Vlad saw her first. He said, “There she is.”
I turned. She was walking through the woods toward us, a sword at her side, but her hands were empty. Buddy stood up and started growling, and a glance told me that his teeth were bared. Well, well.
The woman ignored Buddy, and ignored the fact that Vlad and I were holding weapons, but nodded hello to each of us as she stopped about five feet away and looked at the cottage.
“It a blue,” she said.
“You thought I lied?” said Vlad.
She shrugged. “It was a possibility. But you told the truth about everything else, so—”
“How did you find me?”
“In the public house,” she said. “With the help of your uh, familiar, is that the right word?”
Vlad used a word he wouldn’t have wanted Hwdf rjaanci to hear. “A bit of Loiosh’s skin on the handkerchief,” he said. “And then you went to a sorcerer with it, and located him, because you knew you couldn’t locate me.”
She nodded. “Shall we go inside?”
“Let’s settle it out here,” said Vlad.
“Settle what?” said Timmer.
“Aren’t you here to arrest me?”
“No.”
“But—”
“I wanted to meet the rest of this little troupe that’s caused so much trouble, and I thought you’d want to hear how everything came out.”
For a moment no one spoke. Then Vlad said, “Oh.”
He put his sword away, then the knife I handed him. Then he petted Buddy, who took that as a clue that everything was all right, and introduced himself to Timmer. The old woman came out as this was going on.
“Who are you?” she snapped. “And what are you doing here?”
“Ensign Timmer,” said Vlad, “this is the woman we call Mother, because her name sounds rather like a sneeze and no one but Kiera here can say it. Oh, and this is Kiera—I don’t think you two have been introduced yet. And this is Buddy, who I think is, really, the intelligent one of the bunch—at least, he’s the one who hasn’t made any mistakes yet.”
Rocza hissed. Vlad laughed and said, “One of the two, then.”
“A pleasure, my lady,” said Timmer. “I have something for you.” I heard a quick intake of breath from Vlad.
“You got it?” he said.
She smiled. “Of course. I said I would.”
“That was quick. What’s it been, three, four hours at the most?”
“Yes. Shall we go inside?”
“By all means,” said Vlad. “After you.”
We trooped into the cottage, Hwdf rjaanci leading and Buddy bringing up the rear. Once inside, Timmer looked around the place, then licked her lips, probably because biting them would have been too obvious. We introduced her to Savn, who almost, maybe, just a little bit, might have given a flicker of acknowledgment. Or maybe not.
“Brain fever, you said?” asked Timmer.
“There is no such thing as brain fever,” said Hwdf rjaanci.
Vlad shrugged. Hwdf rjaanci sat next to Savn, Vlad and I sat at the table. Timmer declined a chair, preferring to lean against the wall. Buddy curled up near Savn and Hwdf rjaanci and tried to insinuate himself between them. Savn absently stroked Buddy’s head. That was, as far as I knew, another first. I caught Vlad’s eye and saw that he had seen it, too.
“Where shall I begin?” said Timmer. “Does everyone know what has been going on?”
“Kiera knows everything up through our conversation today. The old woman doesn’t know much of anything about the affair,” said Vlad.
“That’s because I don’t want to,” she snapped. “And I won’t thank you for telling me.”
Timmer nodded. “All right,” she said. “Do you want us to go somewhere else, then?”
“No. Say what you want, and I’ll listen, but don’t bother explaining it.”
“Very well,” said Timmer.
She turned to us. “There isn’t all that much to tell, truly. Domm was found murdered, just a few hours ago. A dagger was driven into his head.”
“Oh?” said Vlad with that assumed casualness he does so badly. “Any idea who did it?”
“A fugitive. Someone we wanted in connection with our ongoing investigation into the death of Lord Fyres. We think he was a Chreotha,” she added.
“I see,” said Vlad. “What else is new?”
“I spoke to, uh, to certain persons in the Empire, and was told to leave well enough alone.” She looked like she’d just eaten a jimmberry thinking it was a rednut.
“So Vonnith goes free?” said Vlad.
“Free? Yes. Free and clear. And still rich. And still the owner, or manager, of three or four banks. We can’t touch her.”
“And Reega?”
“The same.” She shrugged, as if Reega didn’t much matter to her, which was probably true; Reega hadn’t been involved in Loftis’s death.
Vlad shook his head. “Not the way I’d have preferred them to end up.”
“Nor I,” said Timmer. “But then”—she spread her hands—”it isn’t my choice.”
“And?” said Vlad. “In exchange?”
She nodded. “Cooperation. They’re both going to do what they can to minimize the damage to the Empire. That, after all, is what’s important.” In her voice was a trace of the same bitterness that Vlad had described in Loftis’s voice when he spoke about having betrayed his chief.
“What else?” said Vlad.
She nodded, and, from a pouch at her side, pulled a rolled-up piece of parchment, which she handed to Hwdf rjaanci. She took it hesitantly, looked at Timmer, then at the document. Her hands trembled a bit as she undid the ribbon with which it was tied and broke the wax with which it was sealed and unrolled it. She read it slowly and carefully, her lips moving, and I saw that there was a tear in her eye.
Vlad loudly cleared his throat, stood up, and said, “Does anyone want klava?”
No one did. Vlad sat down again.
I said, “Timmer.”
“Yes?”
“Vonnith and Reega now know, or can easily learn, who it was who—”
“No,” she said. “Don’t worry about it. This old woman’s continued health is now my business.”
Hwdfr’ jaanci looked up and said, “What was that? My health?”
“Never mind,” I said.
She looked at the three of us one at a time, harrumphed softly, and went back to reading the deed to her land.
“Okay,” I said. “I trust you.”
“So do I,” said Vlad. “Only ...”
“Yes?”
“Do me a favor, and don’t tell anyone how you found me. I don’t think the Jhereg would figure it out on their own in a million years, but—”
“Right,” she said. “Don’t worry.” She stood up. “I think that’s it, then.”
“Yes,” said Vlad. “Good luck.”
“And to you,” she said. She looked at me and we nodded to each other, then she turned and left and it was over.
“It’s over,” said Vlad.
“Not quite,” I said.
“Oh?”
“Care to take a walk with me?”
He frowned, then he shrugged and stood up. We stepped outside. Buddy followed us, and Loiosh was on Vlad’s shoulder, but there was no one else there. We walked into the woods near the house. “What is it, Kiera?” he said.
“How long have you known?”
“Know what?”
“I’m not stupid, Vlad, and I don’t think you are, either.”
“Vlad, how long have you known?”
“I hadn’t been planning on talking about it,” he said. “What gave me away?”
“That’s my question.”
He laughed. “I suppose it is. But you go first. When did you know that I knew?”
I shrugged. “Just now, a few minutes ago. You’re sometimes very careless with your life, Vlad—especially when you’re annoyed. But you’re never careless with other people’s.
Even when you were in the Jhereg—”
“Who’s life was I careless with?”
“No one’s. That’s the point.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Don’t you? Think about it.”
He did, and I could see him going back over the last hour in his mind; then he nodded. “I see.”
“Yes. You told me to get the boy and the woman somewhere safe. You asked me to, uh, stash them somewhere. Where could Kiera the Thief stash anyone that would be safe? It didn’t occur to you to ask if there was a teleport block up, you just assumed there was, because the Jhereg, or the Empire, was coming to get you, and you can’t tell if there is one or not with the Phoenix Stone you wear. So how could Kiera the Thief break through a teleport block?”
“Right,” he said. “I was scared—”
“Sure. For Savn and Hwdfrjaanci. And then there was the remark about the knife, which is what really convinced me.”
“Yeah. I was panicking, I guess.”
“I guess. So, your turn. How did you find out, when did you find out, and who have you told?”
“I haven’t told anyone, Kiera.”
“You may as well call me by my real name.”
“All right, Sethra. I haven’t told anyone. You should know that.”
I nodded. “Yes, I guess I know that. When did you figure it out?”
He shrugged. “I’ve known you in both guises, you know—I mean, known you well. And there can’t be many of us who have.”
“No one. Only you.”
He bowed his head as if he felt he had been honored; which he had been, of course.
“How long have you known?”
“Not long. Since yesterday. No, today, I guess. I don’t know.”
“What did I do yesterday?”
He shrugged. “It was an accumulation of little things.”
“What? I’m curious. You know, I never cheat. I mean, when I’m Kiera, I only do Kiera things—”
“You almost cheated tonight.”
“Oh, you noticed that?”
“I sort of guessed, at any rate—just before we realized there was only one person coming, I was expecting to see Iceflame in your hand.”
I nodded. “And you almost did, especially since I knew that you knew. Which brings us back to the question: how did you know? What were these little things that accumulated?”
He spread his hands. “I’m not sure if I can even identify them all, Kie—Sethra.”
“No, call me Kiera. It’ll make it easier.”
“Are you trying to confuse me? Don’t answer that. Kiera. Yes. As I say, it was a lot of little things. This is the first time we’ve worked this closely together, but we’ve known each other for a long time, and I’ve always wondered why you gave a damn for a little Easterner kid. Now I know, of course.”
“Of course.”
“And I’m still grateful. Only ...”
“Yes?”
“I don’t know. I keep thinking of things, like the way you recruited me to find Aliera.”
“There was no other way, Vlad.”
“I understand that, but still. And what was that whole business with the blood of the goddess? Not that I haven’t figured out who the goddess is.”
“I can’t tell you that, Vlad. She said it was important for you to have that vial, and that she, herself, didn’t know why.”
“The ways of the gods are mysterious.”
“Don’t be sarcastic.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “I want to know what gave me away, Vlad.”
“It was simple, really. You see, I’ve known you and Sethra for a long time, but I’ve never seen you at the same time or in the same—”
“Cut it out. I’m serious. This matters to me. I want to know.”
He nodded. “All right.” He got his considering look on his face and said, “Well, for one thing, you got upset once, when you were talking about how we’d been fooled, and your speech patterns changed. Come to think of it, that happened more than once. I remember when I first told you things that implied that the Empire was involved, you, uh, you talked different.”
“My speech patterns slipped,” I said, shaking my head.
He nodded. “Not very often, or for very long, but it was one of the things that got me thinking.”
“I suppose it would be. Damn. After two thousand years, you’d think ... never mind. What else?”
“What else? Oh, how little you ate was probably part of it, though by itself it didn’t mean anything. But I know that Sethra is undead, and lives on, well, on other things, so she doesn’t eat much. And, by the same token, there was the way the dog reacted to you, and—how did you fool Loiosh, by the way? He can usually tell the undead with one sniff.”
“He’s not as good at it as Buddy, apparently,” Loiosh hissed and I heard myself chuckle and I suspected that Vlad was never going to let Loiosh forget that. “But,” I continued, “there are ways to conceal the fact that one is undead. It’s difficult, but—”
“But you’re Sethra Lavode. Right. I keep forgetting that.”
“How else did I give myself away?”
“I heard you muttering something about battle shock when you first saw Savn, and I thought it was odd that Kiera would recognize battle shock.”
“Cracks and shards. I’m an idiot.”
“No, I just know you well.”
“Okay, keep going.”
“Well, you knew stuff that I couldn’t see how Kiera knew.”
“Like what?”
“Like what ‘he didn’t break the stick’ meant, and, more than that, what it feels like to have a spell-stick discharge in your hand. And you knew more about Imperial Signets and secret Imperial organizations than seemed reasonable for your basic thief. Or even your extraordinary thief.”
“Oh.” I shook my head. “It’s starting to sound like a miracle that no one else has figured it out. That must have been what you meant when you said you got more than you wanted.”
“Did I say that?” He shrugged. “But remember: no one else knows both of you. And you are a very effective Jhereg—I’ve known you since I was a child, and I never suspected that you were anything but what you seemed to be. But then, as I said, we’ve never worked together before. You, Kiera, have never worked closely with anyone, have you? And that’s the reason, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “Continue, then.”
“Okay.” He was getting warmed up now. “When you first met with Loftis, there was something odd in the way you reported the encounter.”
“Odd? How?”
“Like you left something out—like you didn’t tell me everything that happened.”
“What didn’t I tell you?”
“The part where you were first bluffing him, you talked about mentioning a few details about some activities the Tasks Group had done, but you wouldn’t tell me what the activities were. Later, when I was putting things together, it occurred to me that maybe that was because they were things that would make you seem knowledgeable to him, but would connect Kiera with someone else for me—like something Kiera couldn’t know about, but Sethra could. Am I right? Or maybe just things Kiera couldn’t know about. I don’t know. I think it was one of the things that first made me think there was something funny going on, although I didn’t really pay too much attention at the time. But it was a hole in your report and it only made sense later.”
The Jenoine at Dzur Mountain. I nodded, while trying not to think too much about the experience itself; it was one I hadn’t enjoyed, and I’d been damn glad to have the help of the Tasks Group at the time. And, of course, I’d had to leave out all the other incidents that Sethra knew about from having been Warlord, but Kiera couldn’t. Damn.
“All right,” he continued. “What else gave you away? It’s hard to think back on it this way, because I wasn’t really trying to put it together; it just happened. Oh, well, I remember one thing. You—that is, Sethra—once told me that yo
u were originally from the Northwest.”
“So what’s your point?”
“How easy you found it to say the old woman’s name.”
“Hwdf rjaanci? That’s a Kanefthali name. There are lots of people who can pronounce Kanefthali names.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But there are even more who can’t; you’ll notice that Timmer didn’t try.” I started to speak, but he held up his hand. “Okay, maybe it didn’t mean anything by itself, but it was another piece, all right?”
I scowled at him.
“And you were too sensitive to magic—you kept reminding me of Aliera, the way you’d pick up on spells. In fact, I wasn’t really convinced until you detected that teleport just now, and knew right away how many there were.”
“That was stupid, too,” I said, or, I suppose, growled.
He said, “Tell me something.”
“What?”
“Why, Kiera? Or, rather: Sethra, why Kiera?”
“You mean why the name? In the old form of the language there are female endings of—”
“No, not the name. Although, now that I think of it, that should have tipped me off, too—a very, very old feminine version of ‘Kieron.’ But, no. I mean, why does she exist at all?”
“Oh, why did I invent her?” I shrugged. “At first, to keep in touch with the Underworld—it was part of the job of the Lavodes to keep track of what the Jhereg and various others were up to. After that, well, I got to like it. It was different, it was a challenge, it was scary at a time when it was hard for anything to frighten me—”
“Yes,” said Vlad, his face twisting into part of a smile. “You’d hate never being frightened, wouldn’t you?”
I smiled back. “As I say, I never cheated when I was being Kiera. I never used, well, anything that Kiera didn’t come by herself, or any skill that wasn’t Kiera’s own. I’ve gotten to like her.”
“And no one knows?”
“Only you.”
He licked his lips. “Uh, Sethra—”
“Don’t worry about it.”