Blade was approaching the shelter when Khraishamo raised his head, looked past Rhodina, and saw Blade approaching. He pushed the woman aside so violently she fell to the sand, leaped forward, and embraced Blade. For a moment Blade wasn't sure whether the pirate was greeting him or attacking him. He was quite sure that either way his ribs and shoulders were going to be smashed by the pirate's massive arms.
Then Khraishamo held Blade at arm's length, kissed him on both cheeks, lifted him into the air, and dropped him.
«Blade, I told you the Goharans would say you weren't of them and send you here! And I was right!» He laughed wildly, and the eerie sound floated away on the sea wind. More quietly he said, «Welcome to Shell Island.»
«I suppose I should say thank you,» said Blade. «But I don't plan to stay here any longer than I have to. How are you? Rhodina told me her lover and protector was something out of the ordinary, but she didn't tell me that-«
The pirate turned to Rhodina and glared at her. «Didn't tell him? Still ashamed of having a Bloodskin lover?» He sounded genuinely angry. Blade noted that Khraishamo now spoke adequate Goharan, although he'd picked up a Mythoran accent from Rhodina.
Rhodina glared at her lover. «Leave off, Khraishamo. You know what you are to me. You know too what most Goharans would say learning it. You wanted him to beat or even kill me for going with a Bloodskin?»
«He's not Goharan, my lusty love. He's-«
«Not Goharan? He told me he was exiled for-«
«I'll tell you, if you'll stop interrupting me.» He put one hand gently but firmly over her mouth. «Blade's a man from the future, a thousand years from now. He's sent back here by his people, to see how we lived. Then he'll go back.»
Rhodina swore a few lurid Mythoran street oaths. «You never told me that he was a man from the future, you-«Then she turned to Blade, still glaring. «And you never told me-«
«I never told you any lies, either,» said Blade. «I said I was exiled from Gohar because of a quarrel with Kloret, the Prime Minister. That's perfectly true. I just left out some of the details.»
Rhodina threw her hands up in mock despair, then burst out laughing. «Enough, enough. Don't know whether I should kick or kiss the both of you. But tell me everything now, please.»
«We'll do it,» said Khraishamo. «But we'll do it better with some food in our bellies. Go and do up some of those fish, woman!» He slapped her on the rump. She aimed a kick at his groin but he sprang aside with a laugh. «What? Spoil your own fun would you? Or has Blade got other weapons besides his sword? O-ha-you're blushing! Don't worry, I won't kill him. He's got blood-brother rights to all that's mine.»
Laughing, Rhodina picked up the fish and went off to one side of the shelter. Khraishamo looked soberly at Blade. «You know that's true, don't you? You can ask for anything, I give you, and I hope I can do the same with you.»
«You can,» said Blade. «But I agree with you-let's save the rest of the talk until we've eaten.»
Brooga wrapped in seaweed and baked over a driftwood fire was a gourmet dish. By the time dinner was over, Blade, Khraishamo, and Rhodina had made a notable dent even in the eighty-pound fish. With his knife Blade cut off the fish's spike and stuck it in the sand behind him, then settled down to exchange stories with Khraishamo.
«So Thrayket is dead?» said the pirate, when Blade was finished.
«You're thinking it might be just a rumor Kloret spread?»
«If the man's ready to do what you say-«
«He is, but he's not a fool, either. He'd have to be one to lie about Thrayket's death while there was any chance he'd be caught in that lie. No, Thrayket's dead.»
Khraishamo's face twisted into a demon's mask. «Not good. Not one damned bit good! If Kloret moves fast enough, Harkrat's got to let him keep what he grabs or else fight him.»
«Kloret's likely to move that fast, from what I've seen.» Blade had been very careful not to tell his new allies the deadly secret of Harkrat's impotence and the hold this gave Kloret over him. He'd given the impression that Kloret's strength lay in his ruthlessness and his ability to strike without warning.
«So we just move faster,» said Khraishamo. «Off this damned island, to start with. Then-«
«On to Mythor,» said Blade. He turned to Rhodina. «Once we've escaped from here, we'll be safe only among people who haven't anything to lose for new crimes against Gohar. That means the rebels-your friends. Can you lead us to them?'
Rhodina frowned. She'd been pale and unusually quiet while Blade and Khraishamo talked. Now she sighed. «I have to. But-I swear, Blade, if you're not talking true and end up turning against-«
«Rhodina! You've heard what he did for me? Would a man like that betray his best allies? Or are you calling me a liar?»
«No, but-oh, I'm sorry, it's just that-«She closed her eyes, forcing herself to speak calmly. «It's too much happening, too quick.»
«And it's going to get worse before it gets any better,» said Khraishamo, laughing and patting her on the shoulder. «What's more, there's not a damned thing you can do about it.»
The pirate turned back to Blade. «You're planning to help the rebels, Blade? What about this changing the future, doing something to England and you?»
Blade hadn't expected to find Khraishamo raising the question of time-travel paradoxes. It increased his respect for the man. Fortunately it didn't catch him without an answer ready.
He looked at both Khraishamo and Rhodina. «Do I have your word of honor that this will stay a secret?»
Both nodded.
«Good. This is something I haven't cared to tell anyone else since I came here. Mythor is going to be independent. At least-«
Rhodina let out a shriek of delight.
«At least there's about nine chances out of ten it will win, sooner or later. I've compared what I've learned about this time with what we know in England. Somewhere along the line, Mythor becomes its own master. I don't know when, and I don't know that it's because of a successful rebellion. But I do know that I'm not taking a dangerous risk, helping the rebels.»
Rhodina was now crying for sheer happiness, but Khraishamo still looked skeptical. Blade went on. «Also, there's a good chance I couldn't do anything to myself or my England.»
«Even if Mythor won only because you helped?»
«Yes. I wouldn't change the history that produced my England and me. I would start a whole new history, like a new branch starting on a tree. The theory goes that all the possible things that can happen have happened, and they all exist side by side, like-«
Khraishamo held up both hands. «Enough, enough. I understand. You don't need to hurl all your Historians' wisdom at me. You aren't going to vanish in a puff of smoke if you help the rebels win. I hope you're right, Blade. I'd hate to be saying death-prayers for you.»
That brought the conversation to a halt, while Blade and Rhodina laid more driftwood on the fire. When they started talking again, they talked of how to escape from Shell Island. Khraishamo was optimistic. He'd come to the island with Blade's words firmly in mind, and kept his eyes and ears open. If he had more time to look around-
«We don't have time,» said Rhodina firmly. «What Blade says means the faster we're gone the better.»
Blade nodded. «None of the guards or the other prisoners know me by sight, or even that I'm on the island. That means I can disguise myself as a guard.»
Khraishamo frowned. «I don't see how we can get a guard's-«Then he stopped as Blade started to explain his plan. He listened in silence, then slowly nodded.
«Broogas do attack men. It'll look all right. But so do other things. They'll be around when we're out on the reef, waiting for the guard boat. You think it's worth it?» Blade nodded. «Just wanted to be sure you knew the dangers.»
«Going to be a lot more dangerous for a lot more besides us if we don't,» said Rhodina.
Khraishamo stood up. «Blade, maybe you could keep watch for a few hours? I think we'd better start-«
«I understand.»
The pirate pulled Rhodina to her feet and put his arm around her waist. A moment later the curtain over the shelter's entrance closed behind them. Blade laid out several pieces of fish close to the fire, so that they would smoke-dry during the night. Then he moved to where he could lean back against the sand dune and sit with a fish spear across his knees.
Even if he hadn't promised to keep watch, he wouldn't have got much sleep. Rhodina's welcome home to Khraishamo was not quiet, and it went on for hours.