Tom cleared his throat and took a moment to answer. “I’m willing to agree to tell you before I talk to Nava, but not to ask you.”
It was a fair enough answer. “All right.” My hands twisted together like live things in my lap, and I forced them quiet. Destiny’s light came in the window above Joseph, so Tom’s face was lit by two sources: the moon and the lamp on the wooden table between us. “First, this isn’t about us, but what if one of us, of the altered, was accused of a crime? Would the same laws apply to us that apply to everyone else?”
Tom leaned forward in his chair, new intensity in his eyes, which he fastened directly on me as he spoke slowly. “What crime?”
“I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”
He leaned back, chewing on his lip, taking a moment to answer. “I can see this will be a serious conversation. I’m going to get a glass of water. Chelo? Joseph?”
Joseph stood up. “I’ll get them.”
“Thank you.”
While we waited for Joseph, I watched Tom carefully, wondering how he would treat this conversation. He looked out the window, tapping his foot silently in the air, chewing his lower lip. He would be involved in the investigation, if there was one, alongside Nava and the rest of the Town Council.
Joseph returned with three glasses balanced carefully, handed us each one, and then sat back down.
Tom took a long drink of water. “I think the same laws would apply to you or me or anyone. The agreements that formed our colony talk about how citizens are treated. I don’t know what got written down about your adoption by the community.” He paused, brows drawn together, lips tight. “I doubt it says citizen.”
“I know,” I said. “Therese told me once. It said ‘prisoner of war.’”
Tom frowned.
Joseph spoke up from his perch across the room. “But we are citizens. We live here, we work here, we do things to help the colony. We even go to school.”
“I agree. But there are five Council, seven including me and Nava.”
I pictured Jenna, her seamed face folded around her missing eye. She was certainly not considered a citizen. A problem, a helper, a mystery, but not a member of the community.
Tom continued. “We expect you to take your rightful roles here, and be part of the community. It follows that you should be judged by the community’s standards.” He frowned. “Can you tell me why you’re asking?”
I bit my lip. What could I say safely? “A roamer is accusing Alicia of something she didn’t do. Not formally, but she’s telling people, and it’s making trouble for Alicia.”
“The roamers usually do their own policing. Is there some reason they can’t take care of it?”
“I’m not sure they would be fair.” I swallowed and tamed my hands again. “Ruth seems to be involved.”
“Well, Alicia should start there anyway.”
I wasn’t telling him enough for him to understand, but what else could I say? I hadn’t talked to Alicia yet.
The front door banged open, and I heard Bryan’s voice, and Liam’s, out of breath as if they’d been running. “Chelo, Joseph?”
All three of us stood. Liam held the door open, and Bryan followed him in, carrying Alicia in his arms the way one would carry a small child. Her hair obscured her face. Fresh bruises purpled her arms. Anger and worry warred across Bryan’s face.
“Take her to my room,” I said. “What happened?” Had she been beaten?
We trailed after Bryan, surrounding the bed as he laid Alicia carefully on it. She wore only loose shorts and a hemp top that was too big for her and belted tight with a rope. Her feet were bare. Both arms, one cheek, and one of her knees were bruised and banged up. Pain clouded her violet eyes. She pushed herself up to a sitting position on the bed, her back against the wall, her arms wrapped around her knees.
“What happened?” Tom demanded.
Bryan cleared his throat. “She was supposed to meet us at the river. When she didn’t come, we decided to go look for her. We found her locked in her—her parents’,” he spit the word out, “her guardian’s wagon. She was banging herself up trying to get out, like a bird in a cage, and we were afraid she’d hurt herself. So we tied up the dog and gave her a little help getting out of the locked door.” He raised an eyebrow and grinned a little. “It doesn’t lock anymore. Bella and Michael must have known she talked to us.”
Tom sat down on the edge of the bed, near Alicia, not touching her. “Talked to you about what?”
Alicia raked a lock of hair out of her face, her voice shaking. “Ruth is telling people I killed Varay. But I didn’t. Bella locked me up, but I’m sure Ruth told her to. They told me to stay in the wagon today, earlier, before I saw you guys at the river, but I sneaked out.” She looked over at us, “I had to tell someone what was going on.”
Tom’s eyes trailed over her, his frown deepening. “Who gave you the bruises?”
Alicia looked down at her arms, as if seeing them for the first time. “I guess…I guess some are from Bella pushing me into the wagon, but I gave myself the others, struggling to get out. I tried to break down the door, even though the dog was there. I just couldn’t quite do it.” She glanced over at Bryan and Liam, suddenly flashing a brief smile. “I was so glad to get out. Thank you.”
I frowned. It wouldn’t do for us to get caught breaking into locked wagons. “Did anyone see you two?”
Liam shrugged. “Probably, but I don’t know who. Bella and Michael weren’t home. We weren’t worried about being seen. We were angry.”
“Your anger is scary.” Tom’s brows furrowed. “You just used your strength, your extra strength, and broke the lock off the door?”
Bryan nodded. “What else were we supposed to do?”
“Well, for one, you could have come and gotten me or Nava. It doesn’t seem right that Alicia was locked up, but you should have gotten help. It would have looked better for us to go inquire.”
Bryan and Liam didn’t respond. They didn’t know Tom. Even Joseph and I only knew him a little, and I didn’t know how much to trust him. Just that he had been all right so far. On the plus side, there was a glint of approval in his eyes despite his scolding.
Alicia broke in. “Can I stay here tonight?”
Tom chewed on his bottom lip. “They say you killed someone? Tonight? Who?”
“No. Before the earthquake. Varay. Ruth’s telling the whole band I killed him, although she’s never accused me directly.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “I’m afraid.”
The door opened and I heard Nava’s swift footsteps coming down the hall. “Hello?” She poked her head in the door and her eyes widened at the sight of six of us crowded into the tiny room. Then she noticed Alicia. “What are you doing here?” She stepped closer to Alicia, bending over the girl. Her voice softened. “How did you get hurt?”
Tom took her elbow. “Let’s go to the kitchen. I’ll fill you in.” He glanced at Bryan and Liam. “And I think you two should go home. Quietly. Let us figure out what to do.”
Bryan looked at him evenly. “I’d much rather stay. Someone needs to watch over Alicia.”
“Go home.” Tom’s tone suggested he wanted no argument. “I don’t know what we’re going to do, but having all of you here won’t make us look impartial.”
Liam tugged gently on Bryan’s arm. Bryan stood unyielding, and I held my breath, willing him to obey Tom. Liam glanced at me, and said, “Akashi will be looking for me. He’ll want to know.”
Bryan didn’t move.
Liam tugged again. “Come with me. Akashi can use your insights as well as mine.”
Bryan shook Liam’s hand from his arm and knelt briefly by my bed, next to Alicia, and whispered something to her. Then he stood and nodded at Liam, and Nava and Tom stepped back from the doorway, letting them out. Bryan’s shoulders and neck muscles stood out, tight with anger. Liam’s steps were confident and sure, his head up.
Joseph looked at the empty place in the doorway. He’d been quiet,
but his eyes held some of the same anger Bryan could barely hide anymore. Anger filled my body, too, but none of us could afford to act on it. Not now.
Nava paced, her mouth a tight line. “Would someone please tell me what’s going on here?”
Alicia sat up straighter and pushed the hair from her face again. It was like a live thing, accustomed to hiding her, and she had to work to keep her face free. Red and black rimmed her eyes. “Let me tell you. Don’t leave and talk about me.”
Nava sat down on the end of the bed, not touching Alicia, watching her closely. Tom and Joseph and I all stood in a little half circle behind Nava. I wondered if Alicia knew that Nava didn’t like us, and didn’t trust us, but I saw no way to warn her.
Alicia began again at the beginning, telling her story much like she had told us earlier, down at the river, adding only that she had been locked in the wagon as soon as she returned and not allowed to go to the feast. She didn’t cry this time, and anger laced her face and even her words from time to time.
Both Nava and Alicia needed to hear about our earlier meeting. I broke in as soon as Alicia’s story was complete. “We talked to Paloma and Akashi about the rumors. They thought Alicia should take the initiative, and accuse Ruth of telling people a lie. Get it talked about here, where the Town Council can deal with it instead of Ruth, who can’t judge the situation since she started it.” I glanced at Alicia, making sure I had her attention. I did. “They suggested Alicia bring a formal complaint against Ruth for the rumors. But the problem is, there’s no proof one way or the other, so Alicia could be judged guilty either way.”
Nava chewed her lip. “If it’s going to come to the Town Council, I’ll have to judge it, and I’ll have to be impartial. That means you can’t stay here.” She glanced at me. “Chelo, can you see if she can go to Paloma’s?”
Joseph surprised me by speaking up. “I’ll go.”
Nava nodded. “Thank you.”
Joseph left quickly, the door opening and closing noisily behind him.
Nava asked Alicia, “What do you want?”
Alicia leaned forward, squared her shoulders, and took a long, trembling breath. She spoke clearly and firmly. “I don’t want to go back to the band, or to Bella and Michael. I want to go with Akashi’s band. I want to clear my name. I want to be treated like normal. I didn’t ask to be different, or to be here. I can’t help being myself.”
Nava shook her head slightly, frowning. “I can’t promise you anything at this point, except to find you shelter for the evening in town. Does anyone know you’re here?”
“Probably. People were watching.”
Nava glanced over at Tom.
He seemed to understand her wordless look, because he immediately said, “I’ll go tell the East Band that Alicia’s here.”
Nava stood. “Chelo, come with me to the kitchen. I need a cup of tea.” It was a command. She left, heading for the kitchen.
“I’ll be right there,” I called after her. I glanced at Alicia, and she gave a little nod, telling me she would be all right. I went to my clothes drawer and pulled out a clean pair of pants and a clean off-white shirt that would look nice against the long dark fall of her hair. “Here—maybe cleaning up will help you feel better.” I pointed toward the bathroom. “Take a shower.”
She smiled for the first time that evening. “Thank you.” I watched her stand and walk unsteadily toward the bathroom, then I headed for the kitchen, which already smelled like mint and redberry tea.
Nava sat at the table, one cup of hot tea in front of her, one in front of an empty seat across the table. She gestured to the empty chair. “Your friends should not have brought Alicia here.”
I took my time, sipping tea slowly, thinking before answering. “They brought Alicia to me.”
“I will have to judge this problem.”
“Alicia didn’t murder Varay; she loved him. I’m sure Ruth hated that. She hates Alicia.” And then I ventured into unsafe territory. “Look, Ruth’s family died in the war. She lost her husband, and her father.” I let that lie for a second, let Nava draw her own conclusions, perhaps remember her own father who died in the same war. “And now, Ruth’s nephew died. She can’t accept that it’s an accident. It’s easier to blame the same enemy who killed the rest of her family.”
Nava laughed, and wry amusement danced in her eyes. “Chelo, I spent two summers with the East Band. Ruth is not that simple.”
“Sorry.” Ruth had led the band as long as I remembered. I twirled my cup in my hand, searching for the right thing to say next. “Please, Nava. If there is an inquiry tomorrow, please be open. Our parents were at war with you, but not us. We understand that we all have to work together.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Do you?”
I knew she was talking about Joseph, and how he wouldn’t do what she wanted. “Nava, I know we need you.”
Nava frowned.
“And, Nava, you need us.”
“Not to repair sewers.”
I laughed, and it seemed to break her mood some.
One side of her mouth curled up briefly into a smile and she sighed exaggeratedly. “No one has lodged a formal complaint yet. I half expect the first complaint to be against Bryan and Liam for breaking down a wagon door. If anyone lodges any complaints at all, against anyone, I will do what seems right when I’ve heard both sides, and when the Council has deliberated.” She stood and set her cup in the sink. “And now, I’m going to bed.
“Good night.”
Joseph came in with Kayleen and Paloma, who took Alicia with them. We all scattered to our own rooms, as if there were nothing to talk about. I sat on my bed, picking at a drop of Alicia’s blood on the coverlet. I pulled the flute down, and practiced, playing as softly as I could, calming myself with the low sweet notes.
8
Decisions
Sunshine and birdsong streamed in my window. I lay in bed, stretching stiff muscles and trying to clear my muzzy sleep-ridden head of images of Jinks and the paw-cat and Ruth and Alicia that had filled my dreams.
Poor Alicia, living with so much hostility every day. Nava’s businesslike coldness paled in comparison. Alicia’s predicament endangered us, too. Therese and Steven would have blocked questions about our rights. Now that they were gone, I could see the shelter they gave us clearly.
I rolled out of bed, dressed, and went to the small bathroom, splashing cold water on my face from the sink and running a brush through my tangled hair.
The scent of warm tea wafted down the hallway and low voices sounded in the kitchen. When I pushed open the kitchen door, I stopped short. Ruth and Nava sat together at the kitchen table, laughing. Nava’s red hair and Ruth’s black-streaked-with-gray hair almost mingled, their heads were so close together. Nava looked—brighter—than I had seen her for weeks; comfortable.
They looked up and saw me. Their laughter stilled.
Nava pushed back from the table and began to clear the dishes. “Ruth?” she said over her shoulder, her tone cautious. “You’ve met Chelo?”
We had met, briefly, more than once. She had never been polite. I waited for her response, keeping my face neutral, being careful not to show my rising anger.
Ruth’s cold look belied the laughter I’d just heard, and the wrinkles around her eyes were slashed dark shadows. Her gaze slid across me and past, almost as if I weren’t there, landing again on Nava. “Yes, I’ve met Chelo. Look, I’m going back now. Thanks for breakfast.” She rose, carefully pushing the chair back against the table, and turned and left, without a single direct look at me. As she passed it felt like a cold wind brushed my skin.
A small red bird hopped on the sill outside the kitchen window, then noticed Nava in the window, and flew away. Nava started washing dishes. She spoke to me, her back still turned. “Chelo? There’s some tea left in the pot.”
What had she and Ruth been laughing about? I poured myself a cup of tea, took a bracing sniff of the minty steam, and forced my voice to stay light.
“I didn’t mean to sleep so late. When did Ruth get here?”
“Ruth stayed on the couch last night. She came home with Tom, late, demanding to know what authority we have to hold Alicia.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That Alicia came here of her own free will and it didn’t have anything to do with my wishes at all.” Nava turned toward me, her brows drawn together. She didn’t like me questioning her; it showed in the sharp set of her jaw and a red tinge on her neck and cheeks.
But she didn’t look angry, just frustrated. And I had to know what was happening. “Did Ruth know Alicia was locked up? That she escaped?”
Nava finished rinsing dishes and picked up the drying towel. I sipped my tea, waiting. After a long silence, she said, “I don’t know. She didn’t say.”
I went to stand by her at the sink, looking out the window at the brightening morning. “Is that all Ruth wanted?” I reached a hand for a dry plate, and put it away. “Did she bring up Varay’s death? Did Alicia decide to bring a complaint to the Council?”
“I don’t know what Alicia decided. No one has come to tell me.” Nava handed me the last clean dry cup and set her damp towel down. “I’m going to see the Council. It’s a work day for you, today.”
So much for finding out what else Ruth wanted. I watched Nava’s back as she strode from the room.
Joseph trailed in, rubbing at his eyes. “Where’s Tom?”
“He was gone when I woke up. He left a note on the counter—he’s gone to see Paloma and Alicia.”
We ate quickly. I told him about seeing Ruth, and he grimaced, but didn’t comment. Silence had become easier for him than speech lately. As if everything we said was something he didn’t want to hear. “Nava told me we have to work today.”
“Figures.” He glanced at the kitchen clock.
“We have a half an hour.” I grinned, glanced at the dishes we’d just dirtied, and laughed. They could wait. “That’s enough time to go to Paloma’s.”
The Silver Ship and the Sea Page 11