Part 48 (2/2)

”No,” said Legs. ”We've got something else that will do that for us.”

The bowman's eyes widened.

”He can squish up both of you like rags,” said Legs.

Hu, Talen thought. It was one thing to threaten a Mokaddian. It was quite another to claim they had some sleth monster on a leash. This mire was just getting deeper and deeper.

”n.o.body needs to get hurt,” Talen said. ”Just toss your weapons.”

Neither Shoka moved.

”Should we call it?” Legs said.

The second Shoka looked about, then tossed his bow down. ”Don't hurt us,” he said.

The first Shoka looked at his companion in dismay.

”Put your bow down,” Talen said.

For one brief moment Talen thought he was going to have to kill the Shoka. He didn't want to. He had nothing against him, and it would do their cause no good to add another Mokaddian death to it, but he would shoot him if he had to. Talen drew his arrow just a tad father back.

The Shoka licked his lips in calculation and then released his draw and dropped the bow and arrow onto the pine needles at his feet.

”Knives too,” said Talen.

Both Shoka unlooped the knives at their waists and cast them aside.

”On your bellies over there,” Talen said and pointed to a flat spot of ground.

Legs decided that was the time to step out of the brook bed. When he got to the top of the short bank, he walked, both hands in front of him, one high, one low.

”He's the blind one,” the bowman said.

”Indeed, he is,” said Talen. ”On your faces.”

The two Shoka knelt and then stretched out face down on the needles. Talen kicked the two bows together. ”Legs,” he called. ”Unstring this bow at my feet. We're going to tie them up.”

They didn't have much time. The third Shoka could be returning this very moment to the road with the others and their dogs.

Fifteen minutes later Talen and Legs were making their way towards moving water. At least one river and two creeks stood between them and the Widow's, and they'd have to use all three now that dogs might be involved.

The bow strings hadn't been long enough to bind both Shoka to different trees. So Legs had cut two strips off his tunic to use as rope and two more to use as gags.

”Do you think they will stay put?” asked Legs.

”Oh, I think your little eye show gave them quite a scare.” That and the fact that he'd married his freaky eye-rolling with odd gaggings and contortions. It was quite an effective method to cow the two so they didn't try anything stupid while Talen tied them up. It had almost put Talen himself on the run.

And when the one Shoka had asked what was happening, Talen had played up the story Legs told. And why not? How could the story get any worse? His family had already been caught harboring the hatchlings. They'd already been connected to the monster. And, despite the usefulness of claiming the hatchlings had enchanted them to do their bidding, there was no one else in the family who might be tempted to say such a thing. And, truth be told, even he wasn't going to give into that. Besides, they needed time. An hour's head start might not even be enough if the dogs came.

”You know full well what he's doing,” he had said.

The Shoka had taken it, as intended, for slethery. And then the bright idea had come to Talen to say he believed Legs was calling the monster to watch them, to make sure they didn't run.

Oh, yes. Talen was in this up to his neck.

Now the question was not if he was going to die. It was only when? And would it include a lot of torture?

He thought of Da in Whitecliff. He hoped Uncle Argoth would protect him. Surely, Uncle Argoth would be able to convince Lord s.h.i.+m. Because Talen certainly wasn't helping him any.

Talen stopped in front of a clump of poison ivy. They needed to get to the first creek and wash their trail away. Then they needed to get to the river. Maybe float a bit.

”We need to move faster,” Talen said.

”My feet,” Legs said.

Talen looked down. The boy's feet were b.l.o.o.d.y in three places.

”Too bad you can't call that monster for real,” Talen said and unstrung his bow. He put the string in an oiled leather pouch that hung from his quiver and told Legs to hold the bow staff. ”Raise your arm, brother sleth.”

Legs raised one arm.

Talen took it by the wrist, bent low, grabbed Leg's ankle with his other hand, and stood up straight, laying Legs across his shoulders.

”Right,” Talen said. It was like lugging a sack of beets. That's all this was. He adjusted Legs to more evenly distribute his weight. Then he plodded forward, around the clump of ivy, over a flat of rock, and then onto a game trail no wider than his foot.

38.

Traps THE SKIR MASTER Rubaloth stood on the deck of the s.h.i.+p watching the sun rise, the stiff morning breeze at his back. On the main deck half-a-dozen sailors guided the last pallet of barrels that contained seafire down into the main hold. ”Report,” he said to Uram.

”Argoth and his escort are eating a fine breakfast at the Shark's Tooth.”

”Did he give you trouble?”

”None, Great One. But I did find something odd.”

”Oh?”

”His son's neck, Great One. In the early morning I caught the clansman locking the door of a room. His boy was inside, lying on a bed. The Clansman told me the boy had fallen ill. And the pungent odor of a healing salve did fill the hallway, but underneath it all I thought I smelled the faintest trace of wizardsmeet. It was there one moment and then gone. Still, when my men had everyone outside, I went back in and quietly forced the door. They'd wrapped the boy's neck with fresh linen and plastered it as if for a sore throat. But when I pulled the bandaging back, the skin on the boy's neck had all the markings of a hasty and large harvest.”

Rubaloth nodded. He'd been right. These cursed Clansmen. Another scion from a vanquished line no doubt wielding old magicks. This Argoth could be the one who had wrested Lumen from the Glory. If so, this could be tricky, but Rubaloth savored the challenge.

”When we're a few miles from sh.o.r.e,” he said, ”you will quietly search all his belongings.”

<script>