Despite the Angels by Madeline A Stringer Page B

needs and Danthys kissed her head and went back to the workshop. He knew that distracted look. There was no point in joining in the discussion, just wait and the ideas would brew. Then he could give his opinion.
    As luck would have it
    “Luck!” says Trynor, “nobody ever realises how much we arrange…”
    Hetrion came past a week later and said he would be returning west in a month. He was delighted to take Alessia and the baby on one of the carts. Danthys could help with the bulls. So it was arranged and more than a year after she had travelled with him first, Alessia was again a temporary member of the bull dancing troupe. She sat up on one of the carts, holding Armishamai up to see her father walking in front.
    “Look, little one! Dada is talking to the dancers.” There was a burst of laughter from the group of young men and women walking with Danthys and a few of them glanced back at the cart.
    “And I bet you he’s telling them all about how we made you, my precious. Saying it was the dancing that did it.”  She watched with pleasure, but some envy, as Danthys started to dance with the troupe as they walked slowly along.
    “Hey, I like that double dip, Danthys! Really feels like the earth moving.” One of the bull dancers was copying Danthys, learning the Egyptian steps for the earth walk.
    “Yes, it works, too,” said Danthys, lowering his voice, pretending Alessia should not hear, “It was those steps that made her fall for me, the night of the grape festival. And maybe it was that night that the Mother sent us Armishamai!” Everyone laughed and two of the dancers started a very raunchy take on the earth walk, beckoning each other with sultry looks and tilting their pelvises on every dip.
    “You’d better be careful, Danthys,” giggled one of the younger women, “or you’ll have dozens of babies,” and she danced past him, trailing her fingers towards him as she did, “None of us would resist you!”  
    “Oh, Danthys will resist you fine, Dasi, look how beautiful Alessia is,” said one of the men, before they started to teach Danthys the Cretan form of the dance.
     
    The last part of the road to Tylissos was uphill, but Alessia got down from the cart and barely noticed the climb as her heart raced on ahead of her, anticipating their arrival. She scanned the hills for the first sign of the higher mountains that had watched over her childhood and when she saw them she turned to Danthys and put her arm through his with a contented sigh. Danthys was happy to be anywhere with Alessia, but he understood what she was feeling, as he had felt the same on his return to Crete from Egypt. He kissed the top of her head and whispered ‘welcome home’.
    As they came closer to Tylissos, Alessia saw a girl standing on the small promontory that overlooked the road. The sunlight was behind her, but she had a familiar outline and when she began waving and jumping it was clear. It was one of Alessia’s sisters, who turned away now and with a flick of skirts, disappeared on the other side of the little hill.
    “Gone to tell the others the news” said Trynor.
    “I wonder will they like us,” said Jotin, “I’ve been doing this for thousands of years, but I’ve never got over the nervousness of meeting new people. In one of my own lives it went very badly. I’m still waiting for people to reach for rocks again. It’s hard not to let my feelings leak through.”
    “They are going to love him. What is there to dislike? He’s a nice, straightforward man, who loves their daughter. And they are straightforward people. Haven’t been messed up by too many lives, like you! So stop worrying.”
    “Easy to say” fretted Jotin. “Worrying is something that sometimes creeps up on you, even when you aren't expecting it. You really should stop pussyfooting and take another life yourself. Then you might understand.” He stopped, looked at Trynor and laughed. “But you don’t, because you are worried. You are