“Yo! Croaker!” The Lieutenant had come outside.
“What?”
“Let Tracker cover you.” I had only minutes left in
my watch. “Darling wants you.”
I glanced at Tracker. He shrugged. “Go ahead.” He
assumed a stance facing westward. I swear, it was like he turned
the vigilance on. As though on the instant he became the ultimate
sentinel.
Even Toadkiller Dog opened an eye and went to watching.
I brushed the dog’s scalp with my fingers as I left, what
I thought a friendly gesture. He growled. “Be like
that,” I said, and joined the Lieutenant.
He seemed disturbed. Generally, he is a cold customer.
“What is it?”
“She’s got one of her wild hairs.”
Oh, boy. “What?”
“Rust.”
“Oh yeah! Brilliant! Get it all over with fast! I thought
that was just talk. I trust you tried to argue her out of
it?”
You would think a man would grow accustomed to stench after
having lived with it for years. But as we descended into the Hole
my nose wrinkled and tightened. You just can’t keep a bunch
of people stuffed in a pit without ventilation. We have precious
little.
“I tried. She says, ‘Load the wagon. Let me worry
about the mule being blind.’ ”
“She’s right most of the time.”
“She’s a damned military genius. But that
don’t mean she can pull off any cockamamie scheme she dreams
up. Some dreams are nightmares. Hell, Croaker. The Limper is out
there.”
Which is where we started when we reached the conference room.
Silent and I bore the brunt because we are Darling’s
favorites. Seldom do I see such unanimity among my brethren. Even
Goblin and One-Eye spoke with a single voice, and those two will
fight over whether it is night or day with the sun at high
noon.
Darling prowled like a caged beast. She had doubts. They nagged
her.
“Two Taken in Rust,” I argued. “That’s
what Corder said. One of them our oldest and nastiest
enemy.”
“Break them and we will shatter their entire plan of
campaign,” she countered.
“Break them? Girl, you’re talking about the Limper.
I proved he is invincible before.”
“No. You proved that he will survive unless you are
thorough. You might have burned him.”
Yeah. Or cut him into pieces and fed him to the fish, or given
him a swim in a vat of acid or a dust bath in quicklime. But those
things take time. We had the Lady herself coming down on us. We
barely got away as it was.
“Assuming we can get there undetected—which I do not
believe for a moment—and manage total surprise, how long before all
the Taken get on us?” I signed vigorously, more angry than
frightened. I never refuse Darling, ever. But this time I was
ready.
Her eyes flashed. For the first time ever I saw her battle her
temper. She signed, “If you will not accept orders you should
not be here. I am not the Lady. I do not sacrifice pawns for small
gain. I agree, there is great risk in this operation. But far less
than you argue. With potential impact far greater than you
suppose.”
“Convince me.”
“That I cannot do. If you are captured, you must not
know.”
I was primed. “You just telling me that is enough for the
Taken to get on a trail.” Maybe I was more scared than I
could admit. Or maybe it was just an all-time case of the
contraries.
“No,” she signed. There was something more, but she
held it back.
Silent dropped a hand on my shoulder. He had given up. The
Lieutenant joined him. “You’re overstepping yourself,
Croaker.”
Darling repeated, “If you will not accept orders. Croaker,
leave.”
She meant it. Really! I stood with mouth open, stunned.
“All right!” I stamped out. I went to my quarters,
shuffled those obstinate old papers and, of course, found not a
damned thing new.
They left me alone for a while. Then Elmo came. He did not
announce himself. I just glanced up and found him leaning against
the door frame. By then I was half ashamed of my performance.
“Yeah?”
“Mail call,” he said, and tossed me another of those
oilskin packets.
I snapped it out of the air. He departed without explaining its
appearance. I placed it on my worktable, wondered. Who? I knew no
one in Oar.
Was it some sort of trick?
The Lady is patient and clever. I would not put past her some
grand maneuver using me.
I guess I must have thought about it an hour before,
reluctantly, I opened the packet.
“Yo! Croaker!” The Lieutenant had come outside.
“What?”
“Let Tracker cover you.” I had only minutes left in
my watch. “Darling wants you.”
I glanced at Tracker. He shrugged. “Go ahead.” He
assumed a stance facing westward. I swear, it was like he turned
the vigilance on. As though on the instant he became the ultimate
sentinel.
Even Toadkiller Dog opened an eye and went to watching.
I brushed the dog’s scalp with my fingers as I left, what
I thought a friendly gesture. He growled. “Be like
that,” I said, and joined the Lieutenant.
He seemed disturbed. Generally, he is a cold customer.
“What is it?”
“She’s got one of her wild hairs.”
Oh, boy. “What?”
“Rust.”
“Oh yeah! Brilliant! Get it all over with fast! I thought
that was just talk. I trust you tried to argue her out of
it?”
You would think a man would grow accustomed to stench after
having lived with it for years. But as we descended into the Hole
my nose wrinkled and tightened. You just can’t keep a bunch
of people stuffed in a pit without ventilation. We have precious
little.
“I tried. She says, ‘Load the wagon. Let me worry
about the mule being blind.’ ”
“She’s right most of the time.”
“She’s a damned military genius. But that
don’t mean she can pull off any cockamamie scheme she dreams
up. Some dreams are nightmares. Hell, Croaker. The Limper is out
there.”
Which is where we started when we reached the conference room.
Silent and I bore the brunt because we are Darling’s
favorites. Seldom do I see such unanimity among my brethren. Even
Goblin and One-Eye spoke with a single voice, and those two will
fight over whether it is night or day with the sun at high
noon.
Darling prowled like a caged beast. She had doubts. They nagged
her.
“Two Taken in Rust,” I argued. “That’s
what Corder said. One of them our oldest and nastiest
enemy.”
“Break them and we will shatter their entire plan of
campaign,” she countered.
“Break them? Girl, you’re talking about the Limper.
I proved he is invincible before.”
“No. You proved that he will survive unless you are
thorough. You might have burned him.”
Yeah. Or cut him into pieces and fed him to the fish, or given
him a swim in a vat of acid or a dust bath in quicklime. But those
things take time. We had the Lady herself coming down on us. We
barely got away as it was.
“Assuming we can get there undetected—which I do not
believe for a moment—and manage total surprise, how long before all
the Taken get on us?” I signed vigorously, more angry than
frightened. I never refuse Darling, ever. But this time I was
ready.
Her eyes flashed. For the first time ever I saw her battle her
temper. She signed, “If you will not accept orders you should
not be here. I am not the Lady. I do not sacrifice pawns for small
gain. I agree, there is great risk in this operation. But far less
than you argue. With potential impact far greater than you
suppose.”
“Convince me.”
“That I cannot do. If you are captured, you must not
know.”
I was primed. “You just telling me that is enough for the
Taken to get on a trail.” Maybe I was more scared than I
could admit. Or maybe it was just an all-time case of the
contraries.
“No,” she signed. There was something more, but she
held it back.
Silent dropped a hand on my shoulder. He had given up. The
Lieutenant joined him. “You’re overstepping yourself,
Croaker.”
Darling repeated, “If you will not accept orders. Croaker,
leave.”
She meant it. Really! I stood with mouth open, stunned.
“All right!” I stamped out. I went to my quarters,
shuffled those obstinate old papers and, of course, found not a
damned thing new.
They left me alone for a while. Then Elmo came. He did not
announce himself. I just glanced up and found him leaning against
the door frame. By then I was half ashamed of my performance.
“Yeah?”
“Mail call,” he said, and tossed me another of those
oilskin packets.
I snapped it out of the air. He departed without explaining its
appearance. I placed it on my worktable, wondered. Who? I knew no
one in Oar.
Was it some sort of trick?
The Lady is patient and clever. I would not put past her some
grand maneuver using me.
I guess I must have thought about it an hour before,
reluctantly, I opened the packet.