heard of him,’ said Denbe. ‘He’s a murderous swine. Very dangerous.’
‘Odd name,’ said Sabella. ‘He’s a musician?’
Denbe shook his head solemnly. ‘When he was a boy he killed another boy with a piccolo.’
‘Oh,’ said Sabella, taken aback.
‘His brother,’ added Denbe.
‘Oh!’ Sabella blinked rapidly for a moment, as if trying to erase an image from her mind.
Catharian motioned for Denbe to step outside the hut and when they were out of earshot, he asked, ‘She seems to be doing well. Is she?’
‘Surprisingly, yes,’ said the older fighter. His sun-darkened skin made his face look as if it was sculpted from darkly tanned leather, but the brilliance of his smile lit up his face in a stark contrast to his usually stern countenance. ‘I often fretted over what we put those poor girls through.’ Women were the only ones able to use the gift of long-distance seeing. Some men had the power, like the young man known as Hatushaly, and some were trained to hold that power, but the ability to channel and manipulate what was thought of as ‘magic’ was the province of women alone.
Catharian put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. ‘As have I. More than one poor girl has ended up …’ He let the thought remain unfinished. Denbe knew as well as he that there had been brilliant youngsters who had ended up almost mindless, living under the Flame Guard’s care, youngsters left with little coherent thought, skipping from moment to moment in their days with no more than the desires of a child. They had vacant eyes, intense reactions of fear or joy, but they just existed until the day they died. If they were lucky, they passed early, but a few lingered on for decades.
‘Just keep watch for a day or two longer. I think it’s time for me to announce we’re going to build a small shrine to Tathan in Beran’s Hill. When you arrive in the town, I can explain your presence easily, then; you are going to be the protector of the shine, and Sabella is my novice. So, I’ll expect you … the day after tomorrow. Should we need to act sooner, I’ll ride back here.’
‘What if someone else from the Church arrives, someone in an official capacity, not an agent for the episkopos?’
‘I know enough about the bureaucracy of the Church to have them scurrying to send messages back and forth across a continent and an ocean before they decide we are not who we seem to be; ample time to depart safely. Baron Daylon has a far more tolerant attitude towards faith than most others these days and refuses to let the Church establish any sort of control in his barony. There are no members of the Church Adamant in Marquensas, at least not officially, so the burning of heretics as theatre has not become a habit here.’
‘Speaking of messages,’ said Denbe. ‘Should we notify the others?’
‘Not yet. We may need them but sending messages is problematic. One of us would have to ride back to Marquenet as we have no pigeons.’
‘Don’t like pigeons,’ said the fighter. ‘Hawks eat them.’
‘That’s why we send more than one,’ replied Catharian. ‘If all goes according to plan, a boat should put in soon and pigeons will be arriving that can fly to our enclave outside Ithra. From there, if need be, they can send messages quickly back to the Sanctuary.’ He paused as if considering something. ‘Let’s see what tomorrow brings. If this situation remains unchanged it could benefit us doubly. Establishing a presence here in Marquensas before trouble arrives would be of benefit.
‘If we have to depart in a hurry, so be it, but if we can deal with our enemies in a calm and considered fashion, I would prefer that. Until then, we can keep an eye on young Hatushaly, and when the time is right, ensure that he finds his destiny.’
‘Whether he wants it or not,’ Denbe said dryly.
‘’Tis ever thus,’ returned Catharian. ‘Had his father lived and turned him over to us for his early training, as his brothers were, there would be no fear of him arising to full power without our guidance. By any reasonable measure, he should be dead a dozen times over, either from enemies, or simply his inability to contain his fire.’
Denbe shook his head. ‘Nothing easy about this.’
‘No …’ Catharian said. ‘I think you’ve changed my mind.’
‘I have?’ said Denbe with a look of honest surprise.
‘I thought locating the lad would be easy. It wasn’t. I thought scooping him up and carrying him off would be simple. It’s not. We do need pigeons who will home-fly here, so find a breeder and arrange to have at least a dozen eggs sent to our safe house in Marquenet, and another dozen here for our shrine. Once the squabs have matured we can swap them so they can fly messages. Getting messages to the Sanctuary quickly is important, but if we do actually become ensconced here, our brethren will need to get messages to us quickly as well.’ Denbe nodded his agreement. ‘While I look for a pigeon breeder around Beran’s Hill, and sniff around to see what the boy has been up to since I last saw him, you take a quick trip down to Marquenet to send word to Elmish we will take things into our own hands after your soldiers arrive.’
‘Pigeons,’ said Denbe. ‘As I said, I hate sending word by birds. So many things can go wrong.’
‘And as I said, that’s why you send more than one. How many do we have down in Marquenet that can fly to the Ithra enclave?’
‘We’re down to three.’
‘Well, then, send all three. Inform Elmish of the situation here, in as few words as possible.’
Denbe scowled. ‘Another reason I don’t like pigeons. You can’t explain much on a tiny piece of paper.’
Catharian chuckled. ‘True.’
Denbe didn’t look amused. ‘I’ll leave now. You look for a pigeon breeder.’
Catharian nodded. ‘You take the horse to Marquenet. I’ll spend the night here, then Sabella and I will walk into town tomorrow morning, the poor friar and his apprentice.’ He shook his head. ‘Piccolo, here. At least he’s never seen me, as I only saw him once from some distance in a large crowd when he was with Delnocio.’ He forced a smile. ‘All will be well. Now, you’d best leave.’
‘Fare you well,’ said Denbe.
‘You as well,’ replied Catharian.
They went back into the hut and Denbe gathered up his travel bag and took Catharian’s horse.
The false monk of Tathan sat down opposite Sabella and asked, ‘What do you know about the Order of Tathan?’
‘Nothing,’ said the young woman.
‘Well,’ said the older man, laughing. ‘Let’s discuss theology over a meal. All right?’
She found that amusing.
Catharian realized that was the first time he had ever heard the young woman laugh aloud since she had come to the Sanctuary as a child.
HAVA LINGERED IN THE MARKET as the two men who were staying at her inn moved away. She had left the
