Nano 6

‘You can follow the road here, and then cut across this loopy bit where the river is, before turning left and taking a shortcut through these woods,’ Jonas said as he traced the route on the crudely drawn map with a pencil. Iris reached over and picked up the piece of crumpled paper.

‘Yeah, but are you sure that the river won’t be flooded now, what with the extra rain and everything?’ She held up the paper, but the sunlight was too weak for her to see anything special.

‘I dunno. Your dad thought it would be a good route,’ Jonas said, shrugging. He tucked the pencil behind an ear and lay down on the grass. ‘We’ve used this route quite a few times earlier this year. We’ll pass lots of small towns and villages, and business would be good in those places.’

‘I see.’ She handed back the paper and added, ‘But still – I’m worried about the river. It’s shallow there; people usually use that bit of the river as a crossing, but we’ve had warnings before that the river tends to flood over in that place.’

‘Do you think it’ll really flood over at this time?’ Jonas rolled over on his tummy and propped his chin on his ink-stained hands. ‘Right. I’ll talk to your dad then, and see what he thinks about this. I’ve got to hand in the reports anyway.’

‘And I’ve got to help out with the younger kids,’ Iris said, getting to her feet reluctantly. ‘I promised the other girls that I’d help with the training.’

She waved him off at the gate and crossed the field to the creek, where the older girls were teaching the younger ones the tricks and techniques of the various performances. Several small boys were already in the creek, vainly attempting to swim in spite of their wet clothes. Iris slid down the slope and splashed into the water, laughing.

Someone watched the children and girls from among the trees, from a small copse of thin saplings further along the slope where there was a good view of the creek and the people in the water. Iris thought she felt someone’s stare on the back on her neck, but she couldn’t see anyone nearby. She dismissed it without another thought.

‘That the girl?’ a man said, coming suddenly out of the shadows of the thicker trees deeper in the wood.

The other man, who had been the one watching the creek, merely grunted. He was frowning as he continued watching the children. A hand was buried in a large coat pocket, from which rustling papery sounds could be heard faintly.

‘Looks older than I expected,’ the second man said. He pulled a small folded square from his coat pocket and – as expected – unfolded it. It did not contain any writing or small lethal bits of metal. It did, however, contain some powder in various colors, covering a wide range from black to blue and the occasional bright green to white. The man pinched the powder between a thin finger and thumb and carefully inserted it between his lips. There was a muffled snort, and the sound of someone smacking his lips in satisfaction.

‘They said she was in her teens,’ the first man said. His voice was the sort that rumbled, possibly implying that he was the sort that preferred not to talk but to do…things. Something. Anything. Things which preferably did not involve talking.

‘You can’t trust them up there.’ The second man hastily wrapped up the powder before allowing himself to sneeze. ‘Like I said before, Skinny, those up there have no idea of the way things are done. Not that I mind, really, because they’re letting us run the show, technically.’

The first man shrugged and turned back to stare unblinkingly at the creek. His companion unfolded the paper and began enthusiastically pinching and sucking on the powder.

‘This is good,’ the second man said between sucking and licking his lips, ‘you should try some, Skinny.’

Skinny shrugged his thin shoulders and pointed in the direction of the creek. There was a short silence, broken only by the sounds of children’s laughter and the high clear voices of the girls.

There was a snap nearby. Leaves rustled among tree roots and sliding shadows; it was not the wind, because there was definitely none today.

The second man tapped Skinny’s shoulder urgently and jerked his head over his shoulder, indicating that someone was close enough in the vicinity to hear and see them. Skinny nodded and slunk deeper into the shadows, silent and watchful. The second man stood up, pocketing the paper of powder with utmost care, and pretended to stroll out of the wood, whistling cheerfully like any other gentleman out for a nice walk in the woods.