Read Stranger for Free Online Page A

out last night after we finished playing.”
    â€œThanks. Sorry I missed it. I had to help Mrs. Riley with Tucker. He got his hoof tangled in the fence, and he was panicking.”
    â€œI figured it was something like that. We’re playing again on Tuesday.”
    â€œI’ll be there.”
    Yuki liked music, but he loved watching Paco. Most people dedicated themselves to work and training, and thought of things like music as something to squeeze into their spare time, if they had spare time. But while Paco worked and trained without complaint, he poured his heart and soul into his drumming. Watching him play was like watching Paco’s mom, Sera Diaz, sparring, or his own mother shooting, or Paco’s apprenticeship master, Mr. Ahmed, blowing glass: observing a master at work.
    Yuki choked down the tamale. Five years since he’d been shipwrecked at Las Anclas, and he still hadn’t gotten used to having his mouth and throat burned by chili peppers. But since Paco was watching, he said again, “Thanks,” and added, “it’s good.”
    The reverberating toll of a bell cut through the desert air—the signal for Lockdown.
    Yuki jerked his head up, the tamale falling from his hand. He halted Fuego and squinted against the lowering sun at the town walls half a mile away. His distance vision was as sharp as his close-up sight was blurry. He made out the sentries looking back and forth. Whatever the problem was, they obviously couldn’t see it either.
    Julio rode up beside him. “Let’s go to high ground. We’ll have a better view.”
    Near the top of the hill, they entered a copse of juniper, eucalyptus, and copper-barked manzanita. A few shrubs had black leaves with glowing yellow veins. As Fuego brushed against them, the “leaves” took flight, leaving the shrub a bare gray skeleton. A citruslike scent filled the air, masking the pungent smell of eucalyptus. When Yuki glanced back, the butterflies had settled back down, and the illusion was complete again. Yuki had never seen this before, nor the brightly colored scorpions nearby that seemed to guard a pulsating blue fungus.
    He lifted his scrutiny past the walls of Las Anclas that rose up like bars in a cage, to the plains and hills and maze of arroyos that made up the desert. Someday he’d be out there, away from the crowds and the sameness and the reminders of everything he’d lost. Just him and his horse and his rat, exploring ancient ruins, discovering fascinating relics, and studying the ways of strange animals and plants. Every step would be into new territory.
    â€œRein up,” Julio ordered.
    Everyone dismounted. They’d reached the top, but it wasn’t quite high enough to see inside the town walls.
    Yuki indicated the tallest tree, a thick juniper. “Shall I climb it?”
    â€œDo it,” said Julio.
    â€œKogatana, stay.” She twitched her pink nose at Yuki, but stayed on her perch.
    He climbed, shoving past the pungent needles until he could see. There was no fighting in the streets, and nothing seemed to be damaged. From this perspective, Las Anclas appeared insignificant, a small part of a far larger world.
    He started down. About ten feet from the ground his palm punched through the bark as if it were paper. Something gave an ear-scraping screech, then a line of pain slashed across his palm. Yuki jerked back instinctively, and lost his grip. He twisted in the air and landed in a crouch, his teeth banging together.
    Owls launched out of the hollow, slicing down with their talons and the razor-sharp quills at their wingtips.
    Yuki’s sword and crossbow were still on his horse. He made a dash for Fuego. But before he got there, an owl dove at Sidewinder, claws tangling in the horse’s antlers. The owl screeched, and Sidewinder squealed and bolted. Every horse followed, stampeding into the woods.
    He watched in dismay as Fuego galloped off, Kogatana