I got out of the chair and went to her bedside. “Sorry to wake you.”
She reached out her hand and touched my face. “I was afraid. You’re all right?”
Lukien, interrupted Malator, don’t let her distract you. You were on to something.
“Yeah,” I told him. “Just a moment.”
Cricket frowned. “What?”
“Nothing. Talking to Malator.”
“Oh.” She stretched with a yawn. “What’s he want?”
I looked at her seriously as I considered Malator’s idea. “He wants us to go to Akyre, I think.”
Cricket brightened. “Finally.”
“It’ll be dangerous,” I warned her. “Are you game, Squire?”
Cricket didn’t have to think more than a second. That’s the way she was-loyal. She tossed off her blankets as her bare feet hit the floor.
“Let me dress,” she said quickly. “You can tell me more on the way.”
* * *
In truth, I had two reasons for going to Akyre. I wanted to do some good, to see if I could end this war before it started and somehow save Diriel’s men. But I still needed answers about the monster, and Akyre seemed the best place to find them. Of course I couldn’t explain any of that to Marilius or Fallon. I couldn’t even tell Cricket my reasons, or at least not all of them. She still had no idea the monster was after her as well.
When I told Fallon we were leaving he was as petulant as ever, refusing to say good-bye or wish us luck. He remained holed up in his parlor, sure that the monster would soon return. Marilius, however, did see us off, providing us with enough food and water for the journey north. He watched me mount my horse, then hugged Cricket before helping her onto her pony. The courtyard outside Anton’s palace was nearly empty, but a handful of his soldiers watched us from the balconies. I wondered if they thought us cowards, or if secretly they wished they were leaving with us.
“It’s a vendetta, Lukien,” said Marilius. He spoke up just before we rode off. “You’re going just to settle up with Wrestler. But you have a score to settle here, with the creature. Think on that while you’re running away.”
“You’re wrong!” Cricket snapped. “Lukien’s going to help them. You’re the one who should be coming with us, Marilius. You’re the one who turned those men into monsters.”
The way she came to my rescue almost embarrassed me.
“Diriel’s the monster,” said Marilius. “You’ll see what I mean when you get there.” He spoke to Cricket like an older brother. “Look after yourself in Akyre. Stay close to Lukien.” His voice got soft. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
Cricket gave Marilius her assurance that she’d be the one looking after me, then turned her pony toward the road.
“Ready, Lukien?” she asked. “Let’s make some tracks.” And she led us out of Isowon.
So I followed. With a nod to Marilius I let the girl I called my squire herald me away from Anton Fallon’s gleaming palace, through the streets of his amazing city, and toward the ugliness of Akyre. We had the whole day and hours of sunlight ahead of us. Once we left the city behind the land grew dull and barren again, and there were no distractions, and no place to hide from Cricket’s inquiries. I told her everything-about the demon and how Anton Fallon had released it, and how he’d hoodwinked King Diriel, selling him useless mummy powder at first, and then grounding up Diriel’s own ancestor to make more-and that batch had worked. Somehow.
And then I told her about Marilius. By then we were more than an hour out of Isowon, and she had figured out his involvement already. But Cricket liked Marilius, I knew. She trusted him, and so I was gentle in my judgment. I brushed at the road dust on my cape, pretending that my words hardly mattered.
“It’s what happens sometimes to a man,” I said. “Soldiers most of all. Some would follow their leaders right off a cliff. Even mercenaries like Marilius.”
“Marilius loves Fallon,” Cricket observed. “That’s why he did it. To protect him. That’s why he went back to him. That’s why he’s staying.”
“You’re not angry?”
“Why should I be? He didn’t lie to us, Lukien. Not really. He told us his friend needed help. We didn’t have to go with him.”
I laughed. “I want to be like you, Cricket! Really, I wish the whole world had your heart. Marilius didn’t lie? But he didn’t tell us about the monster, did he? Or that it’s a demon, or that his lover was the one who let it loose. Not to mention the mummia.”
Cricket shrugged. “You can be like me, Lukien. Just don’t be so angry all the time. You know it makes you stupid. You said it yourself-that’s what happened with Wrestler.”
“Yeah, about that. . we’ll be seeing him in Akyre.”
“If he touches me again I’ll bite his hand off,” she hissed.
“Tell you what-you control yourself, and I will too. Deal?”
“Deal,” she agreed. But as we rode on her expression got thoughtful “Do you think Diriel will listen to you, Lukien? If he’s as bad as they say. .”
“No one’s ever as bad as they say, Cricket. All my life I’ve been hearing about evil men. When I was young they sent me to war against Raxor of Reec. Why? Because they told me he was evil. Turned out they thought I was the evil one. It’s the way people think when they’re afraid. They make men into monsters.”
“I don’t remember Diriel at all. His name isn’t familiar, and I don’t remember what kind of king he is. .” Cricket’s eyes lost focus on the road, clouding over with amnesia. “I’m from Akyre. I’m from Akyre. I know it! I’ll remember when we get there.”
“You remember the Falls,” I reminded her. “That’s something.”
“We’ll be close to it. Marilius told me. I dreamed about it again.”
“I saw you dreaming,” I told her. “Last night. I woke up and saw you. Seemed more like a nightmare to me.”
“Oh, no,” said Cricket with a weird smile. “It was beautiful. I was a little girl in the dream. I was swimming. So happy!”
“Really?” I asked. “Happy? Were you alone?”
She bit her lower lip, thinking or pretending to think. “Hmm. I can’t remember.”
“I haven’t forgotten my promise,” I told her. “By tonight we’ll make it to the bend in the river. Tomorrow, if you want, we can head east a bit, try to find Sky Falls.”
“No,” she said. “We have a mission first.”
“It’s on our way. If you think it’ll help you remember. .”
“I’m your squire, Lukien.” She turned to look at me. “A squire doesn’t tell her master where to go. The mission first, all right? Then we can go to Sky Falls.”
“Cricket. .” I squinted at her. “Is this you being strong?”
She straightened up high. “I’m not afraid, Lukien. Besides, we came here to find Akyre. Now we have a real reason to go.”
But I was already doubting the mission. What seemed like a good idea just that morning now felt remarkably stupid. How would I free those men from the curse Diriel had conjured?
I didn’t talk about it, and Cricket didn’t ask me. She had faith in me. She was young and foolish and believed in me, and that meant I had to do my best.
* * *
We rode and rode, and I pretended to forget our troubles. We had all the food and water we needed, strong horses to carry us, and a perfect sun to light our way. Even at the height of afternoon the sun was merciful, warm enough to cheer us without burning our noses. We were far from Isowon by then, its beaches replaced by plains of grass and rugged hills. I listened to Cricket sing as we rode, stopping in the middle of her songs to share whatever tidbits popped into her mind. The solitude had loosened her tongue, and I was glad to listen, nodding at each observation she made, each childlike confession. She told me about missing Minikin, and how she feared Gilwyn would send her away once Minikin died, how she screamed sometimes just so people wouldn’t ignore her, and how jealous she was of White-Eye, even though White-Eye was blind. When I asked why, she gave me the only reason that made sense for such a young woman.