'That's because I'm not a god.'
'You're a demigod then. Certainly to me you are.'
He smiled. 'Well, just don't expect me to tear down the mountains or part the seas, and certainly not solve all the problems of the world.'
'Why not?'
'Because I can't. I mean, I could tear down the mountains, but I wouldn't want to, but I can't solve the problems of the world.'
'Because you won't kill?'
'Yes, if killing is the answer.'
'It seems to me that Mujar are very gentle people,' she said. 'To have so much power, and yet refuse to use it violently, even when you're tortured and thrown into the Pits, must be hard. My father told me that you'll never harm a person, and he hates your kind.'
'Your father's wrong. Mujar can do great harm, very easily. Too easily, in fact. The mere manifestation of our power can frighten Truemen, as it did you. But we try not to do harm.'
'How do you know so much about the silver bird and everything? Who told you?'
He looked puzzled. 'No one.'
'Then how do you know about it?'
He shrugged. 'I just do.'
'You mean you were born with it?'
'I suppose so.' He rose and added more wood to the fire, apparently losing interest in the conversation. Darkness surrounded them, and Talsy yawned behind her hand.
Chanter turned to her. 'Better let me fix that ankle.'
She had almost forgotten the painful joint, but as soon as he reminded her, it ached. She cocked her head and smiled. 'Do I deserve a Wish?'
'No, this is part of the clan bond. Within a clan, small favours are earned with comforts. There's no need for a Wish. As I recall, you asked for help and transportation as the clan bargain, and this is help. Protection was your Wish.'
'What's the difference?'
He sighed. 'Not a lot, except I can break clan bond at any time, but not until your Wish of protection has been fulfilled.'
'So if I never need your protection…'
He shot her a smile. 'That's unlikely, or I wouldn't have granted it.'
Chanter healed her ankle, and she wondered afresh at this strange man who would not lift a finger to save a person in trouble. Afterwards, she crawled into the tent, where he joined her for a while to share his warmth, propped up on one elbow as before, and she fell asleep snuggled close to him. She woke later alone, and waited for his return. Each time he was there when she fell asleep, and in the morning she woke to find him lying beside her. He did not stay long, and it seemed that her longing for greater intimacy was doomed, since he could only spend a short while lying on the ground.
Chapter Six
Two days later, they entered the lowlands' warmer climes. Broad belts of woodland dissected rolling meadows that herds of grazing beasts populated. An occasional herder's hut stood at the edge of a forest, smoke curling from its chimney, but for the most part the land was wild. Wagons and horsemen traversed the roads, so Chanter avoided them.
In the middle of the third day, a sprawling city came into sight ahead, on the banks of a mighty brown river. A chequerboard of cultivated fields surrounded it, divided by low stone walls and tended by brown-clad peasant farmers. Chanter stopped, and Talsy slid from his back, pulling off the bag. A surge of Earthpower transformed him back into a man, and he gazed at the city.
'I'm not going in there,' he said.
'We need a bridge to get to the other side,' she pointed out. 'And besides, I have to buy provisions. I can hunt for meat, but we need flour, salt, sugar and tea.'
He shook his head. 'I don't need a bridge, nor do I need to be beaten and spat on, then thrown into a Pit.'
'But I may need your protection.'
Chanter eyed her. 'Why would you need protection in a city?'
'There are thieves and… bad men. It isn't safe for a woman to travel alone in a city.'
He glanced at the sky, reminding her of his wild inclinations, and her father's words returned to haunt her.
'You could become the stallion. Who would know?'
'Everyone. The woman in the woods wasn't fooled, was she?'
'You can't change your eyes, can you?'
He shook his head.
'Surely they can't harm you? You can simply fly away if they try.'
'I might not see them coming.'
Talsy sighed and gazed at the greatest obstacle they had yet encountered. Her people, a dire threat. An idea came to her. 'What about if you came as a bird and watched over me from the sky? Then you'd be safe.'
He looked uneasy. 'Not from arrows.'
'Don't leave me,' she pleaded.
'If they catch me, they'll throw me in a Pit.'
'I won't let them. I'd rescue you somehow.'
The Mujar did not appear to hear her. 'The Pits are living death. We can't escape them, nor can we die.'
Tears stung her eyes. 'Even if I had to come down there after you, I wouldn't let you stay in a Pit.'
He looked startled. 'You'd do that?'
She nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.
Chanter said, 'I've granted you the Wish of protection, so I'll come as a bird.'
Talsy wanted to hug him. He had not intended to leave her, only voiced his doubts. He picked up the bag and set off towards the city, keeping his eyes down. When the people they encountered on the road gave him hard looks, he stopped and dumped the bag.
'I shouldn't go any closer. There was a time when Mujar could live in the cities, but not anymore.'
'Okay.'
'I'll see you on the other side. I'll be watching.'
Again she fought the urge to hug him. He took a few light steps and leapt into the air. The rush of wind raised a dust cloud, and the sound of beating wings filled air, then a raven winged away into the blue sky. Talsy watched until he was a dot against the heavens, picked up the bag and trudged towards the city.
Passing through the gates, she entered a bustling, dirty place charged with vile smells and raucous noise. After the sweet, clean freedom of the quiet forest, Talsy resented the pushing people who thronged the streets and the cries of hawkers who waved their wares at her and pushed their leering faces close. She shuddered away from the unsavoury goodies they offered, swept along by the rude crowd. Puddles of filth made the footing treacherous. Animal dung and urine mixed with slops thrown from the houses. Beggars clutched her sleeve and whined, well- dressed people pushed her aside.
Stopping at a marketplace set in a garbage dump of rotting unsold wares, she bought what she needed with a few of her meagre collection of coins. Her stomach rumbled as she hurried past inns whence the savoury smells of stew and roasting meat emanated, eager to be free of the city and reach the far side of the river. For a girl born and raised in the country, the town was a nightmare of overcrowding and squalor, a dirty maze of twisted streets lined with dilapidated houses, skinny children playing in the gutters.
Arriving at a broad bridge built from mighty timbers, she started across, then stepped back in confusion when
