Shoshin was a gaunt, paranoid-looking man whose eyes skipped all over. He walked through the camp with guards and followers, long white beard wagging like a tail mistakenly put in the front, his gait that of an ill man, dragging his feet. Their eyes met for a moment, and Kaye hurriedly bowed. She didn’t like to call or even think about him as Master Shoshin, but did so if only to appease whoever might care.

  As he passed by, she paid close attention to the multitude of neckces around his neck. From one of the cords hanged a jade mask shaped in the form of a skull missing the jaw. The mark of a Headhunter.

  Kaye turned when he was out of sight.

  Hogog was waiting for her by the road at the camp’s edge, a stern look in his eyes as he scratched his chin. He smirked at her approach.

  “Is my beard growing out of control?”

  She took a moment to answer. It was like a bck bush now. “Does it bother you?”

  “It does with this heat, but come,” he gestured with his head.

  Kaye followed him. They stayed on the road first, then turned east.

  “What were the orders this time?” Kaye asked.

  “Only after you tell me what is bothering you. You have the face.”

  “Again with the face. How obvious is it?”

  “To others you just look like a serious person for your age, too serious, so no need to worry about it. I am worried, though. Is it—”

  “It’s not about mom and dad. It’s about this,” Kaye gestured around them with a finger. “Twenty days to the next city, and we’ve only been on the road a week. With them. I’m not sure how much more of it I can take.”

  “This is about that sve.”

  “His name is Uruoro.”

  Her uncle turned to her; his brows arched.

  “We can’t do anything about it, Kaye. I know how you feel, I know it is different, but you would just be putting both him and us in danger.”

  Again. Kaye almost heard the unspoken word, though she knew Hogog didn’t mean it. If I abandon someone, I put them in danger, and if I try to help the result is the same.

  She sighed. “I’m not going to do anything, if you’re worried about that. But I can’t help but feel like I’m delivering the sves to whatever is going to happen to them. We are guarding the man who shackled those two.”

  Her uncle rested a hand on her shoulder.

  “I know, Kaye. I also think about that, even if it looks like I don’t, but we have to watch out for each other, now more than ever. We’re the only family we have left, and there is only so much we can do. Don’t get me wrong though, don’t you ever dare lose that heart.”

  Hogog pulled his hand back.

  “I won’t,” Kaye said. “Can you tell me what we are doing now?”

  He seemed even more worried then, and turned to the path ahead.

  “The st two scouts sent this way were supposed to come back yesterday. They gave me some directions, and we might have to sleep out in the open. No time to hunt, which is why I packed extra.”

  “The camp doesn’t know.” It wasn’t a question.

  “No, and it’s better that way.”

  They continued trekking until the featureless ndscape gave way to rises, inclines and shallow gorges spotted by increasingly present underbrush. Kaye had to hide her hair under a makeshift hat of cloth which made her skull feel like an oven, otherwise they would be too easy to spot. All of that meant moving slower, but also safer, on their long path edging south.

  The chances of finding anything looked slim to her. Following directions was one thing, but the expanse looked mostly the same in every direction. Their best bet was to search for hiding spots, pces where someone could reasonably sleep on or build a fire. That afternoon they came upon plenty of snake trails and a score of hoofmarks — some sort of goat, Kaye guessed —, but no human footprints.

  The sun drew its arc in the sky during their journey. The farther they walked, the more uneven the terrain became. Pale yellow rock outcrops sprouted here and there, and Kaye was surprised by how unnoticeable they were from a distance. A scout who didn’t come as far as they did would likely think the terrain remained ft for days, but in just a few hours they would be looking down at the shallowest of valleys. When Kaye had heard about the Saldassa deserts, in her mind she had conjured images of nothing but eversting sand. I suppose we haven’t moved far enough for that change of climate.

  Down they went, Hogog leading the way, both staying low and hiding at shadows, avoiding the open spaces now that they had features to exploit.

  Ahead of Kaye, Hogog gnced back over his shoulder and waited as she caught up.

  “We should look for a pce to sleep now. Tomorrow we continue until midday, then we turn straight north until it’s night again. That should put us ahead of the caravan.”

  Kaye nodded and looked at the sky. The edge of the rise they had descended was starting to obscure the sun behind them. It would get dark in half an hour, at most.

  Their search brought them northward, into a series of dusty corridors that were already darkening. If they found a hole in the wall, even one not deep enough to be called a cave, it would be a great pce to rest. From it they would have an easy way to run in two directions if something happened, and could overlook an open, lower area most travelers were likely to stick to.

  Something moved a few paces ahead of Kaye, and she noticed the outline of Hogog’s hand a heartbeat ter. Saying nothing, he hunkered down until he was crawling on his chest.

  Kaye followed, but there was barely enough room for the two. Whatever he was looking at, she wouldn’t be able to reach the level of his head to see, and instead had to shuffle forward on her elbows.

  Hand up in a calming gesture, Hogog retreated, pointed forward. Kaye crawled to fill the space he had emptied.

  Straight ahead from their position, a figure was standing in one of the rocky corridors, though it was too dark to make out any details. Had Hogog continued to walk forward while standing, he would have been spotted immediately.

  She continued watching, eventually catching on to some movement behind the figure. More people were there, a whole group, though of how many she couldn’t tell, and they were moving slowly. There was the faintest of orange lights against the rock down south from where the first figure was standing, a fire very well-hidden, perhaps in a hollowed-out formation where the smoke would gather instead of escaping; after all, they had seen no sign of it.

  Hogog put a hand on her ankle, and Kaye slowly made the way back. In the st moment before the figure disappeared from view, the wavering light reflected a spot of green in its face. A jade mask. A Headhunter.

  Staying low, they stared at each other, so close that their faces were almost touching and she could feel her uncle’s beard prickling her cheeks.

  Night had fallen and the world was much smaller now.

  Her uncle whispered, “Follow me.”

  Kaye nodded, and did as he said when Hogog turned. He became nothing but an outlined shadow the next moment. One small step after the other, they moved away. She was very aware of her bow’s string against her shoulder. It would be hard to pull it out in the corridor they were at, and Hogog was right in front of her, making it a useless weapon.

  She remembered the way ahead, they had passed by it mere moments before Hogog’s gesture. There was a curve coming.

  A shadow moved then stopped the moment they went around. Kaye held her breath, felt her heart drumming heavily, and then Hogog was dashing forward, throwing himself against whatever it was in a plunge. A thump sounded against the ground, and Hogog grunted Kaye’s name.

  She approached, trying to move fast but quietly. Hogog was on top of someone. With one hand he was pinning an arm down, the other grasping a mouth, pushing it down.

  “Quick,” Hogog said, his voice an urgent whisper, “do it.”

  Unsheathing her dagger, she went around and touched the bde against the figure’s neck. Their breath was heaving, and showed no sign of slowing down.

  “Do it.” Hogog repeated. “Don’t… need a hostage. We know what they are.”

  Kaye stared at him. She had killed before, and it wasn’t easy, but this was different… they weren’t attacked…

  “We’re too close Kaye. If they hear it we’re both dead.”

  Tightening her grip on the dagger’s handle, Kaye pushed down and back. A single, slow and tight ssh through skin, muscle and arteries. The figure shook for a long moment, groaning against the hand that kept its mouth shut. This close, she could see the white knuckles of Hogog’s grip.

  They stayed there for what felt like a moment frozen in time, save for the only movement, that of the pooling blood, which Kaye could feel more than she could see, touching her knees.

  Hogog’s eyes met hers, and he nodded. When he moved away, the face of a boy was revealed. Her age or younger, and the shadows seemed to reel back for her to see. Too young to be a fully-fledged Headhunter, just now old enough to start growing some facial hair.

  Footsteps moved away. Kaye turned, leaving the dead child behind.

  It was a long time until Kaye noticed she was still clutching the dagger. She sheathed it, but her hand continued to tremble through the night. They didn’t dare look for a pce to sleep, and wordlessly walked into the darkness. Moon and stars rose with opaque light, and they didn’t stop.