Shadow and Bone

“Back to Kribirsk,” replied Ivan. “We’ll travel faster with
less weight.”
“You look heavier than she does,” I muttered.
“Put on the kefta,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because it’s made with Materialki corecloth. It can
withstand rifle fire.”
I stared at him. Was that even possible? There were stories
of Grisha withstanding direct gunshots and surviving what
should have been fatal wounds. I’d never taken them seriously,
but maybe Fabrikator handiwork was the truth behind those
peasant tales.
“Do you all wear this stuff?” I asked as I pulled on the kefta.
“When we’re in the field,” said an oprichnik. I nearly
jumped. It was the first time either of the guards had spoken.
“Just don’t get shot in the head,” Ivan added with a
condescending grin.
I ignored him. The kefta was far too large. It felt soft and
unfamiliar, the fur lining warm against my skin. I chewed my
lip. It didn’t seem fair that oprichniki and Grisha wore
corecloth while ordinary soldiers went without. Did our
officers wear it, too?
The coach picked up speed. In the time it had taken for the
Healer to do her work, dusk had begun to fall and we had left
Kribirsk behind. I leaned forward, straining to see out the
window, but the world outside was a twilight blur. I felt tears
threatening again and blinked them back. A few hours ago, I’d
been a frightened girl on my way into the unknown, but at
least I’d known who and what I was. With a pang, I thought of
the Documents Tent. The other surveyors might be at their
work right now. Would they be mourning Alexei? Would they
be talking about me and what had happened on the Fold?
I clutched the crumpled army-issue coat I had bundled up
on my lap. Surely this all had to be a dream, some crazy
hallucination brought on by the terrors of the Shadow Fold. I