"Thank you, A'Laq."
U'Selle looked at S'Doryn again. "We didn't know that you'd bring others back, so we haven't made any arrangements for them yet. You can take Jynna?"
He looked at N'Tevva.
"Of course we can," she said, smiling. "Gladly."
They'd never had children of their own, and S'Doryn had given up hoping for them long ago. He knew that N'Tevva had as well. But the gods worked in strange and wondrous ways. It seemed they were to be parents after all.
He placed a hand on Jynna's shoulder. "Is that all right with you?" he asked her.
She nodded, though there were tears in her eyes. He could only imagine how hard this must be for her, for all the children.
"I believe that Etan might be happy with T'Noth," he said after a moment, "at least for the time being."
The a'laq smiled. "Is that all right with you, Etan?"
"Yes, A'Laq."
"Good. And perhaps Vettala can stay with me." The woman smiled kindly, but Vettala gave a small cry and buried her face into Jynna's dress. U'Selle's smile gave way to a grimace and she looked at S'Doryn once more. "Perhaps it would be best if you took them both for now," she said. "We can see how matters stand after a few days."
"Of course, A'Laq."
"She doesn't mean anything by it, A'Laq," Jynna said, concern on her pale features. "She's just scared still."
"It's all right, Jynna. I understand. And I think she's very fortunate to have such a good friend."
"With your permission, A'Laq," S'Doryn said, "we've ridden a long way. I'm sure the children are even hungrier than I am."
"Of course, S'Doryn. We'll speak again later."
S'Doryn bowed to her, and he and N'Tevva led the children away from the a'laq's cottage. They walked Etan to T'Noth's house before continuing on to their own. Along the way, S'Doryn wondered how they were going to fit them both. They hadn't a lot of space and while finding a bed for Jynna wasn't a problem, he didn't know where they'd put Vettala. In the end, however, it seemed less of a problem than he had feared it might be. Vettala never strayed from Jynna's side, and when Jynna asked the younger child if she wanted to share a bed for the first few nights, Vettala nodded enthusiastically.
T'Noth and Etan joined them for the evening meal. N'Tevva had made plenty, no doubt anticipating that he would be hungry. She might have even known that T'Noth would join them; he often did. After they'd eaten their fill of stew and greens and dark bread, the children went outside, leaving the adults alone. S'Doryn wasn't sure if they intended to play or merely to speak where they couldn't be heard. It seemed to him that Jynna and Etan had every bit as much to discuss as did he and N'Tevva. His wife, though, appeared concerned as she watched them leave the house.
"They've traveled a long way today," she said, frowning. "And they've been through so much. Shouldn't we put them to bed?"
"We will soon," he told her. "But not quite yet. I imagine they need some time to themselves, without us around. The sooner they begin to feel comfortable here, the better for all of us."
She nodded, though she continued to glance anxiously toward the door. It had only been a few hours, but already she was trying to protect them as might their natural mother.
Before long, S'Doryn, N'Tevva, and T'Noth were joined by
U'Selle. N'Tevva offered her some food, but the a'laq refused, and was taken by another coughing fit.
When she could speak again, she asked about the eight days they'd spent in the hills with the children.
"Did you learn anything from them?" she asked.
S'Doryn briefly described Jynna's encounter with the Mettai woman.
For several moments after he finished, the a'laq merely stared at the floor. "It does all sound a bit odd," she finally muttered, "but really that's all. I don't see how this woman could have anything to do with an outbreak of the pestilence."
"Couldn't she use magic to put a curse on the people she met?" T'Noth asked.
She actually smiled. "A curse? I think you've listened to too many tales of Mettai blood magic." She shook her head. "As far as I understand it, Mettai magic is not all that different from our own. Yes, it comes from blood and earth, but their powers run no deeper than our own."
"They wouldn't have to run deeper," S'Doryn said. "They'd just need to be… different. We have healers who can mend wounds and tame fevers. Couldn't they just as easily cause illness as cure it?"
She frowned, but a moment later she conceded the point with a shrug. "I suppose. But you're assuming that she did far more than that. For any of this to make sense, she would have had to make herself immune.
"Or," T'Noth said, "she would have had to create a disease that strikes only at Qirsi."
"At Qirsi adults," S'Doryn corrected.
"Or at Qirsi magic."
All of them looked at N'Tevva.
"That makes more sense than directing it at adults," she said. "Doesn't it?"
S'Doryn shuddered, knowing that she was right. "Yes, it does."
"I asked this of S'Doryn in the hills," T'Noth said. "And now I'll ask you, A'Laq. What do we do about this?"
"About what?" U'Selle answered, sounding frustrated. "We have only a tale told to us by a child." She raised a hand, seeming to anticipate S'Doryn's objection. "I know she's clever, and I believe her to be honest, but I also know that she's been through a terrible ordeal. Her life these past nine days has been a waking nightmare. How do we separate what she truly saw from those things that haunted her sleep or grew from her imagination? None of us has seen this woman. Did you even see her baskets?"
"I didn't," S'Doryn said. "But according to T'Kaar, the other children remember seeing baskets in their homes that day."
She nodded. "Well, that's something at least. But do they confirm the rest?"
He shook his head. "No. That comes from Jynna alone." "I see."
"I believe her," S'Doryn said.
T'Noth nodded. "I do, too."
A small smile crossed U'Selle's lips. "To tell you the truth, I'd be inclined to as well. But I'm not certain what we can do about it. Even if we take as true everything that Jynna told you, we wouldn't know where to begin searching for this woman."
T'Noth shook his head. "So we do nothing," he said, his voice flat.
"For now. Keep talking to the children. Learn as much as you can from them. And in the meantime, I'll speak with the a'laqs on the plain and along the wash. Perhaps they'll know something about this woman."
"Thank you, A'Laq."
She smiled and stood, patting T'Noth on the shoulder as she stepped past him. "You both did well," she said, pausing in the doorway. "I hadn't foreseen the coming of these children into our village, but now that they're here, I think each will be a blessing to us in his or her own way. Good night, N'Tevva. I believe those girls will be very happy to have you around, after spending so many nights with nothing but Fal'Borna men and their horses."
The two women laughed, as did S'Doryn. T'Noth smiled as well, though he looked a bit confused.
Once U'Selle was gone their mirth faded, leaving them all silent and pensive. It was growing dark outside, and after a time N'Tevva went in search of the children. Left alone, S'Doryn and T'Noth continued to sit there, saying nothing, S'Doryn staring out the door at the deepening shadows around his home, T'Noth toying with his empty cup of wine.
"This could start a war," the younger man finally said.
S'Doryn looked at him and shook his head. "The Mettai are weak. They have no armies, no warriors. It wouldn't be much of a war."
"If the Mettai are attacked by a Qirsi army, Eandi warriors will come to their defense."
"It's just one woman, T'Noth, if it's even that. There's no reason for our people to do anything to the Mettai."
"You say that now, but what if this woman is responsible, and what if she takes her plague to other Fal'Borna villages, or to the J'Balanar?
What then?"
S'Doryn had to admit that it was a sobering question. "Let's hope someone finds her soon," he finally said.
"Let's hope."
A moment later, N'Tevva returned with the children. All three of them were flushed and laughing, even the little one, which gladdened