of us should hit on a contact if we try both.'
'Good,' Justin replied shortly; they paused just at the inn gate and made an exchange of packs and reins. Kyra went on into the stableyard with their horses, as he sought the innkeeper behind his bar. Justin bargained heatedly for several minutes, arriving at a fee of two silver for stabling, room and meals for both; but there was a third coin with the two square ones he handed the innkeeper -- a small, round, bronze coin, bearing the image of a rampant hawk on one side and the sun-in-glory on the other. It was, in fact, the smallest denomination of coin used in Hawksnest -- used only in Hawksnest, and almost never seen outside of the town.
The innkeeper neither commented on the coin, nor returned it -- but he did ask 'justice Twoblade?' when registering them on his rolls.
'Justice' was one of the half-dozen recognition words that had come with Justin's message.
'Justin,' the fighter corrected him. 'Justin of the Hawk.'
That was the appropriate answer. The man nodded, and replied 'Right. Justice.'
Justin also nodded, then stood at the bar and nursed a small beer while he waited for Kyra to return. The potboy showed them to a small, plain room on the ground floor at the back of the inn.
'Stableman's one contact for certain sure,' Kyra told him as soon as the boy had left. 'He wished me 'justice,' I gave 'im m'name as Kyra Brighthawk, and then 'e tol' me t' wait for a visitor.'
'Innkeeper's another, gave me the same word. Always provided we aren't in a trap.' Justin raised one laconic eyebrow at Kyra's headshake. 'My child, you don't grow to be an old fighter without learning to be suspicious of your own grandmother. I would suggest to you that we follow 'enemy territory' rules.'
Kyra shrugged. 'You been the leader; I'll live with whatever ye guess we should be doin'.'
Justin felt of the bed, found it satisfactory, and stretched his lanky body on it at full length. 'It is a wise child that obeys its elders,' he said sententiously, then quirked one corner of his mouth. 'It is also a child that may live to become an elder.'
Kyra shrugged good-naturedly.
A few moments later, the boy returned with a surprisingly good dinner for two, which he left. Justin examined it with great care, by smell and by cautious taste.
'Evidently we aren't supposed to leave,' Justin guessed, 'And if this stuff has been tampered with, I can't tell it.'
Kyra followed his careful inspection of the food with one of her own. 'Nor me, an' my grandy was a wisewoman. I don' know about you, friend, but I could eat raw snake.'
'Likewise. My lady?' Justin dug a healthy portion out of the meat pie they'd been served, and handed it to her solemnly.
She accepted it just as solemnly. It might have been noted, had there been anyone else present, that neither partook of anything the other had al' ready tried. If any of the food had been 'tampered with,' it would likely be only one or two dishes. If that were the case -- one of them would still be in shape to deal with the consequences.
When, after an hour, nothing untoward happened to either of them, Justin grinned a little sheepishly.
'Well -- '
'Don't apologize,' Kyra told him. 'I tell ye, I druther eat a cold dinner than find m'self wakin' up lookin' at the wrong end'f somebody's knife.'
They demolished the rest of the food in fairly short order -- then began another interminable wait. After a candlemark of pacing, Kyra finally dug a long branch of silvery derthenwood out other pack, as well as a tiny knife with a blade hardly bigger than a pen nib. She sat down on the floor next to the bed and began the slow process of turning the branch into a carved chain. Justin watched her from half-closed eyes, fascinated in spite of himself by the delicate work. The chain had only a few links to it when the wait began; when it ended, there was scarcely a fingerlength of branch remaining. Then, without warning, a portion of the wall blurred and Kethry stepped through it.
Kethry just held out her arms, welcoming both of them into an embrace which included tears from all three of them.
'Gods, Keth -- ' Justin finally pulled away, reluc-tantly. 'It has been so damned hard keeping this all inside.'
'I know; none better -- Windborn, I cannot tell you how glad I am to see you two! You're the first to come; may the Lady forgive me, but there were times I wondered if this was going to work.'
