Page 26

TRUTH AND MERCY

P eering at a clear blue sky through a barred window, Lenka at first tried to stem the flow of her apparently inexhaustible tears.

But if being arrested, threatened with death, and chained in a cold brick gaolhouse wasn’t an excuse to cry, what would be?

Feeling justified, she sobbed and panicked .

. . not that it helped anything. In pure emotional exhaustion, she finally curled up on the cot until sleep finally came, clutching her little horse to her heart.

Waking up while chained to a dusty cot in a drafty stone jail was bad enough, but Lenka sensed watching eyes and peered through her lashes at a pair of plump pretty girls.

“He is too fine-featured, don’t you think?” One of them observed, her voice low and cultivated. “A beard would improve his appearance. I do so like whiskers on a man.”

Irritated, Lenka sat bolt upright to face her uninvited guests, who gasped and clutched each other, gawking between the bars at the trespasser and thief.

The other girl recovered first. “Too skinny and effeminate for my taste.” She studied Lenka’s scowling face. “But whiskers are old fashioned. I like muscle on a man. Prince Kazimierz was short, but he had lots of muscle, and he was just starting to get interesting when he vanished.”

“He never gave you a second glance anyway.”

That name, Kazimierz, and their faces . . . “Who are you?” Lenka looked from one to the other.

A heartbeat later, she realized that she understood their language, the language of this strange land. She had been understanding and speaking it since she and Papa entered the country, and he’d never said a word.

Did Papa know she was in jail? Did the fox?

The first girl’s brows rose high. “You don’t know? Our father is Baron Aleksy of Lómza. I’m Princess Kornelia, and she’s Princess Malgosia. We’re honored to have you break into Chelm Castle, our home.”

The hint of dry humor surprised Lenka. “Technically, I didn’t break in. I walked in.”

“Whatever.” The younger princess, Malgosia, rolled her eyes.

“Twelve thieves—thirteen, counting you—have tried to steal that horrible bird, but they always got caught and executed. I don’t know how they sneaked into the castle without alerting the guards, but the bird always screamed and gave them away. It’s terribly tragic!”

Lenka’s blood chilled.

“Stop it.” Kornelia rolled her eyes. “A lot more people than that have tried, and nobody’s been executed.

Papa always talks the thieves into stealing some treasure for him from Plock Castle.

The thieves all agreed to the bargain, but they never returned.

I mean, who would return empty-handed to be executed? ”

“Good point.” Lenka felt almost limp with relief.

“I overheard Papa tell the last one before him”—the younger sister pointed at Lenka—“that he could have the bird as a reward if he brought us the treasure from Plock Castle.”

“Did you just make that up?” Kornelia asked with a frown.

Malgosia gave her a smug look. “The point is that, thanks to this thief”—she pointed at Lenka—“Papa no longer has the bird. Not that he really would have traded it to anyone anyway.”

Wondering if either of the Trinec princes had made it this far, Lenka asked, “Has a very handsome prince with glossy black hair attempted to steal the bird?”

Kornelia heaved a dramatic sigh. “I wish! If a prince like that comes around, I’ll run off with him and never return.”

“Ha! What about your betrothed?” Malgosia sounded accusing.

“What betrothed? I haven’t seen him since that mage brought the cursed bird here.”

“What mage?” Lenka asked, her heart leaping.

Kornelia turned her languid gaze upon Lenka.

“The mage who laid the curses on Ostrów. He wore a hooded robe, so all I can tell you is that he’s tall and skinny.

Ever since he brought the bird, every day here has been the same—aside from the occasional failed theft—and none of us can leave the castle grounds, let alone the barony. ”

“I hate that bird,” Malgosia snapped. “I’m glad you made it fly off, and I hope never to see it again! Ugh! It’s horribly cold in here. Goodbye!” After one last shudder, she flounced out of the jailhouse.

The older sister waited a few moments, then narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice.

“I can hardly remember anything about our lives before this curse-thing happened, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you before .

. . and I know you’re a girl.” She suddenly sounded and looked like an entirely different person.

When Lenka went very still, Kornelia smiled a little, shaking her head.

“I won’t tell a soul. I don’t know what my father might offer if you did manage to bring him a treasure from Castle Plock, but I wouldn’t trust him an inch.

None of the other thieves have brought him anything, and nothing has changed in the past five years.

If I were you, I would agree to fetch the next treasure and then run for my life. ”

Lenka mentally scrambled to update her opinion of Lady Kornelia of Chelm Castle. “Thank you for telling me all this, my lady. Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on, and I feel like I’ve already messed everything up.”

“Maybe you have, or maybe not,” she said.

Hearing hesitation in her voice, Lenka had to ask, “Is there something more?”

Kornelia winced and chewed her lower lip, then began nodding and couldn’t seem to stop.

Tears dribbled down her flushed cheeks. “If you see Czwarty—that’s his nickname—he’s Prince Szymon’s namesake .

. . He might not even remember me, but if you see him, please tell him—” Her voice cracked, and she swallowed hard, dropping her gaze.

“Please tell him I remember him, miss him terribly, and I’ll wait forever if I must.”

Abruptly she stared into Lenka’s eyes. “And if my father intends to harm you, I’ll find a way to get you out of here.”

“But you just said you would run off with?—”

“I didn’t mean a word of it.” She shook her head.

“But Malgosia can’t keep a secret, and if she tells my parents how I feel, they’ll marry me to the next peddler who shows up.

After some stupid border dispute, my father considers Prince Szymon a swindler.

He lumps Czwarty into the same category, but it’s not fair—Czwarty is nothing like his horrid father.

Neither is Twardo. They’re both good men.

If you go to Plock Castle and see Czwarty . . .” Her face crumpled.

True respect for Lady Kornelia bloomed in Lenka’s heart. “I think we could be friends under better circumstances. If I get the chance, I’ll tell Czwarty that you’re waiting for him.”

“I must go now. May God bless you!” Kornelia slipped her soft hand through the bars, and Lenka gently squeezed it.

At nightfall, Lenka curled up under her one skimpy blanket to shiver and feel sorry for herself. Despite Lady Kornelia’s unexpected friendship, her prospects seemed dim. Setting the bird free might well be a worse crime in the baron’s eyes than outright theft would have been.

Still, she didn’t regret her choice. “I pray that Solara will never be held captive again,” she murmured.

A whiny voice interrupted Lenka’s dreams: “What have you done?”

“Fox!” she croaked, sitting bolt upright, and the manacle on her ankle dropped to the floor. On the floor beside her cot, the fox sat upright in a pool of silvery light. The door to her cell stood open, and the fox’s eyes sparked with fury.

“I gave you simple instructions. You did not follow them.”

She barely remembered to behave like a boy. “I found the bird, and I didn’t speak aloud until I set her free.”

The fox bared his teeth. “What were your exact words?”

Well aware that she had no protection from those fangs, she still answered boldly. “I told her to be free. No sentient creature should ever be caged or enslaved without cause.”

With a vicious snarl, the fox paced the cell floor. “What makes you think it was free of guilt?”

“What crime did she commit?”

The fox whined, trembling with fury. “The bird’s crime is not the point here! You disobeyed my direct command. And you failed to inform me that you are a mage, of sorts.” His lips curled back even as he said, “Nevertheless, I shall offer you another chance.” He turned his tail to her. “Climb on.”

“I won’t go anywhere without Papa Hrabik.”

“That old man? If he has any sense, he is well on his way back to Trinec by now.”

Shivering inwardly, Lenka attempted a laugh. “Nice try. Where is he?”

The fox snarled again and snapped those white teeth, his yellow eyes glowing in the darkness. “You must come with me.”

“Master Lech goes nowhere without me .”

At the sound of that familiar voice, Lenka nearly burst into tears.

“You can’t lose me that easily, fox,” Papa Hrabik warned. “I know enough about castles to locate a gaolhouse. Where my master goes, I go.”

Vexation fairly oozed from the fox, yet he crouched and extended his tail. “Climb on.”

Papa and Lenka stepped over and sat at the same time, now with Papa in front and Lenka wearing the unwieldy pack.

She wrapped her arms around his thick middle just in time to sense the strange magic again.

Wind whistled past without so much as ruffling their hair.

The fox seemed to flow—or fly?—over the ground, and she could see nothing in the darkness.

When the fox stopped, Papa and Lenka climbed off together. Before the beast could speak, Papa said, “We will sleep now. It is much too dark to accomplish anything, and my young master needs rest.”

The fox grouched but didn’t argue. “Do nothing and go nowhere until I return.”

After he slipped into the underbrush, Papa Hrabik laid down one tarp and somehow suspended another from surrounding shrubs to keep off the dew. “You sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

Bundled in a dry woolen blanket, Lenka slept hard and dreamlessly.