“Earlier tonight, couldn’t you feel how much I truly liked you?”
She must have been running out of arguments, because that was the weakest one yet. No man could live a hundred years without learning how many women could feign affection convincingly.
Yet taken altogether, her arguments carried more weight, especially considering that his search hadn’t turned up anything. And who knew, maybe he had felt something genuine between them. Just not strongly enough to negate what seemed abundant reason for suspicion.
“All right.” He lifted the spear away from her throat and roused the power in it to make the point glow and give her light. “I guess that whoever’s out to get me, it isn’t you.” He extended his hand to help her up.
She swatted it away and stood up on her own.
He frowned. “I thought you ‘truly liked’ me.”
“I did. Before you seduced me to create an opportunity to ransack Amaunator’s house.”
“I seduced you?”
Her mouth twitched. Like a smile had momentarily tried to replace the glower? “I suppose that isn’t fair. Still, you tricked me!”
Aoth sighed. “For what it’s worth, I honestly liked you too, before I started to worry about you. If you want revenge, you can complain to Hasos and write to Nicos, Daelric, and the war hero.”
“And if it got you and your cutthroats kicked out of Soolabax, or out of Chessenta entirely, how would that help us when Threskel comes in force?”
“Well, there’s that.”
She brushed some of her tousled blonde curls away from her eyes. “You have your own little army. Instead of sneaking around looking for dragonborn by yourself, why not use it to search the whole town house to house?”
“The enemy might see us coming and get away. Or they may not really be here in the first place. And if I didn’t turn up anything, it would anger people who already didn’t trust me to begin with.”
“Hm. I see your point.”
“Also, when my comrades and I tracked down the Green Hand Killers in Luthcheq, the bastards burned their papers and mystical insignia. I don’t want the dragonborn in Soolabax to have the same opportunity.”
“I already said I see your point, and I’ll help you. It’s my duty as a sunlady and one of the town’s protectors.”
“I appreciate the offer. But if you mean you’ll help me with some sort of divination, we tried that in Luthcheq and it didn’t work.”
“With the Keeper’s help, we’ll think of something. Just don’t imagine it means I want you back in my arms. You spoiled that for good and all.”
“I understand.”
Her scowl deepened. Turning on her heel, she willed a flood of golden light into being as if to spurn even the glow he’d conjured for her convenience.
The mare’s eyes rolled. Gaedynn whispered reassurance, clung to the animal’s halter with one hand, and stroked her neck with the other.
He and Jhesrhi had ridden their stolen mounts past the point of exhaustion. She’d laid charms of calmness and obedience on them. By rights they should have been stolid as a pair of stones, but they weren’t. Not under the circumstances. And if they made too much noise, or bolted out from under the oak that shielded them from the sky, Jaxanaedegor would surely spot them.
He might do it anyway. Dragons had keen senses, and Gaedynn suspected those of a vampiric dragon were sharper still. Conceivably sharp enough to pierce Jhesrhi’s spell of concealment.
Gaedynn abruptly realized the wyrm was overhead again. Perhaps, peering through the tangled branches, he saw a star vanish as the undead hunter glided in front of it. But mostly he felt the proximity of a malice profound enough to turn his mouth dry and make him shudder.
His horse trembled too. She tried to toss her head, and then whickered. He wondered if he should kill her, or if that would make even more noise.
Then, up in the sky, leathery wings cracked like a whip. The overpowering sense of vileness faded. Either Jaxanaedegor was a little deaf by dragon standards, or else Jhesrhi’s magic had kept him from hearing the whinny. In any case, he was flying away.
The sellswords kept silent. If the wyrm was still looking for them, he might swing close again, depending on the search pattern. But that didn’t happen, and Gaedynn finally decided it wasn’t going to.
“I have to admit,” he said, “there are moments when it looks like you’re starting to get the hang of sorcery.”
Jhesrhi grunted. “We were lucky. Can you find us something to eat?”
“If you’ll take charge of my horse, I’ll be happy to try.”
“Do you want light?”
“Let’s not lean too hard on that luck you mentioned.” Wishing it were later in the year, alternately standing straight and stooping low, he started examining the tree limbs, shrubs, and roots in their vicinity.
“So what now?” Jhesrhi asked abruptly.
He glanced back at her. “I thought you just requested a late supper.”
“I mean tomorrow.”
“We flee back to Soolabax, I suppose.”
“What about our mission?”
He thought he glimpsed the round pale caps of mushrooms, took a step closer, and saw they were actually toadstools. Damn it. “Our mission is considerably more dangerous now that Jaxanaedegor knows about it.”
“He didn’t seem to think it likely that the dragon in the Sky Riders really is Tchazzar. And he may not think we’re reckless enough to still go there.”
Gaedynn smiled, not because of anything she’d said, but because he spotted helmthorn vines. He took another pace and, as he’d hoped, saw berries. They were still in the process of ripening from green to indigo, but in a pinch a person could eat the tart fruit anyway.
Trying not to prick himself on the long black thorns-he already had one gash on his hand!-he started picking them and putting them in the pouch on the orc guard’s sword belt. “Then our former host is right on both counts. The dragon, if there even is one, isn’t Tchazzar, and I’m not foolhardy enough to keep looking for it.”
“Let’s assume the worst.”
“By all means, since it’s what keeps happening.”
As usual, the interruption annoyed her-he could hear it in her voice. “Jaxanaedegor will go look for the dragon or send someone to do it. But he never got around to asking us exactly where in the Sky Riders it is. That means we can find out the truth and get away before anyone else shows up.”
As he finished picking the berries, he spotted something else interesting and headed for it. “That’s insanely optimistic, but let’s continue in the same spirit and see where it leads us. Say we do find Tchazzar. Say he is still interested in protecting Chessenta. Do you really think Lord Nicos or anyone else will be able to free an ancient wyrm from whatever it is that’s strong enough to hold him?”
“I don’t know. I just know Aoth entrusted us with a task.”
“Are you sure you aren’t just bent on testing yourself against Threskel? On proving you’re a courageous, capable person here or anywhere? Because you already did that, in Mourktar and again inside the volcano.”
Jhesrhi kept silent for several heartbeats. When she spoke again, her voice was ice. “That has nothing to do with it.”
He sighed. “Of course it doesn’t. And we’ll go to the Sky Riders if you think it best.” He straightened up and, keeping one hand behind him, walked back to her. “I’ve got helmthorn berries. And these.” He bowed and held out the violets he’d found. “I’m not entirely sure how long we were chained up in the dark, but I think it may be Greengrass night.”
Making sure her hand didn’t come into contact with his, she took the flowers. “You never stop striking poses.”
Gaedynn grinned. “Well, as you pointed out yourself, it serves me better than sincerity.”
The giants had raided deep into Tymanther, burning villages and fields to raise the smoke Khouryn and his companions had noticed on their way to Djerad Thymar. But-so far at least-the marauders kept retreating back to the Black Ash Plain, and so the vanquisher’s warriors had gone to seek them there.