“It’s not that. I know this sounds like—”
“Brin, it hasn’t been that long. I still wake up covered in sweat, and I wasn’t taken by that thing.”
“It’s real.”
“Okay, let’s say you’re right. How would a Rhune learn about a raow trapped under the Verenthenon? And why would he be willing to hide it?”
* * *
—
“Do you remember that house in the city the first day we arrived?” Raithe asked, making the switchback turn near the rain barrel as they headed down the stairs. “The one Malcolm used to live in?”
“The one where he got in the fight with that fussy fellow?” Tesh replied.
Raithe nodded and came around the third switchback. The two were practically dancing down the staircase, but because of their worn boots, the only sound came from the slap of scabbards. They had left the parapet and begun walking back toward the open-air kitchen, which had been set up in the training yard. No discussion, no comment. They both just started walking the moment they caught the smell of smoky roasting meat wafting from that outdoor spit. Mealtime had a way of pulling people that way.
“Yeah, Meryl said he was living there alone, but I saw someone in the upstairs window.”
“I think I remember you saying something about that, but I didn’t see anyone.” Tesh’s stomach rumbled. He was starving. He went for hours working the rings, running the obstacle course, or sparring, and then he’d smell food and start salivating.
“There was definitely a pair of eyes up there. Drew away the moment I spotted them.”
“What? Are you thinking that was the raow?”
Raithe shrugged. “Why did Meryl say he lived alone?”
“Maybe it was a woman? Maybe a Fhrey woman?”
“I thought of that, but why would he hide such a thing? Why would he care what we thought? Didn’t Malcolm mention something about him lying? That’s bothered me ever since. Why would he lie?”
* * *
—
By the time Brin left Persephone, it was obvious the keenig didn’t believe her. Otherwise, Persephone would have done something. Instead, she insisted that Brin stay and eat, proving by her lack of urgency that Persephone thought she’d only had a bad dream.
As frustrating as it was to be ignored, Brin conceded that she needed to eat. During the meal, Persephone made a point of asking numerous questions on random, unimportant subjects, none of which had anything to do with raows, dangers, or sleepless nights. They talked about how Roan was killing herself at the forge while trying to create the perfect metal. How the dwarfs had become Roan’s devoted slaves. They also discussed a quilt Padera was making with squares that depicted scenes from the last year, including one showing their fight with Balgargarath. The story squares had been Brin’s idea, but she thought it too arrogant to say so.
And they also talked at length about The Book of Brin. Brin had thirty pages written that covered the origin of the gods, how Ferrol, Drome, and Mari had created the Fhrey, dwarfs, and men, and how the Evil One, called Uberlin, was born, and this somehow made the children of Erebus turn against their father and attack him. That whole area was murky. Some of the words were ambiguous enough to be confusing, and at times reading the Ancient One’s markings wasn’t easy. This history of the gods was the first officially completed portion of The Book of Brin—aside from the metal formula that she did especially for Roan—that she had set aside within an envelope of sheep’s skin and placed in a drawer for safekeeping. She explained to Persephone how she thought she would do the whole book that way, section by section, putting the completed parts away in separate places to avoid the disaster of her life’s work all being destroyed by some awful accident. At some point—after the whole work was completed—she would create copies and bind them all together into one great volume.
By the end of the meal, she had nearly forgotten about the raow, which she guessed was the whole reason Persephone had asked her to stay. If it had been just a dream, the meal and carefree conversation would have made her feel better. But it hadn’t. The raow was real, and the fact that the sun was casting long shadows by the time Brin left the Kype brought the worry back.
I won’t get home before dark.
She had just reached the steps down to the city when she heard him. “Hey! Brin!”
She spun to find Tesh leaping down the steps from the fortress, taking three and four at a time to reach her. She stopped and waited, clutching her satchel to her chest and gritting her teeth in a war with her lips in an effort to keep from smiling. He likes me!
“Let me walk you home, okay?” He was puffing from the run, his chest rising and falling. He raked back the hair from his eyes and wiped the sweat from his brow. The evening sun splashed across Tesh’s face, highlighting the wisps of beard coming in unevenly on his chin, cheeks, and upper lip.
By Mari, you’re beautiful.
“Afraid something might happen to me?”