Shadowkill

4

They reached the Tos Tous Highroad as a line of plodding bullocks walked past two by two, pulling carts piled high with raw leather and leather goods, the smell lingering long after they rounded the bend ahead.

There was a young boy on the back of each left lead bullock, whistling and tapping now and again at the withers of the pair, stirring them back to a brisk walk when they threatened to slow to immobility. These boys wore heavy bullhide trousers, bright wool tunics slit fore and aft, and long knitted scarves wrapped around their necks, the ends fluttering along the bullock’s sides. They turned to stare at Rose (not at Kikun; of course, they didn’t notice him) from large dark eyes in small brown faces, their straight black hair blowing in the wind.

A man and woman sat on a bench inside the last of the carts, he was stocky and bald and wrapped in a heavy overcoat; he gave Rose a single shrewd glance, dismissed her, and went back to watching his carts. The woman wore an identical overcoat but added a shawl over abundant black hair twisted into a high knot. She didn’t bother looking at Autumn Rose; her eyes were fixed on the back of the bullock boy, she was frowning at him, spitting words at the man beside her.

Ten minutes later a line of heavily laden flats hitched together and pulled by a motorized tractor came rumbling along the road, slowed to a sudden crawl as the tractor reached the last of the carts and couldn’t go round because there was a caravan of large hairy beasts plodding north along the highway, heading for the Landing Field.

Autumn Rose ran at the last of the flats, pulled herself onto the bed. It rocked under her and the hitch clanked loudly. The flats rode on a single wheel and tilted at a heavy thought. She waited, erect on her knees, until she was reasonably sure the trader hadn’t noticed he’d acquired a passenger, then she settled between two bales, leaned against a third, and sighed with relief as she stretched her feet out.

She started, made an exasperated spitting sound as Kikun plopped down beside her and stayed present in a way he hadn’t been for the past several miles. “One of these days I’m going to think I’m dreaming you, Li’l Liz, and go not so quietly crazy.”

An hour later the flats slowed again, crawling through scrapshacks and garbage dumps on the rim of the city. The dumps had a number of sluggishly burning fires producing a nose-numbing, eye-biting smoke that drifted in a bluish-yellow clots across the road. People crawled like dung-beetles over the discarded paper, rags and other junk, half obscured by the smoke clouds, grimly silent in their searches.

Kikun fidgeted nervously, his fingers moving in complex patterns Rose suspected might be counterspells or something similar. Finally he slapped his hand on the bale beside him. “Let’s go, Rose. Now.”

“Why not.”

They slid down and strolled along behind the flats, coughing as smoke blew over them, keeping apart from the other walkers, most of whom were scavengers going to or coming from their particular mounds of refuse.

The string of flats swerved to the side of the road. A small horde of men came from a blocky building, surrounding the flats, while their leader waved a clipboard in the face of the trader driving the tractor.

“You are being cleared for three flats,” he said. “You are having six. That is going to cost you, Tusuk.”

“You are needing to read that thing again,” the trader roared at him. “Six wheel it is saying. Is not saying nothing about flats. You are needing to count ’em, fool. Six wheel.

“Huh.” The guard brought the clipboard closer to his nose, scowled at the papers on it. “Wheel is meaning flat.”

“Wheel is meaning wheel.” Tusuk pounded his fist in his palm. “You are needing to count ’em,” he insisted. “Six wheel. I am having already paid the padj. Six wheel, sixty peras.” He waved a paper heavy with purple wax in the guard’s face. “Paid paid paid!”

Kikun nudged her. “Come on, come on, Rose. It’s all very interesting, but we’ve got things to do.” He pinched her arm lightly. “I’m ratcheting up the effect. See you later.”