William Wu - Invader

“He still rides with Artorius, then?”

“Yes.” She sighed. “But of course he needs my father. The Saxons keep coming and coming. Father says Artorius must ride out and fight them on their land, not wait for them to march here.”

Harriet stifled a yawn and glanced at the sleep pallet that servants had prepared for her. With the fire nearby, and using the fur lap-robe as a coverlet, she would be warm here tonight. For now, however,. she would stay up talking as late as her hostess wished.

Looking at Gwenhwyvaer, Harriet thought to herself that this teenager could not possibly ever imagine the kind of role she would play in Arthurian legend, fictional though it would become-or across how many centuries she would be remembered, at least in some form.

Jane found the morning routine at the hut the same as the day before. Everyone at the hut ate breakfast and Emrys picked out which sheep he would drive to the village. The only difference, as Emrys drove the cart behind the small flock again, was that he did not take any more firewood. Jane guessed that his family had no more wood to spare. Without the need to load the cart, they left earlier than they had yesterday.

On the way, Jane watched the main gate of the tor ahead, to see the troop of riders again. This time, however, the riders did not leave before Emrys brought his small flock and the cart up to the gate. As they started up the steep, cobbled road to the village, Jane saw the riders gather around some sort of storage building and the paddock, saddling their horses and leading them toward the gate. She could not see Hunter and Steve in the crowd, so she assumed they were inside the building.

“I want to ask Emrys to stop,” Ishihara said suddenly to Wayne. “Do I have your permission?”

“Of course,” said Wayne.

Jane tensed.

Steve stood behind Hunter just inside the tack building, waiting in line to pick up their saddles and bridles. They had just finished a bland but plentiful breakfast of hot cereal; Hunter identified wheat and barley in it. Then they had walked down the slope, where Hunter had picked up his leather armor from the armorer and laced it on.

Steve’s arms and shoulders were sore from the unaccustomed exercise the previous day.

“Hunter, by the time this is over, I’ll be in great shape.” He grinned and moved up with the line. “Do you think we should stay with the troop even though MC 6 isn’t in it?” He lowered his voice. “Maybe we could try for duty in the village, to be nearer the palace.”

Hunter turned, looking over Steve’s head out the open door behind them.

“What is it?”

“Silence, please,” Hunter said quietly.

Steve waited patiently, though other men continued to talk around them. Horses snorted and their hooves clopped outside. Steve guessed that Hunter was attempting to sort out some other sound, but he had no idea what it could be.

“Come outside with me,” said Hunter. He left the line and moved back toward the door. The men behind him made room for him and Steve followed closely.

“What is it?” Steve asked quietly.

“I heard the footstep pattern of Wayne Nystrom nearby.”

“Yeah?” Suddenly excited, Steve hurried out the door after him. “Jane must be close.”

Hunter stopped abruptly. Steve did, too, when he saw Wayne simply walking right up to them with a smirk. He seemed to be alone.

“Where’s Jane?” Steve demanded.

“Don’t worry. You know Ishihara can’t allow any harm to come to her.”

“Yeah? He’s not here to protect you.” Angrily, Steve took a step toward him. Before he took a second step, however, he felt Hunter take his upper arm from behind and hold him firmly in place.

“Stop,” Hunter added calmly.

“Where is she?” Steve demanded again.

“Why have you approached us?” Hunter asked. “Do you have something to say?”

“I certainly do.” Wayne grinned. “Let’s negotiate a little.”

“On what basis?”

“I’ve been here a week. That’s given me time to start a routine here, to get settled. And to make a few friends. I’m not desperate here, as I was in Roman Germany.”

“You say you’ve been here a week,” said Steve. “Does that mean you sent Jane and Ishihara somewhere else?”

“No comment,” said Wayne, snickering. “But I remind you that Ishihara follows my instructions. I intend to hold Jane hostage in return for MC 6, if you should find him before I do. And he must be untouched and unexamined.”

“I understand your terms,” said Hunter.

“You can’t just accept that,” Steve said hotly, looking up at him.

“I cannot endanger Jane,” said Hunter. “You know that, of course.”

“I’ll give you some time to think about it,” said Wayne. “But I warn you not to follow me to find anyone. If we have to jump through time to get away from you, I may not make an offer like this again.”

“Acknowledged,” said Hunter.

Wayne, still smiling triumphantly, turned and hurried away through the crowd of men and horses.

“Grab him,” said Steve, pulling against Hunter’s unbreakable grip. “We can hold him as a hostage for Jane. You can call Ishihara and tell him. Ishihara can’t let either of them come to harm, so he’d have to give in.”

“I do not dare,” said Hunter. “I have no indication of where they are. Wayne may have left them in another time or in a place out of range of my signal. He may have left Ishihara with standing instructions or First Law interpretations that would cloud the First Law imperative to release Jane. Making an attempt could simply anger Wayne and cause him to withdraw his offer.”

“Well, what’s wrong with that?”

“Maintaining negotiations will provide Wayne with an incentive to stay in contact with us. If Jane is nearby, we may eventually be able to track him back to her, or at least surmise her general vicinity.”

“Well…” Steve tried to think of another objection, but could not. “How about calling Ishihara anyway, and trying to get him to release her?”

“Have you forgotten? I have continued to call Ishihara at intervals ever since we arrived. He has not responded.”

“Oh, yeah. But we could just follow Wayne now and find out whatever we can.”

“I dare not. Besides, the troop is about to go out on maneuvers, remember?”

“We don’t have to stay.”

“Leaving so soon will complicate our ongoing presence here. We must maintain our place in the troop for now.” Hunter turned, drawing Steve with him. “We must get our saddles and bridles. Again, we will be among the last to ride out.”

“Yeah, all right.” Steve joined him at the end of the line again. “So you think Ishihara has Jane in some other time?”

Hunter released his arm. “That is not my first estimate. I acknowledge the possibility because it prevents me from acting too rashly, but I doubt the likelihood. Ishihara would probably insist on remaining in the company of both humans to protect them.”

“He wasn’t with Wayne right now,” said Steve. “And in the past, you’ve been willing to take a chance on one of your educated guesses.”

“I wish to prioritize caution at the moment. I believe Ishihara and Jane are probably fairly close. They may be in the village or out in the countryside, but I could not hear or see any sign of them. If we bide our time, I may pick up some clue to their location. Then we can act more aggressively.”

“But you’re still just guessing.”

“I am making a calculation of the odds.”

“Uh, right.”

Hunter said nothing for a moment. When he spoke again, he lowered his voice. “Harriet just called to say she is well. She remains with the women in the palace.”