“I doubt it,” Ulin breathed. He knew the Knights would kill her in an instant if they thought she was trying to cast a spell.
Several minutes dragged by, and no one moved or said a word. The Knights continued to stand close to Lucy while the silent watchers waited in breathless suspense.
A burst of raucous laughter inside the inn shattered the quiet. It was followed by the innkeeper’s voice raised in frightened protest. The other three Knights stamped out of the inn, shoving Master Aylesworthy before them. The portly man tripped over a loose stone and fell to his knees.
The leader of the patrol, a stocky, black-haired woman, put her fists on her hips. “An appropriate gesture, Innkeeper,” she sneered. “Stay there until I tell you to rise.” She pushed close to Lucy and glared at her like a cat eyes its prey. They were nearly the same height, and their eyes met and locked. Lucy did not blink or look away, but regarded the officer with cool disdain.
“Knight Officer,” Challie began, “I demand to know why my client-”
The woman cut her off with a sharp jerk of her hand. “I am Knight Officer Jesic Venturin of the Third Talon. You have been caught in the possession of a stolen horse.” Her gaze nailed on Lucy’s face.
“Who said it was stolen?” asked Lucy.
The Knight Officer’s hand cracked across Lucy’s bruised cheek. “You will take care to watch your tone.”
Lucy’s choked cry of pain brought Ulin’s anger to a boil. He would have surged out of his hiding place if Pease hadn’t caught his sleeve.
“Not yet!” hissed the kender. “Not unless there is no choice.”
Ulin subsided. He was beginning to see why this kender rode with the Silver Fox. He forced his attention away from his anger and concentrated on what the Dark Knight was saying to Lucy.
“This brand says the horse is stolen. In the rare instances that the Knights of Neraka sell a horse, we alter the brand.”
Ulin bit back a groan. No wonder Akkar-bin had been so willing to part with the animal.
Lucy bowed her head to look contrite. “Knight Officer, I know nothing about the horse’s past or its brand. It was given to me as part of my wages for a job.”
“What job?” Venturin demanded.
“Well, I-”
“She accepted the position of sheriff for our little town.”
Two people stood silhouetted in the doorway of the inn. Together they shuffled in, frail and bent over their walking sticks, their white hair ghostly in the torchlight.
The five Knights made no move toward the two, in fact they relaxed their tense positions and moved slightly apart. Aylesworthy shifted cautiously out of the way.
“Mayor Efrim.” Knight Officer Venturin curled her lip.
The old man and his companion stopped by the Dark Knights and made ridiculously low bows. Shuffling their feet and swaying, they managed to stand upright again.
Behind the straw bales, Ulin watched the scene with interest. He recognized the other person as Saorsha, but he had not seen the councilwoman look so elderly and bent before.
“Knight Officer Venturin, what a delight to see you again,” the mayor’s voice quavered across the stableyard. “I apologize for any difficulty you are having. What may we do to help?”
Venturin twisted on her heel to glower at the mayor. “Explain your earlier comment, old man, and do it quickly.”
The mayor flinched under the crack of her voice. “This woman agreed to be our sheriff, for a few weeks only.” He lifted his trembling hands as if to ward off a blow. “Just to help keep the peace during the Visiting Day Festival.”
Venturin snorted. Her black, cold eyes turned to Lucy. “This? This soft piece of gutter trash is your new sheriff? She looks better suited for one of the pleasure houses-one of the cheaper ones.”
The other Knights snickered. Lucy did not move. Only her last reserves of self-control held her still and silent.
Saorsha spoke for the first time in a voice soft and compliant. “We like her, Knight Officer, and she gets along well with the townspeople-especially the kender. Our agreement is for such a short time.” She smiled a hopeful smile, her gaze and posture totally inoffensive.
“Like the previous sheriff,” Venturin commented dryly. She snapped back to Lucy. “You are new here. When did you arrive?”
Lucy had been watching Saorsha carefully. Now that the Knight Officer’s attention was back to her, she adopted the elder’s submissive behavior by dropping her gaze to the ground and relaxing her stiff posture. “I was with Akkar-bin’s caravan. I was his cook’s assistant. When he left here, I stayed. Their”-Lucy had trouble getting the words out-“offer was hard to refuse.”
“An offer including the horse?”
Saorsha answered, “Yes, your honor. We bought it from the Khur for her to ride around town.”
“Hmm. Very official looking. Very stupid.” The Knight walked around the big bay horse, running her hand along his flank. “Did it not occur to you to check the brand?” Her voice lost its rough edge and became silky smooth.
Saorsha and Efrim glanced at one another. “The Khur gave us a bill of sale, Knight Officer,” Efrim explained, “and this brand is different from yours. We never thought-”
“Of course you didn’t,” Venturin interrupted, her voice full of false resignation. “And now I am forced to arrest your new sheriff. Too bad. Horse stealing is a hanging offense.”
Mayor Efrim kept his eyes lowered as he reached for a bag of coins tucked into the script that dangled from his belt. “Your honor, perhaps we can reach an agreement that will save you the inconvenience of hauling a prisoner to your base, trying her, and finally burying her. You are a Dark Knight. Could we buy the horse from you?”
The Talon leader paused to go through the pretense of considering the offer. She pursed her thin lips and studied the horse from tail to chunky muzzle before she finally shrugged. “It could be done. Do you have the original bill of sale?”
Ulin tensed behind his straw bale-the Khur had left no bill of sale-but Mayor Efrim drew a piece of coarse paper from his script and held it out. Venturin snatched it from his fingers.
“Hmm. Akkar-bin again. He travels to and from Sanction for that oily Garzan the rug maker. He should know better,” she growled, perusing the paper. “You paid ten silver pieces for this horse to that Khurish thief. Consider that a fine. Pay me ten silver pieces, and I will alter the brand and validate your bill of sale.”
Validate it she might, but Ulin knew those ten pieces of silver would never see the coffers of the Knights of Neraka. That much was evident in the way the Knight held out her hand for Efrim’s coins.
“Sheriff,” she snorted derisively, “enjoy your stay in this flea-trap.” Drawing her dagger, she strode to the horse, and before anyone could stop her, she slashed her blade twice across the brand in an X-shape. The horse squealed in pain and jumped sideways into the groom. With a jerk of her head toward the door, Knight Officer Venturin walked out of the stableyard, followed by her Talon of Knights.
The people left behind remained still. No one made a sound or moved. They listened to the clump of boots on the inn floor, the loud voice shouting commands, and finally the thud of hooves in front of the inn. Challie followed quietly behind to be certain they were truly gone.
At last she stuck her head out the door. “They’ve left,” she announced.
The silence in the stableyard turned into an uproar. Ulin burst from his hiding place and rushed to Lucy. She was so relieved to see him safe and unharmed that she threw her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder. Pease dashed into the kitchen and came out with Bridget, both talking at once in high, excited voices. Innkeeper Aylesworthy climbed to his feet and leveled a ferocious glare at his groom.
Saorsha slowly straightened to her full, erect height. “That viscous brat of an ogre’s offspring,” she muttered as she examined the bleeding wound on the horse’s hip.
The silent bystanders in the stable spoke a few words to Pease then melted back into the darkness of the postern gate. Only Cosmo stayed to see the fun.