"Not yet. Tinker killed their leader, Lord Tomtom, but the size of their organization and the type of operations that they were carrying out suggested a number of subordinates, which we haven't identified or located."
True Flame grunted and signaled for tea to be poured. A servant moved forward to fill the delicate china tea bowls. After a month at Aum Renau, Tinker knew that talking was a no-no without Windwolf's glance in her direction; some elf bullshit about appreciating the act of being civilized. She distracted herself with the honey and milk. True Flame studied the map of the sprawling Earth city and expanse of Elfhome wilderness, ignoring the tea. Silence would rule until True Flame, as highest ranked person at the table, spoke.
"The oni weakness has always been their own savagery," he said finally. "To keep his underlings in check, an oni keeps his people weak and in disorder. There is no chain of command. Once you killed this Lord Tomtom, it was each dog for himself until one could emerge as strongest."
True Flame locked his gaze on Tinker. "Each elf knows who is above them, and who is beneath them, and that neither relationship is stronger than the other. Those who serve are to be protected, those who protect are to be served. We are not wild animals thinking only of ourselves, but a society that works only when we each know our position and act accordingly."
Tinker forced herself to sip her tea and chose her words carefully. "Having seen the oni up close, there is no need to convince me which is better."
She expected another angry look from Windwolf, but his eyes filled with sorrow, which only made her more uncomfortable than his annoyance would have. She focused on her tea instead.
"The rest of my force will be arriving on gossamers shortly," True Flame said. "I was afraid that you'd be overrun before they could arrive, so I came on ahead."
"Thank you," Windwolf said. "If my beloved's aim had not been true, all would have been lost before you arrived."
"Tonight, we can bivouac in this field, and tomorrow, we'll start securing the city." True Flame ran his hand over the great expanse of wilderness. "The Stone Clan is traveling under escort of my force. I will have no choice but to reward them for their service."
"I know that," Windwolf said in a carefully neutral tone.
It hurt to see him sit there and take it. She couldn't just sit there and watch him bow his head and have the Stone Clan swoop in to take what he had carved out of raw wilderness. "Wolf Who Rules didn't summon Pittsburgh here. And there was no way he could have kept the humans off Elfhome—not even killing every last human would have done that—because then there would have been retaliation. The door was open to the oni by no fault of his."
"I know that," True Flame said.
"Then why should he be punished and the Stone Clan rewarded? You claim that our society works because everyone works together. What benefit would the Stone Clan reap if the world was flooded by oni? Wolf Who Rules has put everything on the line—where is his reward?"
"Because it is the law of our people: you hold only what you can protect. It is the law that kept the peace for thousands of years."
"Beloved," Windwolf said quietly. "It is not as unfair as it seems. We are making a choice. Does the city fall to Stone Clan, who are honorable elves, or to oni?"
"I wouldn't turn over a—a—a—warg to the oni." That was an unfortunate choice of words as it reminded her of the warg at the oni camp and poor, poor—but hopefully dead—Chiyo. How could someone she hated trigger such remorse? One thing was certain—she cried much too easily lately. "This sucks," she snapped in English, wanting to blot the evidence of tears out of her eyes, but the damn fancy sleeves of her gown were in the way. She turned away from True Flame; she didn't want him to see her crying. Yeah, yeah, impress the elf on how grown up you are and bawl like a baby.
There was movement beside her and she realized Pony had moved up to her side. It took everything she had not to reach for him.
"If I may be excused." She hated that her voice shook. "I wish to go back to the enclave."
"You may go," True Flame said.
She reached for Pony's arm. He got her up and away smoothly, almost as if tears weren't blinding her. So much for appearances.
A full Hand peeled off to accompany her and Pony back to the enclave. Somehow, just having Pony there clearing a path to her bedroom refuge made it possible to blink back the tears and get herself under control. Still she was fumble-fingered with emotion as she tried to undo the hooks of her dress.
She finally gave up. "Can you undo me?"
Pony stood behind her and unhooked the tiny fasteners down the back of her dress. "Domi, do not be upset. True Flame can see that your heart is in the right place."
She groaned at the echo of what Stormsong had said to her. "They will put that on my gravestone. 'Here lies Tinker, her heart was in the right place, but her foot was in her mouth and god knows where her brain went.'"
He chuckled. "Usually we judge ourselves harsher than anyone else does."
It was a relief to let the dress slither down to the floor. She stepped out of the pool of silk and picked it up, not wanting it to be ruined. She had messed up enough things already today.
"So, Wolf Who Rules' mother is—" Tinker paused to recall the various words the elves used to denote relationships. This was made tricky because she wasn't sure if True Flame's mother or father was the connection. If True Flame was Soulful Ember's brother, then his father was King Halo Dust. What was the word for paternal aunt? "—father's sister to True Flame?"
"Yes. Longwind and Flame Heart formed an alliance of the Wind Clan and Fire Clan. Wolf Who Rules spent his doubles at court under the queen's care, learning the fire esva. It was there that he gained the favor of his royal cousins."
"What is that? Esva?" She hung up the dress and considered what was in the closet to wear—all elfin gowns and the sexy white nightgown that she didn't feel like wearing. She wanted the familiar comfort of cotton. Had her shorts dried yet?
"An esva is all the spells scribed into a clan's spell stones."
"Wait. Fire? Wolf Who Rules is Wind Clan."
"He is both. He is the only one of his family who can access both Clan's spell stones. It was expected that he would choose to be Fire Clan, but he chose Wind Clan instead."
"Why?" She found the T-shirt she had borrowed off of Oilcan and sniffed at it. It was a little stinky. She wondered when Oilcan had last washed it.
"I can guess it was because he was born and raised in the Wind Clan," Pony said. "Such things are hard to ignore, but I cannot be sure. You will have to ask him."
The bedroom door opened and another of Windwolf's sekasha, Bladebite, stepped into the room. His gaze went down over Tinker; it was the heated calculating look a male gives a female. Suddenly the bra, underwear, and diamond necklace that had been plenty of clothes with Pony felt like nothing.
She clutched the T-shirt to her chest. "What is it, Bladebite?"
"It is time you finished your First Hand. I came to offer myself to you."
Oh shit. What should she do? She'd managed to screw up every single one of these encounters over the last two months, entering relationships with a careless "yes." After the look he'd given her, though, she didn't want to say yes—but would "no" be a deadly insult? She started to turn toward Pony, but Bladebite caught her arm, forcing her to look at him.
"This is between you and I, not him." Bladebite said. "You're making your preferences fairly clear to us all, but they're not wisely thought out. I have the experience you need. You should fill your Hand with strong males, not mutts like Singing Storm."
"What the hell is wrong with her?"
"Since you obviously have no taste for Galloping Storm Horse . . ." Bladebite used Pony's true elfin name.
"I love Pony," she snapped, and blushed red as she realized it was true. When did that happen? "Things have changed since we left Aum Renau. We've been through a lot together."
"And if a fruit is tempting, you take a bite when you're most hungry."
br />
What the hell did that mean?
"I offer all of me to you," Bladebite continued. "Do you accept?"
"I—I—I," she stammered. I don't know what the hell to say. The bedroom's dressing mirror was behind Bladebite. She could see Pony; his jaw was clenched but he made no move to interfere. Apparently Bladebite was right—it was up to her to say yes or no. Her reflection reinforced that she was nearly naked, the glitter of diamonds the only thing visible besides the T-shirt clutched to her chest. She never thought of herself as short, either, until something like this forcibly reminded her that the elves were all a foot taller.
"I can't make that decision now," she finally managed to force out. "I'm upset and not thinking clearly."
"You don't need to think. Just accept me."
Not think? Gods, he might as well be saying not breathe. "No." And then seeing the look on his face. "Not now. I'm too upset."
"We can't afford another spectacle—" Bladebite started.
But apparently she'd said the magic words. Pony's "on duty" light went on, and he shifted from behind Tinker to between her and Bladebite.
"Tinker ze domi" Pony used her most formal title and High Elvish, "said that she is upset and will decide later. Please, Bladebite, go."
The words were polite but Pony's tone was cold as steel.
Bladebite gaze locked with Pony's. For a moment, she was afraid that the older sekasha would draw his sword. He nodded though and bowed slightly to her. "Good night then, ze domi."
She started to shake when the door closed behind him.
"I am sorry, domi. Until you refused him, I could not act."
"Was I right to say no?"
"I am disappointed only in him. He has the years to know that you were upset and could not make such decisions."
She got dressed, annoyed that her hands still shook. Why was she veering all over the place emotionally? Maybe she was going to get her period. Usually she wasn't this hormonal, but she hadn't had one as an elf yet. Oh, she hoped that wasn't the case; thousands of years like this would drive her mad. How often did elves get periods? It had been over two months since her last one as a human. Oh gods, what if she was pregnant? Of course that made her feel weepy again.
"I need something to drink," she said. "Can you ask Poppymeadow to find us a bottle of—" What was that stuff called again? "Ouzo?" Wait, if she was pregnant, should she be drinking? And if she was just getting her period, what did elves use? Pads? Tampons? Magic? Hopefully a period only lasted the normal five days—surely even elves couldn't do—that—for more than a week. Damn it, when Windwolf made her an elf, he should have given her an owner's manual for her new body.
She fumbled with her necklace and failed to get it off. "Oh please, Pony, get this off me."
Pony undid the necklace. "I will get you something to eat and drink, and then perhaps you should take a nap. You have been through much lately, domi, and you are worn down."
"I want to practice magic." She needed to learn how to protect her people.
"It would be difficult and dangerous the way you are now."
She supposed that was true. "Okay, okay. Something to eat and a nap—and I need to talk to Stormsong about—female—things."
10: STORM WARNINGS
Wolf had watched his domi retreat with concern. He had expected her to be gnawing at the prince's ankles instead of breaking down into tears. He felt guilty for chiding her as he had. The oni must have affected her more deeply than he originally thought. He felt badly too that he had been pleased that she hadn't bedded Little Horse while they were prisoners together; he wanted her to himself as long as possible. Perhaps, if she had slept with Little Horse, she would have fared better.
At least she had turned to her beholden when she lost control of her emotions. As much as Wolf wished he could have taken her back to the enclave and comforted her, all of his people and the humans of Pittsburgh needed him to stay and deal with Prince True Flame.
Is this how the humans lived all their life? Having things that they desperately wanted to do—comfort their love ones, teach them what they needed to know—but with no time to do it? No wonder they seemed to rail at life so.
True Flame sat watching him, expression carefully neutral. "Being the pivot—" Wolf sighed and shook his head. "It has subjected her to extraordinarily difficult choices. She's only had hours to recover her center."
"This is recovered?"
"No, and it worries me."
True Flame glanced away, as if embarrassed by what he saw on Wolf's face. "Forgiveness, Wolf. We get along because we both have no need for empty politeness – but I remember now that politeness can render much needed gentleness to the soul. I will keep my sword sheathed from now on."
"Thank you."
"There will be nothing that I can do when the Stone Clan arrives except to remind them that she is under my sister's protection. She will have to interact with them, and they will take advantage of her."
Wolf nodded unhappily. "It will be like trying to keep wargs from the lambs at this point. I wish there was some way I could keep her safe until she has had time to heal from whatever the oni have done to her."
True Flame shook his head. "They'll arrive tomorrow with my troops. I can delay the aumani a day, on the pretense of giving them time to settle in."
"Thank you." In their current situation, a day was the most he could have hoped for. "Who have they sent?"
"Earth Son, Jewel Tear, and Forest Moss."
Wolf breathed out; the threesome was tailored for hostile opposition to him. He knew nothing of Forest Moss and thus could not foresee what danger lay there. Judging by the others, there was a good possibility, however, that this was an ancient member of the Stone Clan, to offset Wolf's youth. Earth Son's father was one of the three children of King Ashfall used to ally the strongest of the clans to the crown via marriage. Obviously Earth Son's inclusion was to eliminate Wolf's advantage with True Flame—at least in theory.
The Stone Clan had always misunderstood the nature of the alliance, and considered it a failure. The alliance had only produced Earth Son. While he showed his father's gene type in his height, his eyes, and his temper, his gene expression did not include attunement to the spell stones. Earth Son could not use the fire esva. When Earth Son came to court, he treated his Fire Clan cousins as strangers, and was regarded as such by them.
In comparison, Wolf's parents produced ten children, half of which inherited their mother's genome and pledged to the Fire Clan. Wolf grew up seeing the royal family as an extension of his own and when he went to court, he fell under his older brothers' and sisters'protection. Earth Son seemed to fail to understand the slight differences in their position. He only saw the younger elf being rewarded with favor he thought he was due, and held it against Wolf.
The Stone Clan could barely find a delegate more ill-suited to deal with Wolf—but they had managed. Wolf spent a decade at summer court, thinking he and Jewel Tear were soulmates, the other half of each other, and all the other lyrical nonsense you thought while blindly in love. A hundred years and meeting Tinker had taught him that he'd been wrong about the entire nature of love. He and Jewel Tear had drifted apart soon after he came of age and his ambitions took him to the wilderness of the Westernlands. That the Stone Clan included her in the delegation probably meant he misjudged their relationship.
So these three were coming to his holdings and dealing with his people?
True Flame looked out at the sod-covered clearing and the dense forest of tower ironwoods beyond. "What in the god's name were you thinking of, leaving everything behind for this wilderness?"
"I was thinking of leaving everything behind for this wilderness."
"I've never understood why you're wasting yourself here."
"What would I be doing at court? Nothing has changed there since we last interacted with humans. We had completely stagnated. We had the same base of technology as the humans, and yet we didn't develop the car, or the compute
r, the telephone, or the camera."
"We have no need of them."
"It doesn't bother you that we sat completely still for hundreds of years while they raced ahead?"
"Less than three hundred years, pup. It passed like a lazy summer afternoon in my life."
Wolf clenched his jaw against this. He'd heard the like all his life from elves younger than True Flame's two thousand years. "Every agricultural advance since the days of poking holes in the ground with sharp sticks, we've stolen from the humans. The plow. Crop rotation. Fertilization. You're old enough to remember the great famines."
True Flame gave him a look that would have silenced him as a child.
Wolf refused to be rebuked. The events of the last three decades had proved him right. "It's as if we get locked into one mind-set—"this is how the world is," and can't conceive or desire something more. I tracked back all our advances while I was at court—"