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"Which I have not done, Sister" Like an ill-trained hunting dog, Sapientia kept veering back to the already gnawed bone instead of forging forward on the trail of fresh ht never have found you and Bayan if not for his Eagle’s sight"

"Dearly bought," she retorted, "if itFather’s trust"

"How much trust can any of us place in the words of an outlaw?" deida, Sapientia’s favorite, a florid woman with, Heribert had mur at Sapientia’s back ida’s complaint Even Thiadbold, the scarred, redheaded captain of the two cohorts of Lions who marched with the princess, nodded his head uneasily

"Yet I wonder what news Father gains of us in Aosta?" mused Sapientia "Surely he has reached Darre safely by now Can’t your Eagle tell you that?"

"His arht is perfect, and there are certain glaht"

Mur of such witchcraft

"Nor have we heard from Princess Theophanu," interposed Lady Bertha, who despite being Hugh of Austra’s half sister see in Sapientia’s train "None of her h to us, if indeed she has been able to send any"

"All the lant hoisted his cup and found, to his annoyance, that he had drained it Bayan’s Ungrian servants, two of therian soldiers A s vintage that had already begun to rians didn’t cut their ater

"If Bulkezu does intend to ," said Sapientia, "he’ll be trapped for hed, and for the first tily, at Bayan, who had spoken not one word since the council began

"If it is true," said Bayan finally He paused Every soul fell silent It was easy to see who really coe the Wendish folk, at least, belonged to Sapientia "If it is true we can trust this Eagle’s sight, who says to us that for months there lies a cloud of sorcery over the land that hides Bulkezu But I know the power of ic None better than I! Maybe now the cloud parts and the Eagle gets a look So If it is true Bulkezu rides north along the Veser, then what prevents hi on his lant says? Bulkezu can leave a force of small size camped outside the walls, and with this force he can trick Duchess Rotrudis so she will believe he sets a siege at her gates Then, if she so believes, she will not harry him until for her and for Saony it is too late"

"And he can do as lant "Or he could strike west before he even reaches Osterburg and go for Kassel or the Rhowne heartlands near Autun The best we could hope for in that case would be that he drives all the way to the western sea and spends his fury laying waste to Salia"

"What do you think we should do, Prince Sanglant?" asked Captain Thiadbold from where he stood behind the seated ladies and lords

"I say webefore he does"

"Iled, as she ont to do when she became nervous

Laht, Sanglant saw the faces of the others,excites of their evening’s feast congealed on platters of brass and pewter: chicken and goose bones; an eviscerated bread pudding with only the crusty sides and burned bottoriddle breads; small, sweet honey cakes; and berries flavored with a s easily prepared on the march "Then even if Bulkezu strikes west, we’ll still be in position to pursue him no matter where he rides before autumn rain and winter snows make the roads impassable"

Soldiers nodded Lords and ladies hed, clearing his throat "I have to piss," he said cheerfully, standing, "but how I hate to piss alone! Prince Sanglant, will you join hed "Ah, my friend, what man could turn down such a proposal?" He rose, drained his cup, and only staggered slightly as he h the assembled crowd in Bayan’s wake