“Fennik, keep your bows accessible.” He urged his horse forward. Liyana followed, her horse stomping on the bushes. Branches crackled under Gray Luck’s hooves.
By afternoon they reached the border hills. Miniscule, white flowers coated the slopes, and lichen painted the rocks in orange, green, and white. Liyana spotted rodents scurrying between the rocks. As they rode uphill, she thought about setting snares for them, and she wondered if there was larger game in the hills, perhaps gazelles or wild goat.
Korbyn crested the hill. Immediately he yanked his horse’s head around and trotted down the slope. “Down,” he ordered, and they followed him.
At the base, Fennik said, “Tell us. What did you see?”
Korbyn swore, borrowing some of Raan’s favorite words as he dismounted. His horse plunged his snout into the nearest bush and began stripping the leaves off it. On foot Korbyn trotted back to the hill without answering Fennik.
“Go on,” Pia said. “I’ll stay with the horses.” She patted hers on the neck. Leaving her, Liyana, Raan, and Fennik crept up the slope behind Korbyn. All of them poked their heads over the ridge.
Beyond was a broad plain of golden grasses.
It was filled with tents.
Hundreds of dark green tents lined the plain like crops. Around them, horses grazed—not sleek desert horses but large, muscled horses. Men and women in white uniforms paced between the tents.
Liyana tried to count the number of tents and gave up after the fifth row of twenty. The encampment was larger than a clan. In fact, it was larger than five clans.
“You didn’t expect this,” Fennik said to Korbyn.
Raan snorted. “He’s been making it all up as he goes along.”
Liyana flinched as Korbyn shot her a look. Not meeting his eyes, she studied the encampment again. Deep within the rows, a banner emblazoned with a crescent sun waved over a large, golden tent. At this distance, the white-clad soldiers who circled the gold tent looked like moon moths around a candle flame.
“You can quit glaring at her. She didn’t give up your precious ‘secret,’ ” Raan said. “It’s been obvious that you’re winging it.”
Fennik drew back from the edge. “Can we have this argument down the hill?”
Silently they retreated down the hill and rejoined Pia and the horses. Liyana still felt exposed. She watched the top of the hill and wondered if there were patrols that watched the border. If so, how often did they pass there?
“Please, tell me,” Pia said.
“It’s an army,” Fennik said. “Korbyn either deliberately neglected to tell us, or—”
“Does it matter?” Liyana interrupted. “I’d say we have a lot more important issues than what Korbyn knew or didn’t know, and did or didn’t tell us.”
Pia clutched her horse’s reins as if she were on the verge of fainting. “Army?” she squeaked.
“Crescent Empire,” Korbyn said.
“See, he knows something!” Fennik said.
“Don’t be too impressed,” Raan said dryly. “They had flags, you know. Also, that
“But . . . Why? What do they want?” Pia’s voice trembled.
“Looks like they want the desert,” Raan said. “It would hardly make sense for them to invade themselves. But I can’t imagine why. We don’t have anything they need.”
Liyana shook her head. “ ‘Why’ doesn’t matter, at least to us. Our job is to rescue our gods. Once they walk the world, they can handle the army.”
“We don’t even know if they have our gods,” Fennik said. He looked pointedly at Korbyn. Korbyn’s gaze was fixed on the ridge. Liyana wasn’t convinced he was even listening to them.
“Our gods were summoned east, and there’s an army east,” Liyana said. “I have trouble believing that’s a coincidence.” Somewhere in that encampment, Bayla waited for Korbyn.
“Fine,” Fennik said. “But we don’t know where they’re being held. Or how. Our gods could be trapped in anything. Or anyone.”
Pia gasped. “Oyri, in another?”
Gaze still fixed on the border, Korbyn spoke. “Once, there was a god who mistakenly entered his vessel’s companion. This was in the time before vessels were marked with tattoos. The results were disastrous—inside the wrong body, the deity couldn’t work magic. And so, the god drank poison, killing the body and freeing his soul to return to the Dreaming, where at least he would not have to watch the suffering his mistake had caused. One hundred years later, he returned to a decimated clan and built it back to a sustainable size. But he was never the same after that. Every time he returned to the Dreaming, he hid in a cave of his own making so the souls of the clan he failed would not find him. And ever after, vessels have been marked with tattoos so his mistake will not be repeated by another.”
Raan’s hands were clenched into fists. “That is a hideous story.”
“If it’s true, it means you can summon your goddess without tattoos,” Liyana pointed out. “All you have to do is dance while a magician chants.”
Raan turned away from her.
“First, though, we need to free the deities so they can be summoned,” Fennik said.
“Will we . . . will we have to kill anyone to free my goddess?” Pia’s voice quivered.
Still watching Raan, Liyana shook her head and answered for Korbyn. “No. If they were in a person, they’d have killed themselves already.” Raan blanched at that, but Liyana continued. “Whatever trap they’re in, it has to be something they
“Then how do we—” Pia began.
“I thought it was obvious that I’m winging it.” Korbyn smiled, and the smile lit up his entire face.
“Ooh, big powerful deity has a plan,” Raan said.
“As a matter of fact, yes, I do.” Korbyn swept his hand to indicate the horses. “Fennik and I are horse traders. We have come to view their horses and show them ours in the hopes of establishing trade between the Horse Clan and the Crescent Empire. Once within the encampment, Fennik distracts them with fancy talk about horse fetlocks while I determine the location of the captive deities.”
All of them were silent. Liyana stroked Gray Luck’s neck.
“That’s the entire plan?” Pia asked.
“Simple plans are the best,” Korbyn said.
“Think of another plan,” Liyana ordered. “You could be caught.”
“I’ll be tricky.” Korbyn wiggled his fingers at them. “Trickster god, remember?”
“And what are we supposed to do while you are being ‘tricky’?” Raan asked. “Twiddle our thumbs and hope for the best?”
For once, Liyana was in complete agreement with Raan. He couldn’t expect her to sit idly by and wait for him to be captured, or worse. She put her hand on his arm. “If they’re kidnapping gods, you can’t just wander in!”
“I won’t wander; I’ll ride,” Korbyn said. “You three need to find a grove of trees. Stay hidden. Stay safe. Liyana is skilled enough to take care of your food and water needs. Once I know the situation, Fennik or I will return for you.” He patted her hand.
Abruptly she realized she was clinging to him. Releasing him, she backed away. She felt as if she heard roaring in her ears. “A million things could go wrong. Please, Korbyn.”
“Have a little faith.” He grinned at his word play.
“Your body is mortal with mortal limitations,” Pia said.
Liyana reached out again. Her fingertips brushed his cheek. “Korbyn, you think you need to save the entire desert by yourself. You keep forgetting you’re not alone.”
His grin faded. “My problem is that I can’t forget that.”
Liyana’s breath caught in her throat as he held her gaze.
“She must be rescued,” Korbyn said gently.
