“Like I said . . . you don’t want much.”
I shrugged again. “The golds are mine. I’d offer more, but I don’t have it. I’ll do what I can, but the next few days could be bloody. If you think it would help you, I’d suggest you pass on what I’ve said to Jadhyl and Deyalt.” I stepped back. “That’s all.”
He was still watching as I moved down the steps and then toward the alley that would take me to and beyond the cordon. I thought he might be interested, but who could tell?
Again, most likely because of the presence of the conscription teams, I had to walk all the way out to the Midroad before I could find a hack to hail, and I felt as though the driver hit every hole and rough spot on Midroad and then the Boulevard D’Imagers on the way back to Imagisle.
My feet ached with every step I took across the Bridge of Hopes and the quadrangle. Thankfully, at least I thought I was thankful, there were no notes or messages in my letter box or under my door. But I wondered just how long that might last.
48
Dinner in the dining hall on Jeudi was quiet enough, but for all the effort I’d expended during the day, all I could do was drag myself back to my quarters after eating. Yet it was late before I drifted into an uneasy sleep. On Vendrei, I got up early, not that it was difficult, what with my uneasy sleep and worries about Khethila and what I was getting into with Seliora’s family and what I’d done the day before with the Navy lieutenant. That didn’t count my concerns about trying to use Horazt to capture the Tiempran priests or the fact that I was acting as though my flash vision of the Temple exploding represented true farsight.
After exercises and running, and showering and dressing, I rushed through breakfast and made it to the duty coach as fast as I could. In a way, there was no logical reason for that. If something happened, it was just as likely to happen whether I managed to be near the Temple or not. Yet . . . something impelled me to hurry.
When I stepped out of the coach outside the station, the sun shone white, and a gentle breeze, under a pale blue sky, offered a perfect late autumn day. That didn’t cheer me much as I walked toward the station doors.
Even if I had wanted to escape the captain, I couldn’t have, because he was clearly waiting for me to arrive. He signaled for me to join him, a gesture as close to a command as anything nonverbal could be, then turned and stepped into his study.
I did close the door behind me when I entered.
He stood by the corner of his desk. “Master Rhennthyl . . . the Navy is not happy with us. They’re not too bright, but they have some questions as to why one of their horses spooked and threw a lieutenant and killed him. They know some patrollers were nearby, and it appears that you and Lyonyt were the ones. Lyonyt and Fuast have already told me what happened, and I’m certain it happened that way.” The captain paused. “The lieutenant was a fool to ride after an old woman, and what occurred was his own fault. If something else like that happens, they won’t see it that way.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Let them frig this up their own way, without any help from us, or you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.” I smiled. “The Tiempran priests might have explosives in their Temple. I thought you’d like to know.”
His face froze. “How do-don’t bother. If you happen to be right . . . if . . . just what do you suggest? There’s already a crowd gathered around the Temple. It looks like their priests rousted them out, but with that cordon, there’s no way to tell. I’ve called up the mounted riot patrollers, but they only sent half a squad. They’re just backup for us if things get out of hand.”
“My only suggestion is to keep your patrollers well away from the Temple for now.”
“You think that they’ll blow up the Temple and their own worshippers?”
“No one can say that for certain, but the First Speaker of Tiempre sent a warning a month or so ago saying that because we gave favorable treatment to the evil Caenenans, they would strike at the heart of Solidar.” I shrugged. “Those might be just words, but . . .”
“I think, Master Rhennthyl, that you and I will watch, from a moderate distance, how the conscription teams handle the crowd around the Temple. Lyonyt and Fuast can handle their reduced duties without your assistance. I’ve already informed them and sent them out.”
“Yes, sir.” I had more than mixed feelings about accompanying Harraf, but the very fact that he wanted to observe and be in a position to handle the patrollers indicated that he was far more worried than his even voice and small and intent black eyes revealed. So did the fact that he’d already dispatched Lyonyt and Fuast.
We walked up Fuosta and along the north side-the non-taudis side-of South Middle alone. Two other patrollers, whom I’d never seen before, followed us. When we reached Dugalle, the captain halted.
“For now, this should be satisfactory.” He said nothing more, but looked eastward.
Ten mounted patrollers in riot gear were lined up the north side of South Middle, about fifty yards farther east. The mounted conscription forces and the naval marines occupied the south side, right up to the low wall that marked the beginning of the taudis. Unlike the scriptie horses, the patrol mounts all wore gray padded armor across their chests, necks, and forequarters. The patrollers wore similar padded armor of the same material as the mounts, except it was pale blue, and riot helmets. While the mounted patrollers carried revolvers, their first weapons were riot lances, effectively long hardened oak truncheons with padded grips.
Even from where we were, I could see some of the crowd around the Temple, and I could hear a low repetitive chant.
“Equal coins for equal souls,
Equal golds for equal roles! . . .”
That definitely had an equalifier tone to it, but I couldn’t see if there were any Tiempran priests leading the chant or whether those leading the crowd were merely local converts. Given what I suspected, I would have wagered that the crowd leaders were locals.
“Chanting won’t stop the marines,” Harraf said. “All that will do is make them mad. They’ll eat all those taudis-dwellers alive and come up hungry.” He looked to me.
“Getting the marines angry might well be the point, Captain.”
At that, Harraf frowned, then straightened as a rider neared. “Be polite, Rhennthyl,” he murmured. “He’s a marine colonel.”
The colonel rode up, followed by two other mounted marines, and reined his mount to a halt. He looked down at Harraf. “I thought we might find some Patrol officers here.”
“Captain Harraf, Third District, Colonel.” Harraf’s smile was cool.
“We’re about to disperse that crowd, Captain.” The slight emphasis on Harraf’s rank contained a hint of contempt. “Unless you see another way to allow us to proceed.”
Harraf smiled again, nodding toward me. “Why don’t we ask Master Rhennthyl, here?”
The colonel looked at me. “Do you have any ideas, Master Imager? Good workable ideas?”
“Just one, Colonel.” I smiled politely. “Unless they attack your men, leave them alone.”
“They’re in the way.”
I didn’t feel like arguing with a senior marine officer, but I knew what was likely to happen, and yet there was no way to explain it, because I didn’t know when or how the priests had planned the explosion . . . or if, for certain, that they had. “Perhaps I’m mistaken, but I didn’t see any crowds on Saelio or any of the other streets more than a block east of the Temple. It seems to me that you could start your conscription efforts there, and you’d have little trouble.”