Dylan smith's Arc

Chapter 7 of 12

Dylan was still at the table with both hands placed when footsteps came up the path. A dark-haired woman walked under the glowing arch without slowing. She wore a white dress with a thin belt above a heavy belly. Her boots were scuffed. She stopped a few steps from the table and looked at all three of them in turn. Voracia set the soda bottle down. Belinda licked grease off her thumb and watched. "I saw him in town yesterday," the woman said. "I came up to know him. I want in." Her voice was flat and even. She did not look at the stage. She walked straight to Dylan, took his right hand off Belinda's belly, and pressed it to her own. The skin under his palm was warm and tight. "I heard this is what you're looking for," she said. "I'm Bella." She held his hand there and burped. It came up loud and rolled out long, longer than Belinda's had the night before. His palm rose and fell with it. She did not cover her mouth. She did not apologize. When the burp ended, she turned her head toward Voracia and waited. Belinda set down her bone. She looked at Bella's belly, then at Voracia, eyebrows up. Voracia looked back at her. Something passed between the two of them without a word. Belinda gave a small nod. "She can stay," Voracia said. She stood up from the bench. A second canvas tent appeared on the far side of Belinda's, ropes already staked, flap pulled open. A wooden post drove itself into the dirt in front of it with a number burned into the grain. Voracia held out her hand and a gold chain dropped into her palm. A polished number two hung from it. She walked around the table and put it over Bella's head herself. The pendant settled on top of her belly beside Dylan's hand. "Second of the year," Voracia said. "Same terms as hers. Bring your own food. Do not touch the collar." Bella nodded once. She did not let go of his hand. She turned to Belinda and said, "I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to outlast you." Belinda picked up her bone again. "Try," she said, and burped without looking up. Voracia sat back down on Dylan's other side. She took his left hand and pressed it flat against her belly again. His right stayed where Bella had put it. Three women now. Two tents on the grounds. Two numbered posts in the dirt. He felt the count change under his palms and did not pull either hand back. The path behind Bella was still open. Voracia had not closed the gate.