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The High Plains of Eastern Colorado, August: A better na water is scarce much of the year The pumps and sprinklers that fed circular patches of crops, which had dotted the flats like so empty skeletons and dry as h plains would be a lush paradise: the sun shines three hundred days a year, and the winters are comparatively mild
Perhaps it is the sun that keeps the Kur away, or just the lack of sustainable population for their feeding The inhabitants of Denver and the Eastern Slope arrisons scattered in this empty land ih to prevent a Reaper&039;s leaping over the in this expanse hide their paths and habits froorous Denver Freehold in the West and the Kurians to the East The Denverites have been known to "relocate to safety" anyone found on their borders, confiscating property too large to un As for the Kurians, it is the old story Any group larger than a fa a lifesign lure for a roa Reaper
So only the occasional house is inhabited, though the isolation can be as hard to live under as the Kurian avatars
Valentine did not knohether to call it a sod house or a cave The House of Cortez had none of the scope and glitter its conquering namesake inspired The front of the structure protruded froigantic cannon and eh wooden trunks holding up the dirt-and-grass-covered roof Flowers in hanging baskets and planters added a splash of color to the weather-beaten wood and straw-colored grasses covering the hillside and the crown of the house
They drew near the house to a crescendo of barking Valentine guessed three dogs, and he and Duvalier approached eht house We haven&039;t seen another one for five un," a female but not very feminine voice called from the shadows of the house "You&039;re welcome to water froers"
"We&039;re here to speak to To
"No one here by that name You&039;re lost, sounds like"
"We have soot the directions froure contes went silent "My husband&039;s not home Your business is with him If you want to wait, just tell me where you&039;ll be, and I&039;ll tell him when he returns"
"Ma&039;am," Duvalier said, "we&039;ve co farther west We&039;ve lugged this case all the way froot here Food and horses, in other words"
"Horses? You see a barn here?"
Valentine put a restraining hand on Duvalier&039;s shoulder
"Mrs Cortez, we&039;re here to help if we can Is your husbandof the unseen woman&039;s manner break inside the shadowy interior "Three weeks and two days," a much smaller voice said from the shadows The door opened, and a short raisin of a wo a rabbit gun Years of dusty Colorado sumone this long I&039;m about out of my head orry It wasn&039;t even "
They ate a s and drank prairie tea under the low ceiling of the Cortez home Like a rabbit warren built for humans, the house behind the half-buried facade was a series of rooes, mostly filled with cobwebbed relics as a sort of indoor junkyard A generator chattered away; judging froht and ventilate the house The musty s, earth-insulated coolness of the interior after the hot August sun
"My husband brought o, now," Mrs Cortez explained while arrulous after letting them in "He alas a traveler Tall and handsoe Just his size etting es into Denver, New Mexico, wherever The New Order had just got itself worked out by then, everything all organized to suit the and starvation, lots of folks were happy to stay put where they were told and do as ordered But I saw there was no future in it, and when Too, I went He had found this place in theit up We were happier than we had a right to be, considering as going on beyond the horizon" She removed a pistol from her apron and sat down to her own meal
"It&039;s always been just the two of you?" Duvalier asked
"Yes, we couldn&039;t have children So these days Not that we failed on account of trying," she said, a shy s across her face "There was Karl, an orphan boy
Tommy picked up on one of his trips He stayed with us about three years, but moved on to Denver when he was seventeen Nobody around here-he was lonely, poor boy Or I should say nobody around here worth knowing These lands get all sorts of trash passing through, and I&039;et scared if I&039;s"
The curs in question snored in a companionable heap on an old sofa They sported the curled tails and short-haired, irregular coloring of rels, and as soon as their mistress had dropped her suspicions, they turned into a tail-wagging, tongue-lolling trio of family pets
Valentine cleared the table and worked the pump in the sink As he washed the dishes, he noticed a half-folded note on the counter Making sure that his body blocked hier and turned it open
To Who Finds This Note:
The house and all in it are yours Toone these days and I must find him I can&039;t stay alone in this house no hts are too much and I don&039;t sleep with him away I will find hiain "I&039; he could serve as a guide to this part of Colorado But of course that&039;s not ihtened "I used to know the land between here and Denver real well In the years since, I&039;ve changed but the hills haven&039;t With you two along, I&039;d feel safer following the trail to Fort Rowling And yes, we do have horses The stable&039;s just hid; it&039;s in an old foundation you&039;d think was just a collapsed house unless you got within spitting distance There&039;ll be news of hiuide Good place to hear news, too, if that&039;s what you&039;re after"
"Sounds like the best plan for all of us," Valentine said
Valentine enjoyed riding the dry, lonely country The horses, tough s with muscles of steel and adamantine determination to acco packs or saddles, were in better condition than s added an air of a picnic to the trip, for they explored the countryside with such canine joie de vive that the accoh spirits They were out of the KZ, no checkpoints to dodge, watchful eyes of the residents no longer on theuide&039;s memory and Valentine&039;s nose, they went fro
The nights passed a little s for any Reapers wandering away fron in such an ehter on a Hood&039;s psychic radar Mrs Cortez ht the Cats a quiet couple Valentine and Duvalier sat at the tiny, shielded ca trance that had many of the benefits of sleep Her small talk continued despite her unresponsive companions until she drifted off to sleep
Then caher than the observer To Valentine, it felt as if he were in a vast shallow arena, with only high, wispy stratus clouds watching their performance
They were awhen the dogs alerted All three narrow snouts pointed northwest at the same moment, ears cocked to attention Valentine&039;s ears picked up the sound of vehicles
"Motors Maybe two," Valentine said, and Duvalier nodded agreement
"It&039;s et under cover anyway," Mrs Cortez said, sliding off her saddle "Guess my ears aren&039;t what they used to be"
They took cover in the lee of a horseshoe-shaped hill aly oneseed junipers Mrs Cortez held the horses, which took the opportunity to nose a the branches for the dark blue berries, and ordered the dogs down next to her Valentine and Duvalier chose a spot on the crest to observe
Tide-fra the re as they stuck to the road, they were little threat
"Just brownish off-road cars," Valentine called back down
"You sure they aren&039;t green? Denver folks have their rigs painted green, soot a white star on&039;em, too"
"Maybe they&039;re just dirty," Duvalier suggested, but even she did not sound convinced
They traveled more carefully after that They found the road the jeeps had used, but the tire tracks told no clear tales, except that the jeeps weren&039;t the only vehicles that had used the road recently A mile past the road, Valentine picked up the sht afternoon breeze as they walked their horses
"People up ahead," he said to Duvalier "Don&039;t look startled-it&039;s probably a stillwatch Let&039;s worry about it behind some cover"
They wound around a bend in a hill, cutting off the scent, and stopped After that it was athe watchers Sooner or later curiosity would force theo after the to the horses
Valentine ondering how to phrase it when Duvalier let out an exasperated breath "Don&039;t look like that, Val I&039;ll be gentle"
Within an hour she descended fro an unfamiliar rifle behind a un bobbed on her back
"Look, she found one," Valentine said
Mrs Cortez narrowed her eyes "Good-size boy That&039;s a Denver regular, not one of the Rangers they use here on the Frontier So on I hope she was polite; the Denver troops get riled easily"
Duvalier walked her prisoner into ca with him as they approached the horses The soldier spoke first
"Look, friend, you&039;re in Colorado now As a heap of trouble your way, especially now Better tell your girl to give me my rifle back In about five uns pointed at you froirl&039; is actually in charge here, et too heavy-handed with the threats, Private Your sergeant irl&039; about half your size surprised you and got your gun without even having one of her oell, I wouldn&039;t care to be you"
The soldier, who had parkston stenciled on his breast, glanced around at the crests of the low surrounding hills, as if the unna that soun
"But we don&039;t want that to happen," Valentine continued "As far as we&039;re concerned, you nailed us froh to ask questions first and shoot later, and fro us in to see your officer If we give you your gun back, can we trust you not to do anything foolish?"
"Yes, sir," Parkston agreed His co between them