bearskin.â
Akastosâ face didnât move, but Hylas sensed the swift current of his thoughts. âA bearskin,â repeated the wanderer.
Hylas nodded. âIâm certain she meant to come back for us, but something stopped her. I think sheâs still aliveâI mean, I feel it. Someday, sheâll find us.â
âBut she hasnât.â
âNo.â
Again, Akastos scratched his beard.
As Hylas studied his weather-beaten features, a startling idea came to him. It was so astonishingâso wonderfulâthat his head swam. âYouâve been to Lykonia, havenât you?â he began carefully. âI mean, where I grew up?â
Akastos flicked him a glance. âWhat makes you say that?â
âOne of the first things you ever said to me was that I was a long way from Mount Lykas.â
Akastosâ lip curled. âYou remember that?â
âI remember everything youâve said to me.â Hylas took a deep breath. âAre you my father?â
Outside, the wind dropped, as if it was listening. The fire hissed, sending smoke and sparks sweeping through the smoke-hole and into the dark.
Raising his head, Akastos met Hylasâ eyes. âNo,â he said quietly. âIâm not your father.â
Hylas clenched his fists. He was desperate for it to be true. âButâyou might be,â he said, âonly you donât know it. You said you had a son my age.â
âI said he would have been your age if heâd lived.â
âWellâmaybe you met my mother on your travels, andââ
âHylas, Iâm dark and youâre fairââ
âThat doesnât mean anything! When she was carrying me she couldâve stared at the Sun; they say that gives a baby fair hair! And you once told me that weâre alike, you and me, both survivors, both good liarsââ
âHylas, I remember the women Iâve been with, and Iâm certain. I am not your father.â
Hylas stared at his empty cup. There was a sick feeling in the pit of his belly. âI wish you were,â he mumbled.
âWhy would you wish that?â said Akastos with unaccustomed gentleness.
Hylas wanted to say, because he admired Akastos and longed for him to take the place of the shadowy void that was all he felt when he thought of his father. Instead he muttered, âI donât know, I just do.â
He became aware that Akastos was moving about, gathering his gear. âWhat are you doing?â Hylas said uneasily.
âStormâs blown over. Itâll be light soon, Iâm heading off.â
âCan I come with you? Just for a bit.â
Akastos looked down at him, and for a moment his hard features softened. âHylas. I know our fates are entangled in some way neither of us understands, but I also know that when youâre with me, things go wrong. Itâs better we go our separate ways.â
âNo!â cried Hylas. He lurched to his feetâand swayed. His head whirling sickeningly, he couldnât keep his balance.
âLie down,â said Akastos. âYouâll feel better soon.â
âYou drugged me,â muttered Hylas.
âJust a little poppy juice in your wine, to stop you following me. Here.â He tucked a small pouch in Hylasâ belt. âSome buckthorn, to keep away ghosts.â
âYou drugged me.â Hylas subsided onto the floor. His eyelids were so heavy, they wouldnât stay open.
âAbout Taka Zimi,â said Akastos, his voice coming and going in waves. âFollow this ridge weâre on west, till you reach a lightning-struck pine. Behind it youâll see a crag split in two, and a waterfall. Make for that. Taka Zimi is just below it on the shoulder of the mountain. Stay as high as you can for as long as you can, and avoid the gorge. And Hylasâwatch yourself. Taka Zimi is a sanctuary of the Goddess. Itâs not a place you
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