Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 432
The sound of Axel cursing woke Marya. She groaned
and tried to roll over. Her eyes felt pasted shut, for all that she
had slept badly. Her back seemed to have been remade in the
shape of the stones she had lain on, and the cold had entered
through every chink in the blanket.
Axel was using some language Marya didn’t know, but it
was plain he was upset. Too bad; but couldn’t he be quieter
about it?
"Damn it, get up, Mounce! She’s gone!"
Marya opened her eyes. Grey clouds had taken over the
sky while she slept. The fire was out. She levered himself up
on one elbow, fought a wave of dizziness, and blinked at two
horses where there should be three. The beasts were staring at
Axel wide-eyed.
"She snuck off! I can’t believe this! What a bitch!
‘We’ll talk about it in the morning.’ Ha! She never could trust
anything past her own nose. Damn damn damn damn!" He
kicked the log he’d sat on last night, then kicked it again twice
as hard. "I’ll crack her skull, I’ll, I’ll boil her alive! Damned,
arrogant..." he groped for words.
Marya tried to say, "We can probably catch her," but her
voice came out as a croak. Damn this planet! Every bone in
her body ached, as if she were a tree slowly freezing up with
the onset of winter. And her skin--it itched from the fabric
touching her as if a thousand fire ants were biting her.
Axel made a chopping motion with his hand. "To hell
with her. We’ll find Jordan. We know where she’s going.
She’s going to face down Armiger herself. Of all the
arrogant..." Again, he seemed to lose his vocabulary. He
switched languages, maybe to disguise the hurt tone that had
crept into his voice.
Marya levered herself up. Axel had started jamming