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orders only from a few. But I will accept commands from both you and Lucius, if you will permit me to join you.”
    “It may be that Invictus will follow,” Lucius said, his voice almost quivering.
    Nīsa shrugged. “I will fight to the death, regardless of the foe.” Then he added, “There is something you both should know, which may lighten your hearts. The Torgon lives. I have sensed his revival.”
    Lucius and Bonny appeared amazed, but neither responded. The three stood silently for a while with nothing more to say, and then Nīsa surprised himself by yawning. The firstborn and pirate did the same. Bonny giggled, and Nīsa realized at that moment that he had been accepted into their company.
    “I am weary,” Nīsa said. “Would you mind if I slept until morning?”
    “All three of us should sleep,” Bonny said. “The Daasa will keep watch.”
    “Sounds good to me,” Lucius said.
    And so the first bonds of trust were formed. Afterward, they woke to a beautiful morning, warmer than the previous evening. Nīsa tried to act as friendly as possible, in an attempt to further earn Bonny’s confidence. The Daasa, as happy and playful as ever, brought them clams to eat raw and crabs to roast over a fire. But not long after dawn, their behavior began to change. Suddenly they grew shy, and then they lay down in the sand and closed their eyes, as if to sleep.
    “What’s wrong with them?” Nīsa said. “Have they become ill?”
    “They are scared of something,” Bonny said. “But I don’t know what.”
    “Even the horses are behaving strangely,” Lucius said. “Are Lyons or Tygers nearby? Or even druids?”
    Then Bonny pointed toward the eastern horizon. “Look! A storm comes . . . fast ! And there aren’t many trees around here. I think we’re all going to get very wet.”
    “That’s still not a reason for the Daasa to be afraid,” Lucius said. “They adore wind and water.”
    “This is no ordinary storm,” Nīsa said. “I smell no rain, yet I have never seen a cloud so dark.”
    “Whatever it is, we’re about to find out,” the firstborn said.
    The cloud passed over them in a rush, churning westward across the ocean. Within a few moments, darkness as impenetrable as a dragon’s scale engulfed them. Nīsa could not see his own hand in front of his face.
    “What is it? What’s happening?” Nīsa heard Bonny say, and then she yelped.
    “It’s just me taking your arm,” Lucius said.
    “Don’t move!” Nīsa said. “If we panic, we’ll be lost to each other. This is sorcery on a scale I would not have believed possible.”
    “Invictus . . .” Lucius said.
    “I’m not so sure,” Nīsa said. “The air has a comforting odor. It is filled with Death Energy.”
    Bonny yelped again. “Don’t do that!”
    “I didn’t do anything,” Lucius said.
    “Not you, Lucius. A Daasa just nuzzled my behind.”
    Despite their frightening situation, Lucius and Nīsa both laughed.
    “They must not be scared anymore,” the firstborn said.
    “It’s not funny,” Bonny said. “They may not be scared, but I sure am.”
    “We need to build a fire,” Nīsa said, still chuckling. Then he noticed a pair of purple lights near his left hip and felt a wet nose press against his hand. “The Daasa’s eyes glow,” Nīsa said.
    “Yes, but not brightly enough,” Lucius said.
    “I wonder . . .” Nīsa responded.
    Among many useful items in his backpack, Nīsa carried a length of thin but stout cord woven from creosote fibers and camel hair, and he tied it around his companions’ wrists and then his own. “Let us go in search of muhly grass. It burns well when it is dry.”
    “I am glad you have this rope,” Bonny said. “Whatever we do, we should stay together.”
    “Agreed,” Lucius said.
    Despite their temporary blindness, they were able to construct a dense pile of grass in the sand that stood as tall as a man. Nīsa swiped a shaving of flint against the blade of his uttara , and the