facilitate introductions. Jardir met the Holy Man, bowed, and forgot his name instantly, turning to the woman.
“Mistress Leesha Paper,” Rojer introduced, “Herb Gatherer of Deliverer’s Hollow.” Leesha spread her skirts and dipped low, and Jardir found himself unable to take his eyes from her displayed cleavage until she rose. She looked him boldly in the eyes, and he was shocked to find hers were blue like the sky.
On impulse, Jardir took her hand and kissed it. He knew it was bold, especially among strangers, but Everam favored the bold, it was said. Leesha gasped at the move, and her pale cheeks reddened slightly. If it was possible, she became even more beautiful in that moment.
“Thank you for your assistance,” Leesha said, nodding her head at the hundreds of alagai corpses in the clearing.
“All men are as brothers in the night,” Jardir said, bowing. “We stand united.”
Leesha nodded. “And during the day?”
“It seems the Northern women do more than just fight,” Ashan murmured in Krasian.
Jardir smiled. “I believe all people should stand united in the day, as well.”
Leesha’s eyes narrowed. “United under you?”
Jardir felt Ashan and the greenland men tense. It was as if no one else on the scene mattered. Only they two would determine if the black demon ichor on the field of battle would soon be covered with red human blood.
But Jardir had no fear of that, feeling as if this meeting was destined long ago. He spread his hands helplessly. “If it is Everam’s will, perhaps someday.” He bowed again.
The corner of Leesha’s mouth quirked in a smile. “You’re honest, at least. Perhaps it’s best, then, that the night is young. Will you and your councilors share tea with us?”
“We would be honored,” Jardir said. “May my warriors pitch horses and tents in this clearing while they wait?”
“At the far end,” Leesha said. “We have work yet to do on this side.”
Jardir looked at her curiously, and then noted the greenlanders who had come out after the battle was complete. These were smaller, weaker men than the axe-wielding warriors, and they began gathering glittering objects off the battlefield.
“What are they about?” he asked, more to hear her voice again than because he actually cared what the Northern khaffit were doing.
Leesha looked to the side, then bent to retrieve a stoppered glass bottle, which she handed to Jardir. It was an elegant blow of glass, beautiful in its simplicity.
“Smash it with the butt of your spear,” she said.
Jardir’s brow furrowed at that, not understanding the significance of destroying something so beautiful. Perhaps it was some sort of friendship ritual. He pulled free the Spear of Kaji and complied with her request, but the butt of the spear ricocheted off the bottle with a clang, leaving the glass intact.
“Everam’s beard,” Jardir murmured. He tried repeatedly to smash the bottle, but failed every time. “Incredible.”
“Painted glass,” Leesha said, picking the bottle back up and giving it to him.
“A princely gift,” Ashan noted in Krasian. “They are respectful, at least.” Jardir nodded.
“Our peoples could learn much from each other, if we kept peace by day as well as night,” Leesha said.
“I agree,” Jardir said, staring into her eyes. “Let us discuss that, among other things, at our tea.”
“Did you see his crown?” Leesha asked.
Rojer nodded. “And his metal spear. He’s the one Marick and the Painted Man were talking about.”
“Obviously,” Leesha said. “I meant the crown itself. The Painted Man has the same wards on his own forehead.”
“Really?” Rojer asked in surprise.
Leesha nodded, dropping her voice for only him to hear. “I don’t think Arlen told us everything he knows about that man.”
“Can’t believe you invited him to tea,” Wonda said.
“Should I have spat in his eye instead?” Leesha asked.
Wonda nodded. “Or had me shoot him. He’s killed half the men in Rizon, and had his men force themselves on every flowered woman in the duchy!”
Wonda stopped short, then turned to Leesha suddenly, leaning in close. “You’re going to drug him, aren’t you?” she asked, her eyes glittering. “Take him and his men prisoner?”
“I’m going to do no such thing,” Leesha said. “Everything we know about that man is hearsay. All we know for sure is that he and his men helped us fight off two hundred wood demons. He’s our guest until his actions show he should be treated otherwise.”
“Not to mention that kidnapping their Deliverer is the surest way under the sun to bring the Krasian army straight down on the Hollow,” Rojer added.
“There’s that, as well,” Leesha agreed. “Ask Smitt to clear his taproom, and summon the town council. Let everyone see and judge this supposed demon of the desert for themselves.”
“He’s not what I expected, at all,” Tender Jona said.
“Polite, like,” Gared agreed. “All falsefaced, like the servants in the duke’s palace.”
“It’s called manners, Gared,” Leesha said. “You and the other men could use a few lessons in them yourselves.”
“He has a point,” Rojer said. “I expected a monster, not some royal smiling through his oiled beard.”
“I know what you mean,” Leesha said. “I certainly didn’t expect him to be so handsome.”
Jona, Rojer, and Gared all stopped short. Leesha walked several more steps before she noticed they were not keeping pace. She looked back to find the men staring at her. Even Wonda had a surprised look on her face.
“What?” she asked.
“We ’re just going to pretend you didn’t say that,” Rojer said after a moment. He resumed walking, the others following his lead. Leesha shook her head and followed.
“These greenlanders are worse than we thought,” Ashan said as they walked back to join the other men. “I cannot believe they take orders from a woman!”
“But what a woman!” Jardir exclaimed. “Powerful and exotic and beautiful as the dawn.”
“She dresses like a harlot,” Ashan said. “You should have killed her simply for daring to meet your eyes.”
Jardir hissed and waved the thought away. “It is death to kill a dama’ting.”
“Your pardon, Shar’Dama Ka, but she is not a dama’ting,” Ashan said. “She is a heathen. All these greenlanders are infidel, praying to a false god.”
Jardir shook his head. “They follow Everam whether they know it or not. There are only two Divine Laws in the Evejah: Worship one god, and dance alagai’sharak. Beyond that, every tribe is entitled to their own customs. Perhaps these greenlanders are not so different from us. Perhaps their customs are simply foreign to us.”
Ashan opened his mouth to protest, but a look from Jardir made it clear the discussion was over. Ashan’s mouth snapped shut, and he bowed. “Of course, if the Shar’Dama Ka says it, it must be so.”
“Go and tell the dal’Sharum to make camp,” Jardir ordered. “You, Hasik, Shanjat, and Abban will join me for their tea.”
“We ’re bringing the khaffit?” Ashan scowled. “He is not worthy to take tea with men.”
“He is more fluent in their tongue than you are, my friend,” Jardir said, “and Hasik and Shanjat barely have a handful of greenland words between them. This is the very reason I chose to bring him. He will prove invaluable at this meeting.”
It seemed the whole town had gathered around Smitt’s Tavern by the time the Krasians arrived. Leesha let only the town council and their spouses attend, but coupled with Smitt’s small army of children and grandchildren who were setting and serving, they outnumbered the Krasians greatly.
The crowd rumbled ominously as Jardir walked to the tavern. “Go back to the sand!” someone shouted, and many voices grunted in agreement.
If the Krasians were bothered at all, they gave no sign. They strutted through the crowd with their heads held high, unafraid. Only one, a rotund man clad in bright colors and limping on a cane, looked at the Hollowers warily as he passed. Leesha stood by the door, ready to rush out if the crowd turned ugly.
“You’re right, he is handsome,” Elona said at her ear.
Leesha turned to her in surprise. “Who told you I said that?” Elona only smiled.
