Snake Heart (Chains of Honor #2) -Lindsay Buroker Page 0,70

little about mage hunters or how they were trained. He could only see part of the woman’s face since he still held her against the wall—even with his mother for backup, he worried she might get the best of him if he eased up. She had very nearly killed him. Also, the woman continued to glare at Pey Lu, utter hatred on her face.

Pey Lu leaned her scimitar against the wall and searched the prisoner. The arms Yanko gripped flexed, the woman’s shoulders tightening. He kept his hold, one Falcon had taught him as a boy, usually by pinning Yanko with it. Pey Lu found the rest of the prisoner’s throwing stars, a folding knife, a garrote, and three vials. She also removed a ring with a tiny compartment. The mage hunter growled deep in her throat. Was there poison in there? Something she could use to kill herself if captured? That seemed more of a Turgonian thing to do than a Nurian tactic, but Yanko had heard mage hunters were fanatical to their organization and to their missions.

“Let’s take her to the brig, Yanko,” Pey Lu said when she finished, leaving the weapons pile on the floor. She met his eyes with a nod. “Good work in subduing her. Even a young mage hunter is a formidable opponent.”

The expression on her face—was that pride?—surprised Yanko. It pleased him, even if it shouldn’t, even if he kept telling himself that her opinion did not matter. He admitted a hint of pride in himself, too, though perhaps he shouldn’t. It wasn’t as if he had subdued her easily. He was surprised that the mental attack had worked. He didn’t think it would have worked on Dak. Of course, he had never tried on Dak. And, as his mother had pointed out, he tended to be stronger when he wasn’t thinking, when he was reacting and attacking on instinct.

“This way.” Pey Lu tilted her head toward the ship’s ladder at the end of the passageway.

Yanko followed, pushing his prisoner ahead of him. Gramon joined them before they reached the steps, the Turgonian walking out of Pey Lu’s cabin, his feet bare and his shirt only half buttoned.

“We have a guest?” he asked, scraping his fingers through mussed gray hair.

“A mage hunter,” Pey Lu said over her shoulder, not appearing worried that the assassin walked right behind her.

If she escaped Yanko’s grip, would she attack Pey Lu first? Or Yanko? It had been his quarters that she had barged into first. But maybe she had been sent to kill both of them, and she had chosen what she assumed would be the easier target first? Back when they had spoken, Sun Dragon had implied that Yanko—or his family—had wronged the assassin at some point, that it was more than professional duty, an assignment accepted, that had driven her after him. He wondered if she would answer his questions if he asked them. Would he be given the opportunity to question her?

“Is there a reason we’re keeping her?” Gramon asked.

“I want some answers,” Pey Lu said.

“A dead mage hunter is a safe mage hunter. Isn’t there a saying about that?”

“A Turgonian saying, I believe.”

“A wise people.”

Pey Lu snorted and did not look back.

The talk about killing her made Yanko uneasy. If it had happened in the battle, when he’d been defending himself, it might have been understandable, but he could not imagine eliminating her now, no matter what her intentions were toward him.

She did not try to escape as Pey Lu led them to the deck below, either sensing that Yanko was paying a lot of attention and had a good grip, or just knowing that the odds were stacked against her. The ceiling had been repaired, and when Pey Lu held open a wrought iron gate, it and the adjoining bars appeared sturdy. Yanko walked his prisoner in, then let her go and stepped back quickly, clanging the gate shut with his mind.

“Good to see the telekinesis coming along,” Pey Lu said dryly, turning the lock.

The prisoner turned around to glower at them, but she did not attempt to lunge out or grab the gate. Yanko’s reaction had probably been overkill. Still, she had tried to assassinate him. It was hard to be blasé in the aftermath of that.

The prisoner’s face was utterly neutral. She clasped her hands behind her back and stared at a spot on the wall between Pey Lu and Yanko, avoiding eye contact with either of them. She had