The Forest at the Edge of the World(167)
“Perrin, just tell me—what happened?” she whispered back. “While it’s jagged, this slice is too clean to be caused by a tree branch. I can tell that much. It looks more like a knife wound. Or . . . a dagger.”
He twisted his arm to pat her belly. “At least another three moons until you can birth this one safely, right?”
“So the midwives are guessing.”
“I’ll tell you in thirteen weeks, then.”
---
Two men sat in the dark office of an unlit building.
They stared at each other in the growing shadows, silently daring the other to claim the upper hand.
Brisack broke first. “Any news from the observers in the forest above Edge?”
It was a good opening line. Didn’t claim victory or admit defeat, just asked for information.
“No news,” Mal said plainly.
Another good line. No concessions or challenges. Just ending his opponent’s questioning.
“Wonder why that is,” Brisack pressed, putting the burden of response on the other party.
“Cold weather,” Mal said shortly.
Accurate. But also irrelevant.
“Too cold to move messages, then,” Brisack nodded once. “But not too cold for the fort at Edge.”
The staring match heated.
Both men knew what news came from Edge. High General Shin had been quite vocal about what he called a deliberate attack on his son. Within minutes of the news reaching the High General, messages flew out to every fort to watch for snowy attacks, since Edge had been singled out by at least fourteen Guarders. That’s how many the soldiers encountered, Captain Shin killing eleven of them himself. And the High General made sure every last person knew that, too.
What didn’t come from the general, interestingly, were any details. Unlike the previous time, when Captain Shin violated the first rule of the army, there was no information about the attack. Not from either of the Shins, nor from any observers in the forest.
Everything and everyone in the north was unusually silent.
“Forts have more resources through which to send information,” Mal explained.
“Not that our observers might also be dead?” Brisack suggested.
“There’s no evidence either way to form any kind of conclusions. May never be any.”
Silently they glared at each other again, the temperature in the room increasing in relation to their tempers.
“You said twelve,” Brisack finally seethed.
“And you told him twelve!” Mal boiled back.
Brisack swallowed hard, but recovered. “You have the map!”
“He’s a test subject!”
“And he succeeded!” Brisack bellowed. “Even against fourteen! Just as I predicted!”
There.
Brisack claimed victory, which meant Mal had only one option as he gripped the armrests of his chair. “You invalidated the study by influencing the test subject with your interference.”
“You created an unnatural situation,” Brisack countered.
“All of this is unnatural, Doctor!” Mal gestured to the shelves of his library packed with notes and writings. “But I never cheat to see a result I want!”
“You have Wiles’s map! You told them exactly how to reach the house!”
“We did the same thing in Grasses, with the captain’s sister and parents! Why is this any different than Grasses?” Mal leaned back with a smug expression. “I see it now, Doctor Brisack. You’ve lost your objectivity. Couldn’t stand to see him lose the mate and litter, so you gave him a little hint. You know Gadiman found your message.”
“Obviously,” Brisack said steadily. “I’ve told you, he’s as subtle as a twister in Weeding Season, and just as damaging, throwing around his glares thinking no one notices. I don’t regret warning Shin. And considering how successful he was, I rather suspect he didn’t even need my warning.”
“There will be no evidence gathered or analyzed concerning this raid,” Mal decided. “The test was compromised, so no information will be worth our effort.”
Mal wouldn’t even evaluate his failure, and Brisack gloated about that later.
“Anyway,” Mal’s shoulder twitched, “Perrin’s now out of the army, so—”
“Wait a minute,” Brisack interrupted, “What do you mean, out of the army?”
“Neeks’s report stated that the captain stepped into the forest—” Mal began calmly.
“Only a few paces!”
“Nevertheless, Captain Shin knew what would happen if he violated the first rule again,” Mal clasped his hands in front of him. “He would be relieved of duty, and—”
“You haven’t done that, have you?!”