follow.
“Come on into the kitchen,” she said. “You need some breakfast.”
“Don’t I need to get going?” Tarq realized he was giving himself away completely. Not that it mattered. Jublansk seemed to have Lucy’s best interests at heart. If she hadn’t told Uther her suspicions before, he doubted she ever would.
Jublansk snickered. “You’ve got a speeder, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah…”
“I’m betting she’ll be on foot. Don’t worry, you’ll catch her.”
Tarq still had a chance to make Lucy his mate. Even if Uther found her first, Tarq was sure he could convince her. After all, Lucy had left home, presumably to escape Uther.
Then it occurred to Tarq that she’d made sure he could never see her again either, whether he wanted to or not. In effect, she’d run away from him too.
Chapter 8
With Nat’s directions to guide her, Lucy set out for Yalka. Since the colonies on Talus Five had been established long after speeders made wheeled vehicles obsolete, there was no actual road to follow, only a trail with the occasional sign to mark the shortest distance across the Malturn Wilderness. By the time she passed the first one after an hour’s walk, Lucy was beginning to wish the signs were a little closer together.
They would seem closer together if one was traveling in a speeder, of course. Nat had known Lucy would be on foot if she ever made the journey, and she had assured Lucy that the way was impossible to miss. She had only to keep the sea on her left and the mountains on her right and she would eventually reach Yalka. Even so, Lucy was thankful for a clear sky and a waning gibbous moon to light the way.
The land was relatively flat, the mountains sloping down from the east to become a rocky plain stretching to the sea. Twisted trees and tall grasses grew in clumps among the stones, the sea breeze rustling through them as she passed. From time to time, Lucy was startled by the scuttling of wildlife. Most, she knew, were harmless, but the occasional vrelnot had been known to come down from the mountains to prey on the smaller animals living on the plain. Lucy might have armed herself with thieves in mind, but running into a vrelnot would’ve been much worse. She kept her pistol in her hand.
Lucy had often walked home from the café at night, so she was no stranger to the darkness, but out on the open road, her feelings of vulnerability and freedom warred with each other. The sky seemed larger than it had above Reltan; the stars more brilliant and numerous; the mountains more ominous.
After a few hours of walking, hunger and thirst overcame her and Lucy stopped to rest. Thus far, she hadn’t met a soul on the road, aside from the two dogs who had followed her out of town, and even they had turned back after a hundred meters or so.
Despite the ever-present wind, Lucy was sure she would hear a speeder approaching from a distance. She doubted anyone would be looking at anything but the trail ahead; after all, there wasn’t much to see. Though the climate was temperate, the Malturn would have been more aptly called a desert. The land was simply too rocky for much of anything to grow, hence the lack of settlements.
Lucy ate some bread and cheese and took a few swallows of water. Though her water bottles were the heaviest thing she carried, they were also the most precious. Nat had assured her that there were several streams winding across the plain from the mountains to the sea, but she had yet to come across one.
A glance toward the east revealed that she’d been on the road longer than she thought; the stars above the mountains were already beginning to fade. Her absence had surely been noticed by now. Tourelda’s words from the night before haunted Lucy, but they didn’t alter her determination. Her family would adjust and learn to manage without her, just as they would have done if she had left home to marry. The realization that nothing she did would affect Tarq was much more
“Come on into the kitchen,” she said. “You need some breakfast.”
“Don’t I need to get going?” Tarq realized he was giving himself away completely. Not that it mattered. Jublansk seemed to have Lucy’s best interests at heart. If she hadn’t told Uther her suspicions before, he doubted she ever would.
Jublansk snickered. “You’ve got a speeder, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah…”
“I’m betting she’ll be on foot. Don’t worry, you’ll catch her.”
Tarq still had a chance to make Lucy his mate. Even if Uther found her first, Tarq was sure he could convince her. After all, Lucy had left home, presumably to escape Uther.
Then it occurred to Tarq that she’d made sure he could never see her again either, whether he wanted to or not. In effect, she’d run away from him too.
Chapter 8
With Nat’s directions to guide her, Lucy set out for Yalka. Since the colonies on Talus Five had been established long after speeders made wheeled vehicles obsolete, there was no actual road to follow, only a trail with the occasional sign to mark the shortest distance across the Malturn Wilderness. By the time she passed the first one after an hour’s walk, Lucy was beginning to wish the signs were a little closer together.
They would seem closer together if one was traveling in a speeder, of course. Nat had known Lucy would be on foot if she ever made the journey, and she had assured Lucy that the way was impossible to miss. She had only to keep the sea on her left and the mountains on her right and she would eventually reach Yalka. Even so, Lucy was thankful for a clear sky and a waning gibbous moon to light the way.
The land was relatively flat, the mountains sloping down from the east to become a rocky plain stretching to the sea. Twisted trees and tall grasses grew in clumps among the stones, the sea breeze rustling through them as she passed. From time to time, Lucy was startled by the scuttling of wildlife. Most, she knew, were harmless, but the occasional vrelnot had been known to come down from the mountains to prey on the smaller animals living on the plain. Lucy might have armed herself with thieves in mind, but running into a vrelnot would’ve been much worse. She kept her pistol in her hand.
Lucy had often walked home from the café at night, so she was no stranger to the darkness, but out on the open road, her feelings of vulnerability and freedom warred with each other. The sky seemed larger than it had above Reltan; the stars more brilliant and numerous; the mountains more ominous.
After a few hours of walking, hunger and thirst overcame her and Lucy stopped to rest. Thus far, she hadn’t met a soul on the road, aside from the two dogs who had followed her out of town, and even they had turned back after a hundred meters or so.
Despite the ever-present wind, Lucy was sure she would hear a speeder approaching from a distance. She doubted anyone would be looking at anything but the trail ahead; after all, there wasn’t much to see. Though the climate was temperate, the Malturn would have been more aptly called a desert. The land was simply too rocky for much of anything to grow, hence the lack of settlements.
Lucy ate some bread and cheese and took a few swallows of water. Though her water bottles were the heaviest thing she carried, they were also the most precious. Nat had assured her that there were several streams winding across the plain from the mountains to the sea, but she had yet to come across one.
A glance toward the east revealed that she’d been on the road longer than she thought; the stars above the mountains were already beginning to fade. Her absence had surely been noticed by now. Tourelda’s words from the night before haunted Lucy, but they didn’t alter her determination. Her family would adjust and learn to manage without her, just as they would have done if she had left home to marry. The realization that nothing she did would affect Tarq was much more
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