Convergence

The footing was slippery as they emerged from the cave mouth alongside the stream that now ran, more shallow and placid, through the twisting canyon. The drowned bodies of the Thandi and her male companion lay there in the water.

The sides of the canyon were not high, and in places it looked possible to ascend the grayish-red walls, though not easily. Midday sun beat down from above, making the grass, ferns and spiky aloe that grew in the canyon sparkle like green jewels.

Whisper and Adder had stopped at the entrance. She and Keya pushed past them to take in the scene.

"I hope you remember your promise, Zhura," Whisper said as the herb-witch shouldered by. "You owe me."

Not far ahead, a large group lined the canyon floor. Many were captives in chains. Sprinkled among those unfortunates, Zhura spotted a few bajari. The hyenoid demons craned their necks, looking up.

Above, on both sides of the canyon walls were dozens of warriors. They were dark-skinned, wearing only brief kilts and headdresses made of the feathers of forest birds. Their shields were painted in bright colors, and red war paint adorned their gleaming bodies.

One of them, close enough to see his face, grinned as he trained a bow on the infernals. Many of his fellows already threaded their way down the canyon cliffs.

"Hello!" he called cheerfully in Sung. "Ancestors bless!"

These last Thandi and bajari stragglers of the Thandi would not escape.

Zhura panicked as she realized that the demons might rush back into the cave, and could reach it before many of the Sung descended.

She tensed, staff ready. The cave entrance was narrow, but the water was too shallow to provide any real barrier. With only her and Adder to hold it, they would be quickly overwhelmed.

"Adder..." she glanced behind where she and Keya stood.

Whisper and Adder were gone.

Fortunately, the bajari hadn't tried to come this way. They splashed into the stream, pushing past captives that struggled in their chains. But the bajari didn't get far. The demons expected no quarter, and the Sung warriors gave none.

Though Zhura did not look away, she felt only sorrow watching more die.

**

Once they'd ascended the canyon, Zhura and Keya hiked up the rocky slope together. The priestess used Zhura's staff as a walking stick, picking her way up gingerly, head completely covered by her wide-brimmed hat.

Keya was at about eleven weeks, by Zhura's count. Too soon to show her swell under the gown, and no more awkward than usual on her feet. But still, this place had been crawling with demons and Thandi witches only hours ago.

"We should stay with the others," Zhura frowned. As she looked back to the north, the vista of red rock lay out before and beneath her. The hill that housed the ancient copper mine, the ridges that ran east and west, growing steadily greener northward along the river valley and towards the city - she could see it all from here.

"There's something I need to show you," Keya huffed with effort as she climbed. Rat-like hyraxes poked their heads out from among the rocks, watching the intruders pass.

"You're sure the others are well?"

"Ngo has a few broken ribs, and an arm. He drives the king's healers mad, claiming that he will only accept the care of a Sung herb-witch. A certain one in particular." she quipped. "The fool wanted to come along with the other Sung warriors. Lila stayed with him. Which means he will likely be even more injured from straining himself by the time we return."

The summit was smooth and rounded, like a bald man's head. Hardy shrubs and twisted trees gripped the rock. Keya led the way across.

"Blossom is healing well. Xhe says xhe will accompany us back to Kitu to bear the child. I think perhaps xhe just wants to get you alone again."

Zhura shuddered, remembering how easily she had surrendered to the demon. "I wouldn't trust myself to let that happen."

"Jinai still speaks to me. She told me something that disturbed me at first, when Ranthaman's mercenaries arrived in the city. It seems the reason the Chidean army pulled back was that House San askari mass in the hills around Kichinka, threatening to assault the kingdom from the north."

"House San is that powerful?"

"Yes. A Great House can raise thousands of warriors. San doesn't have that many in the Kingdoms yet, but they have hundreds."

"So what was disturbing?"

They had reached the top of the summit, and eased down the far slope. It was still gentle, but Zhura could see a steep drop ahead, and a vast plain below.

Keya picked her way ahead with the staff a few more steps, before she stopped. "Why do you think House San would want from your father in exchange for their military support?

"Oh," Zhura said, as it dawned on her.

The priestess found a place where they could both sit amongst the rocks. "Ranthaman made a side trade with King Yende," she said. "For some share of summoning stones captured in the conflict."

"That is what he wanted all along," Zhura said.

Keya nodded. "He tried to deal with the Thandi first, but Jinai said the coven was more interested in using him to catch you than selling summoning stones. So ultimately Ranthaman threw his support behind Yende."

"So were there any?" Zhura asked. "Stones captured from the Thandi?"

Keya shrugged. "I think it is likely that the Thandi who died the other night had stones on them. But we were too busy searching for you after the fighting. The red plumes wouldn't tell me what they found."

Zhura sat down next to the priestess. The flat stone beneath her was sun-warmed. "You don't seem concerned about it," she said.

Keya leaned on the herb-witch's shoulder. Her scent was clean, even though she must have been walking for many hours. Probably because Zhura had been smelling her own filth for so long.

"The summoning stones have been discovered, Zhura. They are out in the world. We can't stop that. Ntoza and the others who've escaped have surely taken stones to Chide. They'll wield real political power there. If House San can balance that power, then perhaps that is best."

"We promised Mama Nyah and Papa Yaz."

"The Ancestors don't demand the impossible. We promised to prevent war. House San may have their stones, but so will your father. Instead of two kingdoms threatening the balance of power in the region, only one has fallen to the Thandi."

"That still feels like failure to me," Zhura said. "Or at least, not victory." She sighed, and thought of her mother.

Victory wasn't everything.

"What do you make of our vanishing new friends?" she asked the priestess.

"Whisper has informants all over Morore. One of the refugees in the Casters' Guild must have worked for her. He came to Emmi and I the day after the battle, and arranged a meeting with her. Whisper had discovered this hidden lair, and was eager to let us know where it was."

They sat for a while, silently. Keya's hand closed over hers.

"The Ancestors will be satisfied, Zhura. You have done well."

Zhura scoffed. "How can you know what the Ancestors want?"

Keya tipped her hat, looking up at her lover playfully. "Because they speak to me," she said.

For perhaps the first time, Zhura appreciated the view before them. The cliff dropped dramatically to a barren shelf of rocky bluffs. From there, the descent was a gradual one to the valley floor. Gazelles grazed there, the delicate animals moving slowly across the golden plain. To the south was another line of hills. To the west was the shining ribbon of the Big Mongoose.

"I have seen this place. Through Anathe's eyes," Zhura said.

"Bandiri Slopes."

"Where it all began." Zhura said. She put a protective arm around the priestess.

Keya took off her hat so that she could lay her head in the crook of Zhura's shoulder. Later, she took scrolls, quill and ink from her satchel, and began to write.

Zhura watched the shadows of clouds float over the plain, until Emmi and Musa came looking for them.

**

Zhura and Keya stood naked on the balcony, bodies still damp and oozing with the passion of the friends who'd recently left their palace bedchamber. The fresh air of the northern wilds softened the smell of sex and sweat from their recent exertions. Zhura held Keya from behind, gentle fingers gliding over the swell of the priestess's belly. She imagined she could feel the beginnings of a bump.

The moon was a gleaming crescent, sharp enough to carve the heavens. The city was quiet. Not an ominous quiet, but a peaceful one.

"It is a great gift to know where you came from," Zhura said. "And to know why you've come."

Keya's hands slid over hers. "The Ancestors' greatest gift," she agreed.

"It was a gift even my mother didn't have." Zhura whispered.

In life, Anathe had never known that Tswe had sired her. Only after Anathe's death, when Tswe avenged her and Anathe's daughter revealed her own infernal heritage, had the demon's true role become evident.

Zhura took a deep breath. She smiled to herself.

Ngo's broken bones were healing, though he still grumbled that he couldn't join the almost nightly gatherings the two women hosted in their bedchamber. There would be just enough time once he was well, to travel back to Kitu before Blossom gave birth.

"I will miss this," Keya said. "The comforts of a palace remind me of home."

As Whisper had said, there might be more to be done here. Would Yende really be able to serve all of his subjects? What was Ntoza plotting with her summoning stones? Perhaps after the children were safe and well, Zhura and her companions could come back.

"Perhaps this is home," Zhura said. "And Kitu, and Namu, and Boma. They are all our homes. Places we'll eventually return to in due time." She thought of Kaj and Amina, and their baby she hadn't met.

As if in response, a shooting star streaked across the night sky. Keya held Zhura's wrists and whirled around so that they faced each other but still embraced.

It was only then that the priestess noticed the drying tears on Zhura's face. She wiped them away with gentle fingers.

Keya's full lips were puffy from an evening of hard use, but it looked as if they could endure some more attention.

"Just so, my love." Keya said. "Just so."