Reading the Wind (Silver Ship)

Reading the Wind (Silver Ship) by Brenda Cooper Read Free Book Online

Book: Reading the Wind (Silver Ship) by Brenda Cooper Read Free Book Online
Authors: Brenda Cooper
predators come.”
    Kayleen apparently figured out we weren’t going to go help her set up a house and barn at that exact moment. Her shoulders slumped. She buried her head in Windy’s neck. When she looked back up she smiled at us. “Okay. If it will help keep Windy safe.”
    Liam leaned in close to me and muttered, “It’ll keep you safe so you can fly us home.”
    Kayleen cocked her head, her voice slightly teasing now. “Still talking behind my back?”
    I separated from Liam and walked down the ramp toward Kayleen. I held my hand out for Windy’s lead. “I’ll hold onto her. Liam can help you unpack the perimeter and get it set up.” Only Kayleen could tune the perimeter, at least unless she had brought the type of tools Paloma and Gianna and the other members of the science guild used. I doubted it.
    The two of them disappeared into the hold. I held my hand out flat and let Windy sniff it. She leaned her head down, acknowledging me, but only for a moment, going right back to testing the unfamiliar smells and keeping her ears pricked. Her skin rippled with unease and she danced lightly on her feet whenever a bird called or the beasts in the hills bayed. Windy was prey. I felt as vulnerable as she in this strange place full of unknown dangers.
    I was alone for now except for the young, frightened hebra.
    We’d find a way to get back. There wasn’t any other choice.
    Tears splashed down onto my hands, warm and wet. I let go, my losses spilling into Islandia’s rough rocky soil with my tears.
    B y the time the sun danced on the horizon, we had a passable perimeter set up. Wireless devices hung on metal poles giving us a hundred square meters of warning space.
    The
Burning Void
’s hold disgorged three cots, one large tent, and kitchen camp gear. The cots came from Artistos, the tent and shimmery silver lightweight sleeping blankets came from the cave. We might be using the same tools our genetic parents had camped with outside Artistos, both before and during the war. The idea offered little comfort.
    Liam sunk a pole in the ground and tied Windy to it. She munched on some of last summer’s harvest from the Grass Plains, still looking up regularly, but apparently feeling a bit better since we’d set up signs of civilization.
    Kayleen pulled food from a large cooler. She sat on a stone, cutting up fresh djuri and some of last summer’s root stock to make a stew. I squatted down next to her. “Can I help?”
    She grunted, not looking at me. “No, this is my feast for you. I hoped you’d come of your own accord, and this would be a celebration.” She continued slicing through long dried purple-roots and setting them in water to soften, still avoiding my eyes.
    A celebration feast? I glanced over my shoulder at Liam, arching an eyebrow. “You never gave us a chance to come willingly.”
    “You wouldn’t have taken it anyway.”
    I grimaced at the back of her head. “Liam and I need to talk. We’re going to take a walk.”
    She shook her head, not exactly a yes or a no, but she reached for another root. I stood and walked off, Liam catching up in a few long strides. As we got far enough away to talk, he said, “She’s crazy.”
    I took his hand, aware that Kayleen would see, and not really caring. “Maybe she has been for a while. But we left her, and what do we know about her experiences? We aren’t Wind Readers, and we haven’t been in Artistos. We don’t know what it’s been like for her.”
    He swallowed and looked out toward the mountains, painted brilliant gold on one side by the setting sun, dark and foreboding on the other side. “There is no excuse.”
    I watched the mountains with him, the high clouds above them now brilliant orange edged with bright gold. One of the small muscles in his neck jumped silently, repeatedly.
    “What are we going to do?” he asked.
    I chewed on my lip. I had become used to following his direction in the band; he knew the people and the routines, the

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