Kingdom of Cages(73)

Sadia was leaning on the boardwalk railing just outside the picnic area where Farin had first taken Chena for lunch. She munched on dark bread and swigged water from a bottle. She was wearing a quilted jacket like Chena’s except it was brown, and an oiled canvas hat covered her hair.

“Hey.” Chena came up behind her. “You get the replies?”

Sadia nodded, her mouth full. She pulled out a sheaf of letters and handed them over. Chena checked each one and made a notation against the client list in her comptroller. “Great. Now give me some of that.” She grabbed for the loaf.

“Hey, hey!” Sadia held it out of her reach. “Manners!”

“I’m paying here,” said Chena haughtily. “I don’t need manners.”

“Who raised you? Squirrels?” Sadia broke off half the loaf and handed it to Chena. It was good stuff, rich and nutty. They ate and drank in silence for a while, watching the boats and the sunlight on the water.

“Do you really think you can earn enough to get off of here?” asked Sadia at last.

Chena shrugged and took a swallow of water from her own bottle. “I don’t know. Maybe not for a few years. But I can earn enough to make things better.”

“Yeah,” agreed Sadia. “That’s what everybody wants, isn’t it? That’s what my dad wanted.”

“At least your dad wanted something for you,” murmured Chena. Sadia gave her a sideways glance, but didn’t ask. Chena was glad.

Even though the remaining few pickups went smoothly, they were back on the rail later than Chena would have liked. Alone, she might have been flying, but Sadia, as strong as she was, was not used to the bikes. They went slowly and the sun sank. By the time they made it back to Offshoot, the bikes’ lights were on and the world around them was dark.

“Mom is going to kill me,” said Chena as they parked the bikes in the line. “I’ll split the money with you tomorrow, all right?”

“Okay,” said Sadia.

Chena hesitated. “The dining hall will be closed down. Mom might have something on the stove. You want to come?” Chena jerked her chin up toward the catwalks.

“No,” said Sadia. “Thanks, though. I’d better just get back and check on Shond. If I’m not around, he might decide to do something really stupid.”

“You think?” said Chena, her voice full of sarcasm. They both laughed and saluted each other quickly. “See you tomorrow.”

Sadia took off down the path and Chena took a minute to let her eyes adjust all the way to the darkness. There was a little moonlight coming in from under the trees, and a few lights from the houses. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for her to find her way.

Chena took her bearings and headed for the nearest stairway. She thought she saw the faint glimmer of light back in the trees that meant Mom had left a lamp on for her.

Who am I kidding? Mom is probably waiting up for me.

She reached for the stairway railing. I am in so much—

A hand clamped onto her wrist. Before Chena could react, it yanked her off her feet. She collided with a hard chest. The hand and arm held her close and another hand groped at her belt.

“Let’s see what you have for us, maybe?” grunted an old man with foul breath.

“Told you she’d be here.” The new voice belonged to a younger man, and for a sharp, sick second, Chena realized she knew who owned it.

The hand had her throat, but not her mouth. Chena jerked her chin forward and bit down hard. The man, the thief, screamed and dropped her. Chena landed wrong and fell onto her knees. Someone swore and aimed a kick at her. It caught her on the hip and sent her rolling over. Now Chena screamed, letting loose at the top of her lungs as she scrabbled away.

A shock caught her on the hand. She’d reached the fence. There was nowhere to go this way. She ducked sideways, even as a hand caught her ankle.

“No, you don’t,” said Shond.

Lights were coming on. Voices were raised. But the hand did not let her go. It dragged her backward.

“Help!” screamed Chena. Something hit her head hard and the world spun into stars.

“No,” said yet another familiar voice. But dizzy as she was, Chena could not identify this one.

“No,” said the voice again. “She’s mine.”

The hand let go, dropping her foot onto the ground. The sounds of running surrounded Chena. People running away from her. People running toward her. She blinked her eyes a few times. Dizziness receded, but only slowly.

“Well, now. Let’s see what you did to yourself.”

Leaves crunched as Nan Elle lowered herself into Chena’s line of sight. Chena opened her mouth and closed it again, but no words came out.