Wrass asks, “Do you know what they’ll do to you if they catch you?”
She lowers her eyes, and her face flushes. “I’m not going to lie to you. I’m scared to death of what they’ll do … mostly scared of what they’ll do before they kill me. But I can stand it, Wrass. If I know you’re all safe, I can stand anything.”
A faint smile touches Wrass’ lips. “What if one of us gets injured escaping? He will need you and your Healing knowledge. I think you’re the only one of us who is not expendable, Zateri.”
Zateri’s mouth quivers. “But I—”
“You’re too valuable. Not you, Zateri.”
He does not look my way, but I feel Wrass thinking about me. Waiting for me to speak.
Baji sits up straighter, girding herself, and smooths long black hair away from her face. She knows from firsthand experience what the warriors will do to her before they kill her. How can she volunteer?
Baji says, “Me. I’m the one, Wrass. I’ll do it.”
“You?” I say. “Why—”
Wrass grasps my arm to stop me from continuing. He nods at Baji. “Baji may be the only one of us who can get close enough.”
“Why do you think that?” I demand to know.
With tears in her eyes, Baji answers, “Because, silly boy, I’m beautiful. I can make the men want me enough that they’ll carry me right into their camp and sit me down by the stew pot. No matter what happens, by the end of the night, I will have dumped the Spirit plants in that pot.” Her eyes are stony, resolved to do what must be done.
Wrass studies her for a long time before he asks, “Are you sure about this, Baji?”
“Yes, it’s … it’s for my sisters. If I die, you’ll carry my bones home, won’t you? So I can travel to the afterlife to be with them?”
Wrass’ eyes glitter. “If I have breath in my body, I will find and carry your bones back to your people. I give you my oath.”
A trembling smile comes to Baji’s lips. She holds out her hand. “Give me the Spirit plants, Zateri.”
Zateri pulls the bag from her legging and hesitantly hands it over. “Baji, if you can, only use half the bag in Gannajero’s pot, then—”
“No.” Baji shakes her head. “I want her dead. I’m going to dump it all in. I can’t wait to see her writhing on the ground clutching at her throat and vomiting her guts out.”
Zateri swallows hard. “All right.”
Wrass’ head doesn’t move, but his gaze shifts. He looks at me with haunted eyes.
Pain constricts my heart like strips of wet rawhide drying in the heat of Elder Brother Sun. He’s already chosen Baji, hasn’t he? What could it hurt to tell him I’ll go? He wouldn’t pick me. He’s already said that she’s the only one who can get close enough. He wouldn’t pick me … would he?
I sit as though made of ice.
Wrass lowers his gaze and looks away. The firelight casts the long shadow of his hooked nose across his cheek. “All right, Baji. You’re the one. But you can’t do it until later. After the warriors have been drinking corn brew and fighting for half the night, their guards will be down. I’ll tell you when. Agreed?”
Baji nods. “Yes.”
Wrass hangs his injured head. “Let’s all finish eating and get as much rest as we—”
Kotin appears out of the crowd and walks toward us with two men. All are swaying on their feet, laughing and shoving each other. Having a good time.
When he stops before us, Kotin bares his broken yellow teeth and says, “You, Chipmunk Teeth, go with Pestis. He’ll take good care of you.”
Zateri starts shaking.
Pestis staggers forward. He is short and squat. His eyes are rolling in his head, as though he can’t keep them still. “Come here, girl!”
Zateri seems to have petrified. She just stares at him with her jaw clenched.
Kotin lunges for her, grabs her arm, and hauls her to her feet. “I said go with Pestis!” He shoves her into Pestis’ arms.
Her legs are trembling when Pestis drags her out into the forest, far away from the camp.
Not even victorious warriors would couple with a child. Gannajero must have sent out advance scouts to move through the war party and find the men with dangerous appetites. Or, perhaps these men do not know Zateri and Baji are still girls? Has Gannajero told them they are women? Baji could be mistaken for a woman, but Zateri …
“You, Standing Stone boy,” Kotin says, and I jerk around to stare at him. “Go with War Chief Manidos.”
The muscular giant squints at me and says, “He’s a skeleton. Don’t you ever feed them? I don’t want him. What about the other boy? At least he has some muscles on his body.”