Maia (Beklan Empire 1)

"Lortil and Dectaron, sir. Captain Mollo's company."

"But great Cran, those are two damned good men, that's it! Never been in any sort of trouble! What the--"

"Calm yourself, Mollo! Obviously we must look into this at once. Where have they put the poor girl?"

EUeroth turned to Tolis.

"In one of the shelters, sir, up the lines."

Elleroth looked round at the officers present. "Mollo and Tolis, you'd better come with me; and of course you'll wish to come, too, won't you?" he said to Bayub-Otal and Zen-Kurel. "Perhaps the rest of you won't mind waiting here for the time being--unless, of course," he added to Ta-Kominion, "you'd prefer to go back to your camp and start making arrangements in the light of what we've just agreed. We'll meet again later."

Having taken Ta-Kominion's hands for a moment in farewell, he ducked out under the curtain which the orderly was holding aside.

The body of Meris, covered with a blanket,-was lying in the further corner of the shelter to which Tolis led the way. A soldier on guard saluted as the commander entered. Gently, Elleroth drew back the blanket from the head. The girl's face was contorted, the teeth clenched, the lips drawn back so far that the cheeks were ridged under the open eyes.

"Where's the wound?" asked Elleroth.

"Her neck's broken, sir," answered Tolis.

One of Meris's arms was protruding stiffly from under the blanket. Elleroth took the cold hand in his own, stooped and touched it with his lips. He turned to Bayub-Otal and Zen-Kurel.

"I'm more sorry than I can tell you. My guest--your friend--I feel to blame."

As Bayub-Otal murmured some conventional words of demurral, Zirek entered in tears and fell on his knees beside the bed.

"Someone must put some clothes on the body and lay her out decently," said Elleroth to the soldier.

"Yes, sir," he answered. "There's some women waiting. Only tryzatt Miarn said not to alter anything until you'd seen her, sir, and said what was to be done, like."

"Perfectly correct," said Elleroth. "Tell the tryzatt to let the women come in. And say a pyre's to be prepared for this evening."

"Sir."

Elleroth was turning to go when Zirek touched his hand.

"I'd like to--to stay here and pray for a minute or two, sir, if I may, before the women come. I won't be long."

"Of course," replied Elleroth. He turned to the soldier. "Wait outside, please, Hospa, until U-Zirek has finished."

"Sir."

"Where are the two men under guard?"

"With the tryzatt, sir. They're not making no trouble, sir; only they've asked if they can see Captain Mollo."

Elleroth nodded. "Well, Captain Mollo, will you go and talk to them, and then bring them to me under guard as soon as you're ready? Shall we say in about half an hour?"

The officers went out, followed by the soldier. Zirek, left alone, stood for some time prayings with raised, outstretched arms. Then, bending forward, he drew the blanket entirely away from the body, so that Meris lay naked before him as she had so often lain in life--the firm, smooth thighs, the gentle curve of the belly with its deep, hollow navel, the big circles round the nipples like dark-hued lilies on rose-pink water--a reversal of nature. Even now, against wish and will---so that he felt ashamed, and once more covered the body--her stricken, cold beauty had the power to kindle desire. He knelt and kissed her feet, one and then the other.

"I'm sorry, lass," he said aloud. "Cran knows I'm sorry. I'd have loved you and kept you safe, if only you'd let me. I always said you'd do it once too often, but you wouldn't listen, would you? At least it'll leave you in peace now."

The sentry, who had retired to a decent distance, returned at the sound of his voice. "I'm sorry, sir, did you speak to me? I'm afraid I didn't catch what you said."

"No, that's all right, lad," said Zirek. "I'm done now, thanks. Let the women come in."

Elleroth and Mollo looked up at the two soldiers standing before them. Both were conspicuously scratched and had bled about the face and neck. On either side of them stood their own tryzatt and another. Bayub-Otal, Zen-Kurel and Zirek were standing behind and to the left of Elleroth. The hut was close and stuffy, and all nine men were sweating.

"Now," said Elleroth, looking from one prisoner to the other as he addressed them, "you had better both understand at once that this is a very serious matter indeed. A young woman has come to a violent end. She was a secret agent of General Erketlis, who had carried out a very important and dangerous exploit in Bekla with the greatest heroism. She had escaped and was on her way to General Erketlis to be honored and rewarded. She was a personal friend of the gentlemen you see here, and she was my guest and therefore under my protection. Now have you understood that, Dectaron?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you, Lortil?"

"Yes, sir."

"Am I to understand that you admit having caused this woman's death?"

"Yes, sir."

"Both of you?"

"Yes, sir."

"I want to be perfectly plain with you. You realize that this is a hanging matter?"

"Yes, sir."

"I understand that you both came to tryzatt Miarn of your own accord and reported that you'd killed the woman. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, Dectaron, you're the older man. You'd better tell me what happened."

"Beg your pardon, sir; might we have permission to sit down, sir? Not meaning any disrespect--"

"I think everybody had better sit down," said Elleroth. "Tryzatt, please set some more benches. Thank you. Now, Dectaron, how did this come about?"

"Well, sir, it was like this, sir. Last night I was on guard duty, sir, and we enforced curfew on the women and children at the usual time, in accordance with standing orders. It must have been about two hours after that, sir, as I was going round the far end of the camp on my beat, that I happened to be passing close to my own shelter, as I share with another man, Olfane, only he was on the guard too. There was no one about a

t all, when suddenly I sees this young woman coming towards me quite openly, sir. So I challenged her and asked her what she thought she was doing out at that hour. And she come up to me, sir, and put her arms round my neck and asked me if I'd like to go with her. 'For forty meld,' she says, 'you can do with me whatever you like.' "

Dectaron stopped, met Elleroth's eyes for a moTnent and looked down at the earth floor, hesitating.

"Go on," said Elleroth, grimly.

"She was--well, sir, she was very pressing, sir, sort of; she'd got her robe open and her deldas bare and--well, the long and short of it was, sir, I'm afraid it was too much for me, and I agreed with her for thirty meld, which was all I'd got."

"Even though you were supposed to be on guard?" asked Mollo.

"Yes, sir, I'm afraid so, sir. So I took her into my shelter, which was empty and just close by, as I've explained. And we were--we were there together, sir, for some time, like."

"And did you give her thirty meld?" asked Mollo.

"Yes, sir."

"Did you find that money on her, tryzatt?" asked Elleroth.

"In her clothes, sir, yes: that and a little more, actually."

"Go on, Dectaron."

"Well, sir, after a while I said, 'You realize I'm supposed to be on guard duty?' Naturally I was afraid of being missed, sir, you see. And she said that was nothing to her, so I says, 'Well, it is to me,' I says, 'and I'll have to be getting back quick.' So then she asked could she stay where she was, and I told her I thought it would be best if she did, right up until the morning, rather than start running about the camp again and getting into more trouble--"

"But she hadn't been in any trouble up till then, had she, soldier?" said Mollo. "And who's to blame for that, eh?"

"I am, sir." Neither Elleroth nor Mollo said more and after a short silence the wretched man, who was clearly very much afraid, went on.

"Well, so I left her there, sir, in my bed, and went back on guard duty: I hadn't been missed and I spent the rest of the night on and off sentry-go in the usual way."

"Excuse me, sir," broke in Lortil, "but I'm just as much to blame, sir, and if it's in order, I reckon I ought to go on now."

"Very well," replied Elleroth.

"Well, sir, I was one of those detailed to go across the river with the women and children. Some stayed over there all night, but the lot I was with were ordered back to camp very late, and then we were dismissed. And I was coming back to my shelter, sir, next to Dectaron's, when this girl came out. She was naked, sir, and she came up to me and began--well, sir, she began making up to me and asking me to come into Dectaron's shelter with her."