Lisette grabbed her waist, pulling her back up to the seat. ‘There’s more of them.’
A line of perhaps a dozen men blocked the road a short distance ahead. Uberto was already veering his wagon to the left, and he rode off the dirt road into the scrubland.
‘Thank the Creator we have no rain for days,’ Lisette said. ‘The ground is hard. Follow Uberto, Mina.’ Then she slumped in the seat.
Mina pounded on the door. ‘Isabella, Lisette’s hurt.’
She was half aware of Isabella opening the door and pulling Lisette inside as she tried to listen to Uberto’s frantic whistling and remember what the coded message was. Before she could turn the wagon off the road, she saw a handful of men on horses riding in from the left, heading for Uberto. His wagon veered again, but he had nowhere to go. On one si
