When they were close enough to make out the sails of the fishboats out in the bay, the road turned suddenly eastward, curving away from the city. Luca and Wann rode a short distance along the curve, then turned and came trotting back.
Luca dropped her hands on her thighs, scowled down at Wintshikan. “I don’t know what to do,” she said. “The closer we get, the more I don’t want to go in there.” She nodded at the Pilgrim Road half a mile off. “Look at them there. Walking. What’re we supposed to do with these?” She dug the fingers of one hand in the roached mane of her jomayl and scratched vigorously, drawing a mooing moan of pleasure. Her face hardened as she glanced over her shoulder at the city. “Walls,” she said, then shivered.
Wintshikan brushed her hand across her eyes. She’d drifted out of the habit of leadership on the difficult walk north from that village, ceding its problems and pleasures to Luca.
Zell touched her arm and tried to give her the Heka’s Shawl, but she shook her head. That was done with now. It was sad, it meant that all the past was really gone now, but at the same time it was almost a relief to acknowledge the passing. She straightened her shoulders.
“Hm. I’ve heard they don’t allow weapons inside Linojin, so-Luca, why don’t you and Wann take the gear and the jomayls except the one Zell’s riding to that village over there. See if you can find a place where to stay. Nyen, you and Hidan go with them, no telling what kind of thieves live there. Xaca, I want you to come with us and mind the children.”
Xaca nodded, but Kanilli wasn’t pleased at all with this division. “Ahee, Heka, I want to go with Luca and Wann.”
“Quiet, Kanli, you help your mother take care of your cousin. I don’t want to hear any more nonsense out of you.” She rubbed her thumb across her chin. “I mean to see the Anyas of Mercy about Zell and about Zaro’s bites. Don’t know how long that will take to set up. I… hm yes,. I don’t like the thought of walls either. Soon as we can, we’ll join you. That sound all right?”
Luca smiled, the grin that lit up her face and gave her the charm her usual sullen stone face denied her. “Sounds real good,” she said. “Kanilli, you keep on whining like that and for all I care, the Heka can leave you with the Anyas of Mercy, maybe they can teach you some manners. Now, move your little butt and help Zaro down, get her up behind Zell.”
Wintshikan stood a while, watching the four ride off across the open grassland, then she shook her head and started walking toward the Pilgrim Road, Xaca quiet beside her, a sulky Kanilli stumping at her side, the lead reins of the jomayl clutched in her fist.
2. The meeting
Yseyl lay stretched out on the limb of a bulky maka tree, the cinque-lobed leaves rubbing stiffly against each other in the breeze that trickled downslope from the peaks. The Outlook was some distance behind her, around the curve of the mountain, but she was still nervous about being watched and not quite recovered from the sudden appearance of that small black box that had scared the stiffening out of her bones* when it popped up from behind a boulder, called her name and brought her here to listen to that… what did Cerex call itThollow something. Sweet talking twisty-tongued… why do I bother?
The painted air folded itself up when the spiel was done and was sucked by a flat black slab with its eggchild clicked into a hole in its side. She almost couldn’t see it any more, last fall’s dead leaves blown across it by that same breeze that was tickling her hair.
This was the day when that offworlder was supposed to be here. She checked the setting on the stunrod for the tenth time, then went back to chewing on her lip and getting angry that the fool creature hadn’t shown up and in less than an hour the sun would be going down.
The offworlder came gliding into the open, deft and silent for such a big and lumpy creature. This one’s a hunter, Yseyl thought. Not like Cerex and the rest. Be careful, fern. Don’t give her the slightest opening…
She knelt beside the slab and did something to it; the surface went white, and there was a flow of writing across it. Reporting that I came, Yseyl thought. Maybe that I’m here now?
As the offworlder shut off the box and started to stand, Yseyl shifted the stunrod so that it pointed at her. “Stay where you are,” she called. “On your knees.”
“Ah.” The offworlder sank back on her heels. “Mind if I say your name?”
“Do you know it?”
“I think so. Cerex said you’re called Yseyl.”
“How do you know him?”
“The person I work for has hired him on occasion.”
“You work for an arms dealer?”
“No. Digby’s… urn… strongly opposed to such people. We find things for people, dig up information they can’t get any other way, at least not so quickly or easily. The company is called Excavations, Limited and my boss calls himself Digby. Which is a pun but you wouldn’t know it because it doesn’t translate into Impix.”
A whirring sound, a rasp of leaves, and a faint thud brought Yseyl’s head around. A large black bird landed on a branch near her. It blinked at her, then closed its eyes and settled into a stoic silence. A moment later a second appeared, then a third. Then several smaller brown birds. Odd.
She couldn’t afford the distraction, so she ignored the soft sounds as more birds arrived. “Why are you here?”
“We were hired to get the disruptor back.”
“What’s that?’’
“Now, Yseyl, it’s long past the time for playing, that game. We tracked you from Marrat’s Market, got confirmation from Cerex about what happened there.”
“He thought no one could do that.”
“Well, Cerex has never been one of Caan’s brighter products. That’s an interesting talent you’ve got. Digby collects talents. He asked me to tell you he’d be interested if you decided that you might like to work for him. Once this bit is finished, of course.”
Yseyl didn’t like the tone of that last comment; it was far too confident. She thought about stunning the hunter and getting out of there, but the offworlder had already tracked her from the Market and God only knew what resources she had to hand now. “You said you had a deal. Well?”
“I assume you’ve stashed the disruptor somewhere while you looked for a way to use it.” The hunter looked toward Yseyl, amusement written on her face. “Trusting your own people about as much as you trust me. I also assume that you’ve about run out of patience with the people you thought might help you. You wouldn’t be sitting in that tree if that weren’t a fair description. This is the deal. I can help you take down the whole kis’n Fence. Wipe it out. Then you won’t need someone to lead the Impix and Pixas through a hole, all you have to do is let Impix nature take its course. Within a few months ships and people would be heading out, too many of them for the Ptaks to stop. Besides, they’ve gotten lazy after so many centuries of penning you up. No arms, no ships, just a few fliers to ferry techs and assassins back and forth. In return, I want the disruptor. And you, of course, if you care to come back with me.”
“Now, hunter, explain to me just why I should believe a word of that.” She heard a soft whuff, glanced over at the black bird. It flapped its wings again, did a kind of dance on the branch. Overhead, the brown birds were flitting from branch to branch, restless but silent, not a whistle out of them. Her hand tightened on the stunrod, and she went back to watching the hunter kneeling on the dead leaves.
“I have drugs that would make a rock sing arias. I could nun your head inside out and get everything you know in less than an hour. Digby’s techs have done their best to adjust them to Impix bodies, but there’s an appreciable chance you’d end up dead or mindless. Having a certain degree of distaste for that kind of thing, I’d prefer to deal rather than drug.”
“You’d have to catch me first. Seems to me it’s you who’re caught.”
“Appearances are somewhat misleading, Yseyl. I gave you a clue a while back, but you overlooked it. Too bad. I see I’m going to have to illustrate my point.”