Brann was sitting on a stone bench beside a burst of ground orchids. “Jal Virri. Isn’t that what everyone asks? Where am I?”
Maksim moved uphill and eased himself onto the far end of the bench. “Where’s Jal Virri?”
“Myk’tat Tukery. One of the inner islands.”
“How long was I out?”
“Ten days. “
“Why bother?”
“I loathe being jerked around.”
“I was a fool.”
“You were.”
He folded his arms across his chest, narrowed his eyes, grinned at her. “You were supposed to appreciate my humility and disagree with courteous insincerity.”
She gave him a long look; eyes green as the willow leaves smiled at him. “I’d rather beat up on you a bit. Why didn’t you talk to me? You swatted me like I was a pesty fly. That sort of thing is bound to upset a person.”
“It seemed easier, a surgeon’s cut, quick and neat, and a complication was gone out of my life.” ‘‘Wasn’t, was it.”
“Doesn’t seem like it. Sitting here on this dusty bench, I can see half a dozen ways we might have managed some sort of compromise. Hindsight, hunh! bad as rue and twice as useless. Seriously, Brann, all I needed was maybe ten years more. I was buying time.”
“For what?”
“For Cheonea.”
“You say that so splendidly, so passionately, Maks. Such sincerity.”
“Sarcasm is the cheapest of the arts, Bramble all thorns, even so, it needs a scalpel not an axe.”
“Depends on how thick the skull is. Seriously, Maks, you’ve made a good start, but my father would say it’s time to let the baby walk on its own. Otherwise you’ll cripple it. Hmm. Are you thinking of heading back there?”
“That rather depends on you, doesn’t it?”
“No.”
“What?”
“I pulled you out there because I wouldn’t trust the Chained God as far as I could throw it. Amortis either. And you weren’t in any shape to defend yourself. I take no more responsibility for you than that. If you want to go, good-bye.”
“And if I wish to stay for a while?”
“Then stay.”
“Hmm.” He fiddled with the charred hole in the linen robe he still wore, looked down at the smooth flesh under it. “What happened to BinYAHtii?”
“I took it off you, threw it away, foul thing, it’d eaten a hole almost to your heart. Jay told me this: when Yaro and I were working on you, Dan went over to it, picked it up and vanished. Chained God probably.”
“Good-bye Finger Vales, eh?”
“Seems likely. ‘
“So Kori got what she wanted. Her brother safe and the Servants tossed out.”
“You know about that?”
“Had a talk with her.”
“Where is she now?”
“The Yosulal Mossaiea in Silili. Do you know it?”
“She’s talented? Slya’s teeth, why am I surprised, she’s Harra’s Child. You sent her?”
“Why are you surprised? You expected me to eat her?”
“Well, feed her to BinYAHtii.”
“That ardent soul? BinYAHtii was hard enough to control with ordinary lives in it. Besides, I liked her.”
“So. What will you be doing next?”
“So. Resting. Here’s as good a place as any. Will you be staying?”
“For a while.”
“The changers?”
“Yaro says this place is pretty but boring.” She looked wary again, smiled again. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but they’ve gone of exploring, they’ve got a lot of things to get used to, the changers have changed. I suppose the next thing for me will be finding a way to get them home. I don’t want to think about that for a while yet. I’m tired.” She got to her feet, held out her hand. “I’m glad you’re staying. It’ll be pleasant having someone to talk to. Come. Let me show you the house. I haven’t the faintest notion who built it, I stumbled across it the last time I was here. It’s a lovely place. Friendly. When you step through the door, you get the feeling it’s happy to have you visit.” Her hand was warm, strong. She seemed genuinely pleased with him, in truth she seemed in a mood to be pleased by almost anything. As she strolled beside him, she slid her heels across the grass, visibly enjoying the cool springy feel of it against the soles of her bare feet. She’d had a bath before she woke him, she smelled very faintly of lavender and rose petals, the silk tunic which was all she wore was sleeveless and reached a little past her knees, the breeze tugged erratically at it, woke sighs in it. I’ll need clothing, he thought, he touched the soiled charred robe, grimaced. She didn’t notice because she was looking ahead at the odd structure sitting half shrouded by blooming lacetrees. “There’s something I’ve never been able to catch sight of that bustles around, cleans the house, weeds the garden, prunes things, generally keeps the place in shape, I don’t know how many times I’ve hid myself and tried to catch it working. Nothing. Maybe you can figure it out, be something to play with when you feel like exercising your head. To say truth I hope it eludes you too, that gives me a chance to stand back and giggle.”
“Myk’tat Tukery,” he murmured, “I’ve heard a thousand tales about it, each stranger than the last.”
“Maksim mighty sorceror, I’ll show you a thing or two to curl your hair, a thing or two to draw it straight again.” She dropped his hand, ran ahead of him along the bluestone path, up the curving wooden stairs; she pushed the door open, turned to stand in the doorway, her arms outspread. “Be pleased to enter our house, Settsimaksimin, may your days here be as happy as mine have been.”
Laughter rumbling up from his heels, he followed her inside.