Page 11 of A World Enough

Camber crossed her arms. “Wow, you really are from somewhere different. More reason that I do the talking. Let’s go. Shawl over your face and follow me.”

“Stop,” Brogan said.

Camber looked around. “What?”

“I need to take my shirt off. The heat is killing me.”

Camber sighed and led her behind a small building. “I’ll hold your shawl, you wriggle out of the shirt, and I’ll put it in my bag.”

Brogan undid her shirt buttons and slipped out of her shirt. “Take the cuffs off and I will.”

“Not a chance, Wolf.” Camber took a knife from her bag and cut one arm of her shirt.

“What the hell are you doing?” Brogan said.

“Helping you. These cuffs aren’t coming off, and you want your shirt off.”

“Fine,” Brogan growled, “here.”

Camber didn’t seem to hear her. Her gaze was distant.

“Camber, my shirt.”

Camber shook off whatever she was thinking and took the shirt from her, then put it in her bag.

“Is that bag like Mary Poppins’s carpetbag?” Brogan asked.

Camber looked at her quizzically. “Mary who?”

“Forget it. Just a reference from my own world. I just meant that bag takes everything you have and never even bulges.”

“A Map Keeper’s secret. You’re getting red around the eyes.”

“It’s this sun and heat.”

Camber rummaged in her satchel again and pulled out what looked like a tin of ointment.

“Put some of this on your exposed skin. It will help.”

Brogan sniffed it and pulled a face.

“Just do it, unless you want to get severely burned,” Camber said.

Brogan did as she was told and handed the tin back. “Thanks.”

“I take it your world is cool.”

“Some parts are. Earth has deserts, tropical beaches, freezing snowy places at the poles, and cold, rainy places like where I’m from. The Irish don’t do well in intense heat. But it isn’t a whole world of extreme heat like here.”

“Hmm…let’s go. The docks are just a few minutes away.”

Brogan felt like Camber was holding something back.

They started to walk again. “Your bag must be magic. You bought all that fruit and water back at the marketplace, and there’s still room for more.”

Instead of answering directly Camber said, “We’re going to need the hydration in the canisters of water and the fruit. After we get the boat to our destination, we have to do a bit of walking.”

“How much is a bit?” Brogan asked.