In Thy Name

Chapter 11 - Go oft askew

From far away it was nothing more than an uneven patch on the dunes, and even as they drew nearer, it looked like just a collection of rocks, some of them as high as a soldier on horseback, but most lower.

Teshem felt the Consul's gaze upon him, and a nervous grin wavered on his face. "This is just the outside," he said, knowing his flippant voice disguised nothing. He urged Shaza slightly ahead and led the way among the rocks. The land rose slightly, and Shaza's hooves rang on rock under a sprinkling of sand. Then, around a final pillar of rock, a crack opened like a gigantic half-open mouth, the inside mottled with a liquid web of moving light.

"The Shadow Pool," Teshem said, his grin faltering as his pride was clouded by dismay at having revealed his—their—secret.

"An interesting place," the Consul said. "Inside is fresh water, I presume?"

Teshem nodded.

The Consul stared at him, his suspicion needling Teshem's mind. "But you did not see fit to apprise our family of this place."

"I didn't think it would be worth anything, Consul."

The Consul stared at him another moment. Teshem could feel him crawling over his mind, and forced his grin to remain in place, as though his squad didn't know his discomfort. Then the Consul turned away and dismounted from his horse.

"Decadarchos, send some of your numeri to scout out the place and assign a guard. Then they can be at their ease. We'll take our noon-time rest here."

"Yes, Consul. Ralf, Crus—look over the place real quick. Make sure we're clear of spiders—the Consul doesn't like them," he added in a half-whisper, to laughter muffled behind the scarves of the numeri. "Sheul, Iran, Trean," Teshem continued, "You'll each stand watch for one candlelength. The rest of you water your horses and get in the shade. This is our noon-time rest."

There was a murmured, "Aye, decadarchos," and the numeri slid from the backs of their horses. Ralf and Crus went off in opposite directions, slipping away among the rocks with the grace of foxes. They could move surprisingly quickly and silently despite both their height and Crus's large build.

As the other numeri began to pull off their helmets and unwind their scarves, Teshem spotted an unfamiliar rider with the baggage train. No, not totally unfamiliar. For a second he thought it was Mongke. But no, though the man had a long dark braid, his fine mulworm-cloth coat was of the open, sleeveless Desert style, not side-fastened like Mongke's. And his dark eyes, when they met Teshem's, were tilted down at the outer corners like the Domine's, like those of Achai and Sheul, the two Southerners in his squad. But the man wore only brown—a doulos. The Domine's man?

Before Teshem could decide how to feel about that, Oalea, the youngest of the numeri, spoke practically in Teshem's ear.

"'Darchos. Where should we put the horses?" she said, with a crisper voice and harder glare than the situation really warranted. Teshem checked a smile, knowing it would only make her try harder.

"They might not be able to descend to the pool, so have the grooms help bring up water for them. While they're doing that, you and Stargazer find some shady places to tie them up."

"Yes, 'darchos," Oalea said with a resigned frown. As the youngest, she always ended up with the menial duties. Teshem smiled, about to say never mind, he would do it himself. He was not much older than her and in fact, she was the only one in the squad who was younger than he was. But with so many horses and people to see after, and things to discuss with the Consul, he realized he was needed elsewhere, and the smile faltered. Oalea narrowed her eyes, then slapped her hand over her heart and strode away.