Neversfall - Ed Gentry [77]
She shuffled to her feet and checked the window. Crossed with wooden planks, it was well sealed. She pushed and pulled on the boards but to no avail. Perhaps if she had a weapon, she could work her way out, but she counted herself lucky to be alive, never mind armed. Her chin throbbed worse as she loosed a small growl.
"The door it is, then," she said.
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"There's no mistake, Taennen. The Durpari dorir is dead by her sword. The prisoners nearly died as well," Jhoqo said, rising from his seat. The smaller man passed Taennen, motioning toward the door with his chin as he said, "Come, we must tell the others now that you and Bascou have returned."
Taennen had not yet spoken since Jhoqo had revealed the second traitor. He could feel his tongue in his mouth, but it felt transitory, temporary, as though his first attempt at speech would cause it to streak from his mouth and fly away, never to return. He felt like a child again, confused beyond cognition. Marlke? Adeenya? Why would Adeenya have launched such an elaborate campaign to discover the traitor if it were her?
They crossed the courtyard, Jhoqo shouting for the men to gather in the center. Word spread in ripples, one man shouting to the next, so on and so forth, until even the guards on the walls were sprinting down the stairs. The crowd fell in behind Taennen, murmuring among themselves about what the commander might say. Bascou's voice could be heard over the whispers, telling soldiers to get out of his way as he moved to stand beside Jhoqo.
Jhoqo stopped and raised his arms high, patting his hands in the air. He called for silence and, after several moments, had it.
"Friends, I have news. News that is tragic," Jhoqo said.
Shouts issued from the audience, prompting the man to continue.
"We have been betrayed, brothers," the urir said.
Loud protestations and utterances of anger boiled forth before quieting at Bascou s insistence.
Jhoqo nodded his thanks to the Chondathan leader and continued, "But there is good news. The traitors have been found!"
The Maquar slapped their leather armor and whistled, until Jhoqo again called for silence and added, "Know this, friends, had it not been for this treachery, our other brethren who are lost to us would surely be standing with you now. Without the help of these betrayers, surely no foe could begin to harm us!"
The last several things his commander had said began fitting together in the durir's mind. Taennen looked out over the gathered crowd and saw what remained of the Durpari soldiers. What would they say when Jhoqo proclaimed their leaders as traitors? Hqw would they react? What would a Maquar say or do if someone accused Jhoqo and himself of treachery? By sheer practice of duty, Taennen steeled himself for trouble.
Jhoqo stood tall and went on. "I know that you all wish vengeance upon those who have betrayed us, but I beg your stay in this matter. These filthy dogs should be tried, publicly acknowledged as being in violation of the Adama, in their homeland. Their faces will be spat upon by their former friends and family, and they will know the true depth and consequences of their treachery."
Cheers came in a short burst, the crowd anxious to hear the names. The Durpari seemed to be moving toward one another in the crowd, massing together as if sensing what was about to be said. Surely they had noticed that neither of their leaders was present.
Jhoqo moved toward the Durpari, asking Maquar and Chondathan alike to part from his path. When he reached the first Durpari, he raised his arms and said, "Brothers and sisters, please understand it is with great regret that I lay before you the names of the traitors. Please know they will receive every benefit our legal code has to offer."
A few of the Durpari nodded, while the others stood silently, hands away from their weapons. They had no doubt