And be honest with yourself, Signe, gay people creep you out a bit , she thought. Then with a glance at Aaron. No, be even more honest. Gay men are restful. Gay women creep you out a bit. ?Skirmish at their latest roadside fort,? Signe said aloud.?We beat them, more or less. They pulled out part of their cavalry once their fort was finished so we tried drawing them into an ambush. We inflicted a lot more losses than we took but they can replace theirs and we can?t. Technically we won. And then had to retreat. Hurrah.?

The Grand Constable nodded.?They can match our numbers everywhere and still keep a central reserve to switch around,? she said.?That means they can outnumber us whenever and wherever they feel it?s important. It?s… difficult.?

It?s a recipe for fucking disaster, Signe thought but did not say. Unless they start making a lot of big mistakes. Which so far they haven?t. Neither have we. Absent idiocy on either side or the Gods taking a hand, numbers win. ?Well, your castles are holding them up in the Columbia Valley and the Palouse,? she said instead.?Which goes a long way to compensate for their numbers.?

That had the virtue of being true, as well as complimentary. The only way to hold the Corwin-Boise alliance out if this open plain would be a pitched battle… and they?d tried that at Pendleton last year and lost.

D?Ath frowned; if possible, her pale gray eyes grew chillier. ?We need to speak in confidence,? she said.?That?s why I?m here in person. I?ll be moving on to Bend to consult with the CORA leaders next, then back west to stop in Corvallis and Dun Juniper.?

Signe nodded.?Did anyone say stop working?? she asked the air, and the curious onlookers within eavesdropping range withdrew.?I want us to be ready to pull out of here, soonest!?

Tiphaine looked at the doctor, who showed no sign of retreating with the others. ?Aaron is one of my closest advisors,? Signe said.?You can tell him anything you tell me.?

Nobody mentioned Will and Mike Jr.; they were family, and learning the family business. Signe looked at the Association commander?s followers in turn. ?Armand and Rodard are my squires,? Tiphaine said.?And confidential agents. Sir Ivo and Brother Jerome were involved with the matter personally.?

She took a deep breath and paused before speaking; Signe was surprised, and felt a trickle of alarm.

What could be upsetting the Ice Dyke of Castle d?Ath?

It wasn?t like her to hesitate to spit the truth out, however disagreeable. They?d had as little as possible to do with each other, but she knew that much. ?Castle Campscapell fell six days ago,? the Associate said bluntly.

Signe managed to control her impulse to grunt as if belly punched; her sister, Astrid, was operating her Ranger deep-reconnaissance and sabotage teams out of there right now, and her brother, Eric, was backing her up. They?d been running weapons to the Mormon guerillas and harassing enemy logistics in occupied New Deseret, as well. Aaron whistled almost silently. ?That… was a very strong keep,? Signe said, and glared at Ivo.

Ivo Marks had been a protege and vassal of d?Ath?s since the War of the Eye. Commanding a major castle was a plum job, too. She went on: ?How in hell did that happen? They certainly didn?t sit a fucking great army down in front of it for a siege or assault, that I heard of!?

The monk intervened:?A postern gate was opened late at night. By a priest. A joint force of Boisean and Corwinite special forces took the gatehouse, raised the portcullis and let down the drawbridge. They held it long enough for a fast flying column that had approached in stealth to punch through and take the castle as a whole.?

Signe?s breath hissed out. The gate of a big castle was a mini-fortress in itself. They?d known that the enemy alliance had good special operations troops, but this was a nasty confirmation. ?Bribe?? she said.

Brother Jerome shook his head.?I don?t think so. It was a rather elderly Dominican; a harsh man, one of Antipope Leo?s appointees, but not a corrupt one. I knew him slightly.? ?Why not?? Signe said.?It wouldn?t be the first time a priest of your Church caught gold fever. And knew? He?s joined the majority?? ?No, it would not be the first time a priest was bribed, my lady,? the monk said, with that steady courtesy that was more irritating than irritation.?All men are sinners, and priests are men. However, the priest in question then cut off his own testicles and stabbed himself eight times in the belly before he died. And the first enemy through the postern was in a red robe-a High Seeker of the Church Universal and Triumphant. He killed armed men with his hands and they did not resist.?

For once the monk?s trained calm seemed to waver.?I… was there. I saw it. I… fought him. Not so much with my sword… I have never felt anything like it. Never anything so strong, or so foul. As if I were prisoner in my own mind, and my mind was in Hell. Only by the grace of God was I able to give the alarm and close the inner doors to the bailey long enough for the garrison to arm.?

A chill silence fell; they?d all heard the rumors about the Corwinite adepts. Several made the protective signs of their various faiths. Then Ivo spoke, his voice shaking slightly: ?That?s all that let any of us escape.? ?Ivo got most of the garrison out,? Tiphaine said crisply.?Given the initial situation, he did quite well. But that unhinges our position in the western Palouse and it gives the enemy another foothold on the navigable Snake River. It?s… troubling. We?ve been counting on our fortifications to even things up.? ?If we can?t rely on the castles to keep them off the Columbia, what the hell can we do?? Signe said, looking around for a moment as if armies could be conjured from raw need.

One of the squires blurted:?Artos has to return with the Sword. Only that can save Montival!? ?He?s right, Mother,? Mike Havel Jr. said, before Tiphaine could blast her subordinate for speaking out of turn.

Gray eyes met blue. Tiphaine spoke slowly and reluctantly. ?I have a horrible suspicion that may be correct.?

And the Gods alone know what Rudi and the others were doing. Mary, Ritva, is it well with you?

A Bearkiller couldn?t show weakness.?It would be a help,? she said.?An army or two with it wouldn?t hurt either.?

Being impatient and not showing it is even more of an unpleasantness than being impatient alone, Rudi thought.

He suppressed an impulse to jig from foot to foot, like a small child in school bursting to ask permission to visit the jakes.

The best cure for it being some sweat. Luckily that also serves our purposes, since we want to be well remembered here. Not just remembered kindly, but remembered well, as folk worthy of respect. Worthy of alliance against a common foe.

He kept a smile on his face as he strode out to the drill field. Partly that was natural to him-he liked most places and most people he met-and partly it was politics.

The which I will never be able to escape, now, all my life. Fortunately I?ve been assured that won?t be overlong…

Most of the drill field was exactly that: fields, now reaped and empty of crops, but busy with the local folk. Some of it spilled up into the forested edges of Readstown, to give a realistic variety of ground. Only parts of it were permanent, like the row of oaken pells-thick posts used as targets for practice with sword and ax. Mathilda and Odard were at a pair of them. ?How?s the arm?? he asked. ?Healing,? Mathilda said shortly.?Nearly healed. Still hurts a bit, but it needs to be stretched or it?d heal tight.?