“I do not understand,” said Edric, trying to brazen it out. “Shadow elves? Attack?”
“Save your breath, friend,” said Kieran. “We witnessed your rendezvous this morning.”
“There must be some mistake,” said Edric. “I met no one this morning. I had merely gone to the pool to—” Even as he spoke, Edric launched a fast kick at Kieran’s privates. Kieran managed to twist aside slightly, but Edric still caught him a glancing blow and Kieran doubled over in pain. But before the bard could do anything more, Sorak was on him, wrestling him to the ground. A moment later, two of the caravan guards joined in, pinning him down. They raised the struggling bard to his feet and one placed a knife against his throat, ending his resistance.
Gritting his teeth, Kieran straightened up, still smarting from the blow. Had the kick caught him squarely on target, there was no question that it would have incapacitated him. “I must be getting slow,” he said, his voice strained. He gave Edric a look of withering contempt, and then turned to gaze briefly at the three captured mercenaries. “Now,” he said, “I am going to ask you four some questions. If you cooperate, you can spare yourselves some pain, but I promise you, I will get answers, one way or another.”
The caravan guards led their captives away as the passengers stood around, murmuring among themselves.
Wide-eyed, Cricket turned to Ryana in confusion.
“I don’t understand,” she said. “Why have they taken Edric and those men? What have they done?”
“You pretend you do not know?” Ryana said.
“But I do not know!” Cricket protested. “I have no idea!”
Her confusion and concern seemed genuine. “The Shadows plan to attack the caravan tonight,” Ryana said. “Edric was their spy, and the others his confederates.”
“But… that cannot be!” said Cricket. “I know Edric! We worked together at the Damsel! You were there! Surely, you must have seen him!”
“How long did he work at the Desert Damsel before the caravan came to South Ledopolus?” Ryana asked.
“Why… a week or so.”
“And before?”
Cricket shook her head. “I do not know.”
“He arrived in town and established his identity as a wandering bard,” Ryana said. “That provided a good cover for him when he joined the caravan. You were part of it. He used you.”
Cricket did not want to believe it. She shook her head. “No, you must be mistaken. What proof do you have?”
“There is no mistake,” Ryana said. “Sorak and Kieran both saw him meet in secret with one of the raiders at Grak’s Pool shortly before dawn this morning. He was doubtless informing him of the strength and disposition of our guard and what type of cargo we carry. He and the other three who joined us this morning were to strike at us from within when the attack occurred. They would have killed the cargo guards and handlers and driven off the beasts, then probably taken hostages among the passengers.”
Cricket shook her head with dismay. “Then it was all a lie,” she said in a dull voice. “His friendship, everything he told me… Just when I had finally met a man I thought I could trust…”
“I’m sorry, Cricket,” said Ryana, putting a hand on her shoulder in sympathy.
Cricket shook it off. “Leave me alone.”
* * *
Accompanied by a squad of the caravan guard, Kieran and Sorak led the captives away from the others, going off a distance and down a slope toward the bank of the estuary. The four prisoners were bound securely, their hands behind their backs. When they reached the shore of the estuary, Kieran signaled the guards to push the captives to a sitting position on the ground. Edric looked perfectly calm and composed, but the other three were clearly frightened. They were painfully aware that they were completely at the mercy of their captors.
“Now, I do not wish to waste time,” said Kieran, turning to face them. He glanced over his shoulder at the sluggish brown silt. “I will ask one question. If I do not get an answer, or one that satisfies me, I will have one of you thrown into the silt, and we’ll watch him drown. I will leave your legs free, so I imagine you will be able to stay up for at least a few moments, but a few moments is all you’ll have before you get sucked down. Drowning in silt is not a pleasant experience. When the first of you is gone, I’ll ask a question of the second. And so forth, until I have the answers I want.”
Two of the mercenaries immediately began protesting that they didn’t know anything beyond what they were told to do. The third simply started sobbing and wet himself. Edric alone remained calm and silent. Kieran fixed him with a steady gaze. “I’ll save you for last.”
“I have no wish to die or suffer pain,” said Edric, meeting his gaze steadily. “These three hirelings are telling you the truth. They know nothing beyond their assigned tasks when the attack takes place. I have the information you want, but how do I know you will not kill me anyway as soon as I divulge it?”
“You do not,” said Kieran. “But you know I will kill you if you say nothing.”
Edric smiled wryly. “I readily concede the point,” he said. “Very well then, I’ll do my best to bargain from a poor position. What do you wish to know?”
* * *
The watchfires created small, bright spots of illumination around the camp as midnight approached. The cookfires by the tents had burned down to embers, and all was still. The outriders had been pulled in earlier, even before the caravan had camped. As the shadows lengthened in the afternoon, they were brought closer, to ride along the left flank of the column until the caravan stopped. They ranged close to the camp until the guards had been posted and the fires were lit, and then they were brought in.
The handlers
