Alam, Tajar, and Frost walked north along the river bank. After an hour or so of slow progress, with Tajar having to stop frequently to catch his breath, Alam decided that they were far enough from Gretch to relax.

"Frost, now that we seem safe you need to tell us what's going on," he insisted.

"I don't really know very much," she shrugged.

"There's no use lying to us," said Alam.

"I have never lied to you," she asserted.

"But you have hidden the truth, and that's just as bad," said Tajar.

"Is it?"

"Of course it is," answered Tajar.

"And you know a lot more that we do," said Alam. "Let's start with the man who attacked us. Who is he, and how do you know him?"

"He is Gretch the Hunter. He is renowned on the other side of the mountains. It is said that he never fails to catch his prey, and he kills anything that gets in the way."

Realisation struck Alam. "He's the man in the fire!"

"What man in the fire?" asked Tajar.

"Remember the night the dargu attacked the clan? When Urlock was handing out prizes from the raid? Just before they attacked, the fire burst into life and a strange looking man in the middle of the flames said something about chasing us down."

Tajar nodded as he cast his mind back.

Alam turned back to Frost. "Why is he after the box?"

"I am guessing that Marext sent him to retrieve it from you."

"Marext?"

"He is properly known as Liege Marext. He is the prime ruler of Morcham, and is a vicious and powerful sorcerer. Why he wants it I don't know."

"Gretch said inside the box is a rose?" asked Alam.

"The Rose of Clarisai," she supplied.

"What is that?" Alam deliberately held back that the Holyman had told him to take the box to Clarisai.

"I do not know. I heard of it a few years ago being referred to as The Evaran Rose, but really I was just bluffing. I have no idea why it is important. Maybe it is political, or maybe it is worth a lot of money. I was hoping to seem more knowledgeable so he wouldn't kill me."

"What a hero," said Tajar sarcastically.

"I do not pretend to be a hero. Or wish to be," she replied.

"But when Gretch said box contained the rose you asked if his Liege was planning on destroying the clans?"

"That was bluffing again based on what I know of Marext. Marext is a horrible man. If his eyes are turned towards the Plains then there are only two reasons: massacre or enslavement. He has already done both on the other side of the mountains."

"He has massacred others?"

"Yes. He has neither pity nor compassion."

"I have another question," said Alam. "How do you and Gretch know each other?"

"We worked together once."

"Doing what?"

"If I told you, you would despise me."

"I already do," smiled Tajar, "so you might as well tell."

She shut her mouth and did not answer. When it was clear that she would not speak Alam asked a different question.

"This Liege, as you call him - I don't think he is just Gretch the Hunter's master. He is also yours, isn't he?"

"Not exactly," she answered. "I have worked for him but he is not my lord as he is to Gretch."

"Are you working for him now?"

Her face became impassive. Her lips closed. Alam stopped and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you working for him now?" he repeated.

***

Gretch focused on crawling, one knee and one hand at a time. It was the only way to move without collapsing. The poison made him cold all over except on his calf and bicep which burned and stung with each movement. He reached the magnificent horse. It shied away at first but allowed him to approach it. Why horses trusted him was a mystery even to himself. He had killed so many in the last moon alone that he did not deserve their trust. It must have something to do with his father. His father had trained the beasts and Gretch had grown up around them.

His hand found the horse's leg. It took effort but he managed to pull himself up shakily. The arrow was still protruding from the side of the tall grey horse's shoulder. It whinnied in pain and fright.

"Shhh... This will hurt for a moment and then will be over."

The horse turned its head to look at him. Its large brown eye was wide with fear, but it stood still. Gretch wrapped a shaking hand around the arrow shaft and yanked with what was left of his strength. It came out. Not cleanly, but at least it was out. The beast whinnied and reared up on its hind legs. Gretch fell. He had no strength to stop himself.

"Go!" he shouted. The horse turned and bolted.

Then the world went black.

***

Tajar's face opened in shock. "You're working for him? You're working for the man who is trying to kill us for Alam's box? So being friends is just some act to ensnare us? What a treacherous witch!"

"Stop calling me a witch! Three seconds ago you were smiling at me!" Frost shouted back.

"That's when I thought you saved our lives out of the goodness of your heart! Now I don't know what to think, or if I can even trust you! You're trying to get the box too aren't you!?"

"No, you idiot! I am not! If I was, I'd already have it! And if you don't stop shouting you're going to pass out!"

"That's enough you two!" Alam said as he stepped between them. "Tajar, she's right, you are looking pale. Let's all sit down and let Frost explain herself."

Tajar begrudgingly accepted sunk to the ground, breathing hard. Alam and Frost sat beside him. Frost took a while to gather her thoughts and then spoke quietly.

"Tajar, you said a moment ago that you are having a hard time trusting me. The truth is I can not be trusted. I have lived a life of deception and death since my earliest memories. I have always told myself that to live, whatever the price, is better than to die. And I have been very good at staying alive. So far anyway. You have probably figured out that I have been trained to murder."

"Yes," said Alam.

"Liege Marext offered work to me five years ago. It was one of my first jobs. He paid me well, and I did what he wanted, but I am not one of his slaves."

"Is this Gretch a slave?" Alam asked.

"I think so," she said. "Last autumn Liege Marext offered me a very rich reward if I did a job for him. I agreed. He sent me to destabilize the clans of The Endless Plains by killing either the ruler of the Khashbal Clan, or their former ruler. He told me that the former ruler of Khashbal, if still alive, would be a formidable enemy, so I was to investigate and then kill whoever was the largest threat.

"I reached Khashbal at the onset of winter. It was easy to infiltrate their clan. All I had to do was arrive with a bag full of trinkets and Kirill welcomed me into his smokey house to dine with him and his top warriors. To kill this fat, self-important man, seemed like the simplest mission in my life, but I was having a hard time understanding how Kirill could be the ruler of such a large clan. He was undoubtedly smart, but did not seem like a threat to Morcham. Of course at the time I did not know about his wife. After asking seemingly innocent questions to some drunk warriors I learned that Kirill keeps the former Clan Chief in a cage."

"Danat," Alam supplied.

"Yes, Danat. But I could not spend enough time near the cages to be able to tell if he was a threat or not. So I let myself get caught."

"Doing what?" Tajar asked.

"I robbed and desecrated a barrow."

"You stole from the dead?" Tajar asked in shock.

"At the time it seemed like the safest option - items of value, but no warriors guarding them. I just made sure that I was spotted coming out."

"Do you know whose barrow it was?" asked Alam.

"It was Nurlan's wife's."

"You disturbed her grave?"

"Very thoroughly," she replied.

"That explains why he dislikes you so much," said Tajar.

"You're lucky you were put in the cages and not killed on the spot," said Alam. "How did you plan to get out of the cages once you were inside?"

Frost cast him a withering look. "They are the worst made cages in the world. You wer able to break the door simply by kicking it."

"Yes, but he is stronger than you," pointed out Tajar.

"I knew that I would be able to get out of the cage by one of three means: seduction, picking the guard's pockets, or killing a guard as he passed. It would be easy."

"Remind me again why we are trusting you?" asked Tajar.

"Only a fool would trust me," she answered.

"And yet you chose to save us," countered Alam. "Now please continue. It was obvious in the cages that Danat didn't trust or like you."

"No," she agreed. "He saw through me instantly. I tried to charm him but it didn't work."

"Maybe you should try smiling once in awhile," suggested Tajar.

Frost ignored him. "I do not know how, but he sensed my motive and warned the guards to keep more than an arm's length away from me. They even refused to slide food into my cage unless I was against the far wall so I could not touch them. As the days passed into weeks it became clear that Danat is the threat the Liege is worried about. But I could not understand him. He has loyalty and respect from all the warriors, other than that pig Tolegan, but never did Danat take advantage of it. Quite the opposite, he turned away from any suggestions of leadership that was whispered to him. I tried to learn more about him by listening to the guards but all I could piece together was that he traveled widely in the world for a handful of years before returning home and taking on his responsibility of being the chief of Khashbal. Something happened ten or so years ago that made Kirill the Chief and Danat his prisoner, but I do not know what. It seems to me that Danat is a broken man, but broken how, I do not know. After being in the cage for three moons you two arrived, and you know the rest."

"And you killed Kirill to avenge Prall," said Alam.

"Prall was kind to me - very few people have been - and even though he was crazy, his death needed to be answered. Also, I hope that Marext will get word of Kirill's death and consider my task complete."

Frost paused for a moment before continuing. "It still puzzles me that even though Danat knew what I am..."

"Knew what you were," Alam corrected.

"...knew what I am," she asserted, "and even though he disliked me, he still treated me with kindness."

"He is good man," said Alam as if it were an explanation.

"A better man than me," smiled Tajar. "You saved my life and I still hate your guts."

"Do not worry," she replied. "The feeling is mutual."

"Pah! You can't fool me! I know you think I'm beautiful."

She shook her head. "I see I am going to regret saying that for the rest of our short lives. Now take off your shirt so we can bandage your back."

"She wants me to take off my shirt," Tajar smirked at Alam. Alam cuffed him across the head.

"You're an idiot, Tajar."

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-Y. V. Qualls