the back of her hair
and adjusted her hat.
She watched him saddle his B-horse, realizing
that he needed help.
“You mean you will share my makeshift tent
again, Saji?”
“ I dare say that I look forward to sharing
that special tent with you, maybe the next time without surgery,
okay? It was really warm and cozy after a while.”
“ After you thought it wouldn’t
work.”
“You changed my mind, believe me.”
Not the words, but the look that went with
them, made her blush. She exhaled, wishing she could shield
herself. She was used to criminals throwing dirty words at her. She
was used to villains who spat at her the moment she had found their
hideout. She could have lived with Sajitar sneering at her and
telling her that next morning he’d be gone before she
woke.
The witness and supposed assistant to the
assassination, Sajitar Haju, had done nothing like that. He had
lain beside her, content to watch the raindrops until his eyes were
heavy with tiredness. One hand stretched out close enough to touch
her, he had sighed and drifted off to sleep, exhausted from the day
as well as the pain.
Rayenne had not moved and, for a while, tried
uselessly to see something outside in the darkness just to divert
her thoughts. Then, with the rhythm of the rain as background
noise, she had managed to catch some hours of sleep.
Her dreams had been weird, filled with
large shadows moving around, but they were like no animals she had
ever seen and the images blurred once she tried to concentrate on
them. They had talked in chirping voices as if they had met in a
gigantic council until a harsh shriek had caused them to turn and
flee. Their claws had stamped the ground and the earth
shook.
When she woke she found Sajitar mumbling
in his sleep and thought of him as the source of her nightmare. She
did not dare ask. “How are you feeling?”
Sajitar stood beside his horse, one hand
in the mane, the other on the rim of the saddle, half smiling at
her question. He lifted his left leg and put it down again,
sighing. “If I knew how to get back into the saddle I’d be
glad.”
“May I help you?”
“Would it ruin my masculine charisma if I
said yes?”
Rayenne approached him, shaking her head
with a smile.
“No. After surgery even men are allowed to
have a weak day.”
She used the shin of his left leg as a lever
to help him mount.
“Just one?” he asked, hardly able to hide the
pain of the short exertion. “After being cut up?”
“You exaggerate.”
Rayenne vaulted into the saddle and
glanced around one more time, then urged Bunty to a fast walk.
Sajitar took a deep breath and followed.
“Have you ever been in this part of Emerald
Green?” she took up the conversation again.
They were miles deep into the wood and the
rain was their only companion. Whatever beasts roamed this place
had taken shelter. She imagined them sitting comfortably and dry in
their tree holes and laughing at the strangers passing by. The idea
helped her to see the woods’ inhabitants as friends and not
foes.
Sajitar scratched his nose. Water dropped
from his hair when he shook his head.
“Nope. The woods are much too big to have
seen ten percent of them in a lifetime. When I worked for some
people who tried to find the right trees, I didn’t venture to this
part. I was stationed in the north, you know.”
“You could tell me the sky is blue, Saji,
because I can’t disprove it.”
He frowned, and when she kept his stare,
shrugged.
“You asked.”
“Let me rephrase it. Do you think you can
find a straight way through the woods without taking us too far
away from the street?”
“What about you? Aren’t you a pathfinder who
traveled a hundred worlds so far?”
Rayenne exhaled, reining her anger. “You
read the ads, I understand. My family’s known for their skills,
yes. But that doesn’t mean I can walk right through completely
unknown territory without something as simple as a
compass.”
“Isn’t that something you
and adjusted her hat.
She watched him saddle his B-horse, realizing
that he needed help.
“You mean you will share my makeshift tent
again, Saji?”
“ I dare say that I look forward to sharing
that special tent with you, maybe the next time without surgery,
okay? It was really warm and cozy after a while.”
“ After you thought it wouldn’t
work.”
“You changed my mind, believe me.”
Not the words, but the look that went with
them, made her blush. She exhaled, wishing she could shield
herself. She was used to criminals throwing dirty words at her. She
was used to villains who spat at her the moment she had found their
hideout. She could have lived with Sajitar sneering at her and
telling her that next morning he’d be gone before she
woke.
The witness and supposed assistant to the
assassination, Sajitar Haju, had done nothing like that. He had
lain beside her, content to watch the raindrops until his eyes were
heavy with tiredness. One hand stretched out close enough to touch
her, he had sighed and drifted off to sleep, exhausted from the day
as well as the pain.
Rayenne had not moved and, for a while, tried
uselessly to see something outside in the darkness just to divert
her thoughts. Then, with the rhythm of the rain as background
noise, she had managed to catch some hours of sleep.
Her dreams had been weird, filled with
large shadows moving around, but they were like no animals she had
ever seen and the images blurred once she tried to concentrate on
them. They had talked in chirping voices as if they had met in a
gigantic council until a harsh shriek had caused them to turn and
flee. Their claws had stamped the ground and the earth
shook.
When she woke she found Sajitar mumbling
in his sleep and thought of him as the source of her nightmare. She
did not dare ask. “How are you feeling?”
Sajitar stood beside his horse, one hand
in the mane, the other on the rim of the saddle, half smiling at
her question. He lifted his left leg and put it down again,
sighing. “If I knew how to get back into the saddle I’d be
glad.”
“May I help you?”
“Would it ruin my masculine charisma if I
said yes?”
Rayenne approached him, shaking her head
with a smile.
“No. After surgery even men are allowed to
have a weak day.”
She used the shin of his left leg as a lever
to help him mount.
“Just one?” he asked, hardly able to hide the
pain of the short exertion. “After being cut up?”
“You exaggerate.”
Rayenne vaulted into the saddle and
glanced around one more time, then urged Bunty to a fast walk.
Sajitar took a deep breath and followed.
“Have you ever been in this part of Emerald
Green?” she took up the conversation again.
They were miles deep into the wood and the
rain was their only companion. Whatever beasts roamed this place
had taken shelter. She imagined them sitting comfortably and dry in
their tree holes and laughing at the strangers passing by. The idea
helped her to see the woods’ inhabitants as friends and not
foes.
Sajitar scratched his nose. Water dropped
from his hair when he shook his head.
“Nope. The woods are much too big to have
seen ten percent of them in a lifetime. When I worked for some
people who tried to find the right trees, I didn’t venture to this
part. I was stationed in the north, you know.”
“You could tell me the sky is blue, Saji,
because I can’t disprove it.”
He frowned, and when she kept his stare,
shrugged.
“You asked.”
“Let me rephrase it. Do you think you can
find a straight way through the woods without taking us too far
away from the street?”
“What about you? Aren’t you a pathfinder who
traveled a hundred worlds so far?”
Rayenne exhaled, reining her anger. “You
read the ads, I understand. My family’s known for their skills,
yes. But that doesn’t mean I can walk right through completely
unknown territory without something as simple as a
compass.”
“Isn’t that something you
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