Engines & Demons - The Undestined

Chapter 5ii

So, this one goes to MissBookNut, for all her recent reads and comments, despite the crowded nature of her Reading Lists.If you haven't done so already, check out her work; Constantine: Daughter of war. Her characters have a certain depth to them, which makes them truly arresting. My favourite aspect so far has to be the emotionally complex relationship that Constantine shares with her father. 

And it's a story with a twist in the end. See if you can figure out what it is.

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Dak followed Maddock back round the square, and the two of them carefully skirted the four madriel that were dozing beneath the shade of the cherossa tree. The largest of them, lying in the deepest shade, was Sacsensa, Pride-commander Galder's steed. Dak had seen him many times before, when her father had been fitting him for his armour. As she passed, she again noted the scary scimitar-like curve of his horns and the paleness of his hide, with its network of old scars. The riding saddle that crowned his back was a fine piece of work, constructed by Engineer Brovich. It was made of the best karabok hide and decorated with precious scarab thread, though she noted that it was coated in the dust of travel.

The other large male, which must have been Sir Nathalle's steed, was younger, its hide still with its deep gloss, the pattern so symmetrical as to be near perfect. The other two were younger still, and had laid themselves furthest from the cherossa's trunk.

As she and Maddock rounded the tree, two boys, dressed in squire's livery of Vikas burgundy, crossed the square in front of them. One of the boys, thick set and wearing a sour expression, slowed when he saw them, changed direction, and with a casual deliberateness, barged his weight into Maddock's shoulder, causing him to stumble in a half circle.

"Watch where you are going, borak dung!" the boy spat over his shoulder.

The other squire sniggered.

Dak saw Maddock scowl, but the squires ignored him and continued on their way.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"Commander Galder's new squire," replied Maddock, flexing his shoulder. "Tasker."

He spat on the floor and then turned away, giving her no further comment. Dak, seeing her friend's angry features, had no wish to pry.

"Let's go see the hamabirds," he said.

As they passed Commander Galder and the farm's Superintendent, they were discussing jepsil roots. The sound of the superintendent's ineffectual objections grew quieter as they climbed the narrow lane next to the tavern, which curved uphill between the dwelling houses. The houses were simply built, with a stone lower floor that burrowed into the hillside, and a wooden upper. They were sparsely made and had no adornment or outward sign of prosperity, no ostentatious decoration of metalwork on the doors or curtains in the windows. Still, they had been built by Engineers, and Dak was happy to see that no quality had been spared in their construction.

The lane wound its way up the slope above the oast houses. Maddock climbed quickly, so by the time they reached the first bridge that crossed over the northern water stair, Dak was already puffing with the exertion of the climb. She leant on the bridge's parapet with both hands and stared down into the stone faced trench below the bridge, so that she could catch her breath. As she watched the square wooden buckets pass beneath her, with their cargo of water from the orchard, she wished she could be carried up the slope so easily.