The village kuttakaru smiled back at him serenely.
Adam pleaded with them.“Ellie and I have an advantage in this situation that might keep people from getting killed.Let us use it.Please.”
The women and children hovering outside their houses continued to watch worriedly.Jignesh’s men scattered to gather supplies, the old warrior deftly supervising the preparations.
Nirjara prodded her grandson with a finger, asking him a question.Subhas answered with obvious reluctance.
The older woman’s serene smile carried a hint of mischief.“Tari Penu ha?a.Evari haladu.”
“What did she say?”Ellie asked.
Subhas rubbed an exasperated hand over his features.“That Tari Penu says you should go.”
“Tari Penu?”
“Our god,” he replied dryly.
Ellie thought of the carved pillar that stood sentinel on the far side of the village.
“Though how much of it is Tari Penu and how much is Attuburhi meddling, I couldn’t say.”Subhas faced Adam with an air of frank challenge.“Do you have any idea how to track a body of men in the forest without being seen?”
“Yes,” Adam returned flatly.
Subhas absorbed the unquestioning confidence in his response.
Adam adjusted the fall of the Winchester across his back.“Two and a half miles to the northwest.”
The younger man came to a decision.He looked far from happy about it.
“Borthwick will have to find a way to cross the river,” he begrudgingly filled in.“You can’t use the same route.He’ll watch his flank… but we have our own crossings.Take the game trail that branches to the north a mile up the valley.Follow the level ridge to the west until you see a dry streambed on the southern slope.You’ll find what you need there.”Subhas’s eyes glinted with challenge.“Do you have all that?”
“I got it,” Adam replied, meeting his gaze.
He whistled, and Kalb—who had been starting to creep after a chicken—darted to his side.
“At the river, watch out for the bodh,” Subhas added with deceptive ease.
“What’s a bodh?”Adam asked.
“It’s a rather large catfish.”
“Am I watching for it in case I get hungry?”Adam quipped.
Subhas ignored the question, authority coming into the line of his shoulders.“My men and I will go after your astra—not because I think there is a magical weapon hidden in the forest,” he emphasized with a glare.“But if there’s anything out there important enough to catch Borthwick’s attention, I don’t want him to have it.”
Adam’s thumb hooked around the strap of his rifle.“Sounds like a plan.”
Neil straightened with determination, stepping forward.“I’m coming with you.”
“You come,” Adam pushed back mercilessly, “and you’ll be handing Jacobs exactly the leverage he needs over the two of us—because he’ll have no problem hurting you.”
Neil’s eyes sparked with frustration.“Am I just supposed to sit around and wait to see whether you come back?”
“No one is sitting around,” Constance cut in.“We’re going with Mr.Konja.”
Subhas looked frankly horrified at the idea.“Absolutely not.”
Constance narrowed her eyes.“Do I need to remind you what I can do with my daggers?”
