One day while Kala was in the field showing Meadow how to skin a rabbit, a chill went up her spine prompting her to drop what she was doing. Then she heard shouts from the village, “Airship!” She squinted against the sun until she spotted it.
“Let’s finish up,” she said, more tersely than she’d intended. She was on edge thinking of Cera.
They arrived back in the village just as the ship was finished being secured. Word spread like wildfire that it had an open compartment for a passenger. The Council would organize the Offering, then meet to select the village’s candidate. The idiot Cade had recently passed into his seventeenth year, and this made Kala worry doubly for Cera as he had been the only other candidate besides herself that seemed a likely choice.
Meadow helped Kala carry armfuls of bows and arrows to the Offering tables. She placed them in two piles, those that she’d constructed and those that Meadow had. Meadow was still learning, but her work was getting better. Kala glanced about. There were jars of syrup, stacks of paper, pencils, matches, twine, blankets, pain-killer made from willow bark, and many other things that the village had the resources for that other villages might not. It would take at least a day for the Council to sort through it all, so it’d be a bit later before they would select from among her, her friends, and other youth their age. She returned home and tried not to spend every moment worrying about it.
Meadow went to fetch Lily and Cera for a ‘sleepover.’ They felt a little guilty about not inviting Calix, but the girls needed to be together. They stayed up well past midnight saying everything they might not ever get the change to say to each other. Meadow gave Lily and Cera her bed and was the first to fall asleep, curled up on the leopard pelt in the main room. Kala lifted her to her own bed, tucked her in, lay down under a spare blanket on the pelt, and fell asleep herself.
Kala woke early the next day and sat up to check on Meadow. Her bed was empty and made, and this unnerved her. She dressed quickly and peaked in on Lily and Cera.
“Is Meadow here?” Kala asked.
“No. Why?” Lily replied groggily.
“Never mind. I’ll find her.” Kala replied and closed the door quietly. She left the cottage to head to the landing field in case Meadow was curious about the ship. She didn’t find her there, but Kala could see at a glance that the selection of the Offering was being finalized, and the Council would meet shortly to discuss which youth they would select to depart with the Offering. She didn’t have time to worry about that now. She had to find Meadow. She wondered if Meadow might have gone to her father’s house for some reason, but couldn’t imagine why and ruled it out. She turned and headed for the gate out of the village that was nearest her cottage.
Passing through the gate, she spotted Meadow facing the tree line. Even at that distance, Kala could see that she was dressed for ranging, and she cursed herself for not being so dressed as well. Kala ran to her. As she closed the distance, she called to get her attention. Meadow didn’t turn, she didn’t even acknowledge her. Kala finally drew up beside her, winded.
“What are you doing, Meadow?” she asked.
“Meadow,” she mused, rolling the sound of it around on her tongue. “My mother named me Meadow. She’s dead. I’m Forest.” She pulled out her knife and stepped into the trees.
Kala was barred from leaving the village during the Offering because she was of age to be selected, so she simply sat down and watched Meadow disappear from view.
14
Kala
Meadow emerged from the woods late in the afternoon. Kala hadn’t moved from where she waited and rose stiffly to meet her. She reached for her hand and held it as they walked back to the village.
“Welcome back, Forest.”
“Thanks,” she replied, seeming more herself. “It’s scarier out here than in there today.”
Kala couldn’t agree more.
Calix spotted them and met them at the gate. “We’re all to meet at the landing field at dusk for the Council to announce its decision. Not you, though, Meadow.”
“Forest,” she replied.
Calix looked confused.
“I’ll explain later,” Kala offered. “Thanks, Calix. I’ll see you there,” she said and escorted Forest to their cottage.
Arriving home, she observed that Lily and Cera had left to prepare for the Council’s decision and to spend some time alone together. Kala had no appetite but forced herself to eat something. Her lunch sat in her stomach like a stone. She told her grandfather that Meadow had chosen Forest as her new name, and he nodded his understanding.
Kala looked over her possessions. All the youth had to assume that they could be selected, well, almost everyone. Girls like Kira probably never knew the dread that came with the Offering, but it hung over Kala’s head like a sword by a thread. She mulled over her odds. She always had a target on her back, but now she was in equal measure feared for still breathing and respected for filling the village larder with the stag’s meat. Which way the Council would lean was a mystery, but having already been banished once made it not so difficult to banish her again, although she thought that it would make the Council look as though they’d failed in their first attempt to get rid of her. They wouldn’t want a public reminder of that.
Kala worried more for Cera than herself. Word had somehow gotten out that she would have been chosen the last time had it not been for Skye’s raising the Council’s ire so much that they sent him away in her stead. Claudius despised Cera as much as he did Kala because she shielded Lily from him to the extent that she could. Removing her would remove that obstacle.
Kala was working herself into knots trying to figure out what the Council would decide. She calmed herself and returned her attention to her meager possessions. None of the youth were allowed to bring weapons to the landing field because the Council feared that a panicked candidate could use them against them or against themselves. That ruled out her bow and arrows, knife, and the axe too, which she was tempted to bring just to make a statement. She felt naked without her knife at least, but rules were rules, and if she tried to bring it, she’d be stripped of it in any event.
She needn’t concern herself with food or water though, as both would already be packed into the airship’s passenger compartment.
She selected a flint, some wire, her empty waterskin, and a few other essentials, and placed them in her pack. She stared at the journal that Skye had left her. It was precious to her, so she added it. There wasn’t much else that Kala needed, so she tidied up and looked around for what could always be the last time. At the last moment, she spied the stranger’s dagger and slid it through her belt at her back and pulled her tunic over it. She was taking a chance, but everyone knew she carried a knife strapped to her thigh, and no one except Skye knew about the dagger.
Her grandfather and Forest had sense enough to leave her alone with her thoughts, so she had to track them down. They weren’t far, simply hovering at a respectful distance. Kala kissed her grandfather on the cheek and mussed up Forest’s hair. Then she took both of their hands, and they walked to the landing field together.
Once there, she released their hands and advanced to the group of the eight other youth who were fifteen or sixteen years old. Kala was met by a guard, and she stuck out her right thigh to show that wasn’t carrying the knife that was otherwise always strapped to it. She even did a little pirouette to show that she wasn’t wearing her signature bow, even though that was obvious. He looked at her as if to say, “Very funny,” and waved her on.
Kala walked straight to Lily, Cera, and Calix, and greeted them. They chatted about anything other than the impending announcement. The Council emerged from its hall and approached, and all conversation ceased. The youth stood in a rough circle in front of the airship, flanked by guards who held their spears casually. The Council members took up positions facing the ship and the youth in front of it.
Councilor Sayer organized the youth into two lines across from each other and between the
Council and the airship. Kala was placed in the middle on the left, more or less across from Calix. His eyes never left her. Lily was nearest to her father on Kala’s side, and Cera was closest to the ship on Calix’s side. This did not bode well, in Kala’s opinion, but they were flanked by spear-wielding guards, with two more at the ship’s door, and two more standing beside the Council, including the as-always, menacing-looking Torin, so there was nothing she could do about her misgivings.
Checking and double-checking that all was ready, Sayer retreated to the line of Council members and nodded to Claudius. Claudius took a step forward and looked around the assembly until he spotted Forest standing with Kala’s grandfather. He waved her over. She refused to budge and looked to Lily for support, but Lily knew her father’s wrath when his authority was challenged in public, so she encouraged her with her eyes to comply. Reluctantly, Forest stepped forward and went to her father. He took her hand and gazed at her lovingly, to outward seeming at least, and pivoted her to his side. Kala noticed the guard behind him shift slightly to stand at Forest’s side.
Claudius stepped forward a pace and cleared his throat. “We’re here today to make our dearest offering to the winds so that good fortune will be returned to us. This is how it has always been and how it will always be.” He paused and examined each youth.
He continued, “We are sometimes asked to make the sacrifice of one of our blood, and this pains us most greatly. It’s a sacrifice that we may all be called upon to make, and who among us should not share this burden?” He looked through the crowd for the parents of youth that had been forced to make this sacrifice in the past and locked eyes with them in mock sympathy.
He went on, “The Council has decided that no one is above this responsibility, and as such, it is with great sadness that I offer up my own daughter.”
Lily’s knees buckled, and Cera cried out and stepped toward her. Kala intercepted Cera, and she strained piteously to reach around her for Lily. Onlookers gawked, and the guards looked to the Council for guidance.
I’d better make this convincing, thought Kala, and made sure that Cera stayed put before turning and beginning to draw symbols in the air with her hands. The old women of the village shrieked and pulled the young children to them. The guards pointed their spears at her and Kala made a slow, dramatic circle, gesturing emphatically, and uttering made-up words. When she faced Cera, she mouthed, Sorry, and shoved her hard into the guard behind her. Cera’s eyes went wide as she crashed into him.
Kala reached behind herself and whirled quickly. If you don’t want to be killed, don’t be where they expect you to be, she thought, tucked herself into a ball and rolled backward under the spear of the surprised second guard. She regained her footing and launched herself through the open door of the airship.
She slammed the door to the passenger compartment shut behind her before Claudius had even hit the ground, her dagger protruding from his neck. All hell broke loose.
15
Lily
Lily was beside her father when Kala’s dagger pierced his throat. She shrieked while he simply looked confused and stumbled, clutching the hilt. Lily knelt to tend to him as he fell over, but he was beyond her or anyone’s help.
Lying on the ground, Claudius struggled to focus. His last sight was of his youngest daughter, Forest, calmly walking away.
Lily clung to his robes, and her cries were drowned out by the chaos of the crowd. Guards milled about unsure of what to do, who to guard, and from whom. Torin beat a tattoo on the door of the airship compartment that housed Kala, but it didn’t yield.
Kala’s grandfather stared open-mouthed at the airship that had swallowed his granddaughter. He didn’t hear the shouting around him. He just stood there in disbelief. Calix went over and put an arm around him.
Lily felt herself lifted off her father’s body and delivered roughly into the arms of Cera, who guided her away, comforting her.
Sayer checked Claudius over and confirmed that he was dead. Sayer stood and tried to re-establish order, but the crowd was too panicked, and he failed. Abandoning this, he ordered the guards to escort the villagers to their homes. The guards sheathed their weapons and urged their kin home. Sayer watched Lily and Cera make their way through the crowd – their involvement in Claudius’s murder would be ascertained later.
The crowd gradually thinned out. Calix coaxed Kala’s grandfather home. Eventually, the only ones still present were the four remaining council members and a few guards. Torin gave up hammering on the door and stormed off. Taking their cue from him, the remaining guards headed home as well.
Sayer looked around. “We’ll need an inquiry.” He paused, then added, “And someone to take Claudius’s place.” He glared at the airship.
“The girl is beyond our reach, Councilor Sayer,” said Fayre, “We may as well release it.” Sayer looked non-plussed, so Fayre added, “It doesn’t mean she can’t be tried in her absence.”
Sayer considered this and gave in when he realized that he didn’t need Kala’s testimony to try her. “Fair enough,” he muttered, “We’ll release it at dawn… but there’ll be an inquiry.” As they prepared to leave, he added over his shoulder, “And think about Claudius’s replacement.”
In the morning, Sayer rounded up a few guards and several villagers to unmoor the airship. It drifted away, and with it, Kala. Her grandfather watched until it faded from view, then stared at where it had disappeared until he accepted that his precious granddaughter was truly and irrevocably gone. His shoulders slumped, and he walked home.
Cera, Lily, and Forest were sitting on the ground outside his door when he arrived, several bags between them. They shot to their feet but looked at each other shyly while deciding who should speak.
Lily dragged her toe through the dirt and said timidly, “We can’t stay in that house. Can we stay here?”
Kala’s grandfather pulled her into an embrace. “Of course you can.” He opened the door and held it while they filed in with their bags. They found themselves standing awkwardly in the great room.
“Cera and Lily, you can take the room at the back. Meadow, do you mind having Kala’s bed?”
“It’s Forest now,” she replied and stared at Kala’s bed as though she was going to rise out of it at any moment.
Grandfather nodded and patted her shoulder. “I think this calls for cookies,” he said, and Forest brightened slightly.
“I’ll help,” Lily offered.
“I will, too,” Cera added.
“Thank you, dears,” grandfather accepted.
With Claudius’s death and Lily and Forest moved out, the big house off the village square became vacant. After much debate among the Council about who should move into it, Sayer and his scribe eventually did. Sayer did not, however, become the unofficial head of the Council; that responsibility passed to Fayre. Sayer had no interest in it and Fayre was the natural choice.
Sayer’s move into the big house precipitated a cascade of others changing dwellings. The village was accustomed to such movement after the passing of one of its members, and the moves took place without discussion. It happened organically.
Calix’s father, Emrys, was appointed to the Council as Claudius’s replacement. There was talk among the gossipy that he was a little young for the post, but he was earnest, and the village accepted the decision, despite their talk.
Sayer conducted his inquiry into Claudius’s murder, even though Kala’s guilt was beyond question. The investigation was more concerned with uncovering whether Lily or Cera had a hand in it as well, given that they were Kala’s friends.
Janus believed that Lily must have been involved because she had been selected for the Offering. He also believed that Cera was involved because Kala had used her to distract the guards to board the ship.
Fayre pointed out that Lily had seemed genuinely shocked by Kala’s actions and obviously grieved her father’s death.
Janus suggested that Lily could well have been acting, but Emrys po
inted out that as long as he’d known her as Calix’s friend, she’d worn her heart on her sleeve. She’d never been anything but utterly forthright about her feelings, so why would that be any different now? Janus grumbled, but the entire Council knew Lily’s temperament well, given that she was the daughter of a former member, and they all knew that what Emrys said was true.
He also pointed out that Cera had seemed similarly taken off guard by Kala’s actions, and she was, after all, almost impaled on the spear of the guard that Kala shoved her into. This raised sufficient doubt as to her involvement as well.
Fayre reminded the Council that no one but themselves knew that Lily had been chosen for the Offering, so it seemed unlikely that the girls could have choreographed Claudius’s murder and Kala’s escape in the briefest of moments after the decision was announced.
The inquiry struggled to infer Kala’s motivation. Eilidh tried to rally the Council to her conclusion that Kala was a witch, but Fayre pointed out that Kala hadn’t done anything magical. She just created a distraction and used cold, hard steel to end Claudius, that was all.
Emrys postulated that Kala might have done what she did simply to take Lily’s place as the Offering and thereby spare her, but it was unthinkable to the Council that anyone would willingly take another’s place as the Offering. And even if Kala were only trying to protect Lily by taking her place, why had she also taken a measure so extreme as murdering her father?
When the Council called Lily, she refused to say an ill word about her late father and shed no light on the mystery. Forest, however, who had quietly accompanied Lily to the Council chambers and was allowed to stay only because she was also Claudius’s daughter, stepped up and bluntly revealed all of his misdeeds.
The Council was shocked. Fayre offered Forest her support, but she shrugged it off, saying, “Thank you, but we’re better now,” and that was the end of it. With no questions remaining unanswered, save for Eilidh’s suppositions about Kala’s witchcraft, the inquiry concluded. Kala was declared a murderer and an outlaw, but there was no finding of guilt on Lily’s and Cera’s part. They were given liberty to go about their lives.
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