be marked and returned at Crow's Gate by one of Sapanasu's clerks.
'Neh.' The man waved away the coin, indicating Tohon. 'The Qin are honest. If you say the horses will get turned in to my agent at Crow's Gate, it'll be done. I'll tell you, things are changing for the better. Two years ago I'd have had to send a gang of armed men with my stock to Old Fort or Candra Crossing. Now I'm hiring stock up the pass and all the way to Storos-on-the-Water. I sent my own daughter and two hirelings to Old Fort with a wagon and pair on delivery for men hauling oil of naya out of the Barrens. Plenty of guards and checkpoints on the road against
mischief. I call that new militia commander good for business, even if he is an outlander.'
Joss thanked him. Tohon offered a calm nod, as if he was used to hearing his captain praised for making the roads safe.
'Didn't think you'd know how to ride, being a reeve,' Tohon said after they'd paced awhile.
T served my apprenticeship to Ilu the Herald, riding messages along the North Shore Road. I'm out of practice, though.'
Tohon grinned. 'What say we race? To that pole.' He pointed to a distant vertical line that Joss had to squint to recognize as a pole.
With a challenge like that, it had to be done. Joss lost horribly, but he didn't disgrace himself by falling off. The two men chatted easily about inconsequential things as they made good time the rest of the way to the militia encampment beyond the outer city.
The local militiamen standing guard at the outer gates waved them through. The captain's pennant rippled in a midday breeze. The black cloth was worked with a silver-white stitchery outlining the head of a wolf: a black wolf running in a black night.
Tohon handed the horses over to a groom and instructed him to rub them down, water them, and return them to Crow's Gate. A pair of Qin soldiers greeted the scout as the two men crossed the central drill ground, empty at this hour.
Chief Tuvi stood on a porch that ran all the way around the raised platform, built of planks and covered by a canvas roof, that served as the captain's office. Mai's younger slave sat on the steps staring vacantly at the sky. The chief was chatting with the older slave, who held a baby swaddled in a length of best-quality linen. As Joss and Tohon stepped onto the porch to be greeted by Tuvi, the baby opened its eyes and to Joss's shock fixed a black stare on him as if it recognized him.
'Here is your uncle,' said Priya to the infant, although it was obviously too young to understand. 'Do you want to hold Atani, Commander?'
News of his new rank had reached here before him. How did Anji get his information? But when he took the baby, the tiny creature was so comfortable in his arm that he forgot all else. What were those faint blue gleams shot through its irises? It had a wise gaze, as newborns did, a remnant of the memories it had left behind the Spirit Gate in its passage into this world. He smiled,
hoping to evoke a similar expression, but the dark eyes just sucked him in until, disconcerted, he glanced up.
He stood with his back to the others, who were talking. Priya's voice was smooth in contrast to the rumble of the two soldiers. The inner and outer walls of the captain's office were cloth that could be tied up into any configuration depending on the time of day, the rays of the sun, and the direction of the wind. Though weighted at the hems, the walls fluttered, caught in a stray gust, and for an instant he saw through a series of parting gaps into the innermost chamber where two people stood closely entwined.
Aui!
Certain kisses are not meant to be seen by others. Flushing, he jerked his gaze down to the baby, who had closed his eyes and, apparently, fallen asleep. The child's face was so peaceful that at length Joss's flush faded. He was content to hold the little one as kinfolk were meant to do, providing arms for shelter. Would Anji really have slaughtered a helpless infant? Surely not.
'Commander!' The captain pushed through cloth to emerge onto the porch, looking trim and composed. 'Here you are, elevated in rank.'
'Yes. I'm an uncle now.'
Anji glanced back as the cloth walls parted again. Mai stepped into view while patting her thick black hair, all bound up on her head. Her color was high and her beauty as powerful as sunlight.
Seeing Joss, she smiled as a flower blooms. 'Marshal! Ah! I must call you by another title. Commander! Will you have to grow a beard now?' She halted beside him, whatever perfume she wore as heady as the scent of the Hieros's garden. 'It suits you, that traveling look, as if you've not had time to pause and tidy yourself.'
'Here I've been so careful all these years to keep myself neat.' It was cursed impossible not to admire her in her carefully wrapped silk taloos, best quality, the color a somber green that handsomely set off her black hair and dark eyes and dusky, flawless complexion. She had filled out with nursing. He vividly recalled that he'd been present in the cave when she had given birth. The hells! He'd glimpsed her when she was naked.
A becoming flush crept up her cheeks, and she shifted to less volatile ground. 'You're very comfortable with Atani.'
'He's a lovely boy.' He caught Anji watching him. Aui! That narrowed gaze made him cursed uncomfortable.
The captain pointedly looked at Tuvi and raised his chin. Tuvi nodded and clattered away down the porch.
'He sleeps a lot,' said Mai, her expression sweetly tender as she examined the precious face. She seemed content to watch Joss hold the baby, and he had to admit it was a pleasant sensation, child and woman both.
'You've brought Tohon, as I hoped,' said Anji. 'Will you join me to hear his report?'
The words dragged him back to earth. 'Of course.'
'Mai, Tuvi's gone to bring horses. You and Atani and Priya and Sheyshi can go immediately to the compound. I'll come later.'
Tohon pulled on an ear, twisting the tip between thumb and forefinger. Priya retrieved the sleeping infant from Joss.
'Will we see you soon, Commander?' Mai asked as she paused beside Sheyshi on the steps.
'I'll be returning to Toskala as soon as I can.'
'Even reeves must eat.'
'As my eagle'does today, while I am trapped on earth.'
She looked at Anji. 'Bring Joss with you. It would be a fitting gesture to feast our return to a favored house. Guests bring honor to a feast.'
'And the day is Wakened Ox,' Joss said with a laugh. 'An auspicious day for two born in the Year of the Ox to meet again, neh?'
Her smile was glorious. She glanced skyward. 'It's a little late, but there will still be decent pickings at the market.'
'A generous offer,' said Anji in an odd tone.
She glanced at him, looking surprised, and then at Joss. 'I hope we will see you later today.'
Priya touched her arm and they went down, followed by Sheyshi.
Joss had to force himself to address the captain rather than Mai's lovely backside. 'Don't you worry about the red hounds striking again? Mai returning to Olossi? Going out in the market again?'
'Of course I do.' Anji watched her intently as she reached Tuvi, bound the baby tightly in a sling against her back, and mounted, clearly comfortable in the saddle. 'But I have put substantial measures in place on the roads and at the gates into Olossi, and additional patrols. There's also now a separate camp outside the walls to house foreign caravan guards and merchants, who for the
time being aren't allowed to enter the city. If we control the traffic, then we have some control over what elements move in and out of our lands. The alternative is to let fear shackle us. If you're afraid, don't do it. If you do it, don't be afraid.' He drew aside cloth, indicating they should enter. Tohon? Joss?'
Joss felt the ghost of the baby's weight on his arm. He shut his eyes, but the vision of Mai's passionate embrace of her husband burned there, an intrusion he was very very glad no one had noticed him seeing. Like the child, the moment did not belong to him.
'Out on the Lend I saw the most magnificent horses,' Tohon was saying. 'Perfect for breeding stock, if we can
