DUTY

Tau moved to his father's side as Nkiru arrived.

"Signal smoke, near Daba," Nkiru said, blowing hard.

"Daba?" asked the High Harvester. "Daba?"

Nkiru ignored him. "'Hedeni crossing fields,' that's the message. They

must have landed a war party and climbed the cliffs. If they're in the

farming fields it won't be long before they're in the hamlet."

Tau thought about the wrecked boat. It had been an enemy ship. He

marveled at the stupidity and courage of sailing the Roar. How many had

they lost to the waters in order to mount the raid?

"Did the message say anything about numbers?" Tau's father asked.

"No," Nkiru said. "But if they've come this far—"

"Send men. Send everyone," Berko pleaded. "You can't let them reach

Daba."

Aren gave orders to the gathered fighters. "Nkiru, Ekon, take the men

you have and head for the mountain barracks. Empty it out."

"Yes!" said Berko, frantic. "I'll go too. I have to get back home."

"I'll make for the keep," Aren said. "I'll gather the men there and ask

the umbusi's Gifted to send an edification. We have to call in the military.

This isn't a normal raid. If they've come this far, they've come in force. The

fighters at the mountain barracks won't be enough."

"Aren… it's just us," Nkiru said. "Lekan won't let the keep guard come

to Daba's defense. I just left him and he says it's too risky to send everyone.

He's worried that the hedeni might also send raiders here, to Kerem."

Aren closed his eyes, drawing a slow breath. "Lekan is not right in this,"

he said. "If the hedeni sailed the Roar to get to us, they've come to do

damage in force. They won't split their fighters and pick at us. They'll

attack as one. They'll destroy Daba." He looked down the mountain, in the

direction of the keep. "I have to speak with Lekan. We need the Gifted to

call the military and we need enough men to defend the hamlet until the

military arrives. We can't do that with just the men from the mountain

barracks. We need the keep guard."

"He won't…," Nkiru said, trailing off and knuckling his sword's

pommel. "Lekan has already called for the military, but he also ordered me

to tell you to lead Daba's defense. He says he'll see to the keep's safety.…

Aren, he won't go to Daba, and he won't let the guards go either."

Berko shot looks at the men discussing the fate of his home. "What does

this mean? What do we do?" he asked.

Aren looked to the sky. It was a cloudless day, merciless in its heat. "We

defend Daba," he said. "That's what we do."

Nkiru's forehead was crinkled with lines of worry, but he turned to the

men and did his best to sound eager. "You heard the inkokeli. Move!"

The fighters, Berko, and the two Drudge went up the mountain, making

for the Taala path. It was the quickest way to the barracks and to Daba.

"Go home," Aren told Tau, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you

when it's done."

He squeezed Tau's shoulder, patted it, and left. Tau stood there and

watched his father follow the rest, the lot of them racing against what little

time the people in Daba had, before the hedeni were among them.

He'd not seen his father that concerned in a long time. It meant Aren

didn't think they'd hold Daba. It meant there was a damned good chance

they'd all die.

"No…," Tau said. "Not because of Lekan. Not because of that coward."

He rushed to the closest bit of brush and hid his practice blade and ration

sacks. He belted on his sharpened bronze sword, the one that had belonged

to his father's father, and gripped its hilt. He felt the etchings his

grandfather had made, spelling out the family name in a spiral that wound

its way from pommel to guard. "Solarin," it read.

Steadied and feeling ready for the task ahead, Tau ran down the

mountain, in the opposite direction his father had gone. He went to find

Jabari. Lekan might be craven, but Jabari was as decent as Nobles came.

He'd help. He'd tell his mother to order the keep's men to go to Daba, and

that would stop Tau's father from getting killed.

Before long, the Onai's keep, the largest building in Kerem, came into

view. It was two floors tall, had a central courtyard, and was surrounded by

an adobe wall that was nine strides high. The adobe was smooth and that

spoke to the Onai's wealth.

"Eh, what're you about, Tau?" a reedy voice asked from above.

Tau looked to the top of the fortifying wall. It was Ochieng, one of the

Ihagu assigned to be a keep guard. Ochieng had always been a blustering

oaf, and, a full cycle older than Tau, he'd already reached manhood. He

hadn't passed the test to be part of the real military and had come back from

the southern capital with his head low and prospects grim.

He'd been lucky; Tau's father spoke on his behalf, and on the strength of

Aren's word, the keep guard took Ochieng as one of their own. Most of

Ochieng's family were either dead or Drudge, and if Aren hadn't vouched

for him, Ochieng would have followed in their footsteps. As it stood, Tau

felt owed.

"Open the gate, Ochieng. I don't have time."

"Don't have time, neh? Where's your hurry?"

"Hedeni raid," Tau said, hoping the news would shock the guard to

action.

"Just heard. What's it got to do with you?"

"I have to see Jabari."

"He know you're here?"

"What do you think?" Tau said.

"Don't know what you're fooling about," Ochieng muttered,

disappearing behind the wall. A moment later, Tau heard the heavy latch on

the bronze gate swing up and away.

"Hurry. In you get."

"Thanks, Ochieng."

"Didn't open the gate for you. Tell Aren I said hello."

Leaving the gate behind, Tau came to a juncture in the keep's paths and

stopped. Jabari could be almost anywhere, and, worried he was making the

wrong choice, he went toward the keep proper and Jabari's rooms.

He moved through the keep's yards at a brisk walk, head down, trying

not to draw the attention of any of its handmaidens or administrators.

Lessers in the keep tended to be women or, if male, they were higher caste

than Tau. He'd stand out and didn't want to be stopped or, worse, prevented

from getting to Jabari.

He sped up, eyes on the dirt, anxious to get where he was going, which

was why he came near to knocking his younger half sister on her ass.

"What in the Goddess's… Tau?" said Jelani, unable to keep the surprise

from her face. "Why are you here?"

"Hello, Jelani."

"Don't 'hello' me."

"Uh… how's Mother?"

"That'll depend," Jelani said, glaring at Tau like she'd found a maggot in

her rations, "on what I tell her about seeing you here."

"I'm looking for… Jabari asked to see me."

Jelani squinted at him. "Jabari?"

"Yes, there's a raid in the mountains… the hedeni—"

"He's in the bathhouse. Find him and leave, before I tell my mother."

Our mother, Tau thought, inclining his head and hurrying back to the

path he hadn't selected. He swore he could feel Jelani's beetle-black eyes

on his back as he went. She hated having a half-low as a sibling. That's how

she thought of him, half-low.

It made Tau want to yell that he was as High Common as she was. Status

came from the woman who bore you, and his name was Tafari, just like

hers. It wouldn't have done any good. Jelani knew their mother wouldn't

have anything to do with him, or Aren.

Pushing his sister out of mind, Tau stepped up to the bathhouse, opened

its door, and was hit by a blast of hot scented air. "Jabari?" he said into the

fog. He didn't dare go in. "Jabari?"

"Tau? That you?" said a familiar voice. "What are you about?"

He'd have only one chance to convince Jabari to help. "There's a fight

coming," Tau said, "and if we don't do something, the people your family

pledged to protect will die."

Tau heard water slosh around, and then Jabari appeared through the

steam, towering over him, stark naked.

"What's this?"

Lekan hadn't told Jabari about the raid. Tau corrected that, telling him

everything, then begging him to act. "Go to your mother," he said. "She's

the umbusi; tell her the defense of Daba will fail without more men."

"Tau, I'm the second son. Lekan's the one being groomed to command

our fief's men. She won't go against him on my word."

"Jabari—"

"She won't, Tau."

"We have to do something!" Tau said, struggling to keep his voice

respectful.

"I know, I know. There's a fight coming and my family must protect the

people of Kerem." Jabari clapped Tau's chest with an open palm. "I have

it."

"Have what?"

"A plan," Jabari said