‘All right, Kurik,’ Sparhawk said. ‘Let it pass – for the moment anyway.’ Then he looked sternly at the boy. ‘This had better be good, Talen,’ he threatened.
‘It is, Sparhawk. Believe me.’
‘Let’s have it.’
‘Well, I was going down this street. As I said, I wanted to see the harbour and all the ships and things. Anyway, I was passing a wine shop and I saw a man coming out.’
‘Amazing,’ Kalten said. ‘Do people in Madel actually frequent wine shops?’
‘You both know this man. It was Krager, the one you had me watching in Cimmura. I followed him. He went into a shabby-looking inn down by the waterfront. I can take you there if you want.’
‘Put your belt back on, Kurik,’ Sparhawk said.
‘Do we have time for this?’ Kalten asked.
‘I think we should make time. Martel’s already tried to interfere with us a couple of times. If it was Annias who poisoned Ehlana, he’ll definitely want to keep us from finding any kind of antidote. That means that Martel will try to get to Cippria before I do. We can wring that information out of Krager if we can catch him.’
‘We’ll go with you,’ Tynian said eagerly. ‘This whole thing will be easier if we can cut Annias’ hands off here in Madel.’
Sparhawk considered it, then shook his head. ‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘Martel and his hirelings know Kalten and me. He doesn’t know the rest of you. If the two of us can’t catch up with Krager, you’ll all be looking around Madel for him. That’s going to be easier if he doesn’t know what you look like.’
‘Makes sense,’ Ulath agreed.
Tynian looked profoundly disappointed. ‘Sometimes you think too much, Sparhawk,’ he said.
‘It’s a trait of his,’ Kalten told him.
‘Will these cloaks of ours attract any attention in the streets of Madel, my Lord?’ Sparhawk asked the marquis.
Lycien shook his head. ‘It’s a port city,’ he said. ‘There are people here from all over the world, so two more strangers won’t attract that much notice.’
‘Good,’ Sparhawk said. He started towards the door with Kalten and Talen at his heels. ‘We should be back before long,’ he said.
They left their horses behind and went into the city on foot. Madel was situated on an estuary, and the smell of the sea was very strong, carried inland by a stiff onshore breeze. The streets were narrow and crooked and grew increasingly run-down as the two knights and the boy approached the harbour.
‘How far is this inn?’ Kalten asked.
‘Not too much farther,’ Talen assured him.
Sparhawk stopped. ‘Did you get the chance to look around a bit after Krager went inside?’ he asked the boy.
‘No. I was going to, but Berit caught me before I had time.’
‘Why don’t you do it now? If Kalten and I go marching up to the front door and Krager happens to be watching, he’ll be out the back door before we get inside. See if you can find that back door for us.’
‘Right,’ Talen said, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He scurried off down the street.
‘Good lad there,’ Kalten said, ‘in spite of his bad habits.’ He frowned. ‘How do you know this inn has a back door?’ he asked.
‘Every inn has a back door, Kalten – in case of fire if nothing else.’
‘I guess I hadn’t thought of that.’
When Talen returned, he was running as hard as he could. There were about ten men chasing him; in the lead, roaring unintelligibly, was Adus.
‘Look out!’ Talen shouted as he ran past.
Sparhawk and Kalten whipped their swords out from under their cloaks and stepped slightly apart to meet the charge. The men following Adus were shabbily dressed and carried a variety of weapons, rusty swords, axes, and spiked maces. ‘Kill them!’ Adus bellowed, slowing slightly and waving his men on.
The fight was short. The men rushing up the narrow street appeared to be common waterfront roughnecks, and they were no match for the two trained knights. Four of them were down before the others realized that they had made a tactical blunder. Two more collapsed onto the bloody stones before the rest could turn to flee. Then Sparhawk leapt over the sprawled bodies and rushed at Adus. The brute parried the knight’s first stroke, then seized his sword hilt in both hands and flailed at Sparhawk with it. Sparhawk easily deflected those blows and countered deftly, inflicting painful cuts and bruises on his opponent’s mailed ribs and shoulders. After a moment, Adus fled, running hard and clutching at his side with a bloody hand.
‘Why didn’t you chase him?’ Kalten demanded, coming up puffing and with his blood-smeared sword still in his hand.
‘Because Adus can run faster than I can,’ Sparhawk shrugged. ‘I’ve known that for years.’
Talen came back down the street, breathing hard. He looked admiringly at the hacked and bleeding bodies sprawled on the cobblestones. ‘Well done, my Lords,’ he congratulated them.
‘What happened?’ Sparhawk asked.
‘I went on past the inn.’ Talen shrugged. ‘Then I went around the back. That big one who just got away was hiding in the alley with these others. He made a grab for me, but I dodged. Then I ran.’
‘Good thinking.’ Kalten said.
Sparhawk sheathed his sword. ‘Let’s get away from here,’ he said.
‘Why not follow Adus?’ Kalten asked.
‘Because they’re setting traps for us. Martel’s using Krager as bait to lead us around by the nose. That’s probably why we keep finding him so easily.’
‘Would that mean that they can recognize me as well?’ Talen sounded shocked.
‘Probably,’ Sparhawk said. ‘They found out that you were working for me in Cimmura, remember? Krager probably knew that you were following him around and gave your description to Adus. Adus may not have a brain, but his eyes are sharp.’ He muttered an oath. ‘Martel’s even more clever than I thought, and he’s starting to irritate me.’
‘It’s about time,’ Kalten murmured as they started back up the crooked street.
A purple twilight was settling in the narrow streets of Madel, and the stars were coming out. Sparhawk, Kalten, and Talen moved through the narrow, crooked streets, frequently turning corners and occasionally even doubling
