"There aren't enough bells in all the tribes…" Marcus let his voice trail off as he and Isdrapulled away, as Epor and Prest did the same. They gave us plenty of room, but kept their watchjust the same. I wasn't sure why, since the biggest danger of all was standing, towering overme, the muscle in his lower jaw pulsing with his anger.
"What means this?"
"Keir, we have to help these people."
"Didn't you just finish telling me the dangers of this plague? Of the deaths it causes? 'A dangergreater than any army' That is what you said." Keir ran a hand over his face. "Why would youeven think to enter those gates?"
"To aid the sick, and care for the dying. To learn which plague it is, and where it came from.
Keir, it may already be in the kingdom. We must warn Simus and Othur and Eln. The moreinformation we have, the better prepared—"
"No." Keir cut me off and started to pace, moving with his usual grace. His horse watched uscarefully. Mine had fallen asleep again, his head hanging, ears flopping over, eyes closed. He'dput all his weight on his left leg, his right hind foot cocked behind him.
Keir cut through my line of sight. "We must be at the Heart of the Plains as soon as possible.
Your confirmation must take place as soon as possible. If we delay, we lose our advantage."
"Keir, these people swore an oath of fealty to you, an oath you demanded. Winning Xy as afiefdom doesn't just mean taking the spoils. It also means taking responsibility for the peopleof Xy." I pulled the uncomfortable helmet off, letting the bandages fall to the ground and ranmy fingers through my hair to untangle the braid. "The oaths flow both ways."
"We pass it by, flow around it as the stream flows past a stone. Acknowledging their sacrifice,but keeping clear of the danger."
"We can't do that. We need information. The army may already be exposed since you'vetraded with the farmers that we have passed. I am a healer; I have sworn oaths to aid those inneed. I have to go in there." I smiled at him. "A healer goes where she is needed. To aWarlord's side or into a stricken village."
"That's insane. You are the link between our peoples; the only Queen of Xy and the onlyWarprize. I will not risk you."
"I swore oaths when I claimed my Mastery. As you did when you became a Warlord. Theyrequire me to serve these people."
"It's more important for your people that you become the Warprize."
"Keir, Xy was a nation of traders and merchants in my great-grandfather's time. But theplague swept through the land and decimated the people. It killed so many that the trade routesthrough the mountains were closed. The Xy you conquered is a far cry from the rich land of thepast."
He turned, looking down at the gates, radiating fury.
I stepped next to him. "If plague has returned, we must give them aid, and learn as much as wecan. We need to send word back to Water's Fall."
"What need?" Keir looked skeptical. "It will stay where it is, caught within those walls."
"No." I rubbed my hand over my sweaty neck. "If they are that sick, they can't even tend tothe dead, Keir."
He grimaced, knowing all too well what that meant. "We will send for aid from Water's Fall.
They can be here within five or six days."
"We can't wait that long. If we wait for help from Water's Fall, we may only have dead bodiesand no one to tell us what happened and how. I must go, Keir, and now."
He glared at me.
"I am a healer, and these people,your people, need my help."
"These people are not worth one drop of your blood."
I looked at him steadily until he looked away. "You are thinking as a lover, Warlord."
His head snapped back, and his eyes flashed. "I am a lover, Warprize."
My cheeks flushed at that, but I didn't give ground. "If your people had the healing skills, youwould aid them."
"Do you understand what you are saying?" Keir growled.
