Gale Force

head-which felt as if it weighed about a hundred pounds-and focused on Ashan. His

expression was closed and still, but I thought I saw something in it that hadn't been there before.

''It was necessary, you know,'' he said. ''Necessary you stop before it's too late.'' Which wasn't

an apology, but the fact that he felt compelled to explain himself was an enormous change.

David growled, deep in his throat, and I stilled him with a hand on his cheek, still looking at

Ashan.

''Thank you. I won't expect it again,'' I said. I saw a flash in his cool eyes, and he bent his head

a fraction of an inch.

And then he misted away, and his bodyguards followed, giving me a range of stares from

curiosity to anger.

One faded in. Ve

body, the strength of his embrace. I was shaking all over, and couldn't seem to stop. It wasn't

just physical injury. I'd come close, so desperately close-in some indefinable way, I felt more

fragile now than I ever had, despite the fact that I'd won.

I wouldn't have wanted to show so much vulnerability to Ashan, but it was different with Ve

She'd seen me crying, filthy, beaten, broken. She'd never made judgments, not in the way that

Ashan would.

I felt the soft touch of her hand stroking my hair.

''You had to win alone,'' Ve

for the Dji

I gulped air and nodded. David wasn't so understanding. He let out that low, vicious growl

again, and Ve

if it angered her, but I doubted it. She seemed to understand his desperation.

She studied the two of us with a sorrowful and composed expression, like a graveyard angel.

''Your enemies are much worse than you are. You should be prepared for the fight.''

I croaked, ''Who? Who are they?''

''You know,'' she said, and stood up. ''You knew before, and you will again. You saw him. You

just won't allow yourself to see.''

I reached out and grabbed her hand. She looked down, frowning a little, and pulled free without

any difficulty-but she did it gently. ''I hope you survive. And I hope-I hope you are happy.''

I laughed hollowly. ''I hope so, too. I don't suppose we can count on you for a little help along

those lines?''

Ve

Nothing, I supposed.

Which was, as Ve

David picked me up and carried me into the bathroom. I might have passed out for a while; when

I woke, I was naked, and the two of us were in the bathtub, stretched out and facing each other.

He was gently sluicing hot water over my chest, and when he saw I was awake, he switched to a

washcloth, which he used to sponge blood from my face and mouth. There was a lot of it, which

was alarming in a distant sort of way. I was too weak to really feel panic.

He pressed his lips to my forehead.

''I'm sorry,'' he whispered. ''I'm sorry I left you. I won't leave you again.''

''Not even for-''

''No. Not even for the Mother.''

It had the feeling not of seduction, but of ritual, and the heat of the water eased something cold

and small and terrified inside of me. We stayed in the bath until I felt sleep overtaking me, and

then he carried me to bed, where I fell into a black, dreamless pit.

Sleep wasn't without its horrors. I woke a few times feeling phantom fingers scrabbling for my

heart, but it wasn't an attack, just raw unfiltered panic. David was there to drive it away. Hush,

he told me, and soothed the fear with gentle strokes of his fingers. I won't leave you. You are

safe in my arms.

When the phone rang, he answered, and I drifted back to a dark, quiet sleep for the rest of the

night.

In the morning, I woke up stronger than I'd felt through the night-though that really wasn't

much of an improvement, since I'd started from a baseline of near death. I found out from David,

who was up bright and early fixing coffee and eggs, that the phone call had been from Lewis.

The aetheric dust-up had been witnessed by hundreds of Wardens, though nobody could tell

what had been going on or who had been the target. Lewis had decided to check in, just in case.

A team of Wardens had been put on smoothing out the effects of the fight, which was good,

because it was well beyond me. Sitting up for more than an hour was beyond me.

David poured me a cup of coffee and slid into the chair beside me. ''How do you feel?'' he

asked.

''Like I survived. Barely,'' I said. ''You want the truth? I feel fragile. And glad to be alive.'' I

sipped without really tasting the nutty brown richness, though the smell of the coffee warmed

me. ''Why did Ashan make you watch?''

His hands went still on the table. He didn't look up. ''Punishment,'' he said. ''I didn't have

permission to leave the Mother. She wasn't pleased. She-she can cut me off from her, and she

did it, to prove the point. That's why I didn't have the power to stop him.''

He'd disobeyed the Mother for me. I almost dropped the china cup, and it rattled when I

managed to get it back to the saucer. ''David-''

''If you're about to tell me that it was stupid, I already know,'' he said. ''But don't ask me to

promise not to do it again.''

''But-what did she want?''

''Dji

even if I tried to explain.''

Because of me, David had already lost his status as the sole conduit for the Dji

taken on responsibility for the Old Dji

that knowledge stab deep, and lodge like a dagger of ice somewhere near my heart. ''I don't

think I'm worth it,'' I said slowly.

He raised his head, and the look in his eyes broke me. ''I think you are,'' he said. ''I think you're

worth far more. You've proven it to me so many times.''

I had to take a deep breath, or I'd have burst into tears. As it was, my voice trembled. ''David-

Ashan told me the risks. If we exchange vows, it could bind the New Dji

Jonathan's vow bound the Dji

All of you.'' I swallowed hard. ''I can't take that chance.''

''No?'' He smiled, but it was a bitter, dark thing, and it made me shiver. ''I can.''

''David-''

''I warned you. When Dji

and merciless. '' He regarded me for a long moment, and his hand closed around mine, far

gentler than the look in his eyes. ''You think I did this without considering the consequences?

Without considering the cost to my own people, and my responsibilities?''

''I-'' I finally shook my head. ''I don't know. I don't know how it is for Dji

is involved, humans aren't usually that strong on logic.''

That made his smile warmer, more genuine. ''True enough for us as well. However, I believe

that the New Dji

ensure that happens. You see? Logical. It also happens to be what I want to do. It's a risk, yes,

but it's a risk I think is acceptable. In addition, it's a way to force the Sentinels out in the open,

by forcing them to counter our move.'' He lifted my fingers to his mouth and kissed them, just a

light brush of lips. ''If you decide we can't go through with it, I'll abide by your decision.''