The Standing Dead - Stone Dance of the Chameleon 02 (88 page)

Carnelian
shrugged.
'You
know
more
about
this
than
I do,
my
mother.'

She
peered
over
the
edge.
'You
want
us
to
bring
this
up to
the
condition
of
the
Newditch?'

That
would
do
to
begin
with.'

She
looked
up
and
down
the
length
of
the
ditch.
'It's going
to
take
a
lot
of
work.'

Carnelian
looked
round
to
see
the
crowd
of
the Bluedancing.
There's
a
lot
of
hands
to
do
it.'

Akaisha
frowned.
'But
we've
had
them
in
the
ditches since
they
came.
Earth-moving
is
hard
work
even
when
a person
is
well
fed.
With
what
we've
been
giving
them
...'
She
grimaced.

Carnelian
grew
morose
contemplating
the
trap
Osidian had
them
in.
The
Master
will
keep
his
promise
and
then not
only
the
Tribe,
but
the
Bluedancing
will
have
all
the meat
they
need.'

They
set
the
Bluedancing
to
working
in
the
ditches. Carnelian
wandered
along
the
edge
of
the
meadow,
sometimes
stopping
to
look
down.
Everywhere,
women
and children
were
labouring
in
the
mud.
He
gazed
out
past the
Horngate.
The
sun
had
risen
high
enough
to
melt
the view
and
beat
down
on
him
like
a
migraine.
An
Ochre voice
was
barking
instructions.
Carnelian
felt
useless
and worried
that
Osidian
had
only
left
him
there
to
stop
him interfering
with
whatever
it
was
he
was
up
to
on
the
plain. He
made
for
the
Bloodwood
Tree,
seeking
solitude
in
its shade.
The
rot
of
blood
was
in
his
nostrils
even
before
he could
see
its
stain
in
the
earth.
He
walked
round
behind the
tree,
putting
its
trunk
between
him
and
the
sun.
Lying against
its
bark,
he
relived
the
times
he
had
spent
there talking
with
Fern.
He
cursed
himself
that
he
had
not
after all
bound
Osidian
with
an
oath.

Hearing
Akaisha
calling
his
name,
Carnelian
walked back
into
the
searing
sun.
Squinting,
he
could
make
her out,
beckoning.

'We
need
you
to
check
we're
doing
it
right,'
she
said
as he
approached
her.

He
allowed
her
to
lead
him
back
to
the
ditch
where
he helped
her
down
a
crumbling
slope.
Soon
they
were among
the
workings.
When
Bluedancing
turned
to
watch them
pass,
Whin
forced
them
back
to
work
with
a
shout. Carnelian's
glance
of
surprise
only
served
to
make
her angrier.
He
was
feeling
he
did
not
know
her,
perhaps never
had,
when
the
anger
slipped
from
her
face
like
a mask
and,
looking
ashamed,
she
ducked
away.

'Down
there,'
said
Akaisha
pointing
among
the
heaving backs.
Carnelian
saw
her
against
the
rise
and
fall
of
their mattocks,
saw
her
distaste.
His
apparent
detachment angered
her.

'You're
the
one
who
asked
for
my
help!'

Carnelian
could
find
no
way
to
explain
how
he
was feeling.
'Please
show
me.'

Akaisha
turned
and
he
followed
her
as
she
wound
her way
through
the
Bluedancing.
Carnelian
saw
it
was
their young
women
who
were
hacking
at
the
muddy
walls.
The older
women
and
the
children
were
clawing
the
crumbled earth
into
baskets
which,
when
full,
they
dragged
one heave
at
a
time
away
from
the
ditch
wall.

'Look
here,'
said
Akaisha
and
showed
him
with
her hands
where
the
earth
on
either
side
had
been
cut
back. 'Is
that
enough?'

Carnelian's
eyes
were
drawn
back
to
the
people slaving.
He
saw
an
old
woman,
an
Elder
by
the
salt
beads in
her
hair,
struggling,
tugging
at
a
basket
filled
with soil.

They
shouldn't
wear
their
salt,
it'll
be
lost,'
grumbled Akaisha.

The
old
woman
was
still
pulling
but
her
basket
had
dug into
the
ground.
She
stopped,
bowed,
misery
making
her red
eyes
tear.

Carnelian
ran
forward
and,
taking
hold
of
the
wrinkled hands,
peeled
them
off
the
basket
handle.
This
is
too much
for
you,
my
mother.'
He
turned
from
the
confusion in
her
gaze
and
tore
at
the
handle,
yanking
the
basket
free and
then
dragging
it
until
he
backed
into
another.
He strode
forward
looking
for
another
one
to
pull.
He
felt
a touch
on
his
arm.

'What're
you
doing,
Carnie?'

He
looked
up
into
Akaisha's
face.
'Helping
them.'

'We're
helping
them
already,'
she
said,
her
voice unnaturally
sharp.
'If
it
wasn't
for
them
we'd
have
no
need for
the
Master
to
involve
us
in
this.'
He
saw
the
tears
she was
fighting
as
she
walked
away.