Read Online 0062104292 (8UP) by Anne Nesbet - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Anne Nesbet
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the placement of the trees—she could get pretty close to the clearing and still be hiding among the trunks and branches. But the gray people had come to the end of their discussion, apparently, and the gray woman was already walking back to Elias, who was only about twenty feet away, with the other gray people straggling behind her. Linny froze behind her tree.
“You, boy,” the woman said crisply when she reached him, her voice cold as ice. She gasped for breath like the others, but Linny could tell she was fighting not to let her breathlessness show. That one must be very tough, thought Linny. But the woman was speaking again: “Where are the other madji ? We are willing to be lenient if you cooperate.”
“Don’t know what madji are,” said Elias under his breath. “Let me go, you people. Who are you? What village do you come from? What do you think I’ve done wrong?”
One of the men snorted.
“We could just drown him in the creek,” he said, and Linny, who had probably thought about drowning Elias in creeks more than anyone else in the world, felt a deep and acid anger rising up in her. You really should know someone well before you talked about drowning him!
The woman in gray was frowning.
“Trouble and more trouble,” she said, choking on her words a little. “Too much delay. Look at us—we’ve got to get out of here. Hillsick, every one of us. We’re on our last legs.”
“We could take him back with us,” said the man who had wanted to drown poor Elias in the creek. “A wild madji paraded through the Broken City! They might like to see that, down in the Plain.”
“Yes,” said another man. “Take him with us. Show the fools in Bend we mean business.”
The Broken City! Linny’s whole mind sharpened itself, like a knife on the edging rod. These nightmarish people came from the Plain? No wonder they were all wheeze and wobble. People from the Plain got sick as anything when they first came up into the hills. Their bodies had to get used to living in wrinkled places. Linny’s ownmother had been so sick at first, she had almost died.
“And then how do we explain where we found him?” said the gray woman. “Well? We’re not even supposed to be out here so far, you know that. Or you would know if you hadn’t left some high percentage of your brains back down in the Plain.”
She spat to the side in disgust, and then she held on to her stomach for a moment, as if even spitting were almost too much for her.
“If we could get the wheres of some lost village out of him, it wouldn’t be a complete waste,” said a third man. “Where did you appear from, boy? You must know that.”
Linny could see Elias shrug. He was being very brave, she had to admit, especially considering he was only Elias.
“Oh, he’ll talk eventually,” said the let’s-drown-him man. “I’ll bring the map over so we can make proper notes.”
Elias just stood there, his head hanging, looking stupid, and for once Linny approved. Please, oh please, keep letting them think you’re stupid, she thought in his direction. Stay stupid . But be ready to jump when I figure something out.
She fingered her whittling knife and studied every tree within reach, looking for a good idea. But she had never had to rescue anyone from a bunch of gray people before,and the trees weren’t full of helpful suggestions.
That was when she saw that one most awful man walking in the other direction, over to what Linny now saw were a few gray tents pitched on the far side of the clearing. That must be their camp, then—and that seemed like a stroke of good luck. Linny hated to leave Elias with that gray woman, but she couldn’t see anything better to do. So she slipped very carefully away from the edge of the woods and then made as speedy a way through the trees as she could, following that man, all the while, of course, being as extra careful about noises as a person possibly could be. When she neared the tents, she sneaked up
“You, boy,” the woman said crisply when she reached him, her voice cold as ice. She gasped for breath like the others, but Linny could tell she was fighting not to let her breathlessness show. That one must be very tough, thought Linny. But the woman was speaking again: “Where are the other madji ? We are willing to be lenient if you cooperate.”
“Don’t know what madji are,” said Elias under his breath. “Let me go, you people. Who are you? What village do you come from? What do you think I’ve done wrong?”
One of the men snorted.
“We could just drown him in the creek,” he said, and Linny, who had probably thought about drowning Elias in creeks more than anyone else in the world, felt a deep and acid anger rising up in her. You really should know someone well before you talked about drowning him!
The woman in gray was frowning.
“Trouble and more trouble,” she said, choking on her words a little. “Too much delay. Look at us—we’ve got to get out of here. Hillsick, every one of us. We’re on our last legs.”
“We could take him back with us,” said the man who had wanted to drown poor Elias in the creek. “A wild madji paraded through the Broken City! They might like to see that, down in the Plain.”
“Yes,” said another man. “Take him with us. Show the fools in Bend we mean business.”
The Broken City! Linny’s whole mind sharpened itself, like a knife on the edging rod. These nightmarish people came from the Plain? No wonder they were all wheeze and wobble. People from the Plain got sick as anything when they first came up into the hills. Their bodies had to get used to living in wrinkled places. Linny’s ownmother had been so sick at first, she had almost died.
“And then how do we explain where we found him?” said the gray woman. “Well? We’re not even supposed to be out here so far, you know that. Or you would know if you hadn’t left some high percentage of your brains back down in the Plain.”
She spat to the side in disgust, and then she held on to her stomach for a moment, as if even spitting were almost too much for her.
“If we could get the wheres of some lost village out of him, it wouldn’t be a complete waste,” said a third man. “Where did you appear from, boy? You must know that.”
Linny could see Elias shrug. He was being very brave, she had to admit, especially considering he was only Elias.
“Oh, he’ll talk eventually,” said the let’s-drown-him man. “I’ll bring the map over so we can make proper notes.”
Elias just stood there, his head hanging, looking stupid, and for once Linny approved. Please, oh please, keep letting them think you’re stupid, she thought in his direction. Stay stupid . But be ready to jump when I figure something out.
She fingered her whittling knife and studied every tree within reach, looking for a good idea. But she had never had to rescue anyone from a bunch of gray people before,and the trees weren’t full of helpful suggestions.
That was when she saw that one most awful man walking in the other direction, over to what Linny now saw were a few gray tents pitched on the far side of the clearing. That must be their camp, then—and that seemed like a stroke of good luck. Linny hated to leave Elias with that gray woman, but she couldn’t see anything better to do. So she slipped very carefully away from the edge of the woods and then made as speedy a way through the trees as she could, following that man, all the while, of course, being as extra careful about noises as a person possibly could be. When she neared the tents, she sneaked up
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