Kushiel's Justice - Jacqueline Carey [288]
"No," I said honestly. "In the end, no.”
The captain looked at Micah ben Ximon. "You knew this?”
"I knew this," ben Ximon said. "I will answer to Tadeuz Vral for it.”
"And my men?" The captain's mouth hardened.
"Dead." I squared my shoulders. "I'm sorry. I tried to tell them. They would not listen. We fought. I have told this to Rebbe Avraham ben David of Miroslas. He sent me here…" My Rus was inadequate, so I glanced at Micah ben Ximon and switched to Habiru. "To make atonement." I repeated the Rebbe's words. " 'Tell them you have confessed it to me, and I have absolved you of all guilt and laid my blessing upon you, bidding you to spread the word among men that it is better to be filled with compassion than suspicion, and remind them that in the end, in Yeshua's kingdom, all men are brothers. That your coming is a sign all must be mindful of this, always and forever.'“
Micah ben Ximon translated the Rebbe's injunction into Rus, his voice growing soft toward the end.
For a long moment, no one spoke, including the D'Angelines present. At last the captain sighed. He made an unfamiliar gesture, touching his fingertips to his brow, chest, and shoulders. "As Yeshua wills," he said. "The Rebbe of Miroslas is said to be a great and wise man. I will abide.”
A profound sense of relief filled me. "Thank you, lord captain. Truly, I am sorry.”
"Why did you free the Tatar?" he asked.
I spread my hands. "It was wrong. But he was not much more than a boy. We shared a prison, a blanket. I felt bad.”
"A soft heart," he said. "Is that the Rebbe's lesson?”
"Perhaps it is," Micah said unexpectedly. "Perhaps that boy will grow to a man and a leader of men, and he will be the one to extend the olive branch of peace, because a stranger did him a kindness once." His gaze rested briefly on Joscelin, who had once done him a kindness. "Or perhaps not. We cannot always know the outcomes of our actions.”
"I know that," the captain said. "Still, two good men are dead.”
"I will make recompense to their families and make good on any losses," Micah said. "What Phèdre nó Delaunay said is true. If I had spared one man from the siege to answer your query, they would not have died. No one is blameless here.”
"You had more important concerns," the captain said shortly.
Micah ben Ximon tilted his head. "So I thought," he said. "And yet I am reminded, nations may rise and fall on a chance encounter. And old debts demand no less honor than new ones." He gave the Cassiline bow, crisp and correct, but without the effortless fluidity of Joscelin's. "On the morrow, I will take these people to Vralgrad.”
The captain grunted. "Please do, my lord.”
So it was done. We filed out of the guardhouse with an appropriate air of solemnity. My heart was so full, I didn't know what I felt. They'd come to find me. Of course they had. They'd been on the other side of the world, and I'd nearly gotten killed, then vanished into the wilderness. Still, it was like a dream, seeing them here. As strange as Maslin's appearance in the wilderness had been, this was no less unexpected, and a good deal more joyous.
I stopped in my tracks. "Maslin.”
Joscelin raised his brows. "Maslin? What of him?”
"He came for me, too," I said. "Sidonie sent him. Not a-purpose, I don't think." I shook my head. "It's a long story. But he found me. I owe him my life, really, although he doesn't think so." I pointed north. "He's waiting for me, or at least he will be. We should send word.”
"I'll fetch him," Hugues offered.
I grimaced. "I'm not sure if fetching is such a good idea. Maslin wasn't exactly honest with the captain, either. His involvement in this whole business didn't arise. I daresay the captain thinks I killed him along with the others. It might be best to keep it that way.”
Ti-Philippe grinned. "What in Elua's name have you been up to, Imri?”
"Too much," I said.
"Oh, gods above," Phèdre said in a small voice. She covered her face with both hands. "We should never have left you alone in Alba with that curse hanging over you.