“I’m not staying here!” she said, contradicting her earlier assertion that she wasn’t going anywhere. “Not with him. I’m going to Keral Keep.”
“You can’t,” said Samir. “Not by day.”
“Of course I can!”
“No, it’s not safe.”
Gideon looked sharply at Samir. “What do you mean?”
Samir said to Chandra, “A great deal has happened while you’ve been away. Come home with me, and I’ll explain, while you wash and I look after Gideon.”
“He doesn’t need looking after!”
“He can’t go all the way to Zinara like this,” Samir said reasonably. “Those wounds should be cleaned and tended immediately.” Samir glanced at Gideon’s pale, haggard face. “He obviously needs food and drink, too.”
“You’re going to feed him?” she said. “You’re going to feed this scheming…”
“I’m going to feed you, too,” Samir said. “Perhaps then you’ll make more sense.”
“Samir,” Gideon said, “what changes are you talking about?”
“Not here.” Samir looked around nervously. “If Chandra is seen here now, I fear she may not live until sundown.”
She said dismissively, “I can handle a few angry oufes.”
“The problem has grown much bigger than that, Chandra,” Samir said. “Much more serious.”
“How serious?” asked Gideon.
“Two days ago,” said Samir, “the inter-tribal council of the Great Western Wood agreed to capture Chandra and turn her over to the Order.”
She stared at him in shock. She’d expected the situation would blow over, not worsen.
With mingled reluctance and resentment, Chandra agreed to accompany the two men to Samir’s family compound. As soon as they reached it, Samir showed her and Gideon into a small, fragrant hut that was primarily used for drying herbs.
“Wait here,” he instructed them. “I’ll get you some water for washing and some balm for those wounds. And I’ll ask my wife to prepare some food.”
“Oh, don’t fuss over him, Samir,” Chandra said. “He doesn’t deserve your kindness.”
“He’s my guest,” the village chief said.
And that, Chandra knew, settled the matter as far as Samir was concerned. She shrugged and folded her arms, knowing it was her anger that was letting her say things that risked letting Samir know their secrets, but not caring enough to stop herself. “Fine. Suit yourself. I just hope he doesn’t give you cause to regret it.”
Gideon’s expression was so blank, it was as if he didn’t even hear her speaking.
“I’ll be back shortly,” Samir said as he left the hut.
They stood alone together in the shadowy interior, staring at each other.
“You followed me to Kephalai!” she said as soon as Samir was out of earshot.
“Yes.”
“From here!”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Maybe we should sit down,” Gideon suggested.
“Answer me!”
“Well, I’m sitting down,” he said. “I think half my blood is lying on the pavement of Velrav’s courtyard.”
“How did you know I was going after the Scroll?” she demanded, watching him ease himself onto a wooden stool.
Gideon looked light-headed, probably because he had indeed lost a lot of blood and was certainly in need of food and water. He also looked as if the pain of his wounds had returned now that the excitement of escape had worn off.
It served him right.
“I didn’t know,” he said. “I’d never heard of the scroll. I’d never heard of Kephalai, either. I was just following you.”
“Why?”
“Like I told you on Kephalai, you’d made yourself conspicuous.”
“Yes, but that was on K-”
“Actually, I meant you’d made yourself conspicuous here,” he said. “You misunderstood, of course, because you had just made yourself even more conspicuous on Kephalai.”
“Did you follow me there so you could lecture me about my behavior?” she snapped.
“I followed you there,” he said patiently, “to take you into custody.”
“Custody? For who? Walbert?” When he nodded, she said, “So you are a bounty hunter.”
“No, I’m more like a…” he shrugged. “A soldier.”
“A soldier,” she repeated.
“Yes.”
“For the Order?”
He nodded again.