So they built a conventional fire, with wood that Faro and Thesius gathered, and settled down to eat and confer. A vent at the back of the cave drew off the smoke from their fire, and the cave screened it from outside eyes, so they were relatively safe and quite cozy.
"Now," Ware said, after their initial hunger-pangs had been satisfied. "Here is what I know. The people who guard the crystal are quite well aware of its nature, and they also know that eventually the Mazonites will desire it. They are determined to guard it, for they fear correctly that possession of the shard will make the Mazonites more powerful. They fear that if your Queen has it, she will use its powers to enlarge the borders of Mazonia, by extending the area in which the magics that prevail are Mazonite conjuration and those used by demons."
Xylina nodded; Thesius did, too. That made her wonder if the young man understood more of her language than he had let on. Still, that did not matter at the moment-
Except that she was very glad that she had not said many of the things that had been on the tip of her tongue. At best, he would have formed a very unflattering opinion of her. At worst, she would have looked like a jealous fool.
"They keep it under heavy guard in a cave-not too surprising, since the folk this realm live in caves, and their philosophy is to make as little mark on the land as may be." Ware shrugged as she gave him an incredulous look. "This is their way; I do not pick quarrels with other folks' philosophies. Here is the problem: I can not take the shard, for it can only be handled by a mortal. Thesius and Faro may not touch it, for it will kill a man-recall that it 'wants' to be taken to the great crystal in Mazonia, and the only way for it to get there is to be taken by a woman."
Xylina nodded. "I remember that. So this magic has a kind of intelligence. Well, that means that I am the only person who can actually retrieve it. But since these people must know this, I would assume that they will be specifically watching for a woman, which will make it very hard for me to approach it."
Ware and Thesius both indicated agreement; Thesius looked pleased. "We can do reconnaissance, though, we men," Faro spoke up from the other side of the fire where he was arranging a pallet made of pine boughs for himself, "As men, we would be under no suspicion."
"That was my thought exactly," Ware said. "Two of us should go-two should remain. Xylina will have to remain, of course-"
"And I will stay with her," Faro replied. But Ware shook his head.
"No, for Thesius has been here before, and they might recognize him," Ware said, by way of explanation. "You are a stranger, and if they recognize me as a demon, they will know that I am no threat to the shard. And, to be brutally frank, Faro, you are a much better fighter than Thesius. If there is some kind of incident, you are more likely to be able to fight your way free than Thesius will."
Xylina cast a startled glance at the young man, who grimaced, then shrugged. Apparently this was true.
Now that she thought about it, she realized that she never had seen him use that sword he carried. "If that is the case, then I am afraid Ware is right," she said to Faro. "You are one of the best fighters I have ever seen, and I rather doubt that I am likely to get into any great trouble, hidden away in a cave while you two go off to scout the territory."
Faro flushed with pleasure at her praise. "If that is your will," was all he said, but she felt that he thought she had made the right decision.
"How long will this take?" she asked, assuming that it would be less than a day.
"A week, perhaps a little more," Ware replied with an offhand gesture. "Less than nothing compared to all the time it took to get here."
A week? More? Xylina hid her dismay, since she had already agreed to the plan, but she was considerably less than pleased. A week all alone with this-this man. A week without Ware.
On the other hand, if she was to be without Ware's company, so was he. Suddenly the prospect was not totally without its charms.
"Very well," she said. Then, with a meaningful look at Ware, she added, "In that case, we had best go to bed-and get some rest."
Faro rolled his eyes up heavenward, and Thesius did not-quite-hide a smirk. Ware only sighed.
It was quite a lively night.
As birds first greeted die dawn light, Faro and Ware set off on their journey. Thesius and Xylina watched them go, side by side, yet quite, quite separate. Finally, long after they were out of sight, she turned back into the cave. She was not looking forward to a week spent in this man's company: a silent week, since he could not even converse with her.
But then Thesius surprised her. "I have-" he began from behind her, and she whirled to face him, eyes wide with shock. He stood silhouetted against the light for a moment, then came down to the cave floor beside her.
"You can speak my-?" she asked, not completely pleased with this development.
"I have," he said carefully, "been learning. Your tongue, with the help of Wara."
I'll just bet you have, she thought cynically, and yet she could not help but be a little curious about him. After all, they were both Ware's lovers-and they knew nothing about each other. They had both made a lifelong commitment to their beloved, which meant to each other as well. It would be too much-far too much!-to say they were friends; still-
"I suppose we really ought to start talking," she said aloud, with a lifted brow. "Since I am going to have you around for the rest of my life."
He stiffened a little at her slightly imperious tone. "The opposite, I would have said. That I must learn to tolerate you. Not easy, that."
It was her turn to stiffen with resentment. Not easy to tolerate her? How dared he?
But the next moment, she realized precisely how he dared. He was not a slave. He was under no rules of behavior. They were complete equals.
And she did not like it at all.
But she was going to have to get used to it.
She sighed and shook her head. "Then we can begin by sharing the chores," she said aloud. "You know this place, and I do not.You find things to eat.I find wood."
He frowned. "Stronger, I-" he objected.
"You are physically stronger; I am magically stronger," she countered. "Since when does that have anything to do with collecting wood for a fire? There's no point in dragging entire trees in here!"
He looked rebellious, but nodded, grudgingly. She picked up a strap to carry the wood with, and left, without waiting to see what he would do.
When she returned, he was not there-which meant, she supposed, that he must be out looking for edibles or hunting. She made several trips-by now she had a good idea of how much wood a fire could burn over the course of a day and a night, and she was not minded to give him an opportunity to scoff if the wood ran out before daybreak. It was a pity that she could not risk conjuring wood-but it was far better to be safe. At least this was giving her conjuration an extended rest, which was a relief after the extremely heavy use of her magic during their journey.
When she thought she had gathered enough and a little to spare, she paused for a drink of clear water from the stream outside the cave, and to take a rest. She had pushed herself considerably, physically, working much harder at the wood-gathering than she really had needed to.
Because she was, by the fates, going to impress that independent, imperious creature, she realized. Against his will, if she had to! Huh. He would probably return with a handful of inedible mushrooms and a mess of weeds, and think he should be praised.
But when he did come back, shortly after noon, it was with the saddlebags from both their horses bulging at the seams. When he disgorged their contents, she had to admit to being impressed.
He had found edible tree-seeds, a double-handful of hard, tart berries, fresh watercress, some shelf-like fungi that smelled so delicious that her mouth watered, and four fat, ugly roots that he promised-via a few words and pantomime-would be very tasty when roasted in the ashes of the fire. She was almost ashamed to hand him the last of the hard journey-bread for lunch, although he did raise a surprised eyebrow at the amount of wood she had collected.