Bai unfolded a small iron tripod and hung a pot over the fire. Firelight softened her face. “I’m brewing khaif,” she said, without turning to note that he had come up behind her, “so stop complaining.”

When he did not reply, she rose easily; every movement she made seemed effortless and powerful. Beside her, he felt clumsy and weak.

“Kesh, what is bothering you? You’ve scarcely spoken ten words together since we escaped that skirmish on West Track days ago. And those words were mostly to question my judgment and, if I must say so, to whine. Just as you’re doing now. This isn’t the big brother who gave me courage, who pulled me out of the water when I fell in over my head. We’re free, because of you. Free to walk where we want, free to start a new life.”

“Unless the Hieros sends someone after us, hoping to get you back into the temple’s clutches. Unless Master Feden concocts an excuse to question my debt payment and tries to chain me back into his service. We made them our enemies when we bought our freedom because they didn’t want us to go.”

“Are you still afraid?”

“Yes.”

“Of what?”

Afraid of a little sister who had grown up to become someone more frightening than death.

“Nothing.” He picked his way around the ruined wall, felt for the fallen gate, and sat down on the stones blocking the passage. Past this gate stood the horses, drowsy and calm. Their big bodies soothed him. Horses liked familiarity. They liked to know where they fit in. But Bai, born in the Year of the Wolf, had become a wolf in truth: Everyone knew that wolves will gladly tear apart a man even if they aren’t hungry. You never knew when they might strike.

For a short while there was silence, then he heard her moving about.

“I’m going to make the prayers for a safe night. You want to help me?”

“No.” He touched the blessing bowl that hung at his belt, but he did not pour water into it and murmur the proper blessings for day’s end. At the edge of the firelight, she stamped the rhythm with her feet and sketched the story with hands and body as she sang.

“The Four Mothers raised the heavens and shaped the earth,

and then they slumbered.

and then they grew large.

and then they gave birth.

The seven gods are Their children,

who brought order into the world.

who built the gates that order the world.

who sawed the wood and split the wood and planed the wood and carved the wood and dug the iron and forged the iron and hammered the tools and put piece into piece to form the arch and gathered the harvest and bled the sap and colored the resin and coated the lacquer and sprinkled the dust of gold and the dust of silver into the base and polished the surface.

and thus Shining Gate rose and Shadow Gate rose.

and thus day and night gave order to the world.

Look! Look! Look at the horizon! A voice calls.

Shadow Gate rises.

Night is come.”