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Chapter 19

Darian ran up to Tarius, covered in Amalite blood. "I had forgotten the thrill of battle," Darian said. "How alive it makes you feel to kill other people."

"It damn near made you dead, old man," Eldred laughed.

"Yeah! Thanks for catching that blow," Darian said.

Eldred smiled. "We non-Katabull have to stick together."

Tarius patted Darian on the back and went to supervise the tying of the dead Amalites to the anchor. She helped hoist them over the side.

They split the Marching Night into two crews and headed back for the Kartik with Tarius's ship sailing just behind the other. They had just finished a meal of hard tack and stale biscuits, and Darian was walking the deck just enjoying the cool sweet sea breeze. He saw Eldred sitting on a bench and joined him there.

"I wanted to thank you again for saving my life," Darian said. Being forced into using it, he found that he was picking up the Kartik much faster now. Although they still laughed at him over his pronunciations, they at least understood what he was saying most of the time.

"That's what we do in the Marching Night. We watch ourselves and each other. If one man falls it makes a hole in our defense, and we all lose a friend, a brother or sister. I saved you today, and maybe tomorrow you will save me, and if you weren't there then I would die as well," Eldred said.

Darian nodded silently.

Eldred had a bottle he was drinking from, and he handed it to Darian. Darian took a sip and coughed. Whatever it was, it was sweet and hot and strong.

Eldred smiled at the look on Darian's face.

From the cabins below loud groaning wafted up into the night. Darian made a curious face. "What's that?"

Eldred looked somewhat embarrassed. "We just had a battle. Tarius and Jena always make love after a battle. That would be Jena."

"Oh," Darian said and took another drink of the liquor.

A louder, more gravely sound came from below, and Eldred smiled, "And that would be Tarius."

"Well good. Good for them," Darian said, nodding his head as he took another drink quickly.

* * *

The Island of Kartik loomed before them, and all hands were on deck preparing to dock. The other ship had just put in ahead of them. Tarius was standing at the helm looking through her glass at the dock. Suddenly she started jumping around excitedly. She waved and screamed out, "Harris! Arvon!"

Darian could just make out two blond-headed figures in the crowd waving wildly at the approaching ship. He had been told that the actual docking could knock you off your feet if you weren't prepared, so Darian had been hanging on for longer than necessary when the boat struck dock. Tarius was the first one off. Not even waiting for the gangplank to be set, she bounded over the side and onto the dock. Then she ran over and embraced first Harris and then Arvon, and then she hugged Harris again, before hugging a very obviously pregnant woman. Darian guessed correctly that this was Harris's wife.

The minute the gangplank was set the rest of the crew boiled off the ship to greet waiting friends and loved ones.

Jena came up and took hold of his arm at the elbow. "Come on, Father."

He nodded and walked with her down the gangplank. It took his legs a second to get used to stationary footing again, but then he looked around him in awe and wonder. It was like being on a different world. The plants, the trees, the people, the structures were all so different from the Jethrik. It truly was a beautiful and enchanting land.

"Jena!" Arvon screamed and snatched Jena's arm away from him with the force of his embrace.

Jena held him tight, glad to see him again, too. In many ways her bond to Arvon was as strong as Tarius's to Harris. For much the same reason, Harris had saved Tarius, and Arvon had saved her.

"Where is Dustan?" Jena asked looking around.

"Hurt," Arvon said briefly. Then answering the look of worry on Jena's face added, "Not badly, but he doesn't feel much like walking."

"What happened?" Jena asked.

Arvon smiled a little. "He got drunk and fell off his horse. Twisted his ankle."

He looked at the man that stood beside Jena recognizing him as a fellow countryman. Then he looked again and his eyes widened. "Darian?"

Darian smiled. "Yes, you traitor, it's me."

Arvon hugged him, and Darian hugged him back, glad to see his old pupil. "But . . . how?" Arvon wanted to know.

"Now that is a long story," Darian said.

Four Katabull men went onto the ship, and minutes later came back carrying the throne. They set it behind Tarius and looked at her expectantly.

Tarius sighed, made a face and sat down. Then the four men picked it up and started carrying it back to the village.

Harris staggered through the crowd, dragging Elise behind him, obviously looking for someone.

"Over here!" Jena screamed waving her hand in the air. Harris and Elise walked over and they exchanged hugs.

"How was the fighting?" Elise asked.

"It was good," Jena said. "The Amalite flat cannot fight the Katabull. There is too much inborn fear."

"I can't wait to get a sword in my hand again," Elise said.

Darian looked at the girl in disbelief. It simply was not the sort of thing one expected a pregnant woman to say.

"You! What the hell are you doing here!" Harris screamed, drawing steel. He was glaring at Darian, and if Darian moved forward even an inch, Harris's blade would be in his stomach.

"Harris, calm down," Arvon said patting him on the shoulder. "It's Darian."

"I know who it is! He had the power to sway the king in his dealings with Tarius, and he as much as ordered her killed," Harris said looking at Jena accusingly.

The racket on the dock suddenly ceased, and every eye turned on Darian.

"I'm . . . I'm sorry, Harris. I was wrong. I know that now," Darian said.

Jena gently took Harris's sword hand and pushed it down. Then she looked into his eyes. "If Tarius can forgive him, and I can forgive him, surely you can as well."

Reluctantly, Harris sheathed his weapon, and he looked Darian straight in the eyes. "It is in Tarius's nature to forgive you because she believes she wronged you, and you, Jena, did not see how she suffered, how she clung to life. I did. I won't kill you, old man, but I won't forgive you, either. Nor will I trust you." Harris took Elise's arm and walked away, hurrying to catch up to Tarius.

"He's very loyal to her," Darian said thoughtfully.

"Of course he is," Arvon said. "Until Tarius, who loved Harris? Until Tarius, who even talked to him like a human?" He quickly looked at Jena. "Except for you of course Jena."

"I treated him well, gave him food to eat, a warm bed, clothed him . . . " Darian said.

"In return he gave you his youth, and did all the crappy chores that no one else would do. Do you know how many times he cleaned out the academy privies? Because he knows the exact number. Did you know that on several occasions Tarius helped him with this task just so that Harris could have more time to train with her? Without Tarius, Harris would still be mucking out shit at the Academy, and he knows it. This, as much as anything else, is why he reacted to you the way he did," Arvon said.

Jena took her father's arm and together they started to walk off the deck.

"But . . . according to our laws and traditions . . . I did well by the lad!" Darian said.

"There is a big difference between good and well," Jena said gently. "Tarius treats, and has always treated Harris as if he were no different from anyone else. No better and no worse. It is because of this that Harris has become the man that he is. Even when he knew what Tarius was he didn't hesitate to help her. He will never understand why any of us hesitated."

As they walked, the people reached out and touched Jena. It seemed everyone wanted to touch her. Darian thought this strange, but Jena seemed to take it in stride, so it must be some strange Katabull custom.

They caught up with Tarius at the great meeting hall. It was then that Darian noticed that not just Jena but Tarius and all of the Marching Night were being touched by the Katabull.

Jena released him and went to stand on Tarius's right hand side while Harris moved to stand on her left. Jena put a hand on Tarius's shoulder, and Tarius looked up at her and smiled. She covered Jena's hand with her own and seemed to be waiting for the crowd to quiet down on their own.

Arvon was standing next to him, so Darian took the opportunity to ask, "Arvon . . . why are the Katabull touching the Marching Night like that?"

"The Katabull believe that by touching someone who has recently had the blood of their enemies on their hands, they will be victorious when next they go into battle. The more people they believe you have killed, the more desirable it is to touch you. That's why Tarius, Radkin, Jena, Tweed and Rimmy get more attention than the others. People know of their legend, and know that they kill many Amalites in battle."

"Jena really is that good, isn't she?" Darian didn't know whether it was pride he felt or guilt. Perhaps if he had raised her right she would be home nursing babies now instead of paired with a woman, content to spend her days killing Amalites.

"Jena's very good, but to tell the truth at least half of the Marching Night are better. Jena is, however, the beautiful, exotic wife of their leader, and they just happen to like her," Arvon said with a smile.

"She's so different," Darian said. "So changed."

"It's true she's not the same person she was before Tarius made her a part of her life. No, she's not the same person she was, Darian. Not a naïve little girl. She has lived. Some of it has been very bad and some good. She's grown into a beautiful and powerful woman. Tarius, 'The Great Leader,' does very little without first talking it over with Jena. People trust Jean's council because she has become very wise in a very short period of time. Hardship has a way of doing that for a person. It also has a way of binding a relationship together."
"She seems so hard," Darian said. "So unforgiving. She had to beat me damn near senseless before she would even think to forgive me."

"She's not harder, Darian, just smarter. Less forgiving because she knows more about the world. Jena is a passionate woman. She loves passionately and hates in equal measure. Yes, Darian, Jena's different," Arvon smiled. "She's better."

Tarius didn't order the crowd to quiet down even when Jerrad came to fill her in on all that had happened.

"Yours was the only ship damaged in the storm," he reported.

"Well, that figures," Tarius said with a sigh.

With her spoken words the crowd quieted.

"As you can see by the number of vessels in the harbor, all of our ships were successful in bringing in at least one ship. The Orion, like your crew, has brought in two. All crews are currently at sea except yours. The crew of the Orion suffered the highest casualties, losing ten fighters in all." He went on with his report for several minutes, finishing with . . . "Queen Hestia has asked to be kept informed of your progress at all times, and I have sent heralds every three days at her request."

Tarius nodded. "You have done very well, Jerrad." She smiled at him. "OK, so if everything's fine, I'll just get back on my ship and . . ."

"Don't you dare," Jerrad said with a laugh. "There are several disputes which call for your attention."

Darian watched as the packs brought their disputes before Tarius. Nothing seemed very serious to Darian. Most were claims of petty thievery and disputes over who had the right to fish or hunt where.

"Why do they waste her time over such trivial matters? What of murder and rape, such crimes as those? Are they saving those for last when she will be too tired to decide?" Darian asked.

Arvon laughed. "Ah! Enter the world of the Katabull, my friend. We are a very ethical people, for whom such issues as petty thievery are anything but trivial. Where rights of hunting and fishing are all important. The Katabull are warriors who never fight amongst ourselves, and our original language didn't even have words for murder or rape. When the Katabull get mad enough to fight, we wrestle. The loser admits defeat, and we go on with life. In all the long history of the Katabull, no Katabull has ever murdered another, and no Katabull has ever raped another."

"But they are beasts! They turn into wild beasts!" Darian protested.

"Who hunt and fight our enemies but not each other. I think it's because of the Katabull that we do not commit violent crimes against each other—that link to the primitive, the knowledge that you are a power to be reckoned with. Perhaps it is because we have always had enemies from without that we have never fought among ourselves. I used to wonder why they called even a single Katabull, 'the Katabull,' and now I know. It is because every Katabull is connected. Every Katabull represents the whole people. It is for this reason that we never slay one another, because if you kill even one of us, it is as if you killed the whole nation."

"We . . ." Darian laughed. "You have lived among the natives too long, my boy. You are one of us, a Jethrik."

"Well actually, no I'm not. Tarius wasn't the only one who broke the academy rules," Arvon said with a broad smile. "I, too, am the Katabull."

Darian stood shaking his head in disbelief. "But how?" He looked around at the dark headed, dark skinned Kartik-looking Katabull all around him.

"The Katabull are everywhere, Darian. In the Kartik mix breeding has made them dark, and in the Jethrik mixed breeding has made them fair like me. Who knows? Perhaps there are as many Katabull in the Jethrik as there are here, and you don't know it because there we are treated like second class citizens, while here we are treated like gods," Arvon said. "Believe it or not, Darian, when you are here for awhile you will never want to go back to the Jethrik. Ever."

Suddenly the dispute behind them got heated.

"He stole my chickens," one man accused.

"Is that true?" Tarius asked.

"Yes . . . But he slept with my daughter," the other countered.

"Is that true?" Tarius asked the first man.

"Well, yes, but she is of age," he said.

"Where is the woman?"

"Here, Great Leader." The girl stepped forward.

"Did he make you a promise he didn't keep?" Tarius asked her.

"He made her no promises at all! That's my point," the father said.

"I asked her," Tarius said.

"He made no promises," she said.

"Did you want to make love with him, or did he coerce you?" Tarius asked.

"I wanted to."

"Was any commitment made because of it?" she asked.

"No."

"You! Give the man his chickens back. He has committed no crime against your family and should not be forced to pay restitution," Tarius said. Then turning to both the young man and the young woman said, "Both of you, either be more responsible with your couplings or do not involve your families. There is no crime against sex with consenting parties, however remember that we as a people do not condone promiscuity."

Darian nodded approvingly and said in a surprised voice. "She's very good at this!"

"Don't sound so surprised. Running a village isn't a whole lot different than running a war camp, and she did a damn fine job of that didn't she? I mean for a girl, of course."

Darian made a face when he realized Arvon was making fun of him, and Arvon laughed.

"She's very fair," Darian said.

Arvon's features turned dark. "Tarius was always fair. It was everyone else who treated her unfairly. Admit it, Darian. Tarius is as good as any man at everything, including being a mate to your daughter."

* * *

The Amalites were never a very bright people. If they had been, they wouldn't have bought into a religion that promised so many things it could only deliver after a person was dead. They proved their stupidity now. They didn't know what was happening to their raiding ships, so they kept sending out more raiding ships to find out what had happened to the others—only to have them disappear as well.

The Katabull/Kartik navy was rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with, and it didn't hurt that the Amalites were completely clueless. They could not conceive of an alliance with the Katabull, so they assumed all other humans were just as narrowsminded. Soon the new naval force had captured twenty-five Amalite ships. The next step was to re-work all the captured ships and turn them into a Kartik armada that no force on the planet would be able to stand against.

Six ships scoured the ocean, tricking and capturing yet more Amalite ships while some of the others were being refitted. Those that were ready simply stood down, waiting for the time that would soon be at hand.

Hestia summoned Tarius and the Marching Night to the castle. A great feast was laid before them, and as had become their custom they discussed business during the festivities.

Tarius leaned towards Hestia. "The time has come to strike their harbors and strike them hard." Tarius had made a rough map of the known world with gravy and bowls on the tablecloth. She pointed to the bowls on her "map." "They have ports here, here, here, here and here. We split our armada into five fleets, the largest one hitting Armond here, because it is the biggest port and well-fortified against attack. This is where myself and the Marching Night will strike. I will put ten Katabull onto each of the other ships in the Armada. We will strike them all at an agreed upon time on the same day. Most of their troops are busy fighting on the Jethrik front here, so the harbor towns will be under-manned, and there will be no chance of reinforcements. We must utterly destroy their ability to go to sea. But, Hestia, we must not stop there."

"What do you mean?" Hestia asked, curiously.

"Hestia, I do not believe you to be as short-sighted as Persius," Tarius said. She pointed to a spot on the "map". "See this spot? This is the spot on which the Jethrik almost lost the war. The Valley of the Arrow, so called because it was there that I caught an arrow in my hand that was fated to kill Persius, King of the Jethrik."

"Every one knows that, honey," Jena said, looking around her at Hestia and making a face. Hestia smiled, and Tarius turned to see what Jena was doing. Naturally, Jena was doing nothing when Tarius looked, so Jena looked at Tarius innocently and shrugged.

Tarius turned back to Hestia, for the moment ignoring Jena. "It was here that I warned Persius about the Amalites, and he did not listen. Listen to me now, Hestia, if you have never heard my council before. Do not have us stop at the Amalite coast. The Amalites will never stop. They will never learn. They believe their gods command them to smite the unbelievers and they will never rest till everyone in the world worships as they do or we are all dead. So if we only pound them back, they will regroup, rebuild, grow and come after us again."

"So we will keep an armed armada in the harbors and make sure that they do not," Hestia said.

"We can't watch every inch of shore, nor can we keep them from buying or taking ships from others. They are obsessed with killing us, and will do whatever their priests tell them their gods ordered them to do. You haven't fought them face-to-face; I have, many times. When you see the hate and fear in their eyes, you know how evil are their beliefs and how relentless. Look at the Jethriks if you don't believe me. Twice they have had to push the Amalites back behind their borders, and now they have to do it again. Not once have the Jethriks moved to attack the Amalites. For that matter, neither have we. Yet despite the fact that they have over twice the land that the Jethrik has, and over five times what we possess, they will not stop attacking. I tell you they never will unless we utterly obliterate every fighting man and priest in their country. Let their civilian population live. Perhaps there is hope that without their leaders they will turn from this evil religion. But I implore you, Hestia, let us not stop at the shore. Let us press inward. Let each group of us leave waste the harbor towns and then run along the coast, meeting up here. Then let us crush the remaining Amalite army between our forces and that of Persius, King of the Jethrik."

"You would help Persius and his people after all that they have done to you?" Hestia asked in disbelief.

"I would use them to help us crush our only real enemies—the Amalites," Tarius said. "The Jethrik people have stupid, short-sighted rules and traditions, especially where it concerns women and the Katabull, but they are not an evil people. If we do not help them, the Amalites will over-run them, and then the barbarian kings and their countries will also fall. Then there will be no way that the Kartik can keep them at bay. Only if we help the Jethriks crush the Amalites shall we be utterly rid of them."

Hestia was thoughtful for a moment. When she spoke again it was with purpose. "And when we have crushed them utterly, then let the Jethriks take half of their land, and we will take the other half. We will both agree not to allow the Amalite religion to exist. We will destroy every temple, every sacred vessel, every religious text, and we will kill every priest. Then they will never be able to rise up and smite the world again," Hestia said.

Tarius looked at Hestia in delight. "You are brilliant, Hestia! Such a course could rid us of the Amalite menece forever!"

"We will give our people incentives to inhabit the land . . . " Hestia was on a roll.

By the end of the feast every one of their followers was drunk and in a festive mood, and Hestia and Tarius had conceived and carefully planned out the fall and total destruction of the Amalite Empire.

Hestia looked at Tarius. "So, will you let me ride with the Marching Night and help you command the army, or would you rather I took one of the other units in?"

"You will ride with us, and together we will make history," Tarius said.

* * *

It took time to load the boats, to prepare for the battle, and to gather enough supplies to feed, arm and care for an army of this size for an unknown length of time. They used the time to prepare themselves mentally and physically for the war ahead. They also used it to relax and be with their loved ones. Everyone knew there was a good chance that many of them would never see the Kartik again. They would all go, and they would all fight, and none doubted that they would crush the Amalites. However they knew that many of them would die in a foreign country without ever again seeing their mates, their children, or the land they were fighting for.

Tarius and Jena sat together on the Katabull throne watching Radkin play with two of her four children. She had borne two, and her mate had borne two. Rimmy was Radkin's children's father, and Radkin's mate, Irvana, had her children with Tweed, Rimmy's mate. Of the children's four parents, only Irvana was not going with them. These children could lose three parents in this war. These thoughts and more of the same were running through Tarius's head as she watched them play.

I ask people to go with me. To take up swords and go and fight a war that could conceivably get us all killed. Many of them will die. Children will lose parents, lovers will lose partners, parents will lose children, and there will be no homes among the Katabull where there will not be mourning. As a people we are just now starting to recover from the last slaughter. There are fewer of us than there are of any other people in the world. Yet a bigger part of our population is going than that of the Kartiks, or even the Jethriks. I will either lead my people to extinction, or at last make sure that we will be safe in the world. I have made the decision already; it is too late to pull back now. All I can do now is pray I've made the right decision for us all.

"What are you thinking?" Jena asked, leaning her head on Tarius's shoulder.

"That many of us will die," Tarius said morosely.

"Well that's very cheerful. Don't think like that, Tarius," Jena said.

"I must," Tarius said. "I must realize what I am asking my people to do, and I must realize that because they follow me many of them will die. I will lead all of them into battle, but some of them I will lead to their deaths."

"They go willingly, Tarius. You have forced no one to go, and you can't hold yourself responsible for every person who dies in this war. In war people die, you told me that, and everyone knows that. We do what has to be done," Jena said.

"I want you to stay here," Tarius said. "I don't want you with us at the front."

Jena laughed. "In other words, you're feeling guilty because everyone else is sending their loved ones into war, and you want to leave yours here where it's safe. Well, you can quit worrying, my love, because I am going. I wouldn't think of asking you to stay; you shouldn't think of asking me."

"Jena a battle—a skirmish—is not like a war," Tarius said. "You have never seen what happens when war is waged in the middle of a civilian population. We will be forced to attack whole villages in our first wave, and there will be civilian casualties. Men, women and children who had nothing to do with the Amalite war effort will be just as dead as the men carrying pikes and spears. Some of them, through no fault of their own, will catch stray arrows or run between two swordsmen while trying to flee. Others will decide to help defend their country, they'll grab sticks, pitchforks, or kitchen knives, and they can kill you as dead as any fighter. You don't have time to see whether they mean you harm or not; if they get close, you have to kill them. You may realize when you are pulling your sword free that you have just killed a man doing nothing more dangerous than trying to carry a child to safety. There will be rivers of blood and more bodies than you have ever seen. You will trample the bodies of your comrades beneath your horse's hooves or be as dead as they are. There is a stench to war. Rotting flesh, shit, vomit, entrails, and flies so thick you breathe them up your nose if you're not careful," Tarius told her. "That is my life, but it doesn't have to be yours. I don't want it to be yours."

Jena jumped up and stood in front of Tarius, glaring down at her. "Your life is my life. I will not say goodbye to you on the docks and wave as you sail off to war like I did when I was a good little Jethrik wife to Sir Tarius who wasn't yet The Black. I will go with you! I will never again be separated from you, left behind to wonder whether you are alive or dead. I will stab children by mistake, and have my horse trample my friends into the ground and breathe the stench of death and flies up my nose. It's my privilege as your mate to be as miserable as you are, and you'll not take it from me!"

Tarius laughed, then grabbed Jena by the wrists and pulled her down on her lap. She wrapped her arms tightly around her, resting her chin on Jena's shoulder. "Please, Jena . . . " She kissed the side of Jena's neck, and Jena tried to squirm away from her.

"Quit it! I'm trying to be mad at you," Jena said, but laughed in spite of herself. She slapped at Tarius's hands. "You really are awful. I swear, you are as bad as a Jethrik man sometimes the way you think you can boss me around."

The ball rolled into Tarius's legs, and then so did the young boy. He picked up the ball then looked up and realized who he had just run into. He bowed his forehead low, almost touching the ground. "I am sorry, Great Leader."

"Laz!" Tarius said, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. "What did I tell you?"

The boy looked confused; he was young—only six—and really didn't remember. He shrugged.

"I'm still Tarius, Laz," Tarius said with a sigh. "Don't bow to me. I'm no better than you are. Don't bow to anyone. No one is any better than anyone else. 'Leader' is my job, just a job. Part of my job says I have to sit in a big stupid chair and have people call me Great Leader, but you are part of my pack, and I am just Tarius to you."

"Yes, Great Leader," Laz said.

Tarius popped herself in the forehead with her hand. "Just . . . go play."

Jena laughed. "You should let them call you Great Leader if they want. It makes people feel better to think that someone else is in control of the big decisions. Especially the children. They want to look up to you."

"Let them look up to their own parents. I am a better fighter, but I'm no braver than any of them. Radkin or Rimmy, either one, would make just as good a 'Great Leader' as I do," Tarius said.

As if he'd heard his name, Rimmy came running up, stopping just short of running into them. Jena was up, expecting trouble, and Tarius was on her feet as soon as Jena was up.

"What's wrong?" Tarius asked.

"It's Elise, the baby's coming," he said out of breath.

Jena looked at Tarius. "It's too soon."

"Where are they?" Tarius asked.

"At the birthing hut," Rimmy said.

"Send for the witch Jazel. Tell her what is happening. Go at once," Tarius ordered. Rimmy took off running again, and Tarius took off in the direction of the birthing hut, changing into the Katabull as she went, her speed increasing with the change.

Radkin ran up to Jena. "Jena . . . what's going on?" she asked.

"Harris and Elise's baby is coming," Jena said.

"It's too soon," Radkin said. Jena nodded and ran in the same direction Tarius had gone.

* * *

Tarius burst through the door of the hut and was glad to see that besides the head birth attendant there were two others in attendance.

Tarius walked up and put a hand on Harris's shoulder, and Harris looked up at her with a terror in his eyes that he had never known in battle.

Elise was obviously in pain.

"Can you stop the pains?" Tarius asked the head birth attendant. "Keep her from having it yet?"

"We tried," he said, "but her water broke a few minutes ago, and the baby is coming."

Elise just cried. Tarius looked at her. "Nothing will happen to your baby, Elise. I won't allow it." Tarius sounded ridiculous, and she knew it, but Elise seemed to calm down immediately.

Tarius let go of Harris and pulled the attendant to the side. "Is it too early? Can the child live?"

"It is rare, Great Leader, but not unheard of. If the baby is breathing when it is born, it may live."

"I sent for the witch Jazel, but it will take her most of a day to get here," Tarius said.

"We will do everything we can," he said. Tarius nodded.

"It's my fault!" Harris screamed suddenly. "The child is deformed like me. He's dying because of me!"

To everyone's shock and surprise, Tarius walked over, took Harris by the collar, jerked him to his feet and dragged him from the hut. Outside she looked him straight in the eyes and slapped him hard. "Calm down! The child should be so lucky to be deformed like you. This is not your fault, and it's not Elise's fault. This sort of thing happens, that's all. You have to hold it together for her." Tarius hugged him quickly. "We will do everything we can do, Harris, and what you have to do is be calm and strong."

Harris nodded, and together they walked back inside.

Jena got there out of breath. She went to the other side of Elise's bed and took hold of the hand Harris wasn't holding. She said nothing, there was nothing to say. This whole thing reminded her a little too much of her own loss, yet she felt she had to be there for her friends.

About an hour later the baby was born, blue and not breathing. "I'm sorry," the attendant said with sadness.

"You give up too easily," Tarius said. With tears streaming down her face she pushed Harris out of the way and took the baby from the attendant. It was still attached to its mother by the throbbing umbilical cord. Tarius scooped the goo from the baby's mouth and nostrils, covered both with her mouth and breathed into him slowly. They all just watched her in awe, thinking her mad. "Get me a blanket." The attendant handed her one. Tarius wrapped the tiny baby in it and continued to do what she had been doing. Except now she also started rubbing the baby's chest with her thumb.

Elise was screaming and crying in grief, and Harris was trying to comfort her.

Jena put a gentle hand on Tarius's shoulder. Her tears rolled down her cheeks unchecked. "Tarius . . . the baby is gone. Let it go . . ."

"I am not crazy!" Tarius screamed. "I have seen Robert do this to wounded men on the front to bring them back." She continued what she was doing.

The baby made a tiny cry, so low it could hardly be heard, yet everyone in the room was suddenly quiet. Tarius held the baby upside down and slapped his butt. More mucus came from the baby's nose and mouth, and she quickly wiped it away with the blanket. The baby's color was changing from blue to pink as she watched. He was breathing, labored yes, but he was alive. Tarius carefully handed the baby to Elise, who looked at him and smiled through her tears. She still cried, but this time they were tears of relief and joy.

The birth attendant undid the blankets just enough to tie a string around the umbilical. "Do you want to cut the cord?" he asked Harris.

Harris looked from his son to Tarius. "I want Tarius to do it with her blade."

"I would be honored." Tarius pulled her blade and cut the cord where the birth attendant instructed.

"You must show me what you did, Great Leader," he said with admiration.

Tarius nodded silently and sheathed her sword. She wiped the baby goo and blood from her mouth with a towel one of the lesser attendants handed her.

Harris undid the baby's blankets and looked at his feet. "He's all right!" Harris cried. "He's tiny, but he's not deformed." Harris looked at Tarius. "How can I ever thank you, Tarius? You saved our son."

"Harris, you saved my life, remember?" Tarius said. "You owe me no debt; it is I who will owe you. Always."

"We shall name our son Tarius," Elise said. "It was you who brought Harris and I together, and you who breathed your very breath into him to give him life."

Harris nodded in an approving way. "If it's all right with you and Jena, Tarius."

"It is," Tarius said.

Jena nodded silently.

"I . . . I have to go now." Tarius stepped quickly from the hut.

Jena looked at Harris. "I better go check on Tarius. I am so happy for you all." She left to go after her mate. She found her a few feet away leaning against a tree with her hands on her knees and crying like Jena had never seen her cry before. Jena went to her and put an arm around her waist. "Tarius what's wrong? You saved him. He'll live now. I just know it."

"I don't know why I'm crying," Tarius cried. "Yes, I do. Your child—our child died because of me. Who was there to save him? Not me."

"Tragon killed our child, Tarius. You are no more to blame than I am. All I had to do was ask Arvon to take me to you, and he would have done so. But I was afraid, so I waited till it was too late. It was not to be, love," Jena said gently.

"I had just told them I wouldn't allow their child to die, but when I was standing there breathing into him and rubbing his chest I was just guessing. I had seen Robert do it, but that was on full-grown men. Not a tiny baby. And even with all Robert's skill, most of the grown men didn't live long. For a minute I was as sure as everyone else that the baby was dead, and that I had failed Harris. Harris, to whom I owe my life. It was just luck, and the will of the Nameless One that the baby started to breathe. Then Harris and Elise heap these honors upon me. There was only one other time in my life that I have felt as helpless and as truly frightened as when I was holding that tiny baby in my arms trying to breathe life into it. That was when I realized that Persius was going to expose me in front of you." She dried her face on the back of her hands. "He named his son after me. Me! And I owe everything to him."

"And he owes everything to you. So the two cancel each other out, and there is no debt between you. He knows how you feel about him, and you know how he feels about you." Jena smiled then and kissed the top of Tarius's head. "If it makes you feel any better, you can name our first son Harris."

Tarius smiled and stood up; she hugged Jena tight. "And I was just thinking how confusing it was going to be to have two of me running around."

* * *

The baby struggled that first night, but by noon the next day Jazel was there with her powders and her potions. Within hours the baby's breathing became more regular, his appetite increased, and his color improved.

Tarius invited Jazel to eat with them. She sat across the table from Tarius. "All right, so what is it you want now?" Jazel asked after they had finished their meal.

Jena laughed and started to clear away the plates.

"I want you to go to Amalite with us. To help us annihilate the Amalites," Tarius said. "Run a few stealth and silence spells, do a little medicine."

"I'll do it on one condition," Jazel said.

Jena didn't let her finish. "Tarius is not sleeping with Helen."

"Now damn it, Jena," Jazel said. "Put yourself in my position. How would you like to have a woman who was always lusting after another? If Tarius would just do her once and do a really bad job of it, slobber and fart maybe start talking about a beheading—Helen has this fear of being beheaded—my life could get back to what it once was."

"Sorry," Jena said.

"Then I'm not going," Jazel said crossing her arms across her chest.

"All right then," Tarius said.

"Over my dead body!" Jena screamed out angrily.

"Jena, we have to do what's right for our people. We all have to sacrifice. Of course I can't promise to do a bad job, because I am after all the Katabull." She looked at Jena with meaning, and Jena smiled.

"Yes, you are the Katabull," Jena said.

"What the hell has that got to do with anything?" Jazel asked.

"Sometimes when I'm . . . Well, you know doing it. I become the Katabull."

Jena looked starry eyed. "Does she ever!"

"After that, I really have no control over what I do sexually."

"It's amazing!" Jena moaned out.

"Wait a minute," Jazel said suspiciously. "Are you trying to scam me?"

"It's a little-known fact about the Katabull," Tarius said. "But I wouldn't worry, Jazel. I mean after all it's a one-time thing, and Helen does love you, doesn't she?"
"The last thing I need is you doing her so good I can never compete!" Jazel fumed. "OK, then here's my compromise. Whenever you are around Helen, you have to wear this special potion which will make you unappealing to her."

"Will it affect me as well?" Jena asked.

"No . . . All right, so it's not really a potion, it's just a fragrance Helen hates, but maybe it will do the trick anyway," Jazel said. She shrugged. "So, I guess I'm going to go fight your war with you."

 

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