it, far from the thunder of the river and the danger of being trapped in the narrow gorge. Occasionally they caught a glimpse of buildings huddled against the canyon walls, some deserted, some carefully guarded. It was these buildings with their promise of food and shelter that made Evan feel the full weight of their distress, and in time he grew reckless. Knowing that he would make the attempt without her if she refused to help him, he outlined his plan to Thea as they crouched on the crest of the ridge above a small compound of houses and barns nestled inside wooden fortification.
“We’ll have to wait a day’ he said at the end. “We’ll have to see how they schedule the patrol of the walls. It looks like they’ve got shotguns, and we can’t go up against that kind of weapon.”
Does he truly think he can succeed here? Thea wondered, saying aloud, “One more day won’t matter.” Her voice was listless. Knowing how discouraged she was, Evan went on quickly, “They’ll be most vulnerable just before dawn. The animals won’t be awake then and the guards will be sleepy. We’ve got a good chance, Thea,” he added, as much to reassure himself as her.
“Why not?” she answered, her lean hands clinging to the frayed denim of her jacket, touching the fur tufts left on the rabbit skin thongs securing her pack. “If we fail the worst we’ll be is dead.”
“There is that crossroad.” He pointed it out, looking upstream to the bridge and the dusty tracks that met there. “It increases the chance of traffic, if there is any traffic now. It might be tricky getting away from here if that road is still used.” It was his one note of prudence, so that she would know that he recognized the risks.
“If the road isn’t overgrown, then it’s used sometimes,” she said. “Maybe they still use it. Maybe someone else does. The Pirates don’t come this far yet.” She said the last with little conviction.
“Yes. But they will. That’s why we have to keep going.” He spoke with calm certainty. He had planned to increase the range of the Pirates years ago, and Cox was more ruthless than he had ever been. “I taught them, remember that. They’re following my orders, even though Cox gives them.”
Thea said nothing, looking at the farm below. The sounds from the barnyard, the cackle of chickens, tantalized her, making hunger twist in her like a trapped animal. Smoke rose, lamb-flavored, from the main house, and the armed men patrolling the wall turned toward the smell. Thea closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
“I know,” Evan said, realizing that the tang in the air meant that the meat was wine-basted. Each delicious entity of that smoke stirred memories in him. There had been lamb that night in Barcelona; he couldn’t have been more than fifteen, and his father was accepting yet another honor. A Portuguese rosé was served with the lamb, and the man beside him was a somber Egyptian who smelled of sandalwood and something else …
“Evan!” Thea said sharply, and he was back on the ledge over-looking a walled farm in the canyon.
In a short while a bell rang and the guards changed. Thea turned to Evan and shrugged. It was decided.
They awoke in the end of the night to the sound of shooting and a roar of engines. Scrambling to the edge of the ridge, they could see the fight below them A gang of perhaps twenty men on motorcycles was circling the high wall enclosing houses and barns As Thea and Evan watched, the defenders blasted one rider from his cycle with a shotgun The machine crashed into the wall dragging its bleeding rider behind it. The reserve gas cans exploded as the cycle hit, sending fire speeding up the walls The rider twitched once as he began to burn.
“Pirates?” Thea asked in a whisper.
Evan shook his head. “Nope. They’re no one I know. They must be one of the independents, looking for excitement as well as food or loot. Under their beards, they’re kids. And sloppy ones at
“We’ll have to wait a day’ he said at the end. “We’ll have to see how they schedule the patrol of the walls. It looks like they’ve got shotguns, and we can’t go up against that kind of weapon.”
Does he truly think he can succeed here? Thea wondered, saying aloud, “One more day won’t matter.” Her voice was listless. Knowing how discouraged she was, Evan went on quickly, “They’ll be most vulnerable just before dawn. The animals won’t be awake then and the guards will be sleepy. We’ve got a good chance, Thea,” he added, as much to reassure himself as her.
“Why not?” she answered, her lean hands clinging to the frayed denim of her jacket, touching the fur tufts left on the rabbit skin thongs securing her pack. “If we fail the worst we’ll be is dead.”
“There is that crossroad.” He pointed it out, looking upstream to the bridge and the dusty tracks that met there. “It increases the chance of traffic, if there is any traffic now. It might be tricky getting away from here if that road is still used.” It was his one note of prudence, so that she would know that he recognized the risks.
“If the road isn’t overgrown, then it’s used sometimes,” she said. “Maybe they still use it. Maybe someone else does. The Pirates don’t come this far yet.” She said the last with little conviction.
“Yes. But they will. That’s why we have to keep going.” He spoke with calm certainty. He had planned to increase the range of the Pirates years ago, and Cox was more ruthless than he had ever been. “I taught them, remember that. They’re following my orders, even though Cox gives them.”
Thea said nothing, looking at the farm below. The sounds from the barnyard, the cackle of chickens, tantalized her, making hunger twist in her like a trapped animal. Smoke rose, lamb-flavored, from the main house, and the armed men patrolling the wall turned toward the smell. Thea closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
“I know,” Evan said, realizing that the tang in the air meant that the meat was wine-basted. Each delicious entity of that smoke stirred memories in him. There had been lamb that night in Barcelona; he couldn’t have been more than fifteen, and his father was accepting yet another honor. A Portuguese rosé was served with the lamb, and the man beside him was a somber Egyptian who smelled of sandalwood and something else …
“Evan!” Thea said sharply, and he was back on the ledge over-looking a walled farm in the canyon.
In a short while a bell rang and the guards changed. Thea turned to Evan and shrugged. It was decided.
They awoke in the end of the night to the sound of shooting and a roar of engines. Scrambling to the edge of the ridge, they could see the fight below them A gang of perhaps twenty men on motorcycles was circling the high wall enclosing houses and barns As Thea and Evan watched, the defenders blasted one rider from his cycle with a shotgun The machine crashed into the wall dragging its bleeding rider behind it. The reserve gas cans exploded as the cycle hit, sending fire speeding up the walls The rider twitched once as he began to burn.
“Pirates?” Thea asked in a whisper.
Evan shook his head. “Nope. They’re no one I know. They must be one of the independents, looking for excitement as well as food or loot. Under their beards, they’re kids. And sloppy ones at
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