"When it became obvious I was fine, and when I insisted, yes. He did."
"You're not 'fine.' "
"Fine enough. Anyway, two days ago I sent him to look for you."
It astonished me. "You sent him to Umir's?"
"Yes."
"Why?" An idea occured, preposterous as it was. "Did you expect him to rescue me?"
Del contemplated my aggrieved expression in silence a moment. "Actually, I expected to rescue you. But I needed Neesha to scout for me first."
"Neesha?"
"Nayyib. Neesha is his call-name."
"You sent Nayyib-Neesha to scout for you, so you could come rescue me?"
"That was the plan," she confirmed gravely.
I was only half teasing. "You didn't think I could handle it on my own? A sword-dance? When I've been dancing for almost twenty-five years—which is likely longer than the kid you sent has been alive?"
"You've been dancing longer than I've been alive."
Which was a devastatingly effective way to remind me just how old I was, and how old she wasn't.
"Hoolies," I muttered.
Del was laughing. She carried my hand to her mouth, kissed the back of it, then rested it beneath hers against her chest.
I noted again how thin her face was, and there were shadows beneath her eyes. "Did you really think I'd lose?"
'"Only an idiot believes he may never be defeated,' " Del quoted. "You said that, once."
"Yes, but I didn't expect you to believe it. You're supposed to believe I can do anything."
"And so you have."
Well, so far. Sort of.
"Anyway," Del continued, "I think we should go after Nayyib."
"Why? He should have reached Umir's by now, and he'll know what happened. I won. I left. I'm here."
Del gazed at me. "What if he needs rescuing?"
This whole conversation was bizarre. "Why would he need rescuing? He's not worth anything."
"That's unfair!"
"To Umir," I elucidated. "He's not worth collecting. He's just a kid."
"He's twenty-three."
"That's a kid."
"I'm twenty-three, Tiger."
It shut me up, as she fully intended.
Del smiled, pleased to have won. "As for not being worth anything to Umir, of course he is. Neesha can tell Umir and any other interested parties where I am. Because they know wherever I am, you will eventually be."
"He could simply not tell them."
"Under torture?"
I scowled. "Why doesn't he just tell them you're dead? You almost were."
"Well, perhaps he will. But that doesn't mean he won't be tortured before he says it."
"Then he should have stayed here."
"He went looking for you. Isn't that worth something?"
"I don't know," I growled. "Depends on if you think I'm worth something."
"Sometimes."
I closed my eyes, gritted my teeth, rubbed a hand over my face.
"He saved my life, Tiger."
"I thought I saved your life."
"You, and Neesha, and the Vashni healer."
I squinted at her. "This isn't another of your cockamamie female ideas, is it? I mean, he's human, a man, not a cat or dog. He's not astray."
"You were."
"I was?"
"Yes. All those years ago when the shodo accepted you for training. He took in a stray human and gave him a home."
I drew myself up. "And I repaid him by becoming not only his best student but the South's greatest sword-dancer …" I thrust an illustrative finger in the air. ". . . which is, I might add, a title very recently reaffirmed."
Del's tone was elaborately innocent. "I thought you said Abbu wasn't there."
I glowered. "We're not talking about Abbu. We're talking about the kid. And now you're telling me you want me to ride back into Umir's domain, even though there will be men looking to kill me?"
"But you just reaffirmed you're the South's greatest sword-dancer. Will anyone challenge that?"
"Yes!" I cried. "Likely all of them!"
"Well," she said thoughtfully, "it shouldn't be so bad."
"No?"
"Not when I'm with you."
I looked for laughter in her eyes. But Del does blandly expressionless better than I do.
Of course, I knew she was overlooking one very salient detail that would give me the victory: she was still recovering from a sandtiger attack. Del could no more get up and ride out of the Vashni camp tomorrow than the kid—Nayyib, Neesha, whatever—could beat me in a circle. By the time she could, the point would be moot. Because the kid likely wouldn't even be at Umir's anymore.
"All right," I said.
The abrupt capitulation startled her. "All right?"
"Yes. We'll go tomorrow."
Del nodded. "Good."
Or he might still be at Umir's, under duress, because Umir might possibly believe he was worth something to Del and me. In fact, Umir might even expect to trade the kid to us for the book I'd liberated.
A book of magic.
"Gahhhh," I muttered. "You and your strays."
Del shifted over on her pallet. "Lie down." She tugged at one arm. "Lie down and tell me all about the sword-dance."
"I won."
"Details, Tiger."
I lay down beside her on the edge of the pallet. Hips touched. I rearranged my left arm so my shoulder cradled her head. "What do you want to know?"
"How it was you reaffirmed that you are the South's greatest sword-dancer."
So I told her. It was nice that at least two of us believed it.
NINETEEN
DEL AND I were dinner guests of the Vashni chieftain. Apparently he'd decided I was indeed the jhihadi and wanted to pay honor. We were escorted to his big hyort, given platters full of chunks of various kinds of meat– including sandtiger, I didn't doubt—wild onions and herbs for seasoning, tubers, and bread baked from nut flour. Not to mention plenty of the fiery Vashni liquor. I drank sparingly, still felt the effects, and did my best not to make a fool of myself. Del was permitted to drink water as a nod to her recovery, and I caught her watching me out of the corner of her eye. Apparently she expected me to fall face-first into the modest fire in the center of the chieftain's hyort. I was tempted to remind her I hadn't gotten sick from it the last time, but decided the jhihadi wouldn't do such a thing before a Vashni chieftain.
Later, maybe.
Afterward we were allowed to wander away from the encampment without interference or company. Clearly we were not prisoners. Or else they simply knew we wouldn't get far without mounts, and the horses were closely guarded. But since I wasn't trying to escape, it didn't matter. I simply walked with Del a short distance, and sat down upon a boulder even as she did the same.
I stretched braced legs out, crossing them at ankles. Studied her face sidelong. "Tired, bascha?"
She hitched a shoulder inconclusively.
I gazed out at the deepening dusk. Vashni fires set a subdued glow over the village that would become more obvious as darkness fell. A faint breeze teased at Del's hair. I rubbed at my own, feeling added length. Maybe the tattoos along my hairline were finally hidden.
I glanced at her, noting the gauntness of her features. "You know we can't go anywhere tomorrow."
She sighed, kicking a stone away with a sandaled foot. "I know. Not together. But you could."
I didn't even have to think about it. "I just spent two hard days tracking you down. I'm not going anywhere without you."
Del looked at me, clearly wanting to say something. Debated it. But held her silence.
"A few more days," I told her. "We're safe here. It's probably the best place we could be, without worrying about who might come looking for us." I wanted to say she needed more time. Knew better than to do it.