He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. That’s impossible…. Damn! How can I think such things just because he was hard on me this once? He’d never do something like that. After all, he’s the one who saved Kanbal by bringing back all nine spear rings. He shook his head sharply. Using poison was not in his uncle’s character, although he wouldn’t put it past Dom. He decided that Dom must have been acting on his own.
Opening his eyes, he looked up at the thick, smoke-blackened beams exposed in the ceiling. Once a year, the king sent Yuguro to the kingdoms of New Yogo and Sangal to barter luisha for grain, and Kahm had often accompanied him. The residences of New Yogo ministers were built of smooth unvarnished wood, and the walls were often covered in gorgeous brocade tapestries. Even the merchants wore clothes of finely woven silk. And in Sangal, he had seen breathtaking mosaics of luminescent shells on the walls of ordinary government officials.
Yet even the halls of our chieftains are no better than this, Kahm thought as he gazed at the rough ceiling. True, commoners in those countries lived very frugal lives. He remembered the native Yakoo in Yogo in particular as extremely poor. But if they starved because of a bad harvest one year, they could look forward to a plentiful harvest the next.
In contrast, there was hardly any land worth farming in Kanbal. The north was covered by tall snowcapped mountain peaks, while the soil in the southern lowlands was so poor that nothing grew there besides the tall pines. Only the highland plateaus where the clan settlements were scattered could really be farmed. Yet even here, strong winds blew the soil away so that each year the land grew more barren. All the people could count on was milk and meat from the mountain goats that populated the rocky crags, and gasha, which grew despite the poor soil. And it was thanks to the plentiful springs, which gushed from beneath the mountain, that they could grow anything at all. Thus most Kanbalese men, even those who belonged to the warrior class, had to work in New Yogo or Sangal every winter. Some of them settled in Yogo and lived there the rest of their lives. Without luisha to buy grain, the poor mountain country of Kanbal could not have survived.
Kahm sighed deeply. I guess the king and Uncle Yuguro have made the right decision with their plan. There’s really no other way.
Not even the clan chieftains had been informed of Yuguro’s grand scheme, for it would shake the country to its very foundations. Most Spears who had participated in the ceremony thirty-five years ago were dead. But if anyone like Laloog, the Yonsa Elder, learned of this plan, they would lay down their lives to prevent it. Which was why members of the older generation, who still revered the Mountain King, must not be told.
Just twenty days to go. If Shisheem did not take his place, Kahm would accompany his uncle as his attendant in the darkness of the Mountain Deep. Then who would fate favor — the king of Kanbal, or the king under the mountain?
Kahm closed his eyes.
Search parties continued to comb the mountains for the woman, but all trace of her seemed to have vanished at a little hollow on a steep rocky slope. Even after three days, they still had not found her.
The atmosphere in the clan settlement was unusually lively, but Kassa’s heart was heavy. On their way back from the great hall, he had accused his father of breaking his promise to defend the woman, but his father only told him that it was for the best.
“You’re a man now, so you should remember this lesson well. Master Yuguro made a political decision to protect our clan. We don’t need to stir up any more trouble.”
Even Kassa understood that much. But still …
As he could not talk to his parents, nor tell the truth to his friends, he had no choice but to confide his frustration in the one other person who knew the secret — his sister, Gina.
Out of view among the rocks on the mountain, Kassa told her what had happened in the chieftain’s hall. She frowned. “You know,” she said, “it seems like one lie just keeps getting added to another.”
“That’s what I think too, and it makes me feel awful. I can’t stand to think the lies started with us.”
Gina leaned toward him. “Kassa, we should do something. That woman saved our lives, right? And now she’s being hunted because we broke our promise.”
“But she’s trying to hurt Master Yuguro! And she snuck into the caves to —”
“Just a minute, Kassa,” Gina interrupted. “That’s what Master Yuguro says, right? But we’re the ones who met her in the caves. Shouldn’t we consider that? I’d rather decide for myself.”
Kassa stared at her in surprise. She was only twelve, but sometimes she impressed him with her logic.
“Don’t you think so? We already know what he says isn’t always true. So let’s think about what we saw before we listen to him. Did she seem like a bad person to you?”
Kassa shook his head.
“You see? And if she really did come for the reason Master Yuguro says, then she could have just ignored our cries for help. If the hyohlu had eaten us, there would’ve been no one to tell on her. I don’t know why she came to Kanbal, but whatever the reason, it doesn’t change the fact that she risked her life to save us.”
Kassa nodded emphatically. For the first time in days his mind felt clear. “You’re right,” he said. “Gina, you’re pretty smart sometimes.”
Gina gave a shy, pleased smile.
“But even though it’s true, I wonder if we can really do anything to help.”
Just then a shrill whistle sounded, surprisingly close. They both jumped as Yoyo poked his face out from behind a nearby rock.
“Kassa, you shouldn’t talk so loudly! Sound carries far in such a rocky place. There’s a search party over there. If they had heard you, you’d be in big trouble!”
Kassa felt a sudden stab of panic squeeze his chest. “Yoyo! How much did you overhear?”
Yoyo raised his hand in greeting to Gina and then whispered, “Everything. Sorry for eavesdropping, but I had a good reason.”
Kassa glared at him. “You’re right, we should’ve been more careful. But what we said was really secret. Please promise you won’t tell anyone, not even your own people.”
Yoyo scratched his chin, then cocked his head and looked at Kassa. “Listen, do you really feel you owe that woman your lives?”
“Yes!”
“Then will you promise not to betray her ever again?”
Gina answered immediately, “Of course we promise!”
Kassa thought for a minute and then said quietly, “As long as she doesn’t harm the Musa clan.”
Yoyo looked at Kassa for a moment, as if considering something, and then shrugged his shoulders. “Toto the Elder is amazing. You both answered exactly as he said you would.” Then he beckoned to them. “Come with me as quietly as you can. And don’t talk.”