Nevoran had not been fitted with a memory crystal; they were very, very rare, and very, very expensive, and the Imperial coffers did not extend to their common use. He therefore touched the prisoner’s forehead—and the prisoner did have to be restrained—and extracted information. Whether or not it would be useful would be determined later. Kaylin watched Nevoran brace himself against the contact, and she looked away.
The Tha’alani didn’t want this any more than the human man did. Standing over them both was the Emperor—or the shadow he cast.
The man, however, stopped struggling. He had not passed out. He spoke to Nevoran; Kaylin couldn’t hear the Tha’alani’s reply. But she saw the prisoner relax, marginally; she was very, very surprised when he started to cry.
They were not tears of terror.
He spoke again. He told Nevoran what to look for. He volunteered the information—and although it was unnecessary, as Nevoran was trained well, Kaylin was almost impressed. The only time she’d been given to a Tha’alani interrogator, she had fought every step of the way.
In the end, he dropped, slowly, to his knees—forcing Nevoran to follow to maintain physical contact. When Nevoran stepped back, the man lifted his face to stare at the Tha’alani, whose eyes were not green, but not gold, either. He said nothing. Nevoran, however, offered him a sad smile. “Thank you, Caven.”
* * *
“What did youdoto him?” Kaylin asked, when they left the cell.
“I found the information the Emperor requires.” The answer was smooth and uninflected—it was almost human. He hesitated, and then said, “Ybelline feels that some—not all—of your criminals are insane. I feel thatallof them are insane; there is some argument about this in the Tha’alanari. But our own, when isolated because of injuries or birth defects, become as insane as every other race. It is the isolation.
“And the fear. I attempted to find and comfort that fear. I am not certain that I did what was necessary—but it seems to have had a positive effect.” He hesitated. “I remember Grethan.”
Kaylin was silent for a long moment. “He’s happy, I think.”
“He is as happy as he could be, yes. He talks to theTha’alaannow, with the help of the water. We hear his voice. It is not our voice; it is not influenced greatly by our voice—but there is no rage and fear in it. Well, perhaps not no fear; his master seems temperamental. I must speak with your Hawklord and the Imperial mages now.”
* * *
The second surprise of the day was presented to Kaylin when she returned to the office and took a stroll past the duty roster. She was on the Elani beat, which wasn’t unusual, given it was her beat. She was not, however, partnered with Severn. Teela had been penciled in.
Tain was put out, and Kaylin didn’t blame him. Apparently sidelined in order to write the reports that Marcus habitually ignored, he was about as friendly as a sick, wet cat. “Where’s Severn?”
“I’m not sure.”
Marcus, a Leontine, could hear the entire conversation, such as it was. “Corporal Handred has been seconded to the Wolves.”
Kaylin froze. “Why?”
“Ask the Hawklord. He wants to see you in the Tower,” Marcus growled. “Let me rescind that.Don’task the Hawklord. His day is going to be end-to-end stupid questions, or worse, political ones. And don’t bother the corporal, either.”
* * *
Hanson, the Hawklord’s personal aide, looked about as happy as Tain had, but with mortal variations.
“If you’re going to do such a good job imitating a hangover, you should just give up and go out drinking with the rest of us,” Teela told him.
“Thanks, but I like my limbs where they are. On most days.” Clearly this wasn’t one of them. “You’re here to add to my workload?”
“Marcus said the Hawklord wanted to see us.” Kaylin stepped out from behind Teela.
“I question the use of the verb, but yes, it appears that he feels it necessary to speak with you before you escape the Halls of Law.”
“We’re heading out to Elani.”
“Normally you’d have my sympathies. Today, you have my bitter and undying envy. He’s not having a good day. If you could avoid asking stupid questions or demanding answers he is not allowed to give, you might still be on track for promotion at the end of the interview.”
* * *
The Hawklord’s eyes were a midnight blue when Kaylin and Teela entered the Tower. Lord Grammayre was standing in front of his mirror; the mirror was reflective, not active.
“Did you speak with Nevoran before he left the Halls?” was the first question out of his mouth. “Did he tell you what he witnessed?”
