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more often as time went on. It might, indeed, be best to retreat to Southtown,
where monsters could live with impunity.
He curled up on his stolen sleeping mat like a spider, thinking, planning, and
waiting for the darkness.
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Almost he slept; his body sank into a torpor, though his mind remained active,
peering at the strange fragments of knowledge he had attained.
He understood for certain now that he must invade the temple, though he knew
not why. There his lord, the River, was no guide, for in that parody of some
far-off mountain, could not see. That was why he
Ghe was needed; to go where the god could not go.
Had that not always been his role, as a Jik, as a ruffian on the street?
Always Ghe went where others were not willing to. As a child for pay and loot,
as a Jik for pride and the priesthood. What reward would the River give him,
one day?
But of course, he knew the answer to that, too: Hezhi. Hezhi would be his
reward.
Thus he thought, and thus he was still thinking when the wall began to shudder
beneath the weight of mallets, accompanied by the high, shrill keen of priests
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chanting.
XII
The Breath Feasting
Hezhi heard the roaring of the crowd outside, but she had been hearing such
for several days, and in her pensive, withdrawn state she certainly thought
nothing of it. Nothing, that is, until Yuu han and
Ngangata dragged Perkar s still body into the yekt. His eyes were closed and a
bright string of blood ran from one corner of his mouth. His nostrils, also,
bore red stains. He was pallid, and she could not see if he breathed or not.
She stared, unable to think of anything to say.
Tsem, however, easily found his voice.  Is he dead? the Giant grunted.
Hezhi frowned at Tsem, still trying to understand what she was seeing. Yuu han
had stripped off
Perkar s shirt, and beneath it his chest was livid, purple and red, as if he
had been stepped on by a Giant twice Tsem s size. No, not stepped on;
stomped
. But how could he be dead? She had seen Perkar alive after being stabbed in
the heart. She had seen the blade appear from the front of his chest, a red
needle with Yen behind it, laughing at her, at her stupidity. What could kill
Perkar, if not that?
No one answered Tsem, and finally Hezhi, more irritated at that than Tsem s
blurted question, finally asked,  What happened to him?
Yuu han met her gaze levelly, for just an instant, before looking off into
some middle distance the way
Mang were wont to do.  He played Slap, the young man said.  He won t play
again, I think.
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 Then he  
is
Perkar interrupted them by coughing. It was actually more of a gurgle than a
cough, but he blew a clot of blood from his mouth. His eyes did not open,
though his face pinched tight with pain. Yuu han stared aghast, made a hurried
sign with his hand in the air.

Naka  bush
! he hissed. In Mang it meant an evil ghost.
 No, Ngangata told Yuu han.  No, he is alive.
 He was dead, Yuu han grunted, watching Perkar s chest begin to rise and
fall, hearing his wheezing, rasping breath.
 No. It is that sword he bears. It heals him.
 The godblade?
The Alwa-Man nodded.  Tell Brother Horse but no one else.
Yuu han looked uncertain, but after considering he nodded and then left the
yekt.
 He will heal, then? Hezhi asked, her voice still dull with shock.
 I believe he will, Ngangata answered,  considering that he was dead before
and is now breathing again. That would seem to me to be the biggest step
toward recovery. His alien face remained expressionless, and Hezhi wondered
what the strange man was thinking. Were he and Perkar friends or just
traveling companions, forced together by circumstance? Did Perkar really have
any friends? In the past months, she had begun to regard him as such. There
were moments when he made her feel better than anyone else did, happier
anyway. And she believed that, unlike Tsem or Ghan or D en, Perkar could not
be taken from her by death. It seemed safe to care for him. Now even that
illusion was shattered.
 I hope so, Hezhi replied, still unable to think of much to say.
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Ngangata rubbed his forehead tiredly and selected one of the yekt s large,
colorfully felted pillows to slump down upon. He looked very tired.  I have to
know what you have heard, he said after a moment.
Tsem crossed the room bearing a pitcher and bowl.
 Drink something, he told Ngangata. Hezhi felt blood rise into her face with
a wave of shame. She
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should be doing something. Ngangata took the water from Tsem.
 Fetch me a rag. Tsem, she said quietly.  A rag and some more water. We
should clean him up, at least. Perkar s breath was still coming erratically,
labored, but at least he was breathing. Tsem nodded and went to search for a
rag.
Ngangata watched her expectantly.
 I don t know, she said at last.  I m not sure what is going on.
 You ve heard about the war?
She nodded.  Yes, just today. Some men came in earlier. They found me out in
the desert 
 Found you?
Hezhi helplessly realized that she was only making things more confused.  I
was walking over in the cliffs, she explained.  Two Mang men from the west
found me.
 Found you in the cliffs? What were they doing over there?
 I don t&  She didn t know.  That s a good question, she finished.  It isn t
on their way, is it?
 Leave that for a moment, Ngangata said.  What have you heard about the war?
 Not much. Just that there one, Perkar s people and the Mang. There was an
argument between those is men and Brother Horse. He told them they were not to
attack the two of you. I guess he doesn t have much authority over them.
 It s too bad he didn t have even less, Ngangata said wryly.  If they had
simply attacked Perkar, he would have killed them with his sword; that much is
a fact. As it was, they challenged him to a  game 
you see the outcome.
 I don t know, Hezhi said.  You know more about bar about these people than
I do. If there were a real fight, with swords and everything, wouldn t others
join in?
Ngangata nodded.  Probably. It might have even turned into a little war, with
Brother Horse s closest kin trying to protect his hospitality. All in all it
was probably best this way. His sword will still heal him.
Tsem returned with a damp cloth and a basin. She reached for it, but he gently
held her away and began
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sponging Perkar s chest himself. Hezhi started to protest, but realized that
Tsem probably knew more of what he was about than she did.
 I ve seen him with worse wounds and still capable of walking and talking,
she commented.  Worse looking, anyway.
 As have I, Ngangata agreed, and Hezhi thought she caught a deep worry in his
burring voice. He did not, however, offer anything further.
Tsem wiped Perkar s face, and the young man hacked again, moaning a bit.
 Did he find what he went looking for? she asked.
 I suppose. I think he learned much. We learned about the war, at any rate. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]