“How do you know this is not the plague?” Wild Winds demanded.
“The plague strikes fast, and is very deadly. The fever is hot and fierce. Any who take ill tend to lose their wits, and sweat much more than this child.” I looked at the theas. “There is also an odor with the plague, a very rank smell. Almost as bad as ehat musk.”
“So if the child had the plague, he would already be dead,” Wild Winds stated.
I nodded, even as the woman sucked in a breath in horror. But Inde was made of sterner stuff. She’d fol lowed our conversation intently, and now spoke. “Warprize. I would ask for your token.”
Caught off guard, it took me a moment to hand her the jar of fever’s foe. “You have my token, Inde.”
Inde took the jar, and cradled it in her hands. “Warprize, I would tell you a truth. The skills of the Warprize are spoken of with praise, and you are known to be a ‘healer’, with fabulous powers over life and death.” She kept her eyes averted, but turned her head toward Wild Winds. “I would not offend, but I would ask the warrior-priest to cast his spells of healing as well.” She shifted the jar in her hands. “The health of the child is the most important thing.”
Sako’s eyes got even bigger, and he swallowed hard, with obvious pain.
Magic. I might get to see magical healing. I kept my face calm but my heart jumped at the chance. But when I cast a look up at Wild Winds’s face, he returned my look with a neutral glance. I shifted my eyes away, but the silence continued to grow. Was he really going to refuse to heal a child?
I reached for my satchel, and shifted away from the boy’s side. The theas were startled by my movement, but I ignored them. I tried to make my voice sound normal. “I am not offended, Inde. You are right. What matters is the boy’s well-being.”
I stood then, and stepped away, as if making room. As I brushed close to Wild Winds, I challenged him with a look, but said nothing.
Wild Winds arched an eyebrow in response, but also remained silent. I thought he would refuse, but then he let his cloak drop to the floor, and plunged his staff into the ground. With one step he moved to stand at the boy’s side.
With wide eyes, the theas moved as well, Inde moving to Sako’s head, the other woman to his feet. Tant was summoned with a flick of Wild Winds’ finger, and placed opposite him.
Wild Winds took something from a belt pouch, and added it to the small brazier. Then he sank to his knees beside the boy. The others sank as well. Out of courtesy I sat down too, but with much less grace. The staff wasn’t far from me, and those human skulls seemed to move on their own, dangling from the end of braided leather strips.
Wild Winds began to chant, calling the elements to him and asking for their aid. His voice was deep and strong. The others took up the chant as well, their heads down, their voices a soft undertone. Sako was perfectly still, his breathing deep and slow, his eyes closed.
Smoke puffed from the coals, and, to my surprise, spilled down over the sides of the brazier, a lovely, deep purple. It flowed down, covering the floor of the tent, and then started to rise slowly around us. It made me uneasy, but the others didn’t seem to mind. I realized that their eyes were closed, and they were swaying slightly to the beat of the chant.
Wild Winds was an imposing figure, with those matted braids, and the tattoos that covered his body. The dim light made it seem as if they moved, intertwining, dancing over his skin to the sound of Wild Winds’s voice. The skulls seemed to tremble with the sound, turning to grin at me.
I blinked a bit, sat up straighter, and tried not to breathe so deeply.
“We are of the elements,” Wild Winds spoke as the others continued the chant. “Flesh, breath, soul, and blood.” He reached and pressed his right hand down on Sako’s left hand. “The soul is made of fire, and sits within the left hand.”
The boy gasped at his touch, his whole body jerking, his eyes flying open. Wild Winds reached over and brushed his hand over them, and Sako closed them in obedience.
“The breath is made of air, and sits within the right hand.” Wild Winds pressed on Sako’s right hand. The boy’s breathing was slowing again, as his body relaxed. I watched carefully, trying to see a change in his condition.
“The blood is made of water, and sits within the left foot.” Wild Winds reached for the boy’s foot and I re membered where I’d heard these words before. That night, in Keir’s tent, after he’d attacked Lord Durst in the heat of anger. He’d used the same phrases. I tried to use them on Keir when he’d been ill, but I’d gotten it wrong.
Wild Winds pressed the boy’s right foot. “The flesh is made of earth and sits within the right foot.” He leaned back on his heels. “The elements will heal you, warrior of the Plains.”
The brazier had stopped smoking, and the air was beginning to clear. Wild Winds reached out, and pulled the boy’s blanket higher, over his shoulders. “Sleep now.”
Sako stirred, opened his eyes and smiled into that fearsome face. “My thanks, Eldest Warrior-Priest.” He yawned, and blinked sleepily. “You have honored me.”
“Sleep.” Wild Winds rose. The others were rousing as well, lifting their heads, and looking about as if con fused. He looked down at them sternly. “Air the tent, but keep him warm.”
“Our thanks, Eldest Warrior-Priest,” Inde spoke, even as she and the other woman moved to obey, but Tant paused before me.
“I’m sorry, Warprize. I feared that the plague was here.”
“You did the right thing, Tant.” I stood as well, and gathered up my satchel. “We can’t take any chances.”
Tant nodded his head, and moved to help the others.
“I will escort you to your tent,” Wild Winds said, retrieving his cloak and pulling his staff from the ground. He held the flap open and I emerged into the fresh, cool air. A breeze had sprung up, and I wrapped my cloak around me, even as Wild Winds brought his own over his shoulders.
Apparently, even warrior-priests could feel cold.
Amyu and the guards were waiting, and they stepped back as Wild Winds walked past them. I fell into step beside him, and Amyu and the others followed behind, silent.
After a moment, I risked a question. “What was in the smoke?”
“What was in the jar?” Wild Winds fired back.
“Fever’s foe,” I answered, using the Xyian words. “You make it by—”
“You’d share that?” He stopped and stared at me. “With me?”
I stood, and stared right back at him, ignoring the tattoos and focused on his eyes. “Yes.”
We stood there in silence. I refused to look away as he studied me. One of my curls chose that moment to work its way loose, and float down to dance in the breeze.
Wild Winds spun on his heel, and strode off.
I had to run a few paces to catch up, determined to walk beside him, and not behind. The way before us was crowded with people and horses, but it cleared, as all who saw Wild Winds coming yielded the way.
The silence between us continued until I broke it again. “I thought you were in senel with the Council.”
“I was, until word came that your affliction had appeared.” He spared me a glance. “We are not stupid, Xyian. Whether it is an affliction or your ‘illness’, we fear your unseen enemy.”
“I never said you were stupid,” I answered hotly, and would have said more but for the obstacle in our path. A jumble of children and wooden swords came crashing out of a nearby tent. Absorbed in their game, they attacked each other in a flurry of blows, causing them to trip and fall over each other, and sprawl at our feet.
“What is this?” Wild Winds demanded, glaring down at them.
Three heads, covered in red curls, popped up. Pale faces, covered in freckles, went even paler, as three pairs of green eyes widened in horror at the sight of the warrior-priest.
I gasped. Gils . . .
A woman’s voice rose from a tent, seeking the three troublemakers. That set the boys scrambling away through the tents, disappearing as quick as their legs could carry them.