City of Hope and Despair by Ian Whates Page B

the world with subtle radiance. Muffled light also spilled from the inn's windows, so he had little trouble making his way around the back of the Four Spoke Inn to where the stables were situated.
      He found the pair of them sitting on bales of hay just inside the stable door. Either Mildra had taken a candle-lamp with her or Seth had provided Kohn with one; the tall white column of wax shielded in a bubble of glass now sat off to one side, presumably placed there to prevent its flickering flame from interfering with their view of the stars.
      The Thaistess looked relaxed and greeted Tom cheerfully. Even Kohn smiled and made an inarticulate noise.
      "Kohn's pleased to see you," Mildra supplied.
      "You can understand him?"
      "Yes. Not the vocal expressions, well, no more than you can – they don't contain words as such, only emotional indicators. Kohn and his people speak with each other directly mind to mind."
      "And you can hear this?"
      "After a fashion. You probably could to, with enough practice and a little training."
      Tom stared at the amiable giant and concentrated, willing some form of meaning or understanding to come through, but nothing did.
      Mildra laughed. "I didn't mean you'd be able to do it straight away."
      Tom gave up, and asked instead, "Is that how they can understand us? Do they hear our thoughts rather than the actual words?"
      Mildra looked at him with evident surprise. "Yes. The Kayjele don't have a structured language as such, they've never had need of one. When you say something you also think it, and the Kayjele can skim the meaning from the surface of your mind."
      Tom had the feeling that he'd just impressed the Thaistess, and didn't want to spoil that by showing any alarm at the thought of what else Kohn might have skimmed from his mind – the horror he'd felt on first meeting the giant and the dismay at having him as a travelling companion, for example. So he tried to keep his features impassive and simply nodded.
      When they left Kohn and headed back to the inn, Tom thought that perhaps he did sense something from the giant – an impression of contentment – though that could just have been wishful thinking. As they walked, Mildra slipped her arm inside Tom's. It was a casual gesture, at least it seemed so as far as she was concerned. For his part, Tom became instantly conscious of the gentle pressure of her arm resting on his and of where it pressed against his side. He also had no idea how best to hold his own arm to accommodate hers. The last thing he wanted was for the young woman beside him to break this intimate contact and pull away, so he did his best to keep in the same position he'd held originally. Trying to do this caused his arm to stiffen and freeze in place, transforming it from a mobile and flexible limb into an ungainly lump which had little to do with him but just happened to jut out awkwardly from his shoulder blade.
      The brief walk around to the inn's door was therefore a mixed experience for Tom. He was thrilled at Mildra's touch but at the same time frustrated by his own sense of clumsiness. Thankfully, the Thaistess seemed completely oblivious to his discomfort, chatting enthusiastically about the two days spent aboard the barge and how much she'd enjoyed the experience.
      They'd evidently saved themselves many days' journey by travelling on the river. The road between Crosston and Thaiburley was far from direct due to the mountainous terrain around the city. Tom only hoped they could make the next stage of the trip in similar fashion and, by the sound of it, so did Mildra.
      Tom's good mood was punctured as soon as they stepped back inside the inn. Dewar was waiting for them. He said quietly, "We'd best all get an early night. I want to start out first thing in the morning."
    "Why the rush," Tom asked, a little petulantly.
      "Because our landlord is not to be trusted. Don't be fooled by the ready smile and false