THE ASSASSINATION

I had just lost someone important to me.

His name was Benjamin Steven Parker. Intrigue involving the Spider clans of Nyack had forced him to resign from my service. He was the best Senior Samurai I'd ever had, and his leaving couldn't have come at a worse time. Without Ben, I was diminished and my plans were threatened.

And then it got worse.

"The Creed have a competent chieftain," Olivia told me grimly.

Standing beside Olivia, Lord Crowe nodded his head in irritated agreement.

At first glance, Crowe looks like any other aging Blood - stocky, craggy, and hard. He's not given to ostentation and wears the same light chainmail as his samurai. His hair is pure white and his eyes are gray and penetrating. He's old for a Blood lord, but so far all younger challengers had found ambition to be a dead end.

Olivia wears scale-mail and carries a hammer-and-hook polearm that's as tall as herself. It's a massive weapon, but Olivia wields it with ease. Olivia herself is a tall and broad woman, with blue eyes and pale skin. In the manner of her order, she shaves her hair into a mohawk and bleaches it white. She has a strong, scarred, and stern demeanor.

At the moment, Olivia looked exhausted and her armor was battered and scarred. Her helm was resting in the crook of her arm and there were cuts and bruises on her face. Tension and anger hung about her like a cloak. She smelled of smoke, sweat, and lightning.

Few would say that Olivia is a beautiful woman, but I think there are times when Olivia is beautiful beyond words. This was one of those times.

I considered Olivia's simple statement for a long moment. "What happened?" I finally asked. I knew the rough story - everyone did - but I needed to hear it from those two.

Lord Crowe spoke up, "We burned the Creed fortress and fell back towards the frontier. The Creed resistance was scattered and confused. Everything was as expected so we kept our withdrawal slow in order to draw the Creed out. They kept attacking in a disorganized manner, in small groups. We killed a lot of them that way, but then we were attacked by a full war-band."

Olivia continued. "They struck us on the flank, during a water-crossing. They smashed right through our outriders and hit a part of our column that was mostly auxiliaries. It was a canny attack, and we didn't see it coming."

Damn it. "How bad?" I asked.

"We've lost about ten percent of our archers and some more than that of halberdiers," Lord Crowe said flatly, "but then the rangers on that flank formed up. They got into the fight and kept it from turning into a disaster. I brought in samurai from both ends of the column with the idea of cutting the Creed off and wiping them out, but the Creed broke contact and retreated."

I think my eyebrows rose after he said that. "They retreated?"

Small groups of Creed are vicious hit-and-run raiders, but Creed in band-strength tend to be over-confidant and are inclined to attack without thought. That made them vulnerable to being outmaneuvered and wiped out.

Lord Crowe and Olivia nodded simultaneously. They both had grim expressions on their faces.

"They fell back in two stages, one group covering for the other," Olivia added. "We hurt the second group, but couldn't pin down the first. The shifting made it difficult to perform a full encirclement. Even then, we were close to trapping them. But then another Creed group came up and hit the rear of our column. It wasn't a full warband, but it was enough that we had to break-off the encirclement attempt."

So the Creed had avoided our scouts - sacrificing small numbers of their warriors to keep us distracted. Then they performed a successful surprise attack. After that, they completed a tricky withdrawal, making use of reserve force in the process.

"They have a competent chieftain," Olivia repeated.

Oh, weaponex. I'd lost Ben and now this was happening.

The overall plan was straightforward. An alliance of lords and other allies would challenge the Western Creed tribe along two lines of advance. The first attack was by a strong column of mixed troops that was intended to draw Creed attention. That was the force that Lord Crowe was commanding with Olivia's assistance.

The second column was somewhat smaller, but composed of more elite forces. The second column would take advantage of the distraction caused by the first attack, move deep into the Western tribe's territory, and establish a strong point in a highly defensible coastal position. By the time the Creed noticed that they actually had two problems, they would be permanently off-balance and a combined force representing the warriors of over a dozen frontier Blood lords, backed by other lords and some of the local Wilder and Folk towns, would proceed to destroy the Westernmost tribe in a series of pitched battles.

Establishing the fortification was paramount. It was the forward organization and supply point that would enable our forces to relentlessly pursue the Creed - even during winter. The Creed wouldn't be able to avoid destruction by simply retreating deeper into the wilderness. Instead, wherever they went, we would be able to hound them to destruction. It would also protect the line of communications between the civilized lands east and west of the Creed strongholds.

I've executed something near to that plan before in my life - more than once, as a matter of fact. I'd seen other lords do something similar. But no plan can completely account for those moments of history when a notably talented enemy leader arises.

And while we certainly hadn't been defeated in the most recent battle, the losses sustained by Crowe and Olivia's column were worrisome. We needed to tilt the odds back in our favor as quickly as possible.

Lord Crowe was eager to get back in the field. He had to keep the main Creed force at bay and destroy any raiding bands that had splintered off from it. He left as soon as we were done talking.

Olivia and I walked back to my tent, Jessica and some of my samurai with us. Any samurai or auxiliaries that we encountered bowed in our direction.

They weren't bowing to me. Olivia - my brave, scarred, and deadly Olivia - had done much to save our troops when everything went wrong. With Lady Ororo's lightning blazing around her, accompanied by a bare dozen pristesses and acolytes from the Storm and Blade temples, Olivia waded into the worst of the fighting. She blunted the Creed charge, giving our warriors the chance they needed to regroup. Word of that deed was spreading throughout the army of the Frontier Lords. It's the sort of thing that soldiers will always respect.

That deference to Olivia was a good sign. It meant that while our warriors didn't consider themselves defeated. They still had faith in their leaders.

We entered the tent. Emma, my middle wife, immediately took Olivia by her armored shoulders and gave her a long kiss. Olivia returned it with definite fervor, while I tactfully waited for them to break apart.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked Olivia.

Olivia smiled wanly and ran one of her hands through her white Mohawk. "Perhaps something to drink first?"

Emma is senior to Olivia, but she unhesitantly poured a cup of wine. Olivia once again kissed Emma as she accepted the drink. Then Olivia suddenly remembered that she also had a husband and kissed me as well - I suspect Emma mind-spoke a reminder to her. Emma and Olivia are closer to each other than they are to me, however they are a remarkable pair of women and I count myself lucky to come in second with them.

Emma is a slender woman with long black hair and green eyes. Usually, she dresses as a common member of the order of Truthsayers. Her namesake is a figure of both history and legend. According to ancient tales, the original Emma was heartless yet still capable of surprising acts of kindness, brilliantly willful, and the deadly incarnation of beauty. Actually, her name fit my Emma quite well.

Jessica saw to it that Emma and I also had wine. Then she quietly left the tent.

Olivia gave me an amused look then she nodded her head towards the tent-flap. "So that's Jessica?" she asked.

I nodded. "Thank you for allowing her to enter concubinage."

After Jessica came back from Nyack with me, Anna and Emma agreed to allow her to become my concubine. Emma secured Olivia's permission via mind-speaking. Jessica had been my concubine for just over a week.

Olivia mock-glared at Emma, "I'm gone for a little while and his eye starts to wander? Are you and Anna really doing such a poor job of keeping him satisfied?"

"Hey!" Emma objected mildly. "You're the youngest wife. Traditionally, you're the one who's supposed to make sure he's well serviced, while we senior wives do more important things."

Olivia nodded. "Fair point, but if only my sister-wives were more interested in their basic wifely duties!"

It took some effort on my part not to laugh. If you knew Anna and Emma, than you knew how outrageous those last words were. If anything, Olivia was the most reserved of the three.

Then Olivia glanced at me. "So tell me about Jessica," she said seriously.

"She's a Spider," I said. "She's probably nobility, but when young she was somehow separated from her family and raised as a Black Widow assassin."

Olivia gave me a very long look. "Oh, is that all? Nothing unusual?"

"There's more," I said. Then I told her the story about Loki, Nyagra, Alban, Nyack, Jessica, Samantha and Sophie, the Black Widows, Illyana, Ancient Strange, the Old One, the Wendigo, and Dormammu.

When I finished, Olivia shook her head slowly. "You have the maddest adventures," she told me.

I couldn't argue with that.

"Jessica has a large number of powerful potential enemies," I said.

Olivia laughed. "All the way from a crazy Black Widow cell mistress to perhaps Dormammu himself. Somewhere in the midst of that are the high Spider clans of Nyack. If some important Spider decides that Jessica is a threat to his or her power... well..."

Olivia didn't finish. I nodded in agreement. As always, Olivia got the point.

"The best way to keep Jessica safe is to take her into our household," I said. "And then we let it be known that she's one of us. Making her a concubine did that."

"And it doesn't hurt that she's very pretty," Olivia added archly.

"Are you waiting for me to argue about that?" I asked curiously.

That made Olivia smile. "So what else can she do for us?" she asked.

"She's a trained spy and assassin who's deadly in a fight. She's repeatedly proven her loyalty under trying circumstances. She has the strange sense for danger that all Spiders have. And she did ask very politely to become my concubine."

Olivia shrugged. "Emma vouched for Jessica, that's why I agreed without meeting her. So it's no time to suddenly decide that I have doubts - which I really don't. As far as I'm concerned, the issue is settled."

I nodded. "I appreciate that. Now, is there anything else you can tell me about the fight with the Creed?"

Olivia turned thoughtful. "It's pretty much what we already told you. Lord Crowe kept overall command and I do think he did well given the situation. After the fight began, I and the other priestesses joined the part of the column that was in contact with the Creed and supported them. And now everyone is being silly about that. So I threw some lightning at the Creed. So what? I'm a Storm-Hammer of Lady Ororo. That's what I do."

I just smiled. Olivia is a quite competent warrior, maybe the best Storm-Hammer of her generation. I knew why that was, but it wasn't something Olivia liked to talk about. Making her my third wife was a good decision, and it's embarrassing that the Old One himself had to suggest it to me.

"We didn't have a clue that the westerly Creed has a war-chief who knows what he's about," Olivia added quietly. "And the Creed obviously did a lot of maneuvering without us noticing it. I think we need to talk to our senior rangers and hear what they have to say about that."

I nodded in agreement.

Olivia finally collapsed into a cot. She was asleep within seconds.

"Contact Anna," I told Emma. "Tell her to put half of our troops and whatever reinforcements Ballard is willing to commit on the road within a day. Have Raven leave immediately - I want her here as soon as possible. Tell her she isn't to wait for the rest of our forces. Sean's junior to her, but he can handle the troop movement. And make it clear to Gant that he has to stay next to Anna!"

I had a plan that involved Raven and her particular skills. I needed her as soon as possible.

Emma's eyes narrowed as she looked at me.

"Our options are limited," I told her.

Emma considered that. Then she nodded in agreement and mentally reached out to Anna. Having a powerful telepath for a wife is both a challenge and an advantage.

Rangers come in two types: the Sworn rangers who've given their oath to a Lord, and the so-called Free rangers who are a very competent woodsmen militia. One thing about Free rangers is that they don't have a responsibility to defend their lord's honor and reputation. If you want a completely straight opinion about something that happened on a battlefield, you should talk to a Free ranger.

"What happened?" I asked Dunstan. He's a squat, ugly, and blunt bastard who's a lot smarter than he looks. I found him at the Crowe field hospital checking on a couple of his injured Wilder and Folk friends. I'd heard that Dunstan and his pack were smack in the middle of the worst fighting - right next to Olivia.

"We did okay," he shrugged, "but that big fight at the water-crossing was a near thing."

Then he gave me a hard look. "I think the Creed have a good Victor. To make a long story short, he out-foxed us. Lord Crowe is probably pissed."

Victor is a Creed term for a chief. That's the sort of thing rangers know.

"Why are we hearing about this just now?" I asked. The rangers - both Free and Sworn - are the ones who supposedly have the best idea of what's going on among the Creed. With any other ranger, I was in danger of being impolitic, but Dunstan wasn't the sort to take offence easily.

"Over the last few months, there's been a fight for power within the Western tribe," Dunstan explained. "So now we've got a brand new asshole in charge and we haven't had a chance to see what he could do. Or rather, we didn't until just now. And it turns out he can do a helluva lot."

"What's the new Victor's name?"

"Graydon," Dunstan said.

That made me pause. My days of being a Seeker are not quite done - I'd heard that in a vision from the Old One himself. Still, it wasn't like the old days when my world consisted of an almost constant series of signs.

Sometimes a name is just a name, but 'Graydon' was a very old name. And it had meaning. If I remembered an old and obscure legend correctly, the original Graydon was a Folk born of the Creed progenitor and the Lady of Changes herself. Eventually, he came into conflict with the warband of the Crippled Lord and died in the process.

It couldn't be a coincidence that about the time a Graydon popped up, I'd called for a samurai named Raven.

"Recommendations?" I asked.

"We need to maintain wider outrider patrols when we have troops on the move," Dunstan said professionally. "And we need to bring in some more Angels for reconnaissance support. The Creed did a good job of keeping their main force just outside the reach of our scouts. That's how they surprised us and we can't let that happen again."

Then he paused thoughtfully before continuing. "Also, we really need to kill this Graydon prick. He's too good to let live."

"I'll get busy on that last part," I promised Dunstan.

Dunstan sighed. "It won't be easy. He's already proved that he's smart. And he's gonna be surrounded by the usual gang of Creed murderers."

"I need a local ranger," I said. "He needs to know the area better than most, can think independently, and not be inclined to back away from something ugly."

"You've got two best choices: me or a woman named Dani," Dunstan told me without hesitation.

"I don't want you," I told him. "You need to stay with the rangers and put your recommendation about expanding our outrider and Angel patrols into place. So where can I find this Dani?"

Dunstan nodded in agreement. "The last I heard, she was in town. She had some heads she was bringing to the Old One's shrine."

That evening, Jessica and I found Dani in a tavern just off the town-square in the village of Crowe.

Jessica was upset, but trying to hide it. She had just rejoined me after having a talk with Benjamin's nephew - a Spider Ensign-Herald named Jonah.

I didn't know the details of Jessica's talk with Jonah, and felt it would be best to wait until Jessica decided to provide them. However, as near as I could tell, the conversation had been about family. In my considerable experience, almost nothing can wound you deeper than family.

Inside the tavern, people moved respectfully out of my way. Dani spotted me as soon as I entered. She was a dark-haired and dark-eyed woman, obviously descended from one of the elder peoples - Apache if I had to make a guess, although that meant she was a long way from her homeland. She also looked like she was getting into her cups.

Dani warily leaned back in her chair as Jessica and I approached.

"Dunstan sent me," I told Dani.

To my surprise, I could smell Jonah on Dani. They had been close recently. Intimately close as a matter of fact. While that was none of my business, it sometimes seems as if we live in a surprisingly small world. Or perhaps some people are simply bound together by the machinations of the Great Spirits.

"Have a seat," Dani told me with a broad gesture of her hand.

Jessica and I sat down. At a sign from Dani, a barmaid put two more cups on the table and filled them from a half-empty bottle that was already on the table. Then she put the cups in front of Jessica and I.

As a gesture of comity, we drained our drinks. The whiskey was passable.

"I need your help," I told Dani. "Dunstan recommended you."

"What do you want, Lord Ashe?" Dani asked carefully.

Actually, I could already tell that Dani would agree to my request for aid. She badly needed a distraction. I wondered if Dani had left as deep a mark on young Jonah as he had left on her.

"I need what you know about the local Creed," I said. "Especially their new Victor. And I want you in my service, but I won't ask you to give your oath to me."

Dani nodded.

"Let's go," she said as she reached for her bow and pack.

Early the next morning, Dani, Jessica, and I found a pack of Creed raiders who were falling back across the frontier. They were licking their wounds, retreating after a less-than-glorious engagement with some extremely angry militia. We almost wiped the Creed out, but we did manage to take a prisoner.

"Tell me about Graydon," I asked the prisoner. Badly injured and in pain, he was sitting with his back propped up against a blood-soaked oak tree.

The Creed was young, had blonde-red hair, and was over six foot in height. He was wearing a hide kirtle and nothing else. He was also missing his right hand. I'd done that to him and he was glaring at me with the typical vicious snarl of his kind.

"He'll gut you all," the Creed growled.

I pulled a flask out of my belt, uncorked it, and took a drink. Then I refitted the cork and tossed the flask to the ground in front of the Creed.

"While we're waiting for him to show up and kill us, how about a drink?"

Standing off to the side, Dani and Jessica gave each other a surprised look.

The Creed eyed the flask greedily, but didn't move.

"It'll dull the pain," I told him.

Using his remaining hand, the Creed picked up the flask and pulled out the cork with his teeth. Then he took a long pull of whiskey.

When he was done, I reached over and took the flask from him. He made a reflexive motion to claw at me - and then realized that he was missing the claws in question.

I rapped the flask against his partially-healed stump. The Creed yipped and flinched back, cradling the stump to his chest.

"Be polite and you'll get more," I told him after I took a drink.

He paused, locking his eyes with mine. Then he slowly nodded.

"Tell me about Graydon," I said.

The Creed considered his options, but his eyes were focused on the flask.

"He came up outa nowhere," the Creed said. "Killed old Bent - and then Waters, who everyone figured would take over from Bent - and made himself Victor."

Then the Creed gave me a long look. "Graydon's not just strong. He's smart. He says you Blood kill us when we're dumb, so we have to be smart. He talks to the little Victors. He makes plans and kills any little Victor who doesn't do as he's told."

"Who's thinking of replacing him?" I asked. As a people, the Creed are even more fractious than the Blood. By definition, a Victor always has enemies in his tribe who were plotting against him.

The Creed shrugged. "Nobody's talkin' about it. Too risky. I guess those thinkin' about it are waitin' for Graydon to make a mistake, but so far he ain't made no mistakes."

I handed him the flask. He greedily took another long drink.

"Does he prefer men or women?" I asked.

The Creed shrugged. "I've seen him do both, but I think he likes women more."

Then he gave Dani and Jessica a savage look. "All'a that screamin' and beggin'... maybe you two will get to know him someday."

"He's not having much luck with the hand," Dani said to Jessica, "think his balls will grow back if we geld him?"

Jessica just shrugged disinterestedly, not removing her eyes from the Creed.

"Let's go," I said to Dani and Jessica. The Creed took that as a signal to try and gulp down the last of the liquor in my flask.

Jessica took a step forward and lashed out with her left-hand sword. She caught the Creed in mid-guzzle, on the side of his head. There was a deep thunking sound and the Creed recoiled sideways, his eyes suddenly blank and disorientated. Then Jessica opened his throat with a graceful sweep of her left-hand weapon.

Dani gave Jessica an indignant look. "You could have at least offered to flip a coin or something."

The gurgling Creed collapsed on his side. He was trying to hold his throat closed with his remaining hand. Blood was also flowing out of a deeply indented cut in the side of his head.

"He's not dead yet," Jessica said to Dani placatingly, "you can take his head." Then Jessica bent over, picked up my flask, and began wiping it clean with the edge of her cloak.

Somewhat mollified, Dani pulled a cleaver-like weapon from her belt.

"I don't care how tough this Graydon character is, it's hard to believe that he killed Bent and Waters one right after the other," Dani told me with a shake of her head. "Those two were monsters. Bent was maybe getting old, but Waters was in his prime. I always figured that Waters was just waiting for Bent to get a little older before he made his move. No Victor wants to take over, but then be too hurt from his challenge-fight to stay alive if someone decided to jump him in turn."

"Graydon's supposed to be smart," Jessica pointed out. "Perhaps he just timed things correctly?"

"It's more than that," Dani insisted. "Graydon's got an edge. Something we can't see. A hidden power maybe."

"That can happen with the Creed?" Jessica asked interestedly.

Dani nodded. "Sometimes, when a Creed brat manifests as a full-Creed, he hangs onto some stray power from his mother. It's rare, but it's happened, and it can be really bad news. Fifty-or-so years ago, there was a Central tribe Victor - Boxer was his name - who was so good at spotting ambushes and challengers that everyone figured he had at least some telepathic talent. Boxer wrecked the local lords and ran amok. He only died after the towns down south begged the Fire Priestesses for help. The Priestesses sent a psychic warband after Boxer, but he wiped them out. After that, the Fire Priestesses got so mad that they called in some really nasty specialists from the Mother Temple. They got Boxer, but even they lost people doing it."

I was familiar with that story. There's a secretive organization called the 'Graymalkin', who are the Fire Temple's hidden sect of spies, killers, and - some would say - monsters. Their remit is to deal with psychic threats that nobody else can handle, up to and even including the reappearance of the Phoenix herself. I suspected they were the 'really nasty specialists' Dani had just mentioned.

"Do you know anyone who trades with the Creed?" I asked Dani.

A disgusted look appeared on Dani's face. "Yes - assuming the damned fool is still alive."

Trading with the Creed is a little like handing meat to a hungry grizzly bear and hoping he'll be reasonable. But the Creed always have at least some loot, and a notably bad understanding about what their loot is worth. So there's a profit to be made dealing with the Creed, and some idiot will always think he can make that work. Of course, if the Creed don't kill him, the local Blood lord will. Unless they know when to quit, the entrepreneur in question will eventually meet his doom.

"I want to talk to him," I said.

Dani nodded.

Late that evening, Dani tracked down Sylvis for me. We found him in a small farm-hut a few miles west of Crowe village. He had three Blood yojimbo with him. At first, he assumed we were there to do business with him.

Honestly, Sylvis actually reminded me a bit of Loki. No, not Loki in his full power, but Loki as the smug miscreant and liar who's convinced that he's smarter than everyone else. He had that look about him.

But then Sylvis realized that we weren't customers, and his arrogance vanished.

I took the lead in fighting the yojimbo while Jessica backed me up. Meanwhile, Dani chased down Sylvis - who'd promptly taken to his heels once he realized that we were after him.

By the time Dani dragged Sylvis back, one yojimbo was dead, and the other two were unconscious as their bodies tried to regenerate the damage they'd taken. I had a nasty, raking, triple cut on my left arm and an ugly set of puncture wound in my side. The interior of the hut was a wreck. Most of the furniture was broken, or at least slashed, and there was a lot of blood. The yojimbos had not gone down easily.

"Your lord may be old, but he's a pretty tough character," Dani told Jessica quietly.

Jessica let out a snort of laughter. "You have no idea," she replied.

"You're his concubine?" Jessica asked.

"Yes."

Trying to ignore the feminine byplay, I kicked a chair back onto its legs.

"Sit down," I told Sylvis. He slunk into the chair, his entire body prepared to flinch away from a blow.

"Sylvis, I don't have time or inclination to be gentle," I warned. "And I can smell lies. If you lie to me, I'm going to start removing parts from your body. Do you understand?"

I was in a bad mood. I didn't like being forced to fight three yojimbos who probably thought they were just doing their jobs. I didn't like that I'd been forced to kill one of them. And those wounds in my side hurt like hell and were taking their time to heal.

"Yes, my lord," Sylvis whispered.

"I know you trade with the Creed."

Sylvis' first instinct was, of course, to lie. The lie died on his lips after a claw flicked open from one of my blood-stained hands.

"Body parts," I repeated.

Sylvis gulped. "Yes, my lord. I've traded with the Creed."

"You pile of shit..." whispered one of the still-living yojimbos as he stirred weakly.

"Do you still have a Creed connection?" I asked Sylvis.

"I haven't talked to him for some time. I've given up on that. And now there's this war."

"What did you trade to the Creed?"

"Spirits. Drugs. They really don't want much more."

"Women?"

Sylvis took a deep breath. "My lord, I don't claim to be a good man, but I'd never do that."

I gave Sylvis a very long look. He wasn't lying. Which meant he got to keep all of his fingers.

"Did he ever ask for women?" I asked.

"Yes, my lord. But I never did that! I swear by the three goddesses that I never did that!"

"How did he pay you?"

"Coin, honored lord. Silver, copper, and sometimes gold. He didn't really seem to understand what they were worth."

"You'll need to contact him."

"My lord! I don't know if that's possible!"

"You're going to try."

"Please, my lord! The last time I saw him... Something changed. He looked at me like... like..."

I tried not to laugh. "You're an empath, aren't you, Sylvis?"

"Yes, my lord," he admitted miserably.

"That's why you thought you could deal with a Creed? Because you knew what he was feeling? You knew he needed something from you and he'd cooperate in order to get it?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Let me guess what happened. One day, something went wrong while you were doing business. Maybe you said the wrong thing. Maybe you asked for too much. Maybe he wanted something you couldn't or wouldn't supply. And then you saw it. You finally saw what was inside of him."

There were tears in Sylvis' eyes. "He was going to kill me. If I hadn't promised to bring some good southern cokan next time, he would have killed me right then and there. It was nothing to him."

"So he chose to wait," I said, "and you chose to flee."

Sylvis nodded.

"And ever since then, you've been wondering when that Creed would finally come for you? That's why you kept a trio of yojimbos?"

"Yes, my lord," Sylvis nodded.

I smiled at Sylvis, "Congratulations, Sylvis. You're a damn fool, but you're a lucky damn fool. I'm about to remove that particular problem from your life, but I need to find your Creed for that to happen."

Sylvis considered the three yojimbo that Jessica and I had dealt with. Then he actually smiled.

The two surviving yojimbos were awake and aware, but not yet able to fight at full strength.

They were also young. No more than seventeen summers, if I had to make a guess. Both had the broad build, hirsute form, and dark hair so typical of the Blood.

"You're not full Guardian Guild yojimbos, are you?" I asked.

One of them shook his head. "No, sir. We're journey-kin," The other one couldn't talk because he was painfully working one of Jessica's throwing stars out of his throat.

I nodded in the direction of Sylvis. "You heard him admit that he's traded with the Creed?"

Both yojimbos glared at Sylvis. Then they gave each other grim looks. There are some especially strict lords who might judge that they shared Sylvis' guilt merely because they'd chose to serve him.

Guilt was written all over Sylvis - you could actually smell it on him. The less injured of the boys extended his claws and took a dangerous step towards the trader.

"Stop," I ordered. The youngster paused, but he was still looking claws at Sylvis.

Then I nodded at the dead yojimbo. "I didn't want to kill your comrade, but he gave me no choice. Do you want to avenge him? If so, we should settle that right now. Or do you need more time to heal?"

An unspoken communication seemed to pass between the youngsters. "No," said the talker. "Karl was a free yojimbo, like us. We weren't sworn to him, he just happened to be the eldest. We said we would fight for Sylvis, we did, and we almost died for it. And now that we know Sylvis went against the words of the Old One, our contract with him is done."

That was, in fact, yojimbo law. It's rough, but it works surprisingly well.

I took a pair of coins from my belt.

"If you wish, you are in my service," I told them. "Otherwise, you should leave now."

The two youngsters gave each other another questioning glance. The one had finally got Jessica's throwing star out of this throat. He tossed it back to Jessica, making sure that his throw was in a high and unthreatening arc. She neatly caught the star and tucked it away.

"We'll stay, sir," the yojimbo who could talk said to me.

"You're speaking to Lord Ashe," Jessica informed them.

"Yes, my lord," the talker corrected. Both yojimbos were obviously surprised.

I tossed a coin to each of them.

"What are your names?" I asked.

"I'm Sam, my lord," the speaker said respectfully. Then he pointed to his comrade. "This is Jay. We're from Cairn. Our fathers have holdings on Doyle creek."

"My lord," Jay added raggedly, bowing his head as he spoke. His throat was still healing, but he put as much courtesy into the word as he could.

"You've made a big mistake," I told them. "You accepted service with a man who's ignored the words of the Old One. I will give you a chance to redeem yourselves. If you fail, I'll kill you."

The boys nodded. "Yes, my lord," they chorused.

Then I pointed to the dead yojimbo. "Bury him."

The boys found a shovel in a nearby tool-shed and went to work.

"Well that explains how we got our asses kicked so hard," I heard Jay mutter to Sam as he jabbed the shovel into the ground.

Sam shushed Jay.

Sam was apparently the elder of the two boys, although that was difficult to tell. He quietly asked Dani and I if we could stay long enough to perform the correct rituals at Karl's grave.

That was a reasonable request. It weighed upon me that I'd killed someone who may have been deceived into the service of a lying wretch. Yet at the same time, I wondered how blind you had to be to not see that Silvus was a poor choice of an employer. Sam and Jay at least had the excuse of youth.

But as with Sam and Jay, I felt the situation warranted the benefit of the doubt.

I looked at Dani. While I could grant some time, Dani would have to give more. It was her decision if she wished to cooperate.

"Of course," Dani told Sam as she held a hand out to him.

Sam was nervous, but trying to hide it. I think that might have been the first time he'd helped send a male Blood to the beyond. Since scent told me that Sam and Jay were lovers, it might even be his first time with a woman.

The rest of us withdrew and gave Dani and Sam the privacy they needed.

On our way back to Crowe, Dani and Jessica continued their conversation.

"So how's concubinage working out?" Dani asked curiously.

"Lord Ashe has been good to me. I just wish we could spend more time together."

Dani glanced at me. "Oh... uh... is he not interested? I hear some lords keep pretty concubines around just for show. I guess it's about status."

"I'm right here," I noted. They both ignored me.

Jessica chuckled. "Don't let his looks fool you. He may be old, but..."

"I'm still right here," I reminded them again. Jessica tried to hide a grin. She was obviously enjoying herself.

Dani nodded as she made a gesture towards Jessica. "You know, you're the first concubine I've ever met. And you aren't what I expected. I thought concubines were stay-at-homes, secluded in luxurious chambers, pampered by servants, dressed in beautiful and scandalous outfits, who did nothing more than keep their man happy in bed."

"Actually, that sounds pretty good," Jessica laughed. Frankly, I agreed. Oddly, throughout the long, long, years I've never kept a woman in a relationship like that. There was always been too much to do, and the women in my life always seemed to have talents that went beyond being a good bed-partner.

"Currently, that isn't possible," I told Jessica carefully. I didn't want to promise something that I might not be able to deliver.

"Keep it in mind," Jessica replied. "I think I'd look good greeting you at the door wearing nothing but a sheer silk body veil."

I couldn't dispute that.

We ended up in a roadside shrine, just a mile or two from Crowe. It was a roughly roofed, open-faced, structure. Inside were simple stone icons representing the three goddesses. The local holders had long ago built that place and faithfully tended to it ever since. Actually, I've always had a place in my heart for that sort of simple and heartfelt shrine.

"I have to go," Sylvis told me nervously. "I need to talk to someone who'll make the contact for me. That's how I've always set up a meet."

I nodded. "Do I have to tell you what I'll do if you run?"

Sylvis took a deep breath and let it out. "You'll hunt me down and cut me to pieces."

"I'm glad you understand. We'll be waiting for you here. Return before nightfall."

Sylvis left.

Sam looked at me, "Do you want us to follow him, my lord?"

I shook my head. "There will be time for that if he doesn't return. Why don't you make a fire? We might be here for a while."

"Yes, my lord," Sam and Jay said together. There was a stone-lined firepit in front of the shrine. They very efficiently got a blaze going in it.

Dani smiled at the boys as she brought in an armful of dry wood and dropped it next to the firepit. "You two are adorable," she told them.

Sam and Jay both looked more embarrassed than irritated.

Sitting next to the fire, Dani looked at Jessica. "Look, I'm not trying to offend you, but I just met a man. He's a Spider and... well... you know. Everyone says that Blood and Spider shouldn't mix. I don't know who to talk to about it, and you and your lord are the only other Blood-Spider pair that I've ever met."

Sam and Jay were obviously a bit astonished at what they were hearing. The cultural bias against Blood and Spider relations is very real, although not much of an issue this far from the usual Spider-haunts. The boys, reared in a simpler world, weren't sure how to react to such a bald discussion of a 'forbidden' pairing.

"Grow up, you two!" Dani told them severely. "People meet and things happen!"

Sam silently crossed his fore-arms over his chest, indicating that he only wanted peace. That was apparently also how Jay felt.

Meanwhile, Jessica was thinking about what Dani had said. "You must be talking about Benjamin or his nephew Jonah. They're the only other Spiders out here. If it's Benjamin, I'm afraid you've treed the wrong critter. He's married and he's really in love with her."

"It's Jonah," Dani admitted.

"How serious is it?"

Dani hesitated before answering. "We spent a few hours together in a comfortable bed at a good inn. At the time, I gave him every reason to believe it was just a passing thing. Now I'm not sure."

"As far as I know, Jonah and Benjamin are on their way to Nyack," Jessica warned. "And I don't know if they're coming back."

"Yeah, I know..."

Jessica cocked her head and examined Dani's face. "Wow. You've got it bad. What the blazes did Jonah do to you?"

Dani shrugged helplessly, "Nothing other men haven't done - although there was an upside-down, acrobatic, kind of thing was really nice. It's hard to explain, but I'd just like to see him again."

"Love at first sight?" Jay suggested. Sam nodded in agreement. They weren't being even slightly unkind or mocking. They simply seemed interested in Dani's story.

Dani gave the two yojimbos a mildly offended look, which was ridiculous since there was no way they could have avoided overhearing the conversation between her and Jessica.

I sent Jessica into town, with orders to see if Raven had arrived. That had the positive effect of dividing Dani and Jessica. They'd bonded with remarkable speed and I was actually finding it unnerving how their conversations seemed to have no particular boundaries.

Perhaps disappointed by the sudden lack of stimulating conversation on which to eavesdrop, Sam and Jay decided to scout the shrine's perimeter. They brought back a pair of rabbits and a pheasant and began cooking them over the fire. The scent of cooking meat made our stay at the shrine suddenly more pleasant. I was reminded of my long years as a Seeker. I'd spent much of that time wandering, and many an evening had been spent in the wild, with the evening meal roasting over an open fire.

Naturally, the peace was too good to last.

"I'm not in love," Dani suddenly said to Jay. She'd apparently been considering Jay's words for some time, and there was some belligerence in her voice.

"Yes, you are," Jay said distractedly as he squatted next to the fire and turned the spits. For someone so young, he seemed filled with certainty.

"Yep," Sam agreed. He was sitting on top of a flat rock that gave him a good view of the approaches to the shrine.

Dani was definitely cranky on the subject. "What would a pair of younglings like you know about love?"

"We know it when we see it," Sam pointed out.

"Don't tell me how I feel! Love is just a silly thing that minstrels like to sing about!"

Sam cocked his head towards Jay. "Jay was in love once. I saw it."

Jay gave Sam a look that suggest he should shut up.

"She was a pretty Angel named Leslie," Sam continued, ignoring the look on Jay's face. "Nice girl. Big boobs for a flyer."

Dani rolled her eyes. "Love is not just a big rack."

Sam didn't take offense. "Nah, but it's a good place to start. Jay was really taken with Leslie, but it didn't work."

"Stop it," Jay warned his friend.

Sam shrugged and went silent.

"My lord," Dani asked me imploringly. "Tell them that love isn't real."

"I'm sorry, Dani, but it's very real," I told her with a slow shake of my head. Then I looked at Jay, "And it makes us into fools. And it often isn't fair. And it hurts when it doesn't work out."

The three of them considered my words. Jay nodded at me and went back to tending our dinner. Sam playfully ran his fingers through Jay's hair - Jay really didn't mean the growl he gave back to Sam. Dani looked thoughtful.

The sun was low to the horizon when Jessica returned with Raven.

Raven is a tall and broad-shouldered Blood female with tawny hair and dark eyes. Sometimes, when the light strikes her just right, I can see a touch of Creed in her. She obviously considers that a deep and shameful secret, but she's never spoken of it to me, and I have never asked. Raven has served me well. What more could I ask of her?

Well... actually I was about to ask a great deal from her. More than ever before.

"Kneel," I told Raven.

She didn't hesitate. Suddenly, it was very quiet around the fire. Everyone else looked away and faded back, distancing themselves from whatever was to come. This was between Raven and I, and when a lord actually orders one of his samurai to kneel, it's often for grim reasons.

"Benjamin is gone," I told Raven. She blinked in surprise, but said nothing. She and Benjamin weren't exactly friends, but I'd seen the respect they had for each other.

"I need a new Senior Samurai," I continued.

Raven bent her head and held up her hands, with the palms pressed together. I'd made the situation known to her, and she was offering her service to me.

"I'm about to ask a lot from you, Raven," I warned. "More than even a Senior Samurai should normally give. Your secrets are not secret to me. And I need what only you can provide."

"I understand, my lord," Raven told me quietly.

I took Raven's hands in mine and helped her to her feet. Then I handed her the brassard of my most Senior Samurai. Only a little while ago, it had been Benjamin's. Raven held it in her hands for a long moment, catching the glint of it in the last of the setting sun. Then she clipped it to her hauberk.

That was the end of it. She was my new Senior Samurai.

"You two," Raven said to Sam and Jay. There was no particularly snap in her words, just the calm assurance that her orders would be followed. "Sweep a three hundred yard perimeter around us. Stay together. Then come back, get something to eat, and find a pair of concealed watchpoints. One should be just across the road from here. The other flanking the shrine."

"Yes, Senior Samurai," the boys replied immediately. They were already on the move as they spoke. The fact they'd only recently walked the perimeter wasn't of import. They had orders and they were good orders.

The boys vanished into the deepening darkness.

Raven looked at Dani. Dani nodded her head in a manner that was respectful, but not subservient.

"I'm glad you're here, ranger," Raven told Dani. "I'll need you to take a watch tonight."

"Yes, Senior Samurai," Dani replied. I noted how Dani knew that it was no time for posturing about her independence.

Then Raven looked at Jessica. There was a very serious look in her eyes. "Jess, I'll need your help."

"What do you need?" Jessica asked without hesitation.

"Stick close to the boss and keep an eye on him. If it looks like he might wander off and do something dangerous or silly, do whatever it takes to keep him distracted and in place until I can talk to him."

Jessica grinned as she gave me a long and rather predatory look. "Don't worry, Raven. I know how to keep him busy. I won't let you down."

The problem with competent subordinates is that they're sometimes too competent.

Silvus was back and he was out of breath. He'd ran much of the way back to our camp. I was quite serious when I told him to be back before sundown or suffer the consequences, and he knew that.

Gasping, bent over with his hands on his knees, Silvus tried to catch his breath.

"Well?" I said. I was sitting next to the fire, eating a joint of rabbit. Jessica was on my right side. Raven was on my left. Dani was across the fire - watching our backs. As Raven had ordered, Sam and Jay were out of sight.

Silvus held up a hand as he tried to catch his breath.

"T... tomorrow noon," he eventually gasped out. "At... at a place in the hills north-east of Crowe. He'll be there."

I nodded. Dani, Jessica, and Raven looked at me, their eyes glittering in the firelight.

Silvus seemed to shrink inside himself. He knew what my women were silently suggesting.

"We still need him," I quietly told my companions.

Dani shrugged. Jessica nodded. Raven didn't react. Everything in their demeanor suggested that there was all the time in the world for me to change my mind.

It was late and the fire had died low. Only three of us were still awake: Sam, Silvus, and I. Sam was on watch. Silvus was restlessly staring up at the night sky as he tried to calculate his chances of surviving the next day. I was considering options.

Jessica was next to me, under our blanket. She had a hand tucked inside my shirt and another tangled in my hair. Her soft breath was warm against my neck.

Perhaps that wasn't the best time to talk to one of my wives. Before I left, Emma and I agreed that she would mentally check in on me every midnight until I returned. I was waiting for her.

*Hello, dear,* Emma 'said' to me.

*Hello, Emma,* I told her. *I need you.*

Emma did something that indicated she was amused. *Well, I could mind-ride with Jessica and give her some tips about what you like best...*

*Perhaps later,* I replied. "I imagine you and Jess will need to know each other better before we try any psychic threesomes."

*Well... you're probably right,* Emma chuckled, *but what do you really need?*

*I need to talk to someone at the Graymalkin. Someone senior.*

Emma was silent for a long moment. I could sense the alarm within her.

*For the love of the goddess, why would you want to do that?* Emma finally asked.

*I think I know what's going on with that unusually talented Victor,* I told her. *The Graymalkin might be able to help.*

*You think our new Victor is a psychic talent?* Emma replied slowly.

*He's accomplished too much in too little time. I think he's descended from Boxer.*

Emma mind-whispered a soft curse. *Boxer was before my time, but from what I've heard, he was bad. Really bad.*

*Can you make the connection?* I asked.

*I'll try.*

I said goodbye and closed my eyes. If the Graymalkin came to me, it would almost certainly be in a dream.

Sleep didn't come easy, but it did eventually come.

And then I had a visitor.

We were standing on the grounds of a woefully under-fortified manor. I'd seen that place in a vision once before. In fact, I'd met the spirit of my grandmother there. She'd been surrounded by youngsters who were her students. I felt a tug at my heart. So many years - centuries - had passed and yet the Hidden Lady was still with me.

I missed my grandmother.

This time, that ancient manor was almost abandoned. Yet somehow the structure was fully maintained and the grounds were immaculately kept.

The front door of the manor house opened and a maiden left the building. She was lovely young thing, with a slim form and - of course - red hair. She was dressed in a worn hand-me-down tunic and her feet were bare. Faced with such a youth, the stray, distracted, thought occurred to me that her parents really should consider finding a husband for her.

"Really?" she said to me, although she really didn't use words. One of her russet eyebrows was raised in amusement.

I shrugged. "I meant no offense," I replied.

"Actually, I accept your offer," she told me. "You have a son named Oliver. He'll do just fine."

That was obviously intended to rattle me, but I refused to be drawn out.

"He's a little young for you," I said dryly. Oliver - the only child of Olivia and myself - wasn't yet old enough know the ways of men and women. "And besides, I really can't enter marriage negotiations without consulting Oliver's mother."

"Are you so frightened of Olivia?" the maiden asked me. She was definitely amused. And definitely teasing me.

I shook my head. "Only a damn fool doesn't respect Olivia."

The maiden nodded in agreement. Then she changed. Suddenly, she was a woman full grown - almost matronly - who was clad in a long and modest gown that still didn't manage to hide a spectacular body. She was dazzling and I fought down the sudden surge of attraction I felt for her. Perhaps what I was seeing was real and perhaps it was not. And besides, the goddesses and the Old One had already blessed me with fine women. I needed no more.

"Emma is usually quite circumspect," the woman told me. "And she has good judgement. If she saw fit to drag me into the affairs of her Blood husband, she must have good reason."

"I think we have a Creed chief with powers of the mind," I said without hesitation.

Her green eyes narrowed uneasily. "That's interesting, but not necessarily the Graymalkin's problem."

"Perhaps he is Boxer's spawn," I added.

The matron shifted again. Now she was an elderly crone, bent by time and leaning on a cane. Her clothing was tattered and frayed and had been patched many times. "So you want us to kill him for you? Well, the answer is 'no'. He's still not our problem."

There was a contemptuous note in her words. People have tried to use the Graymalkin before, and that's usually a disastrously bad decision. The Graymalkin keep their own counsel and pursue their own goals - and that's actually a good thing for the rest of us.

"Killing him would be nice," I replied with a shrug, "but I know that the Graymalkin have their own agenda. What can you tell me about Graydon?"

The old woman stared at me. I noticed that one of her eyes was lost to milky-white cataracts.

Her attention seemed to waver. Several minutes passed as she explored the world with her mind.

"He has some talent," she told me grudgingly. "Not enough to demand our attention, but more than enough to be a serious problem for the likes of you. And you're right - he's the get of Boxer. I can tell by his psychic signature. Do you plan on killing him?"

"Oh, yes," I told her.

She nodded. "That's for the best and I wish you luck. Try not to get Emma killed. On the other hand, you have our leave to die."

Creed, like Blood, are notoriously difficult to kill by direct psychic means. All too often, they react to a psychic attack by going into a killing frenzy. Over the years, I've noticed that even powerful psychics tend to only react defensively to the Creed, and otherwise let the Blood handle them.

"I need something from you," I said.

She laughed at me. "And why should I do anything for you, Blood lord?"

I smiled back at her. "Boxer annihilated a Red Temple war-band. That was so bad that you took over the hunt for him - and still lost mind-warriors in the resulting battle."

"Graydon is not Boxer," the crone told me coldly. "He's not our problem."

"What if Graydon rapes some girl with a trace of talent? Might the result be a child who will someday be as bad as Boxer? Or worse? Would that then become the Graymalkin's problem?"

The old woman's eyes narrowed as she considered what I'd said.

"You need the line of Boxer exterminated," I said flatly. "I'm more than willing to do that. Our aims have converged. We can aid each other as allies and yet not be in each other's debt. Help me and I'll chase down a threat that concerns us both."

Suddenly, the woman facing me was back to being a young and winsome lass again. "What do you need?"

I nodded. "I need a psychic interdiction. Several days where Graydon's psychic talents imperceptibly stop functioning. Someone with ill intent will approach Graydon soon. I need them to complete their mission."

The girl examined me skeptically. "I must remind Emma that our powers are not be discussed with outsiders."

"Leave my wife alone," I said coldly. "I learned what a powerful psychic can do long before I met Emma."

The girl smiled at me - it was a dazzling sight. "Your Aunt Betsy had a big mouth."

I took some effort not to ask her how she knew that. Of course she was invading the privacy of my mind. That was the sort of thing that the Graymalkin routinely do.

Then she paused and stared at me for a long moment. "The Graymalkin grants your request, James. Goodbye."

"Please, please, let me go," Silvus wept. "You don't need me for this."

It was late morning and we were in the hills north and west of the village of Crowe. The poorly defined frontier between Blood and Creed passed through those hills, but there was no clear line of demarcation. In the highly unlikely case of a Creed meeting with someone for a purpose other than murder, the hills were a good place for it.

"Silvus, it might not be a good idea to convince me that you're no longer useful," I warned him.

Off in the distance, at his watchpost, I heard Jay snicker. Sam kept quiet, but I could tell that both boys were aching for permission to kill their former employer.

The three women in my pack were deadly silent as they watched Silvus beg for mercy. You could see the murder in their spirits. I believed Silvus when he told me that he'd never sold women to the Creed. My pack females either didn't believe him, or thought he was close enough to being that kind of man that the difference didn't matter. There was not the slightest trace of mercy in their eyes.

"What do you want me to do?" Silvus asked miserably.

"Meet your Creed. Sell him your drugs, but also sell him a pretty woman. Make a profit, but not an unreasonable one, and then promise him that there is more to come. Perhaps then he'll reconsider his decision to kill you."

Silvus blinked in surprise.

Then next morning, Jessica and I sat together and watched the dawn. Perhaps I was hoping for a sign that my plan would work. Or perhaps I was looking for a sign that my plan was worth the possible cost.

There was nothing.

Raven came up to us and sat by my side. Jessica drifted just far enough away to signal that she'd surrendered my attention to Raven.

"I do have another plan," I told Raven.

"Of course you do, my lord," Raven said with one of her all-too-rare smiles, "but is your other plan as good as the one we've discussed?"

"No," I told her.

Raven cocked her head at me. "My lord, you know what I can do. Stop worrying and let me serve you."

I nodded my head. My conscience had demanded that I give Raven a way out. She had refused it. Now it was time for me to become a Lord of the Blood once again - hard-headed, ruthless, and without remorse.

After quickly shedding her armor and clothes, Raven pulled a common tunic out of her pack and put it on.

While Raven changed her garb, I was within the innermost sanctum of the shrine, piling seven common cobbles in the center, equidistant from the icons of the three goddesses. Then I bowed respectfully and backed away.

Jessica and Dani were clearly puzzled and surprised. I could sense a dead stillness from Sam and Jay's watchposts. Silvus was obviously confused, but wisely kept his silence.

Raven knelt facing the icons and the stones of the Old One. She gave three sharp claps with her hands. Then she bent her head and whispered words to a spirit who was hidden from us.

Then Raven changed.

"Oh," Dani whispered. Jessica was suddenly standing next to me, trembling slightly. The nightmare tales of the Shifting Lady - the ancient foe and lover of the Old One, and a mortal enemy of the Crippled Lord's warband - are terrible. Those who have inherited her power are the subject of hesitant half-whispers about madness and murder.

The original Shifter had left her scars on our history. The centuries that have passed have not healed them.

The Raven that stood up wasn't the one who'd knelt. She was a good six inches shorter, with a slighter build and light brown hair and eyes. There was a black eye and a yellowing bruise on the side of her jaw. Anyone looking at her would assume she was Folk, and had recently been subjected to violence. And she looked terribly young, even younger than Sam and Jay.

I looked at Silvus. "You will sell her to your Creed," I told him.

He gulped and nodded his head jerkily.

Before Silvus and Raven left, Jessica handed Raven a pair of tiny ceramic vials, each no bigger than the last joint of her little finger. They were sealed with thick wax caps around their minuscule stoppers.

"This is the most dangerous poison I have," Jessica said intently. "The contents of the two vials must be combined to be truly deadly. The resulting poison won't immediately kill a Creed or Blood - there's no poison that will do that. However, it will incapacitate even them, and then you can deal with them while they're helpless. The poison and its components are tasteless and have no discernable scent. The best way to deliver it is in food or drink. If you do that, it reacts with your target in just a few seconds. Skin contact will also work, but that takes longer to have an effect - as much as an hour."

Her eyes cold, Raven nodded.

"Don't store them next to each other," Jessica continued. "If they should somehow be crushed together, perhaps in a fight, the results would be disastrous."

Raven nodded again.

Then Jessica hesitated. After a moment, she spoke. "Forgive me if I sound like I'm assuming you're naive, but you do understand what you'll have to do to get close to Graydon?"

Raven smiled at Jessica. "Jess, the body is merely an instrument to be used as needed. And when it is changed once again, all that happened before is washed away and forgotten."

The children of the Shifting Lady who have inherited her talent have a faith of their own. Raven had just repeated a central tenant of their beliefs. However, I wondered if Raven was speaking to Jessica, or to me.

Jessica bowed her head. "Good hunting, Senior Samurai. And may the Old One and your Lady guide your hand."

After Silvus and Raven left - Silvus had a length of rope around Raven's neck - Dani gave Jay a speculative look.

"Why didn't it work out between you and Leslie?" she asked.

"Yeah, what was the deal?" Jessica added immediately.

I knew what was happening. Everyone had doubts about the course we were pursuing, and the mood in the camp was somber. Dani and Jessica were seeking some way to change that mood. Still, I was in awe of the ability of those two to initiate wildly inappropriate conversations at the oddest times.

Jay shrugged uncomfortably, "Her family didn't approve and my family didn't approve - well, ma didn't. Pa just said something about not choking on feathers if I went down on her."

Then Jay paused. "They really don't have feathers down there."

"Really?" Jessica asked innocently. It was all Dani could do not to break out laughing.

"Honest truth," Jay replied. "Leslie has this really soft patch of yellow hair..."

"Stop," Sam said irritably. He was looking up into the sky, obviously hoping that the Old One would strike some wisdom - or at least common sense - into everyone. I felt a moment of kinship with him.

"So what's with your Spider man?" Jay asked Dani.

It suddenly seemed to occur to Dani that other people could also ask intrusive questions. "Well... nothing really. We had a night together, then he left town. Nice guy, but he has responsibilities."

"Do you think you're taking this more seriously than he did?" Jessica asked. She seemed genuinely concerned.

Dani looked pensive. "Yeah. I'm making a fool of myself, aren't I?"

"No," Sam and Jay said simultaneously. Both Dani and Jessica looked at them in surprise.

"Look him up," Sam added with the full authority of a worldly-wise teenager. "Talk to him. See what he has to say."

"He's on his way to Nyack," Jessica told Sam.

Sam and Jay both winced. "That's not good," Jay said regretfully.

"How did you two end up as yojimbos?" Jessica asked suddenly. I think she was trying to distract Dani by bringing up yet another subject.

"I'm the eighth son of my family," Jay replied. "Sam is the sixth of his. We had to stop hanging around the farm, so we got our journey-kin medallions from the Guardians Guild. It was a good job until Lord Ashe almost killed us."

"And there was also a fight with Leslie's brothers," Sam added. "We might have killed one of them. Leaving town looked good after that."

Jay frowned. "I'm pretty sure Castor lived. He may not fly ever again, but he probably lived."

"How did the fight start?" Jessica asked curiously.

"As I recall, Jay got to talking about Leslie's lack of plumage south of her navel," Sam responded dryly.

"I probably should have kept my mouth shut," Jay said mournfully.

Sam gave Jay an irritated look. "You think so?"

"And in more ways than one," Jessica muttered. Dani had to fight down a laugh.

"Did you two take up with each other because things went wrong with a woman?" Dani asked. Jessica looked a bit surprised by what Dani had said. She couldn't smell Sam and Jay on each other, like the rest of us could.

"We've always been friends like that," Jay answered with a shake of his head. "Guys put out easier than girls."

Sam's face became animated. "Our first time was in a haystack! It was itchy, but great!"

"Tell us about the haystack," Jessica asked eagerly. Dani was likewise obviously interested.

"Surely everyone should be on watch?" I asked as I tiredly rubbed the bridge of my nose.

Everyone scattered. "Jess and I wanna hear more about that haystack!" Dani yelled before working her way into a copse of trees.

Jessica stayed with me for a moment. She smiled and kissed me. Then, as she walked away, her hips seemed to sway a promise in my direction. I had to admit that it lifted my mood.

We vanished into the wooded hills and waited.

Silvus came back. We watched as he picked his way through the woods. We also watched - carefully watched - for any sign that he was being followed.

There was none.

After using a bird-call to signal the others to stay hidden, I approached Silvus.

"He bought her," Silvus told me. For the first time since I'd met Silvus, he wasn't afraid. His powers gave him a sense of what I would do. He knew that I didn't plan on killing him. I couldn't honorably do that. Not after what I had just forced him to do.

Then Silvus emptied a small leather pouch onto the ground. A mismatched rain of coins fell at his feet. Raven had gone for a good price.

Then Silvus let the pouch also fall to the ground.

"I don't want any of it," he told me. That act of defiance left him trembling. Actually, I found myself respecting him for that.

Jessica appeared. She carefully picked up the coins that Silvus had dropped. Then she put them back in the pouch. Technically, the coins were mine, but I didn't want them. I didn't even want to touch them and Jessica understood that.

"They're Raven's," I told Jessica. She nodded in agreement and tucked the pouch into her belt.

Then I looked back at Silvus. "You are no longer my problem," I told him. "I will not kill you. I will not let those who follow me kill you. And I will not give you to Lord Crowe. However, I will not otherwise protect you. And there are many people who know what you have done."

Silvus just looked at me. He was smart enough not to speak.

"There are mountains out west," I continued. "Don't stop until you get there. And never come this way again."

Silvus bowed low.

"Go," I ordered.

I never saw Silvus again. Perhaps he made it to the Great Rocks. Perhaps he didn't. It's a long way.

The hardest part of sending your people out on dangerous missions is the waiting.

A day passed. And then another one. My midnight communications with Emma kept me informed of what was happening elsewhere. The fighting continued, but it was sporadic. The first wave of reinforcements - most of them my samurai - had arrived and quickly integrated themselves into the forces deployed on the Crowe frontier. Olivia was still advising Crowe, but I could tell she was getting edgy about my absence.

The northern column had arrived at their objective and were digging in. However, so many Creed were facing our forces on the Crowe border that the northern group was almost unchallenged. Shiploads of reinforcing troops - including pioneers who would expand on the fortifications - were already landing at that location. That part of the plan was working flawlessly.

Dunstan's rangers and our Angel scouts were working deeper in Creed territory than was their want. They were taking casualties, but getting results. We were hearing reports that the Creed were massing once again, and the frequency of Creed raiders striking across the frontier was increasing.

There was another battle coming, and it would be bigger than the last one. It was up to Raven to make sure that the Creed would be less well-led this time.

We heard the pursuit long before we saw anything. It was a single person being chased by perhaps a dozen hunters. The quarry wasn't as silent as a Blood in the woods should have been. Perhaps they weren't Blood. Perhaps they were injured. Or perhaps they simply wanted to be followed.

Sam and Jay exploded out the woods and looked at me, awaiting orders. Dani was right behind them, with an arrow already nocked in her bow. She was also looking to me.

"Sam, Jay, advance to contact," I ordered. "Dani, back them up. Jessica and I will parallel you on your right flank and get behind the enemy. Be careful that you don't attack Raven, she might not be in a form we know."

Nobody said anything as we vanished into the trees.

Jessica is actually faster than me in the woods. She doesn't need to keep to the ground, and the way she can leap from tree to tree is amazing. All in all, my senses are better than hers, but she has her people's impressive ability to sense danger. We keyed off of each other as we advanced. I knew precisely where Dani, Jay, and Sam were located. Jessica stayed yards ahead of me, always about five to ten yards off the ground, making sure that we didn't stumble unawares upon some Creed.

Then I picked up Raven's scent. There was some blood, so she was injured. The mob of Creed pursuing her smelled of bloodlust.

Jessica paused after a long leap, clinging to the side of an ancient elm. She was pointing in a direction off to our side, moving her arm back in my direction as she indicated the closing range with our foe.

Then Jess and I sprinted forward, passing both our friends and enemies.

The fight erupted as Jessica and I were still moving. Dani got first blood as her bow thrummed and a Creed yelped. Raven finally encountered Sam and Jay and immediately pivoted to face her pursuers. She shed the weakness she'd been feigning and attacked the Creed who was in the lead. The long chase had caused the Creed to spread out and become disorganized. That was, of course, to our advantage. Raven had done a good job of drawing the Creed out.

Raven gutted her Creed. Then Sam ripped open the wounded Creed's throat. Jay was grunting curses as he engaged two more Creed in order to cover Raven and Sam.

More Creed entered the battle.

Jessica and I finally hooked back into the Creed main body. We immediately caught a cautious one who'd paused to try and assess the situation. Jessica's short swords split open his side as she jumped past. I took off his head with a sweep of my claws - it leaped away in a bright splash of blood, with an astonished look on his face.

Jessica scampered up a tall oak, getting to an elevation that put her well above the Creed's immediate line of sight. They would sense her eventually, but she just needed a split-second of advantage.

Two Creed spotted me and dashed in my direction. Jessica dropped from her tree and landed gracefully behind them. As she fell, a stray shaft of sunlight caught one of her steel blades and it glittered beautifully. Both Creed sensed Jessica's sudden appearance behind them and that confused them just long enough to seal their doom. I ripped open the chest of one and Jessica took the right arm off the other. We didn't pause to finish them - there would be time later. Instead, we kept going. We had to make contact with the others and relieve them.

Raven was leading Dani, Jay, and Sam in a wild melee with more than their number of Creed. The Creed weren't exactly winning, but they were holding their own and taking a steady toll. Jay, who'd been engaging multiple foes since the fight began, was obviously in trouble.

That all changed when Jessica and I attacked the Creed from the rear. Jessica took a long leap that terminated on top of a Creed that Jay was fighting. I came up behind one that Dani was fending off with her cleaver. Raven used the sudden distraction to claw open the legs of one of her opponents.

Suddenly, there more of us than there were Creed who were still able to fight.

After that, the battle ended quickly.

Somewhere behind us, there was a pyramid of Creed heads, piled next to a stack of seven stones.

We limped back towards the village of Crowe. Sam was supporting Jay. Jay was muttering curses as his cut and bludgeoned body repaired itself. Dani was holding a long slash in her arm closed, trying not to leave a trail of blood behind her. It really didn't matter at that point, but that was a point of pride to a ranger.

"Graydon?" I asked Raven.

"Dead, my lord," she reported laconically.

I didn't badger my senior samurai. If she ever wanted to speak more on the subject, she would do so in her own time. I would listen respectfully.

Then a thought seemed to occur to Raven. She carefully fished something out of two separate pouches - one on her belt and the other on the side of one of her long boots.

Then Raven gave her two vials back to Jessica. They were unopened.

"I didn't need it," Raven told Jessica.

Jessica looked puzzled, but deep down inside she was still a Black Widow. The contract had been fulfilled and that was the end of it. From her point of view, it wasn't appropriate to ask questions.

Jessica wordlessly tucked the two vials away.

We eventually got back to camp. I immediately went to work dealing with a startling number of questions and problems that had accumulated while I was gone.

I was also trying to clear my mind of doubts and worries.

*Stop it,* Emma told me. She was standing behind where I sat, with her hands were on my shoulders. Her breasts were against the back of my head.

Olivia wasn't there - she was out in the field with Lord Crowe. Sam, Jay, and Jessica were outside the tent. Raven was organizing some late-arriving reinforcements. We'd be joining Crowe and Olivia soon.

*Stop what?* I asked. Emma and I were in our tent together. I'd spent the morning looking at maps and examining a stack of reports about Creed movements. I had some catching up to do.

*You feel guilty about the risks you had Raven run - and the things she might have been forced to do to get close to Graydon. If she doesn't care, why do you?*

*You're saying she doesn't care?* I asked.

Emma almost seemed distracted as she mind-spoke to me. *I'm saying she's highly mission-oriented, loyal to a fault, and has a shifter's traditional view of her body. James, respect what she is and what she has done for us.*

Then she kissed me on the top of my head.

I said a silent prayer hoping that Emma's words were true.

I also wondered if Emma understood just how powerful of a Shifter Raven actually was.

Lord Crowe and Lady Olivia had encountered the Creed once again, and this time the results had been much more to our liking.

There were Creed bodies, mostly headless, scattered across a half-mile of woods and open ground. In some places, the bodies were so thick I could walk a hundred yards without actually stepping on bare ground. Piles of Creed heads were scattered about.

Lord Crowe and his more experienced Blood were trying to restore order among our forces. The final collapse of the Creed main warband had turned into a pell-mell chase in which our warriors refused to stop pursuing and killing the enemy. As a result, our samurai and auxiliaries were badly scattered across several square miles of broken terrain. I'd spoken briefly to Crowe and I could tell he was embarrassed by that failure of discipline. However, it did speak well of our troop's willingness to fight, and I couldn't fault the results that Lord Crowe had delivered.

I had several packs of late-arriving household troops with me. I could tell that they were aching to join their fellows, but we needed at least some samurai who were in coherent fighting formation, just in case more Creed appeared. So Raven and I were keeping a tight rein on them.

Raven was by my side. Every now and then, she give orders that added stray troops - those who looked like they'd finally had their fill of pursuit and slaughter - to our steadily accumulating force. If Crowe wasn't careful, she'd reassemble his army before he could.

It was obviously an impressive victory, but I refused to become too optimistic. I'd wait until the initial euphoria wore off and then make a sober assessment of casualties and results. However, there was no question that the Westerly Creed had suffered a major defeat.

Eventually, we found Olivia. She looked even more battered than the last time I'd seen her. Her eyes were solid storm-grey and you could sense simmering lightning crackling about her. Dozens of warriors surrounded her - having appointed themselves her yojimbos. The troops following her were from the houses of a half-dozen lords and were everything from grim-looking Blood samurai to Folk support troops. I saw a pair of wagon-drivers wielding crude mallets talking to a young samurai clad in rich chain. I imagined the samurai was the younger son of a wealthy holder. I assumed the wagoneers were from his family's holding.

Many of Olivia's troops had used blood and mud to draw red-stained lightning bolt symbols on their faces. When word of that got out, I imagined a lot of lords were going to become nervous. That was perilously close to declaring allegiance to a new lord.

I rode up to Olivia and dismounted.

"Hello, dear, you look particularly lovely today," I told her mildly.

There were a few quickly-stifled chuckles from all around us.

Olivia glanced at my tight band of samurai - a small outpost of order in a wilderness of bloody chaos. She looked relieved. "Thank goodness you're here," she said as she pulled off her helmet and gave me a peck on the cheek.

I made a gesture that encompassed the battlefield. "The fight obviously went well."

My junior wife gave me a long look. "The Creed weren't as effective this time. Do you have any idea why that might have been?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure, Olivia. You know how history is just full of odd twists of fate."

It was a day later and we were back in camp. Sam and Jay seemed surprised as I tossed each of them a small pouch of silver. It was good pay for such a short contract, but I have a reputation for generosity and I try to maintain it.

"Thank you for your service," I told them. And I meant that. The boys needed some seasoning, but they'd more than proved themselves to me.

Then I waited. My trap was baited, it was time to see if these two young predators would actually walk into it.

Sam balanced his pouch in the palm of his hand. Then he and Jay exchanged a speculative look.

"Uh, my lord," Sam began carefully, "we were wondering if you might like to keep us in your service. You've seen that we can fight and you know we can obey orders. And if we stay with you maybe we can do some good against the Creed. And... uh... uhm... you pay good and we like working for you."

Jay sighed, dropped the pouch I'd given him, slapped Sam in the back of the head, and fell to his knees. With his head down, Jay held his hands up, palms together.

Sam stopped fumbling for words and did the same.

I helped them to their feet. Ronin who've finally made the decision to serve a lord - and have been accepted - can find the experience very emotional. Sam was doing this best to control the expression on his face. Jay wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist.

"Sam! Jay!" Raven bellowed from the other side of the camp. "Get over here! You've got the mid-morning watch at the rear guardpost!"

"Excuse us, my lord," Sam and Jay said in unison. I nodded my head, giving them my leave. Then they bolted over to where Raven was waiting for them.

It was a day after Sam and Jay had joined my service. And, unfortunately, I was about to lose someone who I'd really rather keep with me. However, I wasn't terribly surprised.

"Leaving?" I asked Dani. She had a pack over her shoulders.

"Heading east," she replied shortly.

Then she paused.

"My lord," she added belatedly. Rangers are usually poor at social conventions and it's actually charming when they try.

"Looking for someone?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Uh, yes, my lord. It looks like things are under control here. And there's someone I really need to talk to."

I nodded. "Good luck, Dani. If during your travels you happen to meet anyone I know, please say hello for me."

Dani bowed. "Yes, my lord."

"And if it doesn't work out, I could always use a ranger of your talents," I added.

"Thank you, my lord."

Then she strode off.

I was left considering our next move - our forces had recovered from our recent battles, and we needed to follow up on our recent victory and make sure that the Creed were kept distracted from events up north. Since I think best on my feet, I was restlessly prowling the camp. Eventually, I'd consult with Olivia and Raven. Then I'd talk things over with Lord Crowe.

I found Jessica tending a small fire. Over it, a tiny pot bubbled. She was eyeing it carefully, every now and then adding ingredients from a half-dozen neat piles of herbs and other substances. She was being very careful with her concoction, only manipulating it with a long-handled silver spoon.

"Dare I ask?" I inquired.

"Brewing a new batch of poison, my lord," Jessica told me without any hesitation. I noticed the samurai and other troops within earshot suddenly shifted away from us and found something else to do.

"I see," I said, carefully moving so I was upwind of any fumes coming from the pot.

"Lady Emma and Lady Olivia want to see you back in the tent," Jessica said calmly. Now she was trying to hide a smile.

"They said they have something important to show you," she added.

"Perhaps they want to discuss troop dispositions," I said as seriously as possible.

"Yes, my lord," Jessica replied. By then, she could no longer hide her smile. "Oh, and I loved my present."

I'd sent a courier off to Nyagra. He'd returned with a shockingly expensive set of four long silk veils - long enough for a woman to wrap completely around her body. I'd left three of them where Emma, Jessica, and Olivia could find them. The fourth was on its way south, to my lovely Anna.

The next day, Dunstan sent word that he wanted to talk to me. In fact, he wanted to meet, but he wanted our conversation to be private.

That was awkward, since we were about to strike deep into Creed territory. Technically, I should have been offended by Dunstan's presumptuousness, but Dunstan didn't really understand the rules of formal society. And for that matter, I only follow those rules when they suit my purposes. And besides, I was curious to see what Dunstan thought was so important that he would interrupt me at such a time.

So I sought Dunstan out. I told my women what I was doing - lying to Emma is a fool's game - but it took some convincing to get them to let me go alone. As it was, I could sense Emma hovering in the psychic background, and I knew that Jessica was somewhere in the area.

Dunstan and I ended up on a wooded hilltop north of the camp. Below us, there was the awesome rumble of an army preparing to move.

Dunstan had a bag in his hand. It was full and stank of dead Creed. Dunstan looked worried.

"Sorry," Dunstan said, "but I thought you should see this."

Then he dumped part of a Creed head out onto the ground. It landed with a solid thump and a clump of brains fell loose.

I nudged the head with my boot, rolling it over so we could see it better.

"Is this Graydon?" I asked.

Dunstan just nodded.

About half of the head was gone. The missing part had been bitten away in what looked like a single, huge, clash of jaws.

The remaining blue-gray eye was open and just beginning to flatten from rot. It seemed to glare up at me.

I looked at Dunstan and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Off hand, I don't know what could have done this," he told me with a shake of his head. "The closest I've ever seen is the bite of a high plains carnosaur. And we're a helluva long way from 'saur territory."

As he spoke, I suddenly recognized what I was seeing in Dunstan's eyes. It was fear.

"Perhaps it was a monster out of the ruins of Tronto?" I suggested. The mighty weapons of the old Folk had all but melted that ancient city. Its very soil was poisonous and hideous creatures are routinely birthed there. We were a bit too far south to encounter such a creature, but they can sometimes surprise you.

They also make for useful excuses.

Dunstan gave me a long and serious look. Then he came to a conclusion and nodded his head.

"You're perhaps right," he told me.

I nudged what was left of Graydon once again. "Burn this. And forget you ever saw it."

Dunstan nodded. "Yes, my lord." Then, as I remounted my horse, he began gathering wood for a fire.

That was the end of our conversation.

Riding back from my meeting with Dunstan, I encountered a long, swaying, double column of my samurai marching down the road. They were singing an ancient song about a cowardly miscreant named 'Jody' who avoids battle, all the while wooing the lovers of those who had gone to war. My female warriors sing that song just as loudly as the men. They insist that 'Jody' is actually spelled 'Jodie'.

My soldiers cheered when they saw me. I waved at them as I galloped forward.

Raven was in the lead of the formation. She gave me a crossed-forearm salute and shifted away from her place leading our warriors. I nodded to her and slipped into the lead position. Raven moved behind me and slightly to my left. That's the traditional post of a Senior Samurai when on the march with her lord.

Some might say that it was unwise to have someone like Raven just behind me, where I couldn't quite see her and might not be able to react quickly. They might also say that I'd unleashed something best left alone.

After all, Raven is a woman of many secrets, and perhaps I didn't know all of those secrets.

However, I trusted Raven. And it I was wrong...

Well, time would tell.