Chapter 39
Two Sides of a Coin
Four men came hustling up from the direction of Rusak Town.
The one in front stood more than a head taller than most, shoulders wide enough to crowd the road. Rust-red hair cropped short at the sides, the longer top combed back and tied at the nape. High cheekbones, deep-set eyes. A white shirt washed clean under a dark waistcoat cut close to the body. Sleeves rolled to the elbows showed thick, corded forearms inked in blue-green—anchor, knots, a skull, and a few lines of scrolled lettering.
He carried an iron staff and moved fast. The three mine guards behind him had weapons of their own, leather armor gray with dust. They had clearly run hard at the sound of trouble.
The driver spotted him first and swallowed. "R—Red Tea—Captain!"
The big man they called Red Tea didn't answer. He went straight for the Warhead collapsed in the middle of the road.
"What's the story? Already down?" His voice carried clean across the roadside.
The driver spilled it out. "Captain—thanks to this brother and this lady just now, or we'd all be finished."
Red Tea listened without looking away from the monster. He checked the wound on its crown, then turned to Eren and the others. The urgency had left his face; he only looked them up and down.
"What do I call our two heroes?"
"No heroes here. Eren Xiao."
"Lila Thorne."
"Just call me Red Tea." The big man said it plain, as if the nickname were already enough.
Behind them Meng Xiangyang let out a soft "Whoa." He'd probably heard the name from his cousin. Seeing the man himself left his mouth hanging open.
"Walk me through what happened," Red Tea said. "Don't take it wrong—I just need to report it up the line."
Driver and cart hand talked over each other, sketching how the Warhead had charged the road, how the fight had gone, how Eren had finished it.
Red Tea listened, then looked down at the hammer at Eren's hip. The old gear on the head looked chewed along one face, the wire wound over it still bristling. He was quiet a beat, then spoke. "Well, I'll be damned. Brother's got real skill. When a Warhead comes on like that, even I'd have a hard time taking it head-on."
"It was nothing." Eren waved it off.
Red Tea glanced at Eren's hand, then looked away as if he hadn't.
He turned to Lila. "And the lady's aim's sharp too."
Lila smiled. "I barely helped."
"Lucky you lot stepped in," Red Tea said. "A death out here would've been real trouble. I won't forget the favor. Let me clean up the mess first."
He swept the roadside and raised his voice over the noise. "Stop crowding. Clear the road."
He turned to the three guards. "You—back to the mine. Check the site and tally the losses. You two, don't just stand there. Get this thing off the road before it blocks everything."
They scattered on the order. Red Tea held his ground, blocking anyone still trying to push in. "Move along. Carts and foot traffic first. Big wagons wait here a bit—won't be long."
That settled it. The crowd thinned.
He looked back at Eren and Lila. "Heading into Rusak?"
"Mm," Eren said.
"Stick to the main road." Red Tea pointed toward town. "About another hour and you'll see the scrap heaps outside first—a few gray little houses up the slope. Past that stretch, a bit farther and you're in. Once you're in town, if you hit something I can help with, grab a mine hand and have him pass word—tell them you're looking for Red Tea."
He glanced again at the Warhead husk—pried open, smashed, hauled aside—and the long string of wagons. "I've got to clear this first. Can't spare myself right now. If you're staying in town a while, we'll find time to sit down properly."
Eren nodded. "Sure. We'll make time. We won't keep you—we'll be on our way."
With that the four of them took leave of Red Tea and the cart crew and moved on.
They got back on the main road and kept toward town.
The sun was past noon. Before long the traffic thickened again—hooves, wheels, and shouted calls knotted together once more.
Farther on, Nova looked back once.
The Warhead had been dragged to the roadside. From far off it was only a slumped hard shell. Travelers were moving again. Talk and laughter crept back. Nothing of the scare remained.
Another hour or so on, the wind off the road changed.
First a sour bite, then rust mixed with scorched reek.
Down a shallow slope beyond the verge, a stretch of old ruins came into view—broken walls, ash-white scrap heaps in patches. Sun hit the shreds and put a faint phosphorescent sheen on the surface. Deeper in, a few gray little houses huddled together, looking almost livable from this distance.
"Huh—that the scrap dump outside town?" Meng Xiangyang covered his nose. "Big place is a big place. Back home we just chuck trash in a ditch."
Lila frowned, said nothing, and covered her nose too.
Farther along, with the wind at their backs, the smell eased a little.
Twenty-odd paces on, a narrow cart track branched from the main road, slanting toward the ruins. Collapsed concrete flanked it—broken wall, half a house corner, worn-out old wheels piled together.
Nova stopped mid-step.
"I need to go," he said quietly to Lila.
Meng Xiangyang stopped at once and gave a pained smile. "Perfect—me too. Been holding it half the road."
Lila laughed. "Not spooked by the monster, are you? Go on—don't wander too far."
Nova answered and trailed Meng Xiangyang off.
Eren looked toward the ruins. "I'll go keep an eye."
Lila glanced at him. "He's not three. Meng's with him. Don't hover over the kid."
She scanned the ruins, then tipped her head toward Eren. "Stay. I've got something serious."
Eren nodded, eyes still on the two retreating backs. "What is it? Say it."
"That big guy just now—Red Tea. Looks like somebody who can get things done. Once we're in town, should we sound him out?"
What she meant, of course, was the Ash Army.
Only then did Eren turn fully to her. "Doesn't your Ash Army have a set way to make contact?"
Lila shot him a look. "I already told you. Contact between branches sits with the top people—so if one branch gets rolled up, the whole thing doesn't burn."
"Fine. Got it. He doesn't seem like a bad sort, but we don't know him. We get into town, find a place to stay, then feel things out."
Lila pinched the coin pouch at her hip through the cloth. Almost no sound. "In town the costs won't be light. I'm short. We won't last long."
Eren followed the gesture with a glance, then looked out at the traffic thickening ahead. "We'll find work in town. Work and ask around at the same time."
Lila nodded. "Same thought. Warm up first, then ask. Beats walking in cold."
Eren answered low. "That's it."
From behind the broken wall came Meng Xiangyang's voice. "Done yet? Don't go deeper!"
Nova mumbled something back.
A while later Meng Xiangyang came around first, buckling his belt as he walked, face screwed up like he'd been smoked out. "Shouldn't have picked this spot. Nearly knocked me out."
Nova followed at his heels.
Lila glanced at Nova, then lifted her chin toward the road ahead. "Come on. Past this stretch we're close."
Nova answered, jogged a few steps. Dust shook from his hem. In a pocket a thread of cold light flashed, almost too faint to catch.
Meng Xiangyang was still complaining about the smell. He didn't look at him.
By the time the light failed, gray-white town walls finally showed at the end of the road.
They topped the last low rise and an open basin spread below. On the southeast of it, Rusak sat on a terrace cut by several rivers—ash-white stone walls in a wide ring, a square tower every few dozen paces along the top, red points occasionally winking at the tips. Inside, roofs stacked at uneven heights. Chimney smoke, blue and white, climbed together into the sky.
Light swept the west wall and warmed the foot of it. The town center already lay in shadow, yet it hadn't gone dark—it burned brighter. Lamps speckled the streets like someone had scattered broken gold.
To a traveler, those lights were the greatest comfort there was.
Meng Xiangyang let out a long breath. "We're here."
He couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice.
"Told you, didn't I? Look—that's Rusak."
Lila wiped her face, smiled once, and hiked the quiver on her shoulder.
Eren nodded. "It really is."
Nova stood between the three of them and watched the lamps slowly brighten in the dusk—a sight he had never seen.