Wind Rider's Oath

need. But these are war maids, for Tomanak's sake! Her war maids-so what in the world is She thinking about? And why hasn't She spoken to Her Voice at Quaysar about it?

That was the heart of the entire question. Of course, it would have helped if it had occurred to Kaeritha to test the authenticity-or, at least, the accuracy-of the documents at Kalatha. She should have, if only in the name of thoroughness, although to be fair to herself, she'd had absolutely no reason to doubt them. And even now she was certain Yalith and her council saw no reason to question them. And why should they? They knew they had the original, controlling documents in their possession.

Unfortunately, Tomanak Himself had seen fit to assure Kaeritha that the copies in Trisu's possession were most definitely not forgeries. One of those special abilities she'd mentioned to Salthan was that no one could lie successfully to her while touching her sword, and that no false or deliberately misleading document or evidence could evade her detection when she held the blade and called upon Tomanak to determine its accuracy. Which meant Trisu's documents were not simply genuine, but that they accurately set forth the original language and true intent of both Gartha and Kellos. Kaeritha had seen enough in other investigations she'd conducted to be unwilling to rule very many things categorically out of consideration, but she was not prepared to question His personal assurances.

Which meant that somehow, impossible as it manifestly must be, the original documents at Kalatha were the forgeries.

Kaeritha hadn't shared that conclusion with Trisu. And she had invoked her champion's authority to extract Sword Oath from Salthan to keep the results of this afternoon's examination and investigation to himself. Which meant that so far no one but she knew where the unpalatable chain of evidence was leading her. Nor did she intend to share that with anyone else until she saw a clearer path through the maze before her.

She let her mind wander back an hour or two to this evening's after-dinner conversation with Trisu.

* * *

'And has your investigation thrown any fresh light on my differences with Mayor Yalith?' Trisu asked as he toyed with his glass. Like many Sothoii nobles, he was particularly fond of the expensive liqueurs distilled in Dwarvenhame and the Empire of the Axe. Kaeritha liked them just fine herself, but she also entertained a lively respect for their potency. Which was why she had contented herself with wine rather than the brandy Trisu had offered her.

'Some, Milord,' she said.

He leaned back, cocking an eyebrow, and regarded her thoughtfully.

'May I take it that whatever you and Salthan discovered-or discussed, at least-this afternoon has at least not inspired you to immediately rule against me?'

'It was never my intent to 'immediately rule' for or against anyone, Milord,' she said mildly. 'I would prefer, at this point, not to be a great deal more specific than that, although honesty and simple justice do compel me to admit that, so far at least, the situation is considerably less cut and dried than I had assumed initially.'

'Well,' he said with a slight smile, 'I suppose I must consider that an improvement, given your original comments to me.' Kaeritha's temper stirred, but she suppressed it firmly, and he continued. 'And I must admit,' he went on, 'that I'm gratified to see exactly the sort of impartiality and willingness to consider all the evidence which I would have expected out of a champion of Tomanak. The more so because I have something of a reputation for stubbornness myself. I know how difficult it is for anyone, however honest or however good his-or her-intentions, to truly consider fresh evidence which appears to contradict evidence he's already accepted as valid.'

For a moment, Kaeritha wondered if somehow Salthan's oath had slipped. But even as the thought crossed her mind, she dismissed it out of hand. She didn't believe the magistrate would have knowingly or intentionally violated it under any circumstances. More than that, even if he'd been inclined to do so, he couldn't have been able to break an oath sworn on a champion's sword, which, in the moment of swearing, actually was the very Sword of Tomanak. It was simply a fresh warning to her never to underestimate Trisu's intelligence just because she detested his opinions and attitudes.

'It's not always easy, no,' she agreed. 'But it is a trick any of Tomanak's champions has to master. I imagine the lord of any domain has to be able to do much the same thing if he's going to administer justice fairly. '

She smiled affably, hiding her amusement-mostly-as his eyes flashed when her shot went home.

'On the other hand, Milord,' she continued more briskly, 'I feel I'm definitely making progress where the documents and their interpretations are concerned. At the moment, I have more questions than I have answers, but at least I believe I've figured out what the questions themselves are. And I feel confident Tomanak will lead me to their answers in the end.

'But there is one other matter which doesn't relate to the documents or, actually, officially to Kalatha itself in any way.'

'Indeed?' he said coolly when she paused.

'Yes, Milord. When I spoke with Mayor Yalith, it was clear to me that more was involved than the simple legalities of your disagreement could explain. There was, quite frankly, a great deal of anger on the war maids' part. And, to be equally frank, it became quite apparent in speaking with you that the same is true from your perspective.'

Trisu's gray eyes were hard, and she raised one hand in a slight throwing away gesture.

'Milord, that's almost always the case when a dispute reaches the point this one has. It's not necessarily because either side is inherently evil, either. It's because the people on both sides are just that-people. And people, Milord, get angry with other people they feel are wrong or, even worse, out to cheat them in some way. It's a fact of life which any judge-or champion of Tomanak-simply has to take into consideration. Just as you have to take it into consideration, I'm sure, when you're forced to adjudicate between the conflicting claims of two of your retainers or tenants.'

It would have been too much to say that Trisu's anger dissipated, but at least he nodded grudgingly in an admission that she'd made her point.

'Quite often,' she continued, 'there are additional causes for anger and resentment. When people are already unhappy with one another, they're seldom as interested as they might otherwise be in extending the benefit of the doubt to the people they're unhappy with.'

'I understand that you're attempting to prepare me for some point you intend to raise and think I'll find objectionable, Lady Champion,' Trisu said with a thin smile which actually held a trace of genuine amusement. 'Shall we simply agree that you've done that now and get on with it?'

'Well, yes, I suppose we could.' Kaeritha gave him an answering smile and nodded her head in acknowledgment.

'Where I was going, Milord, is that the Mayor's share of the . . . intransigence in this dispute seems to be fueled in no small part by her belief that you've shown insufficient respect for the Voice of Lillinara at Quaysar.'

'What you truly mean, Milady,' Trisu responded in a flat, hard voice, 'is that she believes I have shown no respect for the Voice. And, while we're on the subject, that she bitterly resents my failure to solve the disappearance-or murder-of the Voice's handmaidens.'

Once again, Kaeritha was surprised by his blunt, head-on attitude. Not that she should have been, perhaps, she reflected. Trisu was in many ways the quintessential Sothoii. He might be capable of tactical subtlety on the battlefield, but he disdained anything that smacked of the indirect approach in his own life.

She felt a fresh flicker of anger at the confrontational light in his eyes, but she reminded herself once more never to underestimate this intolerable young man's native intelligence. Nor was she about to forget that the evidence she herself had turned up that afternoon strongly suggested that there was more than a little merit to his interpretation of the actual legal disputes.

'I suppose that is what I mean,' she conceded after a moment. 'Although that's considerably more . . . pointed than the manner in which I would have chosen to express it.'

He looked at her long and steadily, then dipped his head in a small bob of acknowledgment. He even had the grace to blush ever so slightly, she thought. But one thing he didn't do was retreat from the point he'd just made.