Doomseeds

by Tam Linsey

  Jubal held his breath until his brother had flung himself onto his blankets with his back to them. At least Rann had the sense not to force one of the other Flame Runnas. Pulo had already rebelled once. Collapsing to his knees, Jubal gulped air. He’d just bound himself to a Flame Runna. He tilted his chin toward the sky. The stars seemed to dim and brighten again.

  He blinked, seeking focus, and realized Eily was on her hands and knees in front of him. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “What have you done to me?” He gasped. Maybe this was why Rann had freed Sefe’s Flame Runna. He reached out to touch her face. His woman’s face. He’d sworn to never claim a woman on the trail—never create a family he had to abandon for months at a time to ply his trade. And now he’d just taken the most dangerous woman of all, one who would need constant protection.

  He dropped his hand to his lap. And what about Pops? How could he save his father now? Would the other two Flame Runnas be enough in trade? If Sefe saw Eily, he was sure to demand her as his due.

  She clasped her fingers over his fist. “We shouldn’t be fighting each other. Sefe holds people dear to each of us. We need to save the fight for him.”

  “There’s no way to fight him. He has too many warriors.”

  “The Protectorate can fight him. If we use the beacon.”

  Rann started laughing from his bedroll. “Of course she wants to call her Flame Runnas. You’re a fool, brother.”

  Jubal pulled his hand away from her. “They’d destroy everyone, us included.”

  “Not if the Taguan surrenders. Like the Holdout. The Protectorate’s looking for peaceful people to convert. It’s their mission. If we instruct people not to fight, the Flame Runnas won’t burn them.”

  Did she think he was a fool? “Are you saying that child we found a few days ago fought back?”

  Eily opened her mouth, shut it, then opened it again to say, “Her tribe did. Children get caught in the crossfire.”

  “Sefe will get us all caught in the crossfire.”

  Rann sat up. “Sefe could shoot them down, easy! Then he’d have lots of Flame Runnas.”

  She sat back on her heels. “We’ll need to get the innocent people into the cave. Sefe’ll fight outside. Once the Flame Runnas eliminate Sefe, we can negotiate peace just like the Holdout did.”

  “There’s only one entrance to the Taguan. There’d be no escape,” Jubal said.

  “As long as the people in the cave don’t fight back, the Flame Runnas won’t attack them.”

  A laugh rose from deep in Jubal’s chest. “I’m too drunk to listen to this right now.”

  “I will stand with you. I’m that sure.”

  “Enough.” His head was spinning, like he’d walked for days without sleep, and his hunger gnawed at his gut. He needed to close his eyes. Maybe when he woke, this would all be a bad dream. “We’ll talk more in the morning.”

  “Can I at least untie Wint and Pulo?”

  “They stay tied,” Jubal said.

  “We should tie her, too, Jubal.” Rann said. “She’ll free them while we sleep.”

  Jubal rubbed his eyes. Could he trust his own woman? “Do I need to tie you to keep you from freeing them? Nothing’s changed for them.”

  Wint’s voice came from the darkness. “We wouldn’t try to escape.”

  Eily dropped her chin and stared at the ground. Then she eased herself back onto Jubal’s blanket. “I’m sorry, Wint,” she called out. “You and Pulo need to be tied just a little longer.”

  Eily woke with the humid air chill against her back. After a moment, she realized she was lying on Jubal’s chest. She sat upright with a start. The sky was colorless and pale, undecided if it should dawn clear or cloudy.

  Jubal breathed deep and stretched, ending in a yawn. Opening his eyes, he met her gaze. He raked a look down her torso. “You’re still here.”

  Her face heated. “Good morning.”

  He gave her a lazy smile, and her entire body flushed and tingled. She was his woman. And he was going to help her save Ana. She bent down and brushed her lips against his.

  Nearby, the two reversions sat up. Wint scrubbed his hair with his tied hands. Pulo’s face was dark with bruises, and a huge purple stain spread across his naked ribs from Rann’s thrashing. Rann’s bedroll was empty.

  Jubal stood up, scanning the rain-beaten amarantox. “Rann?”

  Eily crawled over to check on Pulo. “Are you all right?”

  “Need to piss,” he said.

  Jubal nodded at Eily. “Untie him. We’ll let them go one at a time.”

  “Can’t we free them? You don’t need them to save your father.”

  “No. I can’t risk them running. They remain prisoners.”

  Eily opened her mouth to argue, but the stern expression on Jubal’s face stopped her. At the Holdout, she’d be expected to obey him… but this was the Tox. Cannibal women had just as much say as their men. Still, her position was tenuous, and she’d better tread carefully if she expected him to cooperate at all. She whispered, “I’m sorry, Pulo.”

  “Not your fault,” he grumbled and ambled to the nearest clump of amarantox. When he finished, Jubal tied him again and released Wint’s bindings.

  From the trail upstream, Rann appeared. “Looks like we can cross a short way up.”

  “Good,” Jubal said, pointing toward the southern horizon. “The moon is nearly half. Sefe will give Pops to the Knife soon.”

  Rann grunted. Without looking Eily’s direction, he rolled his blankets to stow them. She was grateful he took Jubal’s claim so seriously. Her stomach fluttered as she remembered Jubal’s body against hers. She bent to gather her own load, hoping no one noticed her heated skin.

  Jubal took the lead and Rann the rear as they began the day’s march. As the morning light grew stronger, the scent of wet earth rose on tendrils of mist. The down-beaten amarantox slowly perked up, but much of it was broken, and the canopy remained ragged.

  Eily kept her eyes on the ground, stepping over broken stalks and skirting sloppy puddles along the trail. Sunlight glared off standing water, and heat shimmered in humid waves from the drenched soil, making her dizzy. By midafternoon, sweat trickled down her sides, and her skirt stuck to her legs.

  Behind her, Pulo stumbled and fell, bringing Wint down with him. Rann swore, urging them to their feet.

  “I need water,” Wint said.

  “You can drink the next time we stop. Move.”

  She looked over her shoulder. Wint’s posture matched the beaten amarantox. Pulo seemed hardly able to lift his feet, let alone place them squarely ahead of him. Had he suffered a concussion in the fight? She slowed until he caught up with her. “Let me see your eyes.”

  He looked at her, pupils fully dilated in spite of the sun.

  “Keep moving,” Rann prodded Pulo.

  “Wait!” Eily put her hands on Pulo’s arm.

  Rann shoved him. “Pops can’t wait.”

  “I think he’s got a concussion.”

  “Can I sit down?” Wint asked.

  Eily glanced at him. His pupils were full-sized, too.

  Her gut tightened. Both of them? She blinked, dizzy herself. From the heat? Or something else? A classic sign of UV poisoning was dilated pupils. And disorientation.

  Jubal called from the trail ahead. “No stopping! We have to move if we’re to make the Taguan in time.”

  She faced Rann, blinking sweat out of her eyes. “Are my pupils big?”

  He refused to look at her. “Go ask your man.”

  Clenching her teeth, she stumbled down the trail. Jubal started walking again when he saw her start to move. She shouted, “Jubal! Wait!”

  He looked over his shoulder. “What?”

  “I need you to look at me.”

  He hadn’t shaved this morning, and the stubble on his jaw was attractive. She longed to run her fingers over it. Stay focused. The high she could normally ignore was making her mind wander. “How big are my pupils?”
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br />   “I don’t have time to gaze into your eyes.” He scowled and continued walking.

  For a moment, she stood transfixed by the broadness of his retreating back.

  “Go,” Rann prodded Pulo, forcing the prisoners past Eily.

  UV storms were most common after a blowout or heavy thundershower. You should have remembered that. But there had been a lot going on. She scoured the horizon through rents in the canopy for the domed top of a yuvee tree. The genetically altered plant was the one type of vegetation the Protectorate would allow to grow within the city itself, in spite of the toxic interaction it had with Haldanian skin. The leaves would turn almost white when they received large amounts of UV rays.

  Through a gap, she thought she could see a pale, umbrella-like shape. She ran up the trail, nearly tripping over windblown debris as she passed the prisoners. “Jubal! Jubal, we have to get under shelter! Look at the yuvee tree!”

  He stopped, shading his eyes until he spotted the domed top she pointed toward. Shaking his head, he said, “They’re not fully white. We press on.”

  “You don’t understand. Flame Runna skin is more sensitive.”

  Wint tottered, catching himself against some thick stalks of amarantox. He slid down onto his backside, dragging Pulo with him. Pulo giggled and rolled over on top of him. Wint asked, “Can I have water now?”

  Jubal examined the two prisoners. Jaw muscles bulging, he swung the water flask from his shoulder and offered it to Wint.

  “We could die,” she said.

  Rann sneered. “She’s stalling.”

  “Look at my eyes.” She thrust her face toward Jubal, pointing to her eyes. “This is not normal. You’ll kill all three of us if we go on. We need shade.”

  “By the Knife.” He ran a hand through his hair and faced Rann. “Set up the blankets.”

  “The moon is—” Rann began.

  “It’ll do no good to arrive without Flame Runnas.”

  Casting a disgusted look at the reversions, Rann dropped his pack and tugged his blankets loose. Jubal and Eily did the same. Using his machete, Jubal cut some amarantox stalks. He propped them into tripods, and draped a blanket over the top to create a canopy. “That’ll hold one person.”

  Eily untied Wint and disentangled him from Pulo’s embrace, helping him stand. He smiled at her with one side of his mouth, wavered, and sat back down again. Pulo sprawled on his back, arched over his pack. “At least I’ll die happy,” he said.

  “You’re not going to die,” she snapped.

  With Jubal’s help, she dragged Wint upright and into the shelter.

  They made a connecting shelter for Pulo and carried him inside. A ray of sunlight still sloped beneath the overhang, so Eily walled him in with a third blanket.

  Jubal wiped sweat from his forehead. “Why aren’t you as drunk as they are?”

  She shook her head, bringing on a wave of dizziness. She wasn’t sure. The reversions were acting like they’d just escaped a Fosselite lab. “I’ve been a convert longer. I guess I’m more used to it.”

  By the time she took a shady spot herself, her limbs felt as supportive as jelly. She’d never been caught outside in a sunstorm—there was always a house nearby where everyone retreated if the yuvee turned white. Last autumn, Uncle Samuel had been working the fence crew, and he’d been caught outside. The skin on his neck and hands had blistered the next day.

  She beckoned to Jubal. “You’ll sunburn if you don’t find shade, too.”

  He sat next to her, shoulder brushing hers. Her skin was prickling in the heat, but she liked that he didn’t mind touching her. He splayed his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his hands to look up at the blanket. “Pops doesn’t have much time.”

  “The effects should pass in a few hours, as long as we keep out of the sun.” She considered administering the pills Tula had sent but decided not to. They may need them if they were sent to the Fosselites. The telomerase fungi should be adequate to repair the damage from this short exposure. She was feeling better already.

  Lowering himself to lie on the ground, Jubal said, “Tell me when they’re ready to move.”

  Eily glanced toward Wint and Pulo’s tents. She was more talkative than tired. “We should work out the details of our plan. When we reach the Taguan, you can leave us in a hiding spot with the beacon—”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing, trusting a Flame Runna, brother,” Rann said from where he sprawled with one forearm covering his eyes.

  She faced Jubal, hoping he’d see the sincerity in her eyes. “I won’t betray you. Betraying you would also betray Ana.”

  Jubal looked away, rubbing a hand roughly against his stubbled cheek. “Eily, I’ve been thinking on this. We can’t risk the lives of everyone at the Taguan just to save your sister.” The muscles in his jaw bulged and he sucked in a deep breath before turning to face her. “I plan to give the beacon to Sefe.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Jubal didn’t plan on giving Eily time to argue, so he kept talking as her mouth opened to speak. “If Sefe wants a fight, we’ll give him one. I’ll suggest he take the beacon far away from the Taguan and use it to call the Flame Runnas into an ambush. Once he’s gone, we’ll sneak your sister out. And no innocent people at the Taguan are at risk.”

  He let silence hang for a few heartbeats as she contemplated his idea. To his surprise, she leaned down and kissed his cheek. “You’re brilliant.”

  His heart swelled with relief. Maybe he could save her, Pops, her sister, Wint and Pulo—everyone. Cupping her face in one palm, he basked in the warmth of her gaze. She closed her eyes and nuzzled into his hand. Was this why men took women as their own? He finally understood.

  Rann interrupted the moment. “He may win, you know.”

  Eily opened her eyes and pulled back, breaking contact to look at his brother. “The Protectorate knows if I trigger the beacon, it means trouble. They’ll be prepared.”

  Jubal sat up and crossed his legs, dreading his next words. Eily hadn’t argued about the first part of his plan, but she’d battle him on the second half. “If Sefe sees you, he’ll want you. You need to stay behind.”

  She blinked. Her huge pupils gave her a childlike innocence. “Only me? What about Pulo and Wint?”

  “I don’t want to be a slave trader, Eily. But I can’t return to the Taguan empty-handed. Sefe will kill my brother and me on sight.”

  “But you’ll have the beacon.”

  “It may not be enough.”

  “Promise me you’ll set them free once Sefe leaves with the beacon.”

  He took her hand again. “If we can, I’ll set them free. But not until after we get Pops.”

  “Hold on!” Rann burst out. “Those slaves are mine, too.”

  Jubal winced. “If we were keeping slaves, yes.”

  “I’m keeping the small one. He’ll be valuable on the trade route.”

  Eily shot Jubal a beseeching look. He scowled at his brother. Rann was within his rights. Jubal couldn’t stop him from taking slaves; he could only refuse to travel with him. “Pops won’t agree to that.”

  “I don’t care what Pops says.” Rann’s face was hard. Determined.

  A lance of worry pierced Jubal’s breast that this time his brother really would defy their father’s wishes. The desire for spirit healing was strong. Jubal had never been able to sway Rann in this state, but Pops might still get through to him. Shaking his head, Jubal leaned back to close his eyes for some rest. “We’ll see about that.”

  He waited until the sun dipped below the amarantox before prodding everyone into motion.

  Rann yanked the blankets from the canopy, “About time. Pops could be facing the Knife right now.”

  Eily stretched. Pulo and Wint woke more slowly, faces slack with somnolence. Jubal hoped they’d be able to keep up the pace.

  Eily dug into her pack and then approached Wint and Pulo. “Are you feeling any better? I think you’d better take these.”

 
She held out a small object.

  Rann flung aside the blanket he’d been rolling and dashed over to snatch the item. “What is it?”

  “Pills.” She grabbed at Rann’s hand, but he jerked away. He shook the container, rattling what sounded like pebbles inside.

  Jubal extended a hand to his brother. “Let me see.”

  Rann ignored him and pried at the box. Small, white beads flew out and scattered across the dirt.

  Eily cried out and dropped to her knees, plucking them from the ground. “We can’t waste these. They may be our only hope.”

  “Rotting Flame Runna magic.” Rann dropped the container and stomped back to his pack, heedless of his feet crushing some of the white pills to powder.

  Eily groaned low in her throat, shaking her head as she searched the ground.

  Pulo let his head loll to one side, closing his eyes. “How far do we have to walk?”

  Dusk had fallen, making it hard to see. Jubal dropped down to help Eily retrieve the pills. At least Rann was no longer interested in them. He held out his palm with what he’d gathered, and Eily smiled gratefully. He said, “I think we can reach the Taguan by morning if we leave now.”

  “Good.” She handed a pill to each Flame Runna. “You know what these are?”

  Wint accepted the pill with a listless hand. Pulo shook his head.

  Eily frowned. “Allelopathic suppression. They’ll help you recover from UV poisoning.”

  “K,” Pulo said. He put the pill into his mouth.

  “They can walk?” Jubal asked. The male Flame Runnas were acting like small children who needed to be carried by their mothers.

  “The medicine should start to work soon. They can take another pill in a little while.” She tucked the container into Pulo’s pocket.

  Jubal led the group along the trail in near darkness, the moon not yet risen. He placed his feet carefully to avoid tripping over unseen obstacles. They reached a bend in the river as the moon reached its zenith. He turned to Eily. “Hide near the water here, in the rushes. I hate to leave you alone on the Tox, but I can’t allow Sefe to see you.”