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things like where Blade was,
where our troops were, where there was resistance to the Taglian
advance and where there was none. He knew that Mogaba had sent
cavalry north to blunt our advance.
    It was weird. The man just plain knew things he should not. Not
without walking with the ghost. And One-Eye was still ahead of us,
making much better time than I would have believed possible had we
not been trying to catch him.
    Croaker got over his snit after the first day. He became social
again. Headed for the Ghoja Ford, he asked, “You remember the
first time we came here?”
    “I remember rain and mud and misery and a hundred
Shadowlanders trying to kill us.”
    “Those were the days, Murgen.”
    “They were as close to hell as I want to get. And
that’s said from the viewpoint of a man who’s been a
whole lot closer.”
    He chuckled. “So thank me for this nice new
road.”
    “Thank you for the nice new road.” The Taglians
called it the Rock Road or Stone Road. The first time we traveled
it, it had been nothing but a snake of mud.
    “You really think Sleepy is right for the standardbearer
job?”
    “I’ve been thinking about that. I’m not ready
to give it up yet.”
    “This is the same Murgen who complained that he’s
always the first guy into every scrape?”
    “I said I’ve been thinking. I find I’ve got
some extra motivation.” Our other companions told me I was
handling Sarie’s loss pretty well. I thought so myself.
    Croaker looked back at Thai Dei, who was clinging desperately to
a swaybacked dapple mare we had picked up thirty miles back. He was
handling his problem moderately well, too, for a guy who could use
only one hand.
    Croaker told me, “Don’t let motivation get in the
way of good sense. When all the rest is said and done we’re
still the Black Company. We get the other guys to do the
dying.”
    “I’m in control. I was a Black Company brother a lot
longer than I was Sarie’s husband. I learned how to manage my
emotions.”
    He did not seem convinced. And I understood. He was concerned
not about me as I existed right now but as I would in a crunch. The
survival of the whole Company might hinge on which way one man
jumped when the shitstorm hit.
    The Captain glanced back. Despite their best efforts our escort
had begun to string out. He paid no attention to them. He asked,
“Learned anything about your in-laws?”
    “Again?” He never let up. And I did not have an
answer for him. “How about ‘love is
blind’?”
    “Murgen, you’re a damned fool if you really believe
that. Maybe you ought to go back and reread the Books of
Croaker.”
    He lost me there. “What’s that supposed to
mean?”
    “I’ve got me a lady, too. Still alive, granted.
We’ve got plenty tied up in each other. We made us a baby
together. Any two fools can do that by accident, of course, but
it’s usually a benchmark in a relationship. But what we have
as man and woman, father and mother, doesn’t mean I trust
Lady even a little in any but that one way. And she can’t
trust me. It’s the way she’s made. It’s the life
she lived.”
    “Sahrie never had any ambitions, boss. Except maybe to get
me to actually go into the farming I’m always talking about
so I wouldn’t get skragged gloriously in some typically
heroic military manner like falling off a horse and drowning while
I was crossing a creek during the rainy season.”
    “Sahra never worried me, Murgen. What bothers me is this
uncle who doesn’t act like any other Nyueng Bao I’ve
ever seen.”
    “Hey, he’s one old guy who has a thing about swords.
He’s a priest and his scripture is sharp steel. And
he’s got a grudge. Just keep him pointed toward the
Shadowmaster.”
    Croaker nodded grimly. “Time will tell.” He did grim
very well.
    We crossed the great stone bridge Lady had ordered built at
Ghoja. Crows filled the trees on the southern bank. They squabbled
and carried on and seemed to find us highly amusing.
    I said, “I worry