Chapter 364: 364: Nets in the Sand
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(Back to Miryam)
The skin of the desert lifted. It did not burst. It rose like a slow breath and became a small dome. The mesh flexed and held. Sand slid off it in a thin sheet. The tunnel below pressed again and the dome rose a hand higher. A pale ear poked up first. Then a small gold head with bright eyes.
The scouts did not shout. They pulled as if tightening a belt. The ring climbed around the dome and locked. The second net slid over the first. The third settled like a shawl. The pegs bit. The lines went tight.
Miryam felt it before she saw it. The tunnel nose bumped a soft wall. The soft wall moved and had teeth. She was pushed back a little. The air broke into little ripples. Friend dug claws into her shoulder and pressed its face against her neck.
She could have forced the sand to burst. She knew how. She could have filled the tunnel with wind and blown the skin away. She did not. She had never met a net. She did not know it was not a friend. She thought it was the desert being playful and a little rude. She pressed forward with a laugh that turned into a quiet sound of surprise.
The dome broke the surface.
Net.
She froze. The Friend went still. Both of them looked right and left. The mesh had grit woven into it so it did not shine. It had a smell like old reeds and a little salt. Miryam put her hand to it. The lines bit her palm.
A shadow crossed the dome. A figure crouched.
He did not look like a monster. He looked young. He had an easy smile with teeth that would look kind in another camp. He set one finger to his lips and made a gentle sound, the kind of sound someone uses to calm a horse.
"Stay little one," he said.
Miryam did not stay. She pushed her palm into the sand and told it to loosen. The desert tried. The mesh fought it. The two forces made a soft tearing sound under the ground. Two pegs leaned. Two scouts eased them down and set them again with the calm of men who had been told to hold a fish without breaking it.
"Do not stun," the young man said without looking back. "I got no spikes."
He put his cheek to the sand again like he had earlier and listened for the shape of her tunnel under the net. He drew a half circle with his hand in the grit and then another one inside it. He nodded to himself.
"Make the walkway here," he said. "Not on the nose. Lift straight up in one pull. Think of a basket you do not want to tip."
Reed mats went down with soft hands. Four scouts took places. They were not loud. They breathed like ant men who knew the value of a quiet lift. On the count of three they raised the set. The dome lifted. The tunnel nose rose with it like the snout of a fish caught in a sling.
The Friend made a low sound. It was not a growl. It was the kind of sound that says I do not like this but I will not run because you are here. It pressed closer to Miryam. She put her arm around it and held it.
The young man spoke again. His voice was calm.
"It is all right," he said. "Do not bite yourself. Do not use the wind in here. You will only choke. I will not hurt you."
Miryam looked up at him. She did not speak. She watched his eyes. He did not blink. He had the look of someone who enjoys questions more than answers. She felt the small bright thread inside her that was for Kai and tried to hum on it. But she couldn’t. The net made the air feel thick. The sand above the net was heavy. The small road in her mind found a wall and did not go through it.
The scouts walked the dome to a flat place on the lee of a dune. They set it down gently. The young man reached out and pinched one knot. The mesh loosened its top ring. A small gap appeared.
He did not reach in. He set both hands on his knees and leaned near the gap so his face was level with hers.
"My name is Mardek," he said. "You look like trouble and I like trouble. What is your name."
The Friend made a sound that was small and angry. Miryam put a hand on its head. She thought of Luna saying tell the truth but not the whole truth when the world is sharp. She thought of Kai and the way his voice went quiet when the blades came out.
She did not answer.
Mardek smiled like a man who finds the game even better because the other player knows the rules. He did not push. He tapped the net with one finger.
"You came from under," he said. "Then you can go under again. But if you do it here you will scrape your nose. Move left. The sand listens better there."
It was true. She could feel it. The ground under the left edge was looser and kind. She kept her face still. He had felt it too.
He went on. "You are small. You smell like the sun and clean stone. Your friend smells like old dates. You have someone who tells you do not to go far. You came far enough anyway. I do not want to hurt you. I want to know what you know."
He looked up and flicked two fingers. A scout slipped a loop around the mesh and drew the knot down a little more. He held out a shallow cup. The liquid in it was clear and had a faint scent like mint and a little salt.