“Yes, some might be guilty,” Wolf allowed. “But not all of them.”
Earth Son waved the truth away. “Bah, they’re just as bad as the oni — breeding like mice.”
“Fie, fie,” Forest Moss whispered. “We were all blind beings even before the oni burned out our eyes. Why should such arrogant fools as we listen to the warnings of the human natives? Of course the caves were a mystical place with mysterious goings and monstrous comings. What importance to us that humans were forever losing their way to other worlds and rarely coming back? What did it matter that we recognize nothing of ourselves in the stories?”
“Oh, please, shut him up,” Jewel Tears hissed.
“Oh! Oh!” Forest Moss leapt to his feet and wailed, waving his hands over his head. “It’s all so ugly! No, no, who cares if perchance we might learn something important? We must close our ears to this wailing of a madman!”
“Forest Moss!” True Flame snapped. “Sit!”
The male sat so abruptly that Wolf wondered if the outburst had been yet another example of Forest Moss using his reputation of being mad.
“Does anything he has to say have any relevance to what we need to do here?” Jewel Tears asked. “It seems to me that our task is simple. Do findings to track down the oni nests and burn them out. Instead we are sitting here constantly being distracted by the mad one’s ramblings. By his own account, he was shortsighted in his venture. So he was caught and tortured — but all that hinges on one gross error — on the first moment of discovery, he should have fought their way clear and returned to the pathway.”
“I had dealt with discovery by humans many times,” Forest Moss said. “A show of power, a few trinkets, and we would be safe enough to pass on. How was I to know that the oni were monsters under the skin?”
“I’m trying to determine what the Stone Clan brings to the table,” True Flame said. “And what they will come away with.”
Earth Son made an opening bid. “Since the Wind Clan is demonstrating that it can not hold the Westernlands, we will take them over.”
Wolf shook his head and ticked off his strong points. “We are providing access to the fire esva. Without our assistance, you would have to deal the oni and a dragon with only defensive spells.”
“You can’t withhold the fire esva from the crown,” Earth Son stated.
Was he being naïve, or clumsy in his attempt to undermine the Wind Clan’s position?
“I did not suggest that,” Wolf used small words. “I’m only pointing out that we are providing attack spells on two fronts, plus my four Hands, and ten enclaves. The Wind Clan can hold its own here — the same can not be said of the Stone Clan.”
“Yet you called for help.”
“Because we did not know then — nor know now — the strength of the oni,” Wolf stated. “We would rather give up some part of our holdings than give the oni a stronghold here.”
“Which the crown sees as a strength, not a weakness,” True Flame said. “We are limiting the amount awarded to Stone Clan. The area in question will be Pittsburgh and the surrounding land. Excluded will be the enclaves owned by the Wind Clan households.”
“We want both virgin land and that from Earth,” Earth Son said.
“And I want the sekasha, Galloping Storm Horse On Wind,” Forest Moss said.
Startled silence went through the room.
“Never.” Wolf snarled.
“If you release him, he can serve me.” Moss pressed on.
“He looks to my domi.” Wolf said. “He is her First. She also holds Singing Storm on Wind.”
“That cross caste mistake?” Moss made a sound of disgust. “Your domi can release Galloping Storm Horse and keep the mutt.”
“She will not release him.” Wolf was sure of this. “She loves him dearly. The oni captured him because they knew he would be an effective whipping boy for her. All that she did was to protect him.”
“It is a simple thing—” Forest Moss started.
The Stone Clan’s First, Thorne Scratch and Tiger Eye, and True Flame’s First, Red Knife stepped forward to loom over their domana’s shoulder. Wolf felt Wraith Arrow behind him, joining the other First at the table.
“This is not for you to discuss.” Red Knife said quietly. “No beholding will be broken in this manner.”
Earth Son coughed and carried on. “We’re asking for a hundred thousand sen of virgin land for each of us, plus half of the city, to be rewarded immediately.”
The land, ultimately, Wolf did not care about. The three hundred thousand sen was a small price to pay for the safety of his people — and perhaps all of Elfhome. He did not want, however, to put humans under the care of the Stone Clan. He shook his head. “I granted the humans an extension of their treaty to work out issues among themselves. I think at this time it would be unwise to start procedures on dividing up the city.”
“Who gave you the authority to agree to that?” Earth Son asked.
True Flame glanced at Earth Son. “As Viceroy, it was in his authority to do so. But I must ask, on what basis?”
“We’re not entirely sure that the orbital gate no longer functions. If my domi failed to destroy and only damaged it, it is possible Pittsburgh will return to Earth.”
“Yes, dividing the city could be premature,” True Flame said. “How soon will we know?”
“Shutdown was scheduled for two days from now at midnight,” Wolf said. “But if the gate is only damaged, then the humans might delay Shutdown for weeks. Without communication with Earth, it is impossible to know.”
“Are we truly going to wait for something that may never happen?” Earth Son asked.
“We are elves, we have time,” Wolf said.
“Most convenient for the Wind Clan.” Earth Son said.
“We will wait three days, and then speak again on dividing the city,” True Flame took out maps of the area. “Let us discuss virgin land.”
Chapter 16: Little Monkey Brain
After a long, long cottony warm sleep, Tinker was able to view the last few days with a saner eye. Thinking of Nathan threatened to reduce her back to the painful void of grief, so she considered the last dream with Esme and Black. Obviously, something had drastically gone wrong with Esme, but what did her mother think Tinker could do for her? Esme was in space — someplace — in another universe, far, far away. And who was Black? The tengu woman obviously had been on Earth to meet Tinker’s father, but where was she now? Why was Tinker dreaming about her in conjunction with Esme? Was it because Black was a tengu colony and on one of the ships that Esme crashed into?
The dreams of Alice and Dorothy — little girls lost far from home — held a sad irony; Esme thought Dorothy should stay in Oz — but obviously that wasn’t what she wanted for herself now. So what did she want from Tinker? Even if Esme’s ship crashed, that would have taken place eighteen years ago, shortly before Tinker was born.
In the movie the yellow brick road started when Dorothy crashed the house into Oz — bringing a stain of sepia on a world of lush color. The discontinuity appeared as a stain of blue. Tinker’s nightmares had gotten out of hand the same day that the Ghostlands formed — even if the first one with Esme and Black came two days later. The first dream had been Alice in Wonderland, the second Wizard of Oz, and the last was Esme going through the hyperphase gate; little girls crashing into other worlds.
Tinker sprawled in the enclave garden, watching the sun shift through the tree branches. As usual, she had a full Hand standing around, doing nothing but watch her think. They shifted to full alert as someone came through the gate into this private area. Lemonseed carried in a tray of tea and cookies — midmorning snack. Tinker started to sit up but Lemonseed tsked at her and crouched beside her to layout a mini-picnic. Exquisite china bowls of pale tea. Little perfect cookies. A platter of rich rosewood. A small square of printed silk.