Elephant Thief Read online

  “Now it’s just you and me,” I told him.

  That moment somebody cleared their throat behind me, and when I turned round I found Yasaman, the wife of the Master of Archers, standing there. Not much older than myself, she’d always been kind to me.

  Now she shifted uncomfortably, her heart-shaped face sad. “Arisha, we heard about your father. I’m so sorry.”

  I blew my nose on my much abused sleeve. “Thank you.” How I hated receiving condolences! Each one only seemed to confirm Father’s death all over.

  Giving Hami a nervous glance, she placed a hand on my shoulder. “What are you going to do now?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.” Feeling foolish for losing control in front of her, I made a show of inspecting Hami’s pen, checking that the bedding was fresh, his pail of water filled and the restraining ropes not too confining. He didn’t really need them, but the army got nervous at the idea of elephants ambling around freely.

  Curious as always, Hami wanted to see what I was doing, and Yasaman jumped back at the massive head turning round. “I heard Lord Sattar has been named the new Master of Elephants,” she said. “What about you, where will you stay?”

  News travelled swiftly in the camp. “I don’t know,” I said. It was the least of my worries, at the worst I could always share Hami’s pen. It wouldn’t be the first time I slept next to him. There was no safer place.

  Thoughtfully she smoothed out the gauzy scarf she’d wound round her hair. “I could ask Navid if he minds you staying with us for a few days.”

  I didn’t doubt that her husband would agree, for he doted on his pretty wife, but I shook my head. “I’m fine.” At the moment I only wanted Hami’s company.

  She regarded me with big eyes. “But what will become of you now, with no family left?”

  I bit my lip. There was no need to make me feel even more alone than I did already! “I’ll manage,” I snapped, but felt contrite at once. Yasaman was only trying to help.

  “Lord Sattar was looking for you earlier on,” she said in a sudden change of topic.

  I bent to slip off Hami’s shackles. He gave an excited rumble, recognising the time for his evening bath. Straightening up, I found Yasaman regarding me closely, which made me wonder how much of my conversation with the prince had been disseminated already. As the saying went: a secret is better shouted out in a forest than whispered in an army camp.

  I pulled a face. “He offered to marry me.”

  She exhaled her breath in a rush. “So it’s true! I had wondered…”

  “I refused him.”

  “Arisha!”

  “I’d rather marry a toad.” Although toads had lovely eyes and charming personalities once you learnt to see past their ugly outsides. “Or a slug,” I amended my statement.

  “But he’s a lord of the Seventh Circle! And so handsome.” She sounded wistful.

  I thought of Yasaman’s husband, grey haired and with a face tanned a leathery dark brown from the weather. But a kind man. “I don’t trust Sattar, there’s something about him that’s not right.” I shuddered at the thought of him taking me to his bed, laying his hands on me. “And Hami doesn’t like him either!”

  Hearing his name, the elephant rumbled a query, but Yasaman shook her head. “Really, what does it matter what he thinks! Just consider, as Lord Sattar’s wife you would have a fitting position again. And he would keep you safe!”

  “Not from himself,” I pointed out.

  Yasaman pressed her lips together in exasperation. I touched her on the arm. “I know you’re only trying to help, but it wouldn’t work out. Can you imagine me as a proper lady of the Seventh Circle?” For that was what Sattar no doubt wanted to turn me into.

  With a reluctant smile Yasaman shook her head. “I suppose not.”

  I clicked my tongue to Hami, who obediently lowered his head and at a sign lifted the leg next to me. Lightly holding on to his big, leathery ear for balance, I stepped on the leg and let him boost me onto his back. A quick twist and I was firmly seated behind his ears, my green robe billowing around me. “Good boy!” I rubbed him on the head, just as he liked it. At another soft command he picked up my bags and handed them up to me with his trunk. “He needs his bath now.”

  Craning her head to look up at me, Yasaman sighed. “Very well. But consider my offer; you’re always welcome in our tent.”

  Touched, I smiled down at her. “Thank you.”

  “Would rather marry a toad,” she murmured, shaking her head.

  I grinned and nudged Hami to move forward. “A nice, juicy one that locks me up on the top of an enchanted mountain, like the girl in the tale. And with no manners.”

  Her laughter followed us while with his ponderous, rocking walk Hami ambled past the other elephants, some of whom rumbled a greeting to us. The Victorious Fifth’s elephant corps comprised of twenty-four animals, but they were a mixed bunch with none of them having proper training for war. Prince Bahram had assembled this force from the logging camps on the other side of the mountains, and we had bought him a year’s breathing space by throwing the enemy into confusion, but I wondered how my charges would fare in a real battle. There were several ways to cripple an elephant, all of them bloody and brutal. No doubt the Eagle had found out about them by now. He might be a ruthless killer, but he was no fool.

  “He won’t do it to you!” I vowed, stroking Hami’s head. Brave words, yet inside I knew that our position was precarious. With a single stroke of a pen, Prince Bahram could confiscate my elephant, making Hami imperial property. For all I knew, he’d done so already.

  Soon we reached the southern gate, where I called a friendly greeting to the guards. “Permission to leave the camp?”

  The captain stepped forward, the copper medallions on his topknot that denoted his rank jingling. “Permission granted. But listen, Arisha, please do not take too long, the sun is sinking.”

  I nodded obediently, though only an idiot would attack me with Hami around. However, the prince wanted the entire army inside his mage-built walls at night. A bit like a porcupine rolling into a prickly ball, I thought privately.

  “I won’t be long,” I promised.

  The camp lay in the bend of a river, guarding the ford of the main trade road leading south. Already the mountains cast their long shadows over the foothills, reaching out for us, while overhead rooks cawed on their way to roosting in the woods. Once, there had been a village surrounded by fields on the opposite side, but that had been abandoned long ago.

  Hami splashed through the shallow river to an island in the middle, dotted with a few stunted alders, and the gravel crunched under his weight. On the side facing away from the camp was a narrow beach, sheltered by willow trees green with the fresh leaves of spring, that offered a little privacy.

  With Hami’s help I slid down from his back and dropped my bags at the foot of one of the willows. I didn’t want to get my things wet and Hami liked nothing better than to squirt water at me – he liked to hear me squeal. Quickly I shed my court robe and changed into my customary long tunic worn over loose trousers, stuffing the green silk into my bags with the rest of my clothes.

  Hami had already started to splash water all over himself, so I rolled up my trouser legs and with a shudder at the cold melt water joined him. This had been a lot more enjoyable in the summer! Hami didn’t mind though, for he had been born in the mountains and knew nothing else. At least with my hair cut short, it would be quicker to dry.

  I picked up one of the brushes left lying on the beach for common usage and began to scrub Hami’s thick skin. The ungrateful beast promptly drenched me with a spray of icy water!

  “Hami!” A good thing I always had spare clothing along.

  Suddenly his massive head swung round in the direction of the camp. A moment later I heard it too: hooves striking the ground, coming our way.

  TWO

  Scattering gravel around him, Sattar rounded the corner at a canter, then drew his horse to a halt in
front of us. I winced in sympathy at the poor beast having its mouth mauled.

  “There you are!” he exclaimed as he swung down. “I’ve been looking for you all over the camp.”

  “Well, you’ve found me.” Not bothering to hide my lack of enthusiasm at his presence, I folded my arms on my chest. “What do you want?” Beside me, Hami had gone still, only his ears flapping nervously.

  Sattar’s mouth thinned, but he visibly reined in his temper. “I’ve come to ask you to reconsider my offer.”

  “There is nothing to reconsider.”

  “The position of my wife is an honourable one! The prince himself has named me Master of Elephants.”

  A reminder that Hami’s fate still hung in the balance? When he saw my hesitation, he pressed his point. “I’m sure I could convince the prince to let you keep your elephant.”

  “To have him butchered in battle? No thanks!”

  His hands bunched into fists. “You coddle that beast too much anyway! But that will end now that I’m in charge.” He took a step forward and raked me over with hard eyes from my bare feet to my soaked tunic. “Any other maiden would dream of such a proposal! Do you think many noblemen will line up to offer their hand to the daughter of a lowly Ninth Circle lord who spent half his life in his cups?”

  I clenched the brush so hard my fingers hurt. “Leave my father out of this!” Sensing my mood, Hami grumbled a low warning, but Sattar ignored him.

  “Not a copper to your name and still you’re looking down your nose at me,” he snarled. “Remember: Fire burns Wood.”

  Really, what did the circles of dominion that ruled the balance between the five magical elements have to do with this? “Is that what you want in a wife?” I threw at him. “Somebody to threaten and dominate? Well, I’m not interested in the position!”

  His handsome face twisting into an ugly grimace, he stepped closer still. “Always so high and mighty, the Lady Arisha, making me look a fool in front of the prince! But that will change.” He seized my shoulders and brought his mouth down on mine.

  Taken by complete surprise, for a moment I didn’t know how to react. He must be mad! When I started to struggle against his grip, Sattar gave a breathless laugh and grasped me closer, mauling me with his lips. I gagged at his foul taste and tried to wriggle free, but he caught my arm and twisted it round my back, trapping me against his chest. Had he done this before?

  Hami trumpeted loudly, making Sattar curse. “Stupid beast!”

  Fire flared in a circle around us and Hami squealed in alarm. No! Finding unexpected strength, I wrenched my arm free and pushed the wet brush into Sattar’s face, making him stumble. How dare he frighten my elephant! I kicked him in the shin. Sattar hissed with anger and raised his hand to strike me.

  But the blow never connected: a black shadow loomed over him and suddenly he found himself lifted high in the air. Sattar shouted in surprise, but before I could react, Hami sent him flying into the river. He landed with a splash in the shallows and did not move again.

  I gasped for breath, then ran over to him, Hami following me anxiously. Sattar lay with his face in the water and I had to turn him over to check his pulse. His hair had come undone and slid like wet snakes across my hands. Had Hami killed him? Clammy skin met my searching fingers, but there at his throat… I released my breath in relief when I felt a feeble pulse. Alive!

  “Fire burns Wood,” I muttered savagely, “but elephant quenches Fire, you fool!”

  Shouts sounded from the direction of the camp. Hami’s trumpeting must have alerted them and help should arrive soon. Suddenly I went cold inside. What would happen to Hami now? He had attacked a human, and not just anyone, but the Master of Elephants himself. It didn’t matter that he had only wanted to protect me, they would keep him chained up constantly and away from the others. And what else would Sattar do to him in revenge? Could I go and talk to Prince Bahram again? But even if he believed me, he needed Sattar and wouldn’t interfere with him. In an instant I saw it all in my mind’s eye. Given the choice between marrying Sattar and keeping Hami or being sent across the mountains without him, what would I do?

  The shouts were getting louder! “Hami, come here,” I ordered. They would not punish my elephant. I would not let them!

  Though reluctant to touch the man, Hami helped me carry Sattar to the beach where we unceremoniously dumped him. I ran to pick up my things and had Hami boost me onto his back again. “Quick!”

  We splashed into the water and were halfway across the ford by the time a troop of guards came into view. Their captain called out to me, but I just waved and pointed at Sattar. “Get him to a healer!”

  Once we reached the other shore, I urged Hami into a run. The road plunged into the woods and as the trees flashed by, I hung on grimly to my precarious perch on Hami’s neck.

  Overhead, the rooks flapped into the air, protesting loudly.

  * * *

  Before long, Hami had to slow down, but he had bought me some time: time to think. Had I just done something very foolish? Anyway, there was no going back. I swallowed hard when the enormity of my situation began to sink in. I was alone and on the run in hostile territory.

  While I owed no direct allegiance to Prince Bahram, taking one of the elephants could be construed as sabotage. And Sattar was certain to put the worst possible interpretation on my acts! Of course I could accuse him of assaulting me, but would the prince believe me – or even care? Imperial law was not known for its leniency, so what would they do to us if they caught us? In my dismay, I reached out for Hami’s familiar strength. Sensing the turmoil of my mind, the elephant trumpeted anxiously. That steadied me. Hami depended on me to keep my head and look after him.

  What should I do? My first impulse had simply been to put as much distance as possible between me and those who would take Hami away from me. But I could not stay in a country at war, I had to find a refuge somewhere. In Sikhand with my grandfather? A man I had never met, but my closest blood relative and an influential mage by all accounts. Would he shelter us? What if Prince Bahram claimed that I had stolen Hami, would my grandfather send me straight back?

  I decided to tackle that problem when faced with it. The sun had sunk behind the mountains and shadows pooled in the woods. Would that help or hinder me? The tall oaks with their gnarled roots seemed to watch me. I told myself that the stories of Aneiry rebels hiding in the forest, ready to cut any unwary traveller’s throat, were grossly exaggerated. Rumour even had it that Sikhandi deserters running for the border found their way completely unmolested, a clever move by the Eagle that had greatly increased Prince Bahram’s problems with discipline. And surely I had an impressive protector?

  “First we have to get away from our own people anyway,” I muttered to Hami. Would they pursue us despite the gathering darkness? I thought so. Well, I could do something about that.

  I signalled Hami to stop and slid down to the ground. To my annoyance, my knees buckled for a moment. “Pull yourself together!” I admonished myself.

  While the elephant began to denude some hazelnut bushes of their greenery, I crouched down and extended my senses to that level beyond hearing or sight. Drawing small amounts of energy from all the growing things around me, layer by layer I built up a barrier.

  “You do not want to go beyond this point,” I whispered. “Turn back.”

  With nature waking up for spring, there was plenty of energy available to a Wood mage like me. I wove it into the barrier until to my inner eyes a glowing net extended across the road and into the woods either side. No horse, hound or elephant pursuing us would cross that line, not without great effort.

  Even so we would have to get off the road as soon as possible. The prince had established garrisons at regular intervals along it and I doubted that they would fail to notice an elephant sneaking past them. While we continued at a more moderate pace, I kept looking for a good place to enter the woods, finally settling on following one of the small brooks that crossed our path. Ha
mi left no traces in the shallow stream bed and moved silently through the darkening forest.

  When it got so dark that even Hami began to stumble, we stopped in a clearing halfway up a hill. Later the waxing moon might light our way, but first we needed a rest. Shivering in my damp clothes, I changed into dry ones and for good measure piled on all my spare clothing. My stomach grumbled, reminding me that I’d had nothing since breakfast beyond a couple of sugared dates in Prince Bahram’s tent, hardly a filling meal. I envied Hami who browsed contentedly on the fresh grass.

  Leaning back against a boulder, I stretched my legs before me and looked up at the sky strewn with stars. They glittered like a wealth of diamonds carelessly scattered by a child across the heavens. Somewhere in the woods an eagle owl gave its characteristic hoot and a fox yipped as if in answer. I had nothing to fear from anything on four legs I reminded myself, but even so was grateful for Hami and the familiar sound of his contented munching. How strange not to hear the busy noises of the camp around me, men talking, horses neighing, the low rumble of the elephants calling to each other. I realised that for the first time in my life I was completely alone.

  On the plains below, a few pinpricks of light hinted at human habitation, the small farms typical of this corner of the world. Or the camps of my pursuers? Too tired to care, I closed my eyes. It would only be for a moment, until the moon rose.

  * * *

  I woke to the grey, pearly light of dawn. Tendrils of fog covered the clearing and for a moment I panicked, until I spotted Hami’s big, dark shape nearby. My body hurt all over from sleeping on the hard ground, I was stiff from the cold and an insistent ache filled my stomach. I sat up and sneezed, startling a jay that flew away scolding loudly.

  So it hadn’t all been a bad dream. A wave of dismay swept through me and I buried my face in my hands. Had I really run away with Hami on a moment’s impulse? I must have been mad! What would my friends at the camp think of me?