Coll carefully opened and closed his left hand, and twisted his elbow. “Better. Thanks.”
Rieka scowled. “Don’t do that again. I warned you about a malfunction that could cause serious damage, and you deliberately made it happen. I can’t keep repairing it, understand?”
Coll nodded. “Sorry.”
“Hmph.” Rieka shook her head. “What happened in Scatter?”
“Mayor Ruprecht tried to take me prisoner.” Coll looked back at the town, now just a dot to the north. “He said he would help, but he just wanted to capture Cub.”
“Well, duh,” said Brann. She was only half listening, still counting under her breath, but she made a scornful face. “What did you expect from Worms?”
“I expected them to respect Wolf!” snapped Coll.
“Who could respect that?” Brann scoffed.
Rieka raised a hand. “Enough.” She glared at them both. “You don’t get it, do you? Those townsfolk – the ones you call ‘Worms’ – they hate us.”
“No they don’t!” said Coll. “They’re always pleased to see Wolf!”
“Raven townships show proper respect,” said Brann haughtily.
Rieka nodded. “They fear us, because we can destroy them. But fear isn’t love. And now you’ve told them about Dragon, we can’t go back to Scatter or any of the other towns. Because the truth is out – Wolf can be defeated.”
Coll frowned but didn’t answer. The people of Scatter loved Wolf. The disaster with the mayor would never have happened if Wolf had been there. Rieka was wrong – of course she was wrong – he just couldn’t work out why exactly. Alpha would know; if only they could find Wolf…
As if hearing his thoughts, Rieka said, “So where do we go now?”
Coll considered. Nobody went through the Glass Lands if they could avoid it. Even desperate, Wolf wouldn’t go any further than she had to.
“South-east,” he said, trying to sound confident. “It’s the shortest route out.”
“Assuming she came this way at all,” said Rieka. “Maybe we’re not even close.”
Coll nodded glumly. But it was the only plan they had.
They carried on a few more kilometres before dusk. Coll wanted to push on, but Rieka refused. “We can’t travel in the dark,” she said. “The ground’s too rough – if we take a wrong step, we’ll end up spiked.”
Coll reluctantly agreed and they made camp. Brann and Fillan prepared dinner from rations. They seemed to be getting along. Fillan’s friendliness was infectious, piercing even the Raven girl’s hostility. She bossed him around, but her tone was soft.
They stayed on Cub’s deck and ate quickly and quietly.
“We’ll have to preserve food and water,” said Coll. “Everything here is poisonous.”
Rieka nodded. “We don’t have much.”
The wind hissed constantly, pushing the black sand around. The skies were cloudy and low, as if the world was closing in. Coll was exhausted after the events at Scatter. He knew they should set up a watch and keep guard in shifts, but before he even finished the thought, he fell asleep.
The next morning continued in the same way. Rieka’s devices told them they were heading south-east, but the ground was featureless, just endless blackened sand, fractured glass, rusty metal spikes and tough, vicious thorn bushes. The skies stayed cloudy, but it never rained and the air was hot. It smelled of red rust and tasted raw.
The crew’s clothes became clogged with sand. They were all thirsty, but Rieka kept them on strict water rations, and there was none spare to wash with. The metal parts of Cub became too hot to touch, and hissed angrily as he moved. Coll’s prosthetics were affected too, the cooling systems whirring and whining in overdrive, and sending him fluttering, confused signals. Sand worked into the joints and rubbed against his stumps.
At the end of the third day they ate in silence. Even Fillan was quiet. He leaned against Brann with his head bobbing, half asleep. At his feet Kevin the Ant turned and turned as if trying to get comfortable, and its joints crackled with grit.
Rieka pointed to a taller spike of metal, quite close. “We could climb that,” she said. “Take a look ahead.”
Coll nodded. “I’ll come with you.”
They left Cub and walked out over the ruined land. This evening it stank of sulphur. They climbed up the metal tower and gazed out into the half-dark.
“Anything?” asked Coll.
Rieka lowered her binoculars and shook her head. “Coll—” she started.
“Just a bit further,” said Coll. “I know what you’re going to say, but I’m sure she’s down here somewhere. We must be close.”
“We’re down to less than half our water,” said Rieka gently. “We’ve gone too far already, Coll.”
Coll said nothing. Rieka was right. But if they turned back now, they would never find Wolf. He felt it in his heart.
They climbed down and walked back to Cub without speaking, stepping over the patches of splintered, glimmering glass. Suddenly Rieka stopped and put out a warning hand. When Coll glanced up, she nodded forward, her face tight.
Coll looked ahead. There was Cub, where they’d left him, but Fillan and Brann weren’t on board. Instead, they were standing on the ground.
In front of them stood two strangers.
It was a man and a woman. The man was dressed in a long leather coat, and at first Coll wondered in alarm if it was Samson, Mayor Ruprecht’s thug. But no – this man was older, with white shaggy hair and beard, and his jacket was ancient and patched. His face was marked with long cheerful wrinkles, as if he laughed a lot. He was laughing now.
