Free The Days of Peleg by Jon Saboe Page B

fussing with his horse, and appeared not to have heard. He simply turned, and announced the fee for his services.
    Peleg knew better than to expect Serug to pay for the trip, so he reached into his purse and pulled out the required silver Kaspum .
    “Thank you so much for the ride,” Peleg said as he handed over the fare plus a small tip.
    “No, Thank You .” Tizkar grinned. “But if you really want to know what I think, I think you should watch that Mentor Inanna. She’s always trying to get us to ‘Watch the moon’.” He laughed, waving his hands in mockery. “Next thing you know, we’re all going to be worshipping it.”
    Serug could contain himself no longer. “Perhaps if you actually had an education, you’d realize that there are more possibilities in the universe besides the simple ones you make up in your head. You know, ignorance is a powerful thing—it makes fools feel omniscient.”
    A huge knot of dread suddenly tied itself in Peleg’s stomach. Their driver slowly unfolded himself from his seat and stepped to the ground. His height was much greater than either man would have predicted when he had been sitting. He walked over to Serug, his large jaw pushed out and moving as if he were chewing his cud. Peleg decided that if he were forced to choose between fight or flight, flight would undoubtedly win. This guy was definitely in a heavier weight class.
    Tizkar stood face to face with Serug, who had a still, panicked look in his eye as he waited, motionless, to see what would happen next. Suddenly, Tizkar’s entire frame relaxed, and he shook his head with an air of disgust and amusement. He turned and spat on the street next to his horse, leaving a large pool of glistening saliva.
    “You see that?” he demanded, pointing to his creation. “Salt water. Same as the ocean. Same as you and me. That’s what we’re made of, and only the gods could have turned that into you .” He accentuated his final word by swinging his huge finger in an arc directly into Serug’s chest, where it landed with a thump.
    Serug stumbled backwards slightly from the impact, but held his ground. He opened his mouth, although Peleg knew he really didn’t have anything to say.
    Before he could try, Tizkar grinned.
    “Forget it.” He started to climb back in his driver’s seat. “You are right about one thing, you know—the reason why those Mentors feel omniscient.” With that he laughed and hopped into his seat.
    “Pleasure doing business with you!”
    As their ride trotted away, Serug said, “What an ignorant creep!”
    Peleg smiled. “Well I’m sure it is a bit disconcerting to discover you are mostly made of spit.”
    “Thanks for your support.” Serug looked around to clear his head. He saw the glowing BubusSunu sign and suddenly remembered why they were there.
    “Come on—let’s eat.”
     
    Peleg knew exactly where to eat when his meal was free. Large plates laden with succulent Arinya -ribs were carried past their table, and Peleg couldn’t wait until his arrived. These splendid animals were increasingly rare, as entire communities had been loaded onto ships by poachers. They didn’t fare well in the excessive local humidity, but he had heard stories of the dry arid landmass to the southeast where farmers hoped to corner the market by establishing ranches. Of course, their scarcity drove the price up.
    One thigh could feed at least six men two or three times over. Arinya stood on two powerful legs which they used to jump great distances—up to four times their own height. Peleg had never seen this, since they were kept in cages until it was time to “prepare” them.
    Serug still seemed rattled by his earlier encounter. Even when the food arrived and they began eating, Serug was uncharacteristically quiet—he could usually talk and eat at the same time.
    “Are you still bothered by that driver?” Peleg asked. “There’s no reason to let him get to you. He seems like someone who likes to spout