“You are safe,” she said, touching his face as though to reassure herself. “They took you but they are dead. You are alive.”

“I am safe, but what of the others?”

“We will return across the ocean to them. They are safe there by the lake. Do not fear for Arnwheet.”

“I do not mean them. What about all the other sammads, the Sasku—what of them?”

“I know nothing of them, care nothing. You are my sammad.”

He understood how she felt, wished that he could feel the same. They were secure here with the Paramutan—as long as they stayed far to the north and avoided this dangerous coast. In the spring they would be able to cross the ocean again, to bring the rest of their small sammad here. Then they would all be safe. They would do that. The other sammads were strong and could guard themselves, fight the Yilanè if they were attacked. Their existence was not his responsibility.

“I cannot do it,” he said, teeth clamped tight, fists hard, shaking with the strength of his emotions. “I cannot do it, cannot leave them all to die.”

“You can. You are one—the murgu are many. All of this is not your doing. The fighting will never end. We will stay away from it. We need the strength of your arm and spear, Arnwheet needs it. You should think of him first.”

He laughed at that, a laugh without humor. “You are right—I should think of nothing else. But I cannot stop my thoughts. I discovered something in the murgu camp, saw a chart very much like the murgu one that we have, saw on it the place, the murgu city, where the killers come from . . .”

“You are tired, you must sleep.”

He angrily brushed her hands away, stood and raised his fists to the sky.

“You just don’t understand. Vaintè leads them—and she will follow the sammads until they are finally destroyed. But I know where Ikhalmenets is. Now I know where she gets her weapons and her strength and her fargi.”

Armun fought to control her fear, did not understand the invisible pains that wracked him.

“You have this knowledge—but there is nothing you can do. You are one hunter against a world of murgu. There is nothing that you alone can do.”

Her words disarmed him and he dropped down to sit at her side again. Quieter now, more thoughtful. Anger alone would not drive away the Yilanè.

“You are right, of course, what can I do? Who would help me? All the sammads in the world would be of no help against that distant city on its island in the sea.”