'He commanded it, but he's dead.'
It could have been a statement about the weather for all the emotion expressed, and Kalam sensed the rigid control that held the woman. 'And the captain's your brother-in-law?'
'His name is Keneb. You've met my sister Selv. The older boy is Kesen, the younger Vaneb.'
'You're from Quon?'
'Long ago.'
Not the talkative type. The assassin glanced over at Keneb. 'Will he live?'
'I don't know. He has dizzy spells. Blackouts.'
'Sagging face, slurred words?'
'No.'
Kalam went to his horse and gathered up the reins.
'Where are you going?' Minala demanded.
'There's one bandit standing guard over food, water and horses. We need all three.'
'Then we all go.'
Kalam started to argue but Minala raised a hand. 'Think, Corporal. We have the bandits' horses. We can ride, all of us. The boys sat in saddles before they could walk. And who guards us when you're gone? What happens if you get wounded fighting that last bandit?' She spun to her sister. 'We'll get Keneb over a saddle, Selv. Agreed?'
She nodded.
The assassin sighed. 'But leave the guard to me.'
'We will. It seems you've a reputation, by Keneb's reaction.'
'Fame, or notoriety?'
'I expect he'll say more when he comes around.'
I hope not. The less they know about me the better.
The sun was still an hour from rising when Kalam raised a hand to bring the party to a halt. 'That old river bed,' he hissed, gesturing a thousand paces ahead. 'All of you wait here. I won't be long.'
Kalam removed the best of the bandits' recurved bows from its saddle sheath and selected two of the least tattered arrows. 'Load that crossbow,' he said to Minala. 'In case something goes wrong.'
'How will I know?'
The assassin shrugged. 'In your gut.' He glanced at Keneb. The captain was laid over a saddle, still unconscious. That wasn't good. Head injuries were always unpredictable.
'He's still breathing,' Minala said quietly.
Kalam grunted, then set off at a dogtrot across the plain.
He saw the glow of the campfire well before he reached the high grass lining the bank. Still careless. A good sign. The voices he could hear weren't. He dropped down and slid forward through the dew-wet grass on his stomach.
Another party of raiders had arrived. Bearing gifts. Kalam saw the motionless, sprawled bodies of five women flung down around the camp. All had been raped, then murdered. In addition to Bordu's guard there were seven others, all sitting around the fire. All well armed and armoured in boiled leather.
Bordu's guard was speaking a dozen words for every breath. '—won't tire the horses. So the prisoners will walk. Two women. Two boys. Like I said. Bordu plans these things. And a horse worthy of a prince. You'll see soon enough—'
'Bordu will gift the horse,' one of the newcomers growled. Not a question.
'Of course he will. And a boy too. Bordu is a generous commander, sir. Very generous ...'
Sir. True soldiers of the Whirlwind, then.
Kalam edged back, then hesitated. A moment later, his eyes coming to rest again on the murdered women, he breathed a silent curse.
A soft clack sounded almost at his shoulder. The assassin went rigid, then slowly turned his head. Apt crouched beside him, head ducked low, a long thread of drool hanging from its jaws. It blinked knowingly.
'This time, then?' Kalam whispered. 'Or come to watch?'
The demon gave nothing away. Naturally.
The assassin nocked the better of the two arrows, licked his fingers and ran them along the feather guides. There was little gain in elaborate planning. He had eight men to kill.
Still concealed by the high grass, he rose into a crouch, drawing the bowstring as he took a deep breath. He held both for a long moment.
It was the shot he needed. The arrow entered the troop commander's left eye and went straight through to the back of the skull, the iron point making a solid crunching sound as it drove into the bone. The man's head snapped back, skullcap helmet flying from his head.
Kalam was drawing for his second shot even as the body rocked, falling forward from the waist. He chose the man fastest to react, a big warrior with his back to the assassin.
The arrow went high – betrayed by a warped shaft. Sinking into the warrior's right shoulder, it was deflected off the blade and up under the rim of the helmet. Kalam's luck held as the man pitched forward onto the fire, instantly dead. Sparks rose as the body swallowed up the flames. Darkness swept down like a cloak.