A Prince Among Killers - By J. B. Redmond Page 0,24

his graal. Dari sensed distrust, determination—and something else.

Something like … defensiveness? Shame?

Lord Altar turned toward Dari before she could look away from him. Even as she dropped her eyes to the sock and yarn clutched in her hands, she felt him appraise her, give Aron and Zed passing attention, then return the force of his focus to her.

His attention felt like clawed nails scraping down her senses.

Hunter. Hunter!

She had no doubt if she raised her eyes, she would see a manic, barely controlled expression on Lord Altar’s face. It would be the look of those with the Altar legacy when they were on the hunt and had caught scent of their quarry.

“By the Brother’s grace, Baldric—a Ross pigeon?” Lord Altar’s voice issued in the powerful, gravelly bass Dari expected from such a man. “Do you plan to do killing in these chambers today?”

“She is pledged to Stone and stays near me most of the time.” Lord Baldric lied with a grace and fluidity Dari had to admire. He came around his desk to stand beside his guest, keeping Stormbreaker and Windblown on his far side. “Pay her no more heed than the apprentices.”

Lord Altar grumbled something unintelligible to himself, then turned his back on Dari, Aron, and Zed.

Dari’s mind reeled off the nickname Rockiller, which she knew Lord Altar had earned in his Guard service, fighting the many lawless, rebellious tribes that populated the deserts of his dynast. Warbirds, his people were called, with good reason. It was said if Altars ran out of bandits and enemies, they’d turn on one another just to have someone to fight.

After seeing this dynast lord in the flesh, Dari could believe that. She dared a quick glance at the fearsome man.

How easy it must have been for Lord Brailing to draw this man into his treachery. Lord Altar seemed to be a war waiting for a battlefield.

Aron, on the other hand, had gone so still Dari actually looked at his chest to be certain he was breathing. She checked the color of his legacy to visible eyes—dull, with barely a dollop of sapphire. He was doing so well with this disguise, it seemed almost second nature to him now. The lines of his face remained smooth, and his expression was one of polite disinterest. Another disguise, because his eyes …

The white-blue blaze in his slightly narrowed eyes …

Dear gods and goddesses. Dari’s muscles tightened, as if readying for battle against her will. There may be murder today, after all.

Lord Altar’s deep voice rose over the racket of her mind as he announced, “I’ve come to watch Judgment Day, to see the killing of the rapist who sullied my niece.”

Lord Baldric straightened a little at this announcement. “Laird Reese. Yes.”

“I have his stone.” Stormbreaker rested his hand against a leather bag tied to his waist.

For the briefest of moments, Lord Altar gave his attention to Stormbreaker. “Very well. See that you don’t waste it.”

Once more, Dari checked Aron’s essence. She saw no flickers of energy or other indications that he might be losing emotional control, despite the fact he had just learned the Stone Guild would be doing something to aid a man he considered complicit in the murder of his family. His body remained equally placid. As before, the only indication Dari had of his true feelings was the furious gleam in his eyes.

“Why is Canus the Bandit not up for trial this day?” Lord Altar demanded, keeping his back to the hearth.

Both Aron and Zed seemed to take interest in this question. They shifted forward and seemed to be listening more intently.

Lord Baldric’s color deepened, and Dari saw him dig his fingers against his palm. “We have received no judgment on him from any dynast. As far as Stone knows, his deeds are as much rumor as reality. We cannot hunt an unconvicted phantom.”

Lord Altar swore, then reached into his robes and withdrew a folded bit of parchment. “A decree from the Court of Altar at Can Olaf, convicting the outlaw of his crimes in my lands. Now you have a judgment against the outlaw, and shortly one will follow from Lord Brailing, and perhaps Lord Cobb as well.”

Dari’s teeth ground together at the thought that Lord Cobb might be cooperating with Lord Brailing and Lord Altar in any fashion, even in a matter where they shared common concern.

Lord Altar put the parchment on Lord Baldric’s desk and thumped it with two fingers. “This bandit is no better than a desert sand-rat,