Aien mumbled behind her. Kaye turned to see him slowly rising to a sitting position on the bed. He stood up quietly, gncing to Gima who was still sleeping, trying not to disturb her.

  Their eyes met and they nodded to each other. Kaye watched as Aien checked to see if his sword was still leaning against the stone wall and scanned the room, as if he expected something to have changed.

  If there had been something, Kaye wouldn’t have missed it. She had taken the st shift and sat two paces from the door, bow in her p and an arrow resting against the string. If she was fast enough, she could get a quick shot in before reaching for her long dagger.

  Nothing of the sort happened. In the previous night Gima had guided them through the streets, confused but determined. Now they knew that there were hidden passages that led to the temple, ways for the girls to disappear or flee if there was need. Kaye thought it likely that whoever had built the temple was cautious; it could have easily served as the headquarters of a long dead keshin, perhaps the ruler of the city.

  Gima was smart. She had guessed that something had happened on the road and only asked Kaye for confirmation. Gima took the first shift, and sat quietly by the door for hours. Her expression as she woke Kaye up was fake, too unbothered. She had definitely spent her whole shift imagining a hurt Loho needing her help.

  Aien sat down by Kaye’s side. She took that as a sign. She was in need of stretching, and made to stand up.

  He held her arm, not without gentleness, and she stayed.

  “What?” Kaye whispered.

  “I’ve been thinking, what if Loho did everything they said he did?”

  She hadn’t considered that possibility. Quickly and surprisingly, she found herself wondering if it mattered.

  Aien might have seen something on her face. “I’m not suggesting anything, but I thought I should say it. This could be even more dangerous than we expected and I don’t think…” he paused to check if Gima was still sleeping, “… I don’t think we should stick with them.”

  Kaye nodded to show her understanding, then stood up to stretch her body. This time, Aien let her go.

  She couldn’t deny it was possible. It would expin why the attackers were so determined.

  Thinking about it made her suddenly tired. They kept finding their way into danger. Kaye kept making it more dangerous in her desire to help.

  Maybe I should listen to you a little more, the thought crossed her mind.

  Hogog was her uncle, and she loved him. Uruoro had impressed her with his words, expanded her worldview with ease. Aien had saved them more than once, looked out for them, fought for them. She remembered Gima calling him pragmatic, but perhaps that was unfair.

  If Kaye was putting them in more danger, then the least she could do was to be more accepting.

  Gima woke up soon after, shifting brusquely in the bed. Kaye turned in time to see Gima pulling her hand back from where it was pced, at her side on the bed, as if expecting to find someone there.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, before Kaye or Aien could open their mouths.

  Bleary eyed, Gima stood up and gestured for them to approach. An easy riser, it seemed.

  “Tell me what you have discussed, fast, but please keep your voices down.”

  Kaye spoke, “Going straight north is risky, since some of the unmasked could still be lurking by the road and the bridge is likely still down, so the pn is to go east, leave the road and head north until we find the road to Tohohon.”

  “Loho is taking them to Tohohon?”

  Kaye produced the arrow with the message from her quiver and showed it to Gima.

  “Loho doesn’t know how to write. Uruoro wrote the message and your uncle shot it.”

  “He’s alive,” Kaye said. When Gima lifted her gaze to stare at her, Kaye continued, “I only realized this today, but if you were left alone until st night, that means they only decided to target you after receiving news from the unmasked assassins they hired.”

  “If they had succeeded, there would be no need,” Gima said.

  Kaye nodded. The unmasked intended to kill all of them on the bridge, but Loho was the target. They were necessary sacrifices, colteral damage, in the Headhunter’s eyes. Gima, however, would likely be kidnapped to be used as leverage against Loho.

  “What if we do end up fighting a Headhunter?”

  Aien and Kaye stared at each other.

  “We run,” Aien said, “and Kaye takes them out with her bow.”

  Very slowly, Gima nodded. It was too simple a pn, Kaye knew, but there wasn’t much they could do besides that, not with so little information.

  “What about the keshin?” Aien asked. “You said it was a possibility.”

  Shaking her head, Gima spoke, “That is too risky. If the keshin do help us, it would be in a proper way, which would involve a trial. We would have to spend at least a couple more days in the city, and Loho not being present would weaken our case. Besides, the keshin are always strafing against each other, war or no war.”

  “If they have to choose between a Headhunter cn and a cnless one, they will choose what keeps them more powerful,” Kaye said.

  “Yes. I believe Hisha’s… I don’t know who is cn leader now, but I believe they are the only cn in Neru-Aran at present. All the others are in Saldassa. Losing them would be too grand a risk. They might even accuse you of seeking to do just that. Foreigners looking to weaken the great city’s defenses, even if Neru-Aran is too deep into the deserts to be a target.”

  “Then there isn’t much we can do but leave as soon as possible,” Aien concluded.

  They turned to Kaye. Waited.

  “We should still be careful. We don’t know their numbers, but someone will be watching around the entrance we used.”

  “Then it’s better if we simply leave through the temple. Too much people to keep track of,” said Gima.

  Aien had walked to where his sword rested and was strapping it to his belt. “What we should be wary of is what will happen after we leave the city. If they see us, someone will give an order to pursue. They won’t attack us in the open. That is why they used unmasked, to keep appearances.”

  They gave Gima some time to pack what she had. Sadly, there was plenty that would be left behind in their house. The house itself was not something easy to part ways with, Kaye imagined, but if Gima was troubled, then she was doing a good job at hiding it.

  Reaching behind her bed, she pulled out something long and wrapped in cloth. Unpacking the bundle, Gima revealed a sheathed sword. Slightly curved, simir to Aien’s, but a little shorter.

  “You fight?” Aien asked.

  “When me and Loho met, we were both unmasked warriors, though I’ll admit I have not wielded this thing in a long time. I do take care of it, before you ask. The bde is sharp enough.”

  Hogog raised a calming hand and used the other to point to their left. Uruoro and Loho looked at him, confused at first, then their gazes followed to where he pointed.

  Both moved slowly, dragging themselves against the ground, not daring to stand up. Hogog himself went down on his haunches, and as the other two left, he crawled to where Loho had been sitting at, peeking out from between two rocks.

  They had gathered to eat when Hogog noticed movement from the corner of his eye. Three hundred or so paces west of their position, someone was walking down a path in the rockface, from south to north. No, not someone, there was another behind the first, close enough to be clear that they were together. The path they were on was long and Hogog didn’t know where it led.

  Despite the distance, Hogog could at least tell that they were traveling light. Nothing on their backs, whatever they carried was on their belts. Nothing as long as a sword, either.

  Having seen enough, he pushed his way back before turning. Uruoro and Loho were waiting farther below from his position.

  “What did you see?” Uruoro asked.

  “Two people, traveling light.” He turned to Loho. “Is there anything around there? Anything a traveler would look for?”

  The Headhunter shook his head. “There are small communities down the canyon, following streams, where a traveler might stop by, but I know of none around here.”

  “If they are pursuing us, then those men are not hiding it. They didn’t notice us either. Didn’t even turn to look.”

  “Unprofessional,” Uruoro said, “Untrained. Men who happen to be in desperate need of coin.”

  That had been clear from the moment they were attacked. The unmasked had been uncoordinated, pnning to surprise and overwhelm them with numbers, but failed. Hogog hadn’t seen it from the beginning, but he imagined the men were too scared to approach Loho, and that made their escape easier. As to why they didn’t move to cut the bridge while they were crossing, Hogog had no idea.

  Regardless, Loho was their best warrior and he was hurt. His wounds had stopped bleeding, but would start flowing again the moment he swung his sword. Hogog knew how dangerous the man was, but he also knew that Loho was more hurt now than when he had fought to save them with his right of bloodshed. None of their unmasked pursuers were individually as dangerous as any Headhunter, but if they were being pursued, then there was a chance they had called for reinforcements. This far from any city, no one would know if a Headhunter betrayed their customs, seeking revenge for a matter that was already settled.

  “I am sorry,” Loho said.

  Hogog turned to him. He was always troubled by how… obtrusive the mask was, how little he could tell from the eyes hiding behind.

  Uruoro, though he looked simirly confused, said, “You expected them to adhere to the customs that you do.”

  “I should have been more careful. We could have stayed longer in Neru-Aran, waited for the cn to be occupied with something else. Waited for a caravan heading north. It could have been a small one, but it would have been safer.”

  From what little he knew about the man, Hogog could guess that he must be feeling deeply ashamed for being separated from Kaye, the person he owed a debt to.

  “It’s done already,” Hogog said. “Kaye and Aien need us. That should be our priority.”

  Saying her name made him think about her. He tried to push those thoughts away. Needed something to distract himself.

  “Uruoro, can you carry our packs? Loho is hurt, and I want to trek ahead. It will be safer that way.”

  Uruoro didn’t protest. Together they returned to their small camp to collect their belongings.

  Loho was cleaning his mask when they came back. He tied it as he turned to face them, and once again Hogog had trouble reading him. Worry? Sadness? The jade teeth were a grim smile. Kaye didn’t seem to have that much trouble with him, but he knew the girl was smarter than him.

  Perhaps he should ask when they met again.

  If they met again. He couldn’t even know if she had found one of the arrows. If she was even alive by that point.

  No, don’t think about that.

  Hogog turned the other way, east, and picked up his speed.