I could not catch him. I was way too weak. Nothing I could do but keep him in mind. I fell asleep as soon as Id eaten.

Drums wakened me. They were drums with deep voices, the kind men sound by pounding with fists or palms. Boom! Boom! Boom! No respite. Ram told me they would not let up till next dawn. Other drums with deeper voices joined them. I peered out of the crude lean-to Ram had built for me. One was not far away. The man pounding the drum used padded mallets with handles four feet long. There was one such drum at each of the winds four quarters.

More drums throbbed within the temple. Ram assured me it had been cleansed and sanctified.

I did not much care. I was as sick as ever I had been. My night had been filled with the darkest dreams yet, dreams in which the whole world suffered from advanced leprosy. The smell lingered in my nostrils, worsening the sickness.

Ram had anticipated my condition. Maybe he had watched me in my sleep, predicting my sickness from how I rested. I dont know. But he put up a crude privacy screen so I would not become a public entertainment.

I was past the worst when Narayan came. If you dont go see a physician after this Ill personally drag you to Taglios. Mistress. Theres no reason not to take the time.

I will. I will. You can count on it.

I do. Youre important to me. Youre our future.

Chanting began in the temple. Why is it different this time?

So much to crowd in. Ceremonial obligations and initiations. You wont have to do anything till tonight. Rest. And youll rest again tomorrow if the ceremony wears you out.

Just lying around. Nothing to do. That was a strain itself. I could not recall a time when Id had nothing to do but lie around. Once I got control of my nausea I tried to extend and stretch my talents.

They were coming back almost of their own accord. I was capable of more than I suspected. I was close to being a match for the wizard Smoke, now.

Good news must be balanced by bad, I suppose. My elation died when I looked up from cupped palms and found myself caught in a dream right there in broad daylight.

I could see both the horror of the worst dream and the grove around me. Neither seemed completely real. Neither was more substantial than the other.

I went from the caverns of death to a plain of death. I had gone there only rarely. I associated that plain with the battle during which Kina had devoured hordes of demons. A great black figure strode across the plain, her movements stylized, like Gunni dances. Each step shook the plain. I felt the shaking. It was as real as an earthquake.