“When I think of Amat, I have many happy memories. I used to climb the hill with my grandmother and listen to the stories passed down to her from Before times. She was told those stories by her grandmother, Greenwood Joan, and Greenwood Joan was told the stories by her grandmother, who was born in the Before.
“But not all of my memories of Amat are happy. We ate wood prawns, and bats and badgers when we could find them, but there were many hungry times. When there was nothing else, we chewed on roots and bark. It was always a struggle.”
“We still didn’t eat people,” David muttered.
”No,” Sorrel said, “but we did do other things I’m not proud of. Even the memories of my grandmother are not all good. She was wise in many ways, but much of what she believed was wrong. They called her a midwife, and she did deliver babies, but she also killed them. Mutant new-borns were killed before they had drawn their first breaths. Others were killed when they were older, not because they were mutants, but because they were weak or sickly. My mother wouldn’t name my sister for fear that she would be deemed unviable, but I called her Bella.
“Bella was killed that day in Amat, but maybe she would have died anyway – put to death by one of her own because she would grow up too weak and sickly to fend for herself. She would be just another mouth to feed. We condemned Niven for calling our friend, Hemp, a useless eater, but maybe what we did in Amat wasn’t so different.
“There are so many wrongs that can’t be undone. Brig is right – we can’t live in the past. But we can try to build a better future. I say we cut ourselves free of the ills that have gone before and make our peace with each other in this room tonight. Then, before the sun rises, we leave Dinawl.”
Silence, thick and heavy, filled the room. Olaf and Ivan looked to Brig for their response. Brig and Einstein regarded each other warily, but it was Kala who spoke first.
“Plenty have done me ill, though none of them in this room. But I too have had my fill of this place and I’ll be glad to leave at early bright.”
“What she said,” Cyrus nodded.
“David, are you ready to cut yourself free from the past?” Sorrel asked.
David glanced at Brig. “What’s done can’t be undone and brooding on it has done me no good. I’ll make peace.”
Einstein stared straight at Brig as he spoke. “Peace.”
One heartbeat, two heartbeats, and then a third before Brig replied.
“Agreed. Peace. Sorrel, I accept that Eli is your kin.”
“Thank you,” Sorrel replied and a tiny voice inside her said, it’s all going to be okay.
One by one, the others agreed on peace, even Valen. Having exhausted his conversation, he maintained his silence, but Sorrel saw him nodding in the shadows and that was enough.
Though she was still working through the tangle of her thoughts, Sorrel understood that it was not in her power to change the world. But to this small group of misfits she had brought peace, and that had to count for something.
With David on one side of her and Eli on the other, she fell into an easy sleep that night. She awoke thinking about their departure from Dinawl and the new life they would seek.
Her happy thoughts did not last for long.
Cyrus and Kala were already up and at the door, Kala holding up a lamp while Cyrus rattled the handle.
“It’s no use, I tell you. They’ve locked us in.”
13.
The Great Trench
Sorrel frowned. The door hadn’t been locked since they’d arrived.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Cyrus said, “but I don’t like it.”
Most of the group were still sleeping, including David and Eli. Sorrel leaned over Eli and shook David by the shoulder. He woke to the sound of footsteps pounding in the hall.
Kala and Cyrus stepped back from the door as a key clicked in the lock. The door burst open and a horde of black-clad bailiffs swarmed inside.
“GET DOWN!”
They pushed Kala and Cyrus to the floor, jabbing them with heavy batons. Beams of light criss-crossed the room. One caught Sorrel in the eyes, dazzling her and sending a bolt of pain shooting to the back of her head. She raised her arm to shield herself. Eli woke with a start and began crying.
“THERE’S THE KID.”
The kid? Why did they single out Eli? Sorrel pulled her brother to her and tried to soothe him, but it was hard to stay calm when her own heart hammered, and fear flowed through her veins.
“What’s going on?” Brig demanded.
“SHUT UP!”
Brig tried to get to his feet but was knocked back by a sharp blow to his temple. He groaned. Another bailiff jabbed Einstein sharply in the chest.
“STAY DOWN. ALL OF YOU.”
Eli whimpered in Sorrel’s arms. The contrast between blinding light and deep shadow made it hard to be sure, but she thought there were at least a dozen bailiffs in the room.
“What’s happening?” David whispered.
Sorrel shook her head.
“GET THE KID.”
“No!” Sorrel clasped Eli tightly to her body.
A group of bailiffs loomed over Sorrel, Eli and David. One of them prodded David with his baton.
“Well, if it isn’t Tough Guy again. Seems like every time I see you, you’re in the middle of something.”
David pushed the baton aside. “We haven’t done anything.”
“Says you.”
The bailiff booted him in the side of his torso. David groaned.
“Shut up or you’ll get another.”
One of the other bailiffs addressed Sorrel.
“You – girl – hand over the kid.”
She shook her head and held Eli closer than ever.
The bailiff crouched down beside her and spoke in a low, skin-prickling tone. “Here’s the deal, Sorrel. One way or another, we’re taking the boy. Let him go or you’ll both be hurt.”
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up when he said her name. Eli stopped whimpering and clung to her in silence.
“No – you can’t take him. He’s only a baby.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but the bailiff dealt in fear and had no problem hearing her.
“He’ll be fine – we won’t hurt him. Not as long as you and your friends do what you’re told.”
“This is Niven’s doing, isn’t it?”
“Hand the boy over.”
“I want to see him.”
The bailiff reached out for Eli.
“Leave him be,” Brig shouted.
A baton thwacked across his face, crunching his nose. Blood spurted. Eli screamed and was snatched from Sorrel’s arms.
“Noooooo!” Sorrel screamed.
She scrambled to her feet, lunging after Eli, but was knocked back. She stumbled, landing on top of David.
The bailiffs withdrew, taking Eli with them. Within seconds they’d left the room, locking the door behind them.
Sorrel got to her feet again and ran to the door. She banged on it, screaming, “I want to see Niven. Now. I want to see Niven.”
David came up to her and grasped hold of her balled fists.
“Stop it – you’ll hurt yourself.”
“They took Eli,” she sobbed.
“We’ll get him back.” This from Brig.
Olaf and Ivan fussed around him, wiping the blood from his broken nose. Brig swatted them away. “Enough.”
“Listen,” Einstein said.
The hall echoed with the pounding of more footsteps. The door was unlocked, and six bailiffs marched into the room.
“What have you done with my brother?” Sorrel asked.
“Against the wall,” one of them ordered. “All of you.”
“If you want answers, I suggest you do as you’re told.” Niven strode into the room, Willow by his side, holding a rope in one hand. Another six bailiffs followed them, batons at the ready.
Sorrel stared at Willow.
Willow stared back, completely unab
ashed, just as she had the very first time Sorrel had met her. That Willow had been a grime-encrusted child, wandering the Dregs. The Willow standing before her now was a very different creature. She had grown and stood tall. Her face was clean and her hair, tied back in a neat plait, gleamed softly in the light. There was nothing grimy about her now. Something in the confident way she held herself reminded Sorrel of Juno.
“Where’s Eli?” Sorrel demanded.
“Eli is safe,” Niven said.
“Why did you take him?”
Niven put his hand up. “Enough of your questions. It’s time for you to listen, Sorrel. It’s time for all of you to listen. No-one is leaving Dinawl.” He paused, his eyes glittering. “Yes, I know all about your plot to flee us in our hour of need.”
Sorrel looked around at the group – who had revealed their plans? They were all looking at each other – and her – with suspicion in their eyes.
Willow laughed. The sound, high, tinkling and merry, enraged Sorrel.
“You are wondering who is the traitor among you,” Willow said, “but it was all of you.”
“No,” David said, the light of realisation in his eyes. “It was you. You’ve been spying on us. Again.”
“Listening more than watching,” Willow said, pleased with herself. “I’ve heard every word you’ve uttered in this room. I know your secrets – including your plan to leave Dinawl today.”
Sorrel stared at the girl, wondering how she could ever have thought them friends. “Willow, what happened to you?”
Willow raised her chin and looked down her nose at Sorrel. “I chose the right side.”
“What does that mean?”
Willow smirked, but said nothing.
“What about Yolanda?” Sorrel asked.
Willow shrugged. “What about her?”
“You used to be close,” Sorrel said.
“She chose the wrong side.”
“All this talk about sides,” Niven said. He held his hands out, palms up. “When we’re all in this together. Yes, together.” He nodded as he looked around at them.
“You came here to warn us, David, and for that we’re grateful. Truly grateful. But now that we know what’s coming our way, we need all the help we can get. Everyone within these city walls must fight to defend them, so that we – all of us – can be safe. No-one leaves. Everyone works. No exceptions. For as we know, in Dinawl, all persons are equal.”
Niven looked directly at Sorrel. His words said one thing, but his sly smile told another story. “It will be good for the citizens of Dinawl to see the symbol of the revolution digging in the mud alongside everyone else.
“Don’t worry about Eli. He’ll be well cared for – while you work on the Great Trench.”
Before Sorrel could say anything more, Niven turned and left the room. Willow swung the rope in her hand.
“Tailwagger is coming with me.”
The bright smile she gave Sorrel finished the sentence: …and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Niven did not have them clapped in chains. There was no need. Sorrel would not think of leaving Dinawl without Eli, neither would David nor Einstein. Lizbit stayed where David was, and Valen was strung between Sorrel and Cyrus. Cyrus and Kala would not risk the child’s life and stayed besides, to help their friends. Brig would gladly give his own life for Eli’s and so was going nowhere, and where Brig stayed, Olaf and Ivan also remained. And thus, Niven shackled all of them to Dinawl and the Great Trench without having to resort to manacles, ropes or other crude restraints.
The diggers worked in time, their rhythm kept by a line of children strung out along the trench, beating on drums. Every so often, someone would start a cadenced song with simple lyrics. It would spread along the line, until a long chorus of voices rose and fell in time with the spades, and then, without anyone giving a say so, the song would fade until only the clatter of spades remained.
The work was hard and tedious and by the time Sorrel’s work gang was called out for a break, her back groaned deeply and her shoulders screamed for mercy.
A mobile kitchen had been set up outside the city walls. Waiting in line, Sorrel looked around for the others. They’d been bundled out of the room and assigned to work gangs before they could draw breath, and this was the first chance she’d had to take a good look. But there were no familiar faces. Despite being surrounded by people, she was alone.
Two strangers from the work gang fell into conversation behind her. They talked with pride about how it was hard work they were doing, but it was honest work and what a grand job they were making of it.
“We’ll keep them invaders out and no mistake.”
“They’ll never take Dinawl. Not while I’m living and breathing.”
“I hear you – I’m right there with you, friend.”
While the pair of them slapped each other on the back, Sorrel looked down at the Great Trench.
It was long for sure, stretching further in both directions than the south wall was wide. It was deeper than she was tall, and wide enough so that she could only just touch both sides at the same time. That it had been dug in such a short space of time was as impressive as Niven’s ability to motivate the people of Dinawl. But when Sorrel thought about the army she’d spied from the Wych Elm, the Great Trench looked like no more than a glorified ditch.
The fast-flowing river had been longer and wider than the trench, and it had been easily traversed by the soldiers. Why then did Niven think that a simple hole in the ground would keep them at bay?
Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the queue moving forward until one of the men nudged her.
“Hurry up, girl, we’re starving.”
Sorrel said sorry and moved forward. She didn’t notice it was Alice behind the counter until the woman in front of her moved aside. Sorrel was so miserable in both spirit and body that the sight of Alice’s round, earnest face brought tears smarting at her eyes.
“Sorrel! I’ve been looking for you.” Alice ladled broth into a cup and handed it to her. “We have to talk.”
“Enough chit-chat.” This from the pink-faced cook, a woman with frizzy red hair and an ample bosom.
Alice rolled her eyes. She handed Sorrel a hunk of bread. “Meet me at the Mill Street lodgings tonight – after supper.”
“I’ll try,” Sorrel said.
“Move along now,” the cook said. “There’s more than you needing to be fed.”
“See you later,” Alice called after her.
Sorrel looked around for a spot to sit while she ate her food. The gang supervisor caught her eye and shouted at her.
“Hurry up with the eating, there’s digging to be done. Don’t be thinking that mark on your wrist makes you any better than the rest of us.”
Sorrel’s face burned up as the others in the gang stared at her. She ate her food standing alone, pretending that she didn’t see the nudges and whispers.
Marching back to the trench, they jostled her, asking to see her birthmark. She pulled back her sleeve, thinking it would bring an end to their pestering. Instead, they called out to anyone who would listen that they were digging alongside one of Niven’s lot – the one with the mark.
Back at the trench, they were put to work hauling away rocks that had been unearthed by diggers. Muscles Sorrel didn’t know she had whinged and moaned under the strain, and all the shift long she was aware of the looks and whispers as she trundled her heavy barrow loads back and forth.
They worked until the sun was low in the sky and the trench was no more than a dark gash in the earth. Sorrel’s hands were frozen and seized, and her entire body was one giant throbbing ache. She could barely put one foot in front of the other as she filed back through the gate into the city with the rest of the exhausted workers.
All day long she’d been thinking about Eli and how they’d have to find him and escape, but now, all she wanted to do was lie down and sleep.
“Sorrel!”
She turned to see Alic
e coming out of a doorway. Sorrel stared at her, so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. “What are you doing here?”
“I didn’t think you’d come tonight, so I’ve been waiting for you,” Alice said.
“No, I mean, why are you in Dinawl?”
“I came to find you.”
“What – why?”
Exhaustion clouded Sorrel’s thoughts. All she could think was that Alice belonged in a meadow of flowers.
“Everything changed after you left Ulbroom. Or maybe it changed before then.” Alice screwed her face up. “I’m not sure – I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Everything was really simple before you came. We knew who we were. It all made sense.”
But nothing Alice said made any sense to Sorrel.
“Alice, please, just tell me what happened.”
“After what you did to him, Martin went crazy. All the men did. It was horrible. We thought that when he came back with Mara, everything would calm down.”
Sorrel’s cloud of exhaustion was suddenly swept away.
“Mara? Mara is in Ulbroom?”
Alice nodded. “She’s with Martin – she’s his wife, but not like a normal wife. She doesn’t obey him. She’s more like a man – but worse.”
“A queen,” Sorrel murmured.
“Yes! She’s like a queen.” Alice’s face brightened for a moment, then fell. “Sorrel, we need your help. Doctor Abigail sent me here to find you.”
“You travelled all the way from Ulbroom by yourself?”
Alice nodded.
“That was really brave.”
Alice smiled. “Does that mean you’ll help us?”
Her face was full of hope.
Sorrel sighed. “I’d love to help you, Alice – really, I would. But I’m a prisoner here. You might not know it – but so are you.”
Alice frowned. “But everyone knows who you are. I saw them watching you earlier. You’re important. You can do things. How can you be a prisoner?”
“I don’t have any power. If I did, I wouldn’t be here now. Niven used me – he manipulates people. I can’t explain it all now, but I can’t leave Dinawl. And just to make sure I don’t try, Niven has taken my baby brother. Until we can get Eli back, we’re stuck here.”
The New Day Page 14