[Arry]

‘Brother, there is something very strange going on here.’

Annû nodded his head in agreement with Carandû, then raised his brows. ‘I’d like to agree with you, but perhaps you can fill me in a little more,’ he said. ‘I’m not quite sure what it is you’re getting at.’ Carandû smiled up at his brother and shook his own head. ‘Little brother, always by my side . . .’ He handed his bowl to Annû. ‘Speaking of “filling in”, I think I need a bit more in my belly. How about you?’

Carandû spoke no more of his concerns until the meal was done. Then he motioned for Annû to take a little walk with him. When they had gone a little ways from the rest of the group, Carandû broke the silence. ‘You know the Captain never really said why I was assigned to reindeer duty and was kept out of the main part of the action. There was some suspicion on his part . . . but about what I don’t know. And now it seems there is a shift in focus, someone else is under suspicion. And once again the reason is unclear to me.’ He glanced over to where the guard he’d set was watching over the Lossoth woman.

‘It’s no suspicion, brother,’ Annû replied, his gaze also falling on Alahseey. ‘Have you not heard? We almost lost Galhardir.’

‘His rope broke; he was pulled into the water. I know that much . . .’ Carandu said.

‘Not broke, Carandû . . . I’ve heard the rope was severed . . . with her axe,’ Annû whispered, nodding toward the prisoner. ‘She stood up with it in her hand. A lot of Elves and Lossoth saw her.’

Carandû’s brow furrowed as he tried to reconstruct that time just before the Corsairs attacked. His brother’s reconstruction of the events did not ring true for him. He was above and to the side of where the searchers were. He remembered checking Annû’s line from that distance – it was tied to a tree and ran out to his brother’s group without break. He’d looked quickly at the others’ ropes, too. Nothing had struck him as out of the ordinary. And the axe . . . that was it! Someone he’d glanced at had had an axe in her hand . . . a woman . . .

‘Listen, Annû . . . I don’t think it was her . . .’

The conversation came to a halt as the brothers heard someone’s steps behind them. It was one of the other Elves. He’d come to tell Carandû that the Captain’s request had been seen to. The crew and their Lossoth companions would be ready at dawn to return to the ship. ‘We’ve cleared one of the sleds for the wounded,’ he continued. ‘The other,’ he said looking away for a moment, ‘we will use to bring back the fallen.’

Annû and his brother returned to the camp beneath the trees. Carandû had promised Freyn he would take over watch of the prisoner while the Lossoth took some rest. Perhaps he could speak with Alahseey then . . . she must feel as confused as he had . . .