Read In the Skin of a Nunqua for Free Online Page B

know my rights!”
    “Shanti?”
    “Go ahead,” she said.
    “Commander Edwyn, Chief Emmins, you are witnesses.”
    The investigators dumped out her money, checked each coin meticulously, and found no markings.
    “Commander Mossgail?” the investigator said.
    “Having one of those coins doesn’t mean anything. It could have changed hands a dozen times. I could have picked it up in a tavern, perhaps, or from the seamstress in town.”
    “Which taverns do you frequent?” the investigator asked.
    “I don’t have to defend myself to you,” he sneered. “I’ve served in the Willovian military ever since you were a baby on your mother’s teat. Give me my things and let me be on my way.”
    Gray Streak seized Mossgail’s money bag. “I’m aware that only a high commander can order a search of your property. But as commander of this camp, it is in my power to confiscate your money for the purpose of replenishing the goods that are missing. The supplies were in your care. Therefore, you are responsible. If the stolen items are recovered in usable condition, you’ll be reimbursed.”
    Mossgail snatched up his sword and stormed out of the room with all the dignity he would muster while in his underclothes.
    Gray Streak turned over Mossgail’s money bag, the contents spilling onto the desk. They found three coins etched with inconspicuous squares that had loops at the corners.
    “Why didn’t you demand an inquiry?” Flat Face yelled at Shanti.
    “What’s an inquiry?”
    He groaned and dropped his head. “A trial resulting in a formal judgment regarding wrongdoing. A high commander officiates over the proceedings.”
    “Will he be prosecuted?” she asked.
    “That remains to be seen,” said Gray Streak. “Shanti, you’re free to go. Just remember, a humiliated man will always seek revenge.” He regarded the wristlet of darts for a moment before returning it to her. “But I have a feeling you already know that.”
    She took her things, glancing quickly at the tall investigator on her way out. He had brown eyes, a ruddy complexion, and a confident bearing. She decided to make it her mission to find out his name and buy him a drink. Marked coins—it was brilliant. Mossgail’s money really was tainted. The only thing left to do was have a long and unpleasant chat with Leanna.
    *
    Shanti swung open the infirmary door, slamming it against the wall. A bottle fell to the floor and broke. Her sword was sheathed on her back, and she wore her wristlet. “You—all of you—tricked me into hanging the lock of Mossgail’s hair in the doorway, knowing I’d be accused!”
    Leanna ran over and hugged her. “We did it!”
    “You would watch me go to jail so you could reap the reward!”
    “Don’t be silly.” Leanna fell onto a bed and giggled like a child. “Did you see Mossgail in his bedclothes, running around camp in high dudgeon? It was rich!”
    Shanti loomed over Leanna. “Did you happen to notice that the men who bought us drinks at the tavern are the same men who are investigating the theft—the same men you gave a tour of the infirmary?”
    “Don’t be so mistrustful. It couldn’t be.”
    “It is, and if they overheard us—”
    Leanna got up from the bed and put her hands on Shanti’s shoulders. “What are you worried about? You’re here—exonerated, I presume. They’d never banish you or put you in jail.”
    “Banish?”
    “They treat you like one of their own.”
    “Who are ‘they’?” Shanti asked.
    “The men. You’re allowed to train with them. You’re taken seriously, whereas we are not. By the way, why are you wearing your weapons in the infirmary?”
    “Mossgail’s ready to kill me.”
    “This is a place of healing. Put your things in the hole.” Leanna plucked a key from a hook on the wall, then pushed aside a bed. Beneath it was a hatch. She unlocked and lifted the hatch.
    Shanti peered inside. A portion of the stolen supplies and several weapons were in the hole—a