Reading the Wind (Silver Ship) by Brenda Cooper

little distance away, bent over the notebook in his lap, scratching furiously with his pencil, looking up from time to time and surveying the clearing. He’d taken time to catch his hair back in a braid this morning, and it fell down his back like a golden-white rope, gleaming in the midmorning sunshine. In spite of my frustrations, I smiled at the content, intense look on his face. “He’s recording things he’s noticed. Being a roamer is in his blood.” I gave her my best evil grin. “Science will solve everything.”
    “Does that mean he feels better?” she asked.
    I pulled out my water bottle and took a long, slow drink. “Better about what?”
    “About… about being away from home.”
    “Being kidnapped?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral, trying for statement of fact rather than an accusation. “Probably not.”
    “Look at me,” Kayleen said.
    I did. She sat a meter away from me, long legs and long feet tucked under her, her dark hair loose and falling wildly around her shoulders. Her bright blue eyes contrasted with the yellow shirt she wore. Her mouth pursed, tight. Windy’s lead rope lay loosely in her hands, and the hebra, below her, nibbled at blades of grass between the rocks.
    Kayleen blinked, watching Windy. She kept her silence for a long moment before she said, “I’m sorry, Chelo. I’m sorry I had to kidnap you, sorry you wish you were home.”
    She spoke softly enough that Liam probably couldn’t hear her, although I wasn’t sure. He didn’t look at us or give us any sign, just kept jotting notes.
    Kayleen looked over at me and continued. “I’d do it again, because… because I had to. I’ve explained that. I had to leave, and I need you two. I really do. But I’m still sorry I had to.” She glanced over at Liam. “Will he ever forgive me?”
    Before I could answer, he closed the notebook and stood up. “Let’s go,” he said. “We’ve only got a few hours before we have to turn around if we don’t find anything.”
    Kayleen looked at me, pleading for an answer, and I spread my hands, indicating I didn’t know what he would decide. She hesitated, then asked very softly, “Do you forgive me?”
    In answer, I reached a hand out to help steady her, squeezing her hand softly. She squeezed back, then dropped my hand and jumped lightly down next to Windy. It was the best I could do—I couldn’t really say yes, but I could show her I had come to understand. At least partly.
    She stayed silent for the next hour as we threaded slowly up to a ridge that offered a good view. Down to our right, sunlight glinted off the Burning Void’s silver hull. South, trees obscured a clear view of Islandia’s Teeth, but to the north the ocean made a thin blue-green line on the horizon. From here, it was even possible to see the white steam clouds where the Fire River dumped its molten rock into the ocean. Down the opposite side, another valley had a single wide river running through it, and here and there, puffs of smoke hung above the trees on the way down. “What are those?” I asked.
    Liam squinted at the smoke. “I’m not sure. Near Rage Mountain, we found a lot of places with warm water, and a few places where warm water came up to intersect cold water, and those spots steamed. Maybe it’s the same here.”
    “Can we go look?” Kayleen asked.
    I glanced up at the sun, which was almost directly above our heads, then looked back down at the peaceful valley. There was waterand wood, and warm water would be a treasure. Especially if we wintered here. I swallowed. But surely we wouldn’t. The valley opened up wider at the far end. “I’ll bet we can make a big circle instead of backtracking, and then we might have time.”
    Liam seemed to follow my logic. “I think we can. But more importantly, why haven’t we seen anything bigger than birds?”
    I looked around, realizing that it was a good question. “Maybe we’re scaring them off?”
    He frowned. “Maybe. There must be