"Understandable." Members of the circle were terribly rivalrous and, as such, leery of interaction between their subordinates. "What does this have to do with me?"
Keeli looked down. "I am sorry. Let me move on. Months later, Zurgas and I came to the understanding that we could not love one another and still work for our masters. For our own good, we resigned to seek our futures elsewhere, perhaps in sailing. If either of us remained as a servant to a circle member, the other might be suspected of betraying secrets. You understand what I mean?"
"I do. Go on."
"It was but a short time before I was to leave. I was doing what I could to make certain my master would have no reason to fault my work since I hoped he would still give me a recommendation. I worked late hours that day, trying to organize everything. That was when he came."
Helati said nothing, relieved that the other female had at last gotten to the point. The younger minotaur had begun to remind her, with her long-windedness, of a certain kender named Delbin.
"He was a representative of the high priest. He seemed annoyed to find me there, but dismissed me a moment later as not being worth his interest. I recalled seeing him once or twice before, but only glances. He wore a robe that marked him as a cleric of some ranking. Since it was not entirely uncommon for the high priest and the circle to communicate, I thought nothing of it, but now that I've seen him again, I thought you ought to know."
It took several seconds for the statement to register. Kaz's mate chose her words with care. "Let me see if I understand what you're trying to say. You are talking about a high-ranking cleric who visited the sanctum of your master, one of the Supreme Circle, and then you claim to have seen him again… Do you mean here?"
"Yes! His appearance has changed, but I remember him. I've always been good at recalling faces."
A cleric among the settlers? High-ranking clerics especially did not simply give up their positions and walk away. She could think of only one reason why a cleric would be among her people: to spy for the priesthood.
"You say he's changed his appearance?"
"Aye, Mistress Helati. The hair is shorter and his face did not wear such a beaten, gladiator look to it. Both horns were intact, too-"
Helati stopped her there. She could not believe what she was hearing. "One of the horns is damaged?"
"Broken off. I was afraid to say anything at first, for he stood next to you when we arrived."
Brogan.
"The one who greeted you when you first met me?" she asked Keeli, hoping somehow the other would deny it. "Brogan?"
"That was him. I swear by the sword of Kiri-Jolith."
Brogan a spy? How long had he been among them? He was one of their most trusted. Helati could not believe what she was hearing, and yet… there had been times when both she and Kaz had wondered if they were being monitored from Nethosak. The powers were suspicious of anything that threatened their supremacy.
She could not condemn him without hearing his side. It could be that Keeli's memory for faces was not so perfect. It could also be that Keeli herself was the spy. Helati tried not to let paranoia guide her emotions.
"Come with me." Sheathing the dagger, Helati returned to the children. With great care, she gathered them up, still slumbering, then turned to Keeli and commanded, "Walk before me. I'll direct you where to go once we're outside."
The younger female did not understand, but obeyed. They abandoned Helati's dwelling, at which point she ordered Keeli to turn right. The dwelling they soon reached belonged to another mated pair raising a child of their own. The mother was a friend of Helati's, named Ayasha. Ayasha could be trusted. She and Helati had been friends once, long ago in the homeland. It had been one of Helati's greatest pleasures to greet Ayasha when she and her family had arrived in the settlement.
She left the twins with Ayasha, her explanation a simple one, then briefly returned to her own dwelling. Moments later, sword dangling at her side, she journeyed to the home of Brogan. Keeli followed her halfway there, but Helati decided it was best if she went the rest of the distance alone. If, for some reason, the accusations were not true… or even if they were… she did not want Brogan knowing who had informed on him.
Keeli protested. "You should not be alone with him."
Helati touched the hilt of her sword. "Don't worry about me. You return to your mate until I call for you."
Still protesting, the younger female departed. Helati did not mention that she hoped Brogan was innocent. In any case, it would be easier to talk to him alone.
The light from a small, crude fireplace burned in Brogan's modest dwelling. He lived alone, far from most of the others. Helati glanced about, studying the lay of the land. Neither she nor Kaz were overly familiar with the one-horned minotaur's home, for Brogan generally visited them.
Brogan a spy? The distance of his home from the main settlement and his constant interest in what Kaz was doing spoke against him, but could easily be excused for other, more mundane reasons. Helati felt rather foolish about accusing him, but could certainly not ignore Keeli's words.
She remembered that Brogan had tried to form an armed force to accompany Kaz to Nethosak. Had that also been a ploy of some sort?
Enough paranoia! she scolded herself. Time to be a warrior.
It was tempting to peer through a window, but Helati boldly knocked on the dwelling's crude wooden door.
"Who's there? Who is it?"
"It's me, Brogan. Helati."
"Helati?" After some noise, the door swung open. The one-horned minotaur blinked, then smiled. "Some news of Kaz, I hope?"
"Possibly." She had not given any thought to what to say to him. Accuse him outright? "May I come in?"
"Of course! Enter!"
As she walked through the doorway, Helati noticed the mark of Kaz on the dwelling. Her insides twisted. If Brogan was innocent, what she had to say would greatly insult his honor. Yet if he was guilty, the mark of Kaz was of great insult to her and her family, a mockery of the friendship they had extended to Brogan.
There were few furnishings in the minotaur's home: a table, two stools, and a box in which personal effects no doubt were stored. Brogan apparently slept on a bedroll to one side of the single room. The fireplace was very small, almost as if an afterthought. A few items were scattered about, but overall the place seemed orderly. A battle-axe hung on a wall near the bedroll. The table was situated so that if Brogan sat down, he could reach the handle with little effort.
In fact, Brogan led her to the table and offered her a seat. Helati shook her head. "I won't be staying long. Just a few minutes at best."
He frowned. "Is something wrong? Have you heard some bad news?"
"I'm not certain." She did not know how to proceed. Had Kaz been here, Helati suspected he simply would have pushed ahead. She must do the same.
"I'm worried that Kaz might be in danger, that he might also have been captured and imprisoned along with my brother."
"Well, as you indicated not long ago, Kaz hasn't been gone all that long. He might even be on his way back by now."
"Maybe. What makes me fear that Kaz is a prisoner are some rumors." She hesitated for effect. "I've heard there might be spies among us, Brogan."