Night had fallen by the time they had descended the trail and reached the forest inn. The trees seemed taller and more threatening in the dark. The inn’s interior was transformed, too, with crackling fires and flickering lanterns that made the shadows dance and conceal its true dimensions.

  After a short conversation with the man in the apron, they ascended six flights of stairs. Robles was limping by the time they reached their room. “I’ll take the chaise, you’ll take the bed.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Kaddie picked up the bag he’d dropped on the chair and transferred it to the bed. “You need it more than I do.”

  “Are you insinuating that I’m old? Mother’s teeth, girl, you’re insufferable.”

  “You were in a fight, remember?” Her own bag she set gently alongside the battered, threadbare chaise. When she leaned forth and sniffed the upholstery she discovered her bed for the night smelled strongly of pipe smoke.

  “A fight. Yes. I’d forgotten. Are you sure?”

  “Take the bed, old man.”

  “May I remind you—”

  She ignored his subsequent outburst and crouched alongside her bag, retrieving her toothbrush and soap from the dangerously untidy jumble of bottles and canisters.

  “We should eat,” he said finally.

  “I agree. Will our bags be safe?”

  “Bags, yes. Our persons, well, we’ll just have to take our chances. Ready to protect an old man from the dangers of the downstairs dining room?”

  Kaddie grinned. They’d been under a lot of strain and she felt the tension between them give a little. Dinner, a good night’s sleep, and they’d both feel better.

  It was, therefore, in an easy frame of mind that she took a seat opposite her grandfather at a table near the fire in the dining room. The walls were covered in tapestries and animal horns, while most of the tables were full of men and women in the midst of lively conversation.

  Kaddie wondered where they had come from and where they were going. Some were headed for Terohas for sure, and maybe farther, to the capital of Enthas. Distracted, she merely nodded as Robles ordered dinner while she surreptitiously studied her fellow diners. No sign of anyone from the Shale territories, but she recognized a sand-red jacket, of a style worn by the Mesa. The woman wearing the garment must have traveled far.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  Kaddie refocused her attention, and the first thing she saw was Robles’ face which bore a hard, distant, look. As for its recipient, when she looked at the man standing at their table she let out an involuntary gasp.

  It was him. Him. The man with the sword she’d seen at a distance in the palace kitchen—the same narrow, elegant face, hair pulled back from his forehead, eyes currently regarding Robles with solemnity.

  “That depends.” Her grandfather rested his hand on her forearm to stop her from leaping out of her chair.

  A stupid thought ran through her head as she settled back into her seat. He wasn’t wearing his sword. Instead, the well-worn handle of a dagger was poking out from the opening in his gray jacket. So what? she thought. I have a knife, too. It was ridiculous. As if she could ever reach her sickle before he slit both their throats.

  The man’s eyes flitted across the dining room for a moment. “I assure you I had no part in this morning’s events.”

  Robles nodded reluctantly at a vacant chair at the table. Kaddie regarded her grandfather in horror. Was he out of his mind, inviting this man to sit at their table? One of her hands was already sneaking inside her open coat pocket, searching for the sturdy leather of her sickle scabbard.

  A waiter arrived. The swordsman took a seat and ordered a glass of wine, and when the waiter had gone, “Allow me to introduce myself.”

  “Rathburn Brayde, one of Enthas’s finest swordmasters, now reduced to cutthroat for hire.” Robles growled.

  “So, you have heard of me.”

  “You know him?” Kaddie exclaimed.

  “Of him. Of. There’s a difference.” He regarded their new companion. “And I suppose you just happened to be passing by.”

  The man sat easy in his chair and smiled. Kaddie couldn’t believe it. The man of her nightmares. The waiter returned with Brayde’s wine. Robles’ and Kaddie’s plates of food arrived shortly afterward. When the waiter enquired if their new companion would be joining them in eating, the man declined.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Robles picked up his utensils. “Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m starving.”

  Kaddie stared at her steaming plate of ribs and roast vegetables. She collected her knife and fork, realizing her appetite had completely gone. In the end she settled for stabbing at her vegetables while Robles and Brayde exchanged words in low tones.

  “Obviously, there’s a reason why you’re here.” Robles gestured with his fork, his mouth half full. “Care to enlighten us?”

  Kaddie was obliged to listen hard as her dinner companions talked, their voices competing with the crackle of the nearby fire and conversation elsewhere in the dining room. Light from the fire played across Brayde’s features. In partial silhouette he seemed all the more threatening. She began to eat and tried not to miss anything.

  “What do you know about the Theeds?” Brayde asked.

  “Up and coming, or at least they were. It seems now they’ve arrived, wouldn’t you say? To whom did those men belong?”

  Brayde stared at Robles for a long time. “You’re familiar with Harrow, the merchant?”

  Kaddie dropped her fork. Her eyes narrowed.

  Brayde laughed. “I see from the girl’s reaction, you are.”

  “My name is Kaddie.” Deliberately, she placed her knife and fork together across her plate. She was done eating.

  Robles looked troubled. “The man’s a scoundrel. I’m assuming he hadn’t planned on two members of the Shale sharing our carriage.”

  “And not just any Shale.”

  “You know them?” Kaddie asked.

  “Melaris.” Brayde smiled. “Let’s say we’ve crossed paths before.”

  “An inordinately skillful young man.” Robles dabbed his chin with his napkin. “So, what is this, a friendly warning to watch our backs?”

  “Perhaps. Although Harrow should know better. It’s bad luck to kill a poisoner.”

  “Why should we trust you?” Kaddie said. “You were at the palace. We saw you.”

  “Kaddie.” Once again, her grandfather laid his hand on her arm.

  With an exasperated sigh, she fell silent, while her temper simmered. All she could think of was that horrible morning at the palace and how terrifying it was. What would have happened if they had encountered the man now sitting at their table? She realized he was staring at her. Was he trying to frighten her?

  Picking up her cup of water, she took a sip, set it back down, and looked him in the eye. She wanted to memorize that face. “So, do you work for Harrow,” she ventured, “or the Theeds?”

  His face broke into a grin. “I’ve never had the pleasure of working for Harrow.”

  “And yet, it’s all connected,” Robles said. “The Theeds, Harrow, you. Who else, I wonder?”

  Brayde shrugged and half-drained his wine glass. “If we’re talking about the attack, this morning, that was all Harrow. Like I said, any citizen of Terohas would consider it bad luck.”

  “I think I see it, now.” Robles leaned back in his chair. “In killing the Shale youth, Harrow went out on a limb. And with me out of the way he can persuade Theed to hire that charlatan, Poole, giving Harrow an invaluable conduit to Terohas’s politics. Only Arben Theed didn’t know the full extent of what Harrow was up to, and now you’re seeking to protect the Theeds from any retribution.” He laughed. “I must say, this is quite a tangle we find ourselves in.”

  Kaddie didn’t know how her grandfather was able to deduce all this, but she kept on listening. One thing was for sure, if it was Harrow who was behind this morning’s attacks, then it would be Harrow who would pay, and if possible she would see to it personally.

  “Just be aware,” Brayde said. “This isn’t just about Harrow. There’ll be others from the capital. Just as treacherous, and just as deadly.”

  “What’s got them so excited about Terohas?”

  “It’s not Terohas itself. It’s what lies beneath it.”

  “The ruins?” Kaddie asked.

  Brayde nodded. “Rumor has it they’ve uncovered some valuable artifacts on the outskirts of Enthas that might have a connection with Terohas. But no one knows for sure, because no one can get close.”

  “Interesting,” Robles muttered.

  For a while, no one said anything, until Kaddie figured it was time to bring up the obvious. “What about our journey back, tomorrow?”

  “You’ll be safe enough,” Brayde said. He drained his glass and stood. “I’m glad we had this little talk.”

  When he had left the dining room, “What did he mean by safe?”

  “It means our current arrangement with the Shale has given us a certain amount of protection, and he knows more about that than he’s letting on.”

  “So, it means we can sleep tonight and get home safely in the morning?”

  “Yes, grandchild, it does.” He gave her a magnanimous grin. “Time for a brandy.”

  ##

  The chaise proved to be more comfortable than it looked and Kaddie had an uninterrupted night’s sleep, partially due to the cup of brandy she’d had on the evening prior. She recalled unsettling dreams on awakening, however. The never-ending conservatory, the acrid scent that permeated the air, and Shale witches who leaned close and whispered secrets she fully understood but couldn’t remember.

  It made for a distracting morning, one that involved a hurriedly eaten breakfast of hot oats and an ungainly scramble aboard an early morning carriage, shared with a mother and two young, fidgety daughters.

  As promised, the journey proved uneventful. Only when they rode by the spot where they had been attacked did her anxiety return. Were the bodies still there?

  Her grandfather was equally jumpy. “We say nothing,” he whispered. “Nothing.” And for once she had no reason to argue.

  They reached Terohas’s main gate just before lunch. Kaddie searched the line of carriages, hoping to see Jim, but he wasn’t there.

  “What do we say?” she asked as they walked along Toch Avenue toward the dispensary.

  “We keep it simple and omit nothing except for that dreadful event in the forest. People died, Kaddie, and we were, or at least I was, responsible for some of that.”

  “They were going to kill us. We had to stop them.”

  “I think you’ll find such notions are often overlooked, depending on one’s point of view. We’ll say nothing, and leave it at that.”

  “What if the carriage driver starts talking?”

  “He won’t.”

  The avenue was busy. It had been raining earlier and the streets were slick, but the second city grates were already open and steam was billowing from the vents.

  She looked away. Right now, she wanted nothing to do with their subterranean neighbor, its mysterious allure utterly destroyed by their conversation with the swordsman the night before.