Free Of Dreams and Rust by Sarah Fine Page A

watches. For a moment I see the hulking shadow of memory in his haunted eyes, and I know he is reliving the mob, the noose, the minutes he spent dying. But when two of the Itanyai soldiers begin to speak in low tones to each other, he snaps back to the present and shouts, “No talking! You will have plenty of time to talk when we reach Kegu.”
    â€œWhat about the rest of us?” Leye’s fingers are still tight over mine, and Melik’s gaze drops to our joined hands. I cannot tell what he is thinking. After so many nights of dreaming of him, it is strange to be this close, especially because in those dreams I felt nearer to his heart than I do now.
    â€œThose too injured to hike are staying,” he says to Leye, giving a sidelong glance to Bajram.
    Leye scowls, as do the other six who are too wounded to walk. “We’ll freeze to death.”
    Melik gives him a ghostly smile. “I’m certain that won’t happen.” He takes a step forward and offers me his hand.
    I stare at it for a moment before taking it. His callused fingers enclose mine, and I shut my eyes, dazed by the touch I have wanted to feel for so long, wondering if perhaps the distance between now and the past is too far to bridge. He pulls me to my feet and immediately lets go of my hand.
    â€œAre you injured? Can you hike?” He yanks my skirt just high enough to see that I am wearing boots, then drops it again. “You’re fine. You’ll be just fine. You can hike,” he mutters. He says something in Noor to Bajram, who arches his eyebrow and looks at the hem of my dusty, blood-streaked skirt.
    â€œI can hike.” My legs are aching, my head is aching, my heart is aching. When I imagined carrying my message to Kegu, I did not think it would happen like this.
    Leye’s voice breaks as he says, “This girl is innocent. You should leave her here with us.”
    Melik’s expression is blank as he turns back to Leye. “Commander Kudret says she must come with us.”
    Melik pokes at my shoulder and gestures for me to stand behind the line of bound soldiers. When one of the Noor raiders lifts the end of the rope and comes toward me, Melik snaps at him. The fellow drops the rope, and I sigh in relief. At least I will not be wearing a noose as I stumble over rocks and shiver in the cold.
    I look over my shoulder at Leye.
    â€œYou’ll be all right, Miss Wen,” he says to me. “Maybe they will let you see your family.”
    I can tell from the strained sound of his voice that he does not believe I will be all right, but he does not want me to be scared. “Thank you,” I say. “When help arrives, tell them to splint your foot and then take you to a doctor to make sure the bones set properly.”
    He smiles, and it is laced with pain but also sweetness. “It was nice traveling with you, if only for a short time.”
    Melik takes my arm and gestures after the other soldiers, who have started to trudge at gunpoint along a trail that zigzags up the hill. A line of Noor raiders is ahead of them, and my gaze traces the row of men until I see the ones at the front slipping into a narrow pass just beneath the summit. I turn back to Leye. “It was nice,” I say.
    He waves to me. “Please be careful.”
    He smiles once more before Melik mutters that we have to leave. I follow the prisoners, stepping gingerly along the narrow path, trailed by another line of raiders behind me and Melik. They talk in low tones, gesturing quick and sharp, eyes darting all around, as if they are afraid of an ambush too. The higher we get, the better I can see the wreckage of the train scattered along the twisted rail. The smoke billows high into the sky, and I am sure this is what is making the Noor anxious. People will see it. They will send the authorities. It makes me happy for Leye and the other wounded, but also scared—who will be chasing us, and will I be cut down