Pathfinder's Way (32 page)

“Send for Darius,” Fallon barked.

He reached behind him, grimacing as his
fingers came away with blood. If the man’s aim had been a little
better, Fallon would be the one lying dead on the ground. He should
have known better than to turn his back on any but a trusted
friend.

Darius ducked under the flap, his eyes going
immediately to the assassin.

“Another one? That makes the third this
month.”

Fallon bent and using the man’s hair lifted
him so his face was to the light. “Any one you recognize?”

Darius’s eyebrows pulled together as he
examined the man’s face. “No. Did he say anything before he
died?”

“Said it was courtesy of the Horse Clan.”

Darius’s jaw dropped as his eyes widened in
rage. “Horse Clan? They’re your ally!” He strode to the prone
figure and spit on it. “I’ll have my men make inquiries. If any of
them had anything to do with this, I’ll find them.”

“It’s not certain it came from the Horse
Clan, my friend.”

Darius shot Fallon an agonized look. “It
doesn’t matter. You and I both know we can’t do anything but
question anyone indicated. They knew right where to hit us.
Questioning the Horse Clan’s integrity could jeopardize their
loyalty.”

“Which is why I want you to hold off,” Fallon
said, crossing his arms.

“You have a plan.”

Fallon inclined his head. “You’re right.
Until now I have had no reason to question the Horse Clan’s
loyalty. I am not going to start now because of the word of an
inept assassin. My back was to him. He could have slit my throat or
slid the dagger into my heart. He did neither and told me where the
attempt originated. Why?”

“To throw off suspicion and drive a wedge
between you and one of your closest allies. But, how can you be
certain?”

“We’ll find out if my plan works.” He headed
to his sleeping chamber and a clean set of clothes. “Call a meeting
of the clan heads. I want to see their reactions when they see
their assassin failed.”

Fallon’s face was cold and unyielding as he
watched the clan leaders shift in their seats. Their unease might
have something to do with the head sitting in the middle of the
table.

Henry, head of the Horse Clan, hair white
with age, poked at the head with one finger, causing it to roll
towards the leader of Snake Clan, who batted it away with a look of
distaste. Indra was a tall, lithe woman with long black hair
braided into a series of interlocking braids.

Only four of the clan leaders were present,
as well as Darius, who was Fallon’s right hand man. The last three
were currently leading war parties.

“Why were we pulled from our beds in the
middle of the night?” Van was middle aged with golden hair and a
barrel chest and was the oldest except for Horse Clan’s leader. As
Lion Clan, he was one of the potential traitors. Fallon had no
proof. Yet.

“Someone tried to assassinate me tonight,”
Fallon said blandly, watching for any betraying tick.

There was a hushed moment of silence as each
processed how this might affect them. Indra arched one eyebrow but
otherwise kept her expression politely interested.

Van smirked and said, “Guess someone really
wants you dead.”

“They will just have to consign themselves to
disappointment.”

“For now.”

“Is that a threat?” Darius asked sharply.

“Did it sound like one?” Van waved one hand.
“Given the number of attempts lately, it’s just a matter of time
before one is successful. Perhaps now you will reconsider heading
back to clan lands. This place isn’t good for our people.”

“Yes, our mistake. How dare we take our
people somewhere where they won’t have to fight over every speck of
food or have to decide between giving water to their children or
their horses,” Darius said.

“But we haven’t stopped fighting, have we?
We’ve just traded one enemy for another,” Van said, baring his
teeth.

“At least we aren’t fighting amongst
ourselves,” Ben, the leader of Earth Clan said, arching an eyebrow.
He was the youngest in the group and had not been tested by battle
though he was in his twenties already.

“What would you know of it, Earth Clan?”
Indra asked, curling a lip. “Your men aren’t out there dying.”

“My mistake, we simply make the weapons you
use to defend yourselves.”

“Enough.” Fallon’s voice rumbled through the
room. “I did not call this meeting so we could argue over issues
that have already been settled. The Trateri will claim these lands
and if you have issue with that then you can leave.”

Dirty looks were shot around the table before
each settled back into their chairs.

“I don’t suppose the assassin said anything
before he died?” Van asked in a bored tone.

“What makes you ask that?” Fallon asked, his
eyes growing cold and fierce.

Van shrugged and waved a hand. “Why else
would we be here?”

“You are correct, he did say something before
I snapped his neck.” Fallon’s voice was silky as his eyes narrowed
to slits.

“Well do tell us.”

“He said, ‘The Lion Clan gives its
regards.’”

Van sprang to his feet and pounded a fist
into the table. “Absurd.”

“Is it?” Indra asked. “Just moments ago you
sounded as if you would like to shake hands with the assassin.”

“Lion Clan did not do this. On my honor, we
did not.”

“I did not say you did,” Fallon told him. Van
relaxed back into his seat and inclined his head in gratitude.
Fallon’s next sentence made him tense and his face turn red. “I
would, however, be a fool if I didn’t have Darius investigate. He
won’t limit his investigations to just Van’s men either.”

“What?” Indra popped to her feet. “Why must
the rest of us be subjected to suspicion when the assassin as good
as pointed the finger against him?”

Fallon’s head turned slowly. He allowed his
mask to slip for a moment, letting the burning rage through for
just a moment. Indra gulped and lowered herself back into her seat.
“Because I said so.”

The meeting wrapped up quickly after that and
before long the clan heads, except for Darius, filed out.

“It could have been any of them,” Fallon
said, turning his head as Darius took a seat next to him. “Have
your men to check into all of them.”

“This would be easier if we could use Henry’s
connections to find the traitor.”

“We can’t chance it,” Fallon said. “Not given
what the assassin suggested.”

“So the assassin won in the end. He managed
to cast doubt upon a staunch ally.”

The cup Fallon held up to his mouth hesitated
before Fallon tossed back the contents.

“Work as fast as you can. Van was right in
one sense. Sooner or later an assassin is going to get lucky.”

A commotion at the tent’s entrance drew both
men’s attention. They looked up to see a dark haired man pushing
his way through Fallon’s men.

“Great, how did Cale hear about this?” Darius
muttered.

Fallon gave him a warning look. Darius held
up a hand and shrugged.

“Brother, I came as soon as I heard,” Cale
said, striding across the room.

“Oh? You have good ears,” Darius said,
tapping one finger against his thigh.

Cale gave him a cool look and slightly bowed
his head in respect. There was no love lost between the two. Cale
was jealous of the close relationship Darius shared with Fallon,
while Darius felt Cale was a complete waste of space who constantly
used his connection with the Warlord to make his life easier.

“As you can see, the attempt was
unsuccessful,” Fallon said.

“Have you caught the parties responsible?
They should all be given the traitor’s reward,” Cale said
heatedly.

“Yes, well, when they’re caught I’m sure
you’ll be first in line to give them that reward,” Darius said
sarcastically.

It was well known that Cale liked to attend
such events. A bloodthirsty man, he tended to take advantage of
those in weakened states.

“I thank you for your concern, but we have
much to discuss. You should retire for the night. I’m sure Henry
will have much for you to do tomorrow,” Fallon said in
dismissal.

“I would be a horrible brother to let a
little missed sleep keep me from your side. I wouldn’t want you to
have to rely on the loyalties of others in this dark time. After
all, family can always be counted on,” Cale said with a sidelong
glance at Darius.

“And what assistance might you provide? You
don’t know the first thing about such things,” Darius said.

Fallon interrupted before the discussion
could degenerate any further. It would not be the first time a
shouting match had erupted between the two. He’d hoped placing Cale
under Darius’ command several months prior would help to reconcile
the two or at least make them less antagonistic, but it had only
seemed to worsen their relationship. Each man had his strengths,
but both refused to see any good in the other.

“Enough,” Fallon said. “I am tired and would
like to see my bed before the sun rises. Cale, thank you for the
offer, but Darius has experience in such matters and is as close to
me as you. I have no reservations about his loyalty and would thank
you not to question it again.”

Cale face reflected anger for a moment before
it smoothed back into a pleasant expression. He bowed his head and
said, “As you wish, brother.”

He turned and left.

Darius leaned his head against his hand as he
watched him go. “It is interesting that he knew of the
assassination attempt so soon after. It makes one wonder where he
came by the information considering my men were under orders not to
share news of the attempt with anyone.”

Fallon stared after his half-brother, his
face lost in thought. “It does make one wonder. Keep an eye on him
just in case.”

Darius lifted his head and gave Fallon a
penetrating stare, “You think he might be involved?”

“It would not be the first time a close
family member has plotted against a Warlord.”

Darius nodded, knowing that was how Fallon’s
grandfather lost his life.

“As you will.”

“Hot food, showers, maybe even a clean change
of clothes.” Buck leaned his head back and rolled his eyes in
imagined bliss.

“I can practically taste the stew already,”
Eamon said, smacking his lips.

Shea snorted as she steered her horse onto
safer ground. Every time they returned to the main camp all they
wanted to talk about was what they would do first.

Assigned to a supply party tasked with
gathering the monthly tithes, the three had just finished guiding
their charges to the three villages on their route. Now they were
heading back to the main Trateri camp, also known as home.

Despite the bitching that had followed their
orders, they’d rather enjoyed their time on what scouts considered
light duty. Though the terrain was still rough, the villages rarely
put up any fight and every one of them was clearly marked on a map.
It was easier than a lot of the mapping missions they drew, but it
was also considered bitch work since there was little to no glory
to be had.

“This time you’re getting a shower if I have
to throw you in myself,” Buck groused at Shea.

She stuck her tongue out at him. He was only
half joking. Though she ensured she stayed as clean as possible,
the others had begun to notice that when it came time to bath or
whip out their dicks to take a piss, Shea was always conspicuously
absent. She found ways to take care of business later when no one
was around. She’d been doing it so long that for the most part they
chalked up her shyness to a Lowlander thing. They were beginning to
push, though. The Trateri didn’t have the same body consciousness
that Lowlanders did and often bathed in open showers or in
streams.

“I’m in no hurry to get a look at your damn
dicks,” Shea told him.

“But they’re such fine dicks, Shane.”

“Fine they may be, but I prefer a little
privacy in my bath.”

“Why? Do you need a little alone time to jack
off? You know if you use your hand too much it’ll just make what’s
between your legs fall off.”

“I think you might want to take your own
advice, Buck. Maybe there’s a nice village girl somewhere out there
who can give your nether regions a bit of attention.” Eamon
grinned.

Buck’s nose wrinkled in disgust, and his
mouth pursed as if it had just bitten into something sour. “A
Lowlander girl? Impossible. I’d break her in half. These Lowlanders
are just too frail. If she got anywhere near my cock, she’d faint
dead away.”

“Wow,” Shea said shaking her head in
disbelief. “That’s quite an ego you have there.”

“It’s the truth. Lowlanders have twigs
between their legs.” He shot her a sly grin. “Why else would you be
afraid to shower with us?”

“That’s it,” Shea said dryly. “That’s the
reason right there.”

The past month and a half had been an eye
opening experience for Shea as she settled into the team. On the
Hawkvale’s recommendation, Eamon had been given his own scouting
team and made Shea his permanent second. She thought that might
cause problems with new members who were older and thought they had
more experience, but Buck was quick to set any newbie straight. He
did that by beating them to a pulp the first time they challenged
her authority. She reinforced it by ensuring that person got all
the worst jobs like digging the trenches for waste.

For reasons that were a mystery even to her,
she hadn’t escaped after that first mission but had instead guided
her team back to the base camp.

Every night Shea had promised herself she
would leave, but she put off her escape night after night as they
got closer to camp. That last night she’d risen with every
intention of leaving, but Eamon had woken as well, making it
impossible to sneak off. She pretended that she needed to do a
perimeter check. By the time Eamon settled into sleep, Buck was up
and ready for his watch. The night continued like that until dawn
arrived, and her chance was gone.