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that we
really didn’t have much going on that regulars didn’t know about. But it wasn’t
the thing to say to this particular regular, I decided.
    Besides, I was
no longer sure it was true.
    “That’s it,
then?” Colin challenged. “That’s all you have to say?”
    “Is there
anything we can say to make you feel better?” Taro asked. “What can we say?”
    Colin swore,
spat at Taro’s feet, and stormed out.
    Well, that had
been terrifying.
    The innkeeper
looked at Taro. “I’ll send up some hot water.” Then he and his friend left,
too.
    Taro pulled off
his shirt, which had been spattered with blood.
    “How are you?” I
asked him.
    “Humiliated. And
thrilled my nose isn’t broken.”
    I sat on the
bed. I was trembling in reaction to the violence.
    The shirt Taro
put on was dark blue. Less likely to show blood if someone else decided to try
to make it flow. I wondered if that was his intention.
    He sat beside
me, and I took his hand.
    It wasn’t the
first time I had witnessed regulars perpetrating violence against members of
the Triple S. During our assignment in High Scape, the city went through a
horrific summer: blizzards and hail, drought alternating with floods. Many had
lost their livelihoods; some had lost their lives. The regulars had looked to
us to do something – anything – to stop the destruction. They hadn’t understood
that controlling the weather had been beyond our abilities. Fury and fear had
turned ordinary residents into a rioting mob that had pretty much torn the
Triple S accommodations apart.
    The reminder
made me even more apprehensive about our travels. We didn’t just have to worry
about thieves, but any regular who felt any kind of grudge against us. And what
could we do if we were attacked? Taro and I had lived through some scrapes, but
neither of us could really truly fight.
    Trying to sleep
that night was futile. People were moving about all over the building and I
worried that each trail of footsteps would end up at our door. And when I did
doze off, I dreamed of the fight again. The farmer was even bigger, and he
didn’t stop at one punch. I kept waking to make sure Taro was still alive and
conscious.
    I was exhausted
the next morning, with eyes that felt full of grit, and a piercing headache. I
would have been better off if I hadn’t tried to sleep at all.
    Taro tried to
pay the innkeeper with some coin. He always had money on him, in case he got
the opportunity to gamble. The innkeeper spurned the offer, stiffly announcing
that he knew the law.
    So we couldn’t
win, no matter what we did.
    Our horses and
tack were unmolested. We had enough food that we didn’t need to requisition
breakfast, and if we pushed hard and ate little, we could reach the next
village without running out.
    Though if the
people of the next village resented us as much, I didn’t know what we would do.

 
    Chapter Four
    We arrived at
Shidonee’s Gap without getting killed or beaten or robbed, but the journey had
been a harsh education. Nowhere else had we been confronted as we had been in
Fair Stop, but there was definitely a great deal of hostility in the air. Even
in the bigger cities, where we went largely unnoticed, I had felt I had to keep
a clear eye out for trouble, constantly, and I’d never experienced quite that
sort of tension before.
    I was relieved
to see the first homes on the fringes of Shidonee’s Gap. Surely we would be
safe there. For the first time in weeks, the large painful knot high between my
shoulders started to ease.
    No one spared us
a glance as we trotted up the stone streets. The residents were busy, calling
out the prices of their wares, hauling barrels, leading cows. They were so used
to Sources and Shields that we were common to them. It was soothing to be ignored.
    “Do you want to
stop somewhere?” Taro asked. “Get something to eat?”
    I was starving
and filthy, but I didn’t want to dwandle. I looked forward to being safe inside
Triple S walls.