point!”
“What is your point?” She sounded bewildered.
“The Amils left the plains because the Dehriens are so lazy and backward. They knew our community was more advanced, so they wanted to move here. And they were willing to work hard to do it. Petr’s making a huge mistake. Haven’t we learned from the past? How can we ally ourselves with those dirty, stealing scoundrels? And their Chief is coming here Secondday? Who arranged that? I don’t like any of this one bit…”
“Erl,” Hanuh broke in. “If you’re so worried, then call another Council meeting.”
“Maybe I will,” he muttered. “The Council needs to realize that if we sign that Alliance, that’s it. We’ve given our word, and we’ll be honor-bound to keep it. We can’t agree to it too quickly.”
“I agree,” Hanuh said. “But don’t you think the fear and distrust from the Great War have gone on long enough? Maybe it’s time for a change. Just think about it. Maybe the new Alliance will benefit us all.”
“What do you sense about the Alliance?”
A long silence elapsed. “I don’t know. I’m trying to be logical, Erl. But I’ve honestly been having a bad feeling about something else all night.”
“Like last night, when Renn died?”
“Yes. But I think it’s because Petr accused Thusa of murder…” Hanuh’s voice caught.
A rustle of movement, and Erl murmured, “Everything will be all right.”
“How?” she whispered. “You know the penalty for murder is death.”
Chapter Four
Dehre
Firstday
Hendra had smelled the acrid, burning fires again last night.
As dawn streaked the far horizon red and gold, she tossed the leather bucket down into the well. It was one of the few wells still working in Dehre. It fell a long way, and then she heard a faint splash.
Her cousin hadn’t answered her questions about the fires last night, and that made her feel uneasy.
Hendra tugged on the rope. The bucket felt light. Hand over hand, she pulled it up. Half full. And dirty. The food situation was worse. How would the orphans ever survive? How would she? Still five passes of the moon to wait until the cold, rainy season began again. If they were lucky, the nearing hot season might bring a few rain showers.
Water still flowed in the Rolban Mountains, runners said. And Mentàll had recently used Tarst’s timber to construct a dam to divert a portion of the Tarst River south. If only that Tarst River offshoot wasn’t a half day’s walk north. But at least now they wouldn’t die of thirst, anyway. And if Dehre had seed grain, they could grow crops near the river, too. But Hendra feared they had none.
Rolban had seed grain. If only they weren’t still enemies with Dehre… Not for the first time, Hendra hoped Rolban would accept the Alliance her cousin would present soon. Hopefully, the suspicious fires would play no part in it. Should she confront Mentàll again about the fires? Or trust him, as she had done for all of her life?
She trudged toward the orphanage, where she helped every morning, and paused to let a skinny child pass. Last year’s hot, dry summer and the apte beasts had decimated their grain crop. And the cold winter had killed the new seeds they’d tried to plant. Now summer was about to begin again, but the remaining grain was long gone. Had any been kept for planting crops? If so, it must be hidden, or the starving people would have found it and eaten it long ago.
Hendra and the children survived on wild beast meat and the sparse tagma berries the hunters searched for days to find. Not for the first time, she wondered if they would eventually starve to death. The Alliance had to pass. It just had to.
“Hendra!” She jumped at the sudden shout.
Jascr, her oldest brother, loped to catch up with her. Everything in her urged her to run, and she walked a little faster.
Jascr tried to grab her arm, but she instantly spun out of reach, thankful for her rudimentary
“What is your point?” She sounded bewildered.
“The Amils left the plains because the Dehriens are so lazy and backward. They knew our community was more advanced, so they wanted to move here. And they were willing to work hard to do it. Petr’s making a huge mistake. Haven’t we learned from the past? How can we ally ourselves with those dirty, stealing scoundrels? And their Chief is coming here Secondday? Who arranged that? I don’t like any of this one bit…”
“Erl,” Hanuh broke in. “If you’re so worried, then call another Council meeting.”
“Maybe I will,” he muttered. “The Council needs to realize that if we sign that Alliance, that’s it. We’ve given our word, and we’ll be honor-bound to keep it. We can’t agree to it too quickly.”
“I agree,” Hanuh said. “But don’t you think the fear and distrust from the Great War have gone on long enough? Maybe it’s time for a change. Just think about it. Maybe the new Alliance will benefit us all.”
“What do you sense about the Alliance?”
A long silence elapsed. “I don’t know. I’m trying to be logical, Erl. But I’ve honestly been having a bad feeling about something else all night.”
“Like last night, when Renn died?”
“Yes. But I think it’s because Petr accused Thusa of murder…” Hanuh’s voice caught.
A rustle of movement, and Erl murmured, “Everything will be all right.”
“How?” she whispered. “You know the penalty for murder is death.”
Chapter Four
Dehre
Firstday
Hendra had smelled the acrid, burning fires again last night.
As dawn streaked the far horizon red and gold, she tossed the leather bucket down into the well. It was one of the few wells still working in Dehre. It fell a long way, and then she heard a faint splash.
Her cousin hadn’t answered her questions about the fires last night, and that made her feel uneasy.
Hendra tugged on the rope. The bucket felt light. Hand over hand, she pulled it up. Half full. And dirty. The food situation was worse. How would the orphans ever survive? How would she? Still five passes of the moon to wait until the cold, rainy season began again. If they were lucky, the nearing hot season might bring a few rain showers.
Water still flowed in the Rolban Mountains, runners said. And Mentàll had recently used Tarst’s timber to construct a dam to divert a portion of the Tarst River south. If only that Tarst River offshoot wasn’t a half day’s walk north. But at least now they wouldn’t die of thirst, anyway. And if Dehre had seed grain, they could grow crops near the river, too. But Hendra feared they had none.
Rolban had seed grain. If only they weren’t still enemies with Dehre… Not for the first time, Hendra hoped Rolban would accept the Alliance her cousin would present soon. Hopefully, the suspicious fires would play no part in it. Should she confront Mentàll again about the fires? Or trust him, as she had done for all of her life?
She trudged toward the orphanage, where she helped every morning, and paused to let a skinny child pass. Last year’s hot, dry summer and the apte beasts had decimated their grain crop. And the cold winter had killed the new seeds they’d tried to plant. Now summer was about to begin again, but the remaining grain was long gone. Had any been kept for planting crops? If so, it must be hidden, or the starving people would have found it and eaten it long ago.
Hendra and the children survived on wild beast meat and the sparse tagma berries the hunters searched for days to find. Not for the first time, she wondered if they would eventually starve to death. The Alliance had to pass. It just had to.
“Hendra!” She jumped at the sudden shout.
Jascr, her oldest brother, loped to catch up with her. Everything in her urged her to run, and she walked a little faster.
Jascr tried to grab her arm, but she instantly spun out of reach, thankful for her rudimentary
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