Shield's Lady

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    “You are married. Sariana. And I want your word that you won’t run from me again.”
    “Why? Because you don’t want to be put to the nuisance of coming after me?”
    He shook his head. “No. Because it’s too dangerous for you. I almost lost you tonight. As it was, things were much too close. I don’t want to go through that again. By the way, when we’re safely on board the ship you can tell me exactly what happened in that warehouse.”
    Sariana was violently aware of the morning chill in the air. “You found the first man?” she asked in a low whisper.
    “I found him. I’ve been a few minutes behind you ever since you left the villa. Unfortunately, it took me a while to figure out which way you’d gone. By the time I did, those two clanless outlaws had picked up your trail. You’ll never know how I felt when I discovered the first one.”
    “Was he dead?” Sariana was afraid of the answer.
    “No. But he won’t wake up for quite a while. Probably not until the warehouse manager finds him later on this morning. The assumption will be that he tried to steal a few casks of wine. That should get him locked up for a decent length of time. As for the other one…” Gryph finished the sentence with a careless shrug.
    “What about him?” Sariana demanded as Gryph led her along the pier. “We should find a town guard and report this incident.”
    “None of this concerns the town guards. It’s Shield business.”
    “Damn it, you keep saying that. What do the Shields care about a couple of street thieves?”
    “The man who ended up in the bay tonight was the one who attacked me the night of the ball. He’s probably the one who killed Brinton. As for the one whose head you dented with a wine cask, he was undoubtedly the accomplice who helped the murderer to escape the first time.”
    Sariana was dumbfounded. “You didn’t tell me Brinton had been killed. You mean you think the two men who trailed me tonight were involved with the theft of the cutter?’
    “Yes. But even if they had been just a random pair of thieves roaming the streets in search of easy prey, they would still be Shield business.”
    “Why is that?”
    “Because they chose you to hunt down,” Gryph explained. “And you are most definitely Shield property.”
    “I want to go home,” Sariana said in a small voice. “I’ve had enough of this crazy place. I just want to go home.”
    “One of these days I’ll take you to your new home. In the meantime, we have a journey to complete.”
    “Why must I accompany you?” she demanded.
    “Because I can’t take the risk of leaving you behind while I go after the cutter.”
    “You’re afraid I’ll run away from you?”
    He shook his head. “That’s the least of my concerns. I can always find you if you decide to run, Sariana. Remember that. Even if you go all the way back to Rendezvous I’d find you.”
    “But in Rendezvous you would no longer have any claim on me,” she pointed out. “Under the laws of the eastern provinces I’m not married.”
    “My claim on you is not dependent on any law. I think, deep inside yourself, you know that. It’s the real reason you tried to run from me this morning.”
    She ignored that because she was getting very tired of arguing the point. It was hard to argue with someone who arrogantly refused to see the logic or justice of his opponent’s side. Sariana walked beside Gryph in silence for a few moments. With every step she felt increasingly trapped.
    “You said you aren’t afraid I’ll run away if you leave me behind. So why are you afraid to take the risk of leaving me here?” she finally asked moodily.
    “Whoever is responsible for stealing the prisma cutter has probably figured out what I’m doing on the scene. I think he’s also learned that you are involved with me. That’s why those two were after you. It wouldn’t take much intelligence to decide to use you to stop me.”
    “Why would whoever it is make the assumption that I’m a vulnerable point for you?”
    “Because you are a vulnerable point,” he said simply. “You’re my Shieldmate. Everyone in the western provinces understands how important a Shieldmate is to her lord and his clan.”
    “Everyone except me.”
    Gryph smiled crookedly. “But you’re learning, aren’t you?”

    A typical summer dawn broke over the distant mountains a short time later. Sariana watched it from the deck of a windrigger in full sail. She gazed at the coastline