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mask again, the private mask, stark and hard in his insularity. “They may all be dead. And that would leave only me—” He broke off.
    Lachlan took a deep breath. “I have heard that those who survived went back into Homana. North. Across the Bluetooth River.”
    Finn frowned. “Too far,” he muttered, looking at Storr. “Too far even for the
lir
-link.”
    I looked directly at Lachlan. “You have heard much for a man who recalls so little. To Homana, you say. North, across the Bluetooth. Are you privy to information we have no recourse to?”
    He did not smile. “Harpers are privy to much, as you should know. Had you none in Homana-Mujhar?”
    “Many,” I said briefly. “Before Bellam silenced the music.”
    Finn turned his back. He stared again at the remains of Duncan’s slate-gray pavilion. I knew he meant to master himself. I wondered if he could.
    “May I suggest,” Lachlan began, “that you use my harp skill in trying to rouse your people? I could go into taverns and sing
The Song of Homana
, to test how the people feel. How better to learn their minds, and how they will answer their rightful king’s call?”
    “The Song of Homana?”
Finn said doubtfully, turning to stare at Lachlan.
    “You have heard it,” the harper said, “and I saw what it did to you. It has a magic of its own.”
    He spoke the truth. Did he go into Homanan taverns and play that song on his Lady, he would know sooner than anyone else what my people were capable of. Had Bellam cowed them, it would take time to rebuild their spirit. Were they merely angry, I could use it.
    I nodded at Lachlan. “The horses require tending.”
    For a moment he frowned, baffled, and then he understood. Silently he took away our horses and gave us room to speak freely, without fear he might overhear.
    “I give you leave to go,” I told Finn simply.
    Something flickered in his eyes. “There is no need.”
    “There is. You must go. Your clan—your kin—have gone north across the Bluetooth. Home to Homana, wherewe are bound. You must go and find them, to set your soul at peace.”
    He did not smile. “Healing Homana is more important than seeking out my clan.”
    “Is it?” I shook my head. “You told me once that clan- and kin-ties bind more closely than anything else in Cheysuli culture. I have not forgotten. I give you leave to go, so I can have you whole again.” I held up a silencing hand. “Until you know, it will eat at your soul like a canker.”
    The flesh of his face was stiff. “I will not leave you in companionship to the enemy.”
    I shook my head. “We do not know if he is an enemy.”
    “He knows too much,” Finn said grimly. “Too much and too little. I do not trust him.”
    “Then trust me.” I put out my gloved hand and spread my fingers, palm up. “Have you not taught me all you can in the art of staying alive, even in dire adversity? I am no longer quite the green princeling you escorted into exile. I think I may have some control over my life.” I smiled. “You have said it is my
tahlmorra
to take back the Lion Throne. If so, it will happen, and nothing will gainsay it. Not even this time apart.”
    He shook his head slowly. “
Tahlmorras
may be broken, Carillon. Do not mislead yourself into believing you are safe.”
    “Have more faith in me,” I chided. “Go north and find Alix and Duncan. Bring them back.” I frowned a moment. “Bring them to Torrin’s croft. It was Alix’s home, and if he is still alive it will be a place of sanctuary for us all.”
    He looked at the ruined pavilion, buried under snow. And then he looked at Storr. He sighed. “Rouse your people, my lord of Homana. And I will bring home the Cheysuli.”

SIX
    Mujhara. It rose out of the plains of Homana like an eagle on an aerie, walled about with rose-red stone and portcullised barbican gates. Homana-Mujhar was much the same: walled and gated and pink. The palace stood within the city on a hill. Not high, but higher than any