get the mug to his lips; even then a dirty stream oozed out the comer of his
ruined mouth. The garrison captain looked away and tried not to notice.
“You mean Ischade?” he asked when the wine was gone.
“Seh!” Mor-am’s back straightened and his eyes cleared as he uttered the Nisi
curse. “Not Her name. Not aloud. S-She’s l-l-looking for s-someone to k-k-kill
someone p-powerful. I c-could find out h-his name.”
Walegrin said nothing.
“I s-saw Her w-with T-T-Tempus-at m-m-my s-sister’s h-h-house. S-She w-w-was
angry.”
Walegrin studied the stars overhead.
Mor-am gripped the cup again, throwing his head back, sucking loudly, futilely
on the rim. He made a supreme effort to control his wayward tongue. “I know
other things. She’s looking for the witch. Got to have power-have her focus
back. I can follow Her-She trusts me.”
A flock of the white Beyarl made their way to the palace. A falcon’s cry echoed
across the rooftops. The white birds swooped back toward the harbor. Walegrin
watched their slow-circling patterns and Mor-am lurched forward across the
barrel head to grip his wrist with moist, sticky hands.
The young man began to speak in a rapid, malodorous whisper: “M-Moria’s changed.
G-G-Got f-friends w-w-who aren’t Her f-friends. D-Deads at the P-Peres h-house
w-w-who s-should b-b-be in h-hell. T-Taken a 1-1-lover. M-Moria’s a th-thief-1
1-like H-Her. H-He’s a m-mage-m-maybe b-b-better th-than H-Her. S-She’ll t-t
tell you w-w-what e’s-“
The captain wrenched his arm away and whistled sharply. A burly soldier emerged