as Geth's own, the gangplank lifted away from the brackets that held it steady at the edge of the deck above. Geth staggered back a step, grunted, and released his grip. The gangplank grated against the ship's side, then slid down to splash into the water. At the same time, the eerie droning chorus of Dandra's own fiery powers hummed in the air. Singe twisted around in time to see her release a cascade of carefully aimed flames at three of the thick mooring ropes. Intense whitefire burned into the twisted hemp and the ropes, already under tension, snapped like whips. Lightning on Water shifted and swayed out from the dock sharply.
In the half-dark of early evening, the docks of Zarash'ak were far from abandoned, however. People turned to stare at them-and up on the deck of the ship, Vennet and Ashi leaned out over the rail. Singe scrambled to his feet, grabbed Geth with one hand and Dandra with the other, and pushed them across the dock into the nearest and deepest shadows.
'Keep going!' he spat. 'Dandra, keep your feet on the ground-we don't need any more attention!'
The shadows were the mouth of a narrow alley and Singe found himself squeezing between tight walls toward ruddy light at its far end. Geth, with a broader chest, had to force himself through. His great-gauntlet, wrapped up and stuffed in a bag that hung across his back, scraped the walls harshly.
'What happened back there?' the shifter asked. 'I start back up onto the ship and all of the sudden Dandra's screaming in my head, Ashi's jumping out at me, there's fire and wind…'
'Vennet has loyalties to more than just House Lyrandar,' said Singe.
'He follows the Dragon Below! He was going to sell us out to Dah'mir!' Dandra's voice was hot with outrage, but Singe shook his head as he squeezed another pace closer to the alley's exit.
'You, Dandra. I'm pretty certain he was only selling out you. I don't think Geth and I figured as anything more that obstacles. Like Natrac.'
'Natrac?' grunted Geth. Singe told him what he had discovered in the half-orc's cabin. 'Tiger's blood!' cursed the shifter.
They popped out of the alley onto the edge of a market, still bustling in spite of the gathering night. Singe breathed a prayer of thanks for undeserved blessings and led the way into the crowd, slowly and casually. 'Follow me,' he ordered. 'Geth, keep an eye out behind us.'
The crowd in the market was mixed, mostly humans mingling with brawny half-orcs, but a few full-blooded orcs, delicate-looking elves, and lithe little halflings moved through it as well. Geth's shifter features and Dandra's exotic beauty barely stirred a second look. Singe himself felt practically invisible. Still, it seemed like forever before the press of bodies opened up ahead of them and they were on their own again, heading deeper into Zarash'ak with the crowded market between them and the docks. Singe let a little of the tension to ease out him. 'Geth?' he asked cautiously.
The shifter shook his head. 'No sign of Ashi or Vennet,' he reported.
Singe gave a slow sigh of relief. 'Twelve moons. We're away.'
'We are,' said Dandra thinly. Singe glanced at her. Her face was pale. 'Light of il-Yannah, Singe-Vennet still has Natrac!'
It took an effort of will to hold back the memories of the horrors Dah'mir had inflicted on her. The thought that Natrac might suffer similar tortures was almost too much to bear and sent Tetkashtai retreating to the furthest recesses of her mind. When Dandra looked at Singe and Geth, though, she saw only harsh determination on both men's faces. They shared a glance-and pressed on along the street, putting more distance between them and the docks. Dandra stopped dead. 'We can't leave Natrac as Vennet's prisoner!' she protested.
Singe paused long enough to hook his arm around hers and pull her forward. 'Dandra, I know.' He glanced into her eyes. His gaze was dark. 'We shared your memories, didn't we? But we can't go back to Lightning on Water, not tonight. They'll be waiting for us.'
'Vennet and Ashi? There are three of us and two of them!'
'You have a go with Ashi then, Dandra,' said Geth. The shifter's voice was a quiet rasp. 'She was tough with her fists and now she's got her sword back. Have you watched the way she moves? She'll be waiting if we go back. If she gets a chance to ambush us in the dark, the odds won't be in our favor for very long.'
Singe's arm tightened on hers. 'And remember, it's you they want. If we go back, we're delivering you right to them.'
Dandra tensed. 'But Natrac…'
'Vennet went to the trouble of drugging him,' Geth pointed out with cool practicality. 'He's not going to kill him now. He'll be all right until the morning.' His hands tightened on the bag containing his great-gauntlet. 'We'll go back then.'
Singe still had a little money left from the sale of their horses in Yrlag. They found a small inn well away from the docks and took a room for the night. The innkeeper looked at Geth, but a smile and a word from Singe eased his worry. Once they were in their room, Geth flung himself down on one side of the bed and seemed to be asleep almost instantly. Dandra stared at him.
'How does he do that?' she asked. 'How can he do that?'
'He's been able to sleep whenever he wants for as long as I've known him. No matter what's been happening, give Geth a moment of quiet and he can go to sleep.' Singe shook his head in awe. 'It's a valuable gift when you're a mercenary.'
The wizard turned away, moving to the room's window and throwing back the shutters. The window faced away from the street and out over the low rooftops of Zarash'ak's ramshackle sprawl. A cool breeze drifted in from the distant sea, pushing back some of the pungent marsh smell that clung to the city. After a moment, Dandra slipped across the room to join him.
'You haven't said much about the time that you and Geth served together in the Blademarks,' she said.
Singe looked down at her, then away. 'No, I haven't,' he said.
'Being an inanimate crystal gives you a lot of time to watch what's going on around you. The only time I've seen people with the depth of anger you two have is when they were friends before they became enemies.'
Singe's face twisted. For a moment, Dandra wondered if maybe she'd pressed too hard, but then his eyes closed and he let out a long sigh.
'Not too long after I joined the Frostbrand-our Blademarks company-the commander of the company, Robrand d'Deneith, took a few of us on a recruiting mission,' he said in a low voice. 'Folk from the Eldeen Reaches generally make good scouts and the Frostbrand had developed a specialty in taking winter assignments, so we headed into the northern Eldeen. Not quite so isolated as Bull Hollow, but still more wild than civilized. In a little place that was hardly more than a crossroads, Robrand started his recruiting speech.' Singe's expression grew nostalgic. 'Twelve moons, the old man could talk! Recruiting was a hard sell in that region-the Eldeen Reaches had seceded from Aundair only a generation or so before and most Reachers didn't want to have anything to do with the world outside their forests. But there was one eager young shifter who came forward with a hunger for adventure in his eye and signed up on the spot.'
'Geth,' said Dandra and Singe nodded.
'There's a tendency in every Blademarks company for new recruits to band together. Eight of us joined the Frostbrand within a couple of months of each other. I was the first, Geth was the last. The bunch of us were practically inseparable for the next five years.' He reached up and ran a finger along his cheekbone, high under his left eye. Dandra looked closely and saw a thin scar. 'Geth gave me that during a tavern brawl in Metrol. He was aiming for the Cyran soldier who was holding me from behind and missed.'
'That can't be what broke you up though.'
'That was nothing. We laughed about it.'
'Then what happened?' Dandra hesitated, then said, 'Tonight when Vennet mentioned 'Narath'… you've said that name to Geth before and he doesn't like to hear it either.'
The wizard gave no response.
'Singe,' Dandra said, 'what happened at Narath?'
'Go to sleep, Dandra,' said Singe. His voice was cold and empty. 'Take the bed next to Geth if you want. I'll sleep on the floor.'
Dandra glanced at the bed. There was plenty of room for three people to lie side by side. She looked back to Singe. He was still staring out of the window, his face a harsh mask. Dandra held her tongue and turned away, leaving him to whatever dark memories were running through his head.
