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Stavver, she whispered urgently. He mumbled and snored. She shook him
again. His eyes blinked open. Wha& he mumbled.
Stavver, it s me. Raqat.
He pushed himself up, his face pinching together in an irritated frown.
Raqat? Dammit, woman, I just got to sleep. He yawned and stretched. What
time is it?
I don t know. Late. Does it matter? She caught at him with small hot hands.
Stavver, I need you.
The corners of his mouth turned down in an unpleasant grimace. What
happens, he said coldly, the tone of his voice an insult in itself, when a
slave refuses an order.
Raqat licked her lips. It& it depends. He could be killed.
His voice full of contempt, Stavver said softly, Move your ass out of here
before I kick it out.
Stavver&
Go ahead, tell the clan I can t stand you anymore. And watch the grins on
their faces when they go to the execution. He grinned nastily at her.
Whimpering like a sick sesmat, she turned on her knees and crawled out of the
chon, then ran blindly until she bumped into a slender body.
You! Her hands curled into claws she swung at Aleytys s face.
Aleytys caught her arms at the wrists and held them until Raqat broke into
wild sobs, her body shaking with the storm of emotion inside her.
Holding her in a tender firm grasp, Aleytys sank to the ground with the
sobbing girl, comforting her as she would have comforted Twanit in one of her
crying fits. Shh& it s not so bad. You have many and many who love you, Qati.
Qati, oh, hush, my dear. You re stronger than you know. You don t stand alone,
my dear, little one. Mmm& mmm& time heals these hurts. He s a thief, a
stranger& . As she stroked soothing hands over the shivering back, Aleytys
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felt the grinding pain inside the girl. Helplessly she tried to comfort, then
reached out with her mind to touch, heal, sooth, turning the empathy that
brought understanding inside out so that Raqat felt peace flowing into her
tormented soul.
She drew in a long quavering breath and pulled away from Aleytys. Why& how
can you& ?
Touch my hand. Aleytys stretched out her hand palm up. She knelt quietly,
knee to knee with Raqat, eyes holding hers.
Hesitantly Raqat reached out and, after a minute, touched trembling fingers
to the narrow palm.
What do you feel?
Raqat frowned. Impatiently she snatched her hand away. You know what I
feel.
Yes. More than you know. Aleytys sighed. I can t help it, you know. I
don t mean to pry. But I feel what you feel, so how can I not hurt when you
hurt? Please. I can help. Will you let me?
Raqat jumped up. I don t want help. Keep away, keep out of my mind!
Raqat& . Aleytys stood up and held out her hands. Please.
Hesitantly, reluctantly, Raqat reached out and placed trembling fingers once
again in Aleytys s grasp, then closed her eyes as she felt the warmth and
tranquility pouring like honey over her troubled soul.
For several minutes the two women stood in the silvery moonlight like
statues, not speaking, not moving, scarcely breathing. Then Raqat sighed
deeply and gently freed her hands. I& I thank you, Aleytys.
Raqat&
Raqat looked back over her shoulder. What is it?
Be careful about the Khem-sko. Please?
Raqat laughed and walked wearily back to her chon.
8
A huge face floated in blackness, turning and turning. Gleaming wetly, slit
pupils distended to pointed ovals, the great yellow eyes searched blindly,
inexorably narrowing the swing until they pointed directly at her. Thin
horizontal nostrils rippled as he it, whatever sniffed some illusive odor. The
wide gash of a mouth opened in a travesty of a smile, revealing oddly human
teeth. A coarse furred claw lifted into view, pointed straight at her.
Aleytys writhed on the leathers, sweating, panting in horror. Her eyes
snapped open and she stared up into the stifling blackness.Ahai , she
thought,I d rather not have this gift& sometimes . With a weak laugh, she
turned over and shut her eyes again.
In the musty blackness of his chon Myawo crouched over a greenish fire that
reflected onto the intricate painted patterns on his skinny naked body. He
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swayed and hissed sibilant syllables at the fire, which sprinkled a purplish
dust that burned and produced a coiling, swaying snake of smoke. Around and
around the painted glowing body the smoke crept until the chon was filled with
it.
Aleytys groaned in her sleep, shivered, and clutched at the leathers with
hands tightened into claws.
A hairline of light shone around the flap of Raqat s chon. Inside, the small
stoneware lamp burned redly, throwing dancing shadows on the curving leather
walls. A finger of greenish smoke crept inside, spreading into a cloud to fill
the chon. Slowly, imperceptibly, it thickened over the sleeping form of the
girl.
Raqat stirred, then sat up, a blank glassy look to her eyes. She rubbed
clumsily at her face and sat numbly staring at the lamp. Slowly, eerily, the
smoke coiled around her and settled in a purplish green film on her dark skin.
After a minute, she groped under the leather and drew out the knife she d
taken from Stavver so many months before. She knelt beside the lamp and began
running a piece of leather up and down the silvery steel blade. Up and down&
up and down& she fought against the obsession& up and down& against the hate&
up and down& guilt and anger churned in sour bile, burning in her throat& up
and down& the leather slid smoothly over the shining metal& .No, no , she
thought,I don t hate her . Up and down& the anger grew like a thing with a
life of its own& up and down When she s gone, everything will be all right
again.
Dropping the bit of leather, she tilted over onto her hands and knees, still
clutching the knife. Muttering incoherently, she crawled out of the tent.
Outside, clouds from the western mountains drifted across the faces of the
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