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Shadow's Son by Shirley Meier, S.M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein ...

Shadow's Son by Shirley Meier, S.M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein ...

Shadow's Son by Shirley Meier, S.M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein ...

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Fifty, they'd bought, which also meant finding six more people who both wanted to join the Yeoli army<br />

<strong>and</strong> herd on the way there for board, not to mention two herd-dogs. And Shkai'ra's mount's favorite<br />

meat happened to be horse, of which every horse from near Ri country with a sense of smell was aware.<br />

At least with all the mounts to switch, they could move fast. All armies were horse-hungry. It would<br />

finance the trip.<br />

She dropped behind the herd <strong>and</strong> waited for Shkai'ra to catch up; her horse was Yeoli, didn't truly<br />

underst<strong>and</strong> what a Ri was <strong>and</strong> so was only somewhat dangerously nervous near it. Against the sore<br />

places on her rear, dust had worked its way into the folds of cloth; her calves <strong>and</strong> thighs screamed.If I<br />

could still grip with my legs, I'd be fine. As it is, those muscles just will not work . Hotblood's paws<br />

hit the dust of the road with ashduf-puff sound, softer than a horse's hoof.She makes riding look so<br />

fish-gutted easy … "You're not fooling anybody,kh'eeredo , least of all her," the Kommanza said<br />

blithely, flowing along with her mount, nodding at Megan's. Her eyes laughed. "Justrelax !"<br />

"I know."Her <strong>and</strong> her Koru-forsaken beasts. Give me a good river-ship any day . Megan risked<br />

sparing a h<strong>and</strong> to wipe dust out of her eyes <strong>and</strong> look ahead to Thara-e. Her animal suddenly decided to<br />

move sideways <strong>and</strong> dumped her on her behind in the road.Coincidence, obviously. Shit .<br />

Shkai'ra leaned over Hotblood's withers, guffawing. Hotblood stretched his neck <strong>and</strong> hissed; she got the<br />

feeling he was laughing too. Her faithful mare trotted happily off to the herd ahead.<br />

She heard Tema's shrill voice up ahead, talking to one of the others. "Cahn I try riding? Just forrh a bit?<br />

Cahn I, cahn I, pleeeeeease?"<br />

Guttersnipe. Megan brushed off her pants <strong>and</strong> started walking.<br />

"Come up, pillion." It was Shkai'ra, leaning over in the saddle <strong>and</strong> extending a h<strong>and</strong> down to her; Megan<br />

bit back the thought that the Kommanza was being patronizing <strong>and</strong> accepted a pull up. "We should be<br />

closing up soon; bathe, set up the tent, <strong>and</strong> I'll give you a rub with liniment." Hotblood rolled an eye back<br />

at her. "Carrion-breath here says he still thinks we're being followed."<br />

Megan leaned against Shkai'ra's arm, side-saddle, trying to find a position that didn't rub any aching<br />

spots, sneezing at Hotblood's odor. "It's probably that caravan that's a ways behind. He thought the same<br />

thing a while ago <strong>and</strong> it was just them. Koru, I'd kill for a bath."<br />

They were in the ruins of Thara-e already, it seemed; Megan wasn't used to cities with no definite<br />

boundaries like walls. The Yeolis had thought this one was far enough inl<strong>and</strong> not to need them. It had<br />

been wood. Sacked <strong>and</strong> burned last year, snowed <strong>and</strong> rained on since. At least there'd been no battle to<br />

liberate it; apparently Chevenga had sent ahead a small force to catch the Arkan governor sneaking out<br />

of the city with the war-chest, killed him, then bribed five thous<strong>and</strong> of the Arkan soldiers into deserting<br />

<strong>and</strong> the general into surrendering. With their own gold—the merchant in Megan snickered.<br />

"They've been diligent, for the numbers of h<strong>and</strong>s they have left," she said to Shkai'ra.<br />

"la." The Kommanza nodded at the new wood <strong>and</strong> Arkan-brick houses ahead. "Roads smoothed out,<br />

fields cleaned up…"<br />

"Those fields are being tended <strong>by</strong> everyone who can walk." Oldsters sat <strong>and</strong> weeded or turned the earth<br />

<strong>by</strong> h<strong>and</strong> as far as they could reach, because the horses <strong>and</strong> oxen were gone with the army, or eaten;<br />

toddlers worked, directed <strong>by</strong> their parents. They knew they'd have to farm to eat, war or no war.

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