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  Lord Aras looked at me in a puzzled way, and then turned back to Kasurat. “Well, as I’m staying here at the moment, installing my guest here as well did seem a reasonable course of action. Am I to understand that you object to my guest and myself occupying rooms within your house?” He paused very briefly, while the other man drew breath. Before Kasurat could answer him, he added, just as mildly, “I certainly don’t wish to discommode you. If you prefer, I shall confiscate this house and attach it as a crown property to the royal holdings rather than obligating you to offer hospitality to an Ugaro upon your own property.”

  The other man choked an obviously stunned response to a strangled gasp. For ten breaths, no one spoke. Lord Aras tapped his scepter gently against his opposite palm, not looking away from Kasurat. At last he said, “Your tastes may differ, but I generally prefer to discuss every sort of concern in a civilized manner. I certainly don’t see any need for armed retainers to force their way into my presence, creating a disturbance and alarming my people. Perhaps you might ask your men to await you below.”

  Kasurat stared at him. Then he gave a jerky little nod and gestured, and his men shifted and glowered—at me, mostly—and finally made their way out. My guards took their hands away from their swords, though they did not move away from me. I stayed where I was, but now I was much less alarmed. I was even beginning to be amused. I had known a scepter-holder was an important man. Now I understood Lord Aras was much more important than this other lord. I thought Kasurat must have known it, but he clearly had not expected to be reminded of it so forcibly.

  Once the other lord’s men had gone, Lord Aras sat down, moving a little carefully because of his ribs, and gestured to a chair. He said, in the same calm, polite tone, “This is a comfortable house, Lord Kasurat, but unless you object, I am content merely to borrow it for a little while. Please sit down. As you may have ascertained, I’m interested in recent trade between this part of the borderlands and northern Evalea. As you’d apparently rather discuss this with me than any of my people, perhaps you’d answer a few questions now. Much of this trade used to move through Tavas Sen here, and then onward through your county on its way to Evalea, didn’t it? I’ve been examining Tavas Sen’s financial records, and I see that trade in this town has—”

  The lord had not seated himself. He said, barely less angrily than before, “You’ve been looking through my records?”

  “Lord Kasurat, please sit down,” Lord Aras said patiently.

  “But—” began the lord.

  “May the gods be merciful,” Talon Commander Harana said, not at all patiently. “If you haven’t been diddling the books, Lord Kasurat, why should you possibly object? Sit down and answer Lord Gaur’s questions.”

  The lord started to give a hot response, but then looked again at Lord Aras, who was tapping his scepter gently against the palm of his hand, gazing at Kasurat, his expression speculative. The lord blew out an angry breath, but he dropped into a chair.

  Lord Aras said politely. “Thank you. As you know, when I’m acting for our king, I have the authority to examine anyone’s records. Yours interested me because I recently received information regarding specific disruptions to trade with the Ugaro in this part of the borderlands. I thought it might be useful to look for signs of that disruption in the town records. I have indeed observed that this sort of imbalance in the trade records may have begun before we started having trouble with the Ugaro in this area, which is not what I recall from reports at the time. I should mention that your castellan’s notations regarding matters of trade with the Ugaro seem surprisingly inconsistent for that period. May I inquire whether you remember deliberately and dramatically changing your own terms of trade with the Ugaro three years ago?”

  Lord Kasurat’s manner now seemed subdued. He said, still angrily, but much more quietly than he had spoken before, “Three years ago? Of course I don’t remember back that far!”

  Lord Aras was watching him closely, his manner completely neutral. “Three years really isn’t so very long a time. The inconsistencies trouble me more than the imbalance.”

  “I want to look at those records!”

  “Of course. When you do, I’ll be interested in what you seem to remember regarding that period—”

  Lord Kasurat declared, again almost shouting, “There is nothing wrong with my memory!”

  “Everyone’s memory must be considered potentially unreliable. I mean no reflection on your honesty or competence.”

  I had been listening with interest, but without comprehension. But now suddenly understanding came to me. It came like a stroke of lightning, all at once, vivid and terrible. I said in astonishment, “You think there is a sorcerer. You think a sorcerer is interfering in matters of trade between the winter country and the summer country. That is what you mean when you say the records do not seem right. That is what this man fears: that a sorcerer has put false memories into his mind so that he does not remember what is true.”

  Then I realized perhaps I would have been wiser to keep silent, but it was too late. Lord Kasurat leaped to his feet, shouting that there was no sorcerer and that nothing was wrong with his memory. He turned as though he might try to hit me for saying it, but my guards were in his way, so he spun instead to face Lord Aras, declaring furiously, “Nothing has happened to my memory! If the barbarian speaks a civilized language, that’s all very well, but you should teach your wolf-loving savage to hold his tongue before his betters!”

  The term he used was not quite wolf-loving. It was a cruder term than that, which I had never heard before, but understood from the structure of the word.

  Many Lau are afraid of Ugaro, as they should be, but it hurts their pride less to pretend that they despise us rather than fear us. I had known that, but even when my people had still traded with the Lau of this town, I had not heard such an insult. Ordinary people would have known better than to say such a thing to our faces. Lord Kasurat was too certain of his own importance and far too certain of my inability to answer his insult as it deserved.

  My guards were focused on Kasurat, so I had no difficulty jerking the knife from the sheath at Suyet’s belt. But Esau turned as I did so, seizing my arm and trying to shove me back, saying, “No you don’t! Have some sense!” He was strong for a Lau, but I braced myself and did not move. But I did not want to fight my guards. They had not offended me. Though I now gripped Suyet’s knife, they had not drawn their weapons, and even now did not. I would have been ashamed to strike a man who had not realized he should guard himself against me. Also, by that time, I had remembered I was a tuyo and belonged to Lord Aras, and so did not have the right to answer an insult for myself.

  I was still very angry, but I opened my hand and let Troop Leader Geras take the knife from me. He gave it back to Suyet with a frown for the younger soldier’s carelessness, but to me he only said, “You’re a guest of Gaur. Let Lord Gaur handle it.”

  Perhaps this was good advice. I looked at Lord Aras. He was not paying attention to me at all, but considering Lord Kasurat. He said, voice no longer so mild, “This lack of decorum does you no credit. I think you should apologize to my guest.”

  “Apologize! I? To an Ugaro?” the man exclaimed, plainly shocked.

  I said coldly, “Lord Kasurat does not need to apologize to me. I would not accept his apology. I do not intend to forget his words. Nor his name.”

  The man cried furiously, “That was a threat! Did you hear him threaten me? Have you no control over this barbarian?”

  I was beginning to think him too stupid to hold to account, though if a chance came to kill him, I certainly did not intend to hold my hand merely on that consideration. Though perhaps I might do better to leave him alive. As he was the lord of this county, some part of the Lau soldiers must be under his command, and it is always better if enemy warriors are led by a fool. I looked at Lord Aras again. Everyone was looking at Lord Aras. His mouth had tightened. He said, his voice level, “That was not a threat. This is a th
reat: If you do not apologize to me and entirely amend your manner, I will have you stripped of your position and titles.”

  Kasurat stared at him in complete disbelief. “You can’t—” he began.

  Talon Commander Harana cut him off. “Don’t be a fool, man! Are you blind? Don’t you see that scepter?”

  There was a short, sharp silence. Then Lord Aras said, his tone once again mild, “As Talon Commander Harana points out, obviously I can have you stripped of every title you currently hold. Rather than permitting your titles to pass to your heir, I might consider those titles attainted and order all your properties attached to the crown. Given your disgraceful behavior, I’m actually tempted to pursue some part of that.”

  This time the silence was thickly uncomfortable, for Kasurat. Then he said in a low, choked voice, “My lord, I apologize. We have had a great deal of trouble with Ugaro here, and—and I forgot myself. I apologize most profoundly.” He shot a look at me on that last word, but very briefly. He said, “I will not—I will—I withdraw every objection to your guest and ask you to make use of my house for however long you find it convenient.”

  Lord Aras inclined his head. “I accept your apology. We’ll say no more about it. I’d appreciate your taking a moment to examine the relevant sections of your records and see what, if anything, you might recall regarding the period in question.” He tapped one of the large books on the table. “You might begin where I have a section marked.”

  Harana cleared his throat, and Lord Aras glanced at him and then at me and added, “Troop Leader Geras, please escort Ryo to . . .” he considered, and finally finished, “to my personal suite. Ryo, I will speak to you later. Soon. Please be patient.”

  -6-

  My guards guided me down a flight of stairs and along a different hallway that led into a part of the house I had not seen earlier. This was a very big house. It belonged, I knew now, to Lord Kasurat. I looked at everything we passed with interest, considering what I might like to take if I raided this house, and whether it might burn well despite the stone walls. The timbers of the ceilings would certainly burn. If someone set a fire properly, nothing might be left standing but those walls.

  The room we came to showed the wealth of the man who owned it, with cushions on the finely carved chairs and small tables inlaid with shell. This was the house of a man who thought the war could not touch him. I made note of that in case opportunity came, but that was not the important thing to consider. Turning to Geras, I demanded, “Troop Leader, there is a sorcerer? I did not misunderstand?”

  He said, “I think you’d better ask Lord Gaur about that, young lord.”

  His tone was so definite that I knew he would not change his mind. I let out my breath and tried to think past the anger and worry.

  “Perhaps you’d like to sit down,” Geras suggested, watching me. “Any chair you like. Would you like some wine? You don’t need to hesitate, young lord. You’re Lord Gaur’s guest.” He did not wait for my answer, but moved to a sideboard and poured jewel-colored wine into a goblet for me.

  I sat down on the chair that looked least uncomfortable and took the goblet when Geras handed it to me, but I set it aside without tasting it. “Should I say Lord Gaur, as you do? He told me to say Lord Aras.”

  “You’re held under his personal authority, young lord. A soldier’s oath is different.” The troop leader had moved to lean against the wall near the window. He seemed relaxed and comfortable, but he did not sit down. None of my guards sat down or poured themselves wine.

  I nodded, though I did not understand the difference. But I set that aside and asked, “Troop Leader Geras, why do you call me young lord? Surely I am not a lord to you Lau?” It seemed unlikely that this soldier meant it as mockery. I did not know him, but he did not seem that kind of man.

  “Well, you’re the son of an Ugaro lord, aren’t you?” said Suyet, jumping up to sit on the broad windowsill. “That’s what I heard, anyway.” He was smiling. He did not seem to hold any grudge because I had taken his knife earlier. Also, plainly it had not occurred to him that in a fight, an enemy might thrust him through the window to get him out of the way. He seemed very young to me, but I liked his friendliness.

  Troop Leader Geras gave Suyet a quelling look. But he said to me, “You’re Lord Gaur’s personal guest. He’d never have made Lord Kasurat apologize for insulting just an Ugaro prisoner. He did it to prove he means it when he says he owes you guest-right. You can lay any coin you like that nobody else is going to make that kind of mistake.”

  There were very many answers I might have made to this, but I merely nodded.

  Esau was leaning against the wall near the door, a place where he could see the whole room and also strike anyone who came through the door. Of the three, I guessed that he would be the most dangerous opponent. He said in a bored tone, “He did it because when the word gets out, every lord for a hundred miles east and west is going to realize he’d better stand up sharp when Lord Gaur whistles.”

  “Both reasons, probably,” Geras agreed.

  I told them all, “People say lord to my father, not to me. Call me by my name.”

  “If you like,” Geras agreed. “The same for us, then. Call us by name. That’ll be easy and comfortable.”

  “Right, Troop Leader, we’ll all call you by name,” Suyet said cheerfully. “That’ll be easy and comfortable!”

  Geras cuffed at him lightly, and the younger man ducked and laughed. It was exactly the way Ugaro warriors who were friends might act toward one another. I had not expected Lau soldiers to behave in so relaxed a manner around me, but Suyet looked at me, still smiling, and said, his tone faintly skeptical, “I hear you’re nineteen.”

  Lord Aras too had thought I looked like a boy. It was the first thing he had said when he had seen me. I said firmly, “I have nineteen winters. How old do I seem to you?”

  “I guess maybe younger,” he admitted, ducking his head as a man will when he does not want to offend.

  “Suyet hasn’t seen a lot of Ugaro,” said Esau, tolerantly scornful. “He’s looking at your face, not your chest and shoulders.” He eyed me. “I’d wager if you flexed too hard, you’d rip the seams out of that shirt. I’d lay bets on you at any kind of wrestling.”

  Geras gave him a look. “Uh huh. Start a betting pool and I’ll let you explain the resulting brawl to Ianan.”

  Esau chuckled. “Right, no, maybe not.”

  I bowed my head to hide my expression. It had not occurred to me that these Lau soldiers might be as friendly as this. I had not expected any of the Lau to wish to be friends. Plainly they did wish that. I asked, “Why were you three chosen to guard me? Did you only take the duty because you were closest when someone thought of it?”

  The soldiers looked at one another. Then Suyet explained, his tone earnest, “Our division was down at the river when you came across, so we saw exactly what you did. You saved Lord Gaur—if you hadn’t knocked him off his horse—the poor beast froze so fast it looked like the statue of a horse. If you hadn’t knocked him into the water, Lord Gaur would’ve frozen too.”

  Esau gave a short nod. “You were under so long, we figured you’d both drowned. Later we figured out the water protected you against the cold. Lord Gaur’d never have known to stay down. You kept him under, until you got past the middle so’s it was safe to come up.”

  Geras put in, “Even then, we couldn’t have got to Lord Gaur, not near fast enough. No Lau can swim in water that cold. He’d’ve drowned, except you brought him across. You carried him out of the water like a babe, breaking through the ice every inch of the way.” He shook his head, apparently in wonder at the memory.

  I was embarrassed. I said, “Lord Aras saved himself. He let me hold him down even though he was drowning. If he had fought me, I would never have made it to the middle of the river and we would have come up too soon and died of the cold.”

  “That’s Lord Gaur for you,” Esau said, with evident satisfaction. “But everyone i
n our division knows who saved him.”

  “Ianan—our talon commander—chose a dozen men or so,” Suyet told me. “Then Lord Gaur spoke to each of us and decided who’d get the assignment.”

  I had not expected this. They had wanted the assignment because I had saved their warleader. And most of the talon, but I could see it was their warleader’s life that impressed them. I had not understood this before: that the Lau soldiers loved their warleader as only the best warleaders are loved by their men. Nothing in my situation was different, yet it changed everything for me to know this.

  I collected myself enough to look at all three of my guards as carefully as I could. I would be very much embarrassed now if I could not recognize them among the other Lau. I said, “Thank you for explaining. I will try not to make trouble for you.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be no trouble at all,” Geras said easily.

  “Oh, I’m willing to bet he’ll be all kinds of trouble,” Esau said, but in a tone that made it clear he did not mind this idea. Then he added much more crisply, “Here we go, look lively,” and stepped away from the door. Suyet slid off the windowsill, and Geras, who had been leaning against the wall, straightened. I stood up too, and then the door opened and Lord Aras came in, with Talon Commander Harana. All three of my guards stood straight and touched their hands to their hearts in the Lau salute. They looked alert and professional, and I realized that Esau had been standing by the door specifically to listen for their lord’s step so that they could look like that when he entered.

  Lord Aras nodded to my guards. He went to the nearest table and laid down his scepter. Then he turned and spoke to me. “Ryo, I’m sorry for the interruption, and for Lord Kasurat’s insult to you. It shouldn’t happen again.”

  I folded my hands at the small of my back to remind myself to stand straight and answered, “My lord, I am not concerned for the opinion of Lord Kasurat. I apologize for causing trouble between this man and yourself. If there is a sorcerer, I wish very much to know of this. Yet I was wrong when I accused you, so perhaps I have misunderstood again.”