"Not really," Gerald remarked. "But then, I'm not a human female."

"True," I agreed . "I don't know if it's because of Leo and my being pregnant and all, but Rafe doesn't do a *107 *24*.

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Cheryl Brooks thing for me anymore, and, quite honestly, if he made a move on me now, I think I'd set him on fire."

Gerald seemed to think this was terribly funny, but commented, "Must be nice to have that ability, but tell me, Tisana, have you ever actually done that to anyone?"

"No," I admitted, "but that doesn't mean I haven't been tempted."

After pausing for a moment to consider this, he went on to say, "You could roast me alive while I was sitting in a tree, couldn't you?"

"Possibly."

Gerald didn't say anything more, but I had an idea he might be regretting all those nuts he'd thrown at me.

*108 *24*.

Chapter 5.

Leo might have been able to follow a scent in the dark, and Rafe might have wanted to keep going all night, but after a few hours, the horses began to complain.

Not verbally, of course, but with the occasional grunt or stumble in the way that horses often will. Max was more vocal: he sat down and began howling as though he'd stepped on a hornet's nest and was now suffering the consequences. Rafe responded by shouting at him, but I, for one, agreed that it was long past time for a break.

"I don't know about you guys," I said wearily. "But I've had just about enough for one day. It's time we stopped for the night."

I heard the swift intake of air through Rafe's teeth and waited for the inevitable acerbic comment, but he seemed to think better of it and said simply, "Very well."

We found a place beneath some thick pines where the snow wasn't quite so deep and decided to make camp there. Gerald scouted the area, trying to get some information from the local squirrels, but reported that there weren't any around. I hoped we found those boys soon, because if we were to run out of food and Rafe began firing arrows at the small animals along the way, I might have some difficulty in convincing them to share their information with me. We all had provisions in our saddlebags, and Goran was pretty well loaded down with supplies, but they wouldn't last indefinitely, and there *109 *24*.

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"Rafe," I ventured. "What about water? Have you ever been this way before? Are there any creeks in the direction we're headed?"

I thought he hesitated before replying. "Yes," he said curtly, "there should be water along the way. And I believe there is a stream nearby."

Of course, it was probably frozen water (which, for me, presented no problem, but I didn't want Rafe to know that), though a moving stream won't freeze over the way a lake will unless it's very cold, which it had been for the past few weeks.

And I was cold, too. I don't care who you are- witch, cat, or man-a ride through a wintry forest after dark will put a chill in your bones, especially your feet.

Dismounting stiffly, I decided that I was going to have a campfire and some hot food, and I didn't give a damn if all the kidnappers in the world descended upon us as a result. While it most likely posed no danger because Max had scouted the surrounding area and reported that we were essentially alone in the forest, I could hardly tell Rafe that, at least not without having a few flames to "see" it in first-which was another good reason to build a fire. I'd have to remember that one.

I decided another thing, too. Along with hot food and a fire, I was going to share a tent and a bedroll with Leo, and it didn't matter what Rafe had to say about that, *110 *24*.

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either. The men unsaddled the horses and put up a picket line. The others didn't seem to mind it, but Morgana flatly refused to be tied anywhere near Sinjar, so I left her loose, knowing she'd never leave me, anyway.

While the men were busy with their chores, I gathered up some branches and kindling for the fire, and then set off to locate the stream. I found it at the foot of a gentle slope, but, as I expected, it was completely frozen over. Staring at a spot near the bank, I was able to melt through to the running water underneath, but it looked too deliberate, so I melted the snow down to the water's edge to make it appear more natural.

I tried to be as unobtrusive as possible, but Max, who had just returned from squirrel-chasing duty, saw me and was duly impressed. Cocking his head to one side, he said, "You can melt ice?"

"Yes," I replied. "I can melt ice." Giving him a sidelong glance, I added, "And I can also set things on fire."

Giving that a moment to sink in, I went on, "Thought I told you to leave Gerald alone."

"I'm sorry," Max said with a whine. "But you know how it is...don't you?"

"Not really," I said. "Look at it this way: how would you like it if I beat up on one of your friends?"

Max appeared thoughtful, but said: "They'd probably deserve it. Just like I deserve it for chasing Gerald," he added mournfully. "But there are some things that dogs can't help doing. I try, but I just can't!"

"Try harder."

Eyeing me warily, Max stepped carefully down to the water's edge and began lapping up the water I'd melted for him. I'd never set him on fire, of course, but what he *111 *24*.

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Meanwhile, Morgana, knowing exactly what I was doing, had followed me down to the creek, and after drinking her fill, did her best to trample the area even further to make it appear to be a much-used watering hole. After swallowing a few sips of the icy water, I filled my canteen and then went back to tell the men where to water the other horses.

Having sent Leo and Rafe out of sight, I started the fire. I knew the animals wouldn't rat on me, and Leo probably wouldn't either, but I wasn't so sure about Rafe. This was one of those cases where what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

By the time the men returned, I had gotten a lively blaze started, filled a pot with meat and vegetables and snow, and then given it a good, long, hot look to hasten the cooking process, after which I set about making my bed for the night. Leo had already laid his own out on a leather pad near the fire, and I put mine right next to his, pitching the tent over both of them. Leo's reaction to the proposed sleeping arrangements was an unobtrusive, though satisfied purr. Rafe's response was yet another growl.

"You're sleeping with my slave?" he demanded, scowling at me with blatant disapproval.

"Unless you'd rather sleep with him, yourself," I retorted. "In case you've forgotten, he's been extremely ill and needs to be kept warm. And he might need me during the night."

This inspired explanation occurred to me very much on the spur of the moment, though it left out any reason *112 *24*.

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why Leo hadn't needed to be kept warm while we were traveling during the day. And the way it came out, it was open to interpretation. However, since what Rafe didn't know about Leo's species would have filled volumes, I knew I could invent all sorts of peculiarities, and he'd never know the difference. If asked, I might have said something about his basal metabolic rate taking a significant drop at night, which holds true for humans, as well, but Rafe had never been an avid student of physiology.

But studious or not, he was still suspicious. "Been sleeping with him while he was in your house, as well?

I wouldn't think it would be necessary," he said shortly.

"Seemed warm enough in there to me."

"Yes, it is," I agreed, and went no further with my reply. It was a lie of omission, and though I knew I would be guilty of more of them before this adventure reached its end, I hoped the gods would be merciful and understanding.

The gods may have understood, but Rafe didn't seem to think my reply was adequate and pressed me for details. "So, you're saying you've never slept with him before?"

"No," I replied. "I didn't say anything about that."

He didn't seem to care for that reply, either. "You've never slept together, but now that we're out here in the snow, you're planning to bed down with him?"

"Yes," I replied irritably. I'd had just about enough interrogation for one evening, and the truth was, I was so cold and tired and hungry that I wanted nothing more than to curl up with Leo and let him send me into oblivion with that magical cock of his. Leveling a stern *113 *24*.

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Do you want us to find your boys or not?"

He seemed taken aback by this. "Of-of course," he sputtered. "That's why-"

"Then shut up and let us find them," I snapped, cutting him off in midsentence. "Who I sleep with is no business of yours, anyway."

"Well, it is if it's my slave!" he exclaimed. "Really, Tisana!"

It was the last thing I wanted to hear. Now that I'd finally found the one, he belonged to my former lover, who obviously wasn't intending to let me have him.

How's that for irony? Actually, as long as I didn't hurt Leo, I couldn't see why it mattered to Rafe whether I slept with him or not. It wasn't as though he would end up maimed or anything, and the gods knew he hadn't been a virgin when I met up with him!

No, I thought as my temper heated up, the very least he could do would be to let me enjoy Leo for as long as I possibly could before he hauled him off to play exotic slave boy for Carnita. As long as Rafe refused to see this little adventure as a favor that might earn me Leo as a reward, I saw no need to sugarcoat it anymore. At the moment, I didn't give a damn how angry he got-as long as he didn't take it out on Leo.

"Listen," I said hotly, "I didn't ask to come on this rescue mission; you're the one who came begging for help, not me! The way I see it, we're all you've got right now, so if I were you, I'd keep my mouth shut. In fact, if you had any sense at all, you'd be promising me the moon and stars to help you find your boys, but, instead, here you are fussing at me for sleeping with Leo! So *114 *25*.

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what if I sleep with him? It's no skin off your nose. It's not like you're my husband."

There was the slightest chance that it might have been "the woman scorned" talking there, but it wasn't just that. Had I actually married Rafe, I had no doubt whatsoever that I would have set fire to him at some point. In fact, it was a wonder he wasn't smoldering now.

As I stormed away from the cheery warmth of the campfire, it occurred to me that perhaps I should throw my weight around a little. If I played my cards right, I could come out of this deal in possession of Leo. I was pretty sure that Rafe and Leo wouldn't be able to find the boys without the aid of my animal spies and me, but the unfortunate irony was that I couldn't explain to Rafe why it was that I would be so much better at finding the kids than Leo would be alone.

Leo didn't have to worry, because he had already admitted that the scent was faint, and as the days went by, it might become even more difficult for him to follow. No one would think anything of his losing the trail, since following a scent was a relatively nonmagical way of tracking someone, and I seriously doubted that he would be burned at the stake if he failed. I knew deep down that I probably wouldn't, either, but I couldn't forget that it wasn't for failing in their duties that witches had been so persecuted in the past-it was for being witches at all; for being different, foreign, strange. Rafe's assumption that I could see things in the fire was no less magical than the ability to communicate with animals, but I had no desire to add anything more to my list of crimes.

*115 *25*.

116.

Cheryl Brooks I had walked a little apart from the men and horses, with Max following closely at my heels. I leaned against the rough bark of an alowa tree, wanting to scream, or cry, or do something-anything to rid myself of the impotent anger I felt! Truthfully, at that point, I'm not sure whom I was angrier with: Rafe, or the gods who had put Leo in his power.

I began to form a thought intended for Max, just to ventilate my feelings, but a light touch on my shoulder informed me that Max wasn't the only one who'd followed me.

"Tisana," Rafe began, "I-"

"Please, Rafe," I said wearily. "Just go away and leave me be."

Surprisingly, he did as I asked, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

My mother never told me how hurt she had been when my father left her behind to continue on his journey. Had she had the time to truly begin to care for him as I had with Leo, or had it been such a brief encounter that she barely remembered his face? I didn't know the answer to that, but I did know beyond a shadow of a doubt that even if Leo left right then and I never saw him again, I would remember every nuance of his behavior, every word he'd spoken in my presence, and every sensation he'd evoked within me. I loved him so deeply, it hurt.

My heart might have been aching like the devil, but, in the end, it was my stomach that got the better of me. A broken heart won't kill you, but I had a child to consider, and it wouldn't do to starve her to death.

Rafe looked up as the smell of hot food lured me back to the campfire. "Forget it, Rafe," I said bluntly. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say."

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Ignoring that remark, he announced: "You may sleep with my slave, Tisana." With a glance at Leo, he added more quietly, "I believe you were right about him."

Looking up in surprise, I noted that Leo was, in fact, huddled in a blanket by the fire, trembling visibly, his teeth chattering against the rim of his cup as he attempted to drink some hot broth.

I ladled some soup out of the pot into a cup of my own and sat down on the end of my bedroll next to Leo, who leaned into me for warmth. Putting an arm around him to pull him closer, I knew it didn't matter whether he was cold or was merely pretending, because I was with him, holding him the way I wanted. Tears slid down my cheeks, and I let them fall.

Leo had been right about taking pleasure where it was offered without question, though he had failed to mention how bad it would feel when you knew it was gone for good.

Max curled up with his head in Leo's lap and let out a deep sigh. "Is he really that cold?" he asked.

"I don't know," I replied truthfully. "It doesn't matter, though. We'll keep him warm anyway."

"He's been pretty quiet for a long time," Max commented. "Maybe he really is sick."

"Maybe," I conceded. "We'll see."

Max looked up at me with dark, expressive eyes, no doubt seeing my tears. "You love him, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." I replied. "Very much."

"Love hurts, doesn't it?" Max observed, seeming unusually somber for a young dog.

"Yes, it does," I agreed. "More than I would ever *117 *25*.

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"I guess I love the boys more than I knew," Max said, "because it hurts now that they're gone. I don't think I want to love anybody else."

"Sometimes it comes to you, whether you wish for it or not." I told him. "And when you least expect it, too."