The Alliance Read Online Free PDF Page B

shelter under that tree,” the bowman pointed. “Take your friend. She’ll be safe there. My sister still mentions you in her prayers.”
    “Tell her not to deafen the poor man. Better she does the things I showed her, eh?”
    The bowman shook his head. “Women need these things. Myself, I think he has more important things to do than listen to me whine. Sleep well.”
    “Thankee. We’ve come a long way.” Anneke gestured for Rachael to precede her. “We’ll take the mugs, eh?” She held up the clay mug of tea.
    “Yes. Bring them back in the morning. We’ll share this one.” He held up the third mug. “Then sleep ourselves.”
    For all his views on women, Rachael liked the bowman. She could hear him ticking off the watchman about the fire, concentrating on the act, not the man, and praising Anneke’s suggestion about the pot. “Start making one in the morning. Talk to the Traveler and get her ideas,” were the last words she heard.
    A bed of fresh bracken, covered by a threadbare blanket beckoned and she finished her tea and fell asleep within minutes, barely aware of Anneke lying relaxed beside her.
    * * * *
    Anneke scanned the immediate area, identifying each mind before moving on and then outwards, creating a mental map locating every person, waking or asleep. She reached the sergeant and found him dreaming of some past conquest, her features entwined with Rachael’s. The corporal of the guard was checking his sentries and his mind told her of the dawn reveille of the men, but not their destination. She’d check back later for that. One final check before sleep and she caught the whisper of a smuggler group. Their watchman dozed so the information was sketchy, but if the sergeant marched in this direction, the two groups could well collide. She smiled at the thought. The smugglers on this world were not her favorite characters. One final check and she allowed herself to sleep, thankful the branches above them would keep off the dew. She hated waking in sodden clothes, something she did far too often in this world.
    Perhaps Peter was right; she’d completed her sixty missions and could take operational command. It would be nice to sleep at home every night and monitor the operation from Limbo. Jesse slumbered peacefully in the private graveyard above the beach camp, lying beside his parents. He’d been her husband for more than eighty years before old age took him gently from her side a century ago…
    “ Rakli, Rakli, Wake up, Rakli. ” The tone wasn’t urgent and Anneke struggled to ignore it, but a hand on her ankle decided the battle and she opened her eyes. It was the bowman. “We’re ready to start the mounds. There’s tea by the fire.”
    It was full daylight.
    “Coming,” she said, sitting up.
    Rachael was still asleep, mouth open and snoring softly, so Anneke eased herself out of the shelter and stretched when she stood up, knotted muscles protesting.
    “I remembered the word for girl,” the bowman said. “You called my sister’s child, Rakli .”
    “Very good.” Anneke smiled at him. “Tell you the truth I feel more Rawnie than Rakli at the moment, more woman than girl, eh?”
    They joined the others at the fire and Anneke drank the black unsweetened tea gratefully, her mind wakening. These were foresters. They’d judge direction from the tree trunks rather than the sun.
    “You know south,” she asked, and three right arms pointed unerringly in the right direction. “Good.” She nodded in confirmation. “This is the pattern you must use.” She scratched it on the ground, marking the position of each mound with a cross. “All the distances are equal, so you can adjust it to the space you have, only the orientation is critical. You understand, eh?”
    Three vigorous nods answered.
    “Good.” She swept the ground, destroying the sketch. “Show me, eh?” She went back to the fire for another mug of tea, opening her mind to scan the area.
    The sergeant was on his way, so