Zara the Wolf by C. R. Daems Page B

Fillpe,
Raigosa's oldest son.
    "They used me as a live opponent for their youth to
practice on, assuming they would cripple or kill me eventually."
    "But you survived," Cesar said, eyes bright with
excitement.
    "Yes. A mistake they will long remember," I said.
"Those with the warrior's spirit make poor slaves."
    "You think you have the warrior's spirit?" Ricci
asked. His face had a sneer, and his voice dripped with contempt.
    "Don't know, but they would tell you I made a poor
slave." I smiled. "Where is our next stop?"
    "Berone," Fillpe said quickly, cleverly changing
the topic and easing the tension. "We will be there for a week. The town
has an earl, several barons, and more than ten thousand people. Father has a
lot of contacts in Berone and does a lot of business there."
    * * *
    "Come in," I said to the knock, and Raigosa opened
the door. I had been going over a map of Aesona I purchased at one of the
vendors in the market. The country was huge and would take years to travel. It
bordered another country, Bratti, on the other side of the Black Mountain Range.
Otherwise, it was surrounded by water: the western and eastern oceans, which
met at the southern tip at the town of Kariso.
    "Zara, I have an appointment with the Earl of Berone
today. He has asked me to bring you along. Somehow, he heard you lived with the
mountain tribes," Raigosa said. I didn't doubt he was the one that told
him about me. I should ask for a bonus ,
I mused, not letting my amusement reach my lips. I nodded, slipped on my boots
and leather belt, and slid my sword and dagger into their sheaths.
    Outside, Lutz and Cesar waited with a mule loaded with two
packs and two horses, one mine. Four soldiers armed with pikes and swords and
dressed in the earl's red and silver colors waited. Honor guard, security, or escort ? I wondered. We made our way
through the city at a slow trot with two of the earl's guards leading and two
trailing.
    Inside the walls, a four-story castle stood at the end of a
long narrow courtyard flanked by several one-story buildings for staff, a
barracks for the soldiers, and a stable. The castle looked hundreds of years
old judging by the ivy growing on the walls. A grey-haired man met us at the bottom
of the twenty steps leading to the double-door entrance.
    "Welcome, Merchant Raigosa. The earl is looking forward
to seeing you. If you would have your son and Lutz carry your merchandise into
the reception room, he would like to see you and ... the woman alone in his
study."
    "Of course, Minister Warin," Raigosa said, then
nodded to me before turning and following him down a wide hallway with paintings
of men and women to a large wood-paneled room. Inside, a broad-shouldered man
with a square face sat behind a large desk. Based on the heads of animals
decorating the walls, he liked to hunt. His eyes travelled from my head to my
feet before turning to Raigosa.
    "Good morning, Raigosa. You look well. Sit. Would you
like some wine?" When Raigosa nodded, Warin quickly poured a glass and
handed it to him as he sat. "Who is your new employee?"
    "This is Zara. She is my new cook. She signed on in Oberen.
Zara, this is Earl Pasquel."
    "Zara," he said like he was naming a new animal.
"I'm told you lived with the savages in the Black Mountains."
    "As a slave," I said, still standing.
    "But they taught you to fight." He pointed to my
sword.
    "For the amusement of their youth."
    "How would you like to join me in wiping out the
savages?" His eyes locked on mine.
    "I hate the tribes as much as anyone. I watched them
kill my father and mother, and they made me a slave. But going after them is … a
waste of time and lives," I said, barely stopping myself from saying, ‘a fool’s
errand.’
    "You don't think I'll find and kill them?" he said
in a snarl, defying me to contradict him.
    "They are warriors and hunters, not gatherers. They
will know you are coming days before you reach them and will be gone before you
get to their camp. If you bring fewer