Atreus signaled Yago with a glance, then gathered his legs beneath himself and reluctantly shifted his weight to the balls of his feet They were camped well above the timber-line, huddled on the lee side of a boulder with a snowstorm blowing in, wrapped tight in their cloaks and burning dried yak dung they had gathered along the road. At the moment, the last thing Atreus felt like doing was fighting off a robbery attempt.

The two Mar continued to argue in their strange tongue of melodic syllables and guttural clicks, now entirely oblivious to their companion.

'Use Realmspeak,' Atreus said. 'I don't like being left out of arguments… particularly when they're about me.'

Bharat turned at once, his ever-ready smile plastered across his face, and said, 'Oh no, the good sir is not to be deceived. We are not arguing about you… we are not arguing at all.'

'We were only discussing a small matter, which is of no importance to you,' added Rishi.

Atreus scowled at the shards of the broken oil jar and said, 'We are four companions traveling together. What is important to one is important to all.'

Rishi shrugged, then glanced at Bharat and said, 'Very well. I suppose it must be said. We are running out of food. This is why Bharat is upset.'

Atreus studied Bharat until the Mar's counterfeit grin began to twitch, then asked, 'Why should we be running out of food? You knew we would be going to the Sisters of Serenity.'

'Just so, but I knew also that the Queen's Men would be searching for you,' Bharat replied. 'What would they think if they found food for three men and an ogre in a wagon with only one driver? I did the best I could.'

'And you made no plans to replenish our supplies?'

Bharat fell silent and glanced away, flustered.

'It is the soldiers,' said Rishi, coming to his rescue. 'They are making things difficult.'

'Ah yes, the soldiers,' Bharat said, his gaze swinging back to Atreus. 'With all the rumors they are spreading, it is too dangerous to buy anything from the villages. These mountain Mar are terrible gossips, always asking questions and looking under other people's carpets.'

'Bharat is very discouraged by this,' Rishi said. He gestured at his companion's ample stomach. 'He is not accustomed to missing meals. No doubt, it would help if he had something else to think about. Perhaps you could pay him what he has earned so far through his loyal services?'

Thinking the request a reasonable one, Atreus reached for his belt purse-then remembered where he had left it and pulled his hand away.

'Very clever, Rishi,' he said.

'Good sir?'

'What happens when I open the coffer?' Atreus asked. 'Do you plant one of your little throwing daggers in Yago's throat, and Bharat another in my back?'

Rishi's eyes went wide. 'Never!'

'Why not?' Atreus glanced from Rishi to Bharat. 'You know you can't slip the lock. I've seen the scratch marks where you tried.'

Bharat's jaw fell, and he turned to gape at Rishi in feigned outrage. 'You? A robber?'

'Bharat, don't play the innocent,' Atreus said, shaking his head. 'It would be a mistake to assume that because I am ugly, I am also stupid. You're in on his plan.'

'Plan?' Bharat tried to look indignant. 'What plan?'

'You aren't taking me to the Sisters of Serenity at all.' Atreus did not try to keep the bitterness out of his voice, and Yago rose, curling his big hands into fists. 'You brought me up here to rob me.'

'Not true!' Bharat protested. 'We are only two days from where your map starts.'

Without quite realizing what he was doing, Atreus stepped around the fire and snatched Bharat up by the collar. 'Don't take me for a fool!'

Rishi was up instantly, pushing himself between his friend and Atreus. 'Oh, Bharat would never do that,' he insisted. 'Never in a thousand lifetimes!'

Atreus released the Mar and stepped back, surprised by the depth of his rage. He had to clench his fists to keep his hands from trembling, and his face and ears were so full of hot anger that he no longer felt the cold bite of the wind.

'I'm sorry if I frightened you,' Atreus said, 'but I warned you. Nothing makes me angrier than being treated as though I'm stupid.'

Bharat glared at him from the opposite side of the fire. 'We do not need you!' he spat. 'It is you who need us! How would you find your Langdarma without us? What would happen if we told the Queen's Men about you?'

'You don't want to find out,' growled Yago.

Atreus met the Mar's angry stare, and neither of them said anything.

It was Rishi who finally spoke. 'Perhaps this is my fault to some small degree. Perhaps I have, most inadvertently and only through the best of intentions, misled the good sir in a manner most trivial and unimportant.'

Atreus scowled. 'How would that be?'

'In a tiny way that will have no impact whatsoever on the ultimate outcome of our endeavor, as is evidenced by the heavy presence in this part of the Yehimals of the Queen's Men, who are most assuredly here only because the Sisters of Serenity must be somewhere nearby.'

'Rishi, are you telling me you don't know where the Sisters are?'

'Not at all! I have a very good idea where they might be,' Rishi said, then took a step backward. 'It is only that I have never actually… seen them myself. But I have traveled to one of the valleys on your map, by means of a secret caravan route used by certain, uh… traders from Konigheim. If we can find this trail, I am confident we will eventually find the Sisters of Serenity. As I have said, the Queen's Men would not be gathering in this area if our destination was not near.'

Atreus groaned and fell silent, pondering his slim chances of reaching the peaks without the help of his two companions. Given his ignorance of the Yehimals and the unlikelihood of 'Ysdar's devil' receiving help from the superstitious mountain people, he realized that Bharat had been right. He needed the Mar more than they wanted his gold.

Atreus turned to Bharat 'You can take me to the valley at the edge of this map?'

'Did I not say so?' Bharat's voice was still filled with disdain. 'The closest is only two days away.'

'Then you will have your payment in two days.'

Atreus went to the cart and pulled his treasure basket out, placing it on the ground beside the fire. He lifted the lid, then reached inside and touched the wooden coffer, placing his palm over the magic ward that sealed the chest. He did not bother to hide this from the two Mar, as only his touch would release the enchanted lock.

Atreus opened the coffer, revealing the mass of golden coins inside. He grabbed a handful and passed them to Bharat. 'This gold means nothing to me, and it will only prove a burden in trying to reach Langdarma. After I am certain that you have led me to the edge of my map, you can take your third and leave.'

'My third?' Bharat gasped.

'That does not seem fair?'

'Very fair!' Bharat gasped again. Despite his words, his gaze remained locked on the chest. 'It is far in excess of what I expected, but a third?' He glanced in Rishi's direction. 'Why not half? After all, it is my cart we are using… and my yaks.'

'Rishi will accompany me to Langdarma.' Atreus withdrew a second handful of coins and passed them to Rishi. 'Save for the small portion I save for the passage home, the rest of the coins will be his.'

'The good sir is too generous,' said Rishi. Like Bharat, he could not take his eyes off the coffer's contents. 'I hope you will make your passage home a comfortable one.'

'I'm glad you're both pleased.' Atreus closed the coffer, then listened to the telltale hiss of the magic lock reactivating itself. 'But if you don't like my terms, you are free to leave with what I've given you already.'

'Leave?' gasped Rishi. 'Oh no, I am most happy to go with you as far as you wish.'

'And you will take one of my yaks with you,' offered Bharat, 'to carry your load and provide milk and warmth in the high places where there is none.'

Вы читаете Faces of Deception
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