by Bobby Adair
Chapter 28: Bray
Bray sat silent in the cave, listening to the demands of the men outside. Someone must’ve heard him. Someone must’ve seen him enter. He gritted his teeth. He sensed Ella and William behind him, huddled in a corner.
“Get the hell out here, now!” Rodrigo yelled.
It sounded like the man’s rage was increasing by the second. Bray could probably spring from the cave and slash the man’s throat, but there was at least another soldier with him. As confident as Bray could be, he wasn’t careless, and he wasn’t stupid.
He crept backward on hands and knees, keeping his eye on the darkened entrance. Soon, he was crouched next to Ella and William. He felt for Ella’s arm, drew her close, and hissed in her ear.
“I’ll check the other exit. Hold still.”
He gave one last look at the dark entrance, then turned and made his way to the other side of the cave. As he crawled, he held onto his scabbarded sword, trying to distill any noise it might make. It didn’t take long to determine that the other exit was compromised.
The soldiers had them walled in on both ends. It looked like there were three—two at the main entrance and one at the other. He wasn’t sure where the fourth had gone. He returned to Ella and William and gave them strict, whispered instructions to hug the wall, then took out Ella’s knife and pressed it back into her hand. He made for the original entrance.
The soldiers conversed loudly. One of them talked about coming in. Another insisted on tossing in a torch and burning them out.
“Wait a moment!” Bray yelled. “I’m coming. Can’t a man get some sleep?”
“Throw your sword and come out slowly!” Rodrigo yelled. By the sounds of it, he was in no mood for jesting.
Rodrigo stepped away from the entrance, revealing the glow of several torches outside. The light permeated the cave, bouncing off the walls, and Bray had the sudden, panicked thought that Ella and William were about to be exposed. He continued crawling, trying to block the light and capture the men’s focus. When he’d reached the entrance, he unsheathed his sword—a difficult task, considering he was in the cave’s mouth—and tossed it in front of him.
There were three soldiers at the main entrance. The one from the back had already joined the others. Bray’s eyes darted from Rodrigo to his two companions, taking them in. The fourth—the one with the beard—was missing. Bray glanced instinctively down the mountainside, as if he’d catch a glimpse of him, but saw only the dim outlines of stones and mountain shrubs. It was possible the inebriated Warden had killed him. Either that or Rodrigo had.
Rodrigo’s face was yellow and hardened. He bent down and retrieved Bray’s sword, grinning. A second later, one of the others walked over and held a blade under Bray’s chin.
“Is that any way to treat a protector of the settlements?” Bray asked.
“Shut up, Skin-Seller. Come out the rest of the way. If you make any sudden movements, I’ll slit your throat,” the soldier warned.
“Relax. I was just trying to sleep.”
Bray climbed out of the cavern. He attempted to stand, but the soldier kept the blade at his throat and prompted him to stay on his knees. Bray’s anger rose. He envisioned thrusting a knife into the man’s neck, watching him spill blood onto the side of the mountain.
But not yet. Not while he was outnumbered.
Rodrigo bent down, coming to within inches of Bray’s face. His cheeks were flecked with wet blood. His breath stank of woodland squirrel.
“Hopefully, you’ll be as uncooperative as the last one.” Rodrigo grinned wickedly.
His eyes effused the same madness Bray had seen before, but this time the madness was amplified, fueled by confrontation and violence.
“Aren’t you breaking the pact between Wardens and Soldiers?” Bray reminded him. “Unless you have proof of some wrongdoing, I haven’t done anything to warrant this treatment.”
“To hell with the code,” Rodrigo spat.
“Even out in the wild, there are rules. You know that. Aren’t you from Brighton? Blackthorn must’ve taught you that.”
At the sound of the General’s name, Rodrigo backed up a step and lowered his sword. The soldier next to him followed his lead. The one with the knife to Bray’s neck remained in place.
“I’ll answer your questions,” Bray said. “But I’ll do it on my feet.”
Rodrigo gave a reluctant nod, and the third soldier lifted the blade from Bray’s neck. All at once, Bray was free. He bent down, making a show of getting to his feet.
“Now, how can I help you?”
“We’re looking for a woman and a boy,” Rodrigo said.
“A woman and a boy? In the wild?”
“Yes. They’re infected, and they killed two soldiers back in Brighton while fleeing The Cleansing.”
“A woman and a boy wouldn’t last long out here,” Bray said, making it so obvious that even the dim-witted, angry Rodrigo might conclude the same. “Did you search for remains?”
Rodrigo didn’t bite. “There’re no remains. We know they had help.”
“It’s possible, but I haven’t come across them.”
Rodrigo glared at him, and Bray noticed the two other soldiers eyeing the cave’s entrance. He held his position, doing his best to appear cooperative, but blocking their view.
“If they passed through this area, I probably would’ve seen them. I’ve been out hunting all day.”
“They’re infected,” Rodrigo reiterated, giving him a sideways glance. “They’re dangerous.”
“Like I said, I haven’t laid eyes on them.”
The other two soldiers scowled in silence.
“What are you doing here, anyway?” one of the other ones asked.
“Sleeping. What’s it look like? I’m on my way to Davenport.”
“What do you have in the cave?”
“My bag and belongings.”
“We’ll need to check. Then we’ll be on our way.”
Before he could protest, the soldiers moved to push him away from the entrance, torches held high. Rodrigo remained in place, locking eyes with him. He was still holding Bray’s sword. It felt like Rodrigo was daring him to make a move.
The man’s eyes were like coals.
Bray kept his eyes locked with Rodrigo, reaching for the knife he had tucked in the back of his pants.
Bray sprang at Rodrigo.
Chapter 29: Ella
Ella listened to Bray and the soldiers talking outside the cave, her pulse climbing. She held William in her arms, waiting for the inevitable to occur—for the soldiers to find them—to be forced to fight.
On Bray’s instructions, they’d crawled as far from the entrances as possible, doing their best to stay concealed in the cave’s darkness. Even then, she knew hiding was no guarantee of safety. If the men were to come inside, surely they’d find her and William.
She listened to the soldiers outside speak about the escapees from Brighton. The words sounded strange, as if the events had transpired to people she’d never known, in some place far away. It was hard to believe what her life had become. In just two days, her living space, her profession, and her safety had been stripped from her, all because of a society that would rather kill than listen.
She couldn’t go back there. Wouldn’t go back there. And neither would William.
The soldier’s harsh young voice came to an unexpected stop. Bray had made his case, apparently hoping to convince the soldiers the cave was empty, but they’d insisted on seeing for themselves. The torches grew brighter in the cave entrance, and Ella closed her eyes, as if she could make herself invisible. They’d almost made it undetected. They’d come so far…
Someone cried out from beyond the cave’s entrance, and all at once the torches withdrew. She heard the bustle of c
ommotion, cries of pain, and shouts of men.
“Come on!” she hissed to William.
The cocoon of shadows would protect them no more. She flexed her elbows and knees as she stood, gripping her knife and clenching her jaw. The time for cowering was over. The time for bravery had arrived. She pulled at her son’s arm. Then she grabbed their bags and slung them on. Before she knew it, they were panting and crawling, heading for the second entrance. They’d have to run and evade the men, but at least they’d be moving.
Her dress bunched up beneath her, and her knees stung from the scraping of skin on stone, but soon, they were at the opening, peering out into a star-filled night. The men had dropped their torches, and light blazed from the ground. Several illuminated figures clashed with swords. She recognized Bray’s form in the fire glow, his face hard and determined. He swung at one of the soldiers, sending the man screaming to the ground. Ella tumbled out into the open, pulled her son from the cave, and started off down the rock-covered slope.
Gravel spit from beneath them, threatening their footing, as if the mountain itself were bent on impeding their escape. Ella held tight to William with one hand. She gripped the knife in the other, dinging it against the rocks and dirt as she rushed down the slope.
“Over here!” one of the soldiers cried.
She and William were out of the pool of light thrown by the torches, and she could barely make out the terrain in the darkness, but she pressed on. She dug her heels into the ground, praying she’d stay on her feet, praying the mountain wouldn’t topple her. But the loose rocks kept shifting.
The rocks beneath her had become a mini-landslide, rolling and tumbling, the roar of stone and gravel drowning out the other sounds around her. Ella tried to find purchase, but she twisted her ankle on a stone. Suddenly, Ella was falling, pitching headfirst down the mountain. She let go of William’s hand so she wouldn’t drag him down with her. She flung her elbows in front of her face as she landed. The impact was hard and sudden, knocking the wind from her stomach and rattling her insides. The bags flew off her shoulders. She continued sliding for several feet, and all of the sudden she was at rest, loose rocks rolling around her. William skidded to a stop nearby.
“Mom! Are you all right?”
“I’m okay,” she managed, through a mouthful of dirt.
“Someone’s coming!” His voice was frantic.
She struggled to get to her feet, but she was lying headfirst on a slope. It was difficult to get traction. William grabbed her arm to help her. She could barely see him in the dark.
“Mom! Hurry!”
She was on one knee, still getting her balance, when a body collided with hers. William’s fingers ripped free. Ella sprawled back to the ground. A man had tackled her. She tried to scream, but her lungs were stripped of air and she could barely breathe.
“Stay still, or I’ll cut you open! I’ll do it in front of the boy!”
She recognized the voice as the man she’d heard outside the cave, the one who’d been interrogating Bray. She writhed and squirmed. It wasn’t until she felt the cold steel of a blade on the back of her neck that she stopped moving.
“That’s better,” he hissed.
She couldn’t see the man’s features, but she sensed an aura of venom around him. It was the same malice she’d felt at the hands of the soldiers in Brighton, the same hateful expectation that bled from a crowd of spectators right before someone got burned. She might’ve escaped Brighton, but she was in less of a position to do so now, in the dirt and on her stomach, weaponless and in the dark.
“Let the boy go,” she tried, but her plea died in the dusty rocks.
A hand grabbed her by the hair. Rather than pulling her to her feet, the soldier dug the blade deeper into her throat. She felt a sting, the wet sensation of blood trickling down her neck.
The soldier turned to William. “Sit on the ground.”
Ella couldn’t see her son, but she heard the crunch of boots on gravel, and assumed he’d complied. No, she wanted to scream, but the knife at her neck had paralyzed her tongue. The soldier let go of her hair, swooped it to the side, and groped with abrasively calloused hands along the back of her neck.
“You’re not infected?” he asked, surprised.
She remained silent. He pushed her face into the dirt, demanding an answer.
“No,” she managed.
“That’s a shame, then. But it won’t change what you’ve done.” His voice was hollow, soulless. He pressed the knife into her again.
This man wasn’t taking her back to Brighton. She could feel it. She would die here on the mountainside. She needed to do something. Anything. She needed more time.
“Do you have children?” she asked, surprised she could still speak. Her body felt useless and tired, as if she’d experienced a dozen deaths already.
“A boy and a girl,” he answered, without hesitation.
“What are their names?”
“Shut up, wench! That is no business of yours!”
“But what if they were threatened? Wouldn’t you do anything to protect them?”
The soldier remained silent.
“Wouldn’t you—?”
“Enough!” the soldier shouted. “You’re a murderess! You killed my cousins!”
The man’s words were like a punch to the stomach. Ella swallowed, certain she was on her last breath. If this was the end, she needed to warn William. She needed to make sure he ran. Before she could speak, she heard William stand up.
“Sit!” the soldier screamed to him.
The boy remained in place.
“Do you hear me? Sit down, you smudged piece of shit!”
“William, run!” Ella screamed.
All at once, she heard the sound of footfalls on the stone, and the heavy pant of her son as he fled down the mountainside. The soldier kept the knife at her neck, but she could feel his hands shaking with rage.
“Go ahead and run, boy! I’ll flay your mother, and then I’ll hunt you down and do the same!”
The footsteps waned into the night. Ella swallowed, picturing her son alone and in the wild. There was no way he’d last out there. But at the moment, anything was preferable to what this man would do to him.
The soldier released his knife and grabbed her clothes to spin her over. Ella complied, if for no other reason than to buy her son time. His hot breath dripped in her face, making her repress a gag.
“Are you taking me to town?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“What do you think?”
“They’ll want me to burn for what I’ve done.”
“They’ll never know you were found.”
Underneath Rodrigo, she squirmed, testing his weight, but he’d pinned her with his knees. He parted her dress, exposing her chest. Ella screamed.
At least I can’t see his face, she told herself. At least I can’t see what’s coming.
“They’ll have your head on a spike,” she whispered.
“The demons will pick your bones clean, and no one will ever find you.”
Ella bucked with everything she had, slipping her hand free, but the man was ready for her, and he grabbed hold of it, squashing her hope before it had a chance to blossom.
With no other option, Ella began to scream. The noise was high-pitched and piercing, and she hated every second of sound that came out of her mouth. Her scream was cut short by the soldier’s hand. He pressed his dirty palm against her lips, stifling her.
Then he keeled over, gasping for air.
What the—?
Ella pushed again. This time she was able to wriggle free. She heard the clank of the man’s knife as he dropped it on the rocks, and she squirmed out from beneath him, confused. She scrambled clear of his fallen body, listening to the
gurgle of his death throes.
A few seconds later, the man was still.
A shadow emerged in the moonlight. She stared at the shaking form.
“William?” she whispered, her lips trembling.
“Is he dead, Mom?”
Chapter 30: Father Winthrop
Father Winthrop looked the girl up and down as she entered his bedchamber. She closed the door behind her and walked a few paces inside. She did indeed have raven hair, milky skin, icy blue eyes, and large breasts that stirred his interest. And that threadbare dress—immodest even for a girl from The House of Barren Women—pushed her breasts up as though they might spill out.
“You are Fitzgerald?” Winthrop asked.
The girl nodded.
As much as Winthrop wanted to see that dress fall away, he had specific preferences in these matters. He liked when they talked for a while before they shed their clothes. “Feel free to speak, girl.”
“Yes, Father.”
“In these chambers, and nowhere else, you may call me Winthrop. Or if it pleases you, you can come up with some pet name.”
Fitzgerald asked, “Do you have just the one name?”
Winthrop snorted. “I don’t subscribe to this fashion of labeling oneself with two names. If one name is not memorable enough than what good will two do?”
“Yes, Winthrop.”
“Tell me about this name of yours. It is unusual for a girl.”
With her hands clasped lazily in front of her, the girl said, “It was my father’s. He is able to trace his line all the way back to the fifty-seven.”
“I am aware Fitzgerald was one of the first fifty-seven.” Winthrop chastised himself for the harsh way he said it. It always irritated him when it was implied—however slightly—that there was something of The People’s history that he did not know.
“Please forgive me, Father Winthrop.”
“It is nothing. Have you any brothers or sisters?” asked Winthrop.