You’ll probably think I’m not an unbiased judge of these vehicles, and I really don’t care, but after seeing all the dust this one displaced, I hoped they wouldn’t become commonplace in the hills. Mitemas are much less inconvenient, especially in the dry season.

“Which direction?” Vanth asked. The fork in the path, already? The contraption really was fast.

“Left.” I clung tighter and closed my eyes so I wouldn't see us turning. My stomach dropped to the ground all the same.

Thankfully, once the worst was over, I dared to look over Vanth's shoulder and saw the farmhold, a cluster of conical champa buildings. Every farm left some light spells on the fence all night, so that anybody who passed by knew they could seek shelter there. To the left the pen with the sheep and mitemas, to the right the crops. Chañar and espinillo provided shade and wood year 'round and sweetly-scented yellow flowers in the spring. Next to them we grew every vegetable and herb we could grow. Fodder for the animals too: coast tarweed, bahiagrass, and forage peanut. The cicadas were out and chirping, as if that night had nothing different from the others. And I suppose to them it didn't.

In between the trees, a brown feathery shape took one prissy little step after another. Kyrabdel had come home! Despite everything, I smiled. My family couldn't afford any missing mitemas. Besides, it wasn't his fault I'd fallen, or that those creatures would rather eat me than him.

Finally, we slowed down toward the end of the path. I held on tighter once more. The motorcycle shuddered and stopped. I stretched out a tentative foot. At first I wasn’t sure, but it was true: the ground was still. I stood up immediately, in case I lost my chance. With a relieved sigh, I returned Vanth's helmet to him.

A vague hint of amusement hovered around the corner of his mouth. “I hope you appreciate my driving slowly for your sake.”

Asshole.

Pretending I didn’t hear that, I stretched my arms over my head. I wasn’t trying to make my shirt open, not on purpose. I hadn’t even noticed the last button had come undone. The way Vanth looked at me, I was almost expecting him to reach out and slid a hand under the small opening. His eyes snapped up to meet mine. He wasn’t leering or apologetic, just vaguely appreciative. Nice body you’ve got there.

Heh.

Still looking at him in the eye, I bent down, pretending I was checking my bootlaces. It turns out I knew how to show off my ass to great effect even in those shapeless work pants.

Vanth cleared his throat. “Is being knocked around such a turn-on for you?”

I looked at him right in the eye. “It’s just a physical reaction. It don’t have to mean anything. But the right man helps.”

“I see.”

I saw he wasn’t the right man in most situations. Of course, I couldn’t say that out loud. Making him mad wasn’t so bad as long as all he did was fuck me into submission. There was too much I couldn’t afford myself to risk this time, though.

I offered Vanth a teasing smile. “Well, aren’t you curious to know what that means?”

“I would. Perhaps there’s a particular strand of physical stimulation you haven’t been introduced to. I flatter myself as a bit of a connoisseur.”

My smile turned into a knowing grin. “Perhaps so! But I must warn you I’ve been introduced to plenty of ‘em.”

He almost-smiled back.

“Let’s go inside,” I said. “My cousins must be worried.”

He followed me silently. Only a couple of steps later, though, something wiped every other idea off my mind.

Another motorbike was propped up against one of the benches at the shade of the trees. This motorbike was a boxy white one. We've established I was no expert on the matter, but even to me it looked an impersonal tool. The only remarkable thing about it was a mark on the mudguard: a stylized green bird in the shape of an arrow. The symbol of the Order of the Sabrewing.

My heart jumped into my throat. Regular guards were better avoided, but the Sabrewings were the Megarchon’s personal guard of honor, sworn to escort and protect only them and their blood relatives. The only good thing you could say about them was that they rarely ever left the capital. For one of them to come all the way to our farmhold, there could be only one reason.

The main building door swung open and the kids came running out and tackled me, as if they hadn't seen me in forever. I barely had time to brace myself so they wouldn’t flatten me.

Auntie Estrella and Untie Lago had three children. Sol and Luna, sixteen, were twins. Some people had trouble telling them apart, though I always found it obvious. Sol was the one who used to pick scorpions by the tail and hide them in her room, and Luna the one who had to be stopped from licking the underside of rocks as a toddler. These days Luna cut her hair in a bob while Sol mostly braided it, so that’s how you told them apart, if you needed to. Then there was eleven-year-old Lucero, fat like Grandma Cielo and tall like—someone on Untie Lago's side I suppose. Soon enough he'd be standing over me.

I patted their shoulders. “That's enough. Are you gonna take root here or are you gonna let me move?”

“We were sooo worried,” Luna said. “You weren't coming back and the grandmas were worrying—”

“And then Kyrabdel came back all alone!” Lucero said.

“They rushed out to find you,” Sol said. “But then that man came!”

“Wait, wait. Slow down and explain.”

A complete stranger stood at the door. “His Excellency Azul Mamani, I suppose?”

Yet another tall white man in his late twenties or so. His ashy blond hair fell in a braid to his mid-back; a city boy indeed. He wore the white and gold uniform of the guard with an emerald arrow-shaped pin on the left breast and a green feather on his cap.

He uncapped himself and gave me a fluid half-bow. My heart beat faster. I couldn't help it, I really like it when men bow to me. At this point of my life, it had happened exactly never.

“Let's see.” I pretended my heart wasn't trying to gallop away. “You mean to bring me an official summons from Her Magnificence the Megarchon, Letheia VII Lemarezin, to convey myself to Vorsa immediately.”

“A lucky guess, Your Excellency?” He had a clerk’s pleasantly empty smile.

If he was smart, he'd probably try to make me reveal what I knew. I didn't know shit, but I saw no reason not to be vague and leave him wondering.

“Well, it's not the first time she's summoned me. For that matter, what is your name? It's only polite for guests to introduce themselves first.”

“My apologies, Your Excellency. I'm Sergeant First Class Valentino Vargas.” His accent was also straight from the capital, but less snooty than Vanth's. That was a relief at least. He looked as polished as it was possible after a week of travel, especially considering it was the dry season: neatly trimmed goatee, barely creased uniform, knee-high boots barely speckled with dust. "I do believe I heard something about necromancy?”

“That issue has been dealt with,” Vanth said.

Only then did Valentino and the kids notice Vanth standing there. It was pretty funny how they'd missed him for so long. He wasn't exactly inconspicuous. Valentino gave him another elegant bow—lower than the one I got, I might add. “And my sincerest apologies for failing to notice Your Illustrious Highness's presence.”

Oh, yeah. I’d never used Vanth’s proper title. A mistake on my part, seeing how I wanted to have the man on my side—a need even more pressing now that the Order of the Sabrewing had come calling. But an understandable mistake in those circumstances. At least he didn’t seem to have taken any offense.

Vanth waved Valentino off, like he'd done to the magical darkness. I don't know why, but I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn't laugh.

I took advantage of the situation to slip free from the tangle of cousins. “Anyway, this is Vanth Umbra. He's with me.”

The kids stuck together, backing away so they wouldn't leave either of these strange men out of their sights.

“I owe your cousin one,” Vanth said. “Hopefully I won't bother you.”

That seemed to calm the kids some—anybody who owed their cousin one couldn't be so scary—but the other issue in front of us remained.

“What's going on?” Luna asked. “Is he taking you to the capital?”

Well, it wasn't as if I could refuse a direct order from the Megarchon. Not if I valued my life. And my family’s lives. I had to tell my cousins something, hopefully something reassuring, but I wasn’t going to lie to them as if they were small children—and our present company wouldn’t appreciate the truth either.

“You've nothing to worry about,” Vanth said. “I do owe your cousin one. I won't let anything bad happen to him.”

What do you know? Having Vanth on my side did bring some advantages here and then. Though it was only a city stranger's word, it was something.

Valentino crossed his arms. If he was displeased by this intrusion, he kept it to himself. I needed to ask him about my summoning, but not where Vanth and the kids were listening. And I needed to talk to Vanth, but not where Valentino and the kids were listening. And I needed to make an important decision or two before next morning. How many hours did the night have, anyway?

Suddenly the kids hurried down the path without looking back. The other adults had arrived. Finally!

“We'll leave tomorrow morning,” Valentino said. “Unless Your Excellency has a very good reason to detain us further.”

“Tomorrow morning's fine.” The truth is I didn't want to dawdle either. The absolute last thing I wanted was to make the Megarchon impatient with me. The second last thing, to keep a Sabrewing home any longer than strictly necessary. I turned to Vanth. “Can you excuse me for a moment?”

He nodded, looking very much as if nothing held the slightest interest for him.

“I'm surprised they let you in,” I told Valentino. “Things got fucked up all of a sudden.”

“I noticed, but I wanted to check in on the farm first. And then I couldn't leave Your Excellency's cousins all alone. They're good kids. I was going to watch the front door till everyone returned, but they let me in.”

Despite myself, I thought of Valentino standing guard at our door as he waited for the rest of us to come back, and I couldn't resent him too much. “Thanks for keeping an eye on them.”

“It's only my duty.”

“Well, then. How about you explain the reason for this summons to my family? That's your duty too, isn't it?”

Valentino stood very straight. “My present mission is only to escort Your Excellency to the Palace of Lights.”

“Then explain that to them. I must discuss the events from this night with His Illustrious Highness. Better not to mention that where children are listening, right?”

Though he had to suspect something fishy, he didn’t put up any more objections. I nodded at Vanth. He followed me around the main building with much crunching of boots on gravel.