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If I ever saw him again. Gedda would be forbidden to speak of his home, forbidden to utter our names, and we would be so long mute on his lips that our memories would turn to dust in his mind. Such are the methods of the Minh.
    This I told myself as I turned west, as Deva led my feet to Lysia."
    With the dark part over, Scarlet could breathe again.
    Often, Linhona illustrated her tale with the many things that had happened to her on the western road, such as wolves and foul dreams of her baby crying out from the well, all rotted and green, but thankfully she left those out this time. Scaja passed his pipe over to him and he took a long puff of the sweet-smelling herb, holding it on his tongue to get the taste before blowing it out in a smooth line. Annaya was awake still, her eyes narrowed to slits and her body curled against Linhona's side.
    "I came to Lysia," Linhona repeated, smiling at Scarlet, the darkness fading from her voice and her eyes glistening in the light. "At first, I did not believe a people could be so calm and happy. They knew of the Minh slaver ships, but seemed to know nothing of their bands of raiders. I learned later that the Minh warriors never journey this far in their land raids. It is the Nerit, you see. The Minh fear the mountain just as the 35
    Scarlet and the White Wolf--Book One
    by Kirby Crow
    Shining Ones feared it. I should have known about the raiders, for certainly there was no shadow on these people as there was on me. They seemed happy and well fed and unafraid of what tomorrow would bring. All the usual tragedies were here: misfortune, cold marriages, stillbirths, disease and old age. But there are no Minh with blood on their spears, and no children in the well. I should have been thanking Deva for her mercy, realizing that she tempers all things, but instead all I could do was resent these good people for their peace. There was no sense in my feelings, but it was the way I felt, and I told myself that I would not be able to live here."
    Annaya stirred. "And then you met Scaja," she chimed in.
    Linhona laughed and switched back to Bizye. "And then, I took a job at Rufa's taberna clearing tables and serving bitterbeer. One night, just about this time of year, a man walked in. He had shoulders like my father and was plainly of pure Hilurin blood. He had a boy with him, a little thing no bigger than my thumb!"
    Annaya giggled and Scarlet rolled his eyes. "I wasn't that small."
    "Oh, but you were, and loud, and demanding, kicking the table for attention. Your poor father was beside himself."
    "So instead of bringing him ale..." Annaya coaxed. They all knew the story by heart, line for line. It never offended Linhona, and she seemed pleased.
    "Instead of serving him, I went over to his table and picked up the struggling, fussy, thumb-sized boy, and gave him a big kiss."
    36
    Scarlet and the White Wolf--Book One
    by Kirby Crow
    "And he quieted right down," Scaja put in softly. Scarlet had given him back the pipe and he clenched it between his teeth and looked on Linhona with gentle eyes. It warmed Scarlet to see it, their love, and he thought to himself of how seeing two people you love also love and care for each other is a kind of rare peace. The world makes sense, then.
    "And I quieted right down," Scarlet added, joining the story at last. "And you helped Scaja carry me home that night."
    "And you never left again," Annaya yawned, more asleep than awake.
    "True as rain," Linhona said, ending the tale in the Byzan way.
    Scarlet thought about that later as he went to his bed, sleepy with food and with the sureness of being safe and surrounded by familiar things. It was good to be loved in the world. He had never known a life without love, and hoped never to learn that lesson, having seen the folks who could not tell love from lichen, how their eyes were hard as bits of flint and their hearts like stones. He remembered all the times on the road when he had felt frightened, how many times he had