“Yes, we do seem to have collected more than our fair share of adventures,” Pietro said. “I could wish for a bigger moon tonight, because I can’t even see my hand in front of my face.”
“I don’t think you’re going to be looking for Aussen’s friends tonight,” Cody said.
“I suppose not,” Jayla answered. “I suppose none of us will have a choice but to stay right where we are till dawn.”
There was a rustling sound, and she guessed that Pietro had dropped to the ground, Aussen probably still in his arms. Another thump that she assumed was Cody. Jayla resettled herself into a seated pose. Then a flicker at the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned her head sharply in that direction.
“Someone’s lit a match!” she said. “Who would be so stupid?”
She thought she could sense Cody craning his neck. “It’s probably a chemlight.”
“A what?”
“It’s sort of like a torch—a wooden stick treated with dried paste on one end. You scrape it on a hard surface and some chemicals combine and give off light for a couple of hours. No heat, no fire. Chemlights have become pretty popular.”
“I can see why,” said Pietro. “I wish we had one.”
“As for tonight—nothing left to do but bed down, I suppose,” Jayla said. “Aussen can sleep next to me. Aussen, can you find me in the dark?”
A muffled sound of rustling was followed in a few moments by Aussen’s small shape crawling up next to her and squirming in place. Jayla spared a moment to hope the little girl wasn’t a restless sleeper. It was all she could do to keep from saying Sit quietly as the child reached out once, twice, dragging her hand through the thin dirt as if combing it with her fingernails.
“I’m wondering how quickly they might start working on the secondary bridge,” Pietro said. “If they build that fast enough—” His voice abruptly cut off.
Aussen had stretched her hands out in front of her, and light streamed from her closed fists. It was a pale, phosphorescent color, blue-white, making Aussen’s face look like a spirit from the realm of the dead. In the ghostly glow, her face showed a small smile of satisfaction, as if she had been pleased to be able to summon the light.
“How did she do that?” Cody demanded, his expression both astonished and delighted. “Does she have one of those chemlights?”
“I don’t think so,” Jayla answered. “I think she just—picked up some rocks or something? She was digging in the dirt a minute ago.”
“So maybe there’s some kind of stone lying around that you can spark a light from,” Cody speculated. “Pietro, did you ever hear of such a thing?”
But Pietro didn’t answer. Jayla lifted her eyes to study him across the dead campfire. In the cool, wavering light, his expression was clearly visible and infinitely surprising. He didn’t look amazed or impressed or even intrigued. His gaze was fixed on Aussen’s face, and he was horrified.
Chapter Four:
Jayla
The second day of being trapped on the plateau was less busy but even more irritating than the first, and Jayla spent hours drifting through camp, looking for occupation. Hardly any patients had sought out the makeshift infirmary, so she wasn’t needed there; the crowds lined up to receive fresh supplies from the city were docile and well-behaved, so she wasn’t required to keep order. She spent about an hour observing the activity along the southern border of the camp, where workers were building a temporary bridge across the fissure. But the long, slow construction process was maddening to watch, and she couldn’t bear to stay for long.
More than once she checked in on Aussen, whose haphazard guardians had come searching for her as soon as the sun made an appearance. Jayla had found herself curiously reluctant to turn the little girl over to their clearly inadequate care, so she detoured past their campsite several times just to reassure herself that Aussen was still alive. The women appeared to be traveling with a group of about fifteen people, more children than adults. Too many to keep track of, Jayla thought. I wonder how many others they’ve lost along the way.
Uncharitable. And none of her business.
On another circuit through the camp, she came across Cody sitting by himself on the table that had served as their distribution point the day before. He was in his usual relaxed slouch, idly watching workers gathered at the foot of the broken bridge that led into the city.
“All done for the day?” she asked. “The people of Corcannon have decided we don’t need any more supplies?”
He gave her his easy smile. “The cable snapped about half an hour ago, sending a cask all the way down the canyon,” he said. “So now everyone is trying to decide if the pulley is worth repairing or if we might get out of here soon enough that we don’t need to fix it. How’s the temporary bridge coming?”
“Looks like they’re making progress.” She surveyed him a moment. “If the cable snapped, you really are trapped here with the rest of us.”
“I’d rather be trapped here than walking the wire when it broke in two.”
She was surprised into a laugh. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“Anyway, we’ll only be here a few more days. One way or the other, I’ll eventually get back home.”
“You must not have anybody on the other side who’ll be concerned about you.”
Now his grin was wider. “Is that your way of asking me if there’s a girl waiting for me in the city?”
She shoved him none too gently in the shoulder. “No. You could have a mother or a sister who worries about you. An employer, even. Someone you answer to.”
“Well, there isn’t.”
She waited a beat. “Isn’t what? A mother? A boss?”
“A girl.”
“I don’t care.”
Still smiling. “Oh. Well. If you did.”
She shook her head and changed the subject. “Where’s Pietro?”
“He hopped up and left the minute the cable broke.”
“What do you make of him?”
“I like him. He’s smart. He’s thoughtful. And he knows a lot more than he lets on.”
She glanced over at him in surprise. “About what?”
“About everything, I imagine.” He gave her an appraising look. “Why? Don’t you like him?”
“I don’t like anybody until I know them really well. I don’t trust anybody until I know them really well.”
His eyes widened in exaggerated hurt. “What? Not even me?”
“Ha. I don’t know anything about you. Why would I trust you?”
He held his arms straight out in front of him so his bracelets caught the watery sunlight. The gems in the red one practically threw off sparks. “You know everything about me!”
“That you have a job—a dangerous one—and that you like women,” she said dryly. “I think there’s a whole lot more to know.”
“Ask me anything.”
She tried without complete success to hold back a smile. “Nothing I’m dying to know.”
He tilted his head to one side and grinned at her again. “So when we’re in the city,” he said. “You’ll have to let me know where you land. I mean, I’ll give you my address, too, so you can always find me, but I don’t want to lose track of you.”