We stepped on a creaky wooden ptform, hot air blowing from the locomotive's chimney into our faces. I lowered my hat brim over my eyes. Omedura was the provincial capital, and therefore a real city, with cobblestone streets and factories and whole blocks of many-storied buildings and the Governor's Pace that went ignored unless Melibe went on a holiday with his mistress du jour. Mind you, a city of only thirty thousand people or so. Which puts the rest of the province in scale.

  We still had a box of perfectly good leftovers spelled for coldness in my bundle, but we might as well save those for ter. After all, I wasn't hard-pressed for money. What an unusual feeling that was.

  Something else I wasn't used to: I traveled with a Sabrewing on a mission, and the station crew practically fell over themselves promising to look over Valentino's motorcycle till evening.

  "Sorry for the dey, Your Excellency." Valentino fell into step with me, adjusting his brisk strides to my pace.

  "Don't worry. Watch out, these tiles can be slippery." The Omedura station was far rger and fancier than ours, as you'd expect, with a ceiling of crystal arches and a bunch of palm trees pnted all around it for some inexplicable reason. They even had a real fountain, though its water was an illusion. That stupid babbling got in my nerves.

  "Where shall we have lunch?"

  "Well, the station cafeteria's food is good and it's right here."

  "Then I'll have what Your Excellency's having."

  Just like on Wednesday night, I thought I wasn't hungry until I sat at the bar and my stomach stirred itself awake. Lapping was the day's special. I hadn't had any in so long, and all of a sudden I just had to try it again. It was as if a part of me feared this would be the st time.

  I mean, it wasn't exactly an unfounded fear.

  As we waited for our lunch to arrive, we sipped cold golden beer, probably too light for the meal I'd ordered, but too refreshing for me to care, especially when sitting in the shadowy gallery with a cool breeze coming in from the city

  "Is this lma too?" Valentino lifted a slice of fried meat.

  "Beef." Deliciously crispy and juicy beef, with a side of veggies and k'allu. I sliced out a forkful of boiled potato in its skin and dipped it into the ljwa. The potato tasted ever so slightly chalky, and the sauce, as I expected, wasn't spicy enough. Still good, though. I stabbed and dipped some fava beans next. Ever so slightly creamy, and the ljwa matched them better. Valentino hadn't touched them, instead devoting himself to the corn-in-the-cob.

  "I'll trade you my corn-on-the-cob for your beans," I said.

  "If that's what Your Excellency wants."

  "Good, good." I quickly swept his beans on to my pte and pced my corn-on-the-cob in their pce. "Those little hairs always get stuck on my teeth."

  In fact, I liked corn-in-the-cob as much as beans. It's just that I was used to doing little things so that my companions would like me—especially wealthy older men, though it was useful for all sorts of people to like me. Little things are best, 'cause they aren't easily noticed. And they pile up fast, and the other person starts associating me with a pleasant feeling without even realizing.

  You could say I didn't have to bother making Valentino like me. It made no difference, right? He was just doing his job. But I didn't feel safe trusting only on his fear of the Megarchon. Or loyalty to the Megarchon, if he was truly loyal. I was going to keep myself safe, thank you very much.

  Our next train wouldn't leave till six thirty—officially, so we'd be lucky if we'd left by nine. Still, it's always a bad idea to rely on the teness of trains. They can always decide to leave in time just to spite you. For the time being, we walked across the station and watched the birds diving bravely into the crowd for crumbs. We shredded a couple of k'ispi?as out of the way as an offering for them.

  Here they had glyptos to help transport cargo, slow but incredibly strong. They stared into the distance with eyes sunken into their ft furry faces, looking as if they'd already seen everything there was to see. You shouldn't lower your guard around glyptos, though—their tails can whip out so fast your leg'll be broken before you see them coming. They're tame, not dumb.

  Though Omedura was a proper city, it still had a small crowd of suntanned children scampering barefoot all over the pce, especially around the huge resting steel dragons.

  "When I was their age," I told Valentino, "I also used to watch the trains come and go, when I could. Life around here must sound real boring to you."

  He shrugged, then suddenly rushed up to the children, who had crowded on the rails right in front of a train. "Hey, don't stand there! Haven't your parents told you it's dangerous?"

  The children all flurried away.

  I caught up to Valentino and called at the escaping nestlings. I didn't want their afternoon to be ruined with fear of my guardian, that's all. Most of them stopped at a safe distance to look back in curiosity, and even the ones who ran off could be seen poking their heads around a warehouse corner.

  "The kind mister is right," I said. "You should never stand in front of a train, even when it's stopped, and you never should py in the rails. I bet your parents have told you this and you don't listen."

  The diminutive brigade stared at the ground and kicked at the dust, not wanting to admit I'd gotten it pretty much right. Then, a particurly brave kid pointed at me. "Mister, what's the other mister to you?"

  "Why, he's my boyfriend. Why do you ask? If you want a boyfriend, you've gotta find someone else!"

  The children giggled. The brave one hid among the others, suddenly bashful. We distributed the st of our pasankal among them. After graciously accepting this offering in their grimy hands, they scattered away shouting and ughing, hopefully headed for less dangerous grounds.

  "And leave the glyptos alone, do you hear?" I called after them.

  Valentino raised his eyebrows at me. "Your Excellency's boyfriend?"

  "Yeah, well," I said. "It's better if they don't know what's going on. Don't you think?"

  "Certainly, Your Excellency."

  "Hey, you're not to bme."

  Dark clouds gathered in the northeast, across the vast pins; ahead of us were clear skies. Already you could see the Twin Tepuy in the horizon, two small mounds of bright green rising over the golden-brown pin.

  "Looks like we'll race ahead of the storm," Valentino said.

  "Guess it could go elsewhere, but when are we ever so lucky?"

  "Indeed, Your Excellency."

  I didn't trust him any better than I did when he'd thrown those Tekitekis around, but it's hard to constantly be on your guard around someone, especially when you're traveling together and don't spend a single waking moment apart. It's easier to just be friendly.

  "So is this your first time in Omedura?" Remember, we were only going to High Tomenedra because I'd requested it. He'd likely come to El Meandro from the southwest, a more direct trip.

  "Yeah. Anypce Your Excellency recommends?"

  "Honestly, the men who take me pces are all middle-aged. I don't wanna make you feel old."

  "Younger men don't pay?"

  "Not for someone who looks like me." I stuck my hands on my pockets. "When it comes to lower css guys, they want a guy who can throw them around and look like it. Y'know, someone like you."

  "Oh, naturally."

  Yeah, he would know.

  "Well, I'm not compining. I don't need to hustle for a living, so I can be a bit picky. The guys I'm talking about ain't so much into buying sex. They like taking someone younger and cute out for dinner and maybe a py. Someone who'll listen to them go on about their boring jobs and look impressed. It's perfectly legal so don't make a fuss, will you?"

  "Oh, no. Your Excellency has nothing to worry about. Eighty per cent of my job is keeping an eye on the people you speak of."

  Ants crawled in my stomach; thankfully my face showed nothing. The Lemarezins and their younger lovers were my least favorite conversation topic. This was happening more and more often, and it didn't seem likely the situation would improve as we reached the capital. Last night had gotten unpleasant in the end, too.

  The thought Vanth naked, stroking himself with heavy-lidded eyes, came up to me. That part of st night I hadn't minded at all. Maybe next time would be better.

  Next time. What a weird thought. I might even be getting used to the idea.

  "Of course you won't find those lofty folks over here," I said. "More like salespeople, low-ranking functionaries, and so on. Not the kind of person who gets an honor guard. Anyway, we should go find a room and shower. Then you can rest till siesta hour is over."

  Valentino followed me along the tracks. "I don't mind it. My duty is to follow Your Excellency anywhere."

  "True, but I shouldn't overwork you."

  "All I ask is that Your Excellency doesn't leave my sight. In the current circumstances, that wouldn't be advisable."

  "Don't worry, I don't want to be left alone either. I'm not trusting the necromancer not to attack me by daylight."

  I didn't tell him there might be more than one person after my life, though.

  We were approaching the city center, a blindingly white avenue with even taller palm trees, and I was thinking more about a nice shower than about my surroundings, so it took me by surprise when Valentino grabbed me and shoved both of us into a lintel's shadow. He'd cmped a hand over my mouth, though he didn't have to worry—I couldn't even react.

  I poked Valentino's arm. He released me without looking away from the avenue. A crowd was gathering: already a couple dozen people. They were dressed like regur workers, but had the bearing of bck market toughs. Of course I was acquainted with them. It's a thriving economy. Looks like the Melibes cracked down on the bck market before it started threatening their bottom line, but they were too zy to ensure it stayed gone. Guards would generally look the other way in those situations, but that's as far as they'd go. So you could make good money working security there, as long as you were ready to run from the next inevitable crackdown.

  What had brought them out into the main avenue in pin afternoon, though?

  Valentino held my arm, firmly but gently, and started backing me away. They hadn't seen us.

  "What's wrong with them?" I whispered. No way I was going to admit I recognized the bck market crowd. I didn't care if Valentino believed me or not. "You think they're looking for me?"

  "I won't let Your Excellency cross that street. We'll take a different path."

  "Surely they wouldn't attack a Sabrewing." Two or three dozen against one is a pretty safe bet, but there's no way you can attack one of them without summoning a whole squad next. And if they somehow could beat them too, which I didn't believe for a second—the Megarchon would come next. Nobody wants the Megarchon to come around. Nobody.

  "Only if they think they can get away with it." Valentino steered us into the nearest alley. Though the streets seemed to be almost as vacant as the ones in El Meandro, he pushed me into someone's doorstep again. A couple of regur teenagers crossed the street ahead, too carefree to even look in our direction.

  I wanted to tell him they wouldn't—but those Tekitekis had done it just yesterday, hadn't they? Twice in as many days? And you could argue the Tekitekis hadn't sworn an oath to the Megarchon, so they had less to lose than the rest of us. But the bck market toughs had a pretty good thing right then. Why would they risk everything?

  What did they know that I didn't?

  I couldn't really argue with Valentino's paranoia. In part because, well, what did he know that I didn't?

  "Can Your Excellency summon His Illustrious Highness?" he asked.

  "Theoretically. I haven't done it intentionally before." And I wasn't sure if I wanted Vanth there. What if the situation escated out of control? What if Valentino had gotten it wrong after all? "Don't you think we can get away without them finding out?"

  "I think they know we're here."

  "Really? How?"

  Valentino wasn't offended by the clear skepticism all over my face. "Someone must've seen us—seen my uniform—at the station. It could've been anybody. We weren't trying to keep a low profile."

  "But they didn't attack us at the station. Maybe they're trying to make it seem like an accident."

  "By gathering in the city center in the middle of the afternoon?"

  "Well, can you expin why didn't they attack us while we were having lunch?" Valentino couldn't answer, so I continued. "What if we stick to the station? Maybe they'll just leave us alone." This time, though, he didn't look convinced. Guess I couldn't bme him. "And, and, if they really do attack us I'll summon His Illustrious Highness."

  "Very well."

  And if they attacked us, who was going to keep me safe while I summoned Vanth? Valentino, of course. No wonder he'd rather attack first.

  Couldn't I find a way to keep both of us safe? As safe as possible, anyway?

  "What if we stay somewhere out of the way until our train arrives?" I asked. "They may even think we left, or that someone had seen wrong."

  For some reason, I thought Valentino would want to argue, but he just nodded. I even think he looked a bit relieved.

  "Lead the way, Your Excellency."

  "I don't think hiding in the shadows is the right idea," I added, encouraged. "People don't pay attention to white uniforms. You've gotta remove your badge and cap feather though."

  Valentino pocketed his badge and the whole cap. He followed me just as he'd done most of the st couple of days, but I made sure not to walk ahead, so that anybody watching wouldn't notice I was picking our way. It wasn't too long before the streets we traveled became narrower, the colorful adobe buildings older and creakier, the trash more plentiful. Though it's true I was just familiar enough with Omedura to take us there fast, it's also true the city was kind of a somewhat polished dump. At least the streets were cobbled.

  Of course we couldn't go unnoticed all the way—even if the streets had been truly empty, you never know how many neighbors could be spying behind their curtains. Again. Not that anybody really paid us any attention, not even the small children pying at the shade of a nearby tree.

  Could Valentino be right, though? Had somebody seen us at the station and told the bck market toughs a Sabrewing had come around? And who could that be?

  Who had we talked to? The helpful station crew, the waiting staff at the station cafeteria—those little kids at the rail tracks—the families in the train, even.

  Thinking like that, you could drive yourself crazy before you even realized it. No wonder guards were messed up. No wonder everybody in the capital was messed up.

  When we reached the back stairs of an apartment building very much like the others, I stopped and checked the peeling green paint, the slightly rusty and bent iron garbage can, and especially the espinillo in front. I always liked seeing those trees around. They make cities just a little bit friendlier. Anyway, this was the right pce.

  I went up the back stairs, followed by Valentino's heavier steps, until I reached the right-hand door on the fourth floor. Someone had gotten real greedy with this apartment building: these rooms didn't really have a front door. You could only access them from the back. I knocked.

  The door swung open. On the other side was a man pushing fifty, short and stocky. His dark hair, long and tied back, was only beginning to grey. You could mistake him for a tanned white guy. "Oh, Azul. Why so soon? Not that I mind."

  I whispered even lower. "It's an emergency. I'll expin, just let us in."

  His mouth pressed itself into a thin line when he saw Valentino, but he moved aside and let us in. And locked the door after us.

  As usual, a vague scent hovered on the air, as if it had seeped into the bricks: something like alcohol and weed and sex. Though I suspect it was already like that when the test tenant moved in: the whole building seemed to be pretty much the same. Valentino stood unmoving, as if he was afraid of knocking something down. Not that you could accuse this room of being overly ostentatious: though kitchen, dining room, and living room at once, it was fairly spare. And everything it did contain was almost as old and worn as my own belongings back home—but I'd rather not think about it. I didn't want to get nostalgic.

  "Sargeant Vargas," I said, "this is Torres."

  Torres leaned on the wall, looking at Valentino as if a weird fungus had suddenly sprouted in his apartment. He wore a dark blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Didn't look half bad, but this wasn't the time.

  "Didn't you say you'd expin?" he asked. "Expin."

  "I'm expining. Sargeant Vargas is escorting me to the capital. Looks like some people don't want me to get there."

  "That's not much of an expnation, isn't it?"

  "We'll stay in your pce till our train comes." I searched on my bundle. "Here, take this for your trouble."

  I gave him a check. He gnced at it and managed not to hit the floor. Not that Torres would kick me outta his apartment in a time of need, no matter how much he wanted to, but for that much money I think he would've hidden a whole squad of Sabrewings on the bathroom. They'd be real cramped though.

  "I'm sorry." Torres slipped the check on a tin can with the word "Sugar" embzoned on the side and sat at the small round table. I sat too. Valentino remained standing by the wall, facing the door. "Who in the world would threaten one of Her Magnificence's guards?" He gave Valentino an assessing look. "And seeing how Sargeant Vargas—is that right?—isn't from around here, I'm going to say he's not a regur guard either."

  Valentino fshed Torres his badge. Torres just frowned and said nothing.

  "I think I get what's going on," I said, tracing the faded green stripes on the tablecloth with a finger. Trying to find an argument against Valentino's wild suspicions, I'd gotten to the opposite conclusion.

  It's what people call intuition. Your conscious mind hasn't made the right connections yet, but you have all the facts. They're all scrambled though. But a part of you has figured out what's going on. Valentino, being a bodyguard, was used to making decisions on a split second. I guess he'd developed his intuition as much as his muscles, because everything made sense.

  Someone knocked at the door; this time, I was the one who almost fell to the floor. "Open up!"

  "Fuck off!" Torres said.

  About four or five people were silhouetted against the window curtains. "You have visitors, don't you?"

  Torres raised his eyebrows at me. I shook my head.

  Valentino came up to me. I stood up and quietly slipped behind him..

  Torres nodded his head toward the bedroom door. "I don't accept any visitors and that means you."

  Valentino and me slid to the bedroom, stepping softly.

  broccolifloret