Natasha sat quietly in the carriage while the men talked.

  “Yo, Tom,” Julan called.

  “Yeah?”

  “Pass those cards. I’m feeling like robbing you.”

  “We’re playing with silver?” Tom pulled out his wallet and drew a silver pint, a slender silver rod no longer than a pinky.

  “Well, it can’t be bronze.”

  Merkerthy raised an eyebrow. “Raise that shit to the onyx level.”

  The other two looked at him like he was stupid before laughing.

  Natasha listened to their gambling and nonsense. She did that often when she wanted to learn as much as possible about everything. There were so many dialects, cultures, taboos, languages, accents, animals, types of technologies, and terminologies. It had felt frustrating at first.

  For example, in Retuia, on the edge of Terrafall’s eastern border, it was apparently a custom for parents to show their children the expenses spent on them and go into detail about it, especially as they neared adulthood. The idea was to make them feel indebted, loyal, and teach them the value of money. She had heard it was a tradition among Julioes.

  Then she had also heard it was based on Punchio’s culture, but that was probably just racism due to the money loving stereotype. She was not sure.

  Tom drew the last card, losing. “One of you guys set me up.”

  “Or you just suck.” Julan grinned as he picked up all the money. “But I’m glad you do. I’m glad indeed.”

  Merkerthy yawned. “I’m done. Pass one of those magazines.”

  “Don’t have any,” Julan replied.

  “Huh? What do you mean?”

  “Rets-agyi-meui made me burn them.”

  The two stared at him. “Tell that girl of yours to get a proper fucking name instead of that brain dead shit. Agyi. How do you even pronounce that?”

  “I think with two r’s and a e, then…” Tom said, thinking.

  Julan cut them off. “It’s a, g, y, i.”

  “Why the hell does it sound like it doesn’t even have an a in it?”

  Julan shrugged. “Ask her when you see her.”

  Tom shook his head. “Whatever. Anyway, lucky for you Merk, I got the EX DEL 1536 SEXY SHOTS. Give me twenty five silver for it.”

  He flipped open a thick magazine, showing a naked blonde woman lying in the sand with vanilla ice cream covering her chest and lower body.

  “Wait, 1536 sexy shots? In that small thing? They scammed you.”

  “No, dumbass. It’s a compilation of everything that came out this year.”

  “Oh. You got the Vlandos one?”

  “Fuck no. Why the hell would I want to see those damn giants naked?”

  “But you only bought it to sell it, so why would you care? And why are you reselling it for so much?” The original price tag of two silver pints was still on it.

  “Work smart, not hard.”

  “Motherfucker, you said—”

  “Shut up. You only want it to resell outside of the city anyway.”

  Bahmos cut in. “Shut up already. You all are loud for no reason.”

  “Kay, kay.”

  Natasha let their voices fade into the background.

  A loud shriek passed over them.

  A sharkcrow.

  Vernisha, who was sitting near Ulah, jerked her head up and looked through the window above the carriage to watch it.

  It was a feathered, winged shark the size of a full grown bull. It flapped its wings and flew away.

  It was one of those animals that had been driven to near extinction three hundred and four years ago, hunted for food during wars on the continent and for ritual purposes.

  Vernisha returned to holding Ulah’s hand, comforting him, telling him he was going to be okay.

  She even did something similar for her father. So she really was honoring their promise.

  Natasha was surprised she could.

  She had actually thought Vernisha might have chosen to poison them. She did not understand why she would want to kill Ulah, though. Her father, she understood. That made sense.

  Even so, it did not match Vernisha’s personality. If she wanted him dead, she would have tried to make it look like an accident, like she had done in the past.

  If Natasha had been more sensitive, she would have done it herself.

  Caren was so descriptive and explicit with his words, and so quick to anger. Everything made his blood boil. It was like he was always bothered by something, and if he got a little more agitated, he burst into flames.

  But he only showed that anger in the house. He must have thought of her as a verbal punching bag.

  That idea did something to her ego. Him thinking she was his.

  His words had never affected her. She had said that a million times, and it was true.

  But whenever she thought about how he believed he could treat her however he wanted because he thought he owned her, a different kind of anger rose inside her.

  If she had not been a mother, and for other reasons, she would have definitely killed him.

  She let out a quiet breath.

  She was a mother. She had been one for twelve years, but it did not change the strange happiness she felt when she thought about it.

  A slight cold chill ran down her spine and a knot formed in her stomach. She had carried a child for nine months, not once but twice, and given birth, nursed them.

  She had watched them go from being incredibly helpless to learning to speak and function semi independently, along with the changes in their bodies.

  It had been an interesting thing to go through.

  Her thoughts shifted.

  How had Vernisha just come across some weird mutative bread in a Balash temple?

  “Ma…” Ulah muttered in his sleep.

  Natasha rested her hand on her chin, wondering.

  Vernisha looked at her expectantly. “I think he wants you.”

  Natasha’s heart skipped, and she moved over quickly. “Yes. I was just in shock.”

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  She sat near him and cradled him. He made expressions of pain while saying random things.

  “Two times three is five. No. Six.”

  “Vernisha, what’s division…”

  Vernisha said, “It’s weird that he is thinking about such things right now.”

  “Maybe it’s just his custom,” Natasha said.

  “Yeah. He was somewhat excited to learn about division.”

  “I guess you’ll have to remember to teach him when he recovers.”

  “Yeah, for sure.”

  Caren made slight movements and even sleep talked. “Benji… listen to me. If we all put our money together, we can buy it…”

  Benji, his brother.

  He continued, “Come on… Granddad meant that land for us. How can we just let someone else keep it?”

  Natasha remembered that story. His parents had sold a lot of land passed down in the family. He had thought it was unfair, that the land was only meant to be held by Holinestones.

  Julan said, “You think the head wounds made him…” He tapped his head.

  “Crazy?” Natasha asked.

  “Yeah, something like that. Thought it would be rude to say it since he’s your husband and all.”

  “Oh. I doubt that’s the case. He’s probably just sleep talking. Relieving memories,” she answered.

  Tom joined in. “Was he talking when they fell sick?”

  None of them knew they had turned into cannibals.

  Vernisha answered, “Somewhat. But nothing like this. It almost seems they are mentally getting better.”

  Or the opposite, Natasha thought.

  Tom nodded. “I hope that’s the case. Growing up without a father is hard. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

  Merkerthy nodded in agreement.

  Natasha asked, “You don’t have one?”

  She had known him since he was a teenager, one of those who tried to get with women twice their age. He had never grown out of that. Still, she did not recall ever seeing his parents.

  He shrugged. “You saw him a couple of times. He’s just a druggie now. Only knows me when he needs money to get a fast high.”

  Natasha understood.

  “I see. Sorry to hear that.”

  He shrugged again. “It’s whatever. Little Verni did meet my mom at a market square once, though.”

  “Oh. How did that happen?”

  He smiled, holding back small laughter like he was remembering something embarrassing.

  He gestured at Vernisha. “She tried to sell her a pink terra for triple the market price.”

  Vernisha shrugged. “I needed the money. And I got the money.”

  Natasha gave a faint smile. “Interesting to hear.”

  More time passed, and Natasha found herself staring into nothing.

  Vernisha moved and sat near her.

  She did not say anything, but Natasha could tell she was uneasy.

  Then Vernisha started tapping the floor, like she often did when bored or worried.

  After about five more minutes, Vernisha asked, “Why aren’t you angry with me?”

  That was a strange question.

  “Why would I—” Natasha caught herself. “It was an accident.”

  “When I get into accidents, you get angry. Ridiculously angry.”

  “The difference is that it’s different.”

  “How is it different? Isn’t this worse?” Vernisha asked.

  “Vernisha.”

  “Yes.”

  Natasha muttered, “Stop worrying. You’ll give yourself high blood pressure,” slightly frustrated.

  Vernisha found it hard not to worry when she could remember how Natasha always reacted when she badly injured herself. Like when that boulder crushed her legs. Natasha had been angry, angry that she had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Angry about something she had not warned her about, something Vernisha had not known about. Something she had not been responsible for at all.

  “If Caren was the only one who got messed up because of me, I would understand your calmness. We don’t give a fuck about him. But Ulah? You love him.”

  Natasha asked, “Do you want me to scream at you? Call you foolish? I don’t understand why you’re complaining. I see that it was an accident, so I accept it was an accident. What’s your problem?”

  “I just felt uneasy.”

  “Well, don’t.” Natasha scoffed.

  Vernisha did not reply. Instead, she appeared sulked, harmed by Natasha’s words.

  Natasha ran her hand through her hair and said, “Look, I understand why you did it. I can relate to it. When I was much older than you, maybe fifteen, I brought a fruit to my sister. It looked nice and smelled good too. But I didn’t know those fruits held a lot of parasites. My sister died because of me, a painful death, and my parents blamed and hated me for it.” She looked Vernisha right in the eyes. “I don’t want you to feel that kind of pain. To feel like you are responsible for the suffering of others because your kindness betrayed you.”

  Vernisha’s lips pursed open, and she found it hard to get the right words. “I didn’t know you had a sister."

  “I don’t like to talk about my family.”

  “Oh, right. Sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  Unfortunately, the three had been listening, but all they did was offer words of comfort.

  After an hour, the Lizard’s movements became slower. Then it became still and was panting.

  The three younglings were fast asleep, but Bahmos woke up. In his hand was a pyramid communicator.

  He forced his tired self up and reached for the carriage walls for balance like a drunkard at a bar.

  “Dreamy?” he called.

  The Lizard responded like a small cat.

  “Ah...”

  Natasha asked him, “Is it tired?”

  His eyes snapped open in surprise, as if an intruder had just entered his house. When he realized it was only her, the tension melted away.

  “Damn,” he muttered, “Forgot you were there. Yeah, it’s tired. Give it about twenty minutes.”

  “I see.”

  He slid the carriage door open and hopped out. “I’ll be out for a while.”

  Vernisha, leaning against Natasha’s shoulder, spoke, “I want to go outside.”

  “Why?” Natasha asked.

  “It feels like my bladder is about to burst.”

  Natasha exhaled, then stood up. “What if the Lizard didn’t stop?”

  Vernisha grabbed Natasha’s waist to help herself up. She would just die holding it in.

  “You were that afraid to ask them to stop?” Natasha asked as she climbed out of the carriage and stood on the paved dirt road.

  She looked at the tall grasses and white flowers among them.

  “A bit so,” Vernisha muttered, hopping out but nearly tripping before catching her balance.

  “Stop being so reckless...” Natasha muttered under her breath.

  “I’m hungry, need to pee, and sleep-deprived.”

  Vernisha yawned before walking deeper into the grass field. Natasha followed to make sure she was safe, ignoring Vernisha’s complaints about being treated like a child.

  Her movements were cautious, like a blind person’s, each step hesitant.

  “It’s so damn dark…” Vernisha complained.

  Natasha smirked. “So you ‘can’t see’?”

  Vernisha paused, clearly trying to process the joke. “I don’t understand. Explain.”

  “No.”

  “Whatever.”

  Once she was done, they walked back. Vernisha stepped on something soft and quickly moved her feet away from it.

  “I hope it’s just a fruit…” she muttered as she aggressively dragged her sandals on the grass, trying to rid them of what she suspected was animal waste.

  Natasha stared at what Vernisha had stepped on.

  A bloody human hand with a fresh bite mark.

  She asked her, “Does it smell like shit?”

  Vernisha shook her head. “But it doesn’t smell like fruit either.”

  Natasha shrugged and walked forward, motioning for her to follow. “Oh well.”

  In the distance, Bahmos was talking, “You’re joking, right? What do you mean she quit?”

  He paused for a moment before asking, “So you’re working on fixing this? We need a vlandos by tomorrow.”

  “Well, work on it!”

  Natasha understood the implication. The vlandos was probably meant as a bodyguard for some illegal dealings, most likely drug-related. That would explain why he would hire one. A vlandos mercenary was not only expensive but also highly illegal.

  Bahmos returned shortly, stomping the ground, his cigar billowing blue smoke.

  He saw them and asked, “Getting fresh air?”

  “Something like that,” Natasha replied.

  He nodded, gazing up at the moon. He then looked down at Vernisha and said, “You know, monsters originate from the moon.”

  “Stop spreading such myths,” Natasha told him.

  “It’s not a myth. I learned that in school, Brightmore school.”

  “You should sue them for teaching you such lies.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Let’s start moving again.”

  They boarded the carriage, and the Lizard began moving again.

  Natasha leaned against the wall, considering sleep. She did not feel tired, but she did not want to think too much at the moment.

  So she closed her eyes and relaxed.

  Vernisha checked the map to see how far they were from the capital. Interestingly, they were near a small monster zone.

  An hour passed, and she struggled to stay awake. For some reason, Bahmos was still up. She suspected smoking was keeping him alert.

  He started a random conversation. “Why are you still up?”

  Vernisha answered, “I think everyone should stay up when you’re around.”

  His eyes widened a little. “Must have heard rumors.”

  “A lot of them.”

  Rumors about his father trafficking kids to Holvious.

  Unlike Holvious, child marriage was legal here, so the black market in Terrafall did not have much demand for it.

  “Is that why you tried to sabotage my carriage a while back?”

  Vernisha paused.

  “I’m not going to do anything to you. If you weren’t a child, it would be a different story,” he continued.

  “So, you’re not going to kill me?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Because I’m a ‘child’?”

  “Isn’t that what I just said?” he replied.

  Vernisha found that hard to believe.

  She asked, “So it isn’t because I’m Natasha’s child and you so badly want to get into her dress?”

  He blew out a large puff of smoke. “My fucking God. I may be a piece of shit, but I’ve got some damn morals. Also, don’t talk like that. You’re a kid.”

  Him telling her not to talk like that, and calling her a kid, really annoyed Vernisha.

  She stared at him. He stared back and said, “What?”

  “Please don’t tell me how to talk. I am not a... I am not your child or one who wants advice from you.”

  It was annoying. But until she turned twenty, she was considered a child. A big child, but a child nonetheless.

  He leaned forward. “Were you never taught manners and respect?”

  “I was being respectful. I said ‘please.’ Or do you think it’s because you’re an adult I should do as you say?”

  He looked at her like she was something hateful, then shook his head.

  He grumbled, “You little…” He stopped himself, then muttered under his breath. “I swear to the stars... I’m glad I no longer have a kid.”

  He angrily puffed on his cigar and coughed. “Fucking ungrateful little shits... Always so fucking ungrateful.”

  He went on like this for a while before adding, “If it weren’t for me, you probably wouldn’t even be with your family. Some fucking dumbass would’ve come here and bought you off your father when you were ten or something.”

  He bit down on his cigar, crushing it. “Or maybe they would’ve bought you for their deformed sons or daughters. Forced you to live your sad life with a fuck who can barely form words or even fucking move. Like a slave, wiping their ass every day. And you know who prevents that shit from happening to all you kids in this village? Me.” He took a deep breath, then whispered, “Fucking... me.”

  Vernisha didn’t say anything. She chose not to believe it. Even if it were true, it would not change how much she disliked him.

  He threw the cigar down and went to lie down, muttering, “Ungrateful…”

  That rage was definitely meant for someone else. It felt like pent-up frustration.

  Vernisha tried to stay awake but ended up falling asleep on Natasha’s side.