(eng) Karen Myers - Chained Adept 02 by Mistress of Animals

Author:Mistress of Animals [Animals, Mistress of]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

One by one, Penrys spoke to each of them and touched them gently to try and convince them of her reality. They were all thin, walking skeletons with no fat on them, and she wasn’t sure of their ages—they must be younger than they looked, she thought, to have survived this long. But no youngsters, no one not fully grown.

The rags they wore were a combination of summer garments, both whole and in pieces, and untanned skins used as cloaks and crude shoes. No one was barefoot.

*Anyone without good footwear has probably already died.*

Penrys was startled to hear Najud’s comment—she’d forgotten his presence. *They still have knives, some of them. Why would she let them keep knives?*

*You don’t defang your dog, once you’ve tamed him.*

The implications of Najud’s observation struck a chord in her. *She’s treating them like the rest of her animals, not like people. Leaving them as she found them, but making sure they come along with her. She must assume they can take care of themselves.*

She spent the time while they waited for the riders to get there describing everything around them—the trees with their heavy weight of snow, herself and the clothing she wore, and eventually each of them. She joined the hands of two of them, already tied together, and described them each to the other, and repeated this throughout the group.

No one resisted her, and level of fear she felt from them diminished.

Her voice was getting hoarse by the time the riders broke through to the end of her own short path, with Najud in the lead, and she started to describe them as well.

Jirkat and Ilzay dropped from their horses in haste, and then stumbled to a halt when Penrys blocked their approach to give everyone time to adjust.

She cleared her throat and told the survivors, still peering about like blind moles, “Here are Jirkat and Ilzay of the Kurighdunaq. Your clan-kin.” Then she stepped aside to join Najud as he approached.

The astonishment on Jirkat’s face quickly turned to resolution. “Dhalmudhr,” he said calmly, “It’s good to see you alive.” He picked up the leader’s arm and clasped it.

Ilzay was already moving through the group, naming everyone and touching them, murmuring his name and Jirkat’s, over and over.

“Can you still find Munraz and Winnajhubr?” Najud asked Penrys as they watched this tiny remnant of the clan reunite.

“Clear as a bell,” she said. “How long will it take to get back along the path you broke?”

“Two hours, at least, all the way to camp.” He looked up at the unchanging falling snow. “I think we’ll still have daylight. The faster we can get them mounted, the better.”

Penrys looked at the horses that had been led by the riders and realized they carried nothing but the pads that would be cinched under the pack frames.

Najud followed her gaze. “We don’t have spare saddles, but they’ve ridden since they could walk. They’ll be fine.”

Jiqlaraz watched them and the survivors with equal attention.

“No horse for me?” Penrys asked.

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