Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest) Read online

  "Then your quest of the forbidden has brought you bad fortune." Adalginza answered as she thought a real Crescent House lady might.

  "In my House, we do not believe in poxes and ill winds." He held his rugged hands out in front of him. "We believe in our own wits, and in the labor of our hands and hearts. Knowledge is the treasure I seek, dear lady. That is all."

  "But why take all these risks just for the sake of knowledge?"

  "Because I am a scholar, and I must know the facts behind the myth. How could a light from the sky shine down upon the Seventh House, and lift up all who lived there?"

  "It does make one wonder about the nature of such a light."

  "You see? I have tantalized even you into curiosity about that which is forbidden for us to know. We need only to look up, however, to be reminded of questions begging for answers."

  Kalos gazed up at the sky, at the farthest crescent moon the invaders had named as the symbol of the Seventh House. In its present position, it seemed to be frowning down at them in disapproval at the illicit mention of its name.

  Adalginza felt a slight shudder. "Perhaps we should speak of this no more."

  Kalos ignored her suggestion as he continued peering up into the sky.

  "Every time I see the moon of the Seventh Crescent House, I burn with desire to know. What really happened to those people more than two thousand seasons ago?"

  "I know very little about the legend."

  "It is no legend." The captain of knights looked straight at her, his dark eyes on fire. "It is truth. I have been examining all the records I can find in the Dome of Archives back on the Prime Continent. The story itself is simple. In the long ago, clans of the Houses were still small enough for all to live in the same compound. When the light came, it took all who dwelled inside the palace of the Seventh House and the surrounding dwellings."

  "Are not stories sometimes just — stories?" Adalginza asked dubiously.

  "No. The eyewitness accounts are indisputable. I have convinced myself of that. But why only the Seventh House? It was a very small and isolated community, granted. But why were all the other Houses spared?"

  He pointed at each crescent moon, ritualistically naming the houses for which they stood. From the First House, each subsequent house had arisen. The tenth moon had never been claimed. Now, of the nine honored Houses, one was missing.

  "In only a moment, hundreds of people were gone in a burst of light," Kalos said. "And no one knows why."

  "That is most peculiar," Adalginza agreed. She, too, stared up at the sky. "And why do you suppose no clan in the long ago ever claimed the tenth crescent moon?"

  "It waits," Kalos replied mysteriously.

  "Perhaps the tenth moon is for those who do not yet belong to any of the Houses."

  Adalginza regretted the idle words, for Kalos eyed her oddly.

  "A strange notion," he said. "One I have never heard spoken before. Indeed, I cannot conceive of a being alive today that is not currently allied with a Crescent House."

  "What about the savages? Were there no savages on the Prime Continent at the time the Houses were formed?"

  "Yes, of course. At one time there were. But not for the past thousand seasons."

  Adalginza tried to swallow, to coax out her voice for the next question. "What — happened to them all?"

  "There were no blood ties with the savages, who kept to themselves. They were not accepted into any of the Houses, so they did not have the protection of any of the clans. Eventually they were all killed."

  Genocide.

  Adalginza felt the cold spread across her face, as though icy hands were laid upon her to remind her of who she was. And who this man was.

  A killer. A murderer.

  She wanted to scream at Kalos, the scholar, to ask if he had bothered to consider that all the beings of this world had the same origins. That all humans had been created equal and the same, before his precious Crescent Houses with all their pretensions were formed.

  Unaware of her reaction, Kalos continued to stare somewhat dreamily at the sky.

  "There was a time, when I was younger and full of idealistic notions, that I thought of savages as civilized human beings. Does this disgust you?"

  "The matter of the savages is — complicated."

  "For you, yes. The Fifth House values the savages, because they can be used as slaves. In this way, labor is free and wealth can be hoarded. Even the liberated savages work cheaply. This will change in time, though. When the frontier is conquered, more commoners from the Crescent Houses will arrive. They will take over as laborers, and the savages no longer will be needed."

  "What will become of them after that?"

  "I do not know. Or care."

  "Will they all be killed, as they were on the Prime Continent?"

  "Maybe." Kalos took a deep breath, and squeezed shut his eyes for a moment. "Once, I thought they should have the right to exist. Fully and as equals. My clan even openly championed the savages who were petitioning for freedom at South Port. We believed savages were human, as we are. We believed none of them should even be enslaved."

  "I have never heard of such a thing among the Crescent Houses."

  "We were not alone in these beliefs. Just more outspoken."

  Kalos moved his hand to the hilt of the sword, its crescent emblem glittering from the scabbard, before continuing.

  "My father especially showed great kindness to the savages of South Port."

  "He was kind to them?" Adalginza asked blankly.

  "Yes. And, in the end, many of the very savages he helped were among the mob that massacred my family. They tortured my father and my brother. They raped my brother's wife and my two sisters — before killing them as well. I saw it all, from my hiding place in the loft. My mother was there with me. As was Zartos. We shielded the boy, hiding his eyes so that he could not see what was happening to his parents."

  "A terrible thing," she whispered.

  "I could do nothing then, except take a blood oath of revenge." His face reflected agony mixed with rage. "It happened just last season. Never will I forget Tremasto."

  "Tremasto?" Adalginza whispered. "Your family was killed in Tremasto?"

  He did not answer. He was lost in hideous memories, not hearing her distress.

  "Please excuse me for a moment," she said. "I must go check…something…in the kitchen. Help yourself to more drink while I am gone."

  Adalginza stood and half ran into the interior of the house. She took refuge in the kitchen, out of sight of the open door leading into the courtyard.

  She stood above the wood stove and clutched her stomach, nauseated with guilt that prompted her to shut her eyes.

  When she opened them again, she was mesmerized by a few of the embers still burning hot and red in the stove. Then the red glow slowly transformed itself into the image of a flickering campfire from her past…

  ***

  It had been more than a season ago when Adalginza had visited the back country near Sola Re to join her brother at his rebel camp.

  On that night, even the usually bright crescent moons were sobered by high, thin clouds drifting across their faces.

  The darkness was broken only by the flames of the fire, reflected back at her in the hard, green eyes of Benfaaro.

  Dressed for war, he had tied his hair back in the ceremonial sash that covered his forehead. Colorful, intricate patterns were painted across his brow and cheeks.

  "I salute you, sister, for the information you have brought us," Benfaaro said.

  Beside him, Bruna sat with one arm around him. She stared malevolently at Adalginza.

  "She wishes you to show mercy."

  Bruna spat the words like they tasted bad, and her hateful voice blended with the hissing bursts of flame from the fire.

  "There will be no mercy," Benfaaro declared.

  "If you would just hear me, there might be a better way," Adalginza argued weakly.

  She regarded Benfaaro fearfully.
In the fierce face paint he wore, he no longer resembled the noble brother she remembered. He sounded cruel and distant when he answered.

  "We have no time to consider alternatives. Because of your report, we now know the Crescent knights have chosen to leave Tremasto unprotected. This gives us great advantage. But only if we move fast."

  "The settlement is unprotected for a reason," Adalginza reminded him.

  "Our enemy foolishly thinks that those they call savages of that settlement are peaceful and welcoming? We will show otherwise. We will attack from within and without. The survivors we spare will quiver in terror as they tell what they saw. We must make those of the Crescent Houses fear us so much that they will never wish to return to the frontier."

  "Or they will never rest until they have had their revenge," Adalginza muttered.

  She locked eyes with the child, Calasta, who sat huddled in a blanket near the fire. The young girl's eyes widened with fear and dread…

  ***

  "Adalginza? Lady Adalginza!"

  She slowly opened her eyes, to find Kalos standing next to her in the kitchen. She had been unaware of his entry into the room. And he was now staring at her curiously.

  "Are you ill?" he asked. "I thought my company was invigorating, but instead I find you in here hiding from me."

  She gave the captain a weak smile. "No. I am not hiding."

  "You look faint."

  "Forgive me. I am — tired. Let us go back into the courtyard where the air is fresh."

  Captain Kalos gave her a look of genuine concern, and hooked his arm into hers for support as they walked outside together.

  "It is I who must ask for your forgiveness."

  "No. Not necessary."

  "But it is." He stepped away from her and placed both hands upon her shoulders. "First, I bring up a subject forbidden even to speak of. Then I end our conversation on talk of bloodshed and sorrow."

  "All is well. Really."

  Kalos dropped his hands to his sides.

  "No. It is not. You have my apologies. And you need not fear a repeat of such bad behavior. Let us make our way to the stables to find my mother and my nephew. Then we will say our goodbyes, and you will be rid of me for the duration of my assignment here in Sola Re."

  "But surely I will see you again?"

  "Not formally. I have too much to do."

  "You will be planning the slaughter of the savages?"

  Adalginza felt faint again at the thought. But she kept herself from swooning as they made their way along the path.

  "First, I will see to the defense of Sola Re."

  Kalos was his wary self again. His eyes darted endlessly as he checked each shadow under bush and tree.

  "But, sir — I would like to see you again."

  "If you are lonely, I can arrange for you a liaison with Luzicos — my first officer. He is of the Fifth House, and was much taken with you from the first sight of you upon the street. Granted, he is not of royal blood. But he would make a fine companion for a woman like you."

  "So I am good enough for your first officer, but not for you."

  The anger in Adalginza's voice was real. She was unaccustomed in the world of the Crescent Houses to such utter and total rejection from one of its males.

  "Lady Adalginza, offense can be taken in two ways." Kalos gave her a look that did not seem flattering. "My mother's observation of you was astute. You will have naught to do with any man, other than the captain or someone of his clan. I do not take this as a compliment, for your head turns my way only because of the officer's symbol I wear."

  The sting of his words was more painful than Adalginza expected. And she could think of no answer. So they kept walking in silence.

  Had she not been pretending to be someone else, she could have assured him that she would have looked his way had he worn only an unadorned snakeskin breech and tunic.

  True, he had a finely hewn warrior's body. But it would be an empty shell were it not for the bright interest lighting his eyes and the wry humor that lifted his lips.

  She genuinely liked this man, enemy though he was.

  She stole a look at him, and saw that Kalos was now intensely scanning every detail of the stonework surrounding the parameters of the trail, as though assuring himself of the safety of her abode.

  In a tall tree ahead Adalginza saw a familiar rainbow flash of feathers. She immediately sent forth a message to Starla.

  Go. I have no time for you now, and the enemy is here with me.

  Starla was more highly evolved than many of the furred and feathered creatures in Adalginza's realm. But she still could not grasp complex human thoughts. The bird's answering query was simply puzzled, not understanding.

  Just go. Danger.

  The distant swoosh of the bird taking flight fortunately attracted only a brief, disinterested look from Kalos. Nor did he look Adalginza's way.

  It was as though the captain had dismissed Adalginza as someone of no importance to his future endeavors, therefore making her a non-person in his eyes.

  The soft part of her urged her to take her leave of Captain Kalos as he had suggested, so that she would have no part in his downfall.

  He would die, eventually. That was certain. And it would not be just any death, but an unspeakable one.

  Adalginza could not bear to witness such an end. So she told herself she would say her goodbyes to Kalos and his family, confess her failure to Bruna, and return home in disgrace.

  But at least she would be home and away from this bizarre world of rules and customs created by those of the Crescent Houses.

  "What do you know of a savage named Benfaaro?"

  Adalginza struggled to keep her expression normal, while battling the irrational fear that perhaps her companion could read minds.

  "I — know the name."

  "Of course you do. You grew up near his birthing grounds."

  She stopped, and turned to face Kalos. "How do you know this about me?"

  He, too, stopped. He gave her a glib look. "I asked about you, before joining you here."

  "Why would you do that?"

  "Knowledge is power, dear lady. So I know you grew up in your mother's abode near the Place of the Circles in the frontier. A very odd upbringing for a lady of the Fifth House, was it not?"

  "I was very isolated. Yes."

  "Because of your mother. I was told she was — unbalanced."

  Kalos said this gently, not accusingly.

  "I found her to be nurturing, nonetheless."

  Adalginza felt her panic gradually ease. Kalos clearly did not know her relationship to Benfaaro, though he was closer to the truth of who she really was than he could ever imagine.

  She had, indeed, been raised by the Lady Donzala. Before she was murdered, the woman had been — in truth — quite mad.

  Lady Donzala often thought Adalginza was her daughter, even though her real daughter had been long dead.

  As she reassured herself that Kalos could not possibly know this part, the captain watched her closely.

  "I bring this up not to stir old hurts. But only because you are familiar with the Place of the Circles. I ask you again. What do you know of Benfaaro?"

  "I knew him as a child."

  Perhaps it was risky, but Adalginza's instinct told her to stay as close to the truth as possible.

  "So the savages were your friends?" Kalos asked.

  "Yes. When I was very young. There were no other children around who were from a Crescent House. Ours was the only such abode left in the Place of the Circles, for many seasons."

  "So the savages accepted you?" Kalos sounded incredulous.

  "Not exactly. Never fear, my mother ended all friendships with the savages as I grew older. She taught me the true place of a lady of the Fifth House. And whatever I knew of Benfaaro, I was only a child at the time. He was so much older he was of little interest to me."

  "So the savages were once your friends. At least now I understand why you did not lay a w
hip to your slave."

  "But…"

  "Do not disgrace yourself with a lie. I know the difference between the sound of a whip laid to flesh, and a whip laid against a solid surface. We shall speak no more about it."

  Adalginza grew silent, sorting her way through a tangle of feelings as they approached the stable now visible in distant, flickering lamplight.

  Until now, she had thought her brother's name was unknown to the enemy. She could only guess that a Crescent knight somewhere must have tortured a prisoner and loosened his tongue.

  And what of her own identity? Was it still a secret?

  Few among her people knew her, or of what she was doing in Sola Re. Besides, if Kalos suspected the truth about her, he would not be so quick to dismiss her.

  He would, in fact, try to cultivate their relationship so that he could spy upon the spy.

  This meant Captain Kalos had accepted the story that Lady Donzala was her real mother. And why not? It would seem logical to him, because no savage had ever been known to be born with indigo eyes.

  Adalginza was now so certain her secret was safe that she felt secure enough to ask the next question.

  "Why did you mention Benfaaro?"

  "Because I have direct orders from the Prime Continent. I must find and kill him."

  In the time it took Kalos to speak those chilling words, Adalginza had an abrupt change of heart. This man who had just declared himself the sworn enemy of her brother must be watched closely.

  Desperation made the next lie spill from her lips as convincingly as any truth.

  "You have brought back memories for me, Captain Kalos. Of a childhood spent roaming the hills near the Place of the Circles. I had not thought of this, until now. But I once saw some images, in relief, carved on the stone wall of a cave. Placed there by the distant ancestors of the savages. And there are rumors of artifacts found there. I — I hesitate to speak aloud of what I saw and heard, but you dared to say the name of the sacred House earlier."

  "Are you saying some of those images are linked to the House of the Seventh Crescent Moon?"

  "One, at least. I am not sure of the rest. You would have to see for yourself."

  Kalos grabbed her shoulders, unaware of the pain of his grip.