As she picked each part of her argument apart, however, she realized there would have been no difficulty in obtaining the materials if they had been sent before all sea traffic stopped! Bear had been at Woldsgard for over a decade. His presence there was well known. The fact that he was betrothed was general knowledge, and some ships had arrived shortly after he did.
That would mean, however, that Alicia had intended to dispose of all Tingawans from the beginning. Her malice had not been directed at the princess only.
So, Precious Wind thought, if I accept that Alicia is quite capable of indiscriminate hatred toward all Tingawans, if I accept that she wants all the Tingawans dead, as her messages to Jenger have made clear, what is her motive for all this?
If one wished to understand the enemy’s strengths and weaknesses, one had to understand motives, and Precious Wind could not find any sensible motive: Alicia had never been to Tingawa; she would not profit in any way from Bear’s death or Precious Wind’s death or the death of a Xakixa. There was a motive for Xu-i-lok’s death, granted, but why the rest of them?
Was Alicia looking ahead to a time when she and her mother would rule all Norland? Did they wish to free Norland from all foreign influences even before that time came? Even supposing that Alicia had been promised some gift by the Sea King’s ambassador, the question was still not answered. Tingawa, almost alone among nations, had been a friend of the Sea King for generations.
There was one answer to this, of course. In Tingawa, in certain circles, when one was completely puzzled, one put the question, “Who stands behind?” Who is the cause behind a cause, what is the motive behind a motive? If one asked that question, one assumed Mirami and Alicia were only tools, that something or someone else was the puppet master. Clan Do-Lok had not considered this. Precious Wind had preferred not to consider this, but now she felt it had to be taken seriously. She had to assume someone or something else had set Alicia into motion for a reason, however obscure, insane, or ancient that reason might be. If that motive had been planted in ancient times, then Alicia or her mother, or someone else, could have sent for the materials to enchant Bear years, even decades ago. They could have arrived on the same ship Bear had first arrived on.
If this were the case, she could acquit Bear of having sold his honor. He might be no more guilty of betrayal than Xu-i-lok had been of her own death.
So . . . if Precious Wind encountered him on this journey, what should she do? For the moment, think of something else, clear her mind. She did so, and slept.
By the following afternoon she was traveling east. The road curved south just ahead, where it entered the cut in the southern edge of the highlands that took the road down a long ravine toward the sea. The mountains to her right had given way to flat tableland, and as she looked across the level plain to the southwest she saw two huge, mirrored eyes staring at her over the edge of the highland, startling her into pulling up on the reins before she realized she was seeing the great convex bosses of stone that faced the two peaks of Frog Eye Mountain. The eyes were still glossy after untold ages of weather. She smiled at her own surprise. She had heard of them, seen them on her maps, and they were indeed as strange as they were reported to be. Some said they were polished by ghosts or spirits of the forest. Who- or whatever kept them shining, they were amazing.
She flicked the reins and had just brought the horses back to their easy canter when she saw a lone rider emerging over the lip of the Cut, just ahead of her. It was a very large horse carrying a huge bulk, a powerful shape unlikely to be anyone else. He must have started back from Merhaven almost immediately after arriving there to be so far north! She prayed he had not seen, or not recognized, Xulai and Abasio upon the road.
In that instant, all her doubts reconciled and she decided upon on a course that would provide for Bear’s redemption, possibly for his life, while at the same time not requiring that she trust him. That she could no longer do. He must believe Xulai is dead, she reminded herself. He must not go near the abbey, for a number of people there know Xulai is alive. Even if she sent a pigeon to warn the abbot and Wordswell to keep silent, the warning might not shut all mouths. The people from Woldsgard would, by this time, be at least halfway home, so they would not speak to Bear, but others might. Bear must be focused elsewhere.
She spared a quick thought for her followers. She did not want Bear to know about the wolves, either. It was not yet noon. They shadowed her well within the woods that still covered the hillsides to her left. They would not approach her when someone else was with her. The hunter device was far ahead.
She flicked the reins and speeded up a little. She and her pack still had to reach their dinner by sunset tonight and she would lose whatever time she spent talking with Bear. She must keep their conversation brief, saying she could not linger. She remembered to smile sadly when he approached, letting her face tell the story before her lips did.
All for nothing! Bear was bursting with words even before he arrived, shouting at her, telling her she must come
