Chapter Twelve
Theos stayed by the doorway of the barracks until the sun began to set.
He could hear the distant sounds of music and revelry in the city, and every now and then he caught a whiff of the roast pork, carried to him on the cool autumn wind.
But when he finally moved, he didn’t head in the direction of the city gates.
Instead, he found his way down along the backs of the buildings, through a narrow alley, and then into an alcove. A different smell, here, the odor of men kept too close together, without the benefits of the baths. Theos hoped he was in the wrong place, but he didn’t think he was.
And sure enough, shortly after the moon rose, Finnvid appeared. He moved carefully, but didn’t sneak. If there was anyone else left in the barracks to see him, they’d think he was on official business. By the sword, the boy was a natural.
Finnvid headed straight for the door of the prisoner pen. Theos had a good view of the pens, and was interested in discovering how the spy planned to get past the heavy iron lock.
He frowned and leaned forward in disbelief when he realized what he was seeing. The boy—the Elkati spy—he had a key.
There was no time to think about it right then. Theos sprinted across the yard, saw Finnvid’s startled face, saw the little coward trying to change his expression into a smile, or an apology, or whatever else it would take to fool big, stupid Theos again.
This time, Theos didn’t give him the chance. He slammed his fist into Finnvid’s gut and as he doubled over Theos dropped his elbow into the back of the boy’s lying, spying Elkati skull.
He wished he’d had more time to teach the boy to fight, because it was over too soon.
Finnvid managed to keep himself vertical for a moment by grabbing hold of the bars of the pen, but his dizziness proved too much for him and he slid down into the mud.
Theos grabbed him by the back of his collar.
He was wearing his new coat, the one he’d tricked Theos into buying for him that afternoon.
It would be good for traveling in the winter.
But had he really expected his men to survive without being better equipped?
Or did he only need them to fight past the sentries, and didn’t care if they made it the rest of the way?
Or had the same person who’d given him the key also left a cache of winter equipment somewhere? Had the person left weapons they could use to escape the valley? To kill the sentries?
Too many questions, and Theos was done with not having answers. He dragged Finnvid, groggy and disoriented, through the abandoned barracks until he found some leather armor straps, and he used them to tie the spy’s hands and feet together. Then it was time for more dragging.
He was halfway through the city gates before he calmed down sufficiently to remember the occasion.
Pulling a sputtering Elkati, bound hand and foot, into the central square probably wouldn’t contribute to the mood of the evening.
So he changed course, turning left down a narrow street, cutting through an alley, and coming out behind the main administrative building.
Theos had spent the first decade of his life running through these streets, and he still knew them well.
The back door was unlocked, as most city doors tended to be, and he pulled the Elkati up the steps, down a hall, and into the outer office.
His luck abandoned him there, as he tried the next door and found it locked. Sensitive materials inside, maybe.
He glared down at the spy. There was blood from his nose smeared all over him, and some extra bumps and scratches from his rough trip, but otherwise he looked healthy enough. Still, he’d been dizzy earlier, so obviously his brain had been affected at least a little.
“I don’t want to gag you in case you puke.
There’s no point in having kept you alive this long just to have you choke to death now, so I’m going to leave your mouth free, but I don’t want you disrupting the festival.
If you make any noise, I’ll beat you bloody.
Do you understand what I’m saying? You haven’t had a beating yet, and I don’t really like giving them.
But in this case? For you? I’d make an exception. I’d make you suffer. You understand?”
The Elkati nodded reluctantly. Theos took the end of the leather strap he’d brought from the barracks and threw it over a post halfway up the nearby staircase, then pulled it down to the spy’s hands and tied it so he was almost, but not quite, suspended.
Tight enough that he had no room to squirm or cause trouble.
And hopefully tight enough to cause the lying little coward some pain.
Theos left him then. He strode out the front door and through the city streets, trying to hang on to his anger because it was easier to feel that way than to give in to the hurt and confusion.
The humiliation of having been a fool, of having believed, even for a moment, that the Elkati was being genuine. No, Theos would much rather be angry.
He found the reeve in the main square, watching the dancing with her typical small frown. The earlier exchange with the Elkati over difficult mothers flashed through his mind, and then he made himself step forward into her line of sight.
Photina raised an eyebrow. “Where have you been? You’ve been missed.”
Her tone made it clear that she hadn’t missed him. She just didn’t like her women being slighted by a man who neglected to show them proper admiration.
“My apologies. I was kept away by something important. Something I need to speak to you about.”
She let him guide her a few steps away from the crowd before she said, “You’re referring to your Elkati, I assume?
” She snorted at his reaction. “Don’t look so surprised.
Do you think tales of your exotic bedwarmer didn’t climb over the city walls?
Do you imagine I wouldn’t ask some questions, once I heard? ”
“I suppose I didn’t think you were interested in that sort of thing.”
“About you taking a slave? I wouldn’t care, normally. Well, I’d think it peculiar, and maybe a little pathetic, but I wouldn’t consider it my business.”
“And you think this is different somehow?”
“Don’t be slow, Theos. I know why you took him, and I know you’ve been told to stop pushing and to keep things calm. So the only thing I don’t know is why you’re here, apparently about to make a fuss when you’ve been clearly told not to.”
Theos stepped closer. “Things have changed. He tried to escape tonight.”
“Really? It was my understanding that part of your job with him was to prevent that sort of incident from occurring.”
“He had help.” This was the thing Theos couldn’t grasp.
“Someone gave him a key to the prisoner pens. I expect he was going to try to fight his way past the sentries into the mountains.” He waited for her to react, and when she didn’t, he peered around to make sure no one could overhear, then hissed, “A Torian gave him a key so he could get loose and attack our guards! So he could kill Torians. We’re supposed to be pretending there’s nothing wrong while we’re all winter-stuck, but we’ve got people plotting murders.
Is that really something we can ignore?”
She frowned at him as if he was the one who’d made all this happen, then sighed. “Where’s the Elkati now?”
“In your office.”
“Really. What an inappropriate place for him.”
“Where would be more appropriate? Should I have dragged him into the festival? Or left him down in the barracks to be freed again?”
“Enough theatrics, Theos. You’re Sacrati—aren’t you supposed to be stoic?”
“You’re the reeve—aren’t you supposed to care about the safety of your people?”
Her eyes flared. “You think I should show how much I care by igniting a civil conflict in an enclosed space? Really?”
“The conflict’s been ignited. Or at least, there are sparks flying all around, and I seem to be the only person trying to put them out, so sooner or later one of them’s going to find tinder and blaze up.”
“How poetic.” She half turned. “Your absence was noticed, and now your agitation has surely been seen as well. The other side will be hoping you’re upset about a successful slave escape, but you would have gone to the captain about that, not to me.
Right? So they’ll suspect something different.
They’ll suspect you’ve thwarted the escape and are demanding answers.
” She shook her head. “I hate it when the other side knows the truth. But what will they do, now they know it?”
She whirled back toward him. “Were you discreet? When you left the Elkati in my office, did anyone see you?”
“I don’t think so.”
“But you don’t know for sure. Someone may have followed you as you charged up from the barracks, intent on vengeance.
” She was energized. “Return to the Elkati and make sure he stays safe; if they’ve been unable to get him out of the valley safely, they may choose a more permanent method of silencing him. I’ll go find the captain and consult.”
She turned and strode away without waiting for his agreement.
It was frustrating, but he didn’t have a better plan himself; he did as he was told.
A few Sacrati caught at his arms as he walked past their festive tables, but he shook them off and kept moving.
If Photina was right and people were watching him, he didn’t mind if they saw him being angry.
He wanted them to see his anger, and understand that it was directed at them. He wanted them to be afraid.