The Spacetime Pool Read Free Page A

Voices spoke in a patois of heavily accented English sprinkled with
unfamiliar words. Straining to understand, she recognized they were talking
about the “two on the beach,” that they would finish off the man and take the
girl. When she heard what they wanted to do with her, bile rose in her throat.
     
    The voices moved
away, until she heard only waves on the beach. Dominick spoke under his breath,
no words she recognized, what sounded like an oath. She breathed out, aware of
her rigid posture.
     
    “I think we can go,”
he said in a low voice.
     
    A reaction was
setting in as Janelle comprehended she might truly be stranded in this violent
place with no anchor except this stranger. “I can’t,” she whispered.
     
    “It will work out.”
Despite his rough voice, he had a kind tone. “Come with me, Janelle. I will do
well by you.”
     
    Get a grip, she told herself, and climbed to her feet. “I’m all
right.”
     
    Standing with her, he
inclined his head. He lifted his hand as if to touch her face, but when she
tensed, he lowered his arm.
     
    They set off again,
and the ocean’s mumble receded as they went deeper among the trees. The woods
thickened into a heavy forest, and tufts of wild grass stuck up in the soil.
Dusk came like a great beast, one barely noticed until it spread its wings,
darkening every copse and glade. Luminescent bottle flies hummed among the
trees.
     
    Dominick drew her to
a stop. Holding his fingers to his mouth, he gave a whistle that rose and fell
in an eerie tune. A bird answered his call.
     
    “Hai,” a low voice
said.
     
    Janelle started. A
man had appeared under a nearby tree. He wore leather armor and a dagger
similar to Dominick’s, but without the silver or abalone. He also had an “extra”
that made her mouth go dry, a monstrous broadsword strapped across his back
with its hilt sticking above his shoulders.
     
    Dominick spoke in the
same dialect used by the men who wanted to kill him. It sounded like “Hava moon
strake camp,” but she thought he meant, “Have the men strike camp.” Although
she didn’t understand the other man’s response, she saw the deference in his
bow. The man glanced at her with curiosity, then withdrew into the trees and
vanished as silently as he had come.
     
    She and Dominick
continued on, and although she saw no one else, she didn’t think they were
alone anymore. They soon entered a clearing of trampled grass. Several tents
stood on the far side, and men moved in the trees beyond, soldiers it looked
like, in leather armor. Most were tending animals. Their mounts resembled
horses, but with tufts for tails. Each had two horns, one on either side of its
head, with the tips pointing inward. Some of the men wore helmets with similar
horns. The scene had a dreamlike quality, all in the dusk, with mist curling
around the animals. But the cooling air on her arms and legs and the pungent
smell of wet grass were all too real.
     
    The men greeted
Dominick with respect. Although Janelle had trouble deciphering their words,
she understood their intent. They were preparing to leave.
     
    And she was going
with them.
     
    * * * *
     
    Fog muffled the
night. Janelle sat in front of Dominick on one of the two-horned animals, which
he called a biaquine. Starlight, his mount, had a silver coat with stiff hair.
He changed the animal’s saddle to a tasseled blanket woven in heavy red and
white yarn so Janelle could more easily sit with him. A few scouts went on
ahead, but the rest of the men stayed together, with extra biaquines to carry
the tents and other supplies.
     
    Fear and curiosity
warred within Janelle. She had agreed to go with Dominick because she saw no
other viable choices, at least not where she stayed alive and healthy. But she
didn’t trust him.
     
    They passed through
veils of mist, climbing into the mountains. Her muscles ached from the
unfamiliar ride. Moonlight lightened the fog, and she strove to keep track of
landmarks that