Grinsa didn't want to give him time to discuss any of this with the n'qlae. He trusted the woman to a point, but there could be no denying where her loyalties lay. If E'Menua had the opportunity to turn her to his purposes, he would.

"Now," Grinsa said. "Besh and Sirj are being treated like prisoners and they deserve better. They might even be convinced to help us in this war, but first we have to win their trust."

E'Menua stared back at him, seeming to have recognized too late that he'd been manipulated. For a moment Grinsa feared that the a'laq would refuse to allow D'Pera to question the men. But then E'Menua stood and nodded once.

"Very well. We'll find her now."

Grinsa had been expecting more of a fight, and now he wondered if the a'laq intended to deceive him somehow.

But E'Menua stepped past Grinsa and led him out of the z'kal. Q'Daer and Cresenne were waiting for them outside the shelter. Seeing them both, the a'laq faltered briefly and shot a dark look back at Grinsa. But he said nothing and started across the sept. Grinsa and the others followed.

"What happened?" Cresenne asked in a whisper as they walked.

"The n'qlae will question the Mettai."

Cresenne looked like she might say more, but Grinsa shook his head.

They found the n'qlae near the tanning circle, where she was overseeing the shaping of spears. Grinsa had met D'Pera before, but once again he was struck by her appearance. She was beautiful, with thick, long white hair that she wore unbound, and a hard, hawklike gaze that seemed to miss nothing.

Seeing her husband approach, she stood.

"Has something happened?" she asked.

E'Menua shook his head. "No. I need you to speak with the Mettai. I want you to use mind-bending magic on them. Find out what they intend to do to us." He glanced quickly at Grinsa. "I believe this is the only way we're likely to know if they can be trusted."

D'Pera looked from her husband to Grinsa to Cresenne, and finally back to E'Menua. "All right," she said. "You wish to do this now?"

The a'laq nodded. "Yes, now."

D'Pera looked around, seeming unsure as to whether she could just leave what she'd been doing. After a moment, though, she appeared to decide that she could. She and E'Menua began walking in the direction of Besh and Sirj's shelter. Once more, Grinsa, Cresenne, and Q'Daer could only follow.

"This is too easy," Cresenne said under her breath.

She was right. E'Menua had agreed to all of this too quickly; he'd been too willing to enlist D'Pera's help and approach the Mettai right away. But Grinsa was at a loss as to what they could do about it.

"You may be right," he whispered in reply. "But I started this. We have to see it through to the end."

She nodded, looking tense.

As they neared Besh and Sirj's shelter, Grinsa saw that the two Mettai were sitting outside, just as they had been earlier. Two of the Fal'Borna guards stood nearby, watching the men. The guards bowed to E'Menua when they saw him approaching. Besh and Sirj stood.

"Leave us," the a'laq told the two warriors without breaking stride.

"Yes, A'Laq."

The guards bowed again and started to walk toward two of their comrades who stood some distance from the shelter.

Before they'd gone far, though, E'Menua appeared to reconsider. "Actually, I want you to remain here," he called to the men.

They stopped, looking confused, but then quickly reassumed the positions they'd been in before.

E'Menua stopped in front of Besh and Sirj, regarding the two Mettai with obvious mistrust.

"You know why I'm here?" he asked.

Besh's eyes flicked toward Grinsa.

"Don't look at him!" the a'laq said sharply. "When I speak, you look at me!"

"Yes, A'Laq," Besh said evenly, meeting the Fal'Borna's gaze. "I know why you're here. You want to use magic to determine if we're telling you the truth."

E'Menua nodded. "Yes, that's right. The n'qlae will be using her magic on you." It was his turn to glance in Grinsa's direction, a thin smile on his feline face. "The Forelander and I don't trust each other enough to do it ourselves."

"I've never had this magic done to me before," Besh said. He looked pale and small next to the a'laq. The two men were about the same height, but E'Menua was by far the broader and more powerful of the two.

"You have nothing to fear," D'Pera told him. Grinsa heard nothing comforting in her tone. The woman's expression remained deadly serious. "The a'laq will ask you questions. I'll simply use my magic to ensure that you answer truthfully."

Besh didn't appear reassured. "I've heard some say that this magic can… can damage a person, leave them permanently addled."

"That's very rare," Grinsa told him. "And it's most likely to happen when the magic is forced upon a person and he or she tries to resist. You're allowing us to do this, and I'm sure the n'qlae's touch will be gentle. You shouldn't be in any danger."

The Mettai man nodded and smiled weakly.

"Are you ready?" D'Pera asked him.

"Yes."

There was a brief silence, and then D'Pera looked at her husband and nodded once. Grinsa had never watched another Qirsi use mind-bending magic on someone. He'd done it himself several times, but that was different. He now realized that his perceptions of what the magic did to people had been colored by what he sensed in their thoughts. As far as he could tell, nothing had happened to Besh. He looked exactly the same; his expression hadn't changed at all. Granted, D'Pera wasn't attempting to control him, as some Qirsi did with this power; she was merely making certain that he didn't lie. Nevertheless, seeing the magic in this way reminded him of why mind-bending was viewed by many in the Forelands as the most dangerous and insidious of Qirsi magics. A cunning sorcerer could exert control over the unsuspecting with no one realizing it. A merchant could be coerced into parting with gold; a noble could be tricked into condemning an innocent man; a king could be compelled to lead his people to war.

"Where do you come from?" E'Menua asked Besh.

"Kirayde, near the Companion Lakes."

"Why did you leave your village?"

"Lici had gone, and then people started getting sick. I believed that she was responsible for the plague and I wanted to stop her before more people died."

"Where is this Lici now?"

"I killed her. She attacked me and I had no choice."

E'Menua glanced at Grinsa, looking slightly disappointed.

"So you killed this woman," the a'laq went on. "But you stayed here on the plain after she was dead. Why?"

"To find her baskets. They were cursed and I knew that they'd spread the plague."

Grinsa chanced a quick look at Q'Daer, who was already eyeing him. The young Weaver held Grinsa's gaze for a moment, and then gave a quick, small nod. Grinsa had to smile. Q'Daer at least was convinced.

"How did Q'Daer and the Forelander get sick?"

"The merchant-Torgan-he exposed them to the plague. He used a scrap of basket that we'd found in another sept, one that had been destroyed already.

"And you were working with him, is that right?"

"Yes. Sirj and I were going to sicken them ourselves if Torgan hadn't. Then we could heal them and win their trust."

Grinsa felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. He stared at Besh, who looked panicked, his eyes wide and darting from face to face. E'Menua had a harsh, triumphant grin on his face. D'Pera was watching her husband. Grinsa couldn't be certain, but she appeared unnerved.

"And this spell you created that was supposed to shield us from the plague," the a'laq said. "Will it work?"

"No. That was a lie. If you're exposed to the plague, all of you will die."

"Of course. That was part of your plan as well, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Besh said, even as the look in his dark eyes screamed, No!