Page 59 of Kiss of Ice

“What? Why are you smiling?”

“Nothing. How exactly are we going to hitch a lift?”

“On the back of a manure cart.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Manure sells for a pretty penny in the cities because of all the posh parks and gardens that need compost. So before dawn farm-workers drive their carts here to sell their animal dung. And when their carts are empty, they head back home. If we’re lucky, we can catch a ride.”

“Excellent. I’m sure the smell will help with the disguise.”

“That’s what I thought. Come on, they all congregate in the square up here. Locals call it Poo Plaza.”

“How quaint.”

He had to admit, this was one part if the city hewasn’tfamiliar with. And it did, indeed, smell like its nickname. He tried not to gag as Ren negotiated with a cart-owner and eventually handed over some coins.

“I didn’t think to bring any money,” he hissed as they settled into the back of a cart which, judging by the odour, had recently held a copious volume of animal faeces.

“I have some, don’t worry. The owner’s going to Coppertown. It’s a bit rougher than I would have liked but you may as well see the worst bits.”

“Coppertown is more than rough. It’s a den of thieves and bandits. I’ve had to send soldiers out there more than once to make arrests.”

“The cart owner isn’t a thief or a bandit,” Ren said sharply. “Maybe there should be soldiers stationed there permanently to protect people like him.”

Kam opened his mouth, then closed it again. She was right. And the worst of it was, he alreadyknewcrime was an issue in slums like Coppertown. He should have done something about it earlier.

All this time he’d spent mourning his stolen fifty years, pining after his lost love… had he been so wrapped up in his own suffering that he’d failed to see other peoples’?

“How long till we get there?” he asked tersely.

“A couple of hours.”

“We should have ridden. It would have been faster.”

“Yes, but unless you know somewhere safe to keep your horse, you’d end up walking home.”

“Ah.”

“I know some families in Coppertown. We’ll go visiting and you can take a look around. But leave the talking to me.”

“Who are you going to say I am?”

She grinned wickedly.

“My simple-minded cousin from Feyir.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“One hundred per cent.”

The city changed as they moved from the prosperous centre to the less salubrious outskirts. The mansions and houses gave way to small-holdings and farms. But the further out they got, the more difference Kam noticed.

“Some of the fields are almost ready for harvest, but others are empty,” he commented. “Is there a reason for that?”

Ren shrugged.

“Some people can afford to buy seed, others can’t. The empty ones belong to families who used to grow their own food but have given up. If they can’t afford seed next year, they’ll probably end up selling their land.”

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