Thealos nodded. While Tomn went over to his own knapsack, Thealos glanced back at Cropper. His head had started to sag down on his chest. Good. The cook returned with a large bundle wrapped in oilskin to protect it. He untied the leather thongs and gently unraveled the fabric. It was a fine wool gown, cut to fit a human woman, made from a rich shade of ochre with a blue and violet trim around the bodice. It certainly wasn’t Silvan in style or pattern, but it was attractive.
“It’s a nice gown, Tomn,” Thealos said approvingly. “I’d examine it, but I can’t like this…” He held up his wrists and shrugged. Let him untie me, Vannier. Let him untie me.
The cook made sure everyone was asleep and then untied the knots that bound Thealos. Thealos rubbed the circulation back into his hands. He took the fabric and quickly examined the seams. “They used the Silvan stitch-marking rules, good. Wool is a fine sturdy fabric, very popular in the city. The trim is also nice – I like the pattern here. Where did you get this?”
“I bought it in Sol.”
Thealos nodded. “You probably paid over twenty pieces for it.”
“Twenty-five.”
“A good price. You could sell it in Dos-Aralon for thirty and make a profit.”
Tomn shook his head. “No, it’s for a serving girl I know. She’d look so pretty in it. She has dark hair and dark eyes. She said… she says she likes that I’m so quiet. Do you think she’ll like it?”
“If you treat her as well as you do others. Sounds like she’s a rare woman. ‘Rare as a brown-eyed Shae.’ That’s what my people would say.”
“That’s right, I’m sorry I’ve been calling you a Shaden. You have green eyes, like mine. I didn’t know Shae had brown eyes – I thought they were all blue or green or something.”
“I’ve never met a brown-eyed Shae before either,” Thealos replied. “It doesn’t happen among my people. I have seen a few who are dark-haired, but that’s also pretty rare. You’re right. We have blue, green, or gray eyes, and sometimes a mix of the three. But I’ve never even heard of a brown-eyed Shae. That’s why it’s an expression.”
“Ohh,” Tomn said. He fidgeted for a moment and then pulled another bundle out of his shirt. “I wanted to give this back to you. I don’t know what it is or what it means, but it wasn’t right for us to take your things like we did. We’d get in trouble with the army if they found out. Here. I’m sorry.” He handed Thealos the small leather bundle that held Arielle’s hoppit doll. A pang of homesickness struck his heart like a dagger. Thealos smiled, a sad smile. He’d never missed his family so much in his life.
“Thank you, Tomn. It belonged to my sister. It’s just a toy.”
“Well, it’s yours. You’d better get some sleep. It’s my turn for watch anyway – you don’t have to stay up with me. We’ll be pretty busy in the morning, looking for the clutch. I think we’ll find it this time.”
It was time. “I don’t think they’ll let me help you find it,” Thealos stated in a quiet voice.
“What do you mean?”
“You heard Cropper and Hoth tonight, Tomn.” He dropped his voice even lower. “I think they’re going to kill me tomorrow.”
“I won’t let them,” Tomn muttered, his face pained.
“But what can you do? Even if I led them right to it, do you think they’d let me go? I could report you to the army commanders in Dos-Aralon. They know that.”
“I think they’d let you go if you promised...”
Thealos shook his head. “No, Tomn. I don’t think they will. I’m just a Shaden to them. If I help, then there’s no reason to keep me alive. Don’t you see? I lose either way.”
“I could cut you loose,” the cook suggested. “Cropper just hates Shade…the Shae because a barter tricked him and his brother with a contract and they had to spend some time in jail. But I don’t think you’re all like that. You’re the first one I’ve ever really known.”
“Then would you help me, Tomn?” Thealos pressed. “If I helped you?”
“How? Cut your ankles loose now?”
Thealos shook his head. “What if I took you to the clutch now. Tonight. After we’ve found it, you can let me go. I trust you, Tomn. I don’t trust them. You’d get first pick of the clutch too. Do they ever let you get the first choice?”
Tomn’s eyes lit with eagerness. “You think you can find it, Thealos? In the dark?”
“It would be easier for me in the dark,” Thealos promised, knowing that his eyes were glowing white-gold with firelight.
IX
Thealos had lost count how many days he had spent with Tannon’s Band. The night in Nordain’s council chamber was a blur in his memory, a fragment of time rubbed away by the bonds he had worn with the Aralonian soldiers. The back of his head still had a tender spot from the first of Cropper’s blows, but a knot had formed there. It would take at least another week to heal fully. Thealos glanced over his shoulder, watching as Tomn struggled through the screening trees in the dark. Pausing, Thealos grabbed the cook’s arm and helped him duck beneath a clawing branch that would have scraped across his face.