City of Time by Eoin McNamee Page A

on the street all of the time. Looking for your papers and that sort of malarkey.”
    Owen took a large hunk of cheese from Dr. Diamond's rucksack. “I'll make cheese on toast for supper,” he said. “Here. Cut this up with that knife of yours.”
    He threw the hard lump to Rosie. She caught it, then flinched and gasped with pain, which she tried to disguise as a cough.
    “What's wrong?” Cati said.
    “Nothing,” Rosie said.
    But Dr. Diamond could see the tears in her eyes. He moved to her side. “Let me see your hands.” The scientist seemed to tower over Rosie and his voice was full of authority. Rosie looked as if she was about to resist, then she met his stern gaze and slowly stretched out her hands.
    With great gentleness Dr. Diamond removed her rings, then slid off the black gloves. Owen gasped. The girl's fingers were twisted and distorted, and ugly sores and cankers covered every inch.
    Cati's look softened when she saw the terrible injuries. “What happened?”
    “The magno, I'd guess,” Dr. Diamond said. Rosie nodded dumbly. “In its raw state, magno is a dangerous thing. And volatile. It emits a force that penetrates fleshand bone. I presume you're picking it from slag heaps at those mines?” Rosie nodded. “I've heard of this. Burns, distorted bones, eventually …”
    “Your hands have to be took off else they fall off,” Rosie said, her voice almost defiant.
    “Yes,” Dr. Diamond said with a pitying look.
    “Why do you do it, then?” Cati burst out.
    “No choice.” Rosie shrugged. “My brother got took hostage in the Terminus. They left me free to raise the ransom. That's what they do.”
    “That's terrible,” Cati said.
    “Works two ways,” Dr. Diamond said. “They raise money on the ransom, and it keeps the population quiet.”
    Rosie put her head down so they couldn't see her eyes, but Owen caught the glint of tears. She started to pull the gloves back on.
    “How much do you need?” Cati said.
    “A lot more than I have,” Rosie said, her voice muffled. Cati felt her heart melt. What pain she must be enduring to try to free her brother.
    “I have some ointment that might help,” Dr. Diamond said.
    But Rosie would have none of it. She pulled on her black gloves and, with her hands safely hidden, seemed to recover some of her old spark. “So, you lot never been to the City before?” she said.
    “A few days ago I didn't even know it existed,” Owen said.
    “It's a tough old place for them that doesn't know their way about.”
    “We could probably use a guide, yes,” Dr. Diamond said.
    “I could guide for you,” Rosie offered.
    “We don't know anything about her!” Cati said, her pity reverting to suspicion.
    “I don't know nothing about you neither,” Rosie said. “I mean, where d'you come from? And what's your business in the City? Tell me that. I don't wanna put myself in the employ of rebels or traitors.”
    The friends looked at each other but didn't say anything. Rosie was amused. “Y'see? My reckoning is you want to get into the City dead quiet and go about your business, whatever that is, without nobody nosing around.”
    “We'll decide in the morning,” Dr. Diamond said. “Now we should get some sleep. And we'll need to set watches. We don't know what might be lurking around out here. I'll take the first one.”
    Owen took a walk outside before settling down. It was a clear night and he could see great spiraling galaxies in the sky, and once a shooting star that burned across the sky from north to west. The forest stretched off to the left, dark and still.
    When Owen climbed back inside the truck, the girls were in their bunks and had turned down the light. He could see Dr. Diamond's head through the hatch; the scientist was sitting in the driver's seat. The doctor hadtaken out some of the books Cati had been looking at earlier and was reading by the light that he wore on a strap around his head.
    Owen climbed into his bunk. “Night, Cati. Night,