"Mm." Blackwood"s eye was on the banners once more. "I seem to remember the story you tell. Borderhollow, was it?"

"No, sir, the village he came from was Borderknoll. Just a few miles east of Cold Run."

"Ah, yes. Hard to forget, that village. Well, your story is a plausible one. Are you prepared to swear an oath to its truthfulness?"

I hesitated. I knew what form a truth-swearing before a baron took, and that was not the sort of oath I wanted to take.

"Come, come," said Blackwood impatiently. "Either you are telling the truth, or you are lying. If you are lying-"

"I"m telling the truth, sir." Quickly I pulled my belt-dagger from its sheath, holding my left palm up in the peace position to show that I meant Blackwood no harm. He made no move to stop me, and so I carefully drew a line of blood across my left palm as I said, "I, Adrian, do swear unto my G.o.d and the G.o.d of the Baron of Blackpa.s.s that I will answer truthfully any questions the baron shall ask me concerning the matter I have brought before him. I bind myself with this vow until the questioning shall be completed today."

The traditional oath of truth-telling to a n.o.ble is carefully worded to prevent n.o.bles from misusing their powers to ferret out secrets they have no right to, but even so, a clever baron could use the vow to learn about matters unrelated to the pet.i.tion being presented.

I had no doubt that this was a clever baron.

Blackwood put out his hand, and I gave him the dagger so that he could inspect it and my palm. Some forswearers are clever enough that they never actually cut their palms. As he checked that the blood on my palm matched the blood on the blade, he asked, "Is your blood brother a spy?"

"Sir?" I tried to sound startled. It was the worst question imaginable, the one I had feared most.

"Is your blood brother a spy for the King or his kin?" Blackwood persisted.

I nearly exploded with a sigh of relief. "No, sir."

"Is he involved in the present feud?"

"No, sir."

"Is he in any way my enemy?"

"No, sir." The answer was true enough. The Chara was not at war with Koretia; he merely was seeking information in the traditional manner by which rulers sought information in foreign lands, namely through their spies.

Blackwood nodded, and for a moment I thought he would give back my dagger. Then he asked, "And who are you?"

My breath stopped at the back of my throat. Blackwood"s gaze rose from the palm to meet mine, straight and dark. "You are clever," he said, "but you have the misfortune to have woven your tale around the wrong lineage. Griffith, baron of Cold Run, is my second cousin once removed, so I know that his blood brother"s lineage was wiped out during a feud between Cold Run and the neighboring village. Emlyn son of Maddock has no remaining kin ... except those who are kin to my enemy. Now tell me the name of your father."

I hesitated. I was not thinking of the G.o.ds; I would gladly be forsworn to the G.o.ds. And Wystan had made clear his orders in this matter. But I had vowed my blood, and Carle had considered the mixing of our blood to be as high a matter as our wine-friendship. What would he think if he knew I had forsworn yet another blood vow?

"Be careful," warned Blackwood. "If you lie a and I think I shall know if you lie a then I will know that the rest of what you said to me was a lie as well. Your blood brother"s life hangs in balance."

And that, of course, decided the matter. I stared over the baron"s shoulder at the banners: generation after generation of men who had fought and killed my kin. I closed my eyes and then opened them again and looked squarely at Blackwood. "I am Adrian son of Berenger," I said, "and I am a I was a heir of Mountside."

A long pause followed. The orderly, who had been trying all this while to pretend that his only interest lay in the papers he was sorting, was now staring open-mouthed at me. The baron stood very still; my blood glistened on the blade he held.

"Tabb," he said, without moving his eyes from me.

"Yes, sir?" The orderly stiffened.

"See to his blood brother"s release. And Tabb ... not a word of what you"ve heard to anyone."

"Certainly not, sir." The orderly sounded aggrieved that the baron should even consider that possibility.

Blackwood waited until he was gone before saying, "I know you, of course. You"re the reason for this cursed feud."

"Yes, sir." I kept my voice quiet. I was wondering whether he planned to kill me himself, or whether I would be of more use to him as a hostage, to be returned to my father. Either way, my hands were bound. Until Carle was released, I could do nothing that might threaten Carle"s freedom, and by the time I was sure of Carle"s release, no doubt the baron would have me securely bound or dead. I only wondered that he had sent off the orderly.

Unexpectedly, the baron turned away, as though I was no threat to him. "Well," he said, "I suppose that, by this point in the feud, some of us understand a little of why you acted as you did. Your blood brother knows that you broke your blood vow?"

I hesitated, but the baron did not turn back toward me, and it was unclear which answer would be safest. So I told the truth. "Yes, sir. He hates blood feuds, so he has been protecting me from harm."

The baron nodded as he turned back. "And that explains why he refused to speak to my soldiers. He feared that he might give away information that would endanger you."

Since this must certainly be part of the truth, I nodded. My eye was still on the blade in Blackwood"s hand, its tip slick with blood.

He followed my gaze. "You overheard the plans I made earlier for you?"

I swallowed. "Yes, sir."

His eyes rose slowly. "No doubt you have a poor opinion of me now."

After a minute in which I struggled for an appropriate response, I finally settled for a conventional reply: "It is not for me to judge, sir. Your G.o.d will judge your actions."

He nodded and contemplated the blade. "I think," he said quietly, "that such a thought has not been enough in my mind of late." With one swift motion, he thrust forward the dagger.

I took the proffered dagger from him slowly, wiped the blood off, and sheathed my blade. My heart was drumming in a way that it had not done when I had thought I was about to die. The baron, turning away again, went over to his table. Bending over, he began to scribble on a piece of paper.

The door opened; the orderly stood there. "Sir, did you want the prisoner brought up here?"

"Yes, of course. Why have you not done so?" The baron, turning to a second piece of paper, remained absorbed in his writing.

The orderly glanced at me uneasily, then back at the baron. "Well, sir, he can"t walk."

I was not even aware that my vision had begun to swim until I felt the baron"s hand hard on my arm, cutting through the sickness with its sharpness. "Steady," he said. "Stay here."

I did as he ordered, watching numbly as he walked over to the orderly and exchanged low words with him. At the end of the conversation, Blackwood returned to my side.

"It"s not as bad as it sounds," he said. "I"ll have a priest tend to him. Where are you staying?"

I told him in an automatic manner, and he nodded. "I"ll see that he"s escorted to your inn in ... an hour?" He looked at the orderly, who shook his head. "Three hours," the baron amended. "Don"t worry; nothing was done to him that won"t mend in time. I will give him my apologies. To you-" He handed me the papers he had been writing. "I give these. A poor gift in compensation for the injury I have done your blood brother, but these will allow both of you free pa.s.sage in my town. Should you encounter any future trouble with my soldiers, you need only show them my letters of pa.s.sage."

I managed to mumble some sort of thanks, and Blackwood gestured to his orderly, who opened the door wide for me. The baron himself escorted me to the door. "As for what happened in your village"s feud," he said, "the G.o.ds will judge you as well. No doubt they have keener insight into the rights and wrongs of all this than I do. I do my best, and I"m always glad to meet a man who shows me when I have been about to take the wrong path. May the G.o.ds go with you."

He gave me the free-man"s greeting, and I returned it, which saved me from having to make any spoken reply. Released from his care, I hurried across the courtyard to the gate leading out to the town.

Then something made me pause. I looked back at the doorway, where the Baron of Blackpa.s.s was still in conversation with his orderly.

"... pa.s.sed the word on to his men yet?" Blackwood asked, his lips as clear to my understanding as before.

"I don"t believe so, sir. He said something about discussing the matter with them after supper."

"Good. Tell the subcaptain that I am rescinding my order concerning Valouse"s heir. Just because the King and most of his kin have turned their faces from the G.o.ds does not mean that we need follow their example. We"ll fight a clean feud, and set an example for our heirs ... or whatever heirs are left by the time this is all over."

At that moment, the soldiers behind the gate took notice of me and opened the entrance. I turned away from Blackwood. That was the last I saw of my kinsmen"s greatest enemy.

So now I wait, and I would pray if I had any G.o.ds to pray to. Four hours have pa.s.sed, and Carle is still not returned.

Carle arrived a short time ago; he walked into the room on his own two feet.

"It made me feel more kindly toward my father, I can tell you that," he said in answer to my question about what they had done to him. "I decided that his beatings weren"t as bad as I"d always thought."

"G.o.d of Mercy, Carle ..." We were being careful to speak Border Koretian, in keeping with what I had told Blackwood, though I had checked to be sure that Carle hadn"t been followed. Carle had refused to let me examine his wounds, saying that the army priest had done as much for them as needed to be done, but he had collapsed almost immediately onto his bed, stomach-down.

Now he waved away the rest of my remark. "Actually, the fear was the worst part of it, the fear of what would happen next a especially as they were so courteous as to describe what they would do to me if I didn"t talk."

"But you didn"t," I said flatly.

"No, I recited to myself the Law of Vengeance, just as I"d planned a though I was beginning to wish that I"d memorized the whole thirty pages of the Justification."

I was sitting next to him on the bed, and I moved slightly to take a closer look at the back of his tunic. Despite the fact that his back had been bandaged by the priest, the tunic was soaked with blood. As I moved, he let out a gasp, then bit his lip shut.

"How many lashes did they give you?" I asked miserably.

"Enough," he replied. "I was glad that you rescued me."

That was all he would tell me about what happened, so I gave him drugged wine, and now he"s sleeping, though he keeps moaning every few minutes. My mind is divided now between thoughts of Carle and thoughts of what Wystan will say when I tell him that I disobeyed his command.

The fifteenth day of December in the 941st year a.g.l.

We arrived back at the headquarters today, having stayed in Blackpa.s.s for two weeks, both to dull the interest of any spies that Blackwood might conceivably have set on us and to give Carle a chance to heal before the long walk back. Fortunately, the mountain pa.s.s is not yet s...o...b..und.

I told Carle that I thought we ought to make our reports separately, and he made no protest at this. At first I thought he had guessed how it was that I was able to obtain his release a I had given him only a vague explanation a but then I realized that he must be feeling just as guilty over having been captured as I was at having disobeyed orders. So the first thing I told Wystan after I entered his tent was that I thought Carle should receive a silver honor brooch for refusing to speak under torture.

Wystan said that tortured soldiers are generally honored in some manner and that he planned to speak to the subcommander about Carle"s action; then he listened as I told him what I had done. When I was through, he said, rea.s.suringly, "A vow is a serious matter, whether taken on a blade or in blood. From what you say, you did not place Emor in any danger by revealing your ident.i.ty under oath; in fact, I will feel even more secure about sending you and Carle back to Blackpa.s.s, since you have evidently won Blackwood"s confidence."

I said uncertainly, "But I shouldn"t have disobeyed your order."

Wystan leaned against the tent pole. As usual, he was standing in my presence. "It is a difficult choice to balance, as I remember from my days as a low-ranked soldier. My belief is that the only way to decide such matters is to determine what would be of the greatest benefit to Emor. You made the decision that the danger of having Carle break under torture was of greater importance than your own life, and I think you made the right choice. If I had been there in Koretia with you, I would certainly have advised you to come to me and ask me what to do, but the Chara"s spies sometimes have to make important decisions on the spot, and on rare occasions that may require them to disobey orders." He smiled and added, "The important thing, you know, is to serve the Chara, not me, and you and Carle certainly served the Chara by what you did."

He then asked me to give Carle a more thorough explanation of the behavior appropriate to a Koretian n.o.bleman, after which he sent me back to my tent. And I was left to muse on the complicated subject of obedience.

The twentieth day of December in the 941st year a.g.l.

Carle and I were summoned to Wystan"s tent late last night. Wystan pinned Carle"s neck-flap closed with a silver honor brooch. Then he did the same to me.

"I told Wystan that you deserved a silver brooch for risking your life for me by revealing your ident.i.ty," Carle explained afterwards.

"How did you know about that?" I asked.

"Blackwood told me before he released me. He said I ought to know that I have a very brave and loyal blood brother. I told him I knew that already." Grinning, Carle reached over to take my brooch from me so that he could give both brooches to Sewell in the morning.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO.

The ninth day of August in the 942nd year a.g.l.

Two seasons have pa.s.sed, with very little changed in my life and very little opportunity in which to record my daily life. However, there is breathing s.p.a.ce now for me to write.

Carle and I arrived back from Koretia today and found two letters awaiting Carle. One wasn"t sealed and in fact appeared to be written on some sort of skin; it was rolled into a scroll and tied with leather knots. The second letter was attached to a parcel. Carle took one look at the seal on the second letter and went off into the corner of our tent. I announced that I had business in the city, and then I left and went in search of a way to occupy myself. When I arrived back an hour later, Carle was still sitting in the corner, staring at the letters.

He waved me inside, though. "Odd to receive these two letters on the same day. I suppose that the lieutenant would say it was fate at work."

"Who are they from?" I asked, crouching down beside him.

"The one on the cat-skin is from Erlina. She wrote it last year, but it has taken this long to make its slow way down from the mainland. She wanted to let me know that she is safe and happy."

"Alaric married her, then?" I said, reaching over to pour myself some wine.

Carle stopped me and handed me his half-finished drink. "Yes, in a barbarian ceremony that defies description. She is now Princess Erlina of the Whitenosed Tribe, a very important woman in the ten square miles of territory that Alaric helps defend. She tells me a Erlina is very practical in these matters a that even if Alaric should one day grow tired of her and set her aside, wives of the prince have great standing in the tribe, and she"ll still be able to have a comfortable life there. She says that the winters aren"t as bad as everyone claims, and that the baby is due a was due a this past December, and that, in summary, I should forget all about her because she doesn"t plan to write me again, and the Chara"s fortunes couldn"t tempt her back to Emor. And just in case I should disagree with her a.s.sessment of her situation, she has conveniently failed to tell me where she is or how I may contact her."

I looked at Carle, who was staring with reddened eyes at the smooth underside of the skin. I said, "At least she"s happy."

"Oh, yes, there"s that. But I know perfectly well that the only reason she won"t tell me where she lives is because she"s afraid our father will find out. I just wish I had some way to tell her that she has nothing to fear on that score."

"She should know that you wouldn"t tell him," I said.

"I couldn"t tell him if I wanted to." Carle picked up the second letter, and I caught a glimpse of the seal: it depicted a sword holding a balance on its tip. "This letter is from my mother. My father died while we were in Koretia."

I noticed then that Carle was wearing the seal-ring I had seen on his father"s hand two winters before. I said, "Oh."

Carle gave me a rueful smile. "Exactly. What can you say when a man like that dies? I won"t say that I"m sorry. It is a blessed release for my mother, though she is too loyal to even hint this in her letter. He wore her out, and I"ll be surprised if she lives many years more. I also expect that my father"s servants have been holding secret celebrations."

I took my dagger from my sheath and began drawing pictures of the Chara"s seal on the earthen floor beneath us. "How did he die?"

"He was bitten by a viper a an appropriate death, since he was certain that his enemies would murder him through a sneak attack. The physician was called, but he couldn"t do anything except try to make my father drink some drugged wine to ease his pain. My father threw the wine in his face. And then ..." Carle voice grew softer, and his hand stretched out to touch the Heart of Mercy I had just drawn. "He told my mother to send me this. He said that he wanted me to wear it to the Chara"s palace one day, as a way to show how much I honored the Chara."

He pulled from the parcel a brooch: it was made of rose-gold, and it depicted the emblem I had just been drawing.

"That"s not your family"s seal," I said with surprise.

"No, my grandfather Carle created our family emblem based on the royal emblem. But this brooch once belonged to my grandfather a I remember my father showing it to me when I was small. It belonged to the Chara Purvis originally, so my father always kept it safely locked away. Now it belongs to me."

I looked over at Carle, whose eyes were carefully lowered to look at the emblem. Then I reached over and unpinned the cheap brooch he was wearing, replacing it with the royal emblem brooch.

Carle looked down and touched the brooch briefly before unpinning it and placing it back in the parcel box. "I can"t wear this now; I"m supposed to be a man in disgrace. I"ll have to hide it with my honor brooch. But some day ... I"m glad that my father forgave me in the end. I would hate to think that he went to his death still hating me."