by A. G. Henley
“The Sister took me along the path on this side.” Her voice is low and rough. “Then we swam to the other side.”
“Swam?” Peree asks. “Across this? Wasn’t there any other way?”
I dry my wet fingers on my dress and reach for his hand.
“They must have some other way to get the children to the other side,” I say. “Not all of them are old enough to swim well.” Thrush, a Lofty like Peree, likely can't swim at all.
“We will search for it as we go,” Amarina says.
I grit my teeth. Something else I can’t help with.
We start out again, keeping the Restless on our left, walking quickly to take advantage of the dwindling light. Weeds, rocks, and waist-high bushes trip me up, but the ground seems clear of trees beside the river. The forest sits to our right now, from the birdcalls and creaking of trees.
The earth here is soft, and after eight other people tramp on it before me, marshy. Water soaks my shoes, squelching between my toes, and my stick keeps lodging in the ground. After a while, Peree holds my elbow, guiding me so I don’t have to use it.
“Hey, look—” Bear says.
I freeze and listen, but I don’t hear anything out of the ordinary.
“Shelters,” Peree tells me.
Shelters mean people, possibly hostile ones, but the others don’t sound alarmed. Peree guides me to the right, into the forest, following the group. My arm brushes tree trunks; their unruly branches catch in my hair.
“There are two of them,” Peree says. “Abandoned.”
It’s hard to imagine people lived out here, all alone. Was it a family? The others wander forward, their feet rustling through downed leaves and underbrush. Peree takes me to one of the shelters, and I run my fingers lightly along the side. The boards feel dry and loose.
“Here’s a small wood pile,” Conda says after a minute. “Looks like it’s been here a while.”
“And an old refuse pile back here,” Amarina says. Her voice comes from the other side of the shelters.
Bits and pieces of the people’s lives emerge—a rotting blanket, a moldy sack of beans, what might be a few rows of a very old garden—whoever lived here hasn’t in a long time. Which might be for the best, for us.
After a few minutes, we head back to the riverside, and I think about the people as we walk. Who were they? What were they doing all the way out here, living alone? I’ve heard stories of survivors of the Scourge all my life, but we never had proof they existed. That’s what made finding Koolkuna and the anuna such a shock. It was like the legends came to life.
And the Sisters seem even closer to characters from an elder's story. The kind told while we clustered around a campfire late at night, jumping at every crack and pop of the flames.
The sun sinks, and we’re forced to stop and make camp. We move back into the forest, and Derain finds a spot among the trees clear enough for all of us to sleep. Amarina gets a fire started quicker than I thought possible; it’s burning, compact but bright, by the time the rest of us return from filling our water sacks in the Restless. Derain offers to gather wood to keep it going, and Conda joins him. Their voices move away from the campsite, into the darkening trees.
“Help me pluck the ground fowl for dinner?” Bear says, touching my arm.
“You caught one?” I never thought to ask after my humiliating tumble down the hill.
“Two. Fat ones.”
I sit down with him, thrilled with the thought of fresh meat for dinner.
“I’m going to set some rabbit snares,” Kai says. “Do you want to come, Peree?”
My smile falters. Why does it always have to be him? Then again, I can’t imagine Moray or Cuda jumping at the chance to help, and Peree knows a lot about snaring and trapping. It was how the Lofties caught much of their meat in the trees: birds, squirrels, and other small tree-creatures. Branches and bushes crack and snap as they go into the forest.
“Looks like Kai hasn’t given up on your man,” Moray says. “What are you going to do about it, sweetheart? Fight her for him?”
“No contest. Kai wins,” Cuda says.
I try not to yank out the feathers overly hard.
“Do you still have that knife Peree gave you?” Bear asks me.
I pat my pocket. I’ve grown accustomed to the weight of it against my thigh.
“Remember how to use it?” he says.
“Yeah.”
“Good. Wait until Moray and Cuda are asleep, then go for their throats.”
We all laugh—even Moray and Cuda. Bear always knows how to cheer me up.
Night falls as the birds sizzle over the flames. The smell gets my mouth watering. Derain and Conda, then Peree and Kai, come back to camp as Amarina begins to pass our dinner around. Peree hands me a plate and sits beside me. He doesn’t speak.
“How did it go?” I ask.
“Good. We found some rabbit trails leading away from the Restless. Set a few snares along it. I shot a goose for breakfast, too.” He sounds distracted.
Did Kai say or do something to make him uncomfortable? Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I can’t shake the feeling that maybe she did. I picture her standing too close, her hand on his back, whispering in his ear…
Stop.
I have no reason to doubt Peree. If Kai did anything like that, he’d set her straight. Tell her he’s not interested. Right?
Distracted by my imagination, I take a bite of the ground fowl without testing the temperature first. It sears my tongue, and I snatch it out again.
Someone passes around a leather sack. From the astringent smell, I’d guess it’s plum wine. I take a pull. No—it's something harder. After only a few passes, my body sags and my thoughts grow sluggish. I don’t drink any more. Instead, I snuggle against Peree, enjoying our shared warmth.
As the night tucks in around us, conversation moves to the children. Everyone has a favorite story to tell. Amarina shares how proud she was when Ellin won a hard-run foot race against older children this past summer.
“She’s as fleet-footed as a rabbit.” Her voice teeters between pride and heartbreak.
We laugh at Peree’s story of how Petrel let Thrush hang by his ankles in the trees after the boy caught himself in a snare he had no business messing with. Bear remembers Darel fastened to one leg or another as he moved around Koolkuna. I recount my last moments with Kora and Darel, the two of them cavorting through the room as Arika arranged my hair for the partnering ceremony. It’s hard to breathe, thinking of the children so carefree, compared to how they might feel now.
Conda goes last, telling a story about Frost. A Lofty arrow nicked his calf as we ran for Koolkuna, and she bandaged it. I was in such a stupor after learning that Eland was killed that I didn’t even know Conda was injured. There’s a surprising yearning in his voice as he talks about Frost.
I’d assumed Conda had come with us because Moray and Cuda were going, but now I wonder if there’s more to his decision. Does he have feelings for the mother of his brother’s child? Does Moray suspect? Would he even care?
I’m ready to sleep, but between the water and the alcohol, I need to relieve myself. I grab my walking stick and stand.
“Back in a minute,” I whisper to Peree.
Sweeping my stick from side to side, I step between the trees. I don’t want to go too far. Getting lost now is all I need—the brothers and Kai would have a field day. Peree would come with me, but this is where I draw the line on togetherness.
As soon as the firelight fades behind me, I stop and do what I need to do. As I stand, ready to return to the campsite, I smell that irritating acrid scent again.
Heart thudding, head swiveling side to side, I try to pinpoint where it’s coming from. Is it a lingering scent trail, like before? I can’t get a fix.
This isn’t safe. I’m alone and possibly beyond where the others can hear me. I turn to go back, and a sound seizes my heart: footsteps sliding fast along the forest floor, coming right for me.
Pure energy shoots through my limbs. I shout for help and start running, pushing through bushes and branches, colliding with a tree, and jamming my outstretched fingers.
A hand grasps my shoulder from behind. Fingers dig into my collarbone. The powerful scent hits me full force, and icy fear bursts over me. I writhe, trying to free myself.
Like the sting of a bee, my neck is punctured with pain, followed by a burning sensation that tears up into my head. I gasp and cry out.
“Your children belong to the Fire Sisters now,” a female voice growls in my ear. “Stop following us. Tell the others to turn back. Go home, or you will be killed.”
Chapter Seven
The others crash through the trees and brush, calling for me. Their torches paint wild patterns in the dark.
“Fennel!”
“Where are you?”
“Are you hurt?”
I try, but I can’t answer. I can’t move. I’m frozen, and not only with fear. This is something else. My heart rattles my ribcage, and sweat gathers on my brow and under my arms.
“Fenn! Tell us where you are!” Peree yells.
Did the sting at my neck paralyze me? My thoughts swirl in one confused direction, then another, like the torches, but I can only stand absolutely still. What’s happening? What’s wrong with me? What did the Sister do?
The torches gather somewhere between the campfire and me.
“Form a line,” I hear Derain say. “Leave five paces between you and walk in step, watching the ground. Keep your weapons ready.”
The others’ footsteps spread out. In an agonizingly slow march, they push through the trees. Thankfully, it’s in my direction.
Air rips in and out of my chest and my hands tremble. I’m aware of my surroundings, my body, my thoughts and feelings, but I can’t make myself act on them. I can’t even move my lips to form words. What the Sister said echoes over and over in my head.
One of the group sounds very close to me now. They’re so near… if they move a little farther forward, they’ll see me—
“She’s here!” Kai yells. The others rush to us; their torches dart in around me.
“Mirii?” Derain says. I stay still.
Peree’s hands cup my face. “Fenn? What is it? What’s wrong?”
“The children belong to the Fire Sisters now,” I say. “We must stop following, turn back, go home, or we’ll be killed.” My voice sounds unrecognizable, stripped of all emotion, but a rush of relief fills my body. I did as I was told.
“What’s she talking about?” Cuda asks. “Why does she look all stiff?”
“Do you smell that?” Bear says. “It’s that scent Fenn was talking about.”
“The Sisters must be near.” Amarina drops her voice. “Look for the guru. Go in pairs and be cautious!”
Their torches leave again, except for one. I’m sure everyone’s doing the best they can to be quiet, but their movements are thunderous in the otherwise silent forest. The Sister moved like a ghost. Light comes close to my face. I can’t flinch away.
“Can you hear me, Fennel?” Peree asks.
I repeat what the Sister told me to say. It’s all I can do.
“What the hell did they do to you?” he whispers. There’s a pause, then his torch dives to the ground and goes out with a stamping noise. “The light makes us a target. We’ll stay here for now. Come sit against this tree.”
He wraps an arm around me. I shuffle along with him and sit. Why can I move now when I couldn’t before? Panic shreds my gut.
“I’ll be right here with you.” His voice is by my ear; he must be crouched beside me.
His breaths are quick, in and out, in and out. He shifts his weight, and an arrow slides against his bowstring. He’s staying to protect me. I want to tell him what happened, or at least hunch closer to him, but I can’t. I can only sit up perfectly straight in the dark, waiting, sweat creeping down my back despite the cool night. The torches of the others glide back and forth through the forest.
After what seems like an eternity, their hushed voices merge in the direction of the campsite.
“It must be safe,” Peree says after a minute. “Let’s go back.”
I stand, and he takes my arm to lead me forward. When we shove through the last of the trees to reach the fire, I stand stiffly beside it. I sense the light, I feel the warmth, I hear the whispered comments of the others about me, but I can’t reach my freezing hands out toward the fire. I can’t huddle into Peree’s arms. I can’t cry out.
Peree catches my hand. “Sit down.”
My legs instantly fold up, and I take a seat. Wait… commands. I can move when someone tells me to. The Sister took away my… my ability to make decisions, to control my body? But how? Nausea seizes me, and my body shakes. Peree wraps a blanket around me and stays close by my side.
“She’s so pale,” Bear says. “What’s wrong with her? Is she hurt? In shock?”
“I don’t know,” Peree says. “She doesn’t seem injured, but she hasn’t said anything else. She just shakes. I keep having to tell her what to do.”
“Check her neck.” Kai’s voice is grim. “Is there a wound there?”
Peree turns my head gently to one side and the other. He touches my neck. The stabbing pain is only a dull ache now.
“Right here,” Peree says. “What is it?”
“She’s been stung,” Kai says.
“By what?” Cuda asks.
“The Sisters.”
“What are you talking about?” Peree asks.
“The Sister who Gathered me pricked my neck with a knife and said I was stung. After that, I could only do what she told me to do. They must have done the same to Fennel.”
Stung. My throat tightens; my eyes grow wet. I can’t wipe away the tear that dribbles down my cheek.
“Will she be all right? Why didn’t you tell us they could do this before?” Peree’s voice gets louder.
“It will wear off. At least, it did for me,” Kai says. “And I tried to explain. I said not to let them get close, that they could control you. It’s not my fault she didn’t listen.”
That’s completely unfair!
“How long did it take to wear off, Kaiya?” Amarina asks.
“I don’t know.”
“Hours? Days? Weeks?” Peree asks.
“I don’t remember!” Kai’s voice rises, too. “The Sister… she… she kept stinging me to keep me quiet.”
“Are we sure that’s what happened to Fenn?” Bear says. “Wait, maybe she can tell us herself. Fenn, tell us if the Sister stung you.”
I still can’t speak.
“I couldn’t talk either,” Kai says.
Peree releases a long breath. I can feel him trying to get control of himself. “Did anyone see anything out there?”
“Nothing,” Moray says. “The boys and me searched as much of that forest as we could in the dark. There’s no sign of them.”
“We should put out the fire and move.” Conda sounds nervous. “We’re sitting ducks here.”
“Don’t be stupid, Con,” Cuda says. “If they’d wanted to get rid of us, they would have already. Why bother giving us a warning if their plan was to kill us all now?”
“Why didn’t they kill us all now?” Bear asks.
No one seems to know.
“Perhaps only one Sister attacked Mirii,” Amarina says. “Maybe the group knew we were following them, and they left one behind to frighten us away.”
I want to tell Amarina I think she’s right. The words form in my brain, but I can’t produce them.
“I’m going back out to look again,” Conda says. “Maybe we missed something. If there’s only one Sister out there, we can find her. Capture her to trade for the children.”
Moray scoffs. “She delivered her message. She’s long gone.”
“Your brother is probably right,” Derain says. “We should stay together, follow the Sisters’ trail at first light,” Derain says. “In the meantime, one of us should
sit watch.”
“I will,” Cuda says. “Might as well.” He gets up and strolls away from campsite, but his footsteps don’t go far, I notice.
“What about Fenn?” Peree asks.
“Hopefully, she will recover by morning,” Derain says.
“And if she doesn’t?”
No one answers.
“Lie down and rest, Fenn,” Peree says. “Try not to worry.”
I lie down, because he told me to. I can’t help the worrying part. He smooths my hair back from my face and arranges the blanket over me, tucking in the ends. Tears fill my eyes again. I can’t bear lying here like a statue, unable to speak or act. Talk about feeling useless and helpless. How long will I be like this? Will I be myself again?
Water begins to boil busily on the fire.
“Do you want a cup of tea?” Peree asks.
“Are you paying attention, Lofty? She can’t answer you,” Moray says.
Peree curses. “This is ridiculous! I don’t want to order her to drink a cup of tea or to sleep. I don’t want to order her to do anything!”
My chest aches with the distress in his voice.
“That’s where we’re different,” Moray says. “I’d enjoy it while it lasted.”
Bear makes a disgusted noise. “You’re such an ass.”
“If that’s how you feel about it, brother,” Conda says, “why are you even going after Frost?”
“I want my baby back,” Moray says. “Frost has him. Simple as that.”
“So after she delivers the baby, you’re done with her?” There’s a hopeful note in Conda’s voice.
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“On if I see something I like better in Koolkuna.”
From the darkness, Cuda laughs. Everyone else quiets, probably trying to discourage Moray from speaking again. It works. After a while, I hear him snoring.
Not me. I lie beside the fire for hours, unable to sleep. Peree tosses and turns next to me, not seeming to sleep either.
As light filters through the forest once again, a fiery poker of panic stabs me. I still can’t move. The others are going to leave Peree and me behind. He’ll have to take me home to Nerang. What will happen to the children and Frost? And me?