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sigh.
    “I just wanted to ask you something, that’s
all.”
    Jared measured him for a moment and then went
to a small, polished stone table holding a crystal decanter and
several stubby glasses. Jared lifted the decanter and proffered it
to Kirin.
    “Care for a drink?”
    Kirin shook his head.
    Jared shrugged and poured himself a glass.
“Sit, please,” he said, jerking his head toward the long table.
“Just push that stuff out of your way.”
    Kirin obeyed. “Maps, maps, and more maps. How
many maps of this desolate and God-forsaken place does a man need,
Jared? I mean, really.” He picked one up, glanced at it, and then
tossed it aside.
    “As many as it takes to find what I’m looking
for,” Jared answered, taking the other seat and setting his glass
on the table.
    “And what are you looking for, exactly?”
    Jared measured him again. “That’s not why you
came here, is it?”
    “Well, no, not—”
    “Then why don’t you just get to the point?”
Jared swirled his drink and took a slow sip.
    Kirin thumbed the edge of one of Jared’s
books, then cleared his throat. “I was wondering about the
girl.”
    Jared’s eyes flickered up to rest on Kirin’s
face. “What girl?”
    “The girl you carried here out of the desert.
The one you visited before dinner. You know.” Kirin leaned forward,
as if this were some great secret between the two of them. “The
outworlder.”
    “She’s not a girl, Kirin.”
    “Oh, for God’s sake, Jared. We’re going to
play semantics now?” Kirin slouched back in his chair and crossed
his arms.
    “It’s not semantics, Kirin. There’s truth,
and then there’s not truth. Speak truth, or you can take yourself
and your questions out of here.”
    “Whatever,” Kirin muttered. Jared arched his
eyebrow, and Kirin hurriedly added, “So will we see her tomorrow?
Is she well enough to join us in the hall?”
    “She’s well enough, but whether she’ll join
us is still an open question.” Jared took another drink, feeling
the heat of the alcohol begin to settle in his stomach. “It would
please you, would it? If she came?”
    Kirin looked up quickly, his tawny curls
falling across his eyes. “Why do you ask like that? We all want to
see her.”
    “You don’t get out much, do you?”
    “What the hell is your problem, Jared?” Kirin
snapped. “You act like you’re so much better than the rest of us
all the time! So superior. Is it because you’re the only one who
goes trekking in the western desert? The only one who dares hunt
the hunters? Is that what makes you think you’ve got the right to
treat the rest of us like infants?”
    Jared shrugged and polished off his drink.
“What’s your point?”
    “What’s yours? You’re the one who’s skewering
me for having a little natural curiosity.”
    “My point is that she’s out of your reach,
Kirin. So just be careful.”
    “And why’s that, Jared? You have a claim on
her already?”
    “No.”
    “Then why?”
    Jared surveyed his empty glass, then met
Kirin’s gaze. “She isn’t like the women of this place. She’s
not…she’s not tame, Kirin.”
    Kirin grinned suddenly. “I know. That’s the
point.”
    Jared rocked his chair back on two legs. “You
know something? You’re an idiot. And here’s a bit of friendly
advice. If you think you want to play that game with her, I suggest
you start by trekking out to the western desert to hunt some
Dragon-Lord scouts yourself. Get some guts, Kirin. Or she’ll tear
you to pieces before you even know you’ve been hit.”
    “I think you’re just afraid she’ll like me,”
Kirin said, still grinning.
    Jared let his chair down with a bang.
“Believe me,” he said, “that was the last thing that would’ve
occurred to me.”
    Kirin laughed and stood up to leave.
“Whatever you say, Jared Desert-Stalker. Whatever you say.”
    The door closed behind him, and Jared heard
his laughter echoing all the way down the hall.
    “Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”