'He's alive,' I remarked.
She didn't answer. She just arranged her own bedding—closer to him than to me—and settled down.
'We'll spend the night, all right? Make sure he's alive in the morning. Then we'll go.'
There was no reply. Swearing under my breath, I rolled over onto one hip and pulled the corner of a blanket over my face. With one hand draped across the hilt of my sword, I went to sleep. If she was so concerned about the kid, Del could keep watch for any stray sword-dancers looking to get some of Umir's reward money.
I woke up to morning when I heard the sound of a body moving nearby. My hand locked around the sword hilt, lifted the blade even as I sat upright—and discovered Nayyib staggering off from our little camp with the frenzied focus of a man in dire need of relief. Since it was very likely his head, bladder, and belly were ready to burst, I hoped he found it in time.
Dropping the sword back onto my bedroll, I arched backward to stretch my spine and shoulders. Del, coming out of the cocoon of blankets between me and the kid's bedding, squinted at the early sunlight. Not far from our camp a danjac brayed and was answered by another, which began a whole chain of earshattering morning greetings from one end of the oasis to the other. No one could have slept through that.
Del finger-combed hair off her face as I crawled out of bed and stood. Across the oasis other bodies were doing the same, murmuring to one another as the day began.
I bent and picked up the sword. 'I think the kid's got the right idea—' I yawned. '—though I don't believe I'm in quite the same distress. Be back in a bit.'
Nodding, Del gathered up horse buckets and headed for the spring. Everyone carried water to their animals first thing in the morning, since to take livestock to the spring would form a milling mass of thirsty, impatient animals all insisting they deserved to drink first. Much safer to do it this way.
When I got back to the camp, I found Nayyib standing near his bedroll, staring at mine and Del's as if he had no idea who they belonged to. He heard me coming and turned sharply. Momentary alarm faded.
'Oh,' he said.
'Yes, oh. It's us. Or did you forget what happened yesterday afternoon?'
'I think I have forgotten all of yesterday, not just the afternoon.' He scooped up a bota, unstoppered it and took a long pull. The last mouthful he turned and spat out. 'Yeilkth,' he remarked—or something like it. He backhanded excess moisture from his jaw and looked at me. 'What happened?'
'We rescued you.'
'Oh.' He nodded vaguely. 'Good.'
Near-black hair stood up in clumps all over his head. Stubble darkened the hollows beneath his cheeks, enhancing the steep, oblique angles of the bones above them. He had the look of a slightly disreputable but appealing young man coupled with boyish innocence down to perfection. But the honey-brown eyes, I saw with a stab of satisfaction, were bloodshot, and his color was slightly off.
'Bright day,' I commented cheerfully.
Nayyib squinted.
'Feels like it'll be a warm one.' I set down the sword, then gathered up my bedding and began to shake it out.
Nayyib very carefully sat down on his own and squirted more water into his mouth, then soaked his hair and let droplets run down his face.
I spread my blankets, began rolling them up. 'You probably won't feel much like riding today, huh?' He scrunched up his face thoughtfully as he slicked hair back into the merest shadow of obedience.
'Probably better if you stayed here, waited another day.' I tied thongs around my bedroll. 'No reason to get in a rush. Del and I'll make our goodbyes and head on out.'
That got his attention. 'Head out?'
'We've got business to attend to.' I set the bedroll by my saddle, checked the condition of the saddle blankets. Dry. 'Del and I.' Just to make it clear who the 'we' meant. 'I imagine you've got things to do, too.'
'Not really.'
Figures. 'Well, I imagine something will come up.'
Del was back with the buckets. Nayyib immediately stood up, took a somewhat wobbly sideways step to regain his balance, then gallantly offered to assist her.
She took one look at his face and smiled. 'No, but thank you. Tiger can help me. Why don't you sit back down—or lie down—and rest?'
Recognizing an order disguised as casual comment, I took one of the buckets from her. 'He's a little worse for the wear this morning,' I remarked cheerfully as she and I hiked over to the horses. 'But he'll get over it by tomorrow, and then he can be on his way.'
Del set the bucket down in front of her gelding. 'Why don't we have him come with us?'
Startled, I nearly tripped over my bucket as I put it down in front of the stud. 'What for?'
'He said he wanted to take lessons from you.'
'Yes, but I never said I wanted to give them.'
'But that's what you're going to do. Give lessons. Remember?' She patted the gelding's neck. 'The plan is for you to resurrect Alimat and take on students. At least, that's what you told me. Has that changed?'
'No.' Though I wasn't certain when it might come to be, since we were a bit busy trying to keep me alive.
'Then you've got your first student in Neesha.' She grabbed the bucket, shoving the gelding's nose away, and lugged it over to Nayyib's horse.
'That sounds like a very tidy arrangement—from your point of view—but maybe I'm not ready to start lessons yet.'
'Why not? Aren't we heading to what's left of Alimat? Couldn't he help us rebuild it?'
I glanced over my shoulder at Nayyib and saw him lying on his bedroll with an arm draped over his eyes once again. I lowered my voice. 'What is it with you, Del? Why do you care so much about someone who's practically a stranger?'
Her face was set, though her tone was pitched as quiet as mine. 'I told you, he helped me when I was ill. I would have died without his help.'
'Does this mean we have to adopt him?'
She cut her eyes in Nayyib's direction, then stepped close to me. Since Del is six feet tall, you tend to notice when she gets that close. 'Why don't you just say what's on your mind, Tiger? That you'd rather he didn't ride with us because you don't want a good-looking man my own age spending time with me.'
I ground it out between my teeth. 'That's not it.'
'Then what is it?'
'I like it the way things are. You and me. Just you and me. It has nothing to do with the fact he's a good- looking kid with eyes that can likely get any woman to spread her legs for him with the first puppy-dog glance and who just happens to be your own age.'
A wry male tone intruded. 'Really?'
Del and I both turned as one. Nayyib stood three strides away, legs spread, arms folded against his chest. 'I wasn't asleep—or unconscious—and I'm not deaf. I don't particularly care to eavesdrop, either, but when one hears his name mentioned, one tends to pay attention.' His brows arched up as he met my gaze. 'Do you think I really can get any woman to spread her legs for me?' He touched a finger to skin below one eye. 'With these?'
I said, 'Not the way they look today.'
His rueful grin was swift, exposing white teeth; at least he could laugh at himself.
'Maybe by tonight,' Del said thoughtfully.
Outraged, I glared at her.
'Really?' Nayyib repeated, sounding more than a little hopeful.
'Really,' Del confirmed.
'This is ridiculous,' I announced. 'We're standing here talking about how this kid can get women to sleep with him when there are any number of people who want to kill me?'
Del seized the opening. 'Which is another good reason for him to come along.'
'Why, bascha? He's not a sword-dancer. I don't think he'd be much of a challenge.' I glanced at Nayyib.
