“An admirable show of concern,” he told Ayabe, “for one who, by all accounts, otherwise expresses so little interest in the welfare of his people.”

Ayabe frowned. “You are not my people. I rule no one.”

“Yet here you are, expecting us to forget hundreds of years of murder and death, because your views differ from ours.”

“You have no idea why I am here,” Ayabe told him. “I have yet to speak.”

“I think it’s quite clear. You expect us to defer to—”

“I am an individual,” Ayabe broke in, “just as we are all individuals, though you seem to forget that, or why would a herd mentality have you all following the foolishness of whoever has the loudest voice?”

“You—”

“I don’t agree with this war and I am here to explain why. But I don’t rule you. Each of you must make up your own mind as to why you are willing to go to war.”

“We have concerns—”

“Everyone has concerns,” yet another new voice said, “though most of us don’t express them in war.”

If Ayabe’s appearance was a surprise, Raven’s was a complete shock. Walker couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard of Raven leaving the neighbourhood of his roost, little say involving himself in the business of others. He came with one corbae for a companion, but he didn’t need a show of force to command attention. He had such an imposing authority that even Ayabe was overshadowed by his presence.

Walker looked from one to the other and couldn’t understand how two of the most powerful of the cousins, two known to distance themselves from the troubles of the world, had been brought together in this place, at this time. Then yet another group appeared on the plain—a handful of humans led by a cousin, part dog, part crow—and Walker began to get an inkling.

Joseph Crazy Dog.

He knew those crazy clown eyes. Everybody did. The stories surrounding this crow dog cousin were endless—mostly tall tales, Walker had always assumed. Now he wasn’t so sure, because this was just like one of those improbable stories told late at night around a campfire. Who else but Crazy Dog would find a way to bring both Ayabe and Raven here? And while this was unlike either of them, it was classic Crazy Dog, considering how each story told of him began with his involving himself in everybody’s and anybody’s business. At least, he did so if he thought there was a wrong that needed to be set right.

So it had to be Crazy Dog’s doing. And if Walker needed more confirmation . . . while he didn’t know Raven’s companion, he now recognized the canid that had come with Ayabe: Whiskey Jack, a well-known companion of Crazy Dog’s.