his own kind?
Vexk turned to them, her pale-gray face solemn. “Khea and I will go first, but you should hear what she has to say. It involves the Outsider who accompanied the Black/on/black to this world.”
Still overwhelmed, Heyoka stared numbly at the gray-and-white cubling. “Mitsu? What do you know about her?”
Khea flinched at the mention of that name and then shrank behind Vexk, who calmly smoothed a fold of the youngster’s yellow robe. “Told once, this tale will be difficult enough, Black/on/black,” she said, then took the cubling’s arm and walked her past the onlooking daughters of five Lines down a crushed-gravel path between two of the huge stones and into the apparent hurricane’s eye of the inner circle.
He followed them, Nisk and Kei at his heels, and stopped just short of the stones, peering around the edge of the closest. Lesser-ranked females drew back from the three males, ears pinned, to give them a wide, but grudging, berth. Snarls rattled in the backs of their throats. This was clearly not a place for males.
Before each of the six monoliths stood a smaller stone, carved into a huge ornate seat, each different from the rest, and in five of these sat a Line Mother. Three were lanky and scarred, one young and well-muscled, and the fifth, whom he recognized to be Beshha, was plump and sleek. Heyoka realized with a jolt that the empty sixth seat must have belonged to Levv.
A dark-gray female seated on the far right jerked to her feet at the sight of Khea. “How dare you bring that wretch here? Her blood is forfeit to Vvok!”
“Is that so, Seska?” Vexk’s tone remained cool. “Then how will you pay for the restoration you requested?” She stood before the old female, tall, straight, proud—and fearless.
Seska bristled. “The guild must name another price—this cubling challenged me and lost!”
“Khea g