Page 76 of The Summer Pass

Lill was pointing to some footmarks in the dirt by the garden gate. Or at least that’s what Vanu thought he was pointing to.

“There’s bits of thatch from that shed roof he fell through,” Lill explained. “It would have been stuck to his clothes and hair. I think he went through here, and I doubt the geese liked him, but we don’t think he’s back in the great house—so I’d bet he’s still in here.”

Vanu nodded. “They decided to keep him as their own hostage. That’s exactly the sort of thing that family would do.”

“I don’t suppose you know any good tricks for getting inside their house?”

Vanu shook his head, feeling as if he was letting Lill down. Why didn’t he know how to sneak into his father’s old hearthman’s house? He knew plenty of other secret routes and tricks for getting around Tagra Degra.

“We’d probably best come back after dark,” Lill said. “That window up there might be the easiest.”

He pointed up at the window, and Vanu could see the slight tightening of his lips at the pain it must have caused to stretch even his good arm. He was in no state to be climbing up to windows. But maybe there was a different way of doing this. Vanu had an idea.

“I don’t think we need to do that,” he signed. He put his hand on the gate.

Lill nodded smartly and said nothing.

Vanu stared at him, wrong-footed for a moment. “Are you not going to ask what I plan to do?”

“No.” Uncertainty crept into his expression. “Should I?”

“Yes!” Vanu sighed. “I’m sorry—I wasn’t trying to test you. I’m used to leading men who ask for explanations before they’ll carry out the slightest order.” That was just how the Hawakhaba were. “Wait here a moment and follow when I’ve gone in the house. I know the people who live here and can probably talk them into handing over their hostage. But in case I can’t, you have a look around and see if you can find him. If anyone sees you, say you’re with me.”

Lill nodded again, in exactly the same way as before, and Vanu was left with the impression that he’d understood that was the plan all along.

He pushed open the gate. When he was a boy, the geese in this yard used to like him, and he could probably have approached the house without causing a stir. If any of those old geese were left, they didn’t recognize him, because the flock began honking the moment he stepped through the gate. When a white-haired woman came out of the back door of the house, he was standing in the middle of a storm of flapping grey wings, ineffectually hushing the geese and laughing.

“Lord Vanu!” exclaimed the woman—Danu Tsunakharu’s widow, much older than Vanu remembered her. She made noises and waved her wooden spoon at the geese. “I knew it was true what they said about your banner on Crow Crag! So you are back! But you should have come to the front door! Oh, ha ha, you couldn’t, could you—all those carts are blocking it. Come inside the house, my lord, away from these foolish creatures.”

It was certainly one way to infiltrate a house. A very Vanu way, Lill thought. He was mortified that he hadn’t asked for the details of his mission, though he thought he would have been able to figure it out as he went, even if Vanu had not explained.

He tugged on the knots of his borrowed shoes, which he didn’t trust to be adequately silent, and got them off before the moment when he needed to move: after the old woman had gone in but before the geese had settled down. He ran barefoot across the yard, dodging goose-droppings, and slipped through the door behind Vanu. He needed no more shield to keep from being seen than Vanu’s broad back, and he was able to take stock of the hallway quickly. There were open doorways on either side and a narrow flight of stairs leading up. The upstairs should be his first priority. As Vanu followed his hostess toward the front of the house, Lill padded silently up the stairs.

The upper floor of the house consisted of two large rooms with a doorway between them. Both rooms were empty, but the first was open to the rafters under the roof, and the second had a loft above it. Lill heard a noise from overhead, a slight creaking of boards. He looked around for a ladder.

There it was, propped against the opposite wall. It was a long ladder, and the idea of moving it with only one hand was not appealing. Lill listened for more noise from overhead, to be sure this was necessary. After a moment, he heard a half-stifled groan with a Zashian intonation. That was it. Artayarasha must be up there.

Lill grabbed the ladder with his good hand and pushed it up against the wall so it was completely vertical. He judged that if he tipped it over from this position it would fall so that it caught the edge of the loft before it crashed to the floor. He might be wrong about that, though. He experimented to see if he could shift the ladder some other way with only one hand, but it wobbled dangerously in his grip. He pushed it quickly back against the wall.

“Your Highness?” he called softly.

There was a rustle from overhead and then a moment’s silence.

“Who’s there?” came the response finally.

“I’m with Lord Vanu. I’ve come to help you get out.”

“God be praised. They’ve tied my wrists—I’m afraid I can’t⁠—”

“Don’t worry, I’m coming up. Just give me a moment to get the ladder in place.”

Lill gripped the ladder and pulled it forward, controlling its fall as well as he could by balancing it against his left shoulder. He stumbled backward as its weight came down on him. After an uncomfortable moment, mercifully, it came to rest against the edge of the loft. He tested it to be sure it was steady and scrambled up.

Prince Artayarasha knelt on the floor of the loft beside a straw pallet. He looked much as Lill had expected. His hair and beard were wild, his face pale and smudged with dirt and dried blood from a cut on his forehead. His coat and jewellery were gone, leaving him in a thin shirt which was torn at the collar. His hands were bound behind his back.

He stared at Lill with a surprise that wasn’t surprising to Lill, who knew he was looking even less impressive than usual.

“Let me untie you, Your Highness. Then we can get down the ladder together.”