Free Wine of the Gods 08: Dark Lady by Pam Uphoff

there many children here in the tavern? If you'd like, I could try to scavenge some slates and chalk, you could run a little school, keep the children occupied and out of trouble."
    " I could?" Lucy sat up in alarm. "Women don't teach!"
    " Why ever not? We're as smart as men. They just want us uneducated so they can control us better. You are educated, and ought to at least teach the kids their letters."
    " Mama taught me how to read and figure. You can do it, Mama." Liz nodded encouragingly. "Maybe just start with ours, and add other kids if their parents ask you to. Charge them something, not much, we're all going to be in tough straights quick enough, but after the siege, people will remember what a good teacher you are."
    Quail started fussing and the lady swooped down on her. "Hi Sweety, how do you like life in a siege? Hmm? You don't care? You didn't notice? Just as well."
    She fed the baby quickly. "I'd like to see what's going on with the negotiations, but I'll bet we can't get near the south gates."
    Liz brighten ed, "But we might be able to get near enough to hear about what's going on."
    Her mother clicked her tongue. "The company you are keeping. Well, I'll mind the babies, you two go look and listen to what you can't change. And show some respect for God and cover your head."
    The lady reached into her saddlebag and pulled out some scraps that would do well enough for scarves, handed one to Liz and tied the black one over her own head.
    The crowds thickened as they got closer to the south gate, and they picked up snatches of conversation.
    ". . . one week . . . "
    " Gods? Demons more like . . . "
    " . . . witchcraft . . . "
    " Better dead than taken by that lot . . . "
    The Imperial guards were keeping the area around the gate clear, and Captain Stone had a troop mounted and ready for battle.
    Captain Stone himself was on the wall, looking outward, but one of his men nudged him and he turned and spotted them as they worked their way through the crowd. The private was sent dashing down the steps and across the troop filled area to plunge into the crowd and pull them out.
    " Captain's respects and all that, but could you come look at what's doing out there?"
     
    From the wall, they could see clearly the grotesque creatures across the field, facing the prince and his entourage.
    They resembled men. Some too large, some too small, some with too many limbs, one with two heads or perhaps it was two with only one body.
    "They called them little gods. They said they'd turn them loose on us if we didn't surrender, and that if we continued to fight, they would bring out the real gods. Kurt said to ask if you'd ever seen such things in your Kingdom of the West. And is there any advice you can give us?"
    Liz pulled her gaze from the creatures and looked at the Arbolian delegation. Two officers flanking a dandy in Arbolian fashions. They had traders through regularly, that wore the style, but nothing so ridiculously elaborate. The stiffened shoulder pieces extended out a foot past the human shoulders, the loose sleeves flapped down well past the fingertips, and the pants were designed to be seen while riding, with embroidered panels hanging past the feet.
    "Dwarfism, gigantism, cleft palate, twins with incomplete separation . . . They are the unfortunate and the afflicted." The lady closed her eyes for a long moment. "They have a touch of magic about them though. I dare say they'll be hard to catch if they come over the walls with assassination in mind." She drummed her fingernails. "I would like to go out there. I can make myself invisible."
    " Uh . . . "
    One of the creatures made a throwing motion, and a sp ark flew across the field. The mayor's horse leaped and bucked, and he wrestled with it as Master Byrne's and the baron's horses backed and shimmied.
    Phantom stood like a rock.
    "My magic, both defensive and offensive is only effective at a very short range," The lady looked worriedly at the shambling creatures