by R. K. Gold
Yael had no clue how far they were heading when the buildings spaced out. “We have to go back,” Lewis said.
“You don’t think I know that? But we have to live first. They’re tearing this town to the ground. We’re not finding him in this mess.” Pace led them into the fields. The town was at their back, and Yael felt its pull digging into her. She couldn't entirely turn on it, not after all they had lost, but Pace was right. Fighting that mob with no weapons would be a mistake. And they didn't have time for this fight; she had to find the starborn. She left her home to find her family, not get caught up in a war. The rest remained silent as they cut through the darkness, finally coming to a stop outside a barn. They stood in a circle, all four of them struggling to catch their breath. "We have to find their camp—we have to find where they're taking him," Pace said.
Part of Yael wanted to ask where the next town was so she could find the sanctuary and look for the starborn again. They said they could cut her off by waiting for her by the forest, but how could she guarantee to find her there? Once she entered the trees, she would be impossible to track, and the toxins would kill her.
“The tracks?” Lewis asked, but Pace shook his head.
“Not necessarily; they could be—”
“No, no, the tracks! It’s what they came for, didn’t you hear them? That’s where they’ll be.”
“We can’t go back and fight them,” Dean said.
Pace held up a hand to his large companion while keeping his eyes on Lewis. The only light came from the moon and the Mother’s approach. Yael struggled to make out most of their details. “You think we can track them from the rails?”
“Won’t be too hard. They aren't discreet about it," Lewis replied. He wasn't wrong. They moved through Hizen like lightning in a tornado. They couldn't have gotten more attention if they were ordered to. Soon, all eyes in the entire country would be on them.
They started back towards town, taking a wider approach than their exit. Yael could keep her eyes on the growing fires while staying hidden in the shadows. She followed without saying a word. There was nothing else she could do. She wasn’t about to run off in the middle of the night with no direction, but there was something more to it. Brody hopped the fence to cut her free. He did it with no hesitation, and the idea of turning her back on him now weighed on her insides like a sack of rocks. Each breath pushed the sharp edges of the stones against her stomach.
They reached the rails heading into town and straight ahead saw an inferno scratching the night sky raw until its bluish hue turned orange and red. The stars didn't feel so distant under the blaze and the bright light from the Mother's approach. She couldn't make out any people, though, not that she could see much around the fire.
As they moved closer to town and the tracks, the ground was dug up and rails flipped over. Stations were on fire, and footprints went in every direction. Each step they took, Yael expected someone to jump out of the darkness like it was nothing more than a curtain and cut them down. “Didn’t take them long,” Pace said.
“They could be anywhere,” Dean added. It was easier to see by the fires. Pace hopped off the tracks and inspected the ground. “They get deeper over here; willing to bet a bunch of them went this way.”
“Could be their camp,” Lewis said.
“Even if it is, they could be expecting a response. You don’t do this if you don’t want to get caught,” Dean said.
Yael couldn't disagree with him. They were looking for a fight. Didn't they run away to avoid one? Now, they would blindly follow footsteps through the dark.
“And what do you think we should do, let them take Brody? Or worse?” Lewis struggled to keep his voice down.
“Of course not, but what do you want to do? Take on an Emerlian militia with no weapons?”
“Did you hear something?” A harsh voice cut through the darkness, and all four of them scrambled away from the fire. They all laid flat in the open field. Yael pressed her cheek to the dirt to keep an eye on the town. She could see four men emerge into the light, but no sign of Brody.
“You sure you heard something?” a much deeper voice asked.
“I coulda swore I did,” the high-pitched voice replied, sounding less sure of himself now. The pounding of her heart echoed in her ears between each breath. The warmth of each exhale pressed back on her face. With her mouth so close to the ground, she felt trapped in an invisible box. Any movement and she’d be caught.
The four men started towards them in the field, but none indicated having seen the kids. Yael's legs tensed to the point she doubted she could run away if she had to. She willed the men to turn around or walk away, but they only seemed to move closer to her.
She knew she had to get out of the way, but any movement under the Mother’s light would’ve been a dead giveaway. It wasn’t like she could make out their faces, but she saw four distinct shadows moving towards her and knew they would see one in return. She curled her hands into the ground, feeling the soft dirt and grass in her palms.
They were a sneeze away from Yael when something jumped up in her peripherals. Lewis made a break for the town, and two of the men chased after him. At once, Dean was on his feet, charging after the two men. He was back on the tracks before the two remaining ones in the field could register what happened.
Pace crawled over to Yael and nodded for her to follow. “What about them?” she said.
"They did that to give us a chance to come on," he whispered back and crawled through the dirt, following the trampled footsteps from before. Yael looked over her shoulders every couple of seconds to keep an eye on the two men. One of them was still heading towards them while the other made his way back towards the tracks, but not in any pursuit.
She wanted to get Pace’s attention, but he kept his eyes straight ahead. As if all they had to do was bury their faces in the dirt, and they could become the earth. Ms. White told her the soul was most sensitive through the eyes, and the best way to hide was to avoid their eyes. It was one of the reasons Yael almost always wore her glasses. She didn’t dare say Pace’s name. Her mouth felt dry, and she could smell the dirt around them. The footsteps of the man behind them grew louder, and still, Pace kept his same speed.
Yael ducked her face into the tall grass and closed her eyes. All she could hear was her pounding heart as the Mother’s light rained down on the field. She curled her hands into the soft dirt, feeling every shift in the air along her back like it was a predator’s claw checking for signs of life.
Still, she waited, and no one disrupted her. When she looked up, she saw the man had passed her but couldn’t spot Pace. She sighed, hoping it was a sign he made it to the tree line. With no one behind her, Yael continued forward, careful not to make herself too tall. The Mother’s light stung the corners of her eyes, even when she looked away from it now.
The man stopped frequently and walked in zigzags, inspecting the trees when they reached the forest. Yael was able to climb to her feet and move from trunk to trunk. He didn't look behind him often, but she was already tucked out of sight whenever he did. Still, she made sure to never look directly at him, sure it would be the one mistake that could give herself away.
A fire crackled in the distance and, in a small clearing, hosted a semi-circle of black tents. Yael dropped lower as they approached, still seeing no sign of Pace. She was about to turn around when she saw a young boy bound to a post. Her stomach jumped to the back of her throat as she inched closer, walking exclusively on her toes to disrupt as little of the world as possible. Each shift in the dirt sounded like shattering glass to her, but no one else looked over. Even the trees felt like they had eyes and hung over her. Their branches like hands hovering over the final scraps of a plate.
She could turn around at that moment, head north, and get to the forest on her own. There was no guarantee she would find the starborn, but what hope did she have of finding her now? She only needed Pace and the others to track her to the next sanctuary. She would prob
ably be long gone by the time they got there.
As she looked through the camp, she saw three men sitting by the fire and a fourth facing a tree, shaking his trousers. All were drinking from mugs. It would be easy to slip into the darkness and disappear, but when she saw Brody tied up and remembered how he hopped the fence without a second thought to free her, she felt a wall sprout from the ground and curl around her blocking any retreat.
She fiddled with her glasses and tiptoed to the edge of camp until only a handful of trees separated them. Staying close to a trunk, she was mostly out of their line of sight, but anyone returning could spot her easily, especially now that she was in range of the fire's light. The Mother's star still shined into the clearing.
She'd never been in an actual fight. What good would she be with her two hands? She spotted movement along with the trees, not far from where the fourth man had previously stood before joining the others by the fire. Just within the radius of the fire's light, she spotted his blonde hair. Pace made his way into the camp.
Yael’s nails bit the palms of her hands. Maybe, just maybe, she could get out of this without a fight. He had managed to escape the man pursuing them and find the camp. However, just as he left the tree line, one of the four men stood by the fire. The one who relieved himself earlier pointed back towards the tree he used, and the new man patted his shoulder before making his way towards Pace. Pace ducked behind a tent, but he was still so close.
Behind her, Yael heard new movement through the trees. The men weren’t tiptoeing like she was, instead snapping branches and kicking stones as they marched towards the fire. Yael pressed her back to the trunk, its sharp bark scratched the back of her neck, and she held her breath, not wanting to disrupt a single particle.
Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears, she was shocked no one else seemed to hear it. It sounded like it could drill a hole through stone. She could see their outlines but nothing else as they approached. There was still no sign of Pace, and more men filed into camp.
The rest of the forest felt like it was flooding with people now. They stepped into the clearings as clearly as shadows shifting from light. Her eyes darted back to where Pace once stood. She still couldn't spot him. Could he have made a break for it? They were getting closer. She could hear their laughter and their feet dragging across the dirt.
Pace’s blonde hair poked into the clearing, closer to Brody. He had to get him out while the camp was still sparse. The fourth man returned and had a clear view of Pace as he took that moment to make a break for Brody. Once the camp filled up, they had no chance of escape. Without a thought, Yael jumped into the light with her hands high. If her glasses hadn’t bounced off her wrist, she would’ve thought it was all in her head. At first, nothing happened, and each second of silence cemented Yael in place. Once the first man spotted her, it felt like a previously invisible glass wall shattered.
Even Pace froze for a moment and when their eyes met, a jolt shot through her body. She spun on the spot and ran out of the camp. She could hear heavy steps of the men behind her pounding the forest floor as she dodged trunks and low-hanging branches.
Most of the footsteps died off, but she could still hear a small following behind her. She didn't dare look back because it would slow her down or possibly give herself away. She ducked behind a thick trunk and scanned the area. It looked like the coast was clear, but she didn't want to take any chances. Her tongue was dry, and she struggled to swallow.
She just needed a moment, so she slid to the ground and forced her breathing to slow. When she felt better and climbed to her feet, a hand grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back. Her heart jumped up to her throat, and she swung her elbows around. There was a high-pitched groan from the young man who tried to take her. His hair was a mess, and his uniform was undone. Half the collar was up, and his shirt was untucked. Yael started to run, but he grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her down.
She spun around to kick him off, but he blocked her blow and climbed on top of her. He cocked his fist back to strike but hesitated as he looked down at her. Under the trees, enough light from the Mother’s star passed to see glimpses of their faces, and he locked eyes with Yael. While her red eye could be anything in the dim light, the white would be challenging to explain.
"Your eyes," he said, but before he could get out another word, he was knocked out cold by a swift kick to the side of the head.
“Are you okay?” Pace asked and helped her up.
"You?" She jumped to her feet and hugged him. "You found me how?" She let Pace go and saw Brody standing behind him. "And you! You saved me." She pulled him in for a hug too. "Why?"
Brody grinned when they pulled apart. “Cause I’m a hero, of course." He puffed his chest out, and for the briefest moment, she thought of Jaja saluting the soldiers.
“You weren’t exactly stealthy. It was easy to find you. We just followed the large group of people running through the forest. Most were too drunk to chase." He kicked the unconscious man once more. "Guess he wasn't."
“And the others?” Yael looked around.
“Heading back to town to look for them now.”
17
It didn't take long to find the others. Dean wasn't exactly hiding, choosing to sit on three Emerlia soldiers across the station's tracks. At the same time, Lewis poked their faces with sticks. They found a barn just outside of town, and all five of them slept in hay. Dean took the first watch, and the twins fell asleep immediately. Pace stared at the night sky through a small hole in the ceiling. Under the Mother’s starlight and the moon, Yael could see the outline of a nest, and two birds fly into it. They were a family, safe in the silence of the barn.
“You okay?” Pace asked, not taking his eyes off the ceiling. When Yael didn't answer, he added, "I'm surprised you went after him."
Still, Yael remained silent. She knew it would've been safer to head north without them but had no chance of finding the starborn alone. However, when she replayed the night in her head, that wasn't the reason she went after Brody. She wasn't far off from being just like him. If she had been placed in Wydser and not Eselport, she would be the one telling stories about the people she robbed. "He saved me first," she finally said. It was the main reason she couldn't turn her back on him when she reached the camp.
"Of course, he did."
She rolled over to look at Pace, who rested the back of his head in his hands.
"You're with us now. Why do you think we're traveling together?" he chuckled, and when Yael said nothing, he added, "We protect each other."
Yael rolled on her back once again. Only this time, Dean's snores felt more like a shield.
"He mentioned my eyes." She brushed her hands against her face, instinctively. Even with her glasses on, she felt like the world could see right through the lenses.
"I had a feeling this would happen," Pace whispered even though they were utterly alone. Maybe the wind carried secrets or the birds. Or perhaps the silence was too precious to ruin by talking about war.
“That they’d recognize me?”
“That they’d be looking for the starborn. They say they don’t believe in the Mother, but no one can deny the star’s descent, and every astronomer on the continent has deemed this the year of the full return.”
“But if they don’t believe in the Mother, why are they looking for me?” She misspoke, but the words felt comforting coming out of her mouth. Not that she was hunted, but that the connection was real. Maybe this girl was related to her, and if she could find the starborn, she could see her family—her actual family.
She pulled hay over herself as the evening breeze slipped through the cracks in the walls. The draft floated around them, along with Dean’s snores.
“I thought only you and Armstrong were looking for her,” Yael added.
“Only him, remember.” Pace turned his head and grinned. Yael smiled back, and he extended his hand towards her. She could only see the outline of his body and flinched back, out of his r
each. When his hand touched the ground, harmless against the dirt, she saw knuckles that literally fought for her. A boy she had just met looking out for her because he wanted to, not for a monthly payment. She rested her head where it was before, and the two stared at one another in complete silence. Pace's fingers tapped the ground, and in her mind, Yael could hear the snare drums on their way to the morning market in Eselport. When he raised his hand again, he grazed the side of her glasses. Yael's shoulders tensed. She hid her eyes from the world for so long, those glasses felt like a part of her body, and when he touched them, she could feel his fingertips.
When he pushed them down her curved nose, she held her breath. Her fingers curled into the hay, taking bushels of anxiety, but she didn’t move. Even as the glasses came down to the tip, she kept her eyes on Pace and felt truly seen.
At first light, they were back on the road, heading north towards Wezingo. Yael didn’t know much about the city except how close it was to the Emerlia border. It had been one of the most raided lands since the war ended with fights between Emerlia loyalists, local militia, and even Armstrong’s dragonflies.
“What’s there exactly?” Yael asked. The raw skin on her stomach still stung from the previous night, and the back of her hair was matted. She pulled the straw out from her curls and flicked it into the wind.
“One of the most beautiful shrines to the Mother.” Lewis parted his hands in the sky like he was revealing an invisible sign.
“It’s not bad, but the starborn does stop there every time before returning to the forest,” Pace said. The road inclined with the rolling hills. There were no cars or carts around them. Not even soldiers passed by anymore.