When Galen opened his eyes the next morning, the air outside the windowpane was a solid white wall. The fog had thickened again overnight; when he stepped to the window, he could barely see the house on the other side of the street.
"Galen?" Zana poked her head into the room. "I can't find the tea that Peet was supposed to buy... and I can't find Peet, either."
"Hmm?" Galen kept staring at the fog, wondering how long this weather would persist. Well, it probably was better than constant rain; fog didn't cause landslides...
"I'm not sure he even came home, Galen." Zana's tone became more urgent. "His bed doesn't look as if he'd slept in it, and his backpack hasn't been opened."
Galen sighed and turned away from the window. "Peet has trouble sleeping. And maybe the stalls had already closed, and he went out again this morning to buy our tea."
"Well, I want you to go to the market now." Zana's voice was stern. "Then you two can bring home that tea together."
Galen opened his mouth to protest, then thought better of it. The previous evening had gone really well, without any arguments, or tense silences, and he didn't want to spoil his luck.
The way to the market was short, just as he had told Zana, and if Peet had indeed gone there, he should've met him on his way back; but Galen didn't see the human anywhere, and when he asked around in the market hall, none of the vendors had seen him, either.
Galen tried not to make too much of it; for most apes, one human looked pretty much like the other, unless they had an unusual color. If Peet hadn't displayed his trademark rebelliousness, they probably hadn't even looked up to consciously notice him. He and Peet must've missed each other, or maybe Peet had taken a different way back to the inn - maybe he had looked after the horses first...
But Peet hadn't come back yet when Galen returned to the inn. By then, Zana was pacing the room like a caged bushcat.
"Something happened to him," she said. "Someone did something bad to him... oh Mothers!" She stopped all of a sudden, fists clenched. "Do you think he was caught by bounty hunters again?"
Galen felt his heart drop into his stomach like an icy stone. Grabbed by bounty hunters... brought back to Urko... if Peet had been caught by them the previous evening, they would already be miles away, headed back to the City.
"He won't survive it this time," Zana said with tears in her eyes. "Not even if we manage to find him again." She turned away, rubbing her eyes.
Galen took a deep breath. This couldn't be - this couldn't have happened. It just... couldn't. "I don't think that is what happened," he said, straining to keep his voice calm and even. "This region is already too far outside the City's reach..."
"Bounty hunters don't care about jurisdiction," Zana snapped. "They only care about the money!"
"But I haven't seen any wanted posters anywhere for weeks now!" Galen argued. "Nobody here is even looking for us!"
"What about Olman?" Zana was pacing again. "He suspected that we're not who we pretended to be, and he has connections..."
"Olman had more pressing problems to deal with than our false identities when we left," Galen pointed out. "No, I think that if someone took Peet, it was local criminals. This region isn't exactly law-abiding."
"You can't know that," Zana moaned. "And if we ignore the possibility that it was bounty hunters, they could be halfway to the City while we're still searching the gutters here!"
"Well, there is a way to exclude the bounty hunters," Galen said grimly. "It just could cost us our necks, too."
Zana stopped her pacing and frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Bounty hunters are required by law to notify the nearest watch of their catch. If I go to the watch and report that my human is missing, and they did catch Peet, the guards would already know... and then arrest me, too."
If Peet had been caught by them, and had told the watch that he hadn't been traveling with him and Zana anymore, chances were that the watch wouldn't come crashing through the door any moment now. While Galen didn't think Peet would've lied for his sake, there was no doubt that the human would lie to protect Zana. Going down to the watch house and asking for him now would negate that sacrifice, without helping Peet in the slightest.
But there was no way Zana would ever accept that. And if he was honest to himself, Galen knew that he couldn't just leave Peet to his fate, and live with the uncertainty of what had happened to him. It would be dishonorable, and despite Peet's insufferable contrariness, Galen had come to... to find him fascinating and sometimes even entertaining...
"I'll go and ask," he said. "If they do arrest me, I'll tell them that we went our separate ways after Pendan, and that 'Alta' was another woman I met on the road. They won't believe me, but they'll be bound to investigate my claims first, and that will buy you time." He unfastened the money pouch from his belt and put it on the table. "If I'm not back by noon, take the wagon and Betsy and leave as fast as you can. Find a safe place to settle down somewhere in the North."
Zana stared at the leather pouch, then at him. "What about Alan?"
Galen thought quickly. "I, I'll tell them I sold him off because he was crippled," he said. "If you dare, come back after the five days are over and take him back from Ramor. We agreed to meet again at the announcement board in the market hall."
He half hoped that she would tell him not to go, but Zana made two hasty steps towards him, and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Galen. Thank you for not giving up on him. This is the bravest and noblest thing you've ever done, and I'm so proud of you!"
Galen smiled sadly, and patted her awkwardly on the back. He didn't feel brave, and he was a bit disappointed that she hadn't said that she loved him. Well, maybe she would say it, one day.
If he survived this one in the first place.
Galen had barely closed the door when Zana took up her pacing again. She was shivering with tension, her fur straining against the heavy robe until she was ready to throw it off and jump howling from bed to table, and up the walls.
What if Galen didn't come back? What if he did? She couldn't say which would be worse. If Galen came back, it meant that bounty hunters hadn't captured Peet - someone in Etissa had him now, and was doing unspeakable things to him.
And if Galen didn't come back, she would have to run - and considering that he had pestered the watch with his complaint about the human robbers the other day, chances were high that the officers remembered the light-colored human he had with him. It would be difficult to get Alan back - and waiting for Alan meant that Peet's captors would have a head start of several days.
And Galen would be on his way to the City by then, too. Zana felt tears spring to her eyes as she contemplated their hopeless situation. She had to wait for Alan; she couldn't abandon him here, and besides, she didn't stand a chance to save either Galen nor Peet without him. It would be even more difficult this time - Urko wouldn't waste time with interrogations. He'd just kill Peet. And once Galen had vanished into the City's prison, he would be forever out of their reach.
The Book! Zana stopped in her tracks, fur still tingling under the fabric. Galen hadn't taken the Book with him, and he had told her to find a safe place north of the mountains. Had he meant for her to take it with her, to spread the copies of its content? She didn't even know what was so scandalous about that content - she had never bothered to ask him, and right now, she cared even less. No book was worth dying for.
If they didn't find the book on him, Zaius and Urko would interrogate Galen about its location. Zana staggered to the table and fell into a chair. She felt dizzy and nauseous all of a sudden. They would torture Galen... or maybe they'd torture Peet and have Galen watch...
She buried her face in her hands, trying to force the images from her mind. If Zaius thought that Galen had given the book to her, there wouldn't be a safe place for her anywhere; he'd just send bounty hunters after her, apes who could go where Urko's officers couldn't. It would be a race between her copying the pages and sending them out to their contacts, and the hunters sniffing out every village in every valley, at every river, in every forest from here to the northern badlands. She would have no way to shake them off - not with the literal paper trail she'd be creating.
Just when she had resolved to offer Zaius a prisoner exchange - the Book for Peet and Galen, and a guaranteed amnesty if they stayed north of the mountains - the door opened, and Galen came in, looking at once relieved and outraged.
He had come back. The bounty hunters hadn't taken Peet. Zana refused to believe that they simply hadn't notified the watch. Peet was still here, in this town. They just had to find him.
She wanted to jump up and hug Galen, but now that the panic had rushed out of her, she felt weak and trembling, and a little ill. "What did they say?"
Galen glanced at her face, and went for the teapot. "That they will look into the matter." He began to spoon tea leaves into the pot. "This police force isn't worth the uniform they're wearing. Normally, I'd welcome that, but in this case, I was hoping for a bit more dedication to their duty."
"We don't have time for drinking tea," Zana said weakly. "Peet has been missing for almost a whole day now - I don't want to imagine what they're doing to him!"
"You look as if you'd faint any moment," Galen said sternly. "Did you even have breakfast? And we need to come up with a, a battle plan, now that it's clear we're on our own." He poured the boiling water over the leaves and carried the pot over to her.
"I don't think they - whoever they are - are doing unspeakable things to Peet," he said when he sat down beside her. "Let's think logically about this. You said that humans are seen as working animals here. They are investments. A working human has a certain value - so either they are trying to sell him, or they plan on extorting money from us. But I think they're trying to sell him at, at some kind of black market; if they had wanted money from us, we'd already have gotten notice."
"They can sell him in the market place two towns over, and it'd be perfectly legal," Zana said darkly. "He has no brand, and they can just burn his papers and claim that he's a stray, like the robbers we met yesterday."
"True," Galen conceded. "But I still have his papers, too, and his scars are as unique as any brand. But I'll commission a 'wanted' ad in the local newspaper, too." He thoughtfully sipped his tea.
"We need to search the town," Zana said. "We need to start somewhere, and the route from here to the market is the logical choice. We start there, and then..." she made a circling motion with her arm, "... extend our search into the side alleys, and so forth. Ask the residents if they have seen something. Put out a reward."
If Galen felt pain at the thought of having to part with his lucky money so soon again, he wisely didn't show it. Instead, he frowned and just said, "I don't think we should dig too deeply into those side alleys, or we could vanish in there, too. This town has some very bad parts..."
"I doubt Peet would've vanished in the better parts of town," Zana said dryly. "So maybe we should heed Peet's advice and buy some weapons. I don't like them, but it seems to be a language these baboons understand. And we need to start at the market anyway." She pushed away from the table, suddenly eager to get moving again.
When they stepped out of the door of the inn, the fog hadn't exactly lifted, but the hidden sun illuminated it from above, and it was as if they were stepping through panes of white sheets. The glare was surprisingly intense, and Zana felt her eyes beginning to water. It only got better once they stepped under the roof of the market hall that blocked the sunlight.
At any other time, Zana would've loved to wander between the stalls and admire the displays. Today, though, she ushered Galen to a bookstand where they bought two maps of the town, and then to a weapons dealer, who cast a measuring glance at her and then presented her with a curious, tiny gun - a 'hand gun', as he called it. "Perfect to hide under your robe, ma'am," he explained. "You don't want to tip off them baboons that you have teeth."
He showed her various leather contrapments to strap the thing to her body - even one that would wrap around her thigh. Zana didn't feel comfortable at the thought of having such a deadly machine that close to her body, but could see the wisdom of not showing her hand prematurely.
In the end, Galen bought three regular guns, four 'hand-guns', and enough ammunition to arm a garrison. Once they were all reunited again, each of them would be armed to the teeth.
So much for the safe paradise in the North we've been dreaming of all these months, Zana thought as she clumsily inserted the projectiles into the hand-gun's chamber. I need to have Peet teach me how to use this thing...
She and Galen split up as soon as they left the market hall - Galen tracing the way back to the inn, Zana following the alley that led to the stable where they had parked their wagon and the horses; it was the only other route Peet could've chosen.
Ironically, she didn't feel safer with the weight of the gun dragging at her side; she felt preposterous, boasting a weapon she could hardly operate, and every casual glance from a passerby seemed to mock her for it. She hardly dared to meet their eyes, let alone ask them if they had seen a dark-haired human, wearing a blue shirt and a tan-colored vest, and a swagger that no other human dared to show...
Zana stopped in the middle of the street, ignoring the muttered curses of the apes who had to veer off to avoid a collision with her, and took a deep breath. I can't let this keep me from finding him.
She imagined Felga standing beside her, propping her hands on her wide hips, and surveying the street with a slight shake of her head. Zana, sweetie, you're not going to let that riffraff intimidate you, are ye? Street vermin, the lot of them!
Felga was marching forward now, not waiting for her to catch up, walking up to the nearest ape and simply blocking their path with her voluptuous body. Zana could almost hear her booming, slightly scratchy voice: "'scuse me, stranger, have you seen my human? Poor boy got lost in this maze, and if he came by here, he's not one to miss..."
Zana clenched her fists. She could do this. She would do this. For Peet. And for her own self-respect.
The first few apes shook her off without even saying a word. Finally, Zana was so fed up that she just grabbed the sleeve of the ape she had approached, and yanked him around. "I must say, I'm not very taken with this town," she hissed. "And I'll make sure to let all the ladies in my bookclub back in the City know not to spend their money here, when we plan our next trip to the Iron Mountains. But I'm still willing to believe that your mother taught you enough manners to at least reply to a lady if she asks you something."
The young chimpanzee gaped at her for a moment. "What was your question again?"
"'What was your question again, ma'am'," Zana corrected him sharply. "I'm looking for my human - I sent him to the market yesterday evening, and he hasn't returned, and I'm certain that something happened to him. Was there a fight here somewhere, did you see or hear anything?"
The ape shook his head. "No. Didn't hear anything. Can I go now?"
Zana let go of him with a disgusted sigh, and the ape hurried away, muttering under his breath. She was sure that 'ma'am' wasn't part of his rant.
She shrugged it off, and chose her next candidate.
Nobody had seen or heard anything. Nobody could remember a dark-haired human in a blue shirt and tan-colored vest. If anyone had seen, or heard, or remembered something, they didn't tell her. By late afternoon, Zana's feet were hurting, she was slightly nauseous from having skipped breakfast, and lunch, and she felt utterly and thoroughly discouraged. She didn't dare to hope that Galen had been more lucky in the meantime, but maybe she should take a break and meet up with him, ask him if he had already commissioned the 'wanted' ad at the newspaper...
When she looked up, she realized with a start that she had somehow crossed the invisible border to the shady part of town, the part that sported establishments like The Tipsy Goat, and where unsuspecting women were mugged in the street. She touched the gun under her robe, suddenly reassured by its weight. What if Peet had returned to The Tipsy Goat for some reason?
She didn't draw the gun when she entered the alley, but she tried to split her attention between the dirty cobblestones at her feet, and whatever moved behind her back.
When they had searched for an inn the day before, Zana had fixed her eye on the street signs hanging into the street above her. Today, straining for full-surround awareness, she noticed the humans in the niches and corners - mostly young ones, the oldest barely reaching puberty, dirty and gaunt, with huge eyes in their pale faces. They were probably abandoned - Zana couldn't imagine that any of the quarter's simian inhabitants could afford to keep a human; these apes were barely able to feed themselves and their own offspring.
The humans scattered when she tried to talk to them, but as soon as she turned her back to them, they flocked together again, and followed her on silent feet, keeping a safe distance. Zana ignored them after a while, and returned to scanning the gutter.
When she saw it, her heart started pounding even before her eyes identified its shape. A pale dot, about ten feet ahead of her, in the gutter, just as she had told Galen. Zana hurried over and picked it up.
It was the wooden horse-head pendant, its leather strip torn at the knot.