She shook her head. "Not from what I've heard."

"You should listen again, then, and be sure that you are hearing only words you can trust. The truth will reassure you that I am a man of my word."

She sneered. "So you are honorable to yourself, you mean."

"No, I didn't say that. But a man who keeps his word is honorable. A man who gives promises and keeps them, swears oaths and follows through on them, or remains true to himself, is honorable. I am all of those things."

Elka shook her head. "What was the honor in coming here to knowingly risk death at the hands of your half-brother?"

"I was bringing our mother's ashes to him. Stracker was close to our mother and though she could see his faults-of which there are plenty-he was her flesh, and she did love him."

Elka faltered. "When did your mother die?"

"Yesterday...I think. I fear I've lost track of time. She was poisoned by my wife, I believe. I cremated my mother and felt it was right to bring her to my sibling. It was my duty to give him the opportunity to pay his respects, and for us to scatter her ashes in an agreed spot. It wasn't wise, it wasn't clever or even brave, but it was the honorable way."

"I want to say I'm sorry but I don't believe you deserve any sympathy after all that you've perpetrated on my friend and on the Set. I do, however, respect that you have lost a parent and for this I appreciate your sorrow."

He sighed. "No sorrow. My mother led a hard life but she was a hard woman. As it turned out, revenge is always a cold satisfaction; it never quite lives up to the anticipation."

"Revenge? For what?"

Loethar seemed to come out of a trance. He blinked at her. "I have no idea why we're having this conversation. I haven't talked this much to a woman in years. Your brew is clearly having an effect on me, Elka, in loosening my tongue."

She regarded him quizzically, then turned as Gavriel returned. "Can he move?" he asked.

"Not on his own," Elka replied. "Looks like I'm stuck with you for a little longer," she said to Loethar; then, turning back to Gavriel, she added, "I'll carry him."

"Are you numbed yet?" he asked Loethar.

"Do you care?"

"Not in the slightest. I hope it hurts far more than you can bear."

Loethar actually smiled lopsidedly. "I can bear plenty."

Gavriel turned his attention to Elka, ignoring their captive. "We haven't been followed. Are you sure about coming with me?"

"Well, you can't move him on your own."

"Elka, there is no promise that anyone is waiting for us."

"I know. But unless you have another idea, we have to try and find them. I'm not leaving him here or alone with you."

Loethar had appeared disinterested in their conversation but now he spoke up. "Who are we trying to find?"

Elka shot Gavriel a look but it was too late. He could show restraint for only so long. "King Leonel," he snarled.

For the first time since they'd encountered him, Loethar looked genuinely shocked.

Thirty-Four.

They were moving slowly, tracking northwesterly, climbing all the time. It was nearing dawn and the landscape was unfolding before them once again in a thin, misty light as day began to waken.

"Not bad progress at all," Jewd said, when they took a short rest. "Slow but steady. How are all your aches?"

"Don't worry about me," Kilt replied firmly. "I'll take the bermine regularly and grit my teeth and ignore what it doesn't cover."

"My hero!" Jewd commented, feigning a swoon.

Leo chuckled.

Kilt glared at them. "Well, this is a jolly adventure for you both," he sneered.

"All right, Kilt, you want us to be serious," Leo surprised him by saying. "Tell us this. What interest did Stracker, or Vulpan, for that matter, have in a clergyman?"

Kilt swung around to stare at Leo. "What do you mean?" he replied, searching his mind for an excuse, absently checking the shields he was so practiced at erecting in the king's presence.

Leo shrugged. "Well, it strikes me as odd that they would have any interest in you at all. Why were they going to all that trouble to escort you alone with three guards, and Vulpan and Stracker in attendance? They were taking you north. Why?"

"How should I know?" Kilt said, knowing he replied a moment too soon. Even he could hear how it smacked of things left unsaid. He sensed rather than watched Jewd's eyes narrow, his expression turning from amusement to a soft frown. He refused to look at his big friend, for Jewd would know immediately that he was telling a lie. "I was given no reason," he added.

Leo nodded but didn't seem convinced. "It just seemed odd, that's all."

"What happened with Vulpan, anyway?" Jewd asked.

"He incarcerated me. What did you think he did?"

Jewd shrugged too. "Oh, I don't know, I thought he might have tasted your blood."

"He did," Kilt replied, realizing too late-in the space of a blink of an eye-that he had made the most terrible admission. Two errors in a row after years and years of being cleverly secretive.

He watched Jewd carefully but his big friend simply nodded. "And then what?"

Kilt forced himself to speak calmly and in an offhand way. "Oh, you know, typical questions. Why was I interested in Mrs. Kirin Felt, essentially; I found myself spinning the usual lies." He frowned, showing his irritation. "This feels like an interrogation."

Jewd grinned but Kilt could see the gesture carried no sincerity. They both knew each other too well...and each knew the other was lying right now. Jewd looked at the king. "Leo, run ahead, will you, and let me know what's ahead of us beyond this hill. I suspect we should be able to get a clear view of where we need to head and plot our path before sundown. Another night sleeping rough, I'm afraid."

Leo gave a soft snort of disgust. "That comment suggests that we sleep like royals back at the camp!" He winked at Jewd and was gone, oblivious to the manipulation.

Jewd returned his attention to Kilt, who regarded him steadily, anticipating the confrontation.

"We've been together too long to fool each other, Kilt."

"I don't know what you're digging for."

"Yes you do. I'm big, old friend, not thick. I told you a long time ago not to make that mistaken assumption."

"Jewd-"

"The truth, now, or I walk away from this."

"What?" Kilt felt shock like the water down his back.

"You heard me. You nearly died back there. We all could have died, especially the lad."

"Jeopardizing Leo's life was your fault, your decision! I told you to stay behind. You didn't-"

"We did. No one else was going to save your arrogant arse. What did you think? You could just walk into the viper's nest and come out unbitten?"

"I just wanted information."

"Fair enough. But I don't understand your needing to go alone. I don't understand their interest in you. And I certainly don't understand your reluctance to tell the truth...to me, of all people. Tell me the truth or I will walk away from you and from this strange life we've built alongside one another."

Kilt stared at Jewd, feeling as though he didn't recognize his closest friend. "I..."

"Remember...big, not stupid," Jewd warned. "And hurry, before Leo returns. He has no idea that you've been lying to us, although he too is smarter than you give him credit for. He knows something isn't adding up but he trusts you. I thought I did, too."

"And now you don't?"

"I don't like lies between us. They compromise us. They lead to danger...like today. Let me make this easier for you. Let me tell you what I know...Vulpan is interested in one sort of person only. A Vested. That's what he's doing right now-compiling a list of Vested. He tasted Kirin Felt-Vested. He even tasted Lily because somehow she has convinced him that she too is Vested. And now he has tasted you. Why would he taste you, Kilt?"

"I...really, I-"

Jewd stared at him, his eyes glittering with scorn. "He wouldn't waste his time with you unless..." He shook his head, seemingly unable to speak.

Kilt took a deep breath. He knew in his heart he should have explained it all many years ago...when they were children. He couldn't lose his close friend. "Does it really change anything, Jewd?" he asked, his voice hoarse with the emotion he wasn't sure he had fully under control, his nagging pain momentarily forgotten.

Jewd blinked with shock. "Doesn't it change everything?"

"Why?"

"Deceit is a poisonous ally."

"I haven't deceived anyone."

"How do you arrive at that conclusion?" Jewd's expression had turned to barely disguised scorn.

"Because it's never been used."

"Until now."

Kilt swallowed. "Yes, until yesterday."

Jewd swung and punched the tree. His knuckles bloomed blood.

"Ah, Jewd. Don't, please," Kilt said softly, genuine remorse in his voice. "If I could go back or change this, I would."

"Me, Kilt. It's me you've lied to."

Kilt looked down. "I've been lying to myself, to tell the truth. I thought if I ignored it, if I refused to answer its call, I could beat it. And I did...I have. All these years I have never once fallen prey to its seductions. Not once, Jewd. I've been strong and utterly in control of it."

"Am I supposed to be proud?"

"No, not proud. Understanding, perhaps. I do not want this. I never asked for it. It has been a permanent curse on my life, but I've beaten it day after day. You can't know what willpower it takes to resist its call. Why do you think I went to the Academy? I thought there I could understand this thing inside me. But that only made it worse."

Jewd took a breath. "What exactly is it that you can do?"

Kilt's face twisted into disgust. He looked away, then up into the trees, considering his answer. Kilt could see Leo, who had arrived at the summit of the hill they were ascending. He was scanning ahead and soon would be back. This conversation needed to be behind them by the time Leo returned, for Kilt had no intention of sharing his secret with the king. He sighed. "I have an odd ability to elicit information out of people, that's all."

Jewd regarded him suspiciously. "Against their will. Is that what you're saying?"

Kilt nodded. "I can't make it last for long. You see, nothing so special."

"I'd give my left nipple for such a skill, Kilt!"

"No, you wouldn't, Jewd. That's the point. There's a price."

"Such as?"

"Well, I get nosebleeds every time I use the magic."

"I've never seen you with a nosebleed."

"And now you have the answer to your next question."

Jewd looked suspicious. "So now you read minds?"

"No, I think it's obvious you want to ask me if I've ever used my ability against you. And as you've never seen me with a nosebleed, not only do you have the answer you want, but you can reassure yourself that I'm telling the truth when I say that I have not made use of the magic through our life together. The last time-before yesterday-was when I was barely a stripling youth."

Jewd's expression turned to one of awakening. "Nosebleeds, of course! It comes back to me now."

"Yes, well, you only saw me with them once or twice as a child, I recall."

They both glanced up and saw Leo making tracks back toward them.

"So you bled and Vulpan saw it, I take it," Jewd said.

"Yes, damn it. It was the blood that attracted him to me. Once he tasted it, I had to admit my skills and naturally he refused to let me leave. I was being taken to join all the other Vested, presumably."

"Aren't Vested supposed to be marked somehow?" Jewd queried.