He looked from me to his nephew.
"I believe this to be wise," his nephew added. "The battle for the city is over. One day will not prolong our plans."
Chaghan drew a breath. "Very well, goddess. You will meditate here, in my tent." He indicated a cubbyhole between a bed and a table. "You will have all the milk you need, and candles."
"Thank you," I breathed.
He didn't appear happy and brushed by us, out of the tent.
"My uncle is not evil, goddess," his nephew whispered. "Forgive him, and plead for Father Sky to forgive him as well."
"Bleeding me to death isn't going to win him any favors," I replied.
"I know." He released my arms. "I sent for Batu already. He is your sworn protector, and my uncle is obligated to heed his advice when he will not take mine. But …" He glanced over his shoulder and moved closer. "… do not wait until morning. My uncle's mind is less well when he drinks, and he will celebrate his victory this evening. When he has drunk himself to sleep, leave."
"To where?"
"The river is east of here. Follow it to wherever the Eternal Blue Sky wishes you to go."
I had no time to thank him let alone tell him how frustrating his answer was before he backed away into the sunlight visible outside the tent. Needing time to think, I went to the cubbyhole to sit and at least pretend to be praying while my mind raced.
The quietness of the tent had the opposite effect of what I hoped. Rather than hammering out an escape plan, my thoughts returned to Taylor too often. I forced them away multiple times to focus on my predicament.
Batu's cousin was right; I had to leave. I had nowhere to go and no idea where I was, but if I stayed, I'd die.
My eyes went to the pile of pieces leftover from my phone. I crossed to the mess and picked up several of the larger fragments.
There was no fixing this. There was no going home or escaping to some other time period. I replaced the pieces and sat back to stare at them, the ache in my chest growing stronger as I realized I really was trapped here.
Did it matter if I escaped Chaghan tonight? He'd unleash hell to find me again, and I was out of tricks. I'd make it half a mile on foot before they chased me down on horseback. Was there something at the river that might help me? A boat? A crossing?
I was completely blind to my surroundings. It was an adventure, for sure, but a very dangerous one.