“I didn’t say the informant was leaking from the beginning. It began quite recently, probably after the Second Pennysworth riots. That was when Danton really became a problem, and I can only assume the Last Duke went looking for answers and found someone he could squeeze.”
Faro was glaring at her, one hand on his rapier. “And you didn’t think to mention this at the time?” He looked at Raesinia. “Ben’s dead because we didn’t know the Concordat was onto us. If we believe what she’s saying-”
“It’s a fair question, Sothe,” Raesinia said. You might have at least told me.
“I said nothing because I wasn’t certain,” Sothe said. “Trust is paramount in a small group like this one. The mere accusation would have destroyed you, and I didn’t want to risk that without knowing for sure who the informant was.” Her eyes shifted, fractionally, toward Raesinia. “If that makes me guilty of Ben’s death, I accept it.”
“I don’t believe a word of this,” Maurisk said. He turned his back on Sothe and stalked away a few steps, then rounded on her. “The Last Duke would like nothing better than for us to turn on one another now. For all we know-”
“Sothe doesn’t work for Orlanko,” Raesinia said. “I’m certain of that, if nothing else.”
“So you say,” said Faro. He was still almost face-to-face with Sothe. “But you kept her secret in the first place. Why should we believe you?”
Sarton coughed politely. “If you kept silent because you didn’t know for c. . certain, the fact that you’ve told us now logically imp. . plies that you are sure.” Another rumble from the heavens nearly drowned out his soft, stuttering voice. “What happened?”
“The commander of the Concordat forces at the Vendre was Captain James Ross,” Sothe said. “His files were well organized. Like many Concordat field agents, however, he failed to take seriously the regulations concerning the practice of keeping books of ciphers in physical proximity to encoded communications.”
“You seem to know an awful lot about Concordat procedures-” Faro began, but Maurisk cut him off.
“You can read Ross’ files?”
“Not all of them, but enough to know that I was right.”
Maurisk’s voice trembled. “And the identity of the informant?”
“Yes. The duke wanted to be sure he wouldn’t be swept up in the purges.”
“Don’t tell me,” said Faro, “that you’re taking this seriously-”
Steel zinged as his rapier came out of its scabbard, faster than Raesinia would have given him credit for. Quick as he was, though, Sothe was faster. Her hand shot out and grabbed his, fingers interlocking like lovers’ on a promenade, and something fast and painful happened. Faro let go of his sword and spun away from her, only to be brought up short when she kept her grip on his hand. Sothe’s left hand had emerged from her waistband holding a long, thin dagger.
“Now,” she said, “I hope-”
“Sothe,” Raesinia said quietly.
There was a click. Even as he’d lost his sword, Faro’s off hand had gone to his pocket and come out with a nasty-looking short-barreled pistol. He thumbed back the hammer and brought the barrel up to aim squarely between Raesinia’s eyes.
“Your job is to protect her, isn’t it?” Faro said, his voice tight with pain. “Isn’t it? Then let go of me!”
Sothe locked eyes with Raesinia, just for a moment. Raesinia raised her eyebrows emphatically and nodded.
Better he point that thing at me than anyone else. Part of her was trying to process what was unfolding-that Faro had as good as signed Ben’s death warrant-but the rest was still planning as calmly as ever. All I need to do is make him pull the trigger. He’d never get the chance to reload. Raesinia had watched Sothe split leaves with a knife at twenty yards, and she never had less than a half dozen blades on her person. Come on, come on. .
Slowly, Sothe released Faro’s hand. He stepped away from her, weapon still trained on Raesinia, and circled around until his back was against the waist-high parapet stone.
“You’ll never get out of here alive,” Raesinia said, conversationally. She heard a hiss of breath from Maurisk and a startled squeak from Cora, somewhere behind her. “You know that, don’t you?”
“The hell I won’t.” Faro grabbed Raesinia by the arm and pressed the barrel of the pistol against the back of her skull. “Come on. Over to the trapdoor.”
He pushed her, painfully, but she didn’t move. “Then what?”
“Then I leave you all up here, bar the door, and get off the Island before anybody comes up here to let you out.” He tugged again, and when she didn’t move his voice turned almost plaintive. “Come on, Raes. Nobody needs to get killed.”
“Ben,” Raesinia said. “Ben got killed. Because you told Orlanko where to find us.”
“I didn’t know they were going to kill him! Everyone would have been fine if you’d just come along quietly.”
“Raes. .,” Maurisk said. “He’s right. We’ll catch up with this bastard later. It’s not worth getting your head blown off.”
“Please, Raes!” Cora’s voice was high and scared.
“Answer me this, Faro,” Raesinia said, implacably. “How much did it cost to buy you? A new pair of boots? One of those fancy swords you like so much?”
“Shut up. Move, damn it!” Faro tried to pull her after him, but Raesinia let her legs sag and ended up leaning against the parapet, facing outward, with Faro pressed up close behind her. Her knees pressed against the stone, and she felt a tingle in the soles of her feet as her balance shifted dangerously.
“Raes!” Cora shrieked.
Raesinia put her free hand on the parapet. “How much, Faro?”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Faro took a step back, spun Raesinia around so they were face-to-face, then pushed her back against the wall, his hand still tight on her wrist. The pistol was pressed tight against her forehead. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
More or less. Raesinia smiled. “How much?”
“They had my family,” Faro hissed through clenched teeth. He pressed harder, levering her out dangerously over the edge. “My parents. My sisters. He told me he’d send them to me in pieces if I didn’t go along. What in the name of the Savior was I supposed to do?”
He squeezed his eyes shut, blinking away tears. It was as good an opportunity as Raesinia thought she was likely to get.
She brought her free hand up and wrapped it around his wrist, feeling their shared center of balance rock against the parapet. At the same time, her knee came up, fast and hard, between his legs. The blow to his groin would curl him up, and she’d be able to force the pistol away from her head before he could fire.
That was the theory, anyway. Something felt wrong as soon as she started to move. Her knee got tangled against something hard between his thighs-the damned scabbard, it got twisted when he turned around-
The wooden sheath absorbed the force of her blow with a splintering crack. She got her hand on his wrist, but the pistol was jammed hard against her forehead, and she didn’t have the leverage to shift it. She saw his eyes open and blink again, as slowly as if in a dream, and his finger jerked on the trigger. The hammer fell, sparking into the pan, and then-
Raesinia had never been shot in the head before. She felt a violent tug, as though someone had grabbed hold of her hair and yanked backward hard. In the same instant, her whole body went numb and all her limbs tried to pull inward at once, like a child instinctively clapping a hand over a skinned knee. With her knee between Faro’s legs, caught on his scabbard, and one of his wrists in her hand, this had the effect of pulling him practically on top of her.