by E. C. Myers
“You know I don’t like conditions,” Slate said. “And I break promises like I break wind. Sometimes you just can’t help it.”
“Slate.” Bast rolled his eyes and then lowered her gently. “You certainly have a way with words.”
“What? Everyone does it.”
“Which? Breaking wind or breaking promises?”
“Both. And it’s polite not to call either of them out when it happens.” Slate patted the dusty man affectionately on his broad arm. “How’d we do?”
“Everyone got away, thanks to you,” Bast said.
Coco narrowed her eyes behind her glasses. “Why do I get the feeling there’s something you aren’t telling us?”
Bast turned to Coco and appraised her and the rest of the group quickly. He seemed to make a snap judgment that they were worth talking to. That was the way of all Vacuans. The fact that they’d clearly just survived a fight, and were bringing back the spoils as well as one of their own people, likely spoke in Team CFVY’s favor.
“Slate here saved the lot of us. Again,” Bast said.
“Alabaster—” Slate said sharply.
“She never wants any credit for keeping us alive, but you should have seen her. She held off that pod of sand crabs while the rest of us escaped. We got worried when she didn’t catch up to us, though.”
“Just doing my job,” Slate said.
“Are you a Huntress, Slate?” Velvet asked excitedly.
“She’s better. She’s our mayor,” Bast said.
Coco’s eyes widened. It wasn’t every day that someone surprised her.
“I didn’t think nomadic settlements had mayors,” Coco said.
“Every group needs a leader,” Fox said. “Especially when the group settles down for a while. We need someone who doesn’t get complacent, who keeps everyone ready to move on at a moment’s notice. That person doesn’t always get a formal title.”
“Titles are meaningless, anyway.” Slate turned her attention to Fox. “You’re from here. Who’s your tribe?”
“I’m from Kenyte,” Fox said. “But it’s been a long time.”
“No matter how long you’ve been away, you’re always part of your tribe, and your tribe’s always part of you,” Slate said.
Fox smiled.
“Kenyte is a great distance from here, but last I heard, they’re thriving,” Slate said.
“As well as anyone can in the desert,” Bast added.
“Slate, so you were mayor of … Gossan?” Coco asked.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Slate said. She wasn’t playing at being humble, or feigning discomfort. She really didn’t want the attention.
“Slate is mayor of Tuff. That was the name of our original settlement, and it’s what we call ourselves,” Bast explained. “Wherever we go, wherever we settle, we call that place by our name—unless we join permanently with another tribe of nomads. We’ve had to move a few times now. Grimm. They always seem to find us, but more quickly lately. Something strange has been going on.”
“Like I said, just doing my job. A job no one else wants,” Slate says.
“Including me. I’m glad you’re back, Slate.” Bast lowered his voice. “Like Gossan, Feldspar has weak leadership. They’ll be happy to have you.”
Coco looked around. It was impossible to tell apart the recent Gossan refugees from the Feldspar tribe. Maybe some of them were slightly less rumpled and dirty than the others, but that could have just been a matter of personal hygiene.
“The politics here can get interesting. Like I said, most tribes and settlements don’t have elected officials,” Fox sent. “As a general rule, we don’t like rules. It’s even more unusual for a tribe to have a leader that they trust and like, especially after they’ve connected with a larger group. Slate must be really good.”
Coco licked her dry lips. She was actually starting to like the bitter-tasting sand, but it was no replacement for her favorite lip gloss, which she had run out of a year ago. The boutique that made it had been trashed along with the rest of Beacon.
“I doubt they elected her, but it sounds like no one else was in the running,” Coco said. Slate seemed like the kind of person who stepped up when she had to, and most people are naturally inclined to be followers.
“Speaking of jobs,” Slate said. “Where are Bertilak and Carmine? They were supposed to be fighting those Grimm.”
Coco raised her eyebrows. “There are other Huntsmen here?”
Slate shrugged. “Sort of.”
“I’ll find them.” Bast ran off.
Slate called out to a few boys on the edge of the crowd. “Hans, why don’t you and your friends make yourselves useful? This here is fresh sand crab. Take it to the mess and make sure it gets rationed. You three take an extra share for your trouble.”
One boy with a dirt-smudged face nodded. “You got it, Ms. Slate!”
“It’s just Slate, kid.”
Hans and his two friends grabbed the cloth-wrapped bundles of crab meat from Yatsuhashi and Fox.
“Why didn’t you mention that you sacrificed yourself to save your people?” Velvet asked Slate.
Slate gave her a penetrating look. “Would it have changed anything? It didn’t seem relevant, and you were just as eager to save me when I was some defenseless old woman, which, thank you again, by the way. Fortunately, I didn’t end up dying after all. This time.”
Slate crossed her arms and looked around. “These aren’t my people, either. They’re just people. Good people. And I believe in helping others when I can. I don’t care who they are or where they’re from.”
She’s incredible, Coco thought. She saw why everyone rallied to Slate, and it wasn’t just because she helped organize and protect them. It was because she cared more about them than she did herself, and that was a rare quality in Vacuo. As Slate herself had implied back in the desert, it was the kind of quality that eventually got you killed, unless you were also very lucky or very strong.
“Why don’t we go to the saloon for a drink and some of that food we brought back,” Slate said.
Coco hid a smile. Slate was deft at making an order seem more like a friendly suggestion.
Slate led them to a one-level hut built from sandstone, canvas, and good intentions. It was remarkably spacious and clean inside, and pleasantly warm. The night was gradually getting colder, as it did after the sun went down in Vacuo, but the saloon had a number of roaring fire pits. The laughter, conversation, and music stopped when people spotted Slate.
She smiled and waved. “Can’t get rid of me that easily.”
Several people called out well-wishes to her, or banged their clay mugs against the long shale tables.
Coco thought Slate would pick a table in the corner for some privacy, but she walked right up to one in the center. CFVY followed her and sat down. The rest of the restaurant soon went back to their business as if they weren’t there. Coco figured it was naïve to think they were really being ignored, though; people in Vacuo didn’t trust strangers easily, and CFVY had a way of attracting attention wherever they went.
A perky Faunus waitress with a pig snout came over. She rattled off the offerings: “Today’s specials are crab burgers, crab steak, crab cake, and crab rangoon. All very fresh.”
“This one’s on me,” Slate said. “I’m gonna need an ale, Topaz. Make it two to start, and keep them coming. And as much as I love crab anything, I’ve been dreaming about your spicy bat stew for days. Got any of that left?”
“For you? Anything,” Topaz said.
“And get these folks whatever they like. They earned it.”
“Coffee,” Coco said. She madly needed caffeine, and she also liked to stay on brand. “And I’ll try the crab burger.” When in Vacuo.
Yatsuhashi ordered the crab steak and desert lotus tea, and Fox ordered fried crevice worms, lightly toasted cave beetles, and water.
“Cactus tea,” Velvet said. “And the gecko cake, please.”
“You know it i
sn’t really cake, right?” Coco smiled.
Velvet sighed.
“I’ll get those orders right—”
A tall, broad man with a green Mohawk and matching goatee shoved Topaz aside. Coco registered the mace on his belt before she took in the rest of him. A brown hooded cloak made of coarse fabric was draped over his broad shoulders. He wore a green chestplate over a dirty black tunic; his biceps bulged from the short sleeves, showing off a long scar stretching down his right forearm.
“Hey.” Yatsuhashi rose and faced him. They were about the same height, but the newcomer ignored him. Meanwhile, Velvet was checking on Topaz.
“You okay?” Velvet asked the waitress.
Topaz nodded. She was shaken, but fine.
“Bertilak, apologize to the girl,” Slate said.
“I’m sorry you were in my way,” Bertilak growled. “Now run along, piggy.”
Fox frowned and fingered the tip of one of his arm blades.
“I apologize,” Slate said to Topaz.
Topaz put a hand on Slate’s shoulder and then left, casting a scornful look at Bertilak behind his back.
“Well, well. What have we here?” Bertilak stuck a toothpick in his mouth. “Not every day you see new Huntsmen in these parts.”
“It’s nice to see you, too,” Slate said. “You’ve gotten comfortable in Feldspar already, I see.”
“You’re tougher than you look. I’m surprised you’re alive,” Bertilak said.
“No thanks to you,” Slate said.
“Everyone got here just fine,” Bertilak said.
“Well, thanks for that much, then.”
“We didn’t do it for you. Thanks for being crab bait.” He laughed.
“Bertilak Celadon, this is Coco, Velvet, Fox, and Yatsuhashi. Team CFVY, from Shade Academy.”
“Team CFVY, huh? So you’re Huntsmen in training?” Bertilak’s face registered surprise, and something else Coco couldn’t place. Annoyance?
“You attended Shade, too, didn’t you?” Slate asked.
“You’re a Huntsman?” Coco asked, incredulous.
“Sometimes it’s even hard for me to believe.” A woman walked up and stood next to Bertilak. Unlike her partner, she was clearly a Huntress—and she was stunning.
Another benefit of wearing sunglasses was people couldn’t tell when you were staring, and Coco couldn’t take her eyes off the fit, dark-skinned woman. Tinted goggles were perched atop her head, and her wild, unbound scarlet hair reached just past her waist. Freckles dotted her nose and cheeks. A streak of silver hair starting at her left temple shone in the firelight, mirroring the short silver cape draped over her right side. A chain mail crop top exposed her midriff, and she completed the ensemble with a black belt, red mini-shorts, and thigh-high black boots. Holsters on her belt held a pair of long sai.
“Bertilak here barely graduated,” the Huntress said.
“Theodore had it in for me,” Bertilak says.
“Only because you couldn’t follow the rules. I apologize for anything off-color my partner says. If he hasn’t offended you yet, trust me, he will.”
“I’m Coco Adel.” Coco rose and extended a hand.
“Carmine Esclados.” She shook Coco’s hand firmly, each of them applying just enough pressure to let the other woman know she was holding back.
“You have to tell me where you shop,” Coco said. “I love your outfit.”
“This old thing? I’ve had it forever. Picked it up in Mistral years ago. I want your purse. Who’s the designer?”
“Coco Adele,” Coco said.
“You made it yourself? Must be one of a kind. Careful, or I might have to take it from you.” Carmine winked. Then she nodded at Velvet, Yatsuhashi, and Fox. “So, you guys just passing through?”
Coco shook her head. “Someone called Shade asking for help, so Professor Rumpole sent us.”
“Who called?” Bertilak glared at Slate.
“It’s a great mystery,” Slate said. “And not the only one around here.”
“Well, I want—” Bertilak began; Carmine interrupted him with an elbow jab.
“We’re glad to have some backup, of course.” Carmine smiled. “We’ve had our hands full.”
“It’s strange for someone to send a distress call when there are already Huntsmen around,” Velvet said.
“We didn’t hire Bertilak and Carmine,” Slate said. “They just assist us on occasion. When they feel like it.”
“Lucky that you two happened to be close by,” Coco said. “What brought you to Vacuo?”
“That’s none of your business, sweetheart.” Bertilak moved his toothpick to the other side of his mouth.
“We’ll be moving on pretty soon,” Carmine said.
“The sooner the better,” Bertilak said. “I want to get out of here before things heat up again.”
“Are you expecting trouble?” Velvet asked.
“Always, darling.” He winked.
Velvet crossed her arms and turned back toward Slate.
“Trouble’s been following us around,” Slate said. “Every few days, something gets people here worked up for no reason. Arguments and fights break out, people get afraid, and of course all that negative emotion brings Grimm. More and more of them every time.”
“How long has this been going on?” Coco asked.
“About a month. Half of the folks here have survived three separate attacks at as many settlements.” Slate counted them off. “Tuff, Schist, and now Gossan. We’ve lost a lot of good people along the way.”
“Would have been more if not for us,” Bertilak said.
“Cool it,” Carmine said.
Coco wiped her brow; it was getting a little toasty in the close quarters of the saloon.
Topaz brought over a tray of drinks and food. She gave Bertilak a wide berth as she unloaded the cups and plates on the table.
“Care to join us?” Coco asked, looking at Carmine.
“I’ll take a rain check,” she said. “And I don’t mean that in the Vacuo way.” At Coco’s puzzled expression, she explained. “It rains so infrequently here, a ‘rain check’ is kind of their version of ‘when pigs fly.’ ”
“Hey,” Topaz said, with a hurt expression.
“No offense intended,” Carmine said.
“Where are you from, Carmine?” Coco asked.
“Originally? Atlas, believe it or not. Could you picture me in a uniform?”
Yes, Coco thought.
“A lot has happened since I left. If you have time later, I’ll gladly regale you with some hunting stories, but right now I should check on the Caspians.”
“They’re fine,” Bertilak snarled.
“Did you forget we’re on the clock? We work for them. Let’s go,” Carmine said pointedly. “Good to meet you. Looking forward to getting to know one another better.”
Coco sat down and sipped her coffee. It was scalding hot. They needed to turn down the heat in here.
“Who are the Caspians?” Coco asked when the other Huntsmen had left.
“Edward Caspian and his grandson, August. They seem nice, but they don’t socialize much,” Slate said. “They’re from a village called Sumire.”
“Sumire? That’s in Vale,” Coco said. “That’s a long, dangerous journey, even before you hit the desert.”
Team CFVY had experienced it for themselves when they had traveled from Beacon to Shade Academy on foot. Along the way, they had encountered an unusually high number of Grimm, which were being drawn to Beacon Tower. They had taken care of as many of them as they could, feeling like they were helping to defend their home even as they were running from it.
“What brings them to Vacuo?” Coco asked.
“Where are they going?” Fox asked.
Slate shrugged. “Good questions. They’ve never answered them. The Caspians arrived at Tuff with Bertilak and Carmine, in pretty rough shape. Like they’d been running for days. We couldn’t turn them away like that. By the time they were back on
their feet, the Grimm were at our gates. The four of them have stuck with us ever since.”
The group tucked into their food. Yatsuhashi gingerly cut through his crab steak with a fork and knife, the way he did everything when he wasn’t wielding his greatsword on the battlefield; he was always afraid of damaging something or hurting someone with his strength.
He took a bite and chewed it thoughtfully. “Not bad. Could use some Mistral spices.”
“You think everything could use Mistral spices.” Velvet laughed.
Coco thought the burger was maybe too spicy.
Slate took a bite of bat stew, briefly closed her eyes, and sighed happily. “I needed that. And this.” She took a big gulp of ale from a frothy mug. She frowned. “Ugh. It’s warm.”
She gestured to Topaz and then turned back to Coco and the others.
“So you’ve run from Grimm attacks twice?” Coco asked Slate.
“That’s right. I got on this wild ride when we evacuated Tuff. Grimm have been on our heels the whole way. I’ve never seen anything like it. Sometimes things get tense, sure, and that brings a few stray Grimm. But things always calm down, and life goes on.
“This is different. When emotions start to run high, it just gets worse and worse. And the Grimm come, and they don’t stop. So we run. We settle down somewhere else, and pretty soon it all starts again. I don’t know what we’ll do when those Huntsmen leave with the Caspians.”
“We’re here now,” Coco said.
“I was hoping you’d say that. I don’t know who summoned you, but we can’t pay you. I’m sorry. Even if we took up a collection, it wouldn’t be enough,” Slate said. “We barter for most of our business, and we’ve all taken a big hit with the evacuations.”
Fox slurped a fried worm into his mouth. “We’re doing this for school credit,” he said, his mouth full.
“And we’ll help because it’s the right thing to do,” Velvet said.
Yatsuhashi nodded, chewing.
“Whatever the reason, we’re here,” Coco said. “Maybe we can fight the Grimm off without needing to evacuate again.”
“Maybe the Grimm won’t bother us this time,” Topaz said. Coco hadn’t even noticed the waitress return to the table.
“Maybe.” Slate handed her the mug and explained kindly that ale should be served cold. The waitress looked confused.
