Brady said, “If any harm comes to a legionnaire, it will not be well with the Copts, priest.”
The man nodded. “I understand. That was a mistake. Some of our younger men—they have already been suitably punished for meddling in affairs beyond them. Your legionnaire is back in the fort, Captain Brady. You will find him there if you return.”
Tony detected a half-veiled glance the priest sent at his fellows. Brady saw it also, and tugged at his moustache.
“You are speaking true words?”
“I speak true words.”
“Suppose we do not believe. Suppose we—go on.”
A stir shook the Copts; they looked at one another askance. The priest said, “The Moon passages begin not far from here. Those you may not enter.”
Brady seemed undecided. “We shall go back. But if our man is not safely in the fort—”
The priest’s smile was apparently guileless. “He will be there.”