Read Online Landfall: Tales From the Flood/Ark Universe by Stephen Baxter - Free Book Online
Authors: Stephen Baxter
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on the wind, the flakes needle-sharp where they hit her cheeks.
Chan was right. He usually was. They had left it too late. It was October now, they were deep into the coldfall, and the days seemed to get markedly shorter, one after the next. The ships were having to stand further off the coast because of the gathering pack ice, and Teif had lost several crew to frostbite and hypothermia already. To show leadership Xaia had undertaken the last few scouting trips into the land’s frozen interior herself, she and her lieutenants, searching for evidence of the City of the Living Dead. But today, not for the first time, they had got their timing wrong, and as the night’s cold clamped down they had got themselves stranded far from the coast.
And here was this man, this Eykyn, offering them shelter.
She murmured. ‘We’re all armed. We’re none of us fools. We take what we need from this man; we take no risks. All right?’
‘I don’t like it,’ Manda said again.
‘We have no choice,’ Chan said bluntly.
‘Discussion over,’ Xaia snapped. She led the way forward.
Eykyn’s grin widened, and he stuck out his hand. She forced herself to shake it. Then she followed him into the mouth-like door of his shelter.
Eykyn was shorter than she was, short and round, maybe an adaptation to the cold. She had to duck to follow him down the sharply-sloping tunnel.
The walls were frozen and slick to the touch. The only light came from scattered lamps in alcoves dug into the wall, lamps that burned something smoky and stinking, perhaps animal fat. Down she clambered, deeper and deeper. It was like a nightmare, the enclosing walls and roof, the hunched form of the man going before her, the harsh breaths of her companions as they followed, all of it visible only in shards and shadowed glimpses.
She had no idea how deep they had descended before the tunnel opened out into a wider chamber. She stepped out onto a floor of hard-trampled earth – trampled but not frozen. Her companions followed her, Teif straightening stiffly.
More oil lamps revealed a dome-shaped chamber, a dozen paces across, maybe more. The ceiling was coated with a kind of thatch. A fire, banked up, glowed in the middle of the floor. Possessions were scattered around, heaps of skin, animal bones. More people huddled warily by the far wall, men, women, children like balls of fur with wide eyes; the light was too uncertain to be able to see clearly.
Eykyn stood proudly.
Teif flared his broad nostrils. ‘Stinks like a toilet.’
‘You’re none too fragrant yourself,’ Xaia murmured.
Manda was loosening her outer layer of clothing. ‘It’s not cold.’
‘I told you,’ Chan said. ‘Go deep enough and it never gets too cold – or too hot. Look – see the tree roots in that wall? Trees from Earth are adapting to survive, growing deep roots down beneath the frost, so their sap flows through the winter.’ He glanced around. ‘There are elements of design. The thatch must soak up the fire’s smoke. And the fire itself is banked and air-starved so it burns slowly. See the way the lamps flicker? There must be passages for the circulation of the air …’
Xaia saw a heap of bones in one corner, stacked as if precious. Big bones, maybe from horse or cattle.
Eykyn gestured at heaps of straw. ‘Summer grass. Beds. Eat, sleep, drink.’ He beckoned, and a couple of the older children came over with earthen plates piled with meat. One brighter-looking little girl was almost pretty, under the grease, and her hair was plaited. She smiled at Xaia.
Xaia took a plate from the girl and bit into a chunk of meat. ‘Rabbit. It tastes fresh. I mean, not salted or dried.’
‘So it is,’ Eykyn said.
Teif growled, ‘How can you find fresh rabbit at this time of year?’
‘We know where they hibernate. Big burrows in the ground.’ He pointed. ‘We have tunnels. We don’t even go up top. And we have the flesh of the horses and cattle from the
Chan was right. He usually was. They had left it too late. It was October now, they were deep into the coldfall, and the days seemed to get markedly shorter, one after the next. The ships were having to stand further off the coast because of the gathering pack ice, and Teif had lost several crew to frostbite and hypothermia already. To show leadership Xaia had undertaken the last few scouting trips into the land’s frozen interior herself, she and her lieutenants, searching for evidence of the City of the Living Dead. But today, not for the first time, they had got their timing wrong, and as the night’s cold clamped down they had got themselves stranded far from the coast.
And here was this man, this Eykyn, offering them shelter.
She murmured. ‘We’re all armed. We’re none of us fools. We take what we need from this man; we take no risks. All right?’
‘I don’t like it,’ Manda said again.
‘We have no choice,’ Chan said bluntly.
‘Discussion over,’ Xaia snapped. She led the way forward.
Eykyn’s grin widened, and he stuck out his hand. She forced herself to shake it. Then she followed him into the mouth-like door of his shelter.
Eykyn was shorter than she was, short and round, maybe an adaptation to the cold. She had to duck to follow him down the sharply-sloping tunnel.
The walls were frozen and slick to the touch. The only light came from scattered lamps in alcoves dug into the wall, lamps that burned something smoky and stinking, perhaps animal fat. Down she clambered, deeper and deeper. It was like a nightmare, the enclosing walls and roof, the hunched form of the man going before her, the harsh breaths of her companions as they followed, all of it visible only in shards and shadowed glimpses.
She had no idea how deep they had descended before the tunnel opened out into a wider chamber. She stepped out onto a floor of hard-trampled earth – trampled but not frozen. Her companions followed her, Teif straightening stiffly.
More oil lamps revealed a dome-shaped chamber, a dozen paces across, maybe more. The ceiling was coated with a kind of thatch. A fire, banked up, glowed in the middle of the floor. Possessions were scattered around, heaps of skin, animal bones. More people huddled warily by the far wall, men, women, children like balls of fur with wide eyes; the light was too uncertain to be able to see clearly.
Eykyn stood proudly.
Teif flared his broad nostrils. ‘Stinks like a toilet.’
‘You’re none too fragrant yourself,’ Xaia murmured.
Manda was loosening her outer layer of clothing. ‘It’s not cold.’
‘I told you,’ Chan said. ‘Go deep enough and it never gets too cold – or too hot. Look – see the tree roots in that wall? Trees from Earth are adapting to survive, growing deep roots down beneath the frost, so their sap flows through the winter.’ He glanced around. ‘There are elements of design. The thatch must soak up the fire’s smoke. And the fire itself is banked and air-starved so it burns slowly. See the way the lamps flicker? There must be passages for the circulation of the air …’
Xaia saw a heap of bones in one corner, stacked as if precious. Big bones, maybe from horse or cattle.
Eykyn gestured at heaps of straw. ‘Summer grass. Beds. Eat, sleep, drink.’ He beckoned, and a couple of the older children came over with earthen plates piled with meat. One brighter-looking little girl was almost pretty, under the grease, and her hair was plaited. She smiled at Xaia.
Xaia took a plate from the girl and bit into a chunk of meat. ‘Rabbit. It tastes fresh. I mean, not salted or dried.’
‘So it is,’ Eykyn said.
Teif growled, ‘How can you find fresh rabbit at this time of year?’
‘We know where they hibernate. Big burrows in the ground.’ He pointed. ‘We have tunnels. We don’t even go up top. And we have the flesh of the horses and cattle from the
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