‘I saw only the boots and the sword, ma’am. You are very beautiful,’ he said gallantly.
‘Tell me that in ten years, and I’ll promise you a night to remember!’ Karis swung into the saddle as the boy
opened the stable door. She ducked down into Warain’s neck and steered the gelding through the open doorway. Warain was over sixteen hands tall and the lintel stone above the door brushed her shoulders.
Sitting up, she heeled Warain forward and rode slowly down Long Avenue towards the Western Gate. She had left behind all of her clothes, and various gifts and souvenirs that others would have considered of sentimental value. But Karis was not a sentimental woman. She had only one regret – not being able to say goodbye to the veteran warrior, Necklen. The old man had become a friend -and friendship with a man was rare for Karis. He loved her like a man should love a daughter. Anger flared as old memories burst to life. If she had known a father like Necklen, maybe now she would be happy.
Tugging on the reins, she halted Warain. There was still time to find Necklen and urge him to ride with her. He would come willingly. Karis was torn. His company always lifted her spirits, but the perils would be great and she had no wish to lead the old man to his death. ‘I will send for you,’ she whispered, ‘when I have a new command.’
The streets were deserted as she rode, but everywhere there were signs of Sirano’s obsessive desire to open the secrets of the Pearl. Huge cracks showed on the sides of buildings and several walls had fallen. The road ahead was buckled, sharp paving stones twisted up from the surface like broken teeth. She could see the main gates now, and the two sentries standing below the tall arch. She had timed her departure well, and the dawn light was just creeping above the eastern mountains. No-one was allowed out of Morgallis at night without a pass.
‘Good morning,’ she said, as she drew abreast of the men.
‘Good day to you, Karis,’ said the first guard amiably. He gave her a wide smile. His face was familiar, and she struggled for a link. The name came first.
‘You are looking well, Gorl. Perhaps too well,’ she added, pointing at the man’s paunch. ‘How long since you marched on a campaign?’
‘Almost a year – and I don’t miss it. Got me a wife now, and two nippers.’
‘A wife? And you swore no one woman could satisfy you.’
He shook his head, and grinned. ‘That was afore I knew you, lady. You taught me different.’ Then she remembered: Gorl had been one of her many lovers. Was it on the Mountain Campaign, she wondered? No, that was the slim bowman who had died near Loretheli. ‘Where are you riding to, this chilly morning?’ asked Gorl, the question cutting through her thoughts.
‘I quit Sirano’s service last night. I think I’ll ride for the sea. Rest up with a few sailors.’
Gorl chuckled. ‘By the Gods, you’re a wonder, Karis! Live like a whore, fight like a tiger, look like an angel. It was two years before I got you out of my blood. Or thought I had.’
‘I think of you fondly too,’ she said. ‘Now open the gate.’
Stepping back, he winched the bar out of its broad sockets while the other guard pushed open the gate of oak and bronze. ‘You stay healthy, you hear?’ shouted Gorl as she heeled Warain into a canter. Karis waved and rode out into the hills.
Maybe it was after the siege of that garrison fort near Hlobane . . . No. A fleeting memory touched her, and she recalled making love to Gorl in the shade of a willow tree beside a fast-flowing stream. There were no willows near
the garrison. Oh well, she thought. It will come to me or it won’t.
Once out of sight of the city, she swung to the west, and by midday had ridden almost a complete semi-circle, the city now south-east of her. It would not fool any pursuers for long, but by the time they figured out her true direction she would be long gone. How far would Sirano go to see her captured or slain, she wondered? A long, long way, she decided. Then she laughed aloud. ‘You arrogant strumpet,’ she told herself. ‘Maybe he has forgotten you already.’