Sounds of wind and fountain whoop through the room; I almost can’t hear the bondmaid snoring. There is a lot of dust under the bed; no one checks there and we don’t do more than we have to, but I am sorry about that now because some of that dust gets into my nose, makes it itch like I don’t know. After a while I start getting pains jumping from my neck to between my shoulders. I stand it some minutes more, then I have to stretch and wiggle if I want to be able to walk without falling on my face. I am just about ready to crawl back to my bed, muttering curses on Tungjii and Jah’takash, when I hear a kind of humming. I stop moving, hoping the wind noise had covered the sounds I was making. I can’t tell you what the humming was like, I’ve never heard anything like it. My eyelids keep flopping down; I am fighting suddenly to k6ep awake; then more dust gets in my nose; I almost sneeze, but don’t. One good thing, the itch releases me from the witch’s spell. I ease myself toward the end of the bed and crick my neck around so I can see the door. I am hidden by the knotted fringe on the edge of the coverlet and feel pretty safe. The Kadda wife is standing in the door.
The humming stops.
The Tekora moves out of the shadows to stand beside his wife. I stop breathing. He looks hungry. I feel like throwing up.
The Kadda wife looks around the room. I get the feeling she can see me. I close my eyes and pretend I’m a frog hopped in from the garden. Even with my eyes closed I can feel her looking at me; I’m sure she’s going to call me out from under the bed; I’m thinking it’s time to scoot out the door and over the wall. But nothing happens and I can’t resist sneaking another look.
The Kadda wife smiles up at the Tekora and takes her hand off his ann. It’s like she’s taken the bridle off him. He walks to his daughter’s bed. He looks down at the little girl, then over his shoulder at the witch. She nods. He bends over and whispers something I couldn’t make out that hurts my ears anyway. The girl gets up, follows him out of the room. His own daughter!