“Endarkened Fakkin’ Draculi-assed sum-swallowin’
tâmpit
crampit, Emilian!” Kyrus stared at the boys all in the cage grown around them
in the Sunrise Loggia when Mom had ”Ye made it ta highest flyest! Inna cage
rage no sage.”
Of
the seven boys that had been the gang, a sad remnant of the twenty strong Kyrus
had left... was it only three... no, four years ago, only Emilian was on his
feet, face close to the bars as if he could bite Kyrus through them. The others were hunkered down at the back of
the cage, watching. The Rasheem had
requested that the bees clean them and then given them enough clean water to
drink that they were safe and no longer offended everyone’s nose.
“I sage,” Emilian said. „I didn’t believe it.”
„You
skeeve it now?”
Emilian
held his eyes for a moment longer then dropped his gaze to his boots. They weren’t good boots but everyone else had
woven sandals or barefoot. „Ye. Krakin, enLightened, Kyrus, What’r we ta
shrink? Tha y’re so high nose-bleed high, try, inna sun fry?”
„Y’r
an evil kit, Emilian and I don’t have time for this. Were you even here when Prime bombarded the
city?”
„Ye. Lost some.
Lost Usor, ’n Iscurt.”
„Dark. They were good boys,” Kyrus said. „Look, Emilian. Ye kin stay locked up here f’r rackin’ me, or
go inta cage overnight... gotta bottom though, not a traitor’s cage ye
ken? Or ye kin try and tame stinkin’
vicious war-birds, w’ me ma.”
„’n you?”
„Ye.” Emilian turned to what was left of the pack,
then turned back to Kyrus. „We gotta
learn t’ read?”
„Ye.”
„Dark.”
He
thought for a long moment, then turned back to the other boys. „Ye heer? Clear?” There were slow nods. „Well...” Emilian jerked his thumb at Kyrus,
standing with his arms crossed. „He’s
Emir-al o’ Basin Boys now. Ye saw im mander me.”
„I’
skeert, Emilian.” One of the boys that Kyrus didn’t know spoke up. „Don’ know,
no show, I’m pro.”
„Ye. But ch’ heert ‚’im. Ye ruse, choose Hlivit.”
„We
gonna get eat by warbirds?”
Emilian
looked at Kyrus, his veil hiding most of his expression, but clearing passing
the question on.
Kyrus
looked at the boy, a dark-haired, dark eye’d lad with black patterned tattooes
on one cheek showing over his veil, and up over the temple. „Ye Hlivit?” He asked, and got a cautious
nod.
„I
need help wi’ the wild, old birds.
Nasty, vicious brutes. Herd bull
wants ta fly, sky, now now guy, tho. Ye
might get some give fra’ ’im.”
Emilian
watched as the boys all nodded. „We’ll
go ta birds, in herds and covered in turds, Kraghanz.” Hlivit said. „Ye mandered, ‚Milian. Ye’r t’ Cutter now.”
Kyrus
nodded but Emilian cut him off with a slash of his hand. „I’m not bowin’ to shit-licker, Ass
kicker. I’ll take it, cage.”
„EnDarken
it, ‚Milian!” Kyrus began but Emilian turned his back on him. „Ye lost square!”
„Ye. Not going to bend my keck f’ tha foot.”
„M’Da’s
t’ stinkin’ Shiny! Not me!”
„Ye
have a name, same tame, Talain. I’m not kissin’ ye’r dust grass, Talain.”
„Not
askin’ ye te kiss anythin’ o mine. Emilian. Ye want a name... talket me ‚gain
after ye’ cage. I got work. Nasty, hard,
stinkin’ work.”
„Ye’r
not makin’ it sound fair, Rat-talain...”
„Ye. S’ not fair.
Won’ sigh, lie, try.”
„I’ll
talket ye after t’cage.”
„I’ll
heerye.” Kyrus nodded sharply and
turned away. Werfas, at the door, fell
in beside him and the door shut behind them.
„What
was all that about?”
„Hmmm?”
Kyrus turned and set his forehead on Werfas’s shoulder. „Oh, I offered them a choice of getting caged
for a day, or coming to work for us,
taming warbirds. They’ll be working for
us... except for Emilian... he chose the cage.”
„Stubborn
twink, hmmm?” Werfas wrapped his arms
around Kyrus. „But he’s going to talk to
you after?”
„Yes.”
„Then
you’ve done your Da proud. You didn’t
rub his face in his mistake.”
„Ass.”
„Not
likely, if you keep acting like that!
Come on, we have to check what’s happening with the moon-shot and then
head down for your ma.”
„Bloody
handed Milari.”
„Lung
spitter Lainz.”
No comments:
Post a Comment