After the Downfall

“Why would I lie? And what difference does it make, anyhow?” At last, somebody who could understand Hasso when he said something – and the cocksure son of a bitch didn’t want to believe him. Hasso wondered if he could do unto Aderno as he’d done unto Sholseth. Maybe he could knock sense into that long, arrogant head if he couldn’t insert it any other way.

“You don’t even know.” That wasn’t a question. Aderno turned away and spoke to Velona. When he did, his words were only gibberish to Hasso. His magic seemed as sensitive, and as adjustable, as a radio tuner. Hasso couldn’t follow Velona’s reply, either. He sighed and shrugged. She was the one he really wanted to be able to talk to, and he still couldn’t. Life seemed to work that way. Aderno gave his attention back to him. “Tell me how you came here.” That seemed clear enough.

Hasso did. He couldn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t. And talking about it – at last being able to talk about it – was a release, and a relief.

When he finished, Aderno sketched another sign in the air. This one glowed the color of the wizard’s shirt. “The truth,” he said, sounding faintly surprised.

“Why would I lie?” Hasso asked again.

For the first time, Aderno looked at him as if he’d said something stupid. “Outlander, man from another world, there are as many reasons as there are fish in the sea, as many reasons as there are leaves on the trees. You could have been part of some new wicked plot the Grenye have hatched – “

“No!” Velona broke in: one word of Lenello Hasso could follow.

“No,” the wizard agreed. “But it could have been so, which is why I applied the truth test. Or you could have been one of our evildoers on the run, looking to cover your tracks with a tale too wild to be disbelieved. Or you could have been a disgraced man looking to start over somewhere far from where you were born, and using a strange story likewise. Not too hard to pretend not to understand or speak. But no. You are not pretending. And if you saw gold in the air…”

“You still haven’t said what that means,” Hasso reminded him.

“It means your life, and mine, and everyone else’s, get more complicated than any of us might wish,” Aderno said. Hasso wanted to hit him for talking in circles. Decking a genuine wizard, though, didn’t strike him as smart. Aderno went on, “And it means you can’t stay in this miserable backwater post.” Mertois grunted at that. Aderno ignored him. “I shall take you to Drammen.” Seeing Hasso look blank, he condescended to explain: “To the capital.”

II

Once the Lenelli made up their minds, they didn’t screw around. Inside of an hour, Hasso was on a horse riding west. He wore his own short boots, trousers, and helmet. Grumbling still, Mertois doled out a padded shirt, a mailshirt to go over it, and a thin surcoat to go over that. The castle commander also gave Hasso a sword. He said something as he did. For decoration only, Hasso guessed. Don’t try to use it, not if you want to go on breathing.

He still had his Schmeisser. As long as his ammunition lasted, he was the toughest guy in town, even if only Velona knew it. Enough rounds for a few hours against the Russians – or a few minutes if things got hot. How long would it last here? Longer, anyhow, because none of these bastards had a weapon to match it.

Not only Aderno and his escort accompanied Hasso. At the wizard’s urging – or, more likely, command – Mertois sent along half a dozen of his men. And Velona rode out of Castle Svarag, too, which pleased Hasso for all kinds of reasons. It wasn’t just that they were lovers, though that sure didn’t hurt. But she was his sheet anchor here. Everything that had happened to him since happened because she ran by right after he squelched up onto the causeway.

The machine pistol and the extra magazines fascinated Aderno. Hasso made sure he unloaded the Schmeisser before he let the wizard handle it. Otherwise, Aderno might have killed half the people near him just by clicking the safety off, squeezing the trigger, and spraying the weapon around.

The Schmeisser’s cartridges interested Aderno even more than the piece itself did. He held them up close to his face to examine them – much closer than Hasso would have been comfortable eyeing them himself. He hefted first one, then another, then another. At last, reluctantly, he nodded and handed them back to Hasso.

“Your wizards understand the Two Laws well,” he said.

“Which Two Laws?” Hasso asked. He would rather have told Velona what beautiful eyes she had, but he didn’t know nearly enough Lenello for that. Talking to a wizard about sorcery wasn’t the same thing – not even close.