Brown turned and looked at her. “A word of advice, goodwife. Go far away—Venike, or Rhum. Never mention this again, even to yourself. One of these lads will see you have a change of clothes and a bag of gold.”

“Killed my husband,” the woman said. “Killed my son. I’d have done it for free.” Her head was high, her eyes shining. “I don’t care if they catch me.” But then she seemed to shrink. “I don’t even know what to do now.”

M’bub Ali gave her a slow smile. “No husband, no brother, no sister, no child?” he asked.

She shook her head.

M’bub Ali raised an eyebrow. “You might as well come with us,” he said.

Brown, who mostly disliked people, sighed. “We’re not recruiting,” he said.

Arles—The Red Knight

“Sauce beat the Patriarch. Kronmir’s dead,” said Bad Tom.

Gabriel got his helmet off. “You bedside manner’s still a little rough.”

“Aye, I liked him.” Tom shrugged. “Loons get kilt. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Aye?”

“Och, aye,” Gabriel said. He was reading the thin parchment in Tom’s fist that had been brought by the messenger, and anger and depression settled on him. He told himself it was a reaction to the fight.

“Jesus,” Gabriel said. “Oh God.”

Tom Lachlan smiled a hard smile. “Ye ken it was a man who did that to him, aye? Nae monster. Nae dragon. Nae worm. Only fuckin’ men.”

Gabriel blinked. He was in the place he went, where all he could see was all the people he’d killed. “Yes, Tom. I take your meaning.”

“Sauce talked to the worm. It never got into Kronmir’s head.”

Gabriel let go a breath.

“That close,” Lachlan said, and suddenly his arms were around Gabriel. “Fuck it, Gabriel. We almost lost it all, and Kronmir, that slippery bastard, held ’em. In his wee head. ’Til he died.” Bad Tom was looking out at the falling darkness. “Mayhap the bravest fuckin’ thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Aye, Tom.”

Tom Lachlan shook his head. “Didn’t even like the loon,” he admitted.

Gabriel took a deep breath. “I did,” he said. “Get me Mortirmir, please.”

Mortirmir found Gabriel watching Ariosto eat.

“You found him,” Mortirmir said with satisfaction. “I have him to the inch.”

“Yes,” Gabriel said. “He’s distributed in a whole herd of Umroth.” He described the passive shield.

Mortirmir raised both eyebrows.

“I’ll save the time of saying that’s impossible,” he said. “It’s fascinating.”

Gabriel had out a map. One of Kronmir’s maps.

“He’s dead,” Mortirmir said.

“I know,” Gabriel nodded.

Mortirmir shook his head. “Tancreda was instrumental in winning the battle,” he said. “I wonder what I’d do if they did to Tancreda what they did to Ser Jules.” He frowned.