Fires of the Desert (Children of the Desert Book 4) (73 page)

Her breath rasped in her throat for a moment. “You bound yourself to a human? To her? And
then
found out—ah, gods.”

He squinted out at the sunset, lips tight together. Her breath caught and gagged and caught again; he waited, dourly expectant, and at last it clarified into the laughter he’d been expecting.

“Thanks for the sympathy,” he said when she began to wind down, which only set her off into more peals of mirth.

“Thank you,” she said at last, wiping at her eyes. “I don’t believe I’ve laughed so hard in five hundred years or more. Ah, child—De’sta’haiq—it’s a good thing I took that collar off, isn’t it? You’d have wiped out half the world by now otherwise. The weight of the small things we do never ceases to amaze me.” She chuckled again, shaking her head. “Do you want me to take the chains out?”

He said nothing, his vision suddenly hazed; blinked hard, and turned his head to find her watching him with a surprising sympathy.

“No,” she said softly, “I see how it is. Interesting. I always said it should be possible, in theory—well. Done is done, and it’s workable, with some thought. How long are the chains? You seem to be moving around fairly well.”

“So far,” he said, grateful that his voice remained steady. “I’m being cautious and traveling by foot whenever possible; that seems to cause no problems.”

“Well, so, that’ll slow us down,” she said, sober now. “And it’s a long way south to Scratha Fortress, so we’d best get moving.”

“I can’t travel through the Horn,” Deiq said, the words bitter in the back of his mouth.

“Neither can I,” she said. Something feral and mad flared in her gaze for a moment; he backed up a reflexive step. Her nostrils flared, and the savagery faded from her expression. “Never mind. The water will do.”

“Not a ship,” he said without thinking first, then shook his head as the memory of a thick, gritty taste spread across the back of his tongue. “Has to be a ship,” he corrected himself. “Damnit.”

She squinted at him. “Why?”

He looked out at the ocean, thinking over his answer; finally pulled a small bag from his pocket and held it up by the strings without looking at her.
“Tey-b’tibik,”
he said. “Binding powder. Full strength, original formula.”

The following silence hung thick with unsaid things. He could feel her gaze burning into him.

He tucked the bag of powder back into hiding and rubbed a hand over his face, waiting. It didn’t take much longer before she said, “You have gone insane, carrying that about on your person.”

“Probably.” He sighed. “Apparently the teyanain have been feeding it to me for some years. Looking back, I’d guess a hundred—two hundred at the outside.”

“I would guess longer than that,” she commented, voice desert-dry. “That explains rather a lot.”

“Yes.”

He slanted a sideways glance at her. She stood scowling out at the ocean they’d just been admiring. A moment later, he felt the faintest riffle as she pried through his most topical thoughts and memories; made no attempt to block her search.

She hissed and withdrew quickly. “You’re actually
taking—
Holy gods.” She shut her eyes and shook her head, obviously unable to say the rest aloud.
“Why?”

He drew a breath, let it out very slowly. “Because I married her.”

She said nothing for a while, her breathing even. He waited, not fooled by the apparent serenity of her expression. If she decided he’d gone over the line, her next move would be to kill him.

He didn’t even bother adding
try to
into that sentence. He wouldn’t have won against her at full strength; at the moment, he probably wouldn’t even see the fatal blow coming.

I’m told you’ll probably kill me. Go ahead and get it over with, then. I hate waiting.
He grinned at the memory of Alyea’s defiance, truly understanding it for the first time.

Teilo snorted, as though following that thought, and muttered, “Juvenile melodramatics. Apparently I should have let her die after all. Allowing room for human emotion is one thing, but this—She’s ruined you. Well, done is done, and tomorrow’s sun is due to rise no matter what happens today. Take a human ship, then. You’ll probably arrive too late to do any good, but that won’t surprise anyone, now, will it?”

Deiq set his teeth tight together, breathed hard through his nose, then said, “Godspeaker, you’ve made your own mistakes along the way.”

“Everyone does,” she said acerbically. “I’ve just stopped whipping myself over mine. I suggest you try it; you might actually accomplish something useful once in a while.”

The crimson ball of sunlight began to melt into the ocean. She moved forward another pace and bowed to the horizon; then, without further words, without a backwards glance, walked into the water.

He watched her go, his vision blurring. “Gods hold you gently,” he murmured as the last of her pale hair disappeared under the waves.

And may they smooth your sailing,
she said, with a black amusement to match his usual attitude.
Remember to hang over the leeward rail.

He laughed and turned towards Sandlaen Port. After a few steps, he broke into a loose gallop, splashing through the surf and grinning like a loon.

A number of the words in the southern language include the glottal-stop, which is rendered here as ^. A glottal stop involves closing, to some degree, the back of the throat, resulting in a near-coughing sound when released. Sometimes this sounds as though a hard “H” has been inserted.

Aenstone
(
ayn
-stone): An Aerthraim Family-created stone composite; they hold the process secret. In sufficient quantity, aenstone blocks psychic communications, inhibits the use of psychic abilities, and weakens ha’ra’hain.

Aerth
(
ay
-erth): Rough translation:
feathers, freedom, flight.
Exact meaning dependent on dialect and context.

Aerthraim lanterns
: Any lamp filled with the peculiar green oil produced only by Aerthraim Family; gives off an unusually white light and little to no smoke when burned.

Aesa
(
ay
-sah): A common plant whose leaves, when dried and used in a pipe, produce a mild euphoria. Illegal in the north; legal south of Bright Bay.

Ahnn
(
awwn
): There is no direct northern equivalent to this word; an expression of gratitude for one’s host’s honor, patience, generosity, and grace, with overtones of
Thank you for not killing us while we sheltered under your roof.

Alli
(
ahl
-lee):
1.
The number
two
(southern).
2.
A simple two-pipe instrument, usually wooden, occasionally metal, common to the southlands.

Ana-ha, va’bit
(
ahhnah
-hah, vah-
beet
): Rough translation:
Service/apology accepted.
A very old and out-of-use phrase: ha’ra’hain accepting apologies or submission from a human.

Aqeyva
(ack-
ee
-vah, alt. ahh-
keh
-vah): A combination of martial-arts training and meditation disciplines. The combat training is often referred to as a `dance’ as it involves smooth, flowing motions that have no apparent resemblance to any fighting mode.

Asp-jacau
(
asp
-jack-
how
): A slender canine with long, thin snout and legs. Its short-haired coat tends toward fawn or brindle coloring. Its excellent sense of smell is primarily used to detect dangerous snakes and (in some cases) drugs. In Bright Bay, only royalty or King’s Guard patrols may own an asp-jacau, but below the Horn the asp-jacau is a common companion animal.

Athain
(ath-
ain
): Lit. translation:
spirit-walker.
Teyanain specially trained to manipulate energy and psychic forces; extremely dangerous people, and very rare. Athain are considered holy by the teyanain. While they have elaborate outfits for ceremonial purposes, in “ordinary” clothes athain are distinguished by a unique manner of braiding their hair: beginning as one braid, then dividing further into three smaller braids, usually laced with tiny beads.

Ayn
(
ain
): Chabi piece representing water. Cylindrical in shape, the ayn moves like a crooked stream: two spaces in one direction, three in another. It is one of the most versatile pieces on the board.

Bene
(
beh
-ne):
1.
The number
three
(southern).
2
. A relatively simple three-pipe instrument common to the southlands. Like the
alli,
it is most commonly made of wood.

Cactus-flute
: A long, thin flute made from minor branches of the same hard-skinned cactus used for making shabacas. Produces a thin, piping sound; sometimes tied together in sets of three to produce a wider range of tones.

Calcen
(
khal
-czen): The title teyanain use for their leader; not permitted to outsiders. It is considered a gross offense for any non-teyanain to use that term.

Callen
(
call
-en): One sworn to the service of a southern god.

Ceiling tube
: A skylight in the form of a wide tube lined with mirrors; developed by Aerthraim Family. The secret of their manufacture is tightly controlled; they must be installed and repaired by Aerthraim craftsmen.

Chaal
(
chawl
): A southern servant’s term for people of high southern status; generally refers to desert lords.

Chabi
(
chah
-bee): A desert game whose underlying principles, moves and strategies reflect the principles of survival in a dry, hostile environment. In chabi, different types of pieces represent wind, water, goods, and money; different areas of the board represent compass directions, fortresses, fire, air, and water.

Chekk
(
check
): A community of ha’ra’hain openly living above ground. Extremely rare, as the genetic deterioration generally turns any such group into a human community within three generations—and the combative nature of many ha’ra’hain makes creating a balanced community a tricky process.

Chich
(
chihch
): A substance developed by the Aerthraim to assist with various drug addictions, notably dasta. Generally mixed into a tough, extremely spicy fruit or meat jerky carrier.

Chichi
(
chee
-chee): A small, hand-held clapper style of drum; generally a lightly hinged or tied striker and a metallic or wooden “head”.

Clee
: Three athain working together; extremely rare and extremely dangerous.

Coming or going
: Street-slang inquiry about a relationship; “is she coming or going” means, more or less, “is she your girlfriend or a temporary amusement?”

Comos
(
Cohm
-ohs): One of three gods honored in the southlands. Represents the neutrality/balance/questioning energies; also linked to the season of winter, the colors white and brown, and curiosity. Callen of Comos, if male, must be castrated; women must be past menopause to be allowed out in the world at large.

Dahass
(dah-
hahs
; alt., dah-
hass
): Nomadic tribes that roam the uncharted and unclaimed southlands and follow no ruler but their own leader. They are likely the source of many of the wilder tales of southern barbarism that circulate in the northlands, as they find spreading such rumors amusing.

Daimaina
(day-
may
-nah): Southern version of “housekeeper”; generally but not always shares the Head of Family’s bed. Holds considerable power in her own right, but in a sharply limited sphere. Male version is
daiman.

Dasta
(
dah
-stah): A drug originally developed by the ketarches, whose use has altered significantly over the years.

Dashaic
(dash-
ache
): So-called dasta tea is dasta powder turned into a thick, potent syrup. Dashaic travels better than the powder, as it runs less risk of being ruined by damp conditions, but is more difficult to produce and thus far more expensive.

Datda
(
Dat
-dah): One of three gods honored in the southlands, Datda represents the negative/death/change energies; also linked to the season of high summer, the colors red and black, and the emotion of anger. Commonly called “the Sun Lord”; saying the name aloud is held to be bad luck. Only Datda’s Callen may safely pronounce the holy name, but they tend to be reluctant to advertise their affiliation; everyone knows that most Callen of Datda have trained extensively as assassins and spies.

Dathedain
(
dath
-heh-
dane
): Followers of the god Datda.

Desert sage
: A tree-sized plant resembling ordinary garden sage, which has adapted for desert life; the leaves curl up during the day’s heat into thick, needle-shaped rolls, and spread out in damp weather or at night. After a long drought, even a slight breeze will stir the dead leaves into a shivery, rattling sound. The dry wood gives off a pleasant aroma when burned, but the leaves are not edible. Often holds large nests of blood-spiders and micru.

Desert truce
: An agreement to work together for mutual survival in a hostile environment; ends immediately upon reaching safety.

Devil-tree
: A tree largely found in southern wastelands, with deeply fissured bark, wildly twisted branches, and semi-soft needle-style leaves; cones are bright red and poisonous to humans, but attract a variety of wildlife. The wood does not burn easily and gives off a nasty smoke.

Druu
(
dreww
): Master drummer. Must understand and be able to use each of the numerous percussion instruments known in the south.

Eki
(
eh
-key): One of the Four Gods of the Northern Church pantheon; represents Wind. She is considered to be the most evil of the Northern gods, and her good nature is rarely appealed to, for her favors carry a heavy price. Her strength is that of the air and clouds. She is deceitful and often malicious. Thieves often call on her for protection.