a somewhat smaller version of the city, only without…anything.”
People on the outside didn’t understand how anyone survived here with the lack of modern conveniences, the isolation, and the harshness of the land, the oddness of the Corsovians.
But to us, Corsov was paradise. The cities were the deadlands. The cities would quickly kill these people.
Us.
I gave a silent laugh at including myself among the people and in the place I’d said goodbye to long ago. I’d gone to the city to make my fortune, which I’d done, and I’d left the life of outlaws and living off the land far behind.
I’d left the peace behind.
Right now I was about as far from peaceful as I could get, but that wasn’t Corsov’s fault. I’d realized I was done for as we’d walked Corsov and I’d stood behind Krey like a hulking, dangerous beast while he’d practically skipped along exclaiming over every plant, animal, and person he saw.
My jeqwa wasn’t screwed up. Fate meant for me to be Krey’s protector, mate, provider, and lover. I’d fought, and cursed, and denied, and fate had dragged me kicking and screaming into the truth.
Maybe there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it, but I wasn’t going to admit it. I wasn’t going to accept it. Not yet.
The next night, Krey asked for a bath. I could understand why—all that day he’d been running all over Corsov, getting to know the people and the land. I’d sent two guards with him because I was once again besieged by Corsovians asking me for help.
They brought me lists of needed supplies, names and numbers of family members they wanted me to contact, and demands that I settle grievances they had with their neighbors. Some of them came with complaints that the doctor, an outlaw himself, refused to treat them. It wasn’t his job to do so, not really. Still, those who lived in Corsov believed that everyone should pull his weight, whether he wanted to or not.
Usually, I came back to Corsov only two or three times a year, but even with the remoteness and lack of communication with the outside world, they knew who I was. They knew I had more wealth than I knew what to do with, and they believed I owed them. They knew I would help them, and they’d decided long ago that I was their unofficial leader, despite my absence.
“Why do they call it the deadlands?” Krey asked my guards, as they all sat around a blazing fire outside the cabin. I leaned against a tree in the shadows and watched. “It’s lovely here.”
I sighed. What boy said things like “lovely?” What street kid talked like that? I imagined he’d had his ass kicked a lot growing up. Other boys would have taken offense at his dainty…everything.
“Because there’s no technology,” Bo told him. “There’s no restaurants or shops or lights or law. No heat or air conditioning. And when it’s cold, Corsov is a miserable fucking place. I mean in the dead of winter, not this little bit of chill. You have to break the ice to carry water. Food is scarce. People have no entertainment. The two pubs often run out of liquor, and for the alcoholics among us, that’s some miserable shit.”
They all laughed at that. The outlaws of Corsov did like their drink.
“That doesn’t mean the land is bad,” Krey scoffed. “The city is shit, sure, but out here…” He sighed, then continued. “It’s cold everywhere. On the city streets, before Ilen took us in, my brother and I used to…” The light in his eyes faded and he let the words trail off.
I felt a tightening in my gut as sorrow for the kid he’d been washed over me.
“Oh, but this land is bad,” Graez picked up, when Krey didn’t continue. “And it’s not unusual for it to kill people. There are swamps men get trapped in. Sometimes you’ll find a man lying dead on the cold ground and never know what killed him. Sometimes the wild animals get him.”
“People get caught in bogs,” Grathus told him. “Some of the land is dotted with quicksand. There are pits you don’t see until you fall into them. Wild and feral animals roam, and they will not hesitate to eat you. There are bonetraps that were built long, long ago and sometimes we stumble upon one and find a pile of old—or not so old—bones at the bottom.” He leaned forward and Krey recoiled, his eyes wide. “Stay here