To submit.» Kelandris regarded her brother uneasily. This was a side to Yonneth she had never seen. And she wasn't sure she liked it. Kel swallowed. «You sound like you want to be raped. Is that what you think the Divine does?» Yonneth shrugged, his hand touching Kel's knee. «Might be fun for starters—» Kelandris got to her feet instantly, every Greatkin sensibility in her outraged. «What's the matter with you, Yonneth? Where's your heart—?» Yonneth started laughing. Wagging a finger at Kel, he said, «See? What did I tell you? No deviance.» He shrugged at his sister. «So you don't like rape. How about incest? Besides,» he said standing up and patting the bulge in his trousers, «I'm not your blood brother. So there's no harm.» Kelandris backed up, picking up her travelling pack. She couldn't believe Yonneth was acting like this. «You goddamn stay away from me! You hear?» The Jinnjirri continued to taunt her. «Who knows, Kel—maybe Trickster will pick me for your lover at the Hallows. I mean—Rimble-Rimble, right? And there wouldn't be a thing you could do about it, either. Unless you plan on breaking some of your precious Suxonli laws.» «Shut up, Yonneth!» Kel yelled at him. As she spoke, she thrust her hand deep in the front pocket of her travelling pack. Her fingers closed on the knife hilt she found there. One more step, she thought. Tears brimmed in her eyes. One more step— Yonneth laughed at Kel's discomfort. Apparently losing interest, he went to fetch a blanket from the cupboard. Kelandris watched him with hooded eyes, her hand still gripping the hidden knife. But Yonneth never made another sexual reference that night. Or at any other time. In fact, Yonneth had brought up the subject and dropped it so quickly that Kelandris had since wondered if maybe she had imagined the whole thing. Perhaps misinterpreted Yonneth's motivation? After all, brothers were brothers, and even Garr and Tommo had teased her on more than one occasion until she had cried. Kelandris played idly with the strings of her Revel Queen mask, continuing to listen to the drumming in the distance. Her shoulders sagged briefly. With all her heart, she wished Yonneth had not said those things about Trickster maybe choosing him to be her consort for the night. The thought made her feel physically ill. Kelandris fingered the small throwing knife she had tucked in the bra of her harlequin costume. She hoped it wouldn't come to this. She fervently hoped not. She stopped pacing, trying to calm herself. Telling herself that her present mood was neither inviting nor loving, Kelandris forced herself to think pleasant thoughts about Trickster. She failed miserably. Kelandris swore at herself and then at Yonneth. Kicking at a stone—and stubbing her toe—Kelandris knelt on the ground and began to cry. Wishing that she were anywhere other than where she was, Kel begged Rimble not to send Yonneth to her tonight. Wiping her eyes jerkily, she whispered, «Let me be the Revel Queen. If you send me someone horrible, I'll never trust you again, Rimble. Never.» Kelandris blinked back more tears. Suddenly realizing just how damaging Yonneth's idle comments had really been, Kelandris panicked. What if Trickster took offense at her distrust of him? What if Greatkin Rimble was testing the heart of his Revel Queen. Kel put her hand over her mouth, utterly ashamed. She bowed her head. Taking several deep breaths, Kelandris raised her hands slowly in honest supplication to the Presence, the One who directed Rimble. Lifting her tear-streaked face, she shut her eyes and whispered a prayer she had written only that afternoon. It was at this moment that Zendrak stepped silently into the clearing. Unaware of his presence, Kel opened her hands like petals of a flower, her voice low and intimate. She sounded as though she were speaking to her oldest and dearest friend: No major miracles please, Unless you want to tease me. Walk with me, Walk in me. Let my body be your road, your carriage. Let my womb be yours, Filled with the wonder of your unknown. Hold my heart close to your own Let it beat in time to your divine noise, So that your sound may. Like a tuning fork—hummm And send me deeper into your embrace. Breathe me. Let me be lost in you, So that I may truly be found. And let me praise you like a moon-eyed calf, Drunk on night silver and gambolling joy. Silly. Let me be silly in your presence, So that you might laugh And in so doing, teach me your best jokes. And when I die, Kiss me passionately, So that I might wake in death And see your radiant face. Kelandris opened her eyes, feeling queerly comforted. She got slowly to her feet. Hearing the rustle of clothing behind her, she turned around. A tall man in green stood in front of her. He gazed at her in silence, his expression thoughtful. Heart pounding, Kel took in every detail of his arresting face. Blue-black hair that brushed back like raven wings, high cheekbones, and olive skin. Full lips. A nose that was hooked— like a great bird's beak. The man's dark eyes reflected her face in the torchlight. Like the black glass of a scrying mirror, she decided. Kel figeted under the man's steady regard. She felt pierced. As if her thoughts were no longer private. Kelandris licked her lips nervously. «Who are you?» she whispered. «I am Trickster's Emissary.» A chill skittered up Kel's spine. And she didn't know why. Still hearing the drumming in the distance, she asked, «Uh—did the Coins of Coincidence—» Zendrak chuckled. Walking toward Kel slowly, he said, «No, dear heart. I'm not part of your village ritual. I'm part of something else. Something a bit larger. But just the same, Rimble sends you his greetings.» «He does?» she asked, taking a step backward. Zendrak stopped where he was, opening his arms to her, his eyes kind. Then his strong physical scent swept toward her on the autumn breeze. Mythrrim to Mythrrim, she was undone. Zendrak's personal body odor intoxicated Kel's senses like a heady high. Her pulse raced. Gasping, the Revel Queen touched her chest unconsciously, aware of a pulling sensation in her heart. Pulling or sliding or aching—she wasn't sure which. Still holding his hands open to her, Zendrak gestured gently for Kel to come to him. Kelandris shook her head. «You don't understand. There's this ritual going on tonight. And I'm supposed to make love with—I mean—I—» Kel clapped her hand over her mouth in embarrass-ment. The man in front of her was a total stranger. And Kel doubted very much that it was wise to discuss such matters with someone from the outside—particularly someone who hadn't even come for the Hallows. Kelandris blushed furiously. «Excuse me,» she said as calmly as she could manage. «You'll have to go now. I'm—uh—waiting for someone.» Zendrak inclined his head toward the chanting of the villagers at the end of the Long Revel Trail. «Oh, they'll be at it for at least an hour yet.» He smiled. «Rimble says so.» «Rimble says—» Kel broke off in mid-sentence. «Who are you?» The man in green removed his long travelling cloak. He smiled at her, «My name is Zendrak.» Laying the cloak on the ground, he jdded, «I stand in for Rimble sometimes.» More interested in what the man was doing than in what he was saying, Kel's eyes widened. Was he making a bed? «Didn't you hear me?» she asked anxiously. «You have to go now. I'm waiting for—» «Me,» said Zendrak quietly. There was a short silence while Kel deliberated the truth of this. Zendrak raised an eyebrow. «Perhaps you prefer someone else?» Remembering Yonneth, Kel swallowed. «Well—uh—no. You' re—just fine.» Zendrak smiled. Lifting Kel's chin gently with his hand, he kissed her lightly, his warm tongue playing over her half-open lips. Kelandris thought she was going to die on the spot. From bliss. The last of her reservations about the rightness or wrongness of loving Zendrak folded. Zendrak's breath brushed her face. Kelandris groaned softly. Zendrak's personal animal scent—sweet, musky, and inviting—teased her senses. Delightfully drunk now, Kel could hardly see straight. Zendrak kissed her again, this time more thoroughly. Kel tried to match his five hundred years of passion, but her inexperience made her slightly clumsy. His eyes twinkling with amusement, Zendrak convinced Kel to come up for air. Then he taught her how to kiss him. Happily for all concerned, Kelandris proved to a quick study. Touching Kel's breasts for the first time, Zendrak stiffened abruptly. Kelandris had a razor-sharp knife hidden in her bra. Eyeing Kel ruefully, Zendrak pulled the knife free and dropped it on the ground. Zendrak chuckled. Then he said, «Trickster told me you'd be fierce. He wasn't kidding. Tell me,» he asked, «do you often make love in full armor?» Rolling her eyes, Kelandris picked up the knife and threw it expertly into a sapling. «There,» she muttered. «You've disarmed me.» «And you're vexed,» said Zendrak, his voice sober. «You've misunderstood. I enjoy a woman who fights her own battles. And shows her spirit openly.» He stroked Kel's cheek with gentle fingers. «Spirited women are the very best kind. And they're also the hardest to come by.» Kelandris wrinkled her nose in disagreement. «Oh—Tammirring makes my kind everyday. It's in the draw.» Zendrak laughed good-naturedly. «Believe me, Kelandris of Suxonli, the world has never seen one such as you before.» Taking in the whole of her hermaphroditic costume, Zendrak bent to loosen the leather dildo from her striped belt. Holding the erect penis sheath by its engorged stem, Zendrak winked at Kelandris. «I don't think you'll be needing this for a bit. I've a very generous nature.» Patting the lower portion of his green robe, Zendrak added, «And I'm happy to share.» Kelandris started to smile then hesitated. The color drained out of her face as her seventeen-year-old virginity got the best of her. «How generous?» she asked hoarsely, all of Yonneth's taunts coming to mind. Tales of pain and blood. Kel started to tremble. «My brother—» She broke off, tears in her eyes. Zendrak studied the fear in her face. He dropped the leather ritual dildo to the ground and pulled Kelandris to him, enfolding her pounding heart in his arms. He kissed her lovingly then said, «Brothers can be cruel sometimes, Kel. You must refuse such violence.» «I do,» she said adamantly, glancing at her knife stuck in the sapling. Zendrak followed her gaze. «Weapons are ineffective against psychic violence, Kel. Only spirit can overcome this kind of attack. Spirit, courage, and refusal.» Kelandris listened closely to Zendrak's words. They made her feel strong inside. Strong, relieved, and hopeful. She smiled tentatively at the man in green. «Okay,» she said. Kel shrugged shyly, her face scarlet. «Let's—uh—share.» Zendrak chuckled. «Okay.» The boyishness and innocent glee of Zendrak's ready smile undid Kelandris utterly. Abandoning her fear of Zendrak's male differentness from herself, she allowed Zendrak to remove her costumed codpiece. Kel's eyes widened as she felt Zendrak's fingers explore the confines of her costume—and release her from it. Then, giving Kelandris a reassuring smile, the man in green kissed the tuft of dark hair between her legs. To him, she was a Mythrrim and she was «in season,» which meant desirable. Kelandris felt a twinge in her abdomen. Zendrak raised his eyes to meet hers. «The blood comes now.» «The blood?» asked Kelandris, unsure of what he meant. Then, feeling the wash of something wet issuing from her vagina, she yelped. Her menses had arrived for the first time. Kelandris regarded the blood dripping slowly down the inside of her thigh with horror. «It can't come now!» she cried. «The Blood Day Rule! I'm the Queen! The village expects me to dance!» Kel red her mouth, her eyes desperate. «They'll be so angry if I dance.» Tears brimmed in her eyes. «And so angry if I do.» «Rimble-Rimble,» said Zendrak, his tone matter-of-fact. Kelandris regarded him wildly. «What should I do?» Zendrak kissed her belly. «Make love.» «Yes, but—» «And then decide,» he added calmly. «Hmm?» Kelandris shut her eyes, feeling anguished by her internal conflict. Zendrak got to his feet. Mythrrim to Mythrrim, Kel's first blood sounded a passion in both their bodies that neither could restrain. Kelandris groaned, buckling. Zendrak lowered her to his cloak. Slowly, inexorably, he convinced Kel's body of the rightness of their mating. This was animal-talk. Kelandris opened her legs, inviting the spreading reach of Zendrak's fingers inside her. He stretched her and aroused her. Then, Zendrak entered her. Greatkin to Greatkin, their bodies fit together like a living socket and plug, the current of raw sexual potency streaming from one to the other and back again. Surprised, Kelandris immediately clamped down on her energy. But it was like trying to hold back an enormous waterfall. Power surged and threatened to overwhelm her if she didn't let go. Zendrak pressed his hand against the area between Kel's ovaries. «Just breathe,» he told her quietly. Kelandris tried to do so but ended up panting instead. Zendrak cupped one of his hands around the back of Kel's skull and slipped the other into the curve of the lower portion of her spine. The effect was immediately calming. It felt to Kel as if he were absorbing unclaimed current directly into his hands, thereby steadying the wild fluctuations of psychic energy in her body. «Follow me,» he said calmly and began to slowly rock his penis back and forth inside her vagina. In no time, the power began to build again. This time, Zendrak took control of it, allowing Kel only as much as she could safely accommodate. Kelandris groaned, arching her back. The pressure building inside her body made her feel dizzy and almost nauseous. Losing the rhythm between them, she squirmed under Zendrak. «I can't do this. I can't— «Yes, you can, Kel,» replied Zendrak, kissing her firmly, thrusting his tongue deep inside her mouth. Kelandris hesitated then met his passion with her own. Lights danced before her shut eyes. She felt her body finally relax into Zendrak's full embrace. Now something shifted between them. Something controlled, something electric, and something wildly fertile. Zendrak pulled back from Kel for a moment. He studied the dazed expression in her face then said, «You're doing fine.» Kelandris frowned helplessly. «But what am I doing?» «Becoming the he. Becoming a divine potential. The line to your womb is open now—thanks to your blood. Through you, Suxonli Village will come face-to-face with the Presence. And all will be changed.» Kelandris hadn't the faintest idea what he was talking about. She shuddered, surrendering briefly to the steady pulsing of power streaming out of her hands, legs, and crown. She blinked. Heart pounding, she stared hard at Zendrak. «What—what?» «Let it happen, Kel. Become both.» Kelandris shook her head dazedly. She felt terribly strange—as if her body were literally changing shape. Or sex, she thought. Like a Jinnjirri. She felt for her breasts. They were still there. Utterly confused, she couldn't get rid of the sensation that she might be female and male simultaneously. Zendrak kissed her forehead. «Don't fight it, Kel. It's what you were born to do.» Then Zendrak whispered Trickster's rhyme: Will you turn the inside inside-out, And be sanely mad with me? Will you master the smallest steps of my turnabout, And come to my ecstasy? Kel's world suddenly doubled, and she saw Zendrak's face from both a male and female perspective. It was as if all the concepts of gender she had ever held paradoxically collapsed and expanded inside her mind at the exact same moment. She was no longer male or female. She was a peculiar intermarriage of both. And yet her physical body remained female. Had she always been like this? Kel put the question to Zendrak. Trickster's Emissary nodded. «The visible rests on the invisible. Always.» He stroked Kel's cheek. «In this way, my maleness rests on my femaleness. In a manner of speaking, you could say I am Trickster's she.» Zendrak smiled, massaging Kel's abdomen deeply. «However,» he whispered, «I'll never embody it the way that you do, for I cannot menstruate. I don't turn the inside inside-out.» Kelandris swallowed. She had never seen a woman's blood-cycle in quite this way before. Then an idea occurred to her. «But the Jinnjirri can— Zendrak shook his head. «The Revel Queen is Tammirring for a reason, Kelandris. The landdraw of this region makes your people's minds elastic. A Jinnjirri turning into a he would mentally burn up. The power of the he can only be grounded by the internal draw of a native Tammirring.» Kelandris played with the dark hair on Zendrak's chest. «Oh.» Zendrak kissed her nose. «You could dance for Trick