reconsidered it in the light of her time with the beekeepers, she decided that it was perhaps not an insult at all; she had the courage to ask why he wished that she were his sister. His reply did him no good at all.
“I dunno, I always thought if I had a sister then I would have been able to join one of the gangs.”
“Why did you have to have a sister to join a gang?”
“ ’Cause they didn’t let you in if they didn’t get one.”
There was a dangerous silence. “What did your gang want with the girls?”
He failed to read the signals, concentrating on something else in the darkness. “For the gang bosses to screw, of course, and to rent out.”
“You are a despicable, revolting disgusting toad, and you stink!”
He looked at her puzzledly. “Why are you so mad?”
“Do you think, you filthy commoner, that I’d be a . . . a prostitute? I’m a princess, you . . . pig!”
He looked the thin, ragged girl up and down. “Yeah. And I’m the Captain of the Cru. Grab your kit. There’s somebody out there and we’d better scram. Move!”
Once again the little princess was silenced. She would cheerfully have refused to go, or have gone elsewhere, but she was too scared of what could be out there in the dark. They left the fire, took up their bags and moved off into the night. Keilin led them unerringly to a trail between the straggling brambles, and up to an area of broken rock slabs. “Slip in here,” he whispered, pointing to a rock-edged crack. “I’ll leave my gear and go back and see what they’re up to.”
He’d left his pack . . . so he was planning to come back. Time passed. She had felt safe hidden here among the rocks, but the stillness of the night slowly consumed her confidence. Her stomach hurt. She wasn’t sure if it was the soup and bread, or fear. He must have been caught . . . of course he’d lead them to her. He was prepared to sell