Cap snorted. "I suppose, given the bloodline, it is possible." He turned to the other two, "Well? Did the great wave hit you too?"
They both nodded. "It was terrible. He held my mother under in her bath," said Shael quietly. "He . . . he was completely mad."
S'kith added dispassionately, "He was going to kill us all. We were lucky to get away."
Cap sneezed. "Dammit. Now I think I've got a cold. I'll have to put some damn shielding around those stones. I wonder what'll work? But first I'm going to search you, boy, myself. Then Bey can make me another of those hot drinks. Also, I want to hear from you, Leyla, just what you gave to that friend of yours, to save these bums' bums from more carving."
She shrugged. "Amphir is my city. I am a jeweller's daughter. I knew they would find us sooner or later. So I bought this stone. It's in the river now . . . but it was returned. They'll never know it wasn't the right one. A good thing that fool Wickus never had the sense to try and scratch it with a diamond."
Cap sneezed. "Get me that drink, Bey, for God's sake. I suppose it was good thinking. But that's supposed to be my job. That's the trouble with this outfit. Too many damn chiefs and not enough indians. Thank goodness I've got Bey and the Morkth-man who do what they're told."
He was not to know that there were thoughts of revolution and rebellion going through those two heads as well.
They paddled on downstream. It was one of those days that never quite lost the mist, although there were occasional thin washes of weak sunlight. Soon Cap was asleep in the bow. Leyla looked carefully at him. "With the mix of pills he's fed himself he won't wake for eight hours," she said critically. "He's had that cold brewing for at least a week."
"Bet you," said Keilin with a grin, pulling at his oar, "that our lord and master will say it all happened because I made him jump into the nasty cold water."
"Likely," snorted Bey, but he offered no more comment, just stared out into the mist.
"One thing I want to know, Keilin. Just why did it have to be a barrel, a whole bloody barrel of my favorite perfume? Do you know what the stuff costs for a mingy one-ounce bottle?" Leyla asked smoothly. "Couldn't it have been something cheap and nasty, if you're going to pour it over soldiers, and into the river? And how," she showed her teeth a little, "did you choose that particular perfume?"
Shael, sitting beside her, flushed. The blush spread, and both her complexion and Keilin's became brick red to puce around the ears. "Because he's a peeping tom," Shael said finally, in a small voice, "and because I stole a tiniest little bit of it once."
"Tiny bit! Like half a bottle, little sister?" Leyla teased. "You owe me. When you two have figured out how to do that, without the Morkth added, I want a whole barrel to myself. To swim in."
Keilin noticed that Bey was unusually silent. Usually he would have inserted at least two obscene and probably accurate comments given such an opportunity. And S'kith too simply stared out across the wide river. Always he looked toward the distant Morkth-held eastern shore.
They saw other, larger vessels twice. But by dodging into the reed margins they stayed clear of any possible pursuit. By evening, when Cap had woken and querulously demanded hot broth, which a silent Beywulf made from dried beef shavings, they were far from the disastrous quays of the morning. It was decided to tie up for the night hidden in the tall reed-and-rush fringes. After a very plain scratch supper prepared by a disinterested Beywulf, they all settled for sleep, except for Keilin who took the first watch. Soon it was quiet, except for the usual sleep sounds and the relentless song of the mosquitoes.
The boat rocked slightly. "I can't sleep, Cay." She came across and sat down next to him.
"I'm sorry about your father, Kim." Without thinking he'd slipped back into regarding her as Kim, rather than Shael or Princess.
She sighed. "I thought he was dead . . . back in Shapstone. I'd become rather used to the idea. I didn't really mourn him then, and after this morning's scene I can't even pretend to mourn him now. I'd forgotten how he did everything only to please or help himself. How he used people. I'd also forgotten just how much he frightened me. Am I like that?" she asked, her voice small, plaintive.
Keilin was inherently truthful. He had always found it a severe disadvantage. When he did need to lie it sounded so insincere that he was inevitably caught out. He was sure he'd only got away with it with Cap because Cap was feeling unwell. So this time he took less chances and opted for at least the margin of the truth. "When I first met you, yes."
"You're a beast, even if it is true." She didn't sound terribly upset about it. "And next time you have fantasies about me, please make sure I'm not touching my core section too."