“I…used magic at dinner.”

“What? You what?” Lukios sounded completely flabbergasted. “You were using magic at dinner? Why? Why would you need to—? Why?”

She looked down, immediately ashamed. There had been no good reason to do what she had. It had only been arrogance, arrogance and carelessness both.

“To see if Nikias is gifted. He is.” Very, though something was wrong with him. His soul was far too muted for someone who was so gifted and sensitive.

Muted, and strangely…taut.

It was a puzzle. He was attuned enough to have noticed her brush against his weave, but not so talented that he had recognized Ba’an’s for what it was. And he sounded so quiet; his song was not vibrant the way it should be if it was strong, though…perhaps he had a great deal of control.

And yet, it had not felt as though he did.

A puzzle.

“Gifted? You mean magic?”

“Yes. It is the magic that makes him ‘spooky,’ Lukios.”

“Okay. So he’s got magic. Like a witch? But he’s a man. I’ve never even heard of a witch being a man. Ever.”

“Because they become shapers, Lukios.” And such would have been his fate, had he been born to a tribe. Perhaps he would have been given to the stone already.

“Oh. Okay. But still never heard of ‘em.” Lukios paused. “I always knew there was something, but I never guessed magic. But Hermes’ balls. That explains a whole lot.”

She blinked at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he’s real spooky, like I said. He just knows things, sometimes. And I’m not talking stuff you learn from spies, I’m talking stuff like…he just seems to know what you’re thinking, sometimes. What you’re planning. Guess he could be just real good at guessing, but...he’s too good. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him guess wrong. That’s what Pitus meant: spooky.”

Hm. Was Nikias actually trained? Magic ran in the blood, so perhaps Tii’ka had been a witch. If she had stayed to raise him for a time then…had she taught him to make deals with spirits? That would explain why he knew so much: most people did not know when spirits were about. They made excellent spies. Perhaps he had a contract, though she had not sensed one. If not, perhaps he petitioned them when the need arose?

Well.

Tii’ka was doubly a traitor then.

It would not work on Ba’an; no spirit would go near her. But that would signal that something was wrong, and if he asked one, asked one why it was avoiding her…

It would tell him. Tell him that she was annes’tat—an abomination.

Would that be enough for him to guess she was the Stormcrow? The People did not speak freely of those who were annes’tat, and even Ba’an had not known much. The only things that were common knowledge were that those who broke the natural laws of the world became a thing, and that thing was so dangerous that spirits fled from it, so dangerous that no tribe had ever suffered an abomination to live.

Until Ba’an.

And there were only records of what abominations had done. There were no chants or songs or inscriptions about how; such knowledge was es’tat, struck from the memory of the shi-vuti and the People.

No, what Ba’an had done had been her own work, hers and Ul’ma’s. It had not been common knowledge. It had been a reconstruction and construction, guesses and conjectures brought to life slowly by cobbling together whatever she could find and filling in the gaps, and Ba’an had…

She had not really known. She had not understood what it meant, truly, to do the thing she had until she had done it.

Surely Nikias could not know what the Stormcrow was? He was only an outlander, though…

He was very knowledgeable, and Ba’an had already underestimated him once.

She put her knuckle into her mouth and bit down. Lukios made a noise of protest and tugged her hand away from her teeth and held it firmly in his own.

“Nuh-uh. No biting. Not unless it’s the fun kind, and that is definitely not.” She turned her eyes up to him, blinking, and he only looked back at her, calm now.

She reached up and cupped his cheek, chest heavy.

Oh, this was very dangerous. It had been a mistake to come here, a mistake to meet Lukios’ friends. Ba’an did not fear for herself, for she could always simply fly away, but Lukios? Lukios had a life here, a life he could lose simply for his association with her.

Ba’an did not think his people would show him mercy if she was outed. It was not their way.

She tugged her hand free and pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to soothe herself and think as she stared at the bed. She heard Lukios stand and then the clink of a cup being raised off a hard surface.

“Here. It’s wine. Didn’t really trust the water, sorry. Looked like it’d been sitting.”

“Thank you.” She took a sip, only then realizing how thirsty she was. She tipped her head back and drank all of it. Lukios filled her cup again and waited as she drained it.

“Better?”

“Yes.” She shut her eyes and breathed. “Nikias has magic. He noticed when I used it. I am sorry, Lukios. I did not think he would. He did not feel like a witch; his soul is…it is muted. Quiet. I thought he was like Vaa’ti or Salu’ka.”

He took her hand again, this time to kiss her fingertips. Ba’an felt her tension ease at the warm press of his lips against her skin, though the situation had not changed at all.

Madness. It was all madness. When had he begun to affect her this way? Why had she allowed it?

Her feelings had clouded her good sense. If she had exercised wisdom, he would not be in such danger now.

Selfish. She was selfish.

“So when you do your witchy listening thing, he sounds…what, quieter than normal?”

“Yes. Like banging a drum with your hand on the skin.”

“Uh, is that good or bad?”

“I do not know. It depends on why he is muted.”

“Okay,” said Lukios slowly, “so Niki has magic, but it makes him sound weird. And he knows you have magic. Is that bad? I mean, Nik’s a busy man, and he’s not real impressed by witches. Sorry, but it’s true. He’s pretty hard to impress all around, really. Why’s he questioning you?”

“I am very powerful, Lukios. He was startled.”

“Oh. Okay. What did he say, exactly?”

“He…asked me if I was well. Then he…told me about the hybrid nau’tha.” Her hand went to the flowers, which Lukios had tossed onto the bed. His eyes flicked to them and she saw a small frown wrinkle his brow.

Lukios did not like the flowers. At all.

“Wait, that’s it?”

“No. He said…my escort may stay here, rather than the caravan park. But I do not have an escort.”

“Oh. Fuck. Right. K’Avaari don’t travel alone. Basic. Shit.”

“Yes. Perhaps he has already checked to see if I had been accompanied by traders or hunters. He must know I was not.”

“Right. And that’s really odd. Unheard of, even.” Lukios ran his hand through his hair. “Oh. Oh.”

“Lukios?”

“Uh. Well. Here’s some more bad news. He knows pretty much all the witches around here, that’s true. He might be miffed you’re not on his list. He likes his lists. Gets real out of sorts if he misses something.”

Ba’an tried to think. Nikias knew that she was a witch. He knew she was inordinately powerful. This had drawn his interest because…what, she was not on one of his lists?

“I do not understand what you mean. What list? What does it mean to be on his list?”

“Uh…I don’t know for sure, but he’s got lists for everything, and I mean everything. He’s been in Kyros for a while now, trying to force it to be a real city and not a shithole. Kind of a losing battle, but Nik’s weird that way. He wants a new trade route through the desert going all the way up north. House Helios has a chokehold over the Bukáli so he decided House Astros’ll have all the land routes. Crazy shit, I know.”

“The Bukáli?”

“Uh…the sea, sweetheart. House Helios rules the waves now. Sort of. Long story.”

“House Helios controls the sea routes, so Nikias wishes to build roads into the desert?”

“Well, some, yeah. Not all the way through, I think. Mostly I think he’s negotiating some waystations and the like for merchants.” He took one look at her expression and snorted. “Don’t give me that look. Wasn’t my idea.” Lukios shrugged. “He’s gotten pretty friendly with that A’tat of yours, I think. He’s been to a few meetings, and he never forgets a face. He’s probably twisting himself into knots, wondering why he’s never seen or heard of you.”

“And…what will he do to find out, Lukios?”

“Um. Sorry sweetheart. More bad news, I guess. Nik gets what he wants, mostly. He’ll probably send some messengers up asking about you. Would they tell him, do you think? That you’re…you know.”

She shook her head. “No. He is an outlander, and I am their shame. It is not for outlanders to know or understand.”

“You’re not a shame,” he snapped, and when she frowned at him, he added, very stubbornly, “you’re not. I hate it when you talk like that. Just hate it.”

She sighed at him. “Lukios.”

“What? It’s true. They’re ungrateful fuckers, that’s all.”

“We are getting off-topic, Lukios.”

“Yeah. But for the record, I really hate it when you talk like that. You’re not a shame. No one should be ashamed. Fuckers.”

“But it is to our advantage now. I do not believe they will tell him what I am. In fact, I do not believe they will acknowledge I exist. If he asks about a witch named Ba’an, they will perhaps tell him of Sal-Vur’na’s salu-Ba’an. She is dead and a dead-end both.” There was no Vala-Tu’rin na Vir-Shak’ti salu-Ba’an. Not anymore.

Ba’an had been erased like she had never been.

“Okay. We just need a story that matches up, basically, right? So he doesn’t dig any deeper. That’s the trouble—if he goes digging deeper.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. This other Ba’an. When did she die?”

“Before the war started. She was very old, Lukios.”

“Oh. Okay, that won’t work then.” He perked up. “How about this? We ran away together."

“Lukios. That is absurd.”

“What? Why? Come on. You can tell him you fell in love with me the moment you saw me. That’ll work.”

“Lukios. You were half-dead and covered in blood.”

“Yeah? And?”

“Lukios. No.”

“Aw, come on Ba’an. It’ll work. We can say you, uh, went against your tribe and saved me. Then they kicked you out and crossed out your name. That happens, right? You witches aren’t allowed to even flirt with filthy outlanders. And it explains why we came down alone, just the two of us. There. That’s a nice, romantic story. People’ll eat it up.”

“I do not believe it will work on Nikias.”

“Sure it will. He’d never admit it but he does have a heart in there. Somewhere. You just have to dig a bit.” He paused, then added, “Okay, more than a bit.”

She looked at him curiously. “You are good friends.” She had not expected this.

“Well, more like I’m his only friend. Friend-friend. Not…you know, house-friend. Probably. He’s a bit hard to take, honestly. Kinda finicky.” Lukios shrugged. “Known him for…wow, eight years now. Yeah, we’ve been in a few scrapes. Saved his life a few times—for free. So yeah, I’d say we’re friendly. He’d swallow a horseshoe before he admitted it, though.”

Ba’an pondered on this revelation. Was it that Lukios was correct, or was he blinded by his own regard? What if Lukios believed Nikias to be his friend, but in truth the man was not? That would be doubly dangerous.

She spoke past her hesitation. “Lukios. Perhaps you ought not to trust Nikias. He is very…cold.”

He began to laugh. “Oh, sweetheart. Don’t worry. I trust Niki to be Niki. All the time.” He grinned. “My ma didn’t raise a fool, sweetheart. Not a chance. He’s a noble through and through, and they’re all crazier than a bag full of flea-bitten cats.”

“But…you trust he will believe I ran away because we fell in love? That is a very silly story, Lukios.”

He shrugged, expression oddly flat.

Was he upset again?

“I am not saying it is a terrible idea,” she said, trying to appease him, “only that Nikias will not believe it. He understands the shi-vuti. He will not be fooled.”

“It worked for his ma,” he said, and Ba’an's jaw dropped of its own volition.

“What?”

It was an utterly bizarre story. Utterly bizarre.

“Well,” Lukios was saying, “Niki’s real closed-mouthed about it. I was real shocked when he brought it up at dinner. Usually he pretends he’s all Illosian, you know? But yeah. There were rumours. His da brought his ma over as a concubine, and she was already real pregnant with him when he did. He gave her wife rights even though he already had a wife, and uh…let’s say his actual wife was real mad when he had a statue of his mistress put up in the courtyard. It was a big scandal. Real big. House Astros nearly split down the middle.”

He shrugged. “Anyway, she disappeared right before I met him. So—obviously—I never met her myself, but he was real broken up about it. Well, that’s the story. They fell in love while Nidemus was on some diplomatic trip and the deal fell through ‘cause they ran back here together. So it’s not as ridiculous as you think, Ba’an. And it’d tug his heartstrings, I think.” He paused. “Or enrage him. One of those.”

Ba’an filled her wine glass and drank it all down at once.

“Uh…sweetheart…”

She refilled it and did it again.

“You…okay?”

“No.”

“Uh…”

“Was she a witch, Lukios?”

“Dunno. I heard she was real strict though. Scary, even.”

Ba’an sighed. If it had ruined a diplomatic mission, it was very likely that she had been a witch. No tribe would be so put out by a gatherer taking up with an outlander.

Was it still es’tat?

Yes.

Would anyone care?

No.

Well, not quite. The tribe would care, but not enough to ruin a diplomatic venture. If anything, it was possible the high-vuti would consider it a sacrifice on her part, to ensure all things proceeded smoothly.

Gatherers rarely knew secrets, and there were many in a tribe. How much harm could it do? Not very much.

But witches were a different story altogether.

“Uh…is it really that bad?”

“It is es’tat.”

“Oh, come on. Not that shit again.” He rolled his eyes. “I know your people get all ruffled about it, but Ba’an. I thought you’d agree it’s not so bad.”

“It is es’tat for a reason, Lukios. Several reasons. Good reasons.” Like the fact that a child born of a witch would likely be gifted, and such gifts were not meant for outlanders.

Nikias was living proof of the very trouble such laws tried to avoid.

Ugh. A mess. This was a mess.

“But…we’re…”

“I am no longer a witch, Lukios. I am no longer one of the People. It does not matter.” And Ba’an took suk every morning, though she doubted she could carry a child to term even without it.

“Well, okay. I’m not complaining. Definitely not.” He poured himself some wine and drank it, then refilled it and drained it again.

She sighed again. “No matter. I do not believe it is worth the risk. What will he do if he is enraged?”

“Throw a hissy fit, I guess.”

“Lukios.”

“What? Who cares if he gets mad? He just has to buy it. If we get him where it hurts, he’ll stop digging, and that’s the whole point.”

Well, there was a certain ruthless emotional logic to it. Humans did tend to avoid pain and seek pleasure, yes. If Ba’an reminded him of his mother, would he begin to avoid her?

“Are you certain you are friends?”

“Yup. Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m nicer to him than he is to me.” He beamed at her. “Think of it as payback for harassing you by the fountain. That fucker. The nerve, I swear.”

He picked up the bundle of nau’tha on her bed with an expression of disgust, mouth twisting. “Seriously. You’re not keeping these, are you?” He tossed them over his shoulder, where they sailed until they hit the wall and landed in a scattered mess on the floor.

“Lukios.”

“Also, he’s married. Really married. Seriously married. Just so you know.”

She had not guessed this, mostly because she did not care. At all.

Though come to think of it, Nikias did not wear a ring. How odd. Was this not an outlander custom?

“Lukios. This is serious. If he discovers what I am, you will be in most danger.”

He sobered immediately. “I know it’s serious. But Ba’an, you need to stop thinking you can just fly away.” His voice dropped lower. “Guess you haven’t heard, but the unit compositions all changed after the war. Every unit has archers and slingers now. Every one. For a while it was a standing order for the militia to shoot down any crows that got near the city walls. They only rescinded it because people started to complain about all the animals getting into the dead birds. You need to be careful, sweetheart. Real careful.”

“Oh.” She had not known this.

“Yeah. So we both need to be real sneaky, else we’re going to end up wishing we were dead. Crucifixion is a nasty way to go, but…” he trailed off, looking very disturbed by something. “Never mind. If it comes to that I’ll…”

“Lukios?”

“Nothing’ll happen to you, sweetheart. I swear it.” His expression had gone very grim.

“Lukios. What are you planning?”

“Nothing for now.” He reached out and cupped her face in his hands, kissing her gently. “I’m just saying…if it comes to that I’ll get you out. No matter what. That’s all.”

She frowned at him. “I was concerned for you. I will be well.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” He kissed her mouth, pulling her close so they were pressed together. His heat seeped into her though their clothes, and she let herself sag onto him. “I’ll be fine. Always am.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “I have a habit of landing on my feet, somehow. So worry about you.”

She sighed at him again, though not in exasperation this time. She found herself stroking his chest through his clothes, very slowly. “But Lukios, it is very risky. If he is very well-informed, then…it has only been five months. He should have met me or heard of me already, unless he has only begun friendly overtures inside those five months. But I am sure he did not. It has been years, has it not?”

“True. Ah, fuck. Yeah, that’s true. He would have met you if you were a sitting witch in the last five years. And he would have heard of anything scandalous by now, too. He’s got a nose for that sort of thing. Ah, damn. Okay, so maybe…ugh. It’s those five missing years. That’s the problem.”

He snapped his fingers. “Okay, new idea. Tell the truth. But in the most useless way possible.”

“I do not understand.”

“Well, we’ll tell him you were banished, but we won’t tell him why. Not the truth, anyway. That’ll explain away those missing years. It’ll explain everything, except how you fixed me by yourself. I mean, I’m pretty big, and you’re…you’re real tiny. I don’t think you could move me without your, uh, other talents.”

Ah.

“Exile is very serious. There are few crimes that would merit such a thing, especially if one is a witch.” Ba’an closed her eyes, thinking. What crime could she have committed to earn banishment, but not death?

“Uh…what if you murdered someone?”

“Execution.”

“Oh. Even if you’re a witch? I mean…around here we just banish the rich murderers. The poor ones get to labour in mines until they die, unless they’re already slaves. Then, uh, they get fed to animals while people watch.”

Ah. “Perhaps if it was an unusual murder. Something with sympathetic motivation.” Ba’an had not often sat in on such meetings; the judgement of crime and punishment was the realm of the chief’s circle, and Ul'ma had been the one who gave counsel as a member of the shi-vuti.

“Okay. What if you killed a guy who gave bad orders?”

“Bad orders? Witches are not given…orders. We—they give orders.”

“Okay, but…during the war, the A’tat made some bad calls. Some really rotten ones.”

Ba’an stared at him blankly.

“Um. Like…you know, adopting all the slaves. That was a bad idea.”

She felt her eyebrows tilt downward despite her best efforts.

“Uh…you know what? Never mind. I said nothing at all!”

“I will pretend you said nothing,” she agreed flatly, and he turned his face to the side with a sheepish little cough.

“Right! Right. I didn’t say a thing. About that.”

“Perhaps I should return to the desert today. Out of sight is often out of mind.”

“Hahah. Oh no. Sweetheart. If you run, he’ll chase you. It’s suspicious as fuck.”

The next sigh that dropped from her mouth came from deep within her lungs.

“I do not know why I did such a thing. He would have suspected nothing if I had sat quietly. As I had planned.” Ugh. Ugh. She sat back and put her forehead in her palm, disgusted with herself.

Tik-tak Mal’uk snickered.

Ugh.

“True,” Lukios agreed cheerfully, and she slouched even lower. “But I can’t really blame you. Nik’s real weird for everyone, anyway. If I could’ve used spooky witch-magic to figure out what’s wrong with him, I’d have done it years ago. ‘Cause that kid’s got problems.” He shook his head. “Sometimes I just wanna smack him on the back of the head. I’d do it too, ‘cept he’d probably have my hand cut off.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“Lukios. Are you certain you are friends?”

He laughed. “Guess we have a different definition of ‘friends’.”

“Lukios.”

“Don’t fret, sweetheart. Okay, I think we’re on the right track. We just gotta think of a crime, right? Something that’s bad, but not that bad. And then we have to figure out how you moved me from the road to…not to your nur-vuti. We don’t want him to know it’s there, right? So somewhere else. Somewhere close, maybe.”

She nodded, agreeing. “Yes. Perhaps something like…”

They continued like this until the birds began chirping outside the window, and Ba’an could no longer hold back her yawns. She slumped forward and Lukios lay her down and tucked the blankets around her.

“But…yawn…Lukios…we are not…yawn…finished, and we will see Nikias at…yawn…breakfast…”

“If he needles you at breakfast, I’ll spill the whole damn table on him. Oops!”

She snorted sleepily. “That is…very…yawn…silly, Lukios.”

“Don’t fret, sweetheart. I don’t think he’s anywhere close to guessing…you know. He’s just digging. We just have to make it look like it’s not worth his time. That’s all.” He kissed her forehead. “And you’ll be off in two more days, just like you said. We’ll be fine. Go to sleep.”

He lay down and curled around her the way clinging vines did against a cliff-face. “I’ll be here for a bit longer. I’ll sneak back to my room soon, though, so don’t worry if I’m gone when you wake.”

Silly. That was very silly. Why not simply stay here with her? Everyone already knew, surely. Ba’an tried to say so, but her mouth would not open and the words died in her throat. Ba’an was warm and comfortable, and Lukios was holding her tightly, lips pressed against her temple as he pet her slowly through her clothes. For a time she simply floated in the sensation, until eventually, she felt nothing at all, slipping into a deep and peaceful slumber.

Ba’an woke up. The spot beside her was empty, and she could hear Lukios moving around the room.

“Ba’an?” She opened her eyes just as his shadow fell over her. Dawn was just pinkening the sky, and she could see that the endless black of the night sky had lightened to a sort of deep blue. Fingers of pink, orange, and red streaked upward from the horizon, framed perfectly by the window which was now open.

He kissed her forehead. “I’m going to go back to my room before everyone gets up. I’ll see you at breakfast, okay?”

She sat up, yawning. “Why? Everyone already knows, Lukios.” And even if they didn’t, the confrontation in the garden would soon make its way around the household.

He smiled and touched her cheek. “True. But it’s better not to be caught in each other’s rooms like this. My reputation won’t suffer, but yours will.” He hesitated. “I know you’re not bothered, but it does matter what they think and say about you, Ba’an. It’ll change the way they treat you. I don’t want you to be treated badly ‘cause I couldn’t be discreet.”

She sighed. “Yes. Dolkoi’ri sensibilities are very delicate. I will try to be discreet also.”

He snickered. “I’ve been meaning to ask you forever. What does ‘Dolkoi’ri’ mean anyway? Something awful, am I right?”

Ba’an wrinkled her nose. “Awful? Perhaps. I believe it is very accurate. It means ‘the people with locust-hearts.’” It was true. The Dolkoi’ri always came, conquered, and took until there was nothing. Land, food, people—everything was a commodity, to be taken and sold in some market somewhere. Even now there were constant border skirmishes with other nations—‘barbarians’, they called them, even as they raped and pillaged their way through helpless villages and towns. It kept the army busy and the coffers filled with loot.

He burst out laughing. “Oh yeah, I was right. You are too, by the way. How apt.” He snuck in another kiss; this one lingered, and he caught her hand when she began to slide it up his belly with a little chuckle. “Sneaky. Nuh-uh. I really have to get going. Try to get some more sleep; you’ve an hour or so, I think.”

“You too. I will see you at breakfast.”

“Sleep well, Ba’an.”

He kissed her forehead one last time, and left. Ba'an rolled over and closed her eyes, and sank once more into slumber.