"What can she possibly do?" Luvo stepped clumsily into my lap. "I do not understand why she rushes off in this manner. The new mountain will come. We will be consumed in molten lava. That is the cycle of birth and death in stone. There is nothing to be done."
His behavior today now made a lot more sense to me. I cuddled him close in my aching hands and kept my voice down. For some reason, Rosethorn didn't want everyone in the room to hear what we were talking about. "You thought you were going to die, didn't you? That's why you curled up in a ball and didn't talk to Jayat. You just figured, uh-oh! Here comes the lava, I'm going to die, nothing to be done. Luvo, you bleater, you're not some rock stuck in the path of an avalanche, you know! We'll get on a ship and sail away from this!" I gripped him and tried to stand, only to have my knees go to jelly. I sat again. "All right, it may take us a while before we get to the ship."
Before I knew what he was up to, Oswin came over and picked us both up. Like Jayat the night before, he wasn't ready for Luvo. His knees bent under us. He grunted with the strain. His face turned a nice, dark ruby. As he staggered to carry us to the table where Azaze and Fusspot sat, I tried to distract him. "The emperor of Yanjing gave me a coat made of silk that was the same color as your face right now. You forgot about Luvo's weight, didn't you? You're very strong for an old man."
"I'm forty-five! That's not old!" Oswin slid us onto the bench at the elders' table.
"It certainly is not." Luvo almost sounded huffy as I put him on the table.
Azaze had been talking to Fusspot. Now she got up and looked at the people who had been witness to all this. "The rest of you, off to your homes. The council must gather immediately. Master Miller, Mistress Weaver, Master Carpenter, will you remain? I'll send an hostler for the smith, the chief herder, and the chief miner. Jayat. Fetch your mistress. Tell her I insist"
Jayat gulped. "Yes, Headwoman Azaze." He ran out of the inn.
Azaze went outside for a moment. When she came back, she sat down across the table from me, and looked me in the eyes. I don't think I flinched. It was hard. This tall, stern-looking old lady would do better as a queen than as the headwoman of an armpit little village snuggled to a mountain that was about to blow up.
"What do you think you saw down there, girl? Or did you just invent a tale to keep yourself out of trouble?" Azaze demanded.
If she spoke to everyone like that, I'd bet her children died of fear when they were small. "If I was doing that, I'd have said I got a face full of bad air, and it made me do strange stuff," I told her. "When I lie, I'm smart enough to keep it simple. That's where liars always go wrong. They get fancy. Then they forget the details. It's best to have a simple, basic lie that you don't have to worry about remembering."
Azaze's thin mouth twitched. I think she maybe smiled. "Your career to this point has made you an expert in lying, I take it."
I nodded, though it made my head spin. "Yes, Headwoman Azaze. But I never lie to Rosethorn. She, um, discourages it."
"Evvy and I have an understanding." Rosethorn had returned with packets of herbs and a mug. She grabbed the teakettle and poured hot water into the mug. "She tells me the truth, and I don't hang her in the first well we come to. It's a solution that works tolerably well for both of us."
I watched sadly as she tipped powders into the mug. It didn't help to know she was adding her magic with them. Her power just made the brew taste that much nastier.
"Is this Evvy such a handful? She seemed well enough last night." Azaze had a real smile on her face now. The village's miller, weaver, and carpenter, who sat with us, were out-and-out chuckling.
"As much as my student—her former teacher—Briar was a handful," said Rosethorn. "He and I had a similar understanding. Evvy, stop making faces. You will need a clear head tonight. You are drinking this, whether you like