Derelict

The Waves of Death Compassed Me - Part A

Chapter Sixteen

After a second near death experience, Rison became convinced Caddo's so-called "plan" had been designed to kill them or at the very least, inflict serious bodily harm. The first occurrence involved a total breach of confab protocol when Caddo said something that must have seriously offended Tyler. There had been talk concerning an event in their mutual past and before Rison could even blink, Tyler's knife pressed against Caddo's throat. She gritted her teeth and had a wild look in her eyes.

"Tell me again, Chief Trader, how your role as the Tourinar of Rusk gave you authority to snatch newborns out of the arms of their mothers and murder them? Tell me how this could be construed in any form as a good thing."

For his part, Caddo did not flinch. For that matter, he didn't seem to acknowledge the steel blade pressed against his neck. Rison stared all slack-jawed at the expression of pent-up anger and rage smeared across Tyler's face and feared the worst. Whatever Caddo had done in the past, he was about to pay the price.

"I said nothing about murdering newborns. But you are choosing to hear exactly what you want to hear rather than what was said." Caddo responded to the looming prospect of death with more serenity than Rison could ever hope to muster.

Tyler paused, biting off her next comment but the knife didn't waiver. Rison could see her mulling over Caddo's statement.

"What then are you saying? You did not murder them? If not you, then who? Perhaps my blade will find their throats more amenable."

With great deliberation he reached for the mug of water on the table before him and sipped for a moment before gently moving the knife and the hand that held it away from his throat. "What I did, I did for the good of the clan and for the good of the babies born with the mark. There was no pleasure in the chore, yet it had to be done."

Tyler sat back in her seat, rigid and on edge. When she spoke again, there was real pain in her voice. It was no longer the voice of the Touri of the Blood clan; it was the voice of a mother in anguish. "Tell me true Caddo," she said in a whisper. "Did my baby boy die at your hand?"

Caddo leaned forward and covered her hands in his own. "Your son lives."

Tyler gasped and the corners of her mouth began to quiver. She fought bravely for a moment but the tears began to flow. "How? Why?" It was all she could manage.

**********************

He carried the newborn north, away from Tyler and more importantly, away from Rusk. In half a day he reached the bridge and slipped the guard a couple of crystals, gaining permission to cross into Cairo. Twenty minutes later he handed the baby to the only man he trusted on the north side of the river. He turned to leave but hesitated, glancing at the child again. The baby wailed like he was being tortured, inconsolable and unending.

The man holding the baby noticed the hesitation. "What? What is it Caddo?"

Caddo shook his head, fatigue and resignation were evident in his expression. "This one is special. I would prefer..." The words seemed stuck in his mouth. "I know you have found good homes up north for all the others, but this one. Keep him here. Please."

The man hefted the tot in his arms and looked him over. "Special, eh? Very well. He shall stay with me. But he's a Speck and you know what that means this close to the Wastelands. He won't have an easy life. Even with my protection."