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appreciated his cautiousness, but I was also annoyed. My throat was dry, and I was tired. The last thing I wanted to do was shout.
    “Evening!”
    “Evening,” he replied with the slightest of nods.
    The man carried himself like someone who had seen what the ugly side of the world had to offer and wouldn’t be taken off guard by it. I was willing to wager that anyone who dared to cross him or threaten his family would find themselves against no easy foe.
    “Passing through?”
    He looked beyond us to what remained of Denu Creek, pausing briefly on the funeral pyre. “Not much worth stopping for.”
    No argument from me there. “Where you heading?”
    “Not really any of your business.”
    “You’re probably right about that. You mind me asking where you’re from at least? Considering all that’s happened, it’s encouraging to see that others are alive.”
    “Netivot.”
    Netivot was a small town to the northwest of Denu Creek.
    He nodded to the funeral pyre. “We lost a lot of people as you did. More will die after the raiders come. We left before they could strike.”
    “Raiders?”
    “A couple of days after the first flash of light, we heard rumors about people on horseback, some ex-soldiers, who had begun raiding towns up north. Some say there’s more than one group involved. Most were working their way south before the first flash.” He paused, staring at our clothing which still showed signs of our time in the army. That explained some of his uneasiness. “You wouldn’t know anything about them, would you?”
    I shook my head. “We don’t.”
    He pressed his lips together and bobbed his head as if debating silently with himself. “A bit of advice. We heard the numbers of the group closest are growing every day. Nearly a hundred men, all mounted.”
    “I can see why you left then.”
    He spat to the side. “I’d rather not take my chances. Especially with that stuff still in the sky.”
    “You’re welcome to at least stop for the night within town limits if you’d like. It would at least put you around some people rather than being alone on the road.”
    “I appreciate the offer, but if it’s all the same to you, we’ll keep moving on.”
    He clicked the reins, and I stepped farther back.
    The traveler drove by us with a cautious nod. His wife, a handsome woman, kept her head down and her hands gripped firmly to whatever weapon she hid in her dress. Only his children stared at us from the back of the wagon. All three boys were younger than Zadok, yet I saw the glint of steel in their hands.
    “Raiders? What do you think about that?” asked Ira after they passed.
    “I’m not surprised,” Ava said. “There are always people who thrive on the weakness of others. Probably started once news spread about Balak razing Damanhur. They likely thought they’d get in on the action, without realizing why Balak did what he did to begin with.”
    “He said they were soldiers. Or at least dressed like them,” said Dekar.
    “Given their size, I’m guessing there’s at least one officer among them. It takes a strong personality to hold a hundred men together,” Ava said.
    “Ty?” asked Ira.
    “Hmm?”
    “You’re awfully quiet.”
    “Just thinking who those soldiers might be. Some have to be men we returned home with.”
    “Unless its men who deserted before the war ended or were discharged for some other reason.”
    “I don’t think that’s it. The timing fits too well. Dekar, any thoughts on who we came home with that could lead a group like that?”
    He shrugged. “Anyone. All were veterans. All had some leadership experience.”
    “And other than Captain Nehab, none of us had the welcome home we wanted,” said Ira. “I’m sure that whoever is involved would argue they have cause for doing what they’re doing.”
    “And they’d be wrong,” I spat.
    “How does this affect us?” asked Ava.
    “It doesn’t. Not just yet anyway.” I turned to Ira. “You got us those mules I