decayed and rotted into ribbons and streamers, dirty and shabby as old
cobwebs, And yet the stars and rosettes of shining gold Now, still
hanging in the that decorated these curtains were mesh like fish in a
fisherman's net. Through this ethereal web of silken wisps and golden
stars they could make out the shape of another gateway beyond.
actual tomb,' Royan
'That must be the entrance to the thin veil between us and the
whispered. 'There is only a king now.
tated at the threshold, gripped by a strange They hesi the final step
reluctance, to take an old warrior, Mek Nimmur had seen and treated most
of the injuries that a man might sus in on the battlefield. His little
guerrilla group did not have a doctor, or even a medical orderly.
Mek himself treated most of his casualties, and he always had a medical
kit close at hand.
He had the men carry Tessay to one of the huts near the quarry, where,
screened by the grass walls, he stripped her of her tattered clothing
and treated her injuries. He abrasions with disinfectant, and cleaned
her burns and clean field dressings- Then covered the worst of them with
he rolled her gently on to her stomach and snapped the which glass phial
off the needle'of the disposable syringe wh was preloaded with a
broad'spectrum antibiotic. -and he said, 'I She winced at the sting of
the needle, am not a very good doctor.'
other. Oh, Mek! I thought I would would have no ared never see you
again. I did not fear death as much as I fe that.'
He helped her dress in the spare clothing from his pack, a sweatshirt
and fatigues that were many sizes too large for her. He rolled up the
cuffs for her, and his touch soldier.
was gentle. His hands were those of a lover, not a she whispered through
her must look so ugly,' swollen, black-scabbed lips.
'You are beautiful he denied it- 'To me you will always be beautiful.'
He touched her cheek carefully, so as not to harm the raw burns that
covered it.
At that moment they heard the gunfire. It was still faint with distance,
borne down from the north on the rain winds.
Mek stood up immediately. 'It has begun. Nogo is attacking at last it's
all my fault. I told him-'
'No,' he told her firmly. 'It is not your fault. You did what you had to
do. If you had not, they would have hurt you even worse than this. They
would have attacked us, even if you had told them nothing.'
He picked up his webbing belt and strapped it around his waist. From far
off they heard the crumping detonation of exploding mortar shells.
'I have to go now,' he told her.
'I know. Do not worry about me.'
'I will always worry about you. These men will carry you down to the
monastery. That is the assembly point.
Wait for me there. I cannot hope to hold Nogo for long.
He is too strong. I will come to you soon.'
'I love you,' she whispered. 'I will wait for you for ever.'
'You are my woman,' he told her in his deep, soft voice, and then he
