AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She closed the distance between us swiftly, toothpick heels tapping a brisk pattern on the path, and slapped me. From the motion of her shoulders and hips, it was with all the force she could muster. Pathetic. Also, she wasn’t the presence.
I couldn’t respond unless, and until, they did something illegal or presented a real threat to me. While alarming, the odd presence was not hostile in intent as far as I could tell.
The leader shook her head at the younger girl. “You going to shoot a tree next?” she drawled, an eyebrow arching and delicate contempt in her voice. She had a jade stone above the delicate brows, indicating she was from one of the First Families, the people with the highest status in Guild. “So declassee, darling. You could pick someone who can fight back. Otherwise, boring.”
Under the light tone, her golden-brown eyes were hard.
The girl next to me flushed. “Unfair, Mel,” she snapped. “She deserves it; she wouldn’t have a stone like that if she didn’t.”
“Still. Dull, dull, dull.” Mel sighed. “Why not head somewhere more interesting? This place is going to cow me to death, and we’ve only been here an hour.”
A shout of laughter from Ellis, still waving the shrieker. He swept it through the air, catching me in its potential area of effect and releasing me to act.
I ducked, rolled, and ran to his side, wrenching the weapon from his loose grip and ejecting the battery.
“Give it back!” He grabbed the weapon. I maintained my grip, shifting my other hand to the dangerous part of the shrieker, the generator. He swung at me, hitting me in the shoulder. Hard enough to bruise.
I flexed, pulling the generator from the body of the shrieker. The thin strips of plastic connecting the generator to the gun snapped, cutting through his shouts and leaving a sudden silence. I let go of the now-useless stock, nodded to them, and continued on my way, the generator still clenched in my hand.
It could be traded with people to repair a damaged weapon.
At the edge of the city, I checked into the Wardens' office. “I need a grav over the water, toward the support town. What’s it called?”
He took his time answering, eyes intent on the holo he watched. “Riveredge. I’ll put in for one, but we’re busy—it’ll be a while. Park yourself and don’t touch anything.”
Gravs were perfect for going to support towns, especially this one. Their anti-gravity generators kept them just above the ground so that we wouldn’t get stuck in the bog, but weren’t in the skies, either. Which was a bigno-notoo. The longer we were in the skies, the better chance there was of the elves seeing us, and no one wanted to be caught in their domain. Basically, the gravs were a little odd, just like support towns themselves. Support towns formed where tax shipments and the people bringing them gathered, providing shelter and a steady source of cast-offs from the city. Day workers usually lived in them: the people who cleaned, prepared food, and did other low-status jobs.
They weren't quite my people. No one really was, but I liked them more than most.
It took the Wardens so long to drop me on the other side of the moat that I considered swimming it, though the odor dissuaded me. The moat turned into a bog on this side of Durgion, and it extended all the way to the river, skimming the edge of the bluff where Riveredge was sited.
My stomach growled as I exited the grav. Damp ground sucked at my boots, and the driver turned so the blast of air as he gained altitude again hit me square, with the accompanying dirt and mud. I wiped my face and relaxed my jaw as I walked up the low bluff.
The stale scent of standing water lodged in my throat. I spat, trying to clear it out.
If nothing else, I could get food and a room. They’d be overpriced, given the location, but they gave people who lived Outside a chance to gather and mingle once a year, even as the people who lived in the town relieved them of what credit they’d accumulated. The buildings, mostly wood built on older concrete foundations, mimicked the older style of homes, rather than a set of boxes lined up.
A larger grav landed, which explained how the people who worked in the cities were getting in despite the flooding. Wearing a variety of service uniforms, about two dozen headed up as more appeared from the houses, jogging down and avoiding standing in the cold. A chilly wind slapped at me from off the lake to the north, and I started walking again, looking toward the fields rather than Riveredge.
Stubble and small trees hunched in a drenched mess, and the standing water was dull under the gray sky. All flooded. Unless Durgion provided food, they faced famine this year if the ground didn’t dry soon.
I sighed and turned back to the town, my stomach urging haste. Presumably, I’d be able to find the child witnesses here, although I doubt it'd be easy to find them. It would've been nice to be given a name.
I walked on creaky wooden planks flanking the muddy main road, heading for a painted sign of a bed and a plate hanging from a larger building. Closer, it looked to have been built using the bones of a half-collapsed hotel. Smoke plumed from the chimney, signaling much-needed warmth.
Once, lakes had attracted tourists. When the fish hunted humans as aggressively as they’d been harvested in the past, smart people gave up watersports.
Chance liked to boat. So did Uncle Ethan, and people said I was strange.
The owner, a young man with a bare fuzz of a reddish beard and a toddler clinging to his knee, haggled with me. A sign over the counter advertised purified water, and I could see a large room lined with folded tables and chairs just beyond the counter. Big windows in front let in light, though they were flanked by large lamps.
I wanted a room with running water so I wouldn’t have to share a bathroom. A pitcher and bowl didn’t match a shower, and I didn’t like waiting for others to clear the room when I needed to use it.
Reaching into my satchel, I pulled out a set of batteries, weighing them in my hand. A luxury item, these were rechargeable, rather than the single-use usually permitted Outside. Most portable technology ran on batteries, and these served as payment where the Halls’ credit would be recorded and taxed by the Administrator of the area.
He raised his brows, a gleam of greed passing over his face, then shook his head. While he’d seen the gem, he hadn’t reacted other than by showing increased respect. Refreshing, though likely, it was because he had no idea what it meant.
“I’ve already rented the room with running water, ma’am. I’m sorry. Those will get you a week of room and normal fare for breakfast and supper, though.”
