Terrible Beast of Zor Page 8

“You didn’t ask.”

  Lilith looked at him and frowned. “Your hands are pitiful. I’ve brought some salve that will make them feel better.”

  She rinsed and dried his hands, then opened a small jar and began to put the salve on his palms. “I know this is painful,” she said. “We’ll find some work for you tomorrow that won’t be as hard.”

  “Thank you. That feels better,” Alex said when she finished. “I’m sure I can do more hoeing tomorrow.”

  “There’s other work that’s not as hard on the hands. Can you milk a cow?”

  “No.”

  “Maybe I’ll teach you how to do that.” She sat for a few moments then, looking at him curiously. “What have you been doing with yourself?”

  Prince Alexander knew she meant the question to be innocent enough, but it somehow hit him hard. He thought of how wasteful he had been of all the gifts that he had and how he had thrown away his opportunities.

  “Nothing to be proud of,” he said, looking away.

  Lilith seemed surprised at this answer. But she said, “Well, Lex, you’re still young. You can make anything you want to of yourself.”

  “Like a farmer?”

  “Of course. You’re strong, and that’s important. Would you like to be a farmer?”

  “Lilith, I don’t know what I want to be. Except I don’t want to be what I have been.” He looked at her oddly and then smiled. “What about you?” He had never talked much to a commoner and was suddenly very curious. “What will you do?”

  “What will I do?” Lilith said with surprise. “I’ll work. I’ll marry. I’ll have children. I’ll help people all I can. That’s what I’ll do.”

  “That sounds like a good thing,” the prince said. “You do that, Lilith.”

  She rose to her feet and went to the door, where she turned back and smiled a warm smile. “Tomorrow morning—if your hands are well enough—I’ll teach you how to milk a cow. Then we can gather some eggs. And then maybe we’ll do something fun instead of just work.”

  “All right, Lilith,” he said. “If that’s what you want, I’ll do it. Good night.”

  “Good night, Lex.”

  And he knew that she had lost her dislike for him.

  11

  The Wager

  Believe it or not, Josh, Prince Alex is doing much better.”

  Sarah had gone to the spot where she and Josh agreed to meet each day. It was not difficult for her to get away from the farm, for Joss Starbuck was not a harsh taskmaster. Besides, he always lay down for a rest in the afternoon. Now they stood beside the road under a large spreading tree.

  “Well, that’s good to hear,” Josh said. But he studied her face. Then he asked seriously, “Sarah, do you really think there’s a chance that he could be changing?”

  “I do think so,” she assured him, and a smile came to her lips. “In fact, he’s learning to milk a cow. I don’t think the old Prince Alex would have stooped to such a thing as that.”

  “Milk a cow!”

  “Lilith is teaching him how. As I told you, she didn’t care for him much at first, but now I think she’s accepted him.”

  “And you’re sure that no one knows you’re here? Or at least doesn’t know who you are.”

  “I think we’re all right so far. Joss Starbuck works outside all day, so no one comes to the house to see him. And there’s very little traffic along the road. Patrols do come by once in a while. One of them stopped the day before yesterday, I think it was, for water at the well. They asked Joss if any strangers had been around, and he told them no, there weren’t. Just his workers.”

  “Well, that’s good.” Josh breathed a sigh of relief. “For I think it’s pretty clear that the prince’s enemies are going to stop at nothing.”

  “How are things going back in the capital, Josh? Have you talked to Alcindor lately?”

  “Yes.” A furrow creased his brow. “The news is not good, I’m afraid. Reports keep coming in about some awful weapon that the Zorians have developed.”

  “Does anyone have any idea at all what it is?”

  “No one can figure it out,” Josh said. “We know it must have something to do with getting through the passes, but how they would do that—and with what kind of a weapon—no one seems to know.”

  “I do hope nothing happens for a while. It takes time to transform a worthless son into a real prince.”

  When Alex finished hoeing his last row of corn, he walked along to where Lilith was close to the end of her own final row. He waited until she finished. When she stopped hoeing and looked up at him with a question in her eyes, he asked, “Don’t you ever do anything but work?”

  “Of course I do. I do a lot of things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Why are you so curious about me, Lex?”

  “I’m just interested. Come now. Tell me. What do you do when you’re not working? Work is all I’ve ever seen you do.”

  “Well, I go to the village and look in the shops. I go on picnics with my friends. Sometimes there are parties and folk dances when all the farmers get together with their families. Sometimes I go fishing.”

  “There’s an idea!” Alex glanced up at the sky. “We’ve got a couple hours of daylight left. Do you fish close by?”

  “Oh yes. The river’s right over there.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  Lilith laughed. “You’ve certainly come a long way. At first you couldn’t last a day of work, and now you’re working all day and still having enough energy left to go fishing.”

  “Guess I’m becoming a farmer.” The thought amused him, and he grinned. He also suspected that Lilith prided herself on being a good fisherman. “I’ll bet I catch more fish than you do.”

  “We’ll see about that. Come on, then. We’ll get the poles, and we’ll see who’s the best fisherman.”

  Twenty minutes later, they were approaching the river. It was only about thirty feet across, but it was a beautiful stream, running over rocks and making a melodious gurgling sound. Big trees hung over it from both sides. When they reached the water, Alex said, “This would be a good place to go swimming.”

  “I do that, too, sometimes. There’s a deep place for swimming about a quarter of a mile down, but the best fishing is right here.”

  They baited their hooks and began slowly moving along the stream. For a time they caught only small fish, not big enough to keep.

  They stopped where the river made a bend and a big tree had fallen. “Let’s sit here and wait them out. Perhaps if we are still—and patient—we’ll get some fish,” Lilith said.

  “Suits me.”

  They sat down on the log and for a time were silent. When a deer appeared downstream, they sat very still. He came cautiously toward them, a fine ten-point buck. He stooped to drink, then suddenly realized that they were watching him. Snorting, he sprang away with long, lovely leaps and disappeared into the trees.

  “Isn’t it beautiful the way those deer can run and jump?” Lilith said. “I think they’re the most beautiful creatures in the world.”

  “Oh, I’ve seen things more beautiful than that.” And Alex smiled at her.

  They spent perhaps an hour on the log, fishing and talking and asking questions about each other’s lives. Alex found it rather difficult to keep Lilith satisfied, for he could not reveal his true identity. Finally, he looked up at the sky and said, “Well, it’s almost dark, and we didn’t catch any fish after all.”

  “I can’t understand why they’re not biting,” she said.

  A thought came to Alex then, and he said, “Remember the wager we made about who could catch the most fish?”

  “Of course.”

  “How about another little wager?”

  “I really don’t like wagers,” Lilith said. But clearly she was curious. “What kind of wager are you talking about this time?”

  “I’ll wager that I can catch a fish big enough to feed all of us. Your father and Sarah included.”

&nbs
p; “You can’t!”

  “You want to wager?”

  Lilith said, “I’ve fished in this river all my life. When the fish aren’t biting—they simply aren’t biting. But, all right. What shall we wager?”

  “Oh, something fun.”

  “Something like what?”

  “Well …” He thought. “How about … if I catch a fish big enough to feed us all, you have to call me ‘Sir Lex’? And curtsy before me just as if I were a prince. And you have to wait on me at the supper table. In short, treat me like royalty for the rest of the day.”

  Lilith stared at him. “And what if you don’t catch such a fish?”

  “Then I’ll treat you like a princess.”

  “Oh, I’ll agree to that.” She laughed. “I wouldn’t mind being treated like a princess. You start anytime you’re ready.”

  “Done.”

  Leaping to his feet, Alex waded out into the water. For some time he had been watching a big log almost like the one where he and Reb had caught the catfish. He had even seen a catfish roll over here, so he knew they were there. Now I must do some serious noodling, he thought.

  He was sure Lilith could not imagine what he was doing. When he leaned over and put his hands under the log, she yelled at him. “You’ll never catch fish like that! You lose!”

  Alex said nothing but kept feeling under the log. Once he touched a fish, but it moved away beyond his reach. Finally, though, he felt what surely was a huge catfish. Must weigh ten pounds! he thought.

  Gently he rubbed the fish’s stomach and felt him grow very still. Stealthily he moved his hand up and reached under its chin. He was careful about touching the huge spikes, because he knew that it would be bad if he was poisoned by one of them. He waited until his thumb was inside the catfish’s mouth. Then he clamped down exactly as he had done before. At once the fish closed its jaws, and he felt the rough edge of tiny teeth.

  He dragged the fish out from under the log, but this time did not attempt to throw it to shore. It was too large for that. He simply backed away, pulling his huge catch after him, while the catfish thrashed the water white.

  When Alex reached knee-deep water, he looked over his shoulder and grinned at Lilith. “How about this? Think it’ll feed us all?” And now, with a quick throw, he sailed the fish through the air. It struck the bushes and began flopping about. He waded onto shore and waited until he could safely kill the fish. Then, holding it up, he turned to Lilith. “I win the wager, I believe.”

  She appeared absolutely shocked and astounded. “Yes, you do,” she gasped.

  “You can start paying off right now. I’m the prince, remember, and I demand to be treated as such.” He dropped the fish and watched Lilith to see what she would do. He knew she was a strong-minded girl and pride was in her, too. He saw the hesitation in her eyes and knew that this would be hard for her. “Oh, it’s all right, Lilith,” he said. “It was just for fun. You don’t have to pay any penalty.”

  “Yes, I do!”

  She stepped forward and with a graceful motion curtsied before him. “My prince, I honor you. You are the best fisherman I have ever seen.”

  Alex took her hand and lifted her up. “It’s all right. You don’t have to go through with this,” he said gently.

  “I always do exactly what I promise. I may be poor, but I can keep my word.”

  He should have known. Lilith was a girl of strict honor who kept her word. And she would have extracted the penalty from him if he had lost.

  Alex was tremendously impressed. “Well, let’s take it home,” he said. “This fish will be very good.” He leaned over to pick it up.

  But Lilith beat him to it. “Oh no, Prince. I’ll carry the fish. And you go before me—it would not be fitting that I should walk with you.”

  “Oh, come now, Lilith! Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “That’s the way it is. The prince goes first, and his followers come after. Let us go home.”

  They made their way back to the big house with Lilith walking a few paces behind him and carrying the catfish. He kept urging her to forget about the silly wager, but he could see that her mind was made up. When they reached the house, he said, “You have kept your bargain. Now give me the fish. I’ll clean it.”

  “Oh no, sire. I am your handmaid.” She bowed low. “Enter the house, Your Majesty. I will clean the fish.”

  “Oh, I wish you wouldn’t act like this!” Alex growled. He went around to the bunkhouse and washed up. By the time he got back to the big house, Lilith was already cooking the fish. As he entered, he saw Joss and Sarah smiling and knew that he was in for it. “We made this silly wager …” he said but could not finish.

  Lilith came across the room, pulled out a chair and said, “Here is your throne, O royal prince. Sit down and your subjects will feed you.”

  His face hot, Alex mumbled, “This is nonsense!”

  “Oh no, sire. It is only right. You are royalty, and I am only a poor peasant girl.”

  Sarah giggled. Lilith’s father was grinning.

  The meal was fine. The fish was tender and delicious, but Alex did not enjoy it. Lilith refused to sit down and eat. She stood behind him and constantly filled his cup and saw to it that he had the best of the fish and vegetables. She urged him on, calling him “sire” and “Your Majesty” and “Prince Lex.”

  Finally Alex had enough. He left his chair, picked her up bodily, and set her on the high, narrow mantel. She barely had room to cling to it.

  “Put me down!”

  “Only if you do what I tell you.”

  “And what’s that?” she challenged.

  “Stop acting as you have been doing. Just treat me like Lex.”

  To his surprise, she smiled and said sweetly, “All right, Lex. Help me down.” Perhaps she could tell that he was really embarrassed. When he had lifted her down, as if she were a feather, she said, “My, you’re very strong.”

  “All right. Now let’s have some dessert.”

  “It’s apple pie,” Sarah said. “Now that we’ve got all that foolishness out of the way, maybe you’ll enjoy it better.”

  Afterward Sarah found a chance to speak with Alex alone. “That was dangerous. You shouldn’t have told her you were the prince.”

  “I didn’t tell her I was the prince,” he said. “It was a game. I just told her to treat me like one if I won the fish wager. Just for part of the day.”

  “Well, I don’t think she thought anything about it. Still, it was dangerous.”

  “She’s a nice girl, isn’t she, Sarah?”

  “As well as one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen.” She looked into the prince’s face. “I don’t think she’s like the girls that you knew at the palace. I hope you don’t treat her like a … a common woman.”

  Alex was truly shocked. “How could you ever think such a thing! Of course I won’t. She’s a fine girl, a special girl—even though she is a peasant.”

  “Back in OldWorld there were cases where princes married girls who were not of the royal blood.”

  “Is that right? It never happens in this place.” He thought about that for a moment, though. “Well, she’s a fine person, and I’ll be sad when we have to say goodbye.”

  12

  The Secret Weapon

  The Zorian battle chief drew himself up proudly and looked around at his officers. They made a ring around him, all large men clad in armor and wearing the symbol of the Dark Lord on their tunics, and they watched him closely. Chief Thomor was the largest of them all. As he gazed around, looking for some weakness in his leaders, he found none. He said in a loud, hoarse voice, “Today is the day!”

  A loud cheer went up from the officers, and they raised their swords in a symbol of victory.

  “We will end this war today!”

  Another cheer, and then Thomor asked his lieutenant, a short bulky soldier with murky brown eyes, “Is all ready?”

  “Yes, Thomor. All is ready.”

  “And is the beast read
y?”

  “Ready,” the lieutenant said confidently.

  Thomor felt called upon to make a speech. “We have waited long for this day. Our enemies have kept us out, but today we will storm the pass, and we will possess the land. Some of us will die, but it is a good thing to die for one’s country.”

  The speech went on for some time until finally Thomor said, “Now, let us inspire the troops by our presence.”

  As they left the guardroom, the masses of soldiers lined up outside, rank on rank, uttered a cheer.

  “As you see, the troops are ready, Thomor,” the lieutenant said.

  “Good. Officers, take your places. It is the hour of the beast!”

  Alcindor was a man of great physical courage, but today he felt apprehensive. He sensed that the Zorian soldiers massed behind the mountain passes were about to move, though he had seen nothing that would tell him this.

  His first officer, a tall man named Glein, must have seen something in his commander’s eyes. “What is it, Alcindor?” Glein asked. “You seem nervous.”

  “Something’s happening, and I don’t know what it is.”

  “There’s nothing that we know of. No further report has come from the front.” But at the very moment Glein spoke, two soldiers came in. A small man was between them.

  “Ah, it’s our good agent Danan. Danan, what news?”

  Danan had deep-sunk brown eyes and scraggly brown hair and was clothed in the garb of a peasant. No one would ever notice him in a crowd, but Alcindor knew him to be an excellent scout. The man could move silently and almost invisibly.

  The agent stopped and touched his forehead in a salute. “There is news, Alcindor,” he said. “The Zorians are moving their men to the pass by the twin oaks. They will make their attack there, I believe.”

  “Did you see anything of a secret weapon?”

  “No,” admitted Danan. “I could not get that close—their scouts are out in great numbers. But the Zorian troops are moving that way.”

  “Good work, Danan,” Alcindor said warmly. He turned to Glein. “We’ll move our best archers to the twin oaks.”

  “What about the other passes?” Glein asked. “Should we leave them unguarded?”