Sparks in Cosmic Dust by Robert Appleton

Author:Robert Appleton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: 2011-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

Beneath a jutting ledge, the last refuge of shade anywhere—the sun was directly overhead—Varinia removed the vat lids in preparation for the first pyro extraction of the day. Butterflies in her stomach anticipated the glorious sight of pyro pepper sinking to the bottom of vat three. Almost unbearable excitement. A day’s wage in every grain.

She spotted Solomon and Grace leading the donkeys and the roly-poly back from the sea. It reminded her she still owed the latter a huge thank you for saving her life. The roly-poly’s initiative in recruiting the donkeys for a beach rescue, over a mile away, had dumbfounded everyone.

“What’s the best way to thank him?” she asked Grace, motioning to their wheeling friend.

“Spend a bit of time with him. They like company.”

“That it? No treats or anything?”

“Oh, he’s been well-treated. I gave him an assortment of fruit and a bit of soup yesterday. He’s getting old, though. Can’t eat more than a few bites at a time. This’ll probably be his last trip.”

Watching the leathery creature unfurl its long, thin body to rear up like a friendly cobra beside her, its four sunken eyes distending from either side of its hooded head, Varinia’s heart melted. Such a quiet, solitary creature. He had spent a lifetime serving humans across the galaxy, probably to little reward, and now he was nearing retirement. But where were his kin, his family, to comfort him in old age, if that was what roly-polys did on their home world?

She stroked the top of his mouth, a smooth, gelatinous flap between his eyes. No response, but she hoped he liked the sensation.

“We’ll need to borrow him for a while. Solomon and I are going to fetch some more firewood from the forest.” Grace left and whistled for the creature to follow.

“You’ll be all right here on your own?” Solomon caressed Varinia’s upper arm with his fingertips.

“Sure.”

“You might like to know your black four-legged is loitering just outside the inlet,” he said. “Go say hello.”

She kicked into a sprint, then stopped, remembering her plan to lure Danai close with an armful of hay and an apple. She tripped over her feet while accelerating back to the food cache, and fell face-first into the sand. Solomon and Grace burst into exaggerated laughter, as though Varinia’s dive had provided the punch line to a private joke—a joke somehow connected to her wayward mare.

So they think this is all a big laugh. Assholes. See if they’re still laughing when I get to ride her in the surf every morning…and they get to watch.

“You should try a cattle prod instead!” Solomon yelled after her. “Otherwise you’ll be chasing shadows ’til supper.”

Whatever. What did he know? Arrogant brick-brawn, grid-licking, sleaze-heaving…cute-as-hell…tool-push. What did any of them know about looking after an animal that didn’t just haul things all day long? One that needed grooming, washing, shoeing, constant care and love, plenty of free time to graze and frolic. They knew how to herd and feed slave animals, enough to keep them alive for maximum productivity.

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