Barb Hendee: Child of a Dead God

He made a handsome sight himself. Aunt Bieja had managed to sew him a loose white shirt, just in time, that he wore tucked into black breeches. He'd polished his boots and tied his white-blond hair back at the nape of his neck.

Magiere took his arm. "Ready?"

He nodded, still looking into her eyes.

Osha fidgeted awkwardly. Wynn hurried over to him, and the young elf looked her up and down as if he'd never seen her before.

"See how Magiere has Leesil's arm? They will walk in first. We wait and then follow with Chap."

Chap whined with ears perked. Wynn had completely brushed out his coat the night before, ignoring his growls. She hooked her arm into Osha's, having to reach up a bit.

Magiere turned into the warehouse with Leesil, and her breath caught at the hundreds of flowers in the streaming light. She kept her poise and moved steadily forward on Leesil's arm.

Domin Tilswith waited before the muslin backing in his long gray robes. A thin trail of smoke drifted up from an incense stick in the brazier. Magiere had no idea their friends had gone to so much trouble.

The cavernous room was filled to the walls with people.

But a clear path was left for her and Leesil, and faces blurred by as she walked.

Karlin and the constable, Darien Tomik, stood with young Geoffry and Aria. Even Loni, the elven owner of the Velvet Rose Inn, watched with interest. So many had come to share this day.

Magiere and Leesil came together before Domin Tilswith. Chap settled right behind them, and Wynn and Osha, as their seconds, stepped off to each side. Domin Tilswith's voice carried in accented Belaskian, but he never missed a word, as if he had studied every one most carefully.

"We come together to celebrate the joining of Magiere and Leesil in a life bond."

Magiere's heart began to pound as he leaned over and picked up the silk ribbon.

"Hold out your hands," he instructed.

He lightly tied Leesil's left hand to Magiere's right. "Magiere, do you swear to love Leesil, to stand with him, honor his heart, and care for him above all others for as long as you live?"

Magiere looked at Leesil and answered, "I swear."

"Leesil, do you swear to love Magiere, to stand with her, honor her heart, and care for her above all others for as long as you live?"

Leesil held her eyes with his. "I swear."

Domin Tilswith removed the ribbon and took up the incense. Blowing its tip to a coal, he lit the two outside candles, their wicks lightly dipped in clear oil.

Magiere picked up one candle and Leesil the other, and together they lit the center candle. They blew out the candles they held and set them aside.

"Two lights are now one," Domin Tilswith proclaimed. He held up the single candle. "Leesil and Magiere are one."

The warehouse filled with cheers.

Wynn kept stumbling sideways every time she took a step. Maybe the common room had not been built on level ground.

The celebration in the Sea Lion Tavern had broken into… well, a celebration. She had never taken part in anything like this.

Bieja had outdone herself with the feast, and now poured wine straight from a cask into large mugs and tankards, passing them around like water. Domin Tilswith had finished two already, and even Osha held a mug.

Wynn had tasted wine before, on special occasions and in small amounts, but she most certainly was not drunk. Besides her, Leesil was the only one sober, as he sipped on spiced tea.

The common room had been half-cleared of tables and chairs, and Bieja had abandoned the bar to dance with Karlin. The pair dominated the floor with their girth and energy, until Leesil pulled Magiere out to join them. After that, Wynn tried to teach Osha a few steps, but she did not know much about dancing herself. She stumbled into a chair, nearly taking him with her. The floor was definitely uneven. Yes, that was the reason.

The Sea Lion was packed with people, who all seemed affectionate with Leesil and Magiere, but Wynn hardly knew anyone. She noticed Osha's wary glances at the only other elf present, but oddly, these two avoided each other.

"Magiere said his name is Loni," Wynn shouted to Osha over the din.

"He is not an'Croan," Osha answered.

Loni's hair was light brown, and his eyes were amber brown. He was not as tall as Osha, but his facial structure, slanted eyes, and oblong pointed ears clearly marked him as fully elven. He seemed just as determined to ignore Osha. But his differences from the an'Croan left Wynn wondering.

She had heard Leesil and Magiere speak of Loni once or twice, but in seeing him for the first time, Wynn thought he looked much more like the elves from her own continent. So what was one of them doing here, so far from home?

"At least people here are so accustomed to him that they do not find you strange," she said to Osha.

Or she thought she had said it. Some of the words did not sound right, but that was because of all the noise. Before she could repeat herself, she noticed the room's awful tilt and felt as though the chair beneath her might fall over.

It was too hot in here.

Wynn had tried not to dwell on the conversation in the kitchen with Domin Tilswith, especially the part after Leesil ran out after Magiere. She had promised herself to wait until after the wedding before telling Magiere or Leesil the domin's unsettling news.

Today was about them, their day of joy, and she would not spoil it for anything.

"Let us go outside," Osha said. "It is too warm."

Thank goodness someone else noticed, thought Wynn, and she followed as he waded through the crowd for the front door.

The night outside was better-cooler. Rather than stand about before the tavern windows, they walked as far as the nearby stables. Osha half-crouched, leaning back against the stable's outer door, and Wynn stood before him, watching him weave a little before her eyes.

"I am… dizzy," he said and wiped his brow.

He had fallen back into Elvish. Obviously Osha could not hold his wine. Wynn giggled before she could stop herself.

"I fear the Anmaglahk would not approve of a single thing you did today."

His slanted eyes grew serious. "No, they would not, and that thought is sad."

Wynn lost her own humor.

"Today was good," Osha went on, "and humans are nothing like I was taught. Even Sgailsheilleache, who spent so much time in these lands, knew little of them… Then you came." He glanced away. "Sgailsheilleache should have stood with Leshil today-not me."

"No, Osha," Wynn said. "Leesil mourns Sgaile, but he was glad to have you with him."

He looked at her, his face intense-lonely-and hungry in moonlight.

Wynn teetered so much she stumbled. She grabbed the stable door near his shoulder. With his face so near hers, Wynn's muddled head flushed with a new heat.

She wanted to feel what Magiere and Leesil had, to know that closeness with someone she cared for. Wynn realized, standing there, that she could make Osha fall in love with her. Just kiss him on those soft… thin… tan lips.

She shoved off the stable door, growing too warm again.

With all they had been through together, she loved Osha-but was she in love with him? Their paths would soon diverge, and perhaps that was best. She took another step back.

Osha studied her until she could not bear it anymore.

"We should go back inside," she said. "Magiere will wonder what became of us."

His mouth tightened in puzzlement, or was it disappointment?

He stood up. "Yes, we go back now."

Chap lay by the hearth watching everyone around him drink, dance, and laugh. More than once he had quickly scooted aside before someone stepped on his tail.

Wynn slipped in the front door, flushed and staggering as she looked about.

When she spotted him, she wove among the crowd and dropped a bit too hard beside him. She buried fingers in his fur, rubbing his back, and it felt good. He wondered why she was no longer joining in the festivities.