On Fire's Wings - Christie Golden [45]
We are not done with each other yet. His prediction that he would return had come true, and her heart was glad of it. Yet now that he would soon be back, what would he want from her? They had crossed a line that night, when he knelt in front of a servant and wiped the tears from her face, and she feared what lay on the other side of it.
It was only three days later that Tahmu’s colors of red and gold were spotted against the blue sky. The deep, resonant sound of the shakaal issued, and the weary but exultant scout announced that the khashim was only a few hours behind him.
Yeshi was sitting at her window, watching the horizon intently, while Kevla dusted her mistress’s face with powder and Ranna and Tiah worked on her feet and hair respectively. “I want to be the first to see him,” Yeshi had said.
As Kevla applied the kohl, Yeshi started. A black line went straight from her eye to her ear.
“They are coming!” Yeshi cried, leaping up. She knocked over the basin of water at her feet, which splashed all over Ranna’s lap. Oblivious to the chaos she was creating for her handmaidens, she pointed out the window. “They are—”
Suddenly, Yeshi doubled over, her hands clutching her belly. Kevla caught her as she stumbled and would have fallen. There was a puddle of liquid at Yeshi’s feet. At first glance, Kevla thought it was the spilled water from the basin…but that had gone all over Ranna, not the floor….
“Help me,” Kevla snapped. “The baby is coming!”
“What…what should we do?” Ranna stammered.
“Fetch Asha. He’ll bring the birthing stool and herbs,” said Kevla, reciting the steps Asha had drummed into her head. “And hot water—we need hot water and towels.”
Yeshi’s fingers dug into Kevla’s shoulders and she moaned softly. Kevla looked up at her mistress and tried to smile reassuringly.
“The great lady said the baby would wait for his father,” she reminded Yeshi. “Well, the one is coming, and now so is the other.”
Ranna was dismissed after she became ill. Tiah seemed made of sterner stuff and stayed on. Sahlik arrived quickly, and was a deeply comforting presence. Asha, too, was calm and soothing, his long fingers gently probing the mother-to-be’s body.
“It has turned,” he said reassuringly. “This should be an easy birth.”
The look Yeshi gave him at this comment made him cringe. Yeshi was sweating, her hair was a tangled mess, and she seemed beyond words. All Kevla heard from her were shrieks, moans and growls.
She steeled herself to the sounds of Yeshi’s pain. Neither Sahlik nor Asha seemed disturbed by the noises, so Kevla assumed that this was simply part of a normal birth. Every few minutes, Kevla glanced anxiously out the window, to see how much closer the returning warriors had come.
After a few hours had passed, Kevla went to the window and saw a milling throng of people down in the courtyard. She could not see Tahmu, but he had to be there. Hastening back to Asha, she said, “The warriors are here!”
“Good,” he said. “Great lady, get on the stool.”
Whimpering, Yeshi straddled the wooden birthing stool, supported by the strong arms of Tiah and Sahlik. Kevla had prepared the tepid pool of water with scented herbs to catch the baby. She placed it between Yeshi’s parted legs, risking a glimpse at Asha. His fingers were just inside Yeshi’s body, and they were coated with dark fluids. Kevla gulped, and for a moment envied the absent Ranna.
Suddenly, Yeshi cried, “No! Tahmu must be here!”
“Great lady,” stammered Asha, “the baby will come as it chooses. To try to halt—”
“Tahmu!” screamed Yeshi. “Tahmu!”
“Dragon’s teeth,” muttered Asha. “Kevla, go find Tahmu.”
Kevla nodded and raced down the stairs, once slipping and almost falling in her haste. There was a huge commotion in the courtyard, and although she had grown considerably in her time at the House, she was still so short she could not see over the tall figures