Macurdy's aura had thickened and darkened with anger. And there was more which Liiset couldn't read. "They're evil, Curtis," she finished. "And that's where your vengeance belongs: on the ylver and Cyncaidh."

His voice was husky when he answered. "And why not on your Sisterhood as well? It was you who stole her. Took her away by force, otherwise none of this would have happened. I've talked with an Ozman who said her hands were chained when she arrived. And Idri's man tried to rape her."

Liiset took his hard stare easily, though clearly he knew more than Sarkia or any of them had realized. "That's true," she said. "And Idri herself killed him for it. But Idri acted on her own in stealing Varia. And Sarkia punished her for it, saying that Varia owed us nothing, that if anything, we owed her. But Curtis, the ylver killed so many of the children and babies, at Ferny Cove… We needed her. That's the truth that Idri acted on."

Macurdy had studied Liiset while she spoke, seeing more than she thought, and his intensity had eased. "If this Kincaid lives by the Northern Sea, what is this vengeance you offer?"

"We talked King Gurtho into offering peace and autonomy to the Kullvordi, if they'll join his army. He's concerned about you, afraid you might defeat him."

"What's that got to do with vengeance on the ylver? By spring, Gurtho will be finished anyway."

"It's not just your vengeance we're interested in. The vengeance we want is for Ferny Cove, and that requires a large and powerful army. The crudest tribal chief would not have committed on us the brutalities they did, not on such a scale, and they savaged the Kormehri almost as terribly, earning fear and disgust through all the Rude Lands.

"We've put embassies now in every kingdom but Kormehr, from the Eastern Mountains to the Great Muddy, and from here to the Big River. As Gurtho's general, you and Sarkia can put together a powerful army between now and next spring. With you as general, for somehow you've become a skilled and inspiring commander."

Macurdy looked thoughtful instead of angry. "And how far do you expect me to lead it? Not to the Northern Sea."

"It will be enough if you take it through the Marches and into the empire. The Marches are ready to kick free their ylvin shackles. At best they'll join with us. At the very worst they'll take no part on either side.

"Simply to march into the empire itself will redeem our honor and be vengeance enough. Into the empire far enough that our allies can loot ylvin manors and take their wealth home with them. And by then the ylver's slaves may rise up. If they do, who knows how far we may go. If not-" Liiset shrugged. "The emperor will be glad to negotiate, and we'll demand Varia back. He'll give her to us, too. Then she'll be free to go back with you to Farside, or you can live here together, with far more wealth and power than you could ever have there."

His gaze penetrated, then switched unexpectedly to the tomttu. "Elsir, where was she captured?"

"Why-near the head of Tuliptree Creek, on the Laurel Notch Trail. But that's far off east of here, in the Dales at the east end of the Granite Range."

Macurdy held the tomttu's eyes a moment longer, then returned his gaze to Liiset. "I'll think about it for a week or so," he said. "Send one of your guards as a courier then."

Without another word he turned his back on her, nudging his horse into an easy trot. Liiset and Elsir watched him ride away, and from his perch in front of her, the tomttu spoke quietly. "Ah, lady, it's an evil thing we've done, lyin' to him like that."

"It's not lying, Elsir, if it helps someone grasp a larger truth."

The small face turned to her's. "A lie's a lie, whatever the intention." He turned again and watched Macurdy disappear into the forest. "And he knows I lied."

"No, he was suspicious to begin with, but by the time I was done, he was convinced in spite of himself. And if it's any consolation, consider that we gave you no choice."

"There's always a choice, lady. Even if the choice is death."

"That was no choice for you, Elsir. Macurdy is no friend of yours. You never saw him before."

"And may I never see him again, for I have greatly wronged him." He looked up at Liiset again. "I believe my people know more about the ylver than yours do. There are good and bad among them, but they've been much less evil to my people than humans have. Cyncaidh would not have made me do what your Dynast has."

Liiset was touched by the tomttu's courage in speaking as he had, and laid a light hand on his shoulder. "Believe me," she said quietly, "the Dynast's spy did follow her, all the way north. And her captor's name is Cyncaidh. It was necessary that you lie a little." While I told only the truth, the truth according to Sarkia, who lies when it suits her.

She helped Elsir move behind her, his long fingers clutching. When he was settled, she turned her horse and started back toward the North Fork Road. Macurdy had left with some intention in his mind, something that presumably would take a week, and she wondered what it was.

28: Truth

Macurdy unsaddled his mount at the paddock, and told the herd boss he wanted five strong horses readied for himself and one other by midafternoon, two with pack saddles; and oats for twelve days. He glanced upward in irritation as he spoke, for rain clouds were moving in. Then he strode to his headquarters tent, where one of his runners, a fourteen-year-old, jumped to his feet.

"Find Captain Tarlok. Tell him I need to see him right away."

"Yessir!" the boy said, and took off at a trot. Macurdy fiddled briefly with supply records, occupying himself until Tarlok appeared. "Is there anyone in camp who knows the trails to the Granite Range, and the Dales?" Macurdy asked. "I need a guide, on a mission only I can do. For information."

Tarlok frowned. "How long will you be gone?"

"Until I've learned what I need to know; it could be a dozen days or more. I'm leaving Jeremid in charge."

Tarlok nodded. "Blue Wing could probably guide you."

"He's needed here to scout or courier for Jeremid."

"Well then, there's a lad named Fengal in my company, as good in the woods as any you'll find. He's only eighteen, but grew up wild. His mother is Indrossan, from someplace called Hemlock Cove. She died two years ago, and his dad came back to North Fork, bringing the lad with him."

"Good. Have him sent here, with his horse, bedroll, and saddlebags."

Tarlok nodded and got to his feet.

"Another thing," Macurdy said, and told him to expect a courier from the Sisters. He was to lodge and treat the man as a semi-prisoner, treat him well but not allow him to talk with people. "I'm accepting him as a courier, not a spy," Macurdy finished.

Tarlok acknowledged and left. Then Macurdy sent another runner to find Captain Melody and send her to his tent. His third runner he gave instructions that Fengal, when he got there, was to wait.

He was packing his saddlebags and bedroll when Melody arrived, her tunic rain-spotted. "What is it?" she asked.

"I'm going on a trip, with just a guide, and someone needs to know what I'm doing and why." He paused. "The Sister I talked to told me where Varia is. Supposedly. Where she is and how she is."

Melody nodded soberly.

"But I'm not sure how much of it I believe. She had a tomttu with her, to tell me part of the story, and both of them were lying part of the time."

"Lying? How do you know?"

"When Arbel worked with me, I learned to see what he calls auras, like a cloud of colored light around a person. I can see yours right now. And with practice, if you see them clearly and you're paying attention, you can tell when someone's lying."