Luck of the Wheels. Megan Lindholm

       TWO

      ‘The boy looks ordinary enough.’

      Vandien leaned out of the cuddy door and let his gaze follow Ki’s. He had just finished storing their provisions in the cupboards and drawers inside the caravan. The two georns had been enough to take on generous supplies, and at Trelira’s urging, they had done so. Vandien was more than a little disgruntled about it. Ki didn’t usually spend advance money until she had decided to take on the job. So much for meeting the boy first. Well, whatever problems came with him, Ki had bought them in advance.

      ‘Fourteen?’ he observed skeptically.

      ‘Looks more like sixteen to me. But you never can tell; some boys grow fast,’ Ki replied.

      Gotheris walked beside his father, and nearly matched him in height. That put him half a head taller than Ki and the equal of Vandien. His brown hair clung to his head as smoothly as a cap and was cut to one length on the sides and back. In front it touched his eyebrows in a straight line. His eyes were light, though at this distance Vandien could not tell what color they were. His face was long and narrow, with the unfinished look of a boy who is sure of all the answers while still discovering the questions. His young body was lanky, as if growing bones were outracing the meat and muscle that should cloak them. His cream-colored shirt was lavishly embroidered in red and yellow, in gay contrast to the rough brown robe Brin wore. Goat wore loose brown trousers that fluttered around the tops of his sandaled feet. The boy strode empty-handed, but Brin had a large basket buckled to his back and a woven bag in his arms. Vandien frowned at the boy’s laziness, then decided it was none of his business.

      ‘Well, here we are, all ready to go!’ Brin greeted them. His words rang falsely hearty in Vandien’s ears.

      Ki made some noncommital reply, studying the boy. The boy’s eyes were very large, and slightly protruding. So that was what the father had meant by Jore eyes. Up close, they were so pale a green they verged on yellow, and the pupils were not those of a Human. A little crossbreeding, then, somewhere back in the family line. The rest of him seemed Human enough. He had a sweet little pink bow of a mouth, but when he smiled he showed teeth long and narrow and yellow as a goat’s. Goat looked brightly from Ki to Vandien as Brin set his burdens down by the wagon and wiped his sweaty face with a stained kerchief.

      ‘This is my son, Gotheris. Gotheris, make your respect to the teamster and his wife. Vandien and Ki.’

      ‘The teamster and her partner. Ki and Vandien.’ Vandien corrected him mellowly.

      ‘I see. Beg pardon,’ Brin flushed, but Ki ignored the stumble. Gotheris giggled, in a high pitch more like a girlchild’s laugh than that of a youth on the verge of manhood.

      ‘Well, at least I’ll know from the start who I must-hark to!’ the boy burst out, grinning delightedly from Ki to Vandien. ‘Is this the wagon?’

      ‘You’ll have to hark to whichever of us speaks,’ Ki said firmly, but the boy had turned from the group and was climbing into the caravan.

      ‘Please excuse him,’ Brin said hastily, trying to speak smoothly. ‘He’s so excited to finally be on his way, and full of curiosity about you and your caravan. I’m afraid his manners flee before his impulses sometimes. You may find him a bit uncouth, I fear. We have lived an isolated and rural life for so long that Gotheris has none of the graces or sophistication you would find in a city-bred boy. It is unfortunate that boys of that age usually believe themselves the very soul of wit and judgement. With just the two of us, he has grown up speaking his mind rather bluntly to adults, and often gives his opinions before he is asked. But aren’t all boys his age like that? He is a bit coarsely mannered, I’m afraid, but the training and discipline of a healer will soon take off his rough edges.’ Brin’s eyes darted from Ki to Vandien as he sensed their reluctance. He kept nodding at his own words and smiling so earnestly as he explained and excused that finally Ki nodded to make him stop.

      ‘There’s only the one big bed in here! Do we all sleep together then, tumbled in a pile? I’ll warn you, I’ll ask to be on top!’ The boy was half-hanging out of the caravan door, a wide smile on his mouth. The ribald note in his voice shattered the just-made accord. Before either Ki or Vandien could speak, Brin stepped forward and seized him by the shoulder.

      ‘Gotheris! Mind your behavior! Do you want these folk to think you witless and rude? Show them some respect, or you’ll never be on your way to Dellin.’

      ‘Yes, Father,’ Gotheris replied, his manner so suddenly meek and chastened that Vandien felt his disgust abate somewhat.

      ‘Have you ever been away from home before?’ Ki asked casually.

      ‘I’m afraid not,’ Brin answered for him. ‘You can see how excited he is; he has wanted to leave Keddi for so long, to see more of the world. I’m afraid he shows himself in a bad light in his excitement.’

      ‘I’m familiar with the way of boys,’ Ki answered, addressing them both. ‘No one could travel with the Romni and not become accustomed to the antics of children. Even the most disciplined will kick up their heels at the start of a journey. But,’ she added, turning gravely to Gotheris, ‘we must understand things before I touch hands with you on this. If we take Gotheris, he must be willing to obey Vandien and me. I will expect him to help with the camp chores at night, to clean up after himself, and help care for the horses; that means fetching water if needed, helping to unharness at night, that sort of thing. In short, although he will be our passenger, he will have to be a responsible member of the party as well.’

      Gotheris’s face had grown more and more indignant with every condition. The words fair burst from him. ‘But my father is paying you to take me!’

      ‘Hush, Son.’ The man’s big hands flapped at him beseechingly. ‘I am sure you understand that all must cooperate on such a journey. And, Gotheris, think of all the things you’ll learn!’

      The boy made no reply, and his eyes dropped to look at the dusty ground. But in the instant before Ki began speaking again, his gaze leaped up to meet Vandien’s in a rebelliously measuring look. Vandien met his look gravely, and the boy looked down, but a half smile rose and lingered on his face. Vandien suppressed a sigh. Soon enough, boy, he promised himself.

      ‘He must be courteous, not only toward us but to any we meet along the way. And, in such close quarters, I must insist on personal cleanliness, and his awareness of the privacy of others.’ Ki was going on with her list of requirements. Brin was nodding earnestly to all she said, but the boy didn’t appear concerned. First he picked at his yellow teeth, and then squatted down to scratch his ankle vigorously.

      ‘I’m sure he’ll be no trouble, once he settles into the rhythm of the journey. He knows he has to behave if he is to reach Dellin without delay. He’ll do his best to be useful. Won’t you, Gotheris?’

      The squatting boy cocked his head up at his father and gave a quick flash of his teeth. ‘Of course I will, Father. What boy wouldn’t jump at the chance to travel to hot, dusty Villena, there to study his eyes out with his humorless uncle,