Brys cleared his throat. ‘My brother the king—’
‘Has no respect at all for the institutions of the military,’ said the marine, nodding. ‘Hood take me, for that reason alone I’d follow him anywhere. What think you, Stormy?’
The man scowled, scratched his red beard, and then grunted. ‘Do I have to?’
‘Do what? You oaf, I was saying—’
‘And I wasn’t listening, so how do I know what you was saying, Gesler? And do I even care? If I did, I’d probably have listened, wouldn’t I?’
Gesler muttered something, and then said to Brys, ‘Prince, I’d beg you to excuse my companion’s boorish manners, but then he ain’t five years old and I ain’t his dada, so feel welcome to regard him with disgust. We do, all of us here, ain’t that right, Stormy?’
‘I ain’t listening.’
‘Prince Brys, about the chain of command the Adjunct wants—’
‘I am content, Mortal Sword Gesler, to accede to her wishes.’
‘Well, we ain’t.’
‘Y’got that right,’ Stormy growled. ‘It’s all right Ges handling the Che’Malle – it’s all down to smells, y’see? All he needs to do is fart or whatever and all the swords come out, which come to think of it, is just like old times. In the barracks, why—’
‘It’s down to trust,’ said the boy. The bigger of the two dogs had drawn up next to him. Belligerent eyes glared out from a mangled face.
No one spoke. The silence stretched.
‘You’d better explain that, Grub,’ said Gesler, his expression dark.
Brys started to speak but Aranict stayed him with a hand on his arm.
‘It’s down to the people she knows best,’ Grub continued. ‘That’s all.’
‘We saved their lives!’ blurted the standard-bearer, his face flushed.
‘That’s enough, soldier,’ said Brys. ‘What the boy says makes sense, Gesler. After all, what can she make of our motives? This is her war, it always has been. Why are we here? Why does Queen Abrastal seem intent on making this her cause as well? The Bonehunters brought the Letherii to their knees – might we not harbour resentment over that? Might we not contemplate betrayal? As for Bolkando, well, from all accounts the Khundryl laid waste to vast regions in that kingdom, and spilled the blood of the queen’s subjects. Together with the Perish, they effectively subjected Bolkando to outright extortion.’
‘So why should she have any better reason to trust us ?’ Gesler demanded. ‘We got snatched, and now we’re commanding our own damned army of lizards. The fact is, we deserted the—’
‘I ain’t deserted nothing!’ Stormy shouted. The smaller of the two dogs barked.
Brys noted the growing alarm on the face of the Awl woman. He caught her eye and said, ‘You are the Destriant?’
‘I am Kalyth,’ she said. ‘I do not understand what is going on. The way you use the trader’s tongue – there are words I don’t know. I am sorry.’ She faced Gesler. ‘He is Mortal Sword of the K’Chain Che’Malle. He is defender of Matron Gunth Mach. We must fight to stay alive. There are old wounds … old … crimes. We cannot escape. Gunth Mach cannot escape. We fight, will fight.’
‘And somehow,’ Brys mused, ‘the Adjunct understands the truth of that. How?’
Kalyth shook her head. ‘I do not know her. But’ – and she pointed at the girl standing near Grub – ‘where this one goes, there will be fire.’
Gesler rubbed at his face with both hands. ‘Our … Ceda. Sinn. Without her sorcery, and Grub’s, the Nah’ruk would have defeated us. Not on the ground, but from the sky keeps. So,’ he sighed, ‘Sinn and Grub saved us all. The Adjunct said we’d need them—’
‘No,’ corrected Stormy, ‘she said they’d be safer with us than with her.’
Gesler said to Brys, ‘We’ve been thinking of going after them – into that desert.’
‘She will not be swayed,’ said Brys. ‘And she wants none of us to follow her. It is her conviction that we will be needed elsewhere.’
‘I can’t assume command,’ said Gesler. ‘I’m a Hood-damned marine, a fucking sergeant.’
‘You was a damned Fist , Gesler!’ Stormy said.
‘For three days—’
‘Till they busted you down, aye! And why was you busted down? No, you don’t want to say, do you?’