Almeysia lay at the bottom of the cart, hugging her knees to her chest. Her tunic and trousers were filthy. The pungent smell of urine wafted up from her body. She did not look at them but stared straight ahead at the webbing wrapping the interior of the cart.

“There are ways to destroy people without marking them,” Ahkio said.

“Read that in books, did you?” Nasaka asked.

Ahkio didn’t give Nasaka the pleasure of replying. He focused on Almeysia. “What can you tell me about Yisaoh?”

Almeysia began to mutter. It took Ahkio a moment to realize it was Woodland Dhai she spoke in.

“She’s not from the Woodland, is she?” Ahkio asked.

“No,” Nasaka said.

“She looks much thinner,” Ahkio said. “Are you feeding her?”

“You have a very poor opinion of me,” Nasaka said.

“That shocks you?”

“No, but it does waste my time.”

“Let me talk to her alone,” Ahkio said. “I expect she’s not keen to talk to you anymore.”

Nasaka took a few steps back. Ahkio waved at her. “Go on. Stand in the circle with the others,” he said.

Nasaka narrowed her eyes but obliged.

Ahkio came to the edge of the cart. “You know Nasaka would have exiled you by now,” Ahkio said, “or worse, if I’d said so.”

She continued murmuring in her singsong dialect. Ahkio tried to puzzle out the words. Woodland Dhai wasn’t so different, but the inflections were sometimes confusing. After a few minutes, he recognized what she was saying – it was a passage from The Book of Oma, repeated over and over:

“All of life is change. One cannot hold on to past glory or strife. All of life leads to death. When one is not afraid of death, there is nothing that cannot be achieved.”

“What is it you sought to achieve?” Ahkio asked. He folded his arms over the rim of the cart and gazed down at her. She looked very old, older than he remembered. Thin and wizened, like some wild crone come down from the Woodlands. Where was the woman who tried to kill him in the Sanctuary? The one who had attacked Roh? Was she just playing at being mad?

“I’m going to tell you something, Ora Almeysia,” Ahkio said. “I have exiled Yisaoh’s family to the third degree. Unless you can tell me what you’ve been planning, for however long you’re planning it, I will exile your family, too. I will send them straight to Dorinah, or perhaps Saiduan, so they can meet these invaders before we do. And you, well… I know you don’t fear for your life. But I’ll leave you with Nasaka to do with as she wishes. Those are things far worse than death. Those are things to fear. You won’t die unless I speak it, Ora Almeysia, and I don’t kill people.”