Brother Red by Adrian Selby

Author:Adrian Selby [SELBY, ADRIAN]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2021-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

Eli’s right about the sheds. The Rulger reeves would have him hanged if they could see what my pa’s pushing through these fens.

The bogs give way to the fens in the east, as it’s closer to the Rofany river. There’ll be a swell come the spring and it’ll fill the fens and there’s good sniffing and hunting to be had there. Between fen and bog there’s the Andract Way, and I think my pa runs this part of it, from what Cal told me, a road on a finger of land that’s raised above the level of the river, inclining upwards as it finds the rolling plains south-east, and much more arable.

There’s heavy forest that fringes the road for miles either side and it’s no wonder Pa’s found it easy to pick off the vans that come through.

I lead my horse out of the bogland and up through the cold and shadowy trees by paths I used to wander with Cirne and some of the others our age. I smell the smoke of a campfire and hear men talking before I see them, the air still and frosty. I call out so they don’t try anything and a few urgent shouts are followed by three that come to meet me. I don’t recognise them.

“I’m looking for my pa, Dreis Bridche. I’m Driwna.”

“Are you? We’ll need a bit more than that, soldier,” says one, a woman with a broken nose, tired eyes and a pipe in her teeth. She might have been a serious merc once, but not now.

“Course you will. Tell him that I hope he’s not bought slaves with that twenty silver I sent him from Autumn’s Gate and tell him it’s Cal told me that Mun had the wasting.”

She nods and leaves the other two with me. Soon there’s whistling, a field command I think, and the two gesture me to follow. None look like they got much fight or quality about them, but not even Pa can pay well enough for more than one crew of the quality Ganet seems to have at the lodge.

In the clearing there’s a fire with some pots over it and three sheds, raised a bit from the ground, so they must have plant in them. Across the clearing from the sheds are stables for horses and a shed for hay and other provisions. Pa’s at the fire with his crew; most have stopped for a bowl of whatever’s in the pot. I can smell eels stewing, some parsley and cockles. He drove my mun crazy with taking up good runs for his parsley.

He’s put on weight and got greyer in his beard, unplaited, which is unlike him. He won’t wear the crown of the Bridche as Sathanti do, so his bit of hair’s down as well, dirtier grey. He has a heavy leather coat on, fur’s been stitched to the collar about his neck and it alone marks him out as chief here, for all others are in ponches or woollens.

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