Zaira dragged three long furrows through the dry soil, and N'varu left them untouched because the trail needed to look like anger before it looked like a plan.
The beast's claws had cut deep enough to expose pale stone beneath the dust, and the marks pointed north, opposite the roads Sagiri could use beyond the northwestern hills.
N'varu and the sandshades had left the academy before Sagiri's duel with Zaka.
N'varu had not lied about the idea, but Sagiri was buying them time, and now it was their turn.
Zaira whimpered with longing as it worked
'She wants to run north,' N'varu thought, watching the tremor move beneath her shoulder, 'every whimper a longing toward Sagiri, so the West only has to believe what she already wants.'
He crouched beside the first furrow and studied its angle against the low hills, choosing the line that made the border seem closer than the safer road behind them.
