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spoke more to the older partner. “Her spine is
broken.”
    Merideth sat back, shoulders slumped, stunned.
    “But she’s alive!” Alex cried. “If she’s alive, how—”
    “Is there any chance you’re wrong?” Merideth asked. “Can you do anything?”
    “I wish I could. Merideth, Alex, she’s lucky to be alive. There’s no chance
the nerves aren’t cut. The bone isn’t just broken, it’s crushed and twisted. I
wish I could say something else, that maybe the bones would heal, maybe the
nerves were whole, but I’d be lying to you.”
    “She’s crippled.”
    “Yes,” Snake said.
    “No!” Alex grabbed her arm. “Not Jesse—I won’t—”
    “Hush, Alex,” Merideth whispered.
    “I’m sorry,” Snake said. “I could have hidden this from you, but not for very
long.”
    Merideth brushed a lock of brick-red hair from Jesse’s forehead. “No, it’s
better to know all this at once … to learn to live with
it.”
    “Jesse won’t thank us for this kind of life.”
    “Be quiet, Alex! Would you rather the fall had killed her?”
    “No!” Looking down at the tent floor, he said softly, “But she might. And you
know it.”
    Merideth stared at Jesse, saying nothing at first. “You’re right.” Snake
could see Merideth’s left hand, clenched in a fist, shaking. “Alex, would you
see to my mare? We used her badly.”
    Alex hesitated, not, Snake thought, from reluctance to do as Merideth asked.
“All right, Merry.” He left them alone. Snake waited. They heard Alex’s boots in
the sand, then the horse’s slow steps.
    Jesse moved in her sleep, sighing. Merideth winced at the sound, sucked in a
long breath, tried and failed to hold back the sudden deep sobs. Tears glistened
in the lamplight, moving like strung diamonds. Snake slid closer and took
Merideth’s hand, offering comfort until the clenched fist relaxed.
    “I didn’t want Alex to see … ”
    “I know,” Snake said. And so did Alex, she thought. These people guard each
other well. “Merideth, can Jesse bear to hear this? I hate to keep secrets,
but—”
    “She’s strong,” Merideth said. “Whatever we hid, she’d know.”
    “All right. I’ve got to wake her. She shouldn’t sleep more than a few hours
at a time with that head wound. And she has to be turned over every two hours or
her skin will ulcerate.”
    “I’ll wake her.” Merideth leaned over Jesse and kissed her lips, held her
hand, whispered her name. She took a long time to awaken, muttering and pushing
Merideth’s hands away.
    “Can’t we let her sleep any longer?”
    “It’s safer to wake her for a while.”
    Jesse moaned, cursed softly, and opened her eyes. For a moment she stared up
at the tent, then turned her head and saw Merideth.
    “Merry … I’m glad you’re back.” Her eyes were very
dark brown, almost black, strange with her red hair and high complexion. “Poor
Alex—”
    “I know.”
    Jesse saw Snake. “Healer?”
    “Yes.”
    Jesse gazed at her calmly, and her voice was steady. “Is my back broken?”
    Merideth started. Snake hesitated, but she could not evade the directness of
the question even for a short time. Reluctantly, she nodded.
    Jesse relaxed all at once, letting her head fall back, staring upward.
    Merideth bent down, embracing her. “Jesse, Jesse, love, it’s … ”
But there were no more words, and Merideth leaned silently against Jesse’s
shoulder, holding her close.
    Jesse looked at Snake. “I’m paralyzed. I won’t heal.”
    “I’m sorry,” Snake said. “No, I can’t see any chance.”
    Jesse’s expression did not change; if she had hoped for reassurance, she did
not reveal disappointment. “I knew it was bad when we fell,” she said. “I heard
bone break.” She raised Merideth gently. “The colt?”
    “He was dead when we found you. He broke his neck.”
    Jesse’s voice mingled relief, regret, fear. “It was quick,” she said. “For
him.”
    The pungent odor of urine