following closely and holding her hand, let out a small, frightened whimper and did not lift her head.
"Isana!"
She looked up to see her brother running toward her, and she didn't fight either the tears that sprang to her eyes or the smile that touched her mouth. He embraced her, hugging hard, and lifted her up off the ground as he did it.
"Thank the furies," he rumbled. "I was so afraid for you."
She hugged him back, hard. "Tavi?" He froze for a moment, and the motion sent ice running through her. She leaned back, taking his face between her hands. "What happened?"
"After the flood, I lost him. I couldn't track him in the storm. I managed to get the Cursor girl out of the water, and then we came here.
"Was he alone?" Isana asked.
"Not entirely, if you count that Fade was still with him. I thought you'd have found him after the flood."
She shook her head. "No. I couldn't. Kord pulled me out of the river, Bernard."
Her brother's eyes went flat
"It's all right," she assured him, though she folded her hands over a little quiver of fear in her belly at the memory of Kord s smokehouse "His son, Aric, helped us escape I got away from him "
"And came here'"
"Not alone," Isana said "I had just reached the causeway when Warner and the rest came down the road I rode here with them "
"Warner'" Bernard said
"Warner, Otto, Roth They brought all their holders here Yours too They've come to help "
"Those idiots," Bernard sputtered But his eyes glittered, and he looked back toward the wall and the shattered gates leading into the fort A rough barricade had been shoved into place, consisting of a pair of wagons upended, barrels, and bunks "How many did he bring'"
"Everyone," Isana said "Nearly five hundred people "
"The women, too'"
Isana nodded Bernard grimaced "I guess we've got it all resting on one throw, then " His eyes went past her to Odiana "Who's this'"
Amara swallowed "One of Kord's slaves," she lied "She saved my life That's a discipline collar on her, Bernard I couldn't leave her there "
He nodded, glancing back at the walls again, and let out a slow breath "Might have been kinder to It's not going to be good "
Isana frowned at him and then at the walls "Bernard Do you remember when we had our holdraising'"
"Of course," he said
"Everyone in the Valley helped with that Brought up the whole stead-holt, walls, all in one day "
He blinked and turned to her, his voice suddenly excited "You mean that we could make the walls higher "
She nodded "If it would help Giraldi said they weren't high enough "
"It might," Bernard said "It might, it might " He looked around "There That centurion there, he's the engineer See the braid on his tunic' We'll need his help You tell him, and I'm going to round up our earthcrafters "
Bernard hurried off Isana approached the man, who glanced up, blinked at her, and then scowled at her from over a bristling grey mustache He listened to her without speaking while she told him of her plan
"Impossible," he said "It can't be done, girl "
"I've forty summers, Centurion," Isana retorted. "And it must be done. My brother is bringing our earthcrafters right now."
The Centurion faced her more squarely, his face and throat flushing a deep red. "Holdfolk crafters," he said. "This isn't a barn raising. These are siege walls."
"I don't see how that matters."
The man snorted in an explosion of breath. "These walls are made of layers of interlocking strata, girl. They're hard, flexible, heavy, and can stand up to any kind of pounding you care to dish out. But you can't just make them higher once they're in place, like some pasture fence. If you go toying with the wall, you'll disrupt the foundation, and the whole thing will collapse. We won't have a wall at all, much less a taller one."
"As I understand it," Isana said. "You might as well not have the wall as it stands in any case."
The man blinked at her for a moment, then scowled and bowed his head, snorting from beneath his mustache.
"I understand that it might be difficult, but it's worth a try, isn't it? If it works, we might be able to hold out against them. If it doesn't..." Isana shivered. "If it doesn't, then I'd just as soon it didn't take too long in any case."
"No," the engineer said, finally. "If there was a chance,