more attention to themselves.'
'Lui, do you know who they are? One of them tried to knife me last night. Andras MacLeugh. He used to be in the Primal Guard and probably still is. Listen, Lui, I have to know why Lucilla has the Guard with her, I have to know if it's Edward after me or just her. Can you find out?'
'Hmm.' Lui tugged at his moustache. 'The word in Orlyons is that they are militia, posing as cultists. After last night's mess they leaked that they were from Ngota Clan and they had sworn revenge on you.'
' No ,' said Mathias 'That's not right. MacLeugh isn't Ngota Clan. He's from north of Abidjan!' So it had to be Edward. He had finally decided that his stolen Primacy would be more secure with Mathias dead.
'What can I do, Lui?'
Lui shrugged. 'I don't know, Matt. I guess all you can do is, next time, don't get born into a royal family. Get born in the gutter like the rest of us. When no one can tell you from shit in the street then they have no reason to kill you.'
'You know a scientist called Sukui?'
'I've sold him junk.' Lui smiled awkwardly.
'He said I could go with him to Alabama City, that there was a place for me with his Project. Doing what, I don't know, but it's a place.'
'Then what are you doing sitting here? Jesus, Matt, you get a chance to get out of all this and you hide out in the bushes. Is that'—he pointed at Mathias's head—'bone right through, or only most of the way?'
Mathias shrugged and stared at the strands of lichen that were hanging from the bushes. He knew what he should do, but that would be running away again.
When it was run or be killed, though, what choice was there? Scared as he was of staying in Orlyons, he didn't like the prospect of going with Sukui much better. He had to talk to Mono, she was all he had left. 'You never did tell me where you collected those bruises, Lui.'
Lui looked at him strangely. 'Where have you been , Matt? I was at Salomo's, at the gig. All I knew was the 'tones going up for an encore then a knife came flying through the air. People started screaming and then you came charging through. And this other guy. Then I got hit and someone else got hit, and some furniture got broken and somehow I came out of it alive.'
'Is Mono OK?'
'Oh sure,' said Lui. 'I don't know how, but they say no one had more than a few broken bones. I saw Mono afterwards and she was OK. Physically, anyhow. Listen, Matt, one piece of advice: don't ask Salomo for any help. He's liable to tear you apart, from how he was last night.'
Mathias sat down heavily. 'Thanks for telling me, Lui. I'll sort things out.'
Lui stepped back, uncomfortably. 'I've got to go,' he said. Then he turned and headed out of Greene Gardens.
~
He must have dozed, because when he opened his eyes she was sitting there by the stream. She was only a distant figure but he knew it was Mono. She had her head in her hands, her black hair spread over her arms and legs as she slumped forwards over the water. Mathias knew from her pose that she was adding, minutely, to the flow and saltiness of the stream.
He had never seen her crying before.
There were others on the mown area nearby but Mono was apart from them. Mathias could reach her easily without coming into the open but he held back, not wanting to break her solitude. He had done her enough harm already, maybe he should just turn and leave.
But that would be running away.
He waited while a trader he vaguely knew passed along the pathway, hand linked through the arm of a glasshouse farmer. 'I know someone who could throw stones,' he was saying; the farmer laughed half-heartedly, it was clearly a familiar joke.
Closer up, Mono looked terrible. Her knuckles were white where she pressed her hands into her face. The stream gurgled past, not caring the least if it sounded cheerful against Mono's quiet sobbing.
He crouched by her side, said, 'Mono, I'm sorry.'
She lifted her head, looked around, a dazed expression on her shadowed, creased face. Then she
'Lui, do you know who they are? One of them tried to knife me last night. Andras MacLeugh. He used to be in the Primal Guard and probably still is. Listen, Lui, I have to know why Lucilla has the Guard with her, I have to know if it's Edward after me or just her. Can you find out?'
'Hmm.' Lui tugged at his moustache. 'The word in Orlyons is that they are militia, posing as cultists. After last night's mess they leaked that they were from Ngota Clan and they had sworn revenge on you.'
' No ,' said Mathias 'That's not right. MacLeugh isn't Ngota Clan. He's from north of Abidjan!' So it had to be Edward. He had finally decided that his stolen Primacy would be more secure with Mathias dead.
'What can I do, Lui?'
Lui shrugged. 'I don't know, Matt. I guess all you can do is, next time, don't get born into a royal family. Get born in the gutter like the rest of us. When no one can tell you from shit in the street then they have no reason to kill you.'
'You know a scientist called Sukui?'
'I've sold him junk.' Lui smiled awkwardly.
'He said I could go with him to Alabama City, that there was a place for me with his Project. Doing what, I don't know, but it's a place.'
'Then what are you doing sitting here? Jesus, Matt, you get a chance to get out of all this and you hide out in the bushes. Is that'—he pointed at Mathias's head—'bone right through, or only most of the way?'
Mathias shrugged and stared at the strands of lichen that were hanging from the bushes. He knew what he should do, but that would be running away again.
When it was run or be killed, though, what choice was there? Scared as he was of staying in Orlyons, he didn't like the prospect of going with Sukui much better. He had to talk to Mono, she was all he had left. 'You never did tell me where you collected those bruises, Lui.'
Lui looked at him strangely. 'Where have you been , Matt? I was at Salomo's, at the gig. All I knew was the 'tones going up for an encore then a knife came flying through the air. People started screaming and then you came charging through. And this other guy. Then I got hit and someone else got hit, and some furniture got broken and somehow I came out of it alive.'
'Is Mono OK?'
'Oh sure,' said Lui. 'I don't know how, but they say no one had more than a few broken bones. I saw Mono afterwards and she was OK. Physically, anyhow. Listen, Matt, one piece of advice: don't ask Salomo for any help. He's liable to tear you apart, from how he was last night.'
Mathias sat down heavily. 'Thanks for telling me, Lui. I'll sort things out.'
Lui stepped back, uncomfortably. 'I've got to go,' he said. Then he turned and headed out of Greene Gardens.
~
He must have dozed, because when he opened his eyes she was sitting there by the stream. She was only a distant figure but he knew it was Mono. She had her head in her hands, her black hair spread over her arms and legs as she slumped forwards over the water. Mathias knew from her pose that she was adding, minutely, to the flow and saltiness of the stream.
He had never seen her crying before.
There were others on the mown area nearby but Mono was apart from them. Mathias could reach her easily without coming into the open but he held back, not wanting to break her solitude. He had done her enough harm already, maybe he should just turn and leave.
But that would be running away.
He waited while a trader he vaguely knew passed along the pathway, hand linked through the arm of a glasshouse farmer. 'I know someone who could throw stones,' he was saying; the farmer laughed half-heartedly, it was clearly a familiar joke.
Closer up, Mono looked terrible. Her knuckles were white where she pressed her hands into her face. The stream gurgled past, not caring the least if it sounded cheerful against Mono's quiet sobbing.
He crouched by her side, said, 'Mono, I'm sorry.'
She lifted her head, looked around, a dazed expression on her shadowed, creased face. Then she
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