The Luck Of The Wheels (10 page)

Willow laughed. 'Don't you wish it were you, Goat?' she asked snidely, but as she looked past him she saw Ki. Their eyes met, and for a moment Willow looked scared. But Ki said nothing, and after that instant, Willow's face changed. She smiled, a little cat smile. 'Vandien will tell me when he's had enough,' she said. Ki wondered if she were speaking to Goat at all.

'Enough,' said Vandien. 'It's not helping. I wish I could take just one deep breath.' He lifted his eyes to Ki, and there was nothing in them but weariness.

'Did you use warm water or cool?' she asked him.

'Cool,' he said briefly.

Ki nodded to herself. 'After we eat, let's try warm, with some Cara buds crumbled into it.'

Willow bristled. 'My mother always used cool water on things like that. To keep the swelling down.'

'That makes sense,' Ki agreed smoothly. 'But sometimes warm will loosen a pain.' She met Willow's eyes, sensed a challenge in them. Ki didn't want to play. She turned away from the look, to take dishes from the chest and shake loose tea from them. Enough tea had lodged in a cup to brew tonight's pot; she'd have to buy more in Algona.

'Vandien?' she asked over her shoulder. 'How far to Algona now, do you guess?'

'Two days?' he hazarded.

'More like three,' Willow corrected him. 'We haven't made very good time.'

Ki said nothing, but dished the food and poured the tea. When she finally filled her own plate and turned around, Willow was ensconced beside Vandien. I would never sit that close to a man not mine, Ki thought. She watched the way Willow spoke to him over the food, tilting her head and smiling at his brief answers, speaking softly as if someone might overhear. She felt stubbornness rise in her. If Vandien did not object to it, she wouldn't. A small cold voice in her asked her if she were trusting Vandien's judgement or testing him. She didn't answer it, but took her plate and sat down by the fire. Goat gazed at her across the flames. There was a dab of soup on his chin.

'How long have you been together?' he asked her suddenly.

'What?' Ki glanced up from her bowl.

'You and Vandien. How long have you been together?'

Ki reckoned back with difficulty. Some years were much like the others, and others had been so eventful that they seemed to be more than one year. 'Maybe five or six years. Or closer to seven, I guess. It's hard to say, Goat. We are not always together, like this. Sometimes he rides his own paths and I take mine, knowing we will meet somewhere down the road. Sometimes he goes back to visit the place of his childhood, to see those of his family who remember him. Sometimes, when the haul is simple and dreary, he rides ahead and rejoins me when I arrive.'

'Doesn't sound very loyal,' the boy observed.

Ki snorted lightly. 'To speak of it coldly, perhaps not. But in the ways that are important, we are loyal.'

'And other women? Does he have other women, while you are separated, and you have other men?'

Ki stared at him across the fire. 'That is scarcely a polite question.'

He met her gaze coolly. 'I knew you wouldn't answer. Because you don't know.'

She glared at him, thinking she should let this conversation die but instead said, 'If you mean, do I ask him to account for every moment he is away from me, I do not. Nor does he ask me.'

'I see,' Goat sniggered. 'Like they say. "Two can't get on, and one can't hurt it."' He sniggered again, a nasty child's laugh.

Ki's voice was flat. 'Goat. Why do you behave this way? You have manners when you want them. Why must you be so rude, when you can be pleasant?'

'That's the answer, then, that I don't want to be nice, right? And why should I be polite to people who either scold me or ignore me?'

'Goat,' Ki began, feeling horribly weary. But Willow was suddenly at her shoulder.

'Vandien wants tea. And I'll heat water for his ribs.'

There was a smug assumption in her voice that Ki wouldn't let herself react to. 'The Cara buds are in a clay pot with a cork stopper, on the shelf over the window,' she told the girl. 'Don't put them in until after the water is steaming.'

Her instructions took Willow by surprise. She bobbed a quick nod of assent and withdrew. Ki turned to Goat. 'Help me gather up the supper things and put them away.'

'But...'

'Now, Goat.'

He obeyed her, copying the way she gathered the cups and bowls and scrubbed them out with sand and rinsed them sparingly with water. There were a few brief words as Willow refused to let Goat touch either her bowl or cup. Ki didn't intervene. Let them settle their own squabbles; she was sick of them. And tired. By the Moon, she had never known she could be this tired and still stand. And Vandien looked no better than she felt. His head was tipped forward on his chest, the steaming cup of tea at his side nearly upset. She crouched beside him to right it, touched his wrist in passing. No fever, only weariness. He didn't stir as she rose and went to check the horses.

When she came back into the circle of firelight, Vandien was stretched out on his back while Willow carefully arranged a steaming cloth on his ribs. The aromatic Cara flavored the air of the camp. Goat crouched by the fire still, watching them like a hungry dog. Ki ignored him and walked directly to Vandien. His dark eyes turned to her as she crouched down beside him.

'Any better?' she asked him.

'Some. Not a lot.'

'Um.' Ignoring Willow, she lifted the cloth, ran her fingers lightly over his flesh. She heard him catch his breath as she touched the imprint of the hoof. 'You'd better sleep inside the caravan tonight. Hard earth and a chilly night is the last thing you need.'

'And I don't mind at all,' Willow put in prettily.

'It wouldn't matter if you did,' Ki observed. She put the cloth back in place. Something gripped her ankle lightly for a second. She glanced down and Vandien looked up at her gravely. Then his face lit up with the wickedest grin she had ever seen him wear. 'I should stave in the rest of your ribs,' she told him quietly, but could not down an answering grin. Damn the man. Someday she'd figure out a way to stay angry at him.

She clambered into the caravan and straightened the rumpled bedding on the sleeping platform. With iron control, she made up a bed for Willow on the floor beside it. She knew better than to ask the girl to sleep under the wagon. She gathered up other bedding for Goat. 'Only twelve more days,' she muttered, consoling herself.

She paused on the steps.

'And then what happened?' Willow was asking Vandien.

'And so we met again in Firbanks.' His words were edged with pain. 'We found we did better together than we did apart. Ki had a new wagon built, and when she moved on, so did I.'

'Enough stories,' Ki interrupted, her voice sharper than she had intended it to be. Who was this girl, to be asking how they had met and come together? She let Goat's bedding thump to the ground beside the fire, and turned back to Vandien. 'You need rest. Let's get you to bed.'

'I won't argue,' Vandien promised, reaching up a hand to her. She stooped so he could get a grip on her shoulder and eased him to his feet. He leaned on her, yawning cautiously.

Goat stood looking at the bedding. 'There's only one cushion here, and if Willow's going to sleep out here we'll need two.'

'Willow can sleep inside on the floor. That's all for you, Goat.'

'But I can't sleep out here all by myself! What if the Brurjans come back?'

'They won't. You'll be fine.'

'But, Ki! You don't know that for sure. It's too scary. Why can't I sleep inside with the rest of you?'

'He's not sleeping anywhere near me!' Willow objected loudly.

Ki sighed. Vandien said, 'It wouldn't kill me to sleep outside,' but she shook her head vigorously. Her voice was as sharp as a knife. 'This is ridiculous. All these quarrels are ridiculous. You are going to sleep inside where you can get some decent rest. Willow, you can sleep inside just so I don't have to listen to you two quarrel. Goat, I will sleep outside so you don't have to be afraid. Is everyone satisfied?'

A silence followed her words. The two youngsters were merely quelled, but Vandien looked shocked. Ki felt embarrassed. Willow stepped out of her way as she helped Vandien up the high step into the caravan. He sat down heavily on the bed and looked up at her. 'Ki? Are you all right?'

'Yes,' she snapped, then sighed. 'I'm just tired, and ... I don't have a word for it. What I saw today, and knowing I am partially responsible ... I don't know. And all the squabbling. And now Goat has me wondering if they won't come back, looking for easy prey.'

'Try not to be so tense,' he advised her.

'How should I be?' she demanded.

He shrugged, then winced. 'I'll be better tomorrow. I can take more of it off you.'

She tried to soften toward him. 'I'll be better, too,' she offered awkwardly.

He caught at her hand, but Ki was too aware of Willow standing in the door, watching them. She squeezed his hand, then pulled free. She gathered a few odd pieces of bedding, leaving him the lion's share. She didn't think she'd be sleeping tonight anyway. Willow took a very long time to move out of her way, but Ki stifled an urge to push past the girl.

Outside there was no easing of tension. Goat was waiting for her. 'Are we going to sleep by the fire?' he demanded instantly. 'Or shall we sleep under the wagon?'

'You can sleep anywhere you wish. I'm sitting up and keeping watch for awhile.'

'Shall I keep you company?' he offered hopefully.

She heard the caravan door shut and Willow scrabbling at what was left of the latch. That's another thing I'll have to fix, Ki thought, but not for a while. The thought gave her a small satisfaction. Goat was still watching her. The light was behind him. He stood with his shoulders bowed in toward his chest, and the details of his face were shadowed. He clutched his trailing bedding, like a child frightened from sleep by the bogies. Being angry suddenly took too much effort.

'If you want,' she conceded. 'Or you can sleep. Just don't expect me to be good company. I'm too tired, and there's too much on my mind.'

'If you want —' Goat swallowed audibly, and his voice was very soft. 'I could rub your head. It would make your headache go away, and you could rest.'

Ki became suddenly aware of how her temples were throbbing. Before, the pain had seemed a part of her anger. She could imagine, with sudden lethargy, how good it would feel to have someone massage that tension away.

'It's a thing my mother taught me, when I was very little,' Goat added shyly. 'Something she said every healer should be able to do. It feels nice.'

'I thank you, Goat, but no,' she replied wearily. 'No, I think I shall just sit quietly and look at the night and keep watch. But that was a kind offer.'

'You don't want me to touch you.' His voice was petulant.

She was too tired for this. 'Yes,' she admitted. 'That's true. I wouldn't be comfortable.'

'Why?'

Ki was arranging her bedding. She leaned a cushion against one of the tall wheels of the caravan, and then sat down against it, dragging a quilt over her lap. She looked at Goat.

'Why?' he repeated.

'Why don't you go to bed?' she responded.

'I'm not sleepy yet. Why wouldn't you be comfortable with me touching you?'

Ki sighed. The strength of her anger had forsaken her. 'Because you're still a stranger, and I'm not comfortable being touched by strangers.'

'How long would it take before I wasn't a stranger?'

The note was in his voice again, suave lechery with a runny nose. She wondered where he had picked up the lines and the inflections. It sounded like something a tinker might say to a tavern whore. She shut her eyes.

'How long did it take before Vandien wasn't a stranger?'

Ki didn't open her eyes. 'Why don't you ask him?'

'Why don't you tell me?' Earthy, suggestive tone.

'Goat.' Ki shifted slightly. 'Why are you being an ass?'

'Why are you?' His voice was full of sudden hurt. 'How can you let them sleep together while you sleep out here?'

She opened her eyes, recognized his jealousy and understood his adolescent reasoning. If Vandien was sleeping with a girl Goat wanted, Goat would retaliate by seducing Vandien's woman. It was too silly for comment. Yet he needed an answer. She tried to think of one that wouldn't prompt any more questions. 'Goat, don't worry about it. Vandien is probably sound asleep by now. And even if he weren't, and even if he were inclined toward Willow and she were receptive, his ribs would keep him from acting on the impulse. So no one has anything to worry about. Now, please, go to sleep?'

'You don't know Willow,' he replied sulkily. He tossed his bedding to the ground and dropped onto it, curling up like a dog.

And he does know Willow, Ki thought to herself. How? It isn't likely that girl would take up with an odd boy like Goat. Yet there's been something between them, to account for all the hostility and jealousy. Let it go, it's late and I'm tired.

For a time she sat listening to the night. The insects chirred incessantly, and there was the comfortable sound of Sigurd's and Sigmund's great hooves shifting as they dozed. A soft whicker of owl's wings as the predator passed overhead. No hoofbeats. Nothing to fear. She drew up her knees, set her forehead against them and let herself doze.

'Vandien?' Willow whispered.

'What?' he asked grudgingly.

'I'm scared. Can I come up there beside you?'

He sighed silently. Earlier, Willow's machinations to make Ki jealous had seemed mildly humorous. But this ... 'How would you be any safer up here?' he asked wearily.

A brief silence. He sensed her sudden uncertainty when he didn't respond as she expected. 'Because ... I'm afraid I'll fall asleep, I'm so tired. So I thought I could come up there and talk to you and stay awake. So Goat can't bother me.' She was sitting up, leaning her elbows on the edge of the bed. He turned his head to look at her.

'Willow, I'm really tired, and my ribs hurt. I don't want to stay awake and talk. Now be a good girl and let me go to sleep.' His avuncular tone was deliberate.