[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]You re part of it now, want it or not.
He made a contented little sound, sucked in a long breath, sighed
it out. You, Mama? he murmured.
Me, michi-micha. I was sleeping in the ground like a big old brembi
I dug bremba .... There was a giggle in his voice at the thought of the wise
woman in the ground like a tuber, all wrinkled and hairy and covered with
dirt. The joy died out of him as he remembered what happened, the gritzers
tromping through the field, shooting his cousin and his brothers and burning
down his village; he turned his head against her, put his thumb in his mouth,
and cried.
After he d cried himself to sleep, Mama Charody set-tled herself into the
half-coma that was rest time for her, slow memories, eddying in her complex
brain ....
The shot of force like lightning slicing through the dirt, stirring, her from
her shriveled sleep ....
The slow and painful stifling ....
Unfolding ....
Pushing up through the earth to reach the sun again for the first time in two
centuries ....
She sank deeper in the coma, no longer thinking or re-membering, simply
listening to the songs of the earth, the stones.
6. The Web Working
Camnor Heslin knelt at the window, looking over his shoulder at the dead-eyed
boy who d brought him. You d be safer on the street.
Tomal was squatting in a corner of the small dusty room,, his brown rags and
dirty face merging with the shadows. He shrugged and didn t move.
Your choice. Heslin unclipped the longglasses from his belt and snapped on
the shields to keep the lenses from catching moonlight and shining it back. He
scanned the river for several minutes, then slipped the com from its belt
case, laid it on the sill by his left hand and tapped it on. Valk here. Go.
Spider three here. Gleaners in place and waiting. Go.
River s quiet, not many barges tied up. There s a squad of wharfliks moving
along the Lade Road, they re just about at Shipper Mikkel s Wharf, same time
as yes-terday, give or take a few minutes.
Looks like you re clean, no ferts about. Snipers should move in now.
He lowered the glasses, took out a handkerchief and scrubbed the sweat from
his face, tucked it back in his pocket, and began watching again. Hah, good.
Spider four s in and no trouble. Not even the wind s stirring. There goes two.
Now seven. Cover s in place. Six just left the alley. He s in the barge.
He cleared his throat, swept the river again. Lot of nixies around. There s a
clutch of them up by the
Glasserie Wharf. Now what ... it s rocking and bucking almost as if it s
trying to break loose and head downstream. Looks like they re taking it apart.
Wharfliks are coming from everywhere; they re starting to shoot, the thrunts.
About as much use as shoot-ing the river. Get the Web moving. I don t know
what stirred the nixies up, but it s a distraction we can t waste. Go.
After a moment, the answer came back. On their way. Go.
Heslin knelt, scanning the river and muttering into the com as he watched dark
forms moving in and out of the warehouses, pushing loaded barrows, emptying
them onto the expropriated barge.
More and more nixies were gathering around the northend wharves, jeering at
the wharfliks and the other defenders trying to drive them off, swirling
around the piles, worrying at them.
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... still quiet down our end. Hatt! Nixies have pulled a pile, there s
another ... another few minutes the whole thing lI be. going. Murd! that could
mean trouble ... un-less we use it. Spider three, tell the
Gleaners to get out now. I ll mark for you, you send it on. They should
go with the wharf, anyone
around ll just think it s another bit of nixy malice. Go.
Again a short silence.
Heslin saw half a dozen shadows come from the ware-house, loaded down for he
hoped the last time; they ran the barrows into the river and vanished into the
shad-ows on the deck. He nodded to himself as he saw the snipers emerging from
the alley and joining the others on the barge.
Gleaners in place. Go.
Wharf is shaky now, it s tilting ... shuddering ... someone with more sense
than most is pouring some kind of liquid in the river, the nixies don t like
it, they re start-ing to clear out, I don t know if ... ah! the wharf s torn
loose, it s on its way downriver. Tell them to cast off now. Go.
Zdra. A pause. They re off. You d best get out, too. Need cover? Go.
Heslin glanced at the boy. Got all the cover I need. Out. He twisted off the
lens shields, snapped them on their carry buttons, clipped the longglasses to
his belt, and slid away the com. Hand on the sill, he pushed onto his feet,
worked his knees a minute to get the stiffness out, then turned to the boy.
Zdra, Tomal, let s get the zhag out of here.
>>-
What do you mean cooperating?
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