Crucible of Fate

service to him.” He broke off, reaching for Yuri’s hand.
    My mate clasped forearms with the older man, and Ehivet’s face hardened, the man stoically refusing to cry. “You have a place at my table and even in my tribe if you were ever to need one, Yuri Kosa,” he addressed my mate solemnly. “You are always welcome, you are free to come and go in my territory, at any time, at your leisure. You are krates of my tribe.”
    Yuri was shaken, and I would have been too. Krates—“brother” or “sister” of the tribe—meant you were adopted into another tribe but swore no allegiance to a new semel. It was never done, the practice considered dangerous for the leader and the tribe, as you could be inviting a viper into your home. But there was no greater gift, no greater honor to bestow.
    “Semel—”
    “Ehivet,” he corrected me, his eyes having trouble leaving Yuri but finally making it back to my face. “Please, always address me as though we are the oldest of friends.”
    “Ehivet, the tribe of Wepwawet wants me dead or—”
    “No, my lord, they—”
    “Please.” I interrupted him. “Always address me as though we are the oldest of friends.”
    He nodded.
    “You were saying?”
    He cleared his throat and eased his son closer, tucking his arm around him even as Garai rubbed his chin over his father’s shoulder. “My gift to you is the loyalty of the tribe of Wepwawet. Rahab was a bully; his brother is not as fierce but is kinder and more honorable. My sister is stronger than both Rahab and Zaki, and she already has plans for change. Both tribes deal in commodities that it is better you do not concern yourself with, Domin Thorne, but for all the power we thought we had, only you and your house were able to accomplish this goal. I could have retrieved a body; you have restored my son. Both tribes stand in your debt, and my sister sends her regards and her oath as well as that of her mate.”
    I bowed. “Thank you.”
    “No, Domin Thorne, thank you,” he said and bowed lower.
    We were silent a moment.
    “Will Tarek die?”
    “Either here or in Sobek,” I said frankly.
    “I know there is no fault that lies with his daughter, Masika,” he declared. “But I will have no mating between my son and the house of Tarek. The covenant bond is rescinded.”
    “Record it in your tribal record as having my blessing.”
    “Thank you, my lord,” he rasped and then released his son’s hand to step in and hug me. It was the tight, hard clench men give one another, but I understood it was so far out of his comfort zone that I needed to accept it for the gift it was.
    I hugged him back, and then he stepped free and hugged Yuri as well. Garai hugged Yuri, too, and I realized, as he stared up into Yuri’s face like he was God, that at eighteen I would have thought the same if he had saved me. Yuri was as close to a guardian angel as the boy was ever going to get.
    “Thank you for protecting me, sekhem,” he said, shivering. “What was done was a horror, what was threatened before you arrived…. I would have killed myself first.”
    “No, never.” Yuri put his hand on the soft cheek. “Hurting yourself is never an option. And you did nothing wrong in any way. Always remember that.”
    Garai teared up, and then they were gone, all of them walking back toward a waiting helicopter that appeared military. It wasn’t noisy; it sounded more like a jet. As we watched them lift off, Yuri was smiling at me.
    “What?”
    “You have your first ally.”
    “Because of you.”
    “Because you allowed me to go, Domin.”
    “It won’t happen again,” I vowed. “Now, come on, I want a word with Constantine.”
    “You know, we should get helicopters,” he said, his hand on the back of my neck.
    “I was thinking the exact same thing.”
     
     
    I HAD no idea what had been burned in the fire pit that had created the smell in the fort, but I was too afraid that it was some kind of drug to chance it. I decided to demolish the building, level it, and then rebuild. In the meantime, a home would be built in Ipis for the new semel, Hanif Tarek, and his family.
    Ayaz Suyuti said that if he would be permitted to leave, he would bring bulldozers and earthmovers back with him.
    “You may come and go as you like, djehu; I simply need you to sit down with Chanzira to talk about the catacombs before I leave.”
    “Yes, my lord.” He beamed as he grabbed my hand and held it tight. “Whatever you want, simply ask