Stealing Into Winter. Graeme Talboys K.

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СКАЧАТЬ thing. It was hard enough feeding one person, especially since the invasion. Now she had eight more, one of them a god. Not much of a god, she thought, if he needs my help. He had tried to explain, breaking off now and then to question Darlit Fen. As far as Jeniche could make out, Gyan Mi’s many lives were a test. To be a good god he must live his lives here as a good man and a good woman. He had confessed to her in a whisper that he often felt as confused about it as she looked. It had made her smile even if it didn’t help much. How did that happen, she wondered. How had she been stuck with all those Tunduri? When did saving one confer the obligation to shelter and feed eight?

      When she got to the nearest bakery, Pollet was closing up. He gave the merest flick of his head toward the door and Jeniche slipped inside. Heat hit from the ovens, heady with the scent of baking bread.

      ‘Haven’t seen you in a while,’ he said when the door was bolted.

      Jeniche shrugged. ‘It’s been… complicated.’

      ‘That’s one word for it.’ He looked at her warily for a moment. ‘You heard about Wedol?’

      She felt her heart sink. ‘Can’t be good news, can it?’

      ‘Sorry.’

      She spent a moment remembering his shy grin, the shared pastries, the shared moments in the early hours in the yard at the rear of the shop, telling herself she was not going to cry any more. ‘How’s Bolmit taken it? I seem to remember he was in a foul mood when I saw him a while back.’

      ‘I haven’t seen him since that bloodbath a few days ago. And his place is closed up and the ovens are cold.’

      Jeniche shook her head, jaws clamped on a sob. She blew out a long breath and wiped a sleeve across her eyes. ‘Have you got any bread?’

      ‘The batch that’s in is nearly ready. Our new masters will be round to collect it later.’ His face pulled into an emphatic expression of disgust. ‘But they get short measures, so there’s always a bit spare for friends. You go through to the back. My old dumpling will be pleased to see you.’

      For once, she had enjoyed being mothered by Pollet’s wife. She smiled to herself as she watched the street from the archway. A breath-expelling hug, followed by a proper meal sitting down at a table can work wonders. Especially when you get a sack of provisions as a parting gift.

      To her left, the backs of soldiers. To her right, a long straight alley without any more doorways in which to hide. She waited, keeping tight hold of the sack, listening to the murmur of their voices.

      Her sense of well-being was eroding as she stood. It was a long way back to the university. She had a heavy sack. And judging by the lack of people about, the curfew had started.

      She could be tucked away somewhere safe. There were plenty of empty houses in the city now. Somewhere with a few books, she thought. That would be good. A bed. Food. But you never got what you wanted. Something else always came along and took that away as it pushed you in a different direction.

      The soldiers had gone when she looked again. Having missed them move, she had no idea if they had marched away or sauntered just out of sight. But she couldn’t stand there all night. At least if they caught her now, she could claim she was slowed down by her provisions.

      Without looking back, she strode along the alley with a steady pace. At the far end was another road, narrow and deserted. Once across she would be into a maze of twisting alleys, courtyards, and cellars.

      Half way to safety, her mind wandering ahead to the problems awaiting her beneath the university, a shout filled the empty space. Startled, she turned. The weight of the sack threw her off balance and she staggered. The sight of No-nose lumbering toward her followed by soldiers made her find her balance again. And run.

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