"Walk me through this again." Alec wanted to make sure he had all the pieces of Tusongs plan firmly in his mind. It was the third time the man would go through it. The first was in Teretha, the second in the common trade language Alec was used to. During that time, the festivities began to separate as each household returned to their homes. They each came by to welcome Alec, "we are here together," each had said, even the little yawning ones. The face of each one was now burned into Alec's memory, mixing with the faces that had brought this about.

  Tusong sighed and looked around at the dissipating crowd. "We have a few allies inside the refuge still. They have stolen us a cor-melter, the kind they use to open new tunnels to the Aamaranth. We have been slowly building a tunnel beneath the fortified walls and gates of the Sinclair town." Alec nodded in acknowledgment, and Tusong carried on. "It is near completion. We have been training each day in the use of the weapons we stole, as well as some we've crafted ourselves."

  "It's the next part I'm hazy on." Alec could tell Tusongs' warrior spirit was pushing forward on just the highlights. The last two explanations had included a lot more of the hows, whys, and specifics.

  "Under cover of night, during the next eclipse, we will infiltrate the Baron's home. The Baron is no fool; the depths of the house are protected from even her. Our most elite," Tusong puffed out his chest at this, "will deal with any of the baron blood. I plan personally to see to this Von Sinclair in kind for my father. We will retreat to the protected warehouses beneath the surface. The ones the Baron built to be safe from even her. Then I will go say goodbye and set Tsala free."

  At last, the Tethera man's posture of brave pride deflated, and he looked to Alec with pleading eyes. He composed himself. "She will take the surface, the rifstation, the very essence of the interlopers and wipe them from this place. We will wait for the devastation, then return to our world, free peoples once more."

  There were so many issues that Alec could see, first and foremost was how this small band planned to withstand the force of baronhood soldiers. While their bravery was incredible, there was only so far flesh and bone could take you. Alec took a patient approach; he still had time, and they hadn't finished the tunnel. This man had no reason to trust him unless this prophecy or ceremony, in which Alec was so unwittingly involved, could take him that far. He was no messiah.

  "A few things that may need accounting for. I understand revenge and have seen many lifetimes of it. Revenge is sweetest when every detail is accounted for and weighed. There's a code to it…" Alec stumbled over the next words. He was about to call Tusong boy, but as the leader of this tribe? Alec was at a loss for the right word. "Look, the point is, I fail to see where the non-teretha children factor into those scales at all. It appears to embrace the mind that oppressed you more than oppose. I know all too well what it's like to gaze in the mirror and see the face of your enemy."

  "He has killed generations of our young!" Tusong had a fire in his eyes and had switched back to his people's language.

  Alec felt gross addressing him in the very enemy's trade tongue they spoke of, but without Quip to help him change. The thought broke off midway. Quip! He was out there alone. With the context of the conversation, now was not the time. Quip was tough. "And so you respond in kind by taking innocent lives that live under his thumb. Though you may see it as a plain issue with two clear sides, it's not so simple. I've seen a lot of worlds, and one thing I can tell you is this. It may look nicer for them, and they may be taught to hate you. But they suffer under the wealthy, living day to day without choice. They live in desperation, clinging to hope the same way you do. Removing people like that just makes you another version of the man you hate."

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  This seemed to sink into Tusong's thought process. His youth tried to defy the wisdom, but the years of suffering he had seen allowed him to embrace it. "You have given me much to think about, lost warrior." He stared into the fire that had turned to coals between him and Alec through the night. Alec saw the Dream Singer on the edge of the circle. How long had he been there? He seemed to be considering Alec with a thankful smile.

  "I have taken the liberty to prepare a small team to help you retrieve your vehicle. They await us at the entrance. The boy with the broken leg in the cage…" The Dream Singer looked at Alec with some nervousness. "We did bring him along, and I have spent much of this evening working to repair his broken limb. He rests unbound now in my space." He looked at Alec, now with a question, wondering if the boy was safe to leave uncaged.

  "Good, I have no use for him, so he can stay here. He's a stowaway." Alec could see the look of confusion in their eyes. "Uh, he deserted his blood and has no one."

  "A child born of wind." It was a Teretha word that Tusong offered while the dream singer and he shared a look of knowing. It was a matter for another time. Alec needed to get to Quip, and the boy was in good hands. He embraced Tusong's arm in the way of the free people.

  "I'll be back," Alec stated assuringly. In this context, it felt like singing a song remembered from a foggy childhood memory in crisp clarity. He had not used those words in the context of a community since a woman he loved and a child he had lost a thousand lifetimes ago.

  "Your words to Tusong, sang in my ears, friend." The dream singer's footsteps were silent beside Alec's ringing spurs as they walked down to the cave's main entrance. "His father gave that wisdom, I have given that wisdom, but sometimes with the young and brash, they must hear it from a stranger to consider."

  "I hope he does consider. I meant what I said. I'll come back here, but I will not be a part of culling children. If his desire for revenge wins out, I won't be a part of this. This is going to take time. This small group has a lot to learn about battle in a very short time. In the meantime, I must keep up appearances with the Baron. If your people need to contact me in town, use the words "boots forty-two". I myself have a lot to consider and plan. Once we retrieve my ride, I'll be on my way. I'll return in three days. Then we will begin our preparations."

  The wisened Teretha man drew a small tube with some religious symbols tied to it. It glowed with Aamaranth. "It's all we have, but we want you to have it, for your help." Alec looked at him, shocked, and despite the familiar itch, he felt this was a bottle he could refuse.

  "Keep it, what I'm doing, I'm doing cause it's right. Get Tusong on the same page, and I'll be back." Taken aback, the old man put the vial back in his pouch and showed gratitude to Alec.

  There was nothing but blind trust and hope on the dream singer's face. To be taken at his word like that was so foreign to Alec, and he marvelled at the pure innocence of the Teretha people. In that moment, he did truly believe that if there were first peoples, surely it must be the Teretha. They moved with the heartbeat that guided the stars, they listened to the wind and sang it into stories. Alec wondered what a lifetime of that kind of peace would feel like. He imagined he would trade it for the eternity he had.