Not that it wouldn’t. Eventually, they all did.
A small, metal-clad door opened to one side of the main gates, and a man stepped through into the daylight.
“Morning,” he called out, walking toward Logan. “I’m Ethan Cole, Chairman of the Compound Directorate. What brings a Knight of the Word up this way?”
His voice was flat and perfunctory, and his manner was brusque. There was no offer of anything to eat or drink, no invitation to come inside and rest, no small talk, and no time wasted. Get it said and get it done. It wasn’t difficult to get an accurate measure of Ethan Cole. He was perhaps fifty years of age, of average size and ordinary looks, nothing unusual about him, nothing odd. But he spoke and walked in the way of a man used to wielding authority. Logan had met men like him before. They were always the same.
Logan leaned on his staff and waited for the other to get close, then said, “I’m looking for someone.”
Cole frowned. “Here?”
Logan nodded. “I’ve come halfway across the country to find him. I think you might have him inside. He’s just a boy. His name is Hawk.”
“Hawk,” the other man repeated and shook his head. “No, I don’t know anyone by that name.”
Logan studied him a moment, letting the weight of his gaze settle.
“Something you should know about Knights of the Word. Whatever you might think of us, we always know when we are being lied to. Maybe you have a good reason for doing so here, but I would appreciate it if you would stop wasting my time.
I am tired and hungry. I haven’t washed in days. I don’t have a lot of patience for this. What’s the problem?”
Ethan Cole hesitated, and then shrugged. “No problem. I’m just being careful. You say you are a Knight of the Word, but how do I know what you are?
Things have been a little uncertain around here. We lost an entire foraging party last week. They went out fully armed and equipped and they didn’t come back. Just disappeared.”
“It happens. I’m sorry about your people, but my presence has nothing to do with them. I’ve been following a trail, and it led me here. I don’t know anything about the boy’s history with this compound or even this city. I just know he’s inside your compound. He is, isn’t he?”
He waited. “All right, he’s here,” Cole admitted.
“Is he a prisoner?”
“He is.”
“What has he done?”
Cole took a deep breath and blew it out in exasperation. “He and one of our young girls stole some medical supplies. They’ve been meeting outside the compound for some time—a violation of our rules, of course. We found out about the girl a day or so ago and caught the boy trying to meet up with her again last night. It wouldn’t matter so much if they hadn’t stolen the supplies. But they did, so it does.”
The way he said it suggested that things were not going to end well for Hawk and the girl. Logan glanced past him to the gates and walls. “I would like to speak with the boy.”
The other man pursed his lips. “I don’t know about that.”
“What is it that you don’t know, Mr. Cole? I told you I’ve come a long way to find him. I need to make certain he’s who I think he is.”
“It won’t make much difference if he is or isn’t. Stealing from our medical stores is treason and punishable by death. He and the girl will be thrown from, the walls at sunset.”
Logan hid the twinge of fear that tightened his throat. “Then it won’t hurt to let me see him for a few minutes now, while there’s still time.”
Cole shifted his weight. “We don’t usually allow outsiders inside our walls.”
Logan straightened. “Is that how you see me? As an outsider? I guess I find that hard to understand given the nature of my work. In any case, it shouldn’t matter here. My request is a simple one. You shouldn’t find it difficult to grant.”
“I don’t know you. I don’t know anything about you. But I do know something of Knights of the Word. I’m told you possess unusual powers, magic or arcane skills. Given that, letting you inside our walls seems an unnecessary risk. I don’t see what purpose it will serve to let you speak with this boy. You can’t help him. The law is quite clear about what’s to be done in these cases.”
Logan nodded as if he understood, although the only thing he really understood was that Ethan Cole was starting to irritate him. “I’m not interested in your compound laws or what they mandate for offenders,” he said. “I’m here to determine if this boy is the one I have been looking for. It seems he is, but I need to speak with him to make certain.”
“But if he is who you’ve been looking for, what then? Will you then demand we set him free? Will you try to take him by force if we don’t?”
Logan sighed. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. I’m not looking to make trouble. Just let me speak with him. When I’m finished, I won’t ask anything further of you.”