The Spirit Stone - Katharine Kerr [203]
‘You may. Keep it as a reminder of the first war you ever saw. And if it ever looks like I’m going embroil the Falcons in a feud or suchlike, you bring that out and remind me of the cost.’
With a shy smile, Clae clutched the box to his chest and trotted off to stow it with his gear. Tieryn Cadryc shook his head in amazement.
‘He’s an odd lad, our Clae,’ Cadryc said. ‘Especially when you consider that his father was a scribe.’
‘Well, he may come from a family of letter-writers, your grace, but he’ll grow into the captain of the Falcon’s warband, I think me, if the gods let both of us live long enough. There’s iron in his soul.’
‘And that’s what a man needs these days, sure enough. Now, on the morrow, I’ll be sending messengers home ahead of us. Where’s that blasted gerthddyn? He might as well write the news down, since Neb’s back in the dun to read it.’
‘I last saw him with Lady Dallandra,’ Gerran said. ‘I’ll go look for him.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ Calonderiel said. ‘I like to know where she is, especially if she’s been off with that babbling fool.’
Gerran shot him a questioning glance.
‘It’s the danger we’re in,’ Calonderiel snapped. ‘I can see it even if she can’t.’
Gerran made a non-committal noise, but as he followed the banadar, he was wondering how Calonderiel could be jealous of the gerthddyn—and how anyone could think him a fool.
When Salamander and Dallandra returned to camp, servants took their horses, but he kept his pair of saddlebags with him. While he couldn’t put the reason into words, he had the distinct feeling that the black pyramid needed guarding. With the bags slung over one arm, he escorted Dallandra back to the tents set up for the wounded. Grallezar joined them there. She’d been carrying Dallandra’s medical supplies over from the wagons, an armload at a time.
‘I’ve put them all in this tent here,’ Grallezar said in Elvish. ‘I’ve got one more load, so I’ll just go fetch it now.’
Grallezar hurried off in the direction of the supply train. Before Dallandra could go inside, Calonderiel and Gerran walked up to join them. The banadar shot Salamander such a cold glance that he stepped back and arranged a foolish smile.
‘There you are!’ Calonderiel said to Dallandra. With Gerran standing beside him, he spoke in Deverrian. ‘Will you be working with the wounded, my love?’
‘I will.’ Dallandra answered in the same. ‘Some of the men might be able to ride tomorrow. They’ll be far better off on horseback than jouncing around in the carts.’
‘True spoken. Here, I’ve got to go talk with Prince Dar. It shouldn’t take me long. Ebañy, Tieryn Cadryc wants you to write messages for him.’
‘I’ll go join him presently.’ Salamander patted his saddlebags. ‘I’ve got to put these away first.’
Calonderiel grunted an acknowledgement, then, much to Salamander’s relief, strode off without looking his way again. Gerran bowed to Dallandra.
‘I h1ear, my lady,’ Gerran said, ‘that you’ll be staying with the main body of the army. I won’t be, and so I wanted to thank you now for the care you’ve given the Red Wolf men, and for sending me that silver dagger, too.’
‘You’re most welcome,’ Dallandra said. ‘It gladdens my heart that you took no insult from the gift.’
‘I didn’t. I hope you think no less of me because I’ll be guarding the wounded.’
‘What? Why would I ever do that? I can’t imagine why you’d want to stay here.’
Gerran looked utterly taken aback. ‘Well,’ he said after a moment, ‘I wouldn’t mind another strike on the savage bastards. I’ll never forget that prisoner they staked out, back near Samyc’s dun. We should wipe them all out, the men, the females, the cubs, the lot.’
‘Alas,’ Salamander said, ‘I fear me that a lot of my people would agree with that. I know Calonderiel does.’
‘Oh, so they’re the savages, are they?’ Dallandra said. ‘How do you dare say that, after what our men did to Zakh Gral’s garrison?’
‘That’s war,’ Gerran said. ‘They’d have done the same to us.’
‘Of course. That wasn’t my point. You burned their fort and forced them into your lines like a forester