Strata

skywatch. For dragons, do you think?’
    ‘What’s plan C, then?’
    There was a sigh. ‘Marco intends to land and hack and slash at everyone.’
    ‘That’s a good plan,’ said Kin.
    ‘He is mad. The Norsemen have a term,
berserker
. It was designed for Marco.’
    Lothar stopped speaking. The bishop looked down at him, then up at Kin. He beckoned.
    After a few seconds she slid off the horse’s back, the cloak slipping from her as she landed. There was a rustle of voices from the crowd.
    The bishop nodded and waddled off, beckoning Kin to follow him. The crowd pressed in silently behind her.
    They went between the holy buildings to a stamped-earth yard, full of long shadows in the sinking sun light. Part of the yard was roofed. Under the roof were bars.
    ‘I’m about to be locked up, Silver!’ she hissed. ‘Where the hell are you?’
    ‘A wooded eminence outside the town. The bars do not look alarmingly thick. They may trust to them to guard you.’
    ‘Silver, how can you see the bars?’
    ‘Marco is behind you in the crowd. He is giving me eyewitness reports.
Do not look for him.’
    The bishop stopped by the middle cage, and swung open the door. When Kin stopped there was a gentle prod of a sword in her back. She stepped in.
    The lock was primitive but big. The bars did not look alarmingly thick, according to Silver. They were six-inch posts. What was normally kept there that needed six-inch thick bars?
    They left her sitting in the dirt and walkedaway. After a while the last of the crowd left the compound, leaving a group of bowmen who spread out, watching the sky. Presently a man brought her a bowl of scraps, dropped them within her reach, and bolted.
    A few stars lit up. Beyond the compound’s walls came the rattle of carts, and many shouts.
    ‘Silver?’ she said querulously.
    There was a heart-stopping pause before the reply came back.
    ‘Ah, Kin. I am now better informed. Your precise status is still to be determined. Your friend Lothar has at least saved you from arbitrary execution. I have also learned more about the current disc situation. Would you be interested in hearing it? We will not collect you until it is fully dark. I doubt if those bowmen can better Marco’s excellent night vision.’
    ‘Go ahead and amuse me,’ said Kin, wrinkling her nose over the food bowl. It could make me sick, she decided, it looks as though it’s already done so to someone else.
    ‘This is all exceptionally interesting,’ said Silver. ‘There is no doubt among the populace that this is either the return of the Christ or the end of the disc or both. Fires are raging – our ship, you understand. There have been strange signs in the sky. The town is divided between travellers hastening to the advent and those fleeing from it.’
    Kin listened to the cries outside.
    ‘What are they fleeing for?’ she asked.
    ‘He’s a very choosy god.’
    ‘How did you find out about this?’
    There was a pause. At last Silver said, ‘Promise me that if we get back home you won’t reveal the information-gathering system we, uh, evolved. I could be subject to severe disciplinary action from the all-planet committee on anthropological research procedures.’
    ‘My lips are sealed,’ promised Kin.
    ‘Marco slugs a likely looking subject, flies him over here and knocks the shit out of him until I’ve heard enough.’
    Kin grinned. ‘It’s not like drawing circles in the sand, is it?’
    ‘Much more efficient, though.’
    There was a commotion at the entrance to the compound. In the half-light Kin saw a knot of men approaching, surrounding a taller shape that moved across the ground in hops.
    When it drew nearer the cages Kin saw that it was roughly man-shaped but at least three metres high. Once it reared and spread a pair of dark wings the size of sheets. One of the men darted forward. The tall shape whimpered, and cowered. Kin, pressed against the bars, got an impression of scales, and pectoral muscles like barrels.
    She jumped back as the door of the neighbouring cage was opened and the thing prodded inside. She saw a stubby-horned head andglowing green eyes that narrowed when they saw her.
    The door slammed shut and the men retreated quickly. The creature grunted, gave the door an experimental shake, went and sat down in the far corner of the cage with its arms around its knees.
    The men returned, and they were carrying a small struggling body. Kin made out the shape of a creature like the one she had