Free Zara the Wolf by C. R. Daems Page A

first?" I asked, only partially
in gest as the sergeant projected a sense of urgency. Dukes probably had that
effect on people. I want it now meant you were already late in getting it ,
I mused but didn't smile.
    "Of course. We will wait out here. Don't be long. It’s
a ways back to the castle," he said, confirming my previous thought. I
closed the door, changed into my new leathers, added my wolf trim to my boots,
sheathed my weapons, and opened the door to their shocked expressions. I locked
the door and headed down the stairs, followed by the three men. The two young
ones had their heads together whispering. Outside, there were four horses. I
decided not to question how I would get back, or worse, joke about the duke
giving me a horse. I swung up on the one with no gear and waited as they
mounted.
    The ride was made in silence, but it gave me an opportunity
to see the wealthier part of the city and the castle, which was surrounded by a
granite wall twenty feet high and eight feet thick. We entered the castle
grounds through a tunnel with two iron gates and guards at both ends. Inside, it
looked like a small city, and in the center were a large courtyard and a
six-story granite building that looked like it could hold hundreds of people. A
small thin man stood at the bottom of the steps as we approached. His
expression never changed, but his eyes evaluated me as we neared him.
    "Minister Niver, this is Zara the cook. Duke Wetzel
asked us to find and bring her to him," said the sergeant, appearing happy
to give me over. Niver nodded and waited patiently as I dismounted.
    "Zara, follow me," he said, and mounted the steps
to the castle. Inside, he led me down a long hallway with life-sized statues,
embroidered rugs, and paintings of scenes and people to a door guarded by two
soldiers. As Niver knocked and entered the room, they nodded to him, and then
they stood watching me like I was a loose viper in the hallway. Niver appeared
shortly afterward.
    "Zara, the duke will see you now. You will address him
as Your Grace, or Duke Wetzel, and don't speak unless asked a question. Do you
understand?"
    "Yes, Minister Niven. I understand," I said like a
good savage. Better to appear stupid than to be stupid. I didn't need trouble,
and I suspected royalty and their help could give you plenty if they chose.
    "Good. Give the guards your weapons," he said in a
commanding voice. The guards probably made him feel secure. I unbuckled my belt
with the sheaths and held it out. The older of the two guards took it carefully
like it might bite. Niven then motioned me into the room. A grey-haired man sat
behind a large wooden desk, evaluating me. It was a comfortable room with two
cushioned chairs covered in tan-colored leather, a small table between the two
chairs, and a bookcase filled with leather-bound books—a rare sight. He
motioned to the guard holding my weapons, took each out of its sheath, and carefully
examined it.
    "The Earl Pasquel didn’t like you, Zara. What did he
want?"
    "To go and wipe out one of the tribes in the Black
Mountains," I said.
    "And you refused to help, because?" He appeared
genuinely interested.
    "The Ojaza tribe killed my mother and father as I
watched, then made me a slave. I survived because I hated them more than life.
I don't know the tribe in Earl Pasquel's section of the mountains, so I don't
like or hate them. But Earl Pasquel seemed to think he could take his soldiers
into the mountains and wipe them out. I wasn't interested in watching good
soldiers die."
    "You think his soldiers would lose to a bunch of
savages?" he asked, but not with a sneer as other royalty had.
    "The problem is that people think of the tribes as
savages because of the way they live compared to them. So they think them
stupid and incompetent. They may be stupid in our ways, but they are hunters,
not gathers. Their warriors, which are the majority of the tribe, are better
trained than your soldiers. They are also mobile, capable of