by Lynn Rushlau
in Issue 87, April 2019
Gheri caught the olive in his hand and gently dropped it into the basket hanging from his waist. He reached for the next fruit. A twig snapped under his tree. He picked the olive to show he was working, but nearly dropped it when he glanced down for the Fae orchard manager’s approval.
“Tady, what are you doing out here? Are you running messages?”
His little sister shook her head.
“Then you shouldn’t be here.” He glanced through the orchard, spotted the manager on the other side, and turned back to harvesting olives. He had a quota to meet by day’s end after all.
“The Mistress of Breeding has arrived,” she said, sounding panicked.
He shrugged. He’d been matched up a couple of times and had liked both women well enough. There were only a few on the estate who he’d hate to–He whipped around so quickly the ladder wobbled. Tady caught the rails, steadying it.
Studying her, he offered an off-handed thanks. She wore a child’s chiton, cut to thigh length and tied with the yellow sash of kitchen staff. Not the slightest hint of budding breasts showed beneath the loose fabric.
“You’re only eleven,” he breathed, though air seemed in short supply. “You haven’t bled yet.”
With a quick glance towards the house, she gave a frantic shake of her head. “No, Gheri. She’s with some of the Warden’s men. They’ve brought the Book of Prisons.”
“Tesan.” He closed his eyes briefly. Ah, dammit, Tesan. No one ever succeeded, but if anyone could escape, their wild half-brother seemed the right candidate.
She nodded. “Guilty of High Treason. They’ve declared his line contaminated.”
“What?” That made no sense. “Tesan had no offspring. Adley miscarried a couple months after their match.”
“Right, so they’re going after the line that produced him.”
He tightened his grip on the ladder as his bones turned to rubber. “His full siblings? Or anyone who shares a parent?”
His full sister shrugged. “Embilla says only full siblings, but Liano says they’ll pick a parent and decide that one is at fault.” Her voice fell to a whisper. “Kie thinks everyone with any drop of shared blood.”
Despite his own panic, he snorted. “Kitchen gossips. You can’t trust a word any of them say. Lord Glothin would never agree to the culling of half his estate. Get back to the kitchens before someone notices you’re gone. You don’t want to get reported at a time like this.”
“But, Gheri–“
“I need to get back to work and so do you.”
She shot him a look filled with betrayal.
“We’ll talk later. Go before someone misses you.” He daren’t tell her it would all be okay. He lacked the power to protect her. To protect anyone from the Fae. He didn’t want to die, even less did he want to watch his baby sister, his only full-sibling, die.
She huffed, pivoted, and ran off through the orchard. No doubt many in the kitchens were related to Tesan’s mother or father. Who knew how much of the line the Mistress of Breeding would designate corrupt? Hopefully they’d all be worried enough not to punish a small girl for seeking her brother.
Mind racing, he returned to the olives.
He told no one, but by the time they left the orchard, the rest of the workers knew about the looming cull. Rumors swirled wildly about the human sections of the estate. Only two seemed likely to be true.
One claimed the Mistress of Breeding wanted Tesan’s maternal and paternal lines extinguished and that Lord Glothin refused to allow her to ruin him by killing off half his humans.
Gheri believed at least that second part to be true. He also believed that if the first was true, then the other rumor that Lord Glothin had demanded the Hierophant journey to the estate and magically sort his loyal humans from those harboring rebellious thoughts.
The idea drew oxygen from the room.
Many of his half-siblings clutched at that rumor as potential salvation. Perhaps it was good news for them. Not him. He knew his hatred of the Fae and wish for freedom were too strong. He–and many others–would fail to be seen as meek and of no consequence. They would still die.
Brilliant, fierce Tady with them.
Tady, who came creeping into his dorm room, in tears, after curfew. She knew her heart. Knew they’d find her a threat. She clung to her big brother, begging him through her tears to help her. To get her off the estate.
“We can do it, Gheri. Promise me you’ll help. That you’ll come with me.”
“If Tesan couldn’t–“
“Tesan was stupid. I told him he couldn’t sneak out in a cart. That it would have been tried hundreds of times before.”
“But he did get away. We would have heard the uproar if they caught him before he left the estate.”
She huffed. “Does it matter? He got caught somewhere along the way. Maybe when he tried to leave the cart. Maybe at the first crossroads, inn, or posting station. There’s a better way.” She curled close to whisper in his ear.
His jaw dropped open half way through. “That’s utterly impossible.”
“No, it’s not. I need your help. Will you come with me?”
He took a deep breath. It was suicide. Couldn’t possibly work or someone would have tried it before. But hells, he was going to die anyway. They both were. Might as well try. “Okay, yes.”
“We’ll have to break into the sewing rooms.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I think I can get silk without as much risk.”
At breakfast, he hunted Duffy down. She sat in a back corner of the hall with a scattering of seamstresses. He hesitated, taking in her red-rimmed eyes and skin so ashen she almost looked green. Her hand rested on the slight bump of her stomach.
Wishing for a better option, he glanced around the hall. He liked Duffy okay, but she wasn’t the bravest, this pregnant half-sister. But they shared a father. And she worked in the sewing hall.
He took a deep breath and wove through the crowd to her table. “Hey, Duffy, could I speak to you?”
A feeble attempt at a smile failed. “Sure. Take a seat.”
He cocked his head toward the doors. “I hoped maybe in private.”
She sighed and climbed to her feet. He led her outside and away from the door. She crossed her arms. “What is it?”
“I need your help. I’ll get you out of here if you’ll help me.”
Duffy’s breath caught. Her hands cradled her belly. “Out of here? You mean off the estate?”
He nodded. Her gaze darted around the yard. “How?”
“I need you to steal a few yards of silk. We don’t need quality as long as it is silk.”
“I-I ca-can’t steal from the sewing room. I-I’d be enchanted. Or k-killed.”
“Don’t get caught.”
She shook her head. “They–they do inventory, Gheri. They might not be able to tell if you sneak an olive or grape if they don’t see you do it, but they know how much fabric they buy and every scrap is accounted for.”
“They do inventory on all the fabric in the sewing room, every single night?”
“Of course not.” Her hands fluttered, before settling back around her belly.
He caught her arm and drew her close to whisper in her ear. “Steal us three or four yards. We’ll cross the wall tonight. They’ll never know.”
She bit her lip. Pressed her lips together. “I’ll do it if you’ll take Wim too.”
His heart slipped. He didn’t like Wim. Didn’t trust the father of Duffy’s child. Wim worked in household records and accounts. He thought the position made him important since he’d been taught to read low Fae. He wasn’t kin to Tesan. Would he want to give up his comfortable world for a life in the wild Talexis Hills?
No choice though. He’d told her.
“Fine. But no one else. Promise me you’ll tell no one but him, and he’ll tell no one at all.”
She raised her chin. “Of course. I promise. I’ll take the silk out of the sewing rooms. You’ll have to retrieve it from…the tool shed. The green one.”
He tried to convince her to bring the silk to him, but she adamantly refused to carry the stolen goods more than five feet from the where it belonged. In the end what could he do but agree?
Even in the orchards, he noticed the constant arrivals at the estate. Whenever he lifted his head from his work, he spotted dust rising on the road. Half a dozen times, glitters of color in the sky caught his attention. More Fae coming to the estate, some on horseback, others by balloon. Whether officials, Lord Glothin’s family and friends, or business associates, he had no way of knowing.
The workers in the nearest two trees came to blows midmorning. The woman behind him collapsed in sobs and finished the afternoon a mindless, enchanted automaton. The noon meal, usually a time of camaraderie and jokes, passed in snaps and snarls.
For dinner, they got tasteless half-rations–why bother feeding humans about to be exterminated?–under heavy supervisions. He took the bowl of watery slop and scowled at the kitchen workers for the lack of bread. Not their fault, he understood that. Still, he could drink his dinner in three gulps. He sat in the corner where he could be seen but not necessarily overheard, especially by the armed, ice-eyed Fae patrolling the room.
Despite the supervision, rumors trickled though the hall. Lord Glothin challenged the Mistress of Breeding’s decision. Other influential Fae had arrived to argue on his behalf. The Hierophant refused to come himself, but was sending two of his daughters to sort troublemakers from the trustworthy.
Empty bowl in hand, Tady found him five minutes into the meal. He drew her close and whispered what he’d done.
“Are you mad?” She glared at him. “You’ve ruined our best chance.”
“She won’t tell. She wants her baby to live.”
“And Wim?”
He could only shrug. Could only hope.
A smallish pouch hung at her waist, she waited at the overlook maple. The sun crept towards the horizon on the opposite side of the estate. Gheri’d snuck through the empty vineyards at a crouched run, afraid to breathe. The vines ended at hills, which could be clearly seen from any window on this side of the Lord Glothin’s villa.
Panting, he waved a greeting at his sister. He clutched the maple’s trunk and studied the estate. Lights glittered around the grand terrace. Of course, half the humans faced death, but with visitors Glothin would follow dinner with dancing.
Dimmer lights shone from the dormitories. As he watched, the lights at the human dining hall extinguished.
“Silk?” she whispered.
Smiling, he unrolled the four yards of silk. She wrapped hers over her head. It hung just past her waist. He mimicked her. His piece barely covered his shoulders. She took the two remaining pieces from him and scowled back at the house.
“And when are they going to meet us?”
“They’ll be here soon.” He bit his lip and tried to convince himself that his inability to see them moving through the grape fields was a good thing. If he couldn’t spot them. Neither could any of the Fae. Or any other humans. He wished he could trust no human would turn them in, but someone would be stupid enough to think a show of loyalty might save their own life, when blood was all the Fae were considering.
Not so much as a shadow moved in the grape fields. They waited close enough to the border that he felt sure they could get away no matter how late it became, but he’d intended to be on the move before now.
“Oh, no,” Tady breathed.
He glanced at her, but her attention remained glued on the estate. He turned back. Lights shimmered into radiance all over the house. The grape fields lit up. She thrust one of the remaining yards of silk at him and tied the other around her waist.
“Run!” She hissed as she pivoted towards the border. Tying on the silk, he dashed after her.
The standing stones that marked the perimeter of the estate shone blue and crackled with lighting. Over that crackle, he heard the thud of running feet and the whistle of arrows. He stumbled. Fire exploded up his leg as he followed his sister between the nearest perimeter stones.
Lightning crackled all around him, through him. A thousand tiny needles jabbed him. He gaped for air. And between one step and the next, they were through.
A tangle of trees and underbrush stood fifty yards from the estate’s border. They burst into the tree cover and slid down a muddy bank to a stream. His sister took a sharp left.
“Where are you going?” His leg screamed for attention. He refused to even look at it. If he didn’t see it, he needn’t acknowledge the injury as real.
“There was light ahead. Another estate past the river.”
He gave the stream he could have hopped over a skeptical glance as he stumbled after her. The Talexis Hills were north. They headed the right direction so he let her lead on. Reaching down, he found a small barb still embedded in his flesh. He ripped the dart free and tossed it in the water.
Soon he couldn’t see her at all. Only hear the rustle of her movement through the bushes and plants. Teeth barred, he followed the noise. They’d slowed to a walk. His leg grew numb. He limped, dragging the useless limb along.
Lights occasionally shown through breaks in the trees. He assumed they passed other estates. Sometimes the lights danced in front of him, and he worried all the lights were hallucinations.
The huge empty spaces of black were likely fields–and not his vision going dark. He still stood. He still walked. He would see her to safety.
The world began to lighten to a deep grey. Tady came to a halt inside a great clump of winter honeysuckle.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. He knew what was wrong with himself. The entire left side of his body ceased to exist. If he stopped limping forward, he doubted he’d start again.
“It’s getting light. We should hole up here where we’ve got plenty of trees and underbrush for cover until sunset.”
He shook his head. “We need to keep moving.”
“We daren’t. The woodland along the river’s too sparse. We’ve gotten too clear a view of all those estates we’ve been passing.”
He shook his head again. That didn’t matter. “Trackers.”
“There’s been no sign.” Derision twisted her mouth.
“They’re waiting for light. No need to stumble around in the dark after us.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve been elfshot. When we left the estate.”
Complete horror filled her face before she schooled herself. She insisted on looking at his leg. Ripped aside his improvised silk skirt and exposed his grey leg streaked with purple swirls. The look they exchanged was full of honest despair.
“We’ll rest here,” she said. She forced him to sit and brought him water cupped in her hands.
The sun crept slowly over the horizon. His sister scrambled around, refusing to take her own advice and rest. He tried to ask what she thought she was doing, but coherent thoughts grew harder to form.
Golden light filled the woods and sparkled off the river. He blinked and realized he’d zoned out. He hadn’t seen or heard his sister in…no idea how long. The world was all soft gold. Birds sang in the trees. The stream burbled by. Yet fear set his heart pounding and cleared his head. Had she been taken? Fallen? What if–he exhaled slowly.
No, his brilliant little sister had given him water and left him. His wound was fatal. He knew it. She knew it. Better for her run, to flee. The point of this entire escape was to find her freedom. He closed his eyes with a smile. So proud that she’d taken advantage of the chance he’d given her. The magic swirling in his blood would lead the Fae to him, not her.
“Enjoying the morning sun as a free man?”
He nearly jumped out of his skin. Fire filled his body. He gasped for breath. Tady fell to her knees beside him with a birch cup in each hand.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded and struggled for breath.
She handed him water, set hers precariously against a clump of grass, and untied the scrap of silk around her waist to display a cache of berries and nuts.
“What did you–“
“Drink your water, then we’ll eat. We need to keep up our strength.” She beamed at him. “Go on. Water’s plentiful. Have as much as you want.”
He sipped the water to shut her up and ate a fraction of what she tried to place in his hands.
The numbness was spreading. What wasn’t numb was on fire. He dipped his good right fingers into the cup and dashed a little water on his face. Frowning, Tady slipped the silk from around his shoulders, soaked it, and put it back in place. The coolness helped, but couldn’t halt the spreading poison.
Their hideaway was a peaceful place to die, filled with the hum of insects, chatter of birds and song of the stream.
“Are we near an estate?” He had to ask the question three times before she understood him.
She shrugged. “It’s quite hilly on our side of the riverbank. There’s probably an estate somewhere beyond those hills.”
“You should go now. While it’s still light.”
“Gheri–“
With trembling fingers, he eased the silk from around his waist. “Use this piece too.”
She rested her forehead against his bicep.
“I’m so sorry,” he muttered. “I promised I’d get you out.”
“You did. We are out.”
“I meant. Safety. Talexis. Hills.”
If the Hills existed. They were supposed to be made of iron. A place the Fae would not, could not go. His eyes drifted closed. Talking took so much effort. He struggled to open them. To see her. The world looked strangely blue.
“I will be. I’ll get there.”
“Huh?”
She knelt in front of him–his brilliant sister, free for at least one day. Tears slipped down his cheeks as his eyelids drooped closed again. The poor child. She’d never make it alone.
“I will be safe, Gheri. I’ll find them. The rebels in the Talexis Hills. I promise, I will. And I’ll never forget you. The entire rebellion will know your name. I’ll find them in your name. We’ll set everyone free. For you.”
He smiled at that. She’d managed to the do the impossible already, getting them off the estate. She could have done it. Freed the world. If only he could have gotten her to the Hills.
©April 2019, Lynn Rushlau
Lynn Rushlau‘s work has appeared in the anthology Hidden Menagerie, Vol. 1, in Strange Constellations, and previously in Swords & Sorcery Magazine.