Page 19 of Silver & Gold
“I forgot.”
Chuckling, Raider unhooked his legs so he could bring his front against Seth’s. He could tell that Seth thought he was going to kiss him. It wasn’t that Raider didn’t want to—in fact, he had been planning on it—but something a little bit wicked took hold of him at the sight of Seth’s expectation. Hooking a heel around Seth’s knee, Raider pulled Seth’s leg forward and pushed his shoulders back, dunking him under the water.
As Seth surged up, spluttering, Raider grabbed onto the boat’s prow and hauled himself to safety. He perched above Seth, grinning down at him. Scowling gorgeously, Seth reached for Raider’s foot, but he stopped short, clearly alerting to how Raider’s attention had shifted—and it wasn’t because of Julian’s hoot of success as the engine whop-whopped to life.
Raider stood up on the wide railing and turned to look down the trade road. The closer they had drawn to Kastari, the heavier the traffic had been, but all of it had moved at the pace of wagons. None had lifted a column of dust.
Raider’s arcane eye zoomed in on the band of riders fast approaching. Adavasti drifted up to gaze in the same direction. Julian was still tinkering with the engine.
“Seth, get up here,” Raider said urgently, and Seth immediately hauled himself into the boat.
“What is it? I don’t see anything.”
“They’ve caught up. They must have been taking fresh horses all day.”
“Fuck. Julian, are we ready to go?”
Julian had straightened from his work. “It started, but the transmogrification matrix still needs sauntering at four more—”
“We’ll just hope for the best,” Seth interrupted. “Everyone, get in the back. I’m driving.”
“Kasha, be merciful,” Julian muttered as he hunkered down with Adavasti, who clung to the roped-in cargo. Raider grinned. When Seth had driven earlier, it had been readily apparent that although Seth was a much better driver than Julian, he had a far more aggressive style. Julian had kept his eyes closed the entire time.
Seth went to get in the driver’s seat while Raider untied the boat from the tree. Seth reversed then turned the boat smoothly into the current of the main channel. Raider joined Julian in the back as they skimmed along at the boat’s top speed. Seth steered expertly around the scattered fishing boats.
On the wide, straight road, the horses gained quickly on them, but the animals wouldn’t last long at that speed. As long as the engine held up—
Within its hastily closed copper casing, the engine squealed. Raider winced at the sharp sound. Then it cut off abruptly as the engine clunked and whined. It happened right as Seth had to steer around a barge, forcing them close to the bank. Arrows started whizz through the air, and spears came flying.
“Raider, stay down!” Seth shouted as Raider got up to position himself between Seth and the projectiles.
Quicksilver burst from Raider’s shoulder to form the layered shoulder guard then cascaded down his arm to his fingertips. He put up his hand to block a spear. The spear point struck his armored palm and bounced off.
There were only six horsemen. Raider could take them. He could try at least.
He strode to the front of the boat, ready to leap for the bank, when the engine roared and the boat zoomed forward. Raider grabbed the side rail with his quicksilver fist, barely saving himself from a tumble into the back. He glanced behind him. The engine casing had been thrown open to expose the tubes, gears, and wires, and Adavasti, glowing with a golden light, had both his tiny hands jammed inside.
Julian was making himself as small as possible by the cargo and even Raider’s nerves-of-steel Curator looked a little alarmed as they flew down the river, zipping past boats, sandbars, and startled fishermen. The landscape blurred around them.
It was absolutely fantastic.
Knowing he could trust Seth to handle things, loving that he could, Raider grinned and settled in to enjoy the ride.
***
Kastari’s river port teemed with traffic, enough that their little boat vanished amid the throng after coasting under the river watchtowers. After Julian had salvaged a few parts from the engine that he said “might be useful,” they abandoned the boat at the docks. They managed to slip away while the duties officer, easily spotted in saffron robes, was busy collecting other fees and recording other goods.
Raider had never been to Seth’s city of Masir, but he had a hard time imagining that it could match the size and grandeur of Kastari.
The city boasted many names.
The City on the Sea. The City of the Blue Gate. The Painted City.
That last was Raider’s favorite. Unlike the air-dried mudbrick common in the Sands, Kastari’s fired brick lent itself to intricate building shapes and paint.
Accented with colorful designs, the towers, balconies, and archways gave an impression of Kastari as a vast, complex, multidimensional painting. All but the poorest people of the city adorned their houses and shops with colorful images of animals and plants. Lions, serpents, and aurochs paraded across walls. The sacred lotus bloomed in bright brushstrokes above doorways.
Further down the river, the imperial palace rose above the rooftops in four magnificent levels. Beyond, the Burudu flowed to the imperial seaport.