away. Samira, however, was a friend of Maia’s, so it didn’t take her long to realize what a crow behaving unusually in this area must mean.
“Lena? If you can hear me, you’ll know that we’re on our way.” Then Clyton moved so fast that he was a white streak passing the crows who perched in the trees above him. Lena looked through their eyes as they rose to fly back long enough to figure out what route Samira and Clyton were taking. Then she pulled her concentration back into her body, rose to her feet, and headed through the forest toward the road so that she could intercept Samira before she rode into the chaos of the household unprepared.
Clyton almost charged right past her despite the fact that Lena was standing alone in the middle of the road. She had persuaded the dogs to stay out of sight in the woods.
“What’s going on, Lena?” Samira asked. “Are you all right?”
“Pretty much,” Lena replied, “but Lord Kristion is dead, and things are not going well.”
“What happened to him?” This was Samira’s current Circuit, so she knew that Lord Kristion had been young and healthy.
“He went out hunting with his best friend a couple of days ago . . .” Lena took a deep breath and blurted out the rest: “Lord Teren shot him by accident, and Lady Shantell called Lord Teren a murderer, and now she’s ordered the Kennelmaster to kill all of the dogs, and Jasper’s really upset about that.”
Samira pinched the spot where her nose met her forehead as if the muscle had gone into spasm and shook her head. “Are you sure it was an accident?”
“Lord Teren says it was, the servants who were with him say it was, and the dogs say it was. I believe them.”
“What does the Magistrate say?”
“Apparently Lord Teren is the Magistrate.”
“Yes, that’s right; he is.” Samira sighed. “Why does Lady Shantell want to kill the dogs?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because she can’t kill Lord Teren?” Lena shrugged. “It’s too bad her religion isn’t one of the ones that teaches forgiveness of one’s enemies.”
Samira looked at her oddly. “It does teach that.”
“Are you sure? She certainly isn’t acting like it, and she scolded me for worshiping Thenoth. And her own son seems to believe she’ll kill the dogs; he was out in the kennels crying over them this morning.”
“The dogs are still in the kennels?” Samira raised her eyebrows. “Knowing you, I’m surprised there’s a dog on the estate she can still find.”
“Minda just had puppies; they can’t be moved. The rest aren’t there. The Kennelmaster doesn’t want to follow Shantell’s orders, and if he can’t find the dogs, he can’t kill them.”
“I’m sure he appreciates your help,” Samira said dryly.
“He seems to, actually. I also pointed out that there may be legal questions—the dogs may belong to Jasper instead of Shantell, and her husband may have named someone else as Jasper’s guardian.”
“That’s a good argument,” Samira admitted. “How likely is it?”
“Lord Teren said that Lord Kristion had named him.”
Samira groaned. “I can tell that this is going to be complicated.” She and Clyton started forward at a walk that Lena could easily keep pace with. “Let’s go face the noise.”
:Stay in the woods,: Lena told the dogs as she accompanied Samira and Clyton toward the main entrance to the estate.
“Have they set a time for the funeral yet?” Samira asked.
“This afternoon.”
“It is afternoon,” Samira pointed out. “When this afternoon?”
Lena cast an anxious look at the angle of the sun. “The ninth hour,” she said in a small voice.
“Less than an hour from now. I need to wash and change into a clean uniform, and you look as though you dressed in the dark and then spent the day in the kennels and the woods.”
“I did.”
Samira’s eyes closed briefly and then opened again. Apparently she had been Mindspeaking to Clyton, because he stopped long enough for Samira to reach down, grasp forearms with Lena, and swing her onto Clyton’s back. “What’s the fastest way to reach the stables without Lady Shantell seeing us?”
They left Clyton being rubbed down by the Stablemaster, and Lena turned Samira over to the housekeeper to be shown to a guest room. Then she ran for her room, washed in the now-cold water that someone had left out for her that morning, and pulled on a dress that was suitable for the funeral. She slipped quietly into the chapel, aided by the fact that most of the household was gathered there. Samira, resplendent in the dressy version of her Whites, was seated in the front next to Shantell and Jasper. Lord Teren was in the back of the chapel, trying to be invisible. Either he succeeded or Shantell didn’t deign to notice him, and the funeral service and the burial that followed it went as well as could be expected.
After the funeral, it was customary to read the will. They gathered in the library: the priest, who had charge of the document; Lady Shantell; Jasper, who despite his young age was now Lord Jasper; Samira; Lena, partly because Jasper wanted her there and partly because Samira had requested her as a neutral high-born witness; and Lord Teren. Shantell protested his inclusion, but the priest told her it was needful, and her piety—at least for the moment—overcame her wrath.
The moment ended abruptly when she discovered that her husband had named Lord Teren to be Jasper’s guardian. “Should my son be forced to face his father’s murderer?” she demanded indignantly.
The priest said something about forgiveness; Lena couldn’t make out the exact words, because Samira’s voice overrode his.
“Normally we could ask the local Magistrate to hear this case,” she started, but Shantell interrupted her.
“He’s the Magistrate!” she exclaimed passionately. “Do you think he’ll rule justly on his own actions?”
“That’s why Valdemar has Heralds,” Samira reminded everyone. “I ride this Circuit so that I can hear cases where normal practice cannot be used, and I believe that this one qualifies. Does anyone disagree?”
Shantell fell silent.
Lord Teren spoke sadly. “I yield this case to your judgment, Herald Samira. I agree that I am not the person to rule on it, being involved myself.”
“Please,” Jasper added. “Everyone’s so angry, and they keep yelling.”
The priest nodded agreement. “Obviously this was not the situation Lord Kristion envisioned when I drew up his will.”
“Very well,” Samira said. “Lord Teren, are you willing to answer the accusation of murder under Truth Spell?”
“Absolutely.” Lord Teren looked grim but not at all afraid.
Samira cast the Truth Spell, and Lena watched with fascination as a blue glow appeared over Lord Teren’s head.
“Who went hunting with you and Lord Kristion?”
“In addition to the two of us, there were three servants and seven hunting dogs.”
“Was it your arrow that shot him?”
“Yes.” His voice held anguish, but the blue glow remained steady.
“Did you intend to shoot him?”
“No. Never. We became separated in the woods, and I had no idea that he had circled around so that he was opposite me. The servants were with me, so they didn’t know either.”
“What was he wearing?”
Teren looked blank. “I don’t remember.”
Lena must have made some sound, for Samira looked at her. “Do you know what he was wearing, Lena?”
“Yes.” And it was one of the most stupid things anyone could wear to go hunting. “Brown boots, brown pants, and a deerskin jacket.”
Samira looked at her incredulously. “Deerskin? Are you positive of that?”
I certainly can’t blame her for not believing me.
“That’s correct,” the priest said. “I saw his body when it was brought home, and that’s what he was
