brought her and observe her new surroundings. The air was fresh with a mixture of both the sea and the land now. She saw no cattle, or horses, or sheep grazing on the hillsides. There were no villages, but Corrado had said there were. Perhaps this entry to the castle of the Dominus was all private land. And then their ship sailed around a sharp bend in the fjord, and Lara saw it.

  The great castle was built half into the rock of the hillside. It was dark stone, massive in size, and yet it was not ponderous. It had soaring graceful towers with peaked roofs of gray slate. She could see greenery trailing over its wall in some places, and thought that there might be gardens behind those walls. There was nothing at all like it in Hetar except perhaps in the province of the Shadow Princes. Gaius Prospero would be pea-green with envy if he saw this magnificent castle. She smiled to herself. She could scarcely wait to learn all she could about the Terahn Dominion. And especially why did the women of this land not speak — a most curious mystery.

  Their vessel nosed itself towards the shore where a long stone quay pushed out into the fjord. The ship was tied firmly to the quay, a gangway lowered, and then the unloading of the cargo began. Each box, each container, was quickly removed down the stone way through an entrance in the cliffs. Captain Corrado stood directing his men. As the ship grew emptier it began to float more lightly at its mooring. Finally the last of the cargo had been removed from the ship, and Captain Corrado came to fetch Lara.

  “You are ready?” he asked her.

  “I am,” she said. “Will I meet the Dominus now?”

  “Probably,” he replied. “I am always expected to present myself to him immediately when I return from a voyage. He and I are kin.”

  “It is a steep climb,” Lara noted as they walked down the gangway, and began to traverse the quay.

  “We need not climb,” he told her. “You will soon see.”

  He led her to the entry in the stone cliffs. Inside he took Lara’s hand, and they stepped through a wooden gate onto an open platform enclosed by a railing. Almost at once the platform began to rise up through the interior of the cliff. Surprised, Lara watched as the platform passed by several open gates in the stone walls. As they approached the top of the cliff, she could see through to corridors, each one a bit grander than the one before it.

  “How is this done?” she asked the captain.

  “The conveyance is drawn up and lowered back down again by a mountain giant. We employ them for this purpose. They are not very intelligent, but they are quite strong and good-natured,” he explained. “You mentioned that you have known giants.”

  “Only one, and he was considered small for his breed,” Lara replied.

  “These are big fellows,” Captain Corrado said. The platform stopped, and a servant was there to open the gates for them. They stepped into a well-lit corridor. “Lady, our men are not used to the sound of a woman’s voice. Try to remain silent. And be warned that the Dominus is a stern man. Please be discreet, for your own safety.”

  “Thank you,” Lara responded, touched by his concern. Then she followed him down the corridor accompanied by the servant who had helped them into the hallway.

  “The master is in his private quarters,” Lara heard the servant say to Captain Corrado. “He was not certain you would arrive today.”

  “The weather was good, the seas fair. I have a surprise for the Dominus,” Captain Corrado answered the servant.

  “The woman?” The servant cast a quick glance in Lara’s direction.

  “She is half-faerie, and Hetarian,” the captain said. “She is a gift.”

  “And a fine one!” the servant responded enthusiastically. “I wish someone would gift me like that, my lord Captain.” And the two men chuckled, sharing the jest.

  At the very end of the corridor were a pair of double doors fashioned from bronze. There were no guards before the door, Lara noted. Clearly the Dominus was entirely secure in his castle. The servant opened one of the doors and ushered them into a large chamber. To their left were great tall windows overlooking the fjord. Before them was a massive hearth with great andirons holding several large logs that burned brightly.

  A man who had been seated in a large high-backed chair by that fire now arose to meet them. He was very, very tall, and his frame was large, yet in perfect proportion with his size. The face was handsome but severe, with a long nose, high forehead and cheekbones and thin lips. His hair was short and deep gold in color, with lighter gold highlights here and there. Thick gold eyebrows above turquoise-blue eyes matched his hair. He wore a single garment, a long dark blue robe with a round neckline. The look he gave Captain Corrado was a warm one.

  The captain fell to a single knee, and taking one of the Dominus’s big hands pressed it to his forehead, his lips and then his heart. “My lord.”

  “Welcome home, Corrado,” the Dominus said. His voice was deep and musical.

  “Now get up, kinsman, and tell me how the voyage went.” He appeared to show no interest whatsoever in the woman by Corrado’s side, but Lara had seen the quick flick of an eye that he shot in her direction.

  “It was an ordinary journey but for one thing, my lord. Have you the time to listen to me?” Corrado asked the Dominus.

  Magnus Hauk nodded.

  “King Arcas wished to dispose of a political enemy, and so he has sent her to you as a gift. She is half-faerie, and she speaks with the sound of nightingales,” the captain said. “Her name is Lara. She is intelligent. I have learned her history, but it is better
told by her. I hope she will please you so I may tell Arcas when I see him again that she has.”

  “Does Arcas think we have no women in my Dominion? Or perhaps he believes Hetarian women surpass Terahn women,” Magnus Hauk said.

  “I believe it is just that he wished to rid himself of me, and thought to curry favor with you, my lord Dominus,” she said boldly.

  The Dominus turned his gaze to Lara’s. His was a most powerful glance, and she almost looked away, but she did not. “Her voice is indeed sweet to my ears,” Magnus Hauk said to his kinsman as if Lara were not even there. “And she is beautiful, I will admit.” He reached out as though to grasp the neck of her gown, but Lara stayed his hand.

  “My lord, I have but this one garment to my name,” she said.

  “Remove it then so I may fully see what the Coastal King has sent me,” he told her. “You may remain, Corrado.”

  “My lord, with your permission I should prefer to withdraw. What lies beneath that gown is a sight that should only be for your eyes,” the captain said.

  The Dominus laughed. “Always the man of perfect discretion,” he answered. “Go then, my kinsman. We will speak tomorrow, and I will tell you if I gained pleasures with this woman and mean to keep her, or if I will give her as a reward to another.”

  Captain Corrado looked horrified. “My lord,” he cried. “You must not allow another to have her. She has great magic, and will be of much use to you. Do not allow anyone else to gain the advantage over you.”

  Now the Dominus was intrigued, and his lust was put aside for the moment. “Tell me of her magic,” he demanded.

  The captain turned to Lara. “Show him, please,” he begged her.

  Lara laughed softly. “My lord Dominus, I ask your permission to show you my sword, Andraste. She is a most unusual weapon, but I should not unsheathe her without your permission.”

  “You have it,” he answered quietly. “Are you an assassin then?”