DAVID COE - Seeds of Betrayal

“Not usually, no.”

Again Tavis smiled, though he also shook his head. No one had ever spoken to him as Grinsa did, not even Xaver, who had been his best friend for as long as he could remember. From any other man, the gibes Grinsa dealt him would have seemed impudent. But with the help of Fotir jal Salene, his father’s first minister, the gleaner had freed him from Kentigern’s dungeon. In doing so, he revealed himself as a Weaver, the most powerful kind of Qirsi sorcerer, and the most feared and hated by the Eandi. Not only had he saved Tavis’s life, he had trusted the boy with his own. No one had done so much for him or asked so much of him. Theirs remained a difficult partnership. Grinsa made no secret of the fact that he thought Tavis spoiled, thoughtless, and childish, nor did he hesitate to point out other faults in the boy as he noticed them. For his part, Tavis often resented the Qirsi’s attempts to order him about, as if Grinsa were his surrogate father. But Tavis relied on the man as he had few others, and he sensed that he had begun to earn Grinsa’s trust as well.

They reached the Silver Marten a short time later. Pausing briefly on the threshold, his hand on the door handle, Grinsa looked back at him, a plea in his yellow eyes.

“Don’t say a thing.”

“I won’t.” When the gleaner continued to stare at him, he smiled, adding, “You have my word.”

Tavis followed Grinsa into the tavern, the warm air and aromas of cooking meats and stews wrapping themselves around him like a blanket. There were a few more people here than there had been at the Iron wood, but still the inn was nearly empty. All the faces he saw were pale, all the eyes yellow. Who could have imagined that he would ever spend so much time with sorcerers? Looking around the tavern, however, another thought came to him.

“You know,” he said softly, “if Corbin was hired by a Qirsi, he might have come here. And he would have stood out like a Revel tumbler in a cloister.”

Grinsa gave him that look, the one that always came to his face when Tavis surprised him with an insight. It almost seemed to say, See what you can do when you think ?

“Choose us a table,” the gleaner said. “I’ll buy two ales and speak with the barman.”

Tavis nodded and walked to the back of the tavern. He sensed the inn’s patrons watching him, but he tried to ignore their stares. A few moments later, Grinsa joined him.

“He’s going to bring our ales and sit with us for a time. Remember-”

“I know,” Tavis said. “Say nothing.”

“It may be even more important here, Tavis. These people may trust me because I’m Qirsi, but they’ll be wary of questions, particularly if they think we’re enemies of the movement. For all we know, this is the man who paid for Chago’s blood.”

Before Tavis could respond, the Qirsi bar man emerged from behind the bar, carrying two tankards. He smiled at them, but Tavis could see the man staring at the scars on his face. Talk about standing out , he thought, wishing he could hide under the table.

“Looks like you’ve had a rough time of it, my young friend,” the man said, setting the tankards on the table and sitting beside Tavis.

At least he was honest enough to talk about the scars. Better that than the silent, sidelong glances Tavis had endured for the past several turns.

“He met up with some thieves a while back,” Grinsa said. “We were in Caerisse at the time, the Paalniri Wild. He doesn’t really like to speak of it.”

“I should think not.” The man leaned closer to examine the wounds. “Looks like he’s healed well,” he said, glancing at Grinsa. “Your work?”

“I’m not a healer. I found someone in Enharfe to help him.”

The bar man nodded. “I see.” He gazed at the scars a moment longer, then faced the gleaner. “You said you had questions for me.”

“We do. We’re wondering if you’ve seen an Eandi man in the last turn or so. A singer.” Grinsa described the assassin briefly.

“Yes. I’ve seen him.”

Grinsa blinked. “What?”

“I’ve seen him,” the barman said again.

The gleaner just stared at him, as if unable to believe what he was hearing. “You’ve seen him recently?”

“Yes. He came in for an ale one night during the last waning.”

Tavis and Grinsa shared a look. That was just around the time the duke of Bistari was killed.

“Did he speak with anyone?” Grinsa asked, leaning forward.

“As I remember it, he did.”

“Who?”

The man faltered. “What is it you want with the singer?” he asked. He eyed Tavis briefly. “Is he the one who did this to the boy?”

The gleaner shook his head. “No. I assure you he’s not.”

“Then why are you so eager to find him?”

“Let’s just say that he owes us something. We need to find him so that we can collect on an old debt.”

The barman seemed to consider this.

“Now please, who was it he talked to?”

“I misspoke before,” the man said, his eyes flicking about the tavern uneasily. “I remember now. He didn’t speak with anyone.”

He was lying. Tavis didn’t need to be a gleaner to see that. He almost challenged the man, but Grinsa beat him to it.

“But a moment ago you said-”

“I was wrong. He sat alone the whole time he was here. I’m sure of it.” His face had turned ashen and his brow was suddenly damp. It almost seemed that he felt a dagger at his back.

“So you’re telling me that an Eandi singer came into your tavern, drank an ale, and then left without speaking to anyone.”

“That’s right.”

Grinsa shook his head. “I don’t believe you. Most Eandi would rather take off an arm than sit among white-hairs.”

“Believe what you will. Your friend here seems happy enough to drink my ale. Why would the singer be any different? He was with the Festival-maybe he was used to our kind.” He pushed back from the table and stood. “If there’s nothing else, I’ve a tavern to run.”

Grinsa looked up at him, his yellow eyes holding the man’s gaze. “We’ve no other questions, if that’s what you mean,” he finally said. “But we’ll need a room for tonight. Two beds.”

The barman didn’t look at all pleased with the notion that they’d be staying the night, but he nodded before walking off.

“That’s it?” Tavis asked. “You just let him go?”

“There’s nothing to be gained by asking him more questions,” Grinsa said calmly.

“But he was lying.”

“Yes, he was. And he was going to keep on lying no matter what we asked him.”

Tavis looked away, pressing his lips in a thin line, much as his father often did. Grinsa was right. Again.

“We learned all we needed to,” the gleaner told him, his voice dropping nearly to a whisper. “Corbin was here when Chago died, and because our friend at the bar is such a poor liar, we know as well that he spoke with someone. Given how he reacted to our questions, I think we can assume it was someone this man fears.”

“Maybe,” Tavis said. “Or maybe he fears us.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said before that for all we knew the barman was with the conspiracy. What if he’s not, but he thinks we are? We’re looking for an assassin, because, in your words, ‘he owes us something.’ With all that’s happened in the Forelands in the past few turns, and with all the talk of Qirsi plotting against the courts, that would be enough to scare me.”

Grinsa’s white eyebrows went up. “A fair point. If you’re right, I certainly don’t think we should do anything to disabuse him of the idea. Having him afraid of us could be helpful.”

Tavis glanced around the large room. “Should we talk to anyone else? It may be that others noticed the singer as well. A patron may be more willing to talk to us than the barman.”