Tavi glanced over his shoulder, where the prisoners were being walked out of Othos as ordered, surrounded by Valiar Marcus's Prime Cohort. Tavi had deliberately ordered a slow pace, but some of the elderly among the prisoners were having trouble even so. He caught Marcus's eye and flicked a signal at the First Spear. Marcus slowed the pace even more.

Just as well, Tavi thought. It would give him a little more time to figure a way out of this mess.

"We aren't going through with it," Max growled. "Right?"

Tavi shook his head slowly, more a gesture of irritation than anything else. "The children are clear, at least."

Crassus frowned in thought, then glanced at Tavi. "Age of accountability?"

"Exactly," Tavi said.

Hoofbeats approached. Araris came trotting down the line of horses and offered a thick book to Tavi.

"What's that?" Max asked.

Tavi held up the book, titled, simply, Military Law. Then he flipped it open and started searching for the proper reference.

Crassus smiled. "You came prepared, eh?"

"Gift from Cyril," Tavi replied.

"Age of what?" Max said.

"Accountability, you illiterate thug," Crassus said. He flashed a small smile at Max. "Legally speaking, a child under the age of twelve dwelling in an adult's household cannot be held accountable for most crimes. Their parent or guardian is responsible for their behavior."

"So that gets the kids out of trouble," Max said.

"It isn't enough," Tavi said. "It just means we'd have to execute their parents twice." He held up the book. "Arnos has to adhere to the letter of the law. As a Legion commander in a war zone, he's got full authority to pass summary judgment on enemy troops and support personnel."

"With no trial?" Max asked.

"Not if they aren't Citizens," Tavi said. "And Arnos is interpreting the definition of support personnel to include any Aleran who has cooperated with the Canim in any fashion. He says the fact that they let those Canim into their town makes them traitors."

"Against Nasaug's army? They had no choice," Max spat. "Look at them."

Crassus shook his head. "Legally speaking, they had a choice. They could have fought the Canim and died."

"That's suicide."

"But legal." Crassus frowned at Tavi. "Captain, do you think the Senator's sentence will stand up before a tribunal of review?"

"He isn't ordering the execution of any Citizens," Tavi said, scanning pages in the book. He found the proper section and it confirmed his fears. "Crows. Technically, he's acting within the bounds of the law. So it will come down to politics."

Max growled. "If he's successful against the Canim, his judgment will probably be supported."

"And if the campaign goes badly," Crassus said, "his enemies will use it to eviscerate his career."

Tavi ground his teeth. "Not that it will matter to the people of Othos by then."

"There's got to be something we can do, Captain," Max protested.

Tavi grimaced. "If Arnos had put half as much planning into the assault on Othos as he had into this, he'd have taken the town without a man lost." He snapped the book shut rather harder than was necessary and looked at Max. "Legally speaking, my only options are to carry out the order or resign."

"Which is what Arnos wants," Crassus said quietly.

Tavi glanced aside at Crassus, surprised that he would bring up the point. The young Knight Commander had rather pointedly remained entirely silent during any conversation touching upon politics more than indirectly. It was hardly surprising, considering that Crassus's mother had betrayed them all at the Elinarch and his uncle was leading a rebellion that had ground on for most of two years. His father, High Lord Antillus, commanded fully half the forces of the Shieldwall, the vast edifice that walled away the threat of the Icemen in the savage north, and was one of the most respected men in Alera.

All in all, that made Antillus Crassus into a potential wildfire, politically speaking. Tavi had sent the First Lord strongly favorable reports regarding the young lord's skill, capability, and loyalty. If he hadn't, Gaius might well have made sure that a young man with such volatile potential was transferred to a less inflammable post.

All of that meant that Crassus had tactfully remained aloof from the intrigue that touched upon the First Aleran, except where it directly affected his ability to perform his duties. It had not meant, however, that he had closed his eyes to what was happening, and Tavi's respect for Max's younger half brother went up another notch.

"Which is probably what he wants," Tavi agreed quietly. "Either way, he's arguably within his rights, and I've got no legal recourse to refuse the order."

Max let out a chuckle with a hard edge on it. "Like you've ever let little things like laws get in the way."

Tavi frowned. It was true enough, he supposed, but that was before he'd been made aware of the fact that he might be the one expected to uphold and defend those laws one day. Law was what separated civilization from barbarism. Law was what enabled a society to protect the weak from the strong who would abuse or destroy them.

He looked over his shoulder at the poor people of Othos.

The law had been made to defend them. Not to murder them.

"We might have to get creative," he said quietly. He squinted up at the sky. "What I wouldn't give for a storm right now."

Max gave Crassus a speculative look, but the young lord shook his head. "Amos lost some of his Knights Aeris, but the rest of them would sense it if we tampered with the weather."

Tavi nodded. "We need to stretch this out until dark."

Max grunted. "Why?"

"The Canim like to operate at night. Once night has fallen, who knows? We might be attacked by a force of raiders, and in the confusion the prisoners might escape."

Max pursed his lips, then broke into a smile. "Those crowbegotten Canim ruin everything, Captain."

Crassus frowned. "We'll be ordered to pursue them. There's no way that group could escape any competent pursuit."

"I know," Tavi replied. "We do it anyway."

Crassus rode in silence for a few pensive seconds. "I'm with you, sir. But all you'll do is delay things by a day or so. At most. Then you'll be right back where you are now."

"A lot can change in a day or so," Tavi said, quietly. "Either of you have a better idea?"

Neither spoke, and Tavi closed his eyes for a moment, ordering his thoughts. "The first thing we need is time. We're going to double-check all of the prisoners' identities."

"Sir?" Crassus said.

"Amos can't possibly fault me being careful to make sure we aren't subjecting a Citizen to an injustice."

Crassus narrowed his eyes and began nodding. "And he'll figure you're doing it to protect yourself from legal consequences. Because that's why he'd do it."

Tavi nodded. "Crassus, confirm their identities and be thorough. Make it take until sundown. Go."

"Yes, sir," Crassus said. The young commander banged a fist to his chest and turned his horse, nudging it into a rather listless trot toward the prisoners.

"Max," Tavi said. "Get Schultz, and tell him to pick two spears of men who can keep their mouths shut. You'll take them and stage a raid tonight, once it's full dark. Something noisy but not too spectacular, and leave a couple of the Canim weapons we've recovered lying around. Amos will have sent some men to keep an eye on things by then. Handle them, but don't kill anyone if you can possibly avoid it."

"Understood," Max said. He lowered his voice, and said, "Crassus is right, you know. The Senator will only send you after them and relieve you for incompetence when you don't bring them back and carry out the order."

"Let me worry about that, Max. Get moving. I'm going to send word to Cyril to find out if-"