And she still would . . . She would find that boy and save his thick head. And if necessary, she would teach him a lesson or two.

Then she would marry him.

Darsal saw the first Shataiki as the western sky began to lighten. At first she thought it was a dark desert shrub on the rise ahead, silhouetted by the graying sky behind. Or a rock on the horizon, because they’d passed a rare outcropping of boulders an hour earlier.

It lifted one wing, moved a foot to its left, and she thought, A buzzard is stalking us. What does it know that we don’t?

Then the red eyes came into focus, and Darsal pulled back on her reins. Shataiki! And not just one. A dozen or so, rising from the sand dune a hundred paces ahead.

Hunter spit to one side. Darsal hadn’t noticed him waking. “Their smell ruins the desert,” the Roush said. “We are close.”

“Sentries?”

“Yes, but I can smell more than those fourteen. Look up.”

Darsal did and saw a hundred black spots circling in the dim sky.

“How far?”

“A few miles and everything will change.”

“Then it’s time for you to go.”

“Perhaps,” Hunter said.

Karas sat up, stared around, then faced Darsal. “What’s going on?”

“We’re there.”

“We are?” Another look. “How do you know?”

“Shataiki. Ahead and above us.”

Karas craned her neck and studied the sky. “Really?”

“Really.” To Hunter: “There’s only one thing you can do to help us now. You don’t stand a chance on your own, am I right?”

The Roush didn’t admit it quickly, but he could not lie. “Yes.”

“Then fly back to Middle Forest and tell Johnis where we are. I have a two-day head start—if I can’t accomplish what I’ve come for in the two days it takes him to get here, it was never meant to be. Do you follow?”

“You want me to fly?” Karas asked. “I told you, you need sleep!”

“Not you, squat. I’m talking to Hunter. Well, Hunter? What is it?”

“You’re a fool to go into the Black Forest, you realize that.”

“I have some bargaining chips.”

“Who’s Hunter?” Karas demanded.

“The Roush who’s sitting on my horse. He’s been with us the whole time. Now please let me finish my business with him.”

“If you wanted Johnis, why not just bring him in the first place?” Hunter asked.

“Because he wouldn’t have come! And if he’d come, he might have turned us back. I couldn’t take that risk. Now it’s too late. He’ll come. Go to him.”

“Are you sure you haven’t lost your mind to this desert?” Karas asked.

“Yes. Hunter, I’m waiting.”