lled him, as quickly and painlessly as I
could." He looked down again. "Dammit, I became an Inquisitor to help
find the Kingdoms' enemies, not to kill people I love!"

"I understand." His Warrant made his action blameless under both civil
and Church law, but that wouldn't have helped his feelings any. "It
was the only help you could give, and both of us know it can be
welcome. At worst, he's in Purgatory; I'll include him in my Mass
intentions from now on."

"Thanks--I've been doing it since I was ordained, of course, but extra
Masses never hurt, and it'll make his family feel better."

"How did they take it?"

"Betty understood; the kids are too young to know anything except that
Daddy's gone and won't be back. She gets a pension, of course, and I'm
'acting Daddy' for the kids when I'm around. You'll have to come out
for a visit sometime, since we're stationed in the area--I'm sure
they'd love to meet you."

"I'll do that." She ought to find out if she could still relate to
normal civilians, she supposed; except for visiting the Harrisons,
she'd been in a strictly-military environment since the attack. And
not even a normal military environment, between the hospital, her
Inquisitor's training, and starting a Strike Force team. She knew
she'd changed, for what would generally be considered the worse; what
she didn't know was how much.

"Great! If you don't mind, I'll drop back now and pass your invitation
along."

"Fine."

She rode alone the rest of the morning, glad when they got into the
forest and out of the rapidly-warming sun. She was pleased to find she
could still appreciate the sounds and smells of the forest, the
squirrels and birds, the green-tinged light. Lunch was good, though
she was restricted to broth and more grateful for the brief relief from
jarring pain than for the unsatisfying pre-surgery meal.

8. Ambush

Back on the road, about an hour later, Cortin spotted a rider coming in
their direction. He was apparently daydreaming, because it was a few
seconds before he saw the group--and when he did, he reined around and
galloped back the way he'd come.

Cortin stopped, frowning, and motioned Odeon to join her. Most people
didn't like getting too close to prisoner escorts, no, but leaving at a
gallop was a rather extreme reaction. Not necessarily a guilty
reaction, and not one she would normally be justified in having him
pursued or shot for . . . but it bothered her. W