Rielle nodded. “Thank you.” She opened her mouth to express her wish that she could offer them something in return, but into Baluka’s mind sprang a warning that it would be an insult to suggest the Travellers’ hospitality might have a price. So she groped for something else to say. “When do you leave for the next world?”
“We leave tonight, as soon as we are packed and ready.” As the older man looked around the circle of people, Rielle glanced at Baluka. He was frowning, and his thoughts were not so easy to read as before, but she picked up enough to know that this decision had only been recently made, nobody in the family was happy about it, and while he didn’t know why it had been made he was sure she was the reason for it. They would not usually hurry to find a stray a home. But then, they didn’t usually find lost people in uninhabited worlds.
Even so, he suspected something was being kept from him. That immediately made her uneasy. He looked at her and his frown vanished.
Don’t worry, Rielle. It’s probably nothing more than that they don’t want me getting too attached to you. The words were as clear as speech in his mind, but behind them she detected a quieter thought. Since I’m supposed to marry a Traveller…
She hid a smile and looked away. He was attracted to her. In a family like this it must be impossible to hide such feelings. It’s flattering, she mused. And he is handsome, in his way. Quite different to Izare… She quickly smothered that thought. It was inconsiderate to compare him to her former lover, though she wasn’t sure if she could ever consider a man’s looks without comparing them to her first love.
Baluka had turned his attention to the people around them, who were now getting to their feet and dusting off the sand on their clothes. All set about various tasks and responsibilities with no apparent instruction from Lejikh or anyone else. The canopy was taken down, mats were dusted off and stowed in the carts, and the fire doused with sand.
Yet she did not have to read minds to see the annoyance and tension in their gestures and faces, no matter how unhurried and practised their movements. As Baluka led her back to his mother’s wagon she resisted the temptation to reach out to them with her mind. Whatever the reason for the Travellers leaving tonight, it was clear they were unhappy about it.
CHAPTER 7
Huge, slow-moving animals had been brought from behind the far side of the ring of wagons. The beasts stood as tall as a man at the shoulder, short, thick necks supporting heads so large they could easily fit a human’s within their jaws. Their legs were muscular, their callused toes splayed wide to bear their weight. Hide the colour of dried water reeds contrasted with a line of trimmed dark hair standing up like coarse paintbrush bristles, beginning at the nose, parting where a stumpy, striped horn protruded from between the ears, and running along the spine to a comically small tail.
They were “lom”, Baluka told her, and while their main function was to pull the wagons, their milk was used in cooking and hair turned to good uses. The two lom Ankari had guided into place before her wagon were strapped either side of a central shaft. Together, their shoulders, bellies and rumps were almost wider than the wagon.
They smelled like earth and dung, and something else Rielle couldn’t identify. She kept her distance as the rest of the Travellers guided animals into wagon harnesses, noting that the children were unafraid but kept well clear of the animals’ huge feet.
The youngsters were in smaller groups now, parents keeping them close as they prepared to leave. Looking around, she noted which adults the children joined, and the groups assigned to each wagon. She counted four families, plus one young and two older couples, and a pair of young men who shared a wagon between them. A few of the older family members tended to a couple of wagons that did not appear to house anyone and two carts loaded with barrels and crates.
Once the lom were in place the Travellers tightened the ring of wagons until the nose of each lom almost touched the vehicle in front. Then all gathered in the centre in a circle around Lejikh. Rielle found herself standing between Baluka and Ankari.
“All are present,” Lejikh said after a slow turn to survey the whole group. “We travel to Kezel next. Any questions or warnings?”
None answered. As Lejikh moved to join the circle each Traveller reached out to the person on their left side and placed a hand on a shoulder or upper arm. Rielle felt Baluka take hold of her arm. She placed a hand on Ankari’s shoulder. The woman smiled.
Now all were reaching back with their free hand to grasp some part of the wagon behind them or press a palm on a lom’s hide. The wheel of a wagon was behind her, so Rielle took hold of it and turned back to see what would happen next.
When all were still Lejikh looked around the group, then nodded. “The time to travel has come. Speak up if you are unready.”