Chapter 33: A Moment of Calm

Shadows embraced the Alma-Kinan Woods. Distant daylight filtered through the dense canopy, illuminating the glade in dappled spots of light that swayed with the leaves above.

The hidden village spread out in the glade, a few dozen grass-thatched log cabins squatting on and around a series of grassy hillocks. Elevated walkways webbed the glade, set on tall supports and connected by balconies and flights of stairs, all in dark timber. Most of the buildings showed signs of age, ivy and moss clinging to their sides. Wrought-iron lanterns hung from the eaves and from lampposts, suffusing the browns and greens in gentle light.

A familiar weight pressed on Hugo's mind. The True Fire Rune. For a brief moment, his vision blurred and shifted, and he saw the glade embraced in dancing flames. The houses reduced to charred timbers. The forest burnt to ashes. Cinders dancing on the hazy air. He shook his head to clear it, forced himself to see the glade for what it was. The true rune was a constant pressure on his mind, warring with his thoughts, beckoning him towards the hunger of the flame.

Since the moment he had seized the rune, it had weighed on him, forcing a constant flicker of impressions upon him. Scenes from other times. A scent of something that wasn't there. A sound that could not have been made by anything nearby. Geddoe had explained that these were fragments of the memories of the rune's past wielders, and told him to get used to it – it would get worse. Hugo didn't like the thought of that. He figured it was worse enough as it was.

Alma-Kinan was a blessing. A profound sense of peace filled the village. Women in work clothes moved about the glade in silence, carrying baskets and urns. Others sat around fire pits, stirring cooking pots or shaping arrowheads. Hugo felt their eyes as he passed by. Some smiled, others stared open-mouthed.

Hugo turned to Yumi, who walked beside him. "All this attention. It's a little unnerving."

Yumi grinned. "Most of them have never seen a man before. Now they know what they've been missing."

Hugo flushed. Not knowing where to look—everywhere, those staring eyes—he kept his head down and looked straight ahead, like a blinkered horse. Yumi and Yun both laughed.

The two Kinese women had been their guides through the woods, taking them through a maze of narrow trails that would allow them to pierce the mystical ward that protected Alma-Kinan from the outside world. Without their help, the refugee train could have made tracks all over the woods for months on end without ever setting foot in the hidden village.

Hugo entered the hidden village at the head of a small column of representatives of the refugees that followed behind. A procession of Kinese archers met them at the center of the glade, their hunting bows respectfully lowered.

"Welcome to Alma-Kinan," said the chieftain of the Kinese. Yuiri wore the woolen greens and tans of a Kinese warrior, complete with leather trousers. The Kinese war-leader was a stern beauty with cold eyes and a hawkish nose. Her hair was tied up with needles on top of her head. She looked young.

Hugo eyed her with interest. He had never seen Chief Yuiri before, but many had compared her favorably to his mother. He could see the resemblance.

He hastened to bow his head respectfully before thrusting his hand out to clasp arms with the chieftain. "We thank you, Chief Yuiri. We're more than grateful for your aid in our time of need. I am Hugo."

"You speak for the Karaya, Hugo?" Yuiri's eyes were open questions.

Hugo didn't know what to say. His mother remained missing since the attack on the Harmonian encampment. Now he had to face the possibility that she was dead. But he was not yet ready to give up on her.

"Chief Lucia is a captive of the invaders," he guessed. "We will not abandon her."

Yuiri nodded at that, but did not look convinced. He saw her eyes flick to the rune on the back of his hand, the hand holding her arm.

"Is that… the True Fire Rune?" Yuiri's eyes had gone wide, filled with an intensity usually reserved for watching a venomous snake crawl up your arm.

Gasps escaped the throats of the Kinese warriors surrounding them. A fair few of them muttered oaths under their breaths.

Hugo held his hand up to show the rune. It glowed with a pulsating orange light that seemed in tune with his heartbeat. Though affixed to his very skin, the sight of the rune still unnerved him. The True Runes were the titanic forces that had shaped the world. They had gouged valleys and raised mountains. They had formed the oceans and stirred awake the winds. Such a power should not sit comfortably on his hand. It should be searing his skin. It should be burning his flesh and bone to ashes. Yet he felt nothing. And that frightened him more than anything.

Hugo managed a smile, though he'd just as well vomit. "We found it. Somehow."

Yuiri gaped. Then she closed her mouth, eyes focusing. She thrust Hugo's hand into the sky, turning to show him to the glade.

"Behold! The Flame Champion has returned!"

Everywhere around them, Hugo saw Kinese women stand up. He heard gasps and excited murmurs all around him. Many put their hands to their mouths in disbelief.

Some fell to their knees.

The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind of activity, as Hugo was shoved between groups of well-wishers and admirers. Hugo tried his best to deflect the praise. The way their eyes lit up, the way they bowed and fawned… it wasn't right for grown men and women to look at him that way, clansmen who should know better. Some of them were twice his age! Now they saw him as some kind of hero.

Watching the train of refugees stream into Alma-Kinan, Hugo certainly didn't feel like a hero. There seemed to be no end to them. Most were Chishan farmers, many of whom had taken up arms to fight alongside their clansmen on the long retreat. Their eyes looked hollow where they trudged, carrying sacks of grain in one hand, a toddler in another. Spears adorned their backs, axes hung from their belts. Their children stumbled beside them in silence, exhausted to cry.

Aldi Ford had broken them. So many had perished there. Men, women, and children. And somewhere in that chaos of churning water and mud, spears and swords and arrows and fire, Chief Sana had been lost. She had fallen from a heaving wagon and disappeared in the press of bodies and the rush of the river. No one knew if she had been washed downstream or trampled beneath animals or men. They hadn't even found her body. She was with the spirits, now.

The Chishans had lost their home, and now they had to face the uncertain future without the wisdom of their chieftain.

Small wonder they looked broken.

A smaller number of Karayans filtered in among the survivors. Hugo's people. They too had no home to return to. How many remained now? Hundreds? Hugo's stomach turned at the thought of all those missing. With each man or woman who trudged into the Kinese village, he saw holes in the procession. Friends, family, people who should be there beside their loved ones. So many were gone.

The clans were battered, but the survivors were safe. For now. The central glade could not fit them all, but Chief Yuiri had promised to make space for every survivor. The village of the shamans was one of three remaining clan homesteads in the Grasslands, along with the Saarak caverns and the Gani-Bara village. Of those three places, Alma-Kinan would likely prove the safest. Even now, the lizards and the ducks were chafing at the bit, anxious to return home to fortify their homes against the Harmonians. The only thing that kept them all gathered at Alma-Kinan was the presence of the Flame Champion.

Of this, Hugo was painfully aware.

That evening, it was a motley collection of men and women who gathered for a chieftain's council in Chief Yuiri's sitting room. The waxing moon stood high in the sky, and bright moonlight slanted through the tall windows. A few lanterns split the difference inside, providing enough light to carry a conversation.

Low benches with embroidered pillows had been set out for each participant. Hugo, speaking for Karaya, now sat cross-legged on such bench. Chris sat on his right, and next to him, Sergeant Joe, speaking for the Gani-Bara. Hugo had been more than relieved to find that his friend had survived the battle of Aldi Ford.

The remaining chieftains held positions of honor next to Yuiri; Rina of the Safir, having assumed overall command of the Grasslander forces in the absence of his mother, and Dupa of the Saarak, who fought with savage determination to protect the refugees in the rearguard action

For a wonder, Yuiri had invited Lilly Pendragon, though the woman sat uncomfortably on the hard wooden floor. Clearly chafing under the treatment, she at least had the sense not to raise a fuss about it. Also present were Caesar Silverberg and his advisor Apple. Hugo supposed the three of them had been invited on account of the roles they had played in advising Chief Rina during the evacuation of Chisha. He'd heard great things said about them.

Lastly, Yumi and Yun sat on the floor on either side of their chieftain, heads slightly bowed.

"Alma-Kinan," Chief Yuiri said, "Shelters under a protective barrier." The chief drew smoke from a long pipe held in her crossed arms. "This barrier is the result of a powerful Sealing Rune, a child of the Circle Rune. The barrier acts as a ward against unwelcome visitors. Only those who are led through the forest by a guide of the Alma-Kinan may find the village."

"I wonder…" Chief Rina put in, "Could the barrier resist the power of True Runes? Our enemies now possess two."

Yuiri gave Hugo a glance before answering. For a brief moment, it seemed everyone in the room had their eyes on him. He stiffened in his seat, loosened his collar. His chest felt a little tight all of a sudden.

"Leading the Destroyers to this place may have been a grave mistake," Yuiri said. "To my knowledge, the barrier has never been tested against the might of a True Rune." Surprisingly, her eyes turned on Yun.

The young girl nodded, as if given a cue. "I will consult the spirits. They should have the answer. But the barrier is weakening. The power of the Sealing Rune fades with time. We have not repaired the barrier in over a generation."

Worried murmurs erupted throughout the chamber.

"Can the barrier be repaired?" Rina asked.

The Kinese women were silent for some time. Yuiri hung her head, staring at the floor. Her face was veiled in shadow. When she looked up, her eyes swung to Yun again. "It might be necessary to carry out the ritual of soul-sending. Yun, are you prepared?"

Yun bowed her head. "I am prepared." The girl had visibly paled, but she had a smile on her face. Something else passed between the woman and the girl, something Hugo could not read the meaning of. Something more than words.

Yuiri bowed her head solemnly. "Then we will begin the preparations."

Yun stood and departed the room, shoulders slightly hunched. Yumi went with the girl, arm draped protectively over her shoulders.

"Forgive me," Chris broke in. "But, what is the ritual of soul-sending?" Hugo saw concern in the knight's eyes as they tracked the Kinese girl crossing the audience chamber.

Chief Yuiri shook her head. "Lady Chris, the ritual of soul-sending is a matter concerning only the people of Alma-Kinan."

Hugo cleared his throat. All eyes fixed on him. The room went unnervingly quiet. He could hear the chorus of the bullfrogs on the other side of the wall.

"With respect, Chief Yuiri," he said, "Right now, the strength of the barrier concerns everyone here, if not the Grasslands as a whole. We deserve to know."

Yuiri furrowed her brow. "You are right, Flame Champion." She spoke the title with emphasis, reminding Hugo that, only days ago, it would have been inconceivable for Hugo, the son of a chieftain, to question the Alma-Kinan chief's decision. "However. The ritual is sacred. It is… not something outsiders should even know about. To even mention its existence is a breach of tradition."

"We understand that," Rina said, sweeping her hands to encompass all those present, "Even the Flame Champion." The words seemed a light barb, and Hugo smarted at them. "We don't need to know details. Just tell us how we can help the ritual."

Yuiri looked to the door through which Yun had exited the audience chamber. She shook her head. "There is nothing you can do." The Kinese chief grew quiet, pensive for a time. Then she slapped her knee and grinned. "In the meantime, we shall have a celebration. A festival of lights, to honor the return of the Flame Champion, and our victory over the Harmonians."

A murmur of approval went over the room. Hugo couldn't believe his ears. "You can't be serious, Chief Yuiri! A celebration, now? There's so many dead, so many missing… You know the Harmonians aren't beaten yet. They'll be back. And the next fight will be twice as hard!"

"All the more reason to celebrate," Rina said. "This is the time to bolster our people's battered spirits."

Yuiri nodded. "I know all these things you say are true, Flame Champion. I don't know how long our stores will last now that we have a few thousands new mouths to feed. The festival will be a drain on our resources. But we cannot allow despair to fester. If people give in to despair, our people are truly doomed."

"And it was a victory," Rina said. "The first true blow we've struck against the Harmonians. The first time we beat them back."

Chris smiled. "And the Flame Champion has returned."

Hugo shot a glare at the captain of the knights. Why had she decided to jump on the bandwagon all of a sudden? If she noticed the nasty look he gave her, she gave no sign.

Rina clapped her hands. "Yes. This makes sense." Her gaze swung to Hugo, and her eyes brightened. "Oh. The Flame Champion simply must give a speech. Let us make that the culmination of the festival!"

Yuiri nodded thoughtfully. "That's a great idea."

Hugo shot to his feet. "No! Absolutely not."

Every person in the room stared at Hugo. His throat felt parched all of a sudden. Why were they all smiling like that?

Percival feared and respected women. It was true that in his life, women had played many delightful parts. Some had been lovers conquered through charm and persistence. Some were companions cherished for their wit and allure. Others were mothers, aunts, a beloved sister, all of whom had pampered him and taught him the language of seduction. From boyhood, he had loved women, and women had loved him. His life had been ruled by his love of women, to his advantage, and to his ruination.

But women were not without their sting. Many a man had been undone by a coquettish smile or a cold stare. And Percival had known men whose lives had been ended by a single word from a woman. Ended, if not in death, so then in disgrace. Women had a fierce inner strength that men could only hope to match with bluster and foolish bravado. As far as he was concerned, only a fool thought women harmless or without defense.

Yet, in his life, women had peopled the sidelines, the shadows, their nimble hands and whispered words guiding the actions of men and nations. They had never played a martial role. So it was with great consternation and astonishment that Percival felt the prick of steel against the nape of his neck.

"Halt, stranger," came the voice behind him, a near whisper. The woman had dropped out of the branches, settling into the saddle behind him, a dagger to his throat.

Percival gave a wry smile, despite himself. He lifted his hands from the horn of his saddle. Figures lifted free from deep afternoon shadows in the woodwork. Archers of Alma-Kinan, their bows tracking his still figure as they snuck into position around him. A dozen arrows sought the joints in his breastplate, waiting only for him to make a wrong move. Before they gave their presence away, Percival had not seen or heard the slightest sign of the women.

One of the archers stepped forward to slide his sword from its scabbard and pass it to one of her companions. The woman pressing against his back withdrew the knife at his throat. He felt her swing down from the horse, and a moment later she drifted into view, bare feet hardly disturbing the moss on the ground.

"You intrude on sacred ground, stranger," said the woman. "What is your purpose here?"

She was young, this archer captain who held his life in her hands. A fresh-faced beauty with a tiptilted nose, freckles, and dark brown hair in braids. Her beauty was only partly marred by a smoldering look of resentment. Percival gave her a long and appraising look, flashing his most disarming smile. The captain's mouth twitched, but her expression did not change.

"Lady captain, I am Sir Percival Fraulein, of the Zexen Confederacy." Percival bowed, bending slow in his saddle, making no sudden movement that would see him riddled with arrows. "I've come seeking the Lady Chris Lightfellow. You might know her better as the Silver Maiden."

The Kinese women looked to each other, though no one spoke. The archer captain frowned as if contemplating a puzzle.

Percival raised his eyebrows. "She is a guest of Alma-Kinan at this time, is she not?"

"Yes," said the archer captain, looking as though she had swallowed something foul.

"Will you lead me to her, lady captain?"

The leader glared at him, hesitating for a long time before sheathing her dagger. She gestured for the archers to lower their bows. A sigh of relief escaped Percival as the bowstrings went slack.

"We will take you to the village," said the leader. "You will stay right behind me. You will make no false move. Otherwise, it will be your last."

Percival smiled. "Lead on, fair lady. I would offer you my horse-"

"I'd turn it down," she said, scowling.

"—But you would turn it down, naturally," Percival finished, as if she had not spoken.

The leader kept her eyes forward, never sparing Percival one look as they followed the shrouded forest paths of Alma-Kinan. The other women followed to the sides, ever watching him, glancing at each other and snickering under their breath.

Percival could tell from the cast of her back, the stiffness of her step, that he had offended the archer captain. She did not like him. No matter. With time, he knew, women had a way of overcoming such prejudices, and Percival always enjoyed a challenge.

Chris had changed since last he saw her in Vinay. It went beyond the traveler's jacket and pants, worn by the road and nicked by blades. It went beyond the subtle tan to her skin where the sun of the Grasslands had kissed it. No, the woman herself had changed, he realized, adapted to life on the road, in the Grasslands. He saw it in her eyes. Though lines of worry creased her brow, his captain seemed more at peace than he had ever seen her. There was a centeredness about her that struck him.

They strolled side by side through the glade, keeping to themselves, though Percival felt the eyes of countless people upon them. They were strangers here, and they would not let him forget it. He knew the archer captain was there, somewhere, eyes fixed on him. She would be charged with watching over his conduct while he remained in the village, a duty he knew she would not easily abandon.

Chris had kept quiet for a time, considering the news he had brought of Brass Castle. The silence suited Percival just fine, for the revelation of Borus's death had struck him to the core. He felt cold. His friend, dead, without even a corpse to bury. Chilled, too, by the revelation of Borus's culpability. From any other than the Silver Maiden, he would have fought the allegations. Protested them. But at the same time, deep down he saw the truth in it. Goddess, Borus had tried to tell him! He had not listened. And now it was too late.

"Captain," he finally said, "I beg you. Return to Brass Castle at once, before it's too late." He clenched his fist as he made his plea. "We need you."

All around them, preparations were underway for the Festival of Lights. Ropes were tired, lanterns were hung. He saw the people of Alma-Kinan milling about, chatting, laughing, working. Moving like unwitting cattle to the slaughter. He needed to get Lady Chris away from this place. Before it was too late.

Chris laughed sourly. "The truce is not yet secured. I cannot leave now, when I am so close to earning their trust."

"You would let Alron have his way then? With your soldiers? With our people?"

Chris flinched at his words. He knew she still nursed wounds both physical and mental from her captivity and torment under the so-called 'Captain' Alron. Percival felt sick inside. He did not like to manipulate her. But what could he do? He was trying to save her.

"Salome needs you," he pleaded. "He cannot do this alone. The Silver Maiden must return to Zexen."

Hesitation flickered over the brightness of her violet eyes. For a moment, she knew doubt. Then she seemed to steel herself, to draw herself up, like a fortress raising its drawbridge and lowering its portcullises. Percival knew that look, know what it meant.

"A day or two will make little difference," Chris said. Her voice told him that she would brook no argument over this.

Even so, Percival pressed on. "Thrones have been won in a day," he said. "Nations lost, wars decided…"

Chris raised her hand to silence him. He expected a glower, expected her to bark a command, tell him to stand down. Surprisingly, a smile spread on her lips, a look of peace married to her command. "It must be this way," she said calmly.

Percival stared at her. Her calm authority stunned him into silence. What had happened to her out there, in the Grasslands? Yes, Chris Lightfellow had changed since she left Vinay, but at the core, she remained the same. The steel of her spine had been tempered by the fire in her heart, and now he saw the light of grace in her eyes, like some angelic herald of the Goddess standing before him.

The change would complicate things. It would make his task all the more difficult. Percival felt despair well up from within.

His life had been ruled by his love of women.

And now it would ruin him.

A dozen flickering candles gave light through the hall. The interior of the shaman's quarters was paneled in a ruddy-hued cedar wood.

Chris had been led to her quarters and left there, and once she'd taken in the overlarge room and piled her meager travel effects on the bedside table, she'd tied her hair back and washed her face before returning to the corridor, only to find that she was lost. She walked the halls of the multi-storied cottage, tracking by the muffled sounds of distant voices.

Chris found Yun at the antechamber to the steam bath. The girl had disrobed and wrapped a towel about her petite form. Two Kinese girls wearing loose cotton robes attended her, combing her hair into place and settling it into a bun on her head. The shamans' apprentices were young, but still twice Yun's age.

"We need to talk," Chris said firmly. She cast a meaning glance on the attendants. "Please leave us."

The girls looked to Yun for guidance. The seer gestured for them to remain. "Lady Chris. I'm to undergo a purification in preparation for the ritual." A smile softened the girl's face. Goddess, but she was a child. It was hard to remember, at times. She seemed wise beyond her years. "If you wish to speak with me, follow me into the steam bath."

Chris started to protest as Yun turned away from her. Remembering that she was a guest of the Kinese, she swallowed her pride and started after the girl.

Yun turned, and laughed. "Oh, Lady Chris." She shook her head. "Not like that."

Chris arced an eyebrow. As if in answer, the two attendants loosened their dresses at the shoulder, and let the garments fall.

Chris flushed. The girls didn't show the barest hint of modesty at their state. At her seeing them. Chris didn't think of herself as a prude. Not truly. But the thought of baring herself in front of these women made her skin crawl. Goddess, she hardly knew them!

Yun smiled sweetly. "You may wait until after the purification, if you prefer."

Chris sighed. She couldn't ask Yun to interrupt the ritual that would safeguard Alma-Kinan against their enemies on her account. But she needed to know. Reluctantly, Chris unhooked the skirt and slid it off. Yun was watching her, still smiling.

"Well," Chris said, clearing her throat. "You go ahead." She motioned for the door. Yun laughed, making Chris's cheeks color. She was no more than a girl, and she was making her uncomfortable! She should be playing with dolls! Nonetheless, Yun and her attendants creaked the door open and slipped inside the steam baths, leaving Chris alone. She glanced around nervously, then slipped out of her dusty traveling clothes. She pinched a towel from the wall and wrapped it as tight as she dared.

Chris swung open the door, and a wave of heat slammed against her. It was like walking into a wall. Steam wafted through the chamber, so thick that Chris had a hard time making out the room's contours. It was large, perhaps ten or twelve paces across, but she couldn't see the walls clearly. The hiss of evaporating water filled the air.

Chris entered cautiously, breathing through her mouth. Her nose hurt when she tried to draw breath. She found the heat almost unbearable, and felt sweat bead on her forehead within moments. The room was dry, as if every droplet of water had been siphoned from the chamber.

When the hiss died down, the steam cleared, giving Chris a proper look at the room. Cedar wood benches lined the walls in three tiers. They reminded Chris of the rafters erected at the jousting grounds outside Vinay's walls on feast days, when the commoners would pack into the stands to watch the knights trade lances across the field. The walls were blackened by smoke. A stove stood in the center of the room, crackling wood burning within. Sizzling hot rocks rested in a wooden tray atop the stove. The air smelled sharply of sweat, but also sweetly of steamed cedar, and with the hint of Kinese herbs.

Chris had just begun to find the heat bearable when one of the attendants ladled water from a bucket onto the rocks. The poured water instantly burst into steam with a sharp crack and a hiss. Steam washed over the room and warmed it further, causing Chris to shy away towards the door. She could feel the cool air of the corridor outside through the crack. It seemed almost chilling by comparison.

"Get in or get out," said a voice from above and behind Chris. "But close the door!"

Chris turned in surprise. There, perched atop the tallest bench, Lilly Pendragon drank in the evaporating steam. She sat with her legs crossed, sweating like a pig, face as red as brick. Her face scrunched up with the effort of controlling her breathing. She was unabashedly naked.

Chris pressed the door shut. She eyed her friend with surprise. "I had not taken you for such a lover of heat, Lilly."

"She's a hot-head alright," came another voice, this time from the corner of the room. Through the obscuring fog of steam, Chris spotted Yumi there, her brown bangs pulled back in a stern ponytail. Yumi breathed in a measured pace. Like Lilly, the Kinese women had discarded her clothes, and her skin glistened with sweat.

Lilly tried a haughty laugh, producing a sound more akin to a cough. "This is nothing. Back in Tinto, we burn the wood twice as hot, with half the whining."

"I am sure," Chris said. The steam had cleared. She made her way across the chamber and climbed the bench beside Yun. She sat gingerly, expecting the cedar wood to singe her skin. She found it surprisingly bearable. Glancing around, she noted a second door in the wall opposite where she entered. She wondered idly where it led.

Yun turned to smile at Chris. "I knew you'd come here."

Chris shrugged one shoulder. "Where else could I have a proper bath? But enough cryptic hints. With the Wind Seekers, you sought me out with the purpose of bringing me to Alma-Kinan. At Chisha, you spoke of a great need. Well, I am here now. I believe it is time I had some answers." She hesitated, pushing back a painful memory. "Not to mention—"

"I spoke of your father," Yun filled in.

"Yes."

"You are where you need to be, now."

Chris felt her blood run hot, and it had nothing to do with the steam room. "What is the meaning of that? Why did you come for me? What am I meant to do?"

Yun's head bobbed as her attendants lathered her hair with soap and massaged fragrant oils into her skin. Chris had read about this – she was being purified before the sacred ritual. When Yun looked up, she had a thoughtful expression on her face. "Do you accept that my ability is real?"

Chris hesitated. The thought of a seer, a real seer, sent shivers down her spine. The girl had seen things. There were things she had foretold that should not have been possible to predict. Chris couldn't argue with Yun's gift. And the girl knew something about Chris's own destiny. Perhaps something of her past, too. She had put off the asking for too long, fearing that she would regret the answers she were given. Now it was time for answers. Time to steel herself, to accept the truth.

After some deliberation, she said, "I accept that you can see things that have not yet come to pass."

Yun squirmed in her seat, forcing the attendants to adjust their positions. "It's not that simple," she said. "I speak with the spirits, and the spirits show me visions. Some visions are clear, as if seen through crystal. Others are muddled, as if seen through dirty glass. And sometimes, these visions are all aspects of the same events, each showing a different outcome."

Chris nodded slowly. She was growing accustomed to the heat, and her nostrils no longer burned with each breath. She just had to be deliberate about it, breathing. "Just as when a general surveys a battlefield. She can see numerous outcomes for her chosen strategy. But in the end, only one of those outcomes, perhaps one as yet unseen, will hold true."

Yun wiped soap from her brow and smiled sadly. "What happens when a general sees a dozen visions of the same event, and each one has the same outcome? The result is always the same."

"That general," Chris said, "Is either a fool, or the greatest genius of all time."

Yun giggled. "Humor me."

"A genius, then. Seeing only one outcome…" Chris shook her head. "It is every general's dream. A battle that cannot be lost." The thought triggered a wave of guilt. She should be with her people in this time of crisis. She trusted Salome, but a captain's place was with her knights. How would they fare without her?

Yun placed a hand on Chris's toweled leg. "Or," she said, "A battle that cannot be won."

Chris gave Yun a piercing look. "You have seen a vision of defeat."

Yun withdrew her hand. She wouldn't meet Chris's eyes. "I've seen a great battle that will engulf Alma-Kinan. There will be... loss. But disaster isn't certain."

Chris's mind spun wildly, grasping at the girl's words, the meaning behind them. "I feature in this vision of yours," she ventured, "In some images, I am present for this battle. In some images, I am not."

"Yes."

"You believe this battle turns on my presence. Why?"

Yun shook her head. "It's not that simple. Small changes can have great effects on the outcome of events. Tomorrow…" The girl hesitated, struggling to find the right words. "Tomorrow I perform the ritual of soul-sending. I don't know what will happen after the ritual, but the spirits have shown me that if you're not here to see it, the Grasslands will burn."

Chris stood. She needed to stand, to be moving, somehow. She paced around the sizzling stove, daintily holding her towel up with the back of a hand. Her skin was slick with sweat, uncomfortably so, but for a wonder, the intense heat of the steam room was beginning to feel almost normal.

"What must I do to save Alma-Kinan?"

Yun's smile was lopsided. "Something immensely important," she said. "I wish I could tell you what."

That stopped Chris in her tracks.

"You do not know." She knew it was true even before the girl nodded.

Chris didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She'd left her knights, left her people, to make peace between Zexen and the Grasslands. Now the youthful Kinese seer seemed to confirm her chosen path. She was needed here, but how, she didn't know. Would it be her sword that would turn the tide, or her words? Or would it be something trivial, some gesture, some random act here or there? The agony of not knowing was a thing almost physical. Chris realized she was clenching her fists, and tried to relax. She met with Yumi's eyes briefly, saw sadness there, and sympathy. She looked away. She couldn't face the pity in the woman's eyes.

"There is something I must do here," Chris said, "And it could save the Grasslands from destruction." She moved closer to Yun, searching the girl's eyes. "Though you know not what, or where, or when." Or how, she added silently. That might be the most important part.

"You know what to do," Yun said, "Somewhere deep within. In some visions, you know."

"And in others, I do not." Chris did laugh this time. What a bitter sound it was!

Yun bobbed her head in silent agreement, lips pressed thin.

Chris fought for the words with which to reason through the problem, to fight the girl's logic. She felt utterly out of her element. Seeing the future? Rituals and spirits? She was a knight. She knew horsemanship and swordplay. Command. Courage and dedication. Duty. She had seen many things since leaving Vinay some weeks past – True Runes, Harmonian war beasts, and Wind Seeker trickery. And yet, this… This fell outside of her realm.

There was something else, too.

"Tell me about my father," Chris murmured, sliding down next to Yun, so close their thighs touched. "That much, you must be able to say."

Yun's face twitched with what Chris thought was guilt. "You deserve to know. But there is something I must see before… before I tell you. There is something I need to know, something I will learn when I speak with the spirits. Once I know, I will tell you everything."

Chris hadn't realized how desperately she needed to have the answer until the question was out of her mouth. Now she hungered for it, so bad her chest felt tight. She had to swallow and work some moisture into her mouth before she could speak.

"You are hiding something from me."

"For a good reason," Yun said. "I have to be sure, first." She met Chris's stare without flinching or looking away. Chris tried to search out some falsehood within the girl's eyes, but she found nothing but pain and concern there.

Chris turned away, choking back something ragged and desperate. She no longer doubted whether she could handle the truth. On the contrary, she knew she couldn't handle not knowing. Not anymore. But somehow, she found she trusted the young seer.

"I suppose waiting another night will do no great harm." Chris leaned back on the bench, letting out an exhausted breath. The air from her lungs seemed to turn to steam as it exited her mouth.

They sat in the steam bath for some time, chatting in low voices, as the heat and steam drained every drop of sweat from Chris's body. After what seemed an eternity, they left the steam bath through the door in the far wall, emerging onto a covered balcony lit by glowing lanterns and centered on a round wooden tub.

The water was cold, but Chris's skin barely registered the chill, her body was so hot. Slipping into the tub after timidly divesting herself of her towel, Chris felt a cool freshness sheathe her body. The cold water slowly chilled her heated skin, producing a tingling sensation.

Chris squeezed her eyes shut and allowed the feeling to sink in.

The light came on in the second story window. Someone had lit a lamp inside, pushing back the dark of nightfall. Crickets chirped, and flies danced in the lantern light outside the shaman's quarters. The two-story building was set above the forest floor on dozens of supports, with only the pantry and storerooms set on ground level. Balconies ringed the building, and a single staircase led up to the front door.

Hugo bent low in a patch of bushes below the house, hiding. Amid the preparations for the feast, all of Alma-Kinan seemed to have gone mad. Wherever Hugo went, a dozen coy Kinese women appeared to ring him in and surround him. Some were more forward than others. Spirits, some suggestions made his ears burn!

He knew the window in which the light had come on belonged to the room Chief Yuiri had given to Chris. He needed to see her. For hours, Hugo had brooded over the speech he would have to give the next evening. He felt lost, as a child deep in the woods, not knowing even which direction to walk in. The knight captain would be good at such things. But he couldn't take the front door. He felt certain that if he walked up to the front porch of the shaman's quarters, the women would not only bar him entrance, but they might never let him leave. If he'd known being the Flame Champion would be so much trouble, he thought he might've never taken up the true rune.

Keeping an eye out for the hawkeyed Kinese archers, Hugo pushed through the bushes beneath the forest villa and padded over to the outer supports. He bent low, scanning all around him before wrapping his arms around the pillar and climbing up. Reaching the balcony, he hoisted himself up, and lay flat on the walkway. Hugo stayed in such a position until he felt certain no one had seen him.

Rising to a crouch, Hugo tiptoed over to the glowing window. He ducked down beneath the windowsill, and pressed his ear to the wood. He heard the rustling of fabric inside. The creak of floorboards as someone moved. A sigh. No voices.

Hugo swung over the windowsill and into the room.

Someone turned at the sound. "H-Hugo!" Chris gasped. Her eyes went as wide as a woman faced with a lifted axe. The towel slid from her hands, crumpled at her feet.

She was naked.

Hugo froze. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he understood that she must've just gotten out of the bath. For a moment, neither of them moved. Chris stood stunned and silent on display before him, and he drank in the sight of her. He knew he should turn around, close his eyes, leave, anything! But he couldn't move. He let his eyes slide over every contour of her body. Her hair was damp, her skin still wet. It glistened in the candle's flame, stroked and painted in accents of golden light and shadow along every glorious curve. Her frame was slim, her waist and hips toned from a soldier's regimen, yet softly curved in ways that took Hugo's breath away. Her legs were longer than he'd imagined. Her breasts fuller, larger. A few scars crisscrossed her arms and waist. To the warrior in him, they made her perfect. Blood rushed from Hugo's head. His throat felt dry as sand. He found it difficult to breathe. The True Fire Rune on his hand pulsed with incendiary anticipation.

Then the moment passed. Panic passed over Chris's face. She closed her legs, covered her modesty. She pressed the other arm against her breasts. Her face had turned red as a tomato.

"What in the world are you doing here?" she said, almost screaming.

Hugo stared at her stupidly.

Chris took one step forward. She slapped him. Hugo's vision swam and his ears rang. The blow shook him from his confusion.

"I-I'm sorry, I—"

Footsteps came pounding along the corridor outside the room. The door swung open behind Chris. Light spilled into the room from the lantern-lit corridor, silhouetting a woman standing in the doorway, wearing only her smallclothes.

"Chris, is everything…" Yumi said, trailing off as she spotted them. Yumi's eyes went wide as she took in the situation. "Oh. Oh!" Yumi slapped a hand to her mouth.

"What? What's going on?" Lilly shouted. The woman appeared in the doorway to peer over Yumi's shoulder, dressed in a frilled nightgown.

Chris made a noise not unlike a cornered animal. Hugo saw her scan the room in the blink of an eye, like a soldier surveying a battlefield in chaos. The table—no cover. The bed—too far. He could see her mind work, weighing and discarding options. Until only one possible hiding place remained.

Chris knelt to snatch her crumpled towel. She dashed around Hugo, sheltering behind his back. Hugo swallowed deeply. He could feel her forearms against his shoulders, her hips against his.

Lilly pushed past Yumi and leveled an accusatory finger at them. Her eyes were thunderclouds. "Chris! How dare you! You try to seduce Hugo right under my nose? What nerve!"

"Are you positively insane?" Chris said. Hugo felt her shift behind him, heard the rustle of the towel as she desperately arranged it about her body for maximum coverage.

Lilly seemed not to care. She stepped around Hugo, planted fists on hips and puffed up her cheeks. "I didn't think a knight would stoop to such low tactics!"

Yumi entered the room and leaned against the wall, arms crossed and apparently enjoying the show. The doorway did not remain empty for long, however. The commotion had drawn others, Kinese women whose curious faces now filled the opening. Some of them looked to be as old as his mother. Spirits! Everyone in the village would know about this, come the morning.

Chris, now fully wrapped in the towel, pushed away from Hugo. "Stoop?! You are mad. I did no such thing. Hugo just happened to come through the window when…" Chris' mouth worked but no words came. She must have heard the absurdity in her own words, or read it from the dubious look on Lilly's face, Yumi's smirk, or the giggling of the Kinese women.

"Hugo," Chris said, gesturing imperiously at him. "Explain! Tell them why you came!"

Hugo looked from face to face among the assembled women. He felt as if a bear-trap had snapped shut on his leg.

"I, uh…" he started, scratching his head sheepishly. "I just wanted Chris to help with my speech."

From everyone in the room, everyone spilling into the doorway, laughter burst.

Everyone except Chris. Her face turned even redder, impossibly. Her lips pressed into a thin line. "Out," she said. "Everyone out. Now!" She gestured sharply at the door. Lilly and Yumi hesitated only a moment before moving. Hugo started towards the door in a heartbeat.

"Not you, Hugo," Chris said.

He turned in surprise.

Chris pointed at the window. "You leave the way you came."