Gareth said. “It’s you! Where … how …”
“Come on,” Cosyra said. “We’ll do jolly reunions later. The watch’ll be coming in a moment. Back for my house!”
Gareth heard the shouts, the clatter of boots on the stones, saw the flash of lanterns, and the three ran hard.
• • •
By the time they reached Cosyra’s mansion, her anger had grown into a cold, deadly fury. She summoned her castellan and gave quiet orders. His face showed rage as well, and he hurried away.
Moments later, horses galloped through the gates, and other servants tumbled outside, armed with swords, crossbows, and a scattering of pistols.
About that time another servant arrived with a tray with hot tea, brandy, and other drinks.
“Just in case that mad son-of-a-whore’s-get has an idea you might be here,” she told Gareth, “my men will back him off. And I’ve sent for a detachment of the King’s Guard, which I was told long ago owes my mother’s family.”
“What about the man I slew?” Labala said.
“I doubt anyone’ll bring that up, but if they do, I can vouch it was self-defense.”
Labala nodded. “But can we be sure they’ll believe … oh.” He finally seemed to realize what sort of house he was in.
“Sorry, lady.”
“
Dammit!
Why does everybody keep doing that?” she snapped. “It’s still Cosyra!”
“Mmmh,” Labala said.
“I think,” Gareth said, “I’d best, when things clear up a bit, go for my ship. Since the only way Quindolphin found me was by trailing you, he can’t have any knowledge of the
Steadfast.
“ He grimaced. “But that’ll not let me say farewell to my uncle.”
“Nor,” Cosyra said, “to eat oysters.”
Gareth managed a wry smile. Labala’s eyes brightened.
“You were going to eat oysters? Damn, but that’d be a fine feast, after an outing and playabout like we just had.”
Cosyra giggled.
“Never mind, Labala,” Gareth said. “I’ll give you silver for a bait of them if you want, later. But first, what was that you said about a ‘Feeling’? And can’t you brush that mop off your face?”
“Gives me what they call statyur,” Labala said, but raked a paw through his hair until they could see most of his face. He drank off his glass of spirits, licked his lips.
“Not my style,” he said. “Don’t suppose there’s any beer about?”
Cosyra signaled for a servant.
“What’s this stature?” she asked. “What are you now? Or should I ask?”
“I’m sort of a magician,” Labala said. Gareth choked on his tea, got scowled at.
“Don’t laugh, Gareth, or I’ll sink you. My family, back when they lived in the Eastern Isles, before we come to Saros, generally had some witch in the blood.
“Just after you got took by that lord, giving us a chance to flee — for which I thank you and’ll thank you again — I went back to work, stevedoring, and was down in a hold, loading grain, which is dirty and kind of dangerous, especially if the bastard on the winch lets a net slip.
“I was in the hold, as I said, tossin’ bags around, and I got this
Feeling
that we better move. I called out, everybody scampered, and a cable went and dropped big heavy bags of grain all over the place, but nobody got killed or anything.
“That made me think, and if I see that damned grin again, Gareth, I’ll blat you one, I swear and vow. So I hunted me up a witch, and she showed me some simple spells, and damned if they didn’t work for me.
“So I been doing that, casting fortunes along the docks, which sometimes is right, sometimes wrong, maybe a love potion for one of the whores. Making a little gold, some silver.
“An’ then tonight I got a real strong sense I better be somewhere, and I saw your faces in my mind, and so I come as fast and hard as I could.”
“Saving our lives,” Cosyra said. Suddenly she turned pale, said, “Oh dear,” and sat down very quickly, almost missing the chair.
Gareth was beside her.
“I … I just … realized I
“Come on,” Cosyra said. “We’ll do jolly reunions later. The watch’ll be coming in a moment. Back for my house!”
Gareth heard the shouts, the clatter of boots on the stones, saw the flash of lanterns, and the three ran hard.
• • •
By the time they reached Cosyra’s mansion, her anger had grown into a cold, deadly fury. She summoned her castellan and gave quiet orders. His face showed rage as well, and he hurried away.
Moments later, horses galloped through the gates, and other servants tumbled outside, armed with swords, crossbows, and a scattering of pistols.
About that time another servant arrived with a tray with hot tea, brandy, and other drinks.
“Just in case that mad son-of-a-whore’s-get has an idea you might be here,” she told Gareth, “my men will back him off. And I’ve sent for a detachment of the King’s Guard, which I was told long ago owes my mother’s family.”
“What about the man I slew?” Labala said.
“I doubt anyone’ll bring that up, but if they do, I can vouch it was self-defense.”
Labala nodded. “But can we be sure they’ll believe … oh.” He finally seemed to realize what sort of house he was in.
“Sorry, lady.”
“
Dammit!
Why does everybody keep doing that?” she snapped. “It’s still Cosyra!”
“Mmmh,” Labala said.
“I think,” Gareth said, “I’d best, when things clear up a bit, go for my ship. Since the only way Quindolphin found me was by trailing you, he can’t have any knowledge of the
Steadfast.
“ He grimaced. “But that’ll not let me say farewell to my uncle.”
“Nor,” Cosyra said, “to eat oysters.”
Gareth managed a wry smile. Labala’s eyes brightened.
“You were going to eat oysters? Damn, but that’d be a fine feast, after an outing and playabout like we just had.”
Cosyra giggled.
“Never mind, Labala,” Gareth said. “I’ll give you silver for a bait of them if you want, later. But first, what was that you said about a ‘Feeling’? And can’t you brush that mop off your face?”
“Gives me what they call statyur,” Labala said, but raked a paw through his hair until they could see most of his face. He drank off his glass of spirits, licked his lips.
“Not my style,” he said. “Don’t suppose there’s any beer about?”
Cosyra signaled for a servant.
“What’s this stature?” she asked. “What are you now? Or should I ask?”
“I’m sort of a magician,” Labala said. Gareth choked on his tea, got scowled at.
“Don’t laugh, Gareth, or I’ll sink you. My family, back when they lived in the Eastern Isles, before we come to Saros, generally had some witch in the blood.
“Just after you got took by that lord, giving us a chance to flee — for which I thank you and’ll thank you again — I went back to work, stevedoring, and was down in a hold, loading grain, which is dirty and kind of dangerous, especially if the bastard on the winch lets a net slip.
“I was in the hold, as I said, tossin’ bags around, and I got this
Feeling
that we better move. I called out, everybody scampered, and a cable went and dropped big heavy bags of grain all over the place, but nobody got killed or anything.
“That made me think, and if I see that damned grin again, Gareth, I’ll blat you one, I swear and vow. So I hunted me up a witch, and she showed me some simple spells, and damned if they didn’t work for me.
“So I been doing that, casting fortunes along the docks, which sometimes is right, sometimes wrong, maybe a love potion for one of the whores. Making a little gold, some silver.
“An’ then tonight I got a real strong sense I better be somewhere, and I saw your faces in my mind, and so I come as fast and hard as I could.”
“Saving our lives,” Cosyra said. Suddenly she turned pale, said, “Oh dear,” and sat down very quickly, almost missing the chair.
Gareth was beside her.
“I … I just … realized I
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