Deniably Dead (Arucadi Series Book 4) Read online

Renni wished he’d show more patience with the poor woman. After all, he had damaged her previous crystal, though he wasn’t responsible for its ultimate destruction.

  Looking hurt, Zauna shook her head. “It’s so well packed that I won’t take it out unless we need it badly,” she said. “I won’t take chances with this one.”

  “In that case, let’s get busy cleaning the wagon and storing our supplies,” Lore said, rising from his chair and gathering up his packages. “Come on. We’ve got a lot of work to do before dark.”

  Renni groaned.

  Camsen gave her a sympathetic look. “I think we need a bit of rest first,” he said.

  Renni nodded. “Give us a little more time, Lore,” she said. “I’d like to hear Zauna’s story. I need to relax after walking around under the hot sun. And I still say we should let some of the work go until tomorrow and stay here one more night. We’ll be much more rested and feel more like getting back on the road.”

  “That sounds good to me,” Zauna said. “I did a lot of walking before I found the shop where I made my marvelous discovery. Even though I’ve rested a bit and had a good lunch, I’m not quite ready to be sweeping out and scrubbing down the wagon.”

  “I think it’s three against one, Lore,” Renni said, softening her words with a smile. “You’re outvoted.”

  “All right, if that’s the way you want it. But I’m going to start the work even if no one will join me.” Lore headed for the door.

  “You said that stable boy—what was his name? Ril?—is always ready to lend a hand,” Camsen called after him. “Get him to help you.”

  Lore paused and turned back toward them. “Oh, yes, he’s a good worker. He can be a big help, but he’s also a nonstop talker.” Lore shook his head. “I don’t know how long I can stand to listen to him natter on about nothing. Plus he has a thousand questions about what we’re doing, what’s in the wagon, where we’re going, what’s in that funny box in the wagon.”

  “What do you tell him?” Renni asked in alarm.

  “I don’t tell him anything. I just laugh.”

  “Well, be careful,” she cautioned. “Don’t let him get too curious.”

  “Oh, he’s harmless,” Lore said. “And I don’t give anything away.”

  “He can’t open the faceplate and see Kyla, can he?” Camsen asked, frowning.

  “No. You know it’s locked. I keep the key on me at all times. I never open the faceplate unless I’m sure no one is around to see. I make sure I know where Ril is and that he isn’t close by when I open it and check on Kyla. Not that there’s anything to see. She always looks exactly the same. Not decaying, not breathing.”

  They fell quiet then.

  Lore waited a few moments, then said, “Well, if I have to depend on Ril’s help while you just sit here doing nothing, so be it. I’ll see you at supper.”

  He stalked to the door, got it open somehow despite his armful of bags and boxes, and left.

  “I suppose we really should go and help,” Camsen said with a sigh.

  “We should,” Renni said, “but he could also be more reasonable.”

  Zauna nodded. “We could at least carry the rest of the supplies out to the stable,” she said.

  “We’ll do that,” Renni conceded, “a little later.”

  §

  Ril came up almost as soon as Lore began hauling supplies from the wagon and stacking them neatly in a corner of the barn. “Hey, Mr. Kaplek, want help with that?” the boy asked, almost jumping with eagerness.

  Lore did need help, though he would have preferred to have it from his companions rather than this young red-haired imp with the thousand questions. However, since Ril was here and his three companions had shown no interest in helping, he’d have to make do with the inquisitive stable boy.

  “Yes, I can use your help,” Lore said, stepping up onto the lowered step that gave easy access to the wagon interior. “You stay out here and let me hand you down boxes and things. I want to take everything out, give the wagon a good sweeping out, and then rearrange all the supplies to fit in things we’ve bought today.”

  “Everything?” The boy peered up at him with a big grin. “Even that big box that you won’t tell me what’s in it?”

  “No, that will stay right where it is,” Lore answered a bit snappishly. “Now take this and stack it carefully in that corner.” He pointed to the corner to the left of the heavy barn door, where he had put the newly purchased items before Ril’s arrival.

  Ignoring Lore’s tone, Ril accepted the box of foodstuffs, put it where Lore indicated, and was back and reaching for another armload before Lore had one ready for him. “You know what I think, Mr. Kaplek? I think you’re gem miners, you and Mr. Wellner, and the two ladies are your women. Some gem miners like to have their women with ’em when they travel. And I think that box must be full of gems like garnets and turquoise and—”

  “You think too much,” Lore cut him off, handing down the next stack of boxes. “Careful, don’t drop these.”

  “Ha! I bet I’m right. You didn’t say I wasn’t.”

  “I didn’t say you were, either,” Lore said. “You can guess all you want, but you won’t figure it out, and I won’t tell you.”

  “Why? I wouldn’t tell nobody.” Ril accepted another armload of boxes and arranged them on and next to the others.

  “Wouldn’t you? The way you love to talk? It’s none of your business. Start a new stack with this box. Don’t put it on top of the others.” As annoying as Ril was, the work went much faster with the boy’s help.

  “That Miss Natches is pretty. She your sweetheart? You’re not married, are you?” At least Ril had switched to a different line of questioning.

  “No and no. Renni and I are just friends.”

  Were they even that? Renni still didn’t trust him. She made no secret of it. And he didn’t like the way she tried to run things. So maybe they were even. They were civil to each other, but friends? Probably not.

  “Maybe that’s her trousseau in the box, and you’re going somewhere special to get married and settle down.”

  So the boy hadn’t gotten away from his questioning about the box after all. “Maybe,” Lore said. “Now go fetch me a broom.”

  As overly inquisitive as Ril was, he worked steadily and followed orders without complaint. Deciding that having to put up with his endless questions was a small price to pay for all the help he gave, Lore kept his temper in check and kept reminding himself that the lad’s curiosity was natural at his age. He restrained himself from rebuking Ril when the boy ran his hand over the top of the coffin as if caressing the wood.

  “You know what, Master Kaplek?” Ril said. “This big box almost looks like some kind of coffin. You don’t have a dead body in there, do you?”

  Lore gave a start but caught himself before shouting out an angry denial. The boy’s mischievous grin showed he wasn’t serious. He thought he was making a joke, not realizing how close to the truth he had come. So Lore responded with a wink and a jocular, “Could be. Could be I’m taking my old Uncle Mackleroy to a special secret burial ground, eh?”

  They both laughed and Ril got back to work without another word. But Lore pondered what the stable boy had said in jest. He may have spoken the truth unknowingly, though Lore didn’t think so. Each time he opened the faceplate to check on her, Kyla lay unchanged and looking peacefully asleep. Although no breath escaped her lips so far as Lore could tell, in the heat of the desert they were passing through, a corpse would give off a dreadful odor and show evidence of decay. Yet if anything the interior of the coffin gave off a pleasant, fresh odor, and while pale, Kyla’s face retained its shape, her flesh its firmness.

  If she wasn’t dead, though, how was she staying alive without drinking, eating, or even breathing? Whatever her state was, it had to be so near death as to make the distinction meaningless, or so it seemed to him. Veronica had claimed that a Dire Lord had placed Kyla in some sort of suspension between life and death, but sh
e hadn’t been able to explain why. “Dire Lords don’t have to explain things,” she’d told them in response to their questions. “Lord Claid just told me what had to be done, and that he had a good reason for it.”

  Dire Lords were supposedly the lords of death, so why one would want to keep Kyla or anyone else alive, Lore couldn’t imagine. Veronica had declared that “Lord Claid” was a friend of Kyla’s. How could a Dire Lord have a human friend? It never had made sense to Lore. He’d agreed to go on this expedition largely out of curiosity and from a desire to redeem himself after nearly getting the whole Gifted Community killed. He didn’t regret his decision, but neither did he expect much to come of it. They would reach their destination, construct the place where Kyla, in her coffin, would remain concealed, and return to Port-of-Lords, perhaps never to know what, if anything, their journey accomplished.

  “Whatcha thinking about, Master Kaplek? You haven’t heard anything I’ve been saying, seems like.”

  Ril’s question tore him out of his depressing thoughts. “Sorry,” he said. “You’re right. I hope you didn’t say anything important.” He grinned at the boy.

  Ril shook his head. “Guess not,” he said with an answering grin. “I just asked some questions you prob’ly wouldn’t answer anyway.”

  “Then let’s have less talk and get this work finished,” Lore said, hauling out the heavy box of tools to be used in the construction of Kyla’s resting place, the final item to be set outside so that the wagon could be swept out and checked to make certain no floorboards had come loose and no additional caulking was needed to assure that the wagon was watertight in case they needed to cross streams once they got through this desert country.

  He jumped from the wagon and helped Ril lift the heavy box of tools

  “What you got in this?” the boy asked. “It sure is heavy.”

  “Tools,” Lore said shortly.

  “Mining tools, I’ll bet,” Ril speculated in a tone that indicated he didn’t expect an answer. “Picks and things to pry out gem stones.”

  Lore didn’t answer, just grabbed a broom, climbed back into the wagon, and started sweeping.

  When the wagon was clean, the work of loading and arranging the supplies required effort and concentration to the extent that even Ril fell silent. By the time they finished, the golden rays of the setting sun changed to flame red and deep pink as Dor bid his world goodnight. Lore gave Ril his thanks and a generous tip for his help. The boy responded with a big, happy grin.

  By the time Lore washed, changed into clean clothes, and got to the dining room, his companions had almost finished their meal. He slid into a chair by them at the communal table. He could see that they must have waited before finally coming to the table, as they were the last diners remaining. Even so, they could have waited for him after letting him do all the work.

  He greeted them with a curt nod. “The work’s done, thanks to the stable boy’s help. We got the wagon cleaned and all the supplies stowed safely. So we can get back on the road tomorrow morning.”

  “Lore, we would have all pitched in to help if you had been willing to wait until tomorrow and give us another day here.” Renni spoke in a reasonable tone, but Lore caught the disapproval behind her words.

  “You must be worn out, working all afternoon like that,” Camsen added. “We’ve rested a bit, but I feel we could all use another day here in Marquez.”

  Zauna handed him a platter of roast pork, and along with it another plea. “We have a long journey still ahead of us, Lore. I know you want to get on with it, but I agree with Renni and Camsen that one more day here would benefit all of us.”

  Lore piled all the meat left on the platter onto his plate, figuring the others had already had their share. He set the empty platter onto the table and turned to Zauna. “I suppose you want time to admire your new crystal ball,” he said, making no attempt to disguise his anger. “It isn’t as though this town boasts a lot of entertainment or fascinating sights or even a decent climate. It’s hot, dry, dusty, and dull. I’ll be glad to say goodbye to it.”

  “I don’t intend to unpack my crystal until we reach our destination,” Zauna said indignantly. “It’s well protected the way the shopkeeper packed it, and I won’t risk anything happening to it. It’s a valuable orb, worth much more than I paid for it, I’m certain.”

  “So you won’t even show it to us?” Camsen asked, perhaps in a misguided attempt to defuse the angry outbursts Renni’s and Zauna’s glares portended.

  “Where is it then?” Lore demanded. “It should have been stowed with the rest of the supplies. There’s little if any room to spare. Ril and I packed everything in so tightly I don’t know where there’ll be a space for it now.”

  “You don’t need to worry about that,” Zauna said. “I intend to keep it right with me at all times.”

  “That’ll be awkward and uncomfortable,” Lore told Zauna and reached for a bowl of cooked greens, about the only vegetable left on the table.

  “You let me worry about that,” Zauna snapped. She slid her chair back and rose. “I’m going to my room.”

  “Lore, the three of us are in agreement about staying here one more day and night,” Renni said. “You’re outvoted.” She rose to follow Zauna.

  “I do most of the driving, so I should get the most say,” Lore said.

  “You’re the youngest of the company,” Camsen pointed out. “You should defer to your elders. Zauna and I have little experience guiding the horses, but Renni seems to enjoy driving and is good with the horses. She’d do more of the driving if you’d let her.”

  “Maybe I’ll let her do all of it, if that’s what you want,” Lore said and very deliberately focused his attention on his plate.

  “You’ve worked hard, and you’re tired,” Camsen persisted. “Let us all rest tonight and tomorrow and get a very early start the next morning. We’ll all feel better. This bickering only shows how unready we are to continue our journey in the wagon’s close quarters. We must be of one accord to endure the rigors of the road remaining before us. Think about it.”

  So saying, the former priest also took his leave, letting Lore complete his meal in grateful solitude. He finished the food remaining on the table, drank a mug of ale, and felt better, more at peace. Even more so, when the kitchen maid brought him a creamy pudding and favored him with a warming smile. He savored the dessert, ordered a second mug of the rich, dark ale, and considered that perhaps, tired as he was, he would welcome a day of rest and relaxation. It would be good not to have to rise early in the morning. Especially if the young maid’s smile indicated that he might enjoy a different type of treat a bit later.

  §

  The bright sunlight streaming through the high window over the bed in which he’d spent a pleasant night in the company of the pretty kitchen maid roused Lore. He stretched luxuriously. His bedmate had left, no doubt to attend to her kitchen duties. He had not heard her rise and stir about and thought how considerate she was to have let him sleep on.

  He rose and hunted about for his clothes, found them neatly folded, not strewn about as he recalled having left them. He put them on, taking his time and again appreciating the thoughtfulness of—what was the lass’s name? He couldn’t recall, nor was it important.

  Camsen was probably wondering what had become of him and where he’d spent the night, but he owed the man no explanation. He’d go upstairs later, but first he’d check to be sure Ril had cared for the horses and all was well. And then he’d have a good breakfast, and he’d tell his companions that they were absolutely right about staying an extra day. He’d apologize for having been stubborn and surly last evening, pleading tiredness and sore muscles from his afternoon of work.

  §

  Renni awoke to the realization that they had, after all, slept late. Lore must have relented and decided not to roust them out of bed before dawn, insisting that they resume their journey. What a relief!

  She looked over to see whether Zauna still slept. T
he older woman was sitting up, holding the sealed package containing her newly acquired crystal ball and staring at it as though she could see through the thin wooden crate and the protective stuffing of straw to gaze into the crystal within it.

  “Have you been awake long?” Renni asked her.

  “No, not long,” Zauna replied. “It’s late, though. We’ll have to hurry if we’re to get breakfast. I haven’t heard a sound from Camsen or Lore. I’d guess they’ve slept in, too.”

  “Well, I don’t want to miss breakfast. Let’s get dressed and go downstairs. Let the men find their own way on their own time.”

  Zauna chuckled agreeably and rose.

  It took the two only a short time to wash and dress. They reached the dining room and were relieved to find plenty of food still on the table, steaming hot and giving off wonderful aromas. Camsen had preceded them and was seated at an otherwise empty table, a full plate in front of him, indicating that he’d arrived only a bit before them. They wasted no time in serving themselves from the steaming bowls of porridge, plates of hotcakes, and steaming pots of coffee before joining him at his table.

  They had just begun to eat when Lore rushed in and looked around wildly. Spotting them, he hurried toward them shouting, “It’s gone! Gone!”

  “What’s gone?” Renni asked, her fork halted halfway to her mouth.

  “The wagon! The horses! The coffin! All our supplies! Everything! Gone!”

  “How gone?” Zauna asked, turning in her chair to face him. “What do you mean?”

  “Just what I said. During the night or early this morning someone stole the horses, the wagon, and everything in it. Including Kyla in her coffin. Nothing’s left. Nothing at all.”

  Alarm registered on every face. Renni jumped to her feet. “I knew this inn would bring trouble,” she declared. “You should have listened to me when I advised against staying here. The man who sent us here is probably in league with the thieves.”

  “Does the stable boy know anything?” Camsen asked. “Did he see anything?”

  Lore hung his head. “Ril’s missing too,” he said. “I guess you were right about him, and Renni was right about the inn.”