the forests and the herding stations? Try living in the megavillage a moon or two. You don't know how lucky you are."
"Like my brother?" I snapped, before I could stop myself.
"Your brother?" Her voice sounded suddenly younger, more innocent.
I hesitated. I'd had no intention of letting Gazelle know anything about me, but I'd already said too much for that.
"He was a herder. They attacked his station for not providing enough meat. Big attack—stoneguards, death-gourds and everything—no-one stood a chance."
"He was killed?" Still the tentative, childlike tone.
"Taken." I swallowed. "Brought here. Maybe given to the Engine, as you said."
"I'm sorry." She began to reach out her hand, then withdraw it; she probably thought I hadn't seen. "I assumed you were just...well, a professional."
"Since then, I am." I didn't want to discuss this any more. "Do you think it's clear outside?"
She was silent a moment, listening. "I think so. We can risk it."
~
We came out into the open from the alleys we'd been threading to another huge space, this one surrounded by towering roundhouses. Just a few dozen paces ahead, a wooden palisade rose at least four times my height, curving away to surround most of the clearing. Now the fun started. I had no idea how we were going to get inside: that was supposed to be Gazelle's job.
"Everything's arranged," she murmured, as if I'd spoken aloud. "Our people have prepared an opening. Follow me."
Feeling exposed, I trailed behind her as she moved up close to the fence and started to work her way around. There were bound to be stoneguards inside, but would any be patrolling out here? I'd never seen one close up, let alone had to fight one, but I wouldn't fancy my chances, from what I'd heard.
Nevertheless, it was vital to destroy what lay inside—or at least damage it, if destruction wasn't possible. The villages and the forest had maintained balance—hostile at times, but essentially stable—for generations, but it was different now. Megavillages were spreading everywhere, encroaching even on the forests, and stoneguards were seizing control of more and more herding stations. Like my brother's. It would only be a matter of time before only deep-forest hunters would be free of slavery.
We'd assumed at first that this was the old rivalry taken to extreme, but intelligence suggested, as Gazelle had confirmed, that citizens of the megavillages, too, were oppressed and enslaved. Then we'd managed to contact a resistance group here, in the capital, and they'd agreed to help us in an attempt to stop the growth, or at least wound it.
"Here." Gazelle's voice was barely audible, and she knelt, drawing a knife of sharpened, polished ivory that she inserted between two stakes of the fence to lever a section open. "Follow me in. And keep quiet."
I was tempted to point out who was the trained hunter here, but that would give the lie to my own words. Of course I'd be quiet, just as I would be closing in on my prey.
On the other side of the fence, a green bank rose steeply to just above head-height, and we slithered up it, lifting eye-level just above the rim. The slope fell away on the far side to a flat, grassy expanse surrounded by the bank. Dotted all over the plain stood vast menhirs, some of them being dragged along trenches by straining teams of aurochs, the drivers lashing them on. One of the larger stones, near the centre, had a pair of mammoths tugging at it.
Around and between the stones stalked stiff-legged figures carved from grey rock: the stoneguards.
"So there it is," Gazelle whispered in my ear. Her warm breath on my cheek could have been a distraction, but the sight before me was impressive enough to hold my attention. "The Petrologic Engine. What do you think?"
"It's an abomination," I murmured, but it was as much to convince me as her. The flow of earth energy, more than I'd ever experienced, made hairs stand up all over me. Whatever its use, I felt a little overawed at a marvel
"Like my brother?" I snapped, before I could stop myself.
"Your brother?" Her voice sounded suddenly younger, more innocent.
I hesitated. I'd had no intention of letting Gazelle know anything about me, but I'd already said too much for that.
"He was a herder. They attacked his station for not providing enough meat. Big attack—stoneguards, death-gourds and everything—no-one stood a chance."
"He was killed?" Still the tentative, childlike tone.
"Taken." I swallowed. "Brought here. Maybe given to the Engine, as you said."
"I'm sorry." She began to reach out her hand, then withdraw it; she probably thought I hadn't seen. "I assumed you were just...well, a professional."
"Since then, I am." I didn't want to discuss this any more. "Do you think it's clear outside?"
She was silent a moment, listening. "I think so. We can risk it."
~
We came out into the open from the alleys we'd been threading to another huge space, this one surrounded by towering roundhouses. Just a few dozen paces ahead, a wooden palisade rose at least four times my height, curving away to surround most of the clearing. Now the fun started. I had no idea how we were going to get inside: that was supposed to be Gazelle's job.
"Everything's arranged," she murmured, as if I'd spoken aloud. "Our people have prepared an opening. Follow me."
Feeling exposed, I trailed behind her as she moved up close to the fence and started to work her way around. There were bound to be stoneguards inside, but would any be patrolling out here? I'd never seen one close up, let alone had to fight one, but I wouldn't fancy my chances, from what I'd heard.
Nevertheless, it was vital to destroy what lay inside—or at least damage it, if destruction wasn't possible. The villages and the forest had maintained balance—hostile at times, but essentially stable—for generations, but it was different now. Megavillages were spreading everywhere, encroaching even on the forests, and stoneguards were seizing control of more and more herding stations. Like my brother's. It would only be a matter of time before only deep-forest hunters would be free of slavery.
We'd assumed at first that this was the old rivalry taken to extreme, but intelligence suggested, as Gazelle had confirmed, that citizens of the megavillages, too, were oppressed and enslaved. Then we'd managed to contact a resistance group here, in the capital, and they'd agreed to help us in an attempt to stop the growth, or at least wound it.
"Here." Gazelle's voice was barely audible, and she knelt, drawing a knife of sharpened, polished ivory that she inserted between two stakes of the fence to lever a section open. "Follow me in. And keep quiet."
I was tempted to point out who was the trained hunter here, but that would give the lie to my own words. Of course I'd be quiet, just as I would be closing in on my prey.
On the other side of the fence, a green bank rose steeply to just above head-height, and we slithered up it, lifting eye-level just above the rim. The slope fell away on the far side to a flat, grassy expanse surrounded by the bank. Dotted all over the plain stood vast menhirs, some of them being dragged along trenches by straining teams of aurochs, the drivers lashing them on. One of the larger stones, near the centre, had a pair of mammoths tugging at it.
Around and between the stones stalked stiff-legged figures carved from grey rock: the stoneguards.
"So there it is," Gazelle whispered in my ear. Her warm breath on my cheek could have been a distraction, but the sight before me was impressive enough to hold my attention. "The Petrologic Engine. What do you think?"
"It's an abomination," I murmured, but it was as much to convince me as her. The flow of earth energy, more than I'd ever experienced, made hairs stand up all over me. Whatever its use, I felt a little overawed at a marvel
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