57. The House of
Rebels
“There will be a
battle,” said Gordie. “Soon.”
“Not if you agree to be
Mai’iro’s ally,” I pointed out. “It could all be avoided.”
We sat side by side before this house of Mai’iro and his men. The
House of Rebels I had named it in my mind.
“I fear to make any
decision until I have word on Malee,” my companion replied. “I do
not wish to lie either.”
Meaning he might? “He
will wish to fight the smaller force, Aranu’s men, before anyone
else arrives,” he said, continuing his first thought. “Maybe we
can get you away during it. You must promise to care for Malee if you
do and — and I don’t.”
“You must escape too,”
I said. “That will take care of everything.”
“I agreed to stay,
remember?” Would he stay true to that promise still?
“At his camp. Not here.”
Gordie laughed rather
loudly at that. “Ah, what an excellent little sophist you are,
Ranadi!” I did not know the word so I took it as a compliment. “I
don’t think that is quite acceptable.”
But he was tempted, I
could tell. “Then the only other solution is to kill our host,” I
informed him. “You never promised not to do that.”
“This is so.” He was
quiet for some time. Perhaps he was thinking of ways to murder
Mai’iro. Then he looked up, as if something had caught his
attention.
I followed his eyes. The
tall gates of the stockade were being swung closed. “Aranu and Bafa
must be here,” I whispered.
One of Mai’iro’s
lieutenants approached. “You two. Inside,” he ordered. I could
see he was a man of mixed blood, as many of those who served Gordie.
Had he been promised the life of a Mora warrior? Maybe even nobility?
Mai’iro would probably promise anything — and I would believe
none of it.
We returned to what passed
for our room in the structure, an open spot with a pair of sleeping
mats. A woven mat, with many holes, hung on one side to afford a
slight illusion of privacy. It had been assumed Gordie and I shared a
chamber. “So we wait,” was all he had to say.
We had too much of that, I
wanted to reply. I held my tongue. Instead, I asked my fellow
prisoner, “Do you think Lady Ma’ave will come to live at the
House of Gordie?”
“She would have to
visit, at least.” He chuckled. “The real question is whether I
would go live at the House of Pua.”
“The House of Naio,” I
corrected him. “It is her husband’s house, officially.” I now
became a bit serious. “Both of you would be welcome at the House of
the High King, I think. And, of course, at Marareta’s home.”
“And you will live by
A’auwa, won’t you?”
“Perhaps,” was all I
was willing to answer to that, for truly I did not know.
“And Ma’ave and I are
also still ‘perhaps,’ are we not? I shall worry about that when
we are gone from here.”
Surely the Mora woman would not reject him! But then, I had — and there was no going back on that. The house was almost deserted for all the warriors were at the walls. Where the few women I had seen might be, I had no idea. A shadow approached, moving through the dim-lit spaces, moving from the concealment of one roof post to another.
“Master,” came a
throaty whisper.
“Pahe?” Then the
immediate question. “Malee?”
“She and Lady Ma’ave
are safely with Lord Beka, who was coming north with warriors. His
scouts came upon us, hurrying south.” He squatted beside us and
continued. “And then I was the one to hurry back north again!”
“How did you get in
here?” I asked.
“I simply walked in
earlier with some of the men who serve here. They are very lax.”
“Never had reason to be
cautious before,” felt Gordie. “Now you are trapped here.”
Pahe answered cheerfully.
“Only until Lord Beka and Lord Ponu bring their men to climb over
these walls.”
“Mai’iro will surely
take his own warriors out to attack those already here before they
come,” Gordie said. “He greatly outnumbers Aranu’s force. And I
fear he has more men coming, maybe from beyond the hills.” The next
words came reluctantly. “Some of them men who once served me.”
The familiar scowl
returned to Pahe’s face. “Traitors,” he spat.
“But I can not blame
them too much. I never made clear my intentions.” He smiled thinly.
“I do not think I was sure of them myself. Now I am.”
“That is good, Lord
Gordie. What do we do?”
“For now, wait.
Opportunities do arise and we must be ready to make the best of
them.”
That sounded like Gordie,
indeed. I hoped he was right.
Maybe we could get out
when the gates were opened for Mai’iro’s warriors. Or get out
over the wall while they were occupied. These thoughts came and went
in my head. But Gordie would again refuse to escape with us. Of this
I was fairly sure, and I suspected it was not just because of a
promise.
“I need a weapon,” he
said after a while. “You have only a knife, Pahe?”
“Yes, lord,” came his
reply. “It should be easy enough to find some here. Possibly lying
about in this house.” With that he slipped away.
“You must keep out of
the way when there is battle here,” Gordie told me. He sounded
certain there would be. Pahe returned in a few minutes with what
implements of war he could find.
“I managed a spear,”
he told us, holding it up. “A knife for each of you. The edges are
not too good.” I was glad he thought of me, even if I was supposed
to stay out of the way. “A club in the Mora style. Would the Taona
Marareta were here to wield it!”
“You will have to do,
Pahe. The spear is probably the better choice for me,” said Gordie.
He gazed toward the sunlit yard. “We can get closer and see what is
going on. No one will pay attention to us now.”
Probably true, as long as
we did not leave this house. As I stood beside him, gazing out at
Mai’iro’s gathering warriors, he leaned down and whispered, “Now
I know Malee is safe, I do not fear to act. Maybe I will not live
past this day. I do not know, Ranadi. Remain safe.” He kissed me
then, the first time and the last.
“They are ready to march
out,” he said. “When the gate is closed behind them, we act.”
Pahe nodded. I am sure he
had no more idea what his master intended than did I.
We watched as the the
heavy gate of split logs was closed and barred. Lord Mai’iro came
walking back from it with a handful of retainers. I was not too
surprised that he had not chosen to go out and fight himself.
Gordie stepped out into
the way. “Mai’iro!” he cried out, brandishing his spear. “Face
me!”
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