Grinsa stared at the ground, refusing to be the one to ask the obvious question. Eventually Q'Daer found the courage to ask it.
"And… and if you should fall, A'Laq?"
"Then you'll be in command," E'Menua told him. "And upon completing our victory, you'll become a'laq."
"Thank you, A'Laq," Q'Daer said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "How soon do we ride?" Grinsa asked.
"Tomorrow, at first light. We'll be pushing the horses hard. We want to reach the other septs in no more than three days."
Grinsa nodded.
"What can you tell us about Mettai magic, Forelander?" E'Menua asked. He wore a sly smile on his lips. It seemed to Grinsa that the a'laq thought he'd refuse to answer.
"I can't tell you much," he said. "Just a turn or two ago I didn't even know that Mettai still existed. All of you probably know far more than I do." He paused, eyeing the a'laq, who merely stared back at him, silent, waiting. "They use blood and earth," he went on eventually. "And they have to recite their spells, either out loud or to themselves. So they can't attack with their magic as quickly as we can. On the other hand, they can do things we can't."
"Like what?" one of the young warriors asked.
"Well, I saw Besh, the old Mettai man, conjure a living fox from blood and dirt. I've also seen him create a swarm of hornets. When was the last time you saw a Qirsi do anything like that?"
"You expect them to attack us with foxes?" E'Menua asked, laughing, and drawing chuckles from the others. "Do you think that a swarm of bees will be enough to defeat the combined might of a dozen Fal'Borna septs?"
"Of course not, A'Laq," Grinsa said evenly. "You asked me about Mettai magic and I'm telling you what I've seen. If they can conjure foxes and hornets, they can summon other creatures as well."
E'Menua's mirth faded slowly. "Yes," he finally said. "All right. What else?"
"What else do you want to know?"
"Can they combine their magic as we can?" L'Norr asked.
Grinsa shook his head. "I don't see how they could. But I may be wrong."
"They can't," E'Menua said, sounding sure of himself. "That's our greatest advantage. That's why, even with the Mettai on their side, the dark-eyes can't defeat us."
E'Menua stood and the other Weavers scrambled to do the same, even the n'qlae.
"I want every a'jei to prepare his riders," the a'laq said. "Tell them what I've told you here today. We ride at dawn. I'll expect all of you to be ready. That's all."
The warriors bowed to E'Menua and said, "Yes, A'Laq," in near unison. Then they moved off, leaving the Weavers still standing in a loose circle. E'Menua turned to Grinsa. "I want a word with you."
Grinsa nodded, having expected this as soon as the man told them that he had been speaking with other a'laqs.
"Leave us," E'Menua said to Q'Daer and L'Norr.
The two young Weavers glanced at Grinsa before walking off. By now, he was sure, they were used to the a'laq sending them away so that he and Grinsa could continue their running feud. E'Menua and D'Pera shared a quick look. A moment later she ducked into their z'kal. E'Menua began to walk, and Grinsa followed.
"I take it I've angered you again," Grinsa said.
"You walk in the dreams of my fellow a'laqs, offering gifts in my name that I never intended to give. You dare to walk in D'Pera's dreams in order to turn her against me. Why should I be angry?"
"I didn't try to turn the n'qlae against you. I asked her to intervene on behalf of Besh and Sirj. What you did to them the other day was wrong. I was determined that you wouldn't use the words you coerced out of Besh to justify killing them."
"That doesn't excuse it!" E'Menua said, his voice rising.
They were still in the sept, and several people stopped what they were doing and looked at the two men as they walked by.
"She is my wife," the a'laq went on, his voice dropping once more. "You had no right to approach her in that way. You had no right to come betw-" He stopped, pressing his lips in a thin line.
Grinsa knew better than to point out what E'Menua had so clearly recognized himself. He kept his gaze lowered and said, "You're right, A'Laq. I had no right trying to come between you. I did what I thought was necessary, but I was wrong to do it. I'm sorry."
For several moments neither of them said anything.
Finally, E'Menua said, "As for speaking to the other a'laqs.." He broke off and shook his head. "You were surprisingly clever."
Grinsa grinned. "Was I?"
"Yes," E'Menua said, looking at him. "They were all so grateful to me. At first I didn't know why, but then one of them said something and I began to piece it together." He faced forward again. "D'Pera told me why you did it. You may well be right. Whatever my doubts about the Mettai, their spell might save Fal'Borna lives. I should have passed it on to the other septs, or at least to their a'laqs so that they could decide for themselves what to do with the dark-eye magic."
"Thank you, A'Laq."
"How many a'laqs have you contacted?"
"Perhaps twenty," Grinsa said.
E'Menua looked at him again, his eyes wide. "Twenty?"
"I haven't been sleeping much," Grinsa said, smiling sheepishly.
The a'laq didn't appear amused. "You'd better sleep tonight," he said. "We'll be riding hard come morning, and I don't know how close the Eandi are. You'll be of no use to me if you're half asleep."
"Yes, A'Laq."
They walked in silence for several moments, until Grinsa began to wonder if E'Menua wanted him to go away.
But abruptly the a'laq asked, "What creatures?"
Grinsa blinked, not understanding the question. "I'm sorry?"
"You said before that if the Mettai could conjure foxes and hornets, they could conjure other creatures, too. What kind?"
"I don't know. Anything, I would think. I assume it would have to be something real, something that actually exists in our world. But I don't even know that for certain."
E'Menua halted, as did Grinsa.
"Are you saying that they could summon creatures from legend?"
"I'm saying that I don't know what they can do. You laughed when I mentioned the fox and hornets. I wanted you to understand that this power they possess is no trifle."
The a'laq rubbed a hand over his face, looking deeply troubled. "There are tales of monsters-creatures of myth, demons from Bian's realm. Our magic would be powerless against them."
Grinsa wasn't sure what to say. "It may be that they can't do this, A'Laq. I just don't know."
"I want to speak with them," E'Menua said, starting back toward Besh and Sirj's z'kal. "I want to speak with the Mettai immediately."
Grinsa hurried after him. He didn't expect that Besh and Sirj would have any interest in speaking with the a'laq, but he knew better than to argue. And he knew that he had to be there when the a'laq questioned the two men, if for no other reason than to protect them when they refused to answer.
F or the past few days, Besh had spent most of his time sleeping or fighting off the interminable boredom. In the best of times, Sirj was not one for idle conversation. Since discovering that they were prisoners of the Fal'Borna, the younger man had retreated into a sullen, brooding silence. Besh could hardly blame him, but it did make for long, tedious days.
At first, just after the a'laq's betrayal, Besh had been too angry to sit still. He'd paced around the tiny shelter, seething, trying to think of some way to retaliate. Soon, though, he came to realize that there was no way. He and Sirj were powerless here. It wasn't that the Fal'Borna had taken his blade. As Lici had shown him all too clearly while she was still alive, a Mettai needed only a bit of malice and sharp fingernails in order to conjure. But it didn't matter whether he and Sirj could draw upon their own blood; whatever magic they might have been able to do was nothing next to the power of the Fal'Borna. They were being held by a foe they could not defeat, menaced constantly by magic that could overwhelm their own.