“Is that why you’ve been so quiet? I’ll not tiptoe around anyone.” Sir Owalan had a dagger out and he was carving the stations of the Saint into the skin on his arm, tracing old white scars there that he had clearly traced and traced before. “The God alone is my judge.”
“There’s also the matter of how you left me in that challenge to die,” Adalbrand said in an undertone that suggested he was not eager to bring up this next point.
“Surely you didn’t consider the Beggar Paladin to be a threat!” Sir Owalan said plaintively. “She’s such a … crass thing.”
“Crass,” Adalbrand repeated dryly.
“Not one of us,” Owalan tried in a smaller voice.
“Possibly, she is not even a paladin,” Sir Sorken said like one trying to break bad news. I almost turned around to look at him at that. “Sir Coriand says there is a demon in her dog.”
“A demon?” Sir Owalan sounded alarmed. “Why did no one tell me of this? I must chant a prayer for your souls immediately.”
He was ignored by the others.
The cat is out of the bag, dear girl. Or rather the demon is in the dog and everyone knows. The Engineers have been whispering about it all night. They have not yet decided whether to kill Brindle and harvest the demon — those were their exact words — or whether to keep it within the dog so they can blackmail and control you.
And here I thought I liked the Engineers. Their behavior was looking more and more suspicious.
Wellll … I mean, you are hardly one to judge. You are carting a demon around the place. We must be reasonable in what we ask from others.
“I did not mean that I felt threatened by her, merely that I was abandoned by you.”
Sir Owalan scoffed. “We all knew you’d awaken and solve the puzzle. You’re no fool.”
Sir Sorken made a vague sound in the back of his throat. “Perhaps you should go fetch the Beggar’s dog, Sir Owalan. I need to have a word with the Poisoned Saint in private.”
There was a pause, as if Sir Owalan might argue the point, but after a moment he made a sound of acquiescence and then his footfalls marched away.
Sir Soken likely thought he was whispering when next he spoke but his whisper carried so easily that I heard every word. I glanced up at Cleft, who patiently held the lamp as I worked, wondering if he heard, too. If he did, he made no sign of it.
“You walk on rotten ice with that one, Poisoned Saint.”
“How do you mean?”
Sorken snorted. “Don’t think I’ve failed to notice what game you play. King’s bastard or no, you must know you’d be in terrible trouble with your aspect if I were to report you to Bishop Galifarnas. He’d have your tabard.”
“Speak clearly, then.”
“You’re romancing the Beggar. No, don’t frown at me. I’ve seen the longing looks you two trade back and forth and the way you always seem to fall together. I care not what you do here, but perhaps you should. She throws out accusations and makes wild claims. She harbors demons and accuses us of murder. Her madness is dangerous and destructive and make no mistake, it will splash onto you. See that it doesn’t. End this foolish alliance.” He coughed awkwardly. “She sullies your honor, Sir Knight. And now I must see a golem about a dog.”
And then his footsteps were echoing away from us, too.
I gritted my teeth. He did not paint a very flattering picture of me, and I found myself flushing when Adalbrand joined me by the puzzle, leaning against the wall so he could watch my face as I worked.
He had admitted to being drawn to me. Would that change when he saw how I was regarded by others?
“Did you see their shadows?” I asked as I worked, trying to speak of anything but what truly troubled me.
“I did. I do not know what to make of them, but we are on precarious ground. I have tried to lay seeds that might keep you safe, but the others have turned against you. I see how they look at you. If they can get away with abandoning you, they will.”
He shook his head ruefully and we shared a look.
“Or murdering me?” I lifted a brow.
He nodded tightly, the lines around his eyes growing deeper.
“And you? Are you regretting being close to such a rebel?”
