After a long moment, Degalla shook her head. ‘And your perusal of a pattern on a floor requires the presence of an assassin? No, Warden, but I’ll grant you your innocence, and conclude that you have been deceived by your companions.’

At that, Caplo Dreem finally lifted his head, drawing back his hood. He smiled at Degalla. ‘I can hear them,’ he said.

‘Excuse me?’

‘Hedeg and Manalle. They speak quietly, but are beneath the arch of the gatehouse, sending down sufficient echo. I can hear their every word.’

Degalla twisted round, stared up at her distant guests, and the steep, long climb to where they sat astride their horses. ‘Impossible,’ she said.

‘What are they saying?’ Jureg asked.

Caplo’s strange eyes remained fixed on Degalla. ‘They revel in their contempt for you, milady. More, there is a smell about Hedeg, hinting of some future violence, with you the victim. It is likened to a licking of the lips, a sudden heat of pleasure beneath the skin of the face, a darkening gleam in the pools of the eye. Indulging in anticipation is a sensual repast for those two. They have long shared a fiery bed of vindictive lust, and the coals run deep.’

Jureg shot Degalla a glance. ‘Manalle believes herself superior with the blade.’

‘Fear not,’ Caplo replied. ‘Her intelligence is a fortress no doubt can vanquish, but in the matter of crossing swords, it will prove her undoing. It is not the keenest wit that guides a weapon master’s hand, but the easy surrender to instinct, and the faith such a thing demands. Manalle cannot relinquish control, and this will one day kill her.’

‘Be silent, assassin,’ snapped Degalla, but she eyed Caplo in consternation. There was something uncanny about the man, something wild and barely constrained. ‘You presume beyond all reason.’

‘Perhaps I do,’ he said, offering her a feral smile.

Resh stirred. ‘Milady?’

‘Warlock?’

‘We have reason to believe that Lord Urusander will not wait until winter’s end. Even now, his legion prepares to march.’

It seemed that the presumption was far from done. ‘And you offer us this for what purpose?’

‘You have little time, milady. If Lord Anomander has left the Citadel, then he has abrogated his responsibility. It might be wise to elect for yourselves a new warlord.’ He paused, and then waved a hand. ‘To be honest, seen from the outside, does Anomander truly reflect your cause? I would think the man rages and may well be consumed by the need for vengeance, in his brother’s name.’

‘You are free with your advice, warlock. Whom then do you propose?’

‘Why, the one who would lose the most, milady, is surely the one who would fight the hardest.’

After a moment, Jureg spat.

Degalla stared at Resh in disbelief.

‘But then,’ Resh continued in a drawl, ‘Draconus is not well liked among the highborn, is he? Despite his fame as a commander and his prowess on the field of battle. Despite the zeal with which he would apply himself to the cause of maintaining things as they are. Despite his incorruptible nature. Alas, the poor man’s crime is being loved by your goddess—’