Part 55 (1/2)

'Do you want them now?”

'No, later. Listen, I've been thinking. If you're able to put ideas into Toh-s.h.i.+ba's head, maybe you can get him to transfer me to the Heron Pool.”

'What as - a Tracker?”

'No, that's too tricky. I don't have any ID. They've got me marked down as a Mute, so I'll have to stay that way till I see how things work out, then maybe make the switch later.”

'So what shall I tell him to do?”

'Tell him to order an inspection of the post-house and everybody working there - including the roadrunners.

When he walks down the line, I want him to pick me out and have me transferred on to Cadillac's household staff.

It doesn't matter what as.”

'Are you sure you know what you're doing?”

Steve laughed quietly. 'Don't worry. After three months in the A-Levels up to my knees in sewage I can handle anything Cadillac cares to throw at me. A little humility never did anyone any harm - and being able to order me around is going to make his day.” He took hold of her shoulders. 'I know it's asking a lot, but. can you do that for me?”

'I can try.” She reached up and clasped her hands behind his neck.

'Well, it's a lot better than the other ideas you've been putting into his head.”

'How many times do I have to tell you? He means nothing to me!” She tried to pull him down but he stayed there, unyielding.

'What about Cadillac?”

'We grew up together - like brother and sister. We shared each other's joys, fought each other's battles. I can never break the ties that bind us. But it is my strength he needs, not my love.”

Steve succ.u.mbed to the pull of her arms and lay down close beside her.

'There's so much I have to tell you -' 'Ssshhh... ' Clearwater drew the coverlet over them both. 'The touch of your skin on mine tells me all I need to know. Hold me, cloud warrior. There is so little time left for us to share.”

'But there are things I need to explain -' Clearwater stilled his lips with a kiss. 'Let go of the world, my love,' she whispered. 'We are like two leaves at the Yellowing, borne away on the West Wind. Our lives were shaped long before our spirits were poured into our mothers'

womb. The Wheel turns. The Path is drawn.

And we must go wherever it leads us...”

Her body became one with his. Hhooohhh! Jeer! Ohhh! Krrisstopher.t

It was dangerously close to dawn when Steve clambered ash.o.r.e at the point where he had left his clothes. Fortunately, he didn't have far to go. Two Island Lake formed the western boundary of the Consul-General's estate, and the main post-house, to which he'd been a.s.signed, was situated close to Toh-s.h.i.+ba's official residence. With time running out, he was forced to pa.s.s under the walls of the barracks where the regiment of government troops was quartered, but he managed to do so without being spotted and was back inside the roadrunners'

bunk-house before anyone was up and about.

Roadrunners, like all Mutes in Ne-Issan, were not locked away at night.

The punishment meted out to would-be escapees was so severe, only the foolhardy and those who had reached the limits of endurance attempted to run away. As the job of roadrunner brought the holder enviable privileges, it was a.s.sumed that no Mute lucky enough to be selected would do anything that might land him back on the dungheap.

The Iron Masters were harsh, demanding taskmasters but they were not totally heartless monsters. The captive Mutes, which they viewed as little better than animals, were allowed the same freedom to copulate at random, and those within the same workforce were permitted to form family groups. A slave-master might lose a few weeks of fieldwork during the latter stages of the pregnancy, but Iron-foot children were a welcome addition to the labour force. Not only were they delivered free of charge, they were a growing a.s.set.

For roadrunners it meant that, in off-duty hours, they were allowed to fraternise with the female Mutes staffing the kitchens, bath-house and laundry, or any others whose services were available in the immediate vicinity of the compound. The lake was some four miles away which put it definitely off-limits. Had Steve run into a watch patrol he'd have been in big trouble but, once again, his luck had held.