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"Don't get too pissed if you wake up with something poking at you,” Mason said roughly after a couple of minutes. “I know that you're not interested. Don't kill me because my dick was too stupid to figure it out."

I didn't say anything, trying not to be embarrassed for some reason. I drifted off to sleep, plotting on what I needed to do to get back to my estate. I wasn't going to tell him I wasn't able to do anything to harm him. My powers were tied to Nippon, to the land I had claimed and was lord over. Since I was not there and had not left Nippon voluntarily, those powers were cut off from me. I was also exhausted and unable to keep my eyes open any longer.

I woke up again, alone, but carefully tucked under the blankets. Mason was dressed and sitting by the side of the bed with a man with a very strange hairstyle, a mixture of thin braids and shaved areas. Mason smiled at me when he saw I was awake. I sat up carefully, feeling not exactly weak, but odd, since I was cut off from my land.

"Tamazusa-sama, this is Logan Sawyer. Wolf and McGann are still fussing over Keno. He's been awake on and off, but he's gonna be okay."

Mason leaned over and handed me a rough clay mug with water in it. I sipped at it appreciatively and tried to smile winningly at them. Logan seemed to respond to it, but my smile seemed to make Mason nervous.

"I was worried about him,” I said.

"How's he doing?” Mason asked me. I knew he was asking about Keno's life in general.

I looked at him, debating how to answer that. “He is fine,” I said slowly. “Aboshi and my samurai adore him. If it wasn't for his power, we wouldn't be here."

"Was he with you?” Mason asked, his eyes shadowed. I knew he was remembering the last time we had been together. Aboshi had nearly killed him.

"He decided that it would be better if one of us stayed at our estate,” I explained. “He trusted Keno to guard me. Which he did an excellent job of. I wouldn't be here if it were not for him."

One of the Northern woman stomped up to us, eyeing me as if I were last week's garbage. She smelt like a tavern wench and was dressed in a dirty, coarse woolen dress. Her greasy hair was braided back, and her face was smudged. She had the gall to look down her nose at me, though, and I was aware of the fact that I was barely dressed in an odd cotton top. I wondered what had happened to my clothing. I gathered my dignity around me, as tattered as it was, and stared back at the woman calmly.

"So the
skraeling
woman is finally awake,” she grunted. “I am Helga."

The one called Logan winced and Mason frowned. Even if I didn't know the word, I knew that it was an insult from the tone of her voice.

"I wonder what happened to my clothing?” I asked, trying to sound humble. I hated having to do that, but I was stranded in this territory and almost powerless.

"Ruined,” she sniffed. “Yours and the other
skraeling
's were destroyed by the salt. It was soft and pretty, too.” She glared at me. “You know about cooking? Cleaning? Sewing? Or are the two of you just Southern fluff?"

"I am not familiar with the food of the Northerners,” I told her. Cook? Clean? Why did she expect me to know that? I was the master of my own
kuni
. I did not do such menial things!

"Fluff,” the woman sighed, and she stomped off again.

"They gave Wolf grief because his wife couldn't do any of that shit either,” Mason told me quietly. “Thought that she was the lowest thing on Earth because she wasn't barefoot and cooking for her man."

"That isn't fair,” Logan protested. “Icelandic women had the most freedom of any women in Europe of the time. However, in a preindustrial society, food preparation is labor intensive and mostly something that the women are expected to do. The men are expected to do the other chores that need more muscle power."

"And how is Wolf?” I asked, ignoring Logan's protest and explanation. He was a scholar, if he talked like that. So what was he doing with these people? “I assume that McGann is his ‘wife'? She was a most sensible woman. Much better than the one who was chasing after him."

I knew that Wolf wasn't in actuality married to McGann. That woman wasn't foolish enough to tie herself down.

"Good,” Mason said. He looked at Logan and shook his head. “I told the rest of the posse here that I was keeping an eye out for you."

"I do not need your protection!” I snarled. I hadn't needed a man's protection in centuries, not since before I had died. That I needed it now was demeaning, and that it was this man, slightly embarrassing and appalling.

Mason tried to sound soothing. “Just so you won't be forced to do something because someone was stupid. Chicks are in short supply here."

"I wouldn't worry about it,” Logan muttered. “
Skraeling
is a word that's an insult."

"I know that,” Mason growled. “So?"

"
Skraeling
,” Logan started, looking embarrassed, “it means wretch. In the sagas, some scholars think that the Norse didn't even consider the
skraelingjar
to be human. They use that word to describe the Native Americans."

"Well, they're kind of confused about me too,” Mason said with an odd look in his eyes. “They haven't gone as far as to tell me to stay away from their women, but none of these people seem to have seen someone who ain't lily white. They all were really happy that I took you in, ‘cause you'd keep me occupied, in a manner of speaking. I'd be fucking pissed about it, ‘cept they ain't being assholes. They're just backwoods bikers."

I thought about that. Wolf, McGann, and Logan were all the same “type,” for lack of a better word, light-skinned, pale hair, and blue or green eyes, looking a lot like my involuntary hosts. Mason's darker skin and eyes could be thought of as exotic and attractive or as a sign that he wasn't human. It seemed our hosts were provincial enough to think the latter. I knew I was prejudiced against them, because many were tied to their land and could barely journey a
ri
or two from their homes. I had been able to move about freely because of Aboshi's ability to travel the shadows. If he had been with me during the meeting with Iida, I wouldn't be here. Unfortunately, I had become overconfident and was now suffering for it. If it hadn't been for Keno, I would have suffered the same fate as my faithful Reavers. I shivered at the thought.

"I think that the women are much more of a threat to me than the men,” I said after a minute of silence.

"What about Keno?” Mason asked. “He's... well, your boy toy...."

"I don't know if I should be amused or angered that you think of Keno-chan in such a manner,” I said quietly. “I assure you he isn't my or anyone's ‘toy'. What is wrong with Keno-chan? You told me....” I tried to keep the fear out of my voice, since I was suddenly terrified that something had happened to him. That would drive Aboshi insane, I knew. My companion was even more deeply in love with this Keno than he had been with his ancestor in the real world.

"Tired,” Mason assured me. “But what did you mean about Keno's power?"

Keno

I woke up nuzzling a chest and then realized it wasn't Samojirou's. I panicked, wondering what was happening, since the last thing I remembered was the storm. I tried to figure out where I was, not wanting the man I was with to know that I was awake yet. The man wasn't Asian, I could tell from the hair that was tickling my nose, and he was in good shape, from the muscles that I felt. We were tangled together, naked, and I was warm for the first time in ages, it seemed, with heavy woolen blankets weighing me down. I was exhausted and felt that I had been training in the hot sun for hours.

I felt a hand gently stroking my hair, and I was suddenly aware of how much I itched from the sea salt caked to my skin. I wondered about the smell of the place I was in, smoky and earthy, the same smells I was getting off of the man who held me.

I looked up and was shocked to see Wolf was the one holding me.

"Keno?” he whispered.

"Wolf.” He looked tired. His hair was a bit longer, and it looked and smelled like he hadn't had a shower in a while. Not that he smelled bad, just not clean. “Where?"

"Hoppsfjord,” Wolf said, “the farm of Grima Njalsson."

"The Northlands,” I whispered, recognizing the name as being a Norse one. “Who... where...."

"What happened?” Wolf asked softly when he realized I had trouble asking him what I wanted to know.

"A storm,” I said slowly, trying to gather my thoughts. I was tired and confused, but I needed to know if Tamazusa or anyone else had survived. “The ship fell apart. I don't know how I got here. Who...?"

Wolf hesitated and then said, “Just Tamazusa."

"The Reavers,” I murmured, upset that no one else had seemed to survive. I was almost certain none of the sailors had had any idea what was going on. “The storm made it too windy for them to fly, and the rain soaked their wings. The things in the water... when the ship broke apart, Tamazusa-sama and I couldn't do anything to help them. They knew it, too. And those poor sailors...."

"Keno? What about
him
?” Wolf asked when I didn't complete my thought.

It figured that Wolf didn't want to talk about Samojirou by naming him. I was too tired to be angry. Wolf had been upset about the choice I had made, choosing the Dreamlands over him. “Samojirou-sama wasn't with us. I was supposed to protect my lord. I walked into a trap with her."

"She still gave you to that man!” Wolf hissed. “You owe her nothing. She isn't someone that you can trust."

Obviously, he was still upset about that. I wasn't going to argue with him about it. I knew it was a waste of time. But I was going to tell him how I felt, even if he didn't believe me. “After what happened to me that night, I needed someone to take care of me. Even if Heiseg hadn't raped me, I would have needed someone to watch over me."

"That—"

"You can't tell me that it wasn't bad! You got me into that mess, instead of shooting me like you should have! You made me a prisoner."

"What happened?” Wolf asked.

I didn't want to lie to him, and frankly, I knew I couldn't anger him by doing that. I needed allies to get Tamazusa safely back to her
kuni
. I needed him and anyone else who was here from the Trust, as hard as that was to admit. But that didn't mean I was going to tell him everything about what had happened. He just needed to know the basics, not who was involved. It wasn't like he knew any of the players besides Tamazusa. “My lord was going to meet with another lord, one in the South. We were traveling by ship, and he had been interested in talking with her. He spent several days doing so, almost courting her, even if she didn't seem interested in him.

"On the fourth day, we were betrayed. It was during that time that Ii... the other lord and his escort disappeared from the ship, I realized it was a trap then. Tamazusa-sama tried to gate out of there but couldn't. Something was blocking her. The ship was destroyed around us. I don't know how we got here."

"We found you washed up on the shore. The ship was in pieces,” Wolf whispered, sounding raw and needy.

I yawned and wanted to say something else, but I fell asleep again instead.

When I woke up again, I was alone in bed, but McGann was sitting by it. I sat up carefully, and she handed me a mug of water. I sipped at it and studied her. She was dressed in a black T-shirt and cargo pants with her hair pulled back into a tight braid. She looked younger, for some reason, and just strange, because I was used to seeing her in suits. I couldn't figure out what she was doing here. Wolf, I could see, and I was betting there was a handful of Trouble Consultants here with him. Wherever here was. Wolf had told me, but I still didn't know where we were besides North.

"How are you feeling, Keno?” she asked me quietly. “Or should I say Sakura?"

"Sakura is Samojirou-sama's companion. She wouldn't be here,” I corrected. I just didn't want her to call me that. “I'm tired."

"You've been asleep for a while,” McGann said. “You've slept though dinner. I can get you some, though. It's some sort of mutton stew."

I tried not to choke at the thought of it. She frowned at me and shook her head. “You have to eat something."

"I'm a vegetarian,” I said. “And I'm not hungry.” I wasn't. I was more tired and thirsty than anything. I realized I was wearing someone's T-shirt, probably Wolf's, from the smell of it, but nothing else. “How is my lord?"

"I thought—” McGann started with a frown, before she understood what I was asking her. “Oh, you mean Tamazusa. She's fine. Mason—please don't get mad—Mason's sort of taken her under his protection. The Norse here seem to be very insular."

"Wolf?” I asked.

Norse meant we were in the Northern lands. I just had to figure out where. Once I did that, I could try to get Tamazusa home. I didn't know exactly why Iida betrayed us or who or what he was allied with. Iida had to have allied himself with someone or something powerful to block Tamazusa's ability to create gates. Not that it would have gotten us back to her
kuni
. She could only go to the real world. But once there, she would have been able to get us back home.

I blinked back the tears when I thought of what Samojirou must be going through. He would be devastated, thinking that we were dead. I tried not to focus on that, but on the danger that was with me: McGann.

"I told him to take a walk,” she said quietly. “I wanted to talk to you alone."

"What do you want?"

It wasn't a good sign that she had sent Wolf away. I didn't think she was going to do something bad to me, since this was a semipublic place. However, Wolf was a nice guy, and if she didn't want him around, it was because he wouldn't agree to whatever she wanted to talk to me about, so that meant it wasn't anything nice. There was all the damage I had done to the servers before I escaped from the Trust again. I knew she had to be angry with me for that.

"I don't expect you to agree to this, and in fact, I know that I should be talking to Tamazusa, but you can tell me how to approach her."

"I don't understand,” I said.