“You went quickly from Karen,” he said simply.
I could feel my Laos girl wince as she leaned against me. I clutched the dagger inside my robe.
Pra Oom Bwaht smiled his twisty smile.
“How come you here?” I demanded.
“Why should I not?” he asked. “Especially to see my sister—” He pointed to Nagy N’Yang.
She sighed and laughed a little nervous laugh.
“I did not know,” I said, “that she was your sister. You are welcome to our poor house.”
Pra Oom Bwaht smiled again, got up and stalked out. As he went, the first patter of the rains came, beating up the dust in the space before the door for a few seconds, then laying it all in a puddle of mud again as a great dash of fury came into the storm. But it was only the first baby rain, not enough to make Kalgai whirlpool talk out loud.
I turned to Nagy. She was staring out into the storm.
“I didn’t know he was your brother,” I said to her.