“Were knitting, however, integral to your job, you would. You would see the stitches, the wool used, the dyes used on that wool; you would know what size the needles were, and whether or not different sizes were required to knit the whole. You are notstupid. You are, however, too narrowly focused. Better?”
“I’m not sure.”
“That’s the best I’ve got.” She glanced over Kaylin’s head at Severn and the familiar.
“What Bellusdeo was trying to say before she started on knitting,” Severn then said, “was that Teela considers the attempt an act of desperation and fear. If she’s insulted at all, she’s insulted because Canatel—and Tagraine—didn’t come to herfirst. They didn’t ask for her help. They assumed that the people threatening them held all the cards. Barrani are, at heart, snobs.
“Teelaisa Lord of the High Court. She has one of The Three. We all know this. But we also know Teela best when she’s wearing the Hawk. If she weren’t in service to the Halls of Law, none of the Barrani Hawks would know her. They’d knowofher, the same way we know of the humans in the human caste court.
“When Teela’s wearing the Hawk, she’s just like them. Or you. Or me. She’s a Hawk. The Barrani can’t see someone who wears that Hawk as a power.”
Kaylin opened her mouth and shut it again.
“When they first started out as Hawks on the force, they were probably allowed to do so because they were considered—by their own people—barely better than your average mortal.
“They haven’t considered that their ability tobeHawks was guaranteed by Teela as Lord of the High Court. They’ve had at least a decade to see Teela in action on the ground. They can no longer hold her in awe. They can’t think of her as an actual powerbecauseshe does exactly what they do. She even obeys a Leontine. She is not called Lord when she’s in the office. That had to be a deliberate choice on Teela’s part—and I’m not certain she’s happy with the results.
“The people who are threatening them, however, are powers, in Tagraine’s and Canatel’s minds. They didn’t come to Teela first because they felt, viscerally, that she was just another Hawk. They didn’t trust the protection she could have offered. That’s why she’s insulted. And I believe she holds herself responsible for their attempted assassination.”
“Because she knew things were getting political,” Kaylin said, after a more thoughtful pause, “and she wasn’t prepared.”
Severn nodded. “The Barrani Hawks have already been used.”
“Against Moran, though.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s recent enough that she knew they could be used. She didn’t shore up her own defenses—and part of those defenses would be providing protection for the Hawks. They were threatenedbecauseshe was too caught up in the concerns of her cohort.”
Kaylin thought that was hugely unfair.
“I’m not agreeing with her assessment,” Severn continued. “My agreement won’t matter to Teela one way or the other.”
“I’d suggest you stay out of it,” Bellusdeo told him quietly.
Severn glanced at Bellusdeo. “We need information.”
“Teela’s a Lord. Leave the information gathering to her.”
“Teela is a Lord,” he agreed. Severn could agree as if agreement were irrelevant. “But a Lord doesn’t enter the warrens. A Lord doesn’t—ever—meet with outcastes.”
Bellusdeo’s eyes had shaded to a gold orange. Kaylin intervened. “Teela’s met with Nightshade before.”
“Not under her own instigation. Her tabard and her choice of employ protects her in such situations. While the High Court does not consider the Halls of Law a suitable place for the Barrani nobility, they haveallsworn oaths of service to the Eternal Emperor.”
She remembered what Candallar had said, and nodded.
“Teela’s interactions with Nightshade are considered, by the Barrani, to be a direct result of her tabard. Were she not a Hawk, she would not have met with him. Teela’s enemies are Lords of the High Court.”
Kaylin nodded, thinking. “The Barrani Hawks met with Candallar. They probably didn’t meet him by accident. Either he was told to approach them, or they were told to approach him. Do you think they left the East Warrens and headed into his fief with an offer of some sort? Or do you think he already had an offer on the table and left the fief to meet them?”
“Either would work,” he replied, in his neutral tone. “If the Hawks crossed the Ablayne, there are bound to be witnesses.”
“They’re from the warrens. They’re not going to talk to us.”
“They’re not going to talk to Hawks, no.”
“Corporal,” Bellusdeo said, in a sergeant’s tone of voice. “Teela is no doubt waiting for Canatel to regain consciousness toask him.”
“He has a vested interest in giving her the answer she will find most acceptable,” Severn countered.
