On the far side, the city's population packed the streets, forcing her to push her way through. She kept her head down, but the fear of being recognised drove her to buy a hooded cloak from a street vendor. Thus disguised, she pushed on. The main thoroughfare went straight through the city, a wide dirty road at the end of which the far gates were visible over the heads of the masses. She was almost halfway there when someone shouted, 'Hey! It's the Mujar whore!'
People recoiled from her, leaving her in a pocket of emptiness. Shouted insults flew thick and fast.
'Look at her, running like a whipped dog!'
'Scum lover!'
'Where's your Mujar now, bitch?'
'What's it like to lie with an animal?'
'Run, filthy slut!'
Talsy kept her pace to a fast walk, refusing to give them the satisfaction of chasing her. Rotten fruit, vegetables, eggs and stones flew at her. Most missed, but a few scored hits, and the stones stung. The crowd followed, keeping up a flow of vitriol that soon lost its originality. A rotten tomato hit her on the cheek, and the mob grew bolder. The city gates beckoned, two grinning soldiers waiting at them.
A particularly large rock, hurled with some accuracy at her head, exploded in mid-air. Talsy looked around, startled by the bang and the rain of hot sand that hit her. The crowd hesitated, many looking up. High above, a big bird hung like a cross in the sky. For a minute the missiles and the shouts stopped, then the Mujar's intervention seemed to enrage the mob beyond control, and with a roar it charged her. Talsy broke into a run for a few steps, but hundreds of angry, stick-waving people blocked her way. She stopped, a frisson of fear running through her.
A circle of blue fire exploded into being around her with a great thump. The crowd's forerunners, pushed by those behind, stumbled into it and recoiled with screams of pain. The throng surged back, roaring its hatred like a giant, many-headed beast. Talsy walked on, the circle of fire staying with her in a hissing wall that scorched the earth and left it blackened. People scrambled out of her way, clearing a path to the gates. Missiles still flew, but most did not make it through the fire's heat. Another large and well-aimed rock exploded beside her. Several archers with longbows shot at the big bird high above, but their arrows burst into flames before they reached the Mujar.
The soldiers at the gates pulled them open when she reached them, for they, like her, clearly had no doubt that the fire would burn a path through them if necessary. A final barrage of insults followed her out of the city, then the gates slammed shut behind her, cutting off the virulence of the city's inhabitants. The ring of fire winked out, and Talsy breathed a deep sigh of fresh, chill air as she hastened away, glad to be back in the open. She made herself a silent promise never to reveal her Mujar companion in a city again. Yet, for good or ill, he had saved those people, fanning their resentment to new heights.
Two miles up the road, an eagle glided down to land on the road before her. A rush of wind and the sound of beating wings accompanied his change, and Chanter stood before her. Her misery overwhelmed her, and she dropped her bag to run into his arms. Chanter held her, patting her back in his awkward manner.
'Hush, it's over now.'
Talsy sobbed into his chest. 'I hate them! They're loathsome! The Hashon Jahar should have wiped them out!'
'Don't think such terrible things,' he remonstrated. 'They're just -'
Talsy jerked away. 'If you tell me they're just ignorant or confused, I'll kick you!' She wiped her eyes. 'They're filled with hate! They're cruel, nasty bastards, the lot of them. Now I know why you won't help them. They don't deserve it.'
He patted her shoulder. 'Come, let's find a stream for you to wash in.'
'I killed Jashon,' she blurted.
'I know.'
'You're not angry?'
'Why should I be?' He picked up the bag. 'You're free to do as you wish. The choice was yours, although it was an accident.'
Talsy fell into step beside him. 'I wanted to hurt him for what he did to you.'
'There was no need. Revenge has no purpose.'
'It would have made me feel better, but he fell.'
'So now you feel worse.'
Talsy nodded. Chanter walked on, and in a way she was glad of his indifference. They left the city's cultivated lands and entered the woods beyond, where they camped beside a stream. Chanter persuaded her to bathe in the icy water, joining her to wash away the last traces of dried blood. That night, after dining on bread and cheese, Chanter lay with her to warm her before leaving her for the night's wildness.
Chapter Nine
Talsy stared at the giant plant with deep misgivings. Something told her that it was dangerous, and she longed to move away. Chanter gazed across the acres of massive leaves spread flat on the ground like lily pads, a profusion of thin black roots supporting them. Looping stems joined them, carrying their goodness back to the plant's centre, where a tall stamen rose in the distance. The deep gold leaves were edged in black and veined with electric blue, the stems blood red.
Four days ago, they had left the cool forest behind and set out across a seemingly endless plain. Massive herds of strange beasts cropped the short green grass that covered it. Chanter, in the form of the black stallion, had covered the ground at a steady gallop, apparently as tireless as the Hashon Jahar's steeds. A distant, hazy blue mountain range lay ahead, but Chanter had stopped when they had come across the giant plant. Talsy sensed that some mysterious means had drawn him to it, and his silence over the last few nights had worried her. She feared that she had offended him somehow.
Chanter turned to her, his level brows drawn together. 'Wait here.' He paused. 'No, wait over there.' He gestured beyond her, and she backed away, unsure of his strange behaviour. He nodded when she had retreated ten paces. 'Don't come closer.'
Turning away, he stepped onto the nearest leaf, which writhed, its edges curling up, pulling out its roots. She thought he would be engulfed, but then it settled back. The Mujar hesitated, then stepped onto the next leaf. It remained flat, and he walked on, taking long strides across the gaps. Talsy watched him, anxious and afraid. She longed to call him back, but knew, deep in her heart, that he would not heed her. This was a Mujar secret, and not for her ken. She was sure the plant was dangerous; she could almost sense the waves of hostility from it, as if it was a sentient being.
Settling on the ground, she hoped he would not be too long, and, most of all, that he would return. His slender figure dwindled in the distance, dwarfed by the massive stamen that rose into the sky beyond him like a giant, curling tower.
Chanter walked towards the stamen, careful to step on the leaves. He sensed that to slip between them would be dangerous, even for him. A strange, inexplicable urge tugged at his core, drawing him to the centre of the plant. The Powers seemed distant, unreachable, as if the plant had greater control over them than he did. He had sensed it far out in the plains, and the closer he had got, the stronger it had become. Now the pull was too potent to resist, and it had been a strain to pause long enough to warn Talsy to stay away. Strangely, as he walked closer, his emotions drained out of him. The deep rage in his bones, which flared when he was abused, ebbed. Even the friendship and gentle affection he had for the girl leaked away, leaving him empty, without a will or purpose.
Chanter became aware that he no longer walked across leaves, but up a long, broad path of glittering gold, seamed with fire-blue and edged with black. On either side, other broad golden petals narrowed. He crossed a flower so vast that he could not see it in its entirety. The stamen towered above him, tall enough to touch the clouds. He knew he had travelled a long way, but could not recall the journey. His legs carried him forward, and that was where he wished to go.
Stepping off the petal, he walked over a deep red carpet that yielded under his feet. Before him, the stamen's
