Psychic

6. Hospitality

When they arrived, it was still daylight out. Kiyo was startled from his sleep by the nearby voices of people and the sounds of the wagon being unloaded. The mustached man was careful not to let anyone into the wagon to keep Kiyo's presence a secret. When they were finished, the man suggested Kiyo stay in the back of the wagon until it was dark outside, when no one would see him come out. He did not want anyone knowing that he was the one who brought Kiyo back into the camp.

While Kiyo was alone again, he eavesdropped on conversations happening nearby. Most of them were about repairs being done around the camp. Through a small hole in the sheet covering his wagon, he could see part of the camp. All the homes had been damaged in some way. Some of the caravans were busted open, burnt, had furniture sticking through the walls and others were completely rubble.

"I still can't believe you took so long to come get me." Kiyo instantly recognized Rai's voice nearby. "I could've died, you know!"

"But you didn't, did you?" Lestat teased, elbowing her gently.

"It's the lack of thought that counts."

"Hey, I was dying too."

"Yeah, it's all about you, isn't it?" Rai joked. "'Ugh, I'm dying from a little knife in the gut.' That's you. That's what you sound like."

Kiyo saw Rai and Lestat approach one of the damaged caravans. Several people were already gathered there. He ran both hands back through his long blue hair with a soft groan as he sat down in the wagon and lay back on a bag of flour. He was angry with himself for bothering to look into Lestat. Rai had seemed so ordinary and Lestat had seemed intent only on protecting her. Kiyo could not understand why there was any suspicion on him at all. Tolaymus was so familiar with war, crime and true monsters that he should have realized Lestat was no threat to anyone.

After stirring slowly from his heavy sleep, Kiyo peered through the fabric covering the wagon. It was night already and Korrik was lit with tall torches. Much of the damage to the campsite was still visible by the flickering fires but there was clearly work being done on each of the homes.

Kiyo changed into some clothes the mustached man had left for him. His silk pants and leather boots would have been suspicious. He now had on excessively large pants, ugly brown sandals, a simple cotton shirt, a thick red and brown scarf and a cowl that was so scratchy, he was certain it was a repurposed potato sack.

Before stepping out of the back of the wagon, Kiyo ensured his sword was hidden within his baggy clothing. The cold air from the nearby ocean blew the hood off his head. He pulled it back quickly, scanning the area but there no one was around to see him. He lifted the scarf up over his mouth and nose. He could see a large light coming from the front of the wagon. Holding the hood close to his face, he approached it. There was a fire going in a large metal pit. It was surrounded by tree logs meant to function as seating.

There were a three people nearby quietly discussing the work that had been done and what was left to do. A pair was off closer to the beach but they all seemed disinterested in his presence.

Kiyo sat on one of the logs around the fire pit to wait until he spotted Rai again. A man approached the fire, throwing in a chunk of shattered plywood. He was about to walk away when the sound of Kiyo's stomach growling made him stop.

"You want me to bring you something?" the man asked instantly. "Some sweet rolls?"

"No, it's fine. I... it's fine." Kiyo wanted to eat. At the moment, even the burning wood smelled delicious to him but he was afraid of speaking to anyone other than Rai.

"It's not. Come inside." Since the man was not asking anymore, Kiyo followed him to his caravan without saying anything else.

The caravan he was led into was warm and noisy. There was a huge table with three people sitting down, talking and eating and two young twin boys running around it. There was hardly any room to move, so Kiyo stayed close to the man in front of him.