‘We’ve a part of it already.’
‘Where did you find her?’
‘She found me.’
That was a long way from putting his fears to rest. ‘Magic. I don’t know—’
‘You were up on the Heroes yesterday, no? You saw Splitfoot.’
Hardly a memory to lift the mood. ‘I did.’
‘The Union have magic, that’s a fact, and they’re happy to use it. We need to match fire with fire.’
‘What if we all get burned?’
‘I daresay we will.’ Dow shrugged. ‘That’s war.’
‘Can you trust her, though?’
‘No.’ Ishri was leaning against the wall by the door, one foot crossed over the other and a look like she knew what Craw was thinking and wasn’t much impressed. He wondered if she knew he’d been thinking about Calder and tried not to, which only brought him more to mind.
Dow, meanwhile, didn’t even turn around. Just slid his torch into a rusted bracket on the wall, watching the flames crackle.
‘Seems our little gesture of peace fell on stony ground,’ he tossed over his shoulder.
Ishri nodded.
Dow stuck his bottom lip out. ‘Nobody wants to be my friend.’
Ishri made one thin eyebrow arch impossibly high.
‘Well, who wants to shake hands with a man whose hands are bloody as mine?’
Ishri shrugged.
Dow looked down at his hand, made a fist of it and sighed. ‘Reckon I’ll just have to get ’em bloodier. Any idea where they’re coming from today?’
‘Everywhere.’
‘Knew you’d say that.’
‘Why ask, then?’
‘Least I got you to speak.’ There was a long silence, then Dow finally turned around, settling back with elbows on the narrow windowsill. ‘Go on, go for some more.’
Ishri stepped away from the wall, letting her head drop back and roll in a slow circle. For some reason every movement of hers made Craw feel a little disgusted, like watching a snake slither. ‘In the east, a man called Brock has taken charge, and prepares to attack the bridge in Osrung.’
‘And what kind of man is he? Like Meed?’
‘The opposite. He is young, pretty and brave.’
‘I love those young brave pretty men!’ Dow glanced over at Craw. ‘It’s why I picked one out for my Second.’
‘None out of three ain’t bad.’ Craw realised he was chewing at his nail yet again, and whipped his hand away.
‘In the centre,’ said Ishri, ‘Jalenhorm has a great number of foot ready to cross the shallows.’
Dow gave his hungry grin. ‘Gives me something to look forward to today. I quite enjoy watching men try to climb hills I’m sat on top of.’ Craw couldn’t say he was looking forward to it, however much the ground might have taken their side.
‘In the west Mitterick strains at the leash, keen to make use of his pretty horses. He has men across the little river too, in the woods on your western flank.’
Dow raised his brows. ‘Huh. Calder was right.’
‘Calder has been hard at work all night.’
‘Damned if it ain’t the first hard work that bastard’s ever done.’
‘He stole two standards from the Union in the darkness. Now he taunts them.’
Black Dow chuckled to himself. ‘You’ll not find a better hand at taunting. I’ve always liked that lad.’
Craw frowned over at him. ‘You have?’
‘Why else would I keep giving him chances? I got no shortage of men can kick a door down. I can use a couple who’ll think to try the handle once in a while.’
‘Fair enough.’ Though Craw had to wonder what Dow would say if he knew Calder was trying the handle on his murder. When he knew. It was a case of when. Wasn’t it?
‘This new weapon they’ve got.’ Dow narrowed his eyes to lethal slits. ‘What is it?’
‘Bayaz.’ Ishri did some fairly deadly eye-narrowing of her own. Craw wondered if there was a harder pair of eye-narrowers in the world than these two. ‘The First of the Magi. He is with them. And he has something new.’
‘That’s the best you can do?’
