BooksBarbecue
Back Master of Poisons
Chapters (102)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Map
  5. DRAMATIS PERSONAE
  6. BOOKI
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. BOOKII
  30. 1
  31. 2
  32. 3
  33. 4
  34. 5
  35. 6
  36. 7
  37. 8
  38. 9
  39. 10
  40. 11
  41. 12
  42. 13
  43. 14
  44. 15
  45. 16
  46. 17
  47. 18
  48. 19
  49. BOOKIII
  50. 1
  51. 2
  52. 3
  53. 4
  54. 5
  55. 6
  56. 7
  57. 8
  58. 9
  59. 10
  60. 11
  61. 12
  62. 13
  63. 14
  64. 15
  65. 16
  66. 17
  67. BOOKIV
  68. 1
  69. 2
  70. 3
  71. 4
  72. 5
  73. 6
  74. 7
  75. 8
  76. 9
  77. 10
  78. 11
  79. BOOKV
  80. 1
  81. 2
  82. 3
  83. 4
  84. 5
  85. 6
  86. 7
  87. 8
  88. 9
  89. 10
  90. 11
  91. 12
  92. 13
  93. 14
  94. 15
  95. 16
  96. 17
  97. 18
  98. Glossary
  99. Acknowledgments
  100. Also by Andrea Hairston
  101. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  102. Newsletter Sign-up

Bal shouldered Djola’s weight. Their three-legged walk was well-rehearsed. Awa stumbled behind them, Soot at her side. Crows roosting deep in cathedral branches squawked at foolish people hobbling into danger. At the end of the bridge, dust, ash, and sparks scoured any exposed skin. Kyrie signaled a halt. If guards were posted beyond the citadel gates, they were invisible in dust squalls at the entrance. Soot snapped at Awa when she tugged the mesh over his eyes. Void dust sparked in his coat. Awa hugged him inside her cloak, then dropped the veil over her face. The eerie darkness was claustrophobic. Urzula’s spark torches were gust-proof and visible through mesh, yet Awa saw nothing. Something was wrong. Chief cook Lilot should have already lit the torches. Fannie dumped a mound of manure, Mango sneezed, and Soot whined. A strong hand gripped Awa’s bad arm from behind. She turned and saw two bright torches.

“Lilot, Urzula,” Kyrie shouted.

The queen and her cook had come out to escort them into the citadel. Awa swallowed panic. Short, squat, and fierce like Kyrie, they had metallic-colored hair and Lahesh flame-cloth robes that were visible in the torchlight. Mango rumbled everybody’s relief into the ground.

“Welcome,” Urzula said. “Our son and daughter enjoy the wisdom and isolation of the floating cities. They’ve begged us to join them, but—”

“Tschupatzi!” Lilot grunted a floating-city curse.

Urzula shushed Lilot and continued the greeting, her voice like gentle rain wearing away at rocks. “But, like you, we have yet to cry defeat on Empire soil. Come.”

The troupe followed their lights toward the cook’s entrance. Soot licked Awa’s hands and whined. He was worried too. What if the doorway wasn’t big enough for a warhorse and an elephant?

7

A Maze of Odors

The void dust storm finally blows itself out. Soot pads close to Awa. Two pirate women, smelling of lightning, herbs, and cooking pots, lead Awa’s pack through a stone courtyard. They douse the lightning on their torches with bare hands. Soot feels Awa’s distress when they lead Mango and Fannie into the citadel’s grassy corral. Fannie can open latches. Mango can rip up posts or chains. They are not prisoners and always happy for wide open spaces and sweetgrass. Awa buries her face in Fannie’s mane and clutches Mango’s trunk. She smells sad. Soot licks her hands, offering comfort.