Mags, and his face wore a look of grim triumph. âThe mine will probably be shut temporarily, and only reopened when it has been determined what can be done with the adult miners, and what should be done with Cole Pieters and his family. Pieters does own the mine; that is clear enough. We canât dispossess him and his family of it without a legal cause. Even if we punish him, the law in this land is such that we have to determine just how much guilt is on the heads of the rest of the family. If there are guiltless minor children, it is entirely possible that the profits will be kept for them in trust while those who are guilty get turned out to find a more honest way of making a living. It is going to get very complicated, and I wanted you to know that. This could stretch on for a year or more . . . but . . .â
Mags tilted his head to one side, waiting. All this felt as if he was reading about it.
â. . . if we find bodies where you say we will, it is very likely that Pieters and at least one of the sons will be charged with murder.â
Mags considered that. His brow creased, and he felt that cold jolt of fear again, until Dallen comforted him. âItâs only my word âgainst theirs,â he said finally, willing his hands to stop shaking. âAinât no one else gonna say nothinâ, ye knows that.â
Jakyr lost the look of triumph, and he nodded. âThat is not all, because he will have time to get rid of the bodies, and thus, the evidence. That surely occurred to him when I took you out of there. He knows what Heralds are, even if none of you children did. He might well guess that I would have these things out of you, one way or another. That is why right now I am speaking with the Justiciars about whether we should pursue the murder charges. I fear that unless he was very careless and remains so, he will get away with murder, literally.â
Mags just shrugged. It was very hard to muster up any sort of emotion about all this except the dread of what might happen if Cole Pieters found all this out. Mostly, he just felt odd. He supposed he should be angry that Master Cole would probably get away with the worst of what he had done, or feel elation that he had helped find the man out, but he just couldnât. Besides feeling odd, he was still deeply uneasy, as if there was someone standing behind him, ready to strike him down when he least expected it. It was hard to believe that Pieters would be unable to exact some sort of revenge.
Jakyr looked at him curiously. âIs something the matter? I thought you would be pleased about the other youngsters, or angry with Cole.â
Mags struggled to understand his own feelings, or lack of them, and put it all into words. âI guess . . . I dunno. Like I donâ feel anythinâ strong about it. Like this ainât finished yet, anâ till it is, no point in thinkinâ anythinâ.â He pondered. âItâs good the kiddies is got away, and itâs good Master Cole cainât keep on, but anythinâ other than that . . .â He shook his head. âItâs like somethinâ in a book. I know itâs real, but it donâ feel real. It donât feel finished.â He shook his head uneasily. âYâ know, it wasnât smart tâ get too friendly with nobody. You tell half them kiddies mâ name, they wonât know who I am. Mebbe thatâs it.â
Jakyr sighed, and got up to walk to the window. âAnd the ones that died?â
Mags felt badly then. He knew he should have been angry about it all. When it happened, though, he had to be honestâit scared him, it terrified him, in fact, but he had never been angry. âI reckon Iâm a bad lot, sir,â he sighed, feeling a sick sinking in his stomach. âI reckon yer gonna tell me so.â
âWhy?â Jakyr asked.
â âCause when people died? All I could think was I was glad it
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