“It’s tradition.”

  “It’s rude,” he retorted. “I am not my family. My name is Taro. You will call me that.”

  Well, yes, sir.

  “Are you going to move up here or not?” he demanded.

  “I’m working right now, Karish.” No doubt he was used to people putting aside duty in order to show him the attention he craved. I would have to break him of that. “Please leave me to it.”

  He turned to the front again, good boy.

  We rode all day. When the air began to darken into dusk Karish led the way into a travel village. He didn’t bother to consult me about it, but I had no desire to protest. Hours in the saddle had left me longing for a bath and a bed. I had no problem with letting him play lord of the manor when his wishes coincided with mine.

  Nothing more than a beaten path showed the way from the highway to Over Leap. From studying our map I knew the tiny village was really just a stopover for travelers. One small tavern with accommodations, a mercantile, and a whorehouse. All the essentials for the road.

  We trotted into the tavern yard and stabled our own horses. We carried our own saddlebags through the door to the front bar. The interest in the landlord’s eyes faded as they lit on our braids. “Ah, another one,” he said with some disgust. “You might as well join your mates in there.” He nodded toward the taproom. “Just try not to drain my barrels dry, all right?”

  This was my first encounter with a merchant who was not a member of my own family. So far I wasn’t impressed. No doubt it was irksome to have to hand over goods to Triple S Pairs without receiving anything in compensation, but it wasn’t as though this were a new law. Shouldn’t they be used to it?

  “And,” he told me, “I’ve no music for tonight.”

  I nodded, grateful for the reprieve. I didn’t really want to test Karish’s ability to guard me just yet.

  “One room or two?” the landlord asked me.

  “Two.”

  “I’ve got two adjoining—”

  “That’s not necessary,” I interrupted him.

  “Aye, it is, ’cause that’s all I’ve got right now.”

  Ah well. It didn’t really matter. “That’s fine, then. Thank you.”

  “How long’ll you be staying?”

  “Just the night.”

  “That’s something, at least,” he muttered, not quite under his breath. “Upstairs, second and third doors on the right.”

  Food or bath? Which came first? Well, my stomach was screaming with hunger, and if I stank I couldn’t smell it, so that answered the question for me. I went up to my minuscule room only to dump my gear and come right back down. So did Karish, unfortunately. I’d hoped for a chance to get rid of him for a bit. We headed to the taproom.

  Which was crowded. I should have anticipated that, after the landlord’s comment about all the other rooms being taken. Every table was filled, and people stood at the bar three rows deep. The chattering was deafening, and I hesitated at the door, suddenly less hungry. But I was aware that Karish was standing right behind me. I didn’t want to appear nervous in front of him.

  “Little Mallorough!” was shouted out, the words piercing the din. “When did they let you out?”

  I grinned. I couldn’t help it. I hadn’t expected to meet up with anyone from school for, well, a year or so at least. The familiar voice was soothing in that strange place.

  The big blond man seated at one of the tiny tables waved a long arm. “Over here, Mallorough!”

  I squeezed through the crowd, uncaring as to whether Karish followed or not. “Good evening, Caspian.” Ian Caspian, a Shield three years my senior who also happened to be my cousin. I had no memory of him before going to the academy, but once there he had at first tormented me and then, as we got older, induced me into some fairly scandalous behavior.

  “Ooh, so formal,” Caspian hooted. “You can tell you’re newly minted.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Heading back to Shidonee’s Gap for reassignment. You?”

  Pairs didn’t go back to Shidonee’s Gap for reassignment. They got a message at their post, telling them where and when to go. If Caspian and his Source were going back to Shidonee’s Gap, it was because there was a problem, the kind of problem that might require discipline.

  But it wasn’t any of my business. “We’re going to High Scape,” I told him and let it stand at that. Bragging was beneath me.

  Bragging was unnecessary. Everyone had heard of High Scape. Caspian was impressed. Sort of. “Not bad for a fledgling.”

  I noticed the woman only when she linked her arm through Caspian’s with that unmistakable air of possession. The black braid on her left shoulder said she was a Source. The hard glare she sent me said she was Caspian’s lover. Which screamed that Caspian was being stupid. “My Shield has no manners,” she said, sounding amused unless one listened carefully. “Here I sit with no introduction.” She squeezed Caspian’s arm.

  I supposed I was just as ill-mannered, for there stood Karish, just as introductionless.

  “Sorry,” Caspian said easily, not too concerned. “Helen Garrette, this is Mallorough.”

  I nodded at her, and she nodded back, not too stiffly. I stepped aside to show off Karish. “Garrette, Caspian, this is Lord Shintaro Karish.”

  “My honor,” the lord said cheerfully, and he smiled, the same sort of smile he’d inflicted on my family.

  I could have predicted the results. Garrette nearly melted. So did Caspian, but it was less obvious. He looked at me, brows raised in inquiry. I kept the negative shake of my head almost imperceptible.

  “Have you eaten?” he asked.

  “Is the food any good here?” I’d heard some gruesome stories about food in public places.

  “It’s all dead,” he told me. “Which gives it points over the academy.”

  The other patrons at the table left with a willingness I found a little uncomfortable. A waitress rushed over to clear the table off and had four mugs in front of us before I even knew what kind of food there was to eat.

  “So, Karish,” Caspian said once we were all served. “We’ve heard a lot about you.” Karish responded with a rather coy shrug. “They say that at Jo Bat’s Arm you charged in before anyone else even knew there was a disturbance. Saved the day.”

  “And stole the glory,” Karish added lightly. It was, of course, what Caspian had really meant.

  Caspian smiled, unabashed. “Aye.”

  “It worked.”

  “Aye, and there’s no point in waiting for others to catch up once you know what wants doing.”

  I buried a groan in my mug. I’d forgotten how painful it was to watch Caspian trying to be suble.

  “So. High Scape,” he continued. “Lots happening there right now.”

  “So they say,” Karish murmured, pushing the turnip in his stew to one side of his plate.

  “It takes six Pairs to keep it stable. Works Pairs harder than any other site on the map.”

  Karish held a spoonful of stew aloft, not spilling a drop. The utensil was elegantly balanced between thumb and two long fingers. “I didn’t train all my life to sit on my hands somewhere safe.”

  “Ah.” Caspian put his hands over his heart in a revolting melodramatic gesture. “How like a Source you are. How very brave.”

  Caspian was either flattering him or taunting him. Either way, there was a good chance Garrette would be spending the night alone. The way she was glowering at her shameless Shield, she knew it.

  “Have you any idea why High Scape is becoming so unstable?” I asked Caspian. He could flirt with Karish on his own time. I needed some warning about what to expect in High Scape.

  Caspian shrugged. “I haven’t been there. I’m sure you know as much about it as I.”

  How helpful.

  My cousin wasted little more time on me, or on his partner. The campaign was on to win Karish’s heart, or at least his company for the night. Caspian at his most flirtatious was, well, overwhelming. Karish rebuffed his advances with cool humor. And Garrette fumed.

  No one, except perhaps Caspian himself, could have been more surprised than I when Karish courteously but firmly refused the invitations being sent his way. On the other hand, I had noticed him noticing the gorgeous young woman who had just showed up to work at the tables.

  Making a bit of a show about how tired he was, Karish bade Caspian and Garrette a charming good night. When he turned to me, however, his eyes narrowed. “Good evening,” he said coolly.

  I nodded back at him.

  He strode out of the taproom.

  Caspian was looking at me with an expression that told me he thought I was an idiot.

  “What?” I demanded waspishly.

  “Have you lost your mind?”

  “What?”

  “Look at him!”

  “So?”

  “You could have him in an instant.”

  “So could anyone.”

  “He turned me down.”

  The look of pure loathing Garrette shot at him should have carved out his heart. Without a word she charged to her feet, scraping chair and bumping table. She left the taproom, too.

  Caspian grinned. “The Sources are offended. Are we good or what?”

  “Aye, we’re excellent,” I said dryly. I swallowed the last of my ale and set my mug aside. “Think back, Caspian,” I suggested. “Search back into the misty reaches of your narrow little mind. Remember Ahmad’s class? Remember rule number one?” I deepened my voice so it sounded something like that of our ethics professor. “Never sleep with your Source.”

  “Rule number two was never sleep with your students.” He bobbed his eyebrows suggestively.

  I wasn’t exactly shocked. “You’re such a whore, Caspian. Why aren’t you called the Stallion of the Triple S?”

  “Because I’ve got shoulders the width of the proverbial barn door while Karish is lean and sleek and dark, more like the ultimate stallion. What have you got against him, anyway?”

  “I’ve got nothing against him.”

  “Give over, Mallorough. I’ve never seen you so stiff with anyone you could stand.”

  I shrugged. “He’s slept with everyone on the continent. Or he will.”

  “So?”

  No, Caspian wouldn’t see the flaw in that. Which came as no surprise to me but made me pause and think. Why would I find the same trait harmless in one man but reprehensible in another? Why should I find it reprehensible at all? Why should I care who anyone else slept with? “He’s too . . .” What? Reckless? There were worse crimes. Confident? There was nothing wrong with that. “Full of flair,” I finished lamely.

  Caspian’s expression told me what he thought of that.

  “He’s not Devereaux,” I admitted. And I had expected to get Devereaux.

  “And you’ve decided to punish him for that.” He nodded, as though he could have predicted such behavior from me.

  I scowled at him. I was not predictable. And I wasn’t trying to punish Karish. “My disappointment doesn’t change the fact that he is a prat,” I snapped.

  “You’re alienating your Source, Mallorough.”

  “Worry about your own Source, Caspian,” I suggested acidly. “You’re fouling things up royally.”

  He shrugged.

  Irritated by his cavalier attitude, I prepared to launch a shot concerning the gross stupidity of endangering an important lifelong partnership just for the sake of a little sex, which he could pick up anywhere. The next moment I exhaled and let it all out. None of my business, and I didn’t like arguments. And I was tired. I rose to my feet, ready to call it a night. “I’ve got to get some sleep,” I said. “Will I see you tomorrow?”

  He smiled, and as easily as that all was forgiven. “I doubt it. Garrette and I’ll have to be up with the birds to make it to Shidonee’s Gap in time for our meeting, and you’ve never been an early riser.”

  “Then I’ll wish you well now.” I held out my hand, and he clasped it firmly. “It was good seeing you, Ian. I hope we have a little longer next time.”

  He didn’t release me. “Take care of yourself, Lee,” he said, suddenly solemn. “I know you’re good and Karish is some kind of wonder, but High Scape is dangerous. Don’t be too anxious to show your colors. Let the veterans do their jobs.”

  Touched, not to mention disconcerted, by the concern, I leaned down to kiss his cheek. “You worry too much about the wrong things, Caspian,” I said. “Take care.”

  “You, too, love.”

  Feeling depressed, I left the taproom. Climbing the stairs I remembered I’d planned to take a bath. The hell with it. Too much trouble right then. I went to my room and stretched out on the lumpy mattress and was out in an instant.

  Waking was disorienting. I was in a strange, small room, awkwardly curled up on a tiny cot. My body was stiff, my muscles screaming. There were strange noises coming from the walls and from beneath the floor.

  Oh, right. All day riding. Over Leap.

  It was the first time I could remember waking up somewhere that wasn’t the academy.

  I dragged myself out of bed and pulled on my clothes. I slipped into the hall, heading for the taproom.

  The Stallion was there. I joined him because to do otherwise would be too much of a snub.

  Karish’s greeting was not what one would call warm. “Your friend has already left,” he said.

  Too bad. It would have been nice to see him off.

  There’d be other times. I gestured at the waiter, and the brilliant man brought me a cup of coffee almost immediately.

  “You look lovely this morning,” Karish drawled sarcastically. “I especially like the hair.”

  I glanced at him through the locks falling over my eyes, then raked them back to have unobstructed access to my coffee. I knew I looked awful. When red hair was uncombed it looked a thousand times messier than any other color. Fortunately, I didn’t care what Karish thought of my looks.

  Karish wasn’t in the mood to be ignored. “So you know the slings and arrows, do you?” he asked.

  It’s too early in the morning to be indecipherable, Karish my love. “Sorry?”

  “It’s just that I noticed that after we got here last night, you relaxed your vigilance somewhat. So I’m just complimenting you, that you learned absolutely everything about how I work in only one day.”

  He was miffed because he hadn’t been the center of all my attention the night before. Pathetic. It would be enough to make me laugh, except he was also accusing me of dereliction of duty. I couldn’t let my own Source believe I wouldn’t do my duty. It would be difficult for him to do his job if he thought I wouldn’t be doing mine. Plus it was irritating.

  I drained the last of my coffee.

  Karish looked horrified. “Zaire, woman, how can you gulp it down like that when it’s still hot?”

  Because I was a Shield. I gestured at the waiter. “You’re left-handed,” I said as my mug was filled. “But you use your right when you eat. You drank three mugs of ale and ate two bowls of the stew. You enjoyed it very much, even though you don’t like turnip.”

  “Actually,” he interrupted me curtly, “I’m allergic to turnip.”

  I almost smiled. Was he trying to shake my confidence? Amateur. “If you were allergic to turnip you wouldn’t have touched the stew at all.” Wouldn’t want hives defiling that perfect skin. “You eat your bread like a woman—”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “You tear it off in chunks instead of biting into the whole slice. And you slather all sides with butter. That’s disgusting, by the way.” Butter was not icing and shouldn’t be treated as such. “You sat straight in your chair, as you are now, without touching the back, despite certain fatigue. I would guess you spent some of your formative years with a wooden rod up your spine.” He leaned back in his chair, then, crossing his arms. “But for much of the evening you had your right foot wrapped around one leg of your chair. Your mother wouldn’t approve.” Another slow sip of glorious coffee.

  He looked at me, frowning. And then the frown turned into a smile that I didn’t trust at all.

  “You’re staring,” I pointed out tartly.

  His response to that was to sweep up my free hand and kiss the back of it. In an instant every ache I’d been feeling was gone, so swift and so complete that the lack itself was almost painful.

  I jerked my hand away, and the discomfort flooded back.

  I was starving. I opened my mouth to call for the waiter. Before I could speak, however, I noticed a curious stillness about Karish, a stillness I had been taught to recognize. Then I felt the slight adjustments within him, the shifts, the little releases.

  “Cyclone,” he whispered.

  No. It was too soon. I’d had only a day with him. That wasn’t enough time. And Over Leap was supposed to be a cold site. That was why it didn’t have any Pairs of its own.

  Karish drew in one long, deep breath. Walls within him fell away completely, and as his inner shields tumbled down I snapped mine into place.

  Power roared through him. I didn’t know exactly where it came from, I never would, but I could feel it rushing through him like water gushing from a ruptured pipe. As it pulsed through him it pressed against the fragile walls of his flesh, testing, pushing, wearing down until he was nothing more than a thin shell separating the internal forces he was channeling from the external forces tearing about freely, a shell that threatened to explode into a million pieces at any moment.

  I couldn’t touch the forces myself. I could only feel them through Karish. I wondered what it was like, to have all that power rushing through one’s body. A part of me mourned that I would never know.

  I had Shielded before, during my training with veteran Pairs. I had never felt such a massive flow of power through one person. Maybe, just maybe, Karish actually deserved some of the praise cast at his feet.

  I measured Karish’s breathing, breathed in time to him, then made us both slow down. I listened to his blood and eased its pressure. The activity in his mind was giving me a headache, so I soothed it into a more natural pace.

  My eyes began to burn with the strain, my head pulsing as I weighed every particle of man and force and made constant minute adjustments. I had no idea how long it all lasted. It felt like forever. It could have been no more than a couple of moments.