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Fidelias waited until the big Steadholder had padded up the stairs and out of his sight, carrying solanced around the hall For the moment, at least, he and his companions had been left alone He turned to Odiana and Aldrick with a frown

Aldrick stood staring after the Steadholder and murmured, "Well, I wonder what that was all about"

"Fairly obvious," Fidelias said He glanced at Odiana

"Fear," she whispered, and shivered as she leaned closer to Aldrick "The nition"

"Amara" Fidelias nodded "She&039;s here That was her"

Aldrick lifted his eyebrows "But he never turned around You never saw her face"

Fidelias gave Aldrick an even look and suppressed a surge of irritation "Aldrick, please Do you expect her to hang a sign on the door that she&039;s here? It all fits Three sets of tracks-the boy&039;s, the Steadholder&039;s, and hers She was li her"

Aldrick sighed "All right then I&039;ll go up and kill those two, and we can be about it" He turned away and lifted a hand to his sword

"Aldrick," Fidelias hissed He seized the swordsman&039;s arm at the biceps and reached down into the earth to borrow froer lanced down at Fidelias&039;s arm and relaxed "That was the point, wasn&039;t it?" the swords to Gran could be for nothing We came here to find the Steadholder and the boy who had seen our friend Atsurak, and kill theent of the crows-eaten Crown if we happen to run across her, which we have"

"Love," Odiana said "We still don&039;t knohere this boy is, do we? If you go and kill the ugly little girl right noon&039;t the Steadholder object? And then you&039;d have to kill him as well And anyone else upstairs And all these people here" She licked her lips, her eyes bright, and said to Fidelias, "Why shouldn&039;t we do this again?"

"Reerous area of the Realerous beasts This isn&039;t one of the old plantations of the A crafters Did you see the way that boy handled those gargants out front? And he calot nervous-that wasn&039;tto make an effort A boy Think about it"

Aldrick shrugged "They don&039;t go armed They&039;re Steadholders, not warriors We could kill them all"

"Probably," Fidelias said "But what if that retired Legionnaire Steadholder is a strong crafter to boot? What if so? Odds are some of them would escape-and since we don&039;t knoho the boy we&039;re looking for is we&039;d never knoe got him"

"What about that boy out front?" Odiana asked "That lovely strong tall one with the gargants"

"His feet are too big," Fidelias said "The rain all but obliterated the tracks, but the ones fro for a sirl Atsurak probably wouldn&039;t know the difference at that age, if a girl had been wearing breeches The Marat don&039;thands, too," Odiana ainst Aldrick, her eyes heavy, drowsy "May I have him, love?"

Aldrick leaned down and absently kissed her hair "You&039;d only kill hiood to you"

"Get the idea out of your heads," Fidelias said, his tone fir in behind us, and everyone will be gathering into the hall As soon as we find him, we&039;ll take him, the Stead-holder, and the Cursor and leave"

Aldrick grunted assent "And what if we don&039;t? What if he&039;s already gone off to Garrison to warn the local Count?"

Fidelias grirew up on a steadholt, and you&039;d never keep so like that a secret If that&039;s what has happened, we&039;ll hear about it when everyone gathers in"

"But what if-"

"We&039;ve borrowed trouble enough," Fidelias sighed He shook his head and slapped Aldrick&039;s ar hierous to him as anyone We&039;ll catch hilittered "But Aldrick Why don&039;t you take Odiana out to s in here, and if there&039;s killing to be done, I&039;ll let you knoho and where"

Aldrick frowned down at him "You sure about this? In here by yourself- what if you need help?"

"I won&039;t," Fidelias assured him "Go on to the stables Make it clear that you&039;re looking for a bit of privacy I&039;m sure they&039;ll let a couple of need travelers have it"

Aldrick arched his brows "Need?"

The water witch&039;s eyes smoldered Odiana flashed a smile to Fidelias, then turned to Aldrick with a sway of her hips and took one of his hands in hers She kissed his fingers as she walked backward, toward the doors to the

hall "I&039;ll explain it to you, love Let&039;s go find the stables There will be hay there Would you like to see the hay in my hair?"

Aldrick&039;s eyes narrowed, and he let out a low and not unpleased sound "Ah" He started out, keeping hold of Odiana&039;s hands "I knew there was a reason I liked working with you, old ," Fidelias warned quietly

The witch nodded and replied, "Keep a cup in your hands, and drink in the cup I&039;ll hear" Then she and the swordsman vanished toward the stone stables

No sooner had they left than Fidelias heard a heavy tread on the stairs leading down into the hall, and the Steadholder appeared again, his face set in so between a frown and a scowl He looked around and said, "Sorry about that Just had to take care of so the man He stepped with the faintest trace of hesitation on his left side, as though it pained hihtly to do so If he had been wounded, as Atsurak had indicated, then the wound had been crafted shut-which meant that a reasonably powerful watercrafter resided in the steadholt as well "Nothing too bad, I hope"

Thewe can&039;t handle" He extended a hand to several seats by the fire "Sit down, sit down Lethot"

Fidelias e man "Steadholder Bernard, I assume?"

"Just Bernard, sir"

"Please Just Del"

The Steadholder half-ss you out to Garrison this late in the year, Del?"

"Business," Fidelias replied "I represent a group of investors who fronted several prospectors e back in, with the weather turning worse, and we&039;ll see what they&039;ve found"

Bernard nodded "I thought you had a couple o?"

Fidelias gave hiuards his ith him They went out to check on the horses"

The Steadholder gave Fidelias a polite sreed, "My days of creeping off to stables with blushingin I want to have everyone here in the hall, just to be safe"

Fidelias nodded "I&039; in a little while"

The Steadholder nodded "See to it that they are I&039;ll have no one harmed while under e to the words, one the Steadholder hied, a low and subtle alare of tension to him, but he nodded and smiled and said, "Of course"

"If you&039;ll excuse &039;s secured before the storain, thank you for your hospitality If I can be of any assistance to you, let runted and rose, his expression preoccupied Fidelias watched the h his body language Tense, to be sure, but wouldn&039;t any Steadholder be, when facing a threat to his holders? He carried his leg stiffly, still, as he moved out of the hall and into the courtyard, and just before he left, the big lanced over his shoulder, toward a staircase in the far corner of the hall

Fidelias watched hilance at the staircase hi

Aout to Fidelias&039;s seat by the fire, presenting it to hiht curtsey "Sir"