Everyone made way for Nevil. As he walked by Jefri, words passed between the two, but Ravna was too far away to hear. She glanced at Flenser, who was watching the exchange too. “Couldn’t hear it,” he said.
Maybe Nevil’s expression had darkened at Jefri’s words. But then he grinned at Jef, and seemed to say something encouraging. He turned back to crowd, all smiles. Powers, even improvising, he was doing as well as back at the New Meeting Place.
“Friends,” he shouted, his voice thin in the breeze. “Friends. Please stay a little back. I’m not sure of the order our loved ones will come out—” but he was waving Elspa to come forward.
Ravna and Flenser had reached the back of the crowd. Ravna tried to see around or over those ahead of her. Ritl wasn’t helping. She was running around between Ravna’s legs, complaining, presumably because she couldn’t see a thing. Except for the fact that she was making trouble, this was very unlike Ritl. Why wasn’t she flanking the mob, or worming her through the Children to get a front row view?
Wilm Linden held the Domain camera high over his head, scanning across the crowd. Then he turned back to the sealed hatch. “You’re getting Wilm’s video?” Ravna said to her relay link.
“Yup,” Scrup’s voice came back, and a second later Woodcarver confirmed: “Ravna, I’m keeping your audio private to Scrupilo and myself. We’ve got Wilm’s transmission showing in Oobii’s meeting place—as well as the video the Deniers are sending through the orbiter. We’re hanging on Nevil’s every word.” She gobbled a mild obscenity.
Ravna grinned but didn’t reply. Beside her, Flenser had made a Tinish pyramid of himself and now had a pair of eyes with a clear view. Benky stayed close to ground; she noticed he had three packs watching away from the main event.
Both airships had shut down their engines. Nevil was into a pregnant pause. The moment captured Ravna as much as anyone. Down by her ankles, even Ritl had fallen silent. The loudest sound was the breeze whistling up the valley.
Behind the port, there was a squeaking sound, the hatch wheel being turned. Ravna stepped to one side, finally got a sliver of a good view. The hull section swung out, dropping the main stairway down.
“So what’s inside?” Flenser hissed at her.
“It’s too dark for me to see,” said Ravna. The entrance was in the shadow of the overhanging hull.
Woodcarver’s voice came over the link. “Oobii did something with the image. There’s at least a singleton crouched at the top of the stairs.”
Somebody was pushing at Ravna’s side, licking her hand. Ritl! “What? Are you crazy?” Ravna said to the animal. “Go run! See for yourself.” Why was Ritl suddenly so shy? She was making desperate little whistling noises. In a way, that was more distracting than her usual bitching. “Okay,” said Ravna, “but you better not slash me.” She reached under Ritl’s forelegs and hoisted the creature up the way the Children lifted their Best Friend’s puppies. Of course there was a problem since Ritl was an average-sized female adult. Ravna staggered back a step, then recovered. At least the creature didn’t try to hold on with her claws, but now Ravna was facing into lots of pointy teeth and the usual bad breath. Then Ritl twisted her head around to look at the airship.
For a moment Ritl was as quiet as everyone else, watching the space at the top of the stairs. Then the singleton that Woodcarver reported came sauntering out. No wonder it had been hard to see. It wore a cloak of midnight black. The radio cloak’s golden highlights were mostly lost in the shade.
The singleton was Zek. He looked a lot better than the last time Ravna had seen him. Zek glanced around with an alertness and self-possession that must mean he had good connectivity. He nodded in Nevil’s direction and boomed out the words, “I speak for Tycoon.” His voice was not Tycoon’s frightened little girl’s voice. It actually sounded like one of Amdi’s voices, the kind he used when he was pretending to be an adult human, someone serious and important.
Nevil gave a little start of surprise, but his response seemed as confident as ever: “As we agreed, sir, I have brought humans and packs from the Domain. Today we can settle many of the issues that poisoned their minds in the past. Have you brought those you rescued from the wild?”
“Indeed.” Zek’s head gave a jerky nod that might have been part of a cynical smile. “My employer has sent me with all the humans and Domainish Tines that we rescued on your behalf.”
Zek stepped to the side, giving way to whatever was behind him. Ravna noticed that Nevil was urging Elspa forward so she would be at the foot of the stairs and visible to all his cameras.
A small human figure appeared at the top of the stairs. Elspa gave a cry and started forward. But this wasn’t Geri Latterby. It was Timor Ristling, who even at fourteen was almost as short as Geri. He gave Elspa a little wave and smiled, maybe not understanding the disappointment in Elspa’s face. He turned back into the darkened hallway and made coaxing gestures. After a moment, someone as small as he was took his hand. The face that peered out at them was as pale as any Straumer’s face could ever be.
“Geri!” Elspa ran up the steps, sweeping her little sister into her arms. She teetered for an instant at the top, then came down a few steps to lean against the top rungs with her knee. For a moment, she just rocked the child in her arms and wept. Geri herself was much quieter. She seemed to be reaching back toward Timor, and after a moment Elspa brought the boy into her embrace.
As Elspa and the little ones came down the steps, the crowd jostled close, Nevil’s camera crew at the fore. Ravna felt Ritl tense, buzzing. She was still looking at the top of the stairs. The only thing there was Zek—but now the creature was looking past the crowd, directly at Ravna. Or Ritl. The singleton exploded out of Ravna’s arms and raced into the crowd. Crazy animal! Or maybe Ritl had somehow concluded that Amdi was here and about to be released.
Ravna had had enough of standing back here. She touched Flenser’s White Tips and said, “I’m going to get closer.”
None of Flenser looked her way, but the pack replied, “That’s fine. Check out Geri. I don’t think she qualifies as a propaganda coup for Nevil.”
Three packs came out of the ship. Two were city guards who had been missing since before the first kidnappings. They were battered and scarred, though their injuries were mostly healed. The third was a fragment, all that remained of Edvi Verring’s Best Friend Dumpster. There was angry muttering from Benky’s troops on seeing all this evidence of mistreatment.
Some of Tycoon’s packs had descended from the other airship. They looked like soldiers, but they kept their distance. Zek was the only crewmember who appeared from the first craft. He kept to his place at the top of the stairs; he wasn’t saying much, mainly just ushering each prisoner out the door. Nevil did the talking. It took all his skill to spin this to his advantage.
Ravna worked her way through the crowd toward the little hillock where Elspa was sitting.
“Ravna!” Timor saw her and hobbled quickly in her direction. Ravna gave him a hug. Timor was talking fast and enthusiastically. “I was so worried about you, Ravna! We were mostly kept in our dungeons, but Tycoon said that—” He stopped himself as if he shouldn’t be saying more, or perhaps he thought Ravna wasn’t paying attention.
But I was paying attention. Ravna leaned away and brushed his hair into place. His face lit up with the smile she remembered.
Timor drew her over to where Elspa sat with Geri on her lap. Magda and Lisl were on their knees beside her, ignoring the continuing hubbub by the airship’s stairs.