Blood Red Road (27 page)

Wake me when it’s my turn, I says.

I will, he says.

G’night, Jack.

G’night.

He sits, his back propped aginst a tree.

Jack? I whisper.

What?

Thank you.

Sweet dreams, Saba.

But I don’t sleep fer ages.

Somethin good an strong an true. That’s what he said. Nobody ever used such words about me before. I wonder if he really means ’em.

The Jack I seen up till now, that Jack’s all charm an quick words an easy smiles. But the way he is tonight, the way he was while we was talkin, I warn’t expectin that. It put me in mind of Mercy. I felt this … stillness, I guess you’d call it … at the heart of him. That’s the same feelin I got from her. Stillness, like calm water.

I dunno what to make of it. It don’t seem to fit. An jest when I thought I had him all figgered out too.

But the thing is, I think I might be … startin to trust him. I know Maev thinks he’s hidin somethin, that he’s got secrets.
An she could be right. She’s seen a lot more of the world than me, met a lot more people. Emmi seems to like him jest fine, but what does she know? She’s jest a little kid.

I dunno if I’m right to trust him.

I stare up. The gray clouds brush over the black of the night sky.

I wish Lugh was here. He’d tell me. He’d know.

It’s the middle of the day. We’re still in the foothills, dry an dusty, but the land’s gittin hillier, rockier, with more’n more tree cover as we go along.

Jack’s bin ridin a little ways ahead of us all mornin. I’m glad not to hafta say much to him. I’m wishin I hadn’t of said so much to him last night. I ain’t quite sure why I did. I shouldn’t of let him fool me into sleepin next to him.

Emmi’s ridin beside me an Nero’s hitchin a ride on Hermes’ rump. Emmi starts lookin behind us, over her shoulder.

What is it? I says.

She frowns. Nuthin, she says. But as we go on, she keeps lookin back. I can tell she ain’t easy. That she’s got somethin on her mind. Finally, I cain’t take it no more. I reach over an grab Joy’s reins. Bring her to a halt.

Yer drivin me crazy, Em, I says. Tell me what it is.

Jack turns Ajax around an rides back to join us. What’s goin on? he says. What is it, Emmi?

She chews on her bottom lip. Looks all uneasy.

Emmi, I says. Spit it out or I’ll shake it outta you.

I … I think somebody’s followin us, she says at last.

What? I says.

Where? says Jack. He reaches into his saddlebag an pulls somethin out.

South, says Emmi pointin back the way we come from.

Jack holds the thing to his eyes. It’s made of black plastic. He looks through the narrow end an now I see there’s two big circles of glass at th’other, wider, end. He twirls a little knob in the middle.

What the hell’s that? I says.

It’s a long-looker, says Jack. Lets you see things far off in the distance.

Wrecker tech! I says.

As a matter of fact, it’s mighty useful, he says. Picked it up back in Hopetown. It’s amazin what people leave lyin around. You don’t come across these very often an them you do find ain’t usually in one piece.

He takes a good long gander, sweepin it right across the horizon.

I cain’t see nuthin untoward, Em, he says. Here, Saba, you wanna take a look?

He hands it over an I hold it to my eyes. All of a sudden, the little copse that we passed through a half hour back rushes right up close to me. I can see every leaf on every branch on every tree.

Whoa! I give Jack a big smile. That’s amazin!

He stares at me, a funny look on his face. That’s the first time I ever seen you smile, he says.

I scowl at him. Whaddya mean? I says. I smile all the time.

No you don’t, Emmi pipes up. You used to, when Lugh was around, but ever since he went, you bin all mean an cross an horrible an—

All right, I says, that’s enough.

I was only sayin—

Well, don’t!

I lift the long-looker to my eyes agin an make a good check of everywhere I can see.

Nuthin, I says at last. There ain’t nobody followin us. Next time you imagine you see somethin, Emmi, do us all a favor an keep it to yerself.

She pinches her lips together tight, wheels Joy around an pushes past me, her chin in the air.

Jack opens his mouth to say somethin, an I point my finger at him.

Don’t even think of it, I says. She’s my sister an I’ll talk to her any way I want.

He turns Ajax an walks him past me.

She’s nine years old, he says. Give her a break.

Nero caws at me. Like he’s repeatin what Jack jest said. I stare at Jack’s back. How strange. Almost the ezzack same words Lugh said me, that last day when we was fixin the roof.

She’s only nine, Saba. You might try bein nice to her fer a change
.

Lugh. Jack. Emmi. I frown. It’s makin my head hurt.

I’ll think about it later.

Jack’s hand on my arm wakes me. It must be my turn on watch. He took the first half of the night an I’ll take us through till dawn. Right away, I’m wide awake, sittin up. His eyes gleam in the darkness.

You let the fire go out, I whisper.

No, I put it out, he whispers back.

What’d you do that—

Emmi was right, he says.

What?

There’s a light on the ridge.

My heart starts thumpin. I slide outta my bedroll. Show me, I says.

Tonight we’re camped on a hill at the foot of a light tower. There’s a line of ’em, marchin across a wide mountain plateau
towards the ruins of a big Wrecker city, about three leagues due north of here. You can see the rusted iron skellentons of the tall buildins in the distance. Skyscrapers, they used to call ’em.

Jack scrambles up the leg of the light tower an I follow him. We go high enough to git a good view an then he hands me the long-looker.

There, he says. He points south, back the way we come from.

I look through it. Light. Faint. Flickerin on the ridge that we came over this mornin … no, yesterday mornin now.

A campfire, I says.

They lit it jest after midnight, he says. I bin watchin an it ain’t moved since.

They must be camped fer the night, I says.

Maybe, he says.

We cain’t be th’only people travelin through here, I says. It’s probly fine.

Jest then, the light goes out. Then another one appears. But this one’s movin. It bobs over the ridge an starts down. It’s headed this way.

That don’t look fine to me, says Jack.

Let’s wake Emmi an git outta here, I says.

Good plan, he says.

We ride into the dead city jest as the sun’s startin to rise up.

Sometimes Pa used to tell us about the big Wrecker cities that sprawled over leagues an leagues. Lugh an me always thought he was tellin us tall tales, but it looks like he was right. The remains of a vast city, spread out across this plateau in the mountains.

A long straight trackway, a old road covered now in grass an low shrubs, lies ahead of us as far as the eye can see. The rusted iron skellentons of skyscrapers, the ones that we seen in the distance, line both sides of the road. Other roads lead off from the main one, like branches on a tree.

You can see where there was buildins, way back when. Now they’re nuthin but bumps an grass-covered hills. They fell down long ago, bit by bit, an ever since then the earth, the plants an the winds, they bin quietly movin an shiftin to cover what’s left. To hide it away. Bury the past.

There ain’t no sound but the wind. It moans around corners. Sighs as it brushes past us, whisperin the long-forgotten secrets of this place. Listen to the wind, Mercy told me. If only we could unnerstand what it’s sayin. Maybe it’s tellin us how many people lie buried unner our feet an how they came to die. Could of bin plague or hunger or thirst or wars. Or maybe all of ’em all at once. The Wreckers did it all.

Now there ain’t nuthin livin here but cats. An where there’s cats, there’s mice. One runs in front of Hermes, but he’s too smart to be bothered. The cats don’t give us a second
glance as they slink along on their business. Nero dives at ’em fer fun, fallin silent outta the sky an sendin ’em racin off in a panic.

We pull up the horses an swing ourselves off.

The second I hit the ground, it shifts. I don’t even have time to shout out before my right leg’s disappeared up the knee.

Emmi giggles.

I fergot to mention, says Jack. If the ground dips, go around it. In this kinda place, a dip usually means there’s a hole.

He watches, arms folded, as I pull myself out.

Thanks, I says. I’ll try to remember that.

We better check where our friends are, he says. He hands the long-looker to Emmi. You wanna shin up an take a look?

She nods. She ain’t said nuthin to me since we shook her awake to tell her about the lights an strike camp. I’ll take her aside later when Jack ain’t nearby, tell her I’m sorry I didn’t believe her when she said we was bein followed. I guess even Emmi can be right sometimes.

She scampers up a big hill nearby an climbs the metal tower stickin outta the top of it. She wraps one arm around a girder an holds the long-looker to her eyes.

I can see ’em! she shouts, all excited.

How far away? calls Jack.

Uh …

She cain’t tell distance, I says.

I can so! Two leagues, she says.

How many are there? says Jack.

Four! No, wait! Uh … I cain’t see very good!

Try twistin the knob in the middle, Jack calls.

She lets go the girder an starts fiddlin with the knob.

Emmi! I yell. Are you crazy? Hang onto somethin!

Leave me alone! she yells. I know what I’m doin!

She twists to glare at me. She loses her balance.

Emmi! I yell. I start to sprint up the hill.

She throws her arms around the girder. She’s safe. But she lets go of the long-looker. It flies into the air. I make a dive fer it. But I’m too far away. There’s a crack as it hits a rock jest ahead of me. I land with a thud on my stummick an lie there, lookin at the shattered bits of long-looker scattered all over the grass. Nero flaps down an lands on my head.

Crap, says Jack.

Gawdammit, Emmi, I says. Look what you done now.