Virginia Hamilton Read Online Free PDF

that, getting the stiffness out, for he’d knelt on one knee for some time. He pulled himself up straight in his leader’s pose. “Be making our way. Water now,” he toned.
    The leggens and smooth-keep got up, ready and waiting. The packen responded, forming into trips—leader, leggens, smooth-keep. In seconds all were in position. Duster waited for the unit to arrange itself.
    The three boys took up positions at the center of the packen. They slouched as low as was comfortable.
    “I don’t think the Mal checks Duster’s packen every day,” Justice said, “but to be safe, stay low.”
    “We could become invisible again,” Levi said.
    “That would upset the packen worse than seeing you with them,” she said. “They might feel something close to them and get frightened. Then Mal would know something for sure. Stay low. I’ll ride with one of you.”
    Before disappearing from sight, Justice suggested to Duster and the others that she was there with them. She mind-traced to them that they need not worry about her again.
    The boys didn’t know which of them had Justice with him. And not knowing, they could keep their thoughts as simple as those of the youngens.
    She made herself as small as a germ. Microscopic through the power of her will, she rode in a dust particle under the hood of Levi’s tunic.
    Her mind raced with the wonder of Duster, his tribe and trip. They shouldn’t be in this place, she thought. If there’s a way out, I’ll find it. Is my purpose here to save them? I’m sensing there’s more to it, but maybe that’s the first step.

4
    T HE ODOR OF THE packen surrounded them. Thomas felt just the way he did when he’d watched too much television—cranky, jumpy, overtired. He knew very well he couldn’t be trudging through the heat and dust of some awful future time and place. But he was, and with Dorian and Levi on either side of him.
    With Justice hidden, Thomas realized he was now the leader of Dorian and Levi. He was the one they would depend on, and he cautioned himself to stay alert. And yet the dreamlike pace they kept, the sameness of the packen, was hypnotic. No matter where Thomas looked, he saw another Siv, another Glass and Duster. It got monotonous, but it was oddly exciting, too.
    Thomas scanned the minds of the group. The Glass ones’ keenest thoughts were their trust in and protection of the leaders, Thomas discovered. Leggens ones tended toward moodiness. They were all aloof, independent and as highstrung as runners could be.
    Thomas envied Duster’s position of high esteem given him by his trip and his packen and, he supposed, even by the other roamer packens. There were other packens. Thomas had divined that by telepathy. He could send his mind out swiftly, intercepting thoughts of packens just out of sight of this one.
    Given him—or did he take it? Thomas wondered, about Duster’s position of high esteem. I bet I could beat Duster in a fair fight, he thought. You can tell he’s no fighter, if he leaves combat up to a girl! What’s he for, then?
    Thomas felt a familiar telepathy enter his mind. It was Dorian. Couldn’t help picking up what you were thinking. Nothing much else to do. But I figure Duster’s singing is what he can do.
    Yeah, traced Thomas, but what good is singing in a place like Dustland?
    Well, he can lead to water, too, Dorian traced.
    Yeah, Duster knows the way to water, all right, Thomas traced. For he had divined they were headed directly for the water pool.
    Soon they began to feel the moisture from the pool. It mixed with the dust in a slippery film, like oil and talc, and they were soon covered with it.
    Uh-uh! Thomas thought. I haven’t got a body here. There’s nothing but my thoughts.
    But he did have a body, no denying what he could see and feel. And now he looked much like any member of the packen.
    Out of boredom, Thomas entered the mind of the Siv nearest him. Mind-jumping was quite different from telepathic tracing. It was like