"Does anyone know how to-deal with this?" she asked instead, awkwardly, uncertain what to do next. She had no idea what the burial customs of the slaves were; she didn't think any Mazonite knew. Finally one of the handsome and ambitious young ones, Hazard, stepped forward.
"I do, mistress," he said submissively, keeping his eyes down. "I have-dealt with our dead before. If you like, I can lead the others in tending to Kyle. If you will grant us permission."
"Is there anything you would like me to do or supply?" she asked, feeling uncomfortable and helpless.
"Yes!" he replied, raising his eyes for a moment in surprise, then dropping them quickly. "It is our custom to burn our dead, with their possessions. There does not look to be anything much here to burn. If you would be kind enough to conjure a pyre-"
That was something of a relief-to have some way to contribute. It was something she definitely could do. Quickly she gathered her magic about her, selected a clear spot, and built a pyre of oil-soaked, fragrant shingles. It was the work of a few moments. She watched the fighters soberly as they lay the cloth-wrapped body atop it, together with the bag of Kyle's own goods. The sunset to her right painted the sky with spectacular streaks of red and yellow, making it seem as if the pyre was already ablaze.
She stood a little apart, but Faro took a place in the silent circle of men that gathered around the pyre. For a long moment no one spoke, and there was no real sound from the strange landscape about them, except for the slight sighing of the breeze which lifted her hair and cooled her brow.
"Kyle was a good man," Hazard said into the waiting silence. "He always did his duty, and shared every labor. He deserved-" There was a hasty glance at Xylina and a pause. "He deserved a fine life, but he found a terrible death instead. If the gods are listening-" and here Hazard made a strange gesture, a kind of circle upon his chest, inscribed with a forefinger, a gesture copied by all the others, even Faro "-let them hear me. He liked the Pacha, and they welcomed his songs and stories. Let him be reborn as a Pacha warrior."
"Let him be reborn as a Pacha warrior," the others echoed. "So let it be."
Hazard stepped back from the pyre and nodded at Xylina. That was enough of a signal for her, and she nodded in turn to Ware, who conjured fire.
The pyre ignited immediately, with a whoosh of flame. The oil-soaked wood burned with intense heat, and all the men had to step back a pace or two.
They watched for a moment, then turned their backs on the pyre and filed into the encampment. After a moment of staring at the pyre, Xylina did the same, then turned and conjured the last slab of rock to seal them all inside.
• Chapter 13
In the morning, there were vague prints of unidentifiable creatures all around their stockade, and the giant plants were still there, unchanged. The huge leaf garden was still so dense that Xylina could not see more than a cubit or two into it, and was still refusing to disclose its secrets. "I don't like this," Xylina said, frowning at the "spinach-forest" (or whatever it was), as the men packed up their belongings and stowed them in the wagons. "There's no way to tell what's in there. There could be anything, monsters or mansions, or things we can't even recognize."
The men looked tired this morning, as if they had not slept well. Of course the myriad strange noises coming from beyond their rock-stockade could have accounted for that. But she had the feeling that there had been many eyes peering into the darkness last night, thinking about Kyle, tossing restlessly, agonizing over their first casualty. Xylina had not slept well herself; she kept starting up at every shriek or scream, every howl and bark, expecting monsters to come swarming over her rock palisade at any moment. Wondering if there had been anything she could have done to prevent the tragedy. She had wished more than ever for the comfort of close company, and wondered whether Ware was similarly discomfited.
"I agree with you about this place," Faro replied, running a hand through his hair. "I agree entirely. This is the best place for an ambush I've ever seen. I wish there was some way to mow the stuff down."
Ware led his stallion up beside them, the handsome beast picking its way carefully across the stones of the "rock garden" territory, his hooves making little clicking sounds against the rocks and thudding dully into the sand-pockets.
Faro turned to the demon as he got within speaking distance. "I don't suppose you recognize this, do you?" he asked, without hope. "Have you or any of your people seen this kind of territory before?"
Ware stared at the forest for a moment, then nodded, slowly. "Actually, I do recognize this place," he said. "Although it wasn't here at this spot the last time I passed this way-it was growing up against the border where the Sylvan Thorn-Wall is now. If this kind of growth is the same thing I remember, we should have some warning before anything attacks us. As I recall, the creatures here are large and cumbersome, and they make a great deal of noise." But the longer Ware spoke, the less certain he sounded.
"But I also remember what you told us yesterday; that these things can change a lot, even from year to year," Xylina replied cautiously. "I don't think we can trust anything, not even old memories, or things that look safe." She shook her head. "I think we should assume that we can assume nothing. We should figure that this is nothing like the place you knew, and go from there."
Ware nodded, agreeing with her; so did Faro. She turned back to look at the growth. It really did look like some kind of giant vegetable patch. What kind of menace could be lurking in there? Giant rabbits?
For a moment that seemed hysterically funny, until she remembered that when things grew that large, even herbivores, they could be just as dangerous as any carnivore. And an animal that looked like an herbivore might not be one.
A rabbit the size of an elephant could easily bite the head off a man. And the fur, proportionally thick, could defend it against arrows and even spears to some extent. Suddenly the idea of giant rabbits was no longer so funny.
There appeared to be a road, or the remains of one, passing into the foliage a little to the right of their camp.
That would be the only place the wagons would be able to pass-but a road meant a place where humans had been; if there were any bandits about, they would know that the place for ambush was the road. If there were any predators big enough to take down a man, they might have learned the same thing.
Still, if they were to have the wagons with them there would be little choice. "It looks to me as if we should go in there," she said, pointing. "What do you think the proper order of march should be?"
"Divide the men equally," Faro replied. "Half in front of the wagons, and half behind. Ware to take the foremost position, myself the rearmost, and you in the middle. Ware has some magics that are likely to be useful if we're attacked, and he is an expert marksman on a trained horse. I'm a trained fighter. That takes care of two vulnerable positions."
She raised an eyebrow. "That hardly seems fair," she retorted. "You're putting me-"
"No, I'm not," Faro said, completely seriously. "If there are bandits, they'll strike at the weak middle-or what they think is the weak middle. You'll be guarding the wagons from attack from the side. We won't be able to see a damned thing in that muck. If you take a hit in the middle of the train, Ware and I won't know it until you've already engaged. There's just too much damned green stuff; it's going to block our view. In fact, I'm not certain I would be able to find my way through this garbage without going in circles."
"Which is where I come in," Ware picked up smoothly. He smiled at Xylina. "Faro and I discussed this in Sylva when he pointed out he was just trusting to the road, and had no way of knowing if we were going in die right direction. We have a compass with us, and I know how to use it. We also have other navigational aids, and I can use them, as well. We simply haven't needed them until now, but I knew that eventually we would. So I made certain we had them, and that I could use them."