Maia

"Kill her?" said Bayub-Otal, with an air of indifference, moving the candle to where it no longer shone into Zen-Kurel's eyes. "Well, from all that Zirek fellow's told me, I'm sure Fornis would be happy enough to do that for you." '

"Before she kills us, I mean," said Zen-Kurel. "Otherwise how can we feel safe? We know what she's capable of, don't we?"

"Well, you certainly make it sound very convincing. Would you care to do it, perhaps?"

"How can I do it while I'm like this, Anda-Nokomis?"

"Oh, well, it might wait a day or two, I suppose. But I was only thinking, Zenka, if she really is working for Er-ketlis now, might it perhaps be a little unrealistic to kill her? I mean, in that case it would be for revenge, really, wouldn't it, and not for our safety? If she's really gone over to the heldro side, she won't be likely to harm us any more."

"There's no telling which side she's on, is there? Do you mean to say-"

"Now, you mustn't get excited, Zenka. Just lie back and go on drinking that milk. Where was I? Oh, yes, it did occur to me that we're supposed to be noblemen, you and I, though I admit no one would have thought so in Dari-Paltesh. So perhaps personal resentment wouldn't really be a very appropriate motive for killing this peasant girl-"

"But Cran and Airtha! doesn't she deserve it? Think of the-"

"Oh, no doubt. But at that rate, surely, the correct thing would be to have her properly indicted, as soon as we get anywhere where we're among heldro people and there's any sort of law and order. After all, Erketlis must know what she did. Everyone does."

"Yes, everyone does! So it's not only a case of how much she harmed us. She's made me look the biggest fool-"

"You know, Zenka, it's very odd, but she hasn't."

"She hasn't!"

"No. She's consistently kept it a complete secret, how she found out that plan of Karnat's. Plotho told me, when we were in Dari-Paltesh, that no one had any idea how she'd found it out: and those Lapanese soldiers who carried you here told me exactly the same. Everyone supposes Karnat himself must have told her, and apparently she's let them go on thinking that. She's assured me that she never even told Kembri or Sendekar-she didn't need to, of course; the thing itself was enough for them-and I personally believe she's speaking the truth. These farm people too, you see; they know what she did, but they don't know how she found out the plan. I asked them."

"Perhaps there are some things that even she's ashamed of."

"Perhaps. But anyway, I've just thought of two rather more down-to-earth reasons for not killing her. First, we haven't any weapons-I only wish to Cran we had; and I'm sure these farm people wouldn't like it if we hanged her. But secondly, she's got money and we haven't any at all. Whatever we decide to attempt, money's going to be important. I don't really care for the idea of killing her and then taking her money, do you? Sencho might, I suppose. That would be quite in his line, but hardly in ours."

"All right, Anda-Nokomis, you've convinced me: so what are we going to do with her? Leave her here?"

"Difficult, isn't it?" said Bayub-Otal. "I mean, we can't get away from the fact that she very nearly got herself killed getting us out of Bekla-"

"Without her, Karnat would have taken it months ago."

"I know: but we've got our reputations to bear in mind. We both hope, don't we, that the Leopards are going to be defeated, that Santil's going to take Bekla and make peace with Karnat, and that you're going to get back to Katria and I'm going to get back to Suba."

"Have you ordered the wings for the pigs?"

"Well, but seriously, Zenka, we don't want some sort of half-and-half rumor following us for years, that we abandoned this girl-possibly left her to the mercy of Fornis- after she'd got us out of Bekla at the risk of her own life."

"Well, what, then?"

"I think that all depends on what we decide to do ourselves as soon as you're better. What do you want to do; make for Erketlis at Ikat Yeldashay?"

"No, be damned to that!" said Zen-Kurel. "You talk about our reputations. Karnat's still at war with Bekla. I'm one of his officers and I've escaped from the enemy. My duty's to report back as soon as I can, not to go buggering about with irregulars at the other end of nowhere."

"Well, I'll go along with that, Zenka. If it comes to that, I want to get back to Suba. The only question is how?"

"The left foot, the right foot. What's to stop us?"

"Be sensible: it's more difficult than that. We're completely ignorant about our enemies. We can't go back to Bekla, obviously. If we go directly west, it'll take us into Paltesh-Fornis's province. And I repeat, we haven't got any weapons, in a country swarming with bandits and escaped slaves; though we might try to buy some later, I suppose, with Maia's money."

"Well, what's your idea, then, Anda-Nokomis?"