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"He hasn't been here before, so he wouldn't know who to trust, and besides, it's traitors we're hunting."
The captain was frowning in thought as he rubbed his jaw. "Traitors? In the palace?"
"We don't know for certain. We suspect infiltrators are about-that's who we're hunting-so he wouldn't dare to trust anyone here. If the wrong ears heard who he really was, it would imperil the rest of us. I doubt he would even give you his real name, though he might haveSebastian. With the danger we're in, he would know that the less he says, then the less risk there is to the others on our team."
He stared off, seeming to be caught up in her story.
"No… no prisoner has admitted to that name." His brow bunched in earnest reflection. "What's he look like?"
"A few years older than me. Blue eyes. Short white hair."
The captain instantly recognized the description. "That one."
"My information was correct, then? You have him."
She wanted to grab the man by his leather and shake him. She wanted to ask if they'd hurt Sebastian. She wanted to scream at him to let Sebastian out.
"Yes, we have him. If it's the same man you're talking about, that is. Matches your description, anyway."
"Good. I need him back. I have urgent business for him. I can't afford to delay. We need to leave at once before the trail gets any colder. It would be best if we not make a big show of him being released. We need to slip out with as little notice as possible, as little contact with soldiers as possible. The ring of infiltrators might have managed to place themselves in the army."
Captain Lerner folded his arms and sighed as he leaned down toward her a little, looking at her as a big brother might look at a little sister. "Je
Je
"But are you sure of this man's heart? Are you really sure he'd not bring Lord Rahl into harm's view?"
"Sebastian is one of mine-that much I know-but I'm not sure the man you have is my Sebastian. I guess I'd have to see him to be sure. Why?"
The captain stared off as he shook his head. "I don't know. I spent a lot of years carrying the knife, like you're starting out doing, and going places where you can't carry the knife, so you won't be known for who you really are. I don't have to tell you how being in such danger all the time sometimes gives you a sense about people. Something about that fellow with the white hair makes mine stand on end."
Je
Perhaps the captain was able to tell by various small things that Sebastian was not D'Haran. That could be troublesome, but Je
"Tom still up to his trouble?" the man asked.
"Oh, you know Tom. He's selling wine, along with the help of Joe and Clayton.»
The captain stared incredulously. "Tom-and his brothers? Selling wine?" He shook his head as a grin spread wide. "I'd like to know what he's really up to."
Je
He laughed at that, and slapped her shoulder. "That sounds like he'd want it told. Small wonder he trusts you."
Je
"I guess I'd better see this fellow you have. If it is Sebastian, I need to kick his tail and get him on his way."
"Right," Captain Lerner said with a firm nod. "If he is your man, at least I'll finally know his name." He turned to the ironbound door as he rooted around in his pocket for a key. "If it is him, he's lucky you came for him before one of them women in red showed up to ask him questions. He'd be spouting more than his name, then. He'd have saved himself and you a lot of trouble if he'd have told us what he was about in the first place.»
Je
The captain grunted his agreement as he turned the key. The latch unlocked with a cavernous clang. "For this Lord Rahl, I'd keep my mouth shut-even if it was a Mord-Sith asking the questions. But you'd have to know the new Lord Rahl better than I, so I guess I don't need to tell you."
Je
Je
Captain Lerner kept to the center of the passageway, occasionally batting aside a reaching hand. "Watch yourself," he cautioned.
Je
Je
The captain glanced back over his shoulder. "Various things. Murder, rape-things like that. A few are spies-the kind of men you're hunting."
The stench of the place gagged her. The raw hatred of the prisoners was understandable, she supposed, but no matter how much she sympathized with captives of Lord Rahl's soldiers, men fighting against his brutal rule, their behavior only served to support any accusations of perversity. Je
From a shelf built into the stone, he collected a lamp, then lit it from a nearby candle. The light from the lamp only served to throw a little more light into a nightmare and make it all the more frightening. She had terrifying visions of being found out and ending up in this place. She couldn't keep from imagining being locked in a room with men like these. She knew what they would do to her. Je
Another door had to be unlocked, taking them beyond to a low passageway with doors spaced much closer. She guessed that they were cells holding a single man. A grasping hand, grimy and covered with open sores, shot out of an opening to catch her cloak. She shrugged the hand off her and kept moving.
Captain Lerner unlocked another door at the end and they entered a space smaller yet, hardly wider than his shoulders. The twisting, cramped opening, like a fissure in the rock, made Je
"We put special prisoners in this section," he explained.
He had to use both hands and all his weight to pull on the door. It moved with grating protest. Inside, Je
The captain ducked through the short doorway, pushing the light in before him, his bulk in the door momentarily throwing her into the darkness. Once through, he extended a hand out to help her so she wouldn't trip over the high sill. Je
On a bench carved in the opposite wall sat Sebastian. His blue eyes were on her from the instant she entered. In those eyes she thought she could see how much he wanted out. Nevertheless, he showed no emotion and said nothing. From outward appearances, no one would even know that he knew her.
He had neatly folded his cloak and used it as a cushion on the cold stone. Nearby sat a water cup. His clothes were orderly, showing no evidence that they abused him.
It was so good to see his face, his eyes, his spikes of white hair again. He licked his lips, his beautiful lips that so often had smiled at her. Now, though, he dared not smile. Je
The captain gestured with his lamp. "This him?"
"Yes, Captain."
Sebastian's eyes were fixed on her as she stepped forward. She had to pause to be sure she had her voice under control. "It's all right, Sebastian. Captain Lerner, here, knows you're one of my team." She patted the handle of her knife. "You can trust him to keep your identity confidential."