It was two hours intothe march before Zaria stopped peering over her shoulder, though she continuedto insist on an abundance of caution.Neither of them was allowed to travelover the tops of the dunes—instead, they had to walk in the deep depressionsbetween the flowing hills of sand, which quickly forced them to diverge fromtheir main route whenever an easy path did not present itself.They used theconstellations overhead to navigate by the cardinal directions, always pressingclose to the thin shadows and gentle slopes.
The journeycontinued for hours.The glow of Solnova disappeared below the horizon,dragging the rest of his tortured children along, and Isaac never again managedto spot the glowing sail of a skimmer, though a few shooting stars gave himfalse starts.As the time dragged away, he found the desert night to be quietand pleasantly cool.
Eventually, the skybrightened, and the sun began to return.When the light touched him directly,his reddened skin began to burn.
He braced himselffor another miserable day.
“What’ll you do withyour half of the treasure?”
At the moment, Isaacwas trudging his way through an open plain of sand, furrowing his brow againstthe morning light and the specks of sediment blowing in the wind.He barelypaid the question any attention.
“Isaac?”
“What?”he asked.
Zaria had beenwalking ahead of him.Her stride was longer, and her digitigrade feet had aneasier time negotiating the sand.She always took the lead.Now, with a glancebackward, she slowed her pace enough to walk at his side.The zoanthrope peeredat him beneath the hood of her shawl.
He tried not tosigh.
“Got any dreams forour coin?”she asked.“Any debaucherous intent?”
“Our coin,” herepeated, deadpan.
“We’re splittin’ it,ain’t we?”
He shook his head,looking away.“I have no plans.”
“Not a clue?”sheasked, the morning sun illuminating half her face.“None whatsoever?”
“I hadn’t thoughtabout it.”
“You wanna tell meyou been worked like an ox all your life, just for this, and the thought ofbein’ filthy rich never tickled you a bit?”
“Why would it?”Isaac replied.“I’ve barely even seen money before.I only understand theconcept academically.I wouldn’t ...I mean, I wouldn’t know what to do withany amount of coin, let alone a fortune.It’s almost meaningless to me.”
She hummed toherself.“Are you taking suggestions?”
“No.”
“I’m a bit moreworldly than you, Isaac.Might be you catch some wisdom.”
“Do we have to dothis?”
“Do what?”
“Do we,” Isaac said,“have to have this sort of talk again?”
He could tell, byher voice, that she was getting amused.“This sorta talk?”
“This sort of talkwhere you prod me like a circus horse, waiting until I lose my temper or saysomething foolish.”He fluffed the collar of his shawl, trying to cover hisface.“I don’t appreciate these games.”
The hyena snickered.“I just wanna gab, love.You’re the bein’ sour.”
He did not respond.Hisboots stomped and twisted through the sand.The day was already growing hot.
“Well?”Zaria asked.
“Well, what?”
