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"Which was?" Wolf asked.

"We hoped to be free here on Elfhome," Riki said. "So in the last twenty-eight years, all of the tengu of Earth and Onihida have come to Elfhome."

"All?" True Flame glanced over the ten living tengu. "Are we speaking hundreds? Thousands? Millions?"

"Several thousand." Riki glanced to Jin to see if he should be more specific and got a nod. "We believe
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around twenty thousand."

Which meant they greatly outnumbered the oni now trapped on Elfhome.

True Flame turned to Wolf. "How does your
domi
possibly think she could hold all of them?"

"Through me," Jin said, "I am Jin Wong. I am the heart and soul and voice of the tengu. I speak, and all will listen."

"I doubt this greatly," True Flame said.

Jin raised his hands and gave out a call toward the east. It resonated with magic, as if his voice alone triggered some spell. He turned to the north and called. He faced the west and called. Even as he faced the south and called, a rustle of wings announced the arrival of a great flock of tengu. The sky went dark with the crow-black feathers. Warriors all, faces painted, and feet sheathed in sharpened steel. They carried guns holstered on their hips. They settled silently on the bridge trusses, the tops of buildings, and streetlights.

When the last tengu went still, Jin called again, magic pulsing out from him. It echoed off the buildings and the hillside across the river. He turned, gazing at them, as if he too were stunned by the massive numbers of them. "I am Jin Wong! I have returned to our people!"

And the tengu flock shouted back, "Jin! Jin! Jin!"

Jin raised his hands and the flock fell silent. "We are entering into an alliance with the elves. We are taking Tinker
ze domi
as our protector. Under her, I hope that for the first time our people will live in peace, security, and prosperity."

The flock roared in approval, a deafening sound that washed over them. Jin raised his hand, commanding silence, and received instant obedience.

"Jin offered his people," Wolf said in the silence. "
Domi
offered her protection. Such an oath, once made, no other person can break."

"This is true," True Flame said.

Earth Son had cast his shield, encompassing only him and his
sekasha
. "She can't hold them. This is preposterous."

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"They fit the model of a household with Jin as the head," Wolf said.

"Only clan heads can hold that many people," Earth Son said. "And she is nothing but a—"

"She is my
domi
and we are the clan heads of the Westernlands," Wolf growled. "Forest Moss is right.

You are blind. Tinker has closed the Ghostlands." Wolf pointed to Malice's massive body. "She killed the dragon that four of us could not harm. She has made a peace with a force that we didn't even know existed. Do not assign her your limitations. We can hold the tengu."

"They are monsters!" Earth Son shouted.

Wolf shook his head. "They were once human, forced into their shape by cruel masters. They have fought beside my
domi
to kill the dragon. They have protected my youngest
sekasha
from harm."

"You are a traitor to your people," Earth Son spat the accusation and then looked to True Flame, as if challenging the prince to refute it.

True Flame said nothing, waiting to see the outcome of the debate.

Wolf directed his argument to the Wyvern and the Stone Clan
sekasha
because he knew that his Hands had already decided on the issue—they wouldn't have defended the tengu otherwise. But their decision was based on their trust in him. The others would need convincing. "My people are those that offer me their loyalty, be they elfin, human, tengu, or half-blooded oni. It is my duty as
domana
to extend protection to those weaker than I am."

"It is our duty to keep our race pure," Earth Son said.

"That is our Skin Clan forefathers speaking. Kill the misbegotten children. Eliminate the unwanted genetic line. Ignore trust, obedience, loyalty, and love in the search for perfection. It was the Skin Clan's way, but it is not ours."

"This is insanity. They breed like mice. All of them do. The oni and the humans. This is our world. If we don't eliminate them, they will overwhelm us."

"If they offer their loyalty and we give them our protection—do they not become one of us? They do not lessen us—they make us greater."

Earth Son worked his mouth for a minute, and then finally cried. "No! No, no, no! They are filthy lying
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creatures. I am Stone Clan head of the Westernlands, and I say that the Stone Clan will never accept this!"

"I do not care what the Stone Clan accepts." Wolf cocked his fingers, wondering if Earth Son would be as stupid as to actually start a fight with all the tengu assembled. Since Earth Son was holding shields, he could strike quickly. "Know this—the tengu are Wind Clan now. I will protect them."

Earth Son made a motion. It was a start of a spell. What spell Wolf would never know. Wolf snapped his hand up to summon the winds, even though he would be too late to block the attack. Thorne Scratch reacted first. With deliberate calm, she struck out and beheaded Earth Son. His lifeblood sprayed his Hand, but none moved against their First. They watch impassively as his body toppled to the ground.

"We will not follow the path of the Skin Clan." Thorne Scratch cleaned the blood from her
ejae.

Red Knife, True Flame's First, nodded. "Those that offer loyalty will be protected."

Jewel Tear gazed down at Earth Son's body. "As temporary Stone Clan head of the Westernlands, I recognize that non-elfin can be beholden."

23: PEACE

Tinker woke slowly. She had been dreaming, but for once, it was a pleasant dream of the new viceroy palace being complete. She had walked from room to room to room, marveling that all this was hers.

Theirs.

When she opened her eyes, she knew instantly she was in her own bed at Poppymeadow's because Windwolf lay beside her, his black hair poured like silk across the cream satin sheets. Contentment poured through her like warm honey. She snuggled closer to him. For once the taffy thickness of the
saijin
-induced sleep didn't seem threatening. If she was with Windwolf, then everything was right with the world.

And then with sudden dark coldness, she remembered the tengu. She had promised to protect them but then had let the elves drug her. What had she been thinking of? The elves would have only seen the tengu as enemies.

She sat up, hands to her mouth to hold in the cries of dismay. What had happened after she was carried away? Were Jin, Grace, Xiao Chen, and all the others already dead?

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"Beloved?" Windwolf sat up beside her.

"Oh gods, I failed them! I promised Jin I would protect the tengu! I failed them."

"You did not. You are my
domi
. Your promises are mine. I protected them. It was, after all, the right thing to do."

She knew, in a way she wouldn't have known a week ago, what she had asked of him, and how different he had to be from other elves to understand. There been a secret fear hiding inside her that he wouldn't understand, that instead of being a powerful protector, he would be in truth a ruthless killer.

That cold knot of fear dissolved.

"Oh, thank you!" She hugged him tight. She didn't need anything else but to be in his arms and hear his heart beating. She snuggled closer, wanting to drown in the
saijin
-laced honey contentment. She never wanted to let him go; never wanted to risk losing him forever again.

"It was the least I could do after you solved that small dragon problem I had." He said it with complete seriousness, but there was laughter in his eyes.

She laughed, tangling her fingers in his hair and pulling him down to kiss her. She delighted in his taste, the feel of his hands on her, finding the hem of her nightgown to slide up her bare skin.

"I love you," she murmured. "I'm never letting you go."

His gaze went serious and deep. "I am going nowhere, my love."

Only later, after a proper renewal of their relationship, did she think about another small dragon problem.

"What happened with Impatience when we did the flux spell? Is Oilcan okay?"

"He is fine." Windwolf smoothed away her fear. "Your spell did not affect the little dragon. And the tengu have been quite useful already. With their help, we had a long discussion with Impatience about creating a pathway to Earth. The question is where to put it."

"What about the Squirrel Hill tunnels? They go nowhere now."

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Windwolf considered for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, that would be expedient."

Using the tunnels would open four travel lanes between Elfhome and Earth and yet be easily controlled.

"Wow."

"I told you, beloved, you and I would shake the universe until we found a way."

EPILOGUE: CUP OF JOYS

Elves may live forever, but their memories do not. Every elfin child is taught that any special memory has to be polished bright and carefully stored away at the end of a day, else it will slip away and soon be forgotten. The eve of Memory was past, but Wolf wanted to share the ceremony with his
domi
—even if somewhat belatedly. They had time now. He wanted her to know how to save the memories of all that had happened in the last few days, the good along with the bad.

Wolf settled before the altar of Nheoya, god of longevity. His beloved sat down beside him.

Tinker took a deep breath and let it out in a deep, heartfelt sigh. "This is going to be like being dragged through thorns—there's so much I regret. So many ways I've fucked up."

"This is not to punish yourself, beloved. Nothing is gained from that. The worth comes from reflecting on the events—removed from the passion that blinded you at the time—and learning from the mistakes."

"Easier said than done."

"Think of it as something that has happened to someone else—the person that you used to be and not the person you are now."

She nodded and lit the candle of memory. Together, they clapped to call the god's attention to them and bestowed their gifts of silver on the altar. They sat in companionable silence, waiting to reach perfect calmness before starting the ceremony. Wolf reached his center quickly, but waited until Tinker was ready to pick up the cup of tears and taste the bitter memories.

He allowed himself to reflect on his failure with Jewel Tear and the bitter things she had to say to him.

There was some truth in what she had to say. He had allowed silence to create a gulf between his heart
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and hers, so that their dreams took different forms. He would have to remember this, remind himself to keep his heart open to his beloved, so that they could share their dreams.

Dawn was breaking, and the cups of tears were drained, so they set aside their bitter memories. As light spilled into the temple, they lifted the cups of joys.

All Wolf's new moments of happiness centered on Tinker. They were scattered through his days, bright like diamonds. As he took them out, played them close, and stored them away, he found a pattern to them. In every occasion, he had known he had at last found the one who could not only understand his vision, but see possibilities that he hadn't considered, and had the ability to make them real. He found at the root of it all a loneliness he hadn't allowed himself to acknowledge, an awareness that he had been totally alone while surrounded by people, an emptiness now completely filled.

"Are you okay?" Tinker asked him in English.

He smiled. He had told her that he felt most free speaking English, and by her answering look, she remembered. "Yes, I am very content at this moment."

"Good. So am I." But then unease seeped into her eyes.

"What is it, beloved?"

"You probably have someplace to go, something you need to do."

He held out his hand to her, and she took it, interlacing their fingers. "What I need is to sit here with my
domi
and talk about what we want to do next."

THE END

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Table of Contents

PROLOGUE: CUP OF TEARS

1: GHOST LANDS

2: GO ASK ALICE

3: NUTS AND BOLTS

4: ON GOSSAMER DEATH