“His hand,” said Marcus.
“Still, if we’re going by stories, sometimes that’s all they want.”
Another moment of silent thought fell over the assembled men. Marcus tossed a pinecone into the fire, where it popped merrily. Erik ate more fish and tried to keep his eyes from seeking Toinette’s face. He already knew he’d see nothing promising there.
“What if they’re guarding the treasure?” Samuel asked. “They didn’t want it taken then. Why would they now?”
“Doesn’t matter what they want,” said Sence. “We’re not goose girls to fear a shape and a voice. Show me a ghost that can hold a sword. Then I’ll worry.”
“And if they’re not ghosts?” Franz asked.
“Then we’re worrying over nothing,” said Marcus. “Aren’t we?”
“You forget devils,” said Franz.
The fire seemed to dim at the word, and the waves outside grow louder. Men looked uneasily at one another; even Marcus let out a quick and uneasy breath. “I signed on to risk my body,” said Raoul slowly. “My soul’s different.”
Sence’s dark eyes flashed. “And you think that’s in anyone’s hands save yours and God’s? As it always has been?” he asked, lifting his head suddenly to stare around the fire. His upper lip curled back over his white teeth. “Fear is one thing, folly is one thing, but surely we need not progress to blasphemy as well!”
“But the devil—” Franz began.
“—has no power you don’t give him. Or are you a Cathar of a sudden? If we are here, it’s the will of God—either to chastise us for our sins or for some higher purpose of His. Trust, and stop your whining.”
* * *
“Surprisingly devout, that man,” said Erik. He and Toinette sat on the shore, watching the waves come in and listening to the men’s voices in the background. “Surprisingly well-educated too.”
“Don’t know that he’s right, though.”
“You didn’t contradict him.”
Toinette shrugged. “Why would I? What he said worked.” She gave Erik a sidelong glance and added tersely, “For the present.”
“I have a mission. Would you have me abandon it now, when I know I’m on the right path?”
“You knowaTemplar was here. You’ve no idea whether he’s one of those who fled, whether he brought any treasure with him, or whether the treasure, if it exists, is still here.” Feeling the need to be fair even when annoyed, she pursed her lips and conceded, “Not that I’ve seen much sign of people between that poor bastard and us.”
After finding the hand, they’d dug around the roots of the trees just to be certain. More bones had turned up, though not all—the man hadn’t lain that deep, and the island likely held scavengers enough—but no treasure. Without thevisio dei—the vision of the spirit world—they couldn’t be certain the ring wasn’t magic, but it didn’t feel that way, and nothing had happened when Erik grimaced, apologized to the owner, and put it on.
The moonlight turned Erik’s hair silver and danced in his eyes. Toinette wished she didn’t notice such things when the two of them were arguing—or about to argue. “And what’s the harm,” Erik asked, the Scots burr low in his voice, “of staying a wee bit longer to make certain one way or another? We’ve food enough, and wood, and water. Are you wanting to get back to anything at home?”
“No,” she said, ire rising at the open skepticism of his tone. “Though I might, for all you know of the subject.”
“You told me otherwise yourself.”
“I said no husband living, and you know I’ve no children. There are other ties.” Toinette let him sit with that a moment, resisting the urge to toss her hair. It was tied up, anyhow. When Erik had frowned and looked out across the ocean again, either taking the point or choosing not to think about it, she went on. “But the weather gets worse the later we get in the year, in case you’ve been too busy with yourmissionsto notice. I’d rather not recover from a storm and then sail into the teeth of another.”
Erik shook his head. “Marcus said another few days won’t make a difference.”
“And he’s likely right,” said Toinette, “which is why I didn’t speak out then. But that forest is thick, Erik, and the island’s not too small. A week or twowilllengthen our odds of getting back safely. And you didn’t think to ask.”
“I said we could call off now.”
Toinette snorted, not caring how unladylike—or indeed how draconic—it sounded. “Any page who’s taken a dare knowsthat’snot the same thing. And you weren’t over-quick to say it.”
“Well, then,” Erik said, turning toward her and spreading his hands, “do you think your men are but boys, to be drawn into unwise action by the slant of a few words and a delay in speaking? I thought you trusted them more.”
The barb struck. Toinette looked down at her knees, and at the ragged red hem just below them. Her face was probably approaching the same color. Sitting with a mortal man, she’d have found the dark reassuring; she knew too well that like her, Erik could see in the dark. Damn him.
