Cursor's Fury (Codex Alera #3)(162)

Max's face twisted into a pensive scowl. "But all they're doing is throwing them away, sending them out in random groups like this."

"But they're causing all kinds of chaos by doing it. I think the Canim intentionally brought expendable troops with them," Tavi said. "They aren't here to fight us. They're here to provide a distraction. We're supposed to focus on them, just like we have been all day. I'll bet you they hoped to draw the First Aleran out onto open ground so that they could swamp us."

"Crows," Max spat. "Bastard dogs don't need us to make a mistake that big. More likely they did it so that the Canim scouts can move around freely in the chaos. They can find the best route for their regulars while they're taking out our scouts."

Tavi blinked and snapped his fingers. Then he dug into his pockets and withdrew the bloody little gem he'd taken from Lady Antillus. He held it up next to the gems in pommel of the jeweled bloodsteel sword.

They were identical.

"That's where I'd seen that gem before," Tavi said quietly. "Varg wore a ring and an earring with the same kind."

Max let out a low whistle. "Crows," he said quietly. "I guess my stepmother's had it now."

"Yes, she has," Tavi growled.

Max nodded slowly. "So. What do we do now, sir?"

Tavi glanced up at the legionare. "Hagar."

The veteran saluted. "Captain." Then he withdrew, quietly leading his mount away.

"Recommendation?" Tavi asked quietly.

"Get back to the Elinarch and fort up," Max said promptly. "The Canim wouldn't have gone to all this trouble if they weren't planning to come this way."

Tavi shook his head. "Once we do that, we lose any chance we might have had of gaining any more intelligence about their capabilities. If they can repeat that stunt with the lightning, or if Lady Antillus really has pitched in with them, they could blast the gates down and swamp us in an hour."

"If regulars catch us out here in the open, we won't have to worry about that problem. But it's your call, sir."

Tavi chewed the question over for a moment. "Fall back," he said quietly. "We'll leave a line of pickets behind us to warn us when they're in sight. Wake the men and ask for volunteers."

"Sir," Max said, saluting. He immediately rose, barking commands, and the weary legionares began to stir.

The column was forming-a much more difficult prospect in the dark, Tavi noted-when a rippling chill flickered down Tavi's spine and made the hairs on his arms stand up. He glanced around him in the evening gloom, then headed for the darkest patch of shadows on the west side of the camp.

When he got close, he saw a flicker of pale skin within a dark hood, and Ki-tai whispered, "Aleran. There is something you must see."

There was something very odd, very alien in her voice, and Tavi realized that Kitai sounded... afraid.

Kitai glanced about, drew back her hood, and met Tavi's eyes with hers, poised in perfect, graceful suspension of motion, like a hidden doe ready to flee from a grass lion. "Aleran, you must see this."

Tavi met her gaze for a moment, then nodded once. He went to Max and murmured, "Take them back to town. Leave two horses here."

Max blinked. "What? Where are you going?"

"Kitai's found something I need to see."

Max lowered his voice to a fierce whisper. "Tavi. You're the captain of this Legion."

Tavi answered just as quietly, and just as fiercely. "I am a Cursor, Max. It is my duty to acquire information for the defense of the Realm. And I'm not about to order anyone else to go out there tonight. I've gotten enough people killed today."