Page 54 of Crucible of Chaos

Caeda laughed. ‘At last we see who wears the spurs in this relationship.’

Imperious let out a low growl uncharacteristic of his species, yet familiar to Estevar, who drew his rapier from the sheath in his coat. ‘Piccolo, to me.’

‘Why? what’s wr—?’

Heavy stomping outside heralded the arrival of a huge, hooded figure whose modest grey robes were at odds with the massive sword strapped to his back. ‘Having fun?’ he asked.

Beneath the disdain and menace of his tone, Estevar heard a note of rising fear. He said nothing.

Malezias crossed the stable floor to loom over Estevar like a tower about to fall on top of him. ‘What’s the matter, Trattari?’ he asked, noticing the rapier in Estevar’s hand. ‘Afraid I’ve come to slaughter your mule for food?’

Estevar glanced at Imperious, who was unperturbed by the intruder. ‘No,’ he answered. ‘I am not.’

Malezias slid the scabbard’s leather loop off his shoulder and drew a two-handed warsword longer than any Estevar had seen before. ‘Why not? You think this place has made me too soft for killing?’ He barked a laugh. ‘You shouldn’t. I’ve seen a dozen battlefields and never found one so bloody as this.’

‘Malezias!’ Caeda said, coming to separate the two men, but Estevar waved her off.

‘I have no doubt such a weapon could easily take my head,’ he said carefully, and noting the dark stains on the blade, added, ‘It appears I owe you a debt of gratitude.’

‘Why would you want to thankme?’

Estevar hesitated, unsure if his answer might somehow bring shame to the big man. ‘Because my mule hasnotbeen slaughtered, and that blood dripping from the tip of your sword is fresh, which tells me that others have tried.’

Malezias looked at Caeda, whose expression of surprise faded to a smile of fondness, although not as fond as the giant might have wished. ‘Damned Hounds,’ he swore, sliding the sword back in its scabbard. He gestured to a corner of the stable where the absence of hay and dirt revealed that something large had been dragged away. ‘Didn’t want ’em both to bleed out here. Mules are stupid beasts– get spooked by the smell.’

Estevar took his forearm in a soldier’s clasp. ‘Twice you have saved this particular mule and for this, I owe you a debt that I fear I’ll never be able to fully repay.’

The hard lines of the warrior’s face softened as he muttered, ‘Hard to imagine a sentimental milksop like you goes around duelling trained killers.’

‘Demons, too,’ Caeda said, running over to throw her arms around Malezias. She looked like a child next to him, barely coming up to his ribs. ‘Storms, oceans and demonic invasions. It’s only people he can’t fight worth a damn.’

‘Speaking of fighting,’ Estevar interjected, loath to interrupt a tender moment, yet aware that time was slipping away from him, ‘how much longer will the causeway remain flooded?’

Malezias pushed Caeda away, a sudden fury turning his cheeks red. ‘Why? So you can run off back to the mainland? Now that your mule is safe and you’ve got some fine stories to tell your Trattari friends, you’re going to abandon the abbey?’

‘Malezias!’ Caeda snapped. ‘How dare you? Estevar would never walk away from a case. He just wants to make sure no one else can flee before he’s caught the killer!’

‘Actually, it’s neither of those things,’ Estevar told her.

‘Then what?’ Caeda asked.

He turned back to Malezias. ‘You showed remarkable skill navigating the treacherous currents off the shore and you are far more knowledgeable about the tides than anyone else. How soon until the causeway will be passable?’

The big man shrugged. ‘Hard to say with any certainty.’ He gestured to the far side of the stable. ‘Lot of black clouds nearby, but fewer on the western horizon. We’ll have another storm tonight– a bad one–but by tomorrow, assuming the currents stop misbehaving, it should be possible to get off the island.’

Or to come here, Estevar thought, but kept that to himself. There would be time enough for those ill tidings to make themselves known, and he couldn’t risk Malezias deciding to take Caeda’s safety into his own hands.

Glancing back at Imperious, he asked, ‘Can you protect him one more night, Malezias? I know it is a great favour t—’

‘Of course he can,’ Caeda said, patting the giant’s arm. ‘Ignore his sour temper. He loves horses.’

‘That’s not a horse,’ Malezias corrected, and shot Estevar a glare that promised a brutal reckoning should any harm come to Caeda, confirming that his was the kind of love that made it impossible for him to refuse her anything. ‘Fine. I’ll sit here all day and night like an idiot watching over a stupid beast who should be roasting over an open fire rather than turning his nose up at every piece of food I put in front of him.’ Almost as an afterthought, he asked Estevar, ‘And what’s in it for me, anyway?’

Again, he had to choose his answer carefully. ‘All the gratitude I can offer,’ he said.

Malezias and Imperious snorted simultaneously, evidently sharing opinions on the worth of Estevar’s gratitude.

Caeda laughed with delight, as if she were still the bright young village girl with her whole life ahead of her, and the world a far kinder place than it had turned out to be.

---