Ylir was being amazingly silent. Burg bent over to pat Dorn’s back. “Easy there, lad. Sir Ylir knows better than to blame you, don’t you, boss? You did well. But if you have new men here that means Sir Yn Garr sent someone else to take charge. Where is he?”
Dorn glanced at the tents up the hill. “Boarshind,” he said.
“They did Mhagaza’s men in?”
Dorn nodded.
Burg glanced back at Ylir. “Maybe you should take a moment, before you talk to this man.”
“The hell I will,” Ylir snarled. He clicked his fingers. “Stay here with him, Burg.”
“Sir—”
“Sume.” It was the first time he had uttered her name in a while, and she glanced up in surprise. “You come with me. I need you to remind me not to kill the man when I set my eyes on him.” Without even looking at her, he strode up the hill.
Sume sighed and left her horse to follow him. He walked very fast and she had to trot to keep up.
“This is unbelievable,” he murmured when she got within earshot. “My master relies too much on these men. Oh, I grant you, if you need something unpleasant or dirty done, they can do it, no question about that. But when it comes to delicate matters you don’t send these idiots anywhere near that job. My master knew that whole situation with Mhagaza from the beginning. What did he think would happen, now that they’ve killed his men? Not even the whole of Boarshind can keep the Gasparian army at bay if it comes to it.”
It felt like he was expecting her to respond, so she did. “I’m sure it won’t come to that.”
His face tightened. “Maybe, but it won’t be easy. Ah, that stupid old man! This isn’t the first time I’ve had to undo his mistakes and it won’t be the last. Sending the Boarshind for this job, indeed.” They had reached the leader’s tent—a tall, canvas-covered pavilion. Ylir all but ripped the front open. “You!” he said, his voice starting to thunder now—a far contrast from his usual soft tones.
A black-haired man was sitting at the end of a cot. Sume marked him as a half-Jin, with eyes that slanted slightly. There was a white streak along his forelock and several more on the back of his head. Sume felt as if he was vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t put his face to anyone she knew. The man glanced at them. “Sir Ylir,” he said.
Ylir visibly relaxed. “Gaven.”
The man called Gaven smiled from the corner of his mouth. “I’ve heard you were on your way here. I was looking forward to seeing you again.” He extended his hand.
Ylir paused a moment before taking it. “You’ve lost weight.”
“I have. So I have!” Gaven gave a short burst of laughter, which accentuated the grey hollows under his eyes.
“The foreman tells me you’re here under my master’s orders. Tell me what sort of orders these are.”
“Don’t you want to sit first? Have some tea?” He glanced at her and smiled. “You brought a friend? Ah, excellent. I will put something on the kettle. I have food, too, if you’re both hungry.”
Ylir didn’t say anything and allowed the man to do what he wished. Sume watched him from the corner of her eyes, wondering if she was missing something. The man called Gaven pointed them to a rug in the center of the tent, where several cushions were laid out. She glanced at Ylir, who nodded. Together, they sat, and Gaven laid out two plates heaped with sliced pieces of dried meat and onions.
“I’m sorry I can’t offer you better,” Gaven said with a grin. “As you can see, the nearest market is quite a ride away.” He uttered another weak laugh.
Ylir touched the food, but he didn’t taste it. His face was deathly still. “I need an answer from you, Gaven. Why did my master send you?”
Gaven took one of the cushions and placed his hands on his knees. “He wanted the excavations to start before you got here. Said there was no sense in waiting.”
“He knows that Mhagaza put a stop to our operations. Legally—”
“Yn Garr told me to tell you that we are not Gasparians and should not have to hold ourselves under Gasparian law. Mhagaza himself broke protocol first, didn’t he?”
“So that includes killing Mhagaza’s men?”
“They did not mean to talk. What were we supposed to do when they rode in here and tried to hack us to pieces? So we just gave them a taste of their own medicine—only you know, more than that. Dorn there can tell you how we covered one in honey and fed him to the ants.” Sume blanched, but the man, Gaven, seemed pleased.
Ylir’s face remained expressionless, but his eyes were starting to look like wildfire. “You did this, knowing what you already know? You idiot. Did you at least kill all of them? Or did you, like a man whose mother dropped him on his head at birth, send one back to tell Mhagaza what you did?”
“Oh, no. We killed all. No sense sparing any after what they almost did to us.”
“That buys me some time, at least,” Ylir said. “But I’ll have you know right now that this isn’t the way I run things. If Mhagaza learns his men haven’t returned, he’ll think the worst. What did you do with the bodies?”
“Buried, burnt, I don’t know. I let the men do what they will.” Gaven looked bored. Sume wondered if he had ever really met Ylir before. If he were one of Burg’s men, he would already be face-down on the floor, stammering apologies in quick succession.
But there was something holding Ylir back from pulling out his sword. Sume wasn’t sure, but it clearly had nothing to do with the value of the man standing in front of him. He got up, knocking the tea kettle with his boot, and pointed at Gaven. “I want every one of those men accounted for. Dig them up and count the bones if you have to. I have to be in Al-ir by tomorrow evening.”
“Don’t let me hold you back.” Gaven could barely conceal the sneer behind his voice.
Sume glanced at Ylir and saw him narrow his eyes for a moment. But that was all he did. Without another word, he walked out of the tent. Sume got up to follow him.
“You,” Gaven said.
She turned to him.
“What is Ylir yn Garr doing with a Jin at tow?” he snorted. “Is he so desperate for cunt now? Maybe better you stick around my camp, girl. I’ll show you how a real man treats a woman.”
“Maybe better you just do what he says,” she said, her voice even. “Before I show you how a real woman can wield a knife.” Gaven started to say something and she chose that moment to duck through the tent flap. To her surprise, she saw Ylir quietly waiting for her by the path.
“You were irritatingly patient with him,” she said.
Ylir’s eyebrows knotted. “Your father never taught you the value in keeping your mouth shut, did he?”
Her ears burned at that. She resisted the urge to stomp on his feet—he wouldn’t have felt anything, anyway, what with those heavy boots of his—and started walking down the path. She heard him follow her and felt her heart leap to her throat. “I’m going to have to leave some of the men behind,” he said, getting close enough for her to smell the spiced scent he wore. “Burg included. I don’t know what my master thinks he’s doing, but I’m not about to let that half-breed run this show. If Lord Mhagaza catches wind of what he’s done, this whole business will be more trouble than it’s worth.”
“Who is he, anyway?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound as flustered as she felt. “It seemed like you knew him.”
“He’s one of the Boarshind. What else do I need to say? You’ve met them. About the only good thing about them is that they’re cheap and they’ll do anything, including fuck their own grandmother, for money. I’m sorry.” He ran his hands through his hair. “You’re going to have to let your bodyguard loose, too. What’s his name? Ranyar?”
“Ranias,” she mumbled.
“They like taking Hafed names. It’s ridiculous. Burg will need all the help he can get.”
She swallowed. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you’re still going with me and I want to warn you in advance that you’re not going to have your en
tourage with you when we get to Al-ir. Don’t worry,” he added, flashing her a smile. “You should have realized by now that I find Jins detestable. You’re perfectly safe from me.”
Her stomach knotted. She wasn’t sure which of his comments she wanted to hit him for, but it was all she could do to stop herself from actually trying. She weighed her words carefully. “You talk as if I have a choice.” She quickly glanced away as he turned to her, and prayed to Sakku that he would not see the tears welling up in her eyes.
Chapter Ten
“You’re not taking the boy with us,” Sapphire said, her voice a hint more irritated than usual.
Kefier didn’t bother glancing up from tying the knots on his pack. There was no point—he didn’t care about trying to reason with her, anyway, and he’d always been a little afraid that she had the power to make him burst into flames if he looked into her eyes. He continued piling wrapped packages of dried lamb’s meat in the bottom of the bag. “I can’t leave him here,” he said softly. “He doesn’t know anyone. Who knows what those Gasparians would do to him?”
“I’m not paying you to pick up every stray you come across. He’ll cost us extra on the caravan.”
“Then take it out of my pay. What’s the problem with that?” He pressed his hands into his knees and managed to get up. Sapphire was still standing behind him, her arms crossed. “I know this is more trouble than you bargained for. If you want me to find you another man—”
Sapphire narrowed her eyes and was quiet for a moment. “No,” she said at last. “I don’t trust Gasparians.”
“Aren’t you one yourself?”
She glared at him. “Are you blind or just plain idiotic? Do we look Gasparian to you? Honestly.” She drew a deep breath. “No. We don’t want that. It is imperative you meet my master. For that, if nothing else, I will deal with your ridiculous vanity.” It was amazing how she could speak so calmly while implying she wanted to strangle the daylights out of him.
“And you’re so sure, are you, that your master will be willing to talk to me at all? He won’t keep the answers from me just because?”
Sapphire’s lips became a thin line. “You dumb oaf, that’s not the issue here. If you’ve got enough brain in your head to keep alive then you should have figured it out by now. I won’t be able to tell you anything you don’t already know. This man, Yn Garr, struck up a rivalry with my master the gods know how long ago and has been that way since I can remember. You say you’ve met him before. My master will want to know the circumstances. Only he will be able to make light of what you tell him, to interpret the nuances—”
He struggled to keep awake and pretended to tie the last knots around the pack even though he had not finished loading it yet. The sun, he noticed, was starting to spill over the barn windows. If Sapphire herself was as smart as she made herself sound, she really should be heading back to the inn now to get started on breakfast. He opened his mouth to say so himself when Moon appeared by the doors, panting. She looked frantic.
“The boy,” she said, as Kefier took one step towards her. “He made off with our purse. I checked our room. It’s gone, and so is the boy.”
Sapphire’s eyes began to glow. “What?” she hissed.
“The men said they saw him heading down the main road. Oh Sapphire, what are we going to do? Without that money we’ll only make it as far as—”
Kefier dropped the pack and started running. He heard Sapphire call out to him, but he didn’t care about what she had to say at that moment. The boy’s face flashed in his mind. A thief? he thought, noting a pang of disappointment in the pit of his stomach. Ab and Sakku both help you, child, this is not how you show gratitude!
A retort to that stirred in the back of his mind. He refused to put words to it and caught up with Dai just along the town outskirts. The boy’s face was streaked with dirt and tears. He didn’t stop to think about that. He grabbed the boy’s shoulder and hauled him close. Dai didn’t flinch, but neither did he look back at him. He was gripping the purse tightly in one fist, and as soon as Kefier held his hand out he gave it without a word.
A movement along the ditch to their right caught Kefier’s attention. He swung his head and saw Xyl ducking under the fence posts. She had refused to step foot inside Kalthekar, but she must have been keeping a close eye on the road. Kefier was relieved to see that she hadn’t completely abandoned them.
Sapphire and Moon appeared uphill. Kefier pushed the boy to the side and started walking towards them. “Did he have it?” Sapphire asked. Her cuffs were bare mid-way.
Kefier held one hand out. “It was my fault. I’d borrowed the purse earlier, intending to buy more straps, and forgot all about it.”
Sapphire’s eyes narrowed. “You forgot? What sort of person forgets that kind of thing?”
“The kind of person who got distracted by some woman’s mewling,” he said with gritted teeth. He threw the purse at Moon. “Count it if you want to.” Inwardly, he prayed that the boy hadn’t spilled coins all over the place.
Moon cracked the purse open and peered inside. “It all seems to be there,” she conceded, without even bothering to count it.
Sapphire glanced at the boy. “If he is blameless, why did he escape?”
“Escape? You contemptible bitch, he wanted to see Xyl.” He pointed at the kusyan. “Now are we done with this drama? Can I please go back to my work now?” The whole situation was making him uncomfortable. He wasn’t used to being harassed by women, let alone over a boy he hadn’t known two days ago.
Sapphire bit her lip for once and walked away. Moon smiled at him for a moment before turning to follow her sister.
Kefier returned to Dai. The boy was still looking at the ground, his arms crossed. “We’re leaving in an hour,” Kefier said flatly. “I was supposed to carry everything, but now you’re going to have to help me with a pack of your own. If you don’t, so Ab help me, I’m going to knock all your teeth out. Do we have an understanding?”
The boy was quiet for a moment, but he eventually nodded and grimly began to walk up the road. Kefier wasn’t sure what that meant, exactly, but he didn’t have the courage to ask.
“I’ll wait,” Xyl said. She had said the same thing when they’d first stepped into town. Her eyes glimmered.
If Dai felt even the tiniest bit of remorse for what he’d done, Kefier didn’t see it. He remained silent the whole ride through to the south, his eyes downcast and his jaw set. Kefier noticed that he spoke only to Xyl, who seemed to find the boy amusing. She taught him a simple kusyani game involving rocks and a ball she made out of leather strips she harvested from Kefier’s pack, which kept Dai amused and out of trouble until they got to the foothills.
The caravan dropped them off at a nondescript intersection close enough to the Jin-Sayeng border that you could see the towers in the distance. Sapphire glanced at the boy momentarily, but pursed her lips and said nothing as she continued up the winding footpath into the wilderness.
“She’s worried, you know,” Moon said in a low voice, approaching Kefier from behind. She was so short that she had to look up at him. “Outsiders aren’t normally allowed at the towers. She’s taking a great risk as it is, bringing you with us.”
“I don’t understand. Why can’t you just send word?”
Moon touched his elbow briefly. Her hand was very cold. “Only sanctioned mages can cross the barriers. The towers contain many valuable items—spell books, histories of this land, artifacts, tablets. This, among other things, has attracted thieves over the centuries. Our forefathers chose to erect barrier-spells around the island to protect these treasures, but it came at a price: they cannot be undone. Or if they can, none of us know, save perhaps Lord Bannal.
“The barriers decide who passes and who does not. Intruders are dealt with appropriately. They recognize our own—mages who live in the towers, and on occasion they will allow accompanied guests to enter. But this is not certain. I have seen from afar a time when the barriers decided a
n important dignitary was not important enough.”
Kefier paused in his tracks. “I’m beginning to think this isn’t worth my time.”
Moon giggled. “Oh, you. You’ll be all right! So as long as what you’ve told us is true. The barriers will see you with us, and it will sense your thoughts. But the boy—” She glanced behind them and dropped her voice. “The barriers, you see, are especially sensitive to thieves.”
“He isn’t a thief,” Kefier said. “I thought I’ve explained that to you already.”
“Oh, Kefier. I know what you did.” Her face softened. “It is noble, but misguided. Look at him. Do you think he appreciates it? Getting caught and then being made to do an honest day’s job for absolutely no pay?”
He didn’t want to, but he found himself turning to the boy and the quiet way he trudged underneath the pack Kefier had given him. Allowing the boy to help lighten their load was the only way he could keep Sapphire quiet, but now he was starting to realize that it might not be the best decision. He looked at Moon and ran a hand through his hair. “What do you want me to do?” he asked. “He can’t make it on his own.”
“He got this far.”
“If these spells you’re saying can sense thoughts, then you have nothing to worry about. The boy isn’t like that. I’m sure of it.” He took a deep breath before adding, “I have to be.”
“You’re taking this very personally.” Moon almost looked amused.
“Am I? I just think that after what he’s been through, fair is fair.” Kefier tightened the straps around his waist and glanced imploringly at the small woman. “When I was a boy myself, my friend saved me. I was a slave in Dageis and he paid for my freedom. He’s dead now.” He paused long enough to feel his heart tighten. “I feel like I have to pay that back, somehow.”
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