In Silence Waiting Read Online Free Page B

to my doomed flesh. His muscles tense to lunge.
    The crack of a gun breaks through the night. The lir falls upon me, the dead weight of the animal knocking the wind from me. Anguish swells as the pack mind mourns their leader.
    Someone pulls the dead animal off me. Mariss stares down, a gun in her hand.
    “Are they gone?”
    I nod. I can breathe again, but my vision blurs with a haze of pain. I place one padded palm over the wound in my leg in an effort to staunch the bleeding.
    She presses her lips together and walks away. Perhaps she will leave me to die. I would deserve no less. My consciousness wavers in and out, the pain a blazing white haze in my skull.
    She does return and kneels down to tend my wound with the dressings she has brought.
    “Cynta.” She is finished and I manage to breach the haze to hear her. My shackles are gone. “Next time your life flashes before your eyes please be sure it flashes before your eyes only.” She smiles sadly. “Merk has paid for his crimes.”

#
    I understand that, through my sense, I somehow shared with Mariss what really happened the night Imara died. She doesn’t speak of it, but our rapport is stronger than ever. I lead the survivors toward the city of Anupk, my thoughts invested in understanding what I accomplished that night. If I can share images and emotions with others as I did with the pack mind and Mariss, perhaps I can open new doors for my kind, earn them new freedoms.
    After several days, the domed roofs that make up the hazy skyline of Anupk come into view like a mirage on the horizon. Mariss smiles proudly as whoops of excitement ring out through the noticeably shrunken wagon train. I try to enjoy her smile, but old fears return. While those around me call for greater speed, my legs feel weighted and I slow.
    Mariss takes my hand and holds it tight. “Don’t worry.”
    It is all she says. It isn’t much, but I walk with her, my healing wound forcing a limp. It will heal. Mariss has seen to that.
    We continue until it’s too dark to travel safely. We will reach the city tomorrow. I bed down near Mariss, but worries keep me awake. After a time, she rolls over and rises on her elbow, scowling at me.
    “Must you project your fears on me all night?”
    I gape at her, confused, and pull my sense in close.
    “That’s better.” She nods and turns back over. Her words drift back to me. “I will see to you, cynta.”
    Again, she offers vague reassurance, but I care only for her first words. Projecting my fears? Had I been? I learned much from the extended contact with the lir that I hadn’t known possible. It’s exciting to consider. I don’t sleep much that night, nor do I dwell on my fears again.

#
    The city of Anupk stands protected from the New Gobi by a high wall. One guarded gateway provides access to the occasional traffic. When it is time to enter the city, Mariss approaches the gate with me to give a report and tally as Laurin would have.
    We stop before a small open fronted building attached to the wall with a rough-hewn table at the entrance. Behind it sits a rotund man who smells of sour milk and sweat. He eyes Mariss, licking pudgy lips, then scowls pointedly at my unbound wrists and neck.
    He raises one greasy black eyebrow. “Wagon Master?”
    In an effort to ease my nerves, I touch on Mariss with my area sense and project the fondness that I have for her. She offers a smile over one should before replying.
    “Mariss Endirik.”
    “This cynta looks like Laurin Rend’s.”
    “Yes.” She thrusts confidence before her like a shield. “I claim ownership by right of New Gobi Decree 15, On the Passing of Ownership by Right of Presence at Time of Loss.”
    It surprises me to hear her cite the decree. She knows more than I expected about this profession. The realization is disconcerting.
    The greasy brow rises higher as though seeking to merge with his receding hairline. “How did Laurin pass?”
    “He and his brutes were taken in a Lir