white, like a spooked horse, and yet, every time he ceased speaking even for a moment, his jaw clenched as tight as if he were choking down a scream.
Kesta patted Joss's shoulder and jerked her chin toward the spot where Siras was confined between a pair of watchful soldiers. Joss stepped away from the table. Sengel glanced at him, nodding to acknowledge his leave- taking, but Anji did not look up nor did Tuvi register their departure. He hadn't looked at Joss once.
Siras was bouncing on his toes as Joss walked up with Kesta. 'The hells, Commander! What happened to you? You look gods-rotted younger, or something.'
The Qin soldiers delicately stepped away, one lifting a hand to show they were moving off now, no trouble.
'Keep walking,' muttered Joss.
Soldiers approached the awning with bowls and bottles and by lamplight Anji bent over his son to coax food into the squalling visage as his chiefs gave orders for the night's sentries. The four reeves strode away, Kesta leading them toward the river's shore where they might hope to find some privacy.
'What in the hells happened?'
'The captain sent Mistress Mai and a few attendants and guards to Merciful Valley. To keep her safe while he went on campaign.'
'From the red hounds? Those Sirniakan spies?'
Siras shrugged. 'The rumor runs that the captain's mother had Mai killed.'
'The hells! That's what Chief Tuvi implied. Why would his mother kill his wife?'
'She brought a Sirniakan princess from the empire. She wanted him to marry the outlander, but he refused.'
'So she killed Mai? How in the hells would that serve to persuade her son to marry the woman she'd chosen for him? Aui! How can anyone understand outlanders? Is this what we have to hope for?'
'To hope for what?' asked Kesta.
'Not here,' said Joss, lowering his voice. They walked awhile until they reached the low bluffs that ran along the western channel. It was impossible to penetrate the river's layers, the surface glitter, the streaming deeps, the muddied eddies where sticks washed up. This conflict was like the river. They thought they were fighting a single war, when in fact multiple wars were raging around and above and beneath their feet, unseen but nevertheless permeating the land until the Hundred overflowed with hostilities.
'Lord Radas is dead.'
'Thanks to you,' said Kesta.
He shrugged, shaking off the compliment. 'Anji and his army have defeated major contingents of Lord Radas's army.'
'Thanks be to the gods,' said Peddonon with a fierce sigh.
'Meanwhile, there remain remnants of that army wandering in the countryside, an outpost at Walshow, and headquarters at Wedrewe in Herelia. Why can't Anji just take over the entire apparatus and stand as — what do the Qin call their ruler? — stand as var over the Hundred, with an army he trained and which is loyal to him to enforce his will.*
The river's voice had the clarity his own lacked. The danger seemed so cursed obvious to him. How easy it was to cross under the gate of shadows, never knowing you passed the threshold of corruption until it was too late to turn back.
'Joss,' said Kesta in the voice of an auntie who is about to tell you that the woman you're hankering after just isn't interested no matter how many smiles and songs and silk scarves you ply her with, 'don't you think you're spinning a tale out of your own fears? Have you thought maybe you're a bit envious? I admit I've been startled by how quickly Commander Anji and his chiefs have taken to giving orders to the reeve halls, but hasn't it worked? Aren't we at the threshold of victory, after all the terrible things we've seen?'
'When in the hells,' Joss demanded, 'did everyone stop calling him 'Captain'? This isn't about being commander of the reeve halls. For sure I never wanted the position, and if we can ever get the reeve halls to meet in council, then I'll be glad to follow a new commander. But tell me this, Kesta.' He grabbed a rock off the ground and pitched it toward the river, waiting until he heard, like an echo of his doubts, its hollow splash. 'If the reeve
halls met today in council, if Anji stood up before them with his eloquence and persuasiveness and his good- humored smiles, what makes you think they wouldn't elect him?'
Shai was conscious, and he was hurting, and his ears were filled with voices that nagged as stubbornly as young nieces and nephews wanting a ride on his broad shoulders.
How do I get home? Can you tell me?
I never wanted to march with the army. But it was cursed sweet to have my belly full every cursed day, eh? I don't feel hungry at all now.
Aui! It hurts! I'm scared!
Gods-rotted cowards, falling back like that. If only we'd listened to-
Ghosts plagued him, worse than a horde of nieces and nephews because there was nothing he could do for them. He wanted to shout 'I can't help you!' but he had no throat, no tongue, no mouth. Sand had been poured over raw flesh and rubbed in until he was a single screaming wound.
Cursed if he would cry about it. Others had endured worse. This was only physical pain.
'Out!'
The voice rang strong, startling in its fury. The whispers snapped out, the ghosts fleeing as Shai took a breath, although even a simple breath hurt, scouring his lungs.
Yet he was still not alone. Two voices disturbed his peace.
'Now we talk, Captain Arras, here in this private place where no one will disturb us. Just you and me. I have a sword, and you have no weapon but your wits. Zubaidit served my army well, so as a favor to her I did not kill your soldiers or you immediately, although I could have. I have accepted the cloak you brought as an offering, and I'm appreciative that you have hauled this man Shai to my camp. I have allowed you to sit in my council and pretend to be my loyal officer. But you're not. You're a traitor.'
'I would argue it was Lord Radas who betrayed me and the soldiers who served him.'
42
'Go on.'
'The truth, Commander, is that I joined up with Lord Radas's people because I was an ordinand of Kotaru who got into some trouble and I had nowhere else to go. I didn't kill anyone, mind you, nor abuse those weaker than me, as some men will do if they can get away with it. But those who commanded in Kotaru's temple didn't like my attitude, and I didn't like their incompetence. I sought scope for my talents. I served in Seven's militia for a while, and that worked out all right, they are decent people there, except I wasn't a local man and only local men got raised to positions of command. So then some men came recruiting, and what they promised sounded good to my ears. I came in as a sergeant and soon got rewarded with a company and later a cohort of my own. I had hopes of really doing something when we started our campaign. But as it turned out, Lord Radas was just as incompetent as my other commanders had been, in his own way. I suppose I thought a cloak who could rip out the hearts and minds of those who opposed him would be a better commander than ordinary fellows, but I guess after all that the magic a Guardian bears is meant only for the assizes, not the battlefield. The cursed cloak could look right into my heart, and steal my understanding of the tactics and strategy that would have worked best for the army, and still he made one bad decision after the next.'
'Will you judge me incompetent in my turn, and seek a bolder and more intelligent commander?'
'Is there one?' The question was not meant to flatter.
'Here, in the Hundred? I doubt it.' The answer was not a wishful boast. 'But will you betray me in turn? People do it all the time, as I know to my cost.'
'An impossible question, because I have to deny it to win your trust. So, listen, Commander. I'm willing to suffer under your suspicion until I prove myself. I've no ambition to rule a vast army. I just want a cursed command
