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In the distance, down the far side of the hill and beyond a parched flat of cracked ground reen blossoht heHis o one step farther Sinking down into such shade as the boulder granted them, he eased Adica down to the sands and collapsed beside her, shaking too hard even to get a grip on his water pouch The ground quivered beneath hi, but that vibration cae beast tramped past

A huff of hot wind stirred his hair The normally imperturbable Laoina cried out He leaped up and spun around just as Rage and Sorrow erupted in a frenzy of barking

She stalked the sands like a queen, powerful and swift The fluidity and dignity of herFour-footed like a lion, her massive paws splayed over the sand so that they didn’t sink in She resembled a lion in most ways, with a tawny coat and a sleek body twice the size of a bull, but she also had wings, bristling with feathers the color of wax, and above her broad shoulders she wore the head of a woman, more vain than proud, fierce in aspect and with a silkendown her massive shoulders

"Maoisinu," whispered Laoina "The lion queen"

He knew in that e, farther than he had ever believed possible Maybe this was the afterlife Maybe he had wandered into the realend Or maybe he was just in a place so incomprehensible, without iron, without turnips, without decent ploughs or ships or even the God of Unities, that he had passed beyond anything known in the lands of his birth

XII

DEEP WATERS

1

THE emporium of Sliesby boasted a network of sturdy plank ays, wrapping the town like stout vines, so that the busy merchants on their way from dock to warehouse would not wet their feet in bad weather Stronghand admired their industriousness even as the town elders quivered before hi network, the ays linked harbor to toorkshop to storage shed to drinking hall Even on such a day as today, early in spring with a hard rain blowing down over the town and the streets whipped into ood cloaks to cover thehand’s back as he exa and shuddering as the storm broke over the town They stank of terror Tenth Son of the Fifth Litter had spearheaded the early season strike, abetted by the fisherfolk, who’d had a dispute with the hu catch

Out in the lowlands on the landward side of the town’s palisade, a levy of disarrave for their fallen comrades He smelled the distant stench of blood and offal, picked out of the souse of rain Although the fight had been short, the Sliesby one down easily

Behind hier islands crowded the sound, all of theht into the sphere of huh he saw lighter sky to the south

According to the tribal history, two generations ago these lands had lain uninhabited by all but the animals and the occasional visit of one of the fisherfolk, seeking rushes or he Once, deeper inland in a district known for its lakes, the farthest eastern tribe of the RockChildren had built its OldMother’s hall That tribe, called Sviar, had not been heard of since two Sviar ships had been sighted raiding southward in the time of Bloodheart’s father’s chieftainship With the recent incursion of huhtly less belligerent than the RockChildren theate their absent brethren

But hesilence, one woave his prisoners scant shelter and into the beating rain Unlike ht veil that concealed her features Her cloak glistened with raindrops

"Chieftain," she said in the coe of Wendish, Salian, and old Dariyan, "what is your ith us, who have harmed none but only seek to trade?"

The others shrank back against the wall of the town hall The gap widened between theue, as if they hoped to escape the punishment sure to be inflicted upon her for her rash speech

"What are you called?" asked Stronghand "What nation a humankind do you call your mother?"

She had expressive hands, spread wide now as she gestured to two darkly-featured and nervousthe croore peaked hats and ornamented sleeves, whose ends they twisted at this very mouage of the Wendish folk and Essit ahter of Sarenha I act as Holy Mother to those of my people who live and visit in this port I come before you as a supplicant, for I knohat stories are told and indignities suffered by those who have fallen under the fierce attack of your people"