Makara dropped to her knees, the back of her tunic soaked in a pool of blood. She collapsed, dead. Daaso had not even seen the blow that had taken her life, and once again, Two Swords was coming.
A young spearman, who was not so young that he should not have known better, leapt at the small invader, shouting his war cry. Two Swords killed that poor fool without changing the pace of his stride. Then, finding Daaso again in the crush of bodies, Two Swords broke into a sprint.
He was yelling. Daaso had no idea what he said or what it meant, but the commotion drew the attention of the nearest spearmen and women. Two Swords killed the closest four in less time than it took for Daaso’s heart to beat. With those last gone to the gods, Two Swords was close, close enough for Daaso to see his eyes, to see the demon in them.
The invader yelled to Daaso again, the string of words unintelligible, their meaning unmistakable. It was a challenge. It was a call to fight, to settle their spear feud.
Daaso felt the magic flowing through her. It made her skin hard as stone, amplifying her strength and speed, making her bigger and heavier than three small men, and Daaso, headtaker of tribe Taonga, who feared no man under all the gods, readjusted her spear grip, breathed deep through her nose, turned, and ran.
The small one screamed his frustration at Daaso’s back. Two Swords could not follow. Pushing further into the Xiddeen and away from his own people would mean destruction.
Daaso was safe. She kept running. Daaso Headtaker feared no man, but she knew the truth. Two Swords was not a man.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CONCLAVE
Tau screamed at the hedena who had speared Jayyed, unable to believe the warrior woman had run. The Xiddeen in front of him seemed surprised too, and for a moment the fighting stopped. Tau didn’t notice. He was numb. It had happened again. Someone he cared for had been hurt, and in spite of everything he’d done, nothing had changed. He’d been unable to stop it.
A Xiddeen warrior, the first to start fighting again, stabbed at him. Tau killed the man and took a step forward. Another Xiddian, fighting an Indlovu, was pushed too close. Tau ran him through and took another step. He could do it. He could chase the warrior woman down. He could—
“Common of Kerem, no!” ordered Kellan Okar from behind him.
“Don’t call me that,” Tau said, struggling to control himself.
“You will throw your life away. Go to your umqondisi. He’s dying and we can’t hold.”
“Jayyed…”
“He’s still alive. Will you let him leave this world alone?”
Tau glared at Kellan but left the front lines, running to where he’d seen Jayyed fall. He found him, face ashen and eyes half-closed. Tau went to his knees and took his hand. “Jayyed.”
“Tau?”
“It’s me.”
“I thought… I thought it was possible. Peace.”
Tau was back to the day his father died. “Fight, Umqondisi. Keep fighting. We’ll get you to the Crags and a Sah priest will make this right.”
“Take it… Ta…” Jayyed shoved something into Tau’s hand. It was his guardian dagger.
“No, you’ll want it when you’re better,” Tau told him.
“Get the scale… out.” Jayyed pressed Tau’s fingers closed around the rare weapon.
“Simple plan, like I’ve always liked. We’re leaving, all of us.”
Jayyed wasn’t listening, and his eyes slid past Tau. Tau hadn’t heard anyone approach, but Jayyed’s gaze was so certain that Tau checked.
The collapsing front lines of the battle had pushed closer, but there was no one over Tau’s shoulder. He looked back. Jayyed’s eyes were focused, clear.
“Jamilah?” Jayyed asked. “You’re already here?” He struggled, desperate to breathe and unable to take in air but wanting to say more. “Jamilah,” he said. His daughter’s name. His last word. Jayyed died there, in the dirt.
Tau heard heavy footfalls. He swung round and saw Kellan. The Greater Noble was no longer enraged and Zuri was with him. The battle had taken a unique toll on her. She looked bone weary and ill. Yet, she was caring enough, loving enough, to share his hurt.
She went to Tau and held him. She hadn’t known Jayyed but could see what he meant to Tau. Her pity swept away the last of Tau’s self-control and tears blurred his sight.
“He’s dead,” he told her, voice flat.
“Our battle lines have collapsed,” Kellan told him. “We go now or never.”
Zuri let go of her hug and Tau tucked Jayyed’s guardian dagger into his belt before slipping a hand beneath the sword master’s body.
“He can’t come,” said Kellan.
“I’m not leaving him with them,” Tau said, waving his free arm in the direction of the hedeni.
“Tau, we’ll have to run,” Kellan said. “More of us are going to die before this is over. You carry his body and you risk yourself, as well as those of us who won’t leave you behind.” Kellan glanced at Zuri as he said the last part.
Tau wiped at his face, clearing tears. He stood. “Where’s my scale?”
“Fighting to clear a path out of this for us,” Kellan said. “If they can manage it, it will not stay clear for long.”
Tau nodded, closed his eyes, and sent a prayer to the Goddess. He took Zuri’s hand. Kellan looked like he wanted to say something about that but must have changed his mind. Instead, the Greater Noble bellowed to the Indlovu still fighting, ordering a retreat. The Indlovu, disciplined even in defeat, broke away from the disintegrating front lines, fleeing before the Xiddeen.
They ran, abandoning the mountaintop gully, past Inkokeli Oluchi, who had died surrounded by the bodies of a dozen of his men. They ran from the place where Jayyed Ayim and close to two wings of Chosen had breathed their last, and they did not slow until they were a thousand strides away.
They caught up to the remaining men of Scale Jayyed, Scale Osa, and what was left of Scale Otieno, the third scale that had made up Oluchi’s wing. To Tau’s relief, he spotted Hadith, Yaw, and Uduak. Yaw’s shield arm was wrapped from wrist to shoulder with filthy cloth crusted with blood, but other than that, his friends had been fortunate.
“Tau!” Uduak said, coming over.
“Chinedu and Jayyed—” Tau said, his throat closing as he spoke their names.
Uduak stepped back, coming no closer. Yaw turned away, shutting his eyes, and Themba, near enough to hear Tau, was speechless.
Hadith came forward, speaking more to the ground than to those around him. “Anan too. He saved me.”
Themba spoke then. “Runako and Mavuto are gone.”
Mshindi, the twin, stepped forward. “Kuende is dead. I cut down the mka who slew him, but my brother is dead.”
“You avenged him,” Yaw said.
“I should have saved him. He’s back there now, lying in the muck, my brother. I’ve never been away from him. We came into this world together.” Mshindi turned away, speaking the last to himself. “Always thought we’d leave it that way too.”
“They’re coming,” Kellan said, indicating the way behind them. He had his hand on the hilt of his sword.