was a gross flouting of custom, and at any other time Vesna would have sorted it out at the point of his sword. Now, however, he had to ignore the breach, the only way to avoid bloodshed on his return to Tirah. The heir to the Ranah suzerainty was a hot-headed thug who’d draw at the first provocation and whether a battle or a duel, it would only make a bad situation worse.
‘Suzerain Torl?’ he called, turning in the saddle to catch the attention of the grey-haired suzerain riding a little way behind him.
‘My Lord,’ Torl acknowledged, as formal in addressing Vesna as the rest of his fellow Brethren of the Sacred Teachings, despite their past years of close friendship.
Isak, Vesna thought sadly, was this how your life was? Always set apart, even from friends? Never allowed to be just part of the crowd? He shook the thought away. Time for that later.
‘Do you know Suzerain Temal? I’ve met Ranah several times and he doesn’t have the brains to get on his horse the right way round first try.’
‘Yes, my Lord, well enough. Temal’s got precious little affection for his subjects, but I’d never thought the man disloyal — or religious, for that matter.’
‘So we have a whole new faction?’ Vesna muttered. ‘Gods, it’s a wonder we ever got around to building a bloody nation here.’
Torl gave a noncommittal shrug. The ageing warrior had never been one for ceremony and was dressed like any cavalryman, only the badge with his Ice Cobra crest indicating he was a nobleman.
A red cape of mourning hung over Vesna’s divine-touched left arm, hiding it from onlookers, but the rest of his clothes followed tradition. His oiled hair was tied down one side of his neck to cover the blue tattoos of knighthood there.
‘General Lahk? How do you want to play this?’
Lahk looked back at the divisions of Palace Guard following them before replying, ‘We cannot be sure of their intentions, and until proved otherwise we must assume they are allies. They have broken no law.’
‘I suppose so,’ Vesna said reluctantly. ‘Riding on through would be insulting to their stations, however strongly Lord Fernal ordered us to return without delay.’
‘They’re not here to fight — no Farlan suzerain takes on the Ghosts, however mauled we might be.’
Vesna looked around. The Tirah Highway passed through mainly forested ground, but there were villages and towns around and clearings and fields dotted the landscape. Here there were sufficient trees to obscure his view, and space for a few legions of troops to wait for the order. The mountain-lines of the Spiderweb range stopped at Tebran’s outer border, but ridges of high hilly ground remained and anyone advancing towards Tirah would continue to be at the disadvantage right up to the city walls.
‘They might if they have reinforcements nearby — our scouts and scryers could have missed an ambush easily enough.’
‘Of the nearby suzerains the only one whose loyalty was in question was Suzerain Selsetin, and he died in battle at the Byoran Fens. There is no man of Duke Certinse’s ilk here,’ Torl pointed out. ‘What would be their reason for such a risky venture, my Lord?’
Vesna shook his head. ‘I don’t know — and that’s what has me worried. The past six months has shown us that the usual rules of the great game need not apply. I’m inclined to see hostility in any move I do not understand.’
‘Sir Cerse,’ Lahk called, prompting the colonel of the Palace Guard to urge his horse up to Lahk’s.
Vesna watched him approach with a sense of sadness. Sir Cerse had been an eager young soldier when they first met not long ago — a political appointment, but keen to earn the loyalty of his men. Now there was a grim set to his jaw and a bandage covering one ruined eye. The colonel of the Ghosts had earned the respect of his men, but Vesna recognised all too easily a soldier who’d lost something of himself on the way.
‘Sir Cerse, call a halt and ensure the men are ready for whatever might happen. We’ll take two squads as escort and proceed to greet our peers.’
‘Are you sure?’ Vesna asked once Sir Cerse had returned to issue the order. ‘Won’t that just encourage them to act rashly?’
‘“If your enemy intends to act, encourage him to do so rashly”,’ Lahk quoted in response. ‘My authority ends with the military side of matters. Suzerain Torl, Count Vesna; I suggest you discuss the politics