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been
dozing.
Karis said fiercely, ôI need some milk!ö
ôIf youÆll eat one of those dumplings, IÆll go get some,ö said Garland.
Karis picked up a dumpling and took a bite. She raised an eyebrow at him.
ôChew,ö he said. ôSwallow. All right, I am going.ö
Clement was the last to re-enter CadmarÆs room. She had a hot roll in her
hand
and a half dozen more crammed into her pockets. She gave one to Gilly, who
had
washed and shaved, but did not seem much improved. His gaze asked her a
question
she could not interpret. She offered one to Ellid, who appeared only more
worried, now that she had taken some time to think.
Cadmar said sarcastically, ôWell, Clement, what do you think we should do?
Shall
we send out our soldiers? To where? To attack what?æ
Clement said, ôWe donÆt have to go out looking for the Lost GÆdeon. SheÆll
come
in person to rescue the storyteller, as she did before when the storyteller
was
MabinÆs prisoner. And sheÆs going to do it soon, for sheÆs already in
Watfield.ö
Gilly gave her a startled look. ôIf the GÆdeonùthe supposed GÆdeonùis in the
city . . . and she wants to be sure of the storytellerÆs safetyùand youÆve
made
it impossible for that bird to keep an eye on herùö
ôSheÆll be at the gate at any moment,ö Clement finished for him.
Ellid grunted with dismay, but CadmarÆs face lit up.
Clement said, ôWhat will we trade the storyteller for?ö
Cadmar said, ôIf a woman claiming to be the GÆdeon shows up at our gate, do
you
really think IÆll bargain with her?ö
Clement sat in a chair, tore open a roll, and made herself take a bite. Even
fresh from the oven, the bread was dry and tasteless.
Cadmar said, ôYou thought it would be so complicated. But all we have to do
is
kill her.ö
Frowning worriedly, Ellid looked at Clement. Although Ellid was an
inadvertent
ally, unused to this alliance, she already seemed to have learned that it was
ClementÆs job to contradict Cadmar.
But what could Clement say to him? Her son was dying, Kelin was dead, those
children in the garrison would never see their homes again. Why was her heart
still torn like this? Why not kill the GÆdeon? Why did she want to make an
argument she herself did not believe?
She said nothing. In silence, she ate her roll.
When Garland returned, the room was cold with a recent draft, and Karis was
forcing shut the window sash. The plate of dumplings was empty. Garland said
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accusingly, ôYou fed your meal to the ravens?ö
Karis held up a glittering blade.
ôThe knife? How did the raven get it?ö
Her smile was tight, and her eyes were a bit strange: focused, but also
intensely preoccupied. Garland gave her the small bottle of milk he had
purchased. She put it into the inside pocket of her long woolen doublet, lay
the
glittering little blade in her toolbox on the floor, and picked up EmilÆs
watch.
She crossed the room, opened a door, and tossed in the watch. There was a
startled exclamation. Emil came out with the watch in his hand, having
apparently managed to catch it before it met its demise. He said, ôAre we out
of
time? Or merely out of patience?ö
ôIÆm going to the garrison now,ö Karis said.
He blinked at her, rubbed his eyes, and blinked at her again.
Wild-eyed and gaunt with weariness, Medric came out of the room. Glancing in,
Garland saw the glyph cards arranged carefully on the floor. Karis said to
Medric, ôTell me how you read the storytellerÆs glyph pattern.ö
ôSo our torture is finally to end? Well, what shall we decide this pattern
means, Emil?ö
Emil looked very unhappy. ôIf we could have some semblance of certainty!ö
ôPretend that youÆre certain,ö said Karis.
ôWe believe we need to kill someone, and we are only guessing who. WouldnÆt
you
rather we could be positive?ö
There was a silence, but not a particularly long one. Karis said, ôI have
with
me a very small assassin. Who shall I kill?ö
Clement finally brought herself to say reasonably, ôIf the woman is the
GÆdeon,
she may not be easy to kill. IsnÆt that right, Gilly?ö
ôNot easy,ö said Gilly morosely. ôAnd certainly we would not be wise to try.ö
Cadmar said, ôBut we are soldiers and I donÆt see why this storytellerÆs
scars
convince you of anything other than that sheÆs had a dangerous and lucky
life.ö
ôA recovery from paralysis,ö said Clement. ôRegrown body parts.ö
Cadmar snorted. ôImpossible.ö
ôWell, general, thatÆs exactly my point.ö Doomed to keep repeating the
arguments
that Cadmar would not ever become able to hear. Clement said, ôThis Lost
GÆdeon
may be able to do anything!ö
ôBut we donÆt know that.ö
ôIf we let her demonstrate her power so that we become certain, then it will
be
too late to negotiate,ö she said impatiently.
ôWhat would you have me do?ö His voice, gaining volume again, had also gained
an
edge of sarcasm. ôThe first woman who tells me sheÆs the GÆdeon, should I bow
to
her and give her the keys to the garrison?ö
Clement cried recklessly, ôGeneral, if she is the GÆdeon, youÆll wish you
had!ö
Cadmar loomed over her, his face flushed red with anger.
Fists clenched, Clement forced her voice to plead rather than shout. ôTalk to
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her first,ö she said. ôGeneral, just talk to her first.ö
ôGeneral!ö The gate captain looked in the door. His expression was one of
bafflement.
CadmarÆs big hand clenched ClementÆs shoulder painfully. ôWhat is happening
at
the gate?ö
ôGeneral, three people are asking to speak to you. One is that cook who
deserted
some years ago.ö
Of course it would be the cook, thought Clement wildly.
ôHe says one of the people with him is Councilor Mabin. And the other he
introduces as the GÆdeon of Shaftal.ö
CadmarÆs not inconsiderable strength was crushing Clement into her chair.
ôWhat
do they want?ö
ôThe cook says they are here to make peace.ö
Cadmar snorted. ôCaptain, have someone fetch GillyÆs horse. Tell those people
that I am coming. Do they have weapons?ö
ôI donÆt see any, General, but I havenÆt searched themùtheyÆre still outside
the
gate, of course.ö
ôDonÆt let them in. And Captain, let your soldiers be prepared for action.ö
ôWe are always prepared,ö said the captain stiffly.
As he left, Cadmar explained to Gilly, ôI need you to translate.ö
He was going to talk to the Lost GÆdeon.
Perhaps, thought Clement, we might yet survive.
ItÆs a little late to be wishing IÆd never heard the sound of KarisÆs ax that
day, Garland thought, as he stood beside Karis at the garrison gate. Or he
should have left these odd people the day the raven first talked to him, when
Karis gave him money and told him to go his way. But he had fallen in with
them
instead, and now here he stood, with a half dozen guns and crossbows trained
on
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