Snowburn

by Frost, E J

  “Nor I you. Not even the hospitality of the Deeps. My alpha will not allow it.” Rat-Girl washes her paws again. “I’d planned to wait until dawn to speak with you. But now that you’re awake, can I ask . . . have you heard from C.J.? She’s mentioned you many times. We were sisters in the change. I haven’t heard from her in over a standard month. There’s been no word from Kuus except from Diamond, who says you’ve broken the Underlaw.”

  Kez shakes her head and mutters, “Bastard,” under her breath.

  Remembering Rat One and his exchange with Kez, I say, “Kez wasn’t the one in the wrong—”

  “Leave it.” Kez knocks my shoulder. “The Deep Whites won’t side with an outsider against the Pack.” She shifts slightly to address Rat-Girl. “Look, we’re on the first hover in the morning, okay? Tell your alpha. I stayed out of White territory last night and we’re leaving as soon as we can. Okay?”

  “I will tell him. He didn’t send me. He doesn’t plan to come against your Reaper-Man unless you bring him into the Deeps.”

  “I won’t. And C.J.? I’m sorry, but I haven’t heard anything from her since Java died. But—” Kez pauses and bites her lip, then shakes her head as she comes to some internal decision. I’ve seen her do this before as she decides to do something that worries her. “The Pack is in trouble. They’re starving.”

  Rat-Girl stands up – I was right, she’s tiny – and trembles from her whiskers to the tips of her toe-claws. “Starving, how?”

  “The water riots. I don’t know where the Pack gets their supplies, but the water riots must be choking off their source somehow.”

  Rat-Girl washes her paws faster, more anxiously. “My alpha needs to hear this. Please, if I bring him, will you speak to him? Please? Nacht is his brother as much as C.J. is my sister. He will listen to you if you can tell him of Nacht.”

  Kez shrugs. “I’m sorry, I haven’t spoken to Nacht. I saw Java before he was killed, but he didn’t say anything about this. I can . . . I can tell you what we saw. Snow saw it, too.”

  I nod. I don’t owe the rat-men anything, but if Kez wants to try to repair her relationship with them, I’ll back her. Not at the cost of what Kez and I both need, though. “Bring him at seven. We’ll talk then.”

  Kez looks up at me quizzically. I kiss the tip of her nose. “We need more sleep.”

  She’s about to protest, when her jaw cracks in a huge yawn. She covers it ruefully. “Okay.”

  Rat-Girl shakes her head. “He won’t come up after dawn.”

  I shrug. I don’t really give a shit about the rats. We need at least an hour to get in another deep-sleep cycle. Anyone who disturbs us between now and then is going to have a close encounter with the business end of my knife.

  “If I can guarantee you safe passage, will you come to the Deeps?”

  “No,” I say firmly before Kez can answer. Last time we went into the Deeps with guaranteed safe passage, it cost Kez a liter of blood. She can’t afford to lose anymore and I’ll be fucked if anyone’s getting mine.

  “Snow,” Kez says softly, looking up at me. I know that tone, and that look. She’s trying to plead with me without letting Rat-Girl know she’s pleading.

  Fuck, she knows how to manage me. “Dawn’s at zero-six-twenty,” I growl. “If he’s here at zero-six-hundred, we’ll talk to him.” We can go back to sleep afterwards.

  Rat-Girl nods and drops onto all fours. “I’ll go now and try to persuade him. Thank you.” She scrambles up the slope, moving much faster on all fours than I would have expected. I file that away for future dealings with the rats.

  Kez nods at Rat-Girl’s departing haunches and yawns again. Definitely time for bed. I sweep her up off her feet, wrapping the thermoblanket around my arm to avoid tripping in it. My shoulder twinges but holds as I carry her the few steps to our bed and settle her in it. She flares the thermoblanket over us when I climb in next to her. Rolls onto her side and puts her arm and leg across me. Bare skin on bare skin. Where’d her dress go? I run my hand down her back until I find it hiked to her waist.

  “Sex,” she says.

  “Behave,” I tell her. “You can have sex after you’ve gotten another hour of sleep.”

  She kisses my shoulder, props her chin on her hand and pouts up at me. “Delayed gratification isn’t my best thing.”

  “Neither’s your tiger breath. We all have these little trials to endure.”

  She claps her hand over her mouth and buries her face in my shoulder. Her breath isn’t actually all that bad, although there’s a buggish acidity to it that’s off-putting, but if I take her from behind, it won’t bother me. What’s more important is that she’s still hollow-eyed with exhaustion and we’ll both enjoy the sex a lot more when she’s not so tired. I’ve also got this idea rattling around in the back of my brain about where I want to fuck her next, and it’s not in a sandy sewer pipe. “You’re such a prick,” she mumbles into my skin.

  “Which is why you want to fuck me when you can barely keep your eyes open,” I say. “Have you always had a thing for bad boys?”

  She turns her head so her mouth’s downwind. I curl my hand around the back of her head and cuddle her against my shoulder. Pull her a little more firmly on top of me. We’ve slept this way before so I’m confident she can fall asleep in this position, and I like her warmth and weight on me. She stretches. Sides her arm around my neck. Nice and tight. Only thing better would be sleeping inside her, but there’s no way I’m going to manage that without fucking her first. I’ve never slept inside a woman, but I’d like to. I tuck that idea away for another time.

  Oblivious to the little monster’s designs, Kez murmurs, “I’ve actually always gone for guys who seemed sweet. At least at first.”

  No wonder they didn’t last. “Look at me, kitten.” I want to see her eyes before we sleep.

  She turns her head, looks up at me, puzzled. I stroke my fingers down the side of her face. Admire the sweet curves of her forehead and cheek. The pale lids of her eyes when she closes them. The fan of her lashes, sooty in the soft light.

  “I’m not sweet,” I whisper to her. “But I’ll never fuck you over.”

  “Never?” It’s not really a question.

  “Ever.” I’ve never promised anyone forever before. Right now, it doesn’t feel long enough. “’Course, you might get bored and dump me before then.”

  She snorts. It could be a snore, but then she murmurs, “I didn’t stalk you for three months to dump you when I finally got what I wanted.”

  “So you were stalkin’ me.” I stroke her back, gently over her scar, but including it in the caress. So she knows I accept every part of her. “Psycho kitten.”

  Her next response is a snore. I stroke her until I fall asleep.

  I’ve always been able to wake when I needed to. Even before I had the chrono implanted. Which doesn’t have an alarm feature. That was more credits than I had at the time.

  So I wake at zero-five-fifty. Smoothly. Transitioning from sleep to wakefulness without disorientation. I know exactly where I am. Who I’m with. And that we’re not alone.

  Fucking rats are early.

  I roll slowly and settle Kez on the ground. Smooth the thermoblanket over her. She might get a few more minutes of sleep while I play meet-and-greet. I shake out the skirt, dislodging any crawlies that might have bedded down in it overnight, and wrap it around my waist. Tie it off as I rise. I don’t look up yet. I know where the rats are from their breathing. They’ve come in the back entrance again. Picking their way through the cer-cer grass to prevent it rustling. I hear two distinct patterns of breathing. One faster and shallower than the other. Probably Rat-Girl and a male.

  I scoop up the knives, tuck them into the kukris’ sheaths. They don’t fit, but it’s better than having the naked blades rattling around under the fucking skirt. Dressed and armed, I walk towards the rats.

  Rat-Girl is back, sitting on her haunches again, with her head bowed. She’s brought a huge male with her. I’v
e always thought of rats as small, but he’s easily as big as I am. Jet black fur covers him, but doesn’t hide the muscles of his arms and chest. He carries a sickle slung over one shoulder, and a sheathed sword at his waist. A full set of orclas teeth decorate his furred chest like medals. His fur is rippled and pocked with scars, so maybe he won those teeth himself, although I didn’t know rats could swim that well. The top half of one of his large, pink ears is missing, and the other one is pierced and hung with more rings than Kez has in her entire collection, shading from titanium at the top to cobaltymer at the bottom, glowing with its dark, radioactive light. I’ve got no doubt he’s Alpha Rat, but I wait for the girl to introduce him.

  He doesn’t wait. “I’m Acker,” he says. His voice is deep and resonant. Not ratty at all. And he pronounces it ‘Acre’ rather than ‘Acker.’

  I nod at him. “Snow.”

  He tilts his head to the side. Regards me unblinkingly.

  “Here-and-now,” I admit. “I used to have another name.” I don’t give it to him.

  “So did we all,” Alpha Rat says slowly.

  I nod in acknowledgement. Let the silence stretch and wait to see how he fills it.

  He does by taking one of my kukris out of a bag he’s set at his feet and laying it on the sand between us.

  “You buy that from Evvan?” I ask, naming the knifeseller. If the rats stole it, or hurt Evvan to get it, that’s going to piss me off, and this meet-and-greet is going to come to a fast and messy conclusion.

  “It is you brightworlders who are without honor,” Alpha Rat says stiffly.

  I consider that for a moment. He’s trying to provoke me. But my question wasn’t all that subtle, either. I shrug it off. “Enjoy it. It’s a good knife.”

  “It is. Why did you bring your good knives to the Clouds, Reaper-Man?”

  I tilt my head in Kez’s direction. “To protect her.”

  “And why has Lightfoot come to the Clouds?”

  “Just dropping off a package. Nothin’ to do with you.”

  He chuckles, and there’s a dark edge to it. “Sooner or later, all things that come to the Clouds concern me. There’s blood in the air, Reaper-Man. Cloudlander blood. Did you spill it?”

  No, but Erin might have. I hold up my hands, palms to him. “Lotta blood here. None of it fresh.”

  Alpha Rat nods. “My Wisdom says there are things I must know. Things you can tell me.”

  “It’s really Kez’s story to tell.” I glance back over my shoulder. She’s curled on her side. Thermoblanket pulled up to her chin. “I’ll wake her.”

  Alpha Rat shakes his shaggy head. “We have come early. Let her sleep while she can.” He reaches out and runs his clawed hand over Rat-Girl’s head. “A man may be measured by how he cares for his women, I have found,” he says, and I realize that whatever a Wisdom is and does, Rat-Girl is more than that to her alpha.

  “Absolutely,” I agree.

  He squats down, reaches into the bag and pulls out a metal cylinder. He unscrews several sections, passes a metal disk to Rat-Wisdom and another to me. Rat-Wisdom twists hers, and it pops up into a cup. I follow her lead and hold out the cup to Alpha Rat, who pours me a measure of dark, scented liquid. I sit down across from Alpha Rat and take a sip. Chok. Richly spiced with cinnamon and a sweet heat I don’t recognize. Delicious. I swirl it around in my mouth appreciatively before swallowing.

  “Nice,” I say. Thinking of Kez’s constant apologies for her failure to supply food, I continue. “Sorry we don’t have anything to offer you.”

  Alpha Rat nods, roots around in the bag again and pulls out a crinkly plaz packet. He unfolds it to reveal a small pile of fried, powdered fritters. I swallow back a sudden rush of saliva.

  “Chok and wahda,” Kez says quietly from our bed. “I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

  “C’mere, kitten.” I pat my thigh. “Brekkie.”

  She climbs out of bed and joins me, sitting curled at my side with the blanket wrapped around her, rubbing her eyes.

  Alpha Rat nods at her. “Lightfoot.”

  “Acker.” She pronounces it the way he did, so either she knows him or she was awake and listening when he introduced himself.

  He hands her a cup and a fritter. We all eat and drink in silence for a moment.

  Kez breaks the silence by saying, “The Pack are in trouble.”

  “They haven’t asked for our help,” Acker responds around a mouthful. His teeth look too long and too sharp for chewing.

  “They’re at war. Askin’ for help’s a weakness they can’t afford,” I say to back-up Kez.

  “How do you know this?” Acker asks.

  “Saw it with my own eyes.”

  “The Snatchers’ marks were overwritten right to their doorstep,” Kez says. “The tunnels are full of rotting meat. Poisoned by the Snatchers. Java’s dead, and Nacht and C.J.? I don’t know. I haven’t heard about them in a long time. That one called Diamond, he’s running things. He said Nacht sent him, but, I don’t know. Maybe Nacht’s dead.”

  Acker looks into his cup for a long moment, then lifts his dark eyes to us. “That is what I believe.”

  Rat-Girl draws a sharp breath.

  Acker inclines his head towards her. “Why have you heard nothing from C.J.? Why have I heard nothing from Nacht? Diamond sends word but there is only silence from our sister and brother? I smell death, and ambition.”

  I glance at Kez to see what she thinks of this. She’s got her head down, but she’s not eating. She’s thinking. Listening. Treading carefully.

  Acker focuses on us again and narrows his eyes. “Why were you in the Deeps, Lightfoot?”

  “I was picking up.”

  “What did you need a Reaper-Man for?”

  Kez shrugs. “I didn’t know he was one. I just hired him as a pilot.”

  I give Alpha Rat a broad grin.

  “What did you pick up?” he asks.

  “A box of adrenal glands.”

  “Who did you take it to?”

  “Kincaid.”

  Acker turns his head and spits onto the sand. “Hex-Man.”

  Kez nods.

  “The Hex-Men always want to move their poison through our tunnels. Out of sight of the Stick-Men. The Crystal Snake offers it to my people for free. To turn them against their own. So that I will agree to allow it into the Deeps. They have no honor.”

  “Kincaid does that to runners, too. To get us addicted,” Kez says. I can see her finding ways to build a rapport with Alpha Rat. I smile to myself and let her work.

  “And yet you work for the Snake and his Hex-Men.”

  Kez huddles against my side. I put my arm around her. “My brother made a mistake. I owe Tyng a debt.”

  “Free yourself from this debt as soon as you can, Lightfoot,” Alpha Rat warns. “No good comes of owing the Crystal Snake anything.”

  Kez nods and I squeeze her reassuringly.

  “They have not asked for help. And you owe us nothing—” Alpha Rat begins.

  “Except breakfast.” I salute him with my cup.

  He smiles in acknowledgement. At least, I think that the baring of those too-sharp teeth is a smile. “If I can get food to the mainland, will you take it to Kuus? The Whites will pay you.”

  Kez looks at me. “We can’t make any commitments right now.”

  I shrug. She’s probably right. Who knows where we’ll be after we meet with Tyng? It’s all very well and good to call each other partners, to promise each other forever. But the truth is that Tyng could undo every tie, force us to break every promise. And Kez will do whatever he demands, to protect her brother.

  Alpha Rat sighs and moves restlessly. The edge of his scythe catches my eye as he shifts. It’s not metal, his scythe. The edge is knapped. Looks like the bone of a big animal.

  And all of a sudden everything comes together in my head. How to kill Tyng. Or at least get a weapon into any meeting with him. Create the chance.

  “Flesh knife,” I say under my b
reath.

  Kez looks up at me quizzically. “What?”

  “We’ll get the food to the Pack,” I say.

  “We will?” Kez asks.

  “Yeah. I’m gonna need somethin’ from them in return, though.”

  “The Whites will pay you,” Alpha Rat begins.

  I shake my head. “We don’t need payin’. This is something they already got,” I say, thinking of the stink in the tunnels. “Something they won’t mind giving up.”

  Alpha Rat tilts his head and watches me with his bright black eyes. “If you’re sure.”

  “I am.”

  Acker switches that sharp gaze to Kez. “Lightfoot, if there is word of C.J. or Nacht, would you get it to us?”

  Kez nods.

  “Then I return this to you.” He reaches into his bag and pulls out a familiar collection of straps, beads and bangles. Hands it to Kez, who cups her hands to receive it. “My Wisdom tells me C.J. made it for you. It should remain with you.”

  Kez slips the viewie onto her wrist with a brilliant smile.

  Rat-Wisdom says quietly, “I’ve programmed my K-Net code into it. Under my picture. Just plex me.”

  “I will,” Kez promises.

  Alpha Rat takes a last swallow of chok, collapses his cup and picks up the bag. Gives it a shake. “My bag is empty,” he says, before he packs my kukri and the remains of our breakfast into it. “Our stomachs are full. And the Twins are rising.” He nods behind us, towards the mouth of the tube, where red morning light stains the sand. “Time for me and my Wisdom to return to the Deeps.”

  “You ever come to Nock?” I ask.

  “No.” Acker inclines his furry head. “But I have never had an invitation.”

  I lean forward and hold out my hand, confident that if his claws are poisoned, he’ll keep them to himself. “Consider yourself invited.”

  He shakes my hand. The pads of his long paw are warm and rough. The fur slick. “And you. To the Clouds. To the Deeps. Whenever you wish to come.”

  I sit back and put my arm around Kez. “We will.”

  “Safe journey.” He rises and Rat-Wisdom, who has never really relaxed enough to sit down, scampers back a few paces up the sand-slope. “Lightfoot. Snowburn.”