[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
crusted bitts. The nearest of the steamers was two wharves over; it was long
and broad in the beam, with auxiliary masts, short, stubby things that looked
as if sails run up them would be absurdly use-less at shifting the rusty bulk
of the ship. She could see several crewmals working without much
enthusiasm on repairs that seemed to involve a lot of hammering and
scraping.
Birds glided overhead or sat the chop between the boats like miniature boats
themselves, white and black with long greenish-ocher beaks. Cats lay sleeping
in the sun or prowled among the bales and barrels piled on the
wharves, killing rats, dodging the feet of the few ladesmals and sailors in
view. Two of the steamers farther along the line were being readied for
departure; the other ships were deserted except for watchmals dozing at their
posts and a crewmal or two working with a lazy lack of enthusiasm.
Xe couldn t get onto the wharves. Deserted as they were by all but a few,
there were still were too many eyes about; listening to the peddler speculate
with his son about the price xe d bring convinced xe that the first per-son
here to see xe running loose would put the grab on xe faster than the peddler
had.
But xe couldn t stay here among the bales; it d take about five minutes to
find xe. Xe was a strong swimmer, but the iron chains would drag xe down
if xe tried that.
Hiding places ... anywhere I think of the peddler would see too ... he s a
horror, but he s not stupid ... if he got a search started ... no, he wouldn t
do that, he doesn t trust folk here enough for that ... so, that s a small
plus on my side ... if I can t figure out something ... might as well crawl
back in the window .., he s sold Isaho by now ... I can ... God, why did you
let this happen ...
why?
Thann lay with xe s face pressed against xe s arms until xe s breathing
steadied, then xe listened a moment to Yal s whistling. When the mallit began
a series of elaborate trills, xe slipped over the side of the boat, used the
rotting fenders to haul xeself along until xe was under the wharf, then began
making xe s way south in the cold and filthy water beneath the wharves,
fighting the down-pull of the chains and fatigue, moving hand over hand along
the cross bars between the piles, blessing God s benefi-cence at giving xe a
receding tide.
Near the far end of the line of wharves the water began to stink even more
than it had and it was filled with bits and pieces of things xe didn t want
to think about, things being swept outward by a powerful current that
would have caught Thann and taken xe with them if the smell hadn t stopped xe.
Xe clung to a cross bar and scowled at the water boil-ing up a few feet in
front of xe-, below the murky surface, xe could see a rounded dark blotch.
Sewer outfall. And in a short while the tide would be out enough to uncover
it. The thought made all xe s stomachs heave, but it did offer the only
hideaway xe d found in all xe s cogitations.
Xe pulled xeself from the water and perched wearily on the bar. As soon as
xe was settled, xe
Page 64
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
checked the egg. The sealing sphincter of the pouch had held, God be blessed;
xe didn t want to think of the infection that swam in that filthy water. Xe
sighed and leaned against the weedy stone to wait for the uncovering. With a
little luck the peddler wouldn t get back to the boat before the tide started
coming in again and xe d be tucked away up in the sewers where even he
wouldn t think to look.
Oh, blessed
God, keep Isaho safe and grant me grace and pa-tience to do what is necessary.
2. Crossing the mountains
Wintshikan watched Luca and Wann come loping along the Round, got to her feet,
and made her way down the mountainside to wait for the rest of the Remnant to
come from hiding.
Under the thick foliage of the trees the night was dark and quiet; the moon
wasn t up yet and a drift of thin clouds muted the starlight. Wintshikan found
that dark-ness oppressive and walked ahead a short distance to a place where a
windstorm two years ago had blown down a huge old, tree and opened out the
forest. She sat down on the crumbling trunk, pulled her Shawl more tightly
about her; the cold that gripped her had little to do with the night and a lot
to do with the decision she d taken up there on the mountainside.
Xaca came silently into the open patch, the children holding her hands,
pressed close against her, their eyes huge, their faces old with the strain
from being afraid. Arms hugged tight across her chest, Nyen followed them
with Hidan close behind.
Wintshikan felt in her belt pouch and took out the box with the Tale Cards.
She sat with the box on her thigh, her two hands clasped loosely about it. We
have think-ing to do, she said. Questions to ask.
We will bespeak the cards and consult our hearts. It is a hard way that lies
ahead, and we must get ourselves ready to bear it.
As she opened the box and took out the cards wrapped in their silk scarf, she
murmured the words of the Prophet. Bless the unfolding, O God. Guide the mix
and the draw, O God. Speak to our hearts, O God. Guide our days, O God.
She lifted the cards clear of the silk, held them out, the pile resting on her
two hands. One by one, the
Remnant passed by, touching the pile with fingers of the left hand, the heart
hand. Luca was the last of them. Her eyes were laughing as she set her
fingertips on the top card and be-fore she walked on, she murmured, In this I
do believe.
Wintshikan gave the silk to Zell who spread it on the log, then she shuffled
the cards and began to lay them out, two in the top row, three in the middle
and one last below them.
Come round and see, she said, and when the Rem-nant was kneeling by the
downed tree, she touched the base card. Death it is. Death is the gate to the
change from which there is no returning. This defines us. We are dead to the
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]