Kingmaker

CHAPTER 27

  “What now?” Butu asked.

  “I don’t know. You’re ahead of me in the chain of command, remember? What do you think we should do?” Fear tinged Nolen’s words.

  I’m scared, too, Butu wanted to say, I’m scared for us and for our squad. But saying it wouldn’t help. He watched the storm for a few seconds, trying to ignore Nolen’s murmurings.

  “We don’t know where we are or where we’re going,” he said, thinking aloud.

  “And we don’t have much water. I don’t feel any nearby, either,” Nolen added, sounding a little better.

  “Right. We’ve lost our camels, too. In any case, we can’t stay out here for long.” Time to make a decision. “We’re going to wait until the storm blows past. Then we’ll go look for the rest of our squad.”

  “What if we can’t find them?” Nolen asked, and added, “Phedam.”

  “Right now, let’s assume we’ll find them.”

  He sat down on the sand and pulled some dried mutton out of his pack, adjusting his pryud. They ate in silence, watching the storm as it lashed the desert where their squad was lost. The sands shimmered with the sun’s heat, and sweat poured down their faces before the meal was finished.

  “We should get out of the sun,” Butu said. “Help me set up the tent.”

  Nolen obeyed wordlessly, glad for something to do.

  Anything to keep our minds off the people we can’t help. He’s worried about Phedam, I’m sure.

  As they worked, Butu tried to avoid thinking about his own worries about Jani, but this only made the sand swirl into images of her face drawn in shades of brown. For a moment, he cursed his own magic for conjuring up uncomfortable phantoms. He had known her since they were first-cyclers, and he couldn’t imagine her not being a part of his life.

  “He followed us around, you know,” Nolen said, somewhat bitterly. “Like a puppy.”

  “Who?” Butu said, distracted.

  “Phedam.” Nolen took a deep breath. “He never was happy. He doesn’t argue with me, but if he did, he would’ve said he would rather be a farmer.”

  “Right now, I agree with him.”

  Nolen stiffened, then sagged a bit and barked a laugh. “Yeah, right? Shanubu, when I see him again, I’ll follow him around like a first-cycler.”

  Butu laughed. “I’d like to see that. You two will walk in circles.”

  Nolen laughed. Butu made up his mind.

  “From here on, we’ll travel at night.”

  “But Blay said...”

  “That was when we were still looking for water. We don’t have much water, and we’ll need to drink less if we stay out of the sun. We have to wait until the storm passes anyway. Let’s get some sleep.” He lay down in the tent and suited his own words.

  “Shouldn’t we keep watches?”

  “I’d feel anyone before they got close, even in my sleep,” Butu lied. They were both exhausted from heat and fear and worry.

  And it’s not like anyone else is likely to be out in the middle of the shanjin after a sandstorm, Butu thought. Even the Clanless must have taken shelter.

  The tent offered some shade from the heat, and Butu fell asleep more quickly than he thought he could. Nolen shook him awake just before dark.

  “The storm’s done,” he said. “Eat. I’ll take care of tent.”

  Butu didn’t argue with him. The sand was still warm with the day’s heat when they set out, but it cooled quickly as darkness seized the shanjin. They were both glad to walk. The exertion would keep them warm. Nolen could not see well in the dark, which made running too dangerous. Butu cursed himself for forgetting that. He certainly didn’t want to risk another avalanche of sand. They crossed down one dune and up another, pausing at the top to look around.

  “None of this looks familiar. Are you sure this is the way we came?”

  Nolen pointed at a bright star ahead of them. “Terpul’s Lamp leads north, and we were headed south earlier, right? Maybe the sandstorm reshaped the land.”

  The slid down this dune, walked along it for a few minutes, then scampered up the side of another. The desert looked no different up here.

  Nolen made a face. “How long before we run out of water, you think?”

  “A couple days, probably. If we can retrace our steps and find the water markers we left, we’ll be fine.”

  “And if we can’t?”

  “Shanubu, Nolen. You’re starting to sound like Tirud. We’ve been alone in the shanjin for half a day, now. It’s a bit soon to be abandoning hope, don’t you think?”

  “You’re the one who thinks we’re lost.”

  “I didn’t say we’re lost. I just said...”

  Nolen burst into laughter before Butu caught himself. He sighed and shook his head. “You got me, that time. It’s been a rough day.”

  We’ve still got magic, he thought. It might not be perfect, but it should be enough to survive the shanjin for a few days.

  Another dune, another empty view. Butu watched Terpul’s Lamp suspiciously, feeling that it had moved.

  “Let’s talk about something else,” Nolen said, a note of pain entering his voice.

  “Magic?” They marched along the top of the dune this time, keeping eyes open.

  “Not that, either. The more we think about it, the less it works.”

  “What, then?”

  “I’ve been thinking about this mission, and it doesn’t make any sense. People don’t travel across the shanjin just to discuss secret alliances. It’s too dangerous. The only people who go into the shanjin are the kind of people who don’t want to be found.”

  “So? Phedam thinks it’s a test, and Blay would just tell us not to question orders.”

  “I think we’re supposed to find someone who doesn’t want to be found.” Nolen’s voice became more adamant. “I think we should find Blay and make him tell us what secret he’s been keeping from us.”

  “We’re looking for Blay right now,” Butu said testily. He stopped and looked at Nolen. “First things first. We can ask him once we ...” Butu felt the familiar touch of a person nearby. He stopped, looking down the dunes.

  “What is it?”

  “I felt someone.” I can’t find them again!

  “Where? Which direction?”

  “I don’t know.” He felt worried. “It’s gone, now.” More Turu might be out here than our squad. Suddenly he felt very afraid.

  “The person?”

  “Just the magic, I think.”

  Nolen took the lead, sliding down the dune, and Butu followed, eyes as wide open as they could be, staring in every direction so much he slipped and fell.

  “Stop it,” Nolen said, picking his way up the next dune. “Do you think the rumors are true?”

  Butu crawled to his feet. “Which rumors?” He struggled to keep up.

  “The ones about the Kadrak going to war with the Akdren.”

  “It’s possible. The Ahjea wouldn’t recruit two hundred miners and farmers unless they really needed more sordenu. It’s not like there are two hundred third-cyclers in the entire… Wait. There it is again. Two of them.”

  “Keep walking, this time,” Nolen ordered, letting Butu take the lead. “What happened to ku company? Was there really a battle, or are they still on campaign?”

  “I hope they’re safe.” Butu said, following the feeling of nearby Turu without thinking about it. “My foster father is in that company.”

  “I have friends in it, too.”

  “There,” Butu said, pointing to the floor of the valley below them.