A Girl From Nowhere (The Firewall Trilogy #1) - James Maxwell Page 0,1

on the opposite side of the sky. Taimin’s father had tied off the rope around the broad hermit cactus, which explained why Taimin had stopped moving. As Taimin wriggled out of his harness, he looked in the direction his parents were watching but saw nothing. He then noticed something that caused a lump of fear to form in his stomach.

Gareth, a lean man with gray threads in his black hair, had drawn his sword. Tess’s left hand gripped her bow and she had an arrow nocked to the string. The obsidian arrowhead glinted in the morning light.

Taimin couldn’t tell what his parents were thinking. Were they just being wary? Was there real danger?

“Are you sure they’re humans?” Gareth asked Tess. Taimin thought his father sounded more excited than scared.

“I’m sure,” Tess said. “They’re riding wherries.”

“By the rains, people . . . How long has it been?”

Tess looked over her shoulder at her son. “Taimin, coil the rope and pack up the harness. Then go and hide behind one of the big boulders until we call you out.”

“What about the eggs?” Taimin asked. “We still don’t have any.”

“Forget the eggs,” Gareth said. “Do as your mother says.”

Taimin felt a thrill even as he unwound the rope from the hermit cactus. People! He had never seen other people, only his mother, father, and Aunt Abi. What would they be like? His father seemed confident, but looking at his mother, Taimin sensed her uncertainty and wished his aunt were here.

“Should I go and fetch Aunt Abi?” he asked. “She was going to join us.”

“There’s no time,” Tess said.

“They’ll certainly want to trade. Don’t worry.” Gareth glanced back at Taimin. “Your aunt will get to meet them soon enough.”

“They’re approaching,” Tess said. “What are they doing so close to the firewall?”

Taimin wondered if he was supposed to hide now. But he wanted to see the people. His mother said they were riding wherries. Taimin hadn’t known people could ride wherries.

He turned toward one of the stacked red boulders dotting the landscape. Then he forgot all about his instructions to hide as he heard the rumble of heavy feet pound the earth. Two broad-shouldered men came forward; with the yellow sun behind their backs they appeared as black shadows astride four-legged creatures. They reined in a short distance from Taimin’s parents, before one of them kicked his wherry forward.

“We meet in peace,” the nearest stranger said.

“Trade brings civilization to the waste,” Gareth said. The words had the quality of a ritual, and Taimin was again curious about all the things he didn’t know. “It’s good to see humans after so long. We haven’t seen people in what . . . five years? Five years at least. What are you, rovers?”

The stranger nodded and made a grunt of assent as he dismounted from the back of his wherry. His shoulders blocked the blinding sun and now Taimin could see his face.

Taimin looked in fascination at the stranger his father had called a rover. The man had white hair, close-cropped, and was younger than Gareth. His features were angular, as if cut from stone, and he was tall, standing much higher than the broad back of his sand-colored mount. The wherry snorted and shook its floppy ears in an attempt to dislodge the reins from the rover’s grip.

Ignoring Taimin completely, the rover gave Gareth and Tess his own inspection. Taimin noticed that his dark eyes were cold and calculating. “Can I call my brother forward?” the rover asked. Without waiting for a reply, he turned and gave a short wave. The second rover dismounted and led his wherry forward.

“Wait,” Tess said. “We haven’t worked out the terms of this meeting.”

The second rover continued to approach.

“Please, tell your brother to wait,” Gareth said.

Taimin focused on the leader’s brother, a man with long blond hair almost as white as the leader’s. He was obviously younger, with a leaner build. His face was tanned to a deep brown.

Gareth and Tess took a step back. Taimin’s fascination became something altogether different as the realization struck him with force: his parents were afraid. Uncertain, Taimin stood just behind them.

“Where is your homestead?” the tall leader asked. “It can’t be far. You don’t have supplies with you. You’ve even brought your brat.” The rover’s eyes flickered to Taimin. The emotionless stare sent a chill up Taimin’s spine. “Thought no one could find you this close to the firewall, did you?”

Gareth and Tess continued to walk slowly backward, never taking their eyes off the