'Why are they called the stone lands?'
Tuvi smiled.
By dawn, they were riding through the most desolate land imaginable, flat on all sides except where the northern hills rose off to their left, too far away for the heights to bring the relief of wind and in any case obscured by a haze rising off the desert. Already, as the sun pressed up over the horizon, it was hot. The red dust stung eyes and lips. The Qin soldiers wrapped cloth around their faces, leaving only their eyes visible, so Shai followed suit. He rode with the last group of riders, a dozen tailmen including the one called Chaji, who had been first to take up Mountain's offer. Ahead, Cornflower plodded stolidly along with the other slaves, hanging to the back, away from Mountain.
Nothing grew here. There were not even sand dunes; only these stony flats that went on and on. The sun rose higher and baked them. They kept on at a steady pace. Near midday, Chief Tuvi called a halt beside a bold outcropping of rock that thrust right up out of the earth and rose to a height of five or six men standing one atop the next.
The horses were watered. The men waited in line for their own ration of water, poured by Mai's hand. Captain Anji stood beside her but said nothing as the men came forward one by one. Mai's eye was sure and practiced; each bowlful looked exactly the same, no man favored with more or scanted with less. Shai had to wait his turn with the others. He came after the scouts but before the tail-men and the slaves. Mai offered him a sweet smile, like an apology for the scolding she'd given him days earlier, and he tried to speak, to thank her, but his throat was parched. He gulped down the sweet water with a sigh, but it barely cooled his throat.
'Move along,' said Anji. 'More behind you.'
The horses were given what little true shade skirted the northeastern side of the outcropping, while the soldiers made makeshift tents out of tunics and took relief from the sun in that way. Mountain made a clever lean-to under which Shai could shelter. He dozed on a blanket. He dreamed, but all he saw was hills rising and falling below him as light and shadow shifted over trees, open meadows, a winding river, and trees again, as if he flew above the land like a bird.
Hari's bold voice haunted his dream.
' I'm of no use to you. Release me. Let me die.'
' Only when you have tracked down the man wearing the cloak of sky, and brought him to me.'
He started awake to find Cornflower staring at him with such a peculiar expression that he shuddered. Those demon-blue eyes suddenly scared him. He sat up.
'You stay here. I'm going to check on Mai.'
Out of the shade of the lean-to, the sun's light struck. The land shimmered. It was so hot his lips cracked. Likely they'd be bleeding by tomorrow if they didn't get more water. He staggered into the shade cast by the outcropping. Mercifully, there was more shade now as the afternoon lengthened, but even so soldiers were offering water to the horses again. Precious water was not to be wasted on men, who without their mounts would certainly die and who could in any case drink blood from their horses when necessary.
Mai was asleep right up against the rock, curled on her side, head pillowed on a rolled-up blanket. Even in sleep she was lovely; a little thin and pale because of the rigors of the journey, but unwilted. Captain Anji sat against the rock beside her, not touching her but with a proprietary interest in her presence. His eyes were closed, and he breathed steadily and slowly as though asleep, but his eyes snapped open as Shai neared. He put two fingers to his lips: Silence.
Quietly he rose and gestured for Shai to follow. His faithful attendants, Sengel and Toughid, padded after them, staying at a discreet distance. They walked to the edge of the shade, a cruel line between shelter and death.
Anji indicated the camp. 'Is there a problem?'
'No. I was just wondering how Mai is holding up.'
'She is stronger than she looks. It's hard to see because her beauty blinds, like this sun.'
The sun did blind. The heat made a man light-headed. 'Do you love her?'
'You talk too much.' Anji wiped sweat off his brow with the back of a hand. 'If there is nothing else, I'm going to rest again. I recommend you do as well.' But as he turned away, he paused, squinting south into the dusty haze.
A scout stationed atop the rock whistled thrice. Men scrambled up, weapons drawn, bows ready. Many fell back to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, while others ran for the horses.
'Hold!' cried Anji.
Chief Tuvi echoed him. 'Hold! Hold!'
The wind moaning over the huge rock was the only sound. The horizon along the south glowered, all black.
'Sandstorm,' whispered Shai, washed with a rush of faintness. His legs buckled, but he caught his weight on the rock face beside him.
Tuvi was already giving orders as Anji strode away from the outcropping and, conferring with two scouts, tested the direction and strength of the wind. The soldiers shifted the herd around to the sun side of the rock, opposite the prevailing wind. The horses moved with restless vigor, stamping, neighing, mares nipping as geldings were forced in close. Tents were raised. Spears were thrust deep into the sand as supports for larger windbreaks of silk-as strong as steel, so it was said-and canvas. Some men clambered up into the outcropping itself to take refuge in holes and overhangs. The two wagons were tipped over and arranged in a square with cloth fastened over them, to protect the water and other supplies. Mai knelt, with Priya beside her, and crawled into the shelter of one of the wagons. Farther away, Mountain shepherded the slave bearers into the safety of a tent.
In the lee of the rock the wind wasn't as strong, so Shai circled, staying as close to the rock as he could, until he came to a low ridge, the tail of the outcrop, on which he could lean. He stared toward the south as the haze grew thicker and he began to breathe dust into his lungs. The old stories told of the zaril-dar, the black storm, that swallowed whole cities in a single night. As the wind rose in intensity he heard voices on the wind, calling to him.
'Shai! Shai!'
Ghosts always seemed to know his name.
'I don't know you,' he said into the wind, not fearing to speak out loud since no one was near enough to hear him. 'Why do you call for me? What do you want?'
'I am looking for my husband. Have you seen him?'
'I don't know your husband. I'm sorry.'
'Have you seen my sister? My lover? My child? Can you help me find the one who poisoned me… who abandoned me… who betrayed me.. so I can get my revenge?'
'I can't help you,' he said to each in turn. 'You're dead.'
Their voices laughed and wept. They knew they were dead, but they were so angry; they just couldn't rest.
The wind had loosened his covering veil. He tightened it, but sand leaked in nevertheless. The light dimmed, died. He could barely see the outlines of the camp behind him, horses and men hiding behind cloth and inside wagons, hunkered down in the hope that the storm would not bury them. He was the only man visible.
'How bad is the storm?' he called as the ghosts swirled past him on the wind. 'Will it kill us, too?'
Some were kind. 'The heart of the storm lies south of here, where the demons walk. It's moving east and south, not north.'
Most laughed cruelly, pale forms teasing him as they flashed past. 'Dead! Dead! Dead!' they cried, as if in mockery of Ti. 'It will crawl right over you and eat you all! Hai! Hai! Hai! Unless you have magic to shift it. To survive, you must offer a sacrifice to the demons!'
So many ghosts! Had they all died out in this wasteland, like that skeleton hung from the post to mark the boundary of the Wailing Lands? Did spirits congregate here because of some innate quality in the land? Or were they, like he, only passing through?
Who was lying and who telling the truth?
'Shai! Can you hear me?' The old familiar, beloved voice came from so close, just at his shoulder.
'Hari?' He clutched at rock, almost falling. 'Hari! I can't see you!'
'Help me, Shai.' It moved away into the storm.
