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"You are not Atsurak," Fidelias said He kept his voice measured, clear, his speech almost rhythmic "I seek him"

"You seek Atsurak, Cho-vin of the Herdbane Tribe," the Marat said, his own guttural voice in the same cadence "I stand between you"

"You must stand elsewhere"

"That I will not do You o back"

Fidelias shook his head "That I will not do"

"Then there will be blood," the Marat said His knife twitched, and the herdbane beside hi hiss

From behind Fidelias, Odiana murmured, "Ware He is not alone"

Fidelias followed Etan&039;s flickering, unseen guidance "To our left and right, at right angles," heto talk?" Aldrick asked, his voice a lazy drawl

Fidelias reached up a hand to scratch at his neck, squinting at the Marat "These three evidently disagree with their Cho-vin Their chief They aren&039;t interested in talking"

Odiana let out a breathy, "Oh, goodie"

The for at the back of his neck and whipped his arht on steel, and then the spike-like throwing knife buried itself in the herdbane, its handle protruding from the bird&039;s head, just where its beak met its

skull The herdbane let out a screareat spas viciously in its agony

Froht came a sudden shriek of sound, the war cries of the birds and their roup from either side Fidelias felt, round and turn to face one pair, but he heard quite clearly the rasp of theunder her breath, a soft, cooing sound

The lead Marat rushed to the fallen herdbane&039;s side for a moment and then, with a decisive motion, ripped the hook-shaped knife over the bird&039;s throat The herdbane let out a final, histle and then shuddered to stillness on the ground as its blood stained the earth Then the Marat turned toward Fidelias with his face set in a flat,himself at the former Cursor

Fidelias barked a command to Vamma and flicked his hand in his attacker&039;s direction The ground beneath the Marat bucked in response, throwing hi Fidelias took the opportunity to disger froained its balance and rushed hi the horrible knife along Fidelias&039;s belly in passing, dise him

Fidelias was fa the Marat squarely,his rush with one boot abruptly thrust out at the Marat&039;s knee He felt his foot connect hard, and so The Marat let out a squall and fell, whipping its knife at Fidelias&039;s thigh as it did The Aleran pushed away fro clear a finger&039;s width ahead of the knife, then turned to face his opponent

The Marat attempted to rise to his feet, only to have his knee buckle He fell into the pine needles Fidelias turned and walked toward the nearest tree, glancing back at the others as he did

Aldrick stood at the edge of the clearing, facing out, his blade gripped and held parallel to the ground, his arht out to his side, an almost dancelike pose Behind the swords and claildly, evidently unaware of its own i death The Marat that had rushed Aldrick knelt on the forest floor, its head lowered and swaying, its hands pressing at its belly and stained with blood

On the other side of the clearing, Odiana sat on her horse, huround in front of her had, it had see Neither Marat nor herdbane could be seen, but the silt andthrashed unseen beneath its surface

The water witch noticed hi at her and coround smells after a rain"

Fidelias didn&039;t answer her He reached up, instead, using his knife toa branch on the nearest tree He broke it off and, as the others turned to watch him, put his knife away, took the heavy branch in both hands, and, from out of the lamed Marat&039;s knife reach, methodically clubbed him to death

"That&039;s one way to do it," Aldrick co blood everywhere"

Fidelias tossed the branch down to one side "You got blood everywhere," he pointed out

Aldrick walked back to the clearing&039;s center He took a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to fastidiously clean his blade "ButYou should have had me do it for you"

"Dead&039;s dead," Fidelias said "I can do lanced at Odiana and said, "Happy now?"

The water witch, still atop her horse, sh "Do you think we shall have more rain?"

Fidelias shook his head and called out, "Atsurak You sahat they intended" He had the satisfaction of seeing Aldrick tense and half-turn to one side, and even Odiana caught her breath in her throat The for a hand on the beast&039;s neck and stroking it

Fro, "Hah" Then there was the sound of h the brush, and a fourth Marat appeared This old, abird beside him He wore his knife at his belt, rather than in his hand-and he also carried a sword, bound with a rawhide thong about its hilt and blade and slung over one shoulder He had a half-dozen grass plaits bound over his limbs, and his face had been rawly abraded, bruised The Marat stopped several paces from the trio and held up his hands, open, palesture and stepped forward "What I did was necessary"

Atsurak looked down, at the dead man only a few paces ahose skull Fidelias had crushed "It was necessary," the reed, his voice quiet "But a waste Had they met me openly, I would have killed only one" The Marat squinted at Odiana, staring at the wo an equally intent regard to Aldrick "Deadlanders They fight well"

"Ti in readiness?"

"I am the Cho-vin of my tribe They will follow me"

Fidelias nodded and turned to his horse "Then we go"

"Wait," Atsurak said, lifting a hand "There is a problem"

Fidelias paused and looked at the Marat chieftain

"During the last sun, I hunted humans not far from this place"

"Ioes here"

The Marat took the sword from his shoulder, and with a pair of casualfrom the weapon He flicked it forward, so that its point drove into the ground a pace ahead and to one side of Fidelias "I hunted huh Fidelias hadn&039;t spoken "TwoThe old commanded a spirit of the earth My chala, the mate to this one," he put his hand on the herdbane&039;s feathered back, "was slain Wounded the old one I hunted the one ift and led me from his trail"

Aldrick stepped forward and took up the sword froround He used the same cloth he had cleaned his oeapon with to brush the ion-issue," he reported, his eyes distant "Design fros are worn slove and touched his skin to the blade, his eyes closing "Someone with a ion scout Or was one

Fidelias drew in a sharp breath "Atsurak These two you hunted They are dead?"

Atsurak shrugged "The old one&039;s blood flowed like a strea out into the earth The young one ran well and was fortunate"

Fidelias spat a sudden, acid taste out of his mouth and clenched his jaw "I understand"

"I have come to look at this valley And I have seen I have seen that the Deadlanders wait to fight That they are strong and watch carefully"

Fidelias shook his head "You were unfortunate, Atsurak, nothing more The attack will be a victory for your people"

"I question your judgh they have no love for your people, they have little for hter"

"All is in readiness Your people will sweep clean the valley of your fathers and mothers, and my lord will see to it that it is returned to you So he has pledged"

Atsurak&039;s lip curled into so like a sneer "Your Cho-vin Cho-vin of the Aquitaine Do you bear his totem as bond?"

Fidelias nodded, once

"I will see it"

Fidelias stepped back to his horse and opened one of the saddlebags Froer, its hilt elaborately worked with gold and with the seal of the House of Aquitaine He held it up, so that the savage could see the weapon "Satisfied?"

Atsurak extended his hand

Fidelias narrowed his eyes "This was not a part of our agreement"

The Marat&039;s eyes flashed with so hot, vicious He said, in a very soft voice, "Nor was the death of my chala Already, there is bad blood between your people and ive me your Cho-vin&039;s toteain"

Fidelias frowned And then he flicked the knife, still in its scabbard, to the Marat in an underhand throw Atsurak caught it without looking, nodded, and turned to walk back into the woods A few paces past the first branches, he and the stalking bird beside hie chieftain for a moment and then at Fidelias "I want to knohat in the na"

Fidelias glared at the s again "You heard hier, he wasn&039;t staying"

Aldrick&039;s expression darkened "That&039;s a signet weapon It can be traced back to Aquitaine He&039;s a Marat horde in the front of the bloody battle-"

Fidelias grated his teeth and spoke in a slow, patient tone "Yes, Aldrick

It can Yes, Aldrick, he will Thus, we had best be damned sure that the attack succeeds" Fidelias slapped the saddlebags back over the horse "After the Valley has been taken, it won&039;t matter what plunder the Marat have Events will be in motion by then, and it will all fall into politics"

Aldrick gripped Fidelias by the shoulder and spun the smaller man to face him The swordsman&039;s eyes were hard "If it doesn&039;t, there&039;s evidence If it gets back to the Senate, they&039;ll bring charges against hilanced down at Aldrick&039;s hand, then up the length of the swordsman&039;s arm to his face He , "You&039;re a brilliant fighter, Aldrick You could kill ht here, and we both know it But I&039;ve been playing the ga time And we both know that you can&039;t do it before I have a chance to react You&039;ll be less of a swordsman without your hand Without your feet" He let the words hang in the air for a htly, beneath the pair of theh the earth Fidelias let his voice drop to so a rave "Make up your mind Dance or stand down"

Silence stretched between them

The swords back into his usual, relaxed slouch He picked up the weapon the Marat had left and stood facing the other way for a moment

Fidelias let out a slow, silent breath and waited for the too-quick pulse in his throat to slon again Then he turned andhis hands over the po "It&039;s a necessary risk We&039;ll take precautions"

Aldrick nodded, his expression unhappy, resolved "What precautions?"

Fidelias jerked his chin toward the sword "We start with finding these tho have actually seen the Marat in the valley If that belonged to a retired scout, he ed her horse over to Aldrick&039;s, took the reins, and led the mount over to the man, her eyes on Fidelias, her expression pensive The swordsman mounted and slipped the captured sword away, into a strap behind the saddle "So we find them Then what?"

Fidelias turned his horse and started riding out of the clearing, aientle circle around the outside of the mountain, toward the causehere he wasfrom

the mountain and toward the nearest steadhold "We find out what they know"

Odiana asked, "And if they know too loves and flicked a drying spot of blood from one of them "We make sure they stay quiet"