Chapter 11
The Lady Bandit
Turino Province, Adriano Region, Ilyria
They had been walking for six days. There was no sign of pursuers, but they were careful not to draw much attention to themselves. That meant staying out of the towns they passed along the way. Duran would be trusted to buy food, but with the long journey ahead of them and limited funds, they had to strictly ration what they got. They would sleep in barns if they could or out in the open if they had no other choice. Of course, luxuries like a bath or a change of clothes were out of the question. They were all thoroughly miserable. They were so worn down by this point that not even Goldie could be bothered to complain.
Poor Dru twisted her ankle a couple days ago, so Shaya took it upon herself to carry her. You would think she would be weakened from her imprisonment, but she kept pace with the professional soldiers Schwartz and Molly and never seemed to tire. It was chilling to think that this might actually be her weakened state. Good thing she was on their side.
"How much farther to the border?" Toma asked Duran.
"I'd say we got leas' three hunnerd k'lometers ta go, kid," he replied. "We're av'ragin' 'bout twenny-five ta thirty k'lometers in a day, so maybe 'nother two weeks."
"How are we gonna cross? It's not like we have anything to trade with for forged papers this time."
"Papers wouldn't do you no good, kid. Ain't no travel 'tween Ilyria an' Adom. We gotta sneak 'cross. Avoid the border patrols on both sides. What with Zadok pushin' the Eye-lies inta Greland, either they've beefed up the border ta ward off the Ostees if they try pushin' through Adom or they're short-handed 'cause they're movin' their men south."
"I'd rather have the second option."
"Me too, kid. Me too."
As they were talking, Shaya stopped dead in her tracks. Toma kept walking a few steps until Dru asked her something in Adomite. Shaya gave a curt reply and started growling.
"Shaya says there's someone here," Dru told the others.
"I thought I felt someone eyeballin' me," Duran replied.
Schwartz and Molly stood back-to-back scanning left and right. Toma got himself behind Shaya to watch their rear. Goldie stood there looking confused for a moment before hiding himself behind Toma.
Speaking Ilyrian, Duran raised his voice and said, "Alright, come on out an' let's get this over with."
"You in a hurry to die, stranger?" a woman's voice asked.
Out of the corner of his eye, Toma caught sight of the muzzle of a rifle sticking out of the bushes on the ridge to his right just as Schwartz said, "We got two rifles on the left."
"Two rifles on the right," Molly added.
Another one came out to position himself in the road behind them. He was wearing a sort of half mask that concealed the upper part of his face and besides the rifle he had pointed at Toma, a couple pistols were shoved into the bandoliers across his chest.
"One in the back," Toma said.
Because he had to keep his eye on the man behind them, he didn't see the woman from before when she came out into the road to confront Duran. He would later see that she was a tall woman—though not quite as big as Shaya—dressed in a longcoat and tricorne with a pistol in each hand and the same kind of mask as the man behind them.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" the woman said. "You're not from around here, but the boots and trousers on those two look like they came off Auxiliaries. And that muscly bitch giving me the evil eye. An Adomite? What's the story?"
"Nothin' I'd like ta tell with all these guns pointed at us," Duran replied.
"Well then, we can just skip the pleasantries and you can hand over anything you have of value."
"I don't think we'll be doin' that either."
"We can always get what we want off your corpses."
"The bullets'll cost more'n what you'd get off us. We don't got nothin'."
"You've got your bodies. It's not what I prefer, but whatever gets us our coin."
"That's barbaric," Dru said. "Slavery is illegal in Ilyria."
"So is highway robbery, kitten," the woman replied. "They'll stretch our necks for one crime, so we might as well do 'em all. Now are you going to hand it over or do we have to take it?"
Shaya grumbled something, prompting Dru to admonish her.
"What are they saying?" the woman demanded.
"Hell if I know," Duran replied. "I don't speak Adomite, but I think you're makin' the She-Bear mad. I heard 'em say bullets bounce right offa her an' if she gets her hands on you, it gets messy."
"The She-Bear?" the woman asked, surprised. "You mean the one who killed half a Zadok raiding party bare-handed, then tracked the other half all the way to Cibele and killed some forty more before she was taken down. That She-Bear?"
"Sounds like somethin' she'd do."
The woman's voice suddenly brightened as she said, "Well, why the hell didn't you say something sooner? Any enemy of Zadok is a friend of ours. Boys, put away your guns."
The man behind them shouldered his rifle, but Toma didn't look away from him. He did notice one of the men hiding in the bushes stand up, though.
"Sorry about that," the woman said. "We usually only hold up carriages and such, but I didn't know what to make of you, so I thought I'd find out."
"'Oh, hones' mistake. I know how it is,'" Duran said mockingly. "Is that what you're expectin' us ta say?"
"For all I knew, you were some thugs hired by that bastard Alesso."
"Alesso?" Dru asked. "As in the Conte d'Alesso?"
"That's the one," the woman replied. "Makin' his life hell is our business. Maybe you've heard of me. The notorious Moonlight Crescenza."
"I think I saw a wanted poster las' town we passed through," Duran said. "A thousand ducats dead or alive. A hunnerd for each a' your boys. Nothin' ta sniff at."
"Don't get any funny ideas," the woman warned. "We're on the same side."
"Are we?"
"I tell you what, let me make it up to you. I mean, look at you. You're tired, hungry, and frankly, you smell like shit."
"And we're supposed to trust you?" Dru asked sharply. "A group of bandits who not ten minutes ago threatened to rob us, kill us or sell us into slavery?"
Crescenza paused for a moment, apparently weighing her options, before speaking up again.
"Boys, give each of 'em a piece."
"But, m—er, boss..." one of the bandits said.
"Do it," Crescenza said.
Grudgingly, the bandit behind them drew one of his pistols and offered it to Toma. Although he was suspicious, Toma took the pistol. He wasn't familiar with this particular make, but it felt loaded. Another one of the bandits gave a pistol to Goldie. Toma made a point to not be standing where Goldie was pointing the muzzle while glancing over his shoulder quickly to see Schwartz and Molly armed as well.
"There," Crescenza said. "Feel better? Now if anyone wants to try something, no one is coming out of it unscathed."
"Why would you do something like this?" Dru asked.
"A gesture of good faith, little girl. Now will you accept my offer of hospitality or you going to insult me?"
"Whaddya think, lil' lady?" Duran asked.
"I think we can trust her, Mr. Duran," Dru said, "for now at least."
"That'll do," Crescenza said. "Come with us."
Crescenza led them a short ways off where they had horses waiting. Much as Shaya was reluctant to part with her, Crescenza had Dru ride with her while the rest of them double up with the other members of her gang. It was an odd coincidence that they both had parties of seven. The bandit stuck with Shaya couldn't hide his unease. The horse didn't seem to happy about it either. Neither did Shaya for that matter.
They rode until it was close to sunset, stopping a few times to rest the horses which were having to carry more than their usual load.
Toma was expecting their destination to be some cave in the hills or the slums of a nearby city. What he wasn't expecting was a stately old country manor. They went around to the stables where they dismounted and a few stablehands took the horses. Crescenza and her bandits went to an empty stall, where one of the bandits brushed back the straw to reveal a trapdoor. He opened the trapdoor and the seven of them stowed their gear: their hats, coats and masks as well as their weapons, shot pouches, powder horns, and the like.
Crescenza turned to Toma's group and said, "Unless you're going to insist on it, I'd like to put those pistols away."
They exchanged glances and Dru was the first to relinquish her pistol (actually both the pistol given to her and the one that was offered to Shaya because she wanted nothing to do with it), prompting the others to do the same. Once it was all put away, the bandit closed the trapdoor and covered it back up.
"Let's go," Crescenza said.
They followed her out of the stables as she made her way to the manor house.
"So some country lord hired you lot ta do his dirty work feudin' with Alesso?" Duran asked.
"Something like that," Crescenza replied.
If Crescenza and her gang were just hired goons, you would have expected them to use the back entrance or something, but they went right up to the front door. Crescenza rapped on the door with the brass lion's head knocker and it was answered by an elderly butler with a thick bushy moustache and eyebrows to match.
"Welcome back, my lady," the butler said. "You are home early."
"We have company, Santino," Crescenza said. "Prepare some rooms, hot baths and a change of clothes. Tell Carlo to make seven more places for supper."
The butler bowed and said, "Right away, my lady."
This turn of events was unexpected to say the least.