Nobody ever comes in here, and he takes it out on me. One day he’ll knock out my teeth, and then where will I be? I promise, you won’t regret it, I’ll let you do anything you want to me, just please don’t let him see you turn me away.”
The hairs on my neck stood up the way they always did to alert me to danger. I slouched in the chair as if trying to appear cool and sophisticated, when really I just wanted to get my good hand close to my boot knife. “You don’t look like he beats you.”
“He doesn’t do it where customers can see it,” she said, eyes down.
She could be telling me the truth; she could also be playing on my sympathies to get me alone and slip a knife between my ribs. “Why do you stay?”
She shrugged again. “He’s my father; where would I go?” She sidled behind my chair and began to rub my shoulders through my clothes. “Oh, you’re a strong one, aren’t you? You don’t look like you would be, all dressed up like that. Usually people in these sorts of clothes are soft as butter. Everywhere, ” she added with a lascivious chuckle.
I didn’t like the idea of not being able to see her. “I’m full of surprises,” I said, took one hand, and pulled her back in front of me. I pressed a gold coin in her hand. “Show this to your father, it should make him happy. And then bring me my ale.”
She looked at the coin, and her eyes widened. “Is this real?” she whispered.
Ordinarily I wouldn’t have flashed so much cash in a place like this, but it was the smallest coin I had. “It’s real. Now go get my drink.”
I winked and slapped her on the behind, for her watching father’s sake. She jumped and for a moment glared at me with a superior, overwhelming outrage that was totally out of character for a tavern whore. It vanished at once, replaced by a cool smile, and she flounced over to the counter for my drink.
Then a man appeared in the tavern door, blocking the light from outside.
Like me, he waited for his eyes to adjust. He was broad-shouldered and slender and wore a blood-red cape that fell to his knees. As he stood, he pulled off his riding gauntlets one finger at a time, then tucked them in his belt in a style I recognized at once. He might not be in uniform, but he was definitely military, and not some yeoman, either.
There was a stillness about him I’d noticed in other military men, the truly dangerous ones. It was a kind of confidence that ran so deep, it precluded any need to show off his prowess. If people were foolish enough not to see it for themselves, then they deserved whatever trauma he dealt them. When it was needed I could project it, too, so I knew it was for real.
The girl returned with my ale, plopped it down so hard it splashed the table, then sauntered over to the newcomer. “Well, hello there. Two new gentlemen in one morning. Must be a girl’s lucky day.”
The man did not respond as she put her hand on his chest and pressed herself against him. “Now that gentleman over there, he was generous, mighty generous. Think you can match him?”
“I don’t know,” he said cautiously. His voice was young and rather high-pitched. “I’m not sure what you mean by ‘generous.’”
She rose on tiptoe and whispered something in his ear. He smiled and chuckled. “Well, I don’t know if I can be that generous. But I can certainly compensate you for your time.”
“I don’t know what those fancy words mean, dear heart, but I trust you. My name’s Elaine.” She slipped her arm through his. “And, look, I’ve still got all my teeth.”
As she led him past, he stopped and looked at me. I couldn’t make out his features, but I felt a bit like a rabbit must feel when the wolf looms over it. I smiled.
“You made quite an impression on Elaine here,” he said.
I shrugged. “Treat a whore like a lady and a lady like a whore. They both like it that way.”
He smiled. It lowered the room’s temperature. “I must’ve missed that bit of wisdom growing up. Where did you hear it?”
Elaine tugged on his arm. “Come on, love, there’s time to chat later. Besides, you can tell me anything, I love to listen.”
The man’s gaze didn’t leave me. “I’m sure. Well… good day to you, sir.”
“Likewise,” I said with a nod.
As Elaine led him toward a door at the back of the room, a shaft of light fell on him and I finally got a good look at his face. If I’d had a mouthful of ale, I might’ve spit it out at that moment.
It was “Dread Ted” Medraft.
He was older, of course, now in his late teens without the baby fat he’d had before. But I’d recognize him anywhere. I watched as cautiously as I could, not wanting to draw his attention again.
He and the girl went into a back room, and in the silence I heard the latch slam into place. As soon as it did, I slapped another coin on the table and ran for the door, grabbing my jacket as I passed. The last sound that reached me was her loud, muffled giggle.
Medraft’s horse was tied at the tavern’s hitching post. It was an evil-looking white mare, its tack decorated with small, decorative spikes. Had he spotted mine at the transfer station? Would he connect it with me?
For that matter, why was he here? Kay had said he was in the far north of the island, which put him many days, if not weeks, away. So this wasn’t just a casual visit.
I climbed onto the new horse as quickly as I could and nudged the mare’s ribs. She did not seem to find this sudden departure unusual and took off at a quick trot. If Elaine was as good as she said, I wouldn’t get much of a head start.
In moments we were out of town and had vanished over a hill. If Medraft chose to pursue me, he’d have a three-out-of-four chance of picking the wrong road. Which meant I only had to worry about Gillian if I failed at my task. Comforting.
The big cloud was still to the north, but behind me now. That meant it was traveling south down the road that led to Astolat. In the full sunlight it was plainly dust, not smoke, and only one thing sent that much dust into the air: an army.
But if the king and the majority of the Knights of the Double Tarn were at Nodlon, then whose army was on the march?
SEVENTEEN
I assumed Elliot Spears, the greatest knight in the world, would have a palace to rival that of his best friend, Marcus Drake. When I saw it, though, I realized I was off the mark about the house, and possibly the man.
Blithe Ward was a palace, but it was nothing like a castle. There were no outer defensive walls, no moat, no drawbridge or watchtowers. There was just a big stone manor house on a hill, surrounded by gardens and orchards, apparently unguarded. I guess when you have Spears’s reputation, you don’t need a lot of peacetime security.
I arrived as the sun hung low in the sky behind me, illuminating Blithe Ward with a palette of vivid colors. A pair of servants lowered the flag bearing Spears’s crest, and one of the chimneys smoked as cooks prepared the evening’s dinner. A feminine figure stood at the rail on the widow’s walk, but I could make out no details. She had gone by the time I passed through the stone archway at the gate.
I rode up the sweeping drive and dismounted the fifth and last of my messenger horses. I hadn’t spent an entire day in the saddle in a long time. My back had passed through pain to numb acceptance, but I knew as soon as I stopped moving, it would express its displeasure. I was starving; except for some apples bought off a passing wagon (and, yes, I checked them for poison), I’d eaten nothing all day. Encountering Ted Medraft had made me want to keep moving.
A breathless stableboy ran up to me and said something in a language I didn’t know. He tied a small tile marked 3 to one of the stirrups, then pressed a matching one into my palm. He took my horse’s reins and led her toward the stables.
I faced the big double door. Both halves bore Spears’s standard, a shield with three red stripes, above huge metal rings. I lifted one and let it slam down under its own considerable weight. It made a sound like a distant clap of thunder.
