Glory Season

Maia stopped, listened. There was a scrape, a stone rattling downslope somewhere ahead and to her right. The way looked tricky. She paused, feeling torn between curiosity and a growing awareness of her replete bladder. Now that she was fully awake, it did seem a bit pointless, following people who were obviously out doing what she herself ought to find a place and do. Let's just take care of business, eh? She began casting about for a convenient niche out of the wind.

The first spot she tried already had an occupant. Or occupants. A hissing squeal made Maia jump back in fright as a living rainbow flapped at her. She hurriedly retreated from the crevice where a mother zim-skimmer was tending its young — a cluster of tiny gasbags that inflated and deflated rapidly, wheezing in imitation of their belligerent dam. Smaller cousins of zoor-floaters, the skimmers had much worse temperaments, and poison quills that fended off Earth-descended birds seeking their tender flesh. The spines caused fierce allergic rashes, if a human was unlucky enough to brush one. Maia backed away, eyeing the deceptively diaphanous forms. Once safely out of sight, she turned and hurried along the half trail.

That was when, rounding a corner, she caught sight of someone just ahead.

Baltha.

The tall woman squatted, peering over a set of boulders at something downslope, out of Maia's view. On the ground beside the var lay a small camp spade and a lidded wooden box, small enough to cover with one hand. While Baltha stared ahead intently, she idly reached out to brush a nearby rock, then brought her fingers to her face, sniffing.

Maia blinked. Of course. She sca

In winters past, whenever glory had appeared on their sill, Maia and Leie used to giggle and try inhaling or tasting the fine, luminescent snow. The first time, she, not her sister, had been the bold one. "They say it's just for grown-ups," Leie had said nervously, parroting the mothers' lessons. Of course that only made it more enticing.

The effects were disappointing. Other than a faint fizzing sensation that tickled the nose, the twins never felt anything abnormal or provocative.

But I'm older now, Maia reflected, watching her body heat turn fine powder into steam. There was something faintly different about the aroma, this time. At least, she could swear . . .

A sound sent her ducking for cover. It was a low whistling. A man — Re

Why did he go so far from camp, then? Maia wondered. Is he that shy?

And why is Baltha spying on him?

Maybe the tall var feared the Outsider would run away, trying to contact the Caria City forces that flew over last night. If so, Baltha must be relieved to see Re

But to Maia's surprise, the blonde did not turn to follow Re

The rugged woman strode east about twenty meters to a niche just above the high-water line. There she used the camp spade to dig at a mound of freshly disturbed soil and begin filling the small box. What in atyp chaos is she doing? Maia wondered.

"Hey, everybody!" The shout, coming from downstream, caused Maia to leap half out of her skin. "Baltha! Maia! Breakfast!"

It was only Thalia, calling cheerily from the campsite. Another Lysos-cursed morning person. Maia backed out of sight before Baltha could look around. Remembering to give the mother zimmer a wide berth, she started scrambling back down the eroded slope.

The meal consisted of cheese and biscuits, stone-warmed on rocks taken from the fire. By now it was late morning, and since it was probably safe to travel by daylight in these deep canyons, all five travelers were back in the saddle before the sun rose much above the cavern's southeast rim. They made good time, despite having to stop every half hour to warm the horses' feet.

About an hour after noon, Maia realized something ill-smelling and foul-colored had entered the stream. "What is it?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

Thalia laughed. "She wonders what the bad smell is! How soon we forget pain when we're young!"

Kiel, too, shook her head, gri

"Just downstream. Helps navigation, don't it? See, we're doin' all right without your fancy stars to guide us."

Maia felt overwhelming resurgent resentment toward her former employers. "Damn them!" She swore. "Lysos curse the Lerners! I hope their whole place burns down!"

Re

"I don't care!" She shook her head, afroth with pent-up anger. "Calma Lerner handed me over to Tizbe's gang like I was a slab of pig iron on sale. I hope she rots!"

Thalia and Kiel looked at each other uncomfortably. Maia felt a delicious, if vile, thrill at having shocked them. Re

Puzzled, Maia overcame sudden reluctance in reaching for the instrument. She lifted it to peer where Baltha pointed. "Go on, up at that slope, yonder to the west an' a bit north. Along the ridgeline. That's right. See it?"

While she learned to compensate for the horse's gentle breathing, the telescope showed little but jumbled images, shifting blurs. Finally, Maia caught a flash of color and steadied on a jittering swatch of bright fabric, snapping in the wind, yanking at a tall, swaying pole. She sca

"Prayer ba

"There's yer Calma Lerner up there, virgie. Rotting, just like you asked. Along with half her sisters. Go

Maia swallowed. "But . . . how?" She turned to Kiel and Thalia, who looked down at their traces. "What happened?" she demanded.