“He’s an outlander.”

“So he is. Olossi would be a ruin today if not for him.”

By their expressions, they weren’t convinced.

“If you’ll hear me out,” said Anji, facing their skepticism without any sign of discomfort, “I’ll tell you that I consider myself a Hundred man now. I have an estate in the Barrens. I have a pregnant wife.”

“A cursed beautiful one,” said Joss in the tone of a jealous man, which got a laugh.

“Go on,” said Menard, who with the others had relaxed a bit at the mention of a child. If a man had children, and land, then he had something to defend.

Anji indicated Joss. “The marshal here will be sending four reeves, in pairs, to fly north and south to patrol the river and give us warning should the enemy decide to attempt a river crossing elsewhere. I’ll need you to detail twenty or thirty men, if you have them, who can march at speed to any point of contact, should it be necessary.”

“What about the village?” asked the woman.

“We’ve brought a cadre of trained militiamen from Olossi to aid with the defense here. Ver, I’ll need three of your largest and sturdiest fishing nets and your heaviest stone weights. We will require all of the arrows, javelins, slings and stones you have in case they try to force their way across the river. Move the livestock out of the village and conceal it. We’ll need, in addition, brave souls to remain in the village, working as if nothing is amiss, to lure in the demon. They’ll be armed, ready to fight if we’re forced to engage.”

They listened eagerly. They’d been expecting this, Joss saw. They’d had trouble, and scant hope of defeating new trouble should it come. Because in times like these, trouble would come. Scar spread his wings, to catch the sun, and the villagers took a nervous step back.

Grinning, Anji examined the crowd, nodding at folk to acknowledge them. Young men, especially, moved toward him, despite the big eagle. “Know your vulnerabilities and defend them. Think how, if you were your enemy, they might overcome you. Prepare for the unexpected. As for the demon, I intend to confront him myself.”

“BOLD WORDS,” SAID Joss after the villagers had hurried away to make ready and the militia men carried by eagles from Olossi had received their instructions. “Chief Tuvi could not face the one that entered your house.”

“Mai faced the creature. How am I to do less? It must be done, to understand what we battle. These Guardians of yours, upholders of justice, are nothing but tales. This is not a Guardian.”

“Maybe not. Maybe it is. Either way, I agree we must confront it.”

“You mean to stay here?”

“I do. The rest of the flight will move out of sight to the northeast.”

A pair of older women walked out from the village and, politely but without smiling, offered them cordial. He knocked back two cups, feeling the buzz of a headache recede. Anji thanked them, and the women walked over to offer drink to the pair of reeves who, waiting on Joss’s orders, had volunteered for the hardest task of the day.