‘Not to me, you idiot. No point in apologizing for who you are and always will be, is there?’ She paused to examine the narrow blade of her rapier, scowled at a nick near the inside edge a hand’s span from the tip, and glanced back at the Grey Swords recruit who was still in the circle and awaiting a new opponent. ‘Damn woman’s green, but a fast learner. Your apology, oaf, should be made to Master Keruli—’

‘Not my master any longer.’

‘He saved our skins, Gruntle, including your worthless hide.’

Crossing his arms, Gruntle raised a brow. ‘Oh, and how did he manage that? Blacking out at the first rush – funny, I didn’t see any lightning and conflagration from his Elder God, his nasty Lord—’

‘We all went down, you fool. We were done for. But that priest plucked our souls away – as far as those K’Chain Che’Malle could sense, we were dead. Don’t you remember dreaming? Dreaming! Pulled right into that Elder God’s own warren. I recall every detail—’

‘I guess I was too busy dying for real,’ Gruntle snapped.

‘Yes, you were, and Keruli saved you from that, too. Ungracious pig. One moment I was getting tossed around by a K’Chain Che’Malle, the next I woke up ... somewhere else . . . with a huge ghost wolf standing over me. And I knew – knew instantly, Gruntle, that nothing was getting past that wolf. It was standing guard . . . over me.’

‘Some kind of servant of the Elder God?’

‘No, he doesn’t have any servants. What he has is friends. I don’t know about you, but knowing that – realizing it as I did there with that giant wolf – well, a god that finds friends instead of mindless worshippers ... dammit, I’m his, Gruntle, body and soul. And I’ll fight for him, because I know he’ll fight for me. Horrible Elder Gods, bah! I’ll take him over those snarling bickering fools with their temples and coffers and rituals any day.’

Gruntle stared at her, disbelieving. ‘I must still be hallucinating,’ he muttered.

‘Never mind me,’ Stonny said, sliding her rapier into its scabbard. ‘Keruli and his Elder God saved your life, Gruntle. So we’re now going to him, and you’re going to apologize and if you’re smart you’re going to pledge to stand with him, in all that’s to come—’

‘Like Hood I am. Oh, sure, I’ll say sorry and all that, but I don’t want anything to do with any gods, Elder or otherwise, and that includes their priests—’

‘I knew you weren’t smart but I had to offer anyway. Let’s go, then. Where’s Buke disappeared to?’

‘Not sure. He was just, uh, delivering me.’

‘The Elder God saved him, too. And Mancy. Hood knows those two necromancers didn’t give a damn whether they lived or died. If he’s smart, he’ll quit that contract.’