The Desert Spear

thing, and whether it was herbs or warding or foreign tongues, there was no skill she could not master and bring new innovation to.
    So it was for her in the pillows that day, as they shed their clothes and Leesha, who had spent the last decade and a half learning to heal bodies, finally learned to make them sing.
    Jardir seemed to agree as they rolled apart, sweaty and panting. “You put even
jiwah’Sharum
pillow dancers to shame.”
    “Years of repressed passion,” Leesha said, stretching her back deliciously, unashamed at her nudity. She had never felt so free. “You’re lucky to be Shar’Dama Ka. A lesser man might not have survived.”
    Jardir laughed, kissing her. “I am bred for war, and will fight this joyous battle with you a hundred thousand times if need be.”
    He stood and bowed low. “But I fear the sun is setting, and we must step into battle of another sort. Tonight is the first night of Waning, and the
alagai
will be strong.” Leesha nodded, and they reluctantly pulled on their clothes. He took up his spear, and she her pocketed apron.
    No one said anything to them as Gared, Wonda, and Rojer met them in the courtyard with the waiting Spears of the Deliverer. Leesha felt so different, she was sure it must be obvious to the others, but if it was, they gave no sign.
    Even during
alagai’sharak,
Leesha found it hard to keep focus so near to Jardir. He seemed to feel it, too, never straying from her side as she inspected and dealt with the few minor wounds the skilled warriors incurred.
    “May I read to you again tomorrow?” Jardir asked when the battle was done. He would be needed for hours more, but the Hollowers were allowed to return to the Palace of Mirrors.
    “You may read to me every day, if you wish,” she said, and his eyes danced at her.

    The coreling prince kept a respectful distance as it watched the heir and his men kill drones. The mind demon had been watching the heir every cycle for several turns now, and as the princes had feared, he was a unifier. It was clear he did not know the extent of the powers of the demon bone spear and crown, but nevertheless his power was growing, and the human drones beginning to organize into more than an inconvenience. Already it would be difficult to kill the heir, and even if the coreling prince succeeded, there were many who could potentially take his place.
    But the Northern female was a new variable, a weakness in the heir’s armor. Her mind was unprotected, and she knew much about the heir and the one its brother tracked in the North.
    When she broke off from the others, the mind demon followed.

    Back in the palace, Leesha practically flew up the steps to her chambers.
    “What’s got into you?” Wonda asked.
    “Nothing that hasn’t gotten into you, it seems.” Wonda looked at her blankly, and Leesha laughed. “Find your bed. Drillmaster Kaval will be here shouting at you before you know it.”
    “Kaval ent so bad,” Wonda said, but did as she was bade.
    Leesha walked on tiptoe past the door to her mother’s chambers, praying the woman would at least have the decency to wait until morning before interrogating her. She thanked the Creator when she managed to slip past and lock herself in the suite where she and Jardir had made love.
    Alone at last, the wide smile she had been resisting all night broke out on Leesha’s face.
    And a hood was thrown over her head.
    Leesha tried to scream, but a cord at the base of the hood pulled tight, cutting off her breath and turning her scream into a muffled gasp. A strong hand yanked her arms behind her, and that same cord was used to bind her wrists. Her assailant kicked her knees out from behind and tied her ankles with the end of the cord. Leesha thrashed about at first, but every movement tightened the cord about her throat, and she quickly calmed lest she strangle herself.
    She was hefted over a strong shoulder and carried to the window, shivering in the cool night air as she was taken out and veritably run down a ladder. They made no sound, but Leesha could tell by the way the ladder bounced that she had at least two captors.
    If her weight hindered the man who held her, he gave no sign, running swiftly through the night streets with even breath and steady heart. Leesha tried to stay oriented, but it proved impossible. She was taken up a set of steps and into a building, down a series of hallways, and then through a door. The men stopped, and she was unceremoniously dropped to the