“Were you worried I was captured?” Kiranrao asked playfully, his eyes searching her face. Then he looked at her suggestively. “Finder garb suits her well. Doesn’t it, Bhikhu?”
She saw Paedrin gawking at her and almost favored him with a smile. But they were far from danger. “There are soldiers over there, searching for tracks. Ssshh!”
Paedrin’s eyes were bloodshot and his chin covered with recent growth. He looked haggard and spent, but his eyes fastened to hers with a desperation she had never seen before.
“Your shoulder?” she asked, nodding toward it.
“Healed,” Kiranrao answered for him. “He is not prone to much talk since I rescued him. Notice the ring on his hand? It looks like a wedding band, does it not?”
Hettie had not noticed it and cursed herself for spending so much time absorbing the look on his face. Paedrin held up his hand for her to see it. It was an ugly thing, made of iron with silver symbols carved into it. His eyes were haunted.
“What is it?” Hettie whispered.
Kiranrao gave her a snort. “He’s more to be pitied than laughed at now. It’s a Kishion ring. The lad is wedded to the Arch-Rike now. Still happy I saved him for you?” He held out his hand. “Payment due. Give me the stones.”
Hettie hated deceiving Paedrin like this. She gritted her teeth. “He is no use to us if he has not his own will!”
“Let Tyrus unscramble his brains then. I want the stones to trade him for the blade. My service is performed. Hand me the stones, girl.”
Hettie took the pouch from her belt and untied it, then flung them at him roughly. “Take it!” she snapped angrily.
Kiranrao nodded his head with a broad smile. “He still hasn’t spoken a word. The silent are often guilty. I will draw away these fools and then meet you at the boulders by the shore.” He clapped Paedrin on the back. “Go with her, boy. She will lead you away.” He rose slightly and stared down at the soldiers at the base of the hill. “A windy day is the wrong one for thatching. Time to fly!” He broke away from the brush at a sprint, making plenty of noise to draw the attention of the dogs and the men.
“Look! Up there! There he goes!”
The soldiers let out a shout and started at a run, letting the dogs loose to begin the chase. One of them held a horn to his lips and blew hard on it, sending a strong sound into the morning air, but nothing compared to the clanging of the bells earlier.
Hettie still nestled in the brush with Paedrin. She took his hand, the one with the ring, and gently squeezed it. She gave him a wry look. “No insults yet? Why dark leathers don’t look so subtle at dawn? Why I look like I haven’t slept all night, since I haven’t? Do you need some help or is your mind truly gone?”
His other hand closed on top of hers. “It is difficult…for me…to speak. The Arch-Rike is controlling…trying to control…me.”
She looked him firmly in the eye. “You will have to do better than that, Paedrin. It wasn’t even funny.”
There was a sudden tic, a twitch in the corner of his mouth. “I thought I had you for a moment. What gave me away?”
She smirked. “Aside from the fact that Kiranrao brought you here alive? What kind of grease is it on your finger? I noticed it when you held up your hand. Is that tallow?”
Paedrin smiled and held up his hand again. “Linseed, I think. Smells like it, anyway. It helps disrupt the connection, apparently. Glad Kiranrao had some fat with him. You would never find any fat on me.”
Hettie nodded. “That’s a little better. You aren’t angry with me for hiring him to save you?”
Paedrin chuckled. “I offered to kiss his little toes in payment, but he said you had worked something out between the two of you. Your uncle will take it amiss for giving him the stones.”
“If there was ever a man who could outsmart Kiranrao…”
“Other than myself?” Paedrin added, offering her a cocked smile.
“Well, first we must outsmart the Arch-Rike. The ports all closed, as you know, when the bells tolled. But I also told you before that the Romani do not need the ports to get into the city. Follow me, outlaw.”
Hettie stayed low to keep the bushes as a screen and started off in the opposite direction than the one that Kiranrao took. Paedrin kept pace behind her. She was relieved to hear the sound of his breathing. Even though they were far from being out of danger, his presence soothed her worries. There was no doubt getting away from the island would require some conflict. She had seen him fight. She even respected him for it.
They reached the end of the wall before it turned, and the scrub ended abruptly. Leaving cover would be a problem, but there were trees farther down that would hide them from anyone patrolling the upper walls. She waited, listening.
Paedrin’s breath was in her ear. “Why delay?”