“Good, we don’t have to risk going back to the road,” Aien said when Kaye read him the words carved into the arrow. “That was smart of your uncle.”

  “It might not have been him. Uruoro wrote this, I don’t believe Loho can write, but any of them could have shot it. Just ‘alive’ could mean one of them.”

  “Worrying about that won’t help us move faster. Besides, it’s not as if they sent a letter.”

  Kaye lowered her hand holding the arrow, sighing. “I know,” she said, as Aien started walking, “but we can’t go east.”

  Aien stopped and turned, his frown deep enough to show through the bandana on his forehead.

  “Loho said we would reach a city if we head east.”

  “Tohohon, yes, it’s east and it’s far, but this has to have been those Headhunters, and they knew about Gima.”

  “Neru-Aran is two days away.”

  “If we wait to meet up with them, it could end up taking a month to head back.”

  “You don’t know that. You don’t even know if they will do anything to her. Those two Headhunters could be dead on the other side.”

  “We don’t know that either. We don’t even know if there are others. They could have told the rest of their cn.”

  Aien shook his head. “It’s safer for us to head east.”

  “It’s not safer for Gima,” Kaye protested. “They threatened to take her the first time we met. And we were attacked. They don’t care about Headhunter honor as long as they can keep the facade going. You said so yourself.”

  “I just don’t think we can do anything about it, Kaye. What happens if we are too te? Or if they are waiting for us?”

  “We can be cautious. We’re easy to recognize, so we can hide our hair and sneak. We watch the house and the temple before approaching. We don’t have to fight them head-on, and if something happens, we can speak to the city’s keshin. I imagine they won’t take well to knowing that a Headhunter cn who settled a matter with a right of bloodshed is sullying their honor.””

  “I understand all of that. Truly, I do.”

  “But?” Kaye asked, irritated.

  Aien shifted his weight around, suddenly uncomfortable. “But we’re not as strong as them. I’m sorry for what I’m about to say, but I would rather not die for someone I know so little about.”

  Kaye stared at him, held his gaze. She understood that, and didn’t like that she did. She wouldn’t feel as safe without Aien’s help, but Kaye would hate herself if she had to force Loho all the way to the north border, wondering if something had happened to Gima. After he left, Kaye would likely never know about what befell them.

  The expression in Aien’s face changed, mouth agape.

  “You’re thinking about going alone,” he said.

  Kaye nodded, a little surprised. “I’m sorry, Aien, but I just can’t ignore it.”

  He paced around.

  “I’m not doing this to force you to come with me,” Kaye expined.

  “Doesn’t change the fact that I will, if you do. I’ve known you for longer than I’ve known Gima, at least. Long enough to know that it’s not as if you simply care too much, you can’t help but care.”

  “And I throw myself at danger, yes… but you don’t have to do the same. I won’t think any less of you if you turn around.”

  “I can’t leave you alone now. We’re the same.”

  A long moment of silence followed, in which Kaye didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t even been wondering about that. Had, in fact, intentionally tried keeping it away for a while now, but it seemed to matter more to Aien than it did to her.

  “I’m sorry,” was everything she managed.

  Aien didn’t protest, neither then nor ter. He kept quiet as they ate a quick meal and turned south, their hair hidden beneath scarfs wrapped around their heads.

  Kaye soon found herself wishing they had bought that map. She knew Neru-Aran lied to their south and ever so slightly west, but that was all. Perhaps Aien could pass for a local, but she couldn’t, and whether hiding their hair would help was essentially a bet.

  The following day was more of the same, and so was the next one. No one stood in their path, and they silently walked along. Neru-Aran came into view to the west, the city turned into a small rift in the soil by the distance.

  “The road approaches the city from the south,” Kaye said. “Do you think we should wait for a moment to approach it unseen? It would take longer, but will lessen any suspicion the guards might have.”

  She looked to Aien. He nodded, not meeting her eyes.

  This is going better than I expected.

  Kaye took a deep breath as they entered the city. But I can’t lower my guard.

  She watched the passersby of what was a less crowded section of the city as they descended the walkway, expecting to catch a glimpse of green. It happened many times, as jade was everywhere in Neru-Aran, but no eyes regarded her behind a mask. At least, none that she could see.

  They took a turn to wrap around the main temple. The unmasked who attacked them could have made their way back already, and someone could have their eyes out for a girl with a recurve bow and a boy with a sword. Though she would be easy to recognize in Neru-Aran even with her hair hidden, leaving the bow behind was too dangerous. She’d be useless without it.

  Kaye remembered how the house gave easy view to the south and east but not north, even less so west, and so guided them in that direction. The city’s yout was still fresh enough in her memory, and the changing architecture made it easy to tell in which quarter they were even without a map.

  When the house came into view, Kaye discreetly made another turn, walking slowly. Aien followed a moment ter, and they pretended to be looking for something until they were the only people on that street.

  To the left and below, the empty backyard was easily visible. The backdoor was closed and no movement could be seen through the single window.

  There they waited, watching, exchanging gnces instead of words. Kaye pulled out her notebook and worked in a terrible sketch to pretend to be busy, and they moved away and back into the same street a couple times when other people approached.

  “She’s not home,” Aien said.

  “She was rarely at the temple at this hour,” said Kaye.

  He took a step closer, and spoke in a low voice, “We need to be faster here. We should go and watch the other side, but we shouldn’t split.”

  Kaye agreed, and this time let Aien guide the way.

  He wasn’t lying when he talked about being faster. Aien moved only one street to the side before heading in the house’s direction.

  Night fell, and they were still to see a thing. No one entered or left the house; no movement or sound came from within. It occurred to Kaye that perhaps Gima’s routine was entirely different when she was alone and didn’t have to take care of guests. Gima could simply be spending more time on the temple or with a friend they didn’t know. Today could be a special day for Neru-Aran, and they’d be none the wiser.

  Aien touched her shoulder.

  “This is enough.”

  “Just one more thing,” Kaye retorted a little too fast, “I’ll approach and see.” Before Aien could open his mouth, she continued, “I’m not going inside, and you know I’m a hunter. Follow me, but stay back.”

  Aien nodded so sluggishly that his hesitation was evident.

  Kaye, who was starting to think he had been right all along, approached the house from the same direction they had first entered it, from where the small bridge gave way into that quarter.

  She took the time to watch every house, noting which ones had any lights shining from within, and chose a winding path that would avoid as many of them as possible.

  When it was time to make the st stretch towards the house, Kaye gestured for Aien to stay put. Her posture low, she stepped ahead quietly, slower than she would even when hunting in a forest.

  The house was dark, and quiet. Kaye huddled close to a wall, and extended her neck to peer from the edge of a window.

  The entrance was empty. The kitchen as well. That left the sleeping room and the pantry, the former of which had no windows while the tter could only be seen from the opposite direction — beyond the backyard, where she would be too exposed.

  Aien is waiting, Kaye thought, as she retraced her steps, but stopped halfway to edge towards the backyard. Aien is watching, and he must be panicking now.

  This is far as I’m going, she decided upon reaching the wall’s edge. The backdoor was in almost the opposite direction of where she was, but just turning the corner there would be another window, one that also gave view to the kitchen, but from which the door to Loho and Gima’s room could be seen at an angle.

  She peeked inside, and froze of both mind and body.

  Perhaps the man didn’t believe that someone could approach from that direction without being heard, for he was waiting out of sight of every window except that one. Kaye didn’t need the shadows, nor the face or the mask — which he wasn’t wearing — to know who this was. The twin swords in his back were tell enough.

  Kaye had ceased breathing. She stood very still while her mind raced through a line of thought.

  She could put an arrow through his neck then and there, kill a Headhunter without ever giving him a chance to fight back.

  She could, but there were too many unknowns. Twelve people could be huddled inside the sleeping room and there was no way for her to know. Another Headhunter could be waiting in a neighboring house, and the whistle of the arrow and the thump of a body falling would be enough to bring them out.

  Drawing in air as quietly as she could, Kaye reeled back from the window.

  Aien’s mouth was agape in concern when Kaye found him.

  When they had moved far enough away, she whispered, “Cozo is there— The Headhunter with the twin swords—, and he isn’t wearing his mask.”

  Aien gnced around, as if wondering how perilous it would be if anyone could be a Headhunter a disguise, though they were very alone.

  “If they got to her already, then there’s nothing we can do,” he said.

  “He could be waiting for her. We might have arrived in the right time.”

  “No, Kaye, there’s nothing we can do. We don’t even know if he’s alone.”

  Was I too naive? Kaye asked herself. Will I keep doing it?

  “Is that her?”

  Kaye twisted around to follow Aien’s gaze. In the distance, a figure was coming from the west. Kaye recognized the gait. It was definitely Gima.

  She was too close to the house.

  They had moved a few houses down from where Cozo was waiting, and in the span of a heartbeat Kaye concluded that would be enough to hide her movements. She ran, two, three houses down, pulling the cloth that hid her hair between the strides, and halted by a building’s shadow, peeking out.

  Gima started, clutching the satchel she carried. Recognition spread across her face, then confusion, and she was both raising a hand and turning to look down the street.

  “No time,” Aien grunted as he approached, stepping so loudly that Kaye opened her mouth to call him out.

  Coming from the opposite side that Gima had appeared, another figure was also running, almost jumping with its long strides.

  Gima’s eyes were scared wide for a moment, but Kaye could see that she was steeling herself.

  Kaye wasn’t sure if it was Gima who pushed her or Kaye who shoved, but in the next instant the three were on the street and running.

  She took two steps before whirling around, bow in one hand and arrow in the other. Kaye didn’t take the time to aim, and so the first shot skidded harmlessly on the ground.

  Cozo stopped regardless. When Kaye pulled out a second arrow, he waited for a moment, unsure. Perhaps he wondered if she was poor of aim, or if he could dodge another arrow and close the remaining distance before the third was on the air.

  Whatever it was, it led him to change his mind. Hesitation gone, Cozo retreated into the shadows before Kaye could put an arrow through him.