There were a few grumbles and mumbled comments, but everyone decided they could handle the hargons.
“We have gear we need to take with us,” one of the archeologists, Dr. Brown, called out, pointing at two large boxes.
Colm nodded at the woman. “I will take care of it.”
Honor watched Derek struggle to get his foot in the stirrup and then climb onto the massive beast. It wasn’t elegant. She considered how to get on without looking like an idiot.
Suddenly, large hands clamped on her waist and she was lifted up.
Honor quickly swung her leg over the hargon and glanced down at Colm. “I could’ve managed.”
“I have no doubt. My helping you does not detract from that.”
Colm climbed on his beast in a smooth, athletic move. The boxes were strung in some sort of netting, hanging off the sides of his beast. He looked back, his hands twisting in the reins. “Speak firmly but calmly to your beasts. Gentle nudges with your heel to move them forward. If you kick too hard, they’ll run. Fast.”
Honor did as he directed and when her beast moved forward, she smiled.
As they moved out of the gates of the estate and into the fields, she slowly got the hang of the beast. She patted it on its neck and spoke quietly to it.
They rode past well-ordered fields divided by low stone walls. Honor saw many workers busy in the fields. Some of them were singing and laughing amongst themselves. It seemed to her that life on Markaria, for all its lack of high technology, was pretty darn idyllic.
What would it be like to get up every day and enjoy glorious sunshine, eat fresh food, and train with half-dressed warriors all day?
Except you wouldn’t train with them, Honor. Women aren’t warriors on Markaria, remember?
A beast moved up beside her. She didn’t need to glance over to see that it was Colm.
“You handle the beast well,” he said.
His praise shouldn’t please her so much. She patted her beast’s neck again. “It’s all about respect.”
“And yet you have so little of it for me.”
She turned her head quickly. “That’s not true. I respect your planet and your people. I don’t like that women can’t train to be warriors.” Her gaze narrowed on him. “I get the feeling that you warriors are not used to taking orders from women.”
He smiled at her. “Would you be surprised to hear that a woman runs all of this?” He waved a hand at the farmland.
“Really?”
“And Kavon’s mines.”
Honor made a noise and pondered it. She certainly hadn’t expected it.
“Everyone in the clan has a job to do,” he said. “It is usually whatever your nanami is best suited to.”
“So a woman’s nanami isn’t suited to being a warrior?”
He shrugged. “Nanami suited to fighting are generally found in those who are larger and stronger. It occasionally happens that a woman is a warrior, but not often. It is difficult for a warrior to watch the mother of his child risk her life.”
“It should still be the woman’s choice.” Honor glanced to the left. Here, she had a much closer view of the forbidding mountains. “It doesn’t look so pretty over that way.”
“The Darken Wilds are not a nice place to be. They are harsh and unforgiving, and home to many beasts.”
“Still, they have a tough sort of beauty.”
“I’m glad you enjoy my planet, Agent Brandall.”
“I guess because we’ll be working together for some time, you should call me Honor.”
He smiled. “Honor. And you will call me Colm.”
It sounded suspiciously like an order to her.
They traveled past the farmlands and away from the mountains. The land ahead consisted of gently rolling fields of grass, with not a single tree to be seen. The archeologists were all busy talking amongst themselves and snapping images.
“Agent Brandall?” Derek’s excited voice caught her ear. “We’re getting close.”
“Thanks.” She looked up and saw the sun glinting off something not far ahead. “A lake?”
Colm nodded. “There are many small lakes dotting this area. They’re not very deep, and if we have a season with no rain, they are prone to drying up.”
Soon the group reached the lake. It looked gorgeous. The water was a brilliant blue that contrasted vividly with the green grass around it.
Honor slid off her hargon beast and watched the others doing the same. A few of them rubbed at their aching leg muscles. “Anything nasty in there that I should know about?”
Colm shook his head. “A few fish and eel, but nothing large or harmful.”
“Derek? How far to the signature?”