Free The Free Trader of Warren Deep (Free Trader Series Book 1) by Craig Martelle Page B

be heavy, but it would come in handy.
    He put some water from the flasks into their cooking pot and let the horses drink. They drank three pots between them. That was three flasks worth. Braden refilled the flasks from the casks and watched as the water level dropped.
    Being a trader, Braden could quickly do basic calculations in his head. At this rate, the water in the casks would last roughly two weeks. If they drank more, which he suspected they would in the dry of the desert, then it might last as little as one week.
    With Skirill, their chances of finding a water hole, an oasis, were vastly improved. When they reached the last stream in the foothills, they would discuss how best to attack the Great Desert. Braden’s success counted more on his companions than him. He looked at them as they rested.
    One’s true measure can be found in the value of one’s friends.

 
    24 – Other Hawkoids
     
    Another uneventful night followed by an uneventful daylight. The cart trundled on, leaving a light scar in the grasses of their wake. Braden’s horse ambled continuously forward, toward a spot on the horizon that Skirill had directed them to. He sat there now, waiting, watching.
    G-War stretched out his senses. He could feel nothing except for the human and the Hawkoid. The Hillcat wasn’t used to such voids. He expected that the Great Desert would be even worse. He needed to reconcile himself with the quiet or he would go crazy.
    Braden was used to the relative quiet. He heard the horses crunching the dry grasses, scuffing the earth beneath. He heard their leather harnesses slapping, the creak of the cart. The grass swished in the breeze. He felt the sun on his face.
    Where G-War was anxious, Braden was alive. What he felt and heard was the freedom of the open road. This was the trader’s time to relax and enjoy the wonders of the caravan’s journey. He looked at the ‘cat and wished him peace.
    He saw and felt Skirill in the distance as he took off and climbed. He flew higher and higher past the foothills and toward the Bittner Mountains. He flew hard and straight.
    Braden opened his mind, but couldn’t touch the Hawkoid. ‘G. Do you know where Skirill is going.’
    ‘Yes,’ was the ‘cat’s short reply.
    ‘Where?’ Braden asked in his thought voice, ignoring the fact that the cat answered his first question without answering the real question.
    ‘The near peaks. He has seen other Hawkoids and is flying to meet them.’
    ‘Are the Hawkoids friendly?’ Braden asked. He had never seen one up close until they met Skirill. Circumstances forced that meeting and enabled Braden to establish their friendship. He hadn’t heard of other humans having any interaction with Hawkoids. The humans thought they were eagles. They kept to themselves, frequenting areas where humans were scarce.
    ‘No. Hawkoids and humans are not compatible.’
    “But Skirill…” Braden said out loud, now confused. Through G-War the Hawkoid and the human had talked. Without that, surely Braden would not have attempted to work on Skirill’s wounds?
    ‘Skirill is his own Hawkoid. He breaks tradition. He will confirm shortly that he is not allowed back among his own kind. He is and always will be an outcast.’ 
    “I didn’t know. I’m not sure Skirill made a good trade. What can we do to help?”
    G-War mentally shrugged. If Braden understood ‘cat logic, the shrug meant that there was nothing to do. Once the choice was made, he dealt with it.
    As Braden thought about it, he realized what G-War had said. “He will confirm shortly…” you said. “You can see the future can’t you?” The ‘cat didn’t respond.

 
    25 – Hawkoid Disdain
     
    Skirill had seen the Hawkoids as they circled near the cliffs far above him. He knew that his own kind barely tolerated him. Hawkoids were intelligent, but they were limited in their ambitions. He was unique and that alone made him stand apart. The others couldn’t think like he thought. They