"Then why keep me there?"
"Because if the Old Man should have reason to spy on you there," she said, "and I can't imagine why he would, he would simply see my latest acquisition to our blades. The Old Man is many things, Lewan, but he is the Old Man, and he has precious little interest in watching how you and Ulaan spend your nights. He has not called for a woman of his own since my mother died."
Lewan blushed. "Th-that is part of what I want to speak to you about, lady."
"Ulaan? What of her?"
"Lady, I believe Erael'len will continue to sleep while locked away in this stone fortress. Master Berun had a word for it he learned from his master. Shuret. It means… 'in civilization,' cut off from the wild, from growing things. Allow me to go outside, into the wild-even if only on the nearby mountainside. I believe Erael'len might give up its secrets more freely in the wild. And… and I-"
"Yes? What?"
"What I… have done with Ulaan."
"I've told you that is no concern. She is yours to do with as-"
"No!" said Lewan, more hear in his voice than he'd intended. Talieth's eyes narrowed dangerously and he softened his tone. "I mean that what I have done… I fear that I have become… impure in the eyes of the Oak Father. Perhaps this is why Erael'len does not speak to me. If I could return to the wild, if I could undergo a rite of purification-"
An exasperated sigh escaped Talieth. "You Oak Children and your obsession with purity. Does your god really deny you the pleasures of the flesh? Of women? I thought Silvanus was the god of wild and growing things. You do know where baby wolves and deer come from, don't you, Lewan?"
"To control one's desires is not to deny them," said Lewan, then he added a belated, "Lady. My body is… was sworn to the Oak Father and his daughters."
"If the girl is polluting your body and soul, I will have her removed," said Talieth. "Given that we need his favor, I would not want to offend your god."
Lewan thought he detected more than a little insincerity-or was it disdain? — in her tone, but she looked entirely serious. "No!" said Lewan. "But… but Ulaan concerns this also." "Indeed?" said Talieth. "How so?"
"If I help you, if I can figure out how to use Erael'len to stop your father, I want you to honor your offer. Give me enough supplies to survive and see me on my way."
"We have covered this ground already, Lewan."
"But I want something else."
"Ah," said Talieth, a knowing look on her face. "Do tell."
"Ulaan comes with me. If… if she wishes it."
Talieth cradled one arm in another and tapped her lips with one finger. "You are a puzzle, Lewan. First you plead help in purifying yourself, and with the next breath you ask for the little corrupting influence as a gift."
"Don't call her that."
"didn't, Lewan. You did. Dress her in leaves and put flowers in her hair all you like. Ulaan is still no dryad."
Lewan flinched. After a moment's thought, he said, "That's my concern, not yours."
Talieth turned and paced the room again, causing the candle flames to flicker in her wake. She stopped on the opposite side of the table from Lewan and placed her hands to either side of Erael'len. "I agree to your terms," she said. "You may leave the Fortress with the relic and go 'into the wild,' as you say, to try to discern its secrets and perform whatever rites suit you. If you succeed, I will shower you with gifts, and you and the girl can go wherever you like. All this you will have… with one condition."
Lewan tried to swallow, but his mouth had gone dry. Despite the innocent girl smile on Talieth's face, she had that predator's gaze in her eyes again. "What condition?" he said.
"You must not go into the wild alone. These are dangerous lands, Lewan, and I will need to send someone with wards I shall prepare that-I hope-will hide you from the Old Man."
"Someone?" said Lewan. "Who will go with me?" "Who better to guard you in the wild than the wildest of my blades?" said Talieth. "Sauk will go with you."
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sauk found them waiting just inside the main gate. Carvings decorated the arch beyond them. One side was all fair maidens with hair flowing down their backs, their arms reaching out to handsome men on the opposite side, their braids and beards carved in the style of the ancient Imaskari. The two sides' outstretched arms seemed both to reach out to the other and to bid welcome to those entering the gate.
Talieth wore that dress of hers that seemed half silk and half copper mesh. Sauk was warrior enough to know it was all for show; that pretty metal lace would never turn a blade. Talieth didn't need such things. The boy wore clothes suited for traveling.
Taaki padded along just behind Sauk. After several ministrations from the Fortress’s healers and a long rest, her mood and energy were back to normal, though the cavity where her eye had once been was now no more than a puckered scar of pinched flesh and fur.
As Sauk and Taaki emerged from the late morning shadow cast by the statue of a four-headed hound, Talieth saw him. She spoke something to Lewan and approached Sauk, stopping him well away from the boy.
"You have it?" she said.
With one finger Sauk pulled at the fine silver round his neck, and the medallion emerged from the loose sackcloth shirt he wore. The medallion was only slightly larger than a coin, plain and unadorned save for the image of a broken ram's horn carved into the middle.
"Keep it on you at all times," she said. "And don't let the boy out of your sight."
"On the mountainside, I can see a long ways."
Talieth frowned at Sauk. "You're taking him to the woods. When you're out there, if you can't see him, you've gone too far. Understood?"
Sauk nodded and dropped the medallion into his shirt. "Anything else?"
Talieth glanced over her shoulder to make sure Lewan wasn't listening. He didn't seem to be. He had one hand protectively over a leather pouch at his belt, the other held a walking staff, and he was staring at the tiger, who was staring right back. The boy didn't look happy to see Taaki.
"One thing," whispered Talieth. "You recall our conversation on the mountainside?"
Sauk gave her a flat look. "Yes."
"Be on your guard out there, Sauk," she said. "Just because you're this close to home doesn't mean you're safe. He mi-" Her breath caught in her throat. She swallowed and finished. "He might still be alive. If he comes back, if he finds the boy out there…"
"Talieth." Sauk towered over her. The top of Talieth's carefully braided hair did not even reach to his chest. Looking down into her eyes, he saw more than a little of the young woman-no, she'd barely been more than a girl then-who had fallen in love with Kheil so many years ago.
"What?"
"I saw the earth swallow him. He's dead, Talieth."
Talieth's eyes went cold, and for a moment Sauk considered reaching for the long knife he had sheathed behind his back.
"You've said so before," she said, her voice still low. "He's proved you wrong once. Do not let your guard down, Sauk. Not for any reason. You or your damned tiger."
"You know me," said Sauk. "I never let my guard down."
Talieth watched him for a moment, perhaps searching his face for any hint of impudence or sarcasm. Apparently satisfied, she nodded at the long, thin bundle Sauk carried over one shoulder. "What is that?"
"Something between me and the boy."
Talieth's eyebrows rose.
"Nothing like that," he said. "He's safe from me." When Sauk said no more, Talieth shrugged and told him, "Let me know what happens out there." "I will."
"The moment you return."
Sauk grunted and walked past her. "Neye, Taaki!" he called. He passed Lewan without sparing him so much as a glance and walked into the yawning tunnel through the canyon wall that marked the gateway out of the fortress. "Come along, boy," he said. "Some of the things in the shadows are just statues. But some aren't. So stay close."