again. He would find her first.

"I pierced its heart," Magiere whispered.

Leesil watched her pace in his room at the Burdock, her falchion leaning in the corner. He'd waited in the coach with Chap while she'd gone back into the Rowan wood to retrieve it. Sooner or later, they were going to catch hell for what had happened there tonight, but he couldn't imagine it would be any worse than dealing with Magiere at the moment.

"That timber went right through her," she insisted, clenching her hands as if she still felt the wood in her grip.

"I know," Leesil said. "I saw it."

Chap rested on the bed as Leesil's mind worked over what had happened—and what hadn't happened, it seemed. At the very least, his idiocy at the Rowanwood was put aside. He carefully ran his fingers through Chap's fur, feeling for injuries. His fingertips passed across a swelling on the side of the dog's head. There was no blood, but Chap had been struck down too hard for him to track tonight, so they'd returned to their rooms. On the small table near Magiere's sword rested two burning candles and a tin basin of water they'd procured from the innkeeper.

Leesil pointed to the basin. "Hand me that."

Startled from her thoughts, Magiere passed him the basin as she sat down on the bed's far side. Leesil dipped a folded rag in the water to make a cool compress and placed it gently against Chap's head.

"How could that thing have gotten away?" she asked.

Uncertain, Leesil shook his head. "There are only two possibilities. One, you missed the heart."

"I didn't."

"Then… it's not the first thing we've tried .that turned out to be nothing but superstition."

"Fine," Magiere grumbled at him. "That means we're back to taking heads."

"Or ashes," he added.

"Don't get any ideas," she warned.

An edgy silence passed that left Leesil wondering if it was now time for her to turn on him. She sat quietly, watching him refresh the compress for Chap's head.

"Besides," she continued, "ashes won't prove anything to the council. We've nothing to show for tonight. There's no way to track this thing, unless Chap heals fast enough to pick up a trail. I didn't get anything from her for him to smell."

Leesil hesitated. "I did."

Maigere's eyes narrowed as her lips pressed into a flat line, but she didn't look up at him.

"Well, you had more opportunity, didn't you?" Her voice held a cold bite. "Perhaps this is how we should hunt now. Turn you loose in the nearest brothel with a card table and a goblet of wine, and just wait for the first undead slut to drop into your lap."

Leesil tried not to flinch and failed. He actually bit his tongue, knowing anything he said now was just fuel for her fire. For that matter, he'd no idea what to say.

He felt as if he'd been unfaithful—but unfaithful to what? Everything he'd done, every gentle ploy he'd tried to get close to her, had failed. She pushed him away again and again. So why feel ashamed? Well, there was the drinking and gambling. But he wasn't drunk, and he hadn't lost, and that left one thing to be ashamed about, and that he hadn't even wanted. He hadn't even thought of such things since settling in Miiska.

He'd thought only of Magiere.

And the worst, most infuriating and confusing part was that of all the things he'd done tonight, the one she fixed upon was that thing sitting in his lap.

A deep sigh from Magiere caught Leesil's attention. When he looked up, she was gazing at his white hair hanging past his shoulders.

"You lost your scarf," she said. "We'll have to get you a new one."

Leesil reached into his pocket and pulled out an entire handful of coins, which he poured onto the bed in front of her.

"Here. I won back most of what I lost on the ship, but I doubt the scarf makes much difference anymore."

He felt thankful for the change of topic. But when she saw the coins, he realized too late that it was another mistake. He quickly rambled on before she could cut into him.

"A scarf won't hide my eyes or skin. It seems my people are more of an oddity here than I realized."

Her attention pulled from the coins. "Your people?"

"You know what I mean."

"No, I don't," she answered with an abrupt shake of her head that whipped wisps of black hair about her pale face. "I didn't forget what you did back in the alley.