Traitor's Moon

doing here?” he asked the Bôkthersans.
    Kheeta’s mother shrugged. “Klia is still Adzriel’s kin, and her guest. We do not desert our guests.”
    The wizard gave her a grateful nod, then quickly sketched out the debacle he’d just witnessed.
    â€œNyal’s gone against us?” asked Corporal Nikides, stunned. “How can he do that to the captain? I’d have sworn—”
    â€œWhat, that he loved her?” Sergeant Braknil let out a snort. “It’sthe oldest trick in the book, damn him! And he was good at it, too. He fooled me, and I’ve been out of the barn a time or two.”
    â€œHe fooled us all,” Thero admitted sadly. “I just hope Seregil and the others have had enough of a start to get through.”
    Gathering what strength he had left, he climbed the stairs to Klia’s chamber.

41
R EVELATIONS IN THE R AIN
    A gentle drizzle dogged Alec and Seregil through the day, growing heavier and mixing with brief spates of sleet as afternoon slowly wore toward evening.
    â€œThis is a useless sort of rain,” Seregil griped, shivering as he pulled his damp cloak around him. “It’s not coming down hard enough to wash away our tracks.”
    â€œIt’s easier to stay warm in a snowstorm than in this,” Alec agreed, chilled himself. His cloak and tunic had already soaked through at the shoulders and across the tops of his thighs. Now he could feel the wetness spreading. Waterlogged clothing wicked heat away from the body; even this late in the spring a man could take a killing chill from it. To make matters worse, the route Seregil had chosen ascended into the mountains sooner than the main road. The peaks in the distance ahead showed patches of white where snowfields still blanketed the summits. The dull outline of the sun, just visible through the mist, was sinking steadily in the west, stealing back the scant warmth of the day.
    â€œWe’re going to have to stop soon,” he said, chafing his arms with his hands. “Somewhere we can make a fire.”
    â€œWe can’t risk it yet,” Seregil replied, scanning the road ahead.
    â€œDying of the chills will slow us down worse than getting cap-lured, don’t you think?”
    Seregil urged his horse up a steep stretch of trail. They were still in the trees, but a wind was rising, adding to their discomfort. When the ground leveled out enough for them to ride abreast again, he turned to Alec, who knew at once by his slight frown and distant expression that he hadn’t been thinking of rain or shelter.
    â€œEven if Emiel is out to supplant Nazien, killing Klia would almost certainly work against him, don’t you think? Emiel’s a violent bastard, and no mistake, still—” He broke off, rubbing ruefully at the latest bruise on his jaw. “It’s just a gut feeling, but after talking with him in the barracks that night, I can’t imagine him risking the loss of honor.”
    â€œAfter all he did to you?” Alec growled. “I still say he’s the most likely one. What about Ulan í Sathil?”
    â€œDo you really think that man would make such a silly botch of the whole business? Would a man who knows how to foment civil war in another country have hidden the ring in his own courtyard like some common blackmailer keeping his dirty little collection of letters under his mattress?
    â€œNo, he’s too smart for that. If he had done it, we’d never have found him out. Besides, why would he do such a thing if Torsin was attempting some compromise in Virésse’s favor. Which leaves us looking elsewhere. You recall what I said about the ’faie?”
    Alec grinned. “That they’re no good at murder because they don’t do enough of it to keep in practice?”
    â€œAsk the right questions,” Seregil murmured, wandering off into his own thoughts again. “We’re approaching this as if we’re tracking some practiced assassin—it’s what we’re used to.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “Amateurs! They’re the worst.”
    â€œThe Ra’basi have been cagey about which side of the fence they’re on,” Alec said, though he was more reluctant than ever to suspect Nyal after all his help with Klia. “The poison is one they’re familiar with, and they had a man inside our house. And what about the Khatme? If I were going to pick anyone out