Zypheria's Call (A Tanyth Fairport Adventure) (12 page)

Long before she saw the village, Tanyth smelled the smoke and the sour aroma of people. She wrinkled her nose at the scent.

“Should be Foxrun,” Frank said. “Musta had a rough winter.”

Tanyth looked up to see him looking down at her, concern in his eyes. “I’m all right.” She stirred herself on the seat and rubbed some of the dust out of her eyes. “Just needed to rest a bit. Guess I’m not used to walkin’.”

She saw Frank and Rebecca share a glance over her head, but before she could ask about it, the wagon rounded a shallow bend and she saw the source of the smell. A collection of buildings huddled around a crossroad. What should have been the town square was an unremarkable intersection of roads on either side of the hard packed Pike. On the far side of the crossroad, a coach pulled out of the waystation’s yard and thundered northward, disappearing in a cloud of dust that slowly settled in its wake. The driver looked like the same one that had passed them earlier on the road.

“Foxrun,” Frank announced. “Mind your purse and keep your valuables hidden.”

Rebecca laughed at his off-hand tone. “Is it really that bad?”

He cast her a sidelong glance but rolled one shoulder in a shrug. “There’s worse, but it’s always a good idea to keep your eyes open when travelin’.”

“I was expectin’ somethin’ more...prosperous,” Tanyth said, eyeing the ramshackle collection of hovels.

Frank’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed the village. “Somethin’ ain’t exactly right.”

“What’s wrong, Frank?” Rebecca asked.

“Not sure. Inn here brings in money. They gen’rally do a good custom. Tap room serves a fair pint.”

“This don’t look like a prosperous town,” Tanyth said. “Not the best of times?”

Frank shook his head slowly from side to side. “I been drivin’ this road for five summers now. That was the first time I ever been threatened.” He paused to glance over his shoulder at the road behind. “That wasn’t somethin’ I expected, so no, not the best of times.”

Rebecca said, “First Birchwood. Now them? What’s next?”

Frank shrugged again. “Dunno, but maybe Rupert’s got some ideas.”

“Rupert?” Tanyth asked.

Frank nodded, jerking his chin at a squat, solid-looking building beside the Pike on the other side of the crossroad. “Rupert Peabury. He runs the way station here. Good man with the animals. Keeps his eyes open, his mouth closed, and his ear to the ground.”

“Sounds uncomfortable,” Tanyth muttered.

Frank huffed a short laugh and Rebecca smiled.

As the wagon rolled by the village, Tanyth saw big-eyed children peaking out of darkened doors. In one hut, a woman pulled the child out of the open door and back out of sight before closing the door. Here and there a chicken scratched and pecked in the dirt. Early summer weeds had taken hold and grew wherever careless feet hadn’t trampled them. The place was quiet enough that Tanyth heard the occasional grunt of a pig somewhere on the backside of the village even over the sounds of the wagon.

“Not real friendly,” Rebecca said.

Frank nodded but said nothing.

On the other side of the crossroad, a wide barn with watering trough at the front and a paddock behind squatted beside the Pike. As the wagon approached, a solitary figure walked out of the way station and leaned against the open barn doors. The man kept to the shade so Tanyth couldn’t see much of him in the afternoon’s glare.

“Rupert?” she asked.

“Prob’ly,” Frank said.

Frank steered the team into the yard and pulled up just in front of the building.

“Well, well, well,” the man said, a crooked smile twisting his mouth to the side of his face. “Must be springtime afta all.”

“Hey, Rupert. How was the winter?”

Rupert sighed and shook his head. “Been betta,” he said and spit into the dust beside the barn’s footing.

Frank turned his head to look the village over. “Seems kinda quiet.”

“Yep. We had a spot o’ trouble. Kinda quieted things down a bit.” Rupert scratched his jaw where a patchy beard tried to grow. “Can’t be sure it’s ova, if you get my drift.” Rupert looked at his boots, lifting one to check the heel.

Frank nodded. “I do.”

Rupert squinted up and nodded slowly. “You stopppin’?”

Frank shrugged. “Daylight’s burnin’, but the horses could use some water and the barrel could use some freshenin’ if you got it to spare.”

Rupert grinned. “Water—we got plenty o’ that.” He turned his head and shouted back over his shoulder. “Daniel? Bran? You boys grab a couple buckets and get your lazy behinds out here.”

Tanyth heard a grumbled response from the depths of the barn and two rangy boys in their middle teens shambled out, each with a bucket in his hand and a surly expression on his face. They wore tired denim overalls that lacked the stains and dirt that Tanyth expected to see. Rupert wore the same.

“Mr. Crane’s team needs waterin’,” Rupert said. “And when you’re done, toss a couple of buckets in his water butt.”

The two nodded and shuffled off to the watering trough.

“Manners, boys,” Rubert said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning a shoulder against the barn.

The two turned faces toward Frank, and nodded. “Howdy, Mr. Crane. Mum...” They didn’t know how to greet Rebecca, so just nodded once in her direction and kept walking.

Rupert ran a weathered hand over his mouth as he watched the pair of them drag themselves to the watering trough. Tanyth thought he hid a grin behind the hand and became sure of it when he glanced up at Frank, shaking his head.

“I see they’re growin’ up,” Frank said, a grin on his face.

Rubert nodded and tsked. “Slowly. They keep growin’, sure enough. I think it’s all the manure in their boots, but their maw says it’s ’cause we keep feedin’ ’em reg’lar.”

As the two worked either side of the team, offering their buckets to the huge draft horses a pair at a time, Tanyth saw them forget to be sullen. They knew their business and took pains to keep the horses from drinking too much, giving each a scratch on the ear and a pat on the flank as they moved along. By the time they finished and drew fresh water for the wagon, they had recovered from the sulk enough to be casting shy glances at Rebecca.

Frank reached into a pocket and flipped a pair of silver coins through the air. Each boy caught one even as Rupert stirred himself.

“Here, now! No need for that,” he said.

Frank scoffed. “Boys earned it, Rupert. Simple business.”

“We don’t charge for water here, Frank Crane. You know that.”

Something in the man’s face, some hint of distress made Frank’s mouth close against whatever he was about to say. After a moment, he said, “Nope. Ya don’t and I’m grateful for the water.” He jerked his chin at the boys. “I paid for service and them two did a fine job of it. They do ya proud, Rupert.”

The wind went out of Rupert’s sails and he raked a hand through thinning brown hair. He blew a breath out and nodded. “Sorry,” he muttered and turned to the waiting boys. “Say thank you.”

“Thanks, Mr. Crane,” the taller of the two said, nodding his head.

“Yeah. Thank ya,” his brother chimed in.

“Now you two go take those silvers and stash ’em in the house. See if your mother has any chores for ya.”

“Aw, pa,” the taller one said but turned to do as he was told.

The two boys scuffed their way through the large barn and out the back door, disappearing in the direction of the village.

Rupert snorted in what might have been a laugh and might have been exasperation before turning back to Frank. “You don’t have any of your own, do ya, Frank?”

Frank grinned and shook his head.

“Y’ever think you wanna start? Get a hound instead,” Rupert said with a shake of his head. “He’ll crap on the rug, piss on the floor, and gen’rally behave like a kid, but he don’t eat as much and after ten winters or so he’ll die and leave ya in peace with fond mem’ries.”

Frank laughed and even Tanyth chuckled at the woebegone tone.

“You love them boys more’n you love horses, you old coot,” Frank said, shaking his head. “And you’d die yourself if’n you couldn’t tend horses.”

Rupert grinned and gave a shrug, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Tanyth saw the truth of Frank’s words reflected in the man’s eyes.

“Now that the boys’re gone, you wanna tell me about it?” Frank said.

Rupert’s expression turned sour. He spat on the ground again. “Last summer things went all to hell. We had trouble with some yahoos. They came to town, rode right up to Zack and Eloise’s demandin’ protection money.”

Frank stiffened.

“What? You, too?” Rupert said.

“Birchwood and his boys?” Frank growled.

Rupert shrugged. “Never heard the names. Zack knew but he didn’t spread it around.”

“Four riders. Leader wore a fancy coat with a red silk lining in it? Pranced about like the crown prince himself?” Frank said.

Rupert nodded. “That’s them. They disappeared just afore you came through that last time in the fall.”

Frank shook his head. “They just moved on to greener pastures.”

“Your place?” Rupert’s eyes narrowed.

Frank nodded. “You see all the help I had that last trip?”

“Oh, I saw you go rollin’ by here right enough. Half a dozen guys with ya?”

“Yep. Didn’t stop. We were in a hurry.”

“I wondered.” Rupert nodded, chewing the inside of this mouth. “Makes sense now.”

“What’d they do here?” Tanyth asked.

Rupert scrubbed his mouth with his hand again, as if trying to clean up what he might say. “Zack paid ’em off. They rode away.”

Frank shook his head and leaned down, resting his forearms on his thighs. “Then what?” The sadness in his tone said he already knew.

Rupert shuffled his feet a little and gave a shrug. “A week later they came back. Rode right up to Zack’s and there was some kinda row. We had a carriage in at the time, and things got busy. Passengers. Horses. Ever’body wantin’ somethin’ right now, you know how it is,” Rupert shrugged.

“Aye,” Frank said with a nod.

“By the time we got the carriage out of here, they was gone. I see them hightailin’ down the Pike, but didn’t think anythin’ of it until I heard Eloise scream.”

Frank nodded. “Sounds about right.”

Rupert shrugged and looked south down the Pike. “They haven’t been back since. Don’t know whether to be glad or mad.”

“They won’t be back,” Frank said.

Rupert turned a surprised look up at the older man. “You sound pretty sure.”

Frank shrugged. “I know where his body’s buried.”

Rupert’s face went slack for a moment and then recovered as he saw the look on Frank’s face. “That would make a man pretty certain, I guess.”

“So what happened after Zack?” Frank asked. “That ain’t the end of it, is it?”

“Couple of the boys got ta talkin’. Decided that stealin’ must pay pretty good.” He looked up at Frank, an uneasy expression on his face. “Why’d ya ask?”

Frank shrugged. “Well, in all the years I been driving this stretch of road, I never been held up before.”

“Before?” Rupert shook his head and raked a hand through his hair again. “How many?”

“Five. Leader, stocky guy with a smart mouth. Three swords and a bow.”

“Ethan,” Tanyth said. “They called him Ethan.”

Rupert closed his eyes and slumped back against the barn, his eyes on the ground and his head shaking side-to-side. He took in a deep breath and blew it out. “What’d they get?” he asked, his voice hollow and tired sounding.

“Ethan got about a yard of cedar,” Frank said.

Rupert looked up, puzzlement on his face. “A yard of cedar?”

Rebecca held up her quiver in response.

“He’s dead?” Rupert asked, eyes wide.

Frank shook his head. “Thigh. He’ll limp for a while, but if they get the shaft out and get him back here, he’ll be fine.”

“Aw, Frank, I’m sorry about this. We shoulda told the King’s Own what was goin’ on but they never...that is, I didn’t know they was doin’ more than talkin’ about it.”

Tanyth saw a shadow in the man’s eyes.

“Well, they won’t be doin’ any more,” Frank said.

Rupert nodded. “When the next messenger comes through, I’ll tell ’em myself.” He took a deep breath and blew it out. “I shoulda turned that bastard in last fall when he started spoutin’ off.”

“Which bastard is that?” Frank asked.

“Everett Hampton,” Rupert said. “He took it pretty hard when them buggers killed Zack. He’s been lordin’ it over the town ever since. Thinks he’s some kinda grand high protector. Spoutin’ off about how he’ll see to it nothin’ like that happens again, he knows how to take care of a village, and the like. Mostly it’s just the ale talkin’ but...” Rupert sighed and shook his head. “’Nough’s enough.”

“He won’t be botherin’ ya anymore, either,” Frank said.

Rupert’s agitation stilled and he stared up at Frank. He had to clear his throat before he could speak, and even then his words came soft on the breeze. “You sound pretty certain.”

Frank nodded.

Rupert squinted his eyes closed and opened them wide again as if trying to wake up from a bad dream.

Frank said, “T’were me, I’d get the village together and see if a few wiser heads might not be able to find a new leader afore Ethan and his friends get here.” Frank looked over his shoulder, back down the Pike. “Carriage just been through. I figure you got a couple hours. Might be you should use that time ta figure out what to do next without their help.”

Rupert’s brows knitted together. He crossed the narrow gap between barn and wagon and held up a hand. “Good advice. Thanks.”

Frank shook the hand and nodded. “Good luck,” he said, then clucked his tongue and snapped the reins. The horses pulled against the harness and the wagon began to roll once more.

As they pulled out onto the Pike, Tanyth looked over her shoulder. Rupert stood there, staring at the ground. He raked a hand through his hair and turned, quick strides carrying him into the barn and out of view.

She settled back into her seat and faced forward again.

“Think there’ll be trouble, Frank?” Rebecca asked.

Frank shrugged. “Been trouble. Maybe now it’ll get fixed.”

Chapter Ten:
The Winding Road