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Jeje. He snapped open a scrolled order and flicked one finger over the seal at the bottom, which had the faint glitter of magic attesting to its being genuine: a sved. Used all over the maritime world, the term had come to mean truth. “Here’s the sved on your people. Your name isn’t in the arrest-on-sight book. She won’t grab you if you hop. Two o’ your marine captains and one other fellow are listed. Not the Delf. The main one is that lord.”
    Jeje looked from one to the other. “Lord?” she asked again, more weakly, because she didn’t see question in Testhy’s face, but a scowling comprehension.
    The lieutenant saw it too, and said to him, “The captain said he heard about your marine band. Good rep on the seas. But you have to understand, the new king wants no trouble with the Venn. That Marlovan lord. Elgar, I think the name was? He’s on the capital list for theft of three ships, alongside o’ some Iascan fellow, Handar something—”
    “Kodl?” Jeje squeaked.
    “That was it. And some Toaran with a name that sounded like a snake’s hiss.”
    Testhy did not offer his name.
    “Charge made by a shipowner out west—”
    “Ryala Pim,” Testhy said in a low voice.
    “That was the name! Anyway, if we were to rescue them, especially the Marlovan lord, and word got out, and it does when anything happens with those names on the capital lists, the Venn will call us treaty breakers. Nobody can stand against them, especially not us. We’re trying to recover from losing half the navy a few years ago, but even back then we wouldn’t have been able to stand against them.”
    “So what you are telling me is that because of this accusation, which is a lie, you have to call Inda and Kodl and the rest of us pirates? ”
    “Cap’n knows you aren’t pirates. But not the landsmen. All they know is this Pim is a member of the Shipowners’ Guild in good standing—or at least was until our own troubles here, when we had a couple years’ break in the records. So we have to take her accusation seriously, and that means treat anyone whose name is on that list like a pirate, yes, until either the name goes off the list, or he’s reported dead. If we catch the Marlovan lord in particular and turn him over to the Venn—he being Marlovan, and the Venn are at war with them—it means Venn aid on the seas. We need it.” And, at Testhy’s white-lipped glare, he added, “It’s become a political decision, see?”
    Jeje said numbly, “You won’t go after those pirates?”
    “Can’t send a rescue,” the lieutenant said, shaking his head. “Only a war fleet. We can’t rescue pirates fighting pirates. Especially a big fleet like Gaffer Walic’s. It would take most of our navy to find and fight him. Then all pirates on both sides get it.” He drew his finger across his neck.
    “But your captain knows we’re not pirates, we’re marines, on a legitimate hire.”
    “Except the names of your commanders are on the capital list.” Voices outside in the hall caused the lieutenant to jerk around. “Look, I gotta run, and you better, too.”
    “Wait,” Jeje said, and the young man looked back warily. “This Gaffer Walic. Does he follow Brotherhood custom? Kill ships?”
    He grimaced. “Sometimes. Though word is he’s been on the recruit. Building a fleet. He wants into the Brotherhood, which means he has to win a big action. That means taking on good ships and crew.” He slipped out and shut the door.
    “Then they might be alive. But what’s all that about lords?” Jeje asked. She wanted to stomp and smash everything in sight. “That part makes no sense!”
    “I’ll explain, but not here,” Testhy said.
    Jeje nodded, heartsick and weary.
    Testhy led the way into a narrow stone warren of streets.
    Questions surged about in Jeje’s head like flotsam on high tide, nothing reassembling into answers.
    Rain, sudden and warm, shocked her into awareness of her surroundings. They passed the glowglobe-lit