Page 85 of Swordheart
Halla opened her mouth to say something, received a death glare from Sarkis, and meekly closed it on whatever remark she was about to utter.
“No, no,” said Zale. “No more than it’s full of severed tongues, I imagine.”
“What a marvelous image,” said Sarkis, putting his face in his hands. Really, he didn’t know why he ever bothered to take his face out of his hands. He should just have them permanently attached to his forehead, the way his life was going.
Zale started to say something else and then their mouth snapped shut with a click. Sarkis looked up.
Two figures in indigo cloaks rode down the road. Sarkis narrowed his eyes, recognizing the Motherhood Priest who had harassed them on the way from Archon’s Glory.
“Priest,” said the first one, nodding to Zale.
Zale inclined their head, all their amusement gone. Their face looked as cold and angular as a hunting fox’s.
“Have you had any trouble on this road?”
“Not so far,” said Zale acidly. “Am I going to, do you think?”
Sarkis wondered how great the Motherhood’s sins were, to rouse such ire in the mild-mannered priest. Halla had stilled, her large gray eyes the color of a clouded sea. Brindle drove on, not looking at any of the humans, eyes fixed on the ox’s ears.
“Only the Mother knows the future,” said the Motherhood priest. He had short reddish hair and an angular, sallow face. His companion was heavyset, with a scarred complexion, and he carried a sword with the ease of a man comfortable with its use.
Red looked over at Scar and tapped his gloved fingers on his reins. “I am curious as to what you are carrying in your wagon.”
“Food,” said Zale. “Bunks. Clothes. The sort of things that go in wagons.”
“I think I’ve got a pot of glue,” volunteered Halla.
“You’ve got a rather large sword for a woman,” said Scar, looking over at her.
“Yes, but I’m told it’s not the size of the sword that matters,” said Halla. She frowned. “Although my husband used to say that, and do you know, he never told me what it meant?”
Red blinked once. Sarkis put his hand over his mouth.
“Anyway, it’s really more long than it is heavy. It’s actually quite light. I can handle it quite well, except that it’s a bit too long. My husband should probably have said that the size of the sword doesn’t matter unless it’s too long to handle, but—”
Scar’s face flushed. Sarkis suspected that he thought Halla was making fun of him. Sarkis himself wasn’t entirely sure. Surely even Halla couldn’t be that naÏve… could she?
Nobody kills stupid women, they just kick us out of the way…
As a system, he didn’t have to like it, but it had obviouslyworked for her in the past. But these days she had a servant of the sword, and if someone tried to kick her out of the way, Sarkis was going to take their leg off at the knee.
“Whydo you carry a sword?” grated Scar.
Halla blinked at him, her eyes round. “Um, for the same reason you do, right? So people leave me alone because they think, ‘Oh, she’s got a sword, she must be dangerous.’”
“I protect the innocent and punish the guilty,” growled Scar.
“Oh,” said Halla. “I guess not the same reason, then. I mean, I like to think I’d protect the innocent, too. It hasn’t really come up. But I don’t punish the guilty. Not that I wouldn’t, if I found one! I would punish them like you wouldn’t believe! But I don’t know how to find guilty people. I guess they don’t just walk up and say, ‘Hi, I’m guilty, punish me!’ do they?”
Red and Scar stared at her. Scar looked as if he was becoming angry. Red looked as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“We are escorting Mistress Halla to her home,” said Zale, massaging their temples. “There is a legal issue with her inheritance and she has engaged the Rat’s services. There is absolutely nothing of interest to the Motherhood in our mission, our wagon, or our possession.”
“Then you’ll not mind if we take a look,” said Scar. Sarkis was probably imagining the note of relief in the man’s voice, as if they had returned to a script that he understood.
“Yes, of course I’d mind!” snapped Zale. “You have no right and no call to do so! I’m a priest of the Rat on Temple business!”
“And we are priests of the Mother, on Temple business,” said Red smoothly. “Surely you do not wish to interfere with ours… just as we have no desire to interfere with yours…”
